"This old man doesn't need to ask for too much. Tomorrow, I'll send the exact same thing to the Ma Residence as it was for Old Xue." Old General Ma pointed to one of the boxes and said, "This is my box. Carry it out for me first. I will take it away later."
Old General Xue shouted angrily, "Pfft! You shameless old man! How dare you scam the things that two juniors gave me!"
"Bullsh * t! Are your ears for catching wind? Didn't you hear that you said it was for me …"
"Old man, say it again …"
"Why? Do you want to fight?"
…
…
Li Yi was a little disappointed. These two old generals didn't have the air of a general at all …
They had killed their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. If they could fight, they should try not to talk nonsense. Instead, they should grab their weapons and fight. They were like two shrews who had their hands on their waists and were cursing at the God of War …
Old General Song looked much more refined than the other two. He looked at Li Yi and asked with a smile, "How is Old Madam's health?"
Li Yi nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, Old General Song. Old Madam's health has always been good."
After all, the Li family had been glorious for many years. Even though they had declined in recent years, they still had an assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel to support them. Many of their connections in the capital had not faded yet.
Li Yi had never been interested in these things. However, after visiting the Li family one by one at the request of Old Madam, he realized that the Li family was not as easy to bully as they appeared to be. No wonder they could stand firm in the capital despite being suppressed by the Chen family.
"Your Highness, County Uncle Li, please have some tea." The old butler brought the tea over and said with a kind face.
"Why are you drinking tea in my house!" Old General Xue strode over and opened the bottle of wine. He said, "Drink this!"
A strong smell of alcohol hit them. The proud Lolita wrinkled her nose and hid behind Li Yi.
Li Yi and Li Xuan's expressions changed at the same time. This was the strong alcohol produced by Good Will Lane. It was semi-industrial alcohol and tasteless, but it had a strong aftereffect. After waking up, one's head would feel like it was about to explode. Only the two of them could drink it.
Old General Ma furrowed his brows and said, "The Little Princess is still here, why are you drinking wine? Get people to remove all these and serve the fruits and pastries. Didn't His Majesty just give you some fresh fruits yesterday? Serve them quickly!"
Only then did Old General Xue realize that there was a special guest today. He hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, take all these away and replace them with some fruits and pastries. Bring out the fruits that His Majesty rewarded us yesterday and instruct the kitchen to prepare some good dishes. Be quick …"
Old General Xue returned to his seat and looked at Li Xuan. He asked, "His Highness hasn't left the capital yet, right?"
Li Xuan nodded and said, "His Majesty is holding a banquet in Hibiscus Garden during the Lantern Festival. Father and Mother will only leave after the Lantern Festival."
Every year, there would be a Grand Court Conference. If there were no important matters, the important officials from the various prefectures would return to the capital on this day to report on their work, achievements, and an audience with the Emperor. The various kings would also enter the capital. The Grand Court Conference was the highest standard of court ceremonies. It was equivalent to the year-end summary and annual meeting …
Of course, among those princes and princes, the King of Shu was an exception. He had just arrived at his fief not long ago, and there were many things waiting to be done. How to harm the people of Shu was the first problem he had to solve. How could he have the time to attend the imperial court meeting …
Li Yi was not sure what had happened during the Grand Court Conference. As the dean of the Mathematics Academy, although he had also attended the Grand Court Conference, he had stayed up late the night before and had woken up very early in the morning. When he reached the main hall, he was extremely sleepy and slept from beginning to end with the help of Old General Xue's pillar …
These gifts had been extorted by him at that time.
From that day onwards, there would be lantern shows every day until the Lantern Festival. Three days before the Lantern Festival, even the curfew would be canceled. The entire capital would be brightly lit and people would sing throughout the night. It was the busiest day of the year in the capital.
Li Yi had also received an invitation. On the night of the Lantern Festival, the old Emperor had set up a banquet in Hibiscus Garden. He had invited hundreds of officials and dignitaries of the capital. There were mountains and rivers in Hibiscus Garden. The scale of the banquet was similar to that of a large-scale garden party. However, it was much grander than the one held in the palace.
The old generals gathered and chatted for a while before the topic shifted to the war. Sometimes, when it came to the art of war, they would ask Li Yi and Li Xuan a few questions. If they were to personally command the troops on the battlefield, the two of them together would not even be able to compare to a finger of any one of them.
