Start with a red name

The reason why the Black Wind Army regards the division of Youzhou and the establishment of base areas as an extremely important and milestone change is that the entire army regards it as a crucial change.

It is because they believe that only by taking this step steadily can the "Black Wind Army" truly gain a foothold.

To put it more bluntly, the "base" will inevitably become a blood supply for the "Black Wind Army".

The "Black Wind Army" is like a big tree, and the "base" is the land that supports the big tree. The roots of the big tree, which are deeply embedded in the land, will draw a continuous stream of nutrients from the earth to meet the needs of the big tree to survive and even to support its further growth and expansion.

The selected individuals were naturally the sand people and tribal people who were widely distributed within the "base area".

However, Song Mingzhu privately advised Geng Xuan that this matter should not be rushed.

We must not rush things, and we must not show any bandit-like behavior.

Those sand tribe settlements are doing alright; they have no shortage of food and supplies, but what they lack is a sense of security, which is something the "Black Wind Army" can provide for them.

The situation of the tribal people was exactly the opposite. Because of the bond of the "son of the gods," they had direct contact with their own people, led by Monto. Their mentality was more positive. Their biggest difficulty was the lack of resources, especially food.

Song Mingzhu believes that this is also an opportunity for the "Black Wind Army".

By offering assistance, they seized the opportunity to firmly win over the hearts of those tribespeople.

The "Divine Child" is a spiritual bond, a consensus among people, and a thread that can unite the tribes of Xuanyou and Erzhou.

However, if this is all there is, then its effect will only be temporary.

When they were hungry and cold, fill their stomachs with food and warm their bodies with clothing.

Only by taking a two-pronged approach and combining internal and external efforts can we gain a firm grip on the situation.

At this moment, Cao Ao, who had been brought along by Song Mingzhu, was doing some calculations for Geng Xuan.

"Our food source is mainly horse meat."

"After skinning and deboning a Canglan horse, you can get about 600 catties of clean meat."

"During our clearing of all the bandit strongholds, more than 16,800 Azure Horses died one after another."

Subsequently, in various battles with Dong Guan, more than 5,200 more Canglan horses died.

A total of over 22,000 Canglan horses provided us with over 13 million catties of horse meat.

"The amount of horse meat that a single Xuanyou horse can provide is even more exaggerated. After skinning and deboning, it can yield an average of about 3,600 catties of clean meat."

Before landing on the west coast of Xuanqing Sea, not too many Xuanyou horses were lost, totaling only about 5,200.

However, the battle after landing on the western shore of Xuanqing Sea was extremely brutal, with tens of thousands of cavalry charging head-on. Even though we were being extra careful, we still lost more than 15,700 Xuanyou horses.

In total, nearly 21,000 Xuanyou horses provided us with over 75 million catties of horse meat.

"The amount of horse meat alone is nearly 90 million catties, or 600,000 shi."

"Furthermore, starting from the Iron Arrow Mountain Villa, we searched diligently at every place we passed, especially for food, leaving almost nothing out."

Although the variety was quite diverse, along the way, they managed to collect nearly 320,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of various foods.

In particular, wherever there are a large number of Xuanyou horses, it is a great harvest.

Because a Xuanyou horse needs to consume 60 catties of fine feed every day, neither the quality nor the quantity can be compromised in the slightest.

For example, when the Black Wind Army captured the military camp on the west bank of Xuanqing Sea, there was food for 50,000 soldiers and 20,000 Xuanyou horses.

The total amount was over 137,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), of which 120,000 shi were prepared for 20,000 Xuanyou horses, while only 17,000 shi were used for 50,000 soldiers.

"...Of course, the gains are great, but the costs are also great."

In the past two months, the size of the 'Black Wind Army' has increased dramatically, and its daily consumption has also skyrocketed.

The entire army, including some accompanying family members and ordinary laborers without any cultivation, consumed more than 131,000 shi of grain, mainly horse meat.

But the even more terrifying drain comes from the Xuan You horse, which has already consumed 420,000 shi of refined materials.

"With our current number of Xuanyou Horses, even if there is no further increase, we will still consume more than 430,000 shi of grain every month!"

Upon hearing this, Geng Xuan frowned slightly and, for the first time, interrupted Cao Ao's narration, saying:
"You fed the Xuanyou horse horse meat?"

According to Cao Ao, in the past two months, the Black Wind Army's main food haul was 600,000 shi of horse meat, plus 320,000 shi of other miscellaneous items.

