Chapter 36: Xuandi County, Cui An Tames a Horse

  After this episode with Wucheng, Ma Chao stayed for another day and then left with Cui An.

  He really didn't like staying in Wucheng for a long time, and he just wanted to leave early. After leaving Wucheng, Ma Chao didn't know if it was psychological or something else, but anyway, he felt that he had relaxed a bit, and he thought that if he had known this earlier, he should have left earlier.

  He was in Youzhou's final destination, Le Langjun. Ma Chao wanted to take a boat from Le Langjun to Qingzhou. Before arriving at Le Langjun, it is estimated that he still had to pass through several places like Wu Zhong City. To say that taking a boat to Qingzhou, going past Le Langjun was absolutely not the closest, but Ma Chao always felt that he had to make a trip to Le Langjun.

  Ma Chao did not intend to stay on the road for too long, but things often do not go as planned. When passing through Xuanji County, he had to stay here for some time again.

  Ma Chao left Wu Zhong City and walked with Cui An on the road, neither fast nor slow. On this day, the two arrived at a city in Xuan Tu County. To be honest, he didn't know what the city was called, only knowing that it belonged to Xuan Tu County, but when entering the city, he didn't notice the name of the city at all.

  There's a connection between Xuanxu County and Ma Chao, but it's from his past life, not now. In his past life, Ma Chao's hometown was in what is now Xuanxu County, so when he arrived there, he felt a bit of familiarity. No matter how many years have passed or how much the place has changed, the geographical location of one's hometown never changes - the land of one's hometown is forever the land of one's hometown, and this piece of earth will never change.

  Ma Chao and Cui An led their horses to stroll on the main street, he asked passersby about what was lively in this place. Generally speaking, Ma Chao never asked about these things, but somehow today he just thought of asking about them, possibly because he was in his hometown.

  He casually found someone to ask, "Excuse me, young man, is there anything exciting happening around here?"

  The young man was originally unhappy about being pulled down, but when he wanted to vent his anger, he looked at Ma Chao and then at Cui An beside him, which scared him so much that he didn't dare to make a fuss.

  It must be said that Ma Chao's appearance would generally lead people to think he is a young master from a noble family. As for Cui An, those with discerning eyes know he is not an ordinary person, but to the average person, Cui An is absolutely a fierce and intimidating individual. Those who have never seen a bandit or outlaw might take him for a common thug, while those who have would be even more terrified, as they think Cui An is three times more ferocious than them - truly a frightening sight.

  This young man was also intimidated by Cui An, and he stammered: "Y-you, you're right, we have the best horse market in all of Xuanwu Commandery, no, in all of Youzhou!"

  Ma Chao listened and thought, "What's wrong with this guy? Is he stuttering? But it doesn't seem like that. He looks quite scared too. What is he afraid of? Not me, no way." He looked around again, only to realize that the man was actually intimidated by Cui An.

  Ma Chao originally wanted to ask him about the specific location of Ma City, but looking at the situation, he didn't want to make things difficult for him, so after thanking him, he didn't ask anything else.

  The young man let out a sigh of relief and then immediately took off, this guy's courage was indeed a bit small.

  Horse Market, Horse Market, okay, can go take a look. Ma Chao thought to himself, and then he found another middle-aged man who looked braver than the others, and asked him about the specific location of the Horse Market. This man was not bad, at least he didn't behave like the previous one, so Ma Chao knew the specific location of the Horse Market, and he went towards the Horse Market with Cui An.

  Ma Chao also said to Cui An on the way: "Fuda, next time I ask the common people questions, can you not glare at them?"

  Choi Ahn smiled slyly and said, "Master, you don't know that as long as I glare at them, they'll definitely tell you the truth!"

  Ma Chao heard this and raised an eyebrow: "What did you say?"

  "In the past, when I asked people questions, they would run away as soon as they saw me. Later on, when I asked people questions again, I would first grab hold of them and then glare at them, after which no one dared to run away anymore, and everyone would obediently tell the truth!"

  Ma Chao laughed and thought to himself, "This kid Cui An really has a way with him. But it's not like you can blame others - if your older brother is like that, I reckon most ordinary people would be scared of him too. After all, they're just ordinary citizens, so it's no wonder."

  "Alright, from now on you shouldn't always glare at people!"

  "Yes, milord! Everyone will listen to you!"

  The two of them chatted and chatted until they arrived at Horse Market. Horse Market was a place where, apart from people, there were only horses, no other living creatures.

  Ma Chao took a glance around and saw that there were quite a number of people and horses in this place. Although the area wasn't particularly large, there were indeed many people and horses. The young man he had asked earlier also said that they had the best horse market in all of Youzhou. He didn't say it was the largest, but rather the best. Ma Chao really wanted to see what made this place so good.

