Three Kingdoms, Myth

Liu Ye's big celebration naturally involved inviting Liu Bei, and when Liu Bei celebrated, it was inevitable that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would be there too. Everyone staying in Fenggao came, including Zhao Yun, who had just returned from Licheng, and Qu Qi.

Although Qu Qi had an eccentric personality, he was very serious about agriculture. After hearing that Zhao Yun had scoured all of Taishan to collect every technique that could improve grain production, he didn't stay long in Fenggao. The next day, he left for Licheng, needing to study all the methods and find the best farming techniques.

Qu Qi's approach to education was straightforward: "When the granaries are full, people will know proper etiquette." This was the most practical method, so he focused heavily on high-quality farming techniques and seeds. His method of enlightenment was simple: once everyone was well-fed, they would naturally have the time to study proper etiquette.

As for the ideas he had previously read in books, Qu Qi dismissed them as castles in the sky. If people couldn't even fill their stomachs, how could anyone expect them to be cultured and polite? It was simply unrealistic! It was more practical to sit down and discuss how to feed everyone.

It took Qu Qi only five days to absorb everything Zhao Yun had to offer. Then, Chen Xi ordered Zhao Yun to return in preparation for the summer planting, while Zang Ba and Tai Shici were tasked with guarding the northern regions.

The reason for Zhao Yun's recall was simple: he had the people's trust. After last year's summer planting, the people of Taishan trusted Zhao Yun completely. As long as Zhao Yun instructed them on how to plant, they would follow his lead. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't gain the people's trust. After all, Zhao Yun had become familiar with the people last year and had done an excellent job; he was now recognized everywhere in Taishan.

Thus, all of Qu Qi's unconventional farming techniques were entrusted to Zhao Yun, who was the only one capable of successfully promoting them. If Qu Qi had to do it himself, no one would believe him. After all, the land determined the next year's food supply, so unless people had full confidence, the common folk of the Han Dynasty would rather stick to what they knew than risk trying new methods, even if it promised higher yields. Who would dare gamble their lives?

Qu Qi was somewhat resigned to this reality, feeling a bit like "I offer my heart to the bright moon, but the moonlight shines on the ditch." However, he didn't complain. Instead, he expressed his gratitude to Zhao Yun, showing that he wasn't the type to look down on others despite his youth and arrogance.

The banquet hadn't been going on for long when Fa Zheng, his hair disheveled, walked in with a hair crown, grabbing something to eat. The past ten days had exhausted him, as he constantly had to think about what Cao Cao in Yanzhou was planning. It was almost certain that a conflict with Yuan Shu was inevitable. How to fight, where to strike, and what would trigger the conflict—Fa Zheng's head was a tangled mess of thoughts.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu hadn't given Fa Zheng any hints. Jia Xu felt that the intelligence department was like a hot potato. On the first day, he didn't even handle the intelligence reports himself, leaving them for Liu Bei and Chen Xi to deal with, to avoid any suspicion.

Jia Xu knew that although he was currently without a lord, it was still a bit too much to be placed in such an important position immediately upon joining Liu Bei. Even with Guo Fengxiao's occasional checks, Jia Xu didn't want to leave a bad impression.

Therefore, Jia Xu didn't directly take over but assumed the role of the highest authority, delegating power to Fa Zheng after confirming things with Guo Jia. This was both to train Fa Zheng and to familiarize himself with Liu Bei's current situation.

Guo Jia, on the other hand, hoped to see Fa Zheng handle this event independently. If Fa Zheng could pass this intelligence test and discern Cao Cao's intentions from the strategies of Xun Yu, Xun You, Cheng Yu, and Xi Zhicai, it would indicate that Fa Zheng had limitless potential.

As for deploying forces, both Jia Xu and Guo Jia agreed to act as if they didn't see it. Whether Cao Cao annexed the state of Lu to provoke Yuan Shu or threatened Xuzhou, it would benefit Taishan. Securing Xuzhou, a major grain-producing region, was crucial for integrating it deeply with Taishan, a view shared by all of Taishan's strategists.

Guo Jia knew well that Fa Zheng's focus was undoubtedly on Yingchuan, not only because Yingchuan was home to Cao Cao's main civil officials but also because capturing Yingchuan and having Jingzhou reclaim Nanyang County would allow for an alliance, making it difficult for Yuan Shu to capture any territory. Moreover, having access to Jingzhou's grain supply would immediately solve the biggest issue and allow for rapid expansion.

However, Guo Jia was also aware that, given Cao Cao's temperament, he would definitely not target the well-defended Yingchuan at this critical time just before the summer harvest. The reason was simple: Cao Cao didn't have enough experienced soldiers to take Yingchuan. To put it more accurately, he didn't have enough veteran troops.

Liu Dai's death, along with the loss of his veteran troops, coupled with the fact that Cao Cao's veteran soldiers were wiped out during the pursuit of Dong Zhuo, meant that when Cao Cao took over Yanzhou, he had a bunch of new recruits who couldn't handle tough battles. Even with strong generals, it would be difficult to turn the tide in their favor. The new recruits might even flee at the first sign of trouble, potentially dragging the veteran troops along with them, or even causing them to rout.

In short, without at least a year or two of training and a few battles under their belts, new recruits could only serve as a facade. This was why Cao Cao was in such a difficult position now.

As for Taishan, the situation was much better. There were plenty of veteran soldiers, and when Chen Xi organized them, he made sure that each veteran soldier was paired with at most two new recruits. This was why, despite having over ten thousand veteran soldiers when they first arrived in Taishan, they now had only about forty thousand fully trained regular troops.

However, once this wave of veterans finished training the new recruits, expanding the army would be much easier. You could just integrate the new soldiers into each veteran regiment, and you'd be almost ready to go.

Given that Qingzhou was now under their control, the current four thousand regular troops weren't even enough to guard the passes, so expansion was necessary. As for the farm soldiers, Chen Xi never counted them as a real fighting force. Their combat effectiveness was mainly for show, useful for capturing prisoners or guarding the rear. In a real fight, they'd just be going through the motions.

Everyone was aware of this. Zang Ba, Tai Shici, Sun Guan, and other deputy generals who had not yet been promoted were just waiting for the summer harvest. Once they had the grain, they could be officially promoted to generals, take command of their troops, and begin rigorous training to establish their reputations. As for the horses needed by each unit, Zang Ba and others had already accounted for them. The warhorses that Hua Xiong had seized from Xiliang, along with the gifts from Gongsun Bogui, were more than sufficient.

However, neither Tai Shici nor Zang Ba had confidence in training cavalry, a high-level unit. In all of Taishan, only Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong were capable of training cavalry. It was clear that Zhao Yun, who would be forced into a civil servant role during the summer harvest and planting, wasn't reliable for this task. They would have to rely on Hua Xiong. When they thought about the two to three years needed to fully train cavalry, Zang Ba's face turned green. He was even considering asking Hua Xiong to give him a thousand cavalry and simply handing over his own horses to Hua Xiong, as a sort of gift to his superior.