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

On the first day of the fourth month of the sixth year of Jian'an, spring finally brought warmth to Liaodong. In the new recruit camp twenty li outside Xiangping City, twelve thousand new soldiers were being reorganized according to Zhuge Liang's "Three-Three System"—a new organizational structure evolved by the young man from Sun Tzu's *Art of War*: three *shi* (a unit of three units) formed a *dui* (a unit of three squads), three *dui* formed a *tun* (a unit of three squads), three *tun* formed a *qu* (a unit of three squads), and three *qu* formed a *bu* (a unit of three squads). The organization progressed layer by layer, with commands flowing smoothly and efficiently.

I stood on the reviewing stand, looking at the dark, youthful faces below. Most of them were newly arrived migrant children, between eighteen and twenty-five years old, their eyes showing both alertness and uncertainty about the future.

"From today onwards, you are all members of the Liaodong Army." My voice wasn't loud, but I used my inner strength to ensure everyone could hear me. "There are three rules in the army: First, orders must be obeyed without question; second, comrades are treated like brothers; third, no one may bully the common people—those who violate this rule will be executed."

The audience remained silent.

Guan Yu added from the side: "The training is divided into three subjects: sword and shield, bow and crossbow, and long weapons. There is a test every ten days. Those who excel are rewarded with money, and those who excel receive extra training. Those who fail the test three times in a row... will be expelled from the army and never be recruited again."

Zhang Fei was eager to demonstrate. He carried a newly made longsword, walked to the wooden stake in the center of the arena, shouted loudly, and with a flash of light, the wooden stake, as thick as a bowl, snapped in two.

"See that?!" Zhang Fei wiped his sweat. "These are the new swords our armory made! They can slice through Cao Cao's army's scrap metal with a single strike!"

The new recruits' eyes lit up.

I stepped down from the command platform and walked through the ranks. Zhao Yun followed behind me, reporting in a low voice: "My lord, as you ordered, these 12,000 men are divided into three battalions: soldiers from Youzhou are organized into the 'Tiger Might Battalion,' soldiers from Qingzhou into the 'Qingzhou Battalion,' and newly relocated refugee youths into the 'Tuntian Battalion.' The first two battalions are dedicated to combat, while the last battalion is half soldier and half farmer, serving as soldiers in wartime and farming in peacetime."

"Where's the equipment?"

"The Tiger Might Battalion will be equipped with new-style lamellar armor, a ring-pommel sword, and a crossbow; the Qingzhou Battalion will be equipped with leather armor, spears, and crossbows; the Tuntian Battalion will be temporarily equipped with bamboo armor and wooden spears, and iron weapons will be issued after they have passed training." Zhao Yun paused, "However... there isn't enough iron. At the current production rate, it will take at least half a year to equip all three battalions."

I thought for a moment and said, "Let Ma Jun come to see me."

At noon, next to the blast furnace in the workshop area.

Ma Jun was adjusting the newly improved bellows—foot-operated, requiring less effort than pulling by hand, yet producing three times the air volume. The furnace fire illuminated his young face, his forehead covered in sweat.

"My lord..." He hurriedly bowed when he saw me.

"No need for formalities." I looked at the molten iron churning in the furnace. "Ma Jun, how much iron can you produce each month now?"

"If all three blast furnaces were operating, the monthly output would be 100,000 jin of iron." Ma Jun wiped his sweat. "But, but there isn't enough coke, so only two can be operated, resulting in an actual monthly output of 60,000 jin."

"Sixty thousand catties...not enough." I shook my head. "It takes eighty catties of iron to make a suit of lamellar armor, ten catties for a sword, and five catties for a spearhead. The equipment for twelve thousand people will require at least a million catties of iron."

Ma Jun gritted his teeth: "If... if we could find a new mine in the mountains of Liaodong..."

"We're already looking," I patted him on the shoulder, "but that's a long-term solution that won't solve our immediate problem. Think about it, is there any way to make the existing iron... more durable? Or, could we replace some of the iron parts with other materials?"

The young craftsman fell into deep thought. He squatted on the ground, drawing on the stone slab with a charcoal pencil: "Actually... I've tried adding... adding something to the iron. Adding copper makes it tougher; adding tin makes it harder. But... but the cost is too high..."

"Money is not a problem," I said. "Let's make a batch of test samples first and give them to the best people in the Tiger Might Battalion. If the results are good, we'll roll them out to the whole army."

