One-Eyed Monster

”What’s wrong?” Teacher Hadi noticed that Igor didn’t react and felt that something was different from before.

In the past, Igor would have been surprised to see this piece of black bread and would keep asking why, but this time Igor was surprisingly calm.

”Nothing, I just thought of something.” Igor shook his head and only then picked up the black bread to inspect it closely.

”Heh...,” Teacher Hadi chuckled to himself. He felt that Igor’s behavior was quite different from before, but perhaps this was just part of growing up.

”I didn’t expect the seemingly simple-minded Mantai People to invent something like this!” Igor mused.

”The Mantai People, nomadic barbarians, always love riding their mounts everywhere and don’t care much for planting and such meticulous work. They are mostly a meat-eating tribe, so it’s indeed a bit surprising that they created this black bread!”

This piece of black bread had obviously become a teaching point that Teacher Hadi wanted to convey to Igor this time. Even though he almost got tricked by Teacher Hadi earlier, Teacher Hadi still wanted to teach Igor this lesson. Igor was just curious whether Teacher Hadi was doing this deliberately or not.

But whether it was deliberate or accidental, Igor had now developed an interest in this black bread.

”Teacher, how did the Mantai People manage to create this thing? They don’t like farming, and they’re clueless about grains, so how did they make bread?”

”Haha, well, it’s also a result of historical integration, you could say.”

”Hmm?” Igor felt very curious about how the conversation suddenly turned to a historical issue.

”The results of an event are often simple, but the process is intricate and complex. We can easily judge a historical event, but we can never truly know how convoluted its process was,” Teacher Hadi sighed again.

Even though Igor found Teacher Hadi’s reflections interesting, he was still a bit annoyed at not getting an answer. He wanted to know about this, but Teacher Hadi was lamenting about something else...

”Teacher, how did the Mantai People discover the method to make this black bread?” Igor, slightly annoyed, repeated his question.

”I just mentioned, it’s due to historical causes,” Teacher Hadi continued to answer Igor’s doubts without showing irritability, ”The Mantai People are nomadic barbarians. They mostly roam the land on their mounts. Food was never a major concern for them. They would level wherever they traveled. Most nomadic tribes have their own cattle and sheep, but not the Mantai barbarians. Their totem is the fierce wolf. Fierce wolves never store food; they only hunt.”

”According to you, Teacher, the Mantai People wouldn’t know how to make rations either!”

”Initially, that was true. The Mantai relied on their exceptional physiques, conquering wherever they went. Food was never a worry, as they could just pillage with their great strength. Their cavalry was elusive, their attacks on tribes often driven by a lack of lunch...”

”This...” Igor couldn’t believe it. These constant conflicts among Mantai tribes were apparently caused by not having their next meal!

”Don’t be surprised. It’s quite normal; otherwise, why would they be called barbarians?”

”Then, Teacher, how was this black bread created?” Igor hurriedly interrupted, fearing Teacher Hadi’s digressions, trying to steer back to the main point.

”Hahaha, this is what I mean by the tides of history!”

”The Emperor of the Mantai didn’t unify all the tribes by brute force alone. He learned various lessons, which was the trend of history. Let’s not get into that now. In short, after unifying the nomadic tribes, the Mantai People integrated the advantages of other tribes and began to store food.”

”They started raising cattle and sheep?” Igor asked, inadvertently drifting away as an adventurer might, often connecting disparate thoughts without much principle.

”That’s just part of it. Nomads won’t give up their mounts. With mounts, they would keep running. War became their routine, and the unified Mantai Empire could no longer wage wars as they used to, attacking and then retreating. Their army gradually formed in scale, requiring more resources for long expeditions, which troubled the Mantai Emperor with food supply issues.”

”Wasn’t there anyone to help the Emperor with this burden? How could they manage otherwise?” Igor was anxious, uncertain why. It was as if he had a vision of the Mantai Emperor watching his army about to embark on a journey, but the tethered cattle and sheep couldn’t keep up with the army.

”There are always smart people, and those in the Mantai Empire learned to dry meat, solving the problem of carrying heavy supplies over long distances for the soldiers.”

”Dried meat?” Igor found it strange. How could this solve the Mantai Emperor’s problem? It didn’t feel right!

”Yes, it could be stored for a long time and was easy to carry. Each soldier could carry a bag, which would last for a long time.”

”Indeed, it provides a lot of energy, and you get your energy replenished quickly with just a bite.”

”You must have eaten it, or you wouldn’t know it so well.” Teacher Hadi smiled at Igor.

”Hehe, traveling a lot, surely I’ve eaten a fair share of dried meat!” Igor grinned.

”You, daring to say you’ve traveled a lot, just because you visited Guru Mountain.” Teacher Hadi disapprovingly looked at Igor.

”You’re right, Teacher. I might have gotten a bit full of myself. But, after scolding me, please go back to talking about the black bread.” Igor quickly steered the conversation back to black bread, knowing Teacher Hadi could complain endlessly once he started.

”Heh, trying to change the subject after just a few words. You’re getting sly,” Teacher Hadi seemed to have already seen through Igor.

”Heh, since you understand your student, no need to mock him. Let’s get to the key point.”

”Alright, alright, for now, let’s go with you and start with the black bread topic.”

Igor scratched his head, knowing that Teacher Hadi’s lecture would be inevitable.

But before the inevitable scolding, learning how this black bread came to be was definitely a worthwhile pursuit.