DLERB -Chapter 43 This Isn’t Horse Fodder—It’s the Lifeline of Great Qin!

Li Si trembled all over. Cold sweat instantly burst out on his back.

Money and grain?

How would he know where the money and grain were? As chancellor, didn’t he clearly know how much stored grain existed in the treasury?

What did the prince’s words mean…?

Li Si didn’t dare think further. He suddenly remembered the bright red chili pepper in the experimental field, and Qinglong’s twisted, agonized expression.

Every “surprise” from this little ancestor came with endless terror.

Could it be… could this time he was going to cut into Li Si himself, and even the entire chancellor’s estate?!

His legs went weak, and he was about to kneel and cry poverty.

“Go.”

Ying Ziye didn’t even look at him, instead giving an order to the Embroidered Uniform Guard at the door.

“Summon the Minister of Agriculture, Li Ji.”

“Tell him to bring ‘those two things’ and come immediately!”

“Yes!”

The figure of the Embroidered Uniform Guard vanished into the night.

The study fell into an even more terrifying silence.

Wang Jian looked at Li Si, who was pale as death, then at the calm and composed Ying Ziye. The anxiety in his heart could no longer be suppressed.

He stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“Your Highness! Forgive this old minister for speaking bluntly!”

“War is a matter of the nation’s greatest importance! It is not child’s play!”

“Even if money and grain can be resolved, what about soldiers? The elite troops of Great Qin are all assigned to their units and cannot be moved at will! If we pull garrison troops, what of the borders?!”

“And even if manpower can be solved, what about time? Three days! Your Highness! Only three days! His Majesty will return to the capital soon!”

“In just three days, how can a rabble be trained into a fighting force? This… this defies all principles of military strategy! It is absolutely impossible!”

Wang Jian’s voice grew more and more emotional—and more and more desperate.

He was not questioning. He was pleading.

Pleading for this young prince to stop trampling upon the iron laws of warfare with such wild, fantastical ideas.

Ying Ziye swayed his short legs and took another sip of lotus seed soup.

“Old general, don’t worry.”

“You’ll understand soon enough.”

At that moment—

“Step! Step! Step!”

A series of hurried footsteps, completely disregarding etiquette, came from outside the study.

An Embroidered Uniform Guard led the way, followed by an elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing the official robes of the Minister of Agriculture.

It was Li Ji.

Li Ji was almost running. In his arms, he tightly held a golden-yellow, roasted, oddly fragrant cylindrical object.

In his left hand, he carried a string of similarly roasted tubers with red skin and yellow flesh.

Most striking of all, behind him a eunuch was carrying a large bundle of lush green vines with thick, succulent leaves.

“Thud!”

The moment he entered, Li Ji didn’t even look at Wang Jian or Li Si. He immediately knelt before Ying Ziye.

His face showed no fear—only an intense, feverish excitement.

He raised the items in his arms high and roared hoarsely at the stunned Wang Jian.

“General Wang!”

“Money and grain—there is!”

Li Ji lifted the golden cylindrical object in front of him.

“This is called corn! A divine gift bestowed by the prince! One mu of land yields no less than potatoes! One piece can feed a strong man for half a day!”

He then raised the roasted red tubers.

“This is sweet potato! Sweeter than potatoes! Higher yield! It is the life-saving grain of the people of Great Qin!”

Wang Jian stared blankly at the two items. Though he felt some shock, he still did not fully understand.

Even if the yield was high, that was something for next year.

Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst!

Li Ji saw his confusion. He suddenly turned around and snatched the bundle of green vines from the eunuch.

He raised them high as if holding the imperial seal itself, his voice trembling with overwhelming emotion.

“General Wang! Look at this as well!”

“This is the vine of the sweet potato!”

He stared directly at Wang Jian, each word erupting from his chest like a roar.

“Why do the warhorses of Great Qin fail to outrun the inferior horses of the Xiongnu?!”

“Because of fodder! There is not enough fodder!”

“Our warhorses normally only eat dried grass and bean fodder! Only in wartime do they receive fine feed! But the horses of the steppe eat fresh green grass all year round!”

