After the military representative of the Chinese side passed on the meaning of the representatives of the other three countries to Li Yongji, who was sitting in Memphis City, Li Yongji immediately laughed dumbly.

"It's really interesting, originally we set up a joint command in order to be as consistent as possible when everyone carried out military operations in the future, to put it bluntly, we just wanted to have more free cannon fodder, but I didn't expect them to really take that command seriously.

Well, if it is taken seriously, they will take it seriously, but they even have to take care of the food problem of our army, and they even held a joint meeting to discuss it, and unilaterally asked us to lower our standards...... Xiang Bing, tell me, are they salty and eating radishes and worrying about it, are they a little nosy? What do our people eat and drink, and why do we ask them to dictate? ”

"Well, chief, you're right, they're a bit nosy." Sun Xiangbing first subconsciously praised Li Yongji, affirmed Li Yongji's correctness, and habitually patted a routine little fart, and then the words changed, "But then again, they can't help it, because the problem of food in our army is really a big problem, and it does affect their military morale, not only affects them, but even affects us. ”

"Oh? How does this say? Li Yongji asked curiously.

"Chief, we have to start from the beginning." Sun Xiangbing said, "As far as I know, since we joined forces in New Orleans Harbor and formed a joint command, our officers and soldiers have had several friendship activities with them.

The original intention of holding our friendship activities was good, and we wanted everyone to know more about it, so that it would be convenient for cooperation in the future, but who knew that some officers in our army were too vain, and in the course of contact, they began to brag about the officers of the other three countries, saying that our weapons were so good, how much food we had, how much better our income, and so on. As a result, the officers of the other three countries were blushing.

Just because they were jealous of the treatment of our army, they began to make trouble with their own commanders, hoping to be treated the same as the Chinese, or at least in terms of food.

Their reasoning was that since the armies of the four countries had formed a coalition and all actions had to be at the disposal of the command, the treatment could not be too different.

They believe that why the Chinese eat super-high standard food, use super useful weapons, and can stay safely in the rear. They eat the lowest standard of food, use the worst weapons, and instead go to the front line to die, so they feel unfair.

At the beginning, their commander didn't take it seriously and reprimanded them for messing around, who knew that later they would get worse and worse, and they almost committed a mutiny, so. The commanders of the other three countries brought this matter to the joint meeting of the joint command to discuss it, and asked us to either provide our army's food standards to other troops, or unilaterally reduce our army's food standards, in short, to ensure that everyone is consistent on the food issue. There can be no discrimination. ”

"Won't it?" Li Yongji said, "The treatment of our army is our own business, why do they think we have to share it with them?" Or why do we have to lower our own standards? Something wrong with your brain, right? ”

"This. Actually, they wouldn't have thought like that, but it's really ...... Anyway, you can't blame them all for this. There are also our own responsibilities in it. Sun Xiangbing smiled bitterly.

"Our responsibility? What are our responsibilities? Just because the food is better? ”

"Chief." Sun Xiangbing smiled bitterly again, "We eat better, there is no problem, but the problem lies in showing off and bragging." ”

"Showing off and bragging?"

"Yes." Sun Xiangbing nodded, "According to our investigation, things were not so complicated at first, but during the friendship activities, some middle and low-level officers in our army who could speak English drank high, and then caught a few Britons and started bragging.

In their mouths, the treatment of an ordinary soldier in our army is even higher than that of their generals, but in fact they regard the first-level wartime ration standard we have formulated as the third-level daily ration standard.

It's just such a brag, and the officers of the other three countries are at most red-eyed, and they won't be foolish, but our officers have started talking nonsense again.

Seeing that the officers of the other three countries were jealous, they actually said that since they are allied forces, then the officers and soldiers of the armies of the three countries can also enjoy this standard of treatment of our army, at least the food standard can be the same.

When they asked why, the braggart guys said that our army had already provided the same food to the coalition forces at the request of the coalition command, and that things such as canned ham sausages had already been distributed to all units, so you should eat the same things as us. Since they didn't eat it, it must have been your officers who embezzled it, and they instigated them to go back and investigate, so as not to be betrayed by the people above.

After saying this, they also said that our army had encountered similar things before, and some internal soldiers resold military supplies in order to make huge profits, but they were found out by the military police of the Military Justice Department and decisively shot them dead, and they should be careful.

