"Advisor, you want me to stockpile grain? Why?"
Liu Bei could understand the first matter, but this second one left him completely puzzled.
Just moments ago, Qin Tian had known they were short on grain and still told him to increase the size of the army.
Yet now he was turning around and telling him to stockpile grain. It made no sense.
But Qin Tian sighed softly at the question.
"This grain isn't for expanding the army. It's for disaster relief!"
"Disaster relief?"
Liu Bei froze. Xu Shu's eyes widened.
"Zixuan, what do you mean? Is some great disaster going to strike here?"
Qin Tian shook his head.
"Not here, but in Huainan. A severe drought is certain to strike this year!"
"If we want to take this territory, we must stockpile a great deal of food and fodder!"
"Otherwise, even if we seize it, it will be of little use!"
As mentioned before, Qin Tian had an excellent memory. He remembered the details recorded in history, including the dates of every documented disaster.
In the late Eastern Han, droughts were frequent. The two most terrifying ones were the great drought in Sanfu, which left the people of Guanzhong desperately short of food and starved countless people to death, and the great drought in Huainan this very year.
Runan, Pei Commandery, Jiujiang, and the surrounding regions were densely populated, with a total population of more than three million!
This drought left the people of Jianghuai destitute, trading children for food and even resorting to cannibalism. In many places, not a soul was left!
Cao Cao's famous Song of Haoli was written during this period. The lines "White bones lay exposed in the wild; for a thousand miles, no rooster crowed. Of the people who once lived, not one in a hundred remained; the thought of it tore my heart apart" were especially apt.
After this calamity, countless commoners and members of the gentry fled south to escape, utterly wrecking Huainan and indirectly paving the way for Eastern Wu's rise.
Otherwise, with Huainan's enormous population, it could have ground Eastern Wu into the dirt.
Now that they intended to take Huainan, they naturally had to do everything they could to preserve its strength.
Hearing the gravity in Qin Tian's voice, Liu Bei's expression grew solemn as well.
"Zixuan, are you truly certain that a great disaster will strike Huainan this year?"
"Completely certain!"
Qin Tian nodded.
"I observed the celestial signs at night and saw two stars accompanying the moon in the south."
"Judging by their position, it must be Huainan!"
"So we can know that a severe drought will certainly strike Huainan this year. If we begin stockpiling grain now, there's still time!"
It wasn't that he wanted to show off by invoking the authority of reading the heavens. People in this era simply believed in such things!
Besides, he had learned a great deal from Cai Yong in the past, so he could spin out a convincing explanation with ease.
As soon as he finished, Xu Shu chimed in.
"My lord, Zixuan's predictions of celestial signs have always been accurate!"
"Back then, he predicted the great drought in Sanfu and told Cao Mengde to stockpile grain. Because Cao Mengde prepared in advance, he had ample provisions and saved hundreds of thousands of lives in Guanzhong, then resettled them in Luoyang!"
"Now that he says a great drought will strike Huainan, there must be a reason!"
With Xu Shu backing him up, Liu Bei grew even more serious.
"If a great drought is coming, then our army must prepare in advance!"
"But we're already short on money and grain. How can we stockpile more?"
"That is indeed a problem!"
Xu Shu was deeply concerned about the people. He thought for a moment, then the corners of his mouth lifted.
"Still, I expect Zixuan wouldn't have raised this problem unless he already had a solution!"
Liu Bei looked back at Qin Tian.
"Advisor, what do you propose?"
"Actually, it isn't difficult. The key lies with Mi Zizhong!"
Qin Tian turned to Liu Bei.
"I've heard the Donghai Mi Clan is enormously wealthy, with nearly ten thousand servants and assets worth hundreds of millions."
"We only need to ask Mi Zizhong for help and have him spend ten thousand gold to purchase grain. That will let us stockpile a great deal of food and fodder right away!"
"Spend ten thousand gold on grain?"
Liu Bei was startled, then his expression turned bitter.
"That won't do. We've already received so much assistance from Zizhong, and we haven't repaid him yet. How could I have the face to ask him for another ten thousand gold?"
