Starting Today I'll Work As A City Lord

"Young master, this isn't tasty. It's too hard." Annie said after taking a bite, losing interest almost immediately.

"How could it not be hard? This stuff is pressed from thousand-pound stones." Lucas replied nonchalantly.

To make this compressed military ration, he had issued five different documents to the research department in a single day, covering everything from the recipe to the manufacturing process and final storage, all following his detailed steps.

"Young master, why bother with this military ration? Isn't millet porridge good enough?" Mina asked as she took another bite of the compressed ration.

"What would you do if a war broke out in winter?" Lucas didn't answer her question directly but posed another one.

"Stay in the city and wait for them to tire themselves out." Annie answered immediately.

"What if, after successfully defending the city, you need to pursue the enemy, but it's snowing heavily? The enemy has already fled far away."

Lucas's lips curled into a smile, and he asked, "If you don't chase them down, you'll only invite stronger enemies. What will you do?"

"Well... that might be difficult to catch up with, right? The snow makes it hard for warhorses to move, and you can't carry too many supplies." Annie hesitated, realizing the complexity of the situation.

"I see now. In that case, if you take some compressed military rations and march quickly, you can catch up with the enemy," Mina's eyes brightened, and she twitched her cat ears. "Compressed military rations are field food, meant to replace the usual millet porridge."

"Ah! That makes sense!" Annie reacted, finally understanding.

"Exactly! This compressed military ration is designed for the outdoors, especially in weather like this, where the snow can reach up to the knees, and warhorses can barely move, let alone pull a cart of wheat," Lucas's black eyes glinted as he calmly continued, "At times like this, all you need is for each person to carry ten or so blocks of compressed rations. If you eat sparingly, one block can last an entire day."

Despite being only about the size of two fingers, the compressed military ration is packed with a variety of ingredients—small amounts of flour, dried fruit powder, jerky, solidified lard, salt, sugar…

A mix of over a dozen high-calorie plant and animal products are stirred together, placed into wooden boxes, and then a pulley system is used to lift and stack thousands of pounds of stone on top of the boxes. The pressure is applied for a full day and night.

The result is a large block of compressed military rations, hard as a brick, which can only be easily cut with a saw. Once it's cut into two-finger-sized pieces, each piece is wrapped in oil paper.

This block of compressed rations provides more calories than two bowls of millet porridge. If an idle person eats this daily, they could gain several kilograms over the course of a month.

"Hiss..."

Lucas's explanation left Jack, Annie, Mina, and Freya all stunned.

With compressed military rations, the mobility of troops wouldn't be heavily restricted, whether it was winter or not, especially for knights. As long as they carried a package of these rations, they could sustain themselves for several days without needing to resupply.

Freya thought back to the other day, and if she had had these compressed rations, she wouldn't have been in such a desperate situation. She might have even been able to counterattack and defeat Santner and those other knights.

"Of course, this can't be used for large-scale wars. The cost is too high," Lucas sighed.

"Young master, how much does one block of compressed military ration cost?" Mina asked curiously.

"Thirteen copper coins," Lucas shrugged.

"Hiss..."

The group collectively gasped. The price was even higher than what Annie had guessed. Thirteen copper coins for a single block of compressed military ration—it was no wonder they were so shocked.

It was important to note that a pound of wheat now only cost two copper coins, enough to feed several people. However, a single block of compressed military ration, which cost thirteen copper coins, would only provide enough food for one person for a day.

With such a cost, very few cities could afford to supply knights with these rations on a regular basis. Even Sedona City couldn't, and they would only be used as emergency rations in times of war.

The price was indeed high, but it was necessary. Military supplies were a crucial part of combat strength.

Eating these compressed rations could help soldiers grow stronger, though the effects could only be confirmed after testing.

"Annie, write an order!"

Lucas's black eyes grew deep, and he spoke in a low voice, "Give an order to the Military Affairs Department. Have them select two new squads—one to eat the compressed military rations, the other to eat regular food. They will undergo weighted training. I want the data from both squads in ten days."

"Understood!" Annie quickly pulled out a notebook and began writing, preparing to send the orders to Aiden in the Military Affairs Department.

Freya stared at Annie, realizing that the former princess had grown up. She now had her own opinions and no longer resembled the person who once hid in a corner crying after being bullied.

"Young master, could you give me some of these?" Mina asked softly, her voice filled with a subtle request. She wanted to stockpile some for potential future missions.

"The inner warehouse has them. If you want some, just go ask Nicole," Lucas smiled lightly. He knew what the cat-eared girl was thinking. The items in the inner warehouse were much better than these compressed military rations—products he had brought from Earth.

"Mm-hmm!" Mina nodded happily. She knew that whatever was in the inner warehouse was far superior to the compressed rations.

"Young master, what's this?" Annie asked, holding up a small paper packet from the other side.

"This?" Lucas took the packet, slowly tore it open, and poured its contents into his palm. He spoke softly, "This is dehydrated vegetables, part of the compressed military rations."

"Vegetables? How do you eat these dry, brittle things?" Annie asked, puzzled.

"Well, during a march in the wilderness, everyone is given a metal cup. You just boil some water, add the compressed military ration and dehydrated vegetables, and you can have a hearty meal," Lucas explained casually. "Of course, you can also just wet the dehydrated vegetables with saliva and swallow them down."

The dried vegetables were mainly meant to supplement soldiers with vitamins. In fact, Lucas planned to develop a series of military supplies, such as military drinks, jerky, and military-grade fruits, in the future.

This meant that he was breaking down the compressed military rations into more specialized items, instead of just one block. For example, military jerky would be made by compressing various types of meat into a pure meat-based military ration, paired with some pickled fruits. Alongside these, there would be a packet of powdered sugar made from goat's milk, forming a complete military food kit.

These kits could equip a hundred-person team, and with the support of military crossbows, they could engage in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines and even hold off two or three thousand enemy soldiers.

For large-scale military operations, though, the army would still need canned food and other similar supplies, rather than small individual compressed rations. The smaller, specialized rations were for elite soldiers.

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