Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 427

After settling Xuan Zan, Zhao Zhen walked quickly towards the stable. Ever since he received the pigeon letter from Wang Lun, Zhao Zhen had people clear out a sunny stable and turn it into an elephant shed.

When Zhao Zhen came in, many people had gathered outside the elephant shed. In addition to Cheng Wan'er and her female relatives, the elephant slaves who came with them, [Purple Bearded Lord] Huangfu Duan and others were comforting the two elephants in the elephant shed. A few farmhands who were not on duty also rushed to see. Normally, the stables would not allow these people to see. Today, Zhao Zhen allowed the farmhands to see because the elephants caused such a stir.

Seeing Zhao Zhen coming, they made way for him to come closer.

It was also the first time for Zhao Zhen to see elephants. He had only heard of Cao Chong weighing an elephant before. When he saw these two huge beasts up close, with shoulders as high as a horse, a body length of nearly two meters, and a weight of up to 8000 kilograms, Sharma looked much smaller in front of the elephants.

Zhao Zhen asked: "Brother Huangfu Duan, how are the two elephants doing?"

Huangfu Duan said: "Sir, these two elephants are in good condition. They like the apples and bamboo shoots you prepared very much, especially the cool bamboo shoots. The elephant officer Ruan Pashan knows the habits of elephants very well. With him, the elephants will be safe."

At this time, Nguyen Paksan and a young man behind him knelt on the ground and said to Zhao Zhen: "Nguyen Paksan and Nguyen Ravimon, the elephant slaves of Siam, pay their respects to the great official."

Zhao Zhen said, "Get up. Now that you have come to Liangshan Prefecture, you should take good care of these two elephants. You will not be short of salary. If you need anything, go to this manager Zhao Xing."

After hearing this, Ruan Pashan quickly responded.

Zhao Zhen continued, "Is this elephant tamed?"

Ruan Pashan said: "Don't worry, sir. These tribute elephants were tamed in Siam. These two elephants will not get angry easily. You will feed them yourself for a few days. When these two elephants are familiar with them, you can put elephant saddles on them and ride them."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen became interested, took out two apples from the basket and passed them over the fence.

Two elephants, with their flexible trunks, rolled the apples into their mouths.

Ruan Pashan said: "Sir, these elephants eat grass, leaves, bark, wild bananas and palm leaves, and they especially like juicy things like bamboo shoots, bananas, sugar cane, wild fruits and young leaves. I don't know what kind of bamboo shoots you have here, but these two elephants like them very much."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "These bamboo shoots are produced by the cool bamboo. These two elephants love to eat them. They dig two shoots every day. Since you know the habits of elephants, take a look at this elephant house. Is there anything wrong with it?"

Ruan Pashan looked up at Zhao Zhen, then quickly lowered his head and said, "Sir, this elephant house is clean, dry, and can get some sun. However, elephants like warmth and are afraid of cold. It's okay at ordinary times, but in this weather, it's best to cover the elephant house and light some charcoal. I also brought two elephant clothes when I came here, but they were very dirty on the way, so I asked my wife to wash them. I also need to make a few more to keep them warm."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said to Cheng Wan'er, "Madam, ask Wang Qiao to find someone to make two pieces quickly, and then make a few more to replace them later."

"Captain Zhao, please ask someone to get some firewood so that we can light a fire tonight to keep warm. Also ask someone from the [Repair Camp] to come and build the elephant shed for Ruan..."

"Prashan."

"Yes, Ruan Pashan, remodel it according to Ruan Pashan's instructions. Ruan Pashan will be the manager of the elephant house from now on, and his salary will be paid in the same way as Sun Ji, the apprentice of the Huangfu Duan brothers."

Zhao Xing responded quickly.

Zhao Zhen picked two cool bamboo shoots from the frame. The two elephants really liked them and touched Zhao Zhen with their trunks.

Chu Yan saw it, and also stepped forward to pick up a bamboo shoot and handed it forward. Unexpectedly, the elephant actually rolled Chu Yan up by the waist, and with a cry of surprise, put Chu Yan steadily on its head.

Chu Yan plucked up her courage, stepped on the elephant's head and stood on its back.

Seeing that the elephant was standing steadily, Chu Yan called to Chu Yuan, "Yuanyuan, come quickly."

After hearing this, Chu Yuan glanced at Zhao Zhen. Seeing that Zhao Zhen had no objection, she also took a bamboo shoot and handed it to the other elephant.

The elephant took the bamboo shoots from Chu Yuan's hand, but instead of carrying Chu Yuan onto its back, it pointed at the basket with its trunk. Everyone could not help but smile when they saw this.

Chu Yuan went to get two more sticks and handed one to the elephant first. When the elephant finished eating and was about to eat the second one, she took a step back and pointed at Chu Yan on the elephant's back.

The elephant gave a cry and nodded his head up and down.

Chu Yuan handed over the bamboo shoots, and the elephant carried Chu Yuan on its back.

