,,,,,,,,,,,,

The county town of Fanyu began to be rebuilt the year before yesterday and was completed this month, which doubled the county town, with a circumference of more than 20 miles. The city wall is tall and strong. The moat alone is more than ten feet wide. It is connected to the Dongjiang River. The Lumen and Water Gate are built. The food and food from Cangwu County and Yulin County can be transported directly into the city from the moat. There are about 100,000 residents in the city, and it is also a large county in the Central Plains.

Most of the various buildings in the city are mainly based on the Central Plains style. Taking into account the abundant rainfall in Jiaozhou, various drainage facilities are very well done. Even if it rains heavily for a few days and nights, the city will not be flooded. The rainwater will flow directly into the Dongjiang River outside the city along the ditch.

To the north of the county town is a palace covering an area of ​​about 1,000 acres, called the Yue Palace, which was the former Nanyue Palace. After being renovated by Liu Bei, it became the residence of the Jiaozhou Office and Liu Bei.

The Palace of Yue was actually a name given by Liu Bei himself, which contained Liu Bei's desire. He hoped to be named King of Yue by the court. Whether he was in charge of Jiaozhou or controlled Jiangdong in the future, the title of king was very appropriate.

Perhaps because he has been unacceptable to the climate of Jiaozhou, Liu Bei's health has been getting worse over the years. Especially last year when he went to Cangwu County to inspect, he encountered miasma, which almost killed him. In the end, he was bedridden for several months before he saved his life.

Liu Bei was slightly younger than Cao Cao, fifty-seven years old this year, and his body had not deformed. He just seemed to have insufficient qi and blood and was relatively weak. His body could no longer bear the heavy government affairs, so the government affairs were handed over to Zhuge Liang for handling. He only asked about some military and national affairs.

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 the Yue Palace where Liu Bei usually lived, Liu Bei was discussing the arrival of the two envoys at the same time.

"What did the military advisor think Cao Cao sent Zhong Yao to Jiaozhou to do his mission?" Liu Bei asked slowly.

Jiaozhou is remote and has a low news. Zhuge Liang didn't know that the seven cases of Jian'an had broken out in Yedu. He was also a little confused. Zhong Yao has always been in charge of western affairs and has no deep friendship with Liu Bei. He asked the military advisor to go on a mission to Jiaozhou. Although Cao Cao's attention to Jiaozhou was demonstrated, Zhuge Liang still felt that it was a bit inappropriate, but he couldn't say what was wrong?

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and said, "Cao Cao sent an envoy to come, which 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. However, I feel that Cao Cao cannot provide us with substantial support, and he wants to make more use of us."

Liu Bei knew what Zhuge Liang said, and he slowly said: "Last month, Liu Jing cut off the pig iron and grain trade with us, which had a great impact on our combat readiness. Although Cao Cao was definitely willing to support us, they could not transport it. I still hope that we can solve this problem by ourselves. The sir has been working on this matter for a long time, but he has some clues?"

Zhuge Liang bowed and said, "Reporting to the emperor, I think the food problem can be solved, but the pig iron problem is indeed a bit difficult. In the past two years, many people have sent to search for minerals in Jiaozhou and found gold and copper mines, but no iron ore was found. I think there should be, hidden in the deep mountains, it just takes time."

Liu Bei did not blame Zhuge Liang. He knew that Zhuge Liang was more anxious than himself. He sighed, "It's just that we were dependent on Jiangdong in the past and wasted a lot of time. It was a bit late to be anxious in the past two years. However, Sima Yi came, can we propose to lift the ban on the pig iron trade?"

"I can give it a try, but Sima Yi's arrival is obviously aimed at Cao Cao's envoy. Liu Jing should not be as simple as destroying our alliance with Cao Cao. He should have other intentions, so we should pay attention to him."

Liu Bei nodded, "No matter what, he is the prime minister of the Han Dynasty and has a respectable status. We should not be rude. We should treat him as politely as possible. This will cause trouble for the military advisor."

