Mi Zhu's Resolve, Cavalry's Bane

Pei County, the blacksmith workshop.

Just as Liu Bei and Xu Shu were making their way over, Qin Tian was inspecting the workshop.

With spring's arrival, the weather had grown warmer, and the workshop had become stiflingly hot.

Flames licked from the furnaces. Bare-chested men swung heavy hammers, striking again and again amid a clamor of overlapping clangs.

Craftsmen moved about in orderly fashion, forging a peculiar-looking spearhead.

For an army, soldiers and horses were only the foundation. To become a true fighting force, it also needed equipment, armor, and other supplies.

Though Old Liu was holed up in Pei County, so poor that he could barely scrape by, he did have the production lines needed to support an army. Their output was simply low, and they could not manufacture much at a time.

And these craftsmen were no ordinary blacksmiths one might find on the street. They were artisans registered to serve the military, tasked specifically with making its equipment.

No matter how destitute Old Liu became, he would never abandon them.

Their craft had been passed down through generations. They had spent years at the forge, their bodies strong with muscle, possessing a laborer's rugged beauty.

Walking among them, Qin Tian found the din loud but not oppressive.

Of course, it would have been even better if Mi Zhu hadn't been tagging along.

Mi Zhu followed Qin Tian the whole way, peppering him with questions.

"Military Advisor, is the situation this year really so dire?"

"Could you tell me which places will be hit?"

"How many refugees do you estimate there will be?"

Listening to him, Qin Tian couldn't help sighing.

"Brother Zizhong, could you give it a rest?"

"Let me finish inspecting the workshop, and then we can talk it over."

Mi Zhu realized he had been pressing too hard. With an awkward smile, he said, "It's not that I'm impatient. Time is running out, and I need to be sure!"

Seeing Qin Tian's displeasure, he hastily added, "Very well, Military Advisor. Go ahead with your inspection!"

With that, he fell silent and quietly followed at Qin Tian's side.

Qin Tian turned his gaze to the blacksmiths and resumed his inspection.

Yet as he walked, he couldn't help reflecting that he had underestimated the ancients after all.

To understand why, one had to go back a month.

After the military council that day, Old Liu had summoned Mi Zhu to his residence the next morning and told him everything Qin Tian had said.

When Mi Zhu learned Qin Tian's true identity, he was dumbfounded.

Once he recovered, he was baffled, too.

Old Liu had no choice but to explain what had happened in recent weeks, along with why Qin Tian had taken an assumed name.

Mi Zhu had listened in a daze, thinking that his brother-in-law was a piece of work. Hiding things from outsiders was one thing, but he'd even kept them from his own brother-in-law!

Still, Mi Zhu understood how difficult Liu Bei's circumstances were and didn't take it to heart.

After carefully weighing the pros and cons, he agreed.

Just as Qin Tian had predicted, once Mi Zhu had thought it through, he decided he had little to lose.

Grain was hard currency in this era.

Even if no drought struck, he could resell it and lose little.

Compared with the money and grain he had already given Liu Bei, it was nothing!

So he began assigning people to monitor grain prices throughout the region, and in no time, he had bought up seventy or eighty thousand shi of grain.

But after making purchases for a while, Mi Zhu started to feel that something was off.

He figured that since he was already committed, why not make a killing?

After studying the situation carefully, he saw a tremendous opportunity.

If Huainan suffered a disaster, and Liu Bei failed to seize the region, his stockpile of grain would be worth a fortune!

For instance, during the great drought in Sanfu two years earlier, grain had reached five hundred thousand cash per hu, while beans and wheat had cost two hundred thousand.

Reselling his grain then would make him the newly crowned richest man in the Han Dynasty!

And even if Liu Bei did seize Huainan, Mi Zhu would still profit.

First, by providing grain and saving the people, he would earn a reputation for generosity that would spread far and wide.

Second, a severe drought in Huainan would produce masses of refugees and leave large tracts of land vacant. He could hold back some of his grain and buy land at rock-bottom prices.

Either way, it would benefit him. The more grain he had, the more he'd earn!

He then drew up a plan. First, he would buy up grain in the surrounding commanderies and counties as emergency provisions, so Liu Bei could draw on it as needed.

Second, he would mortgage his family's estates to raise a large sum of cash.

Third, he would travel to Jing Province and buy cheap, aged grain from the great clans there.

This was grain the great clans had kept in storage. It was bound to taste bad, and some of it had already grown worm-eaten, but it was dirt cheap!

If he bought enough in bulk, he could push the price down to less than a hundred and fifty cash per shi.

