Chapter 7: The Horse Market Nightmare

  Thank you for your great trust, I will stick to it till the end.

  Su Tiancheng came to Ma Shi for the purpose of trading horses, and he never forgot this matter.

  Unexpectedly, as soon as he led the war horse into the trading circle, someone came over, and in a hurry. The person didn't even wait for Su Tiancheng to open his mouth.

  "This sturdy fellow, my master wants your fine horse and is willing to pay a good price. Will you follow me to talk it over?"

  Su Tiancheng nodded, didn't think so much, this is in Ma Shi inside, shouldn't have other things.

  Leading the horse for a few minutes, they came to a slightly darker place.

  He felt something was off, trading horses, where did you not discuss prices, strange things must have a reason.

  As he thought of this, Su Tiancheng stopped in his tracks, but unfortunately it was too late. There were already two people behind him, and the person in front had also turned around. Although there were many people in the horse market, those heading in this direction were indeed few.

  "You little brat, do you know your mistake? You actually dare to come into the horse market and shout out for a warhorse. What a big nerve you have!"

  Su Tiancheng was stunned for a moment, how did the other person know that this horse was a warhorse? Was there some special mark on warhorses? When he was at the inn, he had specifically looked at five warhorses to see if they had any branding or other markings on their bodies. After careful examination, he hadn't found anything.

  "What do you mean? If you want to buy a horse, let's have a good talk. If you don't want to buy a horse, we'll meet again someday."

  The person facing Su Tiancheng had a cold smile on his face.

  "Youngster, it seems you don't understand anything. You little scamp, dare to come to the horse market to trade? I think you're tired of living. Either leave this warhorse behind and pretend nothing happened, or after dawn breaks, I'll take you to the government office, and you can just wait to go eat prison food."

  Su Tiancheng suddenly also let out a cold laugh.

  "Hmph, what thing, thinking I'm afraid? What kind of world have you not seen?"

  The atmosphere was tense for a moment, Su Tiancheng would never retreat without reason. Although he was still adapting to the various situations in the Ming Dynasty, this was a special trip to Ma Shang to trade. With so many people in the horse market, if he retreated now, how could he survive in the future?

  The surroundings seemed a bit dark, probably due to Su Tiancheng's words, which stunned the people opposite him.

  "Hey kid, I've been watching you for a while now, do you know what horse you're betting on?"

  Su Tiancheng was stunned again, in this regard, he really didn't study it. Although he said he was familiar with history, he had never thought of studying war horses, let alone ordinary horses, which he wasn't familiar with either.

  It was probably Su Tiancheng who couldn't say it, and the man opposite him smiled.

  "Hey kid, the horses traded in the horse market are usually from Xining, others are rarely seen. You probably don't know what kind of horse you're leading, this is a Mongolian horse, only soldiers ride such horses."

  "So you're saying I'm a warhorse trader?"

  The man stopped talking, and the two behind him slowly approached, seemingly preparing to rob them by force. Su Tiancheng raised his vigilance; in a strange place like Horse Market, shouting for help would not be very effective, and might even provoke the opponent to kill. However, waiting to die was not something Su Tiancheng would do either. If all else failed, he could always ride his horse and make a break for it.

  "Alas, the old beggar didn't eat his fill. The roasted bun tastes okay, but without meat to eat or wine to drink, this belly is still going to protest. Hmm, what's going on here?"

  The old beggar appeared again quietly and at a critical moment.

  The person facing Su Tiancheng's face turned ugly, and just as the good thing was about to be done, a beggar came over to make trouble. He made a gesture towards the two people behind Su Tiancheng, meaning to drive away the old beggar.

  Two short and shrill cries appeared, the two men walking towards the old beggar suddenly fell to the ground, their mouths agape but unable to utter a word.

  "You, you're so bold, dare to touch my people, fine, you wait, you wait..."

  What kind of place is Horse Market? It's a mixed bag here, and you never know when you'll run into some tough characters. The man had been around the Horse Market for a long time, so he was naturally quite clever. When he sensed something was off, he cursed under his breath and turned to leave. The two men on the ground struggled to get up and stumbled after him, disappearing from view in no time.

  "Sir, I really didn't expect it, you're here to trade warhorses? You're really bold, such horses can't be traded openly anywhere."

