The suburbs of Xiapi City.
Tao Qian was carried on a small soft sedan. He took Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Chen Deng, Cao Hong and other staff out of the city to welcome Sun Jian, Liu Bei and others who had returned with their army.
In fact, if I were to evaluate Tao Qian objectively. I think Tao Qian has the style of Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties.
The Sun family's army looked neat and tidy, and everyone couldn't help but nod. Sun Jian led the generals to the front. After all, the Sun family army made a great effort this time. The three Liu Bei brothers also walked side by side.
Tao Qian was supported by his entourage, walked in front of everyone, and thanked him loudly, "Everyone, the preservation of Xuzhou depends on you. Tao Qian thanks you." After saying this, he bowed deeply.
Sun Jian and Liu Bei rushed forward to help Tao Qian up. The other generals also dismounted and saluted. Then Tao Qian held a banquet at the Prefectural Mufu in the city to entertain everyone.
At the banquet, Sun Jian and others were arranged on the left. Liu Bei was placed on the right, and below him were Mi Zhu, Cao Hong, Chen Deng and others. Tao Qian obviously regarded him as his confidant, at least on the surface, and at least Sun Jian and his gang thought so, so that was fine.
After the reception, Sun Jian said to Tao Qian: "As expected by Brother Gong, according to careful investigation by spies, Cao Cao has returned to Pengcheng due to lack of food and grass. I think that although he is not willing to lose, he will not be able to do so until at least the next year." Invasion of Xuzhou again."
Tao Qian coughed for a while, his face flushed, and he said excitedly, "Okay, Wentai is worthy of the name of the Tiger of Jiangdong. Xuande is also the same. Without you to help Xuzhou, I am afraid Xuzhou will be in danger. I would like to thank you all here." "
When everyone sat down, they didn't even dare to say so and hurriedly returned the courtesy.
Sun Jian didn't say anything, but Han Dang, Cheng Pu and others below him were angrily unconvinced. Liu Bei's fame at this time could not be compared with Sun Jian. Besides, Sun Jian was the one who contributed the most, but this was Tao Qian. The brilliance of it.
Liu Bei was also puzzled. He didn't know why Tao Qian treated him side by side with Sun Jian. This made him feel flattered and he hurriedly said humbly, "How can you be so virtuous as to defeat Cao Cao? It all depends on General Polu!"
Seeing that Liu Bei was aware of current affairs, Sun Jian smiled at Liu Bei and said, "Xuande does not need to be too modest. From the crusade against the Yellow Turbans to the crusade against Dong Zhuo, and now, Xuande, you have lived up to your reputation as a hero."
Faced with Sun Jian's praise, Liu Bei looked horrified and said, "No matter where you are, I am grateful to Tao Shijun for taking him in. It is really his duty to defend Xuzhou."
Chen Deng, Cao Hong and others knew about Tao Qian's plan, and they also discussed with Tao Qian how to deal with Sun Jian's problem. Sun Jian was a tiger that was no less powerful than Cao Cao. It is easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away. Cao Cao retreated, but Sun Jian was stationed in Xuzhou for a day, and the senior officials of Xuzhou were like a dog in their throats. After all, they were very repulsive to outsiders.
Cao Hong knew he had to speak politely, so he echoed, "If Cao Cao invades again next year, he will have to rely on General Wentai."
Sun Ce, who was next to him, sneered and said sarcastically, "We don't need it. Isn't Lord Mi married to the Yuan family? That's a big tree! Just look for Yuan Xi!"
Sun Jian glanced at Sun Ce, slapped the wine master on the table, and scolded, "Bo Fu, do you talk to elders like this? Why don't you apologize to Mr. Cao!"
Sun Ce was extremely angry and gritted his steel teeth, but under the pressure from Sun Jian, he could only bow his hands and apologize, but he looked reluctant, just as strong as Yao Xiang in the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms.
Everyone here in Xuzhou was also very embarrassed. Tao Qian laughed dryly and put the words aside, so he said tactfully: "Well, it only bothers you to come to Xuzhou to fight bloody battles. The fighting has just stopped and Xuzhou is tired. It is really nothing. I can reward you. General Wentai must not take offense. .”
Sun Jian waved his hand and said knowingly: "Brother Gongzu, I have no other purpose in coming to Xuzhou. Now that Cao Cao has withdrawn his troops, it's time for us to return to Qu'a."
