Chapter 17: The Cattle and Sheep Secured

The next morning, a broad-shouldered figure hurried to the city gate. The guards saluted upon seeing him—this was Qin Fang. Ever since the Prince of Yan had promised to send him horses the day before, he had been so excited he barely slept. At dawn, he rushed to the gate, knowing full well the importance of cavalry from his experience as a veteran soldier.

When they reclaimed the Hebei region years ago, it was only possible because of their numerical advantage and the fact that the Xiongnu tribes from the west were harassing the Jie people. Without cavalry, retaking Hebei by foot soldiers alone was inconceivable. Even so, the lives of two hundred thousand soldiers were forever buried beneath that land.

After gazing out from the gate for a while, Qin Fang climbed the city wall, his gaze fixed on the northern horizon.

Inside the Xianbei tribe’s camp, Suo Hetu and several tribesmen sat together, enjoying their first meal of the morning. Steaming hot sheep’s milk and finely salted mutton—this was the most flavorful mutton they had ever tasted.

A burly man, after finishing a chunk of meat, wiped the grease from his hands on his back and said, “Chief, are we really going to trade so many livestock for salt? If we trade all the livestock for salt, how will we answer to the royal camp?”

Suo Hetu glanced at the man, then spoke softly, “Suo Lituo, you probably don’t realize that salt this fine isn’t just a first for you—our Great Khan Tuoba Hong at the royal camp may never have tasted such salt. If we offer this salt to the Khan, I believe he will reward the Suohe tribe handsomely.”

An older man with a graying beard, around fifty, added, “But can the Prince of Yan truly provide so much refined salt? Back when we tried to trade for even some coarse salt from the Han, it was difficult. Such fine salt might not even be available anywhere in the entire Daxia Kingdom.”

Suo Hetu also felt doubt creeping in. Yet the Prince of Yan had promised they could take the salt first and deliver the livestock later; if they failed to get the salt, they wouldn’t have to give up the animals.

After a moment’s thought, Suo Hetu said, “The agreement with the Prince of Yan is to deliver the salt first, then the livestock. If we don’t get the salt, we don’t have to give them the animals.”

He then turned to the burly man and continued, “Suo Lituo, gather your men immediately and send the prepared livestock to Yan City.”

“Yes, chief!” Satisfied, Suo Lituo rose and left the camp. Soon after, about a dozen Xianbei warriors, armed with waist knives and long whips, mounted horses and began herding cattle, sheep, and horses slowly toward Yan City.

Around eight o’clock in the morning, Wei Xiang, accompanied by twenty constables, pushed a cart of tools toward the north city gate.

Qin Fang, standing atop the wall, recognized Wei Xiang and called out loudly, “Captain Wei, where are you headed?”

Wei Xiang smiled and bowed, “Greetings, Commander Qin.”

“Are you heading out of the city?” Qin Fang asked.

“Reporting to you, sir, by order of the Prince, we’re to repair the sheep pen below the city walls.”

At the mention of the sheep pen, Qin Fang slapped his forehead, recalling Zhao Bin’s instructions from the previous day to select a site for a horse ranch.

With so many livestock, it was impossible to keep them all inside the city, especially the horses. These horses were wild by nature; if they ran amok inside the city, they could easily injure civilians.

Approaching Wei Xiang, Qin Fang teased, “Do your constables really know how to build sheep pens?”

Wei Xiang chuckled, “Of course, building a sheep pen is just about driving wooden stakes. Besides, didn’t the Prince give us the blueprints?” He pulled a paper from his pocket and waved it.

Qin Fang hurried over to examine the plans. “The Prince really gave you blueprints for the horse ranch?”

“He said the horses are yours now; how you manage them is your business. He also said, as a seasoned warrior, you’ve surely seen pigs running even if you’ve never eaten pork. You can build the horse ranch yourself; no need for blueprints,” Wei Xiang said proudly.

Qin Fang blushed upon hearing this.

“Well, Commander Qin, I won’t hold you up. I need to get to work on that sheep pen. The Prince promised us a meat feast once it’s done. I’m off!” Wei Xiang said as he led his men out the north gate.

“Bring men here!” Qin Fang ordered the guards.

A soldier rushed over, “Commander?”

“Go to the barracks. Gather a thousand men with axes and tools. I want a horse ranch built outside the city walls—now!” Qin Fang barked.

The soldier, bewildered, ran toward the barracks, clueless about where the horses came from or why a horse ranch was suddenly needed.

Half an hour later, a thousand soldiers, carrying hoes, axes, and chisels, marched out of the city. Locals puzzled by the commotion scurried away, some fearing a Jie tribe invasion.

Beneath the north city wall, the constables were digging trenches. Hearing the noise, Wei Xiang turned and cursed, “Damn, what madness is this—calling out so many men?”

On the other side of the gate, Qin Fang ordered some soldiers to chop wood while others dug trenches.

Seeing soldiers approaching the few trees near him, Wei Xiang again cursed loudly.

“Stop digging! Lao San, send men back. You and the others cut wood first—don’t let those fools chop all the trees down. We’ll have to haul wood from farther away. Hurry!”

Soon, trees outside the city were felled, and branches of varying thickness were unloaded and carried to the city walls.

By around two o’clock in the afternoon, a soldier atop the wall shouted, “Commander, they’re here!”

Qin Fang dropped his hammer and ran to the wall.

From the wall, he saw a dozen men slowly driving a herd of livestock toward Yan City. The late arrival was due to the slow pace of cattle and sheep.

Near the wall, four royal guards sat chatting on a cart loaded with five hundred pounds of fine salt.

After mastering the salt purification process, Tian Qi and Wang Dayong, small team leaders in charge of salt production, had worked overtime to refine five hundred pounds of fine salt to exchange for more livestock.

At the Prince’s estate nearby, more large pots for salt boiling had been added to the saltworks.

Suo Lituo looked at the fine salt on the cart, surprised. It seemed the Prince of Yan truly had a large supply of fine salt.

With a mixture of joy and astonishment, Suo Lituo took the salt and left Yan City. He had no desire to enter the city again—his sole aim was to transport the fine salt back to their Xianbei tribe.

That night, tents were pitched on the open ground outside the city. Campfires burned as soldiers guarded the sheep pens and horse ranch, protecting the newly acquired livestock. Zhao Bin fulfilled his promise by slaughtering a few sheep to provide the soldiers a meat feast.

Three days later, He Miao arrived at the Prince’s mansion with freshly verified farmland records and household population books.

Zhao Bin glanced at them briefly, then instructed He Miao to distribute cattle and sheep to the villagers closest to Yan City according to the prearranged plan.

Villages near Yan City were least likely to suffer raids from Jie mounted troops. In fact, since the autumn harvest began, no reports of Jie raids had come in, much to Zhao Bin’s surprise.

Later, it became clear that the western Xiongnu tribes had clashed with the Jie on the border, forcing the Jie chieftain to rally his forces westward to resist the Xiongnu invasion.

A few days later, Xu Ling sent workers to transport eight carts of coarse salt from the coast and conscripted two hundred laborers from Yan City.

Half a month later, the last batch of cattle and sheep from the Suohe tribe arrived at Yan City. Suo Hetu ordered some of the fine salt to be sent to the Xianbei royal camp as tribute to the Great Khan Tuoba Hong.

At the same time, with Tuoba Hong’s approval, the Xianbei extended the fine salt trade to other tribes, allowing them to exchange livestock for salt.

The terms of trade were slightly adjusted—a strategy suggested by Zhao Bin, which Suo Hetu welcomed wholeheartedly.