Chapter 163: A Prescription for Imperial Flow Fluid?

He Lingchuan had nothing to say. Panlongcheng was turning everyone into donkeys of the production team. "Now a large number of outsiders are pouring into Panlongcheng; without land but with labor, they either work long or short-term jobs or become tenant farmers to rent land to support themselves." Hu Min laughed, "So, your land won't worry about having no one to farm it; both I and the Pengcheng Bureau can help bridge the gap."

Hearing this, He Lingchuan said: "Then I'll trouble you."

Land and real estate were precious means of production, which couldn't be bought with money in Panlongcheng, only exchanged with military or civil merit; this was a clear distribution system. If newcomers wanted to gain a foothold in Panlongcheng, they had to contribute to this city.

And the soldiers of the Great Wind Army went to battle to kill enemies, inevitably accumulating a lot of land, and usually didn't have the energy to manage it themselves, so handing it over to tenant farmers to farm was the best thing.

Landlords had income, tenant farmers could fill their stomachs, and everyone got what they needed.

In this way, he had officially been promoted to a landlord in the Panlongcheng of the dream, and He Lingchuan patted his chest with a sense of inexplicable pride.

It was truly strange; in reality, he was the eldest son of the dignified General Manager of Xiazhou, let alone a few mu of thin fields, even if it were farmsteads, restaurants, shops, or gambling dens, he could buy whichever he wanted, and as many as he wanted. Why didn't he have such a sense of achievement as in the dream? As for chewing tobacco, it was also a type of tobacco leaf, first smoked and roasted, then soaked in syrup, and used by taking a piece into the mouth and chewing it, without needing to light it. The role of tobacco didn't need to be stated; the army allowed soldiers to use it to refresh themselves when performing tasks, so this thing had always been hard currency.

He Lingchuan planned to keep it and sell it when he was short of money.

Of course, he wouldn't forget the most urgent thing: "By the way, I want to practice archery; can you give me some pointers?"

Hu Min's archery was excellent, hitting whatever he aimed at. He Lingchuan thought of the battle in County Magistrate Village, where the difficulty of the task was passively raised several times because he didn't understand archery.

He had to practice.

"Giving pointers on three or four things is no problem." Hu Min was also exceptionally straightforward.

He practiced as soon as he said so; he sat on a chair and asked He Lingchuan to take out the small straw mat cushioned under the rice pot and nail it to the courtyard wall.

He was accompanying He Lingchuan to collect the house this time, not to fight, so he didn't bring his bow and arrows. But it didn't matter; he pulled a small knife from his waist and boot shaft and handed it to He Lingchuan: "Practice your accuracy first; whether it's flying knives or arrows, you stand in the room and shoot."

He Lingchuan took the knife, returned to the room, aimed, and threw it!

Only a cold light flashed.

The straw mat was clean, with nothing on it.

It shot to the corner of the wall.

Facing Hu Min's gaze, He Lingchuan's old face flushed, and he coughed: "Slipped by accident."

"The error is too large; it seems you have to start from the basics." Hu Min was realistic and didn't comfort him, starting to explain from how to exert force and coordinate from the shoulders, neck, arms, and fingers.

The insights he recounted all came from actual combat and were exceptionally precious, so He Lingchuan listened with exceptional focus. Opportunities to be pointed out by a master were not common.

Finally, Hu Min summarized: "No need to think about how to aim or how to exert force; where the eyes reach, the knife and arrow reach, that is great success."

"You practice flying knives or shooting arrows a thousand times a day, and slowly you'll be able to practice the feel." He patted He Lingchuan's shoulder, "By the way, what are your plans for the future? Although Panlongcheng is safe, it's not easy to live comfortably here."

This question, He Lingchuan had actually thought of the answer more than a month ago, and answered without hesitation: "I want to join the Great Wind Army!"

If you want to join, join the best!

This was not only about sentiment, curiosity, and blood, but he also had a deeper consideration. After He Chunhua was promoted to General Manager of Xiazhou, he would also raise troops to support the northern war, to confront the Great Sima or the Xunzhou Governor, and He Lingchuan would have many opportunities to go to the battlefield. Compared to the battle of the great armies, the bandit-suppression he had experienced was like playing house.

For his own safety, he had to adapt to the cruelty of war and accumulate combat experience as soon as possible.

The battle damage in the dream wouldn't be brought back to reality; how could he miss such a huge advantage? Hu Min laughed: "Fine, I'll find Captain Xiao tomorrow and mention it, to see if he can recommend you. But you have to be mentally prepared; the Great Wind Army is not easy to join!"

The Great Wind Army was the ace elite of Panlongcheng, and the soldiers selected were the best of the best.

He Lingchuan had just said thank you when a gong sound suddenly rang out on the street outside, and someone shouted: "Street corner announcement, street—corner—announcement!"

Hu Min heard this and said to He Lingchuan: "Four gong sounds in a group; there is an urgent matter to announce above, let's go out and listen."

Official announcements would all be posted at designated places with heavy traffic, but many people were illiterate, so they had to be equipped with specialized people to preach and convey the official spirit.

There was also a knack to beating gongs; the denser the gong sound, the more urgent the matter.

He Lingchuan had sharp ears and seemed to hear gong sounds in the distance as well, clearly indicating that the street corner announcements were being carried out in segments and on multiple street corners, intensifying over a wide range.