It was the latter words that stabbed the hornet's nest, because this matter spread ten or ten hundreds, and everyone actually took the braggart of a few drunks seriously, and the officers of the other three countries began to suspect that their officers had embezzled their food expenses, so they asked their commanders to give an explanation.

But the truth is that we never provided the coalition command with my food, but agreed to sell a batch of food to other armies at market prices, such as canned ham sausages and the like, but because it was too expensive, they never planned to buy it.

But you also know that these things are indescribable, chief, and they see that our army is treated so well, and if they are so provoked, it is certain that they will make trouble. ”

"Oh, that's right." Li Yongji nodded, indicating that he understood what was going on.

Indeed, as Sun Xiangbing said, the treatment of the Dream Master is indeed very good, whether it is weapons, clothing, food and salary, according to the standards of this era, it is quite high.

However, in addition to weapons and clothing, if you only talk about food and salary, in fact, Li Yongji himself thinks that this treatment is very ordinary, not to mention that it is on a par with the People's Liberation Army in modern society, and even the standards of the South African army are much inferior.

For example, the salary of an ordinary soldier in the Dream Division is 5 Chinese yuan, and one Chinese yuan contains 37 grams of silver. If this standard is taken to modern society, it is equivalent to more than 600 yuan, because silver in modern society is quite cheap.

Speaking of food standards, many of those canned foods and the like are processed locally in China and South Africa, and due to the large amount required, they are basically directly ex-factory prices, which are originally overproduced materials.

Among them, the average canned vegetables are 3 yuan per can, and the average canned fruit is 8 yuan per can. The average price of all kinds of canned meat is 12 yuan per box, and as for ham sausage, one is only 1 yuan.

After these materials were transmitted, they were not canned food and ham as the soldiers said, but the food standards were divided into three levels.

The third level is the standard during the daily training period, under this standard. Mainly eat rice and stir-fried vegetables, generally do not eat canned, ham sausage can be had, the standard is that each person sends a ham sausage every day. Eat an egg, a few vegetables.

In the third level of the standard, it is generally purchased from local residents in the vicinity, such as pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes, and fresh fish, which are fresh, delicious and cheap. And it's also particularly nutritious.

In terms of potatoes, one Huayuan can actually buy 300 pounds of potatoes in Memphis, which is 113 kilograms. This is much cheaper than in the modern world.

And corn and wheat, which are cheap in Memphis and New Orleans, and almost a quarter of what they do in modern China if you pay the exchange rate between silver and the renminbi!

As for meat, there are some differences, that is, ordinary poultry and red meat, which were quite expensive in this era, are cheap in modern society, and on the contrary, fresh fish, which is quite cheap in this era, is very expensive in modern society.

For example, the keysturgeon common in the Mississippi River, as well as freshwater fish such as salmon, were cheap and abundant in the nineteen-sixties, but they are expensive in modern society.

Therefore, after Li Yongji came to the Americas, he used the Spanish silver dollars minted by Zhang Xinda in the modern society to purchase vegetables, fresh fish and other materials from the locals, and then sold the fresh fish to the modern society.

Later, he bought cheap frozen chicken, cheap eggs, cheap tomatoes, and cheap rice from modern society to supplement the soldiers with protein, vitamins, and energy.

In the three-level food standard, every officer and soldier can eat one to three chicken legs, one to three eggs, and enough vegetables every day, basically eating seasonal vegetables.

The second standard, which was the wartime standard, took into account that there might not be enough fresh vegetables in the war, so the supply of ham sausages and canned food was increased. Generally speaking, during the ordinary march, the secondary standard will be implemented, that is, half of the convenience food, half of the fresh vegetables and other materials, which belongs to the intermediate supply of materials.

As for the first-level standard, it is a high-intensity wartime standard, under this high-intensity standard, almost all of them eat convenience food, and catering trucks are no longer open, so the supply of convenience foods such as canned food and ham sausage will be increased.

In fact, according to the standards of modern society, the third-level standard is actually the healthiest, and the higher the level thereafter, the lower the health level.

But in this era, eating rice and vegetables is not a thing, but canned ham sausages, which are rare and expensive, and the price is high, so everyone is proud to eat canned food and ham sausages.

Therefore, Li Yongji's supply principle is to take advantage of the differences between the two eras to go back and forth, purchasing fresh fish in the United States in the sixties of the nineteenth century and selling it to modern society, and then purchasing cheap food from modern society.

