Throughout the long river of history, every great king who has shone through the ages has carved a bloody path through thorns. Now, His Majesty George retracts his claws, curls up his body, and licks the blood from his wounds. He waits for the moment to soar into the sky.

Edward Carter knows that the glory of the Tang Dynasty will surely shine for millennia. Just thinking about this makes Edward Carter tremble with excitement. He coldly watches the final performance of these clowns.

In Charles Brooks’s eyes, the Emperor of the Tang is the wisest, most open-minded, courageous, and enlightened leader. In Edward Carter’s eyes, His Majesty George is a scheming man shrouded in countless halos. Charles Brooks is proud and happy, while Edward Carter is suffering— the smarter the leader, the harder it is to fool him. Thinking about having to deal with so many brilliant people, Edward Carter feels his future is pitch black, unable to see his own hand in front of his face.

The entire camp is now under Edward Carter’s control; he is the marching secretary, and in the logistics camp, he is the top authority. He struggles to push away the thick leg pressing on his neck—no wonder he had nightmares all night. Charles Brooks is still snoring thunderously in his sleep.

The Chinese nation is diligent and kind; Edward Carter has always believed this without doubt. Look at these guys, working from dawn until now, their muscular arms tanned bronze by the sun, like living statues— a hundred times more impressive than those who deliberately tan themselves in later generations. It makes Edward Carter afraid to take off his clothes; compared to them, only his limbs are tanned, the rest of him still pale, like a panda.

He tried to help with the work, but a group of people persuaded him back, repeatedly saying, “Secretary, please sit and rest. There’s no need for you to do this rough work. We’ll handle everything properly.”

Being persuaded back is fine; after all, a secretary isn’t supposed to do manual labor, no matter the size of the task. Anyway, secretaries in later generations rarely do any work either. Besides, they’re working with great vigor, and the assembly-line method explained yesterday is running smoothly. There’s nothing to criticize.

Charles Brooks woke up, rubbing his waist as he walked out of the tent, and asked Edward Carter why his waist hurt after drinking. Of course, Edward Carter wouldn’t tell him it was because he kicked him. Come on, anyone would be mad if someone shoved a foot in their mouth.

He called David Bolton to bring him a bow and arrows, planning to go hunting. Ever since seeing the bow and arrows last night, he’s been obsessed with this main weapon of the cold weapons era. Haven’t you heard the storytellers say: left hand draws the full moon, right hand cradles a baby, two fingers release, and you hear the enemy general scream in agony...

Edward Carter covets Charles Brooks’s treasured bow, but no matter how he tries, he can’t draw it. He heard it’s a three-stone bow, crafted by the best artisans over three years, worth three hundred strings of cash—about six hundred thousand yuan. My god, you could buy a BMW with that, but here it’s just worth a bow. By the way, Edward Carter likes this bow for its value.

At this moment, Edward Carter is completely immersed in the fantasy of wielding an AK47 and sweeping across the world. Just thinking about having an AK in hand makes him grin. Next to him, Charles Brooks and David Bolton unconsciously take a step away from Edward Carter, keeping their distance, while the two women look at him with loving faces, thinking he’s having a fit of hysteria.

Ignoring these uncultured people, he sends David Bolton away and takes Wangcai and the two women into the woods to pick wild scallions. Charles Brooks, seeing that Edward Carter can’t even draw the softest bow, looks at him with utter disdain and takes a few personal guards into the woods to hunt, saying he won’t bring children or women because they’re unlucky.

Uncultivated land is a huge treasure trove. The wild scallions are fat and tender; grab a handful at a time. This is a delicacy—spread it on dough, fry it in oil, and the fragrant scallion pancakes are enough to make your mouth water just thinking about them. Luck is on their side; they even find a Sichuan pepper tree. Though the peppers are still green, they’re fine for seasoning. The women spend half a day picking and only gather a handful—the tree is covered in thorns. Wangcai takes a bite and drools, probably from the numbing sensation. Too troublesome, so in a fit of determination, they chop down the whole tree and drag it back. They also pick two large baskets of wild vegetables before returning to camp.

While teaching the women how to scald the dough, planning to make unleavened pancakes, Charles Brooks returns, having killed three wild sheep. Judging by one with twisted, lumpy horns, even the lead ram wasn’t spared. The ancient tale of Butcher Ding dismembering an ox is something he’s never seen, but David Bolton, with a half-foot-long knife, quickly turns three sheep into various cuts ready for the pot, leaving Edward Carter dumbfounded.

Edward Carter decides to use the hand-pulled meat method: don’t wash the sheep, just throw it into the pot with the blood still on. Once the water boils, pour it all out and add fresh water to boil again. Add a handful of wild scallions and a handful of Sichuan pepper, and it’s done. Add a handful of salt after it’s cooked—this is a delicacy on earth.

The two women have served diligently for two days and shouldn’t be treated poorly. Calling them over for a chat, he learns that one is Mrs. Bolton and the other is Mrs. Clark. They have no personal names; in times of war and chaos, they were displaced and assigned by the government as wives to soldiers Zhang and Liu. Since it was an official arrangement, they had no choice. This time, they’re heading to Heifengkou to reunite with their husbands.

Among the soldiers, brotherhood is strong. As long as the government assigns a wife, she is a brother’s wife, and no one else will have any ideas. If anything happens, it’s a major taboo in the army, and no one from top to bottom would let the offender off. It seems His Majesty George, in order to increase the population, has resorted to any means necessary.