  Su Tiancheng stared at the old beggar, his eyes wide with wonder. Why did they all recognize the war horse? Was there really a mark on it?

  "Gongzi Xinde is an old beggar, let's find a place to talk."

  The old beggar turned and left without stopping. Su Tiancheng didn't even think about it and followed the old beggar out directly.

  Su Tiancheng and the old beggar were sitting in the inn room, when the old beggar's attire was completely different, a cyan long gown, grayish white hair combed back, no dirt on his face, more than two inches of goat beard, surprisingly with a hint of majesty.

  The old man didn't say a word, all the dishes and wine had been served, and he started eating and drinking on his own.

  Su Tiancheng didn't say a word either, watching the old man eat and drink, his heart was filled with too many doubts.

  After a pot of wine was drunk, the old man slowly opened his mouth.

  "Gentlemen, Xiangling County is a small place. The horses traded there are mostly from the southwest, occasionally you can see Mongolian horses and Qu horses, and even once in a while, a tribute horse appears. Everyone knows that Mongolian horses and Qu horses are warhorses, ordinary people don't have them. As for tribute horses, they come from outside and are even more precious. Generally, they are imperial horses."

  "May I ask, old man, how can you tell these horses apart?"

  "The old beggar knew you were a scholar, didn't care about these things, came to the horse market to trade, basically didn't know the situation, the old beggar really admired, newborn calf not afraid of tiger."

  The old man shook his head, apparently somewhat dissatisfied.

  Su Tiancheng's face turned slightly red, despite still wearing his conical hat.

  "This Xīnán horse, about 3.5 feet tall, is agile and gentle, and is the main means of transportation for the people. The Mongolian horse, about 3.9 feet tall, is hardworking and unafraid of cold, and on the battlefield is fearless and fierce. The Héqū horse, about 4.2 feet tall, has strong pulling power, can be ridden or driven, and is durable and resistant to cold weather. As for the Yù horse, about 4.4 feet tall, it has a beautiful physique, elastic gait, and is tame, gentle, friendly, hardworking, fast, and has strong endurance. On the battlefield, it shows great bravery, and when attacking an enemy, even if startled, will not retreat."

  "The old man's 'yuma' refers to an Arabian horse."

  The old man looked at Su Tiancheng with some curiosity.

  "You thought you knew nothing, but it turns out you're just pretending to be ignorant here."

  "Old man, I'm really not pretending, I don't understand the fine horse at all. After hearing what you said, it's like a sudden enlightenment."

  "The old beggar probably didn't know either, young master. You came to the horse market today and almost encountered a fatal disaster. These Mongolian horses and River Bend horses are rare to see, and their prices are completely different. Anyone knows that Mongolian horses are warhorses, only found in the army, and very few in local areas. You actually dared to openly sell Mongolian horses, you have a big nerve. This horse market is not simple, there are many fugitives eyeing you, if you don't make a deal, they won't dare to take action easily. I don't know which rich family's young master you are, but once you make a deal, although they won't dare to harm your life, they will still rob the horses."

  Su Tiancheng's forehead broke out in cold sweat; as a transmigrator, how could he possibly know about these circumstances?

  "Ordinary Xīnán horses, the transaction price in the horse market is 30 to 50 taels of silver. The transaction price of Měnggǔ horses and Héqū horses is generally around 100 taels of silver. As for imperial horses, even old beggars rarely see them. Last year, an old beggar saw an imperial horse, the price exceeded 100 taels of gold."

  The old man spoke to himself, eating and drinking while talking, without urging Su Tiancheng to eat anything.

  Su Tiancheng was already busy calculating the accounts, five war horses could be traded for 500 taels of silver, which was a good deal, and it was a large sum of money. It's worth noting that during the Chongzhen era, the annual salary of a county magistrate was only 60 taels of silver.

  "The old beggar thinks you're looking for a deal, and I reckon you don't just have this one Mongolian horse. A drop of kindness deserves a fountain of return! The old beggar will help you make contact. At noon, the transaction will take place - one Mongolian horse for ten taels of gold, right here. If you trust the old beggar, come here; if not, go to the horse market yourself, but whatever you do, don't bring the Mongolian horse over there."