The two stood on the elephant's back, looked at each other, and actually started dancing on the elephant's back. Although there were only a few poses, Zhao Zhen, who was watching from below, actually found a different kind of beauty.

The two elephants seemed to feel the trampling on their backs and were a little uneasy. Nguyen Pashan and Nguyen Lavimon stepped forward and patted the elephants on the cheeks, and the two elephants immediately calmed down.

Chu Yan and Chu Yuan also stopped and walked tentatively onto the elephant's head. The two elephants gently rolled up their trunks and carried Chu Yuan and Chu Yan down.

The two men excitedly said to Zhao Zhen, "Sir, it feels so good to be on the elephants' backs. Once we get along well with the two elephants, we will stand on their backs and dance for you."

Zhao Zhen smiled and nodded.

Cheng Wan'er asked, "Since you two sisters like these two elephants so much, would you like to give them a name?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yan and Chu Yuan looked at Zhao Zhen with their four big eyes twinkling.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Manager Ruan, do these two elephants have names?"

Nguyen Pa Shan said: "Sir, the government army gave you the names Zhongxin and Zhongyong."

Chu Yan and Chu Yuan curled their lips after hearing this.

Liu Hui Niang said, "Sir, these names were bestowed by the emperor. How can we call them that? Zhong Xin and Zhong Yong are the names of the two elephants, and we can just give them nicknames."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "Madam, you are right. Madam Yan and Madam Yuan, you two should think of one."

"Dundun."

"Dudu."

Chu Yan and Chu Yuan shouted at the same time.

Zhao Zhen asked Cheng Wan'er again, and Cheng Wan'er said, "Dundun and Dudu are suitable for its physique, so why not call it that?"

After hearing this, Chu Yan and Chu Yuan cheered, walked to the two elephants, and happily called out their names.

Ruan Pashan guided the two elephants from the side, calling out their names and offering them food when they looked over. After seven or eight rounds, the two elephants responded when they heard their names.

Zhao Zhen saw it and said with a smile: "It seems that they both like this name."

When Tao Zongwang, Hou Jian, and Wang Qiao came with their men, they first praised the two elephants. Then, with the cooperation of Ruan Pashan and others, they renovated the elephant house and measured the elephants.

When Zhao Zhen saw this, he ordered everyone to disperse.

Chu Yan and Chu Yuan were reluctant to leave, so they stayed and comforted the two elephants, Dudu and Dundun, together with Ruan Pashan. But Zhao Zhen left the elephant house and did not go to the back house. He called Zhao Yuanli, Zhao Ji and other trusted farmhands and went to the warehouse.

This warehouse was built on the hill to the east of Baishigang. It was called a warehouse, but in fact it was built by Tao Zongwang and his men by hollowing out half of the mountain and using elm wood to support it. It has just been put into use.

Passing by the parade ground, Zhao Zhen saw Li Kui walking around with his arms folded.

When he saw Zhao Zhen, Li Kui walked up quickly, sang a promise, and said, "Sir, Tie Niu wants to change his job."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen asked, "Did Brother Jiao Ting mistreat you?"

"No, no. Sir, brother Jiao Ting is very kind to me. Brothers Li Gun and Xiang Chong are also open-minded men, but they cannot fight in the battlefield. Sir, please send me to [Zhongfengdu] where brothers Bao Xu and Yan Shude are."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "Who said that the Liangshan County troops of brother Jiao Ting would not go to the town to fight? Originally, they stayed to guard the county town in order to look after the prefecture and county. When we go out to fight next year, not only the Liangshan County troops, but also soldiers from other counties will be drawn. You will be useful then."

Li Kui was delighted when he heard this: "This is exactly what I want."

Having said this, he said goodbye to Zhao Zhen and left happily.

Zhao Zhen shook his head and ignored him.

When we arrived at the warehouse, we saw that the warehouse door was built in a house and six wounded soldiers were guarding the house.

When they saw Zhao Zhen, they all stood up and greeted him.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Are you used to being here?"

An old soldier without his left arm said, "Sir, this place is great. Food is delivered to us by the kitchen every day. The six of us are on duty here for ten days, and then someone comes to take over. We are paid on a monthly basis. Although we are disabled, our family lives much better than ordinary farmers. My son Dalang was also recruited into the Golden Spear Capital some time ago. He practices martial arts every day and will fight for you in the future."

Zhao Zhen talked to the six people for a while, and then let Zhao Yuanli open the storehouse door.

Walking into the warehouse, only one corner of the warehouse was filled with items. Most of the items were collected by Xiao Rang's people from various counties in recent days. They were either antiques, calligraphy and paintings, ivory carvings, lacquerware, ceramics and bronzes, or objects that looked strange and could not be identified.

When Zhao Zhen came here, he examined each item with his eyes. Most of them were ordinary antiques. After registering them, most of them were sent out of the warehouse and sold in various shops in the city. A few exquisite ones were kept to replace the furnishings in the rooms or given away.

