Xu Jingzong now spoke very little during the day, often not uttering a single word all day long. His arrival in Shuofang had been too hasty—apart from a few changes of clothing, he had brought nothing else of value. He wanted to read, wanted to very badly. But Shuofang was full of military men, so naturally there weren’t many books available for his leisure. Fortunately, before coming to Shuofang, his old servant had tucked an almanac in his bosom. This was the old servant’s only hobby. The worn book with curling corners—Xu Jingzong sat by the window reading it with great relish.

He had no friends in the army and no connections with the military officers. Chai Shao looked down on him, Old Niu ignored him, and Xue Wanren always wanted to beat him up, so he rarely went out. Ever since the first snow fell and Yun Ye said the epidemic was no longer a concern, he had become completely idle.

Outside the window, snow fell in profusion. The old snow hadn’t melted yet when new snow was added. If he were in Chang’an, in such weather there would be countless refined pursuits for him to choose from. He could drink wine and compose poetry, summon entertainers to dance, or at the very least sit alone by the window savoring wine, quietly mourning his lost youth.

Now there was only snow, no wine, and in his hands only a tattered almanac. He discovered that idle leisure with nothing to do could also kill a person alive, and it was the most painful way to die. Xu Jingzong felt he was already starting to mold.

The old servant quietly pushed the door open and entered, carrying a red lacquered wooden tray. On it was no longer the nauseating beef and mutton, but rather a large bowl of steaming hot noodles sprinkled with green garlic sprouts. The exotic fragrance assailed the nose, greatly stimulating the appetite.

Picking up the bowl without a word, he began eating. Only after consuming the last small piece of garlic sprout did Xu Jingzong ask the old servant where he had obtained this delicacy.

The old servant pointed to the neighboring courtyard, saying it was sent by Marquis Yun’s people, along with a small pot of wine and some books.

They were all academy textbooks. Xu Jingzong found them extremely difficult to read. After looking at just the first few pages, he knew he still needed to seriously study the preceding overview before he could understand those strange symbols and numbers.

He had always been a diligent learner. Encountering such a situation made him wild with joy. Finally there was something he could do and was willing to do! Picking up the wine pot, he took a satisfying gulp, feeling the wine rolling in his mouth, his five senses seeming to come alive together, becoming vivid once more.

“Young man, why do you still bother with that person? Didn’t I tell you he’s not a good person?” Sun Simiao scooped up a large chopstickful of noodles and asked while eating.

“When a person is extremely bored and suddenly gets something that can relieve his boredom, what do you think he’ll make of it?” Yun Ye unhurriedly pulled at the dough in his hands, stretching one piece of dough into several hundred thin noodles, casually tossing them into the large pot beside him before answering Old Sun’s question.

“From this old Daoist’s experience, even things one would normally disdain become treasures impossible to put down at such times.”

“You may not know, but physics has a peculiar characteristic—it develops a person’s thirst for knowledge. And the more a person knows, the more he discovers his own ignorance. Solve one problem, and countless new questions will appear behind it, making one unable to extricate oneself. Especially for someone of supremely high talent like Xu Jingzong—try it once and it works every time.”

Old Niu thumped his bowl on the table and said to Chai Shao, who was eating happily: “You see, Chang’an is really not a good place. A perfectly good child—in less than a year, look what he’s learned! If I’d known it would be like this, this old man shouldn’t have sent him to Chang’an back then. If I’d kept him in Longyou, there wouldn’t be all this nauseating business.”

Taking a large gulp of meat broth, Chai Shao said impatiently to Old Niu: “Could little Longyou hold onto a boy like this? In just one year he’s made such an enormous reputation. Do you think the Three Scourges of Chang’an is called that for nothing? Who’s harming whom is still uncertain. Have a comfortable meal and nag a bit less. Boy, another bowl!”

On a snowy day, to have a large bowl of steaming hot beef noodles, pour on chili oil, and sprinkle with garlic sprouts—one wouldn’t trade it even for being an immortal!

Today there were many diners, and their status was somewhat elevated. Old He held an empty bowl, eyes fixed longingly on the noodles churning in the pot, waiting to fill another bowl. He had no chance to sit at the table and could only squat on the threshold, looking pitiful. There was no help for it—Old Niu wanted to eat noodles, and they had to be even better than what he’d eaten in Longyou last time. He had summoned all the high-ranking military officers not on duty, over a dozen of them. There were three marquises alone, plus Sun Simiao who was even more impressive than a marquis. Old He’s status as a county baron was somewhat unable to make the grade.

Beef noodles differed from other noodle dishes—one needed to add peng ash to stretch thick dough blocks into noodles of various shapes. The army cooks couldn’t do it, so Yun Ye had to do it himself.

There was a particular method to this—the emphasis was on clear soup, green vegetables, and red chili. Genuine beef noodles were an extremely delicious noodle dish. In later times, it was the breakfast of choice for citizens in the Lanzhou area. Whether midsummer or deep winter, squatting by the roadside holding a large bowl of noodles was practically a scene unique to Lanzhou.

Unfortunately, once this delicacy left the northwest, it lost its original flavor. The farther from the northwest, the worse it tasted.

