Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Can’t a strategist ascend the throne? Volume 7: Eight Hundred Qin Rivers, Occupying Guanzhong, Chapter 218: Mao Jie’s Visit

If someone else had said this, it might have been considered coercion.

But when these words came from Qiao Yan’s mouth, this “who else but me” statement truly couldn’t be seen as an exaggeration.

While other provinces and counties were still stuck in internal governance and rectification, Bingzhou had already developed its agricultural and civilian affairs to a thriving state.

So much so that when rumors of the crossbow spread like wildfire, few noticed these fundamental changes.

Yet, in reality, these were the very foundations that determined the developmental differences between regions.

Mi Zhu could see this.

Having traveled extensively between regions for years, he saw things more clearly than anyone.

Perhaps, ever since Mi Zhu first arrived in Bingzhou in the fourth year of Zhongping, the various scenes he witnessed had already led him to make this decision.

A true great merchant indeed doesn’t need to play both sides, as they choose the target that will bring them the most profit.

This wasn’t just because the lord before him was demanding a definitive answer.

Mi Zhu bowed to Qiao Yan and said, “Since the lord dares to ask, I dare to answer. The Donghai Mi Clan is willing to serve and be driven by the lord.”

He spoke of the Mi Clan, not just himself, representing more than just his personal stance.

But the certainty in his words left no doubt that he had the capital to make this decision.

As he walked out of the storeroom with Qiao Yan, Mi Zhu added, “This should not have been said by the lord. When we sent gifts before, the Mi Clan had already considered this choice. If the Son of Heaven is determined, the lord, as the one who supported him, would surely be promoted, and then the Mi Clan could present this as a token of loyalty. But now we need to think of another one.”

Mi Zhu met Qiao Yan’s gaze with a helpless expression.

Gift-giving is hard.

Despite being a skilled gift-giver, after sending out craftsmen for horseshoes, chain mail, and sail carts, and with Bingzhou now trading on the Silk Road, able to offer Ferghana horses and cotton cloth, Mi Zhu was momentarily at a loss for a suitable gift.

Qiao Yan replied, “But I always believe in one principle: anything worth having must be actively pursued.”

Seven years ago, the Marquis of Leping title required careful strategizing, and now, expanding influence and winning over subordinates is the same.

With the Donghai Mi Clan’s allegiance, no longer just at a cooperative level, her overt and covert trade routes could fully unfold.

Unfortunately, until the Mi Clan moved to her territory, or rather, since it wasn’t suitable for them to relocate from Xuzhou to Bingzhou yet, Qiao Yan wouldn’t fully trust them.

Especially the covert intelligence network, which Mi Zhu shouldn’t know about at this time.

She merely reassigned Bao Hong, originally a bodyguard, to Mi Zhu’s command with a written order, to follow his arrangements.

Speaking of subordinates… As Qiao Yan penned this order, she also inquired about Lu Su.

Mi Zhu replied, “Lu Su is only twenty. If the lord hadn’t instructed me to recommend him to Tao Qian, he might not have noticed such a local magnate. This person truly has real talent. After Tao Qian spoke with him and tested him, he has now been appointed as a registrar.”

Mi Zhu had interacted with Lu Su several times after his appointment and deeply felt that his demeanor and abilities were top-tier among talents.

Thus, he didn’t quite understand why Qiao Yan didn’t keep such a person for herself, let alone recommend him to Tao Qian in distant Xuzhou.

After all, Qiao Yan had many non-locals under her command in Bingzhou.

But he only saw Qiao Yan smile upon hearing about the registrar appointment, quipping, “Registrars are all quite young,” and then signaling Mi Zhu to continue discussing Lu Su’s arrangements in Xuzhou.

She didn’t find this recommendation regrettable.

With Tao Qian’s appointment, Lu Su wouldn’t have the chance to interact with Sun Ce for a while.

Compared to Sun Ce, Tao Qian was naturally less of a threat.

And the longer Lu Su served under Tao Qian, both he and the powerful clan he belonged to would become further tied to Tao Qian.

All she needed to do was to know both herself and her enemy.

This binding was similar to the situation between the powerful Li clan in Yanzhou and Cao Cao.

As Cao Cao obtained the title of Governor of Yanzhou, the Li clan, which had been in a cooperative observation state, along with their thousands of retainers in Chengshi, all joined Cao Cao’s command.

Leading this group was Li Gan, who also had a capable nephew named Li Dian.

Like Lu Su, this was a force Qiao Yan couldn’t possibly poach.

But with the confidence to overcome them, she didn’t mind the flow of talents.

