When Ji Han and his men traveled to the Three Kingdoms crew

Chapter 163 Even if I jump down, I still hate it!

"General Liu, General Guan, General Zhang, please come in!"

"Zhang Changshi, please!"

After some greetings, Zhang Yan led Liu Bei and others into Loulan City.

Arriving in the city, Liu Bei looked around. Just as he had initially expected, there were not many civilians around, and even the residential houses were pitifully few. Teams of soldiers were coming and going. Their uniforms were old, with curled hems, and they were holding farming tools in their hands, not weapons.

Under the warm spring sun, they rushed to the farmland in the city, raised their farm tools, and started working enthusiastically.

"These are Loulan's soldiers who settled in the fields. Since the Western Regions Protectorate was abolished, we no longer have the spare capacity to cultivate the land on a large scale. We can only guarantee food and grass for one city, so we have no extra food and grass to give to the Western Regions. As a result, the Western Regions are not in harmony with us, and in recent days, we have even made a joke of being besieged by Qiang and Hu. If it weren't for Brother Xuande leading the troops to rescue us, I'm afraid the prestige of the Han Dynasty would have been lost in my hands. After I die, how can I face the successive Protectorates?"

Zhang Yan talked with Liu Bei in private and addressed Liu Bei again as "Brother Xuande".

Liu Bei could hear a lot of emotion in Zhang Yan's words. Wasn't the current situation in the Western Regions just left to its own devices by the court? If it was of no use, then just ignore it.

"Brother Zibo, that's wrong." Liu Bei shook his head. "The Western Regions are just like the Qiang and Hu. They won't be afraid of us just because we give them less or no food. Good people are bullied, good horses are ridden. People love to ride horses that are honest and docile, and people are easily bullied if they are honest and loyal. In the past, we won over the Western Regions and asked them to pay tribute in order to deal with the Xiongnu. Now that the Xiongnu are no longer making trouble, the Western Regions are peaceful, just like a rabbit running on the grass. Without a natural enemy from the sky, it is easy to nurture strange thoughts. Blindly satisfying them will only leave an impression of cowardice. Brother Zibo, foreign races have always been afraid of power but not virtue."

Zhang Yan nodded, looking at Liu Bei with eyes full of admiration, "Brother Xuande, what you said is very true. It's just that 'A kind man is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden' and 'Fear power but not virtue' where did you read these words from? The former is easy to understand, and the latter is a brilliant summary."

Where did it come from?

Liu Bei thought, it must be the Zeng Guang Xian Wen and a certain history book from later generations, a history book. Strange, why can't I remember the name of the book?

"?"

Seeing Liu Bei frowning slightly, Zhang Yan thought he had touched Liu Bei's sore spot, and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Brother Xuande, just pretend nothing happened, nothing happened."

"No problem." Liu Bei's brows relaxed, he waved his hand and said with a smile, "Brother Zibo, it's been too long and I really can't remember."

"This is a true disciple of a great Confucian scholar. Even if he doesn't know where the source of the words comes from, he can still speak eloquently. I really admire him." Zhang Yan clasped his fists towards Liu Bei.

No matter how thick-skinned Liu Bei was, he could not stand such flattery from a Confucian scholar who could annotate classics. He quickly changed the subject, "Brother Zibo, I came here on orders not only to relieve Loulan of danger, but also to let the Western Regions see the might of the Han Dynasty."

"Oh?" Zhang Yan became interested. "Brother Xuande, what is your purpose for coming here this time?"

"It's very simple."

Liu Bei raised his head and gazed up. The sky was as clear as a mirror, and the sunlight was clear and beautiful. He stretched out his hand, spread his palm, and clenched it tightly, as if he was holding the temperatureless sunlight tightly in his palm. He said, "What I want is the entire Western Regions. Not only to make the Western Regions a barrier for the Han Dynasty, but also to make wealth through the Western Regions, so that the countries in the Western Regions can hold their chests high with pride for being a member of the Han Dynasty!"

"good!"

