"This thing can be eaten?" Li Jing looked at the hard guy in his hand and hesitated, although he is a peerless general, but after all, he is more than sixty years old, and his teeth are not good.

Merton grabbed a handful of fried noodles and put them in front of everyone and said, "Of course you can eat it, this compressed dry food is made from fried noodles." Although the fried noodles are good, they have fatal flaws. ”

"Afraid of the tide!" Li Jing blurted out.

Merton nodded and said, "What the general said is very true, the fried noodles are too soft, and once it rains, I am afraid it will become a paste." I'm afraid it will break down soon. ”

The generals nodded, in fact, not only fried noodles have this problem, I'm afraid all the dry food in the world has this problem.

"Another defect is that the fried noodles are too fine, and if they are loaded with linen, I am afraid that they will leak out." Merton added that there were no elaborate bags in this era, and if the fried noodles were to be packed in a burlap bag, it would probably not be long before they leaked.

"Then how does the Huai'an area serve fried noodles?" Li Jing turned his head and asked.

The old soldier hurriedly said: "The villains are all made of sheepskin into leather bags to hold fried noodles. ”

The generals shook their heads suddenly, if only some of them were enough, but the imperial army was a full 200,000 people, how could they make so many sheepskin bags in a hurry.

Merton nodded and said: "The kid just discovered the shortcomings of fried noodles, so he deliberately made improvements, this compressed dry food, which can not only preserve the advantages of fried noodles, but also overcome the shortcomings of fried noodles, it can be said to be the most perfect military food." ”

Under the leadership of Merton, the group came to the back of another barracks, only to see a pot of fried noodles, mixed with a large amount of boiled meat foam by the firearms supervisors, plus a large amount of broth, stirred evenly, and suddenly a fragrant dough appeared in front of everyone.

"Dry food is the most afraid of moisture, and you take the initiative to add water, how to save it?" Cheng Yanjin asked.

Merton smiled, "Add water, and it won't be long before you dry them." ”

"Isn't that naan? What's so strange about that. Cheng Biting Jin pouted.

The naan cake used by the soldiers in the army is also a kind of dry food, but the shelf life is shorter, and it is good to be able to shelf it for more than ten days.

Merton explains: "Naan is good, but it is too fluffy, and although it is easy to carry, it is not easy to preserve. The kid came up with a method, if we mix the fried noodles with water, press them with heavy stones, and then bake them to dry, then we will solve this problem perfectly. ”

I saw that a hundred horsemen put the reconciled dough into a grinding tool, and a jack arm lifted a boxy boulder weighing a thousand catties, and under the control of the soldiers, it was heavily pressed on the grinding tool.

After compression. Immediately, a hundred cavalry soldiers took over and handed it over to a special person to bake, and soon, pieces of compressed dry food that had already been dried were freshly baked and sent to Morton and the others.

Merton picked up a piece of compressed dry food, blew on the hot air, and ate it first.

Seeing this, the other generals couldn't help but taste it, and said without a light in their eyes: "It tastes good, it's better than corn, and it's not as choking as fried noodles." ”

Although the compressed dry food is dry, it is also within the range of tolerance.

Seeing this, Li Jing couldn't help but take a bite, it was not as hard as he imagined, and the more important thing was that it tasted good.

Cheng Biting Jin ate quickly, three times five divided by two to eat the compressed dry food in his hand, and wanted to take another piece, Morton hurriedly dissuaded: "Uncle Cheng is slow, this compressed dry food is heavily pressed, very hungry, don't look at this palm-sized piece of compressed dry food, you can make ordinary people not hungry for a day, if you eat too much, I'm afraid the stomach will be unbearable." ”

"A piece of compressed dry food can stop hunger for a day." Cheng Yanjin was shocked, and the compressed dry food in his hand fell unconsciously.

The other generals were also incredulous, and said incredulously: "It's just a small piece the size of this palm!" How much does this weigh? I'm afraid it's about three or two. ”

Not only did the other generals not believe it, but even Li Jing looked at Merton in disbelief.

