Soldiers come to the world

The city of Panyu County started to be rebuilt the year before last, and it was completed in March this year. It doubled the size of the county seat, with a circumference of more than [-] miles. The city wall is tall and strong. Food and supplies from Cangwu County and Yulin County can be directly transported into the city through the moat. There are more than [-] residents in the city, and it was also a big county in the past.

Most of the various buildings in the city are based on the original style, and the characteristics of abundant rainfall in Jiaozhou are also taken into account. It flows into the Dongjiang River outside the city.

In the north of the county seat, there is a palace covering an area of ​​about [-] mu, called the Yuewang Palace, which was the former Nanyue Palace. After being renovated by Liu Bei, it became the residence of the Jiaozhou government office and Liu Bei.

Yuewang Palace is actually Liu Bei's own name, which contains Liu Bei's desire. He hopes to be named Yuewang by the court. Whether he is in Jiaozhou or he will control Jiangdong in the future, this title is very appropriate.

Perhaps because he has not adapted to the climate of Jiaozhou, Liu Bei's health has been deteriorating over the years. Especially last year when he went to Cangwu County for inspection, he encountered miasma, which almost killed him.

Liu Bei is slightly younger than Cao Cao. He is 57 years old this year, and his body is not out of shape. He just looks weak and lacks energy and blood. His body can no longer bear the heavy government affairs, so he entrusts the government affairs to Zhuge Liang.

For example, when Zhong Yao and Sima Yi came to Jiaozhou at the same time, it was a military and national event. In the Kaiming Hall of Yuewang Palace, where Liu Bei usually lived, Liu Bei was discussing with Zhuge Liang about the simultaneous arrival of the two envoys.

"What does the military adviser think is the purpose of Cao Cao sending Zhong Yao to Jiaozhou?" Liu Bei asked slowly.

Jiaozhou is remote and the news is blocked. Zhuge Liang didn't know that the Seventh Jian'an Case had broken out in Yedu. He was also a little confused. Cao Cao attached great importance to Jiaozhou, but Zhuge Liang still felt something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong?

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and said: "Cao Cao's envoys must be related to the demise of Jiangdong. Cao Cao also felt a huge threat, so he hoped that the two families would join forces to deal with Liu Jing, but I feel that Cao Cao can't provide us with substantial support. , more want to use us."

Liu Bei knew what Zhuge Liang was referring to, and he said slowly: "Last month, Liu Jing cut off the pig iron and grain trade with us, which had a great impact on our war preparations. Although Cao Cao is definitely willing to support us, but they can't transport them, I still hope We can solve this problem by ourselves, sir has been working on this matter for a long time, is there any clue?"

Zhuge Liang bowed his body and said, "Reporting to Uncle Emperor, I think the food problem can be solved, but the pig iron problem is indeed a bit difficult. In the past two years, Weichen sent many people to look for ore in various places in Jiaozhou. They found gold and copper mines, but they did not find iron ore. Mine, I think there should be, hidden in the mountains, it just takes time."

Liu Bei didn't blame Zhuge Liang, he knew that Zhuge Liang was more anxious than himself, he sighed, "It's just that we relied too much on Jiangdong in the past and wasted too much time. It's too late to be anxious these two years, but when Sima Yi came, Can we propose lifting the ban on pig iron trade?"

"You can give it a try, but Sima Yi's arrival is obviously aimed at Cao Cao's envoy. Liu Jing probably didn't just want to destroy our alliance with Cao Cao. He should have other intentions. We should pay attention to him."

Liu Bei nodded, "Anyway, he is the Prime Minister of the Han Kingdom, and his status is respected. We must not be rude and treat him with courtesy as much as possible. This matter will bother the military division."

A few days later, Sima Yi and Zhong Yao arrived in Fanyu City almost at the same time, and were warmly welcomed by Zhuge Liang. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets singing and dancing to welcome the arrival of the two envoys. To some extent, this embarrassment was weakened.

Both of them were arranged in the Guizhou Hotel in Jiaozhou with equal treatment. That night, Liu Bei held a grand banquet in Yuewang Palace to welcome the arrival of Zhong Yao and Sima Yi.

