Chapter 1052 - Nick's Arrival

This was going to be an ideal place to accomplish great things. In all of East Asia, Nick thought, apart from Hokkaido, Jeju Island offered the most ideal conditions for raising horses.

The H800 docked safely at the jetty under the tow of a small launch. Since an Exemplar was aboard, the Marine squad garrisoned at Jocheon formed a line on the dock to welcome them. Li Haiping was out at sea, so the highest-ranking officer present to greet Nick's party was Xue Ziliang, the Special Reconnaissance Team detachment leader.

As the Marine sergeant bellowed "Present arms!" and "Salute!" the loudspeaker began playing "We Salute You, Comrade Commander!" Nick had no choice but to stand at attention, then raise his hand in salute to those greeting him.

When the music concluded, Nick finally relaxed and shook hands with Xue Ziliang. Pak Chang-beom had already prepared sedan-chair bearers—by Chinese standards, the conveyance was more accurately called a "bamboo pole litter."

Nick frowned. "I have feet. I don't need that thing."

"It's quite a distance to the command post, and the ground is terrible," Xue Ziliang explained.

"No matter." Nick waved dismissively. "Better use these men to unload my luggage—that's what really matters. Tell them to be careful."

"Alright, we'll have it delivered to the command post."

The road was extremely difficult to traverse. Due to the construction, the gravel and yellow sand surface had been churned into an impassable quagmire, with bundles of brushwood and straw mats scattered haphazardly across it.

Nick slogged through the mud, one step deep, the next shallow, for twenty minutes before finally reaching the command post—the post station. Both his feet and trouser legs were caked with yellow mud, though fortunately the command post already had a fire burning and ample hot water ready. Two female servants—former official slaves repurposed as "volunteer" maids—hurried over to help him remove his shoes and wash his feet. Nick felt rather uncomfortable with this and quickly said he would wash himself.

After considerable effort to get clean and change into fresh clothes and shoes, he was about to instruct Laibao to collect his dirty clothes and shoes for later when he noticed the two maids had already taken them away.

"Don't worry about it—by tomorrow morning everything will be cleaned, dried, and brought back to you. They have all the skills for this sort of service." Xue Ziliang sat comfortably on a stool while an official slave woman washed and massaged his feet.

"Vinnie, I would have thought you'd be a bit more... modern..." Nick spoke up. Having spent so long in Australia, he had inevitably absorbed some of the "politically correct" sensibilities of the Western left, which made him uncomfortable in Lingao. He was particularly resistant to the Exemplar Council's practice of assigning female servants, and had always refused to use the female servant stipend to purchase one. But having his apprentices do laundry and housekeeping never worked out properly. In the end, the Administrative Office had stepped in and hired a maid to look after his daily needs.

"Nick, in another timeline this place was a paradise for men." Xue Ziliang's eyes were half-closed as he enjoyed the massage, his thoughts drifting back to his time in the US Marine Corps and the various pleasures Korea had offered American soldiers. "This is nothing compared to that..."

Nick said nothing more. He still felt like a fish out of water—even when facing a genuine "banana."

Once the "pampering" was complete and all luggage unloaded, Nick personally inspected the seals and packaging to confirm everything was intact before setting out. This time he did not refuse the sedan chair. Xue Ziliang had told him the main road was in poor condition; Feng Zongze was investing manpower to repair it. Of course, he could also take a boat, but sea conditions were poor these past few days, and since what he was carrying was important, he ultimately decided on the overland route.

Just as they were about to depart, Nick suddenly noticed a dozen or so cavalrymen in the convoy wearing conical helmets and carrying sabers. Their luggage was also being transported by horses. His interest was immediately piqued.

"What—there are horses?"

"There are indeed. This is Jeju's postal relay station, after all. Isn't it normal to have a few horses here?"

"And the cavalry?"

"They're soldiers from the Japanese Company of the Security Army. They may look like common grunts, but apparently they were mounted samurai back in Japan..." Xue Ziliang smiled.

"Could I have those soldiers?"

Xue Ziliang was momentarily taken aback, unsure why this horse fanatic had suddenly developed an interest in Japanese soldiers. "Lending them to you temporarily is no problem, but you'll need to process the paperwork through Nangong."

Nick's party soon reached Jeju City and was escorted into the Provincial Governor's compound. He had barely settled in before demanding that Feng Zongze be found.

"Commissar Feng has gone to inspect Daejeong," Feng Zongze's secretary reported. "He won't be back until tomorrow."

"Who else among the Exemplars is in Jeju?"

"Commander Nangong is here..."

"Fetch him immediately! Tell him I'm waiting and need to discuss something."

Nick could not wait to begin work. Any Exemplar present would do—someone who could at least brief him on the situation.

The secretary was surprised. Who was this Exemplar? Such airs he put on!

Nick was the reclusive type among Exemplars. He rarely participated in any group activities, always "holed up" at the Gaoshan Ridge ranch. If he ever went out, it was either to the Changhua pasture or to check on horses at the Agriculture Commission or Army stables. Consequently, the Exemplars' secretaries found him quite unfamiliar. Seeing how imperiously he spoke, Feng Zongze's secretary did not dare delay and hurried off to find Nangong Wudi's female orderly.

