"These would all require vast amounts of money, and the waterwheel can only be used where the current is strong. Across the Nine Provinces, how many places would even meet such conditions?"
Zhuge Liang fell silent. What his wife said was entirely correct. Jingzhou lay along the upper reaches of the river. Around Gong'an, with the main river to the north and the Hu Du River to the south, deploying waterwheels everywhere was feasible for now. But what about the north?
Huang Yueying did not dwell on it. She took Zhuge Liang's hand, extinguished the lamp, and returned with him to the room warmed by the brazier.
Seeing that Zhuge Liang was still lost in thought, she moved behind him and gently massaged his shoulders, speaking softly:
"It seems the lord's arrangement was indeed correct."
"Mm… ah?" Zhuge Liang snapped out of his thoughts and raised his head, meeting Huang Yueying's concerned gaze.
"Even without official documents to handle, husband still exhausts his mind like this. How could you not die early?"
"Since you already intend to entrust the Ministry of Works to me, why not withdraw completely and simply wait for the results?"
With such a wife… Zhuge Liang temporarily set aside his thoughts. The long night stretched on, and they cherished the moment.
No words were spoken through the night.
The next day, for the first time since taking office, Zhuge Liang brought his wife with him to the county office.
"You intend to relocate the Ministry of Works to the banks of the Hu Du River?" Sun Qian was quite surprised.
He knew the Hu Du River well. It was a tributary south of Gong'an, and even had some connection to their future.
It was said that in the past, a fierce tiger had harmed people near Gong'an. The Administrator of Nan Commandery at the time personally investigated and ordered the removal of the traps set against the tiger. The tiger then swam across this river and left, restoring peace to the area, and thus the river was named Hu Du.
That Administrator was Fa Xiong, whose great-grandson would later be their colleague, Fa Zheng.
"As Madam Huang suggests." Zhuge Liang issued the directive.
Sun Qian had no objections, but he glanced at the buildings that craftsmen had already begun dismantling and felt troubled.
"In that case, what should we do with this place?"
"Use it for the Ministry of Medicine and Engineering," Zhuge Liang replied as if it were obvious.
"With the lord personally going, even if he cannot invite Zhang Zhongjing himself, he will certainly bring back one of his disciples. New buildings here can serve as a medical hall."
"As Gong'an's population grows, having a medical hall will help prevent and treat epidemics."
At that moment, Ma Su returned from cutting wood and brought urgent news:
"Military Advisor, the lord has returned with fifty thousand troops!"
Fifty thousand troops?
Zhuge Liang stared at Ma Su for a moment, his mind going blank.
Are we even serving the same lord? Could it be that Cao Cao has marched over with fifty thousand troops instead?
His fears did not come true.
Alongside the dust-covered Liu Bei entering Gong'an County Office was a middle-aged general with a weary face.
"Kongming, this is Lei Xu of Lujiang, styled Zibo. Persecuted by Cao's general Xiahou Yuan, he has come to join us in opposing Cao."
Liu Bei was equally travel-worn, but his face carried more excitement than fatigue.
Zhuge Liang immediately understood. Lei Xu had come with his forces. Naturally, they had to give him proper treatment. Fifty thousand people, and not lacking in capable fighters.
Fortunately, Lei Xu was not difficult to deal with. The weary general simply requested a quiet and comfortable bed from Zhuge Liang, lay down, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Once they were seated again, Liu Bei recounted his remarkable journey:
"A Dou and I asked around for the whereabouts of Divine Physician Zhang Zhongjing and rode straight to him. We met the old physician."
Thinking back, although Zhang Zhongjing was nearly sixty, his spirit was vigorous, and he even appeared younger than Liu Bei himself. Only then did Liu Bei realize that the light screen's praise of a divine physician was no exaggeration.
"Divine Physician Zhang was unwilling to serve as an Administrator," Liu Bei said with some regret. They were still short on civil officials. "But fortunately, he agreed to come to Gong'an for a time."
"That is sufficient," Zhuge Liang nodded. "And you encountered Lei Xu on the way back?"
Zhuge Liang was naturally familiar with Lei Xu. A native of Lujiang, he had once served under Yuan Shu.
When Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he appointed Lei Xu as a Zhonglang General. After Yuan Shu's defeat and death, Lei Xu gathered his followers and roamed the Jianghuai region.
This year, Cao Cao likely marched south again to relieve pressure on Cao Ren in Nan Commandery. The bandit groups of Jianghuai felt threatened and rose in rebellion.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao struck hard, sending Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zang Ba, Xiahou Yuan, Yu Jin, and others to sweep through the region.
How could Lei Xu withstand such a force? His troops were shattered. Zhuge Liang had not heard further news and had assumed they were wiped out. Who would have thought…
That term from the light screen surfaced in his mind.
A strategic relocation. From Jianghuai, crossing the natural barrier of Mount Tianzhu, he had fled here to join their lord.
"The Jianghuai region has been reduced to ruin," Liu Bei sighed deeply.
Zhuge Liang also sighed. Even without news of Lei Xu, reports from Jianghuai had continued.
After suppressing the bandits, Cao Cao inexplicably attempted to forcibly relocate the Huainan population. Perhaps due to the poor discipline of Cao's troops during the campaign, the people made a decision Cao had not anticipated.
They fled.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians would rather seek refuge in Jiangdong than move north. Cao's soldiers then rode out to plunder those fleeing south, creating yet another calamity of war.
"How does the lord intend to settle Lei Xu's forces?"
Liu Bei had clearly considered this on the road.
"Lei Xu said that after enduring the chaos of war, his people only wish to recuperate. His personal troops will remain under his command, while the civilians will be dispersed and settled west of Gong'an to cultivate farmland."
Zhuge Liang nodded in agreement. Most importantly, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's camps were stationed west of Gong'an. If anything went wrong, they could suppress it immediately.
"Cao's campaign in Jianghuai has instead delivered fifty thousand people to our lord, and another hundred thousand to Sun Quan," Zhuge Liang shook his head. "No matter how one calculates it, this campaign cannot be considered a gain."
"Cao has already lost much of the people's support."
Liu Bei sighed again. The fact that Lei Xu could bring fifty thousand people across Mount Tianzhu spoke volumes about the condition of Cao Cao's army.
Though Lei Xu was nominally a bandit leader, what bandits travel with their families? His force was essentially a small warlord remnant.
He had risen from humble beginnings, and neither Cao Cao nor Sun Quan had recruited him. Thus he gathered people in Jianghuai. Rather than saying Lei Xu brought chaos, it was more like giving Cao's army a justification to plunder.
If Lei Xu truly had fifty thousand hardened bandits, he would have fought back long ago. Why risk everything to cross the mountains and submit to Liu Bei?
After their exchange of sighs, business resumed.
Zhuge Liang then demonstrated Huang Yueying's interconnected waterwheel system. The simple principles behind it drew Liu Bei's admiration.
"With such ingenuity, Madam Huang will surely earn many 'technology progress points.'"
Zhuge Liang smiled, proud of his wife, then stated his request:
"The farming settlements in Gong'an, the medical works, the construction of waterwheels, and the attempt to produce Zuo Bo paper…"
"I can decide all matters here. Only one issue requires the lord's personal involvement."
"What matter?" Liu Bei's expression turned solemn.
"Please, lord, make a journey to Jiangdong to negotiate the ownership of Nan Commandery."
Zhuge Liang's voice was firm and resolute.
"What, big brother is going to take a wife?" Zhang Fei's voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.