Coming to his senses, Xiao Jing smiled at Zhou Cang. "This battle was all thanks to you, Commander Zhou. I'm giving you this Hundred-Refined Greatsword and Bronze Armor!"
Zhou Cang's eyes lit up, and a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on his face.
"My lord, I'm quite fond of this greatsword, so I'll have to shamelessly accept!"
"Haha, no need to be so polite, Commander Zhou!" Xiao Jing laughed, teasing, "A Divine Soldier for a divine general, and treasured armor for a hero, after all!"
The effects of the Hundred-Refined Greatsword (Yellow) were simple: Force +3 (below Tier 8), with an innate Armor Break (ignores 20% of armor defense).
The effects of the Bronze Armor (Yellow) were even simpler: Speed -2%, Stamina Consumption +1%, Defense +6, and it reduced damage to vital areas.
With this new set of equipment, Zhou Cang had gotten a serious upgrade. His Force rose to 73, taking his strength to a whole new level.
"My lord, I've spotted hoofprints nearby. I suspect those horse bandits were being clever and didn't tell us where they kept their horses!"
Xiao Jing's eyes lit up. He was happy but also a little regretful. 'Horse bandits... of course they have warhorses! How could I have not thought of that!'
He patted Zhou Cang's shoulder and said with a hint of mock complaint, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Zhou Cang scratched his head. "I thought my lord had already noticed and didn't need me to point it out!"
They followed the hoofprints and searched the vicinity.
Before long, led by Zhou Cang, they found the horse bandits' "horse farm" in a grassy valley.
"One, two, three... fifteen, sixteen!!!"
"My lord, we've struck it rich! There are sixteen warhorses!!!" Zhou Cang exclaimed, his face flush with excitement after counting the horses in the field.
Xiao Jing was also a bit stunned.
Sixteen warhorses... He'd struck it rich.
Warhorses were extremely expensive, and what's more, this place came with a horse farm!
[Building]: Basic Horse Farm
[Ownership]: Unclaimed (Formerly belonged to the Qiuniu Mountain horse bandits, a branch of the Zhao clan of Shanwu)
[Area]: 3000 sq. meters (Max capacity: 800 horses)
[Current Horses]: 16 Warhorses
[Effects]: 1. Procreation: Reproduction Speed +20% (Inactive, requires stallions)
2. Growth: Growth Cycle -20% (Inactive, requires stallions)
[Output]: 0-200/month (Specific output depends on stallions and feed in the farm)
[Description]: An asset of a branch of the Zhao clan. Occupy at your own risk!!
...
Excellent!!!
Xiao Jing was filled with joy after reading the horse farm's stats.
If he could get this horse farm operational again, a monthly output of 200 warhorses meant a continuous supply. It meant that his plan to build a Wind Cavalry army was actually feasible.
The thought of the Wind Cavalry's power sent a thrill of excitement through Xiao Jing.
'It's just a shame that all 16 warhorses in the stable have been gelded. They're not stallions!'
He sighed inwardly.
To make good use of this horse farm, he would need to buy stallions and feed from elsewhere to raise warhorses.
But stallions and feed were another huge expense...
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that the hundred-odd taels of silver in his possession didn't seem like nearly enough.
'Sigh, I'll have to take it one step at a time. It seems the first thing I need to do when I get back to the village is build the Basic Shop. Then I can trade with the surrounding areas and see if I can buy some stallions and feed!'
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Jing's gaze returned to the 16 warhorses.
'No matter what, these 16 warhorses are a windfall. That's worth celebrating!'
Soon, Xiao Jing's excitement returned.
Suddenly, as if he'd thought of something, he turned and asked, "Commander Zhou, if one were to take a warhorse to Shanwu City to sell, how much would it be worth?"
Zhou Cang scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "I remember a horse breeder from my village sold a mule and got 8,000 copper coins for it!"
"A warhorse is far superior to a mule. Even though these are just the most common warhorses, they should sell for at least 20,000 copper coins each!"
20,000 copper coins per horse!!!
For 16 horses, that's 320,000 copper coins!
Holy shit!!!
Xiao Jing gasped. It seemed he had still underestimated the value of warhorses...
As expected, only the established powers could afford to support Cavalry.
Players, for now, could only dream.
In *War*, 1 gold = 10 silver, and 1 silver = 1,000 copper coins.
So a common warhorse cost 20 taels of silver.
One word: expensive!
Two words: very expensive!!
Remembering the recruitment requirements for the Wind Cavalry in his village, his happiness suddenly faded.
To recruit one unit of Wind Cavalry required not only 2 taels of gold, but also one warhorse (dead or alive), plus iron, wood, and other resources.
One warhorse was 20 silver, which was 2 gold. Adding the 2 gold required for recruitment, that made a total of 4 gold.
Originally, he had planned to use the 21 taels of gold he possessed (1 gold from the Ancient Qin Secret Realm + 200 taels of silver from the bandits) to recruit Wind Cavalry as soon as he returned to the village and quickly build a strong army...
But the warhorses were too expensive, and the recruitment cost for Wind Cavalry was too high. With his 21 taels of gold, he could barely recruit just five Wind Cavalrymen...
'Make money! Make money!'
'After I get back to the village, I have to build the Basic Shop first!'
Xiao Jing sighed, his resolve quickly hardening.
Once the Basic Shop was built, he could use its "Hundred-Li Commerce" feature to establish contact and trade with the settlements near Desolate Mountain Village.
Then, not only could he sell off surplus weapons like longspears and terracotta helmets for funds to buy grain...
...but if he was lucky, he might even be able to contact the nearby Alien Race.
The insane recruitment requirements for the Wind Cavalry meant he was desperately short of horses. But those of the Alien Race were master horse breeders; even their cast-offs would be enough for him to recruit a few Wind Cavalry to start with.
After sighing, Xiao Jing opened the warhorse's stat page.
[Name]: Common Warhorse (Gray)
[Attributes]: Load: White, Speed: Yellow, Stamina: Gray, Charge: Gray
[Traits]: None
[Forage Consumption]: 3 units/week
[Description]: A very common warhorse, suitable for light cavalry. Cannot bear heavy loads.
'These stats... It really is just a common warhorse.'
Xiao Jing was too unenthused to even complain. He said to Zhou Cang, "Take your pick of any one of these 16 horses."
Even though they were very common warhorses, Xiao Jing had no intention of selling them for money.
If he sold them now for 20 taels of silver each, he would definitely have to pay more to buy them back when he wanted to form the Wind Cavalry. It was better to keep them, since he wasn't desperate for cash at the moment.
"I can pick one myself?"
"Of course."
Xiao Jing smiled to himself, speaking magnanimously.
Zhou Cang was pleasantly surprised. What military commander doesn't love a good horse?
He quickly selected a yellowish-brown horse from the herd.
"Thank you for the reward, my lord!"
Zhou Cang cupped his fist, his brawny face filled with a new depth of gratitude and loyalty.
Xiao Jing waved his hand and soon noticed that Zhou Cang's loyalty had increased from 71 to 73.
After collecting the spoils of war, Xiao Jing decisively chose to occupy the horse farm.
Although doing so would certainly offend the Zhao clan of Shanwu, he had been destined to become their enemy the moment he eliminated the horse bandits they were so obviously backing. He didn't care.