Hua Xiong was currently very irritated. Quite a few people had been eyeing his horses, and the most shameless of them was a county magistrate who tried to accuse Hua Xiong of stealing horses and attempted to arrest him. How could Hua Xiong tolerate this? In the end, he beat the magistrate half to death and left. Li Ru had warned him to avoid killing officials in Yanzhou as much as possible to maintain some semblance of civility.
Hua Xiong generally didn't listen to others. He was straightforward and usually just charged into battle. But fortunately, this time, he had Li Ru with him, who managed to curb his temper and prevent him from killing all those who eyed his horses. Had it been the old Hua Xiong, he would have already drawn his sword.
"Qu Hanmo, I warn you, if you keep running around, I'll tie you up!" Hua Xiong grabbed Qu Qi by the collar, lifting him like a chick, and threw him into the carriage.
"Hey, Zijian, that was a huge ear of rice. Let me pick it!" Qu Qi protested as he tried to rush out again. Unfortunately for him, Hua Xiong sat firmly on the carriage, forcing him back inside. This guy had already collected quite a few so-called excellent seeds along the way and nearly got into a fight over a ripe ear of rice once.
"Are you done yet? You've collected plenty already. Half of our conflicts with the people in Yanzhou are because of you picking rice ears!" Hua Xiong glared angrily at the young man.
"Who told you to stuff me into a sack and bring me here? I was farming happily in Shanglinyuan. You asked if I knew how to grow cotton, I said yes, and then you stuffed me into a sack. Do you know that this is threatening an official?" Qu Qi retorted swiftly, leaving Hua Xiong at a loss for words.
"You say I threatened an official? You were farming in Shanglinyuan, a royal garden. Private farming there is punishable by death!" Hua Xiong stubbornly replied.
"Sigh~" Qu Qi sighed, his disdainful expression deeply wounding Hua Xiong. This guy's expressions and tone were always enough to deal a heavy blow. "Go, bring me that big ear of rice from earlier. I need to study it."
Hua Xiong suppressed his anger. He had been tormented by this guy whom he had stuffed into a sack. He ordered his soldiers, "Give that person some money and uproot the rice stalk!"
Despite being a brute, Hua Xiong had received decent education from Li Ru. He treated capable scholars fairly well, especially Qu Qi, who claimed to be an expert in agriculture and had already produced results in Shanglinyuan.
When Hua Xiong sneaked into Shanglinyuan to get what Chen Xi had requested, he soon stumbled upon a piece of farmland. The crops were indeed growing well, estimated to yield an extra dan per mu. Even though the land was well-irrigated, this was still impressive.
Hua Xiong approached Qu Qi, who was working in the field, with a smile. "Sir, do you know which one is cotton? And where are the seeds? I heard Shanglinyuan grows exotic plants, so why is there wheat here?"
Qu Qi glanced at Hua Xiong disdainfully. "Shanglinyuan is indeed for exotic plants. That one is cotton, and the seeds are in that house. As for the wheat, do you not think that a mu yielding over five dan is exotic?"
Hua Xiong was taken aback. He had farmed before and understood what five dan per mu meant. Even with perfect conditions, five dan was shocking. This man must be extraordinary.
With this realization, Hua Xiong didn't hesitate. He shamelessly asked, "Sir, may I know your name? I am Hua Xiong, Hua Zijian."
"Household Officer Qu Qi, Qu Hanmo," Qu Qi responded arrogantly.
Hua Xiong didn't mind the arrogance; he believed capable people deserved to be proud. He continued, "Sir Qu, do you have any of these wheat seeds left? Could you spare some?"
"They're all over there. Take as many as you want," Qu Qi replied, satisfied with Hua Xiong's humble attitude.
"Shouldn't I leave some for you as seeds?" Hua Xiong asked.
"As long as I'm here, seeds are never a problem," Qu Qi said confidently. Hua Xiong then took advantage of Qu Qi's complacency, stuffed him into a sack, and carried him off. After all, such a versatile agricultural scholar was rare and valuable, just as Chen Xi had instructed.
Thus, Qu Qi felt justified in tormenting Hua Xiong along the way. Of course, Hua Xiong couldn't catch him in the act. As a Household Officer specializing in agriculture, Qu Qi's so-called troublemaking often involved picking the best seeds or analyzing soil fertility, things Hua Xiong didn't understand but felt were impressive. So, he could only endure the headache and clean up Qu Qi's messes.
Despite his difficult personality, Qu Qi was genuinely skilled. Though he didn't know much about military or civilian farming, he had his own insights on increasing crop yields. For instance, he discovered that planting soybeans for a year, then burning the stalks and mixing them into the soil, increased the next year's grain yield.
In summary, despite his abrasive personality, Qu Qi was valuable, which is why even Jia Xu and Li Ru tolerated his daily nuisances. Increasing yield by just one dou per mu could save lives. Qu Qi claimed he could increase it by three to five dou, making him indispensable.
While enduring the constant headaches caused by Qu Qi, Hua Xiong soothed him, advising him to stay in the carriage. Ever since he felt the prying eyes, Hua Xiong had been on high alert. Though he doubted Cao Cao would dare to ambush him, it was better to be safe than sorry. As he calmed Qu Qi, his warrior instincts sensed danger.
Discreetly signaling, Hua Xiong's troops formed a defensive circular formation. This was the only defensive formation Hua Xiong had learned from Li Ru and could use proficiently.
"General, should we attack?" one of Cao Hong's guards asked.
"Four thousand horses, right in front of us. Not taking them would be unbearable," said Cao Hong, known for his stinginess, as he eyed Hua Xiong's horses. To pull off this heist, he borrowed hundreds of men from Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Li Dian, and Yue Jin, training them for a few days until they moved in unison. Now, Cao Hong was ready to ambush Hua Xiong.
Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, and the others all knew what Cao Hong intended. Even Cao Cao was aware but turned a blind eye. Cao Cao even prepared a backup plan to deny involvement if things went south. Four thousand war horses without any mules — such a bounty was invaluable for Cao Cao, who currently had no cavalry.