Chapter 183

In the northern land in the sixth month, the sun was scorching, the climate was dry, and heat waves were rising.

At a dilapidated fortress thirty li outside Shanhai Pass, the conscripted laborers, quite a few military households, and a company of common soldiers were in the midst of reconstruction work. The common soldiers had been sent over by Wang Yan to swing sledgehammers to train their physical fitness. After being culled by Sun Chengzong and trained for several years, the quality of these border troops was still quite a bit off from Wang Yan's requirements; they were too green.

Two common soldiers standing guard and patrolling in the distance hid in the shade of a tree and gossiped.

"Hey, just at the end of last month, a while ago, there was a celestial phenomenon at the Wanggongchang factory in the capital; I heard tens of thousands of people died, you know that?"

"So many people died?" One frowned and said: "It's not that I'm saying anything, but we're all brothers from the same battalion; how come you know and I don't?"

"The day before yesterday, our Battalion Commander ordered me to go to Shanhai Pass to deliver a letter to the Regional Military Commissioner; I heard it from the brothers over there."

"Do you think it's because..." As he spoke, the man pointed his finger at the sky.

"Who can say for sure? I heard that explosion was incredibly fierce, and what's more, the way people died was especially strange; the clothes on their bodies were all gone..."

"How miserable." After hearing the details, one clicked his tongue: "The affairs in the capital are far away and have nothing to do with us. Having said that, don't look at his young age; our newly appointed Battalion Commander is truly formidable."

"Look at you saying that; if he didn't have those skills, could he have become a Battalion Commander at sixteen?" As he spoke, the man drew his waist saber, performed a flourish, practiced a few moves, and then sheathed it: "If nothing else, the two moves he taught us are much better than the set we used to drill; they truly kill with every strike."

"If you ask me, that's not the most important thing. The key is that he doesn't deduct our pay; that's so much better. Maybe it's because he's too young and doesn't know the value of silver... Ouch... who the hell kicked... Ah, Battalion Commander, please forgive me; this little one didn't mean to offend..."

Giving the saber-wielding man another kick, Wang Yan walked out with a smile. He had been out on his daily patrol and had been listening from behind for quite a while; he had just heard these two gossiping about the famous Tianqi explosion. The key was that the damn things dared to talk behind his back; even if they were saying good things, that wouldn't do—this was typical lack of organization and discipline.

"Zhang Si and Liu Qi, you two are something else; I told you to stand guard and patrol, and you two are instead here cooling off and gossiping? Hmm?"

He had a total of over six hundred men under his command, and after so much time, he knew everyone's name. At this moment, people were the main labor force, and coupled with the long nights with no entertainment, they could only make babies. Their parents could only rise, and being illiterate, they just went with Eldest, Second, Third; many of his men had names like that.

This matter also involved a sense of honor. The higher his position becomes in the future, the greater the sense of honor and mission brought by calling out the names of the low-level common soldiers. In a situation where both the future and financial prospects exist, those who can be called by name by him, Wang Mou, can eat three big bowls of rice after being scolded, and be happy about it.

The two nodded and bowed with awkward grins; this child's deterrent power was too great. Not to mention his status as Battalion Commander, just that martial arts skill alone forced them to be obedient.

"Battalion Commander, we two just stopped here to rest; we didn't say much, really."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, just arrived, just arrived."

Wang Yan went up and gave each of them a kick: "Get back and find someone to take over the guard duty, then you two swing your sabers six hundred times and run forty li."

"Ah, Commander, we..."

Battalion Commander Wang looked at Zhang Laosi with a smile: "Swing your sabers seven hundred times, run fifty li."

"No, I..."

"Swing your sabers eight hundred times, run sixty li."

"Ah... wuwu..."

Liu Laoqi covered Zhang Laosi's stinking mouth; if he let this idiot keep talking, they would both just die here. He immediately dragged Zhang Laosi away: "Commander, we're heading back now; don't you worry, we definitely won't miss a single swing or a single li."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile, watched the two idiots run far away, strolled around to finish his patrol, and then returned to the station.

