I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

Upon hearing Meng Da's voice, Zhao Bingkun and Qi Shan exchanged a glance, and Zhao Bingkun tactfully stood up and said, "Brother Qi, please attend to your military affairs first. I will go and investigate the matter of the Fifth Prince. If there is any new information, I will inform Brother Qi as soon as possible."

Qi Shan also cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zhao!"

He opened the door and saw Magistrate Zhao off. Meng Da stood at the bottom of the steps, carrying a dusty burlap sack.

He quickly said, "Commander Qi, I shouldn't be bothering you with such a trivial matter, but this is the first time I've ever seen something so strange. I wonder if there's any hidden meaning behind it?"

Qi Shan was taken aback, and looking at the expression on Meng Da's face, his lips twitched.

What is the meaning?

Are we not going to see some kind of Liu Bang slaying the white snake?

"Spit it out, kid. Stop dawdling. I'm busy."

Seeing that Qi Shan was not very interested, Meng Da continued, "A new steamed bun shop opened in the east of the city. The owner was digging soil to build a stove on the back mountain when he unearthed a pile of dark stones."

Qi Shan said, "Stones? What's so special about them? Aren't the mountains full of stones?"

Seeing that Meng Da's gaze was off, he continued to ask, "Is there something special about this stone?"

Meng Da swallowed hard and lowered his voice, saying, "Commander, you don't know this, but that stone can be set on fire! It can burn! I've never seen a stone that can burn before."

Qi Shan's gaze sharpened, and he stroked his chin, pondering for a moment.

Can black stones burn?

Qi Shan fumbled through his memories of his past life, quickly realizing something, and immediately confirmed again, "Wait, say it again, what kind of stone is it? Describe its shape and appearance!"

Meng Da felt a chill run down his spine as Qi Shan stared at him; it was the first time he had ever seen Commander Qi so eager.

Back then, when 200 county soldiers launched a surprise attack on the opposite 3000-strong camp, they weren't this tense.

This truly shocked him.

"They were just ordinary-looking black stones, hard as a rock, but when you broke them, they turned into black slag. The shopkeeper was short of firewood, and seeing how strange these stones were, he threw them into the stove to try and burn them."

Meng Da took out a dark, grimy bag. He said, "Lord Commander, I've pried up some black residue and put it here. Please take a look."

Qi Shan took the bag, tore it open, and looked inside.

Several fist-sized, jet-black stone fragments with a slight sheen on their surface lay quietly inside, clearly having just been broken up and placed there.

Qi Shan reached out and took out a piece, tapping it lightly twice, producing a crisp sound. Then he brought it to his nose and smelled it, a faint aroma entering his nasal cavity.

Instantly, his eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. This was just... damn coal!

In this era, firewood and charcoal were used for smelting weapons, heating, and cooking. The limited temperature of charcoal made the smelting of pig iron extremely difficult, and refined steel was a rare treasure that only high-ranking generals were entitled to possess.

The swords and knives in the hands of ordinary soldiers would become dull and worn after a few uses, essentially becoming scrap metal.

This is one of the reasons why the Daqian border army had such low combat effectiveness: the weapons were not durable enough.

Imagine this: the original border troops of the Great Qian Dynasty were mostly a rabble, armed with a bunch of broken copper and scrap iron. How could they possibly fight against the nomadic people who grew up on horseback?

It was an absolute crushing defeat.

Even more deadly is that the northern frontier is bitterly cold, and in winter, more refugees and soldiers freeze to death than die in battle.

Timber consumption is enormous, and most of the military budget is going towards heating. Just now, we were worried about the military pay being cut off in two months, but now, the key to breaking this deadlock lies in this pile of tattered sacks.

Qi Shan suppressed his overwhelming joy and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the owner of the steamed bun shop?"

Meng Da quickly replied, "It's at the thatched hut in the east of the city."

"Lead the way, I need to see him!"

Meng Da wiped away his cold sweat and quickly hailed a carriage to head to the east of the city.

The eastern part of the city was a newly planned slum area where many displaced people were recruited to settle down through a work-for-relief program.

The once desolate place has begun to show signs of prosperity.

The surrounding area is no longer a dilapidated, stinking refugee neighborhood.

Second, the urban living order is gradually returning to normal.

Seven or eight soldiers and civilians were gathered in front of a simple thatched hut.

When seven or eight soldiers saw Qi Shan arrive, they exchanged glances and quickly began to speak at once:

"What exactly is this dark, unsightly stone? How can it be burned?"

"I see this stone can burn; it must be a good omen!"

"How so?"

"How can ordinary stones burn? This must be a blessing from heaven for Qingyang County. A divine being must have descended upon Qingyang County."

"Isn't that right? Qingyang County has produced a Lord Qi, isn't he a god? Maybe Lord Qi was sent by heaven to save us."

"This stone can burn! Perhaps Lord Qi is a fire god sent down from heaven! We've saved the people!"

The more people talked, the more outrageous it became.

Qi Shan heard all of these words.

He glanced one last time at Meng Da, who was following closely behind him.

"These are all your subordinates, right? What did you teach them to say?"

Meng Da scratched his head awkwardly.

"No, no, Lord Qi, these are their heartfelt words!"

Qi Shan kicked him in the butt: "Get out of here, get out of here! Learn more about military training and kill more Yelü people, that's much better than this."

"No matter how much you flatter me, if you go to the battlefield and fail to achieve merit, I will kick you out of your position as a deputy commander."

Meng Da was kicked, but instead of getting angry, he laughed loudly: "This subordinate was wrong, Lord Qi, please don't be offended. I'll shut these damn bastards up right now."

Meng Da strode over and shoved several soldiers, yelling, "Shut up, all of you! Lord Qi is here! Be quiet! If anyone dares to say anything exaggerated again, I'll spank you!"

The soldiers exchanged glances, each remaining silent and mocking.

"Wasn't this something Boss Meng himself told us to say?"

"Qi Qianhu is not that kind of person at all. Meng Laoda is still making these underhanded moves. He didn't even understand the situation and is blaming us."

"I think it's Boss Meng's butt that's itching."

Meng Da's face darkened, and he felt incredibly embarrassed.

Qi Shan didn't want to blame them. After all, he held the high position of commander of a thousand households, and in front of most ordinary people and low-ranking officers, he was already a behemoth.

It's normal to instinctively flatter him.

However, if these words were to reach the ears of those who were interested, or even the imperial court...

He won't live much longer.

Qi Shan said sternly, "If such remarks are uttered again, I will execute you without mercy!"

After he finished speaking, he pushed through the crowd and looked ahead.

Inside the thatched shed, an old man with a face covered in soot was squatting on the ground, pounding his chest and stamping his feet. Next to him were several baskets of dark, pungent-smelling steamed buns.

"What a disaster! I used fine flour and good meat, and this damn stone has ruined it all!"