Chapter 271: Problems with the Quality of Weapons
"Just imagine, in a few months, golden waves of rice will roll across the fields, and every grain of rice will be husked and transformed into snow-white rice. The fragrant rice will be piled up into small hills. Isn't that a beautiful sight?"
Without waiting for Tu Subo to answer, Gu Yuexuan said confidently, "It's so beautiful that it makes me intoxicated."
"It's so beautiful that it makes ripples in one's heart."
Tu Subo raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and uttered a low, joyful laugh. He gently helped her adjust the straw hat on her head, and his broad palm slid down and gently held her hand: "This scenery is indeed breathtakingly beautiful."
Gu Yuexuan responded proudly: "Isn't it beautiful?"
"I've said it before, no one can resist such charm."
Tu Subo didn't elaborate on whether he was attracted by her beauty or moved by the scenery before him. He just held her hand tightly and slowly walked towards home: "Are you hungry after this trip? Do you want me to go home and make you a pot of warm porridge?"
Gu Yuexuan said coquettishly: "I'm not hungry at all."
"Then I'll take you into town and buy you some crispy cheese and some delicious sesame cookies. Didn't you say last time that the taste was unforgettable?"
"And that delicate and smooth crabapple soft cake. You ate two pieces in a row last time. I'll buy some more this time so you can enjoy it to your heart's content."
Tu Subo transformed himself into a purchasing expert, introducing the delicious food incessantly, as if he were an enthusiastic salesman, fearing that Gu Yuexuan would not respond actively enough and would not buy enough.
Gu Yuexuan couldn't help but smile and patted the back of his hand: "How many secret vaults do you have hidden to make you so generous?"
"Why waste money like this? I've been helping my mother-in-law and the others with their accounts these past two days, and I found that the silver I secretly gave to my grandfather last time is almost gone. I still have plenty of other expenses in the future, and..."
"However, you can't deprive your appetite."
Tu Subo made a decisive decision: "Don't worry about how much gold and jade I have hidden. As long as you enjoy your meal, it doesn't matter if you eat a few more bites."
"Xuanxuan, if you lose weight any more, I'll have to prepare some nourishing medicine for you."
"Stop messing around. I'm going to force you to drink it even if I have to pinch your chin and pry open your mouth, just like I did to Tu Su Yunxi last time."
Gu Yuexuan recalled the tragic situation of Tu Suyunxi being forced to take drugs those days, and she couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. She pursed her lips slightly and said in a slightly weak voice, "The crabapple soft cake is indeed delicious. It has a sour and sweet taste. I want to eat a few more pieces."
When Tu Subo heard this, he nodded with satisfaction: "Then I'll do as you say."
In the rice fields, the sudden appearance of rice stem borer caught Gu Yuexuan off guard. However, the natural enemies she introduced subdued it silently, and the rice fields affected by the pest were contained, and the uncontrolled spread was no longer seen.
Sorghum and soybean planting is also progressing smoothly. Thanks to the meticulously constructed waterwheel irrigation system, the crops are growing vigorously despite the scorching heat. Now, all we need to do is wait for the weather to provide them with their own gradual ripening, without requiring any further labor for the time being.
After Tu Subo publicly issued the ban, Gu Yuexuan was under strict supervision during his absence, and was forbidden to work in the fields under the scorching sun. Besides completing the calligraphy and reading assignments assigned by her grandfather, she unexpectedly had more free time.
People who are used to being busy always find it difficult to relax.
Xi Lanfang and her two aunts were still busy. The embroidery shop received orders continuously. They were reluctant to put down their needles and threads once they picked them up. The wages were more generous than before. They were busy willingly and had smiles on their faces every day.
Gu Yuexuan couldn't interfere with such delicate craftsmanship. The wine cellar expansion project had to be temporarily suspended because Tu Subo, the laborer, was away. So, she began meticulously tending to the small vegetable garden in the backyard and also planned to build a grape trellis and install a swing in the yard.
This proposal immediately won the children's enthusiastic response. They found brackets and wooden boards and started to build them under the guidance of Tu Suting.
When Tu Subo left home, he said he would return in three to five days, but he had already been away for ten days.
The old grandfather had been teaching for several days, humming a little tune with a satisfied look on his face, but there was still no sign of him returning.
In a dilapidated temple two hundred miles outside the county town, Tu Su Minfei looked at Tu Subo who arrived as scheduled, and the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally fell back into his stomach.
Tu Suminfei said sincerely: "It is a relief that you are safe and sound, with all your limbs intact."
It was indeed the first time that he felt that Tu Subo's healthy body looked so comforting.
Extremely comfortable.
Tu Subo jumped off his horse, glanced at him lightly, and said with a barely perceptible sarcasm: "Why, is your tone full of regret?"
Tu Suminfei's lips curled up into a cold smile, but his muscles did not relax: "Who can deny it?"
"I deeply understand this regret."
Tu Subo had been running around for days, nearly exhausted, breathing hard. He stretched out his legs and sat casually on the dry straw-covered ground. Facing Tu Suminfei's furrowed brow, he said in a hoarse, low voice, "My bet was right."
"The Fangling Camp just distributed a batch of new weapons before the New Year. Cheng Lianhe conducted an investigation according to my instructions and found that half of them were the same ones that appeared in the Battle of Lu Ding."
The forging of weapons is the lifeblood of the military. On the battlefield, what matters is not only the courage of the soldiers, but also the sharpness of the weapons they wield. In situations of evenly matched forces, the quality of the weapons often becomes the key factor in determining victory or defeat.
The imperial court always attached great importance to this, and spent a huge amount of money on military equipment every year. However, in the undercurrent that no one noticed, serious flaws in the quality of military equipment appeared.
When the Tu Su family met with an unexpected disaster, one of the charges was the embezzlement of military equipment funds. The inferior weapons and armor they used were vulnerable on the battlefield. The weapons in the soldiers' hands broke with a slight bend, and the blades curled up before they were even swung. They were not even as good as the farm tools commonly used by farmers.
Marquis Jingyuan died heroically in the Battle of Luding, and the army he led was completely wiped out.
Everyone blamed the crime on Marquis Jingyuan for treason, believing that he deliberately lost the battle to damage the interests of the Central Plains Dynasty and cause severe damage to the border.
However, those who easily throw out such clichés have never thought deeply about how many unknown details are hidden behind the tragic defeat that caused the death of hundreds of thousands of heroes, and no one has ever cared about these.
Tu Subo suppressed the pungent, bloody feeling rising in his throat, his eyes lowered as he spoke in a heavy voice, "If the situation in Fangling Camp is this bad, then the situation in other camps won't be much better either. The conspiracy behind this is far-reaching, and it's definitely not something a few small fry could pull off."
Several princes, the Kyoto court, numerous civil and military officials, even the armories, and the garrison troops scattered across the country, can all find those hidden shadows.
In the subtle corners of the abyss, just a brief glance can reveal the thrilling things hidden deep in the heart that are difficult to express.
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