"Build high walls, stockpile provisions, and delay proclaiming oneself king"—that was the advice Zhu Yuanzhang had sought from the scholar Zhu Sheng. Though the situation under heaven was different now, some of its essence could still be applied.
It was only nine short words, yet they revealed a strategy for contending for dominion in troubled times. Even Zhang Fei slapped the table in admiration when he heard them.
"Brilliant!" Zhang Fei exclaimed.
Liu Bei turned the nine words over in his mind again and again, reflecting on all that had happened since he raised his army. He felt that sometimes he had been unlucky, but more often he had failed to think things through and had acted too hastily. Now his expectations of Lan Tian had grown even greater.
Lan Tian continued to explain, "Building high walls means training soldiers like Cao Cao and holding on to your territory. Stockpiling provisions means allowing the people to rest and recover, like Liu Biao, while building up your strength. As for delaying your proclamation as king, it means not making trouble for yourself by declaring yourself emperor like Yuan Shu. As long as Your Lordship conserves your strength, you can pursue hegemony when the situation under heaven changes."
"Ziyu, your comparisons have made your meaning clear. But since you possess such strategic wisdom, why are you still so modest?" Liu Bei asked, puzzled.
Lan Tian scratched his head. "It's easy to talk about warfare on paper. I can offer a few suggestions, but to take cities and territory and govern the realm, Your Lordship still needs to recruit worthy men. Those nine words can only be used as a guide to their essence. But you can leave the matter of stockpiling provisions to me."
Liu Bei was delighted. Lan Tian would shoulder