Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Chapter 33: A Great Harvest

"I dare to inform the King of Han: The Prime Minister has prepared the goods and they have been transported to Liangxi. I request that the King of Han go and receive them." Hu Zhe stepped forward quickly and bowed to Liu Bang.

"What? Transported to Liangxi?" Liu Bang understood Peng Yue's intentions perfectly well and angrily rebuked, "Peng Yue wants me to leave as soon as possible; what a despicable person!"

To prevent Liu Bang from taking the goods and then staying to demand more, Peng Yue transported the valuables to Liangxi. Once Liu Bang accepted the goods, he would have to leave.

Of course, this couldn't be admitted. Hu Zhe smiled and firmly denied it: "What nonsense! Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand. The Prime Minister's current position is entirely due to Your Majesty's kindness. He would never do such a thing. This is to save Your Majesty trouble. Even if Your Majesty receives the goods, they still need to be transported to Liangxi. Why not transport them directly to Liangxi?"

"Hmph." Liu Bang was not going to accept Hu Zhe's explanation and snorted angrily.

It was already quite good that Peng Yue had managed to deliver the goods; although Liu Bang was furious, he didn't dwell on it. With a command, the army quickened its pace. Two days later, they finally reached the border between Liang and Xinzheng, which is the eastern boundary of modern-day Zhengzhou.

There, a group of people were stationed, guarding the valuables—the very things that Peng Yue had been extorted for.

There were many vehicles, hundreds of them parked together, one after another, like a long dragon.

"We have supplies!"

"So much wealth!"

The news had already spread throughout the ranks, and people saw it with delight, cheering loudly.

"Peng Yue, this is going too far! Is this all you want?" Liu Bang knew at a glance that Peng Yue hadn't given him everything he asked for, but had instead given him a discount.

Huge discount.

"I dare to tell the King of Han: Liang is really too small and has just been settled. We really can't offer much. The fact that we have so much is already a testament to the Prime Minister's gratitude to the King of Han, and he has done everything in his power." Hu Zhe said with a smile, bowing and making obsequious gestures.

"Peng Yue, you dog, don't I know you? You're so stingy, giving me this little bit of food, like you're trying to appease a beggar?" Liu Bang was furious.

"Your Majesty, you have truly wronged the Prime Minister." Hu Zhe maintained a smile throughout.

"How many?" Liu Bang asked after he finished venting his anger.

"I dare to inform the King of Han: 30,000 shi of grain, 3,000 jin of gold, 500 warhorses, 10,000 swords, 10,000 bows, 200,000 arrows, 10,000 sets of armor, and 10,000 pieces of coarse clothing. I humbly request that the King of Han accept these gifts." Hu Zhe reported the numbers.

They really ask for the moon, but then try to haggle.

Liu Bang made an exorbitant demand; after negotiating with Hu Zhe, Peng Yue still wanted an even bigger discount.

Liu Ying wasn't surprised at all; otherwise, he wouldn't be Peng Yue.

Liu Bang suppressed his anger and ordered Lü Ze to lead a team to take inventory.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bang's anger flared up.

"Why is it old grain?" Liu Bang grabbed a handful of slightly moldy grain, his anger flaring: "This grain is at least three years old."

"Your Majesty, this is all the wealth that the Prime Minister had accumulated in the past. He has brought it all out to show his respect to Your Majesty." Hu Zhe was very respectful, and his manners were impeccable.

"Why isn't this pure gold?" Liu Bang picked up a gold ingot and demanded.

The gold ingot is horseshoe-shaped and is not pure gold, but rather has a slightly bluish tint. It contains many impurities that have not been removed, so it is not pure gold and is at most 80% gold.

"King Han, these were all treasuries of the former Wei Kingdom. Wei Kingdom couldn't be as meticulous as Qin Kingdom in everything, so the Prime Minister had no choice but to say this with a troubled expression."

"Why a short sword?" Liu Bang picked up a sword, drew it from its sheath, and saw that the sword was about three feet long.

In the Qin system, one foot was 23 centimeters, so three feet would be 69 centimeters, which was considered a short sword at the time.

"King of Han, you should know that this is Liang territory, and the Liang system should be implemented, with short swords used," Hu Zhe hurriedly explained.

Of the seven Warring States, only the Qin state used long swords, with the swords used in the army generally being four feet long, or 92 centimeters. The six states east of the mountains used short swords, and therefore the Wei state also used short swords.

Liu Bang's Han army also used long swords, so Liu Bang was extremely dissatisfied with short swords.

"Nonsense! Peng Yue's army also uses longswords," Liu Bang roared.

