Guo Tu led a team of men and horses to escort 30,000 sets of armor to Pengcheng.

Each carriage could only hold two or three hundred sets of armor, and the team he was responsible for escorting had more than a hundred huge wagons used to load supplies in the army.

After walking for more than a day, Guo Tu led the team to the outside of Pengcheng.

Waiting at the gate of the city, in addition to Yuan Shang and Cui Yan, there was also Lu Su, who came to take over the armor on the order of Lu Bu.

Seeing Guo Tu coming with the team, Yuan Shang and Cui Yan greeted him, while Lu Bu waited in place.

In front of Guo Tu, Yuan Shang just arched his hand, and Cui Yan said after seeing the salute: "The matter here in Xuzhou, I thought it could be easily solved, but I didn't expect that in the end, I still bothered Guo Gong to come, which is really embarrassing." ”

"Cui Gong, don't say that." Guo Tu first returned the salute to Yuan Shang, and then bowed his hand to Cui Yan and smiled: "I came here just to escort the armor on the orders of the lord, and the matter here actually needs to be taken care of by Cui Gong." ”

"In terms of ability, I can't compare to Guo Gong." Cui Yan waved his hand and said, "Since Guo Gong is here, I should explain everything in my hands clearly, and then follow Guo Gong's orders." ”

"Don't do that!" Guo Tu hurriedly said: "Things have always been handled by Cui Gong, I just got here, I don't know anything, if Cui Gong pushes them all over, with my little skills, how can I handle it well?" I feel that Cui Gong still shouldn't shirk it, if there is something useful in the future, just tell me to do something. ”

"Guo Gong said this, but I am very ashamed." Guo Tu insisted on refusing to take over Pengcheng's matter, Yuan Shang was very happy in his heart, but Cui Yan didn't think as much as he did: "Since the lord ordered Guo Gong to come here, I feel that I must have failed to do things well, which made the lord unhappy." If I continue to do this, I may end up with a bad job. ”

"Otherwise." Guo Tu said: "Cui Gong feels that it is not easy to treat a person, so I will share some." There is something we are discussing, but most of the things are still dominated by Cui Gong. ”

"It's all for the Yuan family, it really doesn't matter who is in charge." Cui Yan said: "The people who came to greet Guo Gong outside the city, in addition to the third prince and me, there is also Lu Zijing, who came to inspect the armor on the order of Lu Bu. ”

"How?" Guo Tu seemed to be very surprised and asked, "Could it be that they can't trust the lord, and they actually sent someone to inspect the armor?" ”

"Speaking of which, you can't blame Lu Fengxian." Cui Yan replied: "Earlier, he was ready to send troops to fight against Cao Cao, but found that most of the armor in the army was shoddy. ordered the destruction of all those armors, and most of the soldiers in Xuzhou today have no armor to wear. The soldiers without armor went to the battlefield, and they were no different from the homeless, and the lord sent the armor, so as to avoid any more shoddy work, it was reasonable for him to let people come to inspect it. ”

Cui Yan has never stood in line in the Yuan family, he always does not offend both sides of the source, so his popularity is not bad.

When he was talking to Guo Tu, Yuan Shang was silent on the side, but his face showed a sense of not being very happy, obviously when he came to Xuzhou this time, Lu Bu did not give him the treatment he imagined.

Although he saw something from Yuan Shang's face, Guo Tu didn't break it, and he said to Cui Yan: "I originally planned to question Lu Bu, but since Cui Gong spoke for him, I could only bear it." It's just that this incident makes people think about it, and it's really very unhappy. ”

"There are a lot of unpleasant things, but this is not the only one." Cui Yan said with a smile: "When Guo Gong enters the city, I will talk to you about many things. ”

"Third son, Cui Gong, please!" Guo Tu asked Yuan Shang and Cui Yan to go first.

Yuan Shang was not polite, and only took the front, Cui Yan and Guo Tu gave each other a few humble words, and rode towards the city gate.

Lu Su, who was waiting at the gate of the city, saw them coming, and rode his horse to meet them.

"This must be Guo Gongze?" Lu Su bowed to Guo Tu.

