Inside the Gong'an county office, Zhuge Liang gave a short, stocky man a warm, enthusiastic handshake.
"Qu Jing! It has been far too long since we parted ways in Jingzhou! Good to see you again!"
Qu Jing looked a little stiff. "Master Kongming, let me introduce you. This is Wei Yi, a close personal aide to Administrator Wu."
Zhuge Liang gestured for both to sit on the mats and told the servants to bring tea.
He had actually planned to head over to Jiangling today, but Wu Ju's envoys had thrown a wrench in those plans. Wu Ju used to serve under Liu Biao, and he had always kept up a solid friendship with Liu Bei. Even after Liu Jingsheng passed away, the two sides still exchanged letters now and then. So for Wu Ju to suddenly send envoys in person? Zhuge Liang's instincts were already tingling. Something was up.
Sure enough, Qu Jing's next words confirmed it.
"So Administrator Wu led his troops and drove Lai Gong off. He is worried Lai Gong might show up here and twist the story, so he sent us to explain what really happened."
Zhuge Liang shook his head slowly. "Lai Gong has not come here to complain. But I suspect Marquis Sun will definitely try to make a big deal out of this."
The two men exchanged a confused look. "Uh... what do you mean?" Their lord had not told them what to say if that happened.
"And if I am right," Zhuge Liang went on, taking a calm sip of tea, "Marquis Sun might even decide to make an example of Administrator Wu. By beheading him. To show everyone who is in charge."
"What?!" Both men stared at him, refusing to believe it. "Administrator Wu has never even met Marquis Sun! How could it come to that?"
Zhuge Liang smiled pleasantly, eyes crinkling. "Just thinking out loud. Take it however you like."
"But look at Jiaozhou. Take Shi Xie, for example. He knows exactly how to keep his head down and stay safe. Even through all the chaos, he still sends tribute every year all the way to Xuchang."
They both nodded. Everyone knew that. That was exactly how Shi Xie earned his titles. Pingyan General and Marquis of Longdu.
"After Red Cliffs, the Cao thief cannot reach that far south anymore," Zhuge Liang continued. "Marquis Sun's influence is growing, but he still cannot push north. So naturally, his eyes are going to turn toward Jiaozhou."
"Shi Xie is a cautious man who values his own skin. Show him enough force, and he will submit without a fight. But how do you show force?"
"Lai Gong and Administrator Wu are at each other's throats. Administrator Wu bullied the newly appointed Inspector of Jiaozhou. Now Sun Quan has his justification. Remove Administrator Wu, and Shi Xie falls in line."
Qu Jing could feel cold sweat forming on his brow. Wei Yi, however, still had his doubts.
"Then why does Administrator Wu not just submit to Lord Sun himself?"
Zhuge Liang leaned back, speaking casually. "Because Administrator Wu and my lord are the closest of friends! Naturally, we will stand with him. Have you perhaps heard about Zhang Yide's fame at Changban Slope?"
Qu Jing and Wei Yi just blinked at the exact same time. 'Oh no. The politics of Jiaozhou are not just about Wu Ju anymore'.
A few days later, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei rode back from Jiangling. The very same day, Zhang Fei gathered his troops, linked up with Qu Jing and Wei Yi and their few dozen light cavalry, and set off for Jiaozhou.
Before he left, Zhuge Liang pulled Zhang Fei aside for a private word. At first the big man furrowed his brows, listening hard. Slowly the frown smoothed out, and finally he slapped his chest and laughed loud enough to rattle the roof tiles.
"Do not you worry for a second, Kongming! When it comes to fighting, you can count on Old Zhang!"
Zhuge Liang smiled back. "I know you well, Yide. You may look rough and ready on the surface, but you are sharp as a tack underneath. A truly capable general! When you come back in triumph, I will personally throw you a victory feast!"
As the column marched out, Zhang Fei spurred his horse forward, his booming voice carrying back on the wind.
"Have some good Ling wine ready for me! Old Zhang will be back before you know it!"
Liu Bei watched from a distance for a long time before turning back, still looking reluctant to see him go.
"Yide will be fine," Zhuge Liang reassured him. "But we should also send someone to check in on Lai Gong. Best to invite him over to Gong'an for a visit. Make him feel welcome."
Liu Bei nodded, then brought up another matter.
"Jiangling is pretty run down. I was thinking we could resettle the Jianghuai refugees there. What do you think?"
"That is a good idea," Zhuge Liang agreed. "But we cannot do it the way the Cao thief does. Dragging people there by force. These people have already suffered enough. They barely got settled here less than a year ago. If we force them to move again, we will just have unrest on our hands."
