Quanling City, Taishou Mansion.

Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang came from Jiangling. At this time, Cao Cao was attacking Xinye, and the battle was fierce. If Lan Tian hadn't said something important, they should have stayed in Jiangling City and always paid attention to the battle situation in the north.

Liu Bei met Lai Gong from Jiaozhou here. The two of them had been friends in Xiangyang.

It turns out that when Liu Bei first arrived in Jingzhou, he was Liu Biao's guest, and Lai Gong was one of his subordinates. After several years, everyone's status has changed. However, Lai Gong was inferior to him because of his poor ability. If it weren't for Lan Tian's help, he would not be here anymore.

At that time, it had lost control of Jiaozhou.

Because Lantian was low-key and secretive, Lai Gong never knew about his relationship with Liu Bei. When Liu Qi passed away, he was reused by Liu Bei, which made him look at this Jingnan general with admiration.

Because there were major changes in Jiaozhou, Lai Gong came to Quanling specifically to see Lan Tian, ​​hoping to get greater support.

Although Lantian guarded Jingnan, Liu Bei was the real master of Jingzhou. He felt it necessary to invite Liu Bei over so that Lai Gong could see the true god behind him.

Lai Gong waited in Quanling for a few days. Liu Bei received the news from Gan Ning and went south with Zhuge Liang, leaving Xu Shu, Huang Zhong and others to guard Jiangling.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Liu Bei sat on the main seat, Zhuge Liang and Lan Tian were on the left, Lai Gong was on the right, and there was no one else in the hall. Then the special dishes were placed on the table one after another.

Lai Gong said with emotion: "I haven't seen you for several years. I am finally out of the shallow water. I am very happy and congratulated..."

Liu Bei smiled and said: "It's all thanks to Ziyu, Kong Ming and others who tried their best to assist, otherwise Bei would not be in the situation he is today."

Lai Gong didn't know Zhuge Liang's abilities, but he had been neighbors with Lan Tian for two years and felt how powerful this man was. From Shi'an's previous encounter to Gan Ning's subjugation of Yu Lin for him, he had never seen through Lan Tian.

Before Liu Bei came to Quanling, Lai Gong thought that Lan Tian was the same as Huang Zu. With Gao Shun's powerful trap, Liu Bei had no choice but to let him guard Jingnan. But from the actions and expressions of the meeting just now, he realized that Lan Tian was actually Liu Bei.

confidant.

Lai Gong sighed: "If it hadn't been for General Lan's help, Gong might have died in Jiaozhou..."

"You and General Wu came out of Jingzhou together. What happened that made you irreconcilable?" Liu Bei asked doubtfully.

"It's hard to put it into words..." Lai Gong shook his head.

Conflicts cannot arise without conflicts of interest. Jiaozhou is remote and desolate, with few people and little land. After Lai Gong and Wu Ju came to Jiaozhou to take office, the Shijia took over Cao Cao's appointment and made a double plan, letting Lai and Wu fight in the north of Jiaozhou. The Shijia

Then he was reaping the benefits of being a fisherman in the south of Jiaozhou. Lai Gong was unwilling to talk about embarrassing things because of his poor ability.

Liu Bei was far away and didn't know much about the situation in Jiaozhou. He asked, "Could it be that General Wu is here to invade again? I remember that Ziyu left a garrison in Yulin."

"Wu Ju has never invaded Yulin since his last defeat at Bushan, but recently I received news that Jiangdong Bu Zhao led troops into the South China Sea of ​​Jiaozhou. On the surface, it was to resolve the conflict between Wu Ju and me. In fact,

I only have frequent contact with Wu Ju, so please take good care of me..."

Lai Gong originally wanted to mention his past hard work, but after thinking about it, during his stay in Xiangyang, he was just eating and drinking, and the relationship between Liu Bei and Wu Ju seemed to be better than his own.

He just secretly leaned against the big tree in Lantian. Wu Ju secretly contacted Jiangdong Sun Quan so quickly. Zhou Yu was a general who could defeat even Cao Cao. In Lai Gong's opinion, Sun Quan was three points better than Liu Bei, so at this time he was better than Liu Bei.

Everyone panics.

"This..." Liu Bei was a little embarrassed after hearing this. After all, he had agreed with Sun Quan not to interfere in the battle for Jiaozhou. Now that Bu Zhi has entered Jiaozhou, he is clearly here to reap the fruits of victory in the Battle of Chibi.

