Chapter 63

Today is Teachers' Day, wishing all teachers a happy holiday and thanking you all!

Liu Jun received another thirty horses, which made him very happy. He most wanted to build the Nine-Headed Bird team into a fully cavalry-mounted, high-speed, mobile artillery unit. They didn't necessarily have to be cavalry, but they had to be mounted musketeers.

One horse per person could only provide short-range mobility. For long-distance operations, the ideal situation would be one person with two horses, or even three. By the late Ming Dynasty, Huguang had already replaced Wusong as the granary of the empire. Originally, the saying was "When Suzhou and Songjiang are ripe, the world is full," but later, the plains of Suzhou and Songjiang were largely converted to cotton and mulberry trees for economic crops, and they could no longer produce enough grain to be self-sufficient, requiring grain to be transported from other regions.

Huguang was developed during this period and replaced Suzhou and Songjiang as the new granary of the Ming Dynasty. Now, the saying was "When Huguang is ripe, the world is full." The Jianghan Plain of Huguang was the granary of the world, but it was not a place for horse breeding. Good horses from the Hetao region or beyond the Great Wall had to be transported from outside the pass. After the Jurchens rose in Liaodong, the supply of Liaodong horses was almost cut off, causing horse prices to rise. The chaos in Gansu and Shaanxi also hindered the supply of Hetao horses.

Now, in eastern Hubei, it was often the case that even if you had money, you couldn't buy good horses. Liu Jun, of course, didn't want to miss such an opportunity.

The Nine-Headed Bird team only took thirty horses, and the remaining hundred or so horses were divided among Zhao Cheng, Mei Zhihuan, Zhu Chong, and others. They also divided the rest of the silver and supplies.

Overall, the anti-bandit campaign went well. The military households, local militias, and civilian soldiers who participated had already received their travel expenses and baggage before the battle. After this easy battle, there were almost no casualties, and they received a reward of money and grain. The officials leading the teams gained even more, as the rewards given to the soldiers, local militias, and civilian soldiers were just a small part. A small portion was reserved for registration and storage, and the majority was divided among the officials.

For Zhao Cheng and other superiors, the capture of silver and money was a minor matter. The key was that they had successfully eliminated the bandits who had just committed a massacre, which was a great achievement.

Zhu Chong, a thousand-household officer, though not well-regarded, performed the worst in this anti-bandit campaign. However, he was still a thousand-household officer and the only true regular army in the anti-bandit operation, so he still received a significant share of the loot.

As soon as the loot division meeting ended, he immediately found Liu Jun.

"Do you seem to like horses, nephew?" Zhu Chong smiled, looking like a cunning merchant.

Liu Jun sized up Zhu Chong for a moment, then thought, "Could it be that the thousand-household officer wants to sell me a few horses?"

"Not a few, but thirty," Zhu Chong said, holding up three fingers with a smile.

"Do you really want to sell them? They are all good horses."

Zhu Chong was unconcerned. "I know they are good horses, and I know you want them, which is why I came to you. How about a flat price of 3,000 taels of silver?"

"2,000!" Liu Jun countered.

"That price is a bit low," Zhu Chong chuckled. Although the horses were good, Zhu Chong did not want to keep the thirty horses himself, mainly because he didn't need them. Although he commanded a thousand-household unit, the military equipment was in disrepair, and out of over a thousand soldiers, he only maintained fifty retainers, who rarely trained. While the horses were good, they were also expensive to maintain. To keep a warhorse in good condition was equivalent to maintaining five infantrymen, costing at least 30 taels of silver in fodder per year.

Zhu Chong paid less than 30 taels of silver per year to maintain a retainer, so he was unwilling to spend 30 taels of silver to maintain a horse. Therefore, he had already planned to sell the thirty horses he received, directly exchanging them for silver to save on horse maintenance costs.

"Consider it a personal favor, Uncle," Liu Jun said, guessing Zhu Chong's intentions. 2,000 taels of silver was roughly 70 taels per horse, which was definitely cheaper than the market price.

Zhu Chong looked at Liu Jun and finally said, "2,500."

"Deal."

Although the bandits had been eliminated, the over a thousand people did not rush to leave.

According to Zhao Cheng's plan, they still needed to search the mountains for a day or two to ensure no bandits had escaped. They also needed to thoroughly search the bandit stronghold. Additionally, the troops had worked hard, so they would rest for the night and be rewarded with food and drink.

Due to the Nine-Headed Bird team's outstanding performance in the battle, they were given an extra share of the loot and more rewards.

The Nine-Headed Bird team received two fat pigs, ten sheep, one cow, and thirty jars of wine.

In addition, the silver and grain rewards for each team were distributed, and Liu Jun distributed them to everyone, then kept them safe for them.

He then announced that they would slaughter the pigs and sheep and start cooking.

Many of the Nine-Headed Birds were hunters, and they were skilled at slaughtering animals.