Guo Tu returned the salute and said: "I am Guo Tu under the command of Yuan Gong, dare to ask if you are Lu Zijing?" ”

"Exactly." Lu Su replied and said to Guo Tu: "I am here to greet you on the order of the Marquis of Chu, and I also ask Guo Gong to follow me into the city." ”

"Wait." Lu Su was about to step aside, Guo Tu said: "I came this time to send armor to General Lu on the order of my lord, but I don't know if General Lu has prepared what my lord wants?" ”

"What Yuan Gong wants is nothing more than coal." Lu Su replied: "Although there is not much coal in Pengcheng, it should be enough for Yuan Gong. The Marquis of Chu has always been true to his word, and since he promised Yuan Gong, he will definitely let people send coal. ”

"I heard that General Lu invited Zijing to come, in the name of greeting, but in fact, he wanted to inspect the armor, but it was shoddy." Guo Tu said: "Our armor in Hebei has never been shoddy, and I asked Zijing to reply to General Lu like this." ”

"Guo Gong said that, but it's hard to do." Lu Su smiled slightly, and said to Guo Tu: "But there will always be one or two things that are unsatisfactory, and what Chu Hou wants me to inspect is just whether there are any of these armors that are not suitable for the use of soldiers, not as Guo Gong said, but there are shoddy inspections." ”

He changed his words and continued: "We didn't doubt Yuan Gong's sincerity, Guo Gong said this, but it really made people feel bottomless. If there is no benefit, please Guo Gong be cautious. It's nothing like those of us who are doing things below, but don't let there be suspicion between Chu Hou and Yuan Gong because of what we said, that wouldn't be good. ”

Guo Tu originally planned to give Lu Su a dismissal, but he didn't expect that the person in front of him, who looked very wooden, actually spoke in a set way, which made Guo Tu a little unable to get off the stage.

Cui Yan next to him stepped forward and said with a smile: "Zijing should also inspect the armor, just as we want to transport the coal away, we must also check the quality of the coal." There has always been such a rule for exchanging with each other, and Guo Gong and Zijing don't have to take it to heart. ”

Lu Su smiled slightly and asked Guo Tu, "Dare to ask Guo Gong, do you want to enter the city now?" ”

"Enter, of course enter." Guo Tu also laughed and said to Lu Su: "If you don't let us enter the city, it is difficult for me to sleep in the open field outside the city with the soldiers." ”

"Don't dare, don't dare!" Lu Su responded with a smile on his face.

They all spoke with smiles on their faces, but Yuan Shang next to him felt that when these people were talking, they were all sharp in each other's words, but none of them showed them on their faces.

Entering Pengcheng and seeing a row of prosperous scenes in the city, Guo Tu said with some surprise: "I heard that in the Battle of Xiapi back then, Cao Cao once slaughtered Pengcheng and couldn't find even half of the living people. Now it seems that there is no rumored depression at all, is it true that what I have heard is all false rumors from the world? ”

"What Guo Gong heard is not a rumor." Lu Su replied: "Back then, Cao Cao did slaughter half of the living people here, and the Marquis of Chu migrated from other places, and after many days of polishing, Pengcheng has the current scene. ”

"Being able to rebuild the barren land to such a situation shows that General Lu has put a lot of thought into it here." Guo Tu nodded and said, "General Lu's ability is really impressive!" ”

"If Duke Guo and Marquis Chu are familiar with each other, they will soon find out that his ability is not just that." Lu Su said: "Since I voted for the Marquis of Chu, I often feel that he knows astronomy and geography. But as long as there is anything in the world, he seems to have nothing that he does not understand. ”

Looking at Lu Su in astonishment, Guo Tu couldn't believe it.

It's not that he doesn't know Lu Bu.

At that time, Lu Bu, who was driven out of Chang'an by Li Dao and Guo Yan, had nowhere to go, and could only take refuge under Yuan Shao's account, like a lost dog, except for brute strength and unparalleled martial arts bravery, he didn't seem to have any special strengths.

Lu Su said in front of him that Lu Bu knew astronomy and geography, which really made Guo Tu feel that he was not ashamed of his words.

Although he thought so in his heart, Guo Tu did not pierce Lu Su.

However, he did not respond to Lu Su's statement.

The other party is bragging, is it possible that he also has to cooperate to make the other party brag more freely?

Guo Tu didn't think that when he came to Pengcheng, he had such an obligation.

"Will Gong Guo go to the mansion to rest first, or will he go to the treasury with me to hand over the armor first?" Lu Su asked Guo Tu.

