Journey to the West: Starting from the Imperial Horse Stable

Although Supervisor Sun acted in a seemingly official manner, his actions dispelled the last glimmer of hope in Wang Chen's heart.

The intention has been verified and is beyond doubt.

This temporary commander indeed only intended to reside in this celestial register position temporarily, acting as a stone to occupy the spot.

Normally, the Heavenly Court would delay such matters for a while, which is why the concept of "reserving a spot" arose.

But now that Li Jing has mustered the heavenly troops and is about to conquer Flower Fruit Mountain, in Supervisor Sun's view, the monkey demon's demise is a foregone conclusion. Once Flower Fruit Mountain is pacified and the Heavenly Court regains face, the Imperial Horse Administration will naturally face no risk.

Now that the celestial talisman on his body can't be removed, he'll have to find a way to get rid of it.

Without the celestial talisman and without any backing, the best outcome would probably be being sent to serve as a celestial soldier. In the next campaign against Flower Fruit Mountain, he might just be one of the cannon fodder charging ahead.

Thinking of this, Wang Chen sneered inwardly. Supervisor Sun's plan was shrewd, but he didn't know what kind of person that monkey from the lower realm was. The outcome of Li Jing's expedition was already predetermined.

However, this doesn't change the fact that Supervisor Sun can currently control him. He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to confront Supervisor Sun directly at this moment.

Now that the position of Bi Ma Wen is vacant, the Imperial Horse Supervisor Sun Jian Cheng is all-powerful. For a newcomer with shallow roots to confront him head-on would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

The most urgent task is to prepare in advance before Supervisor Sun finds a plausible reason to remove him.

The cultivation level needs to reach the mid-stage of Celestial Immortal? Once the Golden Wound Medicine is sold and the spirit stones are in hand, the system will take care of that. No strong connections or background? In the coming days, you'll need to be more observant and see if you can find a glimmer of opportunity.

As he was pondering, he heard Zhou Quan's slightly mocking whisper: "See? What did I tell you? He sent you away, didn't he? He didn't want you in the way, and he also wanted to prevent you from getting involved in important matters at this crucial moment."

Wang Chen turned his head, his face now calm, even bearing a hint of helpless yet composed smile:

"Brother Zhou, your predictions are truly insightful. However, this matter of registration and dispatch is indeed beyond my ability to handle. The techniques are exquisite, and the horses are numerous and complex; even I would be overwhelmed by them and would only make things more complicated than helpful. Going to Deshun is fine; I am more familiar with fodder matters there before and can offer some assistance."

Zhou Quan, his hands still busy taking notes, nodded almost imperceptibly upon hearing this, his tone remaining calm: "Going there is fine. However, things probably won't be so easy and smooth in Deshun."

Wang Chen's heart stirred slightly. He said, "Thank you for your guidance, Brother Zhou," and then turned and walked towards the courtyard where hay was piled up.

Before they even got close, Zhao Deshun's slightly impatient voice rang out: "This batch of Cloud Mist Grass is only of medium to low quality, with insufficient spiritual energy. Why is it priced like this? When Manager Liu was in charge, it wasn't calculated this way!"

In the courtyard, Zhao Deshun was negotiating with a wealthy-looking merchant dressed in brocade robes, while several strongmen guarded several large carts of freshly delivered fodder. The merchant looked troubled and spread his hands, saying:

"Master Zhao, please understand. Things are not like they used to be! With Li Tianwang mustering troops, all departments of the Heavenly Court are rushing to prepare supplies, and the demand for Cloud Grass has soared, naturally driving up the price. What I can offer you here is already out of consideration for our long-standing relationship with the Imperial Horse Administration. If it were any other company, I'm afraid they would have added another 30%."

Zhao Deshun frowned. Seeing Wang Chen approach, he acted as if he had seen a savior and quickly pulled him aside, lowering his voice urgently:

"Brother Wang, you've finally arrived! The situation is dire. King Li is pressing us urgently, and nearly ten thousand heavenly horses have already been allocated. However, our fodder reserves, including these newly arrived ones, are only enough for the army for seven or eight days. Normally, we need to prepare at least twenty days' worth of fodder. After the army sets off, supplies need to be transported to the front lines. The journey is long, the procedures are complicated, and it's easy to cause delays. If the war is affected by insufficient fodder, the responsibility will be immense."

