Three Kingdoms: Zhang Fei was sent flying by a single spear thrust, leaving Liu Bei stunned.

The steward, with a mournful face and trembling hands, described the Wei family's miserable state with exaggerated details. In particular, he vividly recounted the part where Zhang Ziqian crushed two bronze crane statues weighing several hundred pounds into lumps of iron with his bare hands, making the fat on the Huang family head's face tremble as he listened.

He looked at Zhang Ziqian in disbelief, then at Cao Cao's ambiguous smile, and his legs went weak, almost following in Wei Zi's footsteps.

"General Cao... no, Lord Cao!" The arrogance on the Huang family head's face vanished instantly, replaced by an extremely obsequious smile. "Misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! Your esteemed presence is an unforgivable offense, deserving of death! Quickly, please come inside, bring the finest tea!"

What followed went exceptionally smoothly.

With the Wei family as a "role model," the other wealthy and powerful families on the list no longer needed Zhang Ziqian to "reason" with them.

Wherever Cao Cao's army went, the heads of the families would wait at the door in advance, their faces full of enthusiastic smiles, as if they were welcoming their own father.

"Lord Cao is fighting for the country, and we, the local gentry, should give our full support!"

"Mere money and provisions are nothing to worry about! If Lord Cao is lacking, I will think of another way!"

"This is a small token of our appreciation; please accept it, Lord Cao, and do not refuse!"

One by one, the "IOUs" were accepted with utmost respect, and cartloads of grain and money were continuously transported to Cao Cao's camp.

Xiahou Dun, Cao Hong, and the others followed behind, watching this surreal scene with utter disbelief.

They considered countless ways to raise supplies—coercion, bribery, persuasion, and reasoning—but they never imagined things could be so simple.

It's so simple that all you need is one person, carrying a big stick, to stroll around the city.

As evening fell and the last "loan" was deposited into the treasury, Cao Ren held the ledger, his hands trembling with excitement.

"My lord! We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich!" He rushed into the mansion, his voice trembling. "Grain! A total of 200,000 shi! Money! Over 80 million! And cloth, armor, medicine, horses... countless supplies! Enough to double our army size, and enough to last us a whole year!"

In the hall, all of Cao Cao's trusted generals were present. Upon hearing this number, everyone gasped in astonishment, and then erupted into a deafening cheer.

The gloomy atmosphere of just a few days ago, due to the depletion of funds and supplies, has now vanished. Everyone's face is filled with excitement and anticipation.

Cao Cao sat in the main seat, his heart filled with boundless pride. He looked at the cheering generals, but his gaze passed over them and landed in a corner.

Zhang Ziqian was leaning against a pillar, a roast chicken he'd just swiped from the kitchen in his hand, gnawing on it with gusto. He seemed utterly uninterested in the astronomical sum of money and provisions, as if it were all irrelevant to him.

A strange feeling arose in Cao Cao's heart.

This man, single-handedly, solved his biggest predicament and paved the way for his future.

And what he really wanted was just a roast chicken.

"Ziqian," Cao Cao said, his voice not loud, but it silenced the entire hall.

All eyes were focused on the man who was still gnawing on a chicken leg.

Zhang Ziqian looked up and asked indistinctly, "What? Is dinner ready?"

Cao Cao laughed heartily, stood up, walked over to him, and personally took the half-eaten roast chicken from his hand. Then he said to the servants beside him, "Go and bring all the roast chickens in the kitchen! Tonight, we gentlemen will drink until we're drunk!"

The night in Chenliu was completely ignited by bonfires and cheers.

In Cao Cao's camp, jubilation reigned. Mountains of money chests were opened, their contents—gleaming silver coins and gleaming gold ingots—shimmering alluringly in the firelight. Bags of grain were carried into the warehouses, giving every soldier a tangible sense of hope.

Cao Cao kept his promise.

The first thing he did was to reissue double the compensation to all the fallen soldiers. When the families of those soldiers received the heavy bags of money from Cao Ren, many shed tears of emotion. In this chaotic world where human life was cheap, it was already considered benevolent for an army to not deduct its pay after a defeat; to double the compensation like Cao Cao had never been heard of before.

The second thing was to distribute rewards and medicine to all the soldiers who returned alive from Xingyang. Generals like Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong received particularly generous rewards. The gloom of defeat was somewhat dispelled by the generous material rewards. The soldiers looked at Cao Cao with eyes full of gratitude and trust.

Only after completing these two tasks did Cao Cao begin to hold a grand banquet to reward his troops.

The wine was fine, and the meat was plentiful. The soldiers gathered around the campfire, eating meat heartily and drinking wine from large bowls, releasing all the pent-up frustration and depression they had been suppressing for days.

Inside the main tent, the atmosphere was equally lively.

"My lord, this humble general toasts you!" Xiahou Dun stood up. His left arm injury had received the best possible treatment, and although he still couldn't exert himself, his spirits were excellent. "If it weren't for your heroic efforts, my lord, we would probably be scattered and disorganized by now, and we wouldn't be in this state today!"

"Yuanrang, you flatter me." Cao Cao smiled, clinked glasses with him, and drank it all in one gulp. "Today's achievements are not solely due to my efforts. We owe our success today entirely to your unwavering support, and even more so to..."

His gaze shifted to Zhang Ziqian, who was occupying a table all by himself, with seven or eight roast chickens laid out in front of him.

"...Even more so thanks to Ziqian, who has made unparalleled contributions to our army!"

All eyes were drawn to it.

Zhang Ziqian was engrossed in his work, using both hands, a chicken leg in his left hand and a chicken wing in his right, eating with great relish. Hearing Cao Cao's words, he merely raised his head, his mouth full, and mumbled, "Boss, you're too kind. It's my pleasure."

Then he lowered his head again and continued to struggle with the roast chicken in front of him.

Everyone was both amused and exasperated by his appearance.

Cao Hong, holding a wine glass, leaned closer to Zhang Ziqian and chuckled, "Ziqian, we really owe you a lot this time. To be honest, when you went to the Wei family to demolish... cough, when you pushed open the door, I was really on edge. Now it seems your method really worked!"

"Of course." Zhang Ziqian tore off a large piece of chicken breast and stuffed it into his mouth. "There's no use reasoning with these guys who won't act until they see results. You have to let them know that the cost of disobeying is much greater than the cost of obeying. That's called cost-benefit analysis."

"Cost...benefit analysis?" Cao Hong was stunned. What new term was this?

"If they don't understand, then so be it." Zhang Ziqian was too lazy to explain. To him, it was normal that these ancient people couldn't understand modern economic concepts.

Cao Cao, witnessing this scene, had already formed a new plan in his mind. He cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention.

"Gentlemen!" he proclaimed. "Our supplies are plentiful. I intend to begin tomorrow by posting notices throughout Chenliu County to recruit soldiers and expand our army! Although our army suffered a minor defeat at Xingyang, the might of Ziqian at Hulao Pass has already spread throughout the land! This time, heroes will surely come to join us! We should reorganize our troops, train our soldiers, and await the opportune moment!"

"Expand the army!"

"Recruit soldiers and buy horses!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals became excited. Having money and provisions to expand the army was everyone's hope. A stronger army meant greater strength, and also meant greater future achievements.