Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 168 Skills

Clang, clang, clang clang clang,

The furnace fire in the Jin Yang residence never stopped, and Zhang Xian was still hammering the red-hot iron block.

A servant was pulling the bellows, continuously pumping oxygen into the furnace.

The flames turned from red to blue, indicating that the temperature had reached its optimal level.

He picked up the iron ingot and put it into the furnace to be heated.

With intense focus, the [Craftsmanship] skill seems to trace the trajectory of the changing internal structure of the iron ingot within one's field of vision.

Heating it until it's red-hot, pounding it, folding it, heating it again until it's red-hot again, pounding it again... Sweat streamed down his forehead, dripping onto the scorching hot anvil with a soft hissing sound.

He felt each rebound from the hammerhead, adjusting the force and angle accordingly.

This time, I felt right!

As the final quenching was completed and the smoke dissipated, a long, narrow, sharp, triangular spearhead with a graceful curve appeared in his hand. The spearhead gleamed with a cold light, as if it could automatically attract sunlight. The moment it took shape, a familiar thrill surged through him!

[Ding! 'Craftsman's Soul' triggered!]

[Features: Enhanced Armor Penetration! Increased Piercing Power! Adds a slight Tear effect!]

【Craftsmanship Lv.4 (1%) Experience +15】

"Beautiful!" Zhang Xian couldn't help but exclaim.

Another spearhead enhanced by the spirit of craftsmanship; Zhang Xian's lips curled slightly.

This is already the third gun barrel he has created with game-specific features.

"That's about it. We've fired too many shots this month, only three out of more than a hundred have come out, so the probability isn't too low."

He placed the slightly cooled gun tip into the oil drum. After a sizzling sound and a burst of white smoke, the gun tip was finally finished.

'I'll send it to Brother Yun in Qiangyin. He uses a gun too, and I can get a new spearhead for my Overlord Halberd. I still have one left. But let Hansheng use it for now.'

He pondered for a moment, then gave an order to the servant who was helping to operate the bellows.

"Pack up."

"Yes, Master."

In the morning in Jinyang City, the thin mist had not yet completely dissipated, carrying a hint of spring chill.

It's mid-February, almost time for spring planting again.

Zhang Xian had already put on his durable coarse cloth shorts and deerskin boots, and strolled to the farmland and pastoral area outside the city. The poultry and livestock sheds were spaced a dozen meters apart, and flocks of ducks were already in the water along the canal that connected to the moat.

As the saying goes, "ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring." The tallest building in the farmland is a silo, used to store the harvest. When he is away, he usually arranges for people to harvest the produce here.

The self-consistency of Jiayuan Farm and Livestock in its external operations did not cause any of the workers working there to feel that there was a problem.

A few creaking sounds came from a small wooden house on the silo; that was the eagle's dwelling.

"Good morning, Flashy Yellow." Zhang Xian whistled and stretched out his arm.

"Shanhuang" was the name he gave to the falcon, because it was fast and had golden feathers on its body.

Upon hearing the sound, the eagle's sharp golden eyes instantly locked onto Zhang Xian. With a flap of its wings, it landed steadily on Zhang Xian's forearm, which was covered by thick leather arm guards, like an arrow released from a bow.

The force of the claws transmitted through the skin, heavy and substantial.

The falcon clicked a few more times on Zhang Xian's arm, its clingy behavior almost cat-like. Sometimes Zhang Xian even wondered if it was a falcon or an owl.

But I've never heard of owls being cat-like or cunning.

"Alright, alright, how can you be any more childish?" Zhang Xian laughed and took out a small piece of carefully prepared raw mutton from the leather pouch at his waist.

"Same as always, after you've eaten your fill, fly through the strong yin channel, but this time you need to bring something with you."

As he spoke, Zhang Xian wrapped the two gun tips in oiled paper and tied them to the falcon's legs.

The two spearheads weren't heavy, weighing a little over three pounds together, about the same weight as the prey that eagles usually hunt. Carrying them up the steep slope wasn't difficult, and if they got too tired, they could land and rest for a while. Flashy Yellow snatched the meat and swallowed it, making a satisfied gurgling sound in its throat. With a flap of its wings, it transformed into a black flashy yellow streak and soared straight into the sky, becoming a small black dot on the horizon in just a few breaths.

