“Can a strategist not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 218 – The Visit of Mao Jian
If someone else had said such a thing, it might have been considered coercion.
But when it came out of Qiao Yan’s mouth, that sort of “if not me, then who?” statement truly couldn’t be dismissed as mere exaggeration.
While other regions were still busy sorting out their internal governance, Bingzhou had already turned efforts into a thriving development of agriculture and land reclamation.
As rumors about crossbows being brandished spread like wildfire, very few noticed these foundational changes brewing beneath the surface.
In reality, this was the very essence deciding the developmental disparities across regions.
Mi Zhu could see all of this.
Having traveled extensively, he understood the situation better than anyone else.
Perhaps ever since his first visit to Bingzhou in the fourth year of the Zhongping era, the sights he witnessed had already driven him to this conclusion.
A true businessman doesn’t need to engage in any chicanery, for they will choose targets that maximize their profits.
And this wasn’t just because the lord in front of him was demanding a definitive answer.
Mi Zhu leaned toward Qiao Yan, bowing respectfully, “If the lord would dare to ask, I, too, dare to respond. The Donghai Mi Clan is willing to serve the lord diligently.”
By using “Mi Clan” instead of “Mi Zhu,” he wasn’t just speaking for himself.
Yet the confidence in his words left no doubt that he had the capital to back up this decision.
As they emerged from the storeroom, Mi Zhu added, “Honestly, this shouldn’t have been a question posed by the lord. When we presented gifts back then, the Mi Clan had already given this choice considerable thought. If the Son of Heaven is decided, the lord, as the one who supported him, will surely rise in rank; at that point, the Mi Clan can present this as a token of loyalty. But now, we need to reconsider.”
Mi Zhu met Qiao Yan’s gaze with a helpless expression.
Giving gifts was tricky.
Though he was skilled at it, with horses, chain mail, and ox-drawn carts already given away as gifts, and now with Bingzhou opening up Silk Road trade, he couldn’t immediately think of an appropriate present.
Qiao Yan replied, “But I have always believed in one principle: you must actively strive for anything.”
Seven years ago, the Marquis of Leping’s title required careful maneuvering, and the current expansion of influence and subjugation of subordinates was no different.
With the allegiance of the Donghai Mi Clan, it was no longer just about cooperation; her dual trading routes could fully open up.
Unfortunately, until the Mi Clan set foot on her territory, or rather, since it wasn’t suitable for them to move from Xuzhou to Bingzhou just yet, Qiao Yan wouldn’t fully trust them.
Especially since that line of dark intelligence wasn’t something Mi Zhu should be privy to at this moment.
She simply dispatched Bao Hong, initially assigned as protection, as an underling to Mi Zhu, allowing him to coordinate.
However, speaking of underlings… as Qiao Yan penned this edict, she inquired about Lu Su.
Mi Zhu responded, “Lu Zijing is only twenty. If it weren’t for the lord urging me to recommend him to Tao Gongzu, he probably wouldn’t even notice such a local powerhouse. This fellow is truly a talented man. After Tao Gongzu spoke with him, he tried him out and now is about to appoint him as chief clerk.”
Mi Zhu had several encounters with Lu Su after his appointment and felt that the other’s manner and talent were genuinely top-notch.
Therefore, he didn’t quite understand why Qiao Yan wouldn’t keep such a talent close and instead would recommend him to the faraway Tao Qian in Xuzhou.
After all, Qiao Yan had many people not from Bingzhou under her command.
Yet, he only noticed Qiao Yan chuckling upon hearing about the clerk appointment, joking, “Seems like the age for a clerk isn’t too advanced,” before signaling Mi Zhu to continue discussing Lu Su’s arrangements in Xuzhou.
She didn’t see any lost opportunity in making such a recommendation.
With Tao Qian’s appointment, Lu Su wouldn’t have any chance to engage with Sun Ce for a while.
Compared to Sun Ce, Tao Qian was obviously less of a threat.
And as Lu Su spent time working under Tao Qian, both he and his family would gradually form a tighter bond with him.
All Qiao Yan needed to do was keep aware of everything.
This bonding was just like the situation between the Li Clan in Yanzhou and Cao Cao.
As Cao Cao attained the title of Yanzhou Governor, the Li Clan, which had only been observing the cooperation, along with several thousand guests gathered around Cheng Shi, all threw themselves under Cao Cao’s banner.
The one leading this group, Li Gan, also had a capable nephew named Li Dian.
This was similar to Lu Su’s situation, representing a faction that Qiao Yan could never dig out from under.
But she was confident in her ability to overcome them and didn’t fret over the fluidity of talent.
Just like when she heard the news of Cao Cao sending a visitor, she wasn’t surprised that this messenger wasn’t the great strategist Chen Gong advocating for Cao Cao to claim the governorship in Ye City, but rather the unfamiliar Mao Jian, also hailing from Yanzhou.