Liu Jun, putting aside his role as deputy, walked around the teams and brought back ten cow tails. Li Zhen followed him like a shadow, sticking to him closely. Due to Zhao Cheng and Mei Zhihuan's instructions, Li Zhen became even more bold, sticking to him like glue.

She held up her skirt, her feet in embroidered shoes, and ran to keep up with Liu Jun, though she was quite tired, she had no intention of giving up.

"What are you going to do with so many cow tails?" she asked curiously.

"This is our dinner!" Liu Jun deliberately waved the cow tails at her.

"Dinner?" Li Zhen was surprised, staring at the cow tails, "Can you eat these?"

"Of course, you'll see when you eat them. Tonight, we'll have cow tails, stewed cow neck, and stewed cow hooves!"

Li Zhen was confused. What was this? Cow tails, cow necks, and cow hooves—could these be eaten? Although people rarely ate beef, Li Zhen had eaten it before, but she had never tried these parts.

"I won't eat these," Li Zhen said, turning her head and huffing.

"This is our dinner tonight. If you don't eat, you'll go hungry. Of course, if you don't follow me, you don't have to eat this."

Li Zhen didn't say anything but continued to follow Liu Jun.

Liu Jun walked to one side, had the pots from the bandit stronghold set up, and started a fire to boil water. Then he began to clean the cow tails, hooves, and necks with a small knife. Li Zhen thought he was just scaring her, but he really intended to cook them.

"Is there not enough beef?"

"One cow, two pigs, and ten sheep are enough for over a hundred people. However, the beef and pork are not as delicious as the cow tails, necks, and hooves I'm making," Liu Jun said without looking up. In the past, Liu Jun was a food lover, and he often ate dishes like cow tail rice, spicy cow hooves, and cow neck soup, which were indeed delicious.

When he saw everyone slaughtering pigs and sheep and throwing large pieces of meat into the pot, he lost his appetite. Seeing that they only took the beef and left the cow tails, heads, and hooves, he was reminded of his memories. He decided to make a few dishes to satisfy his own stomach.

"Where is your home in Wuchang, and what are your father and brothers' names?" Liu Jun asked Li Zhen while preparing the ingredients. Although he found it unusual for a young woman to stick to him so closely, he had read some psychology books before, which mentioned that some people exhibit abnormal behavior after a shock, such as hostages helping their captors after a long time together.

Liu Jun thought that Miss Li was probably still in shock from the bandits, and because he had saved her, she temporarily depended on him, feeling safe and protected.

"Do you want to drive me away?" Li Zhen suddenly became unhappy. "Do you dislike me so much? I was just kidnapped by the bandits and haven't been harmed. I am innocent."

Liu Jun rolled his eyes. Why are you telling me this? I'm not your fiancé.

"I believe you."

"But others won't believe me." Li Zhen lowered her head. "I don't want to go home. I... I want to stay with you."

"Sister, do you want to stay with me? What are you talking about? We have no relation, and you're not afraid of what others will say?"

"Let me tell you, I have a fiancée."

Li Zhen immediately started crying and ran back to her maids.

"Jiye, this girl really likes you. Is this what they call love at first sight?" Li Chunjiang, with a thick bandage on one leg and a crutch, still found time to tease Liu Jun.

"Go away, I have a wife," Liu Jun laughed and scolded him.

"Why? Why does she have to stick to you? I saved her and got a knife wound, but she insists on sticking to you. It's heartbreaking," Li Chunjiang sighed. "You must be having good luck with women."

"I think she's just infatuated," Liu Jun said, chopping the cow neck with an axe and raising an eyebrow.

"You hurt her feelings. She just said she wanted to stay with you, and you immediately said you have a fiancée," Li Chunjiang, a chivalrous man, said.

"I was telling the truth. I think she's still in shock and a bit confused. Because I saved her, she sees me as a temporary support. We can't take advantage of her in this state."

"So you're a saint now?"

"I'm definitely not a saint, but I know what to do and what not to do."

Liu Jun thought that if he told her he had a fiancée, she would come to her senses and be willing to go home. However, he underestimated Li Zhen's determination. When the three pots of cow neck soup, cow hoof soup, and cow tail soup started to emit a rich aroma, Li Zhen returned.

"Why are you back?" Liu Jun asked.

Li Zhen looked up at Liu Jun and said, "Didn't you say we would eat cow neck, hooves, and tails tonight, and that they are more delicious than beef?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Serve me a bowl of cow tail soup first." Li Zhen handed Liu Jun a large earthenware bowl. She seemed to have forgotten that she had just run away crying, as if nothing had happened.

"Miss, do you have amnesia?" Liu Jun couldn't help but ask.

"No, my memory is always good. I will never forget that Master Liu saved me from the bandits. A drop of water's kindness should be repaid with a spring of water. I have no way to repay the great kindness of saving my life, so I can only offer myself in return..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Liu Jun quickly interrupted her. "Miss, your mind is not clear right now. Let's not talk about this for now. How about this: you can stay with the Nine-Headed Bird team until we contact your family, but you must not talk about offering yourself or following me. Okay?"

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