In the lobby, Liu Bei is sitting at the front, Zhong Yao is on the left, Sima Yi is sitting on the right, and there are two rows of banquets below. Tired and Huang Quan.

On the right is the seat for generals, Guan Yu sits at the top, Zhang Fei and Chen Dao sit below, and there are also generals such as Liu Feng, Guan Ping, Mi Fang, Zhang Bao, and Guan Xing.

At this time Liu Bei stood up, raised his earcups and said with a smile: "Today is a very happy day. Two distinguished guests came to Jiaozhou at the same time. They represent Wei Gong and His Highness King Han. This is the glory of Jiaozhou and a symbol of Jiaozhou's prosperity. Come on! Welcome two distinguished guests, we drink this cup!"

At this time, a group of dancers entered the arena, the sound of idle music sounded, and the banquet officially began. At this time, Liu Bei asked Zhong Yao with a smile, "How is Mr. Wei's health? "

Zhong Yao bowed and replied, "Thank you, Uncle Huang, for your concern. Duke Wei is still in good health. When I set off, he was still visiting Hebei."

"Back then, Mr. Wei and I fought against the Yellow Turbans, defending the country of the Great Han, with gold and iron horses, and a powerful force in China. Almost 30 years have passed in a flash, and we are all old."

Zhong Yao said with a smile: "Wei Gong also often talked about the emperor's uncle, when he talked about cooking wine with green plums in the past, he very much hoped to meet the emperor's uncle again, and smile away all grievances!"

"Well said! Human life is only a few decades, whether it is kindness or hatred, after a pinch of loess, there is nothing left."

Liu Bei and Zhong Yao had a good chat, but they ignored Sima Yi on the other side. Sima Yi had a slight sneer on his face. Of course, he knew that Liu Bei was pretending to be close to Wei and far away from Han. He drank alone without saying a word.

At this moment, Zhuge Liang felt something was wrong, raised his glass and smiled at Sima Yi and said, "Zhongda has worked hard all the way, I would like to respect Sima Yi."

Sima Yi drank the wine in one gulp and said with a smile: "Thank you for the toast, the military commander, but I have been indulging in the strategy of the Warring States all the way so I don't feel it is hard."

Zhuge Liang asked with a smile: "I don't know what strategy Zhongda likes most in the Warring States Period?"

Sima Yi smiled slightly, "I like Qin Ce's words the most. It is better for a king to make friends far away and attack close. The king who gets the inch is the king's inch, and the king who gets the ruler is the ruler. What I saw at the banquet today is not the strategy of the Warring States Period!"

Sima Yi ridiculed Liu Bei for being close to Zhong Yao and staying away from him, which made everyone in the hall change their faces. Zhang Fei was furious, stood up and drew his sword and glared, "Is Sima insulting my brother?"

Guan Yu had quick hands and quick eyes, and pushed Zhang Fei to sit down, but the atmosphere in the lobby was still dignified, the music stopped, and the dancers stopped dancing. They stood in a daze in the lobby. Sima Xiangguo was left out in the cold, and I made a fine drink to apologize to Xiangguo."

But Sima Yi stood up and said: "Uncle Huang is the master, and I am a guest from afar. I should be the one to honor the master with this glass of wine. Thank you Uncle Huang for his hospitality. Sima Yi wishes Uncle Huang good health and all wishes come true as soon as possible."

Liu Bei laughed dryly, "I'm old, so I don't have anything to worry about, but I still want to thank Sima Xiangguo for the toast."

Liu Bei waved his hand again, the music played again, the dancers danced again, and the tense atmosphere in the hall was relieved. At this time, Guan Yu complained to Zhang Fei in a low voice: "Brother must balance the two to seek the greatest benefit." , third brother, don't talk too much, it's about bad brother."

Zhang Fei didn't say a word, he drank in silence, and only after a while did he say, "I think war is the greatest benefit."

After the banquet was over, Sima Yi and Zhong Yao went back to their lodgings. At this time, Zhuge Liang came to visit Sima Yi first. Da, being near does not necessarily mean attacking."