"promise!"

After leaving the workshop, I went to the horse farm outside the city.

This is one of the three newly established horse farms in Liaodong, with 5,000 warhorses, most of which are fine steeds traded from the Wuhuan and Xiongnu. The person in charge of the horse farm is a young man named Gongsun Xu—the son of Gongsun Zan. When the White Horse Cavalry was destroyed, he was only fourteen years old. After I took him in, he has been in charge of raising horses ever since.

"My lord," Gongsun Xu led over a pure white steed, "this is a newly arrived Wuhuan horse, three years old, with excellent stamina, but it has a fiery temper."

I took the reins, and the horse, as expected, became unruly, rearing up and neighing. I mounted it and let it run wild, only stopping after it had gone halfway around. The horse was panting heavily, but no longer resisted.

"A fine horse." I dismounted and stroked its neck. "But it's too spirited; not suitable for a novice."

"I understand," Gongsun Xu nodded. "So we divided them into three classes: the first class horses were spirited and were given to General Zhao Yun's White Horse Cavalry; the second class horses were more docile and were given to ordinary cavalry; and the third class horses were used for pulling carts and plowing fields."

"How is the breeding going?"

"Last year, we bred 300 horses, and 270 of them successfully conceived. This spring, 180 foals have already been born." Gongsun Xu's eyes gleamed. "At this rate, we can be self-sufficient in five years and won't need to buy Hu horses anymore."

"Good!" I praised. "Horse administration is a major matter, and you have done a great job. Starting next month, your monthly salary will be increased by ten bushels of grain."

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Gongsun Xu bowed excitedly. "But... I have a request."

"explain."

"The student wants to learn cavalry tactics." The young man mustered his courage. "My father... often said that the men of the Gongsun family should not only know how to raise horses."

I looked at this twenty-year-old youth. He still bore a resemblance to Gongsun Zan in his features, but his demeanor was much gentler.

"Approved," I said. "Report to Tiger Might Camp and start as a squad leader. Recommend a reliable person to take over the horse farm."

"promise!"

As we left the horse farm, the sun was already setting.

On the way back to the city, I took the opportunity to visit the newly established "Agricultural Promotion Offices"—this was Zhuge Liang's idea, to set up points in various villages with veteran farmers stationed there to teach newly relocated people farming techniques in Liaodong.

Inside the agricultural promotion office, several elderly farmers were explaining a newly made model of a curved plow: "...The plowshare should go three inches into the soil; too deep and it won't move; too shallow and the grass roots won't be cleared...Look, like this..."

The newly relocated migrants listened attentively, some even taking notes in small notebooks—it was the "Agricultural Handbook" printed by the academy, which was illustrated and easy to understand for both the literate and illiterate.

An old farmer saw me and was about to bow, but I waved him off, saying, "Go on, I'd like to hear more."

The old farmer chuckled sheepishly, "You flatter me, sir. These are just some old-fashioned methods..."

"The real knowledge lies in the traditional methods," I said. "You are all experts who have farmed all your lives. The Agricultural Promotion Office will rely on you from now on. If you teach well, the government will reward you; if you produce outstanding students, there will be additional rewards."

Everyone agreed.

By the time they returned to the governor's mansion, it was already completely dark.

Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were waiting for me in the study—the two of them were on either side of me, and the desk was covered with documents.

"Teacher," Zhuge Liang handed over a roster, "the training of the new recruits is complete today, and the roster is here. In addition, I have prepared a list of officers for each battalion; please take a look."

I took the list and looked through it. The list was very detailed, including not only names and places of origin, but also special skills, personality comments, and even "potential development directions." Zhuge Liang was becoming more and more thorough in his work.

"Where is Zhongda?" I asked Sima Yi.

"The students discovered some irregularities during the audit," Sima Yi said calmly, but his eyes were sharp. "The deficit in the Yuyang granary isn't just the three hundred shi that Chen Wu resold. Over the past three years, the accumulated deficit has reached two thousand shi. And those involved, besides Chen Wu, included the granary clerk and the registrar from the prefectural governor's office, and even..."

He paused, then added, "It even involves one of Tian Biejia's distant nephews, Tian Mao."

My heart sank: "Is the evidence conclusive?"

