Chapter 49: The Horse Seller

Return to Lecheng.

Last time he came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

Li Xuan had not yet taken a good look at the city where Li Heng later became emperor.

He took Luo Xing and Xue Cuo out of their residence, took a walk, and came to the commercial market in the city.

Although the scale and quality of Huile City's business market were far inferior to those of Chang'an and Luoyang, the goods sold by the merchants had their own unique characteristics.

In addition to some daily necessities and handicrafts.

Precious and rare stones, bear skins, tiger bones, and even living birds of prey and beasts for sale.

"What a handsome horse! If a man can ride it, his life will be worthwhile."

As soon as Li Xuan arrived at the horse market, he heard an exclamation from the side.

A young man in coarse cloth was looking at a horse with burning eyes.

This horse is five feet tall, reddish-brown in color, with a dense, bright red mane. Its limbs are strong and sturdy, but its entire body appears slender and even, with extremely smooth lines.

"Qilang, this horse is so tall, is it the legendary Ferghana horse?"

Their attention was attracted, it was the first time that Luo Xing saw such a tall horse.

"How could it be a Ferghana horse? Even if there is a Ferghana horse, it will only appear in the East Market of Chang'an."

Li Xuan shook his head and replied.

He believed that it was impossible for the Western Region nobles to go to the far end and bring the Ferghana horses to the border back to Lecheng.

Giving it to Li Longji would also bring him a generous reward. Li Longji loved the Ferghana horses. He had two Ferghana horses, one named Yuhuacong and the other named Zhaoyebai.

This horse is taller than Li Xuan's mount, which aroused Li Xuan's strong interest.

The owner of the horse was a Han Chinese man, and he only had this horse for sale.

People came up to him one after another and talked to him about prices.

Many people like it in their hearts, but they are powerless.

The lowest quality Turkic horse required ten strings of cash or twenty-five pieces of silk.

The price of this horse must be unimaginable.

"May I ask what breed this horse is?"

Li Xuan didn't know the breed of the horse, so when he saw that no one was around the horse seller to compare prices, he went up to ask.

"The Turkic horses are a hybrid of the horses of various Hu peoples. Despite this, their endurance and strength are far superior to those of fine Turkic horses. I think they can be compared to the ancient Red Hare and Jueying."

The horse seller took a look at Li Xuan's golden belt and the sword at his waist.

He is very good at speaking.

Anyone can see that BMW is the best of the best, one in a million.

"You are exaggerating. What if it is all show and no substance?"

Li Xuan did not agree with the horse seller's words.

Whether it is a mule or a horse, you will know after taking it for a walk.

What he meant was that he wanted to give the horse a try.

"All that glitters is gold and jade, but the inside is rotten cotton? Your words are really interesting. But in the past, Yan Zi was short and Zuo Si was ugly, but who can deny their abilities and talents? Wang Guobao was handsome and Zhang Yizhi was elegant, but who doesn't know what kind of people they were? It's understandable if people can't judge others by their appearance, but if they can't even tell the quality of a horse, they are really stupid."

The horse seller just laughed and didn't buy Li Xuan's account.

It was as if he was afraid that Li Xuan would ride on his horse and run away.

"How dare you scold my family..."

When Luo Xing heard this, he became unhappy and immediately scolded him.

But before he could finish his words, Li Xuan stopped him and said to the horse seller, "Name a price!"

Just then, a group of people appeared in front of the horse and looked at it in amazement.

They spoke a strange language and looked like Hu people by the looks of their clothes.

And they were surrounded by many guards, carrying sabers.

The Hu people dared to parade in the busy streets, they must have Wang Zhongsi's permission. "Brother, our tribe doesn't have such a fine horse, buy it."

A Hu woman said to a tall Hu man.

The woman was wearing a short dress with narrow sleeves. She was pure and natural, with delicate and fair skin and eyes as bright as gems.

"I will offer one hundred pieces of silk to buy this horse."

The Hu man generously told the horse seller that he could actually speak the Chinese language.

"Too little. Besides, there is a first come first served rule. I am trading with this young man?"

The horse seller rejected the foreigner outright and gestured to Li Xuan with his finger: "Five hundred strings of cash, and I will sell the BMW to you, young master."

"You have too big an appetite."

Li Xuan's face turned black, he was robbing money!
He was a general, and war horses were just consumables to him.

For example, Saluzi, one of Li Shimin's Six Horses in Zhaoling Mausoleum, was handsome and quick as the wind, but he was still shot and killed on the battlefield.

"Not expensive, not expensive. If converted into silk it would be 1,200 pieces. Can you spare them?"

The horse seller then asked the Hu man and woman.

The Hu man's expression changed slightly.

They came here to discuss important matters, why would they bring so much silk?

Their silk and horse trade with the Tang Dynasty was far less than that of the Turkic tribes, and it was even more impossible for them to buy this horse with a thousand pieces of silk.

The Hu people thought the Han people's BMW trade was too simple. The price of horses in the "Horse Country" and the "Silk Country" was very different.

Although spending a fortune on horse bones is just a story.

But there were many princes and nobles in Chang'an who would spend a fortune to buy a BMW that was one in a million to show off their nobility.

"Don't we bargain when doing business with the Tang people? Can you make it a little cheaper?"

The Hu woman also knew Chinese and tried to speak to the horse seller.

The horse seller smiled and shook his head.

He knew that this Hu man could not afford his BMW, so he said to Li Xuan: "You can wear a sword in Huile City, which means you are a soldier. Buying my horse will be very helpful to you."

"Since you know I'm a sergeant, you should know why I bought the horse. If I get it today and lose it tomorrow, it's a pure loss."

Li Xuan thought the price was too high.

A journey of a thousand miles tests a horse's strength. If one really has great endurance, not to mention 500 strings of cash, even 1,000 strings of cash would be worth it. The only thing is that one is afraid of being disappointed after buying it.

"You are wrong. Liu Bei was able to escape death because of his Dilu horse, and Xiang Yu became famous because of his Wuzhui horse. How can the value of a BMW be measured by price? I can guarantee that if you ride my horse, you can save your life in an emergency and gain the honor of being a marquis."

"If you think about it, you won't think it's expensive."

The businessman used examples from ancient times and his words were very beautiful.

"Su Qin and Zhang Yi are not as eloquent as you."

Although Li Xuan was speechless, he still decided to buy the horse: "If it's a little less, I'll buy it."

Previously, Li Xuan asked Luo Xing to sell all his gold and obtained more than 3,000 strings of cash.

After returning 2,500 strings of cash to the herdsmen, there was still some left.

But Li Xuan thought that if he could save as much as possible, he should do so.

"I won't give you a penny less, otherwise, forget it. My horse is only four years old, and it is in its prime. There is absolutely no market for it in Chang'an."

The horse seller rejected Li Xuan's counter-offer outright, but did not forget to give a reminder.

"I've decided to buy it, but I need to go back to get the money. It will take three days to go back and forth. Can you wait for me?"

Li Xuan thought about it again and again and finally agreed.

"I think the gold belt around your waist is nice. You can exchange it for a horse."

The horse seller was unwilling to wait so long. He looked at the gold and jade belt around Li Xuan's waist and spoke slowly.

This gold-thread belt was given by the emperor himself as a reward for the last military achievement.

(End of this chapter)