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

When the first snow fell, the official road outside Xiangping City was packed with people.

They were all refugees.

I rode my horse out of the city and watched as a dark mass of people surged toward us. Old people carried bundles on their backs, women held children, and men pushed wheelbarrows.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way—" Several fast horses charged forward, their riders brandishing whips and lashing the refugees. "Blind fools! How dare you block the Mi family's path!"

I squinted.

The Mi family?

The horses charged to the city gate but were stopped by the guards. A middle-aged man who appeared to be in charge shouted, "Are you all blind?! Do you know who I am? The nephew of the second steward of the Mi family!"

"Smack."

A whip lashed his face.

It was Zhao Hu who made the move.

The manager covered his face and screamed, "You dare hit me?!"

"Hit you?" Zhao Hu lashed out with his whip again. "Open your dog eyes and see who's here!"

The manager looked up, saw me, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Lord Liu... Lord Liu..."

I couldn't be bothered to look at him; my gaze passed over him and landed on the group of refugees. An old man lay on the ground, a bloody gash on his face, trembling all over.

"Zhao Hu," I said calmly, "tie these guys up and send them to the Mi residence. Tell Mi Wei—his servants whipped refugees in the street; let him decide what his punishment is."

"promise!"

The steward was dragged away, and I dismounted and personally helped the old man up.

"Old man, you're badly injured."

The old man, tears streaming down his face, said, "My lord, this humble subject is unworthy of such praise..."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." I patted his hand. "Once you're on my territory, you're Liu Bei's people. No one can bully you in Youzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, or Liaodong."

The refugees were stunned.

Then, someone knelt down first, and then a whole bunch of people knelt down in quick succession.

"Your Excellency is benevolent and righteous!"

"Lord Liu is a living bodhisattva!"

I waved my hand: "Get up, all of you, let's go into town. There are soup kitchens set up in the west of town, with hot soup and warm shelters. Settle down first, and we'll talk about your business later."

The refugees walked into the city, expressing their deepest gratitude. I stood by the roadside, watching them pass by one by one.

Some spoke with a Jizhou accent, some with a Yanzhou accent, and a few with a Sizhou accent.

"My lord," Xu Shu rode up and whispered, "there are at least twenty spies mixed in with these refugees."

"I noticed." I nodded. "The young man who kept peeking at the city gate guards, the middle-aged woman who deliberately dropped her bundle and picked it up three times, and the old man who was 'unable to walk' but walked faster than anyone else—we've been keeping a close eye on them."

Xu Shu smiled: "My lord has excellent judgment."

"It's not eyesight." I mounted my horse. "It's experience. Cao Cao just defeated Lü Bu, and Sun Ce is dead. Jiangdong has a new ruler. I would be surprised if he didn't send spies into our four provinces at this time."

---

Mi Wei arrived faster than I expected.

He arrived just as I returned home. He knelt down as soon as he entered, a man in his fifties who knelt without hesitation.

"My lord! The criminals have been poorly disciplined, resulting in such unruly servants! Those men have already been flogged and expelled from the Mi family, never to be employed again!"

I picked up my teacup and didn't let him get up.

"Mi Wei, those lackeys only dare to be so arrogant because they're relying on your power."

"Yes, the sinners know their sins!"

"You admit your guilt?" I put down my teacup. "The guilt you know is probably more than just this, isn't it?"

Mi Wei trembled all over.

I stared at him: "How many years has that accountant surnamed Chen been working for your family?"

"Three, three years..."

"Who did he meet yesterday?"

Mi Wei's face turned deathly pale: "My lord, this guilty person is unaware..."

"Don't know?" I sneered. "He saw him right under your nose, and you say you don't know? Mi Wei, I'm sparing your life for Zi Zhong's sake, allowing you to settle down and build a home in my four prefectures. If you don't know what's good for you, then don't blame me for being impolite."

Mi Wei lay sprawled on the ground, trembling like a leaf.