All of the feed that can be used as concentrate for the Xuanyou horse is included in these 320,000 shi.

Geng Xuan recalls that a large portion of it consisted of foods like mutton and pickled fish.

Such reserves are far from sufficient to support the Xuan You horse's consumption of over 430,000 shi of grain over the past two months.

When Cao Ao saw him ask about this matter, he glanced at him twice, leaned forward slightly, and softly reminded him:
"My lord, Fu Yunfeng proposed a plan to exchange meat for grain in Xuanqinghai... and you even nodded in agreement at the time."

Geng Xuan paused for a moment, thought about it carefully, and then it dawned on him that Fu Yunfeng, who was in charge of this matter that day, had indeed mentioned it when he listened to a routine report.

The main reason Fu Yunfeng proposed this plan was that the "Black Wind Army" had not yet experienced the "bumper harvest" on the west coast of Xuanqinghai.

Fu Yunfeng, who was in charge of logistics, felt a sense of urgency as he looked at the terrifying daily consumption.

The Xuanyou horse, in particular, not only consumes a lot of energy but is also extremely picky about food.

Secondly, the proportion of horse meat in the diet was too high, to the point that the smell of horse meat made the soldiers feel nauseous.

Geng Xuan also strictly forbade large-scale looting in the Xuanqing Sea, so Fu Yunfeng came up with the crooked trick of "exchanging meat for grain".

—Within the Xuanqing Sea, there are many sand islands like "Meicun Island" where a large number of normal islanders live and work. There are also some sand islands that have gradually become the daily life of bandits. There are also many sand islands that have been occupied by a certain merchant guild or other powerful forces and turned into closed little worlds. All of them have a lot of money, food and supplies.

As the "Black Wind Army" swept across the entire Xuanqing Sea, all of this was naturally thoroughly investigated.

If they were to follow the habits of the bandits and thoroughly plunder the area, the "Black Wind Army" would gain a huge windfall.

Except for a very few cases where it was proven that the "gloves" were indeed Dong Guan's forces, Geng Xuan strictly forbade the "Black Wind Army" from carrying out any more looting.

Ultimately, faced with real difficulties, the "Black Wind Army" resorted to a compromise.

Meat was used to barter for grain, with horse meat being the main ingredient and mutton also being used in some transactions.

The key point is that the exchange rate is not 1:1, but 1:1.5.

Two shi of meat could be exchanged for three shi of grain.

If it weren't for the "Black Wind Army" holding the reins, this plan would have been very difficult to carry out.

Taste is secondary.

The main reason is that meat is wet and heavy, and its weight will shrink to some extent after cooking.

Grains are dry weight, but after being cooked with water and turned into food, they will "expand" considerably.

When the function of food is to "fill one's stomach," whether it is meat or grain is not what people care about most. The key point is whether it fills one hundred stomachs or two hundred stomachs.

"...Because meat reserves were limited at the time, and considering the Xuanqinghai's capacity to absorb it, 120,000 shi of meat were exchanged for 180,000 shi of grain."

"Due to the terrifying consumption of the Xuan You Horse, the grain we exchanged at that time has been almost completely used up. ... Currently, the army still has about 450,000 shi of food, the vast majority of which is horse meat."

Even if all the remaining food were given to the Xuan You horse, it would only last for three days at most.

Cao Ao spoke calmly about this pressing matter.

The Black Wind Army seems to have an extremely ample food reserve, but without new actions, the Xuan You Horses will soon run out of food.

Geng Xuan glanced at Cao Ao, then looked at Song Mingzhu, who remained silent beside him, and said softly, "Your attempt to borrow grain... is probably not as simple as you say, is it?"

Song Mingzhu said:

"We must procure food as soon as possible."

Geng Xuan nodded slightly.

“Right now, only those sand tribe settlements in our territory have enough food to provide,” Song Mingzhu continued.

Geng Xuan didn't even bother to nod, and looked at Song Mingzhu.

"But this grain isn't so easy to get, based on what we know."

Last year, after Dong Guan finalized the strategy of invading the south, he actively procured grain in Xuan and You prefectures, squeezing as much grain as possible without forcing a rebellion.

Therefore, even if these settlements had surplus food, it wouldn't be much, and it would all be life-saving food.

"If we forcibly seize their land, the sand tribes, who are already alienated from us, will immediately rise up in resistance," Song Mingzhu continued.

Geng Xuan nodded again.

This shows that Song Mingzhu was still conscious and not delirious.

Song Mingzhu changed the subject and brought up another matter.