However, if they were to use their mouths to talk, Li Yi alone would be able to make them wonder if they had lived their entire lives as dogs.
Very quickly, the old generals set their sights on Li Xuan. They had fought for their entire lives, but when it came to their contributions to the Jing Kingdom and the art of war, they couldn't compare to this little brat. Naturally, they wouldn't look for trouble.
Since he had nothing better to do, he played chess with the arrogant lolita and watched Li Xuan being scolded like a dog. It was quite an interesting experience.
The old housekeeper returned very quickly. An old servant placed a small bamboo basket on the table. Beside it were two plates that seemed to be filled with pastries. Li Yi glanced at the bamboo basket. There were two peaches and one pear in the basket.
Even in the capital, it was not easy to eat these fruits in the middle of winter.
Even for the royal family, this was very rare.
"You guys came at the right time today. These were just bestowed by His Majesty yesterday." Old General Xue waved his hand and laughed. "You can't eat them anywhere else."
The arrogant lolita glanced at Li Yi. She was almost sick of eating these fruits these days. Last time, she had brought a basket back for her father and mother. The peaches and pears in front of her, no matter how she looked at them, looked like …
The fruits in the basket were a little wilted, but they were still much better than those so-called fruits that tasted no different from cotton wool in the cellar.
At that time, they did not invest too much. They did manage to produce fruits that were out of season, but the output was not high. Normally, it was only enough for their family to eat. Last time, the arrogant lolita extorted a basket of fruits. Even she felt that it was a little excessive. The next day, she brought two carriages of tributes from the palace as compensation.
To Li Yi and the arrogant lolita, these things were not rare at all.
However, they could not let Old General Xue down. He took out a small knife from the arrogant lolita's bag and cut the fruit open. He took it over and said, "Everyone, have a taste."
Old General Xue waved his hand and said, "This little thing is not even enough to fill the teeth of us old fellows. You guys go ahead and eat."
Li Yi could only take the bamboo basket back. From the corner of his eye, he saw a few little heads poking out from the door. They looked at the bamboo basket and swallowed their saliva. After being stunned for a moment, he walked over and handed it to them. "You guys take it and eat."
The few children looked at Li Yi and then at the bamboo basket. There was a clear desire in their eyes, but they did not stretch out their hands for a long time.
Old General Xue stood up and looked at the children. "You little fellows, what are you doing here?"
Of the three children, the oldest was seven or eight years old and the youngest was only five or six years old. They walked in and called out with their heads lowered, "Grandpa."
Old General Xue only had one wife, but all three of his sons had prospered and had many children. This was usually the case for a family of generals. After all, no one could guarantee that they would always win on the battlefield. They had to leave a legacy for the family.
Li Yi stuffed the bamboo basket into the hands of the older child and said, "Eat, eat. Come in."
The tsundere loli walked over and took out two fresh and tender pears from her bag and placed them in the frame.
This bag was sewn by Ruyi for her. It could be slung over her shoulder and there were many compartments inside. Li Yi did not know what was in her bag.
She looked at Old General Xue and blinked her eyes. "Shouning did not bring any gifts, so I'll give these to my brother and sister …"
Old General Xue was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said, "Good, good. Our Shouning has grown up and knows to bring gifts!"
As if she had thought of something, the arrogant lolita took out a square paper bag from her bag and said, "Oh yes, there's also this!"
"What is this?" Old General Xue asked with a smile.
The arrogant lolita thought for a moment and said, "Sir said that this is called instant noodles. It won't spoil no matter how long it is kept. It's … it's an essential medicine for traveling, marching, fighting, and killing …"
With that, she opened the paper bag and broke off a small piece of the flatbread. She put it in her mouth and chewed a few times. She mumbled, "You can eat it directly now. But it tastes better if you soak it in hot water for a while …"
"It won't spoil no matter how long it is kept?" Old General Xue looked at her and asked.
"If it's stored properly, it should last for a few months …" Li Yi stood at the side and said after some thought.
This was when Yong Ning wanted to eat instant noodles. He made them at home. The craftsmanship was naturally simple, but the taste was not bad. However, because there were no preservatives, the shelf life was definitely not as long as in the future. Considering the level of sealing, the shelf life could not reach half a year, but it should be at least half a year.
"Crash!"