He had already pledged allegiance to Cao Cao, and she felt that her earlier words to Cao Pi were not incorrect.
When Princess Yang’an visited Ye City, sliding in under the pretext of seeing her son, news about cotton and its cloth quickly spread due to her promotion.
Cao Cao had always prioritized agricultural livelihood and had foresight; thus, the benefits of cotton for warmth led him to dispatch Mao Jian.
He didn’t send Cao Ang, with whom Qiao Yan had met a few times, but instead sent the unfamiliar Mao Jian, which was rather amusing.
Only in Qiao Yan’s hands could the trading power of cotton lay, and social connections wouldn’t matter much; they merely determined if a trade could even happen.
So instead of bringing Cao Ang along to reminisce, it was far more forthright to categorize this trading as part of inter-state commerce.
Mao Jian, due to his suggestion upon allegiance of “to cultivate fields and stockpile military supplies,” currently held a similar position to Qin Yu under Cao Cao.
It made sense for him to discuss cotton trade.
But Qiao Yan didn’t expect that among Mao Jian’s entourage, she would see a familiar face.
It was Tian Yan from the Tian Clan of Puyang.
Years ago, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Qiao Yan had convinced the local strongman Tian Clan to aid her, helping her crush the Yellow Turbans.
Tian Yan had received a minor title as a Tinhou due to his courageous act of delivering news from Changshe.
Although he was on a significantly lower rank compared to Qiao Yan, to most, being a Tinhou was a rare grant.
Such an early starter could move especially smoothly in the early stages of entering the officialdom.
But clearly, Tian Yan wasn’t one of those.
Back then, his father had offered sixty bolts of silk to redeem him from death, hoping to keep him from being dragged back into such dangerous events; Tian Yan hadn’t even picked up on the nuances of that conversation, showing he wasn’t someone with political savvy.
But heartless innocence had its perks.
With Qiao Yan’s current achievements, even if she herself was not in Yanzhou, it would be enough to make the Tian Clan head who had chosen to cut ties in the past regretful to the point of pulling their hair out. Tian Yan was completely oblivious to this.
As Qiao Yan looked over at him, he wore a smile of old friends reuniting.
That could be seen as a form of ignorance as well.
Qiao Yan felt a pang of nostalgia and turned to Mao Jian.
“Mao, as the matter at hand, the greetings from Cao Yuanzhi have already been stated in the advance note. But I instructed Dezhu to let Yuan Benchu’s news come through, so I believe Mengde has received it too…
“There’s really no need to discuss this deal.”
In response to her refusal, Mao Jian showed no signs of surprise and calmly replied, “May I ask the honored lord for guidance on one matter?”
Seeing Qiao Yan gesture slightly, Mao Jian continued asking, “Is it true that cotton grows on trees like kapok?”
Yuan Shao and his strategists, having been misled by Xu You and Chen Lin, along with Yang Xiu’s subsequent confusion, genuinely thought that cotton and kapok were the same thing.
However, after Cao Cao’s subordinates, Mao Jian and Zao Zhi, received this news, they calculated a little.
If they were to supply the soldiers in Bingzhou and Liangzhou, relying on cotton growing on trees… well, they’d need to cover entire mountains!
Under those circumstances, Qiao Yan couldn’t possibly hide from outsiders where she was cultivating such plants.
Even if she had started planting the cotton trees when she first arrived in Leping and gradually expanded her efforts, it wouldn’t be feasible.
The only explanation is that cotton grows in fields, much like millet, and can be safeguarded by watching over the farmland.
Where the species came from isn’t important; the fact that it can be planted in fields means Qiao Yan can expand its cultivation significantly within a year.
That opens the door for external trade.
Mao Jian then inquired, “I come on Cao’s orders to sincerely discuss this trade. This question will remain confidential after I leave here. I’d like to ask you, honored lord, what would be the price for trading cotton seeds, and if we want to trade cotton clothing, what would that cost?”
Qiao Yan picked up the tea at hand, took a sip, and said, “You’re quite clever.”
This was a tacit acknowledgment of his previous statement.
She then continued, “Unfortunately, there’s no need to discuss the former. Cao’s influence is just spreading from Dong Commandery across the entire region; does he really have the resources to develop new crops? I won’t hide it from you, the planting process of cotton faces dozens of pests and diseases, and I fear you don’t have the energy for that.”
Mao Jian’s gaze didn’t leave Qiao Yan’s face.
Her calm and expressionless demeanor made it hard to judge the truth of her words, but curiously, Mao Jian had an instinct that what she said could indeed be true.
Just as she mentioned, Yanzhou’s current priority is to get the districts that have submitted to Cao Cao quickly organized under the management of Zao Zhi, the officer overseeing farming, to further expand military farming.
To standardize land cultivation promptly, they should aim for simplicity rather than complicating matters for themselves.
