[Server Chat-Log]
WarHost: Where is the upper limit of a "Big Boss"? A true Big Boss has no limits at all!
HighBanner: Shu Brocade really is a treasure of the Han Dynasty. By the way, let me recommend one of our earliest national treasures forbidden to leave the country: the woven brocade armguard inscribed with "Five Stars Rising in the East, Benefiting China."
GraveBreaker: The Big Boss has spent heavily again. I checked—authentic Shu Brocade like this starts at around twenty thousand yuan per piece. This isn't comparable to those cheap Yiwu knockoffs from earlier. Even so, it's already far cheaper than in ancient times, when this stuff was literally worth its weight in gold. Thanks to machine weaving, prices have dropped dramatically.
IronCoffin: Seeing Shu Brocade makes me realize—our weaving technology didn't really advance much for a very long time, did it?
Windstep: That's right. We already had hand-cranked and foot-pedal spinning wheels back in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, but water-powered spinning wheels didn't appear until the Song Dynasty. Later, in modern times, inventions like the spinning jenny and ring-spinning frames were all pioneered in the West.
SilentEdge: More importantly, cotton wasn't native to China. It was introduced during the Southern and Northern Dynasties and only reached large-scale cultivation in the Song and Yuan. They even developed "cotton armor" back then. Without cotton, how do you build a textile industry? Without raw materials, it's all empty talk.
CloudCut: Damn—now that you mention cotton, I'm reminded of India again. They sit on the world's largest alluvial plain, perfect for agriculture, but they're separated from us by the Himalayas. And historically, India was "weak"—conquered successively by eleven different peoples. For example, the Yuezhi, once at the very bottom of the so-called "East Asian Monster Room," went to India, rose to dominance, and founded the Kushan Empire.
MistReaper: As they say, the fate of a people depends not only on their own efforts, but also on the tide of history. One last point: if the UP actually traveled back in time carrying this brocade, he'd be hacked to death on the spot. Before the Tang Dynasty, this was the ultimate social passport—people would kill for it.
The light-screen vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. Jiang Wan hurriedly finished copying the final line—
[The next video will play in three months]—
then dropped his brush, utterly drained.
Liu Bei noticed his fatigue at once.
"Gongyan and Jichang have worked hard," he said warmly. "The kitchen roasted mutton legs this morning. Each of you take two back."
Ma Liang and Jiang Wan bowed in thanks. As Ma Liang straightened, his thoughts immediately went to his younger brother. Ever since Youchang—Ma Su—arrived in Gongan, he had developed a rather unusual fondness for mutton. Two whole legs would probably keep him cheerful for quite some time.
Among the assembled crowd, the brightest eyes belonged to Huang Yueying. She seized a sheet of paper, carefully copied the two lines concerning spinning wheels, and departed at once, her steps light and urgent.
Watching her leave, Liu Bei sighed with admiration.
"Lady Huang truly is a heroine among women."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the Fledgling Phoenix, Pang Tong.
Kongming understood the unspoken meaning immediately. He shook his head, smiling.
"Recently, my humble wife has been studying improvements to the 'Round Wheel' and experimenting with linking various mechanisms to it to reduce labor. Not long ago, she even completed a water-powered Eight-Ox Repeating Crossbow."
Kongming laughed softly.
"After that, she seemed to gain new inspiration. Her room is now filled wall to wall with ship designs. She must have seen the light-screen and realized she had overlooked spinning wheels—so she rushed back to remedy it."
Liu Bei nodded in understanding.
"What Lady Huang creates benefits the livelihoods of the people. It is a blessing to the Han, and to the common folk."
He then shifted the topic.
"This 'cotton' seems especially important, judging by the tone of the people from the future."
Zhang Fei spoke bluntly, without hesitation.
"If we can grow armor straight out of the ground, won't our strength multiply?"
Kongming shook his head with a faint smile and unfolded the map of the Han and Roman worlds they had previously transcribed. Spreading it across the table, he summarized calmly:
"India—Shendu—has cotton, fertile land, and a weak population. But…"
He tapped the map lightly.
"…the question is how to reach it."
Pang Tong frowned. The map showed that Han territory and Shendu were separated by only a single mountain range. Yet that range was like a heavenly moat, stretching from the Northern Sea to the Western Regions—an immense curtain drawn across the world, sealing off the southern route.
"It is too early to discuss this," Kongming said softly. "Since this Ancient India Road exists, we can offer rewards and encourage merchants to travel it. If they can bring back cotton seeds from Shendu, that will be enough for now."
Everyone agreed. For the present, there was no better option.
Under their lingering gazes, Kongming rolled the map closed. In the past, he had often sighed at how little he knew of the world's true scale. Now, having glimpsed even a fragment of it, his ambition stirred restlessly.
Never before had Kongming felt such urgency to destroy the rebel Cao.
Crush Cao, pacify Jiangdong—the world was vast, and he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
The Fate of Ma Su
The mutton legs were roasted to perfection, their aroma filling the air. On the way back, Ma Liang had secretly torn off a piece to taste. To his confusion, however, Ma Su insisted on chopping the meat into chunks and boiling them in a clay pot with plain water before eating.
