The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 94 Zhuge Liang issues the handover order; this is not a spoils of war but a gift (3rd update)
"Hua Gongcao, how have you been?"

At the Dragon Gathering camp, Liu Bei leaned against a table, glancing sideways at Hua Yan with a mocking tone that left Hua Yan both angry and helpless.

Hua Yan never expected that his surprise attack on Liu Bei with 5,000 infantry and cavalry would result in him being captured alive by Liu Bei, and Guan Yu even claimed that "not a single one of them escaped!"
completely annihilated?

Am I still half asleep?
Hua Yan would rather doubt that he was still half asleep than believe the fact that the entire army had been wiped out!

"General, let's take care of business first."

Zhuge Liang had produced three bamboo slips at some point, with the words "Han Left General's Office Handover Order" written on them in large characters.

Next is:
The 17th day of the sixth month in the fifth year of Jian'an.

General Liu Bei of the Left, now receives a gift from Hua Yan, the Chief Clerk of Pingyuan State:
1. Two thousand ring-pommel swords, one thousand longbows, and ten thousand arrows.

2. One hundred sets of lamellar armor, two thousand sets of leather armor, and two thousand leather helmets.

3. Two hundred warhorses and two hundred sets of riding equipment such as saddles, bridles, and other harnesses.

IV. Six hundred taels of gold and silver, three hundred bolts of clothing and silk, fifty sets of teapots and utensils, and two hundred pots and bowls.

Once the transaction is completed, the original owner may not claim the property again.

Recipient: General Liu Bei

Delivery Person: Hirohiko, Chief Clerk of Pingyuan Province

Supervisor: General of the Left, Sima Guan Yu

"Hua Gongcao, sign the handover order first." Zhuge Liang handed the handover order to Hua Yan with a smile.

Upon seeing the contents of the delivery order, Hua Yan was stunned: "What does this mean?"

Zhuge Liang's smile remained unchanged: "Normally, there's no need to sign a handover order for spoils. However, General Zuo believes that Chief Clerk Hua was just confused for a moment, and many soldiers surrendered upon hearing of General Zuo's name. Today's events can be attributed to a misunderstanding. Since it's a misunderstanding, these supplies cannot be considered spoils. I have no choice but to change it to a handover order. Make three copies: one for you, one for General Zuo, and one to be kept for the Grand General."

Hua Yan's eyes widened: "So you mean that since you seized my supplies, I have to sign a handover order to show that today's delivery was a voluntary gift?"

Zhuge Liang nodded: "Hua Gongcao's understanding is very profound, and that is exactly what I meant!"

Hua Yan was so angry he almost laughed. He turned his head and sneered, "Kill me or torture me, it's up to you. Even if I die, I will never sign the handover order!"

"Don't rush!" Zhuge Liang's smile widened. "Everything can be discussed. Besides, General Zuo is very sincere. The supplies on this handover order are not even half of what was captured. This is to make it easier for you to give Yuan Qingzhou an explanation when you return."

Hua Yan was even more annoyed: "So, I should thank you?"

"Hua Gongcao, there's no need for thanks. We're both working for the country and its people! We're not different!" Zhuge Liang completely ignored the sharpness in Hua Yan's words and only spoke the good points.

Seeing that Hua Yan refused to sign, Zhang Fei suddenly shouted, "Strategist, you're too lenient. If you ask me, just behead him, then have him sign with his right hand, and finally stamp it with his official seal. It's a bit brutal, but it's much simpler. Anyway, you just want to go through the motions for the General, and the General won't care whether the handwriting is from a living person or a dead person."

"How dare you!" Hua Yan felt his hair stand on end. What did he mean by saying that the general wouldn't care whether the words were written by a living person or a dead person?
Zhang Fei glared and drew his sword, then slashed at Hua Yan's neck without saying a word.

"Third brother, you mustn't be rude!"

Just as Zhang Fei's blade was about to sever Hua Yan's neck, Liu Bei, who had been watching the show for a long time, finally spoke up.

Zhang Fei snorted, seemingly with regret: "If it weren't for my elder brother's sake, you would have been dead just now." Having just walked through the gates of hell, Hua Yan felt that he had never been so terrified in his life. Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them, can't it be done quickly?