He hadn't been garrisoned here for many days, and the explosion that happened on May 30th had already spread here. This news traveled faster than the post stations with horses galloping at full speed; gossip that was useless was always fast, and it might even have reached the Later Jin, Mongols, and Korea by now.

Wang Yan had no opinion on this matter. If he were to look at it, he would just stand on the side and watch; he didn't know what was going on with all that mystical talk.

Although he had been promoted to Battalion Commander this time, his treatment didn't reach the high-end and atmospheric Battalion Commander's Yamen of the days before the guard garrisons collapsed; it was still like the company commanders, with separate barracks.

Returning to his room, which served as a temporary office, Wang Yan poured a cup of tea, sat down, picked up a handmade, hardcover book from his side with "Arithmetic" written in a dragon-flying, phoenix-dancing style on the cover, and flipped through it casually to see if there were any errors or omissions.

This was the mathematics book that Wang Yan had spent several months compiling from shallow to deep after the Battle of Ningyuan. There were three others: "Study of Things," "Compulsory Ideology," and "Military Drill Manual."

The most important thing right now, of course, had nothing to do with the books above; the most important thing was to learn to read first. After all, if they couldn't even recognize characters, what was the point of talking about so much?

Several company commanders were literate, but Wang Yan was a sixteen-year-old child who had luckily risen to power, and he couldn't just take the things out. After all, the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind; it was better for him to make a fortune in silence.

Four books, the contents were just as their names suggested. One math book, one physics book, two compulsory ideology books—one for older civilian soldiers, one for primary school students, specifically for fooling and brainwashing... strengthening the patriotic construction of the masses such as combat soldiers and students. The last military drill manual also had two volumes, one for the navy and one for the army, containing methods for physical training and combat, as well as essentials for troop discipline.

In the short term, none of these books could be used...

It was just that Battalion Commander Wang had had nothing serious to do besides training the little soldiers for a while, so he just happened to use his spare time to organize them systematically first, so as not to forget them later.

After reading for a while, Sun Fugui knocked on the door and walked in: "Battalion Commander, everything you ordered previously is ready."

Wang Yan shook his head and stood up: "Old Sun, how many times have I told you, there's no need to be so polite; in private, we're just ourselves."

Sun Fugui smiled without a word; the distinction between superior and inferior must be clear, not to mention that this was the military, where rules were greater than heaven. He couldn't truly believe the words of this young Battalion Commander; don't look at his young age, his methods for dealing with people were ruthless.

"Let's go, let's go over and take a look."

Receiving no response, Wang Yan didn't mind and walked away first with a smile.

The two arrived at the corner of the military camp. On the ground was a large iron pot, a set of equipment resembling a distiller, as well as filtering utensils, Chinese herbal medicines, flowers, plants, and other miscellaneous things, plus two medium-sized wild boars weighing about two hundred jin. Beside them, more than forty shirtless common soldiers greeted Wang Yan in unison when they saw him coming.

Buying pigs cost money, and Wang Mou only received the pay of a company commander, so he didn't have much silver. Moreover, he had to occasionally provide extra meals for his men, and he had to make up for some of the money that should have belonged to those company commanders, so he didn't have enough to spend at all. Even counting his subsidies, it wasn't enough to do anything; he was truly too poor, to the point that he didn't dare to train his troops hard.

So this time, since he had people and dozens of firelocks, Sun Fugui directly took people into the mountains to hunt... and train.

It was also because life was hard for people now, and the animals in the mountains weren't having an easy time either; damn it, more than forty people wandered in the depths of the mountains for three days before they got two.

"Battalion Commander, what do you want these things for?" After asking, Sun Fugui clicked his tongue and said: "These wild boars are just right for the brothers to have a treat."

"These are treasures for making a fortune; there will be plenty of opportunities to eat later."

"Sell for money?" Sun Fugui thought of this first: "Commander, wild boars can indeed be sold for a bit of money, but it's not enough to talk about making a fortune..."

As he spoke, he thought to himself that it really wouldn't do to let a child be an official; his vision was too narrow.

Wang Yan naturally didn't know what messy things Sun Fugui was thinking; he didn't pay any attention to him at all, scanned the circle, and said: "Is there anyone who knows how to slaughter pigs?"

"Commander, I do; I used to be..."