Late January in Jingzhou was bitterly cold. After finishing their meal, the brothers extinguished the lamp and lay down side by side.
"Brother," Ma Su whispered into the darkness, his eyes bright, "is the Lord about to send out troops?"
Ma Liang shifted slightly.
"Do you wish to seek a post as a military adviser?"
He knew his younger brother had loved military strategy since childhood, always brimming with grand theories and confident judgments. But… Ma Liang fell silent.
Since joining the core discussions surrounding the light-screen, he had been deeply troubled. At the very beginning, the screen had mentioned Ma Su by name.
[After Ma Su lost Jieting, the spirit of Shu-Han was exhausted.]
Those words had been exact. Whether it was "Jieting" or Ma Su's name, the screen never returned to them afterward. But Ma Liang knew Kongming's temperament well—once heard, such things would never be forgotten. That was why, for an entire year, Youchang had been assigned only to civil posts.
Ma Su worked diligently, yet his boredom during idle moments was impossible to miss. Civil service was not shameful—but what of the military texts he studied so obsessively? And… the light-screen had never explained how Jieting was lost.
Perhaps it was merely the first of many small failures.
Perhaps Youchang had truly done his best.
Perhaps—
"Brother!" Ma Su's earnest voice broke his train of thought.
Ma Liang turned over, staring at the dark ceiling.
"Tomorrow, I will speak to the Lord. Whether it happens or not will be for him to decide."
Ignoring Ma Su's excited response, Ma Liang closed his eyes. He was his brother, after all. If the Lord refused, he would explain it later.
The Paddle-Wheel Ship
The following morning, Kongming brought several documents to Liu Bei for approval.
"I've told you before, Kongming—you can decide these matters yourself," Liu Bei said, reviewing the paperwork at a small table. They were seated on the martial field of the county office.
Kongming glanced toward two young officers nearby, who looked very much like a pair of furious fighting cocks, and gave Liu Bei a questioning look.
"Ma Zhong and Ma Su," Liu Bei explained. "Ma Su is capable in civil affairs, but obsessed with military matters. As for Ma Zhong—the light-screen says he has talent, but…"
Liu Bei scratched his head awkwardly.
"He's illiterate and only wants to lead troops. I put them together, but Ma Su's tongue is too sharp. They ended up fighting."
Kongming considered this, then said,
"In the past, Guan Yu advised Zhang Fei to study in Jiangling. Why not do the same for Ma Zhong? A commander must learn. If he relies solely on brute strength, what will he have left when age catches him?"
Liu Bei nodded.
"Very well. Since Ma Su is learned, I'll have him 'persuade' Ma Zhong to study."
Watching the two young men begin to scuffle yet again, Kongming smiled faintly.
"My Lord might as well have Ma Su use the method of provocation. It will certainly succeed."
Liu Bei's eyes lit up.
"Let's try it!"
In Jiangling, Guan Yu was inspecting his warships. After personally operating one according to the craftsman's instructions, he nodded in satisfaction and beckoned Gan Gui over.
"General Guan!"
In less than two months, Gan Gui had been completely won over by Guan Yu's bearing and now regarded him with deep reverence. This was the legendary general who had slain Yan Liang!
"This warship was designed by Lady Huang," Guan Yu said. "You are skilled in naval affairs—come and examine it."
At a glance, Gan Gui knew this vessel was unlike any he had seen before. River ships were usually light, built for boarding actions and quick maneuvering. This one was massive, refitted from an older hull. Most striking were the two repeating crossbows mounted on either side, each bearing three enormous bows stacked in staggered layers.
At the stern was a circular mechanism. Gan Gui recognized it immediately; similar devices were being constructed near Gongan and Jiangling.
"A Round Wheel?"
"This is a paddle-wheel ship," Guan Yu said with clear interest. "Come—lend a hand."
He led Gan Gui and a group of personal guards into the ship's interior.
"Pedal with your feet, brace your backs against the cabin, and keep the cycle steady."
The mechanism was simple. Gan Gui grasped the handrails and watched as General Guan stripped off his robe, bare chest gleaming, and planted his feet on the pedals. With a rhythmic shout, the men began to move in unison.
Gan Gui felt the Round Wheel at the stern begin to turn. Half-submerged, it churned the water rhythmically, pushing the ship forward.
This is an entirely new kind of warship.
Gan Gui compared it to the vessels he knew well. It would be slower to turn—but the driving force was something else entirely.
Suddenly, Guan Yu roared,
"Engage the winches!"
The order echoed through the ship. Gan Gui felt the pedals grow heavy beneath his feet, and a harsh, grinding sound filled the air.
The giant bows of the repeating crossbows… were being drawn back.
They're powered by pedaling?!
Gan Gui continued pedaling, his mind racing. Those massive bolts—if unleashed against enemy ships, or fired at riverside camps and city walls…
In a daze, he realized that warfare on the Yangtze River might never be the same again.