Chapter 40: Suggestions

Wu Zhuge never once asked about the matter of Old Three Gu from beginning to end, as if he were completely unaware of it, and Li You naturally did not bring it up.

Looking back at these dishes, Li You’s saliva instantly flowed like a faucet; seeing the others pick up their chopsticks, he soon picked up his own and began to eat.

While eating, he wondered what business there would be at Mao'er Dam.

But suddenly, the shoe on his foot was stepped on. Looking up at the opposite side, it was precisely Da Yun'er, who was resting her chest on the table. She gave Li You a watery-eyed look, then lowered her head and began to eat in a leisurely manner.

Li You had never been a man ruled by his lower instincts; back then, he had used any means necessary to survive, and now that he had survived, he had long since stopped thinking about Da Yun'er. However, he was afraid that pulling his foot away would anger her, so he let her step on it and grind it as she pleased.

"Scholar, bring your bow and arrows; let me have a look on the road!"

The location of Mao'er Dam was south of the Hanjiang and northwest of Longmen Mountain; if one were to continue straight north, one would reach the famous Mount Dingjun.

After descending from Longmen Mountain, they had not traveled even two li before reaching the flat, open Shiding Plain. More than ten riders moved in succession. Trailing in the lead was a Jianchang piebald horse, upon which sat a youth as plump and fair as jade, carrying a quiver on his back and a long Miao saber at his waist—who could it be but Li You?

Behind him were the two leaders Wu Nai and Wang Qiong, as well as an archer named Miao Xianzu, and over a dozen personal guards. Their gazes fell intentionally or unintentionally upon Li You; they had thought Li You only knew how to read the books of sages, so how could he possibly know how to ride a horse?

They did not expect that along this journey, Li You would ride as if on flat ground, not even using the reins much, merely squeezing the horse's neck with his inner thighs, and the horse would follow his every whim.

His horsemanship was actually better than that of several leaders behind him.

This left the men with expressions of astonishment; one had to know that riding a horse was a genuine technical skill, and without two or three years of effort, one could never cultivate such nonchalance.

At the very beginning, Wang Qiong had specifically found a large donkey for Li You at the stables, but Li You had insisted on riding a horse. Thus, everyone had intended to make a joke of him on the road, but who could have imagined Li You was so skilled at riding.

This cast yet another layer of mystery over Li You in the hearts of the crowd.

Li You was actually filled with emotion himself; this foundation in martial arts and horsemanship belonged to the original body. In his past life, he had never even touched a horse, let alone known how to ride one.

Wu Nai was also somewhat surprised, but he was even more amazed by the bow and arrows in his quiver. The bow body was quite large, larger than his own big-tipped bow. He couldn't help but have a strange feeling: could it be that the eight wolves from yesterday were truly killed by this scholar drawing his bow? And that saber of his was truly ridiculously long.

Thinking of this, he felt it was laughable; one man killing eight wolves, including two wolf kings—that was simply too absurd.

Along the way, Li You and Wu Zhuge chatted in low voices. Wu Zhuge suddenly asked, "Scholar, you have been in Nanshan for quite some time now. Do you have any suggestions?"

Hearing this, Li You did not know which areas he was referring to. He pondered for a moment and said, "I wouldn't dare offer suggestions, as I don't know much about our Shanzhai. However, there is a saying: 'Those who rely on virtue prosper, those who rely on force perish.' Take the Nanshan mining area, for instance; enslaving the miners is not a good strategy!"

"'Those who rely on force perish'? Are you saying I am too cruel?" Wu Zhuge’s eyes turned slightly cold, and he looked at Li You sideways while riding his horse.

Li You’s expression did not change, and he said sincerely, "These are wretches who would have starved to death sooner or later. If not for the Great Chief’s great mercy in giving them a bite to eat, how could it be called cruel? Besides, bandits are everywhere now. Along my journey, many large bandit strongholds were just like the imperial court conscripting corvée labor. Just when I was coming here, on the Xiaoshan Ancient Road, I saw that large stronghold conscripting hundreds, nearly a thousand people from the surrounding villages to help them build their walls, fell trees, and transport timber... I think that stronghold master was called something like Black Tiger Star, and he built that place like an imperial city!"