"Should we send soldiers to explain the benefits?" Liu Bei wondered. "Have them spread the word?"
Zhuge Liang's eyes lit up. He stepped forward with a nod.
"If that is how we want to do it, I have a plan!"
Over at the Hudu River Paper Workshop, Ma Su felt like his workload had suddenly gotten suspiciously light. No new war-room simulations, no urgent tasks from the lord, and even Madam Huang had mostly stepped back from the workshop to focus on her studies.
Which meant the paper mill basically fell under his watch now?
"Good morning, Master Mi!" Ma Su hurried over with a bow.
Mi Zhu looked a little less weighed down than usual. He waved him over.
"Youchang, the Chief Strategist has a new assignment. And I think there is only one person for the job."
Only one person for the job?!
Ma Su's chest practically swelled with pride. He straightened up, eyes bright.
"Please, tell me what to do!"
Fifteen minutes later, Ma Su was standing right next to the massive water-powered grinding stone and giant mortar out back, clutching a stack of notices.
Massive was the only word for it. Even having seen them several times, Ma Su still marveled at Madam Huang's cleverness. The stone rollers and pounding mortars were fully five times the size of ordinary farm equipment. Way too heavy to be driven by hand. But she and the smiths had rigged up a system of iron gears and wooden levers linking everything to a giant water wheel. When the wheel turned, the whole mill worked.
Processing grain here cost only a fifth of the usual rate, so farmers lined up from dawn till dusk. At one point someone was actually charging people to hold spots in the queue. Until Ma Su punished them with three days of hard labor washing wood pulp.
By mid-morning, the entrance was packed with townsfolk and country folk.
"What does that say, young master?" someone called out.
"Read it for us! Most of us cannot read!"
"Yes, is Madam Huang raising the milling price?"
Ma Su found a small bronze gong and tapped it once. One sharp clang, and the crowd settled down. He did not stand on ceremony.
"Liu Huangsu is rebuilding Jiangling City! There is plenty of empty land there! This year's rent? Completely waived! And if you are willing to work, you can build your own house!"
"Do not ask why it is such a good deal! You trust Liu Huangsu, do you not?"
"Take one notice each! Tell your friends and family! Show this paper when you sign up to go to Jiangling, and you will get two big flatbreads!"
Two big flatbreads?!
The crowd erupted. In seconds, nearly a thousand notices were snatched up.
There were fifty thousand or so Jianghuai refugees in the area. Some had already put down roots, but most were still scraping by with barely a roof over their heads. Track them down, get them registered for Jiangling, and boom, two flatbreads. Even if you split them with someone, one each was still a pretty good deal.
---
Late June.
'The bugs in Jiaozhou are absolutely enormous!
Zhang Fei swore under his breath as he brought his spear shaft down hard and smashed a palm-sized insect he could not even name. Watching the creature's juices splatter across the spearhead made him feel a little queasy.
He had been camped here for five days now, following Zhyge Liang's plan. He had sent Qu Jing on ahead to let Wu Ju know they were coming, while Wei Yi stayed back to show them the way and help pick a good spot to set up camp.
Now Zhang Fei was having second thoughts. He should have kept Qu Jing around. The guy actually knew how to hold a conversation.
After a few messages back and forth, Wu Ju's attitude had settled his nerves a bit. Wu Ju still remembered the old friendship and honestly did not care all that much who technically governed Jiaozhou.
What he did care about was one very specific thing.
Was Sun Quan actually planning to use his head as a warning to Shi Xie?
So when Bu Zhi showed up calling himself the new Inspector of Jiaozhou, Wu Ju just rolled his eyes. Still, whenever Bu Zhi invited him to a banquet, Wu Ju showed up, and spent the whole meal mocking him.
After enough of this, Bu Zhi's patience finally ran out. He settled on a plan: invite Wu Ju over to Guangxin for a feast, post his personal guards all around the house, and station several thousand tribal warriors upstream. Ready to sail down on boats and block any escape!
But things did not go quite the way Bu Zhi had planned. When the showdown finally happened at the banquet, Wu Ju should have looked shocked and terrified. Instead, he just looked scornful.
"Hah! Marquis Sun sure is in a rush, is he not? Sent you to collect my head?"
Before Bu Zhi could even process that, something whistled through the air, and the stone floor right in front of him exploded.
When the dust cleared, a pitch-black long spear was buried deep in the ground, standing perfectly still.
Outside the main gate, the shouting and clatter of weapons suddenly died down a little. And then a voice like rolling thunder boomed from the doorway.
"So you are the one trying to hurt my big brother's friend?!"
Bu Zhi's heart hammered against his ribs. He turned around, and his eyes went wide.
What a monstrous bear of a man!