The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Liu Yezheng stopped, his hand poised to take another schisandra fruit, slightly puzzled: "What do you mean by that, Brother Luo?"

"Yesterday he treated me with great courtesy, for which I was very grateful. This morning he took me around to see the sights. I see Li Chengye as someone who seems to have the potential to succeed, but I'm not quite sure about it, so I wanted to ask you for advice."

Luo Dai continued, "After all, you've followed him for a long time and know the inside story. And since we're close brothers, there's nothing we can't say frankly, so I just asked directly."

After a moment's thought, Liu Ye replied, "Li Chengye is indeed a man of exceptional talent."

He was considerate of his subordinates. A few days ago, he seized gold and silver from Zhoujiabao. Apart from keeping the amount necessary for logistics, he personally distributed the rest to everyone according to their headcount. The share he kept for himself was only similar to that of ordinary soldiers, and he didn't even get as much as I did.

He ate and lived the same way as his men on a daily basis, without much regard for etiquette. Moreover, he would never eat before his soldiers had finished their meals, which was indeed in the style of Wu Qi.

He was fair in his dealings and acted with method. Whether it was burning wasteland or reclaiming land, both were long-term strategies to solidify his foundation.

He once said, "Those who achieve great things in the world are all those who remain at home, not those who roam freely," and I wholeheartedly agree.

"According to you, isn't Li Chengye showing signs of success?" Luo Dai couldn't help but ask Liu Ye.

Liu Ye shook his head: "Although he loves his soldiers like his own children, he doesn't know how to use them like mud. He cherishes human life too much and does many benevolent things."

Whether he can succeed remains to be seen.

Moreover, the world is not yet in complete chaos. Although Shaanxi has suffered from years of famine and the people are living in misery, and the border troops have been owed wages for a long time, leading to pent-up resentment, the Ming Dynasty has been established for over two hundred years, its foundation remains intact, and there are no signs of collapse.

"That's right, it's indeed too early to talk about getting things done now," Luo Dai nodded in agreement, then asked, "How does Wang Er compare to him?"

This time, Liu Ye spoke with certainty: "How can the brilliance of a grain of rice compare to the radiance of the bright moon?"

"Oh? What an assessment!" Luo Dai burst into laughter upon hearing this. "You just said it might not succeed, and now you've given such a comparison! Haha..."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

While Luo Daixin seemed to have made up his mind, Li Chengye was having a headache over another matter.

"Chief, please do justice for me!" An old woman knelt before Li Chengye, sobbing and weeping.

Li Chengye and Master Qin exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat helpless.

Kneeling beside the old woman was a young woman with slightly dark skin, but whose pretty features were still faintly visible, her head bowed and not daring to speak.

Zhu Yao, who was standing next to the woman, also lowered his head.

The details of the matter are not complicated.

In the past two months, Li Chengye has established a foothold in the mountains. More and more people are coming to seek refuge with him. Among those who came some time ago were families, including this son who brought his wife, mother, and child.

In order to earn food and pay to support his family, the son of this family signed up to be a soldier and went to the battlefield. However, when he was transporting the grain back to the mountain, he was attacked by government troops and was unfortunately hit by a stray arrow. He died from his injuries.

He happened to be in Zhu Yao's squad during his lifetime.

After Zhu Yao returned to the camp, he took some food to visit the family.

This was originally encouraged by Li Chengye, since a leader should take care of the families of his subordinates.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yao and the widowed daughter-in-law of this family developed feelings for each other.

The old woman was anxious as she watched: her son's body was barely cold, and her daughter-in-law wanted to leave with someone else. She was still dragging along a young grandson. How could she survive in this year?

So she filed a complaint with Master Qin.

Similar incidents had occurred in the camp before: anyone found guilty of raping a woman was executed according to military law; later, he mostly turned a blind eye to consensual acts, since human emotions were inevitable, and only severely punished acts of violence.

However, although Zhu Yao and the widow were mutually attracted, their elders in the family strongly opposed the relationship. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation. Even the experienced Master Qin found it difficult to handle and had no choice but to call Li Chengye to make a decision.

"What should we do?" Master Qin shrugged, indicating that he had no good ideas either.

