Stockpiling Grain, Hidden Motives

"The strategist wants me to stockpile grain? What is the reason for this?"

If Liu Bei could still understand the first request, this second one left him feeling utterly bewildered.

Just moments ago, Qin Tian had insisted on increasing their troop numbers despite knowing their grain supplies were insufficient.

Yet now, he was turning around and asking him to stockpile grain; it was clearly illogical.

However, upon hearing this, Qin Tian let out a slight sigh and said:

"This grain is not for expanding the army, but for disaster relief!"

"Disaster relief!"

Liu Bei was stunned, while Xu Shu's eyes widened as he asked:

"What is the meaning of this, Zixuan? Could it be that a great disaster is coming to this region?"

Qin Tian shook his head and replied:

"Not here, but in the Huainan region. There will certainly be a severe drought this year!"

"If our army intends to seize that territory, we must stockpile a massive amount of grain!"

"Otherwise, even if we capture the land, it will be of no use!"

As mentioned earlier, Qin Tian possessed an excellent memory; he remembered the details recorded in history and the timing of every documented disaster.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, droughts occurred frequently, and the two most terrifying ones were the great drought in Sanfu, which caused a massive grain shortage for the people of Guanzhong and led to countless deaths by starvation.

The second was the great Huainan drought of this very year!

One must realize that Runan, Pei Commandery, and Jiujiang were densely populated, with a total population exceeding three million!

It was this very drought that caused the people of the Jianghuai region to suffer, leading them to trade children for food, leaving many areas completely depopulated!

Cao Cao's famous Song of Haoli was written during this period, and the lines, "White bones exposed in the fields, for a thousand miles not a rooster crows, of the living, one in a hundred remains, the thought of it breaks one's heart," were particularly poignant.

It was also through this ordeal that a large number of commoners and noble clans fled south, effectively crippling Huainan and indirectly leading to the rise of Eastern Wu.

Otherwise, based on the massive population base of Huainan alone, they could have kept Eastern Wu firmly under their thumb.

Now that they intended to seize Huainan, they naturally had to do everything in their power to preserve its vitality.

Listening to the gravity in Qin Tian's tone, Liu Bei's expression also turned solemn:

"Zixuan, can you truly be certain that there will be a great disaster in Huainan this year?"

"Naturally, I am certain!"

Qin Tian nodded and said:

"I observed the celestial phenomena at night and saw the alignment of twin stars accompanying the moon in the south."

"Judging by their position, it must be in Huainan!"

"It is certain that there will be a great drought in Huainan this year; if we start stockpiling grain now, there is still time!"

It was not that he wanted to show off by invoking the name of celestial observation, but the people of this era truly believed in such things!

Coupled with the fact that he had learned much while following Cai Yong, he could naturally speak about it with ease.

As soon as he finished, Xu Shu chimed in:

"My Lord, Zixuan's predictions of celestial phenomena have always been accurate!"

"Back then, when Zixuan predicted the great drought in Sanfu and advised Cao Mengde to stockpile grain, it was precisely because Cao Mengde did so in advance that he had sufficient funds and grain to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from Guanzhong and settle them in the Luoyang region!"

"Since he now says there will be a great drought in Huainan, there must be a basis for it!"

Seeing Xu Shu also speaking up, Liu Bei's expression grew even more serious:

"Since there will be a great drought, our army must prepare in advance!"

"However, our army is already short on funds and grain; how can we stockpile more?"

"That is indeed a problem!"

When it came to the welfare of the people, Xu Shu was naturally very concerned. After thinking for a moment, the corners of his mouth curled upward:

"However, I suspect that since Zixuan could raise this problem, he must have a solution!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei looked at Qin Tian once more and asked:

"Strategist, what is your solution?"

"As it happens, this matter is not difficult; the key lies with Mi Zizhong!"

Qin Tian said to Liu Bei:

"I have heard that the Donghai Mi Clan is immensely wealthy, with nearly ten thousand servants and assets worth hundreds of millions."

"We only need to persuade Mi Zizhong to assist us and provide ten thousand gold to purchase grain, and we can begin stockpiling a large quantity immediately!"

"Provide ten thousand gold to purchase grain?"

Liu Bei was startled at first, then his expression turned bitter as he said:

"That will not do. Our army has already received much assistance from Zizhong, and we have yet to repay it. How could I have the face to ask him for another ten thousand gold?"