Just as when she received news of Cao Cao’s envoy, she wasn’t too surprised that the envoy wasn’t Chen Gong, who had helped Cao Cao secure the governorship title in Ye City, but Mao Jie, also from Yanzhou.

He had also pledged allegiance to Cao Cao.

And what she had previously told Cao Pi wasn’t wrong.

When Princess Yang’an visited Ye City, staying under the pretext of seeing her son, the existence of cotton and cotton cloth quickly spread due to the princess’s promotion.

Cao Cao had always valued civilian and agricultural affairs and had foresight. Recognizing the warmth of cotton clothing, he immediately sent Mao Jie.

It was interesting that he sent Mao Jie, a stranger to Qiao Yan, instead of Cao Ang, who had met her several times.

The initiative in cotton trade could only be in Qiao Yan’s hands; personal connections were of little use, at most determining whether a trade could happen.

So rather than having Cao Ang come for a reunion, it was more straightforward to define this trade as inter-provincial commerce.

Mao Jie, who had proposed “cultivate agriculture, stockpile military supplies” upon joining, held a position similar to Qin Yu under Cao Cao.

Thus, it was appropriate for him to negotiate the cotton trade.

What Qiao Yan didn’t expect was to see a familiar face among Mao Jie’s entourage.

Tian Yan of the Puyang Tian Clan.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Qiao Yan had persuaded the local magnate Tian Clan to serve her, aiding in her victory over the Yellow Turbans.

Tian Yan, for risking his life to deliver a message to Changshe, was rewarded with the title of Marquis of Ting.

Though four ranks below Qiao Yan’s marquis title, for most, a Marquis of Ting was an incredibly rare reward.

With such a start, one could advance particularly smoothly in the early stages of officialdom.

But Tian Yan clearly wasn’t among them.

Back then, his father had offered sixty bolts of silk to Qiao Yan to spare their lives, hoping she wouldn’t involve them in such dangerous events again. Tian Yan hadn’t noticed the subtleties of that conversation, showing he lacked political acumen.

But being carefree has its advantages.

Given Qiao Yan’s current achievements, even if she wasn’t in Yanzhou, it would have been enough for the Tian Clan patriarch to regret severing ties to the point of beating his chest in frustration. Yet, Tian Yan remained oblivious.

Even when Qiao Yan looked at him, he smiled as if meeting an old friend.

In a way, it was a kind of blissful ignorance.

Qiao Yan sighed inwardly, then turned to Mao Jie.

“The purpose of Officer Mao’s visit has been stated in the advance notice sent by Governor Cao. But the message I had Dezuzong deliver to Yuan Shao, I believe Mengde has also received it.”








This deal seems unnecessary to discuss.

Upon hearing her refusal, Mao Jie showed no surprise and calmly replied, “May I ask one thing, Your Highness? Please do not hesitate to enlighten me.”

Seeing Qiao Yan gesture for him to continue, Mao Jie proceeded, “Does cotton really grow on trees like kapok?”

Yuan Shao and his strategists, due to misunderstandings from Xu You and Chen Lin, followed by Yang Xiu’s misleading information, were led astray, truly believing that cotton and kapok were the same thing.

However, Mao Jie and Zao Zhi under Cao Cao’s command did some calculations upon receiving this news.

To supply the soldiers of Bingzhou and Liangzhou, relying on trees… it would have to cover entire mountains.

At such a scale, Qiao Yan couldn’t possibly hide the cultivation locations from outsiders.

Even if she started cultivating trees upon her arrival in Leping, gradually expanding the planting area, it would still be impossible.

The only explanation is that it grows in fields like millet and wheat, allowing for security through field guarding.

The origin of the species is irrelevant; being able to plant it in fields means Qiao Yan could expand its cultivation area significantly within a year.

This opens the possibility for external trade.

Mao Jie then asked, “I am here on behalf of Cao Yanzhou to sincerely discuss this trade. This question will not be mentioned to other regions after I leave. I only wish to inquire, what price would be required to trade cotton seeds, and what cost for cotton clothing?”

Qiao Yan sipped her tea, “You are clever.”

This was an implicit acknowledgment of his previous statement.

She continued, “Unfortunately, the former is unnecessary. Cao Yanzhou has just begun expanding his influence from Dong Commandery to the entire Yanzhou. Does he really have the capacity to develop new crops? I won’t hide it from you; cotton cultivation involves dozens of pests and diseases. I fear you lack the resources.”

Mao Jie’s gaze remained fixed on Qiao Yan.

Her calm expression made it hard to judge the truth of her words, yet strangely, Mao Jie had an intuition that she might be telling the truth.

