Chapter 41: Revealing Identity
Cows and horses have big bellies and eat a lot.

But when you don't exercise, you can still endure hunger and won't starve to death easily.

At the mouth of Sishui, more than a hundred horses were foraging on the east bank, and the five Hebei transport ships that were transporting the horses also began to clean the cabins.

The stench of horse feces and urine is dozens of times stronger than that of cattle. After a few days, the smell in the cabin became unsuitable for the crew's living.

On the shore, four big white geese were playing by the river.

The black bear stood at the flagship's guardrail and looked at the white geese. He picked out a mother goose from a series of hatched goslings, invested white mana in it, and directly strengthened it to the adult level.

"A mature goose produces two coins of goose down every day and one goose egg every two days."

After reviewing the information, it was found that the amount of down produced was equal to that of the gander, but it was able to lay eggs and was quite stable.

The two geese had stopped laying eggs before. It seems that laying eggs in spring is the breed habit of these geese.

They may still lay eggs after summer, but it will be unstable.

So, if the opportunity is right, the first three geese can be put into the pot.

When it comes to hatching eggs, the summoned white geese are more responsible, patient, and obedient.

After the goose eggs are hatched after being refined with mana, the goslings are also in card form.

Black Bear suspected that this kind of card goose could continuously lay card goose eggs, and then hatch card geese...all of which were geese under his control.

As long as the environment is right, it is not a problem for the goose flock to expand to over 10,000.

If there are 100,000 large white geese, the down they produce every day is worth 200,000 coins, and the weight of one coin is equivalent to a five-zhu coin.

That is to say, it is equal to five zhu, twenty-four zhu is one liang, and sixteen liang is one jin.

When there are 100,000 adult white geese, 520 kilograms of goose down can be obtained every day.

The normal replacement and slaughter of 100,000 geese will also yield a considerable amount of down.

With goose down clothes, you won’t be afraid of the cold in winter.

Coming back from the dead, lying naked on the cold ground.

Only by experiencing it, can you know the value of a warm and comfortable environment.

The black bear threw the big white goose in his arms into the Sishui River, and a fluffy gosling appeared in the palm of his right hand.

When you put your palms together and make a fist, it will turn into a card.

He held onto the railing with both hands and looked into the distance, feeling even more confused… Becoming the king seemed to only provide himself with the materials for casting spells and conducting experiments.

But when I was casually flipping through the Tao Te Ching at the Laozi Temple in Xudu before, the above sentence made a lot of sense.

The sky is great, the earth is great, the Tao is great, and the king is also great.

When the world is truly unified, no matter who is in the highest position, there will be conflicts with me.

The longevity blood peach is the most direct fuse. Even if this thing does not exist, the powerful and wealthy will still make associations and fantasies.

Even if you give them the longevity blood peach, people will think you have something better.

The greed of the powerful is endless.

He will not even be satisfied with just asking for the blood peaches, but will even want to control the blood peach tree.

It's not just the blood peaches, it's possible that the powerful and wealthy would surround them and peel and eat them.

If you don't fight, you will never be able to improve your status; if you fight, there is still a glimmer of hope.

If you fail, the world is so big, you can just leave temporarily.

As for the current climate disasters, they will eventually come back.

It is born by heart.

As Black Bear was no longer confused about the way forward, his entire temperament changed.

Even the alias of Sun Qian was about to be discarded.

The fleet had to pass through the area controlled by Jiangdong, so conflict with the other side was inevitable.

This vest cannot be kept and will be stripped off once it encounters the enemy.

If you want to fight, what's the point of hiding your name?

The four large white geese accompanying the fleet suddenly became five, which aroused speculation among some elderly people.

There are only three groups of people in the fleet. The new people from Hebei are newcomers and belong to the grassroots labor force.

The old men from Jiangdong are the technical force of the fleet, the people from Xia Pi are responsible for arming, and the people from Hebei can only obey orders and do physical labor.

After a delay of about two hours, the fleet hoisted sails and weighed anchor, sailing down the Si River.

Inside the cabin, Black Bear brought a plate of food to Zhen Mi's small compartment.

Zhen Mi sat as far back as possible. Black Bear sat down calmly, put down the wooden tray and pushed it over, looking at Zhen Mi's beautiful face.

She has excellent skin and well-proportioned facial features. At this moment, her face is tense and her eyes seem to be there and not there, giving people a sense of closeness and attachment.

It was just a normal observation of the black bear, but Zhen Mi's eyes were full of waves, which easily gave people a friendly feeling.

Facing the other person's gaze, Black Bear said, "You should have died, but I saved you. You don't have to thank me. It was me who instigated the two Yuans to confront each other and kidnapped you to Liyang, which led to the current situation."

"Then can you let me return home?"

Zhen Mi's voice was delicate: "If it's inconvenient, I have relatives and old friends in Xudu."

"Do you think I'd let you go?"

