Chapter 21: Ulterior Motives

Of course, the vast territory of Xuzhou could not rely solely on Liu Bei’s current forces. There were actually another twenty to thirty thousand troops within the province, but these men did not answer to Liu Bei and were stationed in various commanderies and kingdoms, so they were not an immediate concern for him.

Liu Bei’s force of less than thirty thousand was composed almost entirely of infantry, which meant relatively low consumption. A soldier required about two *shi* of grain per month; if supplies were tight, one and a half *shi* could suffice. However, if the ration fell below one *shi*, the soldiers would undoubtedly suffer from hunger, leading to poor training, diminished combat effectiveness, and simmering resentment.

Horses had much higher consumption, equivalent to three to five infantrymen. Fortunately, Liu Bei’s army had only two or three hundred cavalry in total, and including the horses kept by the provincial government, the total number was under five hundred—equivalent to the grain consumption of two thousand infantry.

Adding the grain required by the officials at the provincial, commandery, and county levels in Tan County, the total supply needed was for roughly thirty thousand people. At a moderate consumption rate of one and a half *shi* per person per month, Liu Bei would need at least seven months of supplies to make it to the summer harvest. For thirty thousand people and their horses, a minimum of three hundred and twenty thousand *shi* of grain would be required.

In Han Dynasty measurements, there were "large *shi*" and "small *shi*," with a small *shi* being about three-fifths of a large one; the calculations here were based on the large *shi*. As Liu Bei had just mentioned, there were four hundred thousand *shi* of grain in the provincial and commandery storehouses in Tan County. After deducting the baseline of three hundred and twenty thousand *shi* for the military, even if Liu Bei left nothing behind, he could squeeze out at most thirty thousand *shi*. This small amount of grain would have to cover both seeds for planting and daily rations, likely allowing him to recruit only a thousand men or so.

In Liu Bei’s view, rather than such a trivial endeavor, it would be better to keep the thirty thousand *shi* in reserve for emergencies. Liu Bei’s logic was sound, but he was unaware of the scale of Liu Feng’s calculations and ambitions. Liu Feng was preparing to make a massive demand when he visited the Mi family, aiming for at least one hundred thousand *shi* of grain and one million *qian* in supplies.

"Father, there is no rush for this matter. Let me visit the Assistant Governor first, and then we shall discuss it." Liu Feng kindly kept his plans hidden from Liu Bei, fearing that his "Big-Eared" father might jump up and give him a thrashing if he knew the truth. To change the subject, Liu Feng took the initiative to ask, "Father, what is the third matter?"

Liu Bei replied, "It concerns Xiangben County. You previously suggested that I appoint Ziyong to Cheng County and Guorang to Lanling. What then, of Xiangben County?"

Xiangben County was located on a vital transportation route, the essential thoroughfare connecting Cheng County and Lanling County to Tan City. If Xiangben were cut off, Cheng and Lanling would be isolated, losing their connection to Tan City. Liu Bei continued, "Furthermore, you have advised me to establish agricultural colonies in Cheng and Lanling, yet the location of Xiangben is even more critical than those two; it is the western gateway to Tan City. Surely you have considered this, Feng'er?"

Of course, Liu Feng had considered it—he had considered it far too much, for he intended to keep Xiangben County for himself. He had long planned to push Zhao Yun and Tian Yu to the front lines while he retreated to Xiangben, backed by Liu Bei’s Tan City. It was a position where he could advance to attack or retreat to defend, gaining the protection of Liu Bei’s faction while distancing himself from Liu Bei's interference. It was a strategy with multiple advantages.

However, Liu Feng knew the difficulty of achieving this. Regardless of how much his father valued him or respected his advice, he was, after all, only a ten-year-old child. Furthermore, in official circles, it was unthinkable to entrust the leadership of a county to a boy who had not yet reached adulthood. Even if Liu Bei were to agree, the only outcome would be for him to be verbally torn to shreds by Chen Deng, Chen Qun, and the others.

In reality, the appointments of Zhao Yun and Tian Yu as county magistrates were hard-won, the result of multiple coincidences. In a time of peace, such a position would normally be held by an elite individual with the status of a "Maocai" (a talented scholar recommended to the throne). What was a Maocai? One could think of it as a top scholar of the province, with only one appointed per year. In peaceful times, there were no provincial governors, only provincial inspectors, and each inspector could only recommend one person to the imperial court annually. As for commandery governors, they could only recommend "Xiaolian" (filial and incorruptible candidates).

The number of Xiaolian recommendations was strictly tied to the population—one for every two hundred thousand people per year. If the population was less, the interval grew longer. One could easily imagine the prestige of such a status. Even a Xiaolian had to study in Luoyang before having a chance to be assigned as a county magistrate. In most cases, a Xiaolian had to be "gilded" in Luoyang by serving in a central government post before holding a chief position in a county.

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu were of humble origins; they were truly grassroots scholars. They owed their positions entirely to the aftermath of Cao Cao’s massacre in Xuzhou. Cao Cao had slaughtered the local gentry of Xuzhou, leaving almost nothing behind, which drastically reduced the number of competitors for Zhao Yun and Tian Yu.

Furthermore, because of Cao Cao’s slaughter, Cheng and Lanling were in ruins and highly dangerous. To put it bluntly, these places were overrun with wild beasts and bandits, and the people were destitute. Not to mention, no one knew when Cao Cao might return to kill again. Even if the scholars of this era had not completely rotted away, few would compete for the magistracies of these two places. Because of this, high-ranking families like those of Chen Deng, Chen Qun, and Mi Zhu turned a blind eye and did not oppose Liu Bei’s appointments. If it had been a region untouched by Cao Cao’s devastation, one could only imagine the reaction. Even if Chen Yuanlong were on good terms with Liu Bei, he would have vehemently opposed it; in his mind, opposing such a reckless order would only further demonstrate his loyalty to Liu Bei.

Therefore, Liu Feng had long planned to "list on the market with a borrowed shell." He intended to select one of the scholars he had recruited to serve as the magistrate. Initially, he had wanted Lu Su to take the post, but he realized that if Lu Su were appointed, Liu Bei might have Chen Deng serve concurrently as the Agricultural Colonel. During Tao Qian’s time, Chen Deng had served as Agricultural Colonel and successfully implemented agricultural colonies in Xuzhou, resulting in abundant harvests and prosperous citizens. Unfortunately, this had only fueled Tao Qian’s ambition, leading him to alienate capable scholars like Chen Deng and Zhao Yu, while favoring sycophants like Cao Hong. This led to wars on all sides; though initially successful, it ended in a disastrous defeat, and Tao Qian eventually died in a state of anxious despair.

Facing Liu Bei’s question, Liu Feng replied with an air of righteous concern, "Father, precisely because Xiangben is a vital hub and the gateway to Tan City, we must be extremely cautious in our choice of personnel. I implore you to set this matter aside for a few days; it is better to leave the post vacant than to make a hasty decision."

Liu Bei looked at Liu Feng for a moment and nodded. "Very well. Yuanlong and the others also suggested discussing this after the New Year. Right now, simply gathering the refugees and persuading the great families to provide grain for disaster relief has them overwhelmed; they truly have no time to attend to this for the moment."

After saying this, Liu Bei pointed to his head and closed his eyes. "Feng'er, the technique you used just now was truly excellent. Give me another massage."

Liu Feng felt a flicker of doubt—could his "Big-Eared" father have sensed that he had other plans? However, despite his misgivings, he dutifully began to massage his father.