Shennong Dao Master
Chapter 634 - 5: Can War Horses Be Trained Like This? Shocking the Noble Guests (12,000)_6

Chapter 634: Chapter 5: Can War Horses Be Trained Like This? Shocking the Noble Guests (12,000)_6

Yes, bankruptcy.

The nature of the Dragon Horse Guard was equivalent to that of a government enterprise.

It bred war horses for the court, primarily supplying three sectors: the army, the Daoist Academy, and the royal family (purchased through imperial merchants, individuals breeding horses for leisure were relatively rare, mainly participating in various competitions and ceremonial sacrifices).

Princess You Ruo’s private sponsorship did not need to be repaid and was not considered a debt, as he had not even written an IOU.

But the materials requisitioned from the Seven Islands by Chongming Prefecture were not supplied for free. The Dragon Horse Guard needed to repay them the following year!

Additionally, the increased labor costs, expanded site materials, and the soon-to-be-laid Ksitigarbha Returning Origin Array... The Dragon Horse Guard could now be said to be heavily debt-ridden!

Sun Shizhao not only allocated public funds but also contributed his personal savings, even selling off his family property.

The steward advised Sun Shizhao to reconsider, but Sun Shizhao replied, "He is a sixth-rank official, able to mobilize funds exceeding billions, what harm is there in me adding just ten million more?"

"I have been rotating within the fifth rank for thirty years! In Twin County, I haven’t been able to move for twenty years!"

"I originally thought that having lived two-thirds of my life, there was no hope of rising any further, but now there’s an opportunity. If I don’t take a gamble now, there won’t be another chance!"

"Get lost, I’m risking everything for this gamble. Don’t you dare cry in front of me!"

...

With Sun Shizhao’s funding, Princess You Ruo’s sponsorship, and Chongming Prefecture’s assistance with loans, the total amount exceeded fifteen billion, and not a single penny of it came from Mr. Zhao.

Seeing the financial report of the Dragon Horse Guard, even Mr. Zhao couldn’t help but sigh, feeling that his past endeavors were truly insignificant.

"What was the point of grafting in the past? Sneaking around and taking only a little. Now, just by messing around, I can control fifteen billion, now that’s satisfying!"

The entire Dragon Horse Guard was in a state of excitement.

Both new and old officials were devoting their utmost energy to their tasks.

Tao Anchun, Dong Yuanqiu, Cao Jiang, and Bao Shiqiu were completely awed by Zhao Xing’s "Ultimate Magic."

Zhao Xing had been there for less than half a year, and the previously lifeless Twin County was suddenly revitalized, giving off a vibrant and energetic vibe.

...

By the end of April, the expanded Ksitigarbha Returning Origin Array was completed, encompassing half of Land Island.

Zhao Xing’s true body continuously cast Ksitigarbha Returning Origin Spells, and by early May, the richness of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi on Land Island had reached level five, barely qualifying it as a "sub-precious land."

Thus, the fodder for the young beasts no longer needed to be requisitioned, but there was still not much excess, as the growing beasts’ appetites were ever-increasing.

....

Heavenly time and earth advantage had been adjusted to relatively high levels.

Zhao Xing began to refine the cultivation of the fodder planting area.

The purpose was to shorten the young beasts’ growth period and also prepare for when the lower third-ranked exotic beasts increased, to cultivate them to sixth-rank levels.

He had planted all the seeds bought from the Military Realm, and the exotic beast feed obtained from Chongming Prefecture was also cultivated by Zhao Xing on a large scale.

By the end of May, all fifty thousand young beasts had left the juvenile stage and entered a rapid growth phase.

By the end of June, the number of eighth and seventh-ranked war horses started to increase significantly.

Zhao Xing’s bold actions had drawn the attention of numerous politically astute forces, all turning their eyes to Twin Islands.

On July 5th, the Twin Dragon Horse Supervisor finally welcomed its first batch of visitors.

...

A Bishui Tower Ship sailed into Twin Islands.

Ji Zixuan stood on the ship’s observation deck, accompanied by two men and a woman, all dressed in Daoist robes, the two men in blue robes and the woman in green.

These three were leading officials from the Bishui Daoist School’s Beast Taming Department.

The internal divisions of the Daoist Academy could roughly be categorized into seven types: ceremony, music, martial skills, spells, taming, scripture, and mathematics.

Among them, taming was a particularly significant department.

It cultivated various talents, such as: chariot tamers, flying boat tamers, mechanical tamers, war beast tamers, and divine weapon masters (primarily large divine weapons).

The Beast Taming Department mainly trained war beast tamers, commonly known as "beast tamers."

The Bishui Daoist School naturally also had beast tamers, and the Bishui Sect’s significant influence in the East Sea naturally required beast tamers to conquer the sea.

Since Zhao Xing worked at the Twin Dragon Horse Supervisor, Ji Zixuan naturally wanted to secure some benefits for her senior brothers.

It was said that the Bishui Daoist School would never place an order in a small place like Twin County.

But Ji Zixuan was a person of Princess You Ruo, and out of respect for Princess You Ruo, three Masters from the Beast Taming Department of the Bishui Daoist School had come to inspect the situation.

"Zixuan, what is your relationship with Zhao Xing of the Twin County Dragon Horse Guard? You’ve mentioned him more than once." The middle-aged woman in the green robe asked with a smile.

"Is it just because he is a disciple of Liu Tianning?"

The Bishui Daoist School harbored no ill will towards Zhao Xing’s status as Liu Tianning’s direct disciple.

After all, Liu Tianning never attacked the Bishui Daoist School back then.

On the contrary, because of Princess You Ruo, the Bishui Daoist School was somewhat close to Liu Tianning.

Liu Tianning was expected to become the leader of the Self Sect, and if Princess You Ruo could marry Liu Tianning, it would be beneficial for both the Bishui Daoist School and the Self Sect.

The vast sea required exploring for divine branches and immortal woods worldwide by the Self Sect, how could it lack maritime exploration?

The Grand Minister of Agriculture controlled the national finances, so wouldn’t the Bishui Daoist School want more of the country’s financial resources to be tilted in its favor?

Therefore, the ruling faction of the Bishui Daoist School was pleased to see Princess You Ruo marry Liu Tianning.