My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 486: Generosity beyond everyone's expectation
"Thank you for coming from afar to help me. You must have worked hard on the journey. Please accept my greetings."

"My dear brother, you are too modest. We should have worked together to support the Han Dynasty, but we have not seen each other for many years. Now that we finally meet, it is a great relief."

As soon as Liu Bei and Liu Zhang met, Liu Zhang rushed forward to salute, and Liu Bei naturally returned the salute. The atmosphere was harmonious and there was no sign of tension at all.

Both of them were dressed in finery, the biggest difference in their attire was that Liu Zhang was weak and unarmed, so he didn't carry any weapons. Liu Bei was used to carrying two swords wherever he went, so he didn't feel the need to deliberately avoid suspicion at this time.

After some greetings, Liu Bei introduced to Liu Zhang the civil and military officials he brought with him, starting with Zhuge Liang, then Zhang Fei, and then Pang Tong.

When Liu Zhang saw Zhuge Liang, he felt a sense of admiration in his heart. When he saw Zhang Fei and Pang Tong, he couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

"I have long heard that Mr. Kong Ming and your brother are both great sages in the world, with the potential to be immortals. Seeing them today is worth the trip."

Liu Zhang took the initiative to show goodwill to Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang returned the courtesy in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Then, Liu Zhang also introduced the civil and military officials he brought to Liu Bei. In addition to Zhang Ren and Yan Yan, who came to escort Liu Bei today, and Zhang Song, who was already working in the middle, Liu Zhang also brought Huang Quan to the meeting among the civil officials - Liu Zhang was just weak, but not stupid, he also knew that listening to both sides would lead to wisdom, although Huang Quan had opposed him bringing Liu Bei into Sichuan, but he could use Huang Quan to fill in the gaps.

After both sides introduced themselves, Liu Zhang, in an enthusiastic mood, invited Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang to take their seats.

Today, Liu Bei and others crossed the river to the south bank to keep the appointment. The venue was provided by Liu Zhang, and the banquet naturally had to be prepared by Liu Zhang.

There is now a port town near the Chaotianmen Wharf in later generations. The houses are ready-made and there is no need to hold a banquet outdoors. Liu Zhang invited everyone to the temporary requisitioned inn for the banquet.

At the banquet, Liu Zhang inevitably asked Liu Bei how he planned to repel the enemy, and took the initiative to introduce the latest situation of the battle in Brazil.
He sighed helplessly, "The Three Gorges are difficult and dangerous. It took me more than a month to march into Sichuan. In August, Langzhong and Dangqu were lost one after another, and most of Baxi County fell into Xiahou Yuan's control.

For now, I can only ask Brother Xuande to first send troops north to defend Dianjiang County, stabilize the situation in Baxi and Badong, and then slowly recover. I wonder how many troops you brought this time..."

When Liu Zhang asked this, he felt a little embarrassed, and seemed to realize that he had no right to ask how many soldiers Liu Bei brought with him - it was good enough that they came to help you, how could you complain that the number of soldiers was small?
When begging for food, you cannot complain about it being bad. Giving more or less is a favor.

But Liu Zhang was indeed very concerned about this issue and had to ask, so he finally suppressed his embarrassment and asked.

Liu Bei was a kind and gentleman, and he would not embarrass anyone, so he gave a direct answer immediately.

But in recent years, he has become accustomed to consulting Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong before anything happens. If Zhuge Jin is around, he will consult them carefully. So at this moment, before Liu Bei spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.

Zhuge Liang did not act rashly. He just gently waved his feather fan and smiled without saying anything. It was not that Zhuge Liang did not want to offer advice, but he found that Liu Zhang had been stealing glances at him from time to time since he sat down at the table.

It may be that Zhuge Liang's deity-like demeanor was too ethereal and too eye-catching, so he had to be more restrained. Otherwise, any small move by Zhuge Liang to hint at Liu Bei would have been seen by others.

Pang Tong on the other side very naturally winked at Liu Bei and shook his head slightly, indicating Liu Bei not to answer Liu Zhang's question.

Seeing this, Liu Bei was moved, but he just smiled and said nothing for the time being.

Given the looks of Pang Tong and Zhang Fei, other people would only look at them a few times when they were first introduced to each other. After the introductions, while they were eating and drinking, other people were too lazy to even look at them any more, and no matter how many little movements Pang Tong made, they would not be noticed.

When Liu Zhang saw that Liu Bei did not answer him, he felt embarrassed and secretly regretted asking so hastily.