On a business trip to Guangzhou, unable to get used to rice and tormented to the point of death by various sweet-tasting steamed buns, he had finally spotted a shop claiming authentic beef noodles. It was like seeing a savior! He rushed into the shop and shouted: “Two bowls, er xi!” But the shop assistant didn’t understand what er xi meant. Sensing something amiss, then hearing the assistant’s northeastern accent, he felt somewhat desperate. Holding onto one last shred of hope, he had them make one bowl of noodles. Sure enough, it had northeastern characteristics—lots of noodles, lots of meat, big bowl. But who had ever heard of beef noodles made with dried wheat noodles?

After just one bite of the huge bowl of noodles, he hastily fled, too embarrassed to say he wouldn’t eat it. He only claimed sudden urgent need for the restroom. The kind-hearted northeastern beef noodle shop owner even pointed out the direction to the bathroom. From then on, Yun Ye never again ate so-called authentic beef noodles from outside Gansu, afraid of the heartbreak.

After bringing out the weapon of beef noodles, the results were indeed extraordinary. Whether it was the emperor’s brother-in-law or various marquises and earls—all ate until they were beyond recognition, sitting on stools groaning, unable to stand. Old Xue struggled to finish the last noodle strand and sat on his stool in a daze, clearly having eaten too much.

Old Niu smiled as he picked his teeth, looking at Yun Ye with a strange expression, somewhat gratified yet also somewhat disappointed in his lack of progress.

Yun Ye knew the old man wanted to help him curry favor with military comrades, but this wasn’t feasible. Ordinary friendly relations were fine, but going further—forget it. He didn’t want to get too deeply involved in military circles. Eating and drinking friendships were good enough.

Today, as a dignified marquis personally cooking, he had given the military officers plenty of face. Military men cared far more about face than scholars. They had nothing else to boast about—living was only for the sake of face. Give them enough face, and all would be well.

Just thinking about the dispute between Yuchi Gong and Li Daozong, one knew what these military generals were like. Furthermore, considering the endless rebellion incidents in the future, who knew if some of these fellows would be involved? Keeping one’s distance did no harm.

“Marquis Yun, I heard you built a great many residences at Yushan. If there are still vacancies, save one for your brother here. After finishing the war and returning to Chang’an, having nowhere to escape the heat or enjoy the scenery for a few leisurely days.” Xue Wanren was a straightforward man who felt that having eaten someone’s food, he should help resolve their difficulties. Hearing that Yun Ye had recklessly built houses at Yushan with too many to sell, Old Xue volunteered to be the fool who’d take them off his hands.

Yun Ye looked in astonishment at this brainless man. Could the common saying “children without mothers are blessed by heaven” actually be true? Old Xue couldn’t possibly know about his upscale residential district plan, couldn’t possibly know these houses would skyrocket in price in two years. Proposing to buy a house now was done with the intention of giving Yun Ye a hand. On a whim, he’d stumbled onto a huge windfall. Fools have fools’ fortune! Such heaven-defying luck shouldn’t be carelessly disrupted.

“This younger brother acted rashly for a time, troubling elder brother. Naturally there will be a house for elder brother. When the grassland campaign ends, the houses will be completed. Elder brother can go look at that time.”

“It’s good that brother doesn’t stand on ceremony. Then it’s settled. At that time we’ll have another meal of these beef noodles. Your brother just loves this. Today, we’re benefiting from the Grand Commander and General Niu’s presence. We all know that otherwise, which marquis would personally cook?”

Having eaten one’s fill, naturally one should take a walk to aid digestion—otherwise no one could bear it. Walking in groups of twos and threes, they unconsciously arrived at the auxiliary soldiers’ quarters.

Chai Shao found it very strange. The usually noisy auxiliary soldiers’ camp was surprisingly quiet today, and the quarters were much tidier. Going in to look, he discovered the auxiliary soldiers were all training on the parade ground. What was strange was they weren’t training in how to kill enemies. Instead, he saw a man pretending to be injured lying on the ground howling. Immediately two men grabbed two poles, spread a hemp cloth on the ground, lifted the pretend-injured man onto it, threaded wooden poles through both sides of the hemp cloth, picked it up and ran.

There were also those teaching how to support soldiers with broken legs, how to provide simple first aid to stop bleeding, some pressing randomly on wounded soldiers’ chests, and incredibly, even mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Chai Shao was about to step forward and stop this unseemly behavior when he saw Sun Simiao step forward and say to Chai Shao: “Grand Commander need not be surprised. These are all battlefield medical techniques. By this old Daoist’s calculations, with these auxiliary soldiers who know how to treat their companions, deaths among the wounded will decrease to an extremely low level—at least thirty percent.”

Soldiers who had been on battlefields and seen blood were the true soldiers. Chai Shao, a veteran of many battles, how could he not understand this principle?

He grabbed Sun Simiao’s arm and asked: “Daoist, are these words true? Our army’s casualties can truly be reduced by thirty percent?”

Any general would wish for fewer deaths among his subordinates. They all crowded around Sun Simiao, asking questions all at once.

“This old Daoist and Marquis Yun researched for several days before formulating these treatment methods. If they didn’t have such effects, we two wouldn’t have the face to present them. Marquis Yun is kindhearted and cannot bear to see auxiliary soldiers poor and without support, so he wanted to give them another trade to make a living and improve their circumstances somewhat. Unexpectedly, in just a few days they’ve mastered quite a few emergency treatment techniques. Next, we still need to teach them how to prevent frostbite and how to treat frostbite. If our great army must fight in winter, these things must be known. Otherwise, if our Great Tang soldiers don’t die on the battlefield but freeze to death in the cold weather, that would be too wasteful.”