Chapter 3

Left Boss instructed the waiter to set up the seats and quickly serve some wine and dishes.

Everyone sat down in pairs, their faces somewhat heavy.

Pang Tong was in a bad mood, with Dong Yun and Xu Shu sitting between him and Wang Fu, making it impossible for him to scold Wang Fu from afar. He couldn't even eat for a moment. Suddenly, he turned his face and saw Zhuge Jun, his eyebrows immediately furrowing.

"Little Zhuge, what are you eating? At your young age, you should take care of your body. Don't chew on random grass roots; it will make your stomach hurt. The soup cakes will be served soon."

Zhuge Jun sat next to Tan Yu, sucking on a lollipop with big gulps. He only glanced at him with a quick turn of his eyes, ignoring him completely.

"Hey, you brat, how can you be so impolite? Big Brother Pang is talking to you!"

Tan Yu couldn't help but give him a dirty look. Now this guy is lecturing others about manners?

"Shi Yuan, what Little Jun is eating is a lollipop, made by myself. Though simple, it's very clean and won't make your stomach hurt." Tan Yu fished out seven or eight more from his chest and threw one to each person.

"Since the wine and food haven't arrived, let's have a lollipop first to sweeten our mouths."

Everyone looked at each other. Zhuge Liang, sitting next to Tan Yu, smiled slightly, took the lead in unwrapping the lotus leaf packaging, and put it in his mouth.

"How is it?"

"Very sweet." Zhuge Liang was concise and to the point, looking at Tan Yu with a hint of surprise, then started to suck on it with relish.

The power of a role model is infinite.

In a moment, except for Pang Tong, the others all took a lollipop and put it in their mouths.

Tan Yu chuckled, his homemade sugarcane lollipops were unique in this late Han period, sweet enough to make you drool.

With lollipops in their mouths, everyone exchanged a few jokes, and the atmosphere at the table eased slightly.

Wang Fu couldn't help but ask, "If Cao Gong attacks Nanyang again, will Liu Jingzhou send troops to rescue General Zhang Xiu?"

Zhuge Liang sucked on the lollipop, pondered, and then declared, "It will be difficult!"

"Why is it difficult?"

"Recently, the power struggle between the Cai and Kuai families in Xiangyang has become increasingly intense, and the three southern counties of Jingnan are also quite unstable. At this time, Liu Mu must prioritize internal stability and will not easily send troops outside his territory."

Xu Shu sneered, "Outside his territory? Nanyang was once the leading county of Jingxiang! Now, it is still a barrier for Jingxiang. How can it be considered outside his territory?"

"This is not something we can worry about." Zhuge Liang sighed, "Moreover, with unrest at home, even heroes are helpless!"

"Unrest at home?" Xu Shu was puzzled.

Zhuge Liang seemed to know some inside information, looking around, he hesitated to speak.

Tan Yu listened to the gossip, feeling awkward and unable to join in. Suddenly, he heard Zhuge Jun whisper to him, "Little Yu brother, why is this sugarcane so sweet?"

"Because I used sugarcane!" Tan Yu smiled, "That kind of sugarcane can easily hurt your tongue, so no one wants to chew it. But when made into a lollipop, it's especially sweet."

"Oh!" Zhuge Jun seemed to understand.

Tan Yu explained in more detail, distinguishing between fruit sugarcane and sugarcane, all in terms that everyone could understand. As for the crucible and boiling process, he skipped over it.

Pang Tong looked at Tan Yu, who was showing off his knowledge to a child, and ignored the main topic everyone was concerned about. The more he looked, the more he disliked it, and his anger grew. Suddenly, he slapped the table and shouted, "Wang Guoshan, explain to us clearly, why are you going back to Western Shu? Is it because we, your brothers, treated you badly? Was the Wang Guoshan who pledged to study with us in Jiangxia eaten by a dog?"

Meng Jian, sitting opposite, interjected, "Is Guoshan feeling that his studies are complete and wants to serve the country? Now, the Emperor Jian'an is in Xu, why not go there?"

Before Wang Fu could speak, Zhuge Liang shook his head, "Cao Mengde is cruel and fond of killing, bullying the emperor. How can he be a good person? Gongwei is mistaken!"

Shi Tao, sitting with Meng Jian, disagreed, "Kongming, you are biased! Cao Si Kong is diligent and has brought a clear and upright atmosphere to Xu. He is ten times better than those who ignore the emperor's plight, like Yuan Shao and Gong Sun Zan."

Pang Tong was furious, slamming the table and standing up, "Cao Cao is a great villain. It is said that at the beginning of the year, he attacked our great Xiangyang ally Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu had already surrendered, but Cao Cao slept with his aunt, indulging in debauchery day and night, causing Zhang Xiu to rebel again. His son Cao Ang and the general Dian Wei were sacrificed in vain. How can such a lustful and unwise man compare to our great Jingzhou's Liu Mu, who promotes education and teaches with virtue? Even the Liu Jiyu of Western Shu, who is gentle and easy-going, is far superior to Cao the villain."

Tan Yu couldn't help but laugh.

After a long debate, he listened and secretly shook his head. These half-grown kids, with little knowledge, had such grand airs, criticizing people and pointing out the state of the nation, full of youthful vigor, but in reality, they were just talking about theories and discussing in their seats.

"Meeting them in person is not as good as hearing about them. I didn't expect even Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to be so immature..." Although he knew these two were still young and had a solid foundation and remarkable learning, he was still somewhat disappointed, as they didn't live up to his previous expectations.

Now, Pang Tong was constantly talking about "great Xiangyang" and "great Jingzhou," which was already exaggerated to the point of being somewhat comical.

"Brother Tan Yu, you are so frivolous and mocking. Do you think what I said is wrong?" Pang Tong was in a rage, and it was rare for Tan Yu to come to him on his own, so he immediately slammed the table and focused his attack.

After Tan Yu laughed, he realized something was wrong and knew he had been impolite. But with Pang Tong's words and the forceful slap, he was also unhappy.

What does it mean to be frivolous and mocking? You're not a beautiful young lady; do I need to be frivolous and mocking to you?

"Little brother is rude, Brother Pang, please forgive me... By the way, Brother Pang, does your hand hurt?"

Everyone was stunned, then burst into laughter. The last sentence was a sudden and brilliant twist!

Pang Tong was furious, and out of habit, he slapped the table again. Before he could speak, everyone laughed even more.

Dong Yun laughed so hard he could hardly catch his breath, "Haha, cough... Shi Yuan... Haha, does your hand hurt?"

Pang Tong's fat face turned completely purple, and he forced himself to calm down, bowing and saying, "Brother has been listening for so long, always with a mocking look, clearly not agreeing with what we said. We are all friends, and there's no need to be cautious in private. If you have any high opinions, feel free to speak up!"

This was a ruthless move, pushing Tan Yu to the opposite side of the room. If Tan Yu didn't say something substantial, he might not be able to leave the tavern intact.

This was a high-level debating tactic, changing the topic and turning defense into offense. Almost every student at Shuijing Academy was skilled at it, with Pang Tong being the best.

Tan Yu was stunned, why did you single me out?

"Little brother is just a villager, how could I know about state affairs? My uncle is still waiting for me to buy wine and return home!" Tan Yu, who had been half-kneeling and half-sitting, straightened up and bid farewell to everyone.

It was a forced seating arrangement, and now that they didn't see eye to eye, Tan Yu didn't want to argue with these people and return home with a full belly of resentment.

The students all knelt and returned the courtesy, the lollipops were good.

Dong Yun smiled and gave Tan Yu a thumbs up, laughing, "We should have a good drink together another day."

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