"Haha, it's too late for you to come~" When he saw Cao Xing, Li Yi suddenly laughed.

Hearing this, Cao Xuan was puzzled for a while, but he didn't ask, but said respectfully, "Lord, there is news from the flying cavalry camp that the horse merchant has been discovered!" According to preliminary estimates, about 3,000 horses were purchased from the Hu people! ”

"Huh? Horse merchants?! 3000 horses?! When Li Yi heard this, his face suddenly became gloomy.

Horses, undoubtedly one of the most valuable strategic resources in ancient times, were very expensive. For example, in this era, a cow can only be sold for 4,000 yuan, while a horse used for farming or a bad horse for pulling a cart can be sold for 8,000 yuan. And the price of a qualified war horse is about 20,000 yuan! Well? What about BMWs like Chisu? Well, a BMW of this level is basically no longer able to be measured in terms of money.

And not only is it expensive, but the breeding of horses is also very difficult, and the entire Han Dynasty can produce a large number of good horses, and there are three places like Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou. Although there are places where horses can be raised in the rest of the country, neither the quantity nor the quality can be compared with these three states.

In this case, it is very cheap to buy horses in the three states of Youjiliang, but it is very expensive to sell horses in other states and counties, so that a huge profit is generated, which is enough to make people crazy profits.

However, it is this kind of profiteering that makes horse breeding and horse trading an industry that not everyone can enjoy, for example, in Bingzhou, although there are many individual ranches, they are dependent on various families or local powers to survive. If it's just a flat-headed ordinary person who wants to run a ranch, it's simply impossible.

And horse trafficking requires a strong background force or a wide network of contacts. For example, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, who once funded Liu Bei, Zhongshan and Guohao businessmen, have very wide contacts, which are basically accumulated by their family for generations through things like funding Liu Bei. However, it is obvious that funding Liu Bei is the most correct choice in their lives, which makes them easily move to the east of Jizhou with their families after Zhang Yan's rise, and now not only have they taken root in Jinan, but their heirs are also serving under Liu Bei.

So, does the imperial court not care about this kind of transaction? Of course, but in peacetime, this kind of control is basically equal to nothing. After all, there is no war, why buy so many horses? Do you keep it for fun? And if someone really buys a large number of good horses, it will undoubtedly arouse the suspicion of others, after all, it is impossible to hide from others when a large number of war horses are transported. As for a small number of horses...... Not to mention the imperial court, the local officials didn't bother to pay attention to it.

As for the horse merchants, most of the horse merchants basically bought horses from the Hu people in the north, after all, no matter how cheap the horses were, they could not compare with the prices of the nomads. And many times, horse merchants only need to use some very cheap items in the Han Dynasty to be able to exchange for a large number of war horses. And the purchase of horses from the Hu people is carried out in the border market, and it is impossible for any transaction to be hidden from the imperial court, so naturally there is no need to worry.

Well? Sell to the enemy? Ahem, in the Han Dynasty in peacetime, the enemy was just those nomads in the north, who were eager to exchange a large number of war horses for salt, iron, tea, silk and other items, where could they buy horses from the Han Dynasty?

Therefore, in fact, the high-quality pastures that are quiet and cool are basically cooperated with the imperial court, because only the imperial court and the local government can and will eat the large number of horses they raise. For example, the Li family's ranch is all sold to the imperial court and local officials, and basically will not be sold to individuals.

However, since the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the imperial court's control over war horses, weapons, etc. has suddenly become very strict, because who knows if these horses will fall into the hands of those rebels? In particular, those horse dealers must report to the government and sell at a designated place.

However, these are not the reasons why Li Yi changed his face.

The reason why this is so is because he knows very well what the world will be like in the future! Once the troubled times start, the demand for war horses by the major forces in the world will definitely increase at a very terrifying rate, and when the time comes, ...... Even if it can't be monopolized, it's a very big advantage. Therefore, since he became the pastor of the state, he has completely cut off the trade of horses in the state, in addition to the supply to the imperial court, the people want to buy horses from the state, it is impossible!

But now, it was the horses sold by the Huns, how could he not be angry? You have to know that the horses of those Huns are not his horses?! It's just that......

"This is a bit difficult...... Li Yi thought a little tangled.

The Huns sold horses to the Han Chinese, which didn't sound like a problem, as it had been done before. It's just that since the Huns rebelled, no one has bought horses from the Huns, which made Li Yi ignore this problem for a while.

After thinking about it, Li Yi looked at Cao Xuan and asked, "Do you know who the buyer is?" ”

"Look at the flag, it should be the Zhen family of Zhongshan Country in Jizhou. They were wealthy merchants in the Zhongshan Kingdom, and their business involved many industries, and horse trading was just one of them. Cao Xing said respectfully when he heard this.

"The Zhen family?" Li Yi was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then a name quickly appeared in his mind, not Zhen Yan, but Zhen Mi. For people who like the Three Kingdoms, there may be no one who doesn't know Luo Shen Zhen Mi, after all, beauties~ Especially beauties in troubled times, they can always attract the attention of males.

After pondering for a long time, Li Yi suddenly said to Cao Xing, "Let the Flying Cavalry Battalion stop them." ”

Li Yi doesn't know much about the Zhen family, and now he has basically forgotten everything, after all, in the history of the Three Kingdoms, except for a Zhen Mi of the Zhen family, there is nothing worth paying attention to, and the only thing he remembers seems to be that the Zhen family seems to be very rich and a wealthy businessman.

It's a pity that since he was a child, Li Yi didn't have much impression of the merchants in the Eastern Han Dynasty or something. On the one hand, the war horses in the Li family's ranch were only supplied to the imperial court, and there was no need to deal with merchants at all, and on the other hand, the status of merchants in this era was ...... Even if it's a wealthy businessman, it's quite low-key.

"This ......" Cao Xing was stunned when he heard this, he naturally knew Li Yi's control over the horses, so after getting the report from the flying cavalry battalion, he came to report, but he was ...... After all, this is a deal between Hu and the people. But look at what Li Yi meant, he actually planned to stop this matter?

Seeing Cao Xing's appearance, Li Yi knew that he would definitely not be able to understand his thoughts, and after thinking about it, Li Yi said helplessly, "Forget it, I'll go in person!" ”