Chenliu Commandery, the Wei Estate.
Still in the backyard, still before that patch of farmland. Ten days have passed, and the soybeans Lu Yu planted have shown signs of life.
The stone tablet breaking through the soil caused all the servants in the Wei Estate to be quite astonished.
Who would have thought that tiny soybeans, upon encountering water, would sprout bean sprouts capable of lifting dozens of jin of stone?
“Fei di? Is this the power of the beans you planted?” Cai Zhaoji gazed at the stones being pushed up by the bean sprouts, her face still filled with surprise…
What immense strength these sprouts possessed!
“Sister Zhaoji, that’s why I say, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. What is gained on paper is ultimately shallow; to truly understand something, one must practice it oneself!”
Lu Yu blinked his eyes. “Books only record that soybeans become bean sprouts when they meet water, but they don’t meticulously explain the immense power contained within these sprouts.”
Lu Yu began to explain in detail…
Ancient people, after all, liked to read books rigidly, to study books dogmatically… Even the renowned talented woman Cai Zhaoji was no exception.
Lu Yu conducting this “bean sprout experiment” was twofold: firstly, to ensure the unfailing success of his “little trick” at the front lines, and secondly, to impart a lesson to Sister Zhaoji, enabling her talent to be more “applicable”!
“I truly wish to see how much is hidden within that mind of yours.” Cai Zhaoji, having emerged from her astonishment, gently patted Lu Yu’s head.
Lu Yu did not dodge. Ever since he was young, Sister Zhaoji had always been like this, frequently patting his head. He was accustomed to it…
Speaking of which, when he was young and “immature,” Lu Yu used to pat Sister Zhaoji’s… Ahem, thinking about it now, it inexplicably stirs a sense of nostalgia!
Just then.
“Miss Cai Yan, Young Master Lu Yu, it seems my nephew and I have arrived at an inopportune time!”
A middle-aged man’s voice carried over…
Lu Yu didn’t need to turn his head to see. The distant scent of “Liu Shen Fen Hua Lu Shui” (a popular Chinese medicinal liquor) was enough for him to conclude it was Xun Yu who had arrived. The scent was still as pungent…
“So it’s the two Mr. Xuns.” Cai Zhaoji gracefully bowed first…
Xun Yu and Xun You returned the bow, then their gazes fell upon the more than ten stones that had broken through the soil.
“It seems… the great task is accomplished.” Xun Yu stroked his beard. “Young Master Lu Yu’s planting of this soybean field, the fruits of the surrender of three hundred thousand Yellow Turbans to Lord Cao, are already on their way. It is indeed celebratory…”
Heh, he saw through it.
Lu Yu’s eyes darted. As expected, Xun Yu was an intelligent man who had seen through his little trick at a glance.
But then again, Lu Yu had always held ancient people in awe.
If he hadn’t known the course of this history, Lu Yu would never have believed he could be as wise and intelligent as Xun Yu and Xun You!
“You two gentlemen coming here today, you’re most likely not here to inquire about these stones breaking through the soil, are you?”
“Could it be… about the surrender of three hundred thousand Yellow Turbans at the mere sight of it?”
Lu Yu took the initiative to speak…
“Precisely!” Xun Yu nodded. His thoughts, after all, could not escape the eyes of the Hidden Dragon.
“Are you worried, Mr. Xun? That the thirty thousand moths won’t surrender?” Lu Yu continued to ask…
“No, I am precisely worried about what happens after they surrender?” At this question, Xun Yu’s expression became much more serious. “With these heavenly stone tablets appearing, the thirty thousand moths will surely surrender at the first sign…”
“But, what happens after they surrender? How will these thirty thousand Yellow Turban soldiers be settled?”
“These are thirty thousand mouths, and moreover, thirty thousand mouths with a ‘criminal record,’ who have ‘rebelled.’ Not to mention the astronomical amount of grain they consume daily, can the officials and people of Yanzhou trust these moths?”
Intelligent people dislike beating around the bush. Xun Yu had come with questions and therefore laid them all out directly.
Of course, the issue of settling the Yellow Turban army was something even the current Cao Cao had not yet considered…
But Xun Yu was so astute; he often calculated three steps ahead!