And this grain could still be used when drought struck.

For refugees, the question wasn't whether food tasted good, but whether it filled their bellies!

Once famine hit, they'd eat food with worms in it, and even food mixed with dirt.

After settling on this plan, he began making preparations.

But before putting it into action, he had to confirm one thing: that the drought was really coming.

Spending ten thousand gold to buy grain would support Liu Bei.

But now Mi Zhu was preparing to bet everything and rocket to the top in one fell swoop!

One wrong move, and he'd lose everything!

That was why, for the past several days, Mi Zhu had been hounding Qin Tian with questions.

When Qin Tian learned what Mi Zhu was thinking, he couldn't help marveling that Mi Zhu had been born in the wrong era.

If he'd lived in the modern world, he would've been a world-class capitalist!

He had money and guts. How could he not succeed?

But if Mi Zhu had asked once or twice, that would've been fine. Coming by every day was starting to wear Qin Tian down.

That was why he had been so cold just now.

Now, after hearing Qin Tian's words, Mi Zhu finally quieted down.

But with Mi Zhu standing behind him, Qin Tian had lost his urge to inspect the workshop. After thinking for a while, he turned around and said, "Forget it. Brother Zizhong, tell me how much grain you plan to buy."

Seeing Qin Tian finally turn back, Mi Zhu said with a smile, "Military Advisor, I plan to buy one and a half million shi of grain!"

"One and a half million shi?"

Qin Tian stared at him in surprise. "Where is the Mi family supposed to get that much money?"

He had estimated that a family of the Mi Clan's means could scrape together twenty thousand gold at most.

Even if they bought mostly aged grain, that would only be enough for a million shi or so!

How would Mi Zhu make up the rest?

Mi Zhu stroked his beard, looking pleased with himself. "That's easy. If the Mi Clan doesn't have enough money, we can raise the rest. I've already spread word that I intend to go to Yi Province to buy Shu Brocade and sell it in the Central Plains, Hebei, and elsewhere."

"I'll have each of the gentry families in Donghai chip in a few hundred or a thousand gold, then pay them back next spring!"

"With the Mi family's reputation, it shouldn't be difficult to raise another hundred or two hundred million cash!"

"Even if we run short, we can raise more elsewhere. Once we've sold the grain, we can cover the shortfall."

Hearing this, Qin Tian gave him a sidelong look. That was criminal—absolutely criminal.

So Liu Bei's people were all a bunch of outlaws, were they?

These criminal schemes were a thousand years ahead of their time!

No wonder the ancients were clever. If they hadn't taken a wrong turn in their development, what would there have been for those western barbarians to do?

With that thought, Qin Tian said, "If that's the case, I'll give you a firm answer, Brother Zizhong!"

"Go ahead and buy as much as you like. I'll back you, no matter how much you purchase!"

"If you really can secure that much grain, I can offer you a fine post later on!"

Hearing that, Mi Zhu finally relaxed. But then he asked curiously, "A fine post? What might it be?"

"I can't say just yet. In any case, by the end of this year, you'll see the results."

"We have to wait until the end of this year?" Mi Zhu looked taken aback, then sighed. "The way you do things is truly hard to fathom, Military Advisor. It's only April, and you're already thinking about the end of the year?"

He really wanted to crack open Qin Tian's skull and see what was inside.

The situation was so complicated, yet he couldn't imagine how Qin Tian could be so certain.

Qin Tian naturally had no idea what Mi Zhu was thinking. He only smiled and said, "You'll understand when the time comes!"

"Enough. It's getting late. Brother Zizhong, hurry back and make your preparations. It's already April. Whether our army can achieve great things rests on your shoulders!"

Mi Zhu immediately raised a hand. "Military Advisor, don't say that. I'm just a merchant. I'm not worthy of such a heavy responsibility!"

"You're the one who must shoulder it!"

"Military Advisor, you have work to do. I'll take my leave!"

With that, he clasped his hands in farewell and left.

With Qin Tian's assurance, he finally felt confident.

Watching Mi Zhu go, Qin Tian couldn't help reflecting once more that though Old Liu had spent his life wandering from place to place, he'd also had many benefactors!

A brother-in-law like Mi Zhu was one in several hundred years!

No wonder Mi Zhu's standing had always been at the head of the ministers.

A man like Mi Zhu could make something of himself in any era.

As Qin Tian was thinking, the craftsmen in the distance stopped work and turned to greet someone at the entrance. He looked up and saw Liu Bei approaching with Xu Shu.