Sima Yi laughed loudly, "Just now I drank a few more glasses of wine and talked nonsense, the military commander should not take it to heart."

The two exchanged a few words of greeting, walked into the room, seated the guests and the host, and the attendants served them tea. At this time, Sima Yi took out a letter and handed it to Zhuge Liang, "This is a letter from Brother Ling to the military advisor. Please ask me to bring it."

Zhuge Liang took the letter and asked, "How is my brother?"

"He is now serving as the prefect of Yuzhang, which is also the position of Uncle Ling back then. His Highness the King of Han appreciates his ability very much, and we all believe that he has the potential to become a prime minister."

Zhuge Liang sighed: "The situation in the world has changed dizzyingly. At the beginning of the year, we received Jiangdong envoys, but now Jiangdong no longer exists. Frankly speaking, the emperor is very worried about the future of Jiaozhou. I wonder if one day we will meet with you." The Han Kingdom fought to see it?"

Speaking of which, Zhuge Liang looked at Sima Yi with a smile that was not a smile. He had already tested it first, so it depends on Sima Yi's reaction?

Sima Yi had already had a plan in mind, and said with a hearty smile: "If the King of Han wanted to destroy Jiaozhou, he would not have sent his military division back to Jiaozhou, and he would not have given Luling County to you. The culture has spread to every corner of Jiaozhou, Hanwang hopes that our two families will have a good relationship from generation to generation."

"Hanwang's statement is touching, but we hope to see Hanwang's sincerity. If His Royal Highness is willing to express it with practical actions, I believe the effect will be better."

"I don't know what the actual action the military division mentioned is?"

"Practical actions have a wide range of meanings, such as the withdrawal of troops from the border, such as the strengthening of envoy exchanges, and the expansion of trade, such as the pig iron trade. We have always traded normally with Jiangdong, but it suddenly stopped recently, which is really confusing."

Sima Yi chuckled, "The pig iron trade is a bit of a special situation. The main inventory is insufficient. Due to the war, the mine has been shut down for more than half a year, and the ore has been exhausted. And now Jiangdong is going to resume production and make a lot of farm tools. The demand for pig iron is huge. , so we can only suspend external exports, and wait for the mine to return to normal and the pig iron inventory to increase. I believe it will resume trade with Jiaozhou.

Zhuge Liang was very helpless. Of course he understood that Sima Yi was dealing with himself. To put it nicely, it was nothing more than delaying time. For half a year or a year, the day lily would be cold by then.

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and then asked: "I wonder what kind of message Zhongda wants to convey to us this time when he is going to Jiaozhou?"

Sima Yi smiled and said: "Of course, it is to convey the goodwill of His Highness the King of Han to Jiaozhou. In addition, we got news that Jiaozhou seems to have some ideas about Jian'an County, and the army has entered the country several times. Of course, Jian'an County used to belong to Jiangdong, but Jiangdong has been merged into Han Dynasty. Therefore, Jian'an County is also the territory of the Han State, and I came to Jiaozhou this time to hope that we can clarify our respective borders with Jiaozhou, so as to avoid unnecessary conflicts and hurt the friendship between the two countries for many years."

Zhuge Liang got up and said: "I understand what Zhongda means, I will tell Uncle Huang that Zhongda has worked hard all the way, and it is getting late now, so I won't disturb Zhongda to rest."

At this time, Zhuge Liang had already understood Sima Yi's intention. On the one hand, he was here to prevent them from forming an alliance with Cao Wei, just like Zhang Yi destroyed the Qi-Chu alliance.

On the other hand, it was to warn them not to allow them to seize Jian'an County. As for the pig iron trade that the emperor was eager to resume, since Sima Yi was not sincere, Zhuge Liang didn't want to waste any more time, so he got up and left.

Sima Yi watched Zhuge Liang go away with his hands behind his back, and couldn't help but sneered. Now it's not the Qin Dynasty. After 400 years of the Han Dynasty, it is not so difficult to attack Jiaozhou. He hopes that Jiaozhou will turn against the Han Dynasty, and they have a reason to send troops .

Sima Yi turned back and asked, "Which courtyard does Zhong Yao live in?"

. . . . . . . . . .