The 16th year of Jian'an was a restless year. This year Liu Bei was invited to Shu, and this year Cao Cao defeated the Kansai Allied Forces.
The historical Battle of Xichuan was not an easy one for Liu Bei, and its level of danger was even comparable to that of Cao Cao in Guandu. If Liu Zhang had had some political foresight and not made such frequent mistakes, Liu Bei would have probably suffered a defeat in Shu.
What Lan Tian said was that there was not much time left for Liu Bei and Liu Zhang to break up. There was probably less than a year left.
If the time to collect Xichuan can be shortened as much as possible, it will have a positive impact on the future collection of Hanzhong and Yizhou.
After Liu Bei entered Shu, Liu Zhang gave him more than 10,000 troops. After leaving Fucheng, he went north to Jiameng Pass. Although he had no real intention to attack Zhang Lu, he did a lot of superficial work in making small troubles.
Although Liu Zhang has a cowardly character, he is still the governor of a state. He is not completely assured of Liu Bei, who is from the same clan. In addition to bringing tens of thousands of soldiers with him during the meeting, he also presented Liu Bei with soldiers and horses and sent Yang Huai and Gao Pei as supervisors. , In fact, it was an act of secretly monitoring Liu Bei.
Liu Bei used the pretext of conquering Zhang Lu at Jiameng Pass, but he was actually digesting the 10,000 soldiers sent by Liu Zhang.
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says: The first is called Dao, the second is called Heaven, the third is called Earth, the fourth is called General, and the fifth is called Law. The Taoist means that the people agree with their superiors, so they can die with them and live with them without fear of danger.
The Tao means great righteousness, and the teacher is famous.
Liu Bei was also waiting, which was the reason why he refused Pang Tong to capture Liu Zhang at the Fucheng Banquet.
Lantian stayed in Jingzhou. In addition to guarding the rear for Liu Bei, another important reason was to raise food and grass, recruit soldiers, and build weapons and armor for him.
The south is experiencing a severe drought. Although there are many rivers in Jingnan, the water levels in the rivers drop rapidly because rainfall is mainly concentrated in July and August when the heat has not receded.
Agricultural students from Quanling Academy are basically all over the counties in Jingnan, but the coverage density is different. In addition to using the original water diversion irrigation technology, they also asked every village to build water storage tanks at the request of Lantian. , to prepare farmers to collect water during drought.
Lan Tian looked at the farmers carrying water for irrigation and said meaningfully: "After the military workshops were launched in the past few years, the grain storage in the granaries in various places is not enough. I hope that all counties will not be affected by drought..."
"There is still some surplus food in Jiaozhou. The consumption of thousands of Wuxi barbarians is still not enough to destroy Mr. Jingnan." Gao Shun comforted.
Lan Tian shook his head and said: "Of course Chief Sha's barbarian soldiers are not a big deal. I am preparing military rations for my brother-in-law."
Gao Shun asked in confusion: "Liu Shijun was invited to Sichuan. As soon as Liu Zhang meets the military needs, he will provide them. Why does he still need food from Jingzhou?"
"The soldiers and people in Sichuan have been thinking about change for a long time. Sooner or later, my brother-in-law will raise troops to capture Xichuan. At that time, food will be exhausted." Lan Tian replied seriously.
"Sir, when do you expect to raise troops?" Gao Shun asked again.
Lan Tian: "About this time next year..."
Gao Shun didn't have any doubts about Lan Tian's prediction, because Lan Tian had never made a mistake in his calculations since he knew it.
Gao Shun saw Lan Tian pinching his middle finger with his right hand, as if he was spying on the secrets of heaven.
"These days, I have been touring various places with my husband. Most of the official warehouses in Jingnan have half warehouses to store grain. There is no need for you to have such high demands."
Lan Tian shook his head and said: "Prepare umbrellas on sunny days and be prepared for rainy days. I initially asked the farmers to build reservoirs. Many people questioned that the fields are right beside the river. This kind of hard work is of no use. Bo Ping, you see now Has it worked?"
