Chapter One Selling Horses

  "Hiss..."

  Li Zhēng tightly bound the wound on his arm with a strip of cloth, and the pain made him inhale sharply. The chill brought by the north wind gave people a numb feeling all over their body, but it didn't alleviate the pain, instead making it even more intense.

  Shivering, he quickly put on his overcoat. Although the hemp-made outer garment was not warm enough, it was still warmer than wearing nothing at all.

  Lying heavily on the dry grass slope, Li Zhēng put down the blood-stained knife and wrapped his arms around his body, curling up and letting out a gentle sigh.

  "These damned Qiang people!"

  He gritted his teeth and cursed, Li Jing turned to look at the big man who had been lying on the side for a long time, saying: "This is too messy..."

  "This is Liangzhou! ... Said earlier to go to Lingzhou's... Fuping this side does not work."

  The big guy slightly turned his head, revealing a rough face with a hint of complaint in his expression.

  "This isn't about being close, after all... Fuping is the county seat..." In Li Zhong's mind, as a large city and county seat, it must be more prosperous, so he insisted on going to Fuping. Unexpectedly, not only did he get hurt himself, but they were also chased like a dog running for its life, and even dragged Zhang Shan along with them in their miserable flight.

  To know, all the way here, eating and wearing, drinking and using, are all paid by Zhang Shan. If it weren't for him, I don't know if I could have survived until now, so Li Zhong's heart is indeed a bit uneasy. He said: "I... am not unfamiliar with the situation in Liangzhou."

  He grunted and fell silent for a long time before saying, "What's the plan now?"

  "Alright... I'll listen to you, let's go to Lingzhou."

  The big guy nodded and his body relaxed instantly, hiding himself in the withered grass.

  Looking up at the gray sky, Li Zheng let out a faint sigh, his expression dazed.

  It's been over half a month since I arrived in this world. At first, I was at a loss, but now I'm not saying that I'm like a fish in water, but at least I've adapted to some extent. Whether it's interacting with people or daily habits, everything is gradually becoming more familiar with the environment.

  Man is indeed the most adaptable animal in the environment.

  Of course, it also has a lot to do with Li Zhong himself. He is free from worries about that world. His optimistic attitude towards life and his tenacious will enable him to quickly integrate into the new environment.

  New to everything, he looked around in dismay. Fortunately, heaven gave him a bit of capital. However, alone and by himself, he seemed to be walking alone in the endless darkness, with no sense of security at all.

  So when Li Zhēng met Zhang Shan, he would use all his eloquence and energy to pull him onto his own sinking ship.

  Zhang Shan was originally called Zhang San, a wandering knight. Li Zhēng thought it didn't sound good and wasn't formal enough, so he took the liberty of changing it to a homophonic name. Zhang Shan didn't object, probably thinking the new name wasn't bad either.

  When Li Zhēn first met Zhang Shan, his intuition told him that this guy was reliable. With a height of over 8 feet and muscles all over his body, how could he not be reliable? For Li Zhēn, who lacked a sense of security, Zhang Shan was the best choice.

  Li Zhong would never treat anyone like a fool, and he never felt that kind of shock, where people come from all sides to dedicate themselves to someone. The ancients were not stupid, at most because of differences in vision and ideological consciousness, they had different views on some things, but absolutely would not be deceived fools.

  Besides, Zhang Shan, as a wandering knight, has been traveling all over the world for more than ten years, with extensive knowledge and experience. Where is it so easy to deceive him? In this chaotic Liangzhou, people who are not clever have long died in the wilderness.

  It so happened that Li Zhēng's mouth was quite agile, and he had good things in his hands. He coincidentally met Zhang Shan when he was in a tight spot. After much persuasion with high pay, under the guise of "hiring", he finally got Zhang Shan to agree to follow him.

  However, because he didn't understand the situation here, Li Zhēng insisted on going to a nearby big city. Unexpectedly, after only five or six days of traveling, he had already encountered four ambushes!

  These four interceptions were all temporary ideas.

  This is Liangzhou, where Hu and Han live together. Here, only fists are seen, no reason is spoken. Just the two of them, perhaps not much fat on their bodies, but however you look at it, they're soft persimmons, easy to squeeze!

  In the first three times, due to Zhang Shan's cautiousness and Li Jing's relatively decent stretching out of his hand, or perhaps because the two looked too shabby, the interceptors did not pursue them relentlessly, which allowed the two to escape easily. But this fourth time, they encountered a ruthless person.

  This group of Qiang people chased them for almost half a day, and only retreated just now.

  Even in the initial brief clash, Li Zhēng was injured. Although he killed one, his arm also suffered a knife wound. Fortunately, it was just a scratch, only injuring the skin, otherwise it would have been troublesome.

  "Have some dry rations."

  At this time, Zhang Shan spoke up and said a sentence, and casually threw over a dark and blurry pancake.

  Li Zheng stretched out his hand to catch it, and there was still a hint of warmth on the surface of the pancake.

  He sniffed and a pungent smell of sweat rushed into his nostrils, causing Li Zheng to wrinkle his brow involuntarily.

  This pancake is made from a mixture of beans, wheat and other coarse grains, it's rough and tastes extremely bad. But that's not the worst part, what's even more deadly is that this pancake has been hidden in Zhang Shan's bosom all along!

  I don't know how many years Zhang Shan hasn't washed his clothes or taken a bath. The body odor is simply deadly.

  But there's no choice, I have to eat, otherwise I'll starve to death.

  Forcing down the nausea, Li Zhēn swallowed two or three mouthfuls, making an effort to swallow some water - the water bag hanging on the horse's back had been dry since morning, otherwise it would have gone down more smoothly.