The old woman's wailing had already attracted a crowd. After Li Chengye arrived, although no one dared to get any closer, they still stood at a distance, pointing and watching.

After a moment's thought, Li Chengye spoke directly: "Zhu Yao, come here. What exactly is your relationship with this woman? Are you deliberately toying with her, or do you genuinely wish to marry her?"

He emphasized the word "wife" when he spoke.

Zhu Yao, that simple-minded boy, didn't quite understand yet, and just kept nodding.

The woman beside him immediately understood and quickly said, "Yes, Zhu Yao once promised to marry me." As she spoke, she gently nudged Zhu Yao with her elbow.

Seeing this, Li Chengye couldn't help but think to himself, "This woman is quite clever."

Only then did Zhu Yao realize what was happening, and he hurriedly agreed, "Yes, yes! I promise to marry her!"

"Then it's settled." Li Chengye helped the old woman up and said gently, "It is indeed a sad thing that your son died in battle. But now that Zhu Yao has married your daughter-in-law, you should treat her as your daughter; after she marries Zhu Yao, he will treat you as his own mother, and your grandson will be his son. If he is ever unfilial in the future, just come to me, and I will take care of it for you."

The old woman stopped crying and stared blankly at Li Chengye.

Old Master Qin, standing nearby, added, "Old man, how can a family survive these days without a pillar of support? Hurry up and thank the chief for his consideration!"

The old woman then turned around and hurriedly kowtowed, saying, "Oh, thank you so much, Chief! Thank you so much, Chief!"

Zhu Yao also realized that the matter had been resolved satisfactorily, and grinned foolishly.

Li Chengye couldn't help but rub his forehead.

This was his childhood friend, and he knew his personality best. Although he was daring and willing to fight, he was not exactly quick-witted.

After resolving this matter, Li Chengye followed Master Qin to the kitchen.

Previously, when there were fewer people, everyone cooked together at one stove; now that there are more people, each team receives its own grain and prepares its own cooking utensils.

The kitchen that Master Qin used to run now mainly takes on the responsibility of managing the warehouse.

Li Chengye followed Master Qin to the kitchen, where five or six large iron pots were constantly being stirred.

The pot contains millet, also called fried millet.

As the name suggests, it is roasted millet, with salt added during the roasting process. It has been a type of military ration since the pre-Qin period.

If there is no time to light a fire during a march, one can grab a handful of food, drink it with water, and that will satisfy hunger.

In fact, flour would be the most suitable food to be marketed as military rations, but in years of severe drought, wheat is difficult to grow due to lack of water, so their main food supply is still millet.

Li Chengye picked up a small handful of roasted millet from the pot. It was still a little hot to the touch, but its color had turned golden brown, so it was obviously roasted.

He asked, "We currently have five hundred officially organized combat soldiers, with auxiliary troops available for immediate deployment. Each of these five hundred men needs at least three days' worth of dry rations. How much are we short?"

The head of the kitchen replied, "Three days' rations for five hundred people, calculated at two catties per person per day, would require around 1,500 catties. We estimate that all of this will be cooked by noon tomorrow."

"Now that I think about it, preparing enough for only 500 people is not enough; we need to prepare enough for 2,000 people."

Li Chengye said to Master Qin.

"Why prepare so much?" Master Qin asked, puzzled.

"We can't just have combat soldiers when we march and fight; we also need to include auxiliary soldiers who push carts to transport grain, and there are quite a few of them. We also need to keep a number of them in the camp at all times," Li Chengye explained. "Although our mountain stronghold is well hidden and the government troops usually don't dare to enter the mountains easily, we never know what might happen if our superiors give strict orders and force the government troops to enter the mountains to encircle and suppress us."

If the battle goes well, all will be well; but if the situation is unfavorable, a rapid evacuation is necessary. In the rush, it will be difficult to start a fire, and these dry rations will be a lifesaver.

Moreover, the mountains are damp and infested with insects. Although we have plenty of grain now, it's not easy to store it for long. Drying it makes it easier to store and less likely to attract insects.

After listening, Master Qin nodded, clearly agreeing with this consideration.

"Then Chengye, when you go down the mountain again, bring a stone mill so I can grind that little bit of wheat too."

"Okay, I've got it."

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind Li Chengye.

"Brother, people from Yamaguchi are here!"