Nangong Wudi was in the city inspecting the renovation and disinfection work on the barracks. When he heard that a "very important Chief" had arrived and wished to speak with him, he dared not dally and immediately returned to the Provincial Governor's compound.

"It's you..." Nangong Wudi did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I thought it might be someone from the General Staff or the Executive Committee."

"Whether they come or not is none of my concern," Nick said. "I'm here to investigate the horse situation. Tell me everything you know."

Nangong Wudi was momentarily at a loss for words. Fortunately, he had witnessed Nick's manner often enough in the Army to know this was simply how he was.

"Don't be in such a rush. Old Feng is away—he'll be back tomorrow and can brief you in detail. Anyway, we don't have much information on the horse situation."

"What?!"

Nick was about to leap from his seat when Nangong Wudi stopped him:

"Our control over this island is still very tenuous—we've only just established the basic institutions. Not to put too fine a point on it, we haven't even sorted out the people yet. Where would we find time for horses?"

Jeju Island's pastures, both public and private, were mostly located in the mountainous Hallasan region at the island's center. The Jeju Forward Committee had discussed the matter and agreed not to touch these horse ranches until they had established stable governance and trained sufficient collaborators and local Security Army forces. For now, news-gathering was the priority. Under the guidance of locals familiar with the island's interior terrain, Xue Ziliang's Special Reconnaissance Team had already conducted several foot patrols.

"...That said, it's not as though we have no horses at all," Nangong Wudi added. "We've taken over a few horse farms and paddocks. Several hundred horses."

"Where?" Nick made to rise again.

"Don't be so hasty—the horses aren't going anywhere!" Nangong Wudi restrained him. "But they're spread across several locations. You couldn't possibly inspect them all today. Wait until Feng Zongze returns tomorrow and discuss the specifics with him. For now, please get some rest."

Nick nodded reluctantly. "Very well." Seeing that Nangong Wudi was about to leave, he added, "The Japanese Security Army soldiers who escorted me here—the ones who can ride—could I have them assigned to me?"

Nangong Wudi agreed immediately. "No problem. We've received instructions from Lingao: you're to have whatever personnel and provisions you request here. We'll cooperate fully. Everyone's looking forward to motorization—or rather, mule-and-horse-ization."

"Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. Just get us some cavalry when the time comes."

Nothing more of note happened that night. The next morning, Feng Zongze returned to Jeju. He had barely entered his office when Nick, who had been waiting there, pounced on him.

Feng Zongze was prepared—he had already received notice of Nick's imminent arrival. After directing his secretary to bring hot tea, he began briefing Nick.

General information on Jeju Island's horses and pastures had already been provided by the Grand Library and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau.

According to the Veritable Records of the Yi Dynasty, the number of official horses on Jeju Island was approximately ten thousand. This figure was probably fairly accurate, because under the horse tribute regulations established by the Yi Dynasty, Jeju Island was required to present horses to the court annually for military and official use. This was known as "horse tribute presentation."

The horse tribute presentation was typically held on June 7 before the Gwandeok Pavilion of the Jeju Provincial Governor's Office. The annual quota was 200 horses. Additionally, 700 horses were presented every third year during the cyclical years, with 20 horses presented on each of the Three Felicitous Days—New Year's Day, Winter Solstice, and the King's Birthday. Three horses were also presented whenever a new magistrate took office in any of Jeju's three counties. Furthermore, irregular selections could be conducted by traders when necessary.

By this calculation, Jeju Island's official horse pastures were required to present roughly 450 horses annually to the Yi Dynasty court. Given selection ratios, a herd of at least ten thousand horses had to be maintained to guarantee this tribute.

As for privately owned horses, the historical records did not provide a clear figure. However, Kim Man-il had once presented five hundred horses to the court in a single tribute, suggesting he maintained a herd of at least ten thousand.

Adding in smaller private ranches, Jeju Island's total horse population might well approach thirty thousand.

Nick listened attentively to the briefing, then said: "I've actually visited Jeju Island before—it's famous for its pony breed. The materials from the Grand Library say the same thing. But the horses I've seen so far haven't been that small."

Jeju Island's distinctive horse breed was the pony, standing only 0.8 meters tall. Though small, these horses had excellent stamina. Reportedly possessing very high bone density and exceptional endurance, they were similar to the "under-the-fruit-tree horses" found in the Yunnan-Guizhou region of China. They could thrive on rough fodder and endure hard labor; their drawback was limited carrying capacity due to their small stature.

This so-called "especially high bone density" had later spawned a health supplement marketed to tourists called "horse bone powder," supposedly made from the bones of these ponies.

After the Mongols occupied Jeju, they recognized the well-developed limbs of these small horses but found them too small to ride. They therefore imported 150 Mongolian horses to crossbreed with the local stock, producing the later Jeju horse.

"We haven't seen any such ponies yet—at least not among the several hundred horses we've captured," Feng Zongze said. "I believe the horses here are essentially ordinary Mongolian horses."

(End of Chapter)