  "Mount Tai, is the security on the other side of Lingzhou better?"

  Li Zhuo hugged his injured arm, hoping the warmth from his chest could make himself feel a little better.

  "That's natural."

  Zhang Shan said, "Lingzhou is the ancestral home of the Fu family in Beidi County, and the Fu family is a big clan throughout Liangzhou. Ordinary villains dare not make trouble within the borders of Lingzhou. Even the Xiqiang tribes such as Huangzhong Qiang, Baima Qiang, Canlang Qiang, and Shaodang Qiang have to give face to the Fu family."

  "Fu's?"

  Li Zhēng's eyes gradually lit up: "So the Fu family is very rich now?"

  "Wealth and riches beyond measure!"

  Zhang Shan replied affirmatively.

  Upon hearing this, Li Zhēn's eyes lit up: "That's great, that's great!" After speaking, Li Zhēn suddenly said: "You know the value of this horse, what do you think if I sell it to the Fu family?"

  When Li Zhēn said that, Zhang Shān suddenly flipped over and got up, saying: "That makes sense! How could I have forgotten the Fu family? This horse is unprecedented in ancient and modern times, it's extremely rare. For ordinary people like me, it's just for curiosity, but for a big clan like the Fu family, it has extraordinary significance!"

  The more Zhangshan spoke, the more excited and high-pitched his voice became, as if he had seen countless gold coins falling into his own pocket!

  "The current master of the Fu family is Fu Xie and Fu Nanrong. In the first year of Zhongping, Fu Nanrong followed General Huangfu to conquer the Yellow Turbans, achieving great merit. At the beginning of this year, he was appointed as the governor of Hanyang. If Governor Fu gets this precious horse, it will be extremely beneficial for his career and the prosperity of the Fu family!"

  "Some are certain that if Mr. Fu knew about this fine horse of yours, he would definitely offer a high price!"

  Li Zhēng was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Zhang Shan to know so much news - but then he thought about it and understood, no wonder, in this world, when it comes to being well-informed, the first place goes to wandering knights who travel all around.

  Zhang Shan's words were implicit, but Li Zheng understood them all.

  This horse, for ordinary people, has no great use, it's just a bit strange. Moreover, ordinary people can't afford the price Li Zhong wants. But for those in high positions, this horse's role is much greater.

  To say nothing of the rest, if we offer it to the Son of Heaven under the name of auspicious sign, I don't know how much good fortune we can get. The current Great Han Dynasty has just gone through the Yellow Turban Rebellion and is at a low ebb, urgently needing to stabilize people's minds. Auspicious signs are the best choice.

  Moreover, the Fu family is a prominent clan with extensive connections and a well-developed network of relationships; with just a little manipulation, the benefits can be multiplied several times over.

  Li Zhēn thought that Fù Shì was indeed the first choice. But thinking again, he felt uneasy and said: "Fù Shì is famous in Liángzhōu, with great power. If we forcefully take away this precious horse, the two of us will not be able to resist, and in the end, we'll lose not only the horse but also our lives!"

  Hahaha...

  But unexpectedly Zhang Shan burst out laughing: "It seems you really just came out from the mountain."

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "In this world, the powerful and wealthy are not to be trusted, nor are government officials. But aristocratic families can be trusted! The more renowned they are, the higher their status, the more trustworthy they are!"

  Li Zhong listened and his mind was a bit confused, with an expression of disbelief completely written on his face.

  "Fish and meat in the countryside, exploiting the common people, isn't this what is meant by 'aristocratic families'?"

  "Where did you hear that?" Zhang Shan retorted, explaining: "Some local tyrants might be like that, and the government may also do such things, but noble families would never do so."

  "On the contrary, repairing bridges and roads, helping the common people, and accumulating a good reputation is what truly matters. The more powerful a family is, the more they cherish their reputation and would never destroy their own walls."

  Li Zhong was stunned: "It's actually like this?!"

  He had always thought that the root cause of the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty was mostly due to the exploitation of common people by aristocratic families. However, after listening to Zhang Shan's words as a local, he suddenly felt that some of his notions were overturned.

  Perhaps the formation of the chaotic world at the end of the Han Dynasty has a great relationship with the aristocratic families, but the reason lies not in the direct oppression of the common people.

  There is also the term "haqiang", which seems to have a huge difference with "shijia". Shijia is high and noble, while haqiang refers to nouveau riche.

  "The reputation of a great family is not something that can be claimed by oneself... Once you arrive in Lingzhou, take a closer look and you will understand."

  After saying this, Zhang Shan fell silent again, lay down and curled up, closing his eyes.

  Li Zhong's mind was in a whirlwind, and he didn't say a word. For a moment, the wilderness fell silent again.

  The two men rested for half a watch, then Zhang Shan stood up and said to Li Zheng, who was dozing off: "It's almost midnight. If we don't leave now, we'll have to spend the night in the wilderness."

  Li Zhēng climbed up, swung his arms, feeling a lot better, and let out a mouthful of white air: "Then let's go."

  He whistled and two horses grazing in the nearby bushes trotted over.

  One of the yellow horses was Zhang Shan's mount, which was neither good nor bad, just average. In comparison, the other horse had a much smaller frame and its coat color was not eye-catching. Except for its bright eyes and a strange bandage wrapped around its neck, it was completely an inferior horse.

  This is Li Zhēng's horse, 'hired' to Zhang Shan's reliance, and it is also the goods that he and Zhang Shan traveled hundreds of miles, fearless of danger, to sell out, which is his planned first bucket of gold.