214: Chapter 214 Topographical Map of the Qinglan Tribe's Grassland

"How is it?"

Jin Tu asked Tian Ju.

"Not bad."

Tian Ju praised.

This kumis had a milky taste and an alcoholic kick, offering a unique flavor.

Seeing Tian Ju praise the kumis, Jin Tu was very happy.

"Chief."

Tian Ju took a wineskin from his waist and said, "This is our qin wine."

"Care for a taste?"

"Good."

Jin Tu did not refuse.

He brought over a new clay pot and poured the qin wine from the wineskin Tian Ju handed him into it. He then placed the clay pot filled with qin wine onto the honeycomb coal heating stove to heat it up.

After the wine was heated, Tian Ju poured a bowl for Jin Tu.

"Please."

Tian Ju made a gesturing motion.

"Alright."

After taking a sip of the qin wine, Jin Tu felt as if a stream of fire had been poured into him, incredibly sharp and cold.

The alcohol content of qin wine was significantly higher than that of kumis.

There were regulations against drinking in the army, but the frontier troops would drink in private.

The generals would likewise turn a blind eye.

The borderlands were far too cold, especially for the soldiers on night watch; the cold pierced through to their very bones.

Standing in the freezing wind all night without strong liquor to provide a stimulus, one would truly freeze to death!

"Good wine!"

"What a fine wine!"

Jin Tu was full of praise for the qin wine.

qin wine was its ancient name.

Nowadays, qin wine is called xifeng wine, originating from the ancient Yin Shang Dynasty.

He didn't know if the wine merchants had made it up, but they claimed the origins of xifeng wine were steeped in romantic mythological colors.

Legend has it that during the Yin Shang Dynasty, the daughter of Duke Mu of Qin fell in love with an immortal. Heaven was moved by their love and sent down a phoenix to lead the lovers.

On its way down to the mortal realm, the phoenix stopped by a river to quench its thirst. The river water was influenced by the phoenix's divine power, and the wine brewed using water from this river had an incredibly rich aroma. Thus, people named it 'Feng wine'.

Because the State of Qin was located on the western frontier, people from other states at that time called this Feng wine of Qin 'xifeng wine'.

Thinking about it carefully, this was just a tall tale made up by wine merchants.

Duke Mu of Qin was born in 683 BC and died in 621 BC.

By that time, the Yin Shang Dynasty had long been destroyed.

The wine merchants weren't even rigorous when making up their stories.

However, the fact that its fragrant body was beloved by people is truly recorded in the history books.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, xifeng wine was extremely popular.

From the imperial family and scholar-officials down to the common people, everyone praised it.

The famous foodie of the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo, once wrote lines like, 'When flowers bloom and wine is fine, why not return? To see the cold emerald of the Southern Mountains.'

He also described and praised the quality of xifeng wine in his essay, 'Record of the Pavilion of Joyful Rain'.

If the exquisite taste of xifeng wine could conquer the palates of the people in the Central Plains, it could naturally make Jin Tu overindulge.

Although drinking culture is a bad habit, as Tian Ju and Jin Tu drank from large bowls, their relationship indeed grew much closer.

"Captain Tian."

Having drunk several bowls of wine, Jin Tu's speech was already a bit slurred.

He asked, "Can we exchange wool for this wine?"

Tian Ju said seriously, "It's possible, but our qin wine is quite expensive."

Wine is brewed from grain.

In an era of low grain yields, the price of grain-based liquor could not be low.

Moreover, having to transport it all the way from Great Qin to the Xiongnu made the price even higher.

"As long as we can trade for it, that's good."

Jin Tu said, "Our Tuan Tribe has so much wool!"

"Captain Tian..."

Jin Tu began to talk business with Tian Ju.

"How do you plan to resist the joint forces of the Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King?"

A sharp light flickered in Jin Tu's eyes.

He had been slightly tipsy just a moment ago, but now he became incredibly alert.

To Jin Tu, drinking was one thing, but he would never allow himself to get drunk.

"Chief, please look."

Tian Ju pulled a simple map from his robe.

"This is the topographic map of the pasture where the Qinglan Tribe is located."

This map had been drawn by Gongshu Chou from a high altitude using a Hot Air Balloon.

Jin Tu and Jin Xishan both looked curiously at the map Tian Ju had produced.

They saw lines all over the map.

They had never seen such a map before and couldn't understand it for a moment.

Tian Ju also saw the confusion on their faces.

This topographic map was something Zhao Fusu had taught them.

A topographic map can intuitively show the undulations of the terrain, used for terrain analysis and planning.

In military terms, contour maps can be used to select suitable marching routes, position deployments, and so on.

At first, they didn't understand it either; it was only after Zhao Fusu's explanation that they understood the meaning of this topographic map.

He began to explain, "These lines are called contour lines."

"They are closed curves formed by connecting adjacent points of equal elevation on a topographic map."

"On the same contour line, no matter where you walk along it, the altitude remains the same."

"Oh, I see!"

Jin Tu and Jin Xishan nodded in understanding.

"The denser the contour lines, the steeper the slope."

Tian Ju continued to explain, "The sparser the contour lines, the gentler the slope."

"This is because dense contour lines mean that within a shorter horizontal distance, the change in elevation is greater, so the slope is steeper."

"Conversely, sparse contour lines indicate that the change in elevation over a horizontal distance is smaller, meaning the slope is gentler."

"Oh, I see!"

Jin Tu and Jin Xishan passively accepted this cram-style education from Tian Ju.

"A ridge line is a line along the crest of a mountain."

"A valley line is a line along the bottom of a valley."

"When contour lines cross a ridge line, they curve toward lower elevations."

"When they cross a valley line, they curve toward higher elevations."

"contour lines intersect ridge and valley lines perpendicularly."

After Tian Ju's explanation, these contour lines became a three-dimensional 3D topographic map in their minds.

They could clearly see where the ridges and valleys were.

The pasture where the Qinglan Tribe was located was on top of a mountain, making it a high ground.

"These are the markers for streams and lakes."

Tian Ju said, pointing to the markings on the topographic map.

"The high ground where the Qinglan Tribe is located has a water source and holds the strategic advantage of the terrain."

"Cavalry can launch a charge from the high ground against the enemy below, benefiting from a speed boost."

Tian Ju took out five more topographic maps and, pointing to each one, said to Jin Tu and Jin Xishan, "On the other hand, look at your Tuan Tribe, Liefeng Tribe, Chiyanju Tribe, Shuangzong Tribe, and Lingyu Tribe. Your pastures are surrounded by high ground, meaning your pastures are within a basin."

"When the enemy's cavalry occupies the high ground and charges at you in the basin, they will hold the advantage in speed!"

"Against a downhill charge from the enemy's cavalry, you will be at a disadvantage."

Uh...

Jin Tu and Jin Xishan were stunned; it seemed to make sense!