knife

Chapter 130 The feeling of heartbeat

Seeing Luo Hua's somewhat gloating smile, Li Dachui felt that this little woman was doing it on purpose!

We'll see. You'll be crying later.

He was seething with hatred in his heart, but he smiled and released Xiao Changche's hands. He said seriously, "When you practice your skills every day, you still need to investigate carefully. If you find any clues, even if you are not sure, you must tell me immediately. If I am not here, you can go to the old man. He can't cure it, but he can lock it up for you and wait for me to come back to deal with it."

Xiao Changche nodded seriously.

This matter is indeed not to be taken lightly.

Small mistakes can lead to great disasters; a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. As a military strategist, she was well aware of this principle.

Are you getting ready to leave?

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m planning to go to Yandu to meet with the Tiele!” Li Dachui said. “If we don’t make proper arrangements with them, we’ll likely face pressure from both the Northern Yuan and Linghu Ye, which would be too difficult.”

"Going to Yandu is too dangerous!" Xiao Changche felt lingering fear whenever he thought of Duanmu Miaomiao. "Didn't that woman say she had exhausted all her favors?"

"That's true, but I don't think Duanmu is a bloodthirsty person. Her hatred for the Li family is only because the person who overthrew the Dayong Dynasty was surnamed Li. But Dayong has been gone for hundreds of years, and she can't even remember what her ancestors looked like. How much hatred could she possibly have? Besides, there's the connection she has with my mother. This time when I go back, I plan to rekindle our past relationship. Even if I can't bring such a powerful expert over to be an ally, I can't let her become an enemy, can I?"

“You’re quite bold!” Xiao Changche shook his head and said, “Why take such a risk? As long as you can guarantee my logistics, I guarantee that every enemy that comes will not return.”

“Your idea is wrong, I have to correct you!” Li Dachui said, “Otherwise, we will win every battle on the battlefield, but in the end our strength will become weaker and weaker until we are vulnerable and can be wiped out by the enemy with a flick of their finger.”

"If you win every battle, how can you get weaker and weaker?" Luo Hua asked, puzzled.

"What's fought on the battlefield is courage and blood and sweat, but behind all that lies attrition!" Li Dachui said, "Let's not even talk about the current strength of the Northern Yuan. Just take Linghu Ye for example. He currently controls about one-third of the territory outside the pass. This one-third of the territory is all cultivated land and productive. If Linghu Ye didn't harbor ulterior motives and not intend to manage it for the long term, but only wanted to plunder enough before sending troops into the pass, his annual income would be enough to support him. Even now, his granaries are enough for his 100,000-strong army to fight for two years!"

Seeing Luo Hua's somewhat surprised expression, Li Dachui spread his hands: "What about us? To be honest, our current capabilities can only sustain high-intensity combat for six months. If we survive this year, we can accumulate a year's worth of reserves next year. Therefore, I must go to Yandu to negotiate with the Tiele, so that when the Northern Yuan invades, we can achieve the greatest victory at the lowest cost. We must not give Linghu Ye any opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

"Will the city lord go?" Xiao Changche pondered for a moment and said, "If the city lord goes, I will be at ease."

"I don't know," Li Dachui said, "but Valley Master Fu will go."

"Master Fu is going to treat the Tiele people?" Xiao Changche said with some dissatisfaction, "Wouldn't that be too easy on that bastard!"

Li Dachui shook his head, "No, Valley Master Fu received the invitation from the Northern Yuan several months ago. It's because the Northern Yuan ruler, Ying Zhuo, is unwell. He has been fighting against the Hu people in the far north for two years. Ying Zhuo is getting old, and even the best body can't hold on much longer. Therefore, he invited Valley Master Fu to help him recuperate. I will be mixed in with Valley Master's entourage."

"With the Valley Master protecting you, all my worries were for nothing!" Xiao Changche breathed a sigh of relief. "Although the Valley Master's martial arts cultivation is ordinary, his medical skills are divine, and his disciples are all over the world. I heard that the current head of the Northern Yuan Imperial Medical Academy has been auditing the Valley Master's classes for many years, but he has never been able to enter the sect! With him protecting you, it might be better than the City Lord going. Who wouldn't give the Valley Master some face?"

“That makes sense.” Li Dachui laughed. “Everyone eats grains and other foods, and everyone has their share of illnesses and pains. Even an old man, who is said to be a master of innate cultivation, had diarrhea like crazy a few days ago, going to the toilet seven or eight times a day, didn’t he?”

"Huh?" Xiao Changche was taken aback. "What's wrong with the city lord?"

"The older he gets, the more he craves food, and he got a stomachache from eating too much." Li Dachui said irritably, "I made some desserts, and he ate too much."

Xiao Changche thought of Zhou Zhi clutching his stomach and running to the toilet, and chuckled to himself.

Luo Hua looked at Xiao Changche and said with a smile, "Ningyu has been happier more times during this period than in the past few years combined. In the past, she carried all the burdens by herself. It must have been hard for her. Li Dachui, for this reason, I have to toast you a few times!"

