The scouts had already departed ahead of the army.
The main force of more than ten thousand soldiers soon followed behind them and began moving.
The distance was forty li.
Not particularly far, but not exactly close either.
In this era, a fully armored infantry unit marching thirty li in a day was considered perfectly normal. Once the distance exceeded thirty li, the physical condition of the soldiers started to matter a great deal.
But this time the army needed to march forty li and immediately launch a surprise attack the moment they arrived.
That required extremely high endurance.
Lu Xiangsheng kept a careful eye on every unit marching beside him. If he sensed the soldiers becoming exhausted, he intended to cancel the risky operation immediately.
Leading the army at the very front was Cao Wenzhao and his Guanning Cavalry.
Many years ago Cao Wenzhao had served in Liaodong as a guerrilla general under Xiong Tingbi and Sun Chengzong. The core of his personal Household Troops had all fought in Liaodong before, so naturally he was the most familiar with the terrain.
After only one glance, Lu Xiangsheng already felt reassured.
Cao Wenzhao's troops marched in perfect formation with high morale.
Lu Xiangsheng was just about to praise them when Cao Wenzhao suddenly turned around and shouted to his soldiers.
"No time for breakfast today. Eat while we march."
The soldiers answered in unison.
They reached into their pockets and each pulled out a strange looking biscuit.
Every man took a small bite and then immediately stored the rest away without continuing.
Lu Xiangsheng stared in disbelief.
"General Cao, your soldiers are only eating that little bit? Can their bodies handle it?"
Cao Wenzhao chuckled.
"That small bite is already plenty. If they eat too much they will feel bloated."
Lu Xiangsheng blinked.
"What do you mean plenty? That bite was tiny."
Cao Wenzhao grinned.
"This thing is called a compressed biscuit. It comes from the Immortal Realm."
"It was created by Dao Xuan Tianzun using immortal magic, compressing a huge amount of food into a small piece. That is why it is called compressed."
Lu Xiangsheng looked extremely skeptical.
Cao Wenzhao pulled out another piece and handed it to him.
"Here. Try one."
For the tiny people of this world it was a large block, but for Li Dao Xuan it was nothing more than a crumb from a modern biscuit.
He had simply bought compressed biscuits online. Once placed inside the box world, the biscuit became enormous, larger than a city gate. The people of Gao Village broke it apart and distributed small chunks to soldiers as rations.
Lu Xiangsheng carefully put the piece in his mouth and tasted it.
"Huh?"
"Not bad."
Cao Wenzhao smiled proudly.
"This one is red date flavor. My personal favorite. We also have sesame flavor, scallion oil flavor, and meat floss flavor. Which do you want?"
Lu Xiangsheng was speechless.
Marching rations only needed to keep soldiers from starving.
Yet this army had multiple flavors.
Was their supply situation really this relaxed?
Cao Wenzhao warned him.
"Do not eat too much or you will feel painfully bloated later."
Lu Xiangsheng snorted.
"Nonsense. I could eat a whole basin of this stuff."
Then he tossed the entire piece into his mouth.
"Such a tiny thing would not fill anyone. If the Jianzhou soldiers see us eating this little they will think we are poor."
"Bring ten more pieces. Ten for each man."
Cao Wenzhao immediately shook his head.
There was no way he would allow that. If someone ate too much and became incapacitated it would ruin the battle later that night.
At first Lu Xiangsheng felt nothing.
But a short time later the tiny biscuit inside his stomach began expanding.
"Hmm?"
"I feel strangely full."
"Why am I suddenly this full?"
Cao Wenzhao laughed.
"I told you already. It is food from the Immortal Realm."
"That little piece you ate equals about three bowls of rice."
Lu Xiangsheng froze.
Cao Wenzhao then pulled out a few more biscuits and waved them playfully.
"Come on then. Ten pieces per man."
"That should equal roughly thirty bowls of rice each. Let us see if your Tianxiong Army can handle it."
Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly waved his hands.
"No no no. Impossible. One small piece per man is enough."
Soon the soldiers of the Tianxiong Army each received a small portion.
To modern people compressed biscuits were nothing special. They were merely edible.
But to the starving soldiers of the late Ming Dynasty, this was practically gourmet food.
They had eaten fried flour for so long that they were tired of it. Now they suddenly had flavored biscuits to choose from.
The soldiers happily munched while marching.
Within moments they finished their portions and even felt a little unsatisfied, but Cao Wenzhao refused to distribute more.
Otherwise someone might actually burst from overeating.
---
The army continued marching.
Step after step.
Dozens of li passed slowly during the long journey.
After half a day of marching, the quality of the troops finally began to reveal itself.
Lu Xiangsheng discovered something shocking.
The soldiers with the best stamina were actually the fierce looking Chen Qianhu and his six hundred men.
Second place went to the army he had initially looked down on the most.
The Shanxi Army.
Cao Wenzhao's Guanning Cavalry ranked third.
Meanwhile Lu Xiangsheng's proud Tianxiong Army and Shen Shikui's Pi Island Forces were tied for last place.
That was extremely embarrassing.
He had originally believed he was the hero arriving to save the situation.
But now it felt like he had merely come along to cheer from the sidelines.
What was going on?
"Lord Lu, do not look so gloomy. Smile a little."
Zhou Daya waved at him.
"Look over here. Right here."
Lu Xiangsheng frowned.
"What are you doing?"
Zhou Daya smiled brightly.
"I am recording the entire process of the surprise attack on Jinzhou."
"Lord Lu, look this way. Smile. Yes, like that."
Lu Xiangsheng stood frozen for several seconds.
Then suddenly he realized something.
"Wait."
"You have been walking with us for dozens of li already."
"You are a woman. How are you still walking?"
Zhou Daya stuck out her tongue playfully.
"This little woman is not good at long walks either."
"But unlike the soldiers I am not wearing heavy armor. I am very light, so naturally it is easier."
Lu Xiangsheng did not accept that explanation.
"Even without armor, ordinary women cannot travel such long distances."
"You are very unusual."
Zhou Daya smiled innocently.
"I am just an ordinary girl."
Lu Xiangsheng absolutely did not believe her.
The more time he spent with these people, the more he realized that everyone around him was strangely abnormal.
Then suddenly he noticed something.
Wait.
There was one perfectly normal person.
Li Dao Xuan.
The man was not even walking.
He was lying on a wooden cart, sleeping peacefully while two horses pulled the cart forward.
The entire army only had two horses, and they were not being used by generals.
They were being used to pull his cart.
Everyone else marched on foot while this wealthy landowner lay there comfortably like a true country gentleman.
Strangely enough, compared with all the other bizarre people around him, this behavior suddenly felt completely normal.
While Lu Xiangsheng was still complaining silently, Zhou Daya had already run toward a soldier from the Tianxiong Army.
She smiled sweetly.
"Big brother soldier, may I interview you for a moment?"
The soldier blinked.
"Interview?"
"What is that?"
Zhou Daya clasped her hands behind her back.
"It is simple. I will ask a few questions, and you answer them just like you normally would."