Chapter 2660

"The five-year term has just ended, and it's time to discuss sea tariffs with Bekka again. This year we need to continue negotiating bilateral tariff reductions. When drafting the terms, you must show sincerity."

"Yes." Du Shan couldn't suppress a smile at the corner of his mouth, "Those few sea trade routes of the Heavenly Palace have almost been squeezed into losses by us."

The Heavenly Palace has its own industries, vast and complex, but in recent years it has also been spending money extravagantly.

When it comes to proper sea trade business, very few can surpass Cangyan.

"Who in the world has a business that never loses money, right?" He Lingchuan said lightly, shifting the topic, "Any news about the Frost Leaf National Master lately?"

"No, he seems to be just going through the motions, always keeping a low profile."

"Low profile?" He Lingchuan tapped his knuckles, "That means he's secretly up to something—keep a close watch on him."

"Yes."

"Any new leads on the Spirit Essence Palace?"

Du Shan shook his head: "Not a trace."

The Spirit Essence Palace suffered a major loss at He Lingchuan's hands last time, and after he left, he even leaked its location to Lingshan, causing the Spirit Essence Palace to endure repeated strong harassment during its later relocation. To protect it, the Heavenly Palace itself was greatly weakened.

Xiao Ping and others felt the relocation went smoothly, based on the foundation of the Heavenly Palace and the demonic forces surging forth together.

Since then, the Spirit Essence Palace has seemed to vanish from this world. No matter how Lingshan, Mou State, or Cangyan inquired, they found not a trace of news.

He Lingchuan felt it was a pity.

Such a good opportunity as the handover of the old and new cloud masters—there probably won't be another like it in the future.

￥￥￥￥￥

Panlong World.

On the way to the southern wilderness, He Lingchuan also integrated the two units under his command.

These two units originally came from his Western Mobil Legion, and Zhong Shengguang ordered them to be reassigned from other armies to He Lingchuan.

He treated the forced march as training, and the troops quickly took shape, regaining the familiarity of fighting shoulder to shoulder and back to back as they did five years ago.

On this day, the army passed Baohé Mountain, and after another day and night of marching, they would reach the front lines.

The Tiger Wing Legion had already force-marched for four days, and tonight they would rest on the mountain to build up strength for the fierce fighting after reaching the battlefield.

Though the front lines were not far, the camp did not light fires or raise smoke to avoid detection by the enemy, yet the soldiers' spirits remained high.

They drank cool water, chewed on tough, fibrous jerky and flatbread, and remained in high spirits.

Wen Daolun sighed, "When you return, their energy and spirit are completely different."

"They are my troops." He Lingchuan's smile didn't reach his eyes, "The military rations standard has dropped considerably."

Five years ago, during Panlong's eastern campaign against the Western Lu ruins, He Lingchuan's army was issued jerky, wheat cakes, soybean paste, pickled vegetables, plus Bigu Dan that could keep one full for days, and as snacks, fried rice cakes and nuts, etc.

The fried rice cakes needed oil and sugar, and the wheat cakes required mixed beans and oats, while the jerky's roasting also had its specifics.

But now, the jerky is gone—each person gets only a palm-sized piece of salted meat, which must last over a month. The wheat cake rations are less than half of what they were before, with no regard for proportions anymore, focusing solely on filling the stomach.

He Lingchuan could tell at a glance that the ingredients were also inferior to before.

The Bigu Dan is also gone, due to insufficient raw materials.

This is still the ration quota enjoyed by the Tiger Wing Legion as an elite unit; other Panlong armies may not necessarily have meat to eat.

If one doesn't eat enough, one lacks strength; hungry soldiers will surely see their combat power decline.

Zhong Shengguang and most of Panlong's generals can truly be said to love their soldiers like children—not that they don't want everyone to eat well and fully, but they are willing yet unable.

Objective conditions are becoming increasingly harsh.

"Panlong has fought for eighteen months, spending money like flowing water, no longer as prosperous as before. The Mao River Plain has also been taken from us." Wen Daolun also took a sip of water, "Supplies are no longer as abundant as before."

War burns money the most—once this machine starts, it becomes a bottomless pit, letting wealth turn to smoke and ash.

The Mao River Plain is Panlong's great granary, and the Mao River trade route used to be called Panlong's lifeline. Losing this land of fish and rice, Panlong's material supply runs into trouble.

"Fortunately, under the current spiritual energy environment, Panlong's wilderness can also produce grain, our territory has expanded compared to before, and allied states sometimes send grain over—this is how we barely manage to hold on."

After years of hard development, Panlong has still accumulated considerable reserves, which is how we managed to create the miracle of withstanding Bekka's assault for eighteen months single-handedly.

Wen Daolun's expression was gloomy, "The southern part of Panlong's wilderness is also an important grain-producing area—if we can't hold it, Panlong's material supply will face even greater problems."

He Lingchuan still remembered following He Chunhua into the Panlong desert over twenty years ago, seeing the Panlongcheng "Ghost Army."

The soldiers were all emaciated, appearing large-headed and small-bodied, many nothing but skin and bone, their armor incomplete, and the long spears they held—who knows what kind of makeshift poles they were.

They maintained the appearance they had in life, and that was exactly what the later-period army of Panlongcheng looked like in real history.

At that time, Panlongcheng's territory had been seized by enemies, city supplies exhausted, soldiers and civilians unable to fill their stomachs, and in the end, they fell dimly amid grief and resentment.

He Lingchuan only said: "We will hold it."

Though his tone was flat, every word he spoke was resolute and decisive.

He will never let the true history of Panlongcheng repeat itself!

For the sake of this four-character promise, he can pay any price.

At this moment, a subordinate reported: "We've found a place—can plant black xin."

Black fungus?

Wen Daolun nodded: "Plant it, hurry up."

"What is that?" He Lingchuan had never heard of such a thing.

"Come, you'll see for yourself." Wen Daolun led him to the shady side of the valley, where a small stream flowed at the bottom, so the riverbanks on both sides had damp earth, and due to dense vegetation, sunlight never reached the ground year-round, leaving the soil perpetually moist.

Wen Daolun nodded to the cook, who then selected a large willow tree and inserted something beside its roots.

"Is this... a bamboo shoot?" A slender, conical body, thick at the bottom and pointed at the top, entirely dark, still with its shoot sheath.

"Not exactly."

As the words fell, the ground began to change.

The soil covered with dead leaves was pushed up by something; He Lingchuan casually brushed aside a few fallen leaves and actually saw black mushrooms sprouting from the earth!

It resembled black-skinned chicken mushroom in shape, but its cap was covered with pores and grew in clusters, each cluster larger than a washbasin.

In just a dozen breaths, the entire hillside was covered with this black fungus, dense enough that one could not set foot on it.

The logistics soldiers were very skilled, grabbing various containers to come pick the fungus.

Wen Dalun also casually plucked one and handed it to He Lingchuan: "New thing, try it."

After saying that, he ate one himself first.

He Lingchuan popped one into his mouth and chewed; it felt like chewing wood ear, very crisp, with abundant juice, the initial taste bitter and astringent but the aftertaste slightly sweet.

This thing could not be called delicious nor could it be called unpleasant.