Chapter 156
Chapter 156
Zhuyu Grass was recorded in the Southern Mountains Classic of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
It was a kind of grass that grew on Mount Zhaoyao, within the Queshou mountain range of the Southern Mountains Classic.
It looked like chives and bloomed with blue-green flowers.
Zhuyu Grass could keep those who ate it from going hungry. In times of food shortage, it was regarded as precious, lifesaving straw.
Zhuyu Grass. Zhuyu Grass.
After Han Lie introduced the things growing on the backs of these Tuocui Beasts like some kind of tour guide, Qin Ying repeated the name silently to herself several times.
Only then did she understand how this army, which could practically be called a mobile fortress, handled its logistics.
How they could afford to feed those Chongyuan.
Most likely, they relied on this very Zhuyu Grass, which could stave off hunger.
Qiu Zhang, who had been preparing to show off earlier only to have Han Lie steal his job, added, “You only need to mix three jin of ground Zhuyu Grass into the sand and gravel the Chongyuan eat, and those big fellows will obediently move for half a day.”
Qin Ying did a quick calculation and sucked in a cold breath. Her heart sank.
Great Xia had stood for nearly a thousand years without falling. Sure enough, it had its foundations.
They did not even need any other fodder. What they fed the Chongyuan was sand, gravel, and Zhuyu Grass.
Three jin of grass could drive a giant beast that combined offense and defense in one. The cost-effectiveness was simply unbeatable!
Everything Qin Ying knew about cold-weapon warfare was shattered.
In conventional warfare, once a city was besieged, it would usually fall into grave danger and require everyone inside to hold fast.
But the Fengshan Elite Cavalry had no fear of sieges at all.
This mobile fortress was enough to crush the vast majority of resistance.
In Qin Ying’s mind, she compared this mobile fortress to Wangcai in his Huodou form.
This army was also equipped with Ranyi city-defense crossbows.
Moreover, those mounts being raised in the middle of the camp were not there just to watch.
If a real fight broke out and both sides played all their trump cards, Wangcai might not necessarily have much of an advantage.
The same went for Thunderbird.
Some of the sense of superiority in Qin Ying’s heart faded. She tugged at her hood, letting it cover her eyes.
“Since there is such a divine thing as Zhuyu Grass, why wasn’t it used for disaster relief during the great calamity in Yunwu County?”
This topic was rather sensitive. Qiu Zhang hissed softly, glanced at Han Lie, then turned his head away.
Han Lie explained, “Zhuyu Grass is difficult to cultivate. Only the Fengshan Elite Cavalry can grow it.”
Qin Ying thought about it and realized that made sense. If this stuff could be grown like wheat seedlings, then once it became widespread, there would never have been such a miserable famine in Yunwu County.
The world would have long since become an earthly paradise.
“Can I go up and take a look?” she asked Qiu Zhang.
Qiu Zhang refused without even thinking. “No.”
“The Tuocui Beasts growing Zhuyu Grass are not places where idlers can go up as they please.”
Qin Ying took a step back and asked again, “Then what about the vegetable plots growing Qinglü?”
Qiu Zhang hesitated.
Han Lie cupped his hands. “I will have to trouble you, Military Marquis Qiu.”
Qiu Zhang glanced at Han Lie.
He had heard from Ye Sima that Han Lie’s father had been on good terms with General Chen, and Han Lie himself could be considered a proper, well-rooted soldier of the Jade Balance Army.
After thinking it over, he finally agreed. “Let’s make this clear first. You may look, but you absolutely may not touch anything recklessly.”
Qin Ying naturally would not argue. She nodded in agreement.
And so, under Qiu Zhang’s lead, they stepped across the rose-colored sand and approached the giant beasts.
Once they drew near, a gust of desert wind blew past, and Qin Ying shuddered.
Her face wrinkled behind her veil.
There was no other reason. It was simply too stinky.
These Tuocui Beasts were like moving cesspits, giving off wave after wave of manure stench.
Seeing her instantly cover her nose, Qiu Zhang gave a chuckle and teased, “Still want to look?”
He had long since grown used to the smell of these colossal beasts and no longer knew what counted as a stink.
Han Lie frowned and spread his arms, blocking a gust of foul wind for Qin Ying.
Qin Ying said in a muffled voice, “Look, we’re already here!”
The phrase “we’re already here” was persuasive no matter where you put it.
Qiu Zhang considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. We’re already here.”
Only when they got closer did Qin Ying realize that these mountain-like beasts not only had nose rings fastened through them, but their four feet were also bound crosswise with iron chains.
Each link of those chains was almost as thick as Qin Ying herself.
The casting craftsmanship was equally astonishing.
These chains could effectively prevent the beasts from panicking and stampeding wildly if the camp was raided.
After years upon years, the bronze shackles around the beasts’ ankles had cut so deep they were embedded in the flesh.
For ease of climbing up and down, wooden ramps and plank walkways had been built.
Qin Ying saw quite a few pale figures moving along the ramps and walkways.
They were harvesting the freshly grown vegetables and carrying them to the baggage camp.
These pale figures, bent so low they could hardly straighten their backs, were the Gutless People Qin Ying had seen before.
Seen in daylight, the discomfort these Gutless People inspired had not lessened in the slightest.
Every two steps along the walkway stood an overseer with a whip, driving the Gutless People to work.
Han Lie stood beside her, protecting Qin Ying as she stepped onto the swaying walkway.
Qiu Zhang saw it and gave a teasing smile.
Han Lie ignored him, all his attention focused on protecting Qin Ying.
Qin Ying wore a long cloak, and walking along the walkway was both hot and unsteady.
When she brushed past one of the Gutless People, she finally got her first close look at this humanoid creature.
Their pitch-black eyes were larger than ordinary people’s, with no distinct pupils, making the Gutless People look like man-made Wooden Puppet.
They numbly ignored the three of them and walked down the walkway step by step.
Qin Ying caught a faint sour smell.
The source of the odor was…
Qin Ying looked at the leather pouches hanging between the Gutless People’s legs.
The pouches were wrapped around them like diapers.
Considering the Gutless People’s habit of excreting as soon as they ate, it was easy to imagine what was inside those leather pouches.
Qin Ying felt a little nauseated.
But she had this nasty habit: the more disgusting something was, the more she forced herself to look.
As they passed by, she very seriously observed the bodily structure of the Gutless People.
But she did not arrive at any particularly scientific conclusion.
Unless she dissected one, she supposed there was no way to figure out in the short term what kind of energy allowed the Gutless People to move.
After climbing along the walkway for a while, by the time Qin Ying was starting to feel sick from the swaying, they finally reached the back of the Tuocui Beast.
As far as the eye could see, there were vegetable fields.
If she had not known this was the back of a colossal beast, she would have thought she was standing in someone’s vegetable garden.
The fields were laid out with extreme neatness.
In every ridge, Gutless People knelt on the ground pulling weeds.
Qin Ying felt something soft give way beneath her feet, and her shoes sank into the exceedingly mushy black mud.
Seeing her freeze, Qiu Zhang laughed. “Bad luck. The Tuocui Beast must have just taken a piss. The ground’s been soaked soft.”
The sensation of honestly stepping in shit traveled up through the thin soles of her leather boots. Qin Ying would be lying if she said it did not bother her, but she absolutely could not show weakness now.
Without changing expression, she took two steps forward and was just about to speak when a commotion broke out ahead.
Amid the clatter of chains, one of the laboring Gutless People collapsed to the ground, plunging headfirst into the filth and looking as if it was not far from death.