Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

Liu Bei glanced at the gift list in his hand and felt a bit embarrassed as he looked at Lady Zhang. Previously, when he had repaired Fenggao, it could be considered a gesture of apology. However, this gift list seemed to be taking advantage of the Zhen family.

”There’s no need for this, my lady,” Liu Bei said, feeling a bit uneasy.

”I heard that Lord Liu plans to establish academies. The Zhen family has made preparations and is willing to build academies in the Taishan and Qingzhou regions for free. We are also willing to cover the costs of food and lodging for the students,” Lady Zhang said with a smile. Building academies wouldn’t cost much, and donating some chairs and tables was insignificant. Feeding those kids breakfast and lunch at the academy was nothing. The Zhen family had over ten thousand servants; what’s a few more?

A small expense like this could win Liu Bei’s favor—no big deal. When Lady Zhang presented this plan to the elders of the Zhen family, they didn’t even take it seriously.

The truth is, the Zhen family’s elders were currently occupied with bigger matters, such as collaborating with the Mi family, the Wei family, and other prominent merchants to establish business regulations that would benefit the Zhen family. Matters like this, which Lady Zhang could handle on her own, weren’t worth their attention. She just wanted to get it done quickly so she could return to dealing with the bigger issues.

”This doesn’t seem right. The expense is too large; I can’t let the Zhen family bear such a burden,” Liu Bei said, shaking his head. He could tell that the Zhen family meant well, but he felt the expense was too much for a single family to handle.

”Is Lord Xuande underestimating the Zhen family?” Lady Zhang said playfully, covering half of her face with a silk fan, a smile tugging at the corners of her eyes. ”I would very much like to see just how large this expense could be.”

Liu Bei smiled wryly. To him, it seemed like Lady Zhang was overconfident. This was something that a single family couldn’t possibly bear.

”In that case, please let me know the exact figures later. The Zhen family also wishes to contribute to the prosperity of Lord Xuande’s territories,” Lady Zhang said, narrowing her eyes slightly. She knew Chen Xi wouldn’t let Liu Bei act recklessly, so if he said it couldn’t be done, it wasn’t just idle talk.

”Rest assured, my lady,” Liu Bei said, taking a sip of tea.Under the cover of her fan, Lady Zhang’s lips twisted in dissatisfaction. She then gracefully rose, curtsied to Liu Bei, and slowly exited.

”Lady Zhang really has sharp instincts,” Chen Xi said, emerging from behind a screen. ”But why did I have to hide?”

”If she saw you, she would hide. And if you saw her, you would do the same. Now, let’s continue discussing our previous matters,” Liu Bei said, pointing to a nearby seat, signaling Chen Xi to sit and continue.

”Apart from the forces under Yun Chang, Ziyi, and Xu Gao, and the navy, which doesn’t need adjustment, the other troops have completed the first round of demobilization. They are being reorganized from the agricultural troops. Meanwhile, the city guard unit, composed of veterans over thirty-two who have fought in a hundred battles, has been fully selected. After we hold a memorial for the fallen soldiers in a few days, we can proceed with the reorganization,” Chen Xi reported on the tasks he had managed in recent days.

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly, clearly satisfied with the progress. However, after a moment’s hesitation, he said, ”Actually, Zichuan, there’s no need to produce new weapons. You might not have observed the weapons closely enough, but let me put it this way: a spear made from hundred-forged steel isn’t as sharp as a standard spear that has been used by a soldier for a year. It also lacks the resilience of a standard spear.”

”Really? How could that be?” Chen Xi asked in confusion. He had been planning to start a coal mine to re-equip the elite troops. How could such an irrational situation arise?

”Simply put, inner energy can alter the nature of weapons and armor. That’s why the weapons that Yun Chang and I use are also made of refined iron, but they can easily cut through newly forged weapons of the same material,” Liu Bei explained. ”In this sense, weapons that soldiers have used for a year have far surpassed the quality of hundred-forged steel.”

”...” Chen Xi was speechless. He hadn’t expected such a situation. If this were true, then his coal mine plan would only be good for making coal briquettes. His dream of a steel revolution was over!

”Because of this, the regular army won’t undergo a large-scale equipment upgrade. Every time we do that, it significantly reduces the effectiveness of our forces. This is also why we primarily repair soldiers’ weapons rather than replace them with new ones.”

As he spoke, Liu Bei pulled a standard sword with many nicks from the top of his bookshelf. He then found one of the swords that Chen Xi had planned to promote, a horse-slaying sword. With a single clash, the hundred-forged steel sword, in which Chen Xi had placed high hopes, was easily cut in half.

”See? That’s how it is. Generally speaking, this is the situation with weapons. Of course, some master craftsmen can forge weapons that are sharper than those that have been used for over a decade, but such weapons clearly can’t be mass-produced,” Liu Bei said, sighing as he tossed the nicked sword onto the table.

”In that case, where did we get our previous equipment?” Chen Xi asked curiously. If the horse-slaying sword was ruined, then so be it. He was now more interested in how they had acquired those high-quality weapons.

”New weapons, so they were very inferior. This is also one of the reasons why new recruits are easily crushed by veterans—the difference in weapon quality is too great. That’s why I never allow soldiers who haven’t trained for a year to go into battle, because their equipment is simply too inferior,” Liu Bei said helplessly. Because of this, new recruits were completely useless in combat...

Chen Xi picked up the nicked standard sword in disbelief. ”So, these weapons can only be repaired, not reforged?”

”Yes, repairs are fine, but if you reforge them, they will become new weapons,” Liu Bei replied with frustration. ”That’s why weapons are a headache for any warlord. It’s said that the Han Imperial Guards’ equipment has been passed down for generations.”

Chen Xi was instantly stunned. If what Liu Bei said was true—that a standard sword made of pig iron used for a year could cut through a hundred-forged steel horse-slaying sword—then the equipment of the Han Imperial Guards, refined over four centuries, must have become divine weapons.

Liu Bei noticed the shock in Chen Xi’s eyes and waved his hand dismissively. ”It’s not as exaggerated as you think. Everything has its limits. Whether it’s ordinary iron, refined iron, hundred-forged iron, or meteorite iron, as long as it’s still iron, its ultimate limit remains the same. It can’t turn into something else.”

”Oh, so upgrading equipment is completely unnecessary. All we need is to use the weapons left by previous generations, right?” Chen Xi shrugged and asked.

”The problem is, there aren’t enough weapons from previous generations. That’s the biggest issue! Once a weapon has been ’cultivated,’ if it’s not used for a long time, it deteriorates. Unless someone can refine a weapon to the point where it possesses a spirit, which is just a myth,” Liu Bei said with a sigh. Over the past few centuries, no one had managed to refine a weapon with a spirit. Where did this idea even come from?