"There's another thing I think is also very important, and it's also a huge burden for us."

"What?" Geng Xuan asked curiously.

“The Azure Mist Horse,” Song Mingzhu said.

"What's wrong with this horse?" Geng Xuan was even more puzzled after knowing the answer.

"Currently, we have more than 80,000 Azure Horses in our possession."

And with more surrendered soldiers and pilgrimage groups arriving daily, the number of Azure Horses continued to grow.

Geng Xuan was startled, as if he had thought of something, and hurriedly asked, "Is there not enough fodder?"

Song Mingzhu shook his head: "That's not it."

Compared to the Xuanyou horse, the biggest advantage of the Canglan horse is that it is not picky about food, is easy to raise, and each horse eats much less food per day.

The Black Wind Army carried a lot of fodder along the way, and the Azure Horses would also actively forage for food. Most of the withered grass that could be seen everywhere in the wilderness was also within their diet.

The pressure of feeding them is more than ten times less than that of feeding the same number of Xuanyou Horses!
But such a large herd of horses is itself a huge burden.

In order to arrange and care for them, the entire "Black Wind Army" had to allocate a lot of manpower and devote too much time and energy.

Most importantly, these Azure Horses are of almost no value to the Black Wind Army.

The reason why the Azure Horse was able to become popular in the Xuanyou and Xuanyou states is because of its unique "ecological niche".

First of all, it is not delicate, easy to raise, and resilient. Even if something really happens to it, an adult horse can still provide six or seven hundred catties of meat.

You can't lose money no matter what.

Moreover, in the sparsely populated Xuanyou and Youzhou regions, this was an essential tool for production for the sand people and tribal people.

Carrying goods, herding sheep, plowing and tilling the land...

Before the existence of the Canglan horse, other horse breeds were considered the best choice, but the Canglan horse became the best option due to its outstanding "cost-effectiveness".

For bandits, caravans, and other forces that have a strong need for long-distance travel but are not qualified to obtain the Xuanyou Horse, this is the easiest and most cost-effective means of transportation.

However, for the "Black Wind Army," which possesses over 36,000 Xuanyou horses, these are not entirely worthless, but they are also like chicken bones (meaning they are useless).

As Geng Xuan listened to Song Mingzhu's story, he gradually came to understand, and his brows furrowed.

"...These Azure Horses are nothing but a burden in our hands."

But if it were handed over to the sand people and those tribal people, it would be an extremely considerable fortune!

"It's February now, and the next few months will be the peak season for the estrus and breeding of the Canglan horse."

At this point, Song Mingzhu paused, then changed the subject again, still talking about the Canglan horse, but from a different angle.

"Since Bu'a bred the first batch of Canglan horses, the breed has spread rapidly throughout the Xuanyou and You states."

"And everyone is consciously working on continuous optimization of this horse breed."

"A good stallion is highly sought after, whether in the settlements of the sand people or in various tribes."

They're willing to pay exorbitant prices for even a single horse, just for a chance to breed with it.

Geng Xuan was taken aback. Having vaguely guessed Song Mingzhu's intention, he asked curiously:

"You mean, these Azure Horses we have are perfect for breeding?"

If horses also had good looks, the fact that these Azure Horses didn't die from all that intense torment is already their greatest fortune.

He has absolutely nothing to do with being "handsome".

As for those who were "unfortunate," they had already collapsed and died one after another due to exhaustion of their lives.

Even in death, they find no peace; after being skinned and deboned, they must still be fed the hungry "five stomachs".

Faced with Geng Xuan's question, Song Mingzhu smiled and said:
"Having survived so many trials and tribulations to this day, doesn't that prove their excellence?"
"...I dare say that all of our Azure Cloud Horses that were killed before we entered the Azure Sea and are still alive are top-notch stallions!"

Geng Xuan paused for a moment before realizing what was happening.

Because of the different fundamental purposes, the criteria for judging the quality of horse breeds are also different.

For example, the Canglan horse, which focuses on "cost-effectiveness" and is mainly used as a production tool, has "cheap life" as its biggest advantage.

Previously, in order to take down the entire bandit group as quickly as possible, those Azure Blue Horses were running at the cost of their lives.

Of those who died, only a very small fraction were killed in battle.

The vast majority of them die from exhaustion or running themselves to death.

Those who have survived until now are all incredibly resilient.

Geng Xuan nodded slightly, looked at Song Mingzhu, and said, "It seems you already have a complete plan in mind?" (End of this chapter)