Starting as a centurion, he fought his way through the chaos of the world.

Chapter 107 Inventorying Supplies and Consumption

"My lord, we have obtained a total of 2.6 million shi of grain, 38 million taels of silver, and 130,000 captured rebel soldiers."

Most of them are young adults!

Wu Han's words brought a look of joy to Lu Ming's face.

As expected of Zezhou, because it is full of marshes, even though it encountered a severe drought, it was better than other places. And it happened to be harvest time, so much grain was collected by King Muye.

There was a lot of silver.

There are many things you can do now.

At the very least, feeding another 100,000 troops would be no problem at all.

Then, after a moment of contemplation, he said, "Wu Han, I'm giving you a task!"

"Please give your orders, sir!" Wu Han immediately bowed and said.

A solemn expression appeared on his rugged face.

Now, the person he admires most is Lu Ming.

In the midst of despair, a path was miraculously found.

While other regions were occupied by rebels, the enemy managed to seize a state while isolated among the rebel forces.

They recovered the territory of the imperial court.

"You will lead your 20,000 troops, plus the 10,000 I brought, and select 100,000 strong men from the 130,000 prisoners to launch an immediate attack on Zezhou. We aim to take the entire Zezhou before winter. Is that possible?"

"This humble general will certainly live up to your expectations, sir!" Wu Han said resolutely.

He was a very pure general, and what he loved most was fighting on the battlefield.

Now, we have food and troops.

He rarely fights wars where he has an overwhelming advantage.

"Alright, I'll allocate you 100,000 shi of grain. When do you depart?"

"It will be ready in half a month," Wu Han said quickly.

After all, it takes some time to incorporate prisoners of war.

Otherwise, we could set off immediately.

"Then I'll wait for your good news in Yunzhou. Besides attacking the city, you also need to train these 100,000 prisoners. Tell them that as long as they break through Zezhou, they will be my soldiers."

Everyone will be provided with rations, pay, and armor!

As for the elixirs, you can bring your accompanying physicians to brew them when you go on campaign; I will increase the quantity purchased.

Lu Ming wasn't worried at all that these recruited rebels would resist.

In today's chaotic world, it's perfectly normal to be incorporated into the workforce after surrendering. For people at the bottom of society, loyalty and disloyalty are simply not relevant.

As long as they're fed, they'll do anything.

Loyalty takes time to cultivate.

King Makino obviously didn't have the time.

"Rest assured, sir, I will definitely bring out an elite force in three months."

"I believe in you," Lu Ming said, patting Wu Han on the shoulder.

To live better in today's world, you need soldiers and generals.

Now that Lu Ming has money and supplies, he plans to train more elite troops.

Then there are generals like Wu Han.

There are still too few skilled subordinates.

Wu Han withdrew.

On the second day, Lu Ming led the Mo Dao soldiers, along with a large amount of grain, silver, and other supplies captured this time, toward Hongdu Prefecture.

Leave the rest to Wu Han and his captains.

If you have to handle everything personally, what's the point of having so many subordinates?

More than ten days later, he finally returned to Hongdu City and also received news that Wu Han was leading a large army on an expedition.

Outside the mansion, Zhang Meng had already come out to greet them.

"My lord, you're finally back!" After taking the reins from Lu Ming's hand.

Zhang Meng's face lit up with a smile.

News of Lu Ming's initial victory has already reached back, and Yunzhou, which was filled with anxiety before he left, is now all smiles.

I am fortunate to have been born in Yunzhou, where I did not suffer the ravages of war.

"He's back. Let Guo Zhun come out and take stock of the supplies and put them in storage."

Oh, and tell Baili Fei to come over too.

As Lu Ming spoke, he walked inside.

Zhang Meng quickly replied, "I'll go right away."

They left in a hurry while they were talking.

As soon as Lu Ming arrived outside the front hall, he saw Guo Zhun rushing out in a flurry.

Looking at the supplies outside the yamen, his face was full of smiles.