Gao Shun nodded in affirmation: "These people don't know what you are capable of. They will know how good you are after suffering losses. Look at how obedient those people in Dengjiazhuang are."
"The old people from the field brought by Xinye are different. Now that I have too many things to do, I can't go to the countryside one by one. Boping can't bring all the farmers for training. Our energy can't keep up..." Lan Tian sighed. tone.
"My husband once said to me, 'The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.' Now you are not only responsible for keeping the people from starving, but fortunately you have opened Quanling School. Your husband's farming methods and new seeds have benefited the entire Jingnan..." Gao Shun said.
"Currently, the food in various official warehouses in Jingnan is only enough for 50,000 soldiers for one year. I feel it is still a little less. I wonder how much we can harvest due to drought this year." Lantian frowned.
"Where are the 50,000 soldiers? Excluding the regular garrisons in each county, there are 10,000 trapped troops, 3,000 naval forces of General Gan, 8,000 Wuxi barbarians in Jiaozhou, and only 20,000 soldiers in Jingnan who eat food. Even if we include Guan The general's 20,000 soldiers, Jingzhou's total military strength is only 40,000..." Gao Shun looked puzzled.
Lan Tian smiled and said: "Boping is very precious to our family. The fifty thousand soldiers I call don't mean now. My brother-in-law will turn against Liu Zhang and start an army next year. Jingzhou will definitely send troops for reinforcements. I plan to recruit another thirty thousand warriors in Jingnan." ."
"I finally understand why sir wanted to control the number of soldiers when recruiting soldiers last year. It turned out that he waited until now to recruit soldiers?
But it is also true that if Liu Shijun brought too many troops into Sichuan, Liu Zhang would have been suspicious. "Gao Shun suddenly realized.
Lan Tian raised his finger and shook his head, "I don't want to recruit troops now. We have to wait until next summer after harvesting and planting. You can send people to mobilize in various places in advance."
"Ah? It's October now. If we wait until next summer's harvest and planting, wouldn't it be after August? By then it will be too late to send him to the Jiangwu Hall recruit camp for training." Gao Shun asked in surprise.
Lan Tian explained: "There is nothing we can do about it. We can suppress the three-month training period for new recruits to be completed within one month, and the rest can be practiced slowly on the battlefield.
Now if we conscript these 30,000 people who work the land into the army to eat food directly, we will not only consume a lot of stored food, but we will also produce a lot less food, and the other will increase..."
"Sir, you are really calculating..." Gao Shun opened his eyes wide.
Lan Tian said with a smile: "In the Boping family, the housewife is in charge of daily expenses, right? It's true that you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are when you're not a housekeeper..."
When Lan Tian mentioned Gao Shun as a housewife, his usually serious face suddenly became a little hot. When he and Gan Ning were stationed in Linwu County, Guiyang, Lu Lingqi came forward to arrange a wife for them.
"I haven't seen you bring Gao Ling out to play with Yuan'er and Ji'er..." Lan Tian pretended to complain.
Gao Shun scratched his head and said: "Ling'er is still young, and with the disparity in status, how dare he play with the two young masters."
"Isn't he too young? I remember he is a few months older than Ji'er. What status do they have as children..." Lan Tian frowned.
"Both young masters are very human beings. I am different from my husband and young lady as master and servant. When Ling'er grows up, he will naturally follow these two young masters..." Gao Shun said sincerely.
Gao Shun was not only very strict with himself, but also with his family's sons. Lan Tian almost never saw him showing up with his family. After Gao Ling was born, Gao Yuan accidentally let it slip that Lan Tiancai and Lu Lingqi brought some gifts to the door.
Lan Tian knew that Lao Gao accepted death, so he shook his head and stopped trying to persuade him. Then he changed the subject and said, "While it's still early, let's go into the city and go to the medical school."
