Chapter 40

Wu Zhuge never asked about Gu Laosan from start to finish, as if he knew nothing of him, and Li You naturally said nothing either.

Looking back at the dishes, Li You's saliva instantly gushed like a faucet; seeing others pick up chopsticks, he quickly grabbed his own and began eating.

As he ate, he wondered what might be happening at Mao'erba.

Suddenly, his shoe was stepped on; he looked up across the table and saw Da Yun'er, her chest resting on the table, giving him a watery glance before lowering her head to eat slowly and deliberately.

Li You had never been a man driven by lust—he'd done whatever it took to survive before, but now that he was alive, he'd long stopped thinking about Da Yun'er; yet he feared that pulling his foot away might anger her, so he let her crush and grind it at will.

"Scholar, bring your bow and arrows—let me see them on the road!"

……

Mao'erba lies south of the Han River and northwest of Longmen Zhai; if you continue straight north, you reach the famed Dingjun Mountain.

After leaving Longmen Zhai, they had not ridden two li before reaching the flat, stone-topped plain of Shidingyuan; over a dozen riders rode in sequence, with a Jianchang flower-horse leading, its rider a plump, jade-like youth carrying a gojin on his back and a long miaodao at his waist—wasn't that Li You?

Behind him were Wu Nai and Wang Qiong, two commanders, a bowman named Miao Xianzu, and a dozen or so personal guards—all of whom, intentionally or not, kept glancing at Li You, wondering how a scholar who only read the classics could possibly ride a horse.

Yet along the way, Li You rode as if on solid ground, barely using the reins—merely squeezing the horse's neck with his inner thighs, and the beast obeyed his every whim.

His horsemanship was better than several of the commanders behind him.

This left them all astonished, for riding was a true skill requiring years of practice to achieve such calm mastery.

At first, Wang Qiong had specially picked out a large donkey for Li You in the stable, but Li You insisted on riding a horse; so everyone along the way expected to laugh at him—yet who could have imagined Li You was so skilled?

This added another layer of mystery around Li You in their eyes.

Li You himself was deeply moved—this martial skill and riding ability belonged to the original body; in his past life, he'd never even touched a horse, let alone ridden one.

Wu Nai was also surprised, but what startled him more was the bow and arrows in his gojin—the bow was large, bigger than his own dashao bow; he couldn't help wonder: could this scholar really have shot those eight wolves yesterday? And that blade of his—truly absurd in length.

He found the thought ridiculous: one man killing eight wolves, two of them wolf-kings? That was pure nonsense.

Along the way, Li You whispered with Wu Zhuge, who suddenly asked: "Scholar, you've been in Nanshan a long time—any suggestions?"

Li You did not know what he meant by "suggestions," paused, then said: "I dare not offer advice—I know little of our Zhai—but as the saying goes, 'Those who rely on virtue thrive; those who rely on force perish.' Take the Nanshan mining area: enslaving the miners is no wise policy."

"'Those who rely on force perish'? Are you saying I'm too cruel?" Wu Zhuge's eyes grew cold as he glanced sideways at Li You from his saddle.

Li You's expression did not change; he spoke sincerely: "These are wretches destined to starve anyway—if not for the Great Boss's mercy in giving them food, how could you call it cruelty? Besides, bandits swarm everywhere—I passed many large Zhaies on the way, and they conscript labor just like the imperial court: on the Xio Mountain ancient road, I saw one Zhai conscripting hundreds, even a thousand people from nearby villages to build their fort, cut trees, and haul timber... their boss, I heard, called himself Black Tiger Star, and built his Zhai like a palace!"

"Hah, well said… I've heard of Black Tiger Star—he followed Li Chu in the eleventh year!"

This instantly made Wu Zhuge smile broadly; he continued: "Then go on—how is this not a good policy? You save lives and get work done."

"As the saying goes, 'Flowing water doesn't rot; a turning hinge doesn't worm—it moves.' Our Nanshan miners are a mixed lot—some just arrived, others have worked a year or so—like Liu Erniu, Niu Sanyou, Wang Dami, all seasoned—but they still do miner's labor. They've lost all hope: not working means death, working still ends in death. Naturally, resentment and laziness grow—this wastes food and drains labor."

High loss among Nanshan miners was a fact; laborers constantly needed replacing. Years ago, capturing able-bodied men was easy—but the past two years, no one lived within ten li; every village was deserted, kidnapping people was hard—otherwise he wouldn't have traveled a thousand li to abduct Li You and Wu Dading from Lüyang County.

And as Li You said, many were already walking corpses; even whipping a few to death had little deterrent effect, sometimes even sparking unrest or rebellion—though these rebellions were insignificant.

Wu Zhuge faintly understood Li You's meaning, but not fully—he asked: "What do you mean, Scholar?"

"Select those miners who have served longest and performed well, reorganize them, and make them members of Longmen Zhai—a proud mountain bandit!"

Li You smiled: "Whether they like it or not, at least remove their leg chains, slightly improve their rations, let them manage other miners, and serve as the Zhai's recruits. This stirs conflict among miners, saves the lives of our veteran bandits in raids—and if done right, this stagnant pond will flow. No unrest, and labor efficiency rises dramatically!"

Wu Zhuge didn't understand the word "efficiency," but he grasped the meaning—he thought to himself: "Scholars really are full of scheming tricks!"

"But won't this leave fewer people to work?"

"A thousand men united, one thousand hands; ten thousand men divided, not one useful hand!"

Li You shook his head: "Right now, these forty or fifty salt-miners do less work than twenty ordinary men. Most dream of escape—we must constantly patrol and guard them. What's the point?"

Wu Zhuge was tempted—these ideas weren't deep, and he understood them clearly—but he still frowned, muttering: "More men mean more mouths. I fear I can't feed them—and then they'll turn into untrained wolves, deserting their own master, wasting my grain!"

Li You knew he feared the other Zhai bosses harboring treachery and was afraid of losing both men and grain; he shifted his horse slightly: "Great Boss, you are wrong. This is a chaotic age—more men mean better survival. Haven't you seen Li Chu and Zhang the Bandit? They dragged tens of thousands along—when imperial troops attacked, did they ever even scratch their backsides? The court had to beg them to surrender!"

"We have iron mines, salt fields, weapons—and with men, we'll have food too… Just look: is Mao'erba's grain enough? Are the grain stores of Mian County's gentry enough? Is Hanzhong Prefecture's grain enough? If not, surely the Rui Wang Fu's grain must be!"