"Lord Laifu, after all, Jiaozhou is not under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou. Our lord is still in an alliance with Jiangdong. If there is friction in Jiaozhou, it may affect the plan to resist Cao Cao. Why don't we just look at the status quo? Maybe Bu Zhi is really here to persuade peace.

It's..." Zhuge Liang said to save the situation.

Lai Gongxin said that there was no one who led troops to persuade peace? It was clearly the helpers that Wu Ju had found.

Seeing Lai Gong's sincerity, Liu Bei couldn't bear it, so he asked Lan Tian, ​​"Does Ziyu have any good ideas?"

"Lai Cishi's words are right. Even if Bu Zhao and Wu Ju make some changes, Lu Tie's garrison can still support them for a while. As long as the information is smooth, reinforcements will arrive in a few days. However, Xingba is currently supervising the construction of fortifications at Youjiangkou, waiting for his return.

I will discuss it with him again, and we still need the support of the navy to go to Jiaozhou..."

Lan Tian had a secret line in Jiaozhou, and he knew very well that Wu Ju and Bu Zhi were secretly communicating. Historically, Wu Ju was trapped and killed by Bu Zhi, and then directly took control of Jiaozhou. Now because of his own intervention, the situation in Jiaozhou has become complicated.

, he doesn’t know which direction the situation will develop, but keeping Lai Gong is his bottom line.

"Ziyu, Zhongmou and I have an agreement that Jiaozhou cannot be blatant." Liu Bei reminded.

Lan Tian didn't say anything after hearing this. Lai Gong panicked when he saw it. The delicacies before the case were all gone. He walked out of his seat directly, then bowed to Liu Bei and said: "Gong is unable to rule Jiaozhou. It's the old master."

It shows that you trust me as the governor. I have been very incompetent since I was appointed. Now I see that you are willing to submit the whole state to your command..."

Lai Gong directly showed his trump card. When he was waiting for Liu Bei in Quanling these days, he wandered around the streets and found that it was very different from the past. The people here were rich and lived in peace and contentment. He immediately had the idea of ​​returning home.

Lai Gong's actions shocked Zhuge Liang and Lan Tian. Liu Bei might really have the demeanor of a king, but he seemed very calm when facing this situation. Upon seeing this, he quickly walked down the steps, lifted Lai Gong up with both hands, and comforted him: "Why did General Lai...

this..."

"Although Jiaozhou is remote and desolate, it is close to the sea and has abundant products. It must not be ceded to Jiangdong. Gong knows that he is incompetent, so he is willing to give up his position as governor and ask the lord to send capable people to govern..." Lai Gong recognized the master directly and did not give him any money.

Liu Bei refused the opportunity.

"Military advisor, Ziyu, look at this..." Liu Bei looked helpless.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "General Lai is very sincere, my lord must not let him down..."

Liu Bei nodded, "Jiaozhou is adjacent to Lingling County, so I will leave it to you, Ziyu, to take charge of it. As for the new governor of Jiaozhou..."

"My lord, no." Lan Tian said hurriedly.

"Why?" Liu Bei was puzzled.

Lan Tian explained: "I will handle the matter in Jiaozhou. It would be better for General Lai to be the governor."

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then remembered that Lan Tian liked to do things behind a shield, and then replied with a smile: "This Jiaozhou matter will be handled by you at your own convenience."

"Wei." Lantian agreed.

"My lord, General Lan, and Lai Gong are sincere in giving in. There is no need to worry about my feelings..."

Liu Bei took Lai Gong's hand and said with a smile: "Ziyu said it can be solved, so you can be the governor of Jiaozhou with peace of mind. If you get tired later, I will send someone to replace you..."

Seeing Liu Bei's enthusiasm, Lai Gong reluctantly declined the position of governor, but after so many years in Jiaozhou, he was really tired.

The matter in Jiaozhou was settled, and several people continued to have a banquet and talk. Most of the dishes on the table were prepared from Jiaozhou seafood.

Lai Gong picked up a piece of sea fish, and after tasting it, his expression suddenly changed: "I often eat this kind of sea fish in Jiaozhou, but it always tastes fishy and difficult to swallow, but the taste of Quanling is different. Is it possible that fish also has oranges in the south and oranges in the north?

?”