"My lord, spare my life! Chen Deng met three men from Xuchang the other day, one of whom was from Cao Cao's 'Office of Inspectors'..."

I stood up and walked up to him.

"Since you knew, why didn't you report it?"

"The criminals thought he was just doing business..."

"Doing business?" I squatted down and looked into his eyes. "Mi Wei, you've been in business for decades, and you can't tell the difference between doing business and being a spy?"

Mi Wei was speechless.

I stood up: "Get up. I'll give you two options: First, continue using him, but you must report his every move to me; second, I'll find a pretext to get rid of him, but then Cao Cao will know that I've got my eye on you."

After struggling for a long time, Mi Wei gritted his teeth and said, "The first rule is for sinners to choose."

"Okay." I patted him on the shoulder. "This is your chance to redeem yourself. If you do well, all your past transgressions will be forgiven; if you do poorly, you'll be punished for all your crimes."

"Thank you, Your Excellency!"

After he left, Sima Yi emerged from behind the screen.

"My lord, Mi Wei is not a trustworthy man."

"I know." I sat back down at my desk. "But he's useful. The Mi family's trade routes in the four prefectures are key to connecting the north and south. As long as his son Mi Fang is still in the army, he won't dare to cause any trouble."

Sima Yi nodded: "My lord, I have a plan—since Chen Deng is Cao Cao's man, why not have him spread some false information back? For example, that the four provinces are short of food and morale is low, that the lord is seriously ill and bedridden, or that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are arguing over border defense strategies..."

I laughed: "Are you trying to make Cao Cao think there's internal discord among us?"

"Yes." The boy's eyes gleamed. "He thought we were unstable internally, which is why he felt safe enough to march south and attack Jiangdong. As long as he focuses all his efforts on the south, we can develop peacefully for another year."

"Okay," I said. "I'll leave this to you. Draft out the message and show it to me."

---

To make Chen Deng's information more believable, I decided to put on a show.

The next day, while I was meeting with the governors of various prefectures, I suddenly swayed, clutched my forehead, and collapsed.

"My lord!" Zhao Hu exclaimed in alarm and grabbed me to support me.

"Quickly summon Hua Tuo..." I said weakly, my eyes closed.

The room erupted in uproar.

Hua Tuo arrived quickly, took the patient's pulse, and his expression grew increasingly grave. After a long while, he rose and said to everyone, "Your Excellency has overworked and your old illness has relapsed. You need to rest for three months. During this time, you must not handle any official business or exert yourself mentally."

The news shocked all four states.

That afternoon, Mi Wei came to visit me with some tonics. I was lying in bed, pale-faced (actually, I had applied rice powder to my face), and weakly said a few words before letting him leave.

No sooner had Mi Wei left than Chen Deng went out the door.

He went straight to the teahouse in the east of the city.

The storyteller was recounting "Lü Wang's Promotion of Zhou" on stage when Chen Deng entered, his gaze slightly narrowing. Chen Deng ordered a pot of tea and sat in a corner, slowly sipping it.

After the storyteller finished telling a story and took a break, he paused as he passed Chen Deng's table.

In that instant, Chen Deng had a note in his hand.

Sima Yi's men were lying on the rooftop opposite the teahouse, and could see everything clearly.

"The show is about to begin." I lay in bed, listening to Sima Yi's report, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Send the order down to have Yun Chang and Yi De cooperate as well—the two of them will have to argue about the border defenses these next few days."

---

Military Academy.

This facility was newly built after the autumn harvest, specifically for training junior and middle-ranking officers. Gao Shun served as the chief instructor, and the first batch of 300 trainees were all top performers selected from various battalions.

I quietly went to the military academy, wanting to see Gao Shun training his troops. Of course, I was currently "recuperating" and couldn't let anyone know I was out.

Gao Shun is giving a speech.

