Plucking one hair benefits all under heaven

  Yun Ye was deep in thought, the men around him eagerly awaiting his decision, after all, this was a major matter. It made sense that whoever could come up with a formula for producing salt out of thin air would be extremely cautious about sharing it with others.

  Yun Ye had waited for a long time and still couldn't make up his mind, Zhang Cheng's face showed disappointment, he knew that his request was too much to ask of him, gritting his teeth, he was about to give up on the matter, not wanting Yun Ye to go against his ancestors.

  Yun Ye hadn't even opened his mouth when he saw Yun Ye raise his head, glance at the urgent eyes around him, and smile calmly: "Yun Ye had never thought that salt would be so important to you, to the Tang Dynasty. In the past, I always thought it was just a seasoning, with or without it, it wouldn't harm the world much, only affecting the desire for food. Now I suddenly realize that the pros and cons of salt are actually related to life and death. The rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty, pulling out one hair can benefit the world, why should I not be happy to do so?

  "Master, you've agreed," Zhang Cheng exclaimed with a look of surprise and delight on his face, and immediately fell to his knees in gratitude. For a moment, only Yun Xiang stood upright, while everyone else bowed down.

  "Uncle Zhang, what's going on? You want to learn, I'll teach you all. It's not that difficult. Uncle Zhang, I still prefer it when you call me Stinky Kid, Cloud Brother, rather than those titles like Young Master or Sir, which make everyone feel uncomfortable. Being able to meet all of you uncles and brothers at the most unfortunate time is my good fortune. Otherwise, I would have been eaten by wolves long ago, let alone being called Young Master or Sir."

  The atmosphere became lively, and one by one, they affectionately patted Yun Ye's head, pinched his face, and smiled with respect. Yun Ye's mood also brightened up in an instant.

  After Zhang Cheng got the exact promise, he urged Yun Heng to write down the various tools and materials needed for salt production. Without paper or pen, he was so anxious that he turned around in circles, and the two women also had a look of anxiety on their faces. The soldiers were all beating their chests and stamping their feet, blaming each other for not bringing ink and brush. Zhang Cheng quickly grabbed his dagger from Yun Heng's body, ordered the auxiliary soldiers to find two wooden boards, and used the dagger to carve words onto the two boards. Although it was a bit crooked, Zhang Cheng held it in his arms like a treasure, carefully wrapping it in hemp cloth. Two fully armed auxiliary soldiers carried the wooden boards on horseback, rushing towards Lanzhou City. Of course, they also took away half of the salt as evidence.

  "It's too dangerous for Uncle Zhang to ride a horse at night, it's not urgent, anyway I promised, sending it tomorrow won't be late," Yun Ye didn't understand Zhang Cheng's urgency.

  "You know what, the sooner we produce salt, the more combat power our army will have. The Turks are invading again, and we can't just watch these scoundrels act wildly. One day, we'll wipe out these Turks completely. Relying on vinegar and rags to survive, this life is unbearable even for a single day."

  "Vinegar cloth, what is this thing? Can it be eaten?"

  Next to him, the auxiliary soldier hastily pulled out a strip of vinegar cloth and handed it to Yun Ye. The four-finger-wide cloth strip was hard and stiff, just like dried kelp, emitting a strong sour smell. Good heavens! Yun Ye let out a miserable cry - how coarse must this person's mouth be to eat food cooked with this thing? No wonder Zhang Cheng got angry when he saw himself using salt in the thick soup, and would be so happy that he would cry when he promised to teach them how to make salt. A tough guy crying like a baby in confinement, unable to be consoled, whoever tried to comfort him would get hit instead. Never mind, making salt was just making salt, it was good that they could help them. Yun Ye let out a long yawn, the fatigue of the past month seemed to emerge from his bones all at once. He lay down on the thick blanket, leaned against the fire pit, listened to the two women chattering and laughing as they changed his clothes, and felt a long-lost sense of security wash over him, leaning against Wang Cai's warmth and falling into a deep sleep.

  As the sun was about to rise, he woke up habitually, and last night's sleep thoroughly drove away his fatigue. He stretched his waist for a long time, hearing his joints crackling, it seemed that he could still grow taller. Otherwise, his height of 1.6 meters would make Yun Yan depressed to death. Zhang Cheng seemed not to have slept all night, standing by the road and staring at Lanzhou like a stone statue. Two women were cooking porridge, Yun Yan woke up, wrapped in a quilt and stretching his waist, covering his mouth and smiling slyly, only then did he realize that he was probably naked, hurriedly covering his lower body, and laughing awkwardly. An older woman brought over some clothes, smiling, "Still shy? If my first child grows up to be as big as you, Master, try on these clothes, if they don't fit, I'll alter them."

