Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Chapter 249 Lu Tan's Courage

After the establishment of the Bureau of Books and Newspapers, scouts went to various places to collect materials, and the name gradually became familiar to officials from all over the country.

Pan Jun, who worked in Jingzhou, wrote to ask Jiang Wan if he had offended General Jingnan, or why he would be deprived of his position of offering wine in the school.

Quanling Academy is well-known in Jingnan, but the newly established Books and Newspapers Office is a new thing. In the eyes of outsiders, the latter has no future at all.

Jiang Wan ignored Pan Jun. He wrote back that everything was fine, and worked hard to complete the tasks Lan Tian gave him. When encountering problems, he would come to ask for advice in person. No one knew the future of the Book and Newspaper Office better than him.

In mid-November, Lu Tan came to Quanling from Bushan to deliver a letter. After several months of stalemate, Lu Meng finally couldn't stand it anymore. Sun Quan ordered the whole army to withdraw to Jianye, and asked Cangwu prefect Lu Fan to negotiate peace with Lai Gong.

Lu Meng's [-] soldiers and horses were not damaged much, and Lu Fan replenished the soldiers and horses of Wu Ju from the original Cangwu, and basically returned to Jiangdong in an undamaged state, but the damaged warships cannot be faked.

Originally, Lu Meng planned to carry it until the end of the year, but the problem of food and grass has not been resolved. The daily consumption of [-] mouths is huge. The food and grass in Cangwu and Nanhai can no longer be forcibly expropriated.

There was no food in the local area, and Jiangdong had no face to ask for food and grass. He borrowed food from Shi Xie, the prefect of Jiaozhi, for several months. In the end, he only received a letter from him. Unfortunately, they encountered storms at sea, and finally ten grain ships capsized.

Shi Xie spoke earnestly in the letter and lowered his stance very low, but in any case, there was no more food to lend, and neither Sun Quan nor Lu Meng could find an excuse.

According to Lantian's order, Lai Gong and Lu Fan stopped their troops with Moon Bay as the boundary, and compensated Yulin County's loss with half a year's salt production from Gaoyao County.

After listening to Lu Tan's report, Lan Tian nodded and said, "Inspector Lai has done a good job. I didn't expect him to let you go."

Lu Tan replied cheerfully: "If my brother-in-law was not afraid of Jiangdong's secret work, he would definitely come to Quanling to pay his respects in person. Besides, General Sha is also asking for instructions on when his barbarians can withdraw."

"Did Jiangdong soldiers really withdraw?" Lan Tian asked again.

Lu Tan nodded and replied: "The soldiers in Jiangdong are like dogs that lose their homes. Because the warships were seriously damaged, most of them were evacuated by land. My brother-in-law said that he has fought for so many years, and this is the first time he has beaten the opponent so aggrieved."

"It took a long time to withdraw the army by land. After you return to Mount Bushan, tell Chief Sha that you will withdraw secretly at the end of the year and let General Liang be in charge of Yu Lin's defense temporarily." Lan Tian ordered.

"Wei." Lu Tan responded loudly.

Lan Tian saw Lu Tan standing where he was after speaking, hesitant to speak.

"Is there something else for General Lu?" Lan Tian asked suspiciously.

Lu Tan said hesitantly, "The envoy of Jiaozhi wants to visit you, but I don't know if it is suitable."

Lan Tian frowned: "Shi Xie's envoy? Does Governor Lai know about this?"

"Shi Zhi, the second son of the prefect, was a guest at Bushan. My brother-in-law didn't dare to reveal his identity as a general, so he didn't dare to introduce him rashly. This is a humble job that makes decisions without authorization." Lu Tan lowered his head, pinching his hands together nervously.

Lan Tian sat upright and said meaningfully: "Your brother-in-law dare not expose, but General Lu is very courageous?"

Lu Tan was so frightened that he knelt down in the hall, and said in panic, "The prefect has already guessed that Liu Shijun is the backer of my brother-in-law. Now he wants to befriend the general, but because he has accepted Sun Quan's seal, he dare not reveal it."

Lan Tian smiled and asked, "General Lu and Shi Zhi have a good relationship, right?"

