But it was said that Li Ye and a few people disguised themselves as traveling businessmen and traveled all the way to Pengcheng.
After seeing Tao Qian's registration status, Tao Qian naturally treated him like a distinguished guest.
During the dinner, Li Ye presented Yuan Shu's letter and told Yuan Shu that he wanted to form an alliance with Tao Qian to deal with Cao Cao.
It could help him get rid of Lu Bu, his serious enemy, and gain a strong ally, so Tao Qian naturally agreed.
Li Ye also proposed to go to Lu Bu's new city to take a look on the grounds that he wanted to check the terrain and get to know Lu Bu's details first.
Tao Qian also knew that Li Ye wanted to see if Lu Bu's iron factory was as exaggerated as he said, and he agreed wholeheartedly.
The next day, someone took Li Ye to Xincheng for "inspection."
Li Ye was shocked when he arrived. There were tens of thousands of people busy burning bricks and digging soil to build the city. The city wall had already been built to be as high as one person.
In coal mines and iron mines, there were also soldiers waving whips to urge a group of short prisoners with shaved heads to work non-stop.
As for the ironworks, although the handles are tightly guarded and cannot be approached, from a distance you can see several tall chimneys emitting yellow smoke carelessly.
The tinkling sound of iron inside never stops, and cartloads of ironware are being transported heavily.
Li Ye's eyes widened: Iron mines and blacksmiths are incredible wealth in troubled times!
After looking at it for a while, I already knew it well, so I returned to Pengcheng. When I saw Tao Qian, he only said that he would go back to meet Yuan Shu early tomorrow morning.
Tao Qian was overjoyed after hearing this and did not hold back. He gave Li Ye a lot of gold and silver rewards. He also sent a written reply from Li Ye to Yuan Shu, and sent them out of the city the next day.
Li Ye received many rewards and went back to report what he saw to Yuan Shu. Capturing the iron ore here was a great achievement. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but feel proud.
I just left Pengcheng County this day and passed by a forest. I was thinking about taking a rest when suddenly there was a sound of gongs and a group of people rushed out of the woods.
The first one, riding a rogue horse and holding a tetanus iron gun, shouted angrily:
"Hey! I built this mountain and planted these trees! If you want to live here, leave money to buy the road!"
Li Ye was stunned for a moment: Why did he encounter bandits?
Then he thought about it, he was now a traveling businessman, so naturally some people were thinking about him.
Yin coughed and said, "Which troop of Qu Shuai's soldiers are you from?"
The bandit leader shouted: "You are so bold, you dare to ask me about my origin? Hand over all the money you have on me quickly, I may spare your life if I am happy!"
Li Ye was really filled with regret at this time.
Tao Qian originally asked a group of people to escort him back to Shouchun, but in order to show that everything was peaceful under Yuan Shu's rule, Li Ye asked Tao Qian's people to go back after leaving Pengcheng County!
Now it is obvious that there are not as many people as the other party, so I have to bite the bullet and rely on my own mouth.
Because he said: "I'm afraid this good man doesn't know something. I am a counselor under Yuan Shu and Yuan Gongdao. My name is Li Ye!"
The bandit leader nodded and said: "Ah, that's even more correct!"
"What did you say?" Li Ye didn't hear clearly.
The bandit leader also realized that he had made a mistake and said hurriedly: "I told you not to say anything! Give me the money quickly!"
Li Ye coughed and said: "You...haven't you heard of Yuan Shu? He is the second son of Yuan Feng, the fourth generation and third prince of the Runan family!
My lord is the most eager to be courteous and virtuous. I hope that a good man will be radiant and heroic. Why don't you come with me to rejuvenate your life?
When the time comes, I will introduce you to Yuan Gong's account, and I will ensure that you will be prosperous and prosperous in the future, and your ancestors will be honored! "
"General! This guy has a lot of good stuff! You can see he is actually a fat sheep!"
A minion took out all of Li Ye's treasures and showed them to Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun was dismissive: Where are the letters? Where did this guy hide his letter?
After rummaging around but not finding the letter, Zhao Yun stabbed Li Ye with his gun again: "Hey! Guys, I think your clothes are quite neat! Take them off!"
"You... the scholar can't be killed!" Li Ye said angrily, holding his neck.
"Okay, kill him and then take off his clothes for me! Don't splatter blood!" Zhao Yun answered neatly.
"Don't move! Don't even move!" Li Ye yelled, then softened: "I...I will do it myself!"
Just as he was about to start taking off his clothes, Zhao Yun said with a look of disgust: "You guys, take him to the woods to take off his clothes!"
After a while, the gangster came out of the woods carrying a pile of clothes.
One of them took out a piece of silk with writing on it and handed it to Zhao Yun: "General, please look at it!"
Zhao Yun took a cursory glance and said overjoyed: "Okay, it's him, let's withdraw!"
"Should these people be killed and silenced?" the minions asked.
"If I don't kill him, I'll let him go back and deliver the message!"
Back in Pengcheng, Lu Bu read the letter and sneered: "Tao Qian, an old fool, wants to join forces with Yuan Shu to attack me? Do you want to attack from both sides?"
Zhang Liao said angrily: "Brother, why are you being polite to this old guy Deng? Tonight I will lead a thousand people into the city, rush into the government office and arrest the old guy Deng to punish my brother!"
Chen Gong also said: "Wen Yuan is right, before Tao Qian knows that the master has figured out his tricks, we should strike first!
As long as Tao Qian is captured, there is no fear that his men will dare to become enemies of the master! "
Gao Shun also said: "Exactly, the new city has not yet been built. If Yuan Shu really brings tens of thousands of troops to attack, I am afraid that even if he can withstand it, he will lose his troops, not to mention Tao Qian as an internal support..."
But Lu Bu waved his hands with a smile and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, Tao Qian still has some use value, let's keep him here for a while!
And now I also want to have a run-in with Yuan Shu, and also test the effectiveness of our new tactics!
Keep a close eye on Liu Bei, Tao Qian and his men!
In addition, send out more scouts to inquire about Yuan Shu's troop movements at any time!
Zhao Yun! Tai Shi Ci! You two hurry up and practice your tactics. Don't embarrass me when the time comes! "
"Yes!" Zhao Yuntai Shi Ci agreed.
Is there finally a war?
——
Li Ye, who had suffered so much humiliation, felt that he had lost all face and returned to Shouchun in despair. He could not help but tell his companions:
"If any of you dare to reveal even a single word about the gangsters we encountered when we came back this time, I will kill you!"
Everyone was also afraid that Yuan Shu would blame them if he found out that they had lost the letter, so they all said that they would kill him even if he wanted to!
When he met Yuan Shu, Li Ye pretended that nothing had happened and relayed Tao Qian's words to Yuan Shu first.
After hearing this, Yuan Shu nodded and asked, "Why, Tao Qian didn't reply to my letter?"
Li Ye replied without changing his expression: "Well... Tao Gong said that he was afraid of encountering yellow scarf thieves on the road. If the letter fell into their hands, it would inevitably lead to others' trouble, so he only asked me to bring the message back to the lord!"