"Hua Gongcao, I won't waste my breath on you. If it weren't for Yuan Tan's sake, you would have no chance of surviving today." Liu Bei's tone was unhurried but had its own authority: "If you sign the handover order now, you can take all the soldiers and most of the supplies back to see Yuan Tan, apologize to Yuan Tan, and this matter will be over."

"But if you refuse to sign the handover order, not only will you not be able to take the remaining majority of the supplies with you, but Yuan Tan will also kill you to appease my anger. You are a smart man, and I don't need to teach you how to choose!"

Through a combination of intimidation and reasoning, Hua Yan's psychological defenses were gradually broken down.

Looking at the handover order handed over by Zhuge Liang and listening to Liu Bei's imposing words, Hua Yan felt a sense of fear arise in his heart: Who am I fighting against?
If Zhang Feidao had struck Hua Yan's neck, Hua Yan would have been more or less labeled as someone who was ready to die for his cause.

In reality, however, Hua Yan was a coward who valued his life. His earlier "kill me or torture me, it's all up to you" attitude was just a common negotiating tactic among scholars.

After discovering that Zhang Fei could actually kill people, Hua Yan no longer dared to utter such harsh words as "Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you."

"I'll sign!"

Hua Yan's desire to survive overcame his determination to die.

As Liu Bei said: Although signing the handover order hurt his pride, he could go back and apologize to Yuan Tan and the matter would be over; but if he did not sign the handover order, Yuan Tan would definitely use Hua Yan as a pawn in order to appease Liu Bei's anger.

If Yuan Tan really dared to fight Liu Bei to the death, Yuan Shang would be overjoyed: Yuan Shao treated Liu Bei with great courtesy, but Yuan Tan wanted to fight Liu Bei to the death. Didn't Yuan Shao have any face?

"Thank you for your cooperation, Chief Clerk Xie." Zhuge Liang shook the handover order and handed it to Liu Bei and Guan Yu for their signatures and seals.

He handed two of the documents to the clerk for safekeeping, and stuffed the remaining one into Hua Yan's arms. Before Hua Yan could react, Zhuge Liang took out three more handover orders.

"What does this mean?" Hua Yan's left eyelid twitched.
Zhuge Liang smiled gently: "Hua Gongcao, the Left General, out of consideration for our past relationship, only took a small portion of the supplies. Shouldn't you offer something in return?"

Hua Yan felt he had suffered more anger today than he had in his entire life, but he had no choice but to suppress it and asked, with a heavy heart, "How should I express my anger?"

"I won't make things difficult for Hua Gongcao." Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and asked for a price in a mild tone: "General Zuo will be leading tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians north to Zhuo County, which will take at least forty days. I've calculated it carefully, and these forty days will consume about 30,000 shi of grain. Once we arrive in Zhuo County, we'll need to settle the soldiers and civilians, which would require 200,000 shi of grain per year. Because of Yuan Qingzhou, I can waive 30,000 shi, and because of the General, I can waive another 100,000 shi, so only 100,000 shi of grain will be needed. If Hua Gongcao can't gather 100,000 shi of grain temporarily, he can gather 50,000 shi first, and the rest can be converted into gold, silver, and silk. There's no need to recruit any more laborers; we have the manpower!"

Hua Yan's hands trembled again.

robber!

The seemingly refined scholar in front of me is actually a despicable bandit!

"Why don't you just rob it?" Hua Yan asked angrily.

Zhuge Liang remained calm and composed: "I have also considered this plan. If Yuan Qingzhou kills Hua Gongcao in order to appease General Zuo's anger, General Zuo can confiscate and sell Hua Gongcao's property. I have roughly calculated that at the current grain price, it would be more than enough to buy 200,000 shi of grain. I am extremely envious of the abundance of Hua Gongcao's property."

Hua Yan suddenly felt dizzy.

That damned woman!

How can you even calculate how much wealth I have?

　There was a power outage today, so I stayed up all night to finish writing. Please, for my sake, give me some monthly votes! If I get 1000 monthly votes, I can enter a prize draw next month. Please!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)