Tang Dynasty: Feeding Chang Le, Emperor Li Er exclaimed that she was a true immortal!

Winter came earlier than usual in the third year of the Zhenguan era.

Just after October, the first snow fell in Chang'an.

At first, it was just a few scattered snowflakes, drifting and falling on the walls and roof tiles, which looked quite pretty.

But by the end of October, the winds had changed.

The cold wind blowing from the northwest grew stronger and stronger, and the snow fell heavier and heavier.

Heavy snow fell for three days and three nights.

The streets of Chang'an were covered with half a foot of snow, and the people in the wards and markets had to walk through snowdrifts when they went out.

The situation outside the city was even worse.

The Guanzhong Plain was covered in a white expanse, and all the roads were blocked.

The fast horses at the post stations couldn't keep up, let alone the supply wagons.

The entire northern transportation network of the Tang Dynasty was almost paralyzed.

But Li Shimin didn't care about any of that.

He cared about something else.

Turks.

The Eastern Turks under Jieli Khan.

This behemoth, entrenched in the north of the Tang Dynasty, was always the greatest external threat during the Zhenguan era.

Two years ago, Khan Jieli led an army of 200,000 straight to Chang'an and reached the Wei River.

Li Shimin was forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Wei River, and had to pay a large amount of gold, silver and silk to send them away.

That was the greatest humiliation he had suffered since ascending the throne.

The changes at Xuanwu Gate left him deeply troubled.

Because he took the initiative and won the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

The Wei River was lost because he was forced to accept defeat.

From that day on, the destruction of the Turks became a thorn in his side.

Now, we have the steel knife.

The blueprints are ready.

The blast furnace is producing steel day and night.

In the Tang Dynasty's armory, batches of new steel weapons were piling up at an astonishing rate.

Knives, spears, arrowheads, armor plates—all were made of new steel.

Li Shimin couldn't wait any longer.

He wants to fight.

We'll fight this winter.

Taking advantage of the blizzard, and when Jieli Khan thought the Tang army would not be able to send troops out in the freezing cold, we delivered a thunderous blow.

But the civil officials in the Taiji Hall didn't think so.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

Minister of Revenue Dai Zhou knelt in the hall, so anxious that he didn't even bother to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"The heavy snow has blocked the roads, making it impossible to transport supplies and provisions. The soldiers are still wearing last year's old cotton robes, which are no match for the bitter cold beyond the Great Wall! If we rashly send out troops, I'm afraid half of our army will freeze to death before we even reach the Turkic territory!"

Several civil officials echoed this sentiment.

"Minister Dai is absolutely right! Blizzards on the grasslands can freeze camels to death; how can humans withstand them?"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider! Military strategy says: 'The right time is not as important as the right place, and the right place is not as important as the right people.' The time is currently unfavorable; it is not advisable to rashly wage war!"

Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne without speaking.

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest.

The pace is very slow.

But each blow struck the hearts of the civil officials with a heavy blow.

Because they could see that the emperor had made up his mind.

The opposition from the civil officials only made him more irritable.

"Dismiss the court."

Li Shimin stood up, uttered two words, and stormed off.

The officials and civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

These unpleasant morning court sessions have become increasingly frequent lately.

Chang Le Palace.

into the night.

Inside the sleeping quarters, LED lamps were on.

Chang Le, wrapped in a thick mink coat, huddled on the soft couch.

Even so, she was still freezing cold.

This winter is unusually cold.

Two charcoal braziers were lit in the sleeping quarters, but the heat was far from enough in the spacious room.

Cold air seeps in through cracks in doors, windows, and even the floor.

Chang Le exhaled a breath.

White mist billowed from her mouth, clearly visible under the light.

On the other side of the screen, Lu Ming was wearing a pullover hoodie and furry slippers.

He had the air conditioning on over there, keeping the temperature a constant 25 degrees Celsius, which was very comfortable.

He frowned when he saw Chang Le frozen like this.

"Is it that cold?"

"Hmm." Chang Le's nose was red, and her voice was muffled. "For some reason, it got cold more than a month earlier than usual this year. There isn't enough charcoal in the palace to burn."

Lu Ming thought for a moment, then bent down and rummaged through the junk box under the table.

I found a box of hand warmers.

He bought this last winter, but never finished using it; it just sat in a box collecting dust.