A few days later, Sima Yi and Zhong Yao arrived at Fanyu City almost at the same time, and were warmly welcomed by Zhuge Liang. Tens of thousands of people went to the streets to sing and dance to welcome the arrival of the two envoys. Although it was a bit embarrassing for both of them to arrive at the same time, the enthusiasm of the people weakened the embarrassment in a certain way.

Both were arranged in the Jiaozhou Guiguan Hotel and were treated equally. That night, Liu Bei held a grand banquet at the Yue Palace to welcome Zhong Yao and Sima Yi.

In the lobby, Liu Bei was sitting in the middle, Zhong Yao was on the left, Sima Yi was sitting on both sides on the right, and there were two rows of banquets below, with military officers sitting in the left, with the official seats on Zhuge Liang sitting in the seats below, and the two Shizhong Wang Lei and Huang Quan.

On the right is the seat of the military general, Guan Yu was sitting in the seat, Zhang Fei and Chen Dao were sitting below each, and there were also generals such as Liu Feng, Guan Ping, Mi Fang, Zhang Bao, and Guan Xing.

At this time, Liu Bei stood up, raised his ears and smiled, "Today is a great day. The two VIPs came to Jiaozhou at the same time. They represent the Duke of Wei and His Highness of Han. This is the glory of Jiaozhou and a symbol of the prosperity of Jiaozhou. Come on! Welcome the two VIPs and we have this cup!"

Everyone responded and raised their glasses and drank them all. At this time, a team of dancers entered the venue, leisurely music sounded, and the banquet officially began. At this time, Liu Bei asked Zhong Yao with a smile: "How is Mr. Wei in good health?"

Zhong Yao bowed and replied, "Thank you for your concern. Mr. Wei is in good health. When I set off, he went to inspect Hebei."

"I and Wei Gong fought against the Yellow Turbans to defend the Han Dynasty, and the country was so powerful that the swords and iron horses were trembling with China. In this flash, almost ten years have passed, and we are all old."

Zhong Yao smiled and said, "Mr. Wei often talks about the emperor's uncle. When talking about the green plum wine, he hopes to meet the emperor's uncle again and get rid of his grudges with a smile!"

"Well said! Life is only for decades, whether it is grace or revenge, it is all in a mess after a piece of loess."

Liu Bei and Zhong Yao had a great chat, but invisibly neglected Sima Yi on the other side. Sima Yi sneered faintly. Of course, he knew that Liu Bei was pretending to behave, approaching Wei and far away from Han, so he didn't say a word and drank alone.

At this time, Zhuge Liang felt something was wrong, so he raised his glass and smiled at Sima Yi and said, "Thank you for your hard work Zhongda, I will pay a cup of respect to Sima Gong."

Sima Yi drank the wine and said with a smile: "Thank you for the toast of the military advisor, but once you indulge in the Warring States strategy, you don't feel the hard work."

Zhuge Liang asked with a smile: "I wonder what Zhongda likes the most about the Warring States Period?"

Sima Yi smiled slightly, "I like Qin Ce's words the most, it is better to have friends from afar and attack near. Those who get a tiny are the king's inch, and those who get a tiny are the king's ruler. When I saw this today, I did not show the strategy of the warring country!"

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

Guan Yu quickly looked fast and pressed Zhang Fei down, but the atmosphere in the lobby became solemn, the music stopped, and the dancers stopped dancing, standing in the lobby in a daze. At this time, Liu Bei apologized: "I am not well-treated and neglected Sima Prime Minister. I will punish him with a drink and apologize to the Prime Minister."

Sima Yi stood up and said, "Uncle the Emperor is the master, I am a far-far guest. I should be here to toast the master. Thank you for your hospitality. Sima Yi wishes Uncle the Emperor good health and all his wishes come true as soon as possible."

Liu Bei laughed dryly, "I am old and have no worries, but I still have to thank Sima Xiangguo for his toast."

