I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 105 - 80: I Eat Ribs, You Eat Noodles

"Father promises you, definitely to live well."

After a long pause, Rong Shuo said seriously.

Rong Yunhao looked up at him and asked, "Father, what is the Southern Border like?"

"The Southern Border is chaotic, the Northern Territory is harsh," Rong Shuo said, "The Southern Border adjoins Wei Country and many small nations, with constant warfare, leaving the people in poverty."

Gu Lan whispered, "Since it borders various countries, the trade relations must be pretty good."

"You, young one, truly worthy of being the grandson of the great merchant Zhou family," Rong Shuo nodded appreciatively, "Indeed, because the Southern Border is near many small nations, there are a lot of traveling merchants, and your Zhou family has even opened a cloth shop in Yinzhou City."

Gu Lan remembered that in the original story, it was Yinzhou that was breached by Wei Country, leading to Rong Shuo’s death in battle.

"How many garrison troops does Yinzhou have now?" she asked thoughtfully, "I remember the Prince returning this time because of urgent news from the border saying that the soldiers’ salaries were delayed."

Rong Shuo raised his eyebrows: "Yinzhou is where my main forces are stationed; it’s also a central hub of the Southern Border, with a full thirty thousand infantry and twenty thousand Dayan Iron Cavalry. Why, Young Brother Gu, are you concerned about a change in Yinzhou? Impossible, the salaries for these fifty thousand soldiers have been allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, just delayed by half a month due to floods. Once I return, the soldiers will no longer have complaints."

Gu Lan said, "Prince, how many cavalrymen do you have under your command?"

"Cavalry are extremely valuable; I only have these twenty thousand," he replied.

At this moment, Rong Baoyi spoke quietly, "Father, cavalry can’t be used to defend a city, so why keep them in Yinzhou?"

Gu Lan also nodded, looking at Prince Rui, softly saying, "Prince, doesn’t keeping those cavalry in Yinzhou mean using a camp of battle-hardened elites to defend Yanjing City?"

The original story didn’t mention how Prince Rui eventually lost the battle; it was said that Wei Country suddenly attacked, catching Yan Country off guard.

But Prince Rui was strong and well-manned, so it shouldn’t have been an unexpected defeat that led to his death. She could only try to find some possibilities in the current arrangements.

Rong Shuo looked at Gu Lan and Rong Baoyi in surprise. He hadn’t expected the young ones in front of him to understand military strategies, nor his young daughter to point out the benefits with just a word.

He thought for a moment, seeing that Gu Lan no longer called him brother, he stopped teasing and said:

"Young Master Gu, this matter I have considered as well. The reason I station those cavalry in Yinzhou is due to the previous victory, and Wei Country and our Dayan signed a temporary ceasefire and trade agreement.

I can’t just keep troops at the border, acting like we’re ready to fight at any moment, scaring those cowards of Wei Country to death."

The confidence in Prince Rui’s tone was evident. Gu Lan could tell this wasn’t arrogance but a genuine faith in his soldiers.

His explanation was also reasonable. Stationing these cavalry in the very safe Yinzhou is the only measure for now. Except for the long-term potential dulling of their edge, for the moment, this is the only option.

"So that’s how it is. Father, is Wei Country really terrible at fighting?" Rong Baoyi caught on and asked again.

Rong Shuo smiled, eyes showing a hint of disdain: "Wei Country prides itself as the source of scholarly pursuits in the world, opening the imperial examination widely in the early years, indeed selecting many talented scholars, but in warfare, they are lacking.

If not for the support of the General of Wei, otherwise, I would’ve been able to drive straight in and place soldiers directly at Bian."

Bian is the Capital of Wei Country. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

After all, even their Crown Prince was captured as a hostage on the battlefield, making it seem truly impossible for Wei Country to wage war against Dayan anytime soon.

Gu Lan thought, could it be that Prince Rui died twelve years later? When Rong Jing changed the era name to Jiande?

That...it seems like she doesn’t need to do anything nor can she do anything.

At this moment, Tang Zhan’s coarse voice spoke: "Fifth Young Master Rong and County Princess previously said, the Emperor had transferred your elite troops back to guard the city. In the long run, it would cause soldiers to lack consistent leadership and generals to lack constant tutors."

Rong Shuo was silent for a while, then shifted the topic: "Tang Zhan, what good food has been made?"

How could he not know the consequences of frequent troop transfers, but now, he could only follow the Holy Decree.

Tang Zhan glanced at Gu Lan, setting down the basin: "Today, we’re having noodles."

Before them was a bowl of boiled, snow-white noodles, exuding the fragrance of the wheat.

Rong Shuo frowned: "Where’s the dish, what about my appetizer?"

Tang Zhan nonchalantly replied, "There’s no wine, what appetizer are you talking about."

