Xiao Letian came to see Zeng Guofan mainly because he wanted to discuss the relevant details of the bond issuance. For such a major strategic cooperation event, negotiation between Hu Xueyan and Mr. Fan Lian would definitely not be of sufficient level.
In addition, Xiao Letian and Zeng Guofan respectively represent the two major military forces of the Han people in East Asia. One is the tiger in the south of the Yangtze River, and the other is the dragon in the East China Sea. The cooperation between these two people will definitely affect the situation in the entire East Asia. How should we deal with the Manchu group currently? After the conservatives here, especially Cixi, shouted out the famous saying "Measure China's material resources and make the country happy", the two hidden dragons had to meet and discuss future strategies together.
However, these things cannot be said in front of Zai Chun. Now we can only talk about some things that can be brought to the table, such as the latest individual soldier rations developed by Ryukyu that Xiao Letian brought out.
"This time I came to see the commander-in-chief. On the one hand, I want to talk about the distribution of bond income. On the other hand, I want to promote a few new things. They are all good things that are most helpful to Zuo Ji Gaogong."
Xiao Letian took out three treasures, canned food, compressed biscuits and toffee. Zeng Guoquan took it in his hand and asked in surprise, "Isn't this a tin can made in the United States? I have eaten it before. It tastes good or bad, but it's just oily water." There is absolutely no problem if someone can eat it with just one step... You have to give this to Zuo Jigao."
"That's right, Mr. Zuo's western expedition took him through the desolate land of the desert. The most important thing in fighting in that place is not the enemy, but the supplies. When you leave Yumen Pass in the west, you will enter the desert Gobi. How much food and grass can a hundred thousand troops bring during the expedition? "
"From the Qing Dynasty to the present, military food supplies are still the same as in the past. Food is collected locally in the Central Plains, including Gansu and Shaanxi, and then transported upwards by oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages. If one pound of grain is delivered, the civilians on the way will have to eat ten pounds. There are so many smart people in the court, but no one has thought about how to improve it."
Xiao Letian became more and more angry as he talked. In ancient times, there was no good anti-corrosion technology. In order to prevent mildew, the army always sent grains with shells when transporting military rations. Rice, wheat, millet, millet... were all transported to the front line in shells. The fear is mildew.
However, this kind of shelled grain has very large gaps between each other. Hidden in the barn, these gaps can provide ventilation and moisture-proofing, but long-distance transportation will waste space, which directly reduces the efficiency of material supply.
As a time traveler, if this problem cannot be solved, wouldn't it be embarrassing? Even if Xiao Letian is not a professional, he knows that the two most important points of individual soldier rations in future generations are high calories and shelf life.
Ryukyu canning processing has been put into operation a year ago. As long as the raw materials are sufficient, the assembly line imported from the United States can produce two thousand cans a day, and the production capacity will continue to increase as skilled workers increase.
Beef, later luncheon meat, and pork belly, China’s most indispensable thing is a good chef. The CIA slapped a reward of one thousand silver coins on the table: “Whoever develops the most delicious canned meat formula will have the money.”
A brave man must be rewarded. Within half a month, six top chefs came up with six canned meat recipes. Xiao Letian has tasted them all. The taste is really extraordinary.
Compressed biscuits are also easy to solve. In fact, the main process is to copy the local snack fried noodles in oil in later generations. In order to improve nutrition, people also ground sesame seeds, peanuts, and various beans, and then added flour and fried them with butter.
Xiao Letian originally wanted to fry it in a large amount of oil, but after thinking about the sensitive ethnic issues in the Western Regions, he could only use butter or imported butter from Europe and the United States.
Add heavy oil, add various soy flour and flour, and then mix it with sugar produced in Ryukyu, and a high-calorie fried noodles is completed.
These loose fried noodles are poured into the laminating machine and driven by the steam engine. After being hit by the cast iron parts, they become pieces of exquisite compressed biscuits. Each piece weighs about 75 grams. Wrapping one piece with oil paper alone can support a person. A soldier consumes more than half a day's energy.
Zeng Guofan opened a piece of compressed biscuit paper and found that the biscuit was actually wrapped in a layer of salt. Zai Chun saw the commander confused, "Salt is used for antisepsis. There is no water in the compressed biscuit, and then a layer of salt is added to protect it. Wrap the outside with tarpaulin. We have tested that there will be no deterioration problem for at least half a year..."
Xiao Letian laughed and said, "Half a year is in the humid environment of Jiangnan. If it is transported to a dry place in the Western Regions, I think it will be no problem for a year and a half."
Hiss... the two old men gasped. The shelf life is one and a half years, and a small bar is enough for a soldier's meal. Zuo Zongtang is even more powerful with this treasure.
"Okay, okay, the pressure on supplying the army will be much less in the future. We will focus a lot of transportation capacity on weapons and ammunition, and the remaining money will go to the sea... Someone, bring these compressed biscuits to the military camp. Go inside, find ten pot-bellied men, follow the instructions on the paper to eat it, and see if it's so amazing."
The last treasure is the big toffee. "This toffee is not just for soldiers to satisfy their cravings. It is also a very important food supply, because the most easily absorbed nutrient for the human body is sugar..."
"Everyone may have this feeling. When you are hungry, eating steamed buns and flatbreads always requires your appetite to be digested slowly to make your body strong. But sugar is different. When you are so hungry that your whole body is weak and your hands and feet are numb. , eating a piece of candy can instantly satisfy your hunger and restore your strength..."
"Imagine that the two sides were fighting hard from morning to evening, and they were exhausted even without water or rice. At this time, each of our soldiers took out a big toffee from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. It took less than half a minute. You can regain your strength..."
There is no need to hit the drum with a heavy hammer. The two old coaches all understood it, and their beards jumped up with laughter. "There is no need to test cans and toffee. We believe what you said. We will test your compressed biscuits later if they are really that durable." If you are hungry, I can place an order for you on the spot for Zuo Jigao..."
"But I'm also confused. If you have such a good thing, why don't you just give it to the Ministry of War?" Ninth Commander asked.
"Haha..." Xiao Letian smiled bitterly and said, "The Ministry of War, with the work efficiency of the Sixth Ministry, once Zuo Jigao eats my compressed military rations, the battle will probably be over. Besides, do you think the court is willing to see me colluding with the generals of the Qing Dynasty? .”
People thought that Xiao Letian's visit to Jiangnan was kept secret. If the court knew that Xiao Letian came to see Zeng Guofan, Cixi and the conservatives would immediately go crazy.
"Let's not talk about the court for now. Come on, let's have a drink." Jiu Shuai interrupted the embarrassment by holding a glass, and then gave food to the little emperor and Xiao Letian.
"You must eat duck when you come to Jinling, especially the salted duck. Your Majesty must try it... Please, please."
Zai Chun picked up a piece of salted duck in his chopsticks. He wanted to eat it but put it down again. He looked at Zeng Guofan and suddenly said coldly, "Commander Zeng, I want to kill a few people." This book was first published from, be the first to read the original content!
