He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

While outside plotting for Liu Bei, Lu Wan became increasingly speechless.

If a regime is born with flaws, people will sympathize with and criticize it; but if a regime is born with flaws all over its body, people will mostly be curious about how it survived the Central Plains Chicken Dinner Tournament.

Lu Wan is just that curious right now.

That's how Liu Bei's Xuzhou was; it was leaky everywhere.

There are many powerful enemies, powerful families, and bandits; there is a shortage of soldiers, officials, and provisions.

However, this also proves that Liu Bei was quite capable; he managed to hold out for nearly two years in such a complex situation. If Yuan Shu had been in charge, the civil war would have already raged twice.

Liu Bei was aware of these problems, but he simply didn't have any good solutions.

Now that Lu Wan had helped him sort things out, Liu Bei felt enlightened. He became even more convinced that Lu Wan was his Zhang Liang.

However, Liu Bei felt that these problems could be addressed gradually and there was no need to rush them.

"Lord Xuande, time is truly not on our side. Cao Cao has already welcomed His Majesty back, and now he has a reason to seize territory in the future."

Meanwhile, the battle between Yuan Shao and General Gongsun in the north has already been decided; the only difference is that neither side has completely eliminated the other. Once General Gongsun is defeated, Yuan Shao's army will inevitably march south. At that time, will Lord Xuande be able to withstand him?

Liu Bei also lost his relaxed demeanor and began to seriously consider the matter.

Before Liu Bei could speak, Lu Wan continued, "Actually, the root of everything is money and supplies. As long as we have money and supplies, all these problems can be easily solved."

The economic base determines the superstructure; without a healthy economic system, even the strongest military cannot last long.

Liu Bei shook his head with a wry smile: "Wen Yuan, I understand what you're saying, but it's not that simple."

"I knew, that's why I came."

Lu Wan handed several wooden tablets to Liu Bei, on which were written various kinds of pictures.

First, there was a strangely shaped plow, with the plowshare bent into an arc shape, and it had some additional parts compared to the original straight-shaft plow.

That's right, this is a curved plow.

Since the Han Dynasty, the plow has been basically standardized. However, the plow of the Han Dynasty was a straight-shaft plow, which was not flexible in turning. Moreover, because the force was uneven and the plowshare was large, two oxen were required to plow the land.

After a long period of development, the curved plow was finally improved in the late Tang Dynasty.

Its advantages are that the plow body can swing during operation, making it highly mobile and easy to deep plow. It is also lightweight and flexible, which is conducive to turning. It is suitable for the small paddy field area in the Jiangnan region. Therefore, the short curved plow first appeared in the Jiangdong region.

Lu Wan believes that agriculture is the foundation of all industries; only when agriculture is developed can other industries have the capacity to develop.

Throughout history, prosperity in other fields has always been built upon the prosperity of agricultural production. People only think about other things when they are well-fed; if they can't even get enough to eat, they will only think about the problem of being full.

"Wen Yuan, what is this? It doesn't look like an ordinary plow."

To avoid trouble, Lu Wan directly claimed the technology: "This is the curved plow I invented. It can swing the plow body, and it is relatively short in length, making it easy to turn. Most importantly, this plow only requires one ox to plow."

Liu Bei did not expect Lu Wan to come up with such a trump card right away. According to him, this plow could greatly improve farming efficiency. If any aristocratic family invented this thing, they would probably hide it until their death and never hand it over.

However, Lu Wan just casually took it out, as if she didn't know how important it was.

"Wen Yuan, is this thing really that convenient?"

"Of course! Lord Xuande can send someone to try making one or two." He was joking; this was an answer that had stood the test of time. How could there be a problem?

"This is just something I made when I was bored. Lord Xuande, please take a look at it."

The other wooden tablets were used to attract outsiders to settle and cultivate the land.

Since Lao Cao opened the map in Xuzhou, a large number of fields have been abandoned because no one has cultivated them. As Chinese people, we really don't want to see these good cultivated fields gradually being occupied by weeds and shrubs.

Therefore, renting the land to displaced people for farming becomes the most cost-effective option. At that time, the vast land of Xuzhou will definitely attract a lot of people. With people comes tax revenue, and with tax revenue, the problem will be easier to solve.

Furthermore, Lu Wan also prepared another plan: to take advantage of Xuzhou's coastal location to produce high-quality sea salt for sale in exchange for various materials that Xuzhou could not produce.

This is just the first step in Lu Wan's plan. Once agriculture develops, she will start developing some industries, even if it's just basic handicrafts.

By further developing other technologies through handicrafts, hegemony can be achieved and the Han dynasty can be restored.

Looking at this detailed and informative proposal, Liu Bei was already breathing heavily and his heart was pounding.

If this plan is realized, Xuzhou will become the strongest state in Guandong.

Unable to contain his impulse, Liu Bei suddenly stood up, stepped out of his seat, straightened his clothes, and bowed solemnly to Lu Wan.

"Although I am a descendant of the Han dynasty and lack wisdom and strategy, I am always heartbroken and weeping in the middle of the night when I think of the collapse of the empire and the suffering of the people. Now, seeing you, sir, is like rain on parched seedlings or a candle in a dark room! If you do not abandon me, I am willing to work with you to support the Han dynasty and save the people from their suffering."

As soon as Liu Bei finished speaking, a sudden wave of regret washed over him.

He hadn't tried to recruit her before, but now Lu Wan had helped him annihilate the invading enemy forces and made such a perfect plan for him; this was already an immense favor he could hardly repay. Yet, he hadn't even offered Lu Wan an official position.

Just as Liu Bei was thinking about how to make amends, Lu Wan's happy voice came over, making Liu Bei's body tremble.

"To fulfill my lord's ambitions, I am willing to serve him with utmost loyalty."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's eyes immediately welled up with tears. He grasped Lu Wan's hand tightly: "Today, having gained you, sir, is like gaining a phoenix!"

Even Lu Wan, who was used to all sorts of performances in later generations, couldn't help but be moved by Liu Bei's earnest words.

No wonder netizens say Liu Bei is a succubus; now that I see it, it does seem a bit eerie.

No, Lu Wan, you're going to work for the prison authorities, you can't be so easily seduced.

Liu Bei never imagined that his heartfelt words would lead to Lu Wan undergoing several mental health assessments. Now, all he wants to do is share this good news with everyone he knows.

If time allowed, he would have liked to pull Lu Wan to sleep side by side.

Liu Bei was so happy he was practically beside himself. He grabbed Lu Wan and headed towards the county government, intending to share the good news with his men.

Along the way, Liu Bei's hearty laughter startled even the patrolling soldiers, who couldn't help but turn their heads.

Inside the county government building, Chen Deng, seeing Liu Bei and Lu Wan arriving together, had already come out to greet them and also told Liu Bei another piece of good news:

The settlement of the Battle of Huaiyin has finally been completed.