Lu Ming shook his head and entered the front hall.

At this moment, the soldiers guarding outside hurriedly came in to pour him tea.

After a moment of effort.

"Boom boom boom!"

Then they heard a commotion outside.

Then, Baili Fei walked in, wearing a long robe with gold and bronze patterns, and his figure was even bigger than before.

However, Lu Ming noticed that his blood and energy had increased significantly.

After all this time, you've actually broken through to the True Essence realm.

"Not bad, you've broken through already?" Lu Ming said with a faint smile after taking a sip of tea.

"My lord, the cultivation method you gave me is just right for me. My father said he must thank you properly. In such a short time, my cultivation has reached the True Essence Realm, and the growth rate is still very fast."

Baili Fei is very excited now.

Lu Ming nodded. "I called you here today so you could contact Lingyaotang and double the amount of medicine you ordered in the past, and have it sent directly to Zezhou."

Now that Zezhou is under my control, I must treat my soldiers equally.

In addition to these, there will also be armor, which will be sent along with them.

Lu Ming now has some family fortune.

The spoils from this operation, along with the silver we already had, amounted to over 43 million taels, even though some money had been spent recently. This was no small sum.

That's enough for him to build more troops.

"My lord, are you preparing to attack Zezhou?" Baili Fei's eyes sparkled.

"Yes, the army has already set out. Is there anything I can do for you?" Lu Ming raised an eyebrow and asked.

There must be a reason why Baili Fei asked this question.

Sure enough, the other party quickly said, "The bay in Zezhou is excellent, and it is most suitable for fishing. I heard that in the past, a large number of sea fish were caught every year as tribute. Not only is the meat delicious, but some of them are treasure fish that are comparable to medicine."

Eating one of these can increase your cultivation level.

They're in high demand everywhere.

I was thinking that if we take Zezhou, our governor's office could hire some fishermen and set up a fishing team to catch fish, which could not only supply the army but also be sold outside.

I've heard that the resources in the sea are much more abundant than those on land.

Before the imperial court imposed a maritime ban, countless people went to sea to seek their fortune. Back then, our coastal prefectures were renowned for their wealth.

Baili Fei seemed to miss it very much.

However, he had only heard these things from the older generation; he had never experienced them himself.

After all, the Great Yu Dynasty had banned maritime trade for hundreds of years.

That is, people from the imperial court would occasionally go to sea.

"Why was the sea ban imposed in the first place?" Lu Ming had no memory of this.

"It is said that there are immortal sects in the sea causing trouble, and sea monsters are rampaging. Every year, very few people who go out to sea return alive, so the sea is banned."

Baili Fei responded.

There was a hint of regret in his voice.

Lu Ming raised an eyebrow and said, "Since it's so dangerous, wouldn't it be very dangerous for those fishermen if you formed a fishing team?"

"That's why Zezhou was chosen. There's a bay there with plenty of fish, and because the water isn't deep, there are almost no sea creatures, let alone people from the immortal sects. That's why it sends tribute to the imperial court every year."

"Okay, you handle this matter as you see fit," Lu Ming nodded.

Baili Fei did not leave, and said again, "Sir, there is one more thing. Isn't there a workshop in Heishan County that refines diamonds? And recently a huge iron mine has been discovered. I plan to completely develop that place into a huge mining area."

Each household in Fenglei County can hire one person to enter the mining area to mine and increase the production of refined steel.

With wars raging in various places, the demand for this is huge.

Moreover, we have existing sales channels.

They might be able to earn quite a bit each year.

Most importantly, it was more than enough to supply their own army.

His words made Lu Ming nod repeatedly.

Although he has a lot of money now, he has many needs, and the tax revenue from various places is only enough to pay the army's salaries.

Armor and elixirs all come from money I've earned myself; it's not a good idea to just sit around and live off my savings.

Especially now that there are more soldiers.

The amount of silver needed to purchase elixirs each month is close to three million taels.