He hurried forward and said, "My lord, what brings you here?"

Liu Bei had spotted Qin Tian already. He came over with a smile. "I was inspecting the camp today, but I didn't see you, Military Advisor, so I had Yuanzhi bring me here!"

"By the way, I saw Zizhong hurrying off just now. What was the matter?"

They had run into Mi Zhu at the entrance and exchanged greetings, but hadn't asked him what was going on.

Qin Tian smiled. "What else could it be?"

"It was about buying grain. Brother Zizhong had some questions, so he came to ask me."

"I see!"

Liu Bei nodded. Looking at Qin Tian, he couldn't help marveling at how hard the man worked.

Ever since taking up his post, Qin Tian had been busy nonstop.

Setting aside his military duties, he had to train the troops on one hand and keep the grain provisions on track on the other.

He handled everything in perfect order. There was no denying his ability.

Even without offering strategies, his skill in logistics and coordinating all sides made him a top-tier talent!

Thinking of how he had dumped all these responsibilities on Qin Tian as soon as the man arrived, Liu Bei felt a little ashamed. "You've worked hard, Military Advisor. It's a pity I lack your talent and can't ease your burden!"

"My lord, what are you saying? I draw my salary from you, so it's only right that I bear your worries. There's nothing hard about it!"

Qin Tian smiled modestly, then turned to Xu Shu. "It's one thing for my lord to come see how I'm doing, but why are you here, Yuanzhi?"

Xu Shu grinned. "There's nothing going on in camp, and I was worried you'd slack off, Military Advisor, so I came to supervise you!"

"You rascal!"

Qin Tian laughed and punched Xu Shu on the shoulder. "I'm the Military Advisor. If anyone should be supervising you, it's me—yet you've come to supervise me!"

"Even without asking, I know why you're here!"

"You've come to sneak a look at my weapon, haven't you?"

After taking the punch, Xu Shu burst out laughing. "That's right. My lord had the same idea!"

Seeing Xu Shu use him as a shield, Liu Bei laughed too. "Indeed. When I heard from Yuanzhi that you were overseeing the making of a weapon, I came to have a look!"

"But what kind of weapon are you overseeing?"

"Since my lord wants to see, there's no harm in it."

Qin Tian turned around and called, "Someone, bring me a Hook Sickle Spear!"

At his order, a young soldier went into the armory. Before long, he came out carrying a long spear.

Liu Bei examined it closely. The spear was nearly eight feet long, and beneath its head were two sharply honed, backward-curving hooks.

"This weapon has a rather peculiar shape!"

Xu Shu nodded beside him.

"Indeed. It's not a standard spear design, but what is it for?"

Seeing their curiosity, Qin Tian took the spear from the soldier.

"This weapon is designed specifically to counter cavalry!"

He laid the spear on the ground and pointed to its hooked sickle.

"Since our army has few cavalrymen at present, we must find a way to counter them. The hooks on either side can catch a horse's hooves and drag at its legs, injuring it. Once the cavalryman falls, we can thrust straight at him!"

After listening to Qin Tian's explanation, Liu Bei nodded and sighed.

"Your idea is truly ingenious, military advisor!"

He was a veteran commander himself and knew how dangerous cavalry could be. They relied chiefly on charging in and harassing their foes without pause.

An ordinary foot soldier who encountered cavalry had almost no chance of survival.

They couldn't win a fight, yet they couldn't outrun them either!

In this era, the main weapon used to counter cavalry was the halberd, but it was less practical than a spear!

Qin Tian's weapon could be said to combine the spear and the halberd. It wouldn't be difficult to make, yet its effect would be powerful!

By targeting the horses' legs, the spear could deal cavalry a lethal blow if issued to troops on a large scale.

The more Liu Bei thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

"Excellent, excellent! This weapon is truly excellent—a real weapon of war!"

But as Xu Shu studied it, he frowned.

"I thought you had some secret weapon in mind. Though this weapon of yours is good, it's of little use to our army!"

"The Yuan Shu Army has no elite cavalry, and we're unlikely to have any use for it while attacking Yuan Shu!"

Liu Bei understood as soon as he heard that.

"That's right, military advisor. Since we're going to fight Yuan Shu, we should make more swords and spears. Why manufacture something like this?"

Under their questioning gazes, Qin Tian picked up the spear and gave a faint, knowing smile.

"You've both misunderstood. I didn't make this for Yuan Shu. I prepared it for Lu Bu!"

Liu Bei and Xu Shu froze in place.

They weren't going to fight Yuan Shu, but Lu Bu? What did that mean?