"Stop, Li Mancang, is it? Did I ask you anything else? After slaughtering the pig, swing your saber five hundred times, run twenty li, self-supervise; if you're off by a bit, watch how I deal with you." Ignoring the aggrieved boy, Wang Yan glared and looked at a group of troublemakers who were gloating: "Laughing? Is it that funny? Hmm? Tomorrow, all of you go to the fortress and swing the sledgehammer."

"Battalion Commander, the brothers are all..."

Someone stepped forward to explain with a nod and a bow. Wang Yan listened to him finish with a smile and said: "(Name...) is it? What you said makes a lot of sense; later, after Li Mancang finishes slaughtering the pig, you go with him."

"Ah? Commander... no..."

Sun Fugui gave him a kick and shouted: "No what, no what? Just do whatever you're told; where did you get so much nonsense? Get lost."

In fact, they all knew that Battalion Commander Wang was truly good; he didn't deduct pay and tried his best to subsidize them, and if there was anything, he could basically solve it. If it were the previous Chen Baoning, try it? These common soldiers wouldn't dare to let out a fart. Of course, it wasn't unrelated to the fact that Wang Yan was young, of the same generation as their children and nephews, and easy to talk to.

Ignoring the crowd who were suppressing their laughter while looking at that unlucky guy, Wang Yan looked at Sun Fugui: "After slaughtering the pig, take two hind legs and send them to the Regional Commander, and take two forelegs and send one each to Chen the Garrison Commander and Zhang the Regional Military Commissioner."

Seeing Sun Fugui nod, he then said to Li Mancang: "Have our brothers in the kitchen cook the rest for a treat; trim the fat off that pig and keep it, I have a use for it; stew the remaining lean meat together, understand?"

Two pigs totaled four hundred jin; after he sent out four legs, there was only a little over three hundred jin left. Then he took the fat from one pig, which was another few dozen jin. His six hundred-plus men would basically just have two pieces of meat and drink bone soup.

"Understand, Commander, don't you worry, there will be no problem."

"Since you understand, then get to work."

He had been preparing for this for several months. Two months ago, he started looking for materials. What Battalion Commander Wang wanted to make was soap and scented soap. People at this time mostly used wood ash mixed with grease and the like, which was nowhere near as effective as soap and scented soap. If he could produce this stuff, it would be a huge source of wealth.

He was just a Battalion Commander, with a small position and low status; he couldn't withstand the covetousness of other generals and the Liaodong civil official group at all. Furthermore, after these two things flowed into the market, they would cause a stir, attracting the attention of wealthy merchants who would then use their connections to investigate him. It was also possible that this thing would be noticed by that damn Wei Zhongxian; he truly couldn't protect it himself.

So he had already thought it through: he must find his big brother, and at that time, bind the entire Liaodong military together. He didn't believe anyone would be so bold as to risk universal condemnation and snatch money from the hands of the Liaodong Guanning Army.

As long as he distributed the majority of the wealth and relied on the military's channels to move the volume, the money that reached his hands would also be massive. Of course, the premise of all this was to keep the formula secret.

Wang Mou was confident in completing this operation, unless an accident occurred. For example, if his big brother, Regional Commander Man Gui, took a fancy to this source of wealth, then he, Wang Mou, would truly have to... accept it, but he would have to be promoted; with so much money, being promoted to a lousy Garrison Commander was far from enough.

As for those Chinese herbal medicines and flowers and plants, they were to increase the cost, and by the way, he could get quite a few medicinal materials to make secret medicines to supply his elite little brothers on a small scale. Another thing was that adding various floral scents could command a higher price. Five taels for a bar of soap, ten taels for a bar of scented soap—this price was not excessive at all; there were too many damn rich people.

That evening, Battalion Commander Wang and his officers and soldiers happily and enthusiastically drank a meal of meat soup.

The next day, Wang Yan took Sun Fugui and two trusted subordinates to prepare caustic soda, refine grease and glycerin, and so on, and then combined them with a prescription of medicine that Wang "Old Chinese Doctor" Yan had prepared—which was harmless and completely useless—plus a bunch of flowers and plants to produce several grades of soap and scented soap.