Black Bear stretched out his right hand and a blood peach appeared in his palm. He placed it on the wooden plate and said, "After eating this peach, you lost too much blood and need to rest. I will find you some cloth and thread later so you can sew clothes. You don't need the clothes from the Yuan family."

"Sun Jun is actually an alien?"

Zhen Mi accepted the change of fate calmly, and she also knew that it was impossible for her to return to Hebei.

Yuan Shang couldn't tolerate her, even Yuan Shang's brothers couldn't tolerate her.

But besides Yuan Xi and her parents' home, she also had other places to go.

"Sun Qian is just a pseudonym. I am the descendant of Song Weizi and Mozi, the Black Bear of Liang State."

After a short pause, he said to the surprised Zhen Mi: "There are more than 400 people on the fleet, and you are the only one who knows my name and origin."

After that, Black Bear stood up to leave, but then stopped and said, "I will bring clean water and toilets later. If you want to take a bath, it is not convenient now. I will boil water for you next time the fleet docks."

As for bathing themselves, black bears jump into the river and bathe with everyone else.

There was no need to assign any maid to Zhen Mi. Even though she was Yuan Xi's wife, Hei Xiong had also heard of her past.

Since the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhen Mi lost her father in childhood and later lost her elder brother who was the head of the household.

She did not live a life of luxury since childhood. She did her own needlework and served her mother, sister-in-law and mother-in-law very attentively.

Today's aristocratic families are still in the stage of primitive accumulation. The more top-level they are, the poorer they are. The more you want to join the top aristocratic families, the more you have to maintain a poor family tradition.

Many important officials also maintained a superficial poverty, wearing half-worn clothes that had been washed white when going out and working, but their wives and concubines were dressed in brocade. In the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, even the emperor had to starve.

From top to bottom, no one can stay out of it.

After the black bear left, Zhen Mi first reached out and picked up the blood peach and held it in her palm. She saw that the surface of the peach skin was covered with fine hairs that were neatly arranged and felt cool.

His fingertips gently touched the peach velvet, but nothing was removed.

She put it close to her nose and sniffed it. The rich peach fragrance made her feel intoxicated for a moment.

He put the peach down and picked up the rice to eat.

There was only a bowl of rice, a plate of cold dishes, and half a bowl of thick white fish soup.

After the meal, a slight feeling of fullness soothed my mood.

Only then did I carefully play with the blood peach and recall Black Bear. At least he was a well-educated young man.

She was already accustomed to the way men and women looked at her, so she could naturally detect the eagerness and restraint in Black Bear's eyes.

But fate is unpredictable. Even the once powerful Yuan family showed signs of decline, let alone this young man?
She heard it very clearly. When Black Bear introduced himself, he called himself Song Weizi and only said his hometown and name.

The fact that he did not mention his current family background shows that his father and grandfather had never held any meaningful official positions, and that there had not been a man worth more than 2,000 stones in the past five generations.

It is not uncommon for descendants of Song Weizi and Mozi to have a special origin. Almost all existing families in Liang and Song can be related to Song Weizi.

The system of dukes, ministers and scholars that has existed since the pre-Qin period has been passed down to the present day and still has barriers to promotion.

Two thousand stones is the ceiling for most people. Above the ceiling are the ministers, and below the ceiling are the literati.

Having lost too much blood, Zhen Mi was physically weak, but she was able to think calmly about her situation.

In the bottom cabin of the flagship, Black Bear was searching for silk.

Although he can see at night, in low light conditions, he can only see outlines and stripes, and the colors will be distorted.

He found a piece of scarlet silk with a dark diamond pattern, then a piece of the best quality plain silk, then a piece of light blue silk embroidered with orchid and bamboo patterns, and finally a piece of coarse-mesh black gauze.

Silk is the most basic silk fabric. Satin, brocade, gauze, damask, etc. are all silk fabrics with different craftsmanship and characteristics.

As for needles and thread and the like, they could only borrow from the women on board.

Black Bear came back with four rolls of silk fabrics. He heard footsteps before he did. When he opened the curtain, he saw Zhen Mi sitting upright. He put the silk fabrics aside and said, "I sleep next door. The two cabins opposite are used to store armor and weapons, as well as some books. If you are bored, you can read these books."

"May I ask what is your grudge against Cao Gong?"

Zhen Mi took a look at the silk fabrics. Based on her experience, they were all top-quality silk fabrics in the world.

The Central Plains of Hebei had been destroyed during the Yellow Turban Rebellion twenty years ago, and the textile industry suffered severe damage. The silk fabrics that Black Bear gave her all came from Jiangdong.

Even the scarlet silk with dark diamond patterns was a luxurious Shu brocade.

"Cao Cao was often in the army, and many of my close relatives died because of it. Even I was caught and forced to serve, and I almost died from a disease. So I have a grudge against Cao Cao for destroying my family and killing me. When I am strong enough, I will not forgive him."