As she said, Yanzhou’s current priority is to quickly expand military farming under the coordination of Mao Jie and Zao Zhi.

To standardize field cultivation swiftly, they should simplify processes rather than complicate them.

Qiao Yan added, “As for the latter… I have a proposal. I wonder if Mao Personnel can make this decision on behalf of Cao Yanzhou.”

“If you provide the hemp fabric for cotton clothing, we can return one piece of cotton clothing for every shi of rice.”

“But if we provide the finished product directly, it will be ten shi of rice per piece.”

This wasn’t a random figure.

Cotton yield per mu is far from comparable to modern times, and to ensure the first-year trial’s success, the planting distance was slightly increased, resulting in about 200 jin per mu.

Here, jin refers to the modern jin.

After removing the seeds, the remaining weight could produce about 200 to 300 pieces of cotton clothing.

In Bingzhou’s farming methods, ordinary millet and wheat yield about eight shi per mu in Shang Commandery.

In other words, she exchanged land that could produce eight shi of rice for cotton that could make 200 pieces of clothing.

But calculating cotton’s cost isn’t that simple.

Compared to the meticulous cultivation of cotton, growing wheat and millet is relatively rougher, involving more labor.

The process of removing seeds and beating the cotton also consumes labor.

Additionally, the fabric used for making cotton clothing is a significant cost.

Even using hemp cloth isn’t cheap.

At a cost of over a hundred coins per piece of cloth, double-layered would be close to four hundred coins.

That’s nearly eight shi of rice at Bingzhou’s current grain prices!

Adding labor and thread costs, ten shi of rice per piece of cotton clothing is already a generous price.

But earning over three hundred shi of rice per mu, compared to the original less than ten shi, what a lucrative deal!

Yet, discussing this business, the Bingzhou Prefect held her teacup without a ripple, as if casually chatting over tea. Even Mao Jie, seasoned as he was, couldn’t fathom the immense profit.

He also didn’t know that shortly before his arrival in Bingzhou, Qiao Yan had incorporated the wealthy Mi family from the East Sea, undoubtedly bolstering her confidence in this trade.

Calculating the labor and transportation costs for hemp production, Mao Jie replied, “We choose the latter. At the latest, within half a month, I will return to Yanzhou to discuss with the Prefect and deliver the grain for trade. Can Prefect Qiao spare three thousand pieces of cotton clothing?”

Winter is approaching.

They must prepare quickly.

Fortunately, although Qiao Yan’s price equates to a thousand coins in Yanzhou, compared to the warmth of the cotton clothing, it’s still a bargain.

Ensuring the soldiers’ survival through winter would be highly effective.

Unfortunately, Yanzhou isn’t as affluent as Bingzhou and can only offer thirty thousand shi of grain for this trade.

As Mao Jie was escorted out by Qiao Yan’s subordinates, he couldn’t help but sigh.

How much wealth has the Bingzhou Prefect accumulated to spare three thousand pieces of cotton clothing without batting an eye?

It’s as if the Liangzhou war didn’t affect her at all.

But overthinking is futile; he must quickly return to Yanzhou and report to Cao Cao.

Compared to Mao Jie’s smooth negotiation and feeling they didn’t lose out, someone else is in a much worse situation.

Tian Feng, with his fake identity, joined Bingzhou’s household registry and secured a low-level job at a tool-making facility.

To appear less like a scholar, he even observed several farming families and tried to mimic them.

This elaborate disguise made him miss the news of Yang Xiu and Princess Yang’an going to Ye City and Yuan Shao’s men sneaking into Bingzhou to find him.

Fortunately, effort pays off. He’s now settled in this production office. After a month’s probation, he’ll gain access to more secrets about Bingzhou’s agriculture!

But… there’s a man sharing his dorm who persistently tries to learn arithmetic with his limited brainpower.

Since arriving, Tian Feng hasn’t seen him solve a single complex problem!

He’s asked everyone in the dorm for help, but most who choose this job lack the skills.

Tian Feng, with a headache, directly calculated the answers for him.

He thought this would be the start of peaceful sleep, but the next day he was taken to the core area of this “factory.”

The arithmetic idiot slapped his shoulder, saying, “It was worth sneaking into this batch of newcomers to find someone capable!”

“By the way, I forgot to mention, I’m Zhang Niujiao, the manager here. What’s your name again?”

“The Prefect is right; talent must be discovered.”

Zhang Niujiao was very satisfied with his discovery and assured Tian Feng, “Listen to me, work hard with me, achieve something, and I’ll recommend you to the Prefect!”