Ten thousand gold—in simple terms, that is over one hundred million Wuzhu coins!

Given the scale of the Mi family, they could grit their teeth and scrape that amount together if they had to.

But the problem is that if they were to cough up such a massive sum, the Mi clan would likely suffer a crippling blow to their foundations!

Even if Mi Zhu were willing, Liu Bei would not have the face to ask for it!

However, Liu Bei had clearly misunderstood Qin Tian's intent, for Qin Tian merely smiled and said:

"My Lord, you misunderstand. In this world, who would provide such funding for nothing?"

"Asking Mi Zizhong to provide the money is merely for a procurement on our behalf."

"Our army is not asking for it for free."

"You must know that last year, Jing Province, Yanzhou, and other regions all saw bountiful harvests, and Xuzhou also holds significant grain reserves."

"Especially in Jing Province, millet is less than two hundred and fifty coins per shi; ten thousand gold could purchase nearly four hundred thousand shi of grain!"

"Once this grain is purchased, it can be stored in the various shops owned by the Mi family."

"After our army captures Huainan, we will then use our own funds to buy the grain from them. Even if the price rises by fifty coins per shi, the Mi clan will still profit by thousands of gold!"

"Comparatively, what our army needs right now is time, not money or grain!"

"We must purchase a large quantity of grain before the drought becomes apparent and the prices soar."

"Having Mi Zizhong procure it in advance is precisely because I fear that when we finally have the money, we won't be able to buy any grain at all!"

"This move benefits the disaster victims, benefits our army, and benefits the Mi clan as well. I trust that with Mi Zizhong's vision, he will not fail to see these advantages!"

"My Lord, you may go and persuade him yourself. If Zizhong truly refuses, you can tell him to come and seek me out!"

The reason he dared to propose this method was because Mi Zhu was a man of great boldness!

In truth, there was no shortage of such daring merchants in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Mi Zhu was among the best of them; the fact that he could extend a helping hand when Liu Bei was at his lowest, and even marry his own sister to Liu Bei, showed his investment acumen and courage.

Now, if he were to learn of such a business opportunity, let alone ten thousand gold, he might even be willing to put up more!

Once Liu Bei heard that Qin Tian's words made sense, he could only hesitate and say:

"If that is the case, perhaps it is worth a try!"

"But how am I to explain where I obtained this information?"

The current problem was that the Huainan drought was a prediction made by Qin Tian.

Mi Zhu did not know Qin Tian's true identity.

If he were to say it was proposed by the strategist 'Wang He', Mi Zhu would certainly not believe it!

Seeing this, Qin Tian curled his lips into a smile:

"My Lord, you may tell him the truth. Zizhong is no outsider!"

"Even if he knows my identity, he will not go spreading it about!"

It must be said that, at times, a reputation is truly important.

Why did Zhuge Liang compare himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi?

Beyond the fact that he possessed the ability, it was also to establish his own fame.

And now, his own name was a golden signboard!

Sometimes one needs to hide their name, and sometimes one needs to bring it out as an endorsement.

Thinking about it, knowing his true identity would likely give Mi Zhu more confidence in carrying out the task.

Seeing that Qin Tian had made arrangements for everything, Liu Bei finally felt completely at ease. He immediately stopped dwelling on the matter and turned to discuss other topics with the two men.

Yet, whether it was the state of the world or the governance of the people, Qin Tian's insights were always unique.

Seeing this, Liu Bei admired Qin Tian's talent all the more.

That night, a banquet was held at the county office. Afterward, Liu Bei was still not satisfied and tried to pull Qin Tian into a long night of conversation and sleeping in the same bed, but he was politely declined by Qin Tian.

Seeing this, Liu Bei could not insist on keeping him, so he ordered someone to escort Qin Tian home.

With this, Liu Bei had his strategist and was finally on the right track.

With the civil support of Qin Tian, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, and Jian Yong, and the military training of Xu Shu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the other generals, the army shed its former state, sharpening their weapons and feeding their horses in a display of flourishing vitality.

Under Qin Tian's suggestion, Liu Bei also personally wrote a letter inviting Lu Bu to dispatch his troops.

Thus, a letter with ulterior motives began its journey toward Xiapi.