I have been farming since I crossed over.

The two of them gazed into each other's eyes lovingly, gently expressing the love that was as hot as fire in their hearts.

After a brief and sweet exchange, they tacitly turned the topic to the matters that Yang Mingxi had been concerned about while writing and drawing.

Lu Jintang moved closer, his eyes first falling on the first item Yang Mingxi wrote down - "provide sufficient food and silver money."

Yang Mingxi smiled slightly at this and explained, "This is the most important thing that came to my mind first! However, I'm not quite sure about the specific amount of expenses, so I'll have to rely on you to tell me in detail."

After saying that, he looked at Lu Jintang with a smile.

Lu Jintang smiled happily, sat down gracefully, and reached out to take the paper and pen beside him.

After thinking for a moment, he began to write and said:

"Let's talk about food and fodder first. Each soldier needs one liter and a half of grain per day, which works out to four dou and a half liters of grain per month.

As for the horses, they required three litres of fine fodder a day, the same as that eaten by the soldiers, plus a bundle of hay, equivalent to about a tenth of a stone.

In this way, a horse would consume nine dou of grain and three stone of grass in a month.

Taking an army of 4500 as an example, assuming that there are 4500 war horses and pack horses in total, then the food required for the personnel is dan, and the food intake of the horses is dan of grain plus dan of hay.

That is to say, the monthly expenditure on food and fodder alone is as much as 9000 dan of grain and dan of hay."

Yang Mingxi was completely confused, having forgotten that the unit of counting in ancient times was shi, not the jin that she was familiar with.

"How many pounds is one stone?"

Yang Mingxi asked.

"One stone is about 100 kilograms."

Lu Jintang took a pen and wrote on Yang Mingxi's notebook: Ten thousand catties of food for an army means 90 catties of food and 150 million catties of fodder.

Yang Mingxi took the pen and wrote down: 700 kilograms of rice and 800 kilograms of rice straw per mu of paddy field. Calculated three times a year, that's 2100 kilograms of rice and 2400 kilograms of fodder. That means the annual yield for 500 mu is 105 million kilograms of rice and 120 million kilograms of fodder.

Planting corn in dry land can yield 1500 catties per mu, and 4000 catties per mu of corn stalks. If we harvest three times a year, that means 4500 catties of corn and catties of corn stalks.

That is, the soldiers' food is rice and corn in a ratio of 2:1, and the horses' fine food is all corn, and the rice and corn stalks are just enough for fodder.

The two of them wrote and drew there, calculating how many paddy fields would be needed to feed so many soldiers for a year.

Yang Mingxi thought to herself that she must be clear about the situation.

After all, there are still many important things to deal with and plan next.

The two then began to discuss the second key factor - money.

Lu Jintang glanced over this item without hesitation, and then said clearly:

"As far as the current situation is concerned, the silver and money we have are mainly used for four purposes: buying food, paying for medical expenses, buying clothes, and distributing military salaries.

You've already listed the other items separately and explained them in detail, so now let's focus on the military pay."

Lu Jintang paused, then continued, "According to my preliminary estimate, if we pay military salaries at the rate of 200 coins per person per month, then each person will receive 2400 coins per year.

We have a full 10,000 soldiers under our command. So, the annual expenditure on military pay alone is as high as 14,000 taels of silver!"

Speaking of this, Lu Jintang frowned slightly, obviously feeling a little stressed about this huge expense.

After a brief pause, he continued his analysis:

"As for clothing and footwear, considering actual needs, I think each soldier can be provided with four sets of thin clothes per year, plus a thick cotton coat to protect against the cold winter. As for shoes, two pairs per person per year should be enough.

Of course, the specific quantity will have to be adjusted at any time based on actual usage.”

After saying this, Lu Jintang raised his head and looked at Ming Xi, as if waiting for his response and further opinions.

Yang Mingxi nodded.

Fourth point: treatment after injury.

Yang Mingxi wrote a sentence: Buy people to learn simple bandaging techniques, and the main cost is to buy medicinal materials.

Each person is calculated based on two kilograms, and additional supplements can be made later.

Fifth: gunpowder and other combat weapons.

Yang Mingxi raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a brilliant smile, and said slowly:

"This gunpowder, the force of its explosion is quite impressive! Its power is not to be underestimated!

As for consumption, it's relatively moderate, so long-term production is necessary."

Hearing this, Lu Jintang couldn't help but cast his eyes on the word "gunpowder". Suddenly, his heart moved, as if he realized some extraordinary treasure, and asked:

"Could it be that you intend to use the power of this gunpowder to blow up the cliff over there at the reservoir?"

Yang Mingxi nodded and responded:

"That's right! This gunpowder can not only be used to blow up cliffs, but if used properly, it can even break through the strongest city gates and the most powerful enemy troops!"

Lu Jintang looked at Yang Mingxi in surprise and asked curiously, "Hey, how do you know so much about gunpowder?"

Yang Mingxi waved her hand casually and explained:

"In our world, parents basically don't need to spend too much energy disciplining their children.

Most of the children are under the unified management of teachers.

Besides, things like gunpowder are not new anymore, they are even a bit outdated!"

While talking, Yang Mingxi was gesticulating and dancing, which looked quite amusing.

As the two of them discussed and explored so enthusiastically, they finally succeeded in making gunpowder.

Then there were catapults, crossbows, bows and other combat equipment, which Yang Mingxi and Lu Jintang studied a lot.

"I only have a general idea of these things and can't explain them clearly. Think about it carefully. If you have any questions, I'll ask you and we can discuss it later." Yang Mingxi said.

"How do you know so much?"

"These things are no longer secrets in my previous world. They exist in every world I have lived in." Yang Mingxi said proudly.

"Okay, I get it. Your previous world must have been very good!" Lu Jintang said enviously.

"Where you are, this is the best world." Yang Mingxi looked at Lu Jintang and said slowly.