By the time all the bodies were buried, the sky was nearly dark.
Zhou Sui was a reliable man; he had sent people ahead to scout the way and had already found a campsite for the night.
After arriving at the campsite, Zhou Sui came over again to report, My lady, we confiscated 59 horses from the bandits this time, along with quite a few weapons.
Jiang Jin was in a great mood. Excellent. Put all the weapons in the carriages.
Adding the 44 horses from He Li, she had gained over 100 horses today alone.
That meant she now possessed more than 170 horses, entirely enough to form a cavalry company. It was just a pity that she still did not have enough people.
Not long after, Dong Si also came over to claim credit. He handed over the 6-plus strings of cash he had looted from the corpses, unable to hold back his complaints.
These people are too poor. How could they carry so little money when going out? I despise them. I really do.
Jiang Jin was speechless. They were just out on a short-distance mission; it was good enough that they carried any money at all.
She silently moved the copper coins into the carriage and then stored them in her spatial dimension.
While everyone was busy with their own tasks, Yun Chengxuan stared at the four little rabbits in the basket, drooling.
Jiang Jin could not help but pat his head. No. We need to let these four rabbits breed and have babies. When the time comes, you can eat to your heart's content.
Yun Chengxuan sighed. Then when will they have babies? I want to eat them right now.
Jiang Jin found it amusing. Aren't we having tiger meat tonight? I have never had tiger meat before. I wonder if it's delicious?
It was not delicious.
Jiang Jin got her answer during dinner. The texture was very dry and the meat was tough. Even though it had been boiled for a long time, it was still very hard to chew.
However, everyone else ate with great satisfaction. This was tiger meat, after all!
Whether it was tasty or not did not matter; the key was that it was tiger meat!
Besides, in these war-torn times, just having meat to eat was a blessing. They were not picky, not in the slightest.
Jiang Jin very generously sent a few pounds over to He Li's side so they could have a taste.
He Li's group was not small either. Including the drivers and guards, there were nearly 80 people. Originally, there had been over 90, but more than ten were killed today.
After resting for a while post-dinner, Jiang Jin's soldiers began their training again. After practicing basic fist techniques for half an hour, they paired up for wrestling and sparring.
He Li watched the crowd undergoing strict training in the distance. Recalling their combat prowess from that afternoon, his eyelids twitched. He felt as if he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.
Jiang Jin, completely unaware of his many thoughts, came over for a casual chat to build rapport. Where is Shopkeeper He from? Where did you travel from?
He Li did not hide it. I came from Daqing Commandery in Juan Prefecture.
Jiang Jin recalled the map and asked, Isn't Daqing Commandery by the sea? Hasn't it been occupied by the Jiaoren?
He Li nodded. It is indeed by the sea. The Jiaoren do want to attack, but we have the General of the Left, so it remains quite stable for now.
Jiang Jin frowned, thinking for a moment before remembering that when Dingyang was besieged, Emperor Yan had sent out several groups of men in different directions to seek help.
Daqing Commandery was one of those destinations. Unfortunately, not a single rescue force ever arrived. Now it seemed that this General of the Left wasn't unable to come; he simply did not want to.
Jiang Jin was somewhat curious. How does the General of the Left allow you to sell grain outside?
At a time like this, when there were grain shortages everywhere, the food within one's jurisdiction would naturally be strictly controlled.
He Li smiled but said nothing.
Jiang Jin understood. Every dog has its day, and every cat has its way. In the face of sufficient profit, people could always come up with all sorts of methods.
Shopkeeper He, the next time you have goods, you can come to Gefeng. Grain, salt, oil, horses, fabrics, and slaves, I will take them all.
He Li's eyes lit up. Are you sure?
Jiang Jin nodded. Of course. I will buy however much you have.
He Li hurriedly asked, Do you only want young and strong adults for slaves?
Anyone who can work is fine, regardless of whether they are young and strong, Jiang Jin said, not being picky.
He Li started calculating in his mind. No matter what this woman intended to do in Gefeng, there was no denying that she was a very good partner to cooperate with. At the very least, she was honest.
