With Lantian's certification, Liu Bei directly worshiped Xu Shu as his military advisor after returning to Xinye.
When Xu Shu saw Liu Bei's generous fist, he immediately agreed. He didn't want his talent to go to waste.
He had considered assisting Liu Biao before, but unfortunately he only had a small plan but no ambition. It was not until Sima Hui's recommendation that Xu Shu paid attention to his current lord.
Xu Shu really wondered why Liu Bei, with such a great talent as Lan Tian, had accomplished nothing before.
After hearing this, Liu Bei sighed: "This is because Bei's naked eye cannot recognize talents. I buried Lan Ziyu, and I didn't use him until I came to Jingzhou."
"Lan Ziyu has learned a lot. Why didn't my lord worship him as a military advisor before?" Xu Shu asked.
"I have invited him before, but unfortunately Ziyu said that his intelligence was not matched. He could see the general trend but had no way to deal with it, so he asked Ying to work in Dengjiazhuang. But he is indeed knowledgeable about farming." Liu Bei explained.
Xu Shu sighed after hearing this: "Lan Ziyu is as talented as me, but he is so humble. I am not as big-hearted as I am. But his farming and growing grain can relieve my lord's worries, and it is also an important position."
"I can save it. Cao Cao is stationed in Xudu, and he also sent general Xiahou Dun. Food and grass are naturally the top priority." When Liu Bei said this, he suddenly thought of The Legend of the Condor Heroes. Although the mysterious Jin Lao had passed away, Lantian might know Genghis Khan's military ration problem.
"Since Lantian has the ability to farm, and he has also proposed the idea of accumulating grain, why not let him expand production?" Xu Shu asked.
Liu Bei explained: "Ziyu told me about this matter. Now that we have few young generals in the field, if we farm a large area, it will definitely arouse the jealousy of Jingzhou's wealthy families. Then what should we do if we instigate Liu Jingsheng to drive them away and Cao Cao and Sun Quan to attack them?"
After hearing this, Xu Shu stroked his beard and said to himself: "Lan Ziyu is cautious, but she is somewhat similar to him."
"Who is Yuan Zhi talking about?" Liu Bei asked.
Xu Shu shook his head and said: "I said Lan Ziyu is cautious, but he is very familiar with the general trend of the world..."
After Xu Shu became the military advisor, he trained troops and horses in Xinye and fortified city defenses. He had strict laws and good military training, and his easy-going personality soon won the favor of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao.
Xu Shu was fond of Ren Xia when he was young, and he also had a bold character, so he and Zhang Fei were not acquainted with each other, and in the end he obeyed his orders.
The grain growth in the second half of the year is very good, and it looks like there will still be a bumper harvest. However, there is too much production of radishes, sweet potatoes and other vegetables in the fields to eat. The climate in Jingzhou is humid and not as cold as in the north, so the vegetables stored in the cellar are also prone to rot.
Lan Tian teaches everyone how to make dried radish, dried sativa, etc., which can solve the problem of vegetable Yi's quality preservation.
At this time, the news of Cao Cao's defeat of Yuan Shao in Cangting came back. The land of Jingzhou was shrouded in a tense atmosphere, and Liu Bei in Xinye was rushing to prepare for war.
Due to the serious population loss in Nanyang, it was very difficult for Liu Bei to recruit troops in Xinye, and the total number of troops was less than 10,000.
After the Battle of Cangting, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao sent envoys to Xiangyang. The former came to request troops to attack Cao Cao, and the latter came to Liu Biao to form an alliance.
Jingzhou now has more than 100,000 soldiers, and it lies at the center of the Chinese territory. It is a force that cannot be ignored.
Liu Biao's heart has always been toward Yuan Shao, because the Yuan family has always been the leader of the scholar-bureaucrats. The reason why he helped Cao Cao cut off Yuan Shu's food route was because of Yuan Shao's face. After all, Cao Cao was still living under Yuan Shao's wings at that time.
