Reborn Liu Bei: I'll lead this Three Kingdoms to victory!

In the first month of the fourth year of Jian'an, the snow in Liaodong had not yet melted.

In the backyard of the Governor's Mansion in Xiangping City, the plum trees had already sprouted tiny red buds. I stood under the eaves, watching Zhuge Liang lead a group of children, all around ten years old, in practicing battle formations in the snow—they were all sons of Liaodong generals and officers, the oldest no more than thirteen and the youngest only eight.

"The left flank must be swift!" Zhuge Liang, holding a command flag, spoke in a voice still tinged with youthful innocence, yet already possessing a certain authority. "Remember, the cavalry will not charge head-on, but rather flank and contain!"

A chubby boy fell in the snow, which caused laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Zhuge Liang said sternly. "Zhang Hu, get up. Falling on the battlefield means death—fall a few more times now, and you'll bleed less in the future."

A slight smile played on my lips. This young gentleman was quite the character.

"My lord," Xu Shu appeared beside him at some point, offering hot tea, "Cao Cao's messenger has arrived again, this time bringing two hundred cartloads of 'New Year's gifts'—saying it's to congratulate us on the New Year."

"A New Year's gift?" I took the teacup. "Did you open it and check it?"

"Inspected. One hundred carts were old grain, thirty carts were old weapons, and the remaining seventy carts..." Xu Shu's expression was strange, "are books. They say they are newly copied classics from the Imperial Academy in Xudu, for our Xuzhou branch to use."

I laughed: "Cao Cao is insulting me. 'The grain and armor' is a sarcastic remark about our lack of food and weapons, and 'sending letters' means we 'only know brute force and are not good at governance.'"

"Should we return it?"

"No, we'll take it all." I took a sip of tea. "Use the old grain to feed the pigs, melt down the broken armor and recast it, and the bamboo slips... well, we're short on paper, so we can dismantle these bamboo slips and use them as firewood."

Xu Shu couldn't help but laugh: "My lord, you..."

"I'm changing my approach this game." I looked west. "Cao Cao is trying to provoke me, to make me anxious, to make me jump out and clash with him head-on while he's consolidating Ji Province. I'm not going to do that."

Back in the study, Tian Yu and Shen Pei were checking accounts. Since settling down in Liaodong, the old minister Shen Pei had become much more relaxed—no longer having to worry about the Yuan family's troubles, he could focus on his expertise in sorting out government affairs.

"My lord," Shen Pei rose and bowed, "of the three prefectures and sixteen counties of Liaodong, seventy percent of last year's land survey has been completed. The amount of hidden land is more than expected, about 400,000 mu, mostly occupied by powerful figures who were once part of Gongsun Du's old forces."

Where are they?

"As you instructed, no one was killed," Tian Yu replied. "The 37 leading families were given one month to pay five years' worth of back taxes. Those who could not pay would have their land used to offset the taxes. We have already recovered 280,000 mu of hidden land, which has been distributed to the garrison soldiers and newly relocated residents."

I nodded: "How many were causing trouble?"

"Seven families attempted to unite in rebellion, but were suppressed by Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army, which 'happened to be passing by.'" Tian Yu paused. "Seventeen servants died, and the leader has been sent to the mines for labor reform."

Shen Pei frowned: "My lord, is this method......"

"Isn't that too harsh?" I continued, "Mr. Zheng Nan, do you know how many tenant farmers these powerful families forced to their deaths every year during Gongsun Du's era?"

I handed over a file: "Last winter, 327 people in Liaodong died of cold and starvation, and their names can be found. Meanwhile, the granaries of these powerful families were piled high with moldy rice."

Shen Pei silently flipped through the pages, his fingers trembling slightly.

"In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary," I said softly. "I'm not killing them now not out of mercy, but because Liaodong needs labor to mine and build roads. Once the roads are built and the mines are open, if these people still don't behave..."

I didn't finish my sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"The student understands." Shen Pei bowed deeply, "It was Pei who was pedantic."

"Sir, you are not pedantic; you are kind-hearted." I helped him up. "But in times of chaos, kindness must first be hidden within an iron fist. Once the world is at peace, we can slowly discuss benevolent governance."

Just then, Zhang Fei's loud voice came from the courtyard: "Brother! Have you tried the new 'Liaodong Shao' from the distillery? It's even better than the one I brewed in Zhuojun!"

The smell of alcohol arrived before the person did.

Zhang Fei burst in carrying two wine jars. Seeing Shen Pei there, he chuckled, "Mr. Shen is here too? Come, come, have a taste of this new wine!"

Shen Pei waved his hand awkwardly: "General Zhang, this humble official is not a strong drinker..."