He listened as Qiao Yan went on, “As for the latter… I have a suggestion. I wonder if Mao can make this decision for Cao.”
“If the fabric for the cotton clothing comes from your Yanzhou, we can return one cotton clothing piece for every stone of rice.”
“But if we provide the finished product directly, it’ll be ten stones of rice for each cotton clothing.”
This wasn’t just a random figure thrown out by Qiao Yan.
The cotton yield per mu isn’t remotely comparable to later generations, plus to ensure the successful growth of this year’s experimental crop, she spaced the seedlings slightly further apart, approximately yielding about 200 jin.
Here, “jin” refers to the modern measure.
When the remaining weight after excluding the seeds is accounted for, according to the specifications Qiao Yan provided for filling the cotton clothing, they could make around 200-300 pieces of cotton clothing.
In comparison, under Bingzhou’s farming methods, the general yield for millet in the upper commandery is roughly eight stones per mu.
In other words, she’s using land that produces eight stones of rice to get enough cotton for making 200 pieces of clothing.
But the cost of cotton can’t be calculated like that.
Compared to meticulous cotton farming, the cultivation of crops like wheat and millet is relatively rudimentary, which incurs additional labor costs.
The labor consumed during the cotton harvest for seed removal and thrashing is also considerable.
On top of that, there’s the matter of the fabric used in making the cotton clothing.
Even if it’s made of hemp fabric, it doesn’t come cheap.
Calculating the cost of a basic cloth at over a hundred coins, a double layer would approach four hundred coins.
That’s nearly the price of eight stones of rice at Bingzhou’s current grain prices!
And we should also consider some labor and thread costs, so saying ten stones of rice for one cotton clothing piece is already a pretty generous offer.
However, earning over three hundred stones of grain from an acre is immensely profitable compared to the hundred stones or so originally!
Yet when discussing this business, the Bingzhou governor held his teacup with no hint of shock, as if it were just a casual chat over tea. Even someone as seasoned as Mao Jian couldn’t fathom the massive profit involved.
He also had no idea that not long before coming to Bingzhou, Qiao Yan had also secured the wealthiest Mi family of Donghai, which undoubtedly boosted her confidence in discussing this deal.
He mentally calculated the manpower needed for producing the hemp and the excess costs of transportation, and replied to Qiao Yan, “We’ll choose the latter. At the latest, within half a month, I will return to Yanzhou, discuss with my lord, and send the agreed-upon grain here. I wonder if Qiao Yan can spare three thousand pieces of cotton clothing?”
Winter was approaching.
They had to prepare quickly.
Fortunately, the price Qiao Yan offered, while equivalent to a thousand coins per unit in Yanzhou, is still a bargain considering the warmth the cotton clothing provided.
If used to ensure soldiers survive the winter, it could prove quite beneficial.
Sadly, Yanzhou isn’t as flush with resources as Bingzhou, and at most they could spare thirty thousand stones of grain to bring here for trade.
As Mao Jian was escorted out of the meeting room by Qiao Yan’s subordinates, he couldn’t help but sigh.
How much wealth has the Bingzhou governor accumulated that he can casually part with three thousand pieces of cotton clothing?
It’s as if the battle in Liangzhou had no effect on her at all.
But overthinking wouldn’t help; he needed to hurry back to Yanzhou to report to Cao Cao.
In contrast to Mao Jian, who easily secured a deal and thinks he came out ahead, another person was having a much rougher time.
Tian Feng had joined the Bingzhou household registry under a false identity and managed to land a job manufacturing farming tools, starting from the bottom.
To avoid looking too scholarly, he even studied a few farming families, trying hard to mimic their ways.
This painstaking disguise caused him to miss the news of Yang Xiu and Princess Yang’an heading to Ye City, as well as the intel swap by Yuan Shao’s spies trying to find out about him.
Fortunately, his efforts paid off, as he’s now settled in this production office, and after a month of work, he’ll be regular and closer to uncovering more farming secrets in Bingzhou!
But… there’s a guy sharing the same dormitory who’s insatiably pestering him, trying to learn math.
But since Tian Feng arrived, he hasn’t seen this guy get a single complex calculation right!
Everyone living here has asked him for help, but most of them don’t have any skills either.
Tian Feng, fed up with his incessant noise, finally calculated the answers for him.
He thought this would mark the start of a peaceful night’s sleep, but the next day he found himself dragged to the core area of this “factory.”
The math-inept guy patted him on the shoulder, saying, “You were worth the trouble of sneaking in among the newbies; I’ve found someone with real talent!”
“By the way, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Zhang Niujiao, the manager here. What’s your name?”
“As the honored lord said, real talent needs to be discovered.”
Zhang Niujiao was particularly pleased with his discovery, confidently assuring Tian Feng, “Trust me, if you work hard and achieve something, I’ll recommend you to the honored lord!”