Not to mention, after such a reversal, not to mention anything else, just relying on the resale of fresh fish, in addition to the food expenses for the officers and soldiers, Li Yongji made a small profit.

It is precisely because Li Yongji has been making money, and his tonnage quota is very sufficient, and his measurement standards are all according to the standards of the People's Liberation Army in modern society, so he does not feel that there is any problem with the food for his officers and soldiers, and even feels that it is a little too low, but he forgets the differentiation and forgets his standards, especially those unsalable ham sausages and canned food that he does not look down on in his eyes, especially those convenience foods that are about to expire, which have caused the impact of this era.

There is no doubt that all kinds of canned food that is about to expire, all kinds of ham sausages that are about to expire, all kinds of yogurt, beer, and drinks that are about to expire...... This kind of thing, which is cheap to death in Li Yongji's opinion, can be sold at a very high price in this era.

Take beer as an example, the beer that Li Yongji got that was about to expire was actually a bestseller in Memphis in this era, and a bottle of beer for 2 yuan could be sold for 1 Huayuan (silver coin) in Memphis in this era. Equivalent to 1 tael of silver), purely from the standard of silver and RMB, this price has risen more than 60 times out of thin air!

The reason why it can be sold so high is because Americans in this era are alcoholics, and the beer of this era tastes very strange and sour due to poor technology, and it cannot be compared with modern beer in terms of taste, so modern and cheap beer has become a super high-quality beer in this era. That's why the price is so high, because these beers are meant to be sold at a high price.

In particular, it should be pointed out that in the sixties of the nineteenth century, the production of beer in the world was actually not much different from that of red wine, unlike later generations, beer had occupied an absolute dominant position, so in the sixties of the nineteenth century, beer was a relatively luxurious wine in both the East and the West. It's not much different from red wine, but it's a whiskey, brandy, or rum that is very expensive in later generations. That's the real bargain.

In short, Li Yongji gave full play to his spirit of going and falling, even if he led his troops on an expedition. I didn't forget to communicate with the locals, and take the worthless things in the modern society and sell them at a high price, and then from the Americans in the 19th century. No, it should be said that it is in the hands of the Union people, in exchange for fresh fish, organic vegetables, organic corn, organic wheat, organic pigs and beef, which are worthless in their eyes.

It is indeed true to say that organic agricultural products are not too high, because in the sixties of the nineteenth century, there was no such thing as pesticides and fertilizers at all, so even the agricultural products in the United States are organic agricultural products with low yields.

The banks of the Mississippi River were originally an important grain producing area in the southern United States, and they were basically exported in the past, but after the outbreak of the Civil War, due to the naval blockade in the north, the agricultural products of these farmers were all backlogged and could not be sold at all, so they were all worried and did not know how to do it.

Now, Li Yongji came, and after he occupied three cities on the Mississippi River, he immediately took these three points as the center, with the Mississippi River as the main artery, and bought nearby agricultural products everywhere, almost everything he received, all in cash, and all of them were Spanish silver dollars that the southern farmers liked to see.

The prices of those agricultural products in the Union countries were not high in the first place, and the Spanish silver dollars minted in modern society were harvested, because the price of silver in modern society fell too miserably, which was equivalent to peeling off the skin of these white farmers.

Then, Li Yongji sold a large number of cheap organic agricultural products purchased from the surrounding area to the modern society, and directly OEM them in Zhang Xinda's factory in the modern society, affixed the long-proven, highest-level organic food label, and sold them from South Africa to Europe and the Americas at a high price.

is just such a reversal, the difference between the profits, is actually as high as more than 100 times, higher than any arms and drug trafficking, so high that even Zhang Xinda and Li Yongji can't even imagine.

In fact, the reason why the profits of agricultural products are so high is entirely a matter of different supply and demand, or the difference between people's purchasing power and expectations.

Because most countries in modern society have basically solved the problem of food and clothing, and developed countries such as Europe and the United States have high requirements for eating, and they have to eat that kind of high-priced organic food.

However, in modern society, how can there be so many organic foods that are really not polluted, even if the farms in Europe and the United States are more or less some indicators are too high, and the organic food certification in Europe and the United States is super strict, so there are very few organic foods that really meet the standards.

Because of this, in the modern society of the 21st century, the global organic food market is actually a market in short supply, and the market value is quite large, as high as 150 billion US dollars, which can be said to be a considerable cake.