The refined glycerin could be used to make cosmetics later, and it could also be used to produce nitroglycerin, and then nitroglycerin could be used to make explosives...

It could earn money to raise troops, and at the same time enhance the physical fitness of the soldiers under his command; the key was that it could also upgrade the technology tree—killing several birds with one stone...

Chemistry is truly good...

In the blink of an eye, three days later, Sun Fugui looked blankly at the soap and scented soap packaged in fine wooden boxes in front of him. Although he had participated in the entire production process and watched this thing turn into what it was now bit by bit, he still couldn't believe that this thing, which looked very expensive, was something he had participated in creating.

"This... this... Battalion Commander, this thing..."

The other two subordinates were even more so; this thing was truly too much of a shock for people like them who knew nothing. Until now, they still didn't understand how a pile of things—except for the lard which was a bit useful, everything else was waste—could be combined to become such a precious thing.

Wang Yan was also making this thing for the first time, and his hands were a bit clumsy; otherwise, it would have been done in two days. His command and leadership ability were unmatched, but to be honest, he had never cultivated his hands-on ability.

After all, he used to be in modern society, where everything was just a word, and his subordinates would handle it clearly and neatly. Now that he suddenly had to do it himself, he was somewhat clumsy. It seemed he would have to do more hands-on work in the future, and also read more engineering books; this stuff was truly useful, especially at times like this.

Hearing Sun Fugui's words, Wang Yan nodded and said: "This is the source of wealth I mentioned."

"I... that... may I ask presumptuously, how did you... know such a precious secret formula?"

There was nothing wrong with this question; after all, Wang Yan was a sixteen-year-old child who hadn't even grown all his hair, and being able to fight so well was already excessive. As a result, he now actually possessed this means of turning stones into gold, which was somewhat unbelievable.

Hearing this, the other two subordinates also stared tightly at Wang Yan. They were also afraid that this Battalion Commander had been possessed by some evil spirit or ghost.

"When I was a child, I walked with an old beggar to I don't know where, and accidentally created that thing. Later, I experimented with it when I had nothing to do, and after so many years of learning and improvement, it became what it is today." Wang Yan pointed at the caustic soda with a smile and bluffed casually, then his expression turned serious: "In the future, these two things will be the source of wealth for the six hundred brothers in our battalion. Whether we can eat well and drink well will depend on this. I want to say one thing first: whoever leaks the things here today, a thousand cuts, skinning and tendon-pulling will be light."

Sun Fugui immediately straightened his body: "Commander, don't you worry, as long as this subordinate is still alive, it will never be leaked in this lifetime."

The other two also hurriedly followed with repeated assurances.

The fact that the three of them could be here and participate meant Wang Yan's trust in them; otherwise, why would it be just the three of them out of six hundred people? And as far as the current situation was concerned, this Battalion Commander was generous, so they had absolutely no need to take risks.

Wang Yan nodded: "During this time, bring your family members over. After a while, I will buy houses for you in Shanhai Pass and send other people to protect them, so as to avoid being captured and threatened by others in the future."

"Commander, don't you worry, I will write a letter when I go back later and have them come over as soon as possible."

"Yes, Battalion Commander."

The other two were much more straightforward; they were just small soldiers. Although they weren't stupid and knew Wang Yan was intimidating them, what could they do as small soldiers? Besides, as long as they didn't commit any crimes, with the soap and scented soap on the table, wouldn't it be comfortable to eat well and drink well?

Wang Yan nodded noncommittally: "That's it, you two go back first."

"Subordinates take their leave."

After the two little brothers left, Wang Yan looked at Sun Fugui: "Pack up, come with me to see the Regional Commander later."

"Yes, Commander."

Sun Fugui didn't talk nonsense; was this thing worth more than being reluctant? He had been a company commander for so long, didn't he understand the principle that if you aren't willing to part with something, you won't get anything? He immediately obediently found a bag and neatly packed the beautifully packaged soap and scented soap.

The two went out, mounted their warhorses, and galloped all the way toward Shanhai Pass.

Speaking of riding horses, Wang Yan's level was quite sufficient; he had LV3.