"From my observation, your appearance and manners are all inherited from your family. How did you fall to this state?"

Zhen Mi asked in confusion. Even though Yuan Shao in Hebei squeezed the rich families and dug up graves everywhere in order to raise military funds, he still showed basic respect to the sons of well-dressed families and at least did not force them to perform corvée labor.

In response, Black Bear smiled and said, "I am from a good family."

Zhen Mi understood immediately that this family was not even as good as the poor family. They were just rich peasants with their own land, but they still had to work outside during the slack season.

Wealthy families like these are the first to suffer misfortune in times of chaos.

When times are turbulent, the people above have connections, and the people below are barefoot without fear of those wearing shoes.

When talking about family background, Black Bear didn't want to spend more time with Zhen Mi, so he said, "I have to lead the fleet at night. If you feel bored in the cabin, you can come to the sparrow room to get some fresh air after nightfall."

"Yes, my dear, take care."

Zhen Mi stood up, half-bowed to see the black bear off, then lowered her head and returned to the compartment in the cabin.

She was also surprised that Black Bear, who came from a good family, was so generous and gave Shu brocade to her so easily.

Turning over four pieces of cloth, she carefully observed the texture and color, and thought about the material combination for the new clothes.

Back on the roof of the bird room, Black Bear took a bow and played with it. The bow was a 120-stone bow, which could only be used to shoot small, thin-skinned animals such as rabbits and foxes.

Light arrows are also used, and the advantage is that the bow is stable after being fully drawn, allowing for easy aiming.

For beginners, it is also suitable for training shooting posture, arm strength, and cultivating the feeling of shooting.

After repeatedly pulling the bow to test his arm strength and endurance, Black Bear finally concluded that he was now much stronger than he was at the same age in his previous life.

In my previous life, I was born strong, with a tiger back and strong waist.

He became famous for his shot put and javelin throwing, but later he injured his left wrist and had a psychological barrier and was afraid to exert force, so he stopped his development in sports.

In his previous life, he ate well, had good aptitude, and was willing to train, which made him better than many people, not to mention the current situation of widespread malnutrition.

The body was still developing, so the black bear stopped after pulling the bow full forty times in a row.

Liu Ye also went out of the cabin at this time. He lived on the first floor, where the planks were not very thick, and he vaguely heard the conversation between Black Bear and Zhen Mi.

I didn’t expect that Black Bear really saved Yuan Shao’s daughter-in-law, and I didn’t expect that Sun Qian’s identity was fake.

I suspect that Black Bear revealed his identity on purpose just for him to hear.

I also suspect that the identity of "Descendant of Weizi, Black Bear of Liang State" is also fake.

But there is no point in fabricating this identity, and it does not lend any power.

Thinking about it, Liu Ye also climbed up the ladder to the top of the sparrow room and asked: "Sir, where can we go tomorrow morning?"

Black Bear made an estimate and said, "In spring and summer, there are many southeast winds, and it is difficult to use the wind. Now we are going downstream, and we can travel about 60 miles every hour. It is about 400 miles from here to Pengcheng, and we can pass Pengcheng tomorrow. Do you have any friends between Pengcheng and Xiapi?"

Water travel is so fast, which was also the key factor that caused Liu Bei to be destroyed in an instant when he occupied Xuzhou for the second time.

After the discussion of heroes over plum wine, Cao Cao ordered Liu Bei to lead his army to Xuzhou to intercept Yuan Shu. After the success, Liu Bei seized power as the left general and established his own regime in Xuzhou, which was also the area around Pengcheng and Xiapi.

Wang Zhong and Liu Dai were ordered to attack, but were easily defeated by Liu Bei.

So he ordered Guan Yu to garrison Xia Pi, and Liu Bei led the main force to garrison Xiaopei, watching the decisive battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao from the side.

As a result, Cao Cao ignored Yuan Shao and his main force went downstream to attack Xiaopei. Liu Bei happened to be out of the camp for reconnaissance and saw Cao Cao's main force, but was ambushed and killed. He immediately abandoned his army and fled to Yuan Tan in Qingzhou.

It’s not that Liu Bei was timid, but that Cao Cao came too suddenly.

Originally, power was seized by relying on the status of Left General, and the grassroots officials and soldiers could only obey; when Cao Cao appeared in person, the army that was seized by power had no desire to fight.

Secondly, Cao Cao personally led the main force along the Si River, so there must be a detachment along the Wei River that would attack Pengcheng directly.

The main force under Liu Bei's command could not be relied upon, and Cao Cao's detachment attacked Pengcheng and isolated Xiaopei and Xiapi.

If you don't run away, you will be easily swallowed up by Cao Cao.

He abandoned tens of thousands of troops and his wife at will, and this kind of decisiveness is not something ordinary people can match.

Then look at myself, several ships, hundreds of people, protecting them like treasures... There is really no comparison.

(End of this chapter)