"What nonsense!" Xiao Changche's face flushed slightly. "If you want to drink, then drink, but don't drag me into it. Anyway, I don't drink, and I have to go back to the barracks tonight!"

Li Dachui chuckled and drank three cups of wine with Luo Hua.

The cup is very small; even if you pick it up with two fingers and pour the whole thing into your mouth, you'd only get a small half-mouthful.
However, it seems that Luo Hua is not good at drinking. After three cups, his face turned as red as a big apple.

"Li Dachui, try my cooking. I made this myself." Luo Hua rolled up his sleeves and served the dishes to Li Dachui and Xiao Changche.

Li Dachui chewed a few bites, looked up at Luo Hua, who was looking at him expectantly, and then turned to look at Xiao Changche next to her, who was wolfing down his food.

If we only consider food, Xiao Changche was really easy to feed. He was not picky about food or clothing. He could wear the same military uniform for a year. He would eat whatever was available, and if there was nothing to eat, he would even eat grass roots.

But from the perspective of a military commander, supporting her is really expensive.

She wanted to equip her men with the best gear, which was why she used to prefer only having three thousand soldiers. Now that she had him as a powerful patron, she immediately became generous with her money. Thinking about the order Xiao Changche had given him a few days ago, Li Dachui felt that he truly had a long way to go ahead.

We need to set a quota for her, and a certain percentage of her total income should be used for military expenses. Unless there are special circumstances, this limit cannot be exceeded. After all, if we want healthy development, investment is inevitable. Now that the annual income is so much, if the military expenses are too high, then there will be less in other areas.

This is not a long-term solution.

However, Xiao Changche clearly didn't understand these things and needed to be guided slowly.

"How does it taste?" Luo Hua asked, watching Li Dachui pick through the food with his chopsticks.

Clearing his throat, Li Dachui said with a smile, "These green vegetables need to be stir-fried. Heat the wok over high heat, add lard, and when the oil is at the right temperature, add scallions, ginger, and garlic to sauté until fragrant. Finally, add the green vegetables. They need to be taken off the heat as soon as they wilt, otherwise they'll become boiled green vegetables. Look, the leaves have all turned yellow from being simmered."

Luo Hua's expression fell slightly.

"Is this the young yellow beef I had someone deliver yesterday? First of all, the way the meat is cut is not very good. Different parts of the cow should be cut in different ways, but you've cut it so badly it's almost falling apart. Some pieces are thin, and some are thick. You've also piled on too many spices during the marinating process. The spices are too strong, which completely masks the original flavor. Miss Luo, you should know that high-end ingredients sometimes require the simplest cooking methods." Li Dachui put down his chopsticks and said with a serious face.

Luo Hua's face fell. She had always thought her cooking skills were quite good, but now, in Li Dachui's mouth, they were utterly worthless.

"And then there are these glutinous rice balls..."

"Fine, fine, it just won't work!" Luo Hua said angrily. "You're so eloquent, when are you going to put together a feast for us to try, and see if you have any real skills or just a big mouth!"

"Alright, it's getting late today, how about tomorrow?" Li Dachui turned to look at Xiao Changche: "Is Ningyu coming back tomorrow night too? If she is, I'll bring the ingredients early and show you what real cooking skills are."

"I think Luo Hua did a great job!" Xiao Changche said, looking puzzled. "It tastes delicious, so why does it sound so bad to you?"

Li Dachui scoffed, "Heh heh, even if you just put a lump of meat in a pot, add some salt and spices, and boil it casually, you'd probably say it's delicious. Do you want to try what truly excellent cooking looks like?"

When did you develop such excellent cooking skills?

"Because I love to eat!" Li Dachui laughed. "As long as you're interested, you can do something well."

"Alright then, I'll be back tomorrow and I'll see what you're really capable of!" In the blink of an eye, Xiao Changche had finished all the food on his plate; he certainly had a good appetite.

However, Luo Hua couldn't eat anymore. She just sat there sullenly watching Li Dachui pick the food from her plate and put it on Xiao Changche's plate.

Is it so unpalatable?

He's clearly saying this on purpose! Is this revenge for me coming in at the wrong time? That Li Dachui, so cunning and sly.

Xiao Ningyu was also corrupted by Li Dachui during this trip.

The two of them worked together so well, they had such great chemistry!

The moon quietly climbed into the sky. Xiao Changche and Li Dachui rode side by side, walking slowly in the moonlight. The moon shone from behind, and their figures overlapped on the road ahead.

"I am leaving."

"I'll take you to the military camp!"

"No need. Dongwei is on duty today; it wouldn't be good if he saw us!"

"What's wrong with that? Is there something we're doing that we're ashamed to let him see?"

"If you say no, then no. Why are you so long-winded?" Xiao Changche reined in the horse, slightly unwell. "Aren't we supposed to have dinner together tomorrow?"

"That's true, you can go now!"

Xiao Changche spurred his horse and galloped away. After running for a while, he seemed to sense something and turned around. He saw that the man was still reining in his horse and waving at him!
She couldn't help but smile.

(End of this chapter)