Speaking purely in terms of business, this was a very promising long-term line of trade.
Jiang Jin added, Winter clothing and cold-weather supplies are fine too, such as cotton.
He Li smiled bitterly. You think too highly of me. Cotton is not easy to get.
Jiang Jin smiled and did not force the issue. The two of them went on to chat about other matters.
Mostly, it was Jiang Jin asking questions. She wanted to learn more about this world, as there were many things that could not be seen on a map.
She had yet to establish her own intelligence network, so it could be said that she knew very little about this world.
Early the next morning, Jiang Jin still woke up very early. She practiced a set of fist techniques and did about half an hour of basic physical training before eating breakfast.
The meat for breakfast this morning was still tiger meat. The weather was hot, making the meat difficult to preserve. With so many people around, they could not be bothered to make jerky out of it, so they just ate it all.
After resting a bit post-breakfast, Jiang Jin strapped on her weighted sandbags and ran alongside the advancing troops.
The current convoy had many people, horses, and carriages. It looked quite spectacular.
By noon, the group finally arrived at Shu County, but Jiang Jin had no intention of entering the city.
The convoy bypassed it via the official road outside the city, traveled for another half an hour, and then began looking for a place to camp and rest.
He Li could not help but inwardly complain. How long had they even been walking? Why were they resting already?
However, he did not say anything. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Anyway, it was only a few days journey to Gefeng, so it would not delay them much.
Yun Chengxuan had become addicted to eating rabbit meat. Unfortunately, the place they rested today was a small flat forest; if there had been any rabbits, they would have been caught long ago.
Jiang Jin had him go to the river to catch a few fish and made him some boiled fish. His world was opened up once again, and another dish was added to his list of the most delicious foods.
While they were bustling about eating lunch, the sentry soldier came over to report, My lady, a group of refugees is heading in this direction. Should we drive them away?
How many people?
About a few dozen.
Jiang Jin looked at the large expanse of space around them. No need to stop them. Just make sure they do not get too close to us.
Not long after the soldier left, they indeed saw a group of refugees approaching in the distance. Just as they were about to get closer, the soldiers stopped them. We arrived here first and have already occupied this area.
At this moment, the refugees also saw the horses and grain of Jiang Jin's convoy in the distance, their eyes shining with greed.
But upon seeing the dozens, nearly a hundred guards, they all lowered their heads, not daring to look anymore or step any closer. They just found a place nearby to settle down.
However, for some unknown reason, an argument broke out among the refugees.
I had my eye on this spot first. Zhao Feng, you guys go to the other side. A young man with a shoehorn-shaped face glared sideways at the few people opposite him.
The people he was targeting did not look very old, but almost all of them had pale faces and emaciated figures.
Zhao Feng had a square face. He glanced at the man and then led the others toward the other side.
The shoehorn-faced man snorted coldly. Hmph.
An old man sighed and advised, Wu Qing, everyone is having a hard time. Why do this? They are all young and strong adults. Traveling together, we can look out for each other.
The shoehorn-faced man, who was Wu Qing, said nothing. He simply could not stand those people. They had only been traveling together for a few days, yet they had already stolen Xiaohua's heart.
He did not know what was so great about that guy. His left hand was crippled; wasn't he just a bit taller than him?
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Xiaohua carrying a bowl of water and walking toward Zhao Feng.
Cotton was introduced as early as the Northern and Southern Dynasties
[Note: Some of you dear readers mentioned that this error is too obvious, so let me explain. I actually do research for most of my writing.
The Book of Liang records that cotton was cultivated in the Kingdom of Gaochang (modern-day Turpan, Xinjiang) during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern dynasties. Additionally, cotton is mentioned in the Records of the Grand Historian from the Wei and Jin periods.
I originally wanted to explain this in the inline comments, but the system kept blocking my messages and I couldn't post them at all. I didn't want to waste any more time, so I am posting a screenshot here instead.
P.S. This is a novel set in a fictional alternate world. It merely references the productivity levels of a certain historical period and is not a direct copy. Please do not compare it strictly to real history.]
