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 a few years, everyone's identities have changed, but Lai Gong was inferior because of his poor ability. If it weren't for Lan Tian's help, he would not 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 the Jingnan general with admiration.
Because there were major changes in Jiaozhou, Lai Gong came to Quanling to see Lantian, hoping to get greater support.
Although Lantian guarded Jingnan, Liu Bei was the real master of Jingzhou. He felt it was necessary to invite Liu Bei over and let Lai Gong 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, and Lai Gong was on the right. Apart from that, there was no one else in the hall, and 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 ability, 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 strong 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 are inseparable from 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 Shi family accepted Cao Cao's appointment and made a double plan, letting Lai and Wu fight in the north of Jiaozhou. The Shi family 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 has a garrison in Yulin."
"Wu Ju has never invaded Yulin since his last defeat at Bushan, but recently I received news that Jiangdong Buzhao 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, it 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 fight 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. Why don't we just look at the status quo? Maybe Bu Zhi is really here to persuade peace. "..." Zhuge Liang said to save the situation.
Lai Gongxin said how could anyone lead troops to persuade them to make peace? It was clearly the helper Wu Ju had found.
Liu Bei couldn't bear to see Lai Gong's sincerity, so he asked Lan Tian, "Does Ziyu have any good ideas?"
"Lai Cishi's words are right. Even if Bu Zhao and Wu Ju move, Lu Tie's garrison can 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 didn’t know in which direction the situation would develop, but keeping Lai Gong was his bottom line.
"Ziyu, Zhongmou and I have an agreement that Jiaozhou cannot be blatant." Liu Bei reminded.
Lantian 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: "Gongben is unable to rule Jiaozhou. It's the old master." You trust me to show that I am the governor. I have been very incompetent since I was appointed. Now that I see you, you are willing to submit the entire state to your command..."
Lai Gong directly showed his trump card. While 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 suddenly 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 in the face of this situation. Upon seeing this, he quickly walked down the steps, lifted Lai Gong up with both hands, and comforted him: "Why is General Lai like this?" 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 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 is better to let General Lai be the governor."
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then remembered that Lan Tian likes to do things behind a shield, and then replied with a smile: "This matter in Jiaozhou is yours to take advantage of."
"Wei." Lan Tian agreed.
"My lord, General Lan, and Lai Gong are sincerely 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. I will send someone to replace you when you are really tired..."
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 a few 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 hard 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 in Ziyu."
Lai Gong thought about it for a while. After all, his abilities were mediocre. If Lan Tian was replaced 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 good 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 the schools and workshops. The buildings finally built were beautiful and stable. He went to inspect them 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 the hearts of the people in 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 they want 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 enlightenment teacher, Lan Tian relied on his own memory to write down 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 he be enlightened so early?" Zhuge Liang had been married for several years and had no children, so he had little experience in raising children.
"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'm 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 I leave my studies to Deng Fan. 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 asked in a low voice in Zhuge Liang's ear: "Military advisor, 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. Cold comes and summer comes, autumn harvests and winter hides. The leap years are full of years, the law...the law..."
"Lulu Tiaoyang."
"Oh, yes, yes, Lu Lu Tiao Yang."
"Your Majesty, your memorization is...a little...unfamiliar..."
"I'll let my eldest brother recite it alone later. If my father is happy, he might tell us a story."
"It's better not to do it. I can't hide it from my uncle..."
Several children were discussing countermeasures in the courtyard. Liu Bei was a little disappointed at first because the half-baked one was Adou, but his later honesty pleased Liu Bei.
Lan Tian and Gao Shun looked at each other and thought to themselves that Lan Ji, a monkey-like guy, actually acted as a dog-headed strategist for everyone.
Everyone followed Liu Bei into the courtyard. When several children noticed that the adults were coming, they all stood next to Deng Fan.
"Father..."
"uncle..."
"uncle..."
"gentlemen..."
The four children shouted each other, and Liu Bei called Adou to his side: "Father, I heard you reciting the article just now. Now recite it in front of me."
Liu Chan immediately shook his head and said: "The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, and the universe is primitive. The sun and the moon are waxing and waning, and the stars and constellations are arranged. Cold comes and summer goes, autumn harvests and winter hides. If there is a leap year left, the law Lu adjusts the Yang."
"Is that all?" Liu Bei asked.
"Yeah." Liu Chan nodded honestly.
Liu Bei then waved to the two brothers Lan Yuan and Lan Ji. He stroked Lan Ji's head and asked, "Is Ji'er also going to carry it on his back?"