"Uh, I haven't known each other for long." Lu Tan lowered his head again.

Looking at Lu Tan's appearance, Lan Tian knew that he had received a lot of benefits from the scholars. From the fact that this guy sold Qinghao pills, it can be seen that this guy is a mercenary person, but what is commendable is his loyalty to Lai Gong.

Lan Tian was not surprised that Shi Xie could see through the situation in Jiaozhou, after all, he had lived long enough.

Lan Tian didn't dislike Shi Xie's overtures, so he said calmly, "Since the prefect Shi intends to befriend you, let your brother-in-law and Shi Zhi come secretly."

"Wei, I don't want to bother you if you have a lowly position." Lu Tan was overjoyed to hear that, and bowed out of the hall with his fists folded.

"Wait a minute." Lan Tian called to stop Lu Tan.

Lu Tan stood up straight and asked, "What orders does the general have?"

Lan Tian frowned and said in a cold voice: "What qualifications do you have to be the judge for Inspector Lai? General Lu, you'd better keep yourself safe in the future, and don't do these transgressive things anymore, otherwise Inspector Lai won't be able to keep you. Ann you will die."

Lu Tan was so frightened that he knelt on the ground like a pounding garlic, and confessed in a panic: "I, I, I will never dare to be humble again."

"Let's go." Lan Tian said disdainfully.

"only."

Looking at Lu Tan's trembling figure, Gao Shun sighed beside him, "Is this fellow worthy of the surname Lu?"

Lan Tian smiled wryly and said, "The forest is so big that there are all kinds of birds."

"Jiangdong has many eyes and ears. Even if scholars come to visit secretly, Sun Quan will know about it sooner or later. Will it hinder the collection of Jiaozhou in the future?" Gao Shun asked worriedly.

"To determine Jiaozhou, you must first determine the family of scholars. Lu Meng's use of troops in Lingnan is not good this time, and it is even more impossible for Shi Xie to sincerely face Sun Quan. This is our opportunity. Now my relationship with my brother-in-law has been exposed, even in front of Lu Su last time. It's hard to trust me with Sun Quan's suspicious character, but I just don't want to tear my skin apart." Lan Tian analyzed.

Gao Shun shook his head, "The main reason is that Lu Meng 'bullys the weak and fears the strong'. If he used his main force to subdue the Shijia from the beginning, maybe Jiaozhou has already been occupied by Jiangdong. It's a pity that this guy is going to beat Lai Gong. It must be considered bad luck."

Lan Tian nodded and said: "Lu Meng also wanted to preserve his strength. Jiaozhou was the most remote state in the Han Dynasty. Taking this place is meaningless for advancing the Central Plains. In the eyes of many people, it is like chicken ribs. It is a pity to discard chicken ribs if they are tasteless."

"Mr.'s analogy is really apt, but you treat the chicken ribs in the eyes of others as treasures. It took a lot of effort," Gao Shun replied affirmatively.

Lan Tian said with emotion: "No one understands the advantages of Lingnan better than me. It is the climate that farmers dream of. When the opportunity is ripe, we will take Jiaozhou and bring all the agricultural researchers there."

Gao Shun asked again: "When will the opportunity be ripe?"

Lan Tian frowned, "Sooner or later, we and Jiang Dong will be shameless, and we will be able to collect Jiaozhou in the open."

Gao Shun nodded but didn't answer, thinking that politics is too complicated, obviously it can be easily seized, but he needs to wait for the so-called opportunity, it's really a conspiracy.

Perhaps it was because Lu Bu didn't understand politics that he was disliked everywhere, and he died in Baimenlou in the end.

Lu Tan left for a few days, but there was no news from Jiaozhou. Perhaps Lai Gong was still waiting for his chance.

After Lai Gong and Lu Fan negotiated peace, Yushui between Cangwu County and Yulin County resumed navigation, merchants and passenger ships traveled between Bushan and Guangxin, and Bushan County also had many Jiangdong eyes and ears.

At the beginning of December, Jiang Wan sent the first newspaper to the Book and Newspaper Office for review. Lan Tian once said that he would check it himself.

"Why is this section still empty?" Lan Tian asked puzzledly, pointing to a section.

(End of this chapter)