Chapter 313: Worries

Three months have passed since Baifeng ordered the recruitment to begin, from registration and physical examinations to background checks. The army that Baifeng was looking forward to, one that could satisfy him, has already begun to take shape. The three months in the New Recruit Company have completely transformed all the qualified Soldiers; in terms of physical fitness and discipline, they are entirely different from the previous troops. Coupled with the theory classes that Baifeng had the Ministry of War add, and his own occasional visits to teach ideological and political classes, the idea of loyalty to the monarch and protecting the country has been thoroughly rooted in the minds of this army.

The entire military camp has been put into use, with four people to a room. Every day, they wake up to training, training, and more training, and then they are allowed to go home in batches or are arranged to go out to execute missions.

The overall performance has made Baifeng very satisfied.

Within this army of one thousand, just as before, the best were selected from the best, and based on their specialties, different types of military branches were selected: scouts, Archer and Swordsmen, Vanguard Teams, and so on. A unique feature is the fifty-man Ox Cavalry; they are completely covered in Heavy Armor, including the oxen, which are also armored.

The number of Ox Cavalry is not large, but after lining up neatly, they give people a very shocking feeling. However, in reality, Baifeng also knows that they are not actually that powerful, because the shortcomings of oxen are very obvious; they are mainly used to break up the enemy's formation when facing them head-on. If he wants to develop cavalry, he still has to domesticate horses.

Ever since the incident with finding horses, Baifeng has not mentioned this matter verbally, but in his own notebook, this matter is still of the utmost importance and must be pursued in the future. He is very afraid that after Xuanyuan occupies the Central Plains, he will create elephant troops, because historically, these people have had the idea and behavior of training elephants. For example, Yushun; historical records state that he trained elephants to plow at Lishan, having tamed elephants to plow the fields. Although it is a bit of a waste of talent, given Xuanyuan's imagination and ability to act, training elephant troops is really not impossible.

Now the traces of horses are in the northwest. Whether it is the traces they have discovered now or looking at the historical process, good horses are indeed in the northwest, so Baifeng is not too anxious now.

The military camp and Hospital he arranged have already been completed and occupied. As for the Chaotang, it is indeed difficult; they have only just finished laying the foundation.

It is now deep Winter, and it is estimated that even if the Ministry of Works is given another half a year, the Chaotang may not be finished. Therefore, Baifeng let the Ministry of Works shift its focus back to the construction of the New City after the start of spring. The New City is an important stepping stone for their future advance into the northwest, and horses will certainly be found in the process of developing the northwest.

It is just that the Ministry of Works now has some difficulties that need Baifeng to solve, which is that the Gunpowder is running out. After so many years of observation and research, these elite officials actually know that the so-called Heavenly Thunder is just like bows and Cement—things Baifeng created using magical means, not some kind of sorcery.

However, they did not ask Baifeng about its origin, nor did they expose Baifeng's bluffing tactics. The most important thing is that Gunpowder is truly easy to use and its power is great enough. This thing is still controlled by their king. As long as the Gunpowder is in Baifeng's hands for one day, then Huaxia will not be turned upside down.

Zhu told Baifeng that the Gunpowder is basically bottoming out and hoped that Baifeng could give them some more. Baifeng just told them not to worry, that he would think of a way, and that he would definitely come up with something for them before they started construction in the spring.

Baifeng is also very numb now because the Sulfur has bottomed out. Without Sulfur, Gunpowder cannot be made. And to get Sulfur, one must go to the territory of the Chinv tribe again. The Chinv tribe is now surrounded by the Suiren tribe, and getting Sulfur is a very dangerous thing.

Baifeng wanted to go and get it himself, but this time it was truly too risky. Baifeng found it hard to make up his mind, so he tossed and turned for several days, unable to sleep, and even his food tasted like nothing.

Yu noticed his monarch's troubles and immediately fulfilled his duty as the Minister of the Department of State Affairs. First, he calmly flipped through the troublesome matters that needed to be handled recently, so as not to miss any important things, because in his memory, there were no major events that could make Baifeng worry to this extent. Unfortunately, he searched through the documents and found no clues.

In the end, he could only ask Baifeng directly; he had to share the worries of his monarch and provide suggestions for solutions.

Baifeng did not hide it and stated his troubles, but he did not say what the Sulfur was used for, nor did he say that Sulfur was related to Gunpowder. Yu knew of the existence of Gunpowder, and since all the Sulfur was used by Baifeng, and he had not seen Sulfur used anywhere else over the years, he could naturally guess that Sulfur was related to Gunpowder, but what the relationship was, was not within the scope of his consideration.

After listening to Baifeng's worries, Yu gave a plan very directly. First, trade with the Suiren tribe; anyway, Baoxi does not know what this Sulfur is used for. Second, send people to take the risk to get the Sulfur, but Baifeng must absolutely not go himself. The Soldiers and troops that have been raised should be put to use at this time; even if they die, that is their fate and duty. How can one fight and be a soldier without people dying or seeing blood?

Baifeng actually thought much the same, but he was just having trouble making a decision. In the end, he made a trip to the military camp. Looking at the extremely excellent army that had been trained, as well as the Militia that were training, Baifeng felt that the strength of his tribe should not be wasted casually. If they could trade, they should just trade directly; it would be difficult for Baoxi to discover the correct use of Sulfur.

At worst, he could tell Baoxi about other effects at that time to let him get some benefits. He believed that Baoxi would not pass up such a good thing as trading things that his tribe had no use for—like Tea Leaves—for the solid food that Baifeng had.

After making up his mind, Baifeng immediately let out a long sigh of relief. The hardest part is making the decision; once the decision is made, there is nothing left to worry about. It is nothing more than taking food out; their bean dregs are very popular with the Suiren tribe.

Although there are already conflicts between the two sides, it does not affect normal trade. I am afraid that as long as Baifeng mentions it, Baoxi might be even happier than him.

Subsequently, Baifeng formulated a plan and then arranged for people from the Ministry of Rites to communicate with the Suiren tribe, because this is a long-term, large-scale trade, and it certainly requires the Leaders of the two tribes to meet and decide.

Therefore, the Ministry of Rites will conduct the initial negotiations, and in conjunction with the Ministry of War, arrange for Soldiers to act as guards, escorting the people from the Ministry of Rites all the way through the forest to the nearest Suiren tribe Village, so that they can pass the message to Baoxi and then agree on a time and place. In this way, the process is rigorous and safe.