Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 134 Assassination, Braised Pork, and Oil-splashed Noodles

Every historical opportunity has a great deal of chance involved; there is no such thing as inevitability. If doing something guarantees a reward, only a swindler would use that theory.

Gunpowder presented such a historical opportunity. Yun Ce gave Hong Guniang and her group the gunpowder formula. If she received it, it meant that she was rightfully entitled to it.

If the messenger bird met with an accident on the way, or if Red Girl and her team failed to develop good gunpowder, then it would mean that gunpowder was not something that should be in her life.

Yun Ce didn't care whether Hong Guniang received it or not. Just as E Ji said, if some people with ill intentions got their hands on it and figured it out, it would be a good thing for Yun Ce.

Unlike the highest echelons of the world, none of the people at the top of the Han Dynasty were anything but true elites. They were not only intelligent but also highly skilled in martial arts. In addition, they had power and money, which kept the vast majority of the lower classes firmly at the bottom, living a life of darkness and despair.

Gunpowder is a good thing because it can overcome the limitations of the physical body, thus creating a situation where someone with a low level of physical strength can kill someone with a high level of physical strength.

Such a situation could naturally shake the foundations of those people's rule.

The seed of gunpowder has already been sown, and Yun Ce will no longer pay attention to its subsequent development. If there is any further development, such as gunpowder exploding in Chuyun Prefecture, Yun Ce will hear about it.

It rains every three days in Chang'an, which is not good for the wheat that is about to be harvested, because the wheat will need to be exposed to the sun for a long time to ripen.

Yun Ce wrote a letter to the High Priest expressing his concerns.

Strangely yet naturally, on the third day, Lantian County was still bathed in sunshine.

After being sun-dried for three days, the wheat stands tall and golden in the fields. When the wind blows, it rustles and, if the wind is strong, it forms golden waves of wheat.

High Priest Liu Changsheng and Grand Marshal Zhou Bo stood by the wheat field with a large group of people. Liu Changsheng casually broke off an ear of wheat, gave half to Zhou Bo, and then rubbed the remaining half in his hand, blew on it, and plump, dark yellow grains of wheat appeared in his hand.

Looking at the wheat grains the size of soybeans in Liu Changsheng's hand, even though Yun Ce had personally grown these wheat grains, he couldn't suppress the bitterness in his heart.

On average, one mu (unit of land area) of wheat yielded 8,700 jin (unit of weight)!

Yun Ce was disheartened, while Liu Changsheng and Zhou Bo were overjoyed. This yielded more than four times the output of slash-and-burn agriculture, and it was definitely a promising opportunity.

They would simply find a patch of land in the wild, set it on fire, then poke a hole in the ground with a sharpened stick, throw in the wheat seeds, stomp on them, and then leave it alone. When the wheat ripened, they would harvest the ears of wheat, and in this way, they could still get two thousand catties of harvest per mu (unit of land area)...

Yun Ce had served as an agricultural cadre. The wheat yield in the Huanghuai region, China's main wheat-producing area, has always fluctuated between 700 and 1,000 jin per year. You have to understand, that's truly intensive farming, with plenty of fertilizer, and the water, light, and temperature are all very suitable for wheat growth...

Such hard work and toil in farming yields less than a savage could produce with just a fire and a stick.

This made Yun Ce feel deeply sorry for the hardworking farmers on Earth who couldn't even sell their wheat for a good price; they should be farming in the Han Dynasty.

The bitterness on Yun Ce's face did not escape the notice of Liu Changsheng and Zhou Bo.

Liu Changsheng smiled and said to Zhou Bo, "One thing is certain: in the ancestral land, growing grain is a very hard and unprofitable business."

Zhou Bo laughed and asked, "How do you know?"

Liu Changsheng said, "You only need to look at Yun Ce's bitter face to know that the ancestral land's grain production is at most half of what we have here."

Zhou Bo laughed and said, "Poor thing..."

One mu of land yields 8,700 jin. In the Han Dynasty, a strong man could support himself with three shi of grain a year. Three shi of grain in the Han Dynasty is only 360 jin. Cultivating one mu of land is enough to support the whole family and there is even a surplus.

Yun Ce couldn't help but cast his gaze at the fields of unripe millet, beans, and baby beans. He was convinced that the yield of those things would definitely not be low.

Zhou Bo came up to Yun Ce, patted him heavily on the shoulder, and said to him decisively, "When the next farming season begins, the slaves near Chang'an will be organized to farm."

Yun Ce said with difficulty, "Based on the climate near Chang'an, it is possible to have two harvests a year here."

Zhou Bo's smile grew even brighter as he continued to pat Yun Ce's shoulder vigorously, saying, "Go and farm north of the Great Wall. If you can improve the grain supply at Tiewei Pass, when you return, as long as I'm still alive, I guarantee your Yun family will have a prestigious and useful title to leave to your descendants."

Yun Ce quickly bowed to express his gratitude. At that moment, something golden flew slowly from afar. Zhou Bo's expression changed drastically, and he roared. Four armored soldiers immediately appeared beside him, surrounding him.