"Hey! What man doesn't drink?" Zhang Fei poured a big bowl without saying a word.

I shook my head helplessly: "Yide, Mr. Zhengnan is talking about serious matters."

"Even serious business requires eating and drinking!" Zhang Fei shoved the wine bowl into my hand. "Brother, you try it first!"

I took a sip—it was indeed strong, like a knife down my throat, but with a mellow aftertaste. It must have been made with sorghum from Liaodong, combined with improved distillation techniques.

"How is it?" Zhang Fei asked expectantly.

"Good wine." I put down the bowl. "But Yide, brewing wine consumes a lot of grain. Liaodong has just been pacified, so we must not overdo it."

"I know, I know!" Zhang Fei patted his chest. "I used only aged grain; not a single grain of new grain was touched! Besides, this wine can be exchanged for three bushels of rice per jar when sold in Jiangnan!"

They have a keen business sense.

Suddenly, something occurred to me: "Yide, what do you do with the leftover lees from brewing?"

"Feed the pigs," Zhang Fei scratched his head. "What else can we do?"

"Don't feed the pigs anymore." I stood up. "Go find Hua Tuo's apprentice and ask if the lees from wine can be used in medicine. Also, find a few old farmers and try mixing it into the soil to fertilize the fields. We can't waste anything."

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up: "You can do that? I'll go right now!"

He ran off in a flurry of activity.

Shen Pei exclaimed, "General Zhang may seem rough and unrefined, but in reality..."

"In reality, he's very perceptive," I laughed. "My third brother is never confused when it comes to important matters."

In the evening, I climbed the watchtower north of Xiangping City alone.

Looking north from here, one sees a vast expanse of snowfields being cultivated; looking south, one sees the gradually thawing surface of Liaodong Bay; looking west... beyond the mountains lies Hebei, which Cao Cao is currently developing.

Four years.

Cao Cao gave us a four-year deadline to "hunt along the Yellow River." But in reality, both he and I knew that the real showdown might not take that long.

"teacher."

Zhuge Liang arrived at some point, holding a cloak: "It's cold."

I took the cloak and asked, "Have you finished your homework?"

"It's done." He stood beside me. "Today I taught Zhang Hu and the others the 'Nine Variations' chapter of 'The Art of War,' but they wanted to hear more about real battles."

"What did you tell them?"

"I've talked about the Battle of Guandu," Zhuge Liang paused, "but according to what my teacher taught me, I only talked about formations and tactics, not about human nature and strategic calculations."

I nodded: "They're still young, so let them learn the right way first. When they grow up, we can teach them the tricks of the trade."

After a moment of silence, Zhuge Liang asked, "Teacher, will Cao Cao really wait four years?"

"No," I answered decisively. "He's waiting for two things: to consolidate his control over Ji Province and to find our weakness. Whichever comes first, that's when he'll make his move."

"So our weakness is..."

"Too many." I counted on my fingers. "Liaodong has just been annexed, and people's hearts are unsettled; the land tax reform in the three prefectures has touched the interests of powerful clans; Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army cannot be fully trusted; Sun Ce and Lü Bu are eyeing Jiangdong covetously... If any of these points are triggered, Cao Cao will pounce."

Zhuge Liang frowned: "Then why not strike first?"

"Because our weakness is also Cao Cao's weakness." I turned to look at him. "The powerful families of Ji Province hate him to the bone, but they have only temporarily submitted; Ma Teng and Han Sui of Xiliang are only superficially on good terms with him; in the Xuchang court, the royalists have always wanted to overthrow him..."

"So this is a game of who can patch the vulnerabilities first?"

"Right." I patted him on the shoulder. "So what we need to do now is not to rush into making moves, but to clean up our own house—fill our granaries, train our soldiers well, repair our roads, and win over the hearts of the people. Once we have no weaknesses, his weaknesses will be exposed."

The child nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

A bell tolled in the distance—the newly built school in the east of the city was dismissing students.

As I watched the children pouring out of the school, I suddenly asked, "Kongming, have you ever thought about what kind of world you want for the future?"

Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said, "The people will not go hungry, children will be able to go to school, good people will not be bullied, and bad people will be punished."

"It's very simple, and it's very difficult." I looked up at the horizon. "But it's precisely because it's difficult that it's worth the effort we put in."

The following day, the Ordnance Bureau.

This is a newly established secret workshop in Liaodong, built against the mountain and heavily guarded. When I brought Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu in, it was steaming hot inside.

"My lord!" Old Chen, the foreman in charge of the craftsmen, rushed over, his face covered in soot. "The improved version of the 'Thunderbolt Arrow' you requested is finished!"