Liu Bei waved his hand again, the music started again, and the dancer danced gracefully again, and the tension in the lobby was relieved. At this time, Guan Yu whispered to Zhang Fei: "Brother should balance the two and seek the greatest benefit. Don't talk too much, and you'll be bad about the big brother."

Zhang Fei didn't say a word, silently drank a muffled wine, and after a while he threw out a sentence, "I think war is the greatest benefit."

...........

After the banquet, Sima Yi and Zhong Yao returned to their respective places. At this time, Zhuge Liang first visited Sima Yi. In the courtyard, Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Junda just now said that he had a far-reaching relationship with nearby attacks, but I did the opposite. Come and visit Zhongda first, and it may not be an attack."

Sima Yi laughed, "I just drank a few more glasses of wine and talked nonsense. Don't take the military advisor to heart."

The two of them exchanged a few greetings, walked into the room, and took the guest and the host and the followers gave them tea. At this time, Sima Yi took out a letter and handed it to Zhuge Liang, "This is the family letter from Brother Ling to the military advisor, I ask me to bring it."

Zhuge Liang took the letter and asked, "Brother, can you be fine now?"

"He is now serving as the Shou of Yu Zhang, which is the position of Uncle Ling at that time. His Highness the King of Han highly appreciates his abilities. We all think he has the potential to become a prime minister."

Zhuge Liang sighed and said, "The situation in the world is dazzling. At the beginning of the year, we also received the envoys of Jiangdong, 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 see the Han Dynasty?"

Having said that, Zhuge Liang stared at Sima Yi with a smile. He had already tried it first, just to see how Sima Yi reacted?

Sima Yi had a treacherous case and said with a hearty smile: "If the King of Han wanted to destroy Jiaozhou, he would not have let the military advisor return to Jiaozhou at the beginning, and he would not have given you Luling County. The King of Han hopes that the emperor can better manage Jiaozhou and spread the Central Plains to every corner of Jiaozhou. The King of Han hopes that our two families will have a good relationship for generations."

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

"I don't know what the military advisor is talking about?"

"Practical actions have a wide range of meanings, such as withdrawing troops from borders, strengthening exchanges between envoys, and expanding trade. Just like pig iron trade, we have always traded normally with Jiangdong, but recently it has suddenly stopped, which is really confusing."

Sima Yi smiled, "The pig iron trade is a special situation, mainly inadequate inventory. The mine has been shut down for half a year due to the war, and the ore has been consumed. Moreover, Jiangdong is about to resume production and build agricultural tools, and there is a huge demand for pig iron, so it can only suspend external exports. When the mine returns to normal, pig iron inventory will increase. I believe that trade with Jiaozhou will be re-issued. This is only a matter of time. At least half a year, as long as one year, I hope the military advisor will wait patiently."

Zhuge Liang was helpless. Of course he understood that Sima Yi was dealing with him. To put it nicely, it was just delaying the time. After half a year or a year, the daylily was cold at that time.

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and asked again: "I wonder what kind of message is Zhongda going to send to us this time when he was on a mission to Jiaozhou?"

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

Zhuge Liang stood up and said, "I understand what Zhongda means. I will tell the emperor uncle that after Zhongda has worked hard, it is getting late now, so I will not disturb Zhongda's rest."

At this time, Zhuge Liang had already understood Sima Yi's purpose. On the one hand, he was to block their alliance with Cao Wei. Just like Zhang Yi destroying the Qi-Chu Alliance, he made a bunch of beautiful promises, but in the end he did not fulfill them. Unfortunately, they were not King Huai of Chu.

On the other hand, they came to warn them not to capture Jian'an County. As for the pig iron trade that the emperor was eager to restore, since Sima Yi was insincere and Zhuge Liang did not want to waste his time, he stood up and said goodbye.

Sima Yi looked at Zhuge Liang away with his hands behind his back and couldn't help but sneer. It was no longer the Qin Dynasty. After four years of Han Dynasty, it was not so difficult to attack Jiaozhou. He hoped that Jiaozhou and Han would rebel, so they would have a reason to send troops.
Chapter completed!