Although Yun Ce didn't understand what the thing that was flying over was, he still leaped into the ditch next to him and grabbed a stone slab used to block the water with one hand and put it on himself.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." A dense sound of rain hitting the duckweed reached Yun Ce's ears. He tried his best to shrink his body and hide under the stone slab. Even so, he could still see more than a dozen silvery-white spikes sticking out from one end of the stone slab.

"Assassin! Catch the assassin!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Yun Ce lifted the stone slab and carefully looked out, discovering that the four armored soldiers protecting Zhou Bo were no longer moving much.

Yun Ce quickly jumped out and pushed aside several armored soldiers who were riddled with spikes. He saw that Zhou Bo's shoulders, abdomen, thighs, and feet were also covered in spikes. So, like a frightened chick, he shouted.

"Assassin! Catch the assassin! Grand Marshal is injured..." At the same time, his eyes were scanning the surroundings, and he even sent his dog to search the world for the assassin's hiding place.

A burly man with a body covered in flabby flesh, wearing only a few pieces of leather to cover his ugliness, leaped down from a tall tree like a stone, wielding a broad machete, and charged toward Yun Ce while howling.

Yun Ce knew that the strong man's target was Zhou Bo, not him. He wanted to run, but knew he couldn't. He gritted his teeth, picked up the armored soldier's lance from the ground, shook the lance head, and shouted as he charged toward the strong man.

Very well, someone is much faster than him. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Wu Tong. Yun Ce put away his spear and decided not to cause any more trouble. At this time, it would be better to focus on Zhou Bo.

I had just run back when I saw some idiot trying to pull out the thorns from Zhou Bo's body.

"Don't pull it out!" Yun Ce shouted.

Pushing aside those bastards who shared his thoughts, Yun Ce picked up Zhou Bo and ran swiftly towards the Yun family courtyard. This man had been good to him; if he could save him, he would.

Zhou Bo appeared quite lucid. Even though he was covered in blood, he calmly gave orders to his subordinates who were following Yun Ce in his arms.

Yun Ce was puzzled. He was attacked at Yun Family Manor and did not understand why they would set up an ambush at Jimingyi and order that Xintianyou would not take off for two days.

While Zhou Bo was still giving orders, Yun Ce had already placed him on the bed and tied his thighs. Seeing that the blood flow had slowed down, he quickly pulled out the sharp thorns from his legs and feet. Then, Zhou Bo's men stuffed a lot of medicinal powder into the wounds.

And quickly wrap it up with strips of cloth.

Yun Ce was very busy, his head covered in sweat. After the last thorn was pulled out, Yun Ce even staggered backward and sat down on the futon.

Only then did the high priest Liu Changsheng, who was also heavily guarded by armored soldiers, rush over. Seeing that Zhou Bo was still alive, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhou Bo, with nine holes pierced in his body, sat on the edge of the bed. Although he was bandaged up like a mummy, his expression remained dignified, and he sat there like a god.

His gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the room like a chainsaw, making Yun Ce's scalp tingle. Just as he was about to leave, the door opened wide, and he saw Wu Tong carrying in the burly man who was only covered by a few leather items.

"Have you found out?" Zhou Bo asked in a deep voice.

“They’re assassins.” Wu Tong’s expression was also very grim.

Zhou Bo sneered and said, "Still alive, huh?"

Wu Tong pried open the assassin's mouth to show Zhou Tong that the mouth was empty; it had teeth but no tongue.

"Any more?"

"We are currently pursuing them. There are not many people in the Great Han who can use the Iron Spiral as an assassination tool."

Zhou Bo gritted his teeth and said, "Investigate, see which army this iron spiral belongs to."

After speaking, Zhou Bo visibly weakened and turned to the High Priest, saying, "Old friend, it's up to you now."

The high priest reached out and stroked the Grand Marshal's chest, then whispered, "Don't worry, everything will be alright. You can go to sleep now."

Liu Changsheng's words seemed to possess some kind of magic; Zhou Bo fell asleep instantly as he listened to them.

"Return to the Divine Dragon Palace."

Immediately, someone placed Zhou Bo on a blanket, and several armored soldiers pulled the blanket to put him on a carriage.

Before boarding the carriage, the high priest looked at the anxious Yun Ce and reassured him, "Don't worry, this matter has nothing to do with you. However, this place will be sealed off for a few days. Once the seal is lifted, you can continue with your own business."

After watching the high priest's procession depart, Yun Ce said to Feng An, who was waiting beside him, "The newly harvested wheat is almost dried. Can we go mill it now?"

Feng An looked longingly at the departing convoy and said, "Grand Marshal, the High Priest is not fortunate enough to eat the oil-splashed noodles that the Lord has prepared."

Yun Ce sneered and said, "This wasn't prepared for them in the first place. Let's go back. Today we'll have braised pork with oil-splashed noodles!"

The braised pork was prepared by Yun Ce last night and soaked in the braising liquid for a day. It's perfect to eat today, although this dish, like oil-splashed noodles, is mostly used to flatter someone.

However, the fragrance is extremely overpowering.

This thing is naturally very tempting to people. Even the clear yet foolish eyes of Dog King Naosheng, whose brain had been thoroughly cleansed by the dog last night, were tainted with greed.

(End of this chapter)