"How can these descendants speak so irresponsibly?!"
Liu Bei was visibly irritated.
Zhang Fei did not respond. Instead, he silently filed away a curious new piece of knowledge in his head:
So that white bear is called a panda.
"This criticism can't really be called groundless," Kongming said calmly. He happened to have studied the subject.
"Ban Gu wrote in the Book of Han: The felling of forests must follow seasonal prohibitions; floods and droughts are not necessarily unrelated to their violation."
"When all the trees in a region are cut down, torrential rains wash loose soil into the rivers. Over time, that accumulation may very well be what these later generations call 'soil erosion.'"
Liu Bei was left speechless. If it came from Ban Gu himself, there really was no room to argue.
"And at present," Huang Yueying added—having recently taken charge of the Department of Crafts and spoken often with blacksmiths—"smelting one jin of iron requires seven jin of charcoal. Producing one jin of charcoal consumes at least three times that amount of raw wood."
She recited the figures with ease.
"A ten-year-old paulownia tree yields about three hundred jin of charcoal. Burn it all, and you can smelt only a few dozen jin of iron."
It was the first time Liu Bei had ever heard such numbers laid out so plainly. The realization was unsettling.
"Then what is this 'coal' they speak of?" he asked.
The room fell silent. Only Huang Yueying answered:
"Perhaps it is the stone-char that comes from digging into the earth. It was once called shíniè."
Kongming felt a quiet flicker of admiration.
As expected of my wife.
"Then what about these things they mentioned—online shops, porcelain firing?"
This time, Huang Yueying could only hazard one guess.
"Since they're mentioned together… porcelain firing may have evolved from pottery."
As for online shops—Mi Zhu could guess that "shop" meant something like a marketplace, but what did it mean to add the word net in front of it?
If even Mi Zhu, Huang Yueying, and Kongming were at a loss, then there was no need to ask Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or the other generals.
"Very well. We'll adjourn for now," Liu Bei said, waving his hand.
"Kongming, stay behind. There are things I wish to discuss in detail."
After leaving the hall, Zhang Fei remembered something Liu Bei had said earlier and immediately turned toward the rear courtyard.
Peering left and right through the moon gate and seeing no maidservants, he could only raise his voice:
"Sister-in-law! Old Zhang's here to take Feng'er to the army camp!"
Moments later, Lady Gan emerged with an attendant, curiosity written on her face.
"Third General, has Feng'er committed some serious offense again?"
She remembered well that for the past few months, Liu Bei had seemed inexplicably dissatisfied with both Liu Feng and Liu Shan.
He would trouble them for no clear reason, and at times, watching the boys' retreating backs, he would sigh deeply.
Whenever she asked, he looked as if he wanted to speak—but couldn't.
Facing Lady Gan, Zhang Fei grew noticeably more cautious. He took a step back and lowered his voice.
"No, no trouble at all. Feng'er's always wanted to lead troops, hasn't he? There's no fighting right now, so I'll bring him to camp to get familiar with things ahead of time."
Lady Gan nodded.
"As long as there's nothing wrong… Feng'er is at the southern training ground. Go find him there."
Zhang Fei clasped his fists and turned to leave. After a brief hesitation, he added:
"Sister-in-law, please take good care of your health. If you feel unwell, go straight to Physician Zhang. These days… the inner household truly relies on you."
Lady Gan gave a gentle nod.
"Go on, Yide."
Zhang Fei went straight to the training ground and, without another word, hauled Liu Feng off to the army camp like a chicken under his arm.
In Gong'an County, the lamps in that much-discussed side hall did not go out until dawn.
"It must be Governor Liu and the Strategist sleeping on the same mat again!"
said Niu Er, the cleaner, with absolute conviction.
The others barely reacted.
Please. Is that even news anymore?
Jiang Wan's workplace had already been moved into the side hall, officially confirming his role as Zhuge Liang's secretary.