What matter was so urgent? The crowd was also attracted by the gong sound and gathered quickly. He Lingchuan accompanied Hu Min to the street opposite, and the announcement official filled his dantian with energy, his voice exceptionally loud: "Within three days, Imperial Flow Fluid will descend from the heavens! According to the order of Commander Zhong, starting today, there will be a curfew in Panlongcheng for three days! From the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) to the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), city residents must return to their houses and not go out; violators will be treated as rioters and lose a finger! Those who hand over Imperial Flow Fluid to the Merit Department will be rewarded according to merit!"

This person was like a time-telling bird, repeating the above content loudly three times every cup of tea time, and answering commoner questions in between. After preaching like this for half an hour, he left the street corner.

When He Lingchuan heard the three words "Imperial Flow Fluid," he focused his attention.

The commoners around were also whispering, their expressions full of joy, but not much surprise.

What was surprised was He Lingchuan, who turned with Hu Min and said: "How do you know when the Imperial Flow Fluid will arrive?"

"You have to ask Lord Zhong about this; I don't know." Hu Min shrugged, "Counting this time in the next three days, the Imperial Flow Fluid has already appeared four times in three years, and the forecasts are all very accurate, with an error of no more than two days."

Therefore, the commoners basically confirmed that there would be Imperial Flow Fluid in the next three days, and they were all overjoyed waiting.

As for the warning mentioned in the announcement, the punishment sounded very heavy, and commoners would be beheaded a finger for stepping out of the house by half a step. But He Lingchuan had seen with his own eyes how the Imperial Flow Fluid stimulated human greed, so he felt it was very necessary to say the ugly words first. If not guarded against, he didn't know how many tragedies would occur in the city and how many grudges would be bred by then.

Panlongcheng was constantly facing the pressure of foreign invasion, so naturally, it hoped that the military and civilians would be twisted into a rope, and the fewer internal contradictions, the better.

"The curfew starts at the hour of Xu; buy your food and drink early, and absolutely don't go out. If you have time, go to the roof or tree to collect Imperial Flow Fluid; handing it over to the Merit Department can be exchanged for merit." Hu Min laughed, "It's not easy for commoners who don't participate in combat to get merit, so everyone is very happy."

He Lingchuan scratched his head: "I'm afraid I won't be able to resist drinking it."

"Then you must resist; how can this treasure be drunk directly!" Hu Min sighed, "At least refine it into medicine powder and swallow it; the efficacy will at least double."

He Lingchuan was overjoyed: "Brother, good Brother Hu, do you know how to refine it?"

"Of course, this is not a secret. Panlongcheng has long preached the method of refining Imperial Flow Powder, and not just three or five times."

He Lingchuan listened to the loud voice in the street outside, finding it hard to imagine that such a precious prescription was actually easily available in Panlongcheng, and commoners could refine it at will.

Hu Min couldn't help laughing: "What's that expression of yours?"

"I thought..." He Lingchuan was embarrassed, "Right, there's no way to force it to be handed over, so just let whoever gets it use it." If the law didn't punish the masses, if everyone kept it for themselves, Panlongcheng wouldn't be able to punish so many commoners, so it simply published the prescription to let everyone use this treasure well without wasting it.

Commoners are the foundation of a city; their physical enhancement and fewer illnesses are also a major benefit to Panlongcheng.

Hu Min casually reported a string of medicinal material names, but stopped halfway through.

"Why?"

"Oh my, I'll just take you to find A-Luo." Hu Min patted his head, "He lives near here."

"A-Luo?" He Lingchuan was confused.

"You forgot? He once treated our wounds."

He Lingchuan remembered immediately; his arm was broken at the time, and it was that part-time medical soldier teammate who bandaged and fixed it. With such a military doctor in town, the team's sustained combat capability would be greatly improved.

"He is the adopted son of the Great Pharmacist of the Dan Bureau, Helian Chen, and has learned a lot of medical skills and pharmacology." Hu Min stood up, "The prescription I read to you is just common goods that everyone can use; A-Luo can tailor a prescription for us, and the efficacy will be better."

That would be great; He Lingchuan was led by Hu Min to go deep into the street block.

"A-Luo shouldn't have little military merit, right? He is also the adopted son of the Great Pharmacist of the Dan Bureau; why does he still live in such a street block and such a house?" This street block was full of low houses, one next to another, with high density, and the living experience was also very poor. Some roofs were even patched with several different colors, probably because it didn't know how many times it had leaked rain.

The only thing worth praising was that the external street was flat and could accommodate three carriages side by side, which was mainly for convenience in transportation and troop movement during wartime.

"A-Luo made a mistake and used up all the military merit he had accumulated in the past to avoid being beheaded, so he has to start over." Hu Min only mentioned it once, but didn't elaborate, just sighed, "Human hearts are sinister."

He Lingchuan looked around; now the road was full of people, several times more than when they came by cart.

"So many people on the road suddenly, all because of the Imperial Flow Fluid?"

"Of course, everyone knows the prescription, so they are rushing to grab medicine and hoard it, waiting to refine the Imperial Flow Fluid. It seems that the herbs in the shop will have to rise in price again. We have to buy quickly, or the medicinal materials will have three or five prices a day."

A-Luo indeed lived very close, and Hu Min arrived before he got tired of leaning on his crutch.

He raised his crutch to knock on the door, but before the tip of the crutch touched the door panel, the wooden door opened by itself with a "creak," and someone stepped out.

The tip of the crutch almost poked into his mouth.

This person was startled and jumped back; Hu Min retracted his crutch quickly and laughed dryly: "What are you doing?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 164 =====