Ming East India Company

Two days later, a horse judging competition began on the flat ground near Baizhuang.

"No, they're too timid. They got scared after just a few drumbeats. They're useless on the battlefield."

"He's too stubborn. He's already been whipped so many times and he still won't run away. He'll be even less obedient on the battlefield."

"This horse is as skinny as a chicken. Is it going to carry your grandma to the battlefield?"

"The horse's back is bent, it can't carry a person at all."

"This whip is already so stiff. When we get to the battlefield, are you going to fight or find a mate for your horse? I've told you to castrate them if you need to, but you just won't listen."

……

Listening to the "horse appraiser" in front of him nagging and criticizing all morning, Bai Ye felt as if a blower was spinning in his ears.

So far, we don't know how skilled this Feng the donkey is, but his temper is definitely notoriously bad.

"Feng the Donkey, this is the employer who's paying you, you should at least show some respect."

Accompanying Bai Ye to the horse-viewing ceremony were several skilled horse riders from the clan. The one speaking in front of him was Bai Ye's cousin, Bai Jingxing from the seventh branch.

Unexpectedly, this Feng the Donkey didn't back down at all, and took out a bag of silver from his bundle:

"The deposit is here. You can get a full refund anytime if you are not satisfied. We will not charge you a penny."

This immediately silenced Bai Jingxing.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Shirano stepped forward and asked:

"Who exactly is this Feng the Donkey?"

Bai Jingxing said irritably:

"This horse expert surnamed Feng is said to have come from a family of three generations of horse breeders and experts, making him a well-known equestrian expert in the Yuegang area. He is proficient in everything from judging horses and treating horse diseases to raising foals."

But his temper was truly awful, and his tongue was truly venomous, so merchants and travelers near Yuegang all called him "Donkey Feng," a nickname derived from his donkey-like, foul temper.

Shiro nodded:

"Does he also judge warhorses?"

Bai Jingxing said:

"You underestimate him, don't you? Do you know where he got his horse judging skills? Besides his family tradition, another reason is that he once served as a centurion in General Qi's cavalry and accompanied General Qi to Jizhou as a personal guard. Judging warhorses is his original profession."

"Oh," Shirano suddenly became interested:

"Logically speaking, since General Qi chose him in the first place, why would he possibly come back?"

It should be noted that when Qi Jiguang went to Jizhou, he did not take his most elite Qi Family Army with him. The border troops of Jizhou were recruited by him after he arrived in Liaodong.

The only explanation for being able to bring Feng Luzi to Jizhou under these circumstances is that this person's abilities are absolutely outstanding, and even Qi Jiguang is very fond of him.

"With his stubborn temper, who but General Qi could put up with him? When the Qi family army was around, they could keep him in check, but a few years ago General Qi passed away and no one was protecting him anymore, so he started to talk back to his superiors."

As a result, he was framed and dismissed from his post. Having nowhere else to turn in the north, he returned to his hometown and made a living by judging and inspecting horses.

Bai Ye turned his head to examine the man closely. He saw that the man was tall and straight, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long, powerful legs. He exuded a fierce and courageous aura as he stood in front of the horse.

He is indeed a rare talent for cavalry.

Currently, most of the farmhands and servants under Baiye's command have no experience in riding horses, and due to the decline of the horse administration, the garrison troops can't actually muster many men who can charge into battle as cavalry.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Shirayuki couldn't resist trying to get closer to him:

"General Feng's horse-judging skills are quite impressive!"

After hearing this, Feng Luzi's eyes widened in surprise, and he turned to look at Bai Ye:

"It's been a long time since I've heard anyone call me 'Donkey Feng' like that, but you don't need to offer me a pig's head as tribute. I absolutely refuse to follow you into becoming an outlaw."

"Become an outlaw?" Bai Ye was completely baffled. What did all this mean?

"Don't try to fool me. You're preparing warhorses and recruiting people here, aren't you just trying to switch from government-owned to private business and smuggle goods into Japan?"

Bai Ye realized that Feng Luzi had "misunderstood" that they were going to become bandits!

Before Bai Ye could even come up with an explanation, Feng the Donkey went into overdrive:

"Back in the day, I was one of those who fought against the Japanese pirates in the southeast under General Qi. Now that the imperial court has issued a decree, I will never collude with the Japanese. Today, I'm just doing my job to get rid of trouble for someone who's paid me, but don't even think about trying to drag me down with you."

Subsequently, Feng Luzi devoted himself to his "horse judging" career, and before sunset, he selected more than 20 warhorses from more than 300 horses that were barely "usable".

"These horses should be fine for fighting bandits and robbers, but it will be difficult when firearms are added. Unless the warhorses in the army are trained with firearms for a long time, they will run away as soon as they hear the sound of cannons."

Furthermore, the quality of your horses is too poor; they are not worthy of full armor at all. Either the people or the horses are armored, and if both are fully armored, they will break down after running only a few steps…”

Then Feng Luzi looked at Bai Ye and the others, and said to himself:

"Forget it, why bother telling you all this? You bandits, you're probably lucky if you can even wear a helmet."

"Call me when you're ready to load the horses onto the boat, and I'll show you how."

After saying that, Feng the Donkey swaggered back.

Bai Jingxing, who had come out with Bai Ye, could no longer stand it. He grabbed a riding whip and prepared to beat the stubborn donkey.

Bai Ye quickly grabbed Bai Jingxing and pulled him back:

"Forget it, forget it. We can't act rashly at a time like this. If we get into a murder case, it would be terrible to delay important matters for the clan."

"I really can't stand this donkey's arrogance. Leaving aside the fact that we're not colluding with the Japanese, he talks such righteous nonsense, but what happened? He took a deposit to help us choose horses, and he withheld information. Doesn't he feel ashamed of his hypocrisy?"

Bai Ye was speechless. If it were according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, this Feng the Donkey would probably not escape the crime of being an accomplice. He held the dirty money in his hand, but kept it to himself.

What kind of amazing people are these!

"At least we've divided up the horses today, but what use are these twenty-odd warhorses?"

Bai Jingxing sighed as he looked at the few remaining warhorses.

Bai Ye pulled out a few horses for a "test," and they were indeed both strong and docile. Feng Luzi's basic skills in judging horses were undeniable.

"Keep thirty or forty of the remaining livestock to use as horn pullers, and give the rest to my eldest sister to sell!"

The Bai family members who came with Bai Ye all respectfully agreed.

Although Bai Ye was the youngest and most senior among them, he had already subtly become the center of attention.

In the following days, Bai Ling sold off all the remaining livestock of the Bai family. Just as Bai Ye had predicted, the maritime merchants who were eager to relocate their livestock lacked transportation capacity, and the livestock were quickly snapped up. In normal years, the livestock would only fetch a few thousand taels of silver, but now Bai Ling had squeezed more than ten thousand taels of silver out of them.

With the money looted from their own home, the Bai family finally managed to scrape together the funds for this expedition.