I Became a Food Developer in Another World

Chapter 13: This is called canned food (3)

A month, that’s how long it took to can all of the Imperial Army’s combat rations.

Along the way, there were some minor protests from existing military contractors.

“General, you can’t just do this all of a sudden! You want to take away our food?!”

“How many months does your food last for?”

“It’s one month and two weeks!”

“Canned food lasts twenty years.”

“?!?!”

Everyone had to be dumbfounded when they heard about the shelf life of canned food.

The shelf life of canned food destroyed their common sense.

Moreover, it was not only the shelf life that was shocking, but also the taste.

“…… Is this really combat food?”

“This tastes better than our home food?”

The canned food tasted so good that you couldn’t tell the difference between it and commercial food.

It was a far cry from black bread, the traditional battle ration that was recognized for its ability to be used as a weapon.

“But it can’t be used as a weapon!”

“Battle rations are not weapons.”

“Ugh!”

And with that, the military contractors had to walk away in tears.

The canned food was unanimously approved by the contractors and the military, an unprecedented record, and became the Imperial Army’s combat ration.

Of course, the process was not without its share of noise.

The long peace had left the Imperial Army riddled with corruption from within.

Most incomprehensible to the bureaucracy was the murderous price of military supplies.

“General, explain to me why this is only three silver in the marketplace, but ten gold in the military!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t tell you that, as it concerns the security of the Empire.”

At the mention of “imperial security,” the bureaucrats could no longer question the military and had to back down.

The military was in charge of defending the empire, not the bureaucrats.

Meanwhile, the price of these military supplies was unknown even to the current military leadership.

“General Chen, why do these carts cost 50 gold each?”

“Don’t ask, I don’t know.”

“…What?”

“If it’s fifty gold, just assume it’s fifty gold. It was 50 gold when I enlisted.”

“……?”

And just like that, military pricing was always a mystery, until canned goods came along.

As canned goods spread through the Imperial Army, many existing military contractors were driven out of business or bankrupted, and in the process, secret ledgers were uncovered.

The books revealed secrets about the price of military supplies that had been shrouded in suspicion.

The military leadership and military contractors had colluded to siphon off money from the budget and make up the shortfall with the price of military supplies.

Several generals who had voiced opposition to canned food were also included in this ledger list.

The revelations led to an unprecedented purge of the empire’s generals.

“End corruption!”

“The rotten military must be brought to justice!”

A barracks movement, spearheaded by a few conscientious commanders, arose with canned food as its slogan.

It was called the “canned food wave.”

Meanwhile, the impact of canned food was not limited to the military.

“I can sleep better at night now.”

“It feels like a dream to be able to walk around outside in peace.”

Southerners, who had been living in fear of barbarian raids, were able to go about their daily lives with a sense of normalcy once the barbarians were pushed back outside their borders.

“They say the reason the savages are gone is because of canned goods.”

“I heard that from my son and daughter who returned. They said they could eat comfortably on the steppes now that they had canned food.”

Once it became known that canned food was the reason for the savages’ disappearance, people’s attention turned to the developer of the canned food.

“They say it was Mr. Yuri who made the canned food.”

“What! You mean the same Yuri who invented Pringles also invented canned food?”

“That’s right. I heard that he invented canned food after feeling sorry for the soldiers’ situation.”

“Is there such a touching anecdote about canned food……?”

Interest in Yuri naturally led to praise.

“Ah, you mean Mr. Yuri, the hero who saved the South.”

“My son came home safe and sound, and it’s all because of his invention of canned food.”

Among Southerners, Yuri Grail was quickly becoming a hero of the South and a great man of the empire.

Meanwhile, while the world is making a fuss over the canned food, Yuri, the wizard who created the can, is now…

“We’ve never met. I am Hughes Wellington, Commander-in-Chief of the South Imperial Army.”

Receiving a visit from the Commander-in-Chief of the South Imperial Army.

*

Hughes Wellington, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army South was a stubborn-looking old knight.

Hughes, who insisted on chivalric conquest even indoors, was also the man who commissioned me to make the canned goods.

“I didn’t expect you to come in person; you must have traveled a long way to the capital.”

“There are certain things I must say to you face to face, which is why I have come in person.”

“If you have something to say……”

“Your invention has saved the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.”

“…….”

“As Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The stubborn old knight’s voice was desperately sincere.

It was a sentiment that would not have been properly conveyed in writing and was almost overwhelming.

“Please raise your head, sir, I am not worthy to be greeted by the Commander-in-Chief.”

I hadn’t made canned food for this kind of appreciation.

“If you’re not great, then who is?” he said, “for cleaning up corruption in the military, something that not even the Emperor could do.”

“…It was an unexpected result.”

Who knew canned food could do that.

I knew it would have some impact, but I didn’t know it would overturn the military.

“Even if you didn’t expect it, it happened.”

“I won’t deny that.”

The Marquis of Hughes chuckled.

“I am a stupid man who knew the military was corrupt and closed my eyes and ears to it.”

“I don’t think you need to call yourself stupid.”

The military is an organization that is based on the principle of obedience.

The military was a place where you couldn’t voice your opposition to what was ordered from above.

It was impossible for a barracks movement to happen in such an army.

The Marquis of Hughes was the one who started the barracks movement.

With the barbarians cleared out and breathing room, he drew his sword against the central army.

As the field commander of the Imperial Army, he was the only one in a position to speak out against the central government.

Some of the nobility accused the Marquis of fomenting a mutiny within the army, but that was only part of the story.

The bureaucrats, who had long been dissatisfied with the corruption in the army, sided with Hughes, leading to an unprecedented purge of the generals.

So it wasn’t quite right to call him stupid.

“I see, haha. Thank you.”

The Marquis of Hughes chuckled and extended his hand.

“I hope you’ll continue to do well.”

“Yes?”

“I’m counting on you to make a lot of food for the military.”

“…I will endeavor to do so.”

“That being said, I was wondering if you could put some Pringles in this batch of canned goods?”

“You mean Pringles?”

“Oh, sure, the Jabasco’s are delicious. But I thought it would be nice to have a little more variety in the canned goods to keep the troops’ morale up.”

‘So that’s why you came in person.’

The Marquis of Hughes was using the soldiers as an excuse, but what he didn’t realize was that his own eyes were shining brightest.

“The meals are good, but I’d like to see the tins with the desserts……”

Apparently, the Marquis of Hughes had fallen under the spell of canned goods.

With the invention of canned food, Yuri’s reputation grew.

And with such a high profile comes misunderstandings and misconceptions.

This was especially true in the military, where canned food brought about reforms.

“It seems like he’s been dreaming of reforming the military since the beginning.”

“You mean Yuri?”

“Think about it. The man who made the food of the people suddenly improved the food of the military. Look what happened to our military as a result. The corrupt generals were purged and the Marquis of Hughes took control of the army.”

“It was in the Imperial Army under the Marquis de Hughes that the spread of canned food began.”

“Are you saying that the two of you worked together to plan this from the beginning?”

“It’s not impossible. Canned food isn’t something that can be done in a day or two, is it?”

“Certainly not…”

The military commanders assumed that Yuri had been developing combat rations for the military for a very long time.

He had been working on his research in silence.

It was these “silent heroes” that made the Empire great.

“Hmm, I can’t keep this still.”

“We need to make room.”

Moved, the commanders agreed to create a place for Yuri in the military.

And so began the creation of a position in the military just for Yuri Grail.