Chapter 65: You mess with me, I'll bluff you

"So, how do you plan to come up with this grain?"

A long time, a long time.

Chen Weifang still ended up asking that.

He also didn't know why he would want to believe the other party.

However, at least when the other party said those words, they seemed extraordinarily majestic.

He wanted to believe, he truly wanted to believe.

Otherwise, there wouldn't even be a single person in the world who could sincerely question heaven.

Du Shanü was questioned, but she had already prepared:

"Cooling jelly and hot and sour noodles have been popular for a while; have you tried them, Afang?"

Chen Weifang was born in Chenliu, considered a northerner; her taste didn't really match this place, so she felt a bit embarrassed when asked:

"I've seen it before, but I've abstained from pungent and spicy foods for many years..."

Few people know that the 'xing' character in 'hunxing' actually comes from a mistaken transmission.

Originally, the 'xin' in 'hunxing' actually referred to the five pungents—garlic, scallions, leeks, onions, and a kind of onion etc. —stimulating foods.

Whether it's cooling jelly or hot and sour noodles, scallions, ginger, and garlic are indispensable for flavor.

Chen Weifang was originally quite interested and had even wanted to taste what this delightful young lady had concocted, but from afar she saw a layer of red oil floating on top...

Afang nodded meekly, and Du Shanü launched a heavy punch:

"No taste, truly no taste, there are actually people in this world who don't slurp noodles..."

"Forget it, not having tried it isn't a big deal. I just wanted to tell you that this thing is actually somewhat like instant lotus root starch—normally it looks like just some powder, but after cooking with hot water, a small bag of acorn starch can become a big pot, and it's genuinely filling."

"My idea is, we need grain after all; if we can't temporarily gather that much real millet, could you convey the convenient portability and ease of use of acorn starch, and we'll use acorn starch as a substitute?"

"This way, the amount of grain we provide could be halved, because if after cooking we have over six hundred dan, the actual weight before cooking would definitely be lighter."

Having figured these things out just now, Du Shanü spoke extremely fast and for a moment didn't watch her wording.

"lotus root starch", "starch", "actual weight"

As soon as these words came out, Chen Weifang's temples throbbed with pain.

He didn't understand what lotus root starch and starch were; he only felt that the girl in front of him was spouting a bunch of things he couldn't comprehend.

After speaking, Du Shanü also felt she'd said something a bit inappropriate, so she had to explain again:

"...... This move is actually somewhat clever, but it's a decent solution for now."

"Moreover, after being degassed with lime and dried, this stuff stores better than ordinary grain, tastes decent, and if not made into a sauce, just a little salt lets you swallow it whole; on campaign, bringing this could reduce a lot of baggage."

Earlier, Du Shanü had desperately stockpiled grain, even hiring people to gather mountain produce day and night when money was scarce...

Actually, that's the reason.

Although she didn't really understand how others came to rule the world, she still knew that wanting the world meant it was impossible to avoid fighting a battle.

And in battle, what you rely on are the soldiers and the logistical baggage.

Grain, medicine, clothing, bedding...

These are all extremely important things.

If the soldiers up front are fighting while the rear baggage is too much and too slow to keep up with supplies, then it's possible to lose a battle.

Many major battles in history have failed due to insufficient logistics; acorn powder being able to halve the weight of grain is naturally shocking.

Chen Weifang was greatly surprised, repeatedly asking about that 'starch', and finally she couldn't help but frown and say:

"If this thing is really as you say, we're probably even less able to present it as tribute!"

"Yuan Lang oppresses the people and taxes them arbitrarily, largely to tribute the Northern Dynasty's 'father emperor'; if the Northern Dynasty had this, and also had He Lian Bo Bo's Whistling Arrow Battalion..."

At that point, the situation of the Southern Dynasty would be unimaginable!

Du Shanü didn't hide anything either, and spoke directly:

"How could it be that easy! I'm not an idiot!"

"Baggage isn't just grain; there's other stuff too. Besides, don't get your hopes up too high—acorn stuff is everywhere in the mountains, but hardly anyone eats it; aside from being hard to degas, there are actually other reasons."

"This stuff actually has another drawback: you must boil hot water to eat it..."

Waging war involves constant movement; there isn't always a fire and stove available, and if soldiers usually can't make a fire to cook, then they can't eat it.

This too counts as a major drawback.

If we had to say, this thing is more like Du Shanü's 'semi-finished product'.

In the future, it will definitely need improvement, but how to improve it and what the improved version will be like has nothing to do with the False Dynasty or the Northern Dynasty.

For now, let's just bluff our way through.

Once Du Shanü explained, Chen Weifang indeed let out a sigh of relief, pondered a few moments, and finally still said:

"Alright, then I'll submit a memorial to the Zhoufu and try to settle this matter."

Perhaps fearing insufficiency, he thought a moment and added:

"Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Although the tax statutes use millet as an example, what each prefecture and county grows varies somewhat, and in past years there have been cases where they couldn't deliver millet and used other grains in lieu."

Local prefectural and county offices not only flexibly adjust tax collection; in years when grain is wildly snatched up, some folks occasionally can't buy grain and instead directly pay with money—this too is common.

The only difference this time is using refined rice instead of coarse rice.

Even without mentioning those many properties of the starch, just letting the superiors know its market price would probably not be a big problem.....

This time, both Du Shanü and Chen Weifang let out a sigh of relief.

Du Shanü had settled a major concern, was about to tackle a second one, but before she could speak, Chinu, who had been coldly watching from the side for a long time, suddenly said:

"Have you two finished speaking?"

Du Shanü: "......? _?"

Chen Weifang: "......? _?"

I don't know why, but every time Chinu opens their mouth, I get a chilling feeling down my back!

Du Shanü stepped toward Chen Weifang's back, Chen Weifang stepped back a step, and Du Shanü stepped back again......

The two retreated further and further, huddling together.

Chinu's brow twitched, their thin lips opened and closed, and a cold aura spread out.

"... Get over here."

The two had no choice but to silently return to Chinu's side, only to quarrel over who should stand behind whom, nearly coming to blows.

Chinu snorted bluntly:

"Have you considered that even seven hundred shi of grain would take a hundred or so soldiers half a day to move!"

"Those bandits today are only sixty or seventy people, and now, not even two hours after the fire started, how could they have so precisely headed straight for the county office treasury, swiftly moved the goods, and then set fire to it?"

Upon hearing Chinu's words, Du Shanü only then realized belatedly and silently thought, "Not good."

In an instant, she thought of something—

"Yeah, if the treasury were full, those people would definitely take advantage of their numbers to move the grain together inside the treasury—much easier—so why bother looting people's homes and hurting them?"

"Unless, there is only one possibility......"

Chinu gazed at the gradually dying fire behind the county office and sneered:

"Before collecting this round of taxes, let's properly root out the traitors inside the county office."

"What good does it do to meticulously go over the accounts and official duties? The people below might have already emptied the treasury!"

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