"Sigh, let's not talk about these sad things. The more we talk, the sadder we get."
Yang Si waved his hand and motioned for Si to skip this slightly painful topic.
Smacking his lips, Yang Si felt a little thirsty and asked the deputy general, "Is there any wine in the cabin?"
The general smiled and said, "How can I drink in front of a battle? Even if I support the military counselor, I can't break the law knowingly, can I? But there are a few baskets of lychees, which were picked yesterday. I heard that they are late-ripening fruits with small pits and a lot of pulp. Military Advisor, do you want to try them? "
Lychees were very rare. Although they were produced in large quantities, they were not easy to preserve. People living in the north rarely had the chance to eat such a delicacy.
Even if one could eat it, the value of a single lychee was worth a thousand taels of gold. For example, one could dig out the entire lychee tree and use a boat to travel north. It required a lot of manpower and resources, and ordinary families could not afford it at all. Of course, lychees were not expensive in the lychee production area.
Yang Si laughed and said, "You're so smart. Why haven't I heard of lychees being delivered?"
Si Jiang ordered his men to bring the basket of lychees over. The skin of the lychees was bright red and there were scales protruding out. The quality was excellent.
"There are a lot of lychees in my hometown. My parents once planted them for the local rich." Si Jiang smiled and said, "Ever since I followed my lord, my parents, wife, and children have been living a better life. With the money I sent back, I bought more than ten acres of lychee trees. It just so happens that this place is not far from my hometown. It would take three to four days to travel by land, but it would only take a little more than a day to travel by water along the river. "
Si Jiang was an honest man. He also knew how powerful his military advisor was. Hiding it from him would be courting death. Perhaps he would be disliked instead of pleasing him.
He said, "I heard that the military advisor likes these things, so I asked my parents to pick some and send them over."
When Yang Si was young, he traveled around to study, so he naturally went to the lychee production area to eat. This thing was really delicious.
"How many baskets are there in the cabin?"
Yang Si looked at the lychees. Each one was plump and attractive. It was obvious that they had been carefully selected and chilled using special methods to keep them fresh.
He picked one up, and his fingertips were cold.
As a cultured foodie, Yang Si peeled lychees differently from others.
Xu Jiang used his fingernails to peel off the outer layer bit by bit. Not only was it easy to dirty his hands, but the lychee water would also stick to his hands, making it dirty.
He directly used his index finger and thumb to pinch the tip of the lychee, and used a little strength along the line of the lychee shell.
With an extremely light sound, the outer shell of the lychee split open along the line, revealing the sparkling and translucent congealed flesh.
The deputy general was still peeling, and Yang Si had already eaten two.
"I've sent fifteen baskets. Does the military advisor want one?"
Seeing that Yang Si was quick and clean, Si Jiang imitated his movements, and sure enough, it was much easier.
Cultured people were indeed cultured people. They were more particular about peeling lychees than ordinary people, and they also looked cleaner.
"So many?" Yang Si thought about the lychees he had eaten during his study tour. The production of lychees was indeed not low. He smiled and said, "Leave a basket for Feng Langzi, General Fu, and the rest for the soldiers. How much are the lychees worth? You can report it to me. "
The deputy general said, "It's homegrown. It's not worth much."
"That won't do. Nothing can be accomplished without rules." Yang Si said, "If the lord knew, she wouldn't agree."
Although it was homegrown, it didn't take time and energy to take care of the lychee tree. As the military advisor, he couldn't take advantage of his own soldiers.
The generals in troubled times were all professions that put their lives on the line, so they couldn't be treated harshly.
The deputy general couldn't dissuade Yang Si, so he could only accept his good intentions.
Yang Si sent soldiers to distribute the few baskets of lychees to each ship, and after sharing them, each person only had one.
He remembered that Xie Ze was also here, so he specially sent someone to give a small portion to Xie Ze.
"If there are still lychees after this battle, let's go eat to our heart's content."
The deputy general smiled and said, "If so, then I really thank the military advisor on behalf of the local people."
Lychees were indeed rare, but not many people could afford to eat them. The annual production was relatively high, so there wasn't much market for lychees in the local area. They could be sold for a higher price in other places, but this thing wasn't easy to preserve, and the cost of preservation and transportation was frighteningly high.
Yang Si looked a little thin, but his appetite was not small.
If it weren't for the fact that lychees were warm in nature, he would have eaten so much that he had to support the wall.
Not long after, a small pile of lychee shells and pits had piled up on the deck.
Time passed quickly, as if it was flying through one's fingers. Some fog slowly began to gather on the surface of the river.
Yang Si said, "Feng Langzi was right. Speak of fog, and there will be fog. Order the entire army to be vigilant in case the enemy comes."
The deputy general immediately passed on the message.
"Military Advisor, everything is ready."
Xie Ze wasn't on the same ship as Yang Si, but he wasn't far away, so he could hear him if he raised his voice.
Yang Si said, "Yes, tell General Xie to be ready to defend against the enemy at any time."
He didn't have a loud voice like Xie Ze's, so he could only let the deputy general pass the message on his behalf.
If Yan Lin and the others were here, they would find that there was something wrong with these ships that were transporting provisions.
First of all, the appearance of the ships. Ordinary warships were the color of the wood, but Yang Si's ships were painted black.
As for the ships, there was a thick and long hemp rope tied between each ship!
One had to know that in order to ensure the mobility of naval battles and prevent the enemy from setting fire to everything, ships were usually not connected to each other.
Did Yang Si make a fundamental mistake?
Actually, it wasn't!
Yang Si made this arrangement with a profound meaning.
Today was the night of the first lunar month, and the night was extremely dark. There was a heavy fog at midnight, which could easily interfere with the enemy's vision.
To ensure that the fleet's formation didn't fall apart, they were temporarily connected with thick hemp ropes. If the enemy needed to change the formation, they could cut off the ropes at any time.
In addition, they had painted the surface of the ships black, which almost blended into the night and the river. If there was another heavy fog, not only would the enemy not be able to find them, they wouldn't even be able to find themselves. It was always more convenient to be connected with ropes.
The "Grain and Supply Fleet" followed the original route.
As time went by, everyone's nerves were stretched into a tight line. They were constantly worried that the enemy would suddenly jump out.
The deputy general said, "Military Advisor, it's getting late. You should go into the cabin and take a rest."
If the enemy came out, they would definitely attack with arrows. If Yang Si stayed on the deck, he would be easily injured.
Yang Si squinted his eyes dangerously. He put his index finger on his lips, signaling the deputy general to be quiet.
"Tell General Xie that if I'm right, the enemy will definitely ambush us in the water ahead …"
The deputy general couldn't speak loudly this time, so he used semaphore.
Since the two ships weren't too far away, they could just barely make out the semaphore message.
At the same time, Yan Lin and the others were also on standby.
Half an hour had passed, and the fog was getting thicker.
Yan Lin held the hilt of his sword with his left hand and frowned.
"Still not coming?"
Just then, he vaguely saw something floating on the water.
Yan Lin immediately ordered his men to fish for it with a fishing pole covered with a net.
Lychee shell!
The general said, "How can there be something like this on the river?"
Yan Lin said, "The enemy is coming. Order the soldiers to prepare for battle!"
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