Chapter 7

"Damn."

Yun Xiao was startled by the chubby face, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Liu Cheng. Xiao Bai was angrily hissing on the side, clearly harboring deep resentment towards Liu Cheng.

"Brother Yun, we still have to cover a few dozen miles, so..."

"Alright, get out."

Yun Xiao was extremely annoyed by Liu Cheng.

"Brother Yun, we are all..."

"Get out, I need to put on my pants."

Yun Xiao impatiently drove away this annoying guy.

After a hurried breakfast, the eager Liu Cheng pulled Yun Xiao out of the city with over a hundred soldiers.

After several days of intense riding, Yun Xiao's riding skills had greatly improved. Although he couldn't match the soldiers' proficiency, at least he wouldn't embarrass himself.

He set up a large pot over the firewood, added large chunks of salt with a wooden shovel, and stirred with a wooden stick after boiling. Then he poured in cold water to make the calcium carbonate form clumps.

Three layers of coarse hemp cloth, with fine sand in the middle, were placed over a large wooden bucket for filtration.

After repeating this process three times, Yun Xiao noticed that the clumps of calcium carbonate on the coarse hemp cloth had significantly decreased. After a few more attempts, he boiled the water until the calcium carbonate particles were completely gone.

A layer of fine white crystals formed at the bottom of the iron pot. Yun Xiao touched a bit with his hand and tasted it; it was salty. Liu Cheng watched Yun Xiao's expression carefully. Seeing that Yun Xiao was silent, he anxiously followed Yun Xiao's example, touching a bit with his hand and putting it in his mouth. The two of them looked like drug dealers in a movie.

Liu Cheng's eyes sparkled, and he put a large chunk of salt in his mouth, making Yun Xiao's heart race. This kid wouldn't turn into Batman, would he?

"Salt, this is top-grade fine salt. In Chang'an, it can be as valuable as gold. Brother Yun, we've made it, we've made it."

The soldiers looked at the almost mad Liu Cheng with wide eyes, their respect for Yun Xiao deepening. The young general was also like this yesterday, sleeping through the night before recovering. It seemed that this Yun hero was quite capable, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bring back the head of the Left Great Chanyu from the Xiongnu territory.

Ignoring the mad Liu Cheng, Yun Xiao called back the playful Xiao Bai. This little guy was now very clingy, even sleeping in Yun Xiao's sleeping bag at night. Yesterday, playing with the Wei siblings, Xiao Bai had abandoned his habit of being active at night and resting during the day. Yun Xiao was relieved to wake up without seeing any dead, bloody rats.

The soldiers' archery skills were excellent; the northern border army was the most elite force of the court.

The eight soldiers accompanying Yun Xiao managed to shoot over twenty yellow sheep in the morning. Large chunks of mutton were put into the pot, and several large spoons of fresh fine salt were added. Yun Xiao broke a pine branch, peeled off the bark, and threw it into the pot, covering it and cooking over a high flame.

Unable to tolerate the paste-like substance, he found two strong-armed soldiers to knead the dough, rolling it thin and cutting it into wide strips. The famous wide noodles of Shaanxi were made. The soldiers, who had been working all morning, smelled the aroma of the mutton and looked over, enviously watching their colleagues sneak a bite.

Boiling water was poured, and the noodles were added one by one. Three large wooden buckets of wide noodles were cooked, and Yun Xiao called out that it was time to eat.

All the soldiers put down their work and looked at Liu Cheng. Liu Cheng helplessly waved his hand, and each person received a large, coarse porcelain bowl, filled with noodles and mutton. A large spoon of hot mutton broth was poured over, and the steam and aroma immediately filled the air.

In early spring, the soldiers ate until they were sweating all over, squatting on the ground and digging in. The soldiers following Yun Xiao complained bitterly; no matter how fast they kneaded the dough, they couldn't keep up with the speed of eating. A long line of soldiers knocked on their bowls, urging them.

Liu Cheng, who still had half a bowl left, kicked the soldiers' butts one by one. His chopsticks never stopped, showing no trace of noble manners.

All these guys were gluttons; how did the Han Dynasty raise such a group of gluttons? The twenty bags of flour prepared for two days were now down to three. Liu Cheng had to send someone to the city to fetch more food, or they would run out of food for dinner.

Yun Xiao was so tired he felt like he was falling apart, vowing never to cook for these guys again.

The soldiers were straightforward; after eating Yun Xiao's food, they naturally worked hard. Thus, in addition to boiling salt, Yun Xiao had several more yellow sheep by his side.

Xiao Bai was in trouble; there was a large magpie's nest on a big tree. Xiao Bai climbed up rashly, but the height scared him, and he crouched on a branch, howling for Yun Xiao. Yun Xiao dropped his bowl and ran to the tree.