He wiped the sweat from his brow and continued, "Supervisor Sun ordered me to find a way to make up for the shortfall immediately. But these fodder dealers, who used to be on friendly terms with Steward Liu and offered him preferential prices, have changed their tune now that Steward Liu is gone and I've taken over. They're insisting that prices will rise and refuse to lower them. At this rate, the spirit stone quota allocated this month won't last until the end of the month! What am I going to do when the fodder runs out again?"

Wang Chen listened quietly, his gaze sweeping over the carts of hay and the merchant's feigned sincerity. He had worked in the hay storage area before and knew the ins and outs of it.

The fodder used by the Imperial Horse Stables was not distributed uniformly by the Heavenly Court, but had to be purchased from the Hanging Pearl Market and a few fixed herb merchants. The price fluctuated entirely depending on the closeness of the relationship between the person in charge and the merchant.

Having operated for many years, Liu Changyun had intertwined his interests with these merchants, which naturally allowed him to obtain sufficient fodder at a relatively fair price.

Now that Zhao Deshun has taken office and has not yet established his network of connections, and with the Heavenly Court launching a large-scale military campaign and resources becoming scarce, how could these shrewd merchants let go of this good opportunity to raise prices and manipulate the market?

If I help you out today, and we become closer in the future, I can easily say that the market was like that at the time, and that I "went to great lengths" to get the goods for you.

At this moment, Wang Chen finally understood the deeper meaning behind Zhou Quan's words, "Things in Deshun are probably not going so well either." This was not just a procurement problem, but a hot potato, a pitfall that was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Sun Jiancheng probably had this intention in sending him to assist Zhao Deshun. By dragging him into this procurement predicament, if there were any problems with the supply of fodder in the future, Zhao Deshun, as the person in charge, would be the first to bear the brunt, and he, as the "assistant," would naturally not escape the blame for his incompetence.

At that time, Supervisor Sun could both reprimand Zhao Deshun for secretly following Zhou Quan yesterday and provide himself with another convenient reason to get rid of him in the future, killing two birds with one stone.

Having understood this, Wang Chen felt more at ease. Looking at the distraught Zhao Deshun, he suddenly spoke, his voice steady:

"Steward Zhao, what if we... only secure enough fodder for seven or eight days right now, and don't rush to replenish it for twenty days?"

Wang Chen's solution was simple: if fodder was expensive, then he wouldn't buy it.

But Zhao Deshun shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum:

"No, no! Brother Wang, you don't know this. Li Tianwang's army will soon set off to conquer Huaguo Mountain. No one can say for sure how long the war will drag on."

"If we only prepare seven or eight days' worth of fodder, once the army moves, we will have to immediately prepare for the follow-up and rush to the front lines day and night. Not to mention the risks of the transport route, the time spent on preparation, requesting orders, and handing over the supplies alone could delay the supply to the front lines, which would be a serious crime of jeopardizing military operations!"

He sighed, his tone carrying his usual caution and a hint of trust in his superior:

"Moreover, King Li's military campaign this time is massive in scale, and it will surely sweep away all enemy forces with overwhelming force. The war will probably not drag on for long. But we cannot be complacent because of this. We must make all the necessary preparations. It's better to be safe than sorry. That's what Supervisor Sun just told us. We must not be shortsighted."

Wang Chen nodded, his face showing an expression of acceptance, but his mind was completely clear.

Supervisor Sun was naturally eager for Zhao Deshun to spare no expense in purchasing fodder at high prices, just to get rid of the immediate problem first. As for the subsequent mess of spirit stone shortages and unsustainable supplies, that was Zhao Deshun's and his own incompetence, and had nothing to do with Supervisor Sun.

"Steward Zhao's considerations are thorough; it was I who was rash," Wang Chen readily agreed, then changed the subject.

"In that case, I'd like to learn the art of purchasing fodder from you, sir. Since the price of fodder here isn't good, why don't we head to the market and take a look?"

Seeing Wang Chen's cooperative attitude, Zhao Deshun felt slightly relieved. He glanced at the sky, then at the immortal merchants waiting to settle their accounts, and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Without further ado, let's go to Xuanzhu Market and a few familiar fodder shops to see if we can find a more suitable source of goods. In any case, we need to make up for this month's shortfall first."

Wang Chen agreed and followed behind Zhao Deshun, his gaze sweeping over the direction of the main hall of the Imperial Horse Stable, but his thoughts had already wandered far away.

Supervisor Sun must be overjoyed to find out that Zhao Deshun and I went to buy fodder at a high price.