Ten thousand gold, by a simple conversion, was worth more than a hundred million Five Shu coins!
For a family as wealthy as the Mis, they might be able to scrape it together.
But putting up so much capital would surely leave the Mi Clan badly shaken.
Even if Mi Zhu was willing, Old Liu couldn't bring himself to ask!
But Old Liu had clearly misunderstood Qin Tian's meaning. Qin Tian smiled.
"My lord, who in this world would provide such aid for nothing?"
"Mi Zizhong would be putting up the money to buy the grain on our behalf."
"Our army wouldn't be taking it for free."
"Keep in mind that last year, Jing Province, Yanzhou, and other regions all had bumper harvests. Xuzhou also has plenty of grain in storage."
"Jing Province in particular: millet costs less than two hundred and fifty coins per shi. Ten thousand gold could buy nearly four hundred thousand shi of grain!"
"After purchasing it, the grain could simply be stored in the Mi family's shops throughout the region."
"Once our army takes Huainan, we can pay for the grain ourselves. Even if the price rises by fifty coins per shi, the Mi Clan will earn a thousand gold!"
"Compared to money and grain, what our army needs right now is time!"
"We must buy large quantities of grain before the drought becomes apparent and prices rise."
"Having Mi Zizhong buy it in advance is to avoid the possibility that even after our army has the money, there won't be any grain left to buy!"
"This plan benefits the disaster victims, our army, and the Mi Clan. With Mi Zizhong's keen eye, I doubt he'll miss the advantages!"
"My lord, you can explain it all to him. If Zizhong still disagrees, tell him to come speak with me!"
He dared to suggest this plan because Mi Zhu was an exceptionally bold man!
In fact, there were plenty of bold merchants in the late Eastern Han.
Mi Zhu was one of the best. He had come to Liu Bei's aid when Liu Bei was at his lowest, and even married his own younger sister to him. That showed both his eye for investments and his courage.
If he learned of such a business opportunity now, he might put up even more than ten thousand gold!
Hearing Qin Tian's sound reasoning, Old Liu could only hesitate.
"If that's the case, we might as well try!"
"But how am I supposed to explain where this information came from?"
The problem was that Qin Tian had been the one to predict the drought in Huainan.
Mi Zhu didn't know Qin Tian's identity.
If Liu Bei simply said that "Wang He," his advisor, had made the prediction, Mi Zhu would never believe it!
Seeing this, Qin Tian smiled.
"My lord, you can tell him the truth. Zizhong isn't an outsider!"
"Even if he learns who I am, he won't spread the word!"
There was no denying that sometimes, a good name truly mattered.
Why had Zhuge Liang compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi?
Aside from having the ability to match theirs, it was also a way to make a name for himself.
Now Qin Tian's own name was a golden signboard!
Sometimes, a person needed to keep their identity hidden. At other times, they needed to bring it out as their credential.
Once Mi Zhu knew his true identity, he would have even more confidence in carrying out the plan.
Seeing that Qin Tian had made arrangements for everything, Liu Bei finally felt at ease. He stopped dwelling on the matter and began discussing other topics with the two men.
Whether it was the situation across the realm or the people's livelihood, Qin Tian's insights were always keen and original.
The more Liu Bei saw, the more he admired Qin Tian's talent.
That night, a grand banquet was held at the county office. Afterward, Old Liu was still reluctant to part and tried to keep Qin Tian up talking all night, even inviting him to share a bed. Qin Tian politely declined.
Liu Bei didn't press him further and ordered someone to escort Qin Tian home.
From then on, with an advisor at his side, Liu Bei was finally back on the right track.
Qin Tian, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, and the others advised him in civil affairs, while Xu Shu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and the other generals trained the troops. They set aside their old ways, sharpened their weapons, and prepared for war. Everything was flourishing.
At Qin Tian's suggestion, Liu Bei also personally wrote a letter inviting Lu Bu to send troops.
And so, a letter with an ulterior motive set out for Xiapi.
Before you continue