Zhang Yan shouted, his shoulders trembling slightly with excitement. As a Confucian scholar who stayed in the Western Regions, he was different from the Confucian scholars in the interior who talked about metaphysics and Taoism all day long, believed in the theory of prophecies and divination, and whose eyes were full of "dead eunuchs" and "dead eunuchs". His ambition was even greater, and he wanted to accomplish a great cause like Ban Chao, Marquis of Dingyuan. However, the "simple purpose" that Liu Bei mentioned at this moment had already surpassed Ban Chao!

He was full of admiration in his heart. He was truly a disciple of a great scholar. He was truly extraordinary! A real man should be like this!
"Brother Xuande, just tell me, how do you need my cooperation?!"

"That's easy to say." Liu Bei looked at Zhang Yan and smiled, "I have some chive seeds that I brought from Jincheng."

"leek?"

Zhang Yan just felt it was strange. Is there any legend about leeks?

"Leeks are cold-resistant. During the reign of Emperor Xiaoyuan, the Imperial Garden raised the indoor temperature by burning fires day and night. This method was used to grow vegetables in winter, including leeks. However, this method is very costly and not affordable for ordinary people. My officials and I thought about whether there was a way to increase the yield by changing the farming method, or even to farm in winter. It happened that an immortal came to me in a dream, which cleared up my confusion. In simple terms, it was 'don't pinch sunflowers when it touches the dew, and don't cut leeks in the middle of the day'. We increased the harvest from two crops a year to six or seven!"

"what!"

Zhang Yan's eyes widened with amazement and his breathing became rapid. He held Liu Bei's hand and said excitedly, "Brother Xuande, you have done great things for the country and the people!"

Chives have a long history, and before the Qin Dynasty, chives were one of the necessary tribute dishes for sacrifices!

But in the current restricted times, leeks cannot be harvested one after another. "Brother Zibo, there is one more thing."

"Brother Xuande, please tell me quickly. What good things have you hidden? You have kept me waiting for so long!"

"I want you to exchange corn for wheat."

"wheat?"

Zhang Yan frowned slightly. If this word came out of other people's mouth, he would probably be scolded. Not only did the wheat rice taste bad, but even making soup noodles was time-consuming and laborious, and it was not as edible as corn.

But when I think that it was Liu Bei who said this, would it give him another surprise?

Seeing that Zhang Yan looked worried, Liu Bei kept him in suspense and said, "Brother Zibo, an immortal once told me that practice leads to true knowledge. Please find a soldier who doesn't like to eat wheat rice and soup noodles."

"This"

Zhang Yan secretly swallowed his saliva, seeming a little embarrassed. It's not that he didn't trust Liu Bei, the key is how delicious the food must be to make someone who hates wheat eat it?
However, when he looked up at Liu Bei, he saw that Liu Bei was very confident, as if he had mastered the matter.

Zhang Yan still agreed.

"promise."

Not long after, a tall soldier followed Zhang Yan to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei talked to the soldiers in an easy and comfortable manner, without any airs at all, which surprised Zhang Yan.

When asked about Mai's related topics.

"What do you think of wheat rice and soup noodles?"

The soldier's face immediately changed, and he shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, no, it's not very good. That thing won't fill me up. Unless I'm really hungry and my stomach hurts, I won't eat it."

"Oh? Are you serious?" Liu Bei asked with a smile.

"True, truer than gold."

After getting a satisfactory answer, Liu Bei clapped his hands, and a soldier came in carrying a wooden tray with a lid on it, which really aroused the curiosity of the two men.

What exactly is it?
Zhang Yan and his soldiers had the same doubts in their hearts.

The next moment, their doubts were resolved.

Liu Bei lifted the lid and said, "I call this food baked naan."

“Baked naan.”

The soldier who took the baked naan murmured to himself. Just by holding the baked naan, his nose started moving on its own. The fragrance rushed into his nasal cavity uncontrollably, and his mouth secreted saliva.

He took a bite, his eyes lit up, and he had forgotten what he had just said.

"It's so fragrant!"

　First update

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(End of this chapter)