"Haha, well said... I've heard of Black Tiger Star; he followed Li Chuang in the eleventh year!"

These words immediately made Wu Zhuge beam with joy. He continued, "Then go on. Since this saves people and gets work done, why is it not a good strategy?"

"There is a saying: 'Running water does not rot, and the door hinge does not rust, because they move.' Our Nanshan miners are a mixed bag; some just arrived, while others have been working for about a year. For example, Liu Erniu, Niu Sanyou, Wang Dami, and others are all veterans, yet they are still doing the work of miners. They have already despaired of life; not working means death, and working leads to the same result. This inevitably leads to resentment and slacking. Continuing like this not only wastes grain but also ruins the labor force!"

It was a fact that the attrition of Nanshan miners was high, and they frequently needed to replenish labor. If this were a few years ago, snatching up some able-bodied men would have been fine, but in the last two years, there had been no human presence for ten-plus li around, with every village wiped out. Abducting people had become very difficult; otherwise, he would not have traveled thousands of miles from Lueyang County to abduct Li You, Wu Dading, and the others.

Moreover, as Li You said, many of them were already walking corpses. Even if a few were whipped to death, the deterrent effect would be minimal, and it might even cause unrest and resistance—though, of course, such resistance was insignificant.

Wu Zhuge vaguely understood Li You’s meaning, but it was not yet clear enough. He asked, "What does the scholar mean?"

"Select a portion of those who have been there a long time and work well, reorganize them, and let them join our Longmen Mountain, becoming bandits who bring honor to their ancestors!"

Li You smiled and said, "Whether they are willing or not, at the very least, they can remove the chains from their feet, slightly improve their food, and then let them manage the other miners and serve as bandit underlings. This can both stir up conflict among the miners and save our veteran bandits from death or injury when we attack cities and strongholds... If this is done, this pool of stagnant water will begin to flow. Not only will there be no unrest, but the efficiency of their labor will be greatly increased!"

Although Wu Zhuge did not understand the word "efficiency," he could grasp the meaning, thinking to himself, "Scholars really are full of devious tricks!"

"But if we do that, the number of people doing the work will ultimately decrease, won't it?"

"If a thousand people are of one mind, they have the strength of a thousand; if ten thousand people have different hearts, not one of them is of any use!"

Li You shook his head and continued, "The work these forty or fifty miners and salt slaves do now is not even as much as what twenty ordinary people could do. Most of them have thoughts of escaping, and we have to keep patrolling and guarding them constantly. Why bother?"

Wu Zhuge was somewhat moved. These principles were not profound, and Wu Zhuge naturally understood them, but he still furrowed his brows and muttered, "The more men and horses we raise, the more I fear we won't be able to afford them. By then, they'll just be wolves that can't be tamed, following their own masters and running off in different directions, wasting my grain for nothing!"

Li You knew he was worried that the various chiefs within the Shanzhai were harboring ulterior motives, fearing he would lose his wife and his army. So, he tilted his horse and said, "Great Chief, that is a misconception. This is a chaotic age; the more men and horses, the better. Haven't you seen that Li Chuang and the bandit Zhang, who carry tens of thousands of men with them—when has the government army ever managed to hurt a hair on their backs during their suppression campaigns? They even have to beg to offer them amnesty! That is why having many people is the way to survive!"

"We have iron mines, salt fields, and weapons, and with men and horses, we will certainly have grain to eat... If you don't believe me, look—is the grain at Mao'er Dam enough? Is the grain of the gentry in Mianxian enough? Is the grain of Hanzhong Fucheng enough? If that's still not enough, the grain of the Prince of Rui’s estate should certainly be enough!"