"Let's go to the treasury and hand over the armor first." Guo Tu said: "I have already arrived in Pengcheng, and if I delay the delivery of the armor for the sake of rest, it will be a great sin. ”

Guo Gong laughed. Lu Su replied: "When you come to Pengcheng, Guo Gong is the guest of Chu Hou, who else in Pengcheng dares to ask Guo Gong about his crimes?" ”

"That being said, since we are doing things for the Lord, we have to do it more securely." Guo Tu said: "When the armor is delivered, I will go to the pavilion to rest, and I can rest more peacefully." ”

"That's what Gong Guo said." Lu Su first responded, and then instructed the guards: "Lead the way ahead, go to the treasury!" ”

Guo Tu escorted the armor to Pengcheng, and the treasury had long been ready to accept it, and there were still many people who stayed here to inspect the quality of the armor.

The armor was transported to the treasury, and Cangcao immediately led the men to unload them from the wagon.

However, the people brought by Kura Cao did not rush to send the armor into the warehouse, but counted the number and checked the quality outside.

Looking at the group of people who were busy working, Guo Tu whispered to Cui Gong beside him: "Cui Gong's letter was sent to Yuan Gong, and Zhen Zhengnan also said that he would take out some inferior armor from the treasury and send it to Lu Bu. Fortunately, the lord refuted his proposal at that time, looking at the posture in front of him, but if there is a set of inferior armor, I am afraid that it will not escape the eyes of these people. ”

"Guo Gong is right." Cui Yan also whispered back: "Lu Bu had suffered from inferior armor before, so he sent so many people to inspect the quality of the armor. If there is really inferior armor mixed in, with the serious energy of these people, they will definitely be able to pick it out. ”

"Did Cui Gong talk to him, how much coal can be exchanged for 30,000 sets of armor?" Guo Tu asked Cui Yan again.

"Lu Bu feels that exchanging armor for coal is a lot of losses." Cui Yan said: "I made an agreement with him to use the armor to convert the price of the armor on the market to the price, and then use the price to buy coal. In this way, neither we nor he will suffer. ”

"Cui Gong's proposal is useful for a gentleman, but it is ...... for Lu Bu" Guo Tu smiled slightly and did not continue.

"Could it be that Guo Gong thinks he will cheat from it?" Cui Yan asked Guo Tu.

"I didn't say that, but I felt that we might lose a lot by exchanging coal with Lu Bu like this." Guo Tu asked Cui Yan: "The price of armor and coal in the market, has Cui Gong asked?" ”

"I sent someone to ask." Cui Yan replied: "The price of coal has always been high, and many people have to buy coal from the black market in order to get it. As for the armor, there is really no one in the market in Pengcheng, and it is said that Lu Bu gave the responsibility of making armor to some arsenal. ”

"Arsenal?" Hearing this name, which was new to him, Guo Tu asked again: "Did Cui Gong ask people to go to the arsenal to inquire about the price?" ”

"Someone has been sent." Cui Yan replied: "Although the price of the arsenal is not too high, it is not so low that it is unacceptable, and Lu Bu should not have done anything about it." ”

"Whether he did it or not, it's not for us to see." Guo Tu shook his head slightly: "But what the lord wants is coal, as long as he is willing to send the coal to Hebei, the lord can accept some losses." ”

"The armor has been delivered, and I plan to ask to see Lu Bu later." "We have made good on our promises, and it is time for him to deliver on coal," Cui said. ”

"When the settlement is completed here, I will accompany you." Guo Tu responded.

Guo Tu and Cui Yan talked in a whisper, while Yuan Shang stood a little farther away with a very ugly face and watched Cang Cao lead a group of people to count the number of armor.

Lu Su stood beside Cang Cao, looking at the many armors that had been counted, and he asked, "How are these armors?" ”

"Return to Lu Gong." Cangcao replied: "The armor is all good, and there is no shoddy workmanship in it. ”

After receiving such a reply, Lu Su nodded and said to Cang Cao: "At present, there is no shoddy production, it does not mean that there is really no one of them, you let people take a good look, and you can't even neglect one thing." ”

"I understand." Cangcao agreed, and then shouted to the group of treasury officials who were inspecting the armor: "Be careful, the armor worn by the soldiers can't be slack." ”

Although no one responded, when the officials inspected the armor, it was indeed more elaborate than before.

Lu Su was still watching the officials count and inspect the armor, and Guo Tu and Cui Yan came to him.

"Is there a problem with the armor?" Guo Tu asked Lu Su, and his tone was obviously unpleasant.

"Nope." Lu Su replied: "Of course, there will be no problems with the armor sent by Yuan Gong. We're just doing a routine check. If I don't check and understand, I won't be able to reply to Chu Hou. ”

"I can understand Zijing's approach." Guo Tu said: "I just want to ask Zijing, when are you going to take me to see the Marquis of Chu?" ”