Merton said: "Generals, the most honest in the world is the stomach, whether the stomach is hungry or not depends on how much food you eat, the army calculates the rations, it is three and a half catties for three days, but it is corn that is not hungry, and the compressed dry food is used in fine noodles, which also has fat, and meat foam, although it is only three or two weights, but at least equivalent to the flour used in six steamed buns, is it not enough for an ordinary person to stop starving for a day?" ”

After Merton explained to the generals with detailed data, everyone was silent.

It is true that unless people eat a particularly large amount of food, six steamed buns are enough to support a day, and the compressed dry food with fat and meat foam is a first-class hunger quenching thing, according to this calculation, this small piece of dry food is really enough for a soldier's ration for a day.

"In this way, if a soldier carries nine catties of compressed dry food, it is enough to support a month's consumption." Cheng Biting Jin counted his fingers, and was suddenly startled, this is as much as sixty percent less than the grain and grass he normally carries.

"Yes, and compressed dry food is very easy to preserve, because it is particularly strong, even if it is rained, it will not deteriorate easily, at room temperature, the kid can ensure that it will not be bad for two months, if it is wrapped in oil paper, it can be stored for at least half a year." Merton patted his chest and said.

The drier the dry food, the easier it is to preserve, looking at the dry compressed biscuits in their hands, the generals believe that what Merton said is true this time.

In an instant, the eyes of all the generals lit up instantly, this compressed biscuit not only quenched hunger, but also was light in weight, square in shape, easy to carry, and was indeed the most perfect military ration.

"General, the land of Qinghai is poorly populated, if there is such a compressed dry food to help, our army's worries about food and grass will be greatly alleviated." Cheng Yanjin said solemnly to Li Jing.

Li Jing nodded, and suddenly shouted: "Where is Su Dingfang." ”

"The last general!"

Su Dingfang, who had already heard the news, hurriedly stepped forward and said.

"The order will be passed on, and all the grain and grass escorted in the future will be changed into wheat, preferably ground flour, and this compressed dry food will be made with all efforts." Li Jing ordered.

"Yes!" Su Dingfang responded, but he immediately said with a bitter face: "General, flour is easy to handle, but the last general can't get so much meat!" ”

In Lanzhou City, there are 200,000 troops, how much meat is needed! He can still muster flour, but he can't get meat.

The generals couldn't help but stiffen, although there was no shortage of meat near Lanzhou, but it was in the hands of ordinary people, and money was needed to buy it.

Cheng Yanjin glanced at Morton and said leisurely: "You and I have no money, but isn't there a big rich man here?" ”

In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Merton's body.

Mo Dun stepped forward with a dry cough and said: "Mojia Village has a bit of face in the business world, and you can borrow a sum of money from Longyou to buy poultry meat on behalf of you, so as to ensure that there will be no shortage of meat to make compressed dry food." ”

Cheng Yanjin couldn't help rolling his eyes, Mojia Village is not only a face in the business world, it is simply the leader of the business world, with Mojia Village coming forward, naturally everyone does not have to worry about repaying the debt, and it is very convenient to raise money.

Li Jing nodded with satisfaction, and said in a soothing tone: "After this expedition to the west, the old man will definitely go to the imperial court, and your money is indispensable." ”

Merton shook his head and said, "The kid doesn't want money. ”

"And what do you want?" Li Jing said curiously.

Merton said: "The general will still lack livestock when he enters Tuyuhun, the general only needs to use as many livestock as he wants, and how much livestock he gives back to Mojia Village, after all, there are many people who are unwilling to sell livestock, and Mojia Village can just use the livestock from Qinghai to return him." ”

The generals' eyes lit up when they heard this, so that the imperial court would not have to spend a penny, and they would get enough meat for the army, and it would not stir up public resentment.

Li Jing glanced at Morton deeply, nodded appreciatively, and said, "Okay, the old man can still call the shots for this little thing." ”

Under the cooperation of Mojia Village and the military, a large number of livestock were continuously sent into the barracks, and suddenly the whole Lanzhou City, the sound of killing pigs and sheep was endless, and the whole barracks was full of meat.

At this moment, the entire 200,000 army did not complain at all, and the name of the Mo family instantly spread throughout this military camp.