"Chen Zhiduwei, do you have anything to say when you come to see the Governor of Benzhou, is it about Liu Xuande?" Tao Qian asked in a deep voice with a straight face. It's just that Tao Qian, who tries his best to show a majestic appearance, where can he be majestic now.

"Qi Yu Zhou Mu, what his subordinates want to report is related to the plains. Chen Zhi smiled lightly and said unhurriedly.

Chen Zhi is not stupid, he naturally understands Tao Qian's thoughts. It's just that Tao Qian's thoughts made Chen Zhi despise Tao Qian even more. Liu Bei came to help Tao Qian fight against Cao Cao, this Cao Cao had just retreated, but Tao Qian had already begun to think about how to deal with others, which really made people feel cold. Moreover, it is a pity that Liu Bei has already made the first move, and Tao Qian has no way out.

"Captain Chen, tell me what is going on!"

Tao Qian asked eagerly, just now he was still struggling with whether to eradicate Liu Bei, or send Liu Bei to Pei County to defend himself against Cao Cao. Of course, it is naturally best to directly eradicate Liu Bei, and there will be no trouble in cutting the grass and eradicating the roots. It's just that Liu Bei has some reputation after all, and doing so is a little unfavorable to him, and now if Chen Zhi brings news that is unfavorable to Liu Bei, then he will have no burden to eradicate Liu Bei. However, for the two fierce generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Tao Qian still coveted them very much, thinking about how to bring the two under his command. At that time, with these two fierce generals, he still needs to be afraid of Cao Cao's attack, and he will be able to hold Xuzhou. Tao Qian is really old and mediocre, incompetent to the extreme, with two fierce generals, but thinking about how to passively defend against the enemy's attack, rather than to expand the territory and develop his own power, obviously, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty Tao Qian became a loser, which also makes sense.

Chen Zhi's expression was indifferent, thinking of Tao Qian's eager expression at the moment, and he didn't know what kind of reaction he would have after listening to his words.

"Qiyu Prefecture Pastor, his subordinates have been ordered by the lord..."

Chen Zhi said, paused, and explained with a smile: "I forgot to tell the state pastor that his subordinates have already served the plain minister, so the lord of the subordinate is the plain minister, not the state pastor." ”

"What?"

Tao Qian stood up in shock when he heard this, pointing at Chen Zhi and trembling, wanting to say something, however, because of anger, he couldn't say a word.

"Don't be so angry, it's not too late to get angry after listening to what his subordinates say. ”

Chen Zhi didn't seem to be happy if he didn't hit Tao Qian, and he didn't wait for Tao Qian to scold, and said directly: "My subordinates were ordered by the lord to invite the two sons of the state pastor to stay in the mansion for a few days. The state pastor can rest assured that his subordinates will never treat the two sons badly, and the two sons will eat and drink well in the subordinate mansions, and there will be no problems. Of course, whether there will be such treatment in the future depends on how the state pastor does it. ”

Tao Qian had a gloomy face, although he was old and mediocre, he was not stupid, so he asked directly: "Chen Dao, let's say, what does Liu Bei want!"

Now that his face has been torn, Tao Qian naturally won't be pretending.

"Well, the state pastor is quick to talk, it seems that the communication between you and me will not be very difficult!" Chen Zhi praised with a smile, and then said: "There are not many requirements for my lord, there is only one, that is, to take over Xuzhou, I wonder if the state pastor can give Xuzhou to my lord?"

"Impossible!"

Tao Qian slapped the desk in front of him violently, responded angrily, and then scolded: "Benzhou Mu has long known that Liu Bei, a wolf, has ambitions and covets me Xuzhou. Now, I finally want to see the poor dagger, and I don't even think about Xuzhou, which wants to be pastoral. Now the state of the state is still the lord of Xuzhou, a moment can make you turn into powder, if you know each other, the state of the two children released, maybe can spare your life. ”

"Haha, it seems that in the eyes of the state pastor, the lives of the two sons are not as good as even one Xuzhou. ”

Chen Zhi laughed, as if mocking. As if seeing through Tao Qian's thoughts, Chen Zhi continued: "Is the state pastor thinking about taking down his subordinates and then going to rescue the two sons? Of course, as for whether the soldiers of the state pastor can take down the lord, then the subordinates do not know. ”

"You..."