Lan Ji looked at Lan Tian and saw his father's calm expression, and then sang sonorously: "The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, and the universe is primitive. The sun and the moon are full, and the stars are arranged. The cold comes and the summer goes, the autumn harvests and the winter hides. The leap year is over, and the law Lu adjusts the sun. . The rising clouds make it rain, and the dew condenses into frost. Gold produces beautiful water, and jade comes out of Kungang."
Liu Bei nodded, "Ji'er has a loud voice, pronounces words clearly, and recites them completely. How much can Yuan'er recite?"
"I'm about the same as Adou and the others, so there's no need to show off. If uncle wants to hear everything, let my brother carry it for you..." Lan Yuan scratched his head and then pointed at Deng Fan and said with a smile.
After hearing this, Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei both looked at Lantian and said to themselves that your son will probably be in trouble in the future.
"Forget it if you don't memorize it. I'll tell you in detail about the phrase 'clouds make rain and dew turns into frost' tonight. The best is like water. Water will change constantly in the heaven and earth." Lan Tian said happily.
As soon as Lantian finished speaking, several children looked happy.
Liu Bei originally wanted to tell Deng Fan to be stricter, but when he thought about taking Adou back to Jiangling, there was no need.
Liu Wan and Lan Yuan made a baby wedding, and Liu Bei fell in love with this little guy more and more, "Yuan'er, how do you usually play?"
"Playing tops, riding wooden horses, climbing trees, catching ants..." Lan Yuan answered truthfully.
"We still have martial arts training." Lan Ji said.
"We're just setting up a formation to play chess..." Adou also added.
Liu Bei was startled when he heard this. Lu Lingqi was good at martial arts. It was true that she taught a few children to practice martial arts, but could these three or four-year-old children play chess?
Lan Tian smiled and explained: "It's a simple chess game. Fan'er will take it out and show it to the lord."
"only."
Deng Fan brought out the wooden chessboard from the room. It was the beast-fighting chess that Lantian had made in the carpentry workshop. On the chessboard were squares, rivers, lions, tigers, leopards and other chess pieces, distinguished by negative and positive carvings.
"How is this beast fighting chess... played?" Liu Bei looked puzzled.
Lan Tian chuckled and said, "Ji'er, you guys can show it to your uncles."
"Oh okay..." Lan Ji immediately asked Adou to play chess.
Adou was not as good at reciting as the two Lan Ji brothers, but he was good at playing the beast chess game, and they enjoyed the game while everyone watched.
"Interesting... This beast-fighting chess game looks like a formation... Ziyu, how did you come up with the idea?"
Zhuge Liang watched in amazement. Beast Chess was simpler than chess and Go, easy to learn and interesting.
Lan Tian scratched his head and said to himself that this was my childhood toy, and it really had no other meaning.
Liu Bei also nodded and said: "We must consider both offense and defense. We can even use rats to sneak attack elephants. It seems that it can be used for deduction. Ziyu can make more chess pieces. Let's use them on the sand table..."
At this time, A Dou defeated Lan Ji. He said excitedly: "Father, did you see that I defeated Ji Di's three chess pieces? This tiger is so powerful."
"Adou, be good." Liu Bei touched Adou's forehead to encourage him.
Seeing that Adou was enjoying his stay in Quanling and thinking that he would take him back to Jiangling soon, Liu Bei suddenly felt melancholy, so he put down his arrogance and played chess with his son.
Zhuge Liang borrowed the 'textbook' from Deng Fan and read aloud: "The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, the universe is primitive. The sun and the moon are waxing and waning, and the stars and constellations are arranged..."
The Thousand-Character Classic covers astronomy, geography, nature, society, history and other aspects of knowledge. It was compiled by Sanqi Shilang of the Liang Dynasty and Xingsi of Zhou Dynasty during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The full text is composed of four-character sentences and neat verses. It is a classic Mongolian classic for later generations. .
Ancient Chinese prose has no punctuation marks. It uses modal particles such as Xi, Yan, Zai, etc. to end the sentences, and there are also simple symbols to break sentences.
The way the ancients understood the meaning of the text was to segment sentences by relying on the ability of "distinguishing meaning from scriptures" that they had mastered since childhood. They would have misunderstandings of sentence meanings because they did not have the ability to read the sentences.
Although sentence reading already existed in the Han Dynasty, it was not widely popularized and applied, and the punctuation marks were not standardized and unified.
Use , between every four characters in Thousand-Character Classic. Zhuge Liang read it catchyly using symbols to distinguish it. This simple sentence segmentation method allowed him to open the door to a new world.
Zhuge Liang walked up to Lan Tian with the thousand-character essay in his hand and said excitedly: "Ziyu, this... was your invention of sentence reading?"
"Uh... I guess..." Lan Tian scratched his head in embarrassment.
"This article is easy to understand and catchy. Ziyu's talent is immeasurable. Scholars all over the world can learn from this article. As for reading this sentence, it is even more eye-catching." Zhuge Liang praised.