Tao Qian smiled apologetically and greeted Sun Jian and others politely.
Immediately afterwards, Tao Qian asked someone to fetch a military talisman and handed it to Liu Bei, who was next in command. He said seriously, "Xuande, if Wentai insists on leaving, then the defense of Pengcheng and other places will be handed over to you. I will raise 30,000 soldiers." , I hope you will train well and defend my Xuzhou."
Liu Bei hesitated for a while, then bowed deeply, took the military talisman, and said in a deep voice, "I am trusted by you, I will definitely sacrifice my life to protect the safety of Xuzhou! I will not give up even if I die."
Facing Tao Qian's sudden move, Sun Jian and others' expressions were shocked, and at the same time they became even more ugly. This was tantamount to using Liu Bei to guard against them. Everyone in Xuzhou's senior management seemed to have known about this for a long time, and they all congratulated Liu Bei one by one.
Tao Qian's skill can be said to be quite high. Although he is not as good as Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, he is not bad at all. I estimate that Liu Bei's political ability improved by leaps and bounds under the influence of Tao Qian at this time in history. Ability comes from qualifications and learning, and cannot be achieved in one step. The same is true for Cao Cao's military talents, which were achieved after countless battles.
After the banquet, Sun Jian took Sun Ce, Han Dang, Cheng Pu and other confidants out of the city and returned to the camp in the south of the city. Along the way, Sun Jian also looked ugly and full of worries, let alone Sun Ce.
Han Dang was furious and said angrily: "My lord, who are those people in Xuzhou? Why did we come all the way to Xuzhou? Not to help them fight Cao Cao. But after Cao Cao was beaten away, they acted like they were guarding against thieves. If you are on guard against us, then you are no longer a human being, you are such a fucking bastard."
Cheng Pu was also very angry, so he stepped forward and persuaded: "My lord is currently laying the foundation for his business. Why don't we just work together and occupy Xuzhou? What do you want, lord?"
Sun Jian's face immediately changed color. After looking around, he said slowly, "De Mou, don't talk nonsense. Isn't this going to make me bear the name of injustice? Don't mention this matter again. Don't blame me for being ruthless."
After all, this is the border of Xuzhou. What if Tao Qian spies? Didn't you see that Zhu Wen, the Taizu of the Later Liang Dynasty, ambushed the inn and almost burned Li Keyong to death because of his blunder? We must be cautious.
After all, Sun Ce was not afraid of tigers as a newborn calf, so he curled his lips disdainfully and said, "Tao Qian was unkind, so why should we be unjust? Xuzhou is rich and prosperous, which is where the king's hegemony was founded. The soldiers are also tired and weak, so the child can be saved for three years." In less than a month, we can take over the entire territory of Xuzhou. If we don’t take it, we will suffer chaos, Father.”
After listening to Sun Ce's words, Sun Jian's heart beat wildly and he narrowed his eyes. Then he thought about asking his advisers again, so he looked at Zhang Zhao. There were some things he couldn't say.
However, Zhang Zhao shook his head and said: "Although Xuzhou is rich, it is the place of the Four Wars. With Yuan Xi raging in the north and Cao Cao peeping in the west, it is not easy to hold it. Moreover, the Xuzhou nobles have always been xenophobic, and Tao Qian's influence is deeply rooted here. It’s so intricate and intricate. I’m afraid it won’t be able to tolerate outsiders like us.”
After thinking about it carefully, Sun Jian's heart suddenly became cold, and he said quietly: "It seems that the water in Xuzhou is really deep!"
Just like Li Keyong of the Five Dynasties, you clearly conquered Hebei with force, but the Hebei forces did not obey. They were used as mercenaries to conquer the west, but in the end nothing was left. At this time, Sun Jian was really like Li Keyong. In the same situation.
That day, Yuan Xi was sitting in the shade of a tree in Mi Mansion, followed by Mi Fang. The two discussed for a long time, and they finally decided on something.
Mi Fang relaxed her brows and said, "Fortunately, my eldest brother hasn't told Tao Zhoumu about the Xuzhou incident yet. It's very convenient for us to do things, otherwise the trap will definitely be exposed."
Yuan Xi didn't think so in his heart. With a faint smile on his face, he said: "Transferring property and marrying are indeed a good way. As long as we get to the border of Qingxu, even if he finds something by then, we can Escaped successfully."