He tore off a piece and handed it over from the light screen.

"Take it."

Chang Le took it and looked at the thin, white, soft little bag in her hand.

"What is this?"

"A hand warmer. Tear off the outer paper and stick it on your tummy."

Chang Le did as instructed, albeit with some skepticism.

She peeled off the outer protective paper and stuck the thin patch to the outside of her clothes on her lower abdomen.

At first, I didn't feel anything.

Chang Le thought Lu Ming was teasing her.

But after about half an incense stick's time—

A warm sensation seeped out from my lower abdomen.

Slowly, gently, as if someone had placed a warm hand on her stomach.

The warmth continued to spread.

From the lower abdomen to the waist, from the waist to the back, and from the back to the limbs.

Chang Le's eyes widened slowly.

She looked down at her stomach.

That incredibly thin patch was continuously releasing heat.

No charcoal is needed.

Hot water is not needed.

No fuel is required.

It just sticks there and generates heat continuously.

A blush rose on Chang Le's cheeks.

It's not shyness.

It was warmed.

"How...how can this thing get hot on its own?"

She clutched her stomach with both hands, her expression filled with disbelief.

The feeling of being suddenly enveloped in warmth from the freezing cold was so comforting that she relaxed completely, her shoulders slumping involuntarily.

"The oxidation of iron powder releases heat," Lu Ming explained casually.

Chang Le couldn't understand at all.

But she didn't care anymore.

All she knew was that this thing was wonderful.

"Lu Ming, do you have a lot of this kind of thing where you are?"

"Lots. A few cents a piece, as many as you want."

Chang Le's mind suddenly started working.

A few cents a piece.

We have as many as you want.

She thought about the morning court session that day.

The emperor wanted to send troops to fight the Turks in winter.

The civil official said the soldiers would freeze to death.

if--

If such a thing exists—

Chang Le suddenly sat up straight.

"Lu Ming!"

"Um?"

"Father wants to launch a campaign against the Turks in winter. But the soldiers' winter clothes are too thin and won't withstand the blizzards on the grasslands. Everyone in the court is against it—"

She finished speaking in one breath, her eyes shining as she stared at the screen.

Lu Ming leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers twice on the table.

He did not answer immediately.

Instead, he picked up his phone and opened a shopping app.

Two keywords were entered into the search bar.

First item: hand warmers, wholesale.

The result came out.

Yiwu Small Commodities Market Direct Store: Hand warmers, factory price 32 cents per piece, minimum order 10,000 pieces.

Second: Polar cold-proof thermal underwear, wholesale.

The results are in.

A factory outlet offers polyester fleece-lined thermal underwear sets at a factory price of 18 yuan per set, with a minimum order of 5,000 sets.

Looking at the numbers on the screen, Lu Ming quickly did some mental calculations.

Two hundred thousand hand warmers, sixty-four thousand.

100,000 sets of thermal underwear, 1.8 million.

Including shipping costs and other miscellaneous expenses—

Around 2.5 million.

For him now, this amount of money is nothing.

The small fraction of the proceeds from those few paintings and calligraphy works is enough.

Lu Ming turned his phone over so that Chang Le could see the screen.

Of course, Chang Le couldn't understand the words on it.

But she saw Lu Ming's fingers swiping and clicking on the screen.

The movements were fluid and crisp.

It was like doing something completely ordinary.

"You're afraid of the cold, aren't you?"

Lu Ming clicked the button to confirm the order.

"I made them sweat in the blizzard."

He placed a second order.

The third order.

The speed at which the fingers moved increased.

Two hundred thousand hand warmers.

100,000 sets of thermal underwear.

50,000 windproof face masks.

Two hundred thousand pairs of wool socks.

One order after another.

The quantity of each order is ridiculously large.

Chang Le watched his fingers moving constantly, her mouth slightly agape.

She didn't know exactly how much stuff Lu Ming had bought.

But she could sense something from his expression—

Determined.

That certainty was not based on confidence in the military strength of the Tang Dynasty.

Rather, it's a kind of composure that comes from a lower dimension, as if to say, "Your difficulties are nothing to me."

Lu Ming put down his phone.

He raised his head and looked at Chang Le.

"Tell your father, and the generals of the Tang Dynasty—"

His tone was calm, but every word carried undeniable weight.

"Fight this battle to the death! I'll take care of the logistical support."