"You think you're here to enjoy yourself? Wrong! You're here to be skinned alive! In three months, I want each of you to be able to lead a hundred people! One hundred people to be equivalent to a thousand! Can you do it?"

"We can do it!" the three hundred people roared in unison.

"Alright! Now take off your shirts and run twenty laps around the training ground! If you don't finish, you can forget about dinner!"

Three hundred young officers took off their shirts in unison and rushed into the snow.

I watched from the shadows, nodding in approval. Once this group of men is trained, the troops of the four prefectures will be even more formidable.

"My lord." Gao Shun noticed me and hurried over. "Why are you here? Didn't you say..."

"Shh." I made a shushing gesture. "I came sneaking in. I'll just take a look and leave."

Gao Shun grinned: "Don't worry, my lord, these seedlings are excellent."

Just then, a messenger came running in: "Reporting—Instructor Gao! Urgent report from the naval battalion!"

I received the military report. It was from Zhou Cang, saying that ten naval warships had completed their winter modifications, including the addition of anti-collision ice blades and cold-weather compartments. However, during yesterday's training, one ship suffered keel damage while navigating on the ice and requires major repairs.

"Let's go take a look."

---

Water village at the mouth of the Liao River.

Ten warships were anchored in the harbor, their hulls covered with straw mats to prevent freezing. The damaged ship was towed onto the dock, where the old shipwright, Master Huang, was leading the craftsmen in an inspection.

"My lord," Zhou Cang greeted him, his face full of shame, "it was my recklessness that led the fleet to break the ice at full speed during the initial ice age..."

"It's not your fault." I waved my hand. "Training exercises always result in ship damage. How bad is it?"

Master Huang crawled out from under the boat, covered in sawdust: "The keel is cracked, but it can be repaired. We just need to replace one of the main beams, which will take at least ten days."

"Are there enough materials?"

"That's enough." Master Huang pointed to the material yard in the distance. "The hardwood from Liaodong is even stronger than that from Jiangnan. It's just that it's cold, so the glue dries slowly."

"Then let's take our time and do a good job." I boarded the damaged ship. There were braziers for heating in the cabin, but it was still bitterly cold. The sailors were practicing knot tying, flag signals, and rowing techniques inside the cabin.

When a squad leader saw me, he quickly ordered his soldiers to line up.

"Keep practicing," I gestured. "It's cold, so there's no need for those formalities."

The soldiers sat down again and continued tying knots. I noticed that most of their fingers were red and swollen from the cold, but their movements remained swift.

"Are there many people with frostbite?" I asked Zhou Cang.

"About 30%," Zhou Cang said in a low voice. "We've already applied frostbite cream, but the wind on the water is too strong to prevent it."

I thought for a moment: "Have the medical school provide some anti-freezing oil to apply before daily morning exercises. Also, increase the amount of food, especially oil—people need to be well-fed to resist the cold."

"Thank you, my lord!"

---

On the way back to the city, Zhuge Liang rode up in pursuit.

"Teacher, the first draft of the Commercial Tax Law is ready." The boy handed over a scroll of silk. "Please take a look."

I unfolded the document and read it while on horseback. The terms were very detailed, dividing merchants into three categories: stationary merchants, itinerant merchants, and maritime merchants, with tax rates ranging from one-thirtieth to one-tenth. There were also two new features: one was a progressive tax, where the more you earned, the more you paid; the other was tax reductions for charitable merchants, who could receive tax reductions for donating grain to disaster relief, building bridges, and paving roads.

"Good!" I praised. "That's the right approach. This is how you govern the four states."

"There's one more rule for students," Zhuge Liang said, pointing to the last point. "Anyone who opens a workshop in one of the four provinces and employs more than a hundred people will be considered a workshop owner, and their tax rate will be calculated as that of a stationary merchant. However, if they employ migrant workers, there will be additional tax reductions."

My eyes lit up: "Is this what you wanted to do?"

