The carriage swayed slightly. Hua Zhi supported her head and thought about the things happening in Yuzhou. It was completely different from what she expected.
Here, people are not in panic because of the arrest of the chief steward Yuan Shifang. Instead, it seems that the situation is more stable and prosperous than that in the capital. From this young man surnamed Zeng, it can be seen that the locals have a strong sense of belonging to Jinyang. This kind of feeling is not established overnight. If such a place is too closely tied to the Chaoli tribe, it will definitely not be a good thing for Daqing.
It's a bit scary when someone who has always relied on brute force to win suddenly starts to use his brain, and the other person actually has a brain.
Back at the inn, Hua Zhi asked Jia Yang, "Can you find the prefectural annals of Jinyang?"
"I'll ask my colleagues from the Seventh House to get it." Jia Yang looked up at the girl and asked, "Do you want to ask Lord Lu a question?"
"I don't have the qualifications, so I won't alarm others."
Jia Yang paused, then left.
Hua Zhi smiled softly. Who was she? She was able to get the governor of a prefecture to see her. After all, she came here just to see if she could help Yan Xi. The Chaoli tribe was a sword hanging over their heads. It was just that Yan Xi was acting out of justice, while she was acting out of selfishness.
If her last name wasn't Hua, if Yan Xi wasn't behind her, she would now be nothing more than a businessman of the lowest status. She still had some self-awareness, so why would she humiliate herself? Not everyone would treat her like Yan Xi and give her respect.
It was not until dusk that Xiaoliu came back. He drank half a cup of tea in one gulp. He saw several prefectural annals and picked up one to flip through it. He said, "The horse farm is really big, bigger than the one in the capital."
"That means Master Zeng won. He should be very happy." Hua Zhi closed the book with a homemade bookmark. Although she was used to reading traditional Chinese texts over the years, she still found books that she didn't want to read difficult to understand.
"He was so happy that he nearly fell off his horse and broke his neck." Xiao Liu snorted and laughed. Although he wanted to pretend, who doesn't think his hometown is good? Of course, he didn't want to lose, but that horse farm was really big and the horses there were really good. Although he didn't want to admit it, it was the fact.
"Tell me about the horse ranch."
"Yes." Xiao Liu observed carefully, knowing that he would have to explain to Sister Hua when he returned. "The horse farm is very large. From the outside, it looks no different from other horse farms. Only when you go in do you realize that this is not just a place to raise horses. They have also made some other plans, such as horse racing."
After organizing his words, Xiao Liu continued, "I asked around. In recent years, Jinyang has been very fond of horse breeding and horse racing. Zeng Xiangyan said that there is a race every ten days and three races a month. Business disputes can usually be resolved with a race. The current winning horse is Zeng's Tayun. He took me to see it. The horse is indeed sleek and energetic. The show is also very grand. There are more than ten servants serving this horse alone. They only eat freshly cut grass and drink mountain spring water. Most people don't have such treatment."
It's quite interesting, Hua Zhi smiled. The capital city of Jinyang has found a specific direction and is developing quite well. This feeling is a bit familiar, but she can't remember where this familiarity comes from.
"Do all the noble families in Jinyang raise horses?"
"That's what Zeng Xiang said. It was already late when I went there, and there were still several masters, young and old, strolling around there."
Hua Zhi thought for a moment, "Did Zeng Xiangyan tell me when this trend started in Jinyang?"
Xiao Liu recalled and shook his head, "Just say it's these few years."
Jia Yang immediately responded, "I'll have someone check it out right away."
"No hurry." Hua Zhi stopped him and asked, "What else did Zeng Xiangyan say?"
"He probably spent half an hour just praising his Tayun in various ways." Xiao Liu smiled. He didn't dislike Zeng Xiangyan. Although he was arrogant, he knew his limits. "He was only talking about the horse farm, especially the Zhu family, who were competing with his Tayun for the top spot. He made them look worthless. I once asked him about the origin of the horse, but he only said that they had their own channels. He didn't explain it clearly. I didn't ask him too much because I was afraid he would get suspicious."
"Did you notice what breeds the horses were?"
Xiao Liu hesitated and lowered his voice. "I only know that they are not horses from Daqing. Daqing's cavalry has never been strong. Half of the problem lies with the horses. Daqing's horses are short, lack stamina, and have shorter legs. But the horses I saw at the horse farm today were all tall and strong. They looked like horses from outside the Great Wall."
Hua Zhi nodded slightly. It might not be a problem if they came from outside the Great Wall. Money makes the world go round. People from outside the Great Wall also need to eat and drink. As long as they can afford the money, they will definitely be willing to sell.
"Oh, by the way, Zeng Xiangyan told me that the day after tomorrow is the day of the ten-day horse race. If I'm not in a hurry to leave, he can take me there to watch. I said I would ask you, so I left the inn for him."
"Ordinary people can't enter the horse farm?"
"Yes, you have to be brought in by someone from their circle."
"If he contacts you, tell him that I also want to broaden my horizons and hope to go with him."
Xiaoliu readily agreed, "Sister Hua suspects there's something wrong with this horse farm?"
"I can't explain it. I feel like something is wrong, but I can't tell what's wrong." Hua Zhi looked up, "Jia Yang, has the Qisusi checked the horse farm?"
"Yes, I checked."
"Show me the information you found, and have them check when horse breeding started in Jinyang, what was the reason, and who was involved."
"yes."
That evening, Jia Yang handed over the information about the Zeng family and the horse farm.
The Zeng family is a prominent family in the local area. Zeng Xiangyan is the youngest son of the Zeng family. Mr. Zeng was very spoiled to have such a son in his old age. In addition, according to the Zeng family motto, the eldest son inherits the family business, so no matter how favored he is, he cannot compete in this regard. His older brothers treat him very well. He is not interested in women, and does not play around, but he likes to drink dirty water. Naturally, everyone can satisfy him, so he can often be seen running around the city drunk. Today, he was sober.
Such a person is indeed not annoying, and his character can be seen even more clearly when he does not do anything rash even when drunk. It seems that although the Zeng family spoils him, they have also taught him what they should teach.
Hua Zhi looked at the other one and said, "The horse farm was built under the leadership of the four major families in Jinyang City, with the participation of several other families?"
"Yes, the Qisu Division has investigated it in detail before. To be more specific, it was built three years ago. A total of twelve families were involved. The Qisu Division investigated these twelve families and found two that were suspicious, but they could not find any evidence. They are still following up."
"Is there any reason for building a horse farm?"
"Qi Su Si is still investigating, but they haven't found anything yet. They only found out that horse racing started in Jinyang about four years ago." Looking up at the girl, Jia Yang continued, "Qi Su Si is also investigating the horse channels. Qi Su Si didn't investigate in this direction before. Please wait."
Hua Zhi nodded. Such a long time has passed that even if there was a problem, it would have been covered up long ago. It is normal that nothing can be found.