After looking through thirty or fifty items, he still didn't find any treasures. In addition, the storehouse was lit by oil lamps and torches, and the smoke and fire made Zhao Zhen feel uncomfortable in his eyes.

Zhao Zhen said, "Yuan Li, go get the luminous beads from Madam. Your eyes are sore."

After hearing this, Zhao Yuanli hurried out of the warehouse.

Zhao Zhen said, "Send the things you want to see to the storehouse one by one, and I will take a look there."

Just as he was about to leave, he saw two millstones piled on the ground. Zhao Zhen asked, "Where did these two millstones come from?"

Zhao Ji said, "Sir, this was originally shipped from Songjiazhuang. We can't see any difference, so we put it here."

Zhao Zhen went forward to take a closer look, and saw no difference, just like in Songjiazhuang.

So he said to Zhao Ji: "Take it out and put it together and see."

Zhao Ji heard this and called on the farmhands to lift the two millstones out and stack them up at the door. Zhao Zhen took a closer look and found that the millstones actually had a name.

world log
Salt mill (first level, cut wood to make a pestle, dig the ground to make a mortar, the pestle and mortar are used by all people.)
Effect 1: Grinding, coarse salt is turned into flake-like fine salt.

After seeing this, Zhao Zhen seemed to realize that despite Song Jiang's extravagance, Songjiazhuang was still able to accumulate so much wealth. With this mill, coarse salt was ground into fine salt, and with the convenience of Song Jiang's status, this was possible.

When Zhao Zhen saw it, he said to Zhao Ji, "Finally, I have found a treasure. Send this stone mill to the prison camp and have someone send a few bags of different salts to be ground with this salt mill. Then send the ground salt to the farm."

Zhao Zhen looked at a few more items in succession, and waited until Zhao Yuanli came back before he moved into the warehouse and moved faster.

A piece of Shuiyun stone as big as a head, a second-grade stone, which is a top-quality material for making inkstones, was sent to Jin Dajian.

There was a boundary stone, and it was impossible to tell where it was. Zhao Zhen put it in his pocket, planning to put it down when he could.

A piece of jade with many flaws, Zhao Zhen thought he had bought the wrong one at first, but after taking a closer look, he discovered its extraordinary features. Staring at it, he felt as if his soul was being sucked in.

World Log:

Spirit of the World (turn decay into magic, turn soldiers into heroes, turn ordinary things into spiritual things.)
After seeing it, Zhao Zhen was also shocked. This turned out to be the [Spirit of the World].

Zhao Zhen thought to himself, "Not bad. If used well, it is indeed rare."

"Look in the book, is there any record of this kind of jade?"

After hearing this, Zhao Yuanli quickly flipped through the books and said to Zhao Zhen, "In addition to the one found in Fan County, there is also one found in Sishui County."

After saying that, he went to the storehouse and searched around. As expected, this piece of jade was also the [Spirit of the World].

After looking for a long time, it was already late, so Zhao Zhen said, "Let's go here first today and sell what needs to be sold according to my order, and re-list these exquisite items."

Having said that, Zhao Zhen immediately walked out of the warehouse, nodded to the old soldiers guarding the warehouse, and returned to the backyard.

That night, Zhao Zhen held a banquet to entertain Xuan Zan, and the people in the village as well as the newly arrived heroes such as Dai Zong and Zhang Shun accompanied him.

At the banquet, Xuan Zan saw the Golden Spear Master Xu Ning and asked, "Master, you have always been with the emperor, why did you come to Liangshan?"

Xu Ning smiled and said, "Recently, there are more and more thieves everywhere, and the world is getting chaotic. It is time for warriors like me to fight for our lives. I have no favor in Bianjing and no one appreciates me. It just so happens that the master needs people here, so I might as well surrender. I can also fight for a title and a son on the battlefield."

Xuan Zan heard this and said, "Brother is right. I am only here in Bianjing to report for duty every day and hone my martial arts. Recently, I have been in the government office and have heard many emergency documents from various places. The Grand Commandant only ordered the various prefectures to send out troops, but the Bianjing Imperial Guards refused to go out."

Xiao Rang said: "It is just the imperial court's method of weakening the local areas. Although it weakens the local soldiers, it also gives the bandits an opportunity to grow stronger."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "Who says it's not true? If Song Jiang hadn't captured the prefecture, the imperial army would have wiped them out in one go, and there wouldn't be the four major bandits now."

"Brother Xuan Zan has also led soldiers before. Now that you have surrendered, please let me be your deputy commander. I will ask the ranch to allocate 500 riding horses, and you will use them to train the soldiers first. When we buy war horses next year, brother Xu Ning will be the commander, and you two will also form a battalion of cavalry."

After hearing this, Xu Ning and Xuan Zan quickly stood up and saluted.

Zhao Zhen said: "Brothers, your martial arts should not be buried here. Speaking of which, our dynasty does not have enough war horses. The war horses available in the counties below are not enough for one battalion. Next year, we will send people to the north to buy horses again."

(End of this chapter)