Wang Wu and the others had already mastered most of what they needed to practice, but horsemanship was not something that could be improved by practice alone; they needed to engage in real combat to become more and more skilled.
Whether it's this desert or this grassland, they are all guys who grew up on horseback; only they are the real experts in all aspects.
Making money is secondary; Ning Ye's real intention is to let these guys train themselves properly. He has good intentions.
When Ning Ye returned to the border, he naturally had no trouble. However, he did not expect that the Grand Preceptor would act so quickly. He had already sent everything over the day before, and it was all left inside the border.
Just as Ning Ye was about to check his belongings, Li Ruochen approached him. "Young Master Ning, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Would you mind stepping aside and talking to me?"
Ning Ye nodded and said, "General Li, if you have anything to say, please speak frankly. These two are my trusted confidants, and you can discuss anything with them."
Li Ruochen said somewhat embarrassedly, "I see that you have quite a few excellent warhorses here. Could you leave some of them for me? I'm willing to pay to buy them."
Ning Ye was in a dilemma. After all, he really needed these warhorses, and the Grand Preceptor had only vomited this much. If he were to give out another batch, he might not have enough for himself.
However, Ning Ye had previously checked the entire border area and indeed there were very few warhorses left. He estimated that even these were warhorses that had survived by chance because they had gone out to deliver messages.
Ning Ye sighed and said, "General Li, you've really given me a difficult problem."
Li Ruochen was also quite embarrassed. "Young master, please don't overthink it. I really want to pay for it. I absolutely don't mean to rip you off."
"General Li, I know you're not the kind of person who would exploit others, but I do have a use for this hemp. How about this, I'll give you half, and I'll keep some of the cattle and sheep for you to improve your diet or use for raising livestock. Whatever you do with them is up to you."
Li Ruochen was truly at a loss. After all, his request was already excessive, and now that the other party had agreed so readily, what could he possibly offer?
Seeing that Li Ruochen still seemed a little embarrassed, Ning Ye said, "General Li, I will do my best to help you in guarding the border. Please don't worry about today's matter. If there is an opportunity, we can meet again another day."
Li Ruochen clasped his hands and said, "Today I only have 20,000 taels of silver on me, which is definitely not enough. If you ever need my help in the future, I will definitely help you without hesitation."
Ning Ye did not refuse the silver note; instead, she accepted it generously. After all, would a daughter of the prestigious Li family be short of such a small amount of money?
If I don't accept it, it might leave a bad impression.
Being honest and straightforward is the right way to do things. After saying goodbye to Li Ruochen, Ning Ye returned with his original group, including Xia Qingyu, who was also eager to see if things were as good as Ning Ye had described.
On the way back, Ning Ye naturally wanted to check on the cattle and sheep. After inspecting them, he was certain that the other party had not cheated them at all; the cattle and sheep were indeed of excellent quality.
It seems that the imperial advisor is very concerned about the safety of his prince, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. After all, cattle and sheep are not cheap goods. Before productivity increases, the price of these animals is always quite high.
Ning Ye wouldn't bring back so many cattle and sheep just for food; he would use them all as breeding stock. After all, they were of such high quality that it would be a waste to just eat them.
Although there is no suitable place for grazing cattle and sheep around Qingyuan County, Ning Ye does not recommend reclaiming a piece of land specifically for growing grass. Even so, it can still bring enough income, after all, these cattle and sheep are too precious.
There are probably only a little over a hundred cattle in the entire Qingyuan County. This is a whole county, yet cattle are so scarce.
It wasn't that ordinary people didn't want to raise cattle, but rather that they simply couldn't afford to. Apart from the cattle owned by landlords, the average person had very few cattle because they simply couldn't afford to raise them.
The scene of Ning Ye's herds of cattle and sheep no longer amazed people when he returned to Qingyuan County. After all, nothing involving Ning Ye is ever simple.
Faced with so many cattle and sheep, the people could only feel envious; they dared not even think about anything else.
Even after giving some away, Ning Ye still brought back 250 cattle and 200 sheep. When he returned to Qingmei Village, the original villagers were probably fine, but the eyes of these refugees seemed to be glowing with greed.
For them, it had been a long time since they had known what meat tasted like, or how delicious it was.
Ning Ye simply stopped his convoy. "From now on, I have a new announcement: when the spring waters come in, you can each go and cultivate the wasteland. The top ten people who cultivate the most wasteland will receive a sheep from me, and they will be able to take the sheep without paying any price."
All the refugees stared intently at Ning Ye. They knew that this young man would never say something he wouldn't do; if he did, it would surely come true.
Some people's minds are already racing; they're considering whether to start clearing the wasteland right now, even though the temperature hasn't fully warmed up yet. But if they can clear a little more land, they'll have a chance to win.
Ning Ye continued, "Everyone I'm involved in has to go to Village Chief Shen to rewrite their household registration. Only those who are recognized by Village Chief Shen will be able to receive this reward."
After seeing all this, Ning Ye's convoy continued on its way. Ning Ye also said to Zhang Long, "Go and inform Shen Yuanzhi that these people must work hard to gain his approval. Otherwise, they will not cherish things that are easily obtained."
Zhang Long nodded and said, "Sir, are you planning to mobilize all the refugees' enthusiasm so that we can have large tracts of land by spring?"
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