One must know that, since ancient times, settling surrendered soldiers has always been a difficult problem.
To put it nicely, these are thirty thousand people. To put it bluntly, these are thirty thousand people who need clothing, food, shelter, and need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves… and they are also a ticking time bomb that could detonate at any moment.
If handled poorly, the already scarce grain of Yanzhou would be depleted, and perhaps… a mutiny could even occur within Yanzhou.
Losing cities and soldiers would be a great loss, yielding no gain.
This is also why, in ancient times, many famous generals preferred to kill surrendered enemy soldiers.
The saying goes that killing surrendered soldiers is inauspicious, but under the premise of food, supplies, popular support, and stability, even famous generals had no other choice.
“What are Young Master Lu Yu’s high opinions on the settlement of these thirty thousand Yellow Turbans?”
Xun Yu’s eyes narrowed, his tone exceptionally serious. Xun You, meanwhile, pricked up his ears, eagerly awaiting the settlement method proposed by the “Hidden Dragon.”
…
…
Yanzhou. In the blink of an eye, ten days have passed since the “potted plant” was transported to the Cao army’s camp.
During these ten days, the imperial troops suddenly slowed down their “guerrilla” and “harassment” tactics against the moths. This allowed the thirty thousand moths, who were on the verge of collapse, to breathe a long sigh of relief and finally get a good night’s sleep.
Similarly, they also slowed down their withdrawal from Yanzhou, contemplating to wait and see, perhaps a turning point might appear.
However, no turning point appeared in these ten days… instead, a whole basket of strange occurrences took place.
Five or six days ago, some Yellow Turban soldiers, as usual, went to the farms to “borrow” some grain from the local farmers. They called it “borrowing,” but it was actually just another form of plundering.
Everything was going smoothly. Just as they were leaving the village, they were suddenly tripped by a protruding stone at the village entrance.
This was, in itself, a perfectly normal occurrence. But the strange thing was, there was no stone here originally.
The Yellow Turban soldiers frequently came here; they were clear about where every stone, every piece of wood, and even every flower and grass was located. How could they not notice a stone protruding in the middle of the road at the village entrance?
Even so, the Yellow Turban soldiers did not pay much attention.
But the next day, things suddenly changed. When the Yellow Turban soldiers went to the village to “borrow” grain again, they discovered that the stone from yesterday had emerged from the ground.
So, these soldiers hurriedly returned to report to their leaders. The Yellow Turban leaders thought it was a coincidence and still did not pay it any mind.
Until the third day, when the Yellow Turban soldiers specifically went to the village entrance, they found that the stone had risen even higher, and there were words on it.
Of course, the Yellow Turban soldiers did not recognize the words. They ran back to report to their leaders again…
This was no longer a trivial matter!
Under normal circumstances, a stone appearing on the road would be unremarkable, but… now, the key problem was that the stone seemed to be growing on its own, and even more strangely, it had words on it?
The Yellow Turban leaders, along with a large number of Yellow Turban soldiers, went to investigate…
As expected, the stone was growing from a crack in the ground. The “words” on it were not unfamiliar to the leaders; it was the character “Tian” (天), the same “Tian” from “Cang Tian Yi Si, Huang Tian Dang Li” (The Blue Sky is Dead, The Yellow Sky Shall Stand).
This was truly mysterious…
More and more Yellow Turban soldiers and families, upon hearing of this strange event, rushed to the village entrance to witness it. The Yellow Turbans already believed in the “Taiping Dao” and were deeply convinced of supernatural matters. Who would dare to touch this stone?
Some Yellow Turban leaders stood in contemplation, as if recalling something. In the past… when they joined the Yellow Turban army, was it not a stone tablet that rose from the ground at the village entrance, bearing the inscription – “The Blue Sky is Dead, The Yellow Sky Shall Stand, The year is Jiazi, All Under Heaven shall be auspicious”?
Could it be…
That the current stone emerging from the earth is a new divine guidance?
To ascertain this matter, a large number of Yellow Turban soldiers guarded the village, all waiting to see if the stone would grow even higher the next day.
That night, all thirty thousand Yellow Turban soldiers found themselves… sleepless.
…
…