"King of Han, even the Prime Minister's army doesn't have enough long swords, let alone enough to spare. If the King of Han is dissatisfied, you can wait. I will report to the Prime Minister and have craftsmen gather to recast them for the King of Han," Hu Zhe said with a smile.

"You!" Liu Bang examined the sword and shouted, "Why is it a bronze sword, and not an iron one?"

"King of Han, iron is too scarce. Where can we find so many iron swords?" Hu Zhe complained bitterly: "Think of Qin Shi Huang, who swept across the six states, defeated the Xiongnu in the north, and pacified the Baiyue in the south. Didn't the fierce Qin army also use bronze swords? It's just that iron is too rare, and the Qin state can't afford it."

At that time, the Iron Age had not yet begun, and bronze was still the mainstream material. Even when Qin Shi Huang's powerful army swept through the six states, it used bronze swords, not iron swords.

Iron swords were a game-changer at the time, so Peng Yue wouldn't be foolish enough to give Liu Bang an iron sword and instead use a bronze sword.

"Why leather armor?" Liu Bang picked up a pair of leather armor, very dissatisfied.

"Oh! King of Han, didn't I just say that iron is too rare and iron armor is too scarce? Even the Prime Minister's army doesn't have many iron armors. Where would you get so many?" Hu Zhe said with a forced smile.

"Why is it a regular bow? Why are the arrows flat?" Liu Bang picked up a bow and arrow and found that it was the most ordinary bow, and the three sides of the arrow were flat, unlike the curved arrows used by the Han army.

"King Han, these are the only types of arrows found in Shandong," he explained with a smile.

"Why is this the lowest grade of warhorse?" Liu Bang asked, looking at the warhorse before him.

It was a warhorse, but only slightly better than a draft horse; among warhorses, it was barely above average.

Warhorses and draft horses are two different things. Warhorses must be tall and long enough, resilient, and have great endurance. Draft horses do not have these requirements, which is why Liu Bang was extremely dissatisfied with warhorses.

"King of Han, in the Central Plains, this is the only kind of warhorse you can find," Hu Zhe said with a broad smile.

"Hmph." Liu Bang snorted angrily and rebuked, "Peng Yue's army has many tall and magnificent warhorses, yet he dares to use such inferior horses to deal with me? Does he really think I'm easy to bully?"

"King Han, if you are not satisfied with these warhorses, there are countless superior warhorses right at your doorstep. You can take them yourself." Hu Zhe had a big smile on his face and his attitude was very good, but his words were very sharp.

"You..." Liu Bang thought of something and shut his mouth.

Liu Ying looked around and gained a new understanding of Peng Yue's cunning; this was very much Peng Yue.

Everything Peng Yue gave us was the worst quality. You might say it's not right, but it's still usable. You might say it's good, but that's completely impossible.

"So cunning, no wonder Liu Bang wanted to kill him!" Liu Ying finally understood why Liu Bang killed Peng Yue and even hung his head up for public display.

When Empress Lü killed Han Xin, Liu Bang felt both joy and pity, still harboring some affection for him. But when it came to killing Peng Yue, Liu Bang showed absolutely no mercy, even though it was Empress Lü who proposed it.

Liu Bang was very dissatisfied with this, but Lü Ze was very satisfied, smiling broadly: "This is quite a gain."

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Liu Bang roared angrily, "Peng Yue is so cunning, he's infuriating!"

"You know who Peng Yue is, don't you?" Lu Ze rolled his eyes and said, "He's like a rat, he keeps good things hidden. If you want him to give them to you, you'll have to lead a large army to corner him."

"Good!" Xiahou Ying echoed.

"These things are all free, we should be happy about them." Lü Ze smiled and said, "I was just worried that we didn't have enough food to last until Xingyang. These 30,000 shi will be enough."

"Armor, bows, arrows, and swords, though not as good as ours, are still weapons and can be used; they're better than being empty-handed." Xiahou Ying was equally satisfied: "The defeated army has just regrouped and is in dire need of weapons. With these weapons, we can arm a group of people."

It's a miracle if the defeated soldiers can even escape; forget about their weapons and equipment, they've lost 99% of them.

Only a very few people still had weapons, and not all of them; some had swords, others bows. Not a single person was fully armed.

This batch of weapons and equipment arrived just in time.

Liu Bang selected 10,000 able-bodied men, the elite of his defeated army, and armed them. In this way, he gained 10,000 more capable soldiers, greatly increasing his strength.

Fire the remaining arrows.

As for the five hundred warhorses, they should also be put to use. Five hundred skilled archers and riders should be selected, including Gu and Xin, who will be led by Liu Ying.

After getting ready, the team set off again.