My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 14 Counting Supplies
It was already the afternoon of the next day when Lu Yi led his troops to Mayi.

Since not everyone had a horse, a lot of time was wasted on the road and it was not as fast as the first time.

After arriving at Zhang's Fort, Lu Yi and his party were warmly welcomed by Zhang Shang and others.

Zhang Shang did not hesitate to slaughter pigs and sheep for this occasion and gave a grand banquet to Lu Yi and others.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the banquet atmosphere was very warm.

"The journey to the frontier will be bitterly cold, so my dear nephew, you must eat well, drink well and rest well tonight." Zhang Shang held Lu Yi's hand enthusiastically.

"Uncle Zhang, don't worry. I will definitely live up to your trust." Lu Yi was also smiling and very polite.

At the banquet, Lu Yi and Zhang Shang drank to their heart's content, and their relationship became closer. People who didn't know the situation would have thought they were a real uncle and nephew.

There is no other reason, because the most stable relationship in this world is the relationship of interest.

The relationship between Lu Yi and Zhang Shang is one of naked interest.

"Uncle Zhang, are the more than 60 sets of clothes and swords, bows and arrows that I sent someone to ask you to make two days ago ready?"

Lu Yi inquired.

"Ready-made clothes are easy to get. I still have some linen at home. Although the court does not restrict civilians from owning swords, bows and arrows, there are more than 60 sets, which is too many. It is difficult to collect them all at once. At present, we are still short of five or six sets..."

Zhang Shang said, glancing at Lu Yi who looked concerned, and continued, "And these materials are very expensive..."

"Haha, Lu Yi also knows that these materials are expensive. Uncle Zhang, don't worry. Since I asked you to collect these things, then put them all on my account. When the merchant returns one day, we will settle the bill together!"

How could Lu Yi not know the implication of Zhang Shang's words, and he immediately agreed generously.

"What are you talking about, nephew? This is our own business, but I seem mercenary!" Zhang Shang complained and then patted his chest loudly: "Don't worry, nephew, even if it is difficult to collect, I will directly replenish it for you from Zhang's warehouse. I will never let you go out of the border empty-handed!"

"In that case, Lu Yi would like to thank Uncle Zhang on behalf of my guys!" Lu Yi was overjoyed upon hearing that and immediately raised his glass to toast Zhang Shang.

"Haha, Zhang would also like to wish my nephew success!" Zhang Shang also raised his glass to welcome him.

"I wonder who else is at home now, my nephew?" Zhang Shang asked with a rosy face after drinking a glass of wine.

"My father passed away three years ago. Now there are only my nephew and my younger brother Lu Bu at home." Lu Yi couldn't help feeling a little melancholy when he thought of his adoptive father whom he had only met once, and sighed.

"My dear nephew, please accept my condolences. I'm sure your father would be pleased to know that your brother has such a great reputation in martial arts now." Zhang Shang hurriedly said a few words of comfort.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang, for your comfort."

"I wonder if your two brothers are married now?" Zhang Shang asked casually.

"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by Uncle Zhang. My family is very poor. My brother and I have nothing and have never married." Lu Yi touched his nose and said awkwardly. Although he had extremely rich and solid theoretical knowledge and was proficient in various skills as a bachelor for two lifetimes, he had never even touched a girl's hand.

"Hmm? Not married yet? Not bad!"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Shang smiled even more brightly upon hearing this, and said, "A man should never worry about not having a wife. My dear nephew, just run the caravan diligently, and when you return with success in the future, maybe there will be a family that will be interested in you two brothers!"

"Uncle Zhang is right..." Lu Yi had no idea what was in Zhang Shang's mind. He just thought he was joking and didn't take it to heart.

The banquet lasted until late at night. After all, they would be leaving the border the day after tomorrow. Lu Yi and Zhang Shang both wanted the caravan to relax so that they wouldn't be too nervous after leaving the border.

The next morning, when the other guys were still sleeping soundly, Lu Yi got up early with Lu Bu and Gao Shun to hand over the caravan to Zhang and count the goods. As it involved his future plans, Lu Yi would not allow himself to slack off even for a moment.

"Brother Lu Yi, my father didn't drink much and he's not sober yet, so let the two of us and you, brother Lu Yi, take over." Zhang Xun, the eldest son of Zhang Shang, received Lu Yi and the other two.

Zhang Shang, at his old age, insisted on having a drinking contest with the two tough brothers, Lu Yi and Lu Bu. It was considered merciful of Lu Yi that he was not drunk to death. Therefore, Lu Yi just nodded to show his understanding when he heard this.

"Who is this?" Lu Yi asked with some confusion when he saw a middle-aged man next to Zhang Xun who looked somewhat similar to Zhang Shang.

"Hero Lu, I am the clan leader's cousin and my name is Zhang Jia. At my brother's request, I follow Hero Lu to go on a business trip across the border. I am responsible for managing ten accountants and the goods of the caravan." Zhang Jia was very polite and looked like a shrewd man.

"Oh? So you are Uncle Zhang's brother. If Uncle Zhang Jia doesn't mind, you can call me Sixiao." Lu Yi understood what he said. Zhang had placed a heavy bet on this business trip, and it would seem suspicious if he didn't send a capable person to follow and look after him.

However, Lu Yi originally thought that the candidate should be Zhang Xun, the son of Zhang Shang, but unexpectedly it became Zhang Jia in the end. It seems that although Zhang Shang is mercenary and greedy for money, he loves his son deeply and is a good father who values ​​family affection.

After the two sides took over, Lu Yi and others, led by Zhang Xun and Zhang Jia, began to check and count the caravan.

For this trip, Zhang prepared a total of 30 baggage carts.

These carts are common single-horse carts in the Han Dynasty. They are covered with curtains and can be used not only for transporting goods but also for sleeping.

There are two wheels under the vehicle, and each vehicle can carry a weight of two thousand kilograms.

These baggage carts can not only carry goods, but are also the main means of transporting food during wartime.

At this moment, there was a coachman standing next to each carriage. Judging from the calluses on their hands, they were both experienced in driving carriages.

Next to the driver were piles of various supplies.

There were supplies such as linen, coarse salt, tea bricks, kitchen knives, pots and pans prepared for the poor Xiongnu herdsmen, as well as luxury items such as silk, satin, linen, refined salt, gold, silver and bronze utensils, fine wine, and the best rice prepared for the Xiongnu dignitaries.

But the most abundant supply was rice.

Lu Yi and Zhang Shang had already discussed that their first business trip outside the border would be safe, and the round trip was expected to take no more than thirty days.

So 330 shi, nearly kilograms of grain, were prepared.

This amount of food was enough to fill 20 baggage carts.

Only the remaining 10 carts were actually used to carry goods for trade with the Huns.

Although there was a lot of food, there were a total of 109 people and 58 horses, including Lu Yi himself.

Calculated on a monthly basis, 109 people with a minimum monthly grain consumption of 1.8 shi would require more than 196 shi of grain.

A horse's appetite is seven times that of an adult. Even if it can be fed with grass, it still needs at least 3.3 stone of rice and beans a month to pull goods at a high intensity every day.

Therefore, the food required for 58 horses is not much less than that required for 109 people, which is more than 191 shi.

The total of the two would require nearly 400 shi, and there is still a gap of several dozen shi with the current grain.

Fortunately, the caravan also brought a lot of copper coins, and there was a section south of the Great Wall where they could buy some goods along the way. In addition, when they encountered the Hun tribe, they could also buy some beef and mutton as food.

After checking the food and goods, Lu Yi began to check the swords, bows and arrows and other weapons that Zhang had prepared for him.

(End of this chapter)