"There are account books to prove it." Sima Yi pushed over several yellowed account books. "When Tian Mao was the Prefect of Yuyang, he issued three instructions that 'the old grain has become moldy and should be disposed of.' But I have checked the weather records, and there was no major flooding in Yuyang during those three years. The granaries were also newly built moisture-proof warehouses... so there shouldn't be so much mold."

"Does Tian Yu know?"

"He probably doesn't know," Sima Yi said. "Tian Mao is his cousin's son, so the relationship isn't very close. Besides, Tian Biejia is an upright man; if he knew, he wouldn't have protected him."

I closed my eyes and pondered.

Tian Yu has followed me for eight years, from Youzhou to Liaodong, working diligently and conscientiously. If his nephew really has problems...

"Don't make a fuss yet." I opened my eyes. "Zhongda, continue the investigation, but keep it secret. If Tian Mao is just greedy, arrest him; if there's something else going on..."

"I understand." Sima Yi put away the ledger. "Also, regarding 'Number Three'... I have some clues."

"Oh?"

"The totem on the letter from the Grey Sparrow... I've investigated all possible connections in Liaodong and found someone..." Sima Yi lowered his voice, "Mi Fang's steward, with a mole on the corner of his left eye, a native of Yanzhou, who came to surrender four years ago."

Mi Fang?

I am reminded of that merchant who concealed his grain reserves during the famine, and later regretted it when his son fell ill.

Are you sure?

"It's just a suspicion," Sima Yi said cautiously. "My students sent someone to keep an eye on him for three days and discovered that he goes to the local temple in the south of the city to burn incense every five days—rain or shine. But according to the neighbors, he doesn't believe in Buddhism."

"The local temple..." I pondered. "Keep an eye on it, but don't alert him. If it really is him... wait until we uncover the whole network behind him before closing the net."

"promise."

After the two left, I sat alone for a long time.

The moonlight outside the window was cold and clear.

In chaotic times, people's hearts are as treacherous as demons. You never know which smiling face hides a knife.

April 3rd, Medical School.

Hua Tuo was giving Kong Shao and Fu Shou their first formal medical lesson. The two children, dressed in specially made small-sized medical apprentice robes, sat in the front row, listening attentively.

"The doctor's skill lies in his intention." Hua Tuo wrote the character "医" (medicine) in large characters on the blackboard. "The top part is '殹' (yi), which represents healing; the bottom part is '酉' (you), which represents wine—in ancient times, wine was used as medicine. But what's more important for a doctor is this 'heart'."

He wrote the character "heart" next to it: "Without a benevolent heart, one cannot be a doctor; without perseverance, one cannot study medicine; without a heart as meticulous as a hair, one cannot practice medicine. Do you remember this?"

"Got it!" the two children answered in unison.

After class, I picked them up and took them home for dinner.

Inside the carriage, Fu Shou suddenly asked, "My lord, Master Hua said that a doctor saves one life at a time. But what if... what if one day, many lives could be saved, but a few had to be sacrificed... what should one choose?"

I was taken aback. How could an eight-year-old child be thinking about such profound questions?

Kong Shao spoke first: "Father said that those in power should save the majority, but they cannot abandon the minority. If we really have to choose... we should choose the more innocent one."

"Then how do we determine who is more innocent?" Fu Shou pressed.

Both children looked at me.

I paused for a moment, then said softly, "There are no perfect choices in this world. Sometimes, choosing any path is wrong. What we can do is not to find the 'right' path, but to do our best, once we've chosen a path, to minimize the suffering of those who walk it."

The two children seemed to understand, but not quite.

When the carriage arrived at the gate of the mansion, Zhuge Liang was already waiting.

"Teacher, there's an urgent report."

I had my personal guards take the children to eat, and then I went into the study with Zhuge Liang.

"As expected, Cao Cao has increased taxes in Ji Province." Zhuge Liang handed over the secret report. "The rent is four liters per mu, and each household pays two bolts of silk and two catties of cotton—twice as much as in Liaodong. Some people have already begun to flee north. Yesterday alone, three hundred households were taken from the border of You Province."

"According to Zhongda's plan, receive them in an orderly manner," I said. "Remember, every household must be registered and resettled in a dispersed manner, so as not to let them gather into a village."

"I understand," Zhuge Liang said. "There is one more thing... In Jiangdong, Zhou Yu has sent Lu Su, saying he is here to 'inspect the trade routes,' and he will arrive tomorrow."

I raised an eyebrow: "So fast?"