Xiao Bai's tail was as thick as Yun Xiao's arm, and his hoarse cries were filled with anxiety. A soldier who claimed to be a tree-climbing expert tried to rescue Xiao Bai, but for some reason, Xiao Bai climbed even higher.

Yun Xiao mounted his horse, pretending to ride away. Xiao Bai panicked and quickly climbed down the tree. In a few steps, he leaped to Yun Xiao's horse, jumped onto the horse's back, and burrowed into Yun Xiao's arms. His paws beat Yun Xiao's face, as if scolding him for leaving him behind.

On a quiet night, with no one around, a pile of orange-red fire burned brightly.

"Yan Sheng's reputation is like Meng Chang's, and the East Pavilion welcomes virtuous men. Wu Song's bravery makes a thousand men tremble, and Chai Jin's generosity is known throughout the four seas. Confident in his ability to kill a tiger, he boasts that three bowls of wine will not make him cross the ridge.

As the wind blew, a loud noise came from behind the chaotic trees, and a fierce tiger with a white forehead leaped out.

Wu Song was so startled that the wine turned to cold sweat. As the tiger leaped, Wu Song dodged, moving to the side. The tiger, finding it hard to see behind, placed its front paws on the ground and arched its back, trying to pounce. Wu Song dodged again, moving to the side. The tiger, failing to hit him, roared like a thunderbolt, shaking the mountain. It raised its tail like an iron rod and tried to strike, but Wu Song dodged again."

The soldiers' expressions changed with Yun Xiao's story, sometimes tense, sometimes relaxed.

"Suddenly, a thunderous roar echoed, and a king of beasts leaped from the mountain. Raising its head, it showed its fangs and claws, making the deer and antelopes flee. The foxes and rabbits hid, and the deer and monkeys were frightened. When Bian Zhuang saw it, he lost his soul, but Cun Xiao faced it with courage. The brave man from Qinghe, still drunk, met the tiger on the ridge. The tiger, seeking prey, leaped at him. The tiger's leap was like a mountain collapsing, and Wu Song's counterattack was like a rock falling. His arms and legs moved like a cannon, and the tiger's claws dug into the ground. His fists and feet rained down, and his hands were stained with blood. The stench of the tiger's breath filled the pine forest, and its fur scattered on the mountain. The fierce battle continued, and the tiger, finally defeated, lay motionless, its eyes closed."

"Good."

The soldiers' cheers rose and fell, and even Liu Cheng was entranced.

In two days, they produced a hundred pounds of top-grade fine salt. Liu Cheng's eyes narrowed to a slit, and he calculated that the white salt flats before them were like a golden sea of salt. On the way back, Liu Cheng's mouth never closed, often sticking out his tongue to show Yun Xiao, who deeply despised him.

Li Guang paid no attention to the fact that he wasn't included in their wealth plan. He even generously offered to have Liu Cheng supply the salt for the army in Mayi, providing two hundred soldiers for labor and two thousand troops for defense.

Yun Xiao couldn't understand Li Guang's behavior; he was so enthusiastic about something that offered no benefit. It seemed that the moral standards of the ancients were not comparable to those of modern people.

However, when Liu Cheng told Yun Xiao that for every hundred pounds of salt used by the Mayi army, five pounds would be sent to Li Guang's house, Yun Xiao realized he had overestimated the moral standards of the ancients. The kickback system had already been popular two thousand years ago, and later generations were just following in their footsteps. Yun Xiao was deeply impressed by the wisdom of his ancestors.

A magnificent carriage, escorted by a group of armored guards, entered Mayi City. The guards leading the way held banners, symbolizing the emperor's authority. Both military and civilians in Mayi City knelt on the ground, respectfully welcoming the emperor's envoy.

Li Guang, who looked like a ball, was quite funny when he knelt. This made Yun Xiao, who was kneeling behind him, shrug his shoulders and turn red, looking like he was constipated.

A man in a brocade robe read something from above. Yun Xiao understood every word he said, but he couldn't understand the meaning when they were put together. Anyway, his name was mentioned.

Eunuchs, a unique product of the evil feudal society.

Yun Xiao had seen eunuchs in movies and TV shows countless times but never imagined he would see a real one two thousand years ago. Do eunuchs have beards? They can. An old eunuch with a white beard stood in front of Yun Xiao, smiling, holding a roll of yellow silk.

Liu Cheng nudged Yun Xiao, and Yun Xiao finally reacted, receiving the imperial edict with both hands. Liu Cheng was a good brother, handing back a heavy bag, as if buying the edict.

"Servant welcomes Hero Yun to the capital." The old eunuch politely invited Yun Xiao to board the carriage.

"May I ask what your name is, sir?"

"Old servant Cang Jingkong."

Uh...

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