It was a noble sport passed down by the foreign devils at some point; Wang Mou had also practiced it for a period of time when he had nothing to do. Of course, he didn't ride horses to pretend to be noble, but because he had brushed it as a skill when he had nothing to do before. Compared to riding horses, this European noble sport, he preferred riding the foreign horses of European nobles...

His LV3 equestrian level—riding, shooting arrows, slashing with a saber, rotating, rolling, this and that—was enough for him. Upgrading this thing wasn't too difficult; after a while, when his side was on the right track, he would go out for a ride when he had nothing to do, and after a couple of small battles, he reckoned he would be able to reach LV4. After all, compared to the boring and dull training with no pressure, the gold and iron horses on the battlefield and cutting off heads were the fastest ways to level up.

Arriving at Man Gui's Regional Commander's Mansion, he let Sun Fugui go feed the horses, and Wang Yan arrived at the entrance to request an announcement.

Not long after, the guards standing guard at the entrance let him in, and their words were very polite to Wang Yan.

There was no help for it; Battalion Commander Wang had a bright future, had been noted by the Emperor, and was a lucky youth whom Regional Commander Man also looked at differently...

If one were to truly speak of it, in fact, these soldiers in the Regional Commander's Mansion were all Man Gui's personal guards, his private soldiers. This situation was not uncommon; Yuan Chonghuan also had quite a few under his command, and other large and small generals all had personal guards under them. In general small-scale battles, others were not needed; it was just a few generals taking a large group of personal guards out to do the job.

It was no wonder that people were willing to be personal guards; after all, compared to the military, the treatment was not just a little bit worse—it was truly a good meal. Therefore, compared to the group of bitter common soldiers under Wang Yan's command now, the combat effectiveness of these personal guards was even stronger, and their equipment was even better. After all, they were all the elite border troops that a group of damn generals had researched and brought under their command; these people were the actual main force of the Guanning Army.

If it weren't for the fact that he, Wang Mou, had luckily been praised by Zhu Youxiao twice, Man Gui might have even had the idea of taking him under his command.

Wang Yan followed the person who led him in, saw Man Gui who was reading documents there, and very skillfully "clacked" to his knees on one knee, cupped his fists, and saluted: "Subordinate Wang Yan, pays respects to the Regional Commander."

"Get up." Man Gui stroked his beard and nodded: "The wild boar leg sent over two days ago had good meat quality; it was hard for you to still be thinking of me."

"As long as the Commander eats well, I will send people into the mountains when I go back to see if we can hunt a few more." Seeing Man Gui frown, not waiting for him to criticize him for not attending to his proper duties, Wang Yan, who had risen to his feet, continued: "It just so happens that we can also train the endurance of the soldiers under my command, as well as their cooperation in jungle warfare; killing two birds with one stone."

"Haha... that's just right, that's just right." Man Gui laughed with satisfaction and praised him; after all, jungle warfare did indeed exist, and although it was useless against the Later Jin's iron cavalry, letting the soldiers train their physical endurance was always good. He knew the conduct of the troops under his command, and that Wang Yan's troops could still go out into the mountains to toss and turn—regardless of whether they hunted wild boars or not, he was quite happy. After all, if they still had the energy to toss and turn, it meant they still had the strength to fight, right?

After acknowledging him, Man Gui was in a good mood, looked at the bag in Wang Yan's hand with a smile, and said: "Speak, what is it you're looking for me for?"

"The Commander truly has divine calculations; this subordinate indeed has a matter to report, only..."

As he spoke, Wang Yan's eyes swept over the soldiers standing guard at the entrance.

Man Gui frowned; he didn't understand what unspeakable matter a small Battalion Commander could have to tell him. After a moment of silence, he said to the soldiers at the entrance: "Close the door and stay far away."

"Yes, Commander."

The two common soldiers at the entrance responded and then closed the thick, large wooden door.

After the door was closed, Wang Yan carried the bag and walked to the opposite side of Man Gui. Amidst Man Gui's tightly furrowed brows, Wang Yan placed the bag on the table, took out the beautifully packaged soap and scented soap from it, and arranged them in two stacks on the table.

After doing this, Wang Yan gestured with his hand: "Commander, please take a look."