What we have now is enough for a little over a year.

"Go ahead and do these things. If you need money, just go to Guo Zhun."

There's one more thing. Find someone to buy more cotton, about 700,000 catties. Go out and tell the Ironware Battalion to prepare to make 100,000 sets of cotton armor.

Now, Lu Ming has more and more people under his command.

He established a special ironware battalion, and the old blacksmith was the captain of the ironware battalion.

They also recruited nearly three thousand refugees to forge armor and weapons for the army.

Another function is to train newcomers.

After all, cultivating talent requires a gradual process.

"Yes, sir!" Baili Fei replied hastily.

He's full of energy right now.

He knew in his heart that the more business the Governor's Office had, the greater his power would be. Therefore, he was now trying every means to expand the army's logistics industry.

Lu Ming was pleased to see this.

Besides the military, logistics are even more important in determining the strength of a force.

Only when supplies are in place can soldiers fight with peace of mind on the front lines.

After Baili Fei responded, he carefully walked out.

But right after he left, Bai Yan also arrived.

At that moment, the other party rushed in.

He first bowed to Lu Ming, then said, "My lord, I heard you intend to take over Ze Prefecture?"

"The troops have already been dispatched. Is there a problem?"

Lu Ming said with a smile.

He knew Bai Yan didn't like taking on responsibilities.

But there's nothing we can do; it's already a fact.

"According to celestial predictions, the drought will last for a long time. I must go to Zezhou immediately. There are many lakes there, which can be utilized. If it can be built up this year, it should become a grain-producing area next year without any problem."

However, I heard that there are many disaster victims there, and there is not much food left.

"So, you have to come with me to provide supplies." It turned out that Bai Yan wasn't shirking his responsibilities; he actually wanted the supplies.

"How much do you want? We don't have much grain."

“My lord, I have already seen it. When you returned this time, you brought a lot of grain. Moreover, Hongdu Prefecture had a bumper harvest this year. The grain you have is enough to feed the entire Zezhou. You don’t want Zezhou to be in chaos next year, do you?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Ming immediately perked up.

Yes, he hasn't even inquired about Yunzhou's grain yield this year.

Then, their gazes turned towards them.

Bai Yan knew what he wanted to ask, and immediately said, "The total grain tax paid by the entire Yunzhou this year is about 700,000 shi, and next year this number should be several times higher."

Lu Ming was very satisfied.

He nodded and said, "Alright, this time I will allocate you one million shi of grain and one million taels of silver, which I will send over gradually. Also, you need to cooperate with Baili Fei to build a dock in Zezhou Bay as soon as possible and set up a fishing team."

You decide on the number of people.

"Thank you, sir!" Bai Yan said immediately.

However, as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something. "Sir, are you an official from Zezhou?"

"You can appoint the local officials as you see fit," Lu Ming said nonchalantly.

As long as food and the army are in our own hands.

Given his power, local officials couldn't cause any trouble.

That's also a characteristic of this world.

The role of civil officials was to assist military generals.

Therefore, their status was naturally lower than that of military generals, and they did not have much appeal.

Of course, there are exceptions.

For example, Li Yan, but even such a person would not pose any threat to the imperial court.

This is also why the royal family trusts him.

"Thank you for your trust, sir!"

Bai Yan clasped his hands in farewell and took his leave.

Finally, after things quieted down in the hall, Lu Ming did not immediately go to the backyard to see his wife.

He planned to check the system space to see if there was any suitable, powerful, elite equipment.

Like the Mo Dao soldiers and the Tie Fu Tu.

After all, once you have money, it's best to spend it as soon as possible and turn it into real power.

Now, they are surrounded by rebel forces.

Without a strong military, if they were to be surrounded, they could at least hold off the enemy, if not counterattack.

With that in mind, I opened the system shop again.

I'll also take a look at how many points I've earned in the battle beneath Yunmeng City.

(End of this chapter)