  He and Cui An looked at the horse buyers and sellers on both sides of the street. Ma Chao mainly looked at the quality of the horses in this place, and it was indeed not bad. It seems that the young man before didn't exaggerate. He nodded while looking around, and having such a high-quality horse market in Youzhou was really not bad.

  If in the past, Ma Chao would have thought that only Liangzhou had high-quality horse markets, but now that he has seen this one in Xuantu Commandery, he no longer thinks so. Liangzhou has them, Youzhou also has them, as for Pingzhou, who knows?

  However, thinking about it, Liangzhou and Youzhou both have good horse markets. As a major horse-producing state like Bianzhou, it's unlikely to be without one. Unfortunately, when I was in Bianzhou, I was always in the military camp before, and later thought of going to Jizhou, so I never thought about the horse market. Now that I think about it, I probably missed out on Bianzhou's horse market.

  But if you miss Bianzhou, then it's too late, but Yuzhou is still available.

  Ma Chao and Cui An strolled around the horse market, but after a few rounds, Ma Chao could only shake his head in dismay. There were many high-quality horses in the market, but they weren't what he was looking for. High-quality horses could be found in Liangzhou, or even in Pingzhou, and all it took was money to buy them.

  Ma Chao wanted a precious horse, but such horses were extremely rare. After staying in Liangzhou for so many years, he had never obtained one. For a martial general, the allure of a fine horse was considerable; otherwise, Lü Bu in the Three Kingdoms would not have been so excited upon seeing Red Hare. If Ma Chao saw Red Hare, he too would be excited - this was the allure of precious horses to martial generals.

  He couldn't help but laugh at his own idea, thinking that if there really were precious horses, would they be sold in a horse market? Thinking of this, Ma Chao felt that searching for precious horses here was quite interesting. If he could really buy precious horses here, it would probably be even more difficult than winning the first prize in the Double Color Ball lottery in his past life.

  Since it's impossible, let's leave. Ma Chao and Cui An were about to leave when Ma Chao was stopped by someone. He wasn't afraid of anything, but he still furrowed his brow slightly.

  "Two of you are here to buy a horse?" The middle-aged man who blocked Ma Chao's way spoke first.

  "Not bad, what's up?" Ma Chao nodded and said.

  The middle-aged man asked, "I see that you two also have high-quality horses. It seems like you're looking for a precious horse, right?"

  "What if it is? What if it isn't?"

  A middle-aged man smiled after hearing this, "I know you two must have been thinking of the precious horse, so I've been waiting for you here! There's no precious horse in this place, but according to what I know, there is a place where there is indeed a precious horse. I don't know if you two are interested?"

  Ma Chao knew what this middle-aged man was doing after listening. In the late Han Dynasty, such people were called something like "errand runners" or something else, he couldn't remember clearly.

  Anyway, what they do is lead you to places that sell things or have goods, and if you buy something at the places they introduce you to, they will get a certain benefit fee. In Ma Chao's past life, such occupations were rare, but there were still some. Now, seeing it here, it can be seen that this profession is absolutely an ancient occupation.

  "Of course I'm interested, lead the way!" Ma Chao said to the middle-aged man.

  "Alright!" The middle-aged man heard Ma Chao's words and led the way in front, while Ma Chao and Cui An followed behind.

  A middle-aged man led Ma Chao out of the city, and Ma Chao saw that they were in the suburbs.

  He said to the middle-aged man: "I think it's still far away, you can ride my other horse, and we'll hurry on horseback!"

  The other party didn't stand on ceremony either, and the three of them mounted their horses and continued on their journey. On the way, the middle-aged man introduced himself as Sun San, and said that today he was taking Ma Chao and the others to the largest horse trading merchant's stud farm in Xuanji County, Youzhou.

  Ma Chao's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he followed Sun San to the horse farm of Youzhou's largest horse dealer with hope.

  Sun San rode his horse, turning left and right, right and left, and after a while, the three of them finally arrived in front of a horse farm. As for this place, Ma Chao was really impressed. First of all, the geographical location is such that if you're not familiar with the local area, you can't find it at all.

  Ma Chao is here for the first time, and if you let him walk back to where he came from, he can remember quite a bit, but absolutely cannot find his way back. Also, the forest in this area is lush and dense, growing extremely well, which shows that there is ample water supply here, and the grass and trees are thriving. Ma Chao has some admiration for the people who originally built the horse farm here, they absolutely had good vision, choosing a great location!

  Three people arrived in front of the horse farm and heard someone shouting: "Who is it?"

  "Me, Sun San, it's been a while since we last met, and you, Er Gouzi, don't recognize me?"

  The horse farm guard smiled and said, "How could I not recognize you, Third Sun? What brings you here again, new business?"

  "Of course, and who's coming out anyway. By the way, is your master at home?" Sun San didn't mind the guard's teasing, showing that they were quite familiar with each other.

  "In Dong's house today, coincidentally, there is a horse racing track!"

