After thinking carefully, Adam Carter finally considered his wording and said, “Actually, we can imagine the buyers who need warhorses as a big pie, and we, the horse traders, are the ones eating the pie. This pie is what we call the market.”

He put it simply, and these rough men all nodded repeatedly. “So that’s how it is.”

As for Adam Carter’s unusual behavior, his father Peter Carter was actually a bit worried; otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited a Taoist priest to drive away evil spirits in the first place. But seeing that his speech was normal, he didn’t think much more about it. Since the chieftain himself had no doubts, even if the others had any, they would just keep them to themselves.

“But the size of this pie is ultimately limited.” Adam Carter tried to make himself even clearer. “Yet the number of people eating the pie keeps increasing. We’re certainly not the first horse traders, and we definitely won’t be the last. As everyone knows, there are several sources of horses for the imperial court and the Central Plains rebel armies these days: one is tribute horses from foreign lands, another is captured warhorses, the other two are market purchases, and finally, horses bred locally in the Central Plains.”

“Second Young Master says ‘as everyone knows’—do you know?” Frank Reed couldn’t help but ask Brian Cooper.

“How would I know?” Brian Cooper shook his head. “All I know is that some of the horses we ride are government horses, and some are stolen.”

“Then why does Second Young Master say ‘as everyone knows’?” Frank Reed pondered hard but couldn’t figure it out.

“That ‘everyone’ probably just means himself,” Brian Cooper could only explain it this way.

Frank Reed suddenly understood. “So that’s it. Second Young Master’s words are truly unique and thought-provoking.”

Adam Carter couldn’t help but laugh when he overheard their whispered conversation.

Logically, after being in the stronghold for several months, he shouldn’t know these things, since apart from robbing, he just practiced his sword for self-defense in his own way. How would he know the sources of horses?

Fortunately, though he didn’t study history deeply, he did have some knowledge of famous horses from various dynasties, which allowed him to offer these insights. Although famous horses are recorded in the history books, horse trading is rarely mentioned by any famous figures. Throughout history, many dynasties valued agriculture over commerce, and the Sui dynasty was one of them. It’s understandable that short-lived dynasties either didn’t have time to record such things or didn’t consider them worthy of record.

What embarrassed him was that his ordinary summary had already made John Bennett nod repeatedly. “Second Young Master, without even leaving the house, you can grasp the great trends of the world. Truly, you are a master strategist, winning from a thousand miles away. In fact, with your knowledge and abilities, you don’t need to trade horses—if you were to vie for the world, I believe you’d have great prospects.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Adam Carter felt a headache coming on. If he didn’t know history and just listened to a few words from John Bennett, then thought of Zhang Xutuo’s overwhelming prestige, he might have been tempted to join the struggle for the Central Plains.

But after being here for several months, he already understood that while things depend on people, some things simply can’t be done. With his meager abilities, he might be able to scrape by, but rashly joining the ranks of rebel kings would only make him cannon fodder, since Adam Carter had never appeared in the history books.

No longer discussing rebellion, Adam Carter returned to the main topic. “Tribute horses are famous breeds, but obviously only princes and nobles can ride them. Captured warhorses are obtained by chance. The real competition for this pie of buyers is in market trading, especially with the Central Plains’ official horses. Of course, I think there are already many people like us who want to make a living by breeding horses.”

Everyone nodded, and Adam Carter continued, “The Turks may be fierce, but their horse breeds are indeed the best in the world. If you want to acquire warhorses, they are naturally everyone’s first choice as buyers. If we want to compete with them, besides considering price and convenience, we also need to breed fine and famous horses to attract attention—yes, attention. Either we don’t do it, or we become the best horse traders. When the world falls into chaos and warhorses are in short supply, we won’t have to beg anyone; they’ll come begging us. That would be truly glorious—why worry about losing face?”

After Adam Carter’s speech, even Paul Grant was moved. The Sui dynasty values agriculture over commerce, and merchants have always been looked down upon. They were originally soldiers, so suddenly switching to horse trading was not something they were entirely willing to do. But after hearing Adam Carter’s impassioned words, they felt the future looked bright and full of promise!

Section Eight: You Were Born a Beauty, Yet Became a Thief

Peter Carter listened to his son’s impassioned speech, stroked his beard, and smiled, feeling gratified in his old age.

John Bennett had thought that his own earnest persuasion of the group was already a great achievement, but hearing Adam Carter’s words stir everyone’s emotions, he admired him even more. “Second Young Master, I originally wanted to manage everything with the chieftain, but since your ideas are so brilliant and you seem so confident, why don’t you tell us what to do next?”

Adam Carter looked at Peter Carter and, seeing him nod slowly, no longer declined. “According to my earlier analysis, when it comes to horse breeding, we must avoid seeking quick success. We need to consider long-term, mid-term, and short-term development. First, George Price contacting buyers is, of course, essential.”

George Price nodded and agreed.

Black cat or white cat, the one that catches mice is a good cat. Although George Price was an old hand, seeing Adam Carter speak so convincingly, he had to admit his respect, at least on the surface.