At this time, Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Mr. Ji Yu, the road to Shu is difficult and dangerous. The first batch of our reinforcements may not be many, but it is more than enough to stop Xiahou Yuan temporarily.

"Quality is more important than quantity. Since my lord has intervened in the war in Yizhou, sooner or later the Cao thieves will be defeated. When the counterattack phase comes in the future, we will naturally increase our forces."

Liu Zhang quickly expressed his opinion: "Sir, you have misunderstood. How dare I complain that the troops sent by Brother Xuande are insufficient? Brother Xuande's willingness to come here is already a great favor..."

Liu Zhang was also an honest man. He felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed when he was bullied by Zhuge Liang.

Huang Quan and Zhang Ren, who were accompanying them, saw that their lord was acting inappropriately and had lost face, so Huang Quan had to intervene to smooth things over for him:

"Don't be surprised, Lord Xuande. My lord is kind and taciturn. He is not good at speaking. I just asked you for no other reason. I just want to know how many troops your army plans to use and how long it will take to defeat Cao's army. In this way, our army can also raise food and grass for your army to use.

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River are dangerous. We can't let your army raise food and grass from Jingzhou to fight in Yizhou? Fortunately, I can't say anything else about Yizhou, but the money and food are barely enough to support it, but we still need to plan ahead. "

Huang Quan's words were polite and restrained, and he immediately dispelled Liu Zhang's suspicion that Liu Bei had too few soldiers. He simply said that he was worried about "poor hospitality and insufficient military rations."

Now that things had come to this, Liu Bei could no longer hide it, so Zhuge Liang directly answered for Liu Bei:

"To be honest, our army has brought 30,000 soldiers this time. Within this year, there will be no problem in stopping Xiahou Yuan and firmly defending Dianjiang. Later, when the road becomes easier to travel and more soldiers are gradually added to the rear, the total number can exceed 50,000, and we will be able to launch a counterattack next year. Excuse me for being frank, but this strategy has also been carefully considered by my lord: After Cao Cao enters Hanzhong, it is impossible to rely on the transportation of grain from Guanzhong to Hanzhong for a long time, otherwise the loss of crossing the Qinling Mountains alone will be enough to drag Cao Cao to death.

Therefore, in the protracted war, Cao Cao could only rely on the local grain production in Hanzhong County to sustain Xiahou Yuan's consumption. However, Hanzhong had only a few hundred thousand households, and with Baxi, the total number did not reach 200,000 households. How many troops could this amount of grain production sustain?
In contrast, Yizhou has a total population of one million households. Except for Hanzhong and Baxi, the rest are in the hands of Ji Yugong. Relying on the grain production of Bashu and Guanghan, in the long run, it can at least maintain a garrison three or four times that of Hanzhong. After a long time, Cao Cao will inevitably be unable to support it. Therefore, from a military point of view, it is more advantageous for our army to slow down the war than to rush it. "

Zhuge Liang also helped Liu Bei to come clean and publicly stated the reason for his side's "delayed war", which was in direct contrast to Huang Quan's statement that "he was worried that it would take too long to supply the army and that there would not be enough military rations."

Liu Zhang's camp was of course considering economic considerations and hoped to repel the enemy as quickly as possible, while Liu Bei's camp was of course considering military and political considerations and could not be completely used as a pawn and work so hard to achieve a quick victory.

Moreover, both sides have found high-sounding excuses to conceal the real motives behind their decisions.

You, Liu Zhang, can't let Liu Bei's army attack and cause more deaths just to save food, right? There's no way to calculate the cost of food and human lives.

Huang Quan, who served as Liu Zhang's substitute, was speechless in the face of Zhuge Liang's rigorous analysis and did not want to dwell on this issue any further.

On the other hand, Zhang Song, who was originally quite nervous and worried that the harmonious atmosphere of the negotiation would be destroyed, saw that Huang Quan finally shut up, and hurriedly came out to smooth things over:
"Mr. Kong Ming is right! Cao's army is fierce and stubborn, but now their morale is high. We really need to wear down the enemy and make long-term plans. Even if we need to provide more military rations, the common people in Shu will surely understand."

"Yes, yes, yes, I shouldn't have mentioned this. Brother Xuande, no matter how many soldiers you brought, it's all a favor. Come on, let's drink! Drink!" Liu Zhang also quickly took the opportunity to back off the conversation and stopped talking about the embarrassing topic.

However, just when everyone thought that the matter was over, Zhuge Liang suddenly took the initiative to represent Liu Bei and took a step back.