The current situation in the world is moving in a direction that Liu Biao does not want to see. The powerful Yuan Shao is no match for Cao Cao. If the battle of Guandu was lost to a trick, then why was the battle of Cangting?
Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in Guandu and Cangting, which caused the pro-Cao faction in Jingzhou to rise again. Liu Biao was forced to send Han Song as an envoy to Xu Du, ostensibly to make friends with Cao Cao, but in fact to find out the other side's true identity.
Liu Biao secretly told Yuan Shao's envoy that he would send troops to contain Cao Cao, so that he could not think twice.
After seeing off the envoys from both sides, Liu Biao was already in a state of despair. How could he persuade his brother-in-law to send troops? This guy is now in charge of Jingzhou's military, and his proud soldiers are difficult for outsiders to mobilize.
Cai Mao's relatives were an unsolvable problem for Liu Biao, and in the end he had no choice but to turn to Liu Bei of Xinye.
At the end of the year, Dengjiazhuang's warehouses were full of grains, and Lantian had to build granaries, and wind-blown radishes and dried bean sprouts were also put on the dining table.
After a day of training, Gao Shun drank corn porridge with dried radish. He felt that it had a unique flavor. He suggested to Lantian: "I think this thing can last for a long time, has enough flavor, and is easy to carry. Why not use it in the army?" Promotion?”
Lantian was delighted when he heard this and said, "I once told you that Genghis Khan brought his own dried meat, mare's milk and other food during his Western expedition, so there would be no heavy baggage burden. In fact, we can do the same."
"There is not enough food in the Central Plains. Where can we get meat for military rations?" Gao Shun asked doubtfully.
Lan Tian pointed to the granary being built and said, "We don't have enough meat, but we have plenty of grain."
"Isn't it still necessary to bury the pot to make rice?" Gao Shun said puzzledly.
"Can't we just turn it into cooked food? Frying corn flour in a copper pot and eating dried radishes can also satisfy your hunger? This can be stored for many days." Lantian said happily. This idea came from the volunteer soldiers.
Gao Shun was surprised when he heard this, "Sir, you are really a genius. This way you really don't have to bury a pot to cook. If you really want to eat hot food, just boil a pot of soup. It's just a little time-consuming and labor-intensive."
Lan Tian laughed and said, "Why waste time and effort? There are so many families in the village. Each family grinds dozens of kilograms of noodles and fry them. It only takes half a day. It will be faster if the noodles are ground in advance."
"Wonderful." Gao Shun praised.
In the first month of the seventh year of Jian'an, Cao Cao once again marched into Guandu, intending to take advantage of the victory to pursue and defeat Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao then sent people to various places to ask for help.
In March, Liu Biao sent Yi Ji to Xinye and asked Liu Bei to attack Xudu with Xinye troops.
Liu Bei said: "There are less than ten thousand people in Xinye? How can we capture Xudu?"
Yi Ji smiled bitterly and said: "Yuan Benchu asked for help from Jingzhou, but Cai Mao and others stopped him. My lord has no choice but to come to see you..."
"But there are too few troops here. Once there is a change, the new country will be in danger..." Liu Bei sighed.
Yi Ji added: "Wen Zhongye has 20,000 defenders in Xi'e, and the lord asked him to attack Xudu together with the envoy."
"When will we set off?" Liu Bei asked again.
"I will rush to Western Hubei to see General Wen first, and ask you to make some preparations for the expedition in three to five days. I will leave first," Yi Ji said.
"Uncle Ji, walk slowly."
Looking at Yi Ji's retreating figure, Xu Shu shook his head and sighed: "Wenpin may not send troops. If we really want to attack Xudu, my lord will mobilize all the people in the city, but the city defense of Xinye..."
"Don't worry, military advisor, I will send people to Xinye to set up defenses. Just feel free to dispatch your troops and generals," Liu Bei said.
Xu Shu was stunned and said to himself, "I know the master's family background well, where are the soldiers and horses?"
