"You can't even get this in the imperial palace?"
Sitting by the campfire, Duoti noticed that in the time it took to say a few words, the Jing Country soldiers had already finished eating. They poured water into their bamboo tubes several times, consuming every last drop of the soup and oil.
Then the soldiers went to clean the bamboo tubes.
In the blink of an eye, the rich aroma that had been lingering in their nostrils completely disappeared.
In the open area, the north wind blew, extinguishing the fragrance along with the sparks from the firewood.
Duoti opened his mouth.
He recalled that in previous battles, there were times when he couldn't find his way, but he always managed to locate his destination by following the smell of food.
Often, when he arrived, the foolish soldiers from other tribes would still be cooking soup or roasting meat. By the time they saw him attacking, it was too late for them to pack up!
But with these bamboo tubes of the Jing Country, how was it possible that before he could even finish asking his question, the Jing Country soldiers had already prepared, eaten, and cleaned up their hot soup and noodles, with the smell completely gone?
"That's right, even in the imperial palace, I heard that the princes can't get it," Hou Yuchuan spoke up. "If it weren't for Concubine Liu, who helped us develop these instant noodles and saved a portion for her own son, the Fifth Prince, the princes wouldn't even get a sip of the noodle soup."
"!"
Duoti was stunned, and the other grassland cavalry were equally incredulous, as if they had heard an outlandish tale.
What?
On the grasslands, not just their Khan Wu Yun, but any tribal leader would never let good things go to their soldiers without having it themselves first!
What kind of joke was this?
"Concubine Liu?" Duoti felt a sense of familiarity. "Why does that sound familiar?"
Hou Yuchuan slapped his thigh, "You certainly wouldn't know our imperial concubines. But it's normal that it sounds familiar to you."
He pointed to the military canteen hanging at his waist, which he had been cherishing all along the journey. "The inventor of this thing, as well as our military thermos flasks, is Liu Runnian of the Ministry of Works, who happens to be Concubine Liu's elder brother."
"They're both surnamed Liu, huh."
Duoti was taken aback.
At this point, a nearby Jing Country soldier couldn't help but interject, "The Liu family are all clever people. They think of us soldiers, knowing how hard it is for us to march and fight. They've come up with one good thing after another for us elite troops to use. We all feel like we have boundless energy lately."
"Indeed, when I'm eating dry rations and can have such a delicious sip of chicken soup from the instant noodles, I'm reminded that I need to work hard this year too."
The few Jing Country soldiers who had come along were all elite troops.
"We can't let down Concubine Liu and Lord Liu's thoughtfulness. Even the common people don't have these good things, they're prioritizing us."
Duoti and the grassland soldiers listened with indescribably strange expressions.
"Hey, I heard a storyteller at the foreign embassy say that without military pay, soldiers starve and freeze to death..." a burly grassland man couldn't help but speak up.
Hou Yuchuan laughed heartily, "Storytellers? That's ancient history! Ever since our Jing Country established the Bank, at least in my West Mountain Camp, we've never been short of anything for any soldier."
Duoti was stunned.
Hearing is deceiving, seeing is believing.
Soon, a scout soldier took out an 'instant noodle' bamboo tube in front of them again, but just as he was about to pour hot water into it, he reluctantly put it away.
"Ah, we're only half a day from the camp, I'll hold off. These noodles smell too good, I really don't want to use them now."
"We just came out to meet you all~"
The scout tucked the bamboo tube away again.
Duoti and the grassland men were practically drooling.
As they continued on their journey, they soon smelled an even richer aroma of instant noodles.
"It's just our sentries, don't worry, keep walking."
What? Even the sentries eat this well?
The burly grassland man behind Duoti swallowed hard.
They had eaten their fill of flatbread, but it lacked richness, and they were getting increasingly hungry.
"Alright, we're here, just up ahead."
Finally, as dawn was breaking, they saw the gates of the camp.
After riding through the night, their bodies were drenched in sweat, but as soon as they stopped, Duoti and the grassland men couldn't help but stamp their feet vigorously in the Jing Country camp.
"Cold? Let's go into the tent for a cup of hot tea first." Hou Yuchuan squinted, also rubbing his hands.
The scout quickly led the way, bringing them to the two largest tents.
"Offensive and defensive teams, ten people each, eating and living together. We've prepared everything for you."
"Alright, it's not even cockcrow yet, you go rest too." Hou Yuchuan was someone who cared for every soldier.