Liu Bei laughed: "No, the same fish has different taste. The key is who cooks it, and Ziyu is a good one."

"General Lan is good at cooking?" Lai Gong asked in surprise.

Zhuge Liang added: "The delicacies in General Lai's case were basically created by Ziyu..."

Lai Gong swallowed his saliva, "It's really breathtaking..."

Liu Bei said meaningfully: "Governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies. This sentence is vividly demonstrated by Ziyu."

Lai Gong thought about it for a while. After all, his skills were mediocre. If he had been replaced by Lan Tian to govern Jiaozhou, how could he be suppressed like this by Wu Ju? It really depends on who cooks the same ingredients.

As his name suggests, Lai Gong was kind and courteous. Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and Lan Tian all had a favorable impression of him. They drank and drank with each other at the table as if they were close friends.

It was still early after the banquet, so Liu Bei wanted to take a look at Quanling Academy. The last time Lantian went to Yicun to provide disaster relief, hundreds of craftsmen apprentices were recruited from schools and workshops. The buildings finally built were beautiful and stable. He went to inspect it several times.

Look, the local people are full of praise.

Disaster relief and building houses for the people were deliberately promoted by Zhuge Liang and others, which greatly helped win over the people of Jingzhou, so Liu Bei was very optimistic about the school and workshop model.

As soon as they walked out of the hall, they found Gao Shun waiting outside the hall door.

"What's wrong with Bo Ping?" Lan Tian asked doubtfully.

"Yuan'er and the others have made progress in their studies these days and want to ask you to tell them stories, so I'm waiting here..." Gao Shun said.

Lan Tian frowned. Considering that Lan Yuan and Lan Ji were growing up, and Adou was also in Quanling, he knew that he should learn as early as possible as he came from later generations.

Before finding a suitable teacher, Lan Tian relied on his own memory to memorize the Thousand-Character Prose for later generations. He first taught his disciple Deng Fan, and then asked him to teach with several children. He told him to recite two sentences and sixteen sentences every day.

There are many allusions in the text, and Lan Tian promised to tell them stories if they recite it well.

"Fan'er has only been teaching them for two days. I will take the test again after a few more days. Knowing how to recite more than ten words is not considered a skill." Lan Tian frowned, thinking that now he would accompany the leader to inspect the work.

"I remember that Ziyu's two sons were only three or four years old, how could they be enlightened so early?" Zhuge Liang had been married for several years and had no children, so he had little experience in childrearing.

"There is no end to learning. If you are interested, teach early. If you are not interested, teach later. Those children are quite easy to learn..." Lan Tian replied.

"How about Adou?" Liu Bei also became interested. Every parent hopes that their son will succeed, and he doesn't want his son to fall behind.

"Uh...I've been busy these days, Bo Ping, please tell me." Lan Tian asked Gao Shun to speak.

Gao Shun answered truthfully: "After two days of study, Yuan'er can recite ten sentences, Ji'er can recite six sentences, Mr. Adou... four sentences..."

Liu Bei frowned after hearing this. It makes sense that Lan Yuan is one year older, but Adou is two months older than Lan Ji, so why is he carrying half as much weight as him?

"Ziyu, we're not going to school today. Let's go see Adou and the others. Are you usually reluctant to discipline them?" Liu Bei asked seriously.

Lan Tianxin said to Lao Gao, don't be so practical. He said awkwardly: "I'm usually busy, so Deng Fan takes care of my studies. These children are still young after all..."

"It must be that you didn't delegate power to Deng Fan. I'll explain it to him later." After Liu Bei finished speaking, he turned to the back hall.

Lan Tian hurriedly followed with Gao Shun, while Zhuge Liang and Lai Gong came to the end.

Seeing that Liu Bei and Lan Tian were very close, Lai Gong whispered in Zhuge Liang's ear and asked: "Commander, my lord and General Lan seem to be very unusual. It seems that the young master lives in the prefect's mansion?"

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and said, "General Lai will know soon..."

Liu Bei stopped as soon as he walked outside the courtyard, and several people behind him also stopped behind him. At this time, several childish voices came from the courtyard.

"The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, and the universe is vast. The sun and the moon are waxing and waning, and the stars and constellations are arranged. Winter comes and goes, summer harvests, autumn harvests, and winter storage. There are more leaps and turns, and the law... the law..."
To be continued...