"It must be related to our grain purchases from Jiangdong," Zhuge Liang analyzed. "From last year to this year, we have purchased nearly 300,000 shi of grain from Jiangdong, accounting for half of Jiangdong's exported grain. Zhou Yu's visit is probably to discuss long-term cooperation—or perhaps, to test our strength and weaknesses."

"Then let him see." I smiled. "Tomorrow you'll accompany Lu Su to visit the workshops, academies, and military camps. Don't hide anything. Let him know that Liaodong is not a harsh, cold place, but the place where the dragon rose."

"That price..."

"Grain can be paid at market price, but warhorses, pig iron, and medicinal herbs can be used to settle the debt," I said. "Also, tell him that we need shipbuilding craftsmen and blueprints—I've always coveted the tower ship technology of Jiangdong."

Zhuge Liang understood: "The students will negotiate a solution."

On the fourth day of the fourth month, Lu Su arrived.

This future high-ranking official of Eastern Wu was not yet thirty years old. Dressed in a blue robe, he was gentle and refined. I personally went to the city gate to greet him, showing him the utmost courtesy.

"Mr. Zijing has come from afar, which must be arduous."

"You're too kind, my lord." Lu Su bowed. "Gongjin asked me to convey his regards to you. There's another matter... Jiangdong has had a bumper harvest this year, and we'd like to sign a three-year contract with you, my lord, for an annual supply of 500,000 shi of grain. As for the price... it's negotiable."

I invited him into my residence and served him tea.

"Five hundred thousand shi, I can handle that," I said bluntly. "But I need three things: first, twenty shipbuilding craftsmen; second, a complete set of blueprints for multi-span warships; and third, five naval instructors—to teach my men how to fight naval battles."

Lu Su paused in his tea-drinking motion: "My lord... you have quite the appetite."

"In chaotic times, how can one survive without an appetite?" I laughed. "Rest assured, Mr. Zijing, I, Liu Bei, have always acted fairly. I'll exchange these three items for five hundred top-quality Youzhou horses—how about that?"

Lu Su's eyes lit up.

It is common knowledge that Jiangdong is short of horses. Five hundred warhorses would be enough to form an elite cavalry force.

"Your Excellency is very generous." Lu Su put down his teacup. "But... Gongjin instructed that the blueprints can be given, the craftsmen can be borrowed, but as for the instructors... Your Excellency must send someone to Jiangdong to learn."

"Okay." I nodded. "Then it's settled. Grain will be 10% of the market price, and horses will be the market price—let's sign a contract for three years."

"good!"

The contract was drafted on the spot, and both parties signed and affixed their seals. Lu Su put away his copy and asked casually, "I've heard that Your Excellency has recently been reorganizing internal affairs... Is there anything I can do to help?"

A thought struck me. This was a test.

"Indeed." I replied casually, "The night watchmen have caught a few traitors and are cleaning house. If you, Mr. Zijing, discover anyone colluding with Cao Cao in Jiangdong... you might as well let me know."

"Definitely." Lu Su gave me a meaningful look. "Speaking of which, Cao Cao has been making reorganizations recently. The 'Inspection Office' in Xuchang has been expanded, and it is said to be specifically investigating treason—you, my lord, should also be careful since you are in the north."

"Thanks for reminding me."

After seeing Lu Su off, Zhuge Liang asked softly, "Teacher, what were Lu Su's last words...?"

"It's a gesture of goodwill, but also a warning," I said. "He's telling us that Cao Cao's spy network has expanded into Jiangdong. At the same time, he's implying that Jiangdong can share intelligence if we need it."

"Then let's..."

"We can cooperate, but we can't reveal our secrets." I turned around and said, "Reply to Zhou Yu and say that you thank him for the reminder. Liaodong will also be keeping an eye on Cao Cao's actions in Jiangdong—we must share any news."

"promise."

That night, I sat alone in my study, looking at the map on the wall.

Liaodong, Youzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou... that's quite a territory.

But it was still far inferior to Cao Cao's four provinces of Yan, Yu, Sili, and Ji.

Not to mention Ma Teng and Han Sui of Xiliang, Sun Ce and Lü Bu of Jiangdong, and Liu Biao of Jingzhou...

This game is only in the middle stages.

I picked up my pen and wrote four words on the paper:

Store up grain and delay declaring yourself king.

Then, four smaller words were added below:

But the sword must be sharp.