Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 64 Buying Horses and Soldiers
  The next night, Jia Cong met Jia Yun and other three people in the private room on the second floor of the Banished Immortal Building.

"Two brothers, this is Mr. Cong of our Xifu." Jia Yun hurriedly introduced the two people behind him.

"I have met Mr. Cong, and I would like to say hello to him." Ni Er and Wang Duanji hurriedly greeted him.

Jia Cong returned the courtesy with a smile and said, "Please sit down."

Ni Er is a tall man, with a tall chest and a protruding belly. He looks like King Kong in the temple. No wonder he has this nickname.

Wang Duanji is thin and short, standing next to Ni Er like a child. Sure enough, there was a wrong name, but not a wrong nickname.

After having enough wine and food, Jia Cong secretly sighed when he saw the two of them fidgeting, and the honorable sign really worked well in front of these people.

"Brother Yun must have told me why I invited you two here today. I wonder what you two can teach me?" Jia Cong said with a smile.

Ni Er looked at Wang Duanjie. This was his job.

Wang Duanzu perked up and said, "I heard that Third Master Cong wanted to buy horses and war horses. I have been in this business for more than twenty years. I can't say that I am proficient in it, but I do know a little bit about it. The horses of the imperial dynasty There are upper horses, middle horses, geldings, lower horses, young horses, and gelding horses, and the price is from high to low. Since it is a war horse, you should use an upper horse, a middle horse, or a gelding."

"When it comes to horse breeds, the horses from Fuzhou are the best, followed by those from Huanqing. Although the Qin and Wei horses have tall bones, their hoofs are thin and diseased, the horses from Wenzhou and Yazhou are inferior to them, but they are not enough. For paving horses and post horses.

Grassland horses have poor bones, short legs and short legs, and have no power to gallop. There are also island horses in Quan, Fuzhou and other places, but they are all weak and difficult to be armored.

As for Sichuan horses and Yunnan horses, although they are tolerant of hard work, and although Hequ horses are strong and powerful, they are only used for climbing mountains and wading rivers and transporting goods, but they are not very good at charging in battle formations. "

Jia Cong listened with great interest and said: "Sir, he repeatedly mentioned the horses of the dynasty. Could it be that he still has foreign horses in his hands?"

Seeing that Wang Duanji had succeeded in selling the plan, he hurriedly said: "Qian'er just collected a group of horses from the Western Regions. One of them is a Dawan horse, which is from the Dawan country in the Western Regions. They are tall and majestic, with a gentle temperament, galloping like the wind, and the most durable. way.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty gave it the name "Tianma". Li Taibai also wrote a poem praising it. The Tianma came out of Yueshi Cave, with tiger-patterned dragon wing bones on its back. You can imagine its divine horse. "

Jia Cong smiled and nodded. He knew the reputation of Dawan Liangmao. It was probably a horse breed from Central Asia. He said, "What is the second one?"

"The second is the Wusun horse, which is slightly better than the Dawan horse. It has thick bones and thick fur. It is slightly faster than the grassland horse when sprinting, and is almost the same as the grassland horse when running long-distance. Whether it is a melee attack or a long-distance attack, All available.

At that time, the Wusun Kingdom presented this horse to the Han Dynasty, and there was a poem praising it. The horse came from the extreme west and traveled thousands of miles to return home. It bears the power of the spirit and blocks foreign countries, and wades through the quicksand and surrenders to all the barbarians. This shows how brave this horse is. "

Ni Er secretly laughed in his heart. Wang Duanjie had obviously put in a lot of effort today. He spoke eloquently and quoted scriptures. How could it be that he, who was as big as a watermelon and couldn't read a bunch of Chinese characters, could memorize a few lines of ancient poetry?

"In your opinion, this horse from the Western Region is better than the horse from the country?" Jia Cong thought for a while and asked.

"That's true." Wang Duanji nodded as if he were an honest man.

"I wonder how much these Dayuan horses and Wusun horses are worth?" Jia Cong thought to himself. Now he only has more than 4000 silver in his hand, which is too expensive to buy. He still has to save money to buy weapons and armor.

"Thanks to Third Master for being so considerate and not ashamed to ask, I have the guts to offer a price. Dawan horse is 200 silver per horse and Wusun horse is 100 silver per horse. Both of them come with saddles and saddles. That is to say, Third Master, if it were someone else, it would be five dollars more expensive. Done." Wang Duanji said with a smile.

He strongly recommends horses from the Western Regions, not only because they are really good, but also because they are well-known, which makes it easy to ask for high prices and make more money.

Jia Cong took a breath, his expression remained unchanged, and said, "How about Fuzhou Horse and Huanqing Horse?"

Wang Duanji smiled and said: "Although these horses are useful and cheap, if Third Master Cong wants them, thirty or forty silver will be enough, but I think Third Master will not like them."