  "Thank you two sisters, you've worked hard,"

  "It doesn't matter, women are useless, can only sew and mend, this is my duty."

  Yun Yan was struggling to put on a pile of clothes, and the pants were particularly tight. What's this whole thing? Why is there also a skirt? Where are the buttons? There are fabric strips everywhere, how do you wear socks first? This pile of clothes is the famous Tang suit. The clothes are tied from left to right, which is a characteristic of Han civilization. Like Yun Yan just now, tying it from right to left is purely a sign of barbarism, with hair disheveled and collar open on the left side. Seeing this, Yun Yan couldn't help but burst out laughing. In later generations, the entire Republic's 1.3 billion people are all uncivilized savages. If, in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, you caught a masterless savage, that is, a foreigner, congratulations, he would be your private property, no different from catching a wild boar.

  "Looking is just enjoying, clothes won't even be worn, and the enjoyment has become a sin." Zhang Cheng, this bastard, might have a hatred for the rich mentality. Seeing two women dressing Yun He, he was very dissatisfied with this idle parasite who neither labors nor farms.

  Two women pushed Zhang Cheng aside, looked him up and down a few times, clapped their hands and exclaimed: "Wow, what a handsome young man! I don't know how the wealthy families gave birth to such children, are they all so handsome?" Yun Yan thought to himself, ask me, how would I know, I've seen over thirty people in the Tang Dynasty, and they're all here.

  At this moment, a whistle sounded, and the sentry shouted in a shrill voice: "Cavalry is coming, about twenty horses!" As soon as he finished shouting, the sound of horseshoes like thunder rumbled.

  Zhang Cheng jumped down from a withered tree by the roadside, grabbed the rope thrown by Yun Ye to the two women, and shouted loudly: "Form an array!" Only to see thirty or so men quickly use the grain cart as a shield, gunners in front, knife-wielding men behind, Zhang Cheng stood in the team, and two men stood outside the circle, with more than ten arrows already inserted on the ground in front of them, ready for attack. The two women dragged Yun Ye to run into the forest, and Zhang Cheng still turned back to shout: "Hide well, don't come out, even if you die, you're not allowed to come out."

  "Brothers, no nonsense! If they're Qiang people, we'll drag it out as long as we can. Keeping Yun Ge is the right thing to do. The brothers are still waiting for him to make salt. We don't need the grain carts. Let's drag it out until Commander arrives, and we'll win."

  As soon as he heard this, his blood rushed to his head in waves. Yun Ye grasped the shovel and charged out, but the two women held him down tightly behind the tree, not letting him go. The official road was filled with flying dust, and only vague black shadows could be seen rushing over like a fierce wind. Was this the power of cavalry? Yun Ye's heart was racing wildly, his ears couldn't hear anything, just the thunderous sound of horseshoes, his hands gripping the shovel were wet with sweat.

  A sorrel horse suddenly darted out from the bend in the road, with a robust man wearing a helmet and armor on its back, holding a long spear and charging straight into the formation. He pulled hard on the reins, the horse let out a loud whinny, raised its front hooves and made several false kicks in mid-air before suddenly stopping. Then came a loud shout: "Where is Zhang Cheng?"

  "It's the school lieutenant," the woman let go of her hands. Yun Ye waved his arms, estimated to be bruised all over, and it hurt badly. The air in his chest was released, and he suddenly sat down on the ground, seeing the two women busy giving him shoes. Yun Ye's face suddenly turned red with shame, too embarrassing, the shoes were actually lost. Yun Ye's chest was suddenly filled with anger towards Lieutenant Xiao, if you don't make such a big fuss, you will die.

  Coming out of the woods, Zhang Cheng was extremely flattering and whispered to the school lieutenant, explaining something while pointing at himself, looking very sly.

  Zhengyi Zhengyi, Yun Yanzi felt extremely elegant and courteous as he bowed with both hands clasped together to the school lieutenant: "Commoner Yun Yan has seen the school lieutenant."

  The adjutant stared at him with a straight gaze, making Yun Yan feel uneasy all over, thinking that his clothes were not worn correctly, and hesitating whether to let someone re-examine them, fearing that there might have been an error in the rush. But then he saw the adjutant pointing at himself and asking Zhang Cheng: "Is this person the high-ranking official you mentioned?" Zhang Cheng hastily nodded. The adjutant suddenly became furious, kicked Zhang Cheng to the ground, his fists flying like a tiger descending a mountain, his feet kicking like a dragon stirring up the sea. Amidst Zhang Cheng's pitiful pleas for mercy, he scolded while beating him: "You rascal! How many people have no way out of this situation? You bring a child here to deceive me, and I'll beat you to death rather than punish you for falsely reporting military information."