Mi Fang waved her hands and said, "This shouldn't happen. As long as my eldest brother is here, Tao Zhoumu will not do such a thing."
Mi Zhu was not stupid. On the contrary, as a businessman, he was very smart. At this time, wealthy families knew that they had to put their eggs in two baskets, so as to avoid being left with nothing.
He planned to stay, but he planned to transfer some of the Mi family's assets elsewhere, and this time the method was to transfer them in the name of buying a dowry. At that time, these family assets would be mixed with the betrothal gift and taken out without anyone noticing, and It's not like you're being blamed.
God is unaware of it. Although Mi Zhu didn't say anything openly, he turned a blind eye and acquiesced to some of his brother Mi Fang's secret actions.
A few days later, the Mi family's extremely large dowry shocked the whole of Xuzhou and shocked the whole of Xuzhou.
Seeing Yuan Xi sent Xu Chuhu and Huwei to escort him, countless wealth swaggered away, everyone he saw on the road was envious. There are countless maids and servants, and the carriages containing gold and silver treasures are even more numerous than they can count.
"Master, the Mi family is really strange. When the master's sister got married, the dowry was very small. Why is it that now that she is married, the dowry is so large?"
In front of a pale young man, a house slave muttered in confusion.
"You know nothing!" The pottery merchant said with resentment on his face, "That bitch is married to someone named Yuan. If she marries someone else and gets so much wealth, can my father spare their family?"
The servant thought for a moment, nodded and said, "It's really true. The Yuan family is really..."
"Humph, let's go back." The pottery merchant turned around and left, feeling uncontrollably angry in his heart.
Every time the pottery merchant sees someone from the Mi family, his face looks very ugly. This time when he saw the Mi family preparing a dowry for Mi Zhen, he felt the urge to tear everything up.
When the Mi family refused to marry their daughter to him, he hated the Mi family extremely. If the Mi family had married Mi Zhen to them, wouldn't these things be theirs?
Where is that little bitch Yuan Xi’s turn to rob?
Sooner or later, when he lands in Xuzhou Mu, he will ask Mi Zhen to come back to visit relatives, and then never let her go back. It seems that it is a good idea to give Yuan Xi, the second son of the Yuan family who is famous all over the world, a cuckold. .
But these are just what he thinks about when he is angry. After all, the Yuan family is so powerful that he cannot afford to offend him. The Yuan family is a behemoth in the eyes of others, just like the United States in the world today and in the hearts of small countries. Same status.
Yuan Xi ordered Zhou Cang and others who came to meet him to take the people forward first, while he took Xu Chu and Gu Yong and quietly returned to Xiapi County again.
But this time he did not return to Mi Mansion, but stayed in a remote restaurant in Xiapi County with Xu Chu, Gu Yong and others.
"Young Master, we've already had someone let the news out. Everyone in the city should know about it in the next two days." Gu Yong hurriedly came up from below and reported back to Yuan Xi.
Gu Yong asked doubtfully: "Sir, if Mi Zhu finds out that it was you who did this, will he make a mistake?"
Yuan Xi shook his head and said: "What is there to be angry about? Once I release this news, if he is not stupid, he will understand what I mean."
The governor's mansion, the pottery merchant's residence.
The potter's face turned livid, he stood up abruptly, and threw the wine glass to the ground with a bang. The wine splashed everywhere and the fine porcelain cup shattered on the ground.
House slaves buried their belongings low for fear of offending the potter.
"Okay, okay, you guys from the Mi family are very good," the pottery merchant gritted his teeth, clenched his fists tightly, and said harshly: "I wonder why you suddenly have to prepare a dowry. It turns out that this is the idea, huh, Someone come and saddle my horse, I’m going to see my father!”
In the side hall of Xuzhou Prefectural Mufu, the pottery merchant was gnashing his teeth and reporting the rumors outside to his father.
"Father, now that everyone is aware of the commotion outside, I think what we need to do now is to deal with the internal thieves first."
Although Tao Qian is old, he is not confused yet. The son of his own family does not know what virtues he has. Hearing this, he said calmly: "Oh, traitor? Who is the traitor?"
"Mi Zhu and Mi Fang's family!" Tao Shang said angrily: "His family is going to buy a dowry, which must be a big sensation in Xuzhou. We should have known about it for a long time, but it has been so long that we suddenly learned about the news. Father, you Isn’t it strange?”
