bookpub Chapter 2636 Reduced Treatment
Chapter 2636 Reduced Treatment
Chapter 2636 Reduced Treatment
"The five-year period has come to an end, and it's time to talk to Bega about customs duties again. We need to continue negotiating bilateral tariff reductions this year. When you draft the terms, you must be sincere."
"Yes." Du Shan couldn't suppress a smile. "We've almost turned those maritime trade routes of Tiangong into losses."
The Heavenly Palace has its own vast and complex industries, but it has also been spending money lavishly in recent years.
When it comes to legitimate maritime trade, few can rival Cang Yan.
"There's no such thing as a sure-fire business, right?" He Lingchuan said casually, then changed the subject, "Any news about Imperial Preceptor Shuangye lately?"
"No, he seems to just follow the rules step by step and has always kept a low profile."
"Keep a low profile?" He Lingchuan cracked his knuckles. "That means secretly plotting against him and keeping a close eye on him."
"Yes."
"Any new leads regarding Lingyun Palace?"
Du Shan shook his head: "Not at all."
Not only did Lingyun Palace suffer a great loss at He Lingchuan's hands last time, but after He Lingchuan left, he also revealed its location to Lingshan. As a result, Lingyun Palace was repeatedly harassed by Lingshan when it moved later. In order to protect it, the Heavenly Palace itself was greatly weakened.
Xiao Ping and others believed that the smooth relocation was based on the influx of forces from the Heavenly Palace and the Heavenly Demon.
From then on, Lingyun Palace seemed to have vanished from the world. No matter how much Lingshan, Mu Kingdom, and Cangyan inquired, they found not a single trace of it.
He Lingchuan felt it was a great pity.
Such a good opportunity as the handover between the old and new Du Yun leaders will probably not come again.
￥￥￥￥￥
Panlong World.
On the way to the southern part of the wasteland, He Lingchuan also integrated the two teams into his own command.
These two teams originally came from his Seymour Legion, but Zhong Shengguang ordered them to be reassigned from other armies to He Lingchuan.
He treated the forced march as a training exercise, and the army quickly took shape, regaining the familiar feeling of everyone standing shoulder to shoulder and back to back as they had five years ago.
On this day, the army passed through Baohe Mountain and would reach the front line in another day and night.
The Tiger Wing Legion has been marching for four days and will rest on the mountain tonight to conserve its strength for the battle when it arrives at the battlefield.
They were not far from the front line, and the camp did not light any fires or produce any smoke to avoid being detected by the enemy, but the soldiers' morale remained high.
They ate the hard, dry jerky and steamed buns with cold water, still in high spirits.
Wen Daolun exclaimed, "Their spirits have completely changed since you came back."
"They are my soldiers." He Lingchuan's smile didn't reach his eyes. "The military ration standards have dropped quite a bit."
Five years ago, when Panlong Kingdom launched its eastern expedition to the ancient land of Xiluo, He Lingchuan's army was provided with dried meat, wheat cakes, soybean paste, pickled vegetables, and a fasting pill that could keep them full for several days, as well as fried rice cakes and nuts as snacks.
Fried rice cakes require oil and sugar, wheat cakes need mixed beans and oats, and the roasting of dried meat also has its own specific requirements.
But now, there's no more dried meat, and each person only has a palm-sized piece of salted meat, enough to last for more than a month. The amount of wheat cakes is less than half of what it used to be, and there's no longer any regard for proportions; the main focus is on filling the stomach.
He Lingchuan could tell at a glance that the raw materials weren't as good as before.
The fasting pills are also out of stock; there's a shortage of raw materials.
This is the ration only enjoyed by the Tiger Wing Legion as an elite force; other Panlong Legions may not necessarily have any meat to eat.
Soldiers who are not well-fed will lack strength; their fighting ability will certainly decline if they are hungry.
Zhong Shengguang and most of the generals of Panlong Kingdom could be described as loving their soldiers like their own children. It wasn't that they didn't want to make sure everyone was well-fed, but rather that they were willing but unable to do so.
The objective conditions are becoming increasingly severe.
“Panlong has been fighting for eighteen months, spending money like water, and is no longer as prosperous as before. The Maohe Plain has also been taken away.” Wen Daolun also took a sip of water. “Supplies are not as plentiful as before.”
War is the most expensive thing; once this machine starts running, it's a bottomless pit, causing countless fortunes to vanish into thin air.
The Maohe Plain is the granary of the Panlong Kingdom, and the Maohe trade route was once known as the lifeline of the Panlong Kingdom. Without this land of fish and rice, the Panlong Kingdom's supply of goods would be in trouble.
"Fortunately, the Panlong Wasteland can produce food under the current spiritual energy conditions, and our territory has expanded compared to before. In addition, our allies sometimes send us food, which is why we can barely hold on."
After years of hard work and development, Panlong has accumulated a considerable amount of wealth, which enabled it to achieve the miracle of standing alone for eighteen months.
Wen Daolun's expression was grave. "The southern part of Panlong Wasteland is also an important grain-producing area. If we can't hold it, Panlong's supply of materials will be in serious trouble."
He Lingchuan still remembers the "ghost army" of Panlong City that he first encountered when he followed He Chunhua into the Panlong Desert more than 20 years ago.
The soldiers were all thin and bony, with large heads and small bodies. Many of them were skin and bones. Their armor was incomplete, and the spears they held were of unknown origin.
They remain as they were in life, which is exactly what the army looked like in the later period of Panlongcheng in real history.
At that time, Panlong City's territory had been occupied by the enemy, the city's resources were exhausted, and the soldiers and civilians were starving. In the end, it ended in grief and resentment.
He Lingchuan simply said, "We will hold it."
Although his tone was calm, every word he uttered was resolute.
He will never allow the true history of Panlongcheng to repeat itself!
He would pay any price for that four-word promise.
Just then, a subordinate reported, "We've found a place where we can plant black fungus."
Black fungus?
Wen Daolun nodded: "Plant them, and hurry up."
"What is that?" He Lingchuan had never heard of such a thing.
“Come, you’ll see for yourself.” Wen Daolun led him to the shady side of the valley. A small river flowed at the bottom of the valley, so the land on both sides of the river was damp. Because of the dense vegetation, the sun never shone, and the soil was always wet.
Wen Daolun nodded to the cook, who then chose a large willow tree and took out something to stick next to the tree roots.
"This is... a bamboo shoot?" It's long and thin, conical, thick at the bottom and pointed at the top, completely black, and still has a bamboo shoot sheath.
"not quite."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ground changed.
Something pushed up the soil covered by dead leaves. He Lingchuan casually brushed aside a few fallen leaves and saw black mushrooms sprouting from the soil!
It looks very similar to the black-skinned termite mushroom, but its cap is covered with pores and grows in clusters, each cluster being larger than a washbasin.
In just a dozen or so breaths, the entire hillside was covered with these black fungi, so dense that it was impossible to step on them.
The logistics personnel were very skilled; they grabbed various containers and started collecting mushrooms.
Wen Daolun also picked one and handed it to He Lingchuan: "Something new, have a taste."
After saying that, he ate one himself first.
He Lingchuan popped it into his mouth and chewed it. It felt like he was chewing wood ear fungus. It was very crisp and juicy. The initial taste was bitter and astringent, but the aftertaste was slightly sweet.
This stuff is neither particularly delicious nor particularly bad.