Holding the Han River and the Yangtze River in his hands, Liu Bei's rule made travel between states more convenient. As long as there was no extreme weather, ships would bring people and goods anywhere, making communication between places closer. This was also Liu Bei's effort to launch the Hanzhong War.

strategic significance of war.

Song Chen and others traveled from the Yangtze River to the Han River and then to the Dan River, and finally docked at Sanhu Pavilion in Danshui County. At that time, General Pingbei and Nanxiang Prefect Meng Da were inspecting this area.

When Meng Da learned that it was a mission from Yangzhou and that the leader of the mission was Song Chen, he forced everyone to rest in Sanhu Pavilion and entertained them warmly for a day before letting them go.

Meng Da had the merit of welcoming Liu Bei to Sichuan, and was later ordered to capture Shangyong and defend it with Liu Feng. Shangyong was far away from the political center of Chengdu at that time, and it was not a wealthy and strategic place like Hanzhong or Jiangling. It was difficult to stay with Liu Feng all day long.

The discomfort made Mengda feel that his future was hopeless.

When Guan Yu launched a large-scale attack on Xiangyang and Fancheng, Meng Da received a letter from Fa Zheng and sent troops to help Yu, and successfully captured the important town of Xiangyang. Due to his meritorious service, he was promoted to an important general by Liu Bei, which gave Meng Da a qualitative leap in his career. Fa Zheng's letter

It was clearly stated in the book that Lan Tian recommended him, otherwise the arrogant Guan Yu might not reuse him. Meng Da always felt that he owed Lan Tian a personal favor.

In addition, Song Chen is not a simple person. He contributed a lot in the Battle of Hanzhong. During a chat with Liu Feng, Meng Da learned that Liu Bei was particularly concerned about Song Chen and asked Lan Tian to settle down well.

When someone Liu Bei paid attention to passed by, Meng Da had the desire to make friends. Song Chen, who had been the leader for many years, was very sophisticated in human relations. He stopped at Wuguan for a banquet and handled it calmly. This made Zhang Cheng and Zhang Wen who were accompanying him admire him very much.

I lamented that the people around Lantian were really hidden dragons and crouching tigers. A mere ordinary person was treated with such courtesy by the border general.

Not many people followed Lan Tian into Wu. Apart from his two glorious sons, the rest were Mi Fang, Hao Pu and others. At that time, Jiangdong's generals were all surprised that Lan Tian had left Chai Sang behind, including the original Chai Sang left behind Zhang.

Accept.

The status of the president of the Song Chen Chamber of Commerce is very special, because it does not belong to a formal yamen, but is an organization between the private sector and the government to assist in the management of commercial activities. Lantian's initiative was not found in other states and counties, so it was not recognized by Sun Quan.

His detailed work was included in the reconnaissance, until Lantian appointed him to stay at Chaisang and manage the 20,000 surrendered soldiers stationed in Chaisang. The surrendered generals began to inquire about Song Chen's past, but the results were shocking.

Song Chen, who was born in the army, had the highest rank of captain in the army. He had been performing his duties at the Jiaozhou Chamber of Commerce for many years, and he had only recently joined Lan Tian as counselor of military affairs. What kind of virtues and abilities did this person have? No one could figure this out, until Zhang

Cheng, Zhang Wen saw Meng Da's enthusiasm.

Leaving Sanhu Pavilion, they followed the Danshui official road to the northwest, passed Wuguan, and then traveled through the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains. Zhang Cheng and Zhang Wen became even closer to Song Chen, and they gradually talked more and more on the way.

It was already getting cooler in Guanzhong in October. Before entering Wuguan, Song Chen reminded everyone to put on winter clothes.

Passing through Shang County, Shangluo and arriving at Lantian County, the surrounding mountains are not as oppressive as before. When we continue forward to Guanzhong, it suddenly opens up, and we can see that the earth is golden and the fragrance of corn is wafting everywhere.

The people were organized and started harvesting as planned. The soft sunshine hit their faces, making Zhang Cheng and Zhang Wen see golden smiles.

