The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

I love the world created by Niu Wogu, all in "Three Kingdoms: Rise from Intercepting Liu Bei".

The Xuzhou Prefectural Government acted very quickly; by the time they finished lunch, a notice had already been posted in front of the Prefectural Government.

People are naturally curious, and soon the place where the notice was posted was crowded with people who wanted to see what it said.

But everyone looked scratching their heads, completely at a loss.

"Does anyone here know how to read? Tell us what's written on this!"

Someone shouted loudly.

In an era when even food was scarce, literacy was the exclusive right of the wealthy and nobility; ordinary people had no chance at all.

Faced with the notice from the governor's office, they were extremely anxious, hoping that someone who could read would tell them what it contained.

Just as no one answered, Liu Bowen came out of the governor's mansion. He saw that a crowd of people had gathered around the notice not far away, and just then he heard their commotion. He immediately went over.

He then read the notice aloud:

"The Xuzhou Prefectural Governor's Office recruited a large number of farmers to cultivate tens of thousands of acres of fertile land for the governor's office, and each farmer was paid a monthly wage of one thousand coins!"

"But you must obey the governor's office's arrangements and must not leak any related information. If you are found to be doing so, you will be executed immediately without exception!"

"Hiss~~~~!"

After Liu Bowen finished reading the contents of the proclamation, the onlookers were in an uproar, looking at each other in disbelief.

This is absolutely outrageous! Farmland is so secretive, leaking it would be a capital offense. Could this be gold?

"This...is there something wrong with this? This is outrageous! Is farming really that dangerous?!"

"Exactly! What kind of crops are they growing that they're paying such high wages—a thousand coins a month!"

·····

There was much discussion among the crowd, with many expressing doubt about the notice posted by the governor's office. After all, a thousand coins a month was not a small amount; it was even higher than the wages of a skilled craftsman.

This has never happened before.

Listening to the people's discussions, Liu Bowen clapped his hands vigorously to attract everyone's attention, and then loudly proclaimed:

"Fellow villagers, please quiet down. I am Liu Ji, an official from the Prefectural Governor's Office. This notice was written at Lord Qin's behest!"

"Lord Qin accidentally discovered dozens of easy-to-grow, high-yield crops in the wild and brought them back."

"These items will ensure that Xuzhou will never again suffer from a lack of food and clothing, so their importance is self-evident. I hope everyone can understand. Those who wish to register should go to the Prefectural Governor's Office to register; there will be dedicated officials in charge. The number is limited, so it's first come, first served!"

When the crowd saw that Liu Bowen was dressed in official robes, they knew that he was from the governor's office, and they no longer doubted the contents of the notice. However, no one dared to take the lead in signing up.

"Sir, how much grain can those crops produce?"

Just as Liu Bowen was about to continue his persuasion, someone asked a crucial question.

"If cultivated properly, it can yield two to three bushels per acre, but its shelf life is longer than that of rice and wheat. It also has low cultivation requirements and does not need large-scale irrigation!"

After pondering for a while, Liu Bowen gave his answer, which was all told to him by Qin Xuan.

The yields of sweet potatoes and potatoes are very high, and this is still a conservative answer given by Liu Bowen.

Hearing Liu Bowen's explanation, the people gradually felt more at ease, and they began to whisper among themselves, discussing whether they should sign up.

"This is great! I'll sign up!" A dark-skinned man was the first to raise his hand and shout. A thousand coins a month was quite a temptation, especially since it was a notice issued by Lord Qin.

Ever since Qin Xuan descended like a divine warrior to save Xuzhou, the people have regarded him as their savior, not to mention that all the decrees he issued were for the benefit of the people of Xuzhou.

"Since it's a proclamation issued by Lord Qin, I'd like to register too!"

Another farmer chimed in, agreeing to sign up for agricultural production, and gradually more and more people joined in.

Seeing the enthusiasm of the people, Liu Bowen smiled with satisfaction. As time went by, he quickly recruited a large number of the farmers he needed.

············

While Xuzhou was mobilizing a large number of farmers to produce potatoes and other crops, Cao Cao in Yanzhou was not idle either. He summoned all his subordinates to study the post-war reconstruction work in Yanzhou.

Inside the governor's mansion in Yanzhou, Cao Cao sat upright in the main seat, his eyes blazing as he scanned all the civil and military officials below him. The weariness in his eyes was impossible to hide.

The losses in Yanzhou were too severe. Although they drove away Lü Bu, they were left with less than 30,000 men.

A large number of innocent people died or fled, many cities were besieged and burned, farmland was abandoned, infrastructure was severely damaged, and food production dropped sharply, leading to frequent famines.

"Gentlemen, although the war in Yanzhou has ended, the road to reconstruction has only just begun."

"In order to restore production as soon as possible, all troops except the garrison will participate in farming, and the security of Yanzhou will be entrusted to Cao Hong!"

"Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, you two brothers will lead an army of five thousand to garrison Changyi to guard against Lü Bu. This traitor who has served three masters is now stationed in Xiaopei."

Cao Cao was still very wary of Lü Bu. Now that Lü Bu had entered Xiaopei, it was as if a time bomb had been planted next to him. He could only send the Xiahou brothers with heavy troops to keep an eye on Lü Bu's every move.

"This...?" Upon hearing Cao Cao's order, the two exchanged a glance, their expressions troubled and hesitant.

Lu Bu was not someone the two brothers could contend with.

"What, are you scared?" Cao Cao snorted coldly, clearly displeased with the two brothers, seeing the hesitation on their faces.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan responded in unison, "No, your humble servants obey!"

Cao Cao nodded slightly upon hearing this and turned his gaze to Cao Ren: "Cao Ren, you have always been skilled in military command. I have a matter to entrust to you."

Upon hearing that Cao Cao had something to ask of him, Cao Ren immediately bowed slightly and said in a deep voice, "Please give your orders, my lord."

Cao Cao was very satisfied with Cao Ren's attitude, and then smiled slightly, his tone revealing a hint of expectation: "Qin Xuan's Great Snow Dragon Cavalry is really powerful, so I want to use his Great Snow Dragon Cavalry as a model to build an equally elite heavy cavalry."

"I entrust this important task to you. I hope you can train a highly capable and elite force as soon as possible."

"This...?" Faced with Cao Cao's expectant gaze, Cao Ren immediately lowered his head, unsure of what to say.

Asking him to assemble an iron cavalry force identical to Qin Xuan's Great Snow Dragon Cavalry would be too difficult, almost an impossible task.

"Cao Ren, what's wrong? Aren't you afraid to take on this heavy responsibility?"

Seeing Cao Ren's hesitant expression, Cao Cao immediately resorted to provocation.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ren immediately raised his head and looked directly at Cao Cao, expressing his concerns: "My lord, the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry is characterized by its white horses, is well-trained, and well-equipped. It would be too difficult to assemble an identical elite force, and I'm afraid I cannot accomplish it."

"So that's what you're worried about!"

Cao Cao smiled slightly upon hearing this, nodded, and continued, "You are right. This cavalry does not need to completely imitate the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, but it must be selected from the elite troops of the army who are over fifty years old, divided into light cavalry and heavy cavalry, with a number of about five thousand."

"I'd like to name it 'Tiger and Leopard Riders,' meaning as brave as a tiger and as swift as a leopard. What do you think?"

"Good, good name!" Cao Ren nodded slightly, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. "This subordinate obeys!"

Thus, under the influence of Qin Xuan, the time traveler, Cao Wei's most elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry emerged five years ahead of schedule.