I'll Make Wine

Luo Yu stayed in his tent once he returned to camp, not leaving for two days while constantly having people bring things to the barracks - pots, vats, and all sorts of items.

When Dong Chuan, Meng Hu, and Shen Li entered the military tent, they were all stunned by the strange contraption in front of them.

The object had a stove at the bottom with a large pot, another pot inverted on top like a skewer, and a long bamboo tube extending from the side connected to a large vat.

"What, what is this thing?"

Dong Chuan was perplexed: "Boss, didn't you say you wanted to get some good wine for Captain Han? Why did you make such a thing?"

"Ah, Brother Dong, what good eyesight! This is clearly just a pot."

Meng Hu rubbed his hands excitedly: "As the saying goes, good wine goes with good food. Boss must have cooked a good meal to go with the wine for Captain Han.

Brother Yu, how about I try it first? What if it doesn't taste good?"

Meng Hu eagerly approached, lifted the pot lid, and found it empty, dumbfounded:

"How is it empty? Who ate it!"

"Always thinking about eating! I'm doing something serious!"

Luo Yu glared at him:

"But Meng Hu is right. This is indeed a pot. I've named it a distillation pot that can make the finest wine!"

"Use this to make wine?"

Shen Li was very curious, circling the distillation pot:

"Are you kidding? I've made rice wine before. Where's the grain? Where's the yeast? You have nothing, how can you make wine?"

"This is where the distillation pot is amazing. It doesn't need anything, just the purification, distillation, and filtration of already brewed rice wine or yellow wine!"

"Purification? Distillation? Filtration? Brother Yu, what are you talking about?"

A series of unfamiliar words left the three of them confused, looking at Luo Yu strangely. It seemed he was already drunk before even making the wine.

"We just need to pour the purchased rice wine into this pot to boil, generating alcohol vapor. When the vapor rises and meets the inverted copper pot, it will liquefy back into alcohol...

The distilled alcohol will flow through the bamboo tube into the vat. Then our wine will be ready, definitely better than what's sold on the market!"

Luo Yu explained at length. He had tasted the wine of the Great Qian Kingdom, which used the most primitive brewing method with very low alcohol content, far inferior to the distilled wine.

With time being tight, he didn't have time to brew new wine from grain, ferment it, and then distill it. He could just buy ready-made rice wine and process it.

If it weren't for Xiao Shaoyou mentioning Han Shuo's love for wine, he wouldn't have remembered this skill. The distillation apparatus wasn't too difficult to make; it was just that people in this era didn't know this method.

The distilled wine would definitely make Han Shuo drool!

Everyone listened more and more confused, not believing this thing could make good wine.

"Alright, you don't need to understand."

Luo Yu waved his hand at Shen Li:

"The next wine-making task is yours. It's very simple - just pour the purchased rice wine into the pot to boil, and wait for it to flow into the vat. Keep pouring and collecting the distilled wine."

"That simple?"

"That simple!"

Luo Yu waved his hand:

"Just wait and see. Brother Dong, Meng Hu, let's go check the training! Oh right, this wine-making method must be kept absolutely secret. Anyone who talks about it will find my sword merciless!"

"Understood!"

Watching Luo Yu swagger away, Shen Li pouted:

"I'll see what you can make!"

"One, two, three!"

"Kill, kill, kill!"

The not-so-wide camp was filled with people. Luo Yu's 130 brothers were all divided into groups of three, practicing cooperation and swordsmanship daily, their shouts echoing.

These days, the training was mostly handled by Dong Chuan and Meng Hu, the two squad leaders, with good results. The shouts in the field were deafening.

The reason for the high morale was simple - Luo Yu had taken out all the reward silver to buy meat for his brothers, allowing them to eat meat every two days. The military rations he distributed were not withheld. While he couldn't guarantee they ate their fill, they wouldn't go hungry into battle.

Looking at the entire Yunyang Pass, which hundred-man commander treated their troops so well?

"Boss's method is great. The cooperation among three-man teams has improved significantly. In battle, we can at least tangle with the Xiqiang bandits for a while, hehe."

Dong Chuan chuckled. Anyone who had participated in the Black Gorge Fort battle understood the practicality of the three-man system. It was essentially concentrating three people's strength against one enemy, allowing for virtually injury-free combat if attack and defense were handled properly.

"The training is good, and the cooperation is taking shape."

Luo Yu frowned:

"But I feel something is missing."

"Missing something?"

Dong Chuan and Meng Hu were puzzled, not understanding.

"Killing intent, missing killing intent!"

Luo Yu walked straight to the training ground and shouted:

"Stop, all of you stop!"

Hearing the shout, everyone stopped their movements, looking at Luo Yu in confusion. Why stop when they were training well?

Luo Yu shouted loudly:

"These past two days, everyone has worked hard. I see your swordsmanship has improved. Now I'm going to increase the intensity!

Starting now, three-man teams, three teams make a squad. Each team, each squad will fight each other, but use wooden sticks and shields instead of swords.

Remember, I'm not having you practice fake moves. Use all your strength to defeat the other side, fight until they all fall down. Either hit their heads or stab their lower parts. Fight as you would in battle, no one can hold back!"

The soldiers' expressions changed. It sounded a bit harsh.

"Boss, is this appropriate?"

Dong Chuan hesitated:

"Everyone doesn't know their own strength. What if someone gets hurt?"

This was what everyone was thinking. They weren't martial arts masters who could stop at a touch. A casual swing of a wooden stick could break a comrade's rib.

"What are you afraid of!"

Luo Yu looked fierce, shouting coldly:

"If you can't even take a wooden stick now, how will you face the Xiqiang cavalry's curved swords in battle?

Breaking a rib or two is nothing compared to losing your life in battle! Don't forget, there are four thousand Xiqiang cavalry outside the city. Do you really think you can defeat the Xiqiang bandits by just shouting?

Dream on!

When the Xiqiang soldiers break into the city, are we going to kneel and beg for mercy?"

The word "dream" made everyone tense. These days, with no Xiqiang attacks, they had gradually stopped taking the Xiqiang seriously.

"Everyone remember!"

Luo Yu shouted angrily:

"This is the battlefield. No one survives without fighting for their life. If you're a coward who fears death, leave now! Staying here will harm others and yourself!

All of you fight for your lives. The squad that stands last gets extra food tonight. The squad that falls first goes hungry! If you can knock down Meng Hu, that big guy, he won't get food!

The weak don't deserve to eat!"

These were all men of honor. How could they withstand such scolding? A few words made everyone's faces flush red with excitement.

Lü Qingyun from the slave court was the first to grab a stick and shout:

"Brother Meng, come on, let's spar! You won't eat tonight!"

"Haha, good kid, you've got guts!"

Meng Hu rolled up his sleeves and laughed: "I'll definitely make you fall flat on your face today!"

"Brothers, let's fight!"

"Go!"

In an instant, the training ground was in chaos. Everyone rushed in, three-man teams fighting each other.

A smile appeared on Luo Yu's face:

"That's more like it!"