The distance between Qiangyin and Jinyang is about 400 li if traveling normally. It would take Zhang Xian about two days to travel there by himself, assuming he doesn't bring anyone else. If he were to lead a team, it would take at least five or six days.

But this distance isn't so far for Flashy Yellow, since it flies, and the straight-line distance can be shortened by a third or even half.

Moreover, thanks to the enhanced spiritual partner skill, Flashy Yellow is now able to fly long distances, and the time it takes to travel between Qiangyin and Jinyang will not exceed three hours.

It was also because of Shan Huang's arrival that many of his policies were able to be delivered to local officials in a short period of time.

For example, strong yin and the Taihang Mountains.

Looking at the now-vanished Shiny Yellow, Zhang Xian smiled and said, "It's a pity there was only one. I wonder how many levels the Spiritual Partner skill needs to be upgraded to unlock a second Spiritual Partner slot."

"It's a pity that the experience points required for each level are now enormous, and it's not something that can be achieved in a short time."

He glanced at his own panel.

Taming Level: 4 (1033/5000000)

Skill sub-items:
Homestead Farming Level 6: You will have 96 breeding slots, and you can select nine identical animals to raise in each slot, which is a game feature.

Spiritual Companion Level 2: Opens a pet slot, allowing you to bind a creature weighing no more than 20 kg with intelligence no less than that of a single-celled organism as a pet. The Level 2 skill adds one ability to the Spiritual Companion, currently increasing: Endurance.

(Special note: A spiritual companion only has a spiritual connotation in its name and does not increase the intelligence of the bound pet. You cannot directly control the pet, but as its owner, you will have a very close relationship with it.)
Superior Grade 1: The livestock you raise are more likely to inherit good genes.

Tenant Level 1: As the workload of farming and animal husbandry in your homestead increases, you alone can no longer manage it completely. This skill allows you to hire tenants to manage it for you. The experience output of the livestock in each pen can be one-third of the experience points you would have gained by personally managing them.

(This skill includes experience gained from farmland and other resources.)

It took a year. Although he spent most of that year dealing with other trivial matters instead of consistently investing in skill improvement, he still managed to increase his experience points.

He gained four skill points after leveling up his beast taming to level four. As usual, he added two points to his homestead's farming and animal husbandry, which increased his farming and animal husbandry area from 24 slots to 96.

The increase in the number of columns was exponential, which made him extremely happy.

The original 24 slots were barely enough, but now they've been expanded to 96, and the most direct benefit is that meat production has increased significantly.

However, due to the increase in the number of pens, he simply cannot take care of so many poultry and livestock by himself, so he has only delegated some of the work.

Houses have now been built in this area outside Jinyang City. He plans to hire tenant farmers to manage his farmland and livestock. Although they may lack experience, it will free up labor.

So he chose a new skill.

As for column allocation.

The original allocation of two chickens, two ducks, two fish, six pigs, six cows, and six horses was enough to support the meat needs of an army of ten thousand, but now with ninety-six spacious pens, he doesn't know what to raise.

Therefore, the only option is to increase the allocation based on the existing allocation.

Needless to say, pigs, cattle, and horses were the main sources of meat for his troops.

Each type is allocated twenty pens, based on the current yield of about 1,000 catties of meat per head of cattle he raises, as well as 300 catties of bones, 200 catties of internal organs, and more than 200 catties of fur and horn.

With twenty pens and one hundred and eighty cattle, the monthly meat production from beef cattle alone is around 180,000 jin (90 tons).

Can't finish it, can't finish it at all.

Although black pigs produce little meat, with each pig yielding only about 130 jin (65 kg) of meat and the rest being skin, bones, and internal organs, a total of about 23,000 jin (11,500 kg) of meat can be produced by 20 pens.

Moreover, pigs and cattle can also produce high-quality oil. It can be said that Zhang Xian alone can now provide the oil and meat needed by tens of thousands of people every month.

Not only did his animal taming skills improve, but his agricultural skills also improved to level four.

Similarly, he upgraded his homestead and farmland to level six, gaining a planting area of ​​288 square meters, which is about half an acre of land.

However, crop management is much easier than livestock management, so he doesn't plan to have tenants manage it for him for the time being.

Having been in Bingzhou for over a year, Taiyuan County under his governance has undergone a complete transformation, and he himself has naturally experienced a similar transformation.

Whether it's command, combat, or healing, these skills have now all been upgraded to level four.

(End of this chapter)