Zhang Wen stroked his sparse beard and said to himself with a puzzled look on his face: "People say that this place has experienced wars in the past few decades, and the rich Guanzhong Plain has long been desolate and desolate. I didn't expect that these crops are growing very well, and I rarely see them in Jiangdong."

Judging from Li Shu's smiling face, it seems that the rumor is wrong."

"No wonder His Majesty has established his capital in Chang'an. With such a fertile land and people, given time, he will be able to sweep the world. If Cao Pi loses Guanzhong, his vitality will definitely be severely damaged." Zhang Cheng nodded in agreement.

Zhang Wen suddenly noticed that Song Chen was smiling and saying nothing, so he raised his hands and asked, "Does General Song know the inside story?"

"I passed through Guanzhong a few years ago. The situation at that time was indeed as Mr. Zhang said. Every place was desolate, exhausted and lifeless." Song Chen nodded slightly after speaking.

After Zhang Wen heard this, he fell into deep thought. Zhang Cheng continued to ask curiously: "What will happen after a few years? I remember that when Cao Cao was alive, he was guarded by General Cao Hong. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he was replaced by Xiahou Mao. These two people had little military achievements. Could it be that

Are they good at developing people’s livelihood?”

"Xiahou Mao is the son of Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun has been farming in Xudu for a long time. Maybe he inherited his father's legacy?" Zhang Wen also raised a question.

"Haha, Xiahou Mao is just a descendant of Gaoliang. He kept many concubines during his time in Chang'an, which is far different from his father Xiahou Dun." Song Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Wen reacted very quickly and heard the implication of Song Chen's words, so he asked in surprise: "Is it the reason why His Majesty took Guanzhong? But in just one year, haven't the changes been too big?"

Song Chen held down the reins and pointed into the distance with his riding crop: "You two, please look carefully. Can you see any difference?"

"The difference? Isn't it that the corn seedlings are taller and the ears on the grass are heavier? The people here are better at planting?" Zhang Wen frowned.

"The streets here are very neat, and it looks like a military formation." Zhang Cheng had experience in commanding troops, and his focus was slightly different from Zhang Wen.

Song Chen turned around and looked at Zhang Cheng, nodded, and then explained seriously: "The millet field in front of me looks like a military formation, which reminds me of the days in Xinye. I was also one of the villagers at that time. The villagers in the field in front were in good health, and they were all in the same shape as that time.

The rules are in place for harvesting, and you don’t have to guess to know whose masterpiece it is.”

Zhang Cheng and Zhang Wen were very shocked after hearing this. They thought that Song Chen was originally from a Li Shu family. I really don’t know what he has gone through to become like this.

"General Song asserted that this is a military garrison area? I wonder who the garrison person you mentioned last time is? He can manage the garrison area in an orderly manner. It seems that he is not an ordinary person." Zhang Cheng asked curiously.

"Deng Ai, Deng Shizai, is now the captain of Changshui." Song Chen replied calmly.

"That's not true." Zhang Wen hesitated.

Song Chen smiled slightly: "Huishu's guess is correct. He is Fu Jun's disciple. He has learned the key points of Fu Jun's farming. His Majesty used him to farm in Guanzhong just right. He can regain his former vitality in a few years. This is a blessing for the great man."

"I heard that Fu Jun paid special attention to agricultural production in the past. He once opened large-scale farming in Linwu, Quanling and other places, but when he arrived in Jiaozhou, he turned to business. I didn't expect that his disciples actually picked up farming. Isn't this a kind of inheritance?"

People at that time despised business. Zhang Cheng had many regrets in his words, mistakenly thinking that Lantian had forgotten his original intention. Fortunately, he left his disciples to pass on the mantle, which could be regarded as a way to make up for the situation.

After hearing this, Song Chen was startled at first, then raised his head and laughed: "From farming to business? Zhongsi Miaoye, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan all used to farm. Do you know what is the difference between Fujun and them?"

"I would like to hear my advice." Zhang Cheng sincerely clasped his fists.

Song Chen said mysteriously: "The method of farming can be imitated, but the seeds in the ground cannot be imitated. The great thing about Fujun is that he can cultivate grain seeds with high yield and resistance to diseases and insect pests."
Chapter completed!