“But now! We have this!”

Li Ji’s eyes were frighteningly red. He grabbed a handful of vines and thrust them almost into Wang Jian’s face.

“This thing! Even better than the finest grass of the steppe—richer, juicier!”

“It will make our warhorses strong and fat! Capable of traveling a thousand li a day! Tireless!”

“With this! The iron cavalry of Great Qin will have no more worries!”

“General Wang! Do you understand?! The foundation for Great Qin to sweep across the grasslands and crush the Xiongnu royal court… lies right here!”

“BOOM!”

Every word Li Ji spoke struck Wang Jian like a heavenly thunderbolt crashing into his skull.

Horse fodder!

High-quality green horse fodder!

Wang Jian had spent his entire life on campaign—he understood this better than anyone.

The combat power of a cavalry force was half the rider, and half the condition of the warhorse!

He suddenly stepped forward.

He didn’t look at the corn, nor the sweet potatoes.

His aged hands—scarred, trembling, the same hands that once held the lives of millions—reached straight for the bundle of green vines.

He snatched one.

Under everyone’s stunned gaze, this Martial Peace Duke of Qin, the empire’s greatest military figure, placed the dirt-covered vine into his mouth.

He closed his eyes and chewed hard.

A burst of sweetness mixed with the fresh scent of vegetation exploded in his mouth.

That wasn’t fodder.

That was vitality! Energy! A source of power that could drive any warhorse into frenzy!

Wang Jian’s body began to tremble violently.

The next moment—

“Thud!”

The old general who had swept across the Six Kingdoms and terrified the world fell heavily to his knees.

Two streams of aged, cloudy tears rolled down his weathered face.

He bowed deeply toward Ying Ziye, pressing his forehead hard against the cold ground.

“Divine… divine object!”

“This old minister… was blind! This old minister… deserves ten thousand deaths!”

Inside the study, Li Si stared blankly at the surreal scene before him.

Wang Jian… that old general harder than stone… was crying?

And kneeling?

Just for a bundle of… pig fodder?

He then looked at the eight-year-old child who remained calm and composed, as though everything was already within his grasp.

At that moment, Li Si’s mind became crystal clear.

Fear?

It no longer existed.

Doubt?

Even more ridiculous.

The one he followed… was a god capable of changing heaven and earth, remaking the world itself.

And he would be the most loyal servant under this god.

A surge of unprecedented fanaticism erupted from Li Si’s heart, flooding every inch of his body, every nerve.

He suddenly rushed forward, snatched the roasted sweet potato from Li Ji’s hands, and bit down hard without hesitation.

Fragrant. Sweet.

It was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life.

It was the taste of a new era.

“Thud!”

Li Si also fell to his knees, bowing with unprecedented fervor and devotion toward Ying Ziye.

“Your Highness!”

“This minister understands! I fully understand now!”

“Money and grain are not a problem at all!”

He raised his flushed face, his eyes gleaming with terrifying brilliance.

“This minister has a plan! Within one night, I can make all noble families, aristocratic houses, and imperial relatives in Xianyang willingly—no, desperately cry and beg to fund the ‘Divine Strategist Army’ with enough supplies to equip an army of one hundred thousand!”

Just as the entire study was engulfed in a frenzy of fanatic excitement—

A cold, out-of-place voice sounded.

Han Xin, who had remained silent until now, slowly spoke.

“Military funds can be solved. But where are the soldiers?”

“In three days, an army cannot be formed.”

Those words were like a basin of ice water, instantly snapping Wang Jian and Li Si back to reality.

Right.

The soldiers?

Without soldiers, everything was empty talk.

Yet Ying Ziye smiled—like a little fox that had just stolen a chicken.

He jumped down from the main seat, walked over to the towering Han Xin, and gently patted his cold armor with his small hand in a soothing gesture.

Then he turned around and looked at Wang Jian, who was still kneeling in confusion.

Tilting his little head, he asked in a soft, childish voice:

“Who said we need new soldiers?”

“Old General Wang, your Lantian garrison of three hundred thousand troops…”

“Lend me three thousand men for two days. You don’t mind, do you?”