"Yes." The boy was a little embarrassed. "I see that there are more and more refugees, and farming alone cannot accommodate them. If workshops could absorb them, it would not only solve their livelihood problems but also increase tax revenue..."

"Good!" I slammed my hand on the table. "Let's do it this way. We'll try it out in Xiangping City for three months first, and then extend it to the entire four prefectures."

"promise!"

---

Upon returning to the residence, Xu Shu was already waiting in the study. The news he brought made me frown slightly.

"My lord, a secret report from Ji Province." He handed over a letterbox. "Cao Cao has officially issued an order that starting next year, each mu of land in Ji Province will be taxed an additional liter of grain to aid the army, and each household will contribute one bolt of cloth to the army. The people are full of complaints, and some have already begun to flee north."

I unfolded the secret report and examined it closely. Cao Cao's tax increase edict was written very bluntly: "Although the Yuan clan has been pacified, their remnants have not yet been eliminated. In order to protect the borders and ensure the safety of the people, a special tax is levied to assist the army. Anyone who disobeys this order will be punished as a traitor."

"They're going to drain Ji Province dry," I sighed.

"Moreover, the timing was very opportune," Xu Shu said. "The autumn harvest has just ended, and the people have surplus grain in their hands, so there is little resistance to additional taxes. By the time there is a famine next spring, they won't be able to rebel."

I walked to the map and traced the Yellow River with my finger: "Can we, the people of Jizhou, incite a popular uprising?"

"Difficult." Xu Shu shook his head. "Cao Cao has a large army stationed in Ji Province. Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun each lead 30,000 troops, which is more than enough to suppress the rebellion. Moreover, although the powerful families in Ji Province are dissatisfied, they are terrified by the Xu Du massacre and dare not stand up."

"Then let's wait," I said. "Let the people flee on their own. Send orders to all the border counties of the four provinces: take in as many refugees as they come. But be very strict with screening—Cao Cao will definitely infiltrate with spies."

"promise."

---

Several days later, news came from Xudu.

At his victory banquet, Cao Cao declared that Lü Bu had been defeated and that he would now focus all his efforts on dealing with Jiangdong. During the banquet, a spy reported that Liu Bei was seriously ill and bedridden in Liaodong, and that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were arguing incessantly about border defense strategies.

Cao Cao laughed loudly: "If Liu Bei dies, we can easily take over four provinces!"

The strategist Cheng Yu frowned and said, "My lord, Liu Bei is a master of deception. How many people did he fool by pretending to be simple-minded while growing vegetables in Xuchang? Now he is suddenly seriously ill, and it just so happens that Jiangdong has changed hands. It's too much of a coincidence."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment: "Zhongde means..."

Cheng Yu said, "My lord has just received an urgent report from Jiangdong that Sun Ce has died and Sun Quan has succeeded him. The new ruler of Jiangdong is young and the internal situation is unstable, which is the perfect opportunity to launch a military campaign. As for Liu Bei, if he is truly ill, the four provinces will surely be in chaos, and it will not be too late to take them then; if he is feigning illness, it means that he does not want to be your enemy and only wants to protect himself. Regardless of whether it is true or false, my lord can take Jiangdong first and then plan to take the four provinces."

Cao Cao nodded: "Zhongde is absolutely right. Issue the order to prepare for the southern expedition to Jiangdong. Also, send spies to keep a close eye on Liaodong, and report back immediately if there are any unusual movements."

When the news reached Liaodong, I laughed so hard I slapped my thigh.

"Well done, Cheng Yu! Well done, Cao Cao!" I stood up, all traces of my illness gone. "If he marches south to conquer Jiangdong, we'll have at least a year to develop in peace!"

---

That afternoon, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei "argued" during a military council meeting.

"Brother, we must reinforce the border of Youzhou! Cao Ren has 30,000 troops stationed in Jizhou. What if he launches a surprise attack while we are ill?" Guan Yu said with a serious expression.