Lifting the curtain to enter the tent, he called out to Duoti and the grassland men, "Brother Duoti, this tent is for the offensive team. You choose your bed positions first."
"Or how about we alternate the bed positions, one Jing Country soldier, then one grassland warrior? The Emperor wants us to eat and live together, surely to help us familiarize quickly for smooth cooperation in the competition three days from now," Hou Yuchuan suggested.
Duoti thought for a moment and nodded.
Being close would also be good for gathering information, and he could figure out how to fulfill King of Chu's request later—
But just as he thought this, Duoti was assigned the bed next to Hou Yuchuan. He watched as Hou Yuchuan took out a thin, rolled-up object from his pack, which appeared to be fabric.
In a moment, Hou Yuchuan gave it a powerful shake, and this strange, light green roll unfurled into a cotton cloth about the size of a single person's length and width.
This thing was incredibly thin, and the middle was oddly sewn into a pattern of square blocks.
"What's that?" Before Duoti could ask, another grassland warrior with the strongest smell of gunpowder had already questioned the Jing Country soldier next to him.
Duoti turned his head and realized that in the entire tent, all five Jing Country soldiers had taken out these checkered thin cloths from their personal packs.
"Oh, you don't have these on the grasslands?" The questioned Jing Country soldier's face flashed with a hint of vengeful pride. "This is a down comforter that our Concubine Liu specially made for us soldiers, considering the cold winters we face."
"!??"
The tiger-backed, bear-waisted grassland soldier was stunned, then burst into laughter, "So thin? What use is it in freezing weather? It's not as good as ours!"
But his laughter quickly ceased.
All five Jing Country soldiers in the tent, including Hou Yuchuan, began patting these thin quilts.
Before long, these thin cloth quilts that looked incapable of keeping out the cold inflated like balloons, becoming half a finger thick!
Hou Yuchuan lightly tossed it, and the thick quilt floated up, seeming to land on the bed effortlessly, as if it had no weight at all.
"Brother Duoti, I apologize. These down comforters were previously awarded by the Emperor to our West Mountain Camp elite troops. We really don't have extras to give you."
"..."
"Oh, the grasslands are our Jing Country brothers too. How about this, why don't you use my down jacket on top of your bedding?"
Down jacket?
Duoti and the other grassland soldiers were once again dumbfounded.
[Oh my gosh, haha! Duoti and the others are like country bumpkins in a grand palace. I'm dying of laughter!]
Xiao Chuchu alternated between watching her father, the Emperor, in the Imperial Study and checking the livestream, her heart bursting with glee.
[Duoti took the fluffy down jacket that Hou Yuchuan patted soft for him, his hands trembling.]
[He didn't dare move. He had never touched such a light garment before!]
Xiao Chuchu was beside herself with joy.
[This down comforter - I can't believe my mother came up with it. Well, I suppose once you have down jackets, down comforters aren't far behind, are they?]
[You know, in modern times we even have down pants, though they're not very practical~]
Xiao Yunzhou perked up his ears, struggling to suppress a smile.
...
In the camp of a thousand men.
Duoti truly didn't dare move.
Wrapped in a garment that felt weightless on his body, he had thought it wouldn't be warm. But to his surprise, before long he was sweating profusely.
"Ah," Hou Yuchuan sighed wistfully to Duoti, "No wonder you didn't know about these. These down jackets and comforters were personally made by Concubine Liu and her maids. Even the civil officials of our Jing Country don't have one. Our Emperor himself hasn't even worn one, though I heard his beloved little princess has a small one."
"But the princess isn't even a year old, so it didn't take much fabric. All these down jackets and comforters have been sent to our military camps."
"We'll never have to fear the cold winter nights again."
Duoti's mouth hung open, unable to close for a long while.
Damn.
If their grassland troops had such fine things, why would he even need to help the Chu Country?!
[Ding! Duoti's loyalty to Concubine Liu has increased by 14%]
[Progress in collecting Duoti for the Elite Character Album has increased by 14%.]
Xiao Chuchu was overjoyed.
But suddenly, she froze.
Huh?
Xiao Yunzhou had just decided to visit the Capital Camp the day after tomorrow. He was now taking a nap, snoring loudly.
Xiao Chuchu stared blankly at her father on the long couch in the Imperial Study, then looked at the system prompt.
[It has nothing to do with my dad!]
[Duoti wants to follow my mom!]