The Lingwu Bureau wasn’t far—just a dilapidated two-courtyard compound at the end of the street. Su Yan instructed his attendants and some of the Embroidered Uniform Guards to remain outside with the carriage, while he entered with Jinghong Zhui, Chu Yuan, and Gao Shuo, escorting Li Four inside.
Li Four, thoroughly dejected, pushed open half of the wooden door. Seeing Chu Yuan frown at the narrow entrance and reach to push open the other half, he yelped in alarm:
“Wait—!”
Before he could finish, the barely-secured half of the door collapsed with a loud crash, breaking into pieces on the steps.
Tears welled up in Li Four’s eyes. “I didn’t break it! If the Supervisor investigates, you all must vouch for me!”
Jinghong Zhui, sharp-eyed, noticed that the door’s hinges were broken, and the wooden panels were almost completely rotted. He thought to himself—what kind of government office is this? Even a commoner’s home would be better maintained. They couldn’t even afford a new door?
Seeing Su Yan raise his gaze, Jinghong Zhui followed suit and looked up at the entrance plaque. The words “Lingwu Bureau” were so faded and chipped that the entire place exuded a sense of poverty and neglect.
“Take me to see your Supervisor,” Su Yan commanded.
Afraid of getting scolded, Li Four hesitated and dragged his feet. Chu Yuan gave him a hard jab in the back with the hilt of his sword, forcing him to grit his teeth and move forward toward the main hall.
Before they even reached the steps, an angry bellow erupted from inside: “That little b*stard still isn’t back?! Did he swindle some money again and go off squandering it on food and drink? Just wait till I break his legs—let’s see if he dares to pull this crap again!”
Li Four shuddered and squealed, “Lord Supervisor, save me—!”
A burly figure stomped into view at the hall entrance. As Su Yan and his men stepped onto the platform, their eyes met.
Su Yan took in the sight of the middle-aged Supervisor—broad-shouldered and stocky, but with sallow skin and an exhausted expression. His beady, triangular eyes glinted with a sharp light, carrying a hint of strabismus that gave him a shifty, untrustworthy look.
The supervisor scrutinized the scholarly young man in blue robes standing before him and felt a chill deep within. This finely polished appearance and natural air of authority could not have been cultivated in an ordinary family. This young man had to be either the son of a wealthy merchant or a member of a noble lineage. Clearly, Li Four had underestimated his target this time and landed himself in trouble.
Still, the boy was unfamiliar. He didn’t appear to belong to any local prestigious family. Most likely, he was the son of a merchant following his elders on a business trip. Young and inexperienced—if Li Four’s scheme had been exposed, the situation might still be salvageable.
The supervisor straightened his face and barked, “What’s the meaning of this? Who dares assault an official? Have you no regard for the law?”
The Embroidered Uniform Guards flanking Su Yan bristled at the ninth-rank official’s rudeness, ready to draw their swords and reveal their identities. But Su Yan stopped them with a glance. Instead, Su Yan stepped forward and respectfully cupped his hands. “This commoner wouldn’t dare. I apprehended someone who claimed to be an official of the Lingwu Bureau while attempting extortion. He identified himself as the deputy supervisor here. Unsure of his credentials, I thought it best to verify with your esteemed office.”
The supervisor, seeing Su Yan’s polite demeanor, felt even more certain of his initial assessment. “And who might this young master be?”
Su Yan replied, “My family is in the tea business. We heard the tea-and-horse market in Pingliang would open soon and traveled from afar.”
The Supervisor chuckled and said, “To be frank, young master, this man is indeed from the Lingwu Bureau, but he is neither a Deputy Supervisor nor a registered official—just a temporary worker. If he has misbehaved, I will not cover for him. He will be dismissed and expelled. Once all the necessary procedures are completed, I will personally escort him to the county office. Does this resolution seem fair to you?”
Temporary worker, my *ss, Su Yan cursed inwardly. He pretended to be momentarily taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected such a straightforward answer and a seemingly just resolution.
