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“What big business venture?” Mo Zichen’s eyes sparkled.
Su Biluo’s words thrummed at his heartstrings. This naughty girl had a lot more guts than he had imagined.
A trace of disdain appeared at the corners of her mouth. “Grand General controls a massive army in Northern Mo and is second only to the emperor, so why do you let the warhorse trade fall to others? Northern Mo is vast, but thinly populated, yet we have a vast desert and great plains that other countries don’t. The white-hooved horses raised on the great plains are world-famous, especially your own charger, Red Hare, which no others can compare to!”
Mo Zichen stared at her. “You mean ‘Dechang’s’ warhorse trade?”
“Correct!” Su Biluo said. “No one knows better than you the importance of warhorses on the battlefield. Western Xia, Southern Man, and Eastern Ling all covet them. The imperial court has forbidden our warhorses to be sold to other countries, but there’s no restrictions on trading them within the country. They trade and trade, until they end up in some other country. You all know full well why this isn’t prevented, right?”
Mo Zichen’s eyes dimmed a bit, as if lost in thought.
“You all don’t care! Because you have too many warhorses. Transferring a few hundred to other countries every year is no big deal. And with the Mo Family Army here, even if other countries have warhorses, so what? They still can’t beat General Mo’s army, right?”
She couldn’t hide her sarcasm and scorn.
Mo Zichen was silent. As far as Su Biluo was concerned, that was tacit admission.
“However, do you know how much other countries value them? They’re all vying for warhorses to increase the strength of their armies. I heard my dad say a warhorse could sell for 800 taels of silver. 800 taels, eh. Think about it. A thousand head a year, isn’t that 800,000 taels? If you snatch up this trade then 300,000 for army provisions is nothing.”
She couldn’t help but gesticulate grandly as she reached the climax of her spiel.
“Yeah—” Mo Ziqian, Mo Zi’an, and Mo Ziling’s eyes shone, like they had been enlightened or wakened from a dream.
“The imperial court has banned the selling of warhorses to other countries,” Mo Zichen said coldly. “How can I go against that order? It’s not that the emperor and this general have never thought of this, it’s just that if we rely on the warhorse trade to support the army, won’t the imperial court lose face?”
Su Biluo laughed. “You have me, don’t you? I’m the manager of Neverland. Let us sell them. Su Dechang can rely on the Prince of Ning’s influence to make his under-the-table deals, so why can’t I, Su Biluo, rely on His Majesty’s and Grand General’s prestige for my own convenience? It will look like I am making money for my personal gain, but in secret we’ll be filling the government’s coffers. What do you think?”
“Hahaha,” Mo Zi’an laughed, shutting his ivory fan, his excited eyes gleaming. “That’s a good plan. Big Brother, Second Brother, Little Sister, you all don’t know, but I’ve actually had my eye on that trade. If the Su family can buy and sell warhorses then so can we. Great idea, Sister-in-law!”
She smiled at him. “Since Third Brother is interested, you might as well join Neverland. You can manage the warhorse trade, how about that? In any case, there’s no battles to be fought right now. At least you’ll have something to do.”
“Alright,” Mo Zi’an said enthusiastically. “That’s just what I was hoping for. With me at the helm, we can not only buy and sell warhorses, we can also start a horse ranch and teach the commonfolk horsemanship and archery. We’ll charge a fee for it and make a little income.”
“Haha, just what I was thinking,” Su Biluo praised, in a good mood. “I knew Third Brother would make a good businessman.”
“Heheheh—” Mo Ziling chuckled sweetly. “Sister-in-law, you don’t know, but Third Brother is a shrewd calculator. Every little matter within the general’s estate is coordinated by him, along with the steward, Mo Di.”
“Mm, I can see that,” Su Biluo said to Mo Ziling, but she was staring at Mo Zichen. “But we still need the emperor’s and the general’s permission if we’re really going to do this. If an imperial edict is issued banning Dechang’s warhorse trade, then Third Brother and I can take his place. Then whatever we get up to in the future will have nothing to do with the imperial court.”
Su Biluo’s clever eyes sparkled, brimming with expectation as they eyed Mo Zichen.
Mo Zichen was poker-faced as always, but the corner of his mouth twitched faintly. “This general has his doubts. Are you really your father’s daughter?”
The Courtyard 