Debating Clear and Cloudy Wine

Zhuge Liang had understood from Liu Bei's words that Lan Tian held an extraordinary place in the King of Hanzhong's heart. If they hadn't been chatting in a pavilion in the garden, it could easily have been taken for a deathbed charge.

Liu Bei's doubts about whether to proclaim himself emperor had been answered, and the atmosphere among them grew lively.

Since Lan Tian hadn't seen the others in so long, their conversation focused mainly on Jiao Province. The most crucial question at its heart was Lan Tian's decision to suspend the Filial Piety and Integrity System.

Zhuge Liang sighed, his face clouded with worry. "Ziyu, this is a rather bold move. Ever since you opened the first school in Quanling, your ultimate goal has been to select officials through the schools, hasn't it?"

Lan Tian lifted his wine cup and remarked meaningfully, "Flowers bloom and bear fruit; everything that begins must eventually end. Grain becomes wine and is eventually drunk. If no one drinks the wine we make, who would keep putting grain into it?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say. If grain isn't made into wine, it can still be used to feed people. If all the grain is made into wine, won't the land be overrun with starving people? Wouldn't it be better to settle on just a few varieties?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Lan Tian answered with a smile, "I've known the King and Yide since I was very young. I used to farm at a manor outside Xiaopei, so I know a fair bit about crops. If people grew millet solely to fill their stomachs, their diet would be far too limited. From peddlers and laborers to high officials and nobles, everyone would have to eat millet at every meal, every day. Without other foods