“Mr. Brooks said that since it is General Sutton who wants it, he will find a way to satisfy the request no matter what. Originally, a jar of Drunken Moon Wine costs one hundred taels of silver, but Mr. Brooks is giving you a fifty percent discount, so only fifty taels will suffice. However, in terms of quantity, Mr. Brooks can only provide one jar per day, just enough for General Sutton to satisfy his craving for wine. What do you think, General Sutton?” Stephen Blake said with a smile.

“Oh, I see. Then I really must thank Mr. Brooks. Ever since I tasted Drunken Moon Wine last time, drinking any other wine feels like drinking plain water—completely tasteless. That’s why I want to buy more, so I can drink it whenever I want in the future,” Henry Sutton explained.

After a few more words of small talk, Stephen Blake excused himself, saying he had matters to attend to. With the divine wine in hand, Henry Sutton had no more worries and began his grand plan for training the troops.

Chapter Eleven: Training the Troops

“I know you’re all wondering why I picked you out from the slave camp, but I won’t explain, and you have no right to know. What I will tell you is that I need people who can eat and drink. If anyone here has a small appetite or can’t hold their liquor, I’ll send them right back to the slave camp.” Facing the three thousand slaves before him, Henry Sutton shouted at the top of his lungs.

Satisfied to see a slight stir among the crowd, he knew his words had had an effect. As early as last night, he had already drawn up a detailed training plan for the next three months. Now, with everything he needed in place, all was ready.

With a grand gesture, Henry Sutton said, “Bring out the food and wine.”

Twenty large carts slowly rolled in from outside the camp. When they reached the center of the grounds, the personal guards opened the covers, and a rich aroma of food immediately filled the air. The three thousand slave soldiers below all twitched their noses, and most of them were chewing unconsciously. In the slave camp, they ate coarse grains, thin porridge, and vegetable leaves; finding even two drops of oil was considered a delicacy. They had never tasted such a sumptuous meal before. Nothing in the world is as important as a full stomach, and soon the sound of rumbling bellies quietly arose.

“Time to eat. Line up in twenty squads, one hundred and fifty people in front of each cart. Everyone must eat a bowl of rice, a piece of meat, and a plate of vegetables. Anyone who can’t finish goes back to the slave camp,” Henry Sutton ordered, gesturing emphatically.

After quite a bit of chaos, when everyone had finally finished eating, Henry Sutton continued, “From now on, you’ll have meat at every meal, and the portions will gradually increase. Once your stomachs get used to it, there will be no more limits—here, you can eat your fill. Now, bring out the wine.”

The personal guards brought out dozens of jars of wine, broke the clay seals, and took out countless large bowls, pouring wine into each one.

“You’ve all managed to eat, now drink. Anyone who can’t finish this bowl of wine is a coward. I don’t need cowards here—they go back to the slave camp.”

Since most of the people in the slave camp were surrendered soldiers or criminals, their tolerance for alcohol was naturally high. Seeing the fine wine before them, even without Henry Sutton’s urging, they wouldn’t have missed the chance. Besides, everyone had heard: as long as you stay here, you’ll be treated to good food and wine; if you go back to the slave camp, you can imagine what awaits you. One side is heaven, the other is hell—even an idiot knows which to choose. So even those who couldn’t drink forced themselves to gulp it all down.

“Very good, you all did well. Keep it up. If anyone disobeys, they’ll be sent away immediately—no mercy.” Seeing that they had all finished their wine without hesitation, Henry Sutton nodded in satisfaction. “Now, return to your quarters and rest. I’ll see you again at dinner tonight.”

With that, he led his personal guards away without looking back, leaving the three thousand men staring at each other in a daze, as if in a dream.

And so it went for three days. During these three days, Henry Sutton showed up punctually at mealtimes, and every meal was good food and fine wine. The only difference was that instead of all three thousand eating together, they were divided into six squads of five hundred, each eating separately. In addition, each day’s dinner was served a little later than the previous day. By the seventh day, Henry Sutton simply ordered all three thousand soldiers to wash up first, then eat, and after eating, return to their quarters to sleep immediately. No one was allowed to leave the camp at night—violators would be executed on the spot. Other than that, there were no further requirements.

On the evening of the tenth day, Henry Sutton once again shouted from above, then distributed the food, and finally handed out a bowl of wine. After drinking, the slaves habitually returned to their quarters to sleep. But this time was a little different—they all felt dizzy and drowsy. As soon as they entered their tents, they collapsed onto the carpets; some didn’t even find their pillows before falling asleep. A couple of them realized something was wrong, but under the effect of the drug, there was nothing they could do.

Henry Sutton had planned this meticulously, all for today’s bowl of wine. After drinking the blood wine, they would definitely fall asleep within half an hour. If he had given them the blood wine on the first day, there’s no way they all would have made it back to their tents in time. If they had collapsed all over the place, even a blind man would have realized there was something strange about the wine.