  After finishing speaking, the guard let them pass, and Sun San led Ma Chao and others into the horse farm. After entering, Sun San led two people to find Ma Chao's owner Wu Fu.

  Wu Fu was a well-known horse merchant in Youzhou. He himself was from Xuan Tu County, and every family hoped their children would have good fortune, so his father gave him the name Wu Fu. However, after adding the surname of his ancestors, it was easy to be misunderstood. Every time someone asked his father why he gave his son this name, his father would smile and say: "Wu Fu has good fortune, having good fortune is also Wu Fu."

  And from then on, whenever someone teased Wu Fu by name, he would always respond with his father's words and add one more sentence at the end: "If you don't believe me, just take a look for yourselves." Others would hear him say this and wouldn't dare to say anything else.

  When he saw Wu Fu, Sun San hastily said: "This is the one I brought today to see the precious horse."

  "Alright, Sanzi you rest in the house for a while, I'll take our guest to have a look." Wu Fu said with a smile, and he naturally couldn't call Sun San "Three Grandson" like Guardian Er Gouzi did.

  Wu Fu is still quite prosperous, a complete short and stout man, when he smiles his eyes are almost gone, but Ma Chao didn't underestimate him because of this. Wu Fu gave Ma Chao the feeling of being a very astute businessman, and absolutely a sly merchant type.

  Soon, Ma Chao's idea was confirmed. Wu Fu led the way and said to Ma Chao and others, "Maybe Sun San didn't make it clear to you two, this is a fine horse, but this horse is not for sale!"

  Not selling? What did Ma bring us here for if not to sell? Ma Chao was very puzzled, while Cui An beside him wanted to go over and give Wu Fu a bit of color to see, but was intercepted by Ma Chao's quick eyes and hands.

  Wu Fu continued: "The horse is indeed not for sale, but that doesn't mean you two can't take it away!"

  Ma Chao heard this and asked: "What do you mean by this?"

  "It's like this, the horse is too fierce and ordinary people can't get close to it. As long as someone can tame this horse, I, Wu Fu, won't take a single penny, they can take it away! However, trying out the horse isn't free, each person must pay 10 gold first, then they can try riding it, maybe they'll be able to tame it! But let me make one thing clear, whoever tries to ride it will have to bear all the consequences themselves!"

  Ma Chao listened to Wu Fu finish speaking, and silently cursed: Rogue merchant! This horse is still here now, which means that Wu Fu's idea was quite successful. I don't know how much money he made with this method.

  "Oh? There's something so interesting? Ten gold coins, indeed not many, worth a try!" Ma Chao said excitedly.

  Wu Fu was delighted at the sight, and said, "Go ahead, go ahead, it's best if you try a dozen or so times." He led Ma Chao and the others to the stable of precious horses. When Ma Chao saw the horses in the stable, his brow furrowed slightly.

  The horse is indeed a Bao Ma, but not the type he likes. It's just that this horse looks too ugly, but putting its appearance aside, everything else is top-notch, worthy of being a Bao Ma.

  Ma Chao said to Cui An: "Fu Da, if you can tame this horse, then it's yours!"

  Choi Ahn was overjoyed, to be honest, this horse suited his aesthetic point of view, as the saying goes, a fierce horse matches a fierce man. Because Ma Chao was the master, he didn't dare say anything, but now that the master gave him the opportunity, he was thrilled and hastily took out ten gold coins from his package and handed them to Wu Fu, "I'll go try it! You must keep your word!"

  "That's natural!" Wu Fu saw Qian Bi being more affectionate with him than his own father.

  Cui An entered the stable, and the fierce horse saw someone approaching, wanting to give them a warning. But Cui An was not one to be intimidated by the fierce horse, he pressed down on it and got onto its back.

  The fierce horse saw its opponent and unexpectedly rode on itself, it was unbearable. With a burst of strength, it shook its body to throw Cui An off, but Cui An hugged its neck and refused to get down.

  The fierce horse came in a bad temper, rushed out of the stable, and then one person and one horse began to compete. Only Cui An was on horseback, while the fierce horse was being ridden.

  Both sides used their greatest strength, Ma Chao found that Cui An was sweating profusely, with bulging veins on his forehead, and the fierce horse looked even more uncomfortable, neighing loudly, as if to say, "You think you can tame me? You're even uglier than me, I'll never let you succeed."

  The man and the horse didn't know how long they had been fighting, Ma Chao only felt that his eyes were tired from watching. The fierce horse finally stopped resisting and fell silent. Cui An was also exhausted, covered in sweat, as if he had just climbed out of a river, and seemed to have little energy left.

  Cui An rode the fierce horse back to Ma Chao and Wu Fu, and rushed towards Wu Fu with a smile, "This horse is mine! You agreed before, you can't go back on your word!"

  Wu Fu heard this and now his intestines are regretting it, where did this Sun San come from, such a fierce person, ah, this time they've lost big, he's so angry he can't cry.