He waved his folding fan and said compassionately, "What Ji Yugong and Zhang Biejia said is not without reason. Although militarily our army should indeed hold out first to consume Cao's army's spirit, we cannot but be sympathetic to the burden of the people in Shu.

Your army is required to provide food and fodder for 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers for a long time, or even more. The people are indeed suffering. Fortunately, my lord has always been kind and virtuous. He also thought of this when he discussed with me before entering Sichuan.

Since the food reserves in Shu are insufficient, I believe that we need to not only cut costs but also increase revenue. I have a method that can increase the rice production in Shu by several times in the long run. Before I came here, I have discussed with my lord that I am willing to share this Shennong method with the people of Yizhou. In this way, we will not be afraid of not being able to support the army. "

When Zhuge Liang said this, Liu Zhang, Zhang Song, and Huang Quan were all shocked. Even generals like Yan Yan and Zhang Ren looked at him with awe.

In contrast, Liu Bei, Pang Tong and others remained calm and were not surprised at all - it was obvious that what Zhuge Liang said was something he had already discussed with Liu Bei before he entered Sichuan.

Among all the civil and military officials in Yizhou, Zhang Song was the only one who had been to Liu Bei. Hearing Zhuge Liang's serious words, he had already guessed what was going on. He couldn't help but asked in a trembling voice, "What Mr. Kong Ming said, could it be..."

Zhuge Liang: "Yes, it is the Linyi rice that our army has introduced in Jing and Yang for two years! In early spring, this rice can be planted more than a month earlier than ordinary rice, and it can be grown in small fields and transplanted to large fields to stagger the growth period of large fields. Therefore, we can have two crops a year.

Of course, after planting two crops a year, it is necessary to supplement with intensive cultivation, topdressing with water and fertilizer to maintain the fertility of the field. After planting for a few years, beans should be rotated to fertilize the field. But no matter what, with this plant, it is no problem to increase the total annual output of rice fields by 30% to 50%!

Our army has been promoting it in Jing and Yang for two years. Because seeds are hard to come by, only a few townships were planted in the first year, and three counties were planted in the second year. After the autumn harvest this year, we will save as much grain as possible as seeds, so that we can plant the entire county.

Our army is willing to allocate the seeds needed by one of the counties and transport them to Shuzhong by large ships before the spring plowing next year. First, select half a county around Jiangzhou and Chengdu to plant them. In this way, after three or four years, most of the rice fields in Shujun and Guanghan will be covered with seeds. Let the people of Shuzhong benefit from it. "

Liu Zhang and Huang Quan were completely shocked after hearing what Zhuge Liang said.

Liu Bei was actually willing to give away something that could increase the total rice production in Sichuan by at least 30% to 40% to the common people in Yizhou for free? He had already brought tens of thousands of soldiers to help defend the city. In the long run, he was actually planning to help the local people increase their production to make up for the military rations they consumed?

In this case, if we carefully calculate the accounts, the people of Yizhou did suffer losses in the first two years, because the seed base was too small and the promotion area was limited, and the increased grain production was definitely not as much as the grain consumed by the 50,000 troops.

But starting from the third year, the military and civilians of Yizhou made pure profit. As the promotion area became larger and larger, they would make even more money.

Liu Bei not only helped the military and civilians of Yizhou to resist the enemy, but also provided good seeds and taught the people of Yizhou how to increase grain production. He supported both the military and the economy, and made sure both hands were strong.

What's going on? Did Liu Bei come here just to be a good guy?

The key point is that Liu Zhang had no reason to refuse such conditions, and it was impossible for him to refuse.

If Liu Zhang refused, or if anyone around him suggested to refuse, they would be killed immediately by the angry people of Yizhou - Lord Xuande gave us high-yield seeds, and you dared to refuse on behalf of the people of Yizhou? Who gave you the power?
In Liu Zhang's camp, Zhang Song was the first to react. He could not help but admire: "What a good plan! This plan seems to be of great benefit to the local princes of Yizhou without any harm. In three years, it will be a pure profit.

But Lord Xuande has spread benevolence and justice to the people. Three years later, I am afraid that everyone in Yizhou will be grateful to him for saving their lives. Even if the local government of Yizhou can make a pure profit in three years, I am afraid that Liu Jiyu will not be sitting in that position to enjoy the benefits..."

Soon, Huang Quan next to him also realized it, but he also couldn't refute it, and couldn't even remind him: If Liu Bei continues to win people's hearts like this, will the people of Yizhou still stand on Liu Zhang's side in three years? When Yizhou is well built, the people who enjoy the fruits will probably have changed.

(End of this chapter)