Chapter 345 The Clever Sister-in-Law

Ever since he had the beautiful secretary, Gao Yuan's efficiency in getting things done had improved significantly. He only needed to speak his mind, though poor Chu Yue had complained several times that her fingers were developing calluses from writing so much.

Because of this, Gao Yuan specifically took the young girl's slender, jade-like hands to check them thoroughly several times before he was finally at ease. If they turned into rough little hands, wouldn't it feel uncomfortable when she touched him later?

After helping Gao Yuan refine the plan to attack the Guanzhong, Chu Yue suddenly made a very special request.

"Brother-in-law, if you go on this campaign, can you take me with you? I want to see what a battlefield looks like too."

"What's so good about a battlefield? It's all bloody with dead people everywhere. Someone like you would probably have nightmares for half a month after just one look."

"Then why can Sister Mu Qing go along?"

"Qingqing is different. At the end of the day, she is a martial general. Gender aside, her martial arts skills are enough for her to protect herself on the battlefield. But you're different—look at your thin arms and legs."

This made the young girl upset. She stood up, hands on her hips, and stared at Gao Yuan with her large, watery eyes.

"Who are you looking down on? I used to be a star athlete at school, okay?"

Gao Yuan really didn't want to keep arguing with the girl on this issue, so he waved his hand and said,

"You can't even ride a horse. I can't exactly bring a carriage along to a war."

The girl seemed to catch a glimmer of hope. She grabbed Gao Yuan's hand and asked with a face full of expectation,

"If I can learn to ride, will you take me?"

Gao Yuan thought for a moment. He would be heading out in two months at most, and it was impossible for this girl to learn by then. So, he nodded slightly.

"Fine. But it's a deal—you can't just know how to ride; you have to be able to charge repeatedly on horseback. Also, if you really want to go to the battlefield, you must have a set of armor and a weapon."

Gao Yuan said this because he wanted to politely reject this somewhat stubborn girl. Unfortunately, he clearly overlooked one key point: human potential is limitless.

In the days that followed, Chu Yue worked hard alongside Gao Yuan during the day, learning necessary knowledge along the way. At night, she sought out the Female Soldiers of the Yulin Guard to learn how to ride and use weapons.

Gao Yuan saw the girl's serious attitude, but since that day, she hadn't pestered him anymore. This made him quite proud of his handling of the situation.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was May of the first year of Daqian. Vietnam and other regions had already finished their summer harvests.

With the system's boost, crops like potatoes, corn, rice, and sweet potatoes all saw bumper harvests. Even the yields of vegetables like Chinese cabbage and chili peppers increased, naturally filling the granaries to the brim.

Now, commoners in better conditions were no longer satisfied with just eating potatoes and sweet potatoes directly. Various types of bean flour and sweet potato starch began to appear, and seafood stir-fried with bean noodles started showing up in the eateries on the streets of Panyu.

Sometimes Gao Yuan would cook it at home himself. Drinking down a bowl of steaming hot bean noodles was truly refreshing.

After stopping new infrastructure projects, large quantities of grain and supplies began to be transported toward Hanzhong following the Central Corps, according to Gao Yuan's requirements.

This time, Gao Yuan's goal was no longer to just stir up trouble or leave after a quick gain. Therefore, in addition to the full deployment of the Central Corps, the Shenji Camp also set out with fifteen newly cast iron cannons.

This time, besides the debut of the Shenji Camp, another unit was also making its first appearance: the logistics troops composed of soldiers who had to retire due to declining combat effectiveness.

In the past, when an army went to war, they had to conscript laborers from various places. This not only affected production, but these laborers had no combat effectiveness to speak of. If they were ambushed, they would instead cause chaos within the army.

But these professional logistics troops were different. Although they were older and their combat effectiveness had declined, they were still proper soldiers who received daily training.

Therefore, even if they were ambushed or their camp was raided, they could pick up weapons and put up a fight.

In other words, the only difference between them and the regular Xuanjia Army was that their equipment was slightly worse, their pay was a bit lower, and the tasks and risks they had to undertake were fewer.

From another perspective, it also prevented these hardened killers from becoming social instability factors by having nothing to do after returning to society too early.

One must know that in the feudal era, armor was banned but weapons were not. Once these veterans with excellent military skills—who had killed and seen blood—picked up weapons, three to five ordinary constables wouldn't be able to take them down.

Organizing these thirty thousand-plus middle-aged men with excess energy into logistics units, along with a few recruited laborers, actually cost thirty percent less in money and grain than purely recruiting laborers.

It was a pity that the breeding time for Shire Horses was still too short and their numbers too few. Gao Yuan estimated that if all pack horses were replaced with Shire Horses, the cost could probably be reduced by another ten to twenty percent.

Given the massive base numbers, even saving just one or two percentage points of resources was a staggering figure.

During this process, Gao Yuan was surprised to find that his sister-in-law was truly a genius. After letting her assist Mu Sheng in dispatching supplies, the girl picked it up very quickly.

In less than half a month, Chu Yue could independently keep things in perfect order. Everyone in the Ministry of War was full of admiration, and even Mu Sheng sighed that he should step down and let someone more capable take over.

This made Gao Yuan unable to help but want to take the girl to the battlefield. Even if she didn't go to the front lines, being responsible for logistics dispatching in the rear would be excellent—it would save him a lot of brain cells.

As a commander, marching and fighting was not as simple as boosting morale, arranging formations, and leading the charge.

Where to set up camp, how to set it up, and even where to place the latrines were all very specific matters. Not to mention estimating consumption and allocating grain and ordnance in advance—these were all extremely complex tasks.

This is why many generals cannot command large corps. Managing the daily needs of over a hundred thousand people is enough to leave most people overwhelmed, leaving them with no energy to think about battle formations.

With this in mind, Gao Yuan began to intentionally or unintentionally pass on some experience to Chu Yue. The girl was very fast at absorbing new knowledge, and in less than half a month, she could complete paperwork tasks very well.

Of course, this was still just "war on paper"; how she would perform in actual practice remained to be tested.

That evening, after making love with Yang Xin, the couple lay in each other's arms, and Gao Yuan mentioned this matter.

"To be honest, I didn't expect Chu Yue to be so talented in these matters. She might even be my Chief of Staff in the future. It's a pity she's a woman; otherwise, with some proper training, she could become a general capable of holding her own."

Yang Xin was clearly a bit unconvinced and gave a soft huff.

"What do you mean, 'it's a pity she's a woman'? Can't women be generals? Hua Mulan, Mu Guiying, Li Xiuning—which one of them wasn't a female general?"

Gao Yuan's face was lined with black streaks as he explained to his wife the difference between official history and fictional romances, including the exaggerated achievements of Princess Pingzhaoyang, Li Xiuning.

"Strictly speaking, in history, there was only one person who was truly enfeoffed as a marquis because of military merit, and that was Qin Liangyu. She was a tough one who fought from the Southwest all the way to the Korean Peninsula. She was someone who could not only lead troops but also charge into battle herself."

"Right now, it's fine for Chu Yue to stay by my side and offer advice, but if she were to truly lead an army alone, it would likely take a very long process. Otherwise, the people in the army wouldn't respect her."