Tao Qian raised his eyebrows and said, "What do you want to say?"
The pottery merchant looked at his father's old face and felt resentment in his heart for no reason.
"Father, when my sister got married before, she only paid a small amount of betrothal gift. But this time, when they married her, the betrothal gift was so large that they couldn't get through it. Isn't it strange? The child felt that the Mi family and the others were running away. This was because of Yuan Xi's inner and outer relationship. Hook up."
"Well, I understand, is there anything else?" Tao Qian closed his eyes, as if nothing happened and let it go.
"Father, if we don't eradicate them now, what will happen in the future?" The pottery merchant looked at him eagerly and said.
Tao Qian glanced at his son with complicated eyes and sighed: "Right now, a powerful enemy is on the side. You are not thinking about how to defeat the enemy, but you are thinking about how to cause chaos within ourselves. Shang'er, when will you be able to reassure my father?" Woolen cloth?"
The potter was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a pop and quickly admitted his mistake.
"Go on, be careful when going out these days." Tao Qian waved his hand and gave the eviction order.
The pottery merchant hurriedly bowed and retreated. When he left the door, his expression suddenly changed. Clenching his fists with both hands, his eyes burst out with angry fire, he flicked his sleeves, and strode straight out of the door.
The living room of Xia Pizhou Mufu.
Liu Bei, Mi Zhu, and Cao Hong came to Tao Qian's bedside.
Tao Qian waved the three of them to sit down, and then asked Liu Bei to step forward and said, "Xuande, I leave the thirty thousand soldiers to you. Cao Cao will not be willing to fail. Pengcheng is the gateway to Xuzhou, and we are safe." It’s on Xuande.”
Tao Qian's move was the same as that of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, Xiao Yan, who handed over the military defense of Huaibei to Hou Jing, as a dog guarding the door.
Liu Bei leaned over and cupped his hands, and said with shame, "Your Majesty, I couldn't say much in front of everyone. But this military talisman is very heavy. I have little knowledge and low prestige. I really can't accept it. Please take it back."
Liu Bei is very smart, this is a hot potato, how can he just take it casually?
"Xuande, Tao Shijun entrusted you with such an important task after careful consideration. There is no one trustworthy in Xuzhou anymore," Mi Zhu said anxiously.
The Xuzhou family needs a spokesperson who can stand up to the front and protect their interests.
"General Sun Wentai is not only famous for his prestige, but also has a large number of heroes under his command. Why not entrust it to him?" Liu Bei tried.
Mi Zhu sighed and explained, "Xuande, the person Tao Shijun is looking for should not only protect Xuzhou from being invaded by Cao Cao, but also protect the interests of the Xuzhou family. Who is Sun Jian? A fierce tiger! Can he, who has embezzled the jade seal passed down from the country, be able to protect his village peacefully?"
Liu Bei lowered his head in silence, as if he was having trouble making a decision. After a long time, he finally bowed deeply and said solemnly, "Bei's own honor and disgrace are small, but Xuzhou's safety is big. Even if you give up your wealth and life, you must exchange for Xuzhou's peace."
Tao Qian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My health is getting worse and worse, but now I have Xuande inside and the Yuan family as a strong support outside. This is the last thing I do for Xuzhou. As for From now on, it’s up to you.”
As he was talking, Tao Qian suddenly grabbed Liu Bei's sleeve and said in a deep voice, "Xuande, you are a clan member of the Han Dynasty. You have a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, can sympathize with the sufferings of the officials and the people, and have the ambition to restore the country. If I If anything happens, just take this Xuzhou Mu."
Cao Hong was shocked and persuaded, "Sir, this matter is of great importance and cannot be talked about lightly!" He did not expect that Tao Qian would entrust the entire Xuzhou to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei woke up from his stupor, knelt down, and said evasively, "The envoy is going to kill Liu Bei. Now the great trust still makes Bei Cheng frightened. How dare he have any thoughts of leading a state's shepherd! If the envoy says that again, Bei will I had no choice but to avoid suspicion and find another place."
Tao Qian knew not to push too hard, so he waved his hand and said: "Okay, I won't force you, but if anything happens, please Xuande to shoulder the heavy responsibility and protect me, Xuzhou."
Liu Bei bowed his hands and saluted. In addition to gratitude, there was something unexplainable in his eyes. Maybe there was a seed that quietly sprouted at this time.