Tao Qian pointed at Chen Dao, gritting his teeth but not knowing what to say. His idea just now was just as Chen Zhi said, first take down Chen Zhi, and then send soldiers to surround Chen Zhi's mansion, and take Liu Bei and them, naturally he can save the pottery merchant and Tao Ying. It's just that, according to Chen Dao's statement, once his soldiers appear around Chen Zhi's mansion, the lives of the pottery merchant and Tao Ying will not be saved, and when the time comes, his Tao family will be extinct. Moreover, Liu Bei still has thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, plus Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two fierce generals, Tao Qian cannot guarantee that Liu Bei will be left. At that time, even if he still serves as the pastor of Xuzhou, there will be no one to take over his class. Thinking of this, Tao Qian's face was gloomy, and his face was cloudy.

As if seeing Tao Qian's thoughts, Chen Zhi smiled slightly and persuaded him: "State pastor, there is one more thing, after the contact between his subordinate uncle and uncle, seventy percent of the officials in Xuzhou have decided to serve my father-in-law. As soon as the lord leaves Xiapi City, these officials will unfurl their banners, and at that time, in the face of so many opposition forces, how can the state pastor resist it? The life of one person is not a pity, the lord is the dragon and phoenix among the people, he will rise above the clouds in the world, so why should the state pastor resist stubbornly? You are now 60 years old, more than half a hundred years old, and now you are seriously ill, how many years can you live? Is it that the state pastor is going to watch the two sons die, and the white-haired person sends the black-haired person? In the face of the attack of Cao Cao's army, Xuzhou had almost no backhand power, and it still needed to ask for help everywhere; the people of Xuzhou also suffered greatly, how many soldiers died on the battlefield, how many families parted from life and death, and the initiator of all this was caused by the state pastor? If Xuzhou was still thriving when the state pastor first arrived in Xuzhou, what should be compared with the past? If everything is as it is when the state pastor first takes office, the officials in Xuzhou will not deviate from morality and become a force against the state pastor. And all of this is also caused by the state pastor yourself, no wonder others. Therefore, in order to save the lives of the two sons, for Xuzhou to be able to restore its former prosperity, and for the sake of all the people in the world, please think twice!"

"Alas!"

Tao Qian sighed and sat on the ground dejectedly, his already old face as if he was dozens of years old. At this moment, Tao Qian's mind finally began to reflect on what he had done, and found that as Chen Zhi said, the reason why it has developed to the point where it is today is also his own fault. If he could have been as wise as he had been when he first took office, why would Xuzhou have become what it is today? He is already old and seriously ill, and he has few years to live, so how can he not exchange his short life for the lives of his two sons who are in the prime of life?

"That's it!"

Tao Qian sighed quietly and said, "Since Liu Bei covets my Xuzhou, then I will give Xuzhou to him." However, you must ensure the lives of my two children, or I will not let you have a good time, even if the jade is burned. ”

"That's nature, the name of my lord spreads all over the world, and he is naturally a person who keeps his word. ”

When Chen Zhi heard that Tao Qian was willing to give in, he naturally would not refuse, and hurriedly agreed to Tao Qian's request. Moreover, the incompetence of Tao Qian's two sons could not pose any threat to Liu Bei at all. Even if Tao Shang and Tao Ying knew the inside story, what was there to be afraid of? Liu Bei and they had already discussed that Liu Bei would be able to take over Xuzhou logically, and it would not affect Liu Bei's reputation among the people of Xuzhou in the slightest. Of course, there are smart people in the world, but after all, they are a minority, and most of them are still some ignorant civilians who can be easily fooled, as long as in the hearts of these people, Liu Bei's reputation is not destroyed, it is enough.

The next day, Tao Qian summoned Xuzhou officials, and announced that he would step down from the post of Xuzhou pastor outside the Xiapi Mansion, and let Liu Bei, the minister of the plains, take up the post of Pingyuan Minister.

"This official served as the pastor of Xuzhou for many years, failed to make an inch, failed to let the people not leave the road behind, did not close the door at night, this is the fault of the pastor of this state; before, it was indirectly caused by the battle between Yanzhou and Xuzhou, so that many soldiers died on the battlefield, how many families lost their father and son, this is also the fault of the pastor of this state. Since the official served as the pastor of Xuzhou, he failed to make achievements, and brought disasters to the people of Xuzhou. Therefore, the official feels the kindness of Liu Xuande, the minister of the plains, and is willing to abdicate and make way for Xian, and the court allows Liu Xuande, the minister of the plains, to be the pastor of Xuzhou, and Xuande please accept it!"

Liu Bei stood in front of Tao Qian, waited for Tao Qian's voice to fall, and said with tears: "Bei is a mediocre person, how dare he occupy a high position, and ask the state pastor not to say this." I also ask the state pastor to remain in this position, and be willing to help with all his heart, and if there is a violation, may he pray for a thunderbolt to strike him!"