When he came in the next day, he knocked for quite some time before a yawning Zhuge Liang opened the door.
"Did the Strategist not sleep last night?" Jiang Wan asked, surprised. Such a sight was rare.
Kongming scratched his head casually.
"Talked through the night with my lord."
Only then did Jiang Wan notice another figure sleeping soundly on a mat inside.
"Gongyan, you came at the right time," Kongming said, picking through a stack of official documents and pulling one out.
"Copy this proclamation."
Jiang Wan accepted it carefully and read aloud:
"On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, it is hereby ordered that the Department of Review and Examination be established, to review the words of auspicious light-curtains and examine what remains unseen…"
As Kongming tied up his hair and straightened the desk, he explained casually:
"My lord and I discussed it. Relying on just a few of us to judge the words of the light-curtain invites errors and omissions."
"So we've decided to select trustworthy people to examine those messages carefully."
"They will extract what is useful, categorize the information, and send it where it's needed."
"For example, the steel-folding method seen yesterday has already been compiled. Later, Gongyan will deliver it to the ironworks under the Department of Crafts. Find an experienced smith to interpret it and see if progress can be made."
"And items like the Eight-Ox Ballista—military restricted matters—must be reported directly to my lord and me. I will personally seek reliable craftsmen and soldiers to reconstruct and test them."
Kongming did not mention the two leaked pages of Tiangong Kaiwu on rice cultivation, but from his movements, Jiang Wan could tell the strategist intended to personally consult veteran farmers.
Jiang Wan sighed inwardly.
His leisurely days as a secretary were truly gone forever.
From top to bottom, all four commanderies of Jing Province grew busy.
Even Liu Bei—who had slept in the side hall until noon—was no exception.
After exchanging greetings with Jiang Wan, he went to the rear courtyard to wash his face, then slowly made his way outside the county office.
Naturally, this included a moment of quiet intimacy with Lady Gan, along with repeated instructions that she visit Physician Zhang the next day for an examination.
It was not yet planting season, but outside Gong'an County, many small plots of land had already been reclaimed.
Liu Bei recognized them at once.
They belonged to the people of Jianghuai who had crossed Tianzhu Mountain to join Lei Xu.
The weather was cold, but people still had to eat.
Though it was too early for rice, beans and vegetables could be planted to endure the present days.
Seeing that they were already using curved plows, Liu Bei smiled and did not disturb them, passing quietly by.
South of these scattered fields, along the Hu Crossing River, stood the papermaking workshop.
Liu Bei squinted and spotted an eye-catching structure by the riverbank—
a massive circular wheel.
Truly massive. At least three times the size of a common water-lifting wheel.
Unlike hand-cranked wheels, this one turned with nothing but the force of flowing water. Closer inspection revealed large buckets attached to the end of each rib.
The buckets scooped water from the river, and as the wheel turned, they struck wooden levers on the bank, tipping automatically and pouring water into channels leading to the workshop's pools.
The last time Liu Bei had visited, there had only been a single wheel.
Now, rows of low buildings had sprung up, and workers bustled back and forth carrying materials.
He stopped a helper who looked momentarily idle and asked:
"Is this papermaking wheel working well?"
The man was about to brush him off when he recognized Liu Bei and immediately bowed.
"Madam Huang's wheel is incredible! It draws water by itself, turns without manpower—and she even built mechanisms so it can pound pulp and grind grain!"
From the explanation, Liu Bei learned that when the craftsmen had been at a loss during construction, Madam Huang had scolded them into submission.
Privately, everyone now called it the Madam Huang Wheel.
"It's just a pity we still haven't managed to make Zuo Bo paper," the helper added regretfully.
"Madam Huang says it's likely an issue with the pulp ratios. She and several master papermakers are still experimenting."
After the exchange, Liu Bei left satisfied.
Eventually—no matter how much he delayed—he reached the problem he could no longer avoid:
Sun Lady. Lingling.