The Supervisor continued, “Or perhaps, young master, you don’t trust me and wish to stay until the procedures are completed so you can accompany him to the county office? That won’t be a matter of just a day or two. How about leaving an address, and I’ll have someone contact you once it’s done?”
Merchants valued harmony and prosperity, preferring to avoid unnecessary disputes. Outsiders also tended to believe that a powerful dragon couldn’t suppress a local serpent. Since this official had already shown his stance, he likely assumed Su Yan wouldn’t push any further.
Sure enough, the other party quickly cupped his hands in salute and said, “I wouldn’t dare trouble you, sir. Since you are handling this fairly, let’s leave it at that.”
Watching the young merchant and his attendants leave, the Supervisor finally turned to Li Four and scolded, “Useless fool!”
Li Four grinned ingratiatingly. “Many thanks for your protection, Lord Wang. I’ll be sure to make double the earnings tomorrow.”
Supervisor Wang, still simmering with anger, waved him off. “As if! With you lot bringing in five or ten taels a day at most, it’s a joke. How the h*ll am I supposed to pay off my debts?”
As they entered the hall, Li Four offered a suggestion. “If things get tough, we can check the other pastures in the estates and see how many horses are still up for sale.”
A colleague nearby chimed in, “Already checked. There aren’t many decent ones left—mostly sickly and scrawny. Even the fodder is moldy. No one would buy them, even at dirt-cheap prices.”
Li Four pondered again. “Then how about shaking down the military horse breeders? Fine them if they haven’t taken good care of their horses.”
“Forget it. Those breeders are even poorer than us. There’s nothing to squeeze out of them. Besides, more than half of them have already deserted. I heard that the Imperial Stables and the Yuanman Temple couldn’t recruit new soldiers, so they petitioned the court. The Ministry of Justice then started sending convicted felons from across the country to serve in the horse camps. Those are all hardened criminals—vicious and penniless. Forget about extorting a single copper from them—if you’re not careful, they’ll take a bite out of you instead.”
“Then… I’ll grab a map and check if there are any pastures left to sell.”
“The slightly fertile lands have already been divided up and sold. The rest were either claimed by inner officials for farming or are so barren that even grass struggles to grow. No one would buy them.”
Li Four racked his brain but found himself out of options. He sighed, “I’ll head out in the afternoon and see if I can catch a fat sheep to fleece.”
Sitting in an old grand chair, Supervisor Wang looked equally defeated. “The monthly salary is barely enough to scrape by. They say, ‘Better to be an unranked county official than a Supervisor in the Horse Farms.’ No matter how high or low our rank is, every d*mn office steps all over us. Even lowly officers like captains and squad leaders ride roughshod over us. Being an official here is more humiliating than being a commoner! H*ll, if they push me too far, I’ll follow the example of our superior, Lord Li of the Yuanma Temple—just feign illness every day, skip work, collect my salary, drink whenever I want, and sleep whenever I please!”
Li Four thought to himself: Aren’t you already doing that? Taking your salary while doing nothing, drinking and sleeping as you please? And still forcing us underlings to hand over silver to pay off your debts.
Outside the hall, by the window, Chu Yuan listened with burning fury in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and whispered, “Selling military horses and fodder, illegally trading pastures, extorting the breeders, and neglecting their duties… These bureaucrats are all corrupt and lawless. Do they really think the emperor is too far away to hold them accountable?” He gripped his sword and turned to Su Yan. “My lord, should we go in and take them down?”
Su Yan shook his head. “They’re just small fry. Arresting them now would only alert the bigger fish. Based on the information they’ve revealed, we should first inspect the pastures and horses in the estates, then check on the border army camps. Once we have a clear picture, we’ll head to the Imperial Stables and the Yuanma Temple to demand an explanation from the chief officials.”
The four of them eavesdropped for a while longer. After Supervisor Wang left, the remaining three officials started gambling, using their winnings and losses to decide who would go out next to scam some money. Only then did Su Yan and his team quietly leave the Lingwu Bureau.
Back by the carriage, Su Yan had Gao Shuo take out a map to examine the locations of the estates.