Jia Cong smiled dryly and nodded. This old boy is treacherous and cunning. He wants me to buy a high-priced horse. But what he said makes sense. Soldiers are his face, and mounts are like cars of later generations. If they are low-grade, it is really not good. You see, you are from the Duke's palace after all, so don't lose the dignity of your ancestors.

"Okay, just bring me ten Wusun horses. Let's make a deal first. I won't bargain with you, but I have to choose good horses for me. If they are inferior, don't blame me for turning your back on them." Jia Cong He waved grandly.

"Master Cong is serious. Even if I have ten heads, I don't dare to use my brain on your head." Wang Duanji nodded hurriedly and bowed.

"Don't worry, Third Master. If he dares to be disrespectful at all, I promise to break his two short legs. If he disciplines him, he will have his legs broken by the king in the future." Ni Er hurriedly patted his chest as a guarantee.

Jia Cong nodded and asked: "Brother Ni, is there any way to buy weapons and armor?" "Third Master, this is the right person to ask. Is there any famous blacksmith shop in Shenjing City that I am not familiar with? When it comes to weapons, I should be the one chosen. Ouji Blacksmith Shop is a century-old brand with a name registered in the Ministry of War. The shopkeeper, Lao Ou, is familiar with me and often brags to me that they are descendants of Ou Yezi, a master swordsmith in the Spring and Autumn Period. I don't know whether it is true or not.

However, the weapons and agricultural tools they made were well-known. Almost all the blacksmiths in Shenjing City are his disciples and grandsons. "Ni Er said with a smile.

Jia Cong said: "In that case, how much silver will it cost to buy ten sets of good armor and equipment, including long guns, oxtail knives, helmets, leather armor, leather boots, robes, etc. commonly used in the army?"

Ni Er thought for a while and said: "If ordinary people go, it will cost 200 taels of silver. I will go for 150 taels of silver."

"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Ni. I'll give you another 20 taels of silver as a thank you gift. How about that?"

"Master Cong San is really looking down on Ni Er. Since you think highly of me, I can do my best for you. How can we talk about money? How can we, the people in the world, value profit over justice?" Ni Er flatly refused.

Jia Yun also advised: "Uncle, let the second brother do the work for once. He is a loyal person. For my nephew's sake, he is not good at collecting money."

"Master Yun's words touched Ni Er's heart." Ni Er said with a smile.

Jia Cong smiled slightly, nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you two."

As he spoke, he took out the banknotes from his sleeve, counted 12 and handed them to Jia Yun, saying: "After receiving the goods, deliver them all to me at Baihe Manor outside the city and give them to Mr. Yan Fei."

Jia Cong didn't quite believe Ni Er's loyalty. He was generous but not loyal. To put it bluntly, he was just a street gangster who made a living by lending usury and working as a thug for others. He was all doing things for money. How big could he be? Loyalty?
  Jia Yun saw that it was an extra 50 taels of silver for shipping, which was too much. She hurriedly said, "Uncle, this is too much. It's just a small trip. I can hire someone to make the trip myself. It won't cost much." Why use so much money?"

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "Just take it if you give it to me. Don't you dare to say no without hearing the gift from the elders?"

Everyone was stunned, looking at this thirteen or fourteen-year-old "elderly" and not knowing what to say.

Jia Yun smiled bitterly and said: "Although I say so, my nephew has no merit and no reward. How dare he accept gifts from his uncle repeatedly."

Jia Cong laughed, stood up and left: "Whenever you do something for me in the future, take it first. Go back and serve your mother well, it will be your credit."

Then he bowed his hands to Ni Er and Wang Duanjie: "You two, I have something to do at home, so I won't stay with you."

"Third Master, go slowly." The two of them bowed in return.

After Jia Cong left, Ni Er pulled Jia Yun and said: "Master Yun, this third master of your family is very grand and extraordinary. He will definitely be something out of the pool in the future. Now that he values ​​you, he will remember you a lot in the future." Support brother."

Wang Duanji also said hurriedly: "There's still me, there's still me."

Jia Yun glanced at the two of them angrily: "Don't think that I don't know what you two are thinking. If you want to deceive my third uncle who is young and easy to coax, then you have made the wrong calculation.

He is now the favored minister of the emperor. Qianer killed a big insect alone in Tiewang Mountain. The Holy Spirit bestowed upon him the rank of Enqi Lieutenant and gave him the title of Zilong. Do you know what Zilong means? "

Ni Er and Wang Duanjie were startled and said, "Really?" Zilong is a rare person who doesn't understand the Chinese calligraphy.

"Why are you lying to me? The imperial edict has already been issued." Jia Yun smiled and said, "How dare I pretend to pass on the imperial edict?"

"If you two bully him, do you think you are more powerful than the big insect?" Jia Yun said.

"Second Master Yun, don't worry, I will never make any money from Third Master Cong." Ni Er said hurriedly.

"Me too, me too." Wang Duanji said.

"Just take care of it. The goods are ready. Come find me."

"Absolutely, Master Yun, walk slowly."

(End of this chapter)