Tao Qian's mansion.

A servant hurried through the mansion, and in a short time came to the door of a house. I saw him walk to the door, put his face as close to the crack of the door as possible, and then said respectfully to the inside, "Prince, don't ask to see you." His movements were very careful, and his voice was very light, as if he was concerned about something.

He shouted two or three times in a row, and then he saw that the door was gently opened, and a young man in his twenties appeared in his field of vision, who was Tao Qian's eldest son, the pottery merchant.

He looked at the servant, and then walked out softly and slowly closed the door again. Immediately, he glanced at the servant and walked briskly forward. Seeing this, the servant hurriedly followed.

It wasn't until he walked about ten steps away from the room that the potter stopped and asked in a low tone, "You said that Mi Beijia wants to see his father?" But for what? ”

"Back to the eldest prince, Mi Beijia said, I have already thought of a strategy to break the enemy......" The man hurriedly said when he heard this.

"What?! Thought of a way to break the enemy?! When the potter heard this, his face suddenly showed a look of surprise, but this surprise didn't last long before it became confused, "That Mi Zizhong has always been known for his grace and generosity, generosity and elegance, although he has been reused by his father, but it is only because his Mi family is rich, but I have never heard of him have any ability to give advice......

"This ...... That's what Mi Beijia said......" the servant replied respectfully.

"Well......" the potter groaned when he heard this, "forget it, it's okay to listen to it, go ......"

Before he finished speaking, there was a sound behind the pottery merchant, and he turned his head to look, only to find that Tao Qian's door had been opened again. Then, I saw another man in his twenties walking out slowly, looking at the potter and saying helplessly, "Big brother, my father asked Mi Don't drive in to narrate." But it was Tao Qian's second son, Tao Ying.

Hearing this, the potter suddenly walked up to him and whispered to blame, "Second brother, didn't my father just fall asleep?" How can you wake him up? ”

"Brother, it was my father who woke up by himself, just when the servant spoke." Tao Ying responded with a wry smile.

"Alas, really!" The Tao Shang shook his head helplessly when he heard this, and then directly asked the servant to summon Mi Zhu, and he and Tao Ying walked quickly into the room.

I saw him squat down in front of Tao Qian's bed, looked at Tao Qian with a worried face, and said, "Father, the doctor told me that you must have a good rest during this time." And my father just drank the medicine, and he is still ......"

Before he finished speaking, Tao Qian waved his hand slightly and interrupted him, "Now that Cao Cao is about to come to the city, how can I recuperate with peace of mind in this case?" Tao Qian's tone was a little weak, and his face was still a little pale. Apparently it hasn't completely eased up.

Well, when ordinary people faint in a hurry, I'm afraid it will be difficult to slow down, let alone Tao Qian, who is already sixty and two.

"It's all children who are incompetent, so that they are tired of their fathers......" When the two Taoshang heard this, they immediately looked at Tao Qian with a look of shame and muttered.

"I don't blame you......" Tao Qian shook his head when he heard this, "The situation in Xuzhou is complicated, and many families have not been subdued by me until now. In this case, if I rush to push you to the table, I am afraid that you will be used by those scheming families......"

Tao Qian stroked the hair of the two beloved sons and comforted him, but in his eyes, a helplessness quickly flashed.

This year, the potter is twenty-six years old, and Tao Ying is also twenty-four years old, and he is an ordinary county guard and state pastor, and he has already used the power in his hands to arrange positions for them. But now, the potter and Tao Ying are still just a white body, except for assisting Tao Qian in handling government affairs at home every day, the rest of the time is basically studying at home.

Worried about being taken advantage of? There is some truth to this. He Tao Qian did not have too many talents who could be trusted, and the situation in Xuzhou was complicated. If the two are really pushed to the table, they will definitely be used by those families, and then provoke the relationship between the two. At that time, Tao Qian didn't dare to guarantee that the two of them would fight for the position of Xuzhou Mu.

However, strictly speaking, the reason why Tao Qian thinks so, I'm afraid the biggest reason is that in his opinion, the talents of the two potters are still a little insufficient, right? Otherwise, if it were Li Yi, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei, I am afraid that he would have been entrusted with a heavy task by Tao Qian to help him better control Xuzhou.

Not long after, a figure appeared in front of the door, it was Mi Zhu.

"Xiaguan Mi Zhu, meet the lord, and see the eldest son and the second son." Mi Zhu walked in and looked at the three of them respectfully and said.

"Zizhong, I heard that you have thought of a strategy to retreat from the enemy?" Tao Qian sat up with the support of the two potters, and then looked at Mi Zhu and asked in a low voice.

"Exactly!" Mi Zhu replied respectfully when he heard this, "My subordinates think that if they want to repel that Cao Cao now, I am afraid it will be difficult to do it with the power of Xuzhou alone." So the subordinates thought it was better to send someone to Qingzhou for help! ”

"Qingzhou? Ask Liu Xuande for help? Hearing Mi Zhu's words, Tao Qian's eyes flickered, and then he replied noncommittally. Judging from his look alone, it seems that he didn't have much reaction to Mi Zhu's proposal.

"Exactly!" Seeing that Tao Qian didn't react, Mi Zhu hurriedly persuaded again, "Liu Yuanjun and the lord are in-laws, and the relationship has been very close for several years. If the lord asks Liu Yuanjun for help, he will not refuse to come to Liu Yuanjun. Moreover, Liu Yuanjun has a large number of generals under his command, and there are countless ministers and talents, if he sends troops to support Xuzhou, he will definitely be able to solve the danger of Xuzhou! ”

"Hmm......" Tao Qian nodded slightly when he heard this, but he didn't say anything immediately, just looked at Mi Zhu quietly. In this regard, Mi Zhu just stood there respectfully, and his expression did not change at all.

After a long while, Tao Qian muttered, "That Zizhong thinks, how about the Yuan Highway in Jiujiang?" ”

"The lord must not!" Hearing Tao Qian's words, Mi Zhu suddenly persuaded with an anