CHAPTER 1099: CHAPTER 1055: NOT UNWILLING, BUT UNABLE

Inside the carriage, Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce’s face full of helplessness. To be honest, he did not agree to bring Zhou Tai to Mount Tai for medical treatment. Not to mention that Zhang Zhongjing had already determined that Zhou Tai could basically only wait for natural awakening, just the fact that Sun Ce wanted to come in person was indeed a bit too much.

Although Zhou Yu promised Sun Ce that as long as Sun Ce was willing to trust him, he would do his utmost to provide Sun Ce with a foolproof plan, but a foolproof plan does not mean that accidents will not occur.

Zhou Yu was very clear that the most irresistible thing in the world is the unexpected. No matter how ingenious your strategy, no matter how extraordinary your talent, sometimes no matter how much you plan, if the heavens don’t favor you, you cannot succeed!

Therefore, the so-called foolproof plan is just a way of saying, and it’s really hard to guarantee things 100%, which is why Zhou Yu actually disagreed for Sun Ce to personally bring Zhou Tai here to Hua Tuo for treatment, after all, Mount Tai was Liu Bei’s stronghold.

Unfortunately, once Sun Ce becomes stubborn, it’s almost impossible to persuade him. Although Zhou Yu made a lot of sense, Sun Ce just had one thing to say: he owed Zhou Tai a life, and even if there was only a glimmer of hope, even if there was no hope, he would still try.

The most touching aspect of Sun Ce’s character is this sincere sense of loyalty. Seeing Sun Ce’s unwavering determination, Zhou Yu said nothing more. Sun Ce was someone who responded well to being treated softly, this was Zhou Yu’s conclusion about Sun Ce.

As for the saying that the son of a thousand gold does not sit beneath the eaves, let him be. At least let Sun Ce do whatever he can, so that he can calm down and handle other matters.

Thus, later when Sun Ce mentioned this matter in front of Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Zhuge Jin, Zhou Yu stood on Sun Ce’s side. Zhang Zhao didn’t dare say that Sun Ce was being inconsiderate, but he did criticize Zhou Yu with no restraint, naturally giving Zhou Yu a scolding for nothing. Nonetheless, Zhou Yu knew very well that he had to keep up this time.

In the end, the matter was forcibly passed; no matter how Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Jiang Qin, and Zhang Zhao tried to stop it, nothing could hinder Sun Ce’s resolve once he made up his mind.

Regarding Sun Ce’s recklessness, Zhang Zhao and the others found it exasperating, but after Sun Ce left, they privately quite agreed with him. After all, such behavior was very reassuring for any minister; although Sun Ce was impulsive and reckless, he did listen to others and was very loyal.

This was probably due to a change in perception resulting from familiarity. At least Zhou Yu was clearly influenced by his subjective judgment, otherwise he would never have agreed to such a risky thing, let alone devise a complete entry and retreat plan for Mount Tai in case the mission was exposed.

"No matter, today we will surely reach Mount Tai. While Liu Bei’s main forces are in Ye City, we shall let the world’s foremost doctor take a look at what is wrong with Youping," Sun Ce said solemnly as he looked at Zhou Tai lying in the carriage.

To be honest, Sun Ce, though reckless, is not foolish. Zhang Zhongjing’s medical skills are estimated to match those of Hua Tuo, and since Zhang Zhongjing had already determined that Zhou Tai could only awaken naturally, even reaching Hua Tuo might not yield much change.

One could say that Sun Ce’s current hope rests on the notion that Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo have their own specialities, and Hua Tuo happens to excel in treating this type of difficult condition that Zhou Tai has.

For a possibility, Sun Ce took the risk of personally traveling to Mount Tai, achieving this level as a lord is indeed going to great lengths. As for sending someone to bring Zhou Tai here, many people advised this, but Sun Ce refused. On one hand, it was a matter of sincerity, on the other, he wanted to see firsthand the difference in governance under Liu Bei.

Zhou Yu did not bother Sun Ce. Since entering Xuzhou, he had been thinking. Compared to their own governance, Liu Bei’s reign was completely different, and these differences were mostly in the details. But piecing them together, Zhou Yu suddenly realized that Liu Bei’s side had become entirely different from theirs.

Whether it was the prefecture roads the carriage was now speeding on, or the stone bridges they passed, or those irrigation networks being constantly excavated in the cold wind, all indicated that Liu Bei’s side was entirely different from theirs.

"Gongjin, what are you thinking about?" Sun Ce noticed Zhou Yu’s contemplative expression and asked.

"I just feel that many of Liu Xuande’s practices are shocking; things that seem completely unrelated are pieced together to form such a picture." Zhou Yu slowly pulled open the carriage window, and not far away was a village. Zhou Yu gazed at the fence being constructed and sighed.

"What use does that barrier, barely over a yard in height, have?" Sun Ce said disdainfully, "And isn’t this just a village?"

"Bofu, you don’t get it. Think about our Yangzhou, how many people are in a village, and how many people are here." Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "Our big village has three to four hundred people, whereas this village likely has over five thousand. Do you understand what this means?"

Sun Ce shook his head, completely clueless about why Zhou Yu was sighing.

"This means there is a significance to having officials stationed here, and it equally implies that this place is a state-managed area, unlike the half-control that relies on village elders and aristocrats. It’s a real management of these people," Zhou Yu slowly said, "And along our journey, we’ve seen quite a few such villages. They’re probably consolidating smaller villages!"

Sun Ce still didn’t understand, but Zhou Yu didn’t explain further. He could understand the benefits, but he was aware of the difficulty in doing this. Such large-scale villages would be unsustainable without adequate land, efficient irrigation networks, and convenient transportation!

Likewise, the benefits of doing this are evident: easier management, increased administrative efficiency, proximity in labor-requiring tasks, reduced costs, and stronger control over the governance. It can be said to have countless advantages, but the problem is Sun Ce cannot afford it!

Just the investment required to build such large-scale villages would be enough to bankrupt Sun Ce. After all, land acquisition is a very troublesome matter, and without a sufficiently large piece of land, how can a village be built in the middle?

The Late Han era was characterized by "many people, little land," but the land shortage affected the lower class, while the upper aristocracy held vast tracts of fertile land. The problem is that such villages inherently require large amounts of fertile land, so only the aristocracy has it.

Reclaiming wasteland? One must know that the fertile land suitable for reclamation has become aristocrats’ fertile fields, and some less fertile land, even when reclaimed, yields no productivity in the first few years. Is gathering people just to foment discontent? Coupled with the investment in irrigation networks and transportation infrastructure, Zhou Yu could only dream about it now.

At least until they could reclaim the aristocrats’ land, they could not afford to play this game. They needed the support of the aristocracy. Compared to the feeble support from the common folk, the strength of the aristocracy was what they needed.

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