Liu Bei glanced at the gift list in his hand and looked somewhat embarrassedly towards Madam Zhang. If previously repairing Fenggao could be justified as making amends, now this gift list seemed to take advantage of the Zhen Family.
"My lady, there is no need for such extravagance," Liu Bei said with emotion.
"I heard that Governor Liu wishes to build a book academy. The Zhen Family has made ample preparations, willing to construct the book academies of Qingzhou of Mount Tai free of charge, and as for the so-called food and lodging subsidy, my Zhen Family is also willing to take care of it all," said Madam Zhang with a smile. Constructing a book academy wouldn’t cost much; donating some chairs and tables wouldn’t break the bank. What’s a little breakfast and lunch for those kids at the academy? With over ten thousand servants, what’s a few more to the Zhen Family?
The cost wasn’t substantial to gain Liu Bei’s favor—it was a mere trifle. When this plan was reviewed by the Zhen Family elders, none of the older generation members took it to heart.
Meanwhile, the older generation of the Zhen Family was busy collaborating with the Mi Family, the Wei Family, and several other prominent merchants on how to establish business regulations and profit the Zhen Family. As these matters could easily be decided by Madam Zhang herself, she didn’t take them seriously and came over quickly to help deal with these people.
"This doesn’t seem appropriate; the expense is quite substantial, it’s somewhat unfair to the Zhen Family," Liu Bei shook his head, he could discern the Zhen Family’s good intentions, but this expense was something a single family couldn’t bear.
"Is Lord Xuande underestimating our Zhen Family?" Madam Zhang unfolded her silk fan to cover half of her face, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "I would very much like to see just how substantial this expense could be," she said.
Liu Bei gave a wry smile. To him, it was clear that Madam Zhang was suffering from a slight overconfidence, "I don’t know the exact numbers, but Zichuan has said no single family could withstand it alone."
"If that is so, please provide a figure when the time comes, Lord Xuande. The Zhen Family would like to contribute to the prosperity of your realm," Madam Zhang said with a slight narrowing of her eyes. Chen Xi wouldn’t let Liu Bei act recklessly, so if he said it was not feasible, it was not a matter to be taken lightly.
"Rest assured, my lady," said Liu Bei, raising his teacup and taking a sip.
Madam Zhang’s mouth, hidden under the fan, twisted slightly in dissatisfaction before she stood up, curtsied eloquently to Liu Bei, and slowly withdrew.
"Madam Zhang is quite perceptive," Chen Xi emerged from behind the screen and said, "But why should I have to hide away?"
"She would hide away upon seeing you, and you would do the same upon seeing her. Let’s continue our earlier discussion," Liu Bei gesturing towards a nearby seat, inviting Chen Xi to sit down and carry on.
"Apart from Yunchang Division, Ziyi Division, and Xuangao Tribe whose soldiers haven’t returned, and the Navy which doesn’t need adjustment, the other forces have already completed their first phase of discharge and are being restructured from the Tuntian Soldiers. As for the Veteran Soldiers over thirty-two, they have all been selected for the Metropolitan Management Troop and await the completion of the rituals for the fallen soldiers before restructuring can commence," Chen Xi summarized the recent undertakings.
Liu Bei nodded continuously, clearly satisfied, but after a while, hesitated and said, "Actually, Zichuan, there was no need to produce new weapons. Perhaps you haven’t observed the weapons closely. Let me put it this way, not a single soldier has used a long spear made of Hundred Forged Steel for a full year, yet these spears are still sharper and more resilient than the standard issue weapons."
"Huh? How is that possible?" Chen Xi asked, puzzled. He had been planning to mine coal to re-equip his elite forces, so how could such an unreasonable situation arise?
"Simply put, inner qi can enhance the properties of weapons and armor, which is why Yunchang and I have weapons that are merely made of refined iron, but now can easily cut through those newly forged refined iron weapons." Liu Bei thought for a moment and said, "From this perspective, the standard weapons of the soldiers have essentially surpassed hundred refined steel after one year of use."
Chen Xi was speechless, finding it hard to believe that such a situation could exist. Now, it seemed the coal mine could only be used for making briquettes. So much for his super deity steel plan!
"That’s why the regular army won’t engage in large-scale updates or replacements because every update would essentially degrade both the offensive and defensive power of the army. That’s also why we usually repair the soldiers’ weapons rather than replace them with new ones," Liu Bei explained.
As he spoke, Liu Bei took a standard great sword with several nicks from the top of his bookshelf and then found a horse-cutting sword that Chen Xi had been planning to promote. After a single clash, the horse-cutting sword, made of hundred-forged steel, was easily cut in half.
"See, this is usually the case with weapons. Of course, some grand craftsman using a special method might forge a weapon that is far sharper than the ones the soldiers have been using for decades, but such weapons obviously can’t be mass-produced," Liu Bei said with a sigh, placing the nicked great sword back on the table.
"In that case, where did our previous equipment come from?" asked Chen Xi, curious. He was less concerned that the horse-cutting sword was ruined and more interested in how the high-quality weapons were acquired before.
"They were new weapons, so very poor in quality. That’s one of the reasons why a fresh recruit is easily crushed by a veteran soldier—the gap in weapon quality is just too great. This is also why I wouldn’t allow soldiers who haven’t trained for a year to enter the battlefield–the difference in gear is just too wide," Liu Bei said, helplessly. With such a factor at play, new recruits were completely useless...
Wordlessly, Chen Xi picked up the nicked standard great sword, "So you’re saying these weapons can only be repaired, not reforged?"
"Exactly, repairs are fine, but reforging would make the weapons completely new," said Liu Bei reluctantly, "That’s why for any feudal lord, weaponry is a headache. It is said that the equipment of the Feathered Forest Guards of the Han Court is handed down from generation to generation."
Chen Xi was instantly shocked. If, as Liu Bei said, a year-old pig iron great sword could cut through a horse-cutting sword made of hundred refined steel, then the equipment of the Feathered Forest Guards laced in spirit after four hundred years was likely to have become a divine artifact.
Liu Bei might have seen the shock in Chen Xi’s eyes and waved his hand as he spoke, "It’s not as exaggerated as you think. Everything has a limit, whether it’s common iron, refined iron, hundred refined iron, or meteoric iron. As long as it is iron, there is a limit, and it can’t turn into something else."
"Oh, in that case, there’s really no point in re-equipping, just providing the weapons previously used would be enough, right?" Chen Xi asked with a shrug.
"There simply aren’t enough weapons left from the past. That’s the biggest problem! After all, a weapon that’s been looked after and not used for a long time will spoil unless someone can cultivate it to the legendary level where it possesses a spirit, but that’s just myth," Liu Bei said helplessly. No one had heard of a weapon cultivating a spirit over the past few centuries. Who had come up with such an idea?(To be continued. If you work, please visit Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)