Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

The logistics warehouse of the Eastern Palace can no longer be called a warehouse.

With a stroke of his pen, Li Chengqian transformed this place into a bustling "food processing plant".

Hundreds of top chefs, recruited from the imperial kitchen and the common people, are currently wearing matching white uniforms and working hard on the front line of the assembly line, their brows covered in sweat.

The aroma of fried noodles, the smoky scent of roasted meat, and the sweet smell of boiling maltose blend together to create a unique fragrance that makes people unable to resist.

"Everyone, perk up!"

Li Chengqian stood on a stool, holding a tin megaphone, like a capitalist overseeing a project, wildly making empty promises to the group of "working people" below.

"Get your hands and feet moving faster! After we win this battle, I'll give each of you seven days of paid annual leave, plus a year-end bonus!"

Although I don't understand what "annual leave" and "year-end bonus" mean, judging from the Crown Prince's excited expression, they are definitely not bad things.

The cooks were even more motivated.

Just then, two figures strode in.

One tall, one short; one as steady as a mountain, the other as sharp as a knife.

It was Yue Fei and Huo Qubing.

These two unparalleled generals had just finished a day of grueling training, and their bodies still smelled of sweat and rust.

"Your Highness."

Yue Fei clasped his hands in a salute, looking at the bustling scene before him with some confusion. "You won't let us train our troops, but instead you're here... stir-frying noodles?"

"General Yue is unaware of this."

Li Chengqian smiled mysteriously, picked up a "brick" that had just been pressed and was still warm from the production line, and handed it over.

"Want to try some?"

Yue Fei took the dark, unappetizing object. It was hard and heavy in his hand. He frowned. This was... military rations?

Throughout his military career, the rations he ate were either fried rice or dry biscuits, which were dry, hard, and difficult to swallow.

This thing in front of me looks harder than a rock. Is it edible?

Huo Qubing was even more direct; he took a piece and put it in his mouth without thinking.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound.

The Marquis of Champion's teeth, which were strong enough to crush metal and stone, almost broke.

"Cough cough cough!"

Huo Qubing coughed from the hard object, looking disgusted. "Your Highness, is this thing for humans to eat? It's better to use it as a stone to throw at people than as dry rations."

"Uncultured."

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes, took a water bag, poured in half a bowl of water, and then broke off a small piece of the "brick" from Huo Qubing's hand and threw it in.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The hard, iron-like "brick" expands and softens rapidly upon contact with water, transforming in the blink of an eye into a bowl of steaming porridge, exuding a rich aroma of wheat and meat.

"This...this is..."

Huo Qubing and Yue Fei's eyes widened instantly.

"Reduce military rations."

Li Chengqian picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and handed it to Huo Qubing. "Try it. I added beef floss and sesame seeds. I guarantee it's a hundred times better than the pig feed you used to eat."

Huo Qubing took a bite with some skepticism.

It's soft and tender, with a savory and delicious flavor, and you can even chew on large chunks of beef.

good to eat!

It's fucking delicious!

More importantly, after swallowing this small bowl of porridge, a solid, warm current instantly spreads through the stomach, and that feeling of fullness is even better than eating three large white steamed buns.

"Your Highness! This is a divine object!"

Yue Fei also took a bite, and for the first time, a look of "shock" appeared on his usually calm and composed face.

As the commander-in-chief, he was all too aware of the strategic significance of this thing.

What was the most feared thing in ancient warfare?

It's not that the enemy is too strong, but that the logistics can't keep up!

Soldiers carried dozens of kilograms of rations on their backs, and had to set up camp and cook meals every short distance. The supply train was even larger and more cumbersome, like a huge burden, which greatly restricted the army's mobility.

But with these compressed military rations...

"Your Highness, how long will this piece last?" Yue Fei's voice trembled.

"If you get hungry quickly, two yuan a day is enough; if you eat sparingly, one yuan can last you a day and a half."

Li Chengqian picked up another crystal-clear...

A clear glass bottle; unscrew the cap.

"If you add this..."

A rich aroma of meat instantly filled the air.

"Military-grade canned beef, ready to eat right out of the box. One bottle and you'll be sweating in your sleep all night."

"With these two items, a soldier only needs to carry a small five-pound bundle, which is enough to sustain him for seven days' worth of rations."

"What does this mean? You two generals should understand it better than I do, right?"

understand?

I totally get it!

Huo Qubing and Yue Fei exchanged a glance, both seeing a burning fervor in each other's eyes.

This means that the shackles of logistics have been completely shattered!

This means that the combat radius of cavalry will be expanded indefinitely!

In the past, the biggest fear during long-distance raids was running out of food. What about now?

One person, one horse, and a dozen or so "bricks" are all you need to run around on the grassland for half a month!

What does this mean?

This means that the entire grassland will become an undefended backyard for them!

"Your Highness!"

Huo Qubing knelt down on one knee with a "plop," his eyes blazing with an unprecedented light—the ultimate excitement of about to head to the battlefield.

"This humble general requests permission to fight!"

"With just three thousand cavalry, Your Highness, I am willing to follow General Wei's example, march straight to Dragon City, and capture Jieli alive!"

"Such arrogance."

Li Chengqian smiled and helped him up.

"However, I like it."

He walked to the huge sand table that had been prepared beforehand, which displayed a detailed topographical map of the entire north.

He didn't look at Youzhou or Yanmen Pass, but instead picked up a long pole and pointed directly to the northernmost point of the map.

There, it was a vast, boundless blue area.

On the map, two ancient Chinese characters are marked—

North Sea.

That is, the Lake Baikal of later generations.

"Champion Marquis, your ambition should not be limited to a small Turkic royal court."

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Huo Qubing and Yue Fei. His usually lazy eyes were now burning with a flame even more intense than theirs.

"This trip north to rescue my troublesome father is just a side trip."

"What I want you to do is something else."

"A great undertaking that no one has accomplished since the Han Dynasty."

Huo Qubing looked in the direction Li Chengqian was pointing, and his breathing instantly became rapid.

"Your Highness...you mean..."

"That's right."

Li Chengqian grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth; his smile was flamboyant and arrogant.

"We must not only win this battle."

"I also want you, leading the iron cavalry of my Great Tang, to march north and sweep across the entire grassland!"

"I want your horses' hooves to trample every inch of land once trodden by the Huns!"

"I want your battle flag to be planted at the ends of the earth!"

He tapped the blue area heavily with his long pole. The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, resounding in the hearts of the two generals.

"Let's go see if there are any fish in that legendary North Sea!"

"Go and tell the Eternal Heaven."

"From this day forward, the owner of this grassland will be surnamed Li!"