"Wan Wangming Gong pity the Han family's city, and he received the Xuzhou brand seal, and the old man died blindly!" Tao Qian knew that Liu Bei wanted to buy the people of Xuzhou, so he persuaded Liu Bei again.

Liu Bei refused again, three times in a row, Liu Bei still looked hesitant. The officials in Xuzhou who had already decided to take refuge in Liu Bei had already arranged for their men and horses to hide among the onlookers, and after seeing Liu Bei's resignation from Tao Qian, they hurriedly knelt down and shouted, "If Liu Yuanjun does not lead Xuzhou, we will not be able to live in peace!" Seeing this, the other people also shouted loudly. Seeing this, a smile of conspiracy flashed at the corner of Liu Bei's mouth, but it disappeared in a flash, and it was not seen by the onlookers. Of course, there were two more extraordinary characters present, but they noticed Liu Bei's expression.

One of them looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, and was a little immature. However, after seeing Liu Bei's reaction, the young man patted his hand and praised: "This gentleman has the demeanor of a Ming lord, like the ancestor of the past, I Kong Ming should follow such a character, and when I finish my studies, I will come to serve and wait for me in the Ming Gong." ”

That's right, this young man is Zhuge Liang, he is only eleven years old now, and he happened to follow his elders to visit his elders in Picheng today, and he didn't want to run into Liu Bei and Tao Qian's performances. Of course, Zhuge Liang naturally saw what was going on, but Zhuge Liang didn't think there was anything wrong, but thought that what Liu Bei did was what the master did.

In addition to Zhuge Liang, there is another person who also sees the greasy in the middle. The man looked to be less than twenty, with a burly figure and a handsome appearance. Of course, he is not an unknown young man, but he is Lu Su, who originally dealt with Zhuge Liang in history and was cheated by Zhuge Liang countless times.

Lu Su is a native of Donghai County, originally heard that Cao Cao's army attacked Xuzhou, and the troops were under the city of Pi, so he brought the strength of the clan to prepare to contribute to Xuzhou. However, by the time he arrived at Xiapi, Cao Cao had already withdrawn, but he witnessed Tao Qian's abdication to make way for Xian. is diametrically opposed to Zhuge Liang's attitude, Lu Su despises Liu Bei's character, and the dove occupies the magpie's nest. Originally, he wanted to go to Xuzhou to recommend himself, but now that Liu Bei is leading Xuzhou, he has given up this idea. If there is chaos today, Lu Su also knows that he can't be left alone, and wants to find a master to follow, since Xuzhou is not a place he is optimistic about. So, where does he go from here?

Lu Su thought in his heart that he and Zhou Yu were good friends, and he originally wanted to go to Jiangdong to defect. It's just that Sun Ce's actions were not recognized by Lu Su, so Lu Su gave up the idea of defecting to Jiangdong. Historically, Lu Su was also recommended by Zhou Yu after Sun Ce's death and defected to Sun Quan's command. However, because of the arrival of Yuan Chang, Liu Bei no longer had the idea of low-key forbearance, but directly occupied Xuzhou, which also affected Lu Su's thoughts. Otherwise, according to the development of history, Lu Su did not see this out, and still stayed in his Donghai County with peace of mind, waiting for Zhou Yu's recommendation to defect to Dongwu. Now, Lu Su has already had the idea of serving the Ming Lord, and naturally it is impossible to wait as in history.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in Lu Su's mind, and a name broke into his head.

However, it is said that in Chang'an City, Li Dao proclaimed himself the Great Sima and Guo Yan was the Great General, and they were rampant, and no one dared to speak out among the court officials. At that time, Ma Teng and Han Sui in Liangzhou saw the chaos in the Central Plains and also wanted to take the opportunity to raise troops to get a piece of the pie. Originally, they wanted to use Dong Zhuo's power to reap the benefits of the fisherman, however, before they could be in place, Dong Zhuo was killed. As a result, Ma Teng and Han Sui took the opportunity of Li Dao and Guo Yan to appease them, and wanted to take the opportunity to attack Chang'an City, so as to seize the power of the imperial court. It's a pity that there were Gao Mi in the army of Ma Teng and Han Sui, and as a result, they were defeated and had to withdraw their troops. On the way back to Liangzhou, near Fufeng County, he was ambushed by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans who occupied this area. Originally, Ma Teng and Han Sui, who were defeated at the hands of Li Dao and Guo Yan, were already full of anger, and now they were ambushed by the remnants of the Yellow Turban, so they were naturally even more annoyed, and a big war began. (To be continued.) )