"Second Brother, you're too cautious!" Zhang Fei's voice boomed like thunder. "If you ask me, we should just send troops south to scare Cao Cao and make him afraid to act rashly!"

"Nonsense! Rashly deploying troops will only anger Cao Cao!"

"So what do you suggest we do? Just wait around?"

The two argued heatedly, and finally parted on bad terms.

Chen Deng, mingling among the crowd outside the mansion, saw the whole scene clearly.

That very evening, the news was spread through the storyteller.

---

Time flies, and winter has passed and spring has arrived in the blink of an eye.

The snow in Liaodong has melted, and tender buds are sprouting on the branches. The frozen soil in Youzhou has thawed, the fishing boats in Qingzhou have set sail, and the wheat in Xuzhou has turned green again.

In the refugee camp, the refugees who fled last year have been properly settled. The able-bodied men have been incorporated into the farmland, those with skills have been put into workshops, and the elderly and children have received relief food. Medical students come regularly to provide medical services, and students from the academy come to teach the children to read.

The first batch of students at the military academy successfully graduated, and the three hundred men were assigned to various battalions as captains. Gao Shun then began training the second batch, this time five hundred men.

The naval force was also expanded, with five new warships added. Zhou Cang led the fleet out to sea for training every day, saying he wanted to train a navy capable of fighting naval battles.

The Mi family's workshop also started operations, specializing in spinning cotton cloth and employing more than three hundred refugees. Mi Wei honestly paid his taxes and even donated one hundred bolts of cloth to the military camp.

Chen Deng continued to work as an accountant in the Mi family, still went to the teahouse every three days, and still sent messages to Xuchang. Sima Yi reviewed every single message he sent.

As for me, I am still "seriously ill and bedridden," only occasionally "conscious" for a brief moment to meet with my confidants.

Everything is going according to plan.

---

The weather was fine that day.

I "secretly" left the city and came to the mouth of the Liao River.

The water fortress was bustling with activity; craftsmen were building new ships, and naval soldiers were drilling. Zhou Cang stood at the bow, directing several warships in a formation.

"My lord!" Zhou Cang saw me, jumped off the boat, and ran over. "What brings you here?"

"Come and see," I said, gazing at the wide river. "How's your training going?"

"Excellent!" Zhou Cang grinned. "Those skills we learned last winter are now ready for battle on board. I'm planning to take the fleet for a spin around the Qingzhou coast when the seas are calm this summer, so that all the prefectures can see the might of our Liaodong navy."

I patted him on the shoulder: "Don't rush. Hone your skills first, and you'll have your chance to show off later."

On the way back, Zhuge Liang handed over the account books, saying, "Teacher, the commercial tax law has been implemented for six months with remarkable results. Commercial tax revenue in the four states has increased by 70% compared to last year."

"Great!" I exclaimed.

Sima Yi also said: "The news that Chen Deng sent back yesterday is that the magistrate's condition is stable and he is able to get out of bed and walk around. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are still arguing about border defenses, but their relationship has not been damaged. Everything in the four provinces is as usual."

I laughed: "What will Cao Cao think if this message gets back?"

Sima Yi thought for a moment: "He will think that Liu Bei is indeed faking illness, but has no intention of marching south, so we can attack Jiangdong with peace of mind."

"Yes." I nodded. "If he can focus on attacking Jiangdong, then we can focus on developing our own territory. Once he's finished, we'll be ready."

---

In the evening, I returned to my residence.

Kong Shao and Fu Shou were playing in the courtyard. When they saw me, they ran over.

"My lord! My lord! The medical school admitted quite a few patients today, and Dr. Hua praised me for being quick and efficient!"

"My lord! I received an A grade in today's academy exams!"

I smiled and patted their heads.

As the sun set, its golden rays bathed the courtyard, the two children, and the entire city of Xiangping.

In the distance came the sounds of drill chants, hammering from the dock, and laughter from the streets.

This is what I want to protect.