However, even if Luo Zhixue organized manpower to catch fish and shrimps, hunt, and pick wild fruits and vegetables, it would not be possible to improve the food supply of the supply camp.
After all, additional food sources such as fish, shrimp, prey, wild fruits and vegetables in the river near Sanshui Village are also limited.
And people are not stupid. Luo Zhixue can think of these, and others can also think of these methods. In fact, after they came to Sanshui Village, Sun Chengli organized manpower to hunt in the mountains many times, just to increase the supply of meat.
As for the fish and shrimps in the river, they have not been spared. The fish and shrimps in the nearby rivers and streams have long been caught by the mountain people and bandits who originally came here. In fact, they can't get much if they try to catch them again.
Therefore, the food that these additional methods can provide is limited. It cannot be said that there is no food, but it is only a drop in the bucket.
In the end, we still have to use traditional methods to obtain more food.
For example, reclaim more land and raise more edible livestock such as chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, and cattle.
They have been reclaiming land for a long time. In fact, after Luo Zhixue and his group settled in Sanshui Village, the most they usually do is farming...
Farming in the true literal sense, a group of cavalry who are good at fighting put down their horses, swords, spears and arrows, picked up hoes and went to farm.
In addition to their own farming, the more than 60 prisoners of war were also working day and night to build river dams, dig canals, and open up wasteland for farming.
All this is to obtain more food.
When it comes to farming, Luo Zhixue and the others have been doing it for a long time, and they have done so much that they have reached the limit of manpower utilization.
So after Luo Zhixue considered it, he decided to raise livestock.
Of course, it is impossible for him to use a large amount of precious grain to raise chickens and feed ducks.
But chickens and ducks can also be raised through free-range farming.
For this reason, Luo Zhixue also specially approached Sun Chengli: "General, the army is in urgent need of meat now. Although we had raised chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep before, it was only for individual soldiers to raise chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep alone. It was not large-scale and the effect was not great. !”
"There are many wastelands near our Sanshui Village, and many of them can be rolled up to raise chickens, sheep, pigs, etc. on a large scale."
"And there are several streams in the village, and there are many places where ducks can be raised in pens."
"If we can raise them on a large scale, even if we don't have much food to feed them, the chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep will grow slower and have less meat, but we will still be able to get some meat!"
"If the chickens and ducks are raised well, after the chickens and ducks lay eggs, the soldiers will be able to obtain more chicken and duck eggs."
Sun Chengli was quite surprised by Luo Zhixue's words. He did not expect that Luo Zhixue would pay attention to these things and put forward a seemingly feasible plan to raise livestock.
This is not like Mr. Luo in his mind!
In the past two months, Luo Zhixue has not been very good at farming matters. At least Luo Zhixue can't even explain why he is farming.
In this regard, Sun Chengli also expressed his understanding.
In Sun Chengli's heart, Luo Zhixue was a talented scholar, and it was normal for him not to understand these things.
After all, Luo Zhixue's talents must be cultivated in a good reading environment.
Even if this person does not come from a big family, he must come from a well-off family. If the family is well-off, he will not have any chance to get into contact with the low-level farming and mulberry affairs.
Moreover, Luo Zhixue has most likely been studying hard in books since he was a child, and it is impossible for him to have the time and energy to pay extra attention to agricultural and mulberry affairs.
If Luo Zhixue explained the eight beauties of Qinhuai to Sun Chengli one by one, Sun Chengli would not be surprised. On the contrary, he would think it was normal.
But when Luo Zhixue talks about chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep..., how should I put it, it feels like it doesn't match Luo Zhixue's image!
After Sun Chengli glanced at Luo Zhixue, many thoughts flashed through his mind, but he would not say them out loud. Instead, he said: "Brother Luo, this method is okay, but it's just chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep." It’s not easy to do.”
"Although there are some chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and pigs in our Sanshui Village, they are all left behind by the mountain people here before. And before we accepted them, the earth-turning dragons and the others almost ate the chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and pigs here. Give them to us. There isn’t much left.”
"If you want to stock the animals on a large scale, it's easy to enclose the land and store water, but you have to find some chickens, ducks, cows, sheep, and pigs from outside. If you buy them normally, it will cost a lot."
Luo Zhixue said: "The general thought it over in time. My idea is to purchase some from the surrounding villages. Although there will be some investment in the early stage, as long as the operation is done well, we can make back the capital with profits within a few months." , and with one investment, the subsequent supply of meat and eggs to the army will be completed."
After saying that, Luo Zhixue thought for a moment and then said: "We can buy gold and silver. Now our army has a lot of silver. We can't eat or drink this gold and silver. It's useless to keep it like this. It's better to use it to buy chickens." Duck, cow, sheep, piggy.”
This group of people actually carried a lot of gold and silver, including hundreds of taels of gold.
During Li Tonglin's time, his group robbed many large farms and even the town several times. The gold and silver they obtained were actually very large, most of which were used by them to exchange for some scarce supplies, such as weapons and armor. The stomach and even the war horse.