We walked to the testing ground. There were three new arrows on the ground: one was as thick as a child's arm, with an iron lump on the arrowhead; one was slightly thinner, with a bamboo tube tied to the shaft; the third one was the strangest, with no arrowhead, just a round mud ball.

"Demonstration," I gestured.

Old Chen personally operated the crossbow. The first arrow was fired, and a crater the size of a washbasin was blasted open in the earthen wall three hundred paces away.

"The amount of explosives has increased by 30%, the metal casing has been thinned, and there are more fragments," Old Chen explained.

The second arrow was fired and suddenly exploded in mid-air, scattering a cloud of white powder. The powder spread with the wind, covering an area of ​​more than ten paces.

"This is lime powder mixed with chili powder," Old Chen chuckled. "It won't kill you, but it'll blind you and make you choke—it's great for capturing prisoners."

The third arrow... didn't even fly. The moment the crossbow string was moved, the mud ball cracked, spilling black powder all over the ground.

Old Chen said awkwardly, "This...this is still unstable; it'll fall apart if there's an earthquake..."

I crouched down, picked up a bit of powder, and smelled it—it was gunpowder with finer particles, but the humidity was clearly not well controlled.

"No rush, try slowly." I stood up. "Remember three things: First, safety first, better slow than to explode; second, all recipes and procedures must be mastered by different people, no one should know everything; third..."

I pointed to the powder: "This stuff will be very useful in the future, but we need to keep it a secret for now. Tell everyone we're refining elixirs."

Leaving the Arsenal, Xu Shu whispered, "My lord, gunpowder is good, but it's too expensive. The cost of gunpowder for one arrow is enough to make ten ordinary arrows..."

"It's expensive now, but it will be cheaper when it's mass-produced." I waved my hand. "Besides, some things can't be measured by money."

For example, deterrence.

For example, technological reserves.

Just then, a fast horse galloped up. The messenger dismounted, shouting, "My lord! Urgent report from Jiangdong!"

I unfolded the secret letter, and my brows gradually furrowed.

"Teacher?" Zhuge Liang observed the expression on the man's face.

I handed him the letter.

The letter was sent by a spy lurking in Wu Commandery. Sun Ce was attacked again while suppressing bandits in Danyang—this time not by a stray arrow, but by a hidden crossbow bolt. Although he only suffered a scratch, Zhou Yu forcibly confined him to his residence to recover.

As for Lü Bu, Chen Gong suggested taking advantage of Sun Ce's recovery to join forces with Yan Baihu's former troops to launch a counterattack on Wu Commandery.

The balance of power in Jiangdong is about to be broken.

"Yuanzhi, what do you think?" I asked.

Xu Shu pondered, "Sun Ce is brave and fierce; he will certainly not be willing to be trapped. If we force him into battle, his injuries may worsen. But if we don't fight, it will be even more difficult to suppress Lü Bu once he gains power..."

"So this is our opportunity?" Zhuge Liang looked up.

"It's a risk, but also an opportunity." I looked south. "Prepare the boat; I'm going to Guangling."

"Will the lord go in person?"

"Some things must be discussed in person." I put away the secret letter. "In Liaodong, Guo Rang and Mr. Zheng Nan are in charge. Yun Chang has transferred 5,000 naval troops from Qingzhou to Guangling to await orders. Yi De... have him continue brewing wine, but secretly prepare 300 jars of the strongest brew; I need them."

Three days later, the ship set sail from Liaodong Bay.

Zhuge Liang insisted on accompanying me, and I agreed—it's time for him to see this game of chess in Jiangdong for himself.

As the ship sailed on the sea, I stood on the deck gazing at the waves, and suddenly recalled a line from a past life I read while reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms:

"The only heroes in the world are you, my lord, and Cao Cao."

Now that I've become the "Lord," I realize that behind those words lie countless sleepless nights, countless life-or-death choices, and a game of chess that will never end.

"Teacher," Zhuge Liang approached, "when we arrive in Guangling, whom should we see first?"

"I won't see anyone." I pulled myself back to reality. "Let's wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for Sun Ce's messenger, or Lü Bu's messenger." I laughed. "Whoever arrives first shows who's more urgent. Whoever's more urgent, we'll help—but we'll have to pay extra."

A realization flashed in the boy's eyes.

The sea breeze ruffled the sails, making them flutter loudly.

In the south, the flames of war are about to rise again in Jiangdong.

And Cao Cao and I, separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, are both waiting—

Wait for the opponent to reveal a weakness first.

When the time is right.

When this game of chess reaches its decisive moment...