The sound of a chair falling could be heard. Li Yi turned around and saw Li Xuan sitting on the chair with a dumbfounded look. The few old generals stood up and looked at him like hungry wolves …
…
…
"Can it really be stored for three months?" Old General Ma's eyes were wide open.
"It should be possible …"
"Should be?"
"Definitely!"
"Can it be eaten just by rinsing it?" Old General Song asked with a serious face.
"You can eat it directly. Of course, rinsing it will fill you up even more, but it needs hot water."
"Where would we get hot water on the battlefield?"
"Just prepare clean water and bring some quicklime. No matter what kind of water you put it in, it will heat up quickly … If you have any leftover quicklime, you can put it in your pocket and sprinkle it on the enemy's eyes when they are unprepared. It's an essential medicine for traveling, marching, fighting, and killing …"
"Not only will it fill your stomach, but the soldiers will also have the strength to fight!" Old General Xue looked at him with his eyes wide open.
"That's not difficult. Prepare dried meat and dehydrated vegetables. When the time comes, we can add them directly. The nutrition will definitely keep up."
"In other words, this can be used as army rations?"
"It should be used in emergencies. Fried food can't be eaten often either. There are many things that can be used as army rations. As for fast food, the main problem is to seal it. It can be made into canned food and wrapped in aluminum foil …"
"Why didn't you say so earlier? Do you know how many years we have been troubled by the problem of army rations …"
"You guys didn't ask …"
…
…
In the middle of the hall, Li Yi sat on a chair and was surrounded by a few old generals. It was as though they were interrogating him. Li Xuan was watching from the side, rejoicing in Li Yi's misfortune. Just a moment ago, Li Yi had left him to die, but he didn't expect the tables to turn.
Old General Xue was fuming. He slammed the table and said angrily, "Since you know how to solve the problem of army rations, why are you still hiding it? If you were my disciple, I would beat you to death!"
When it was time to be a coward, he had to be a coward. For example, when he was facing Miss.Liu, his body wouldn't be able to take it if he didn't be a coward. When it was time to be tough, he had to be tough. For example, now, he had such a huge library in his head. There were many things he knew. He was helpless. If he had to spit out everything, he wouldn't be able to do anything for the rest of his life. He would probably have to devote himself to the great feudal construction of the Jing Kingdom for the next few decades …
Li Yi slammed the table and stood up. He pointed at Li Xuan and said, "He has been eating instant noodles for the past few days. Didn't he not think of it?"
Didn't Old General Xue want to find a disciple to beat? It didn't matter if he wasn't his disciple. There was someone who was!
The gloating smile on Li Xuan's face froze. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and rushed out like a gust of wind.
…
…
The Xue Family's banquet was very simple. This was something Li Yi could guess from the moment he walked into the Xue Family's house.
It seemed that the salary of the civil servants in ancient times wasn't high. Even an old general of this level didn't live in poverty, but it was far from what he had imagined.
Prime Minister Qin was like this, and so was Old General Xue. Even though their families were too powerful, in general, if they didn't have any other means, even the families of the court officials wouldn't have it easy.
"Kid, you really know a lot of things. This old man didn't expect that there would be so much knowledge about military rations." Old General Xue tilted his head back and drank a big bowl of wine. He said angrily, "Those rotten scholars aren't even comparable to a kid. Did they waste their decades of studying?"
"This old man doesn't believe it. You haven't been to the battlefield before. How do you know all this?" Old General Ma was puzzled.
Old General Xue curled his lips and said, "Old Man Ma, have you forgotten? This kid can even write that kind of military strategy. How can a mere military rations be a problem?"
Old General Ma's old face immediately revealed a look of realization. He said, "Could it be that this was also imparted by the military expert who taught you the art of war?"
Li Yi nodded and said, "Yes, it was a bitter and cold winter …"
Li Xuan was stunned for a moment. He asked, "Wasn't it a scorching hot summer?"
Li Yi looked at him and asked, "Didn't you say that it was easier to convince people in winter?"
"Oh …" Li Xuan finally remembered and said, "I remember now. In the end, it was changed to winter."
Li Yi glanced at him. He was so forgetful at such a young age. He had to pay attention to the frequency of sexual intercourse in the future. Shaking his head, he turned to look at the old generals and continued, "It was a bitter and cold winter …"
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