Although most of it has been spent, there is still gold and silver worth at least six thousand taels in the army.
By the way, during the battle for the throne, Sun Chengli gave each of Lin Dongsheng, Wang Dazhuang, and Xu He 500 taels of silver, but the money only passed through their hands once. The money was sent back to Sun Chengcheng as a 'deposit'.
reason?
I'm not stupid, what are I doing with so much money? It's not convenient to carry dozens of kilograms on my back...
Besides, there is no place to spend money in this ravine.
Another point is that this money is actually a reserve of silver in the army, just like the reserve of grain in the army. These things belong to the big guys. Even Sun Chengli, the big boss, only has the power to dispose of it because of his status as the big boss, but he dare not say that these gold, silver and grains belong to Sun Chengli personally.
Lin Dongsheng and the others took the army's silver as private property, and each of them was five hundred taels. How do you want the other cavalry to view them?
Therefore, they were smart and just let the money pass through their hands, then returned it to Sun Lili in the name of deposit and continued to use it as a reserve fund for the army.
These gold and silver were escorted and kept by Sun Chengli's soldiers along the way, and even Luo Zhixue had no part in it.
During this period, part of it was only used when sending people out to purchase salt, cloth, ironware and other supplies. However, the procurement needs were later filled by selling furs, medicinal materials and other mountain goods from the mountains.
So in the end, their reserves were still quite large.
If Luo Zhixue wanted to use the military's reserves to buy chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and piglets, he needed Sun Lili's approval.
After pondering for a while, Sun Chengli finally said: "Okay, since you have a complete plan, Mr. Luo, I will send someone out later."
"I'll take the opportunity to bring back my brothers and the blacksmith who stayed in Lushan County."
Hearing this, Luo Zhixue pricked up his ears: "Blacksmith?"
Sun Chengcheng smiled at this time: "Yes, in the morning, the manpower we sent to Lushan to purchase sent people back to deliver a message, saying that they had found a blacksmith!"
"I heard that his surname is Song. Not only is Blacksmith Song himself a blacksmith, but so are his two sons. The people under his command have said that giving blacksmiths can make guns!"
"Because there has been a lot of chaos in Lushan recently, there are several bandits operating, and the government troops are also encircling and suppressing them everywhere. For the sake of safety, they are now parked in a remote village with the caravan and waiting for us to send people to support them."
"Otherwise, with just a few people and a batch of goods and three blacksmiths who can make guns, I'm worried that their way back will be uneven!"
Hearing this, Luo Zhixue also showed a serious expression: "I remember that there were only six people who went out to the mountain before. These six people escorted several carts of goods, as well as Song Blacksmith's family. In Lu Mountain, they are like children holding gold. Let's get past the trouble. We must send more manpower and focus on prevention!"
Sun Lili said: "I think so too, so in order to ensure safety, at least twenty riders will be sent to respond."
"In addition to the original six people, twenty-six people are enough to ride on the ground of Mount Lu."
Luo Zhixue said: "The general acts cautiously, I admire Zhixue!"
After casually saying something to show respect, Luo Zhixue added one more sentence: "Please give the general's orders. Once things are in danger, please bring back Blacksmith Song and his family as much as possible. At least, at least bring them back." One who can build a cannon."
Sun Chengli also looked serious at this time: "Mr. Luo, don't worry. The people under me know the seriousness of this matter. It is difficult to find craftsmen who can make cannons. No matter what, they will bring Blacksmith Song and his family back!"
Sun Chengli paused for a moment before saying, "Since my men discovered that the Song family knew how to make cannons in Lushan County, they sneaked into the Song family's workshop late at night and killed their entire family. They were tied up, so that the three father and son of the Song family were forced to follow us. Because of this, they had a fight with the officers and soldiers guarding the city gate in the county when they left the city, and one brother was seriously injured."
"There is still a sea arrest notice for them posted in Lushan City. Many officers and soldiers are looking for them."
No wonder they had to send people to support them. It turned out that it was not just because of the bandits. It turned out that when this group of people entered the city to rob people and left the city, their identities were exposed, which attracted officers and soldiers to pursue them.
Luo Zhixue said: "With a general coordinating the overall situation, Zhixue will feel relieved."
Sun Chengli's expression remained serious: "According to the time, Blacksmith Song and his family will arrive in our Sanshui Village in ten days. Brother Luo, you are in charge of this weapons workshop. We must produce as many cannons as possible by then."
"We are different from before. We used to ride around on horses and it was inconvenient to carry cannons with us. But now, we are guarding Funiu Mountain. If there are one or two cannons, then no matter how many cannons we have in the future, we are different. Whether it's thieves coming over or officers and soldiers entering the mountains, we can handle it better."
"So we still need to pay attention to this matter!"
Luo Zhixue nodded slightly. Sun Chengli valued artillery, but Luo Zhixue valued it more than Sun Chengli.
