Chapter 31: Two Letters from Home

He sat before his desk, trimmed the candle flame, and began to write vigorously upon a scroll of silk. In his letter to his younger brother, Mi Fang, he first emphasized the argument that the Liu family was on the verge of a great rise. He then detailed Liu Feng’s visit to his estate that day to seek assistance, before giving explicit instructions regarding his own arrangements for refined salt and rock sugar.

Following this, Mi Zhu, in his capacity as the head of the house, ordered Mi Fang to immediately mobilize the family’s existing resources and send two million coins to Tan County with all possible speed. At the same time, he was to continue gathering supplies from the local villages—whatever could be collected, he was to dispatch at once. As he reached the end, Mi Zhu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, with unwavering resolve, he added a final instruction at the bottom of the letter: upon reading this, Mi Fang was to forward the letter to their father, urging him to come out of retirement, summon the local clansmen, and pool their resources. Once finished, Mi Zhu carefully checked the letter several times. Satisfied that it was flawless, he summoned a trusted servant and ordered him to gather a team of family guards to deliver the message to their ancestral home in Qu County that very night.

Coincidentally, Chen Deng was also writing furiously at home. His letter was addressed to his father, Chen Gui. His missive covered three main points. First, he introduced the curved-shaft plow and strongly urged his father to test it; if the results were truly as Liu Bei claimed, he was to exert all efforts to mass-produce it, distribute it to the tenant farmers on their own estates, and then promote it to other noble families to see if the Chen family could derive some benefit from it.

Second, he recounted the unusual behavior of Liu Bei and Cao Bao. He focused on Cao Bao’s sudden willingness to cede four thousand of his own troops to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei’s consecutive promotions of his confidants, Tian Yu and Zhao Yun, to the positions of County Magistrate and Commandant of Separate Detachments, garrisoning Cheng County and Lanling County respectively. He urged his family to discreetly investigate the secrets behind these events, while cautioning them to act with extreme care so as not to cause any displeasure to Liu Bei or Cao Bao.

Third, he addressed the matter of Liu Feng. He explained his initial considerations for agreeing to Liu Bei’s request to serve as Liu Feng’s mentor, followed by his confusion regarding Liu Bei’s apparent change of heart. Unable to fathom the reason, he sought his father’s perspective. At the end of the letter, Chen Deng followed his usual custom of praising Liu Bei effusively, describing him as a man of extraordinary bearing, possessing the strategic vision of a king, a benevolent and tolerant nature, and a willingness to respect the virtuous and listen to the advice of the wise—especially valuing the counsel of Chen Deng himself. The latter part of the letter was filled with the joy and exuberance of having found an enlightened master, with a touch of youthful pride in showing off to his father.

At fifty, Chen Gui was in the golden age of his political life. Previously, the Chen family had cooperated with Tao Qian; with the support of their wealth, grain, and soldiers, Tao Qian had successfully invaded Yanzhou, seized numerous commanderies, and recommended Chen Gui for the position of Administrator of Pei. However, as Tao Qian suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of Cao Cao, Chen Gui naturally lost his position and had since returned to his ancestral home in Xiapi. Chen Deng’s choice to support Liu Bei had received the blessing of his father and the entire Chen family.

Chen Deng hoped to create an opportunity for his elderly father to return to public life. This was not born of petty ambition; given Chen Gui’s prestige, obtaining an official post would have been effortless without relying on Liu Bei. For instance, Yuan Shu had once written to court Chen Gui, offering him high office and generous stipends, even going so far as to threaten Chen Gui with the lives of his sons to force his service. Yet, Chen Gui remained unmoved—not only because he recognized that Yuan Shu was no enlightened leader, but because his personal integrity prevented him from acknowledging a man like Yuan Shu. Historically, Chen Gui held Liu Bei in high regard, even orchestrating a ruse against Lu Bu that ultimately avenged Liu Bei’s loss of his base.

After sealing the letter, Chen Deng felt the wine go to his head and turned to his bed. Moments later, he was snoring loudly.

The next day, at noon, Liu Feng received the news. Mi Zhu had sent the first shipment of supplies, which included three thousand bushels of grain, one hundred thousand coins, five hundred catties of iron, fifty sets of clothing and footwear, and five bushels of salt. In addition, there were ten brocade robes, five jade belts, a precious sword, four bronze mirrors, six bolts of Shu brocade, twenty bolts of silk, four sets of cosmetics, and various rare medicinal herbs.

Liu Feng inspected the items and promptly allocated them. "Send two brocade robes to my uncles Guan and Zhang, and distribute the jade belts to uncles Zhao and Tian. Send three of the bronze mirrors to the inner courtyard for my grandmother, my mother, and my young mistress."

Finally, Liu Feng picked up the precious sword and drew it, revealing a blade of fine, tempered steel. He returned it to its scabbard and tossed it to Pang Tong, who stood at his side. "A fine blade for a brave man. Wen-gui, this sword is yours."

"Young Master?" Pang Tong stood stunned. He had been marveling at the sheer opulence of the Mi family’s gift—the items were worth hundreds of thousands of coins, an incredibly generous offering by any standard. Most of what he saw, he had never laid eyes on in his entire life. He never imagined that the very sword he had been coveting would become his own.

"Young Master, I cannot accept this!" Recovering his senses, Pang Tong hurriedly knelt. "This item is too precious. A fine weapon is hard to come by; you should keep it for yourself." Pang Tong knew that although the youth before him was only ten, his strength already rivaled that of an ordinary adult. While Liu Feng might not yet be skilled with such a blade, he was certainly entitled to possess one. Moreover, having recognized the boy as his master, how could he presume to take such a treasure?

Liu Feng glanced at Pang Tong, instantly reading his mind. He burst into laughter. "Wen-gui, you serve at my side. In the perils of war, if you lack a good weapon, how can you protect me? Besides, I am only just beginning my martial training; if I were to use such a fine blade, I would likely injure myself before I could harm an enemy. You wouldn't want to see that, would you?"

Pang Tong was left speechless. In truth, he loved the sword dearly; his nature was inherently greedy, and were it not for his genuine respect for Liu Feng and his lack of the rebellious arrogance he would later display in history, he would never have been so polite. Seeing the logic in Liu Feng’s words and the sincerity of his intent, Pang Tong no longer refused. He grinned, buckled the sword to his waist, and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Young Master, for the gift!"

"Wen-gui, take this set of cosmetics, two brocade robes, one bronze mirror, two bolts of Shu brocade, and four bolts of silk to the residence of the General Who Establishes Might. Present the robes to General Cao, and the rest are gifts for his daughter."

In a few moments, Liu Feng had distributed the entire fortune in gifts, keeping nothing for himself, leaving the servants dumbfounded. Pang Tong respectfully accepted the orders and directed the servants to sort the items. After delivering the gifts meant for the inner chambers and the front hall, he apologized to Liu Feng and set off personally to deliver the designated presents to Cao Bao’s residence.