After all, the southern United States in the sixties of the nineteenth century, or the lower reaches of the Mississippi River are really areas without any industrial pollution, and the climate in this period is also better, so the quality of various agricultural products produced is quite high, after the verification of modern society, even if it is the most stringent European standard, the agricultural products purchased by Li Yongji here are also the highest level of organic food!

In other words, after knowing the truth, Li Yongji and Zhang Xinda were quite remorseful, because they thought that China in the 19th century was actually an organic food producer, and the standard should be very high, but it was a pity that although they had dumped agricultural products in the past. For example, rice and the like, but when ordinary agricultural products are sold, the price difference between them is large, which is a pity, and it is a pity.

In short, when Li Yongji took Memphis City, the north and the south were actually evenly matched, and Li Yongji did not continue to attack because he wanted to continue to bleed more blood between the north and the south, but stabilized the front and put on a logistical shortage. Turned to a full-fledged defensive look.

After the battle line stabilized, Li Yongji devoted himself to the matter of returning and reversing local agricultural products, and Zhang Xinda made money and made money, and he was also concerned about the purchase of agricultural and aquatic products every day, and he had no time to take care of the army's materials.

In addition, in terms of the specific food supplies of the Dream Master, Zhang Xinda is actually not in charge, but another agent, Dou Bifeng, is in charge, Dou Bifeng. It was also according to the previous plan to send supplies to Li Yongji on a regular basis.

The material standards sent by Dou Bifeng were all sent according to the wartime standards, because Li Yongji was leading his troops to fight at that time. That's why this wartime material standard was formulated.

But later, after Li Yongji won Memphis, he had regained the third-level standard because of his stable performance. is no longer the first-level standard in wartime, but Dou Bifeng still collects and sends materials according to the first-level standard, and Li Yongji. Because I have been busy pouring organic food with Zhang Xinda recently, I forgot about this stubble.

In modern society, Dou Bifeng regularly buys cheap food materials in the United States, and then packs them according to regulations, puts them into containers, and then sends these packaged containers to them regularly. As for Li Yongji, he only receives these containers on a regular basis and then lets the people below take care of them.

In this way, Dou Bifeng has been regularly transmitting according to the first-level standard, and Li Yongji's side has already restored the third-level standard, and as a result, a large number of military convenience foods have begun to backlog, but these things were originally cheap and most of them were food that was about to expire, and if they were not eaten quickly, they would have been wasted.

Because of this, even in the third-level standard, Li Yongji's army logistics officers began to increase the supply of these convenient foods, and as a result, even in the third-level standard, everyone almost ate canned food, and everyone who ate it was called a greasy.

Later, when Li Yongji found out about this problem, he did not stop Dou Bifeng from continuing to supply, after all, Dou Bifeng signed a long-term supply agreement in the United States, and if he interrupted halfway, he would lose a lot, so he continued to ask for materials that were about to expire over there.

The so-called expiry is generally referred to as food that has expired for three months, so these things are transmitted and need to be eaten quickly, and if they can't be eaten within the deadline, they will be spoiled.

It is not impossible to eat canned convenience food for his officers and men all the time, but Li Yongji himself understands that it is a very unhealthy diet, so he continues to increase vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk for the officers and men of the troops, and the convenience food is only used as a meal.

As for the surplus backlog, Li Yongji began to sell it to the outside world, not only to the surrounding people, but also to the Allied Army and the British and French armies.

It's a pity that this thing is rare and expensive in this era, and because the taste is quite good, the price cannot be lowered, so it can only be eaten as a luxury food.

It was precisely because it was regarded as a luxury food that the price remained high that the armies of the other three countries could not afford it, but the surrounding civil forces, especially the farmers who had sold their agricultural products, loved these things and purchased some of them to eat.

Nowadays, in the middle and upper classes of the Union countries, you are embarrassed to greet people if you don't open a can of Chinese canned food for dinner, so even if there is a war in the front, these luxury foods in the rear are still very popular.

It is precisely because of the popularity of these foods in the people that the allied people, the British and the French know how high the value of these canned foods is, and in turn, when they see that the Chinese really eat these almost every day, and then hear them say that in fact, the Chinese also supply them, but they do not eat them, so they immediately suspect that their boss is corrupt.

