The More Refugees, The Fuller My Granary

Transmigrating into a famine year, Zhou Ye's family had only twelve jin of grain left, and in three days even the three acres of thin farmland they depended on for survival would be lost. At that moment, he discovered that for every person he truly supported who was willing to follow him, his granary would restore a basic daily ration each day. From then on, the burdens others saw became treasures in Zhou Ye's eyes. Did landlords only pick strong laborers? He specifically took in those with families. Carpenters, veterans, blacksmith apprentices, cart drivers, fleeing farming households... What others didn't want, he took all. One meal for one person. One person could earn him more grain, more people, and more territory. Three people, thirty people, three hundred people, three thousand people... While others hoarded grain for winter, Zhou Ye hoarded people to conquer the world. By the time the powerful families, bandits, and officials finally came to their senses, behind that tenant farmer who started with only a broken courtyard and a broken pot, there already stood a multitude. In chaotic times, the most precious thing was never grain. It was the people willing to follow you. — Description from novelcodex.org