Gao Shuo circled a few spots with his finger and explained, “The local horse bureaus have been in decline for years. What was once a vast network of six bureaus and twenty-four estates has now shrunk to just two bureaus and six estates. The two bureaus are Lingwu and Changle. The six estates are Kaicheng, Guanning, Anding, Qingping, Wanan, and Heishui.”
The sheer number of estate names made Su Yan’s head spin. He cut straight to the point. “If all six estates were properly managed, how many warhorses could they support at maximum capacity?”
Gao Shuo replied, “Pastures vary in fertility and size. Without an official survey, it’s hard to give an exact number. But my rough estimate—at least eighty to a hundred thousand horses.”
Su Yan sucked in a breath. “A hundred thousand? Just the remaining six estates in the Shaanxi division, despite being incomplete, could still provide one-third of the nation’s cavalry with horses. If we restored all the former bureaus and estates, we could fully supply the military. And that’s not even counting the Imperial Stables in Shanxi and Liaodong!”
“You’re aware of the report submitted by the Shanxi Regional Taipu Temple, right? Do you know how many horses their pastures currently hold? Just two to three thousand! The collapse of horse administration is truly appalling!”
Before setting out, Su Yan had meticulously reviewed the relevant documents from the Ministry of War, granted full access by the Emperor himself. His findings were sobering: maintaining a cavalry unit costs three times as much as maintaining an infantry unit, yet a well-trained cavalry force could deliver nearly tenfold the combat effectiveness of infantry. Genghis Khan and his descendants had relied on their indomitable Mongolian cavalry to sweep across Eurasia, earning the title “Scourge of God.” And the foundation of any cavalry force was warhorses—without sufficient warhorses, cavalry was as futile as a kitchen without rice.
The court had long recognized the strategic importance of warhorses to national defense, emphasizing, “The great affairs of the nation lie in the military, and the great affairs of the military lie in horses.” Shanxi, with its vast grasslands and ample water resources, should have been a prime region for horse breeding. Yet to see it reduced to such a pitiful state was nothing short of ridiculous.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard listening to this data showed visible astonishment and outrage.
Su Yan frowned and murmured, perhaps to himself or perhaps to the others, “Setting aside the issue of breeding stallions, the conditions for official pastures are more than adequate. With proper management, there’s absolutely no need for private horse breeding. The Household Horse Law could be entirely abolished.”
Gao Shuo hesitated before replying, “Abolishing an ancestral law won’t be easy.”
Su Yan pondered for a moment, his brows gradually smoothing as a faint smile appeared. “Isn’t that precisely why I’m here? Whether easy or difficult, it must be done.”
How else could he face the impoverished commoners selling their children to survive, the displaced military households, or the soldiers shedding blood on the frontier? How could he face the Emperor, who had entrusted him with both great responsibility and great affection?
Jinghong Zhui, uninterested in the discussion, sat quietly on the carriage shaft, swinging his long legs while peeling a honeydew melon with a flying knife. The honeydew, along with several bunches of grapes and a small ice bucket, had been extravagantly priced in this remote town. He had spent nearly all the silver Su Yan had given him as a reward.
Su Xiaojing, unable to resist temptation, circled around him, hoping to snag a piece, only to have his hand slapped away by Su Xiaobei.
This is for the master, not for you, Jinghong Zhui’s gaze seemed to say. If you want some, go buy your own.
After finalizing their route and restocking supplies, Su Yan decided to leave town and visit the pastures and horse conditions at Qingping and Wanan. He also planned to inspect the military camps of the nearby herdsmen and border forces.
Meanwhile, a thousand elite cavalrymen led by Sheng Qianxing, dispatched by the Inspector General Wei Quan, were pursuing Su Yan along his route from Yanan Prefecture. Three days later, when Sheng Qianxing arrived in the town, he learned from the post station that Su Yan’s carriage had already veered off in an unknown direction. Frustrated, he almost spat blood.
While this perpetually late escort force ate dust on the road, Su Yan sat comfortably in his carriage. Jinghong Zhui served his master chilled, neatly sliced honeydew melon from the ice bucket.