Everyone stayed in the backyard for a while. Lan Tian couldn't stand being praised, so he took Liu Bei and others to visit Quanling Academy.
As soon as Lan Tian and Liu Bei left the gate of the prefect's mansion, Lai Gong took the opportunity to ask Zhuge Liang: "Commander, I see that my lord loves General Lan's son very much. Are they related by marriage?"
Zhuge Liang smiled: "Ziyu is my lord's brother-in-law, and their children are also engaged."
"This relationship is really solid." Lai Gong was surprised.
"When my lord was in Xuzhou, he took in Ziyu's sworn sister. Ziyu was regarded as a close relative in my lord's heart." Zhuge Liang continued.
Lai Gong was stunned when he heard this. When Liu Qi was still the governor of Lingling, Lan Tian was already related by marriage to Liu Bei. For Liu Bei to have his current status, Lan Tian must be secretly helping him. Thinking of this, Lai Gong's original worries disappeared.
Now that he has such a strong backer, even if Wu Ju and Bu Zhi are linked together, Lai Gong will not be afraid anymore.
Because there is a clear employment direction, all seven subjects of Quanling Academy are now fully enrolled, and thousands of agricultural apprentices and craftsman apprentices can be trained every day.
When Liu Bei came for the second time, he was shocked by the lively scene in front of him, but he still asked with some concern: "I didn't expect that Ziyu would set up this school in such a short period of time. Can the military workshop continue to add people? "
"Don't worry, Lord, I will control the number of people at any time." Lan Tian said.
"It's good that you have an idea, but with so many students, can you, the prefect of Lingling, take care of them? I think you are usually busy enough, and you have to supervise the children's studies. If you can't, find a Jijiu to help you take care of them. .If you can’t find anyone in Lingling, you can go to Jiangling to find someone.” Liu Bei made a suggestion.
Lan Tian smiled leisurely, "I've already invited the sacrificial wine, and here he is."
When Liu Bei saw the man coming, he looked impressive and looked a few years younger than Zhuge Liang.
Lan Tian took Jiang Wan's hand and introduced to everyone: "My lord, military advisor, this is Jiang Wan. Jiang Gongyan is a famous talent from Lingling Xiangxiang."
"Don't dare, don't dare..." Jiang Wan returned the greeting with an arched hand.
After Lantian was awarded the title of General Jingnan, Jiang Wan was recruited by Lantian on the recommendation of the county officials. At that time, there was a surge in the number of students in Quanling Academy, so Lantian asked him to serve as the priest here. After taking office, he lived up to his reputation and managed this thousand students. Be well organized.
Lan Tian didn't often recommend people, and those who were formally introduced like this were basically talented people, so Liu Bei nodded very politely and said with a smile: "Help General Lan well, and you will have a bright future."
"Thank you, my lord."
After visiting the school, taking advantage of the break between Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wan to communicate, Liu Bei and Lan Tian came to the former tree again, and then said happily: "I was a little worried at first, but I felt relieved when I saw Jiang Gongyan. Ziyu did what he did. cautious."
Lan Tian looked at Liu Bei in confusion, "Brother-in-law, what are you talking about?"
Liu Bei said in a low voice: "Ziyu was born in a farming family in Guizhou. In the past few years, he has been working in the fields in Jingnan to support the people. He has made great contributions to the country and the people. However, you must pay more attention to and get close to the local gentry. I have heard that you are close to Guizhou and far away from the gentry. Cao Mengde used to be in Yanzhou was almost unable to stand up, you should take this as a warning, have you figured it out by re-employing Jiang Gongyan?"
Lan Tian shook his head, "The tyranny of the nobles is a double-edged sword. Brother-in-law, you should use it with caution. It is better not to use it if you can. Don't be afraid of those rumors. Whether it is Huang Hansheng or Jiang Gongyan, I am a meritocracy."
Liu Bei sighed: "How easy is it without the nobles? No matter the imperial court or Jingzhou, it affects all aspects. Jingnan is a relatively quiet place..."
"I have a way to restrict the nobles, but I have to figure it out slowly and use the method of boiling frogs in warm water."
Boiling a frog in warm water? Liu Bei's face was full of doubts.
Lantian continued: "I plan to open a school in Lingling and then gradually spread it to the four counties in Jingnan."
"Running a school? Didn't you run the Quanling Academy?" Liu Bei was puzzled.
"Quanling Academy only has agriculture and craftsmanship. I'm also planning to add Confucianism. We can teach Thousand-Character Classics first." Lantian said confidently.
Liu Bei was shocked: "Ziyu wants to teach ordinary people how to read and learn literature?"
Lan Tian nodded: "Of course."