In the army, drinking was prohibited; Prince Rui himself adhered strictly to regulations, throughout the entire camp, except perhaps for the strong liquor at the field doctor’s for treating wounds, a drop of alcohol couldn’t be found.

So Prince Rui’s previous shouting for an appetizer was merely...asking for a dish.

Tang Zhan watched Rong Shuo’s embarrassed face, feeling a night’s worth of resentment finally being released.

"Eat up."

He divided bowls for several people, then brought a bowl of some unknown dark soup.

The young prince, originally full of anticipation, saw it and said in horror: "Uncle Tang Zhan, you won’t really poison us, right? How could you bear to poison someone as cute as me?"

Tang Zhan showed a grim smile, with a full display of white teeth: "Yes, poisoned indeed."

Then, the group watched as Young Master Gu first served himself a big bowl of noodles, then picked up the pot of soup and poured two spoonfuls into his bowl.

Gu Lan mixed the noodles, the dark liquid blending into the noodles, turning the snow-white strands into a tempting golden hue as they were mixed.

Young Master Gu finished stirring the scallion oil noodles, glanced at everyone with a slight smile at Tang Zhan, then picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

The aroma of the prepared scallion oil was fragrant and enticing, making one’s appetite grow.

The mixed noodles were chewy and smooth, blended with the fragrance of the noodles, oil, and scallions, brightly colored and richly flavored, so delicious that Gu Lan squinted her eyes.

No wonder Prince Rui chose Tang Zhan as his trusted aide;

No wonder Rong Heng formed a brotherhood with him;

She even wanted to marry him... bring him back to the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion as a cook.

With just a few chopsticks, a bowl of noodles was finished, and Young Master Gu rolled up his sleeves and served another bowl.

Seeing this, the others quickly picked up their chopsticks to grab some noodles.

Tang Zhan let out a cold snort and said, "There’s a patch of scallions that happened to grow outside the camp, so I made scallion oil to go with the noodles. The scallion oil, when combined with the sauce, results in this color."

As he spoke, he brought out the scallion segments that had been squeezed dry after making the scallion oil.

Gu Lan picked up a segment with her chopsticks and put it in her bowl, "Why did you cut them into scallion flowers?"

Tang Zhan stared at Gu Lan, who was enjoying the meal, like she was the little scallions that had been chopped up, and said, word by word, "Practicing knife skills."

Gu Lan thought Tang Zhan would eventually be driven mad by her...

She didn’t expect that she could have such delicious scallion oil noodles in ancient times, thanks to fictional novels.

Although Young Master Gu’s cooking skills were lacking, only capable of making hotpot, she was very particular about eating.

When there was time, she could get Tang Zhan and her second aunt together to exchange chef experiences, swap recipes, and learn from each other.

Unknowingly, a pot of noodles was finished.

Gu Lan protected the last two large bowls, poured scallion oil on them, and carried them out.

From afar, she saw Rong Heng sitting at the resting place for soldiers outside the training grounds, seemingly holding a serving of food in his hands.

It was lunchtime, and the camp was simple; most of the soldiers were squatting and eating.

The autumn wind blew, and yellow leaves flew around as Young Master Gu carefully carried her two bowls of noodles over to Rong Heng.

"Brother Hang, come, eat this, it’s definitely better than the food the others in the military have—"

She stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the food in Rong Heng’s bowl, silently swallowing the words "is better".

Who could tell her why Rong Heng was eating braised ribs with white buns?

As Gu Lan looked around, she realized that all the soldiers’ bowls seemed similar to her own.

The aroma of meat in the air completely overshadowed the fragrance of Gu Lan’s two bowls of scallion oil noodles.

In the distance, the Fire Head Army distributing food shouted, "If it’s not enough, come get more buns."

Rong Heng understood her purpose, waved the bun in his hand, and said, "I also delivered food to Jiu."

Gu Lan took a deep breath, sat down next to Rong Heng, and began eating the noodles angrily.

Within a few large bites, she finished a bowl, prompting Rong Heng to say, "Gu Lan, slow down."

He had experienced times when he couldn’t get enough to eat, hence the fast eating, but how could the pampered Gu Lan eat so ferociously?

Her appetite was also large... oh well, young people grow during this time, so eating more might help her grow taller.

Gu Lan ignored this, finished her bowl, and started eating the one intended for Jiu.

Rong Heng realized something was off and suddenly grabbed the bowl from her, "Gu Lan, what are you doing?"

The young girl looked up, her cheeks puffed like a little white hamster, her bright eyes full of grievance as she looked at him.

In an instant, Rong Heng suddenly understood Gu Lan completely.

He picked up a chopstick of noodles and began eating while saying, "I’ll eat, I’ll eat your noodles, what’s so special about ribs? It’s nowhere near as good as what you brought."

Gu Lan broke into a smile.

"Then I’ll eat the ribs, and you eat the noodles."

Rong Heng: ...