"Okay, I'll go and call more people." Many hands make light work.

As he spoke, Captain Yuan jogged towards the mine.

Ling Ba followed closely behind, while Qiu Yan began washing the bottles and jars she had just bought that day.

Two men appeared inside the mine, one after the other.

Ling Ba raised his eyes and scanned the soldiers who were diligently collecting saltpeter. He nodded in response to each of them who greeted him.

As he walked, he said to Captain Yuan:

"Commander Yuan, once the gunpowder is ready, you will personally lead five hundred soldiers back first."

Gu Qian had two captains under his command: Captain Qin and Captain Yuan.

In terms of martial prowess, Commandant Qin was far superior to Commandant Yuan.

When it comes to strategy, Commandant Yuan is far superior to Commandant Qin.

Gu Qian's willingness to entrust such an important task to Commandant Yuan shows that he also has great trust in him.

Therefore, Lieutenant Yuan was also well aware of the military secret of this gunpowder repackaging.

However, the remaining soldiers were not so clear about the situation.

All they knew was that saltpeter was one of the raw materials for making gunpowder.

Normally, all they do is sort the gunpowder raw materials one by one.

The rest of the work was handled by Captain Yuan's personal guards.

Ling Ba didn't say anything, and even Captain Yuan was thinking of going back.

Because the nitrate mine here has run out.

However, what he meant by that was:

"Eighth Lieutenant General, aren't you coming back with me?"

Lieutenant Yuan was somewhat puzzled.

"The mines here are quite good, and there might be other ores nearby. However, our most important task right now is to escort the saltpeter. The general is waiting for us. Also, we don't know how the battle is going on the general's side."

Ling Ba shook his head. To be honest, he really wanted to go back.

"Xiaoyan is still thinking about doing business. You go first, and we'll follow later. It won't take too long. At most half a month, at least three to five days."

On their return journey, they rode at full speed, taking shortcuts, and should arrive soon.

"Doing business? What kind of business?" Captain Yuan was still puzzled.

"Well, I'm not quite sure either." Ling Ba didn't know what kind of business Xiao Yan was planning to do.

All he knew was that Xiaoyan was only focused on making money.

However, when it came to the battle situation, Ling Ba's mind conjured up the approximate location of Qi Capital.

"Commander Yuan, when you return, do not go back the same way. The general is now in Qidu. So, you should first head north and then east. This will shorten the journey by at least half."

"Okay." Captain Yuan nodded, thinking about the route Ling Ba had mentioned.

If the general were in Qi capital, this route would be much shorter for them.

However, he still wanted to persuade Ling Ba.

"Eighth Deputy General, take my advice and let's leave together. Right now, King Lu is already eyeing us covetously."

"It's alright. We'll keep to ourselves. King Lu is a smart man. If he really wanted to deal with us, he would have already sent troops the moment he learned that our soldiers had entered the city."

Captain Yuan: "But if I take all the soldiers away, what will happen to you here..."

"It's alright, I'm here, nothing will happen." Ling Ba shook his head. In this special period, they naturally had to make the best use of everyone's abilities.

On the battlefield, the more people who kill the enemy, the greater their chances of victory.

There was no point in saying more, so Lieutenant Yuan stopped trying to persuade him.

Ling Ba: "Captain Yuan, there is one more thing."

Captain Yuan: "What is it?"

Ling Ba: "Could you send me ten of your soldiers?"

Captain Yuan was slightly taken aback, then glanced at his soldiers.