Lord of the Desert

Chapter 326 Towering
Duanli has a dry climate with little rain.

During the reign of the third generation of King Huaiyang, a huge granary was built in the city, named "Weiwei" - although it is not at the forefront of Dahua, it is second only to the "Lanshan Granary" in the royal capital of Huaiyang Kingdom.

The towering warehouse is not actually towering.

It is surrounded by high white walls and only sparse sentries are set up at the front and back doors.

Inside is a flat square 200 meters long and [-] meters wide, slightly above the ground and covered by rain eaves.

In the early morning, when Hong Fan found the place, he was still wondering why such an important place was not heavily protected.

Once he climbed over the wall, he would understand.

Above the square, the grain storage facility is more appropriately called a cellar than a warehouse.

A circular cylinder-shaped space is dug downward from the ground, with a diameter ranging from 12 meters to eight meters from large to small, and is covered with thick soil.

This is not a place where ordinary people can afford to steal.

There are 22 sealed circular warehouses.

Only three No. 20s are empty.

Hong Fan came over silently and heard voices coming from under the grain cellar.

"If the earthen walls are thoroughly baked by the fire and then cooled, if there are no cracks, the cellar is considered complete."

At the deepest point, more than ten meters down, a gray-haired old craftsman was explaining to two apprentices.

"First spread the plant ash underneath, at least one hand thick, and then lay the wooden boards."

"Put a layer of mat on a wooden board - a layer of chaff between two mats - I taught you before."

He stepped on the broken carbon and bent down to gesture.

"The same goes for the cellar walls."

"When the compartments are all laid out and compacted, put grain in the middle until the pile is full."

"Finally, cover the top with straw mats and rice bran, and seal it with two feet of soil - if you are experienced in your skills, even if you store grain for ten years, it will be too little!"

After the old master finished speaking, he wiped the black coal off the soles of his feet and climbed up the ladder to the ground.

At this time, he remembered something again and gave instructions to the apprentice in the cellar.

"Don't forget, the cellar will not be sealed for a few years, and a small tree will be planted in the sealed soil!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young voice behind him asked.

“What’s the point of planting a small tree?”

"Didn't I tell you this several times? If the food sprouts or spoils, it will generate heat, and the trees will wither and turn yellow when the temperature rises..."

Halfway through the words, the old master's heart skipped a beat and he reacted.

"No, who are you?"

As soon as he turned around, his shoulders were clasped by five iron-like fingers, making him unable to move.

Just based on this strength, the old man knew that he had met a strong man.

When the two disciples heard the stranger's voice, they immediately wanted to climb up the ladder, but their master hurriedly stopped them.

"This young hero is so kind-hearted, surely he won't get into trouble with the old man?"

"If you have anything to ask, I will tell you everything I know."

The old man spoke softly.

Hong Fan would not embarrass him and asked directly: "How much food is there in total here?"

"There are currently 22 grain cellars in the towering warehouse. The large ones are four feet deep and can store more than [-] kilograms of grain; the smaller ones are two feet deep and can store thousands of kilograms of grain."

The master immediately answered.

"The current total grain reserves are 30 shi, which is almost enough to feed 10 people for a year."

Hong Fan frowned, obviously feeling that it was missing.

Huaiyang is prone to disasters and the harvest is unstable.

"Only enough for 10 people for a year? But I think Duanli City is not short of food."

he questioned.

"Young hero, there are so many!"

the old man explained.

"The towering warehouses are full of deep pits and cellars that cannot be opened easily."

"The grain stored here only increases on weekdays. It is either used to cope with disasters or used as military rations. It is two different things from the daily consumption of the people."

"Besides this, there are two small grain cellars and an above-ground warehouse in the southeast of the city."

"Besides the official warehouse, every family in Duanli City, from the wealthy to the common people, has food in storage - young hero, who in this day and age doesn't know that food is more valuable than gold?"

"Including the hoarding of merchants' private warehouses, the total grain storage is at least five times that of Weiwei warehouse."

It is early July and the rice harvest has not yet begun.

This number is definitely quite a lot at this time of year.

Hong Fan's mind turned and he felt relieved.

Without food, a warrior cannot transform.

If there is only a problem with distribution, there is always a way to find a way.

"Duanli City obviously has so much food in stock, but it just sits back and watches the counties and townships suffer so much..."

he scolded, his tone stern.

"This..." The old man didn't know how to answer the question.

"What's this?"

Hong Fan was impatient.

"Young hero, these grains were originally moved from the counties below."

The old man lowered his voice and used the softest word "move".

But Hong Fan still felt harsh after listening to it.

His cheeks were tense and angry.

When the old master saw it, he knelt on the ground with a plop.

"Young hero, my beard and hair are all white now, at least within the past two years."

"But my two disciples have been down there and have never seen your face. Please let them go..."

The old man kowtowed and begged.

Hong Fan was stunned.

He is a warrior at the peak of his strength.

At this time, he could clearly hear the clenching of teeth and wiping of tears under the grain cellar.

"Old man, I am not a bad person..."

Hong Fan whispered, his first reaction was to explain.

But then he realized that he had just become angry in front of the weak, and felt ashamed.

Finally, the gnashing of teeth stopped.

The long ladder in the grain cellar creaked as someone stepped on it.

The old master was shocked and angry, but he saw the young man in front of him put down two taels of money to apologize and ran away.

After leaving the towering warehouse, Hong Fan still had mixed emotions.

He found himself duller than before.

In the past, Hong Fan had a keen mind, and his thoughts were like watching a night fire.

It’s not hard to imagine why.

[Because I’m on the list of geniuses. 】

It had only been three months since he defeated Su Peifeng, but the overwhelming admiration and world-wide fame had made him increasingly arrogant.

So much so that when I see something, I criticize it condescendingly in advance, and unconsciously sit high in the "blue sky".

Hong Fan sighed silently and warned himself deeply.

Turning the corner, he looked up and saw an acquaintance.

Under the eaves of the street, a beggar was wearing a familiar black cloak. He was the same beggar from yesterday.

He probably lost to his colleague with a broken leg in the decisive battle. Not only did he lose his territory, he even lost his pig bones.

Seeing Hong Fan, the beggar actually laughed.

"See you again, young man!"

The beggar raised his head and patted his cloak, stirring up a large amount of dust.

"Young man" is not a respectful title, but it seems affectionate.

Hong Fan was inexplicably happy when he heard this.

He smiled back, took out a few more pieces of silver, and gently placed them in the beggar's rough-as-iron palm.

"You are quite a strange person."

The cloaked beggar praised.

Hong Fan shook his head.

"I can only say it's not bad."

Then, he followed the noisy place and merged into the flow of people.

······
On the same day, some time passed.

The sun is approaching the sky.

The open space at the entrance of Duanlicheng Market was uncovered and whitened by the sun.

The wooden platform in the center has a new guest today.

A man with multiple bandages was tied up with iron ropes and stood alone.

On the low shelf outside the wooden platform, his double sword and bamboo hat hung.

"The identity of Wu Yuan has been verified, and Wu Yuan has two swords running like lightning."

Under the rain eaves opposite the high platform, the city judge Duanli said loudly.

"People from Hanzhou cultivate themselves in harmony with nature and man."

"On June 29, the [-]th year of Zhenghe, together with Wen Kaige, Ge Yun, and Qin Juzheng, they assassinated the county captain of Heyu County."

"After discussion by the Duanli City Judge and Qianmianfeng Wuwei, the verdict was made."

"It's noon today, so I should be punished."

(End of this chapter)