“The weather’s hot—have some fruit to cool down,” Jinghong Zhui said.
“Thanks. Join me,” Su Yan replied, picking up a piece with a bamboo skewer.
Jinghong Zhui shook his head. Su Yan pushed a piece into his mouth anyway and handed him the skewer. Jinghong Zhui ate two or three pieces before claiming he didn’t like sweets and couldn’t eat any more.
Holding the plate, Su Yan savored the juicy sweetness, feeling the coolness seep through his overheated body. Exhaling deeply, he asked, “Ah Zhui, what’s your take on Shaanxi’s horse administration?”
Jinghong Zhui instinctively wanted to reply, “I’m not interested,” or “It’s none of my business,” but after a brief hesitation, he changed his answer. “It’s rotten to the core.”
Su Yan nodded. “It’s like a terminally ill patient, riddled with diseases from top to bottom. Even if you attempt surgery, you wouldn’t know which organ to cut first.”
“Terminally…. ill?”
“It means beyond cure,” Su Yan explained. Unlike his usual calm and confident demeanor, his expression now revealed genuine concern. “What we’ve seen and heard today is already appalling, but I worry this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are likely even more tangled interests and powerful forces behind the scenes. To shatter this iceberg completely and eliminate the rot, I’m not sure I can pull it off…. And even if I do, there’s no guarantee the ship will sail smoothly or the patient will recover…. Ah Zhui, I’m a bit scared.”
Jinghong Zhui looked at him steadily. “Wasn’t it the same when you returned from Eastern Garden, determined to strike the drums of appeal and expose Feng Que’s assassination plot against you?”
Su Yan nodded, a little embarrassed. “I might’ve looked calm and confident back then, but inside, I was a wreck. I worried that if I failed, it would be a minor issue if I alone suffered. But if I dragged Shen Qi down or disrupted the Emperor’s plans, that would be a major catastrophe.”
Jinghong Zhui, ignoring the mention of a certain annoying name, asked, “And what happened in the end?”
“It worked.”
“The old traitor Wei tried to take you down too. What happened to him?”
“You chopped off his arm. Before I left the capital, I heard the Emperor reprimanded both him and Marquis Xianan. Still recovering from his injury, Wei was so angry he coughed up blood. Who knows how long he’ll last now?”
“I may not be well-read, but I know one thing: Do your best and leave the rest to fate.”
Su Yan sighed. “Exactly. Do your best and leave the rest to fate.”
Jinghong Zhui looked at him with those eyes that sparkled like starlight, his lips curving into a faint smile. “Don’t worry*. You’re destined by heaven. Heaven will help you.”
* stated in a different wording
“…Are you a time traveler too?”
“What?”
“You said, ‘Don’t worry.’”
“I learned it from you. Isn’t your family from Fujian?”
Su Yan chuckled. “Do you think Fujianese people laugh like ‘fa-fa-fa-fa’?”
Jinghong Zhui’s gaze lingered on Su Yan’s face, as if engraving every expression into his memory. Blurted words escaped him: “Lord should smile more.”
Setting the plate aside, Su Yan stretched, the shadow of worry lifting from his features. “Thank you, Ah Zhui,” he said sincerely.
Jinghong Zhui shook his head. “I can’t help you with state affairs. I’m not as knowledgeable as those learned scholars or savvy like the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
“I’ve told you before, you have your strengths. I know them well.” Gripping Jinghong Zhui’s hand firmly, Su Yan continued, “Having you by my side on this journey is my greatest fortune.”
Jinghong Zhui let the sticky juice of the melon spread over his hand from Su Yan’s fingers.
Su Yan chuckled awkwardly, wiped his hands clean with a damp cloth, and handed another to Jinghong Zhui.
Jinghong Zhui accepted it but placed it to the side.
Moments later, as the carriage jolted along the road, Su Yan dozed off. After confirming he was asleep, Jinghong Zhui raised his hand and carefully licked the juice from his fingers.
So sweet.
Hihihi