It is also impossible for them not to doubt that the value of these things is too high, and if they are turned upside down in the market, they can make a lot of money, and if they are replaced, they will also be corrupt, not to mention those upper-level officers who are not reliable at all.

And in this matter, the lower-level officers and soldiers of the Dream Division seem to be not hot enough, so they go to the barracks of the British and the Confederate countries to stir up trouble when they have nothing to do, and they usually carry canned beer with them, invite them to eat and drink, and in the process of eating and drinking, they brag and scold their mothers, and the result is repeated again and again, so that these British, French and Confederate countries are embarrassed.

"So to speak. Your Excellency, in the final analysis, this matter was provoked by our people. In the end, Sun Xiangbing concluded, "If it weren't for them talking nonsense everywhere and fanning the flames, things wouldn't have come out like this." Now, the British, the French, and the nearby Confederate troops have all begun to strike, no longer obeying the operational orders of the command, and are heading north on time. Instead, we will continue to stop in New Orleans and mess around, and if this continues for a long time, it will also be detrimental to our strategic deployment, so we must really come up with a charter as much as possible. ”

"That's what I said." Li Yongji nodded, "But it's just for us to lower the standard...... Would you be happy if you were a soldier underneath? ”

"This, of course not." Sun Xiangbing said, "But what." With all due respect, Chief, I also think that our recent food standards have been a bit too high, and it's almost a can. I felt a little distressed when I saw it. You must know that if these cans are sold, it will be several dollars a piece, and many Americans will not make a single can of money a month. Well, our soldiers will eat a month's salary in one meal. It's a bit out of the way.

The so-called from thrift to luxury, from luxury to thrift, continue like this. Our soldiers are all kept in a bad mouth, and if the situation is dangerous, the supplies are insufficient, and they need to eat chaff and vegetables, and they are hard and simple, they also come to complain and come to strike without fighting, then it will really become a big problem.

Therefore, I think it is better to take this opportunity to push the boat down and reduce the food standard of our army, so as to maintain it at the real third-level standard, and stop increasing the quota of canned food and ham sausages for no reason.

In this way, it will not only allow our army to return to frugality and reduce the consumption of daily supplies, but also allow them to put their resentment on foreigners, so that they will not dare to brag and cause trouble anymore, so why not? ”

"Hey, that's what I said." Li Yongji really paid attention to it this time, because he suddenly thought of Italy in World War II.

I think that back then, the treatment of Italian officers and soldiers in World War II was quite good, but the combat effectiveness was miserable, although that meant according to European standards, but it can also explain a lot of problems.

Therefore, it is true that raising soldiers should not be too extravagant, or in other words, if you want to be extravagant, you must also have rules, stipulating when you can be extravagant and when you can't be extravagant, and you must regard luxury as a reward, and you can't use it indiscriminately.

Therefore, since the standards were formulated at the beginning, they must be strictly enforced, and they can't just give out free canned food for no reason because they have more materials, which will indeed cause confusion.

"I think you can do as you say." Li Yongji suddenly said, "We have restored the third-level standard and provided food and drink in strict accordance with the third-level food standard.

As for the excess canned ham sausages and other materials, sell them directly to the people, even if you can't sell them, you would rather throw them away than give them to our people to eat! To let them know that every qiē must follow the rules, and they must realize that there is no free extra meal in the world! ”

"Yes." Sun Xiangbing nodded, "But even if it is a third-level standard, it seems to be higher than the army indicators of the other three countries, you ...... it."

"Leave them alone." Li Yongji waved his hand, "They are them, we are us, no matter what they think."

You sue them that if they do not carry out the orders of the Joint Command and go north to Memphis to join our main forces within the stipulated time, it will be a breach of contract. Breach of contract is to betray the alliance, and to betray the alliance is to give up a single interest in the United States, so that if we win after the war, they will not gain any benefits, and all the previous investment will be nullified.

So, they are either obedient and everyone is still good friends, or they will get out of here as soon as possible, and if they are still chirping, I don't mind forcibly expelling them! ”

"Well, that sounds like a bit too much, doesn't it? It's going to cost us a bunch of cannon fodder. ”

"Well, that's right, cannon fodder is also somewhat useful." Li Yongji touched his chin, "Anyway, that's what I mean, it's just that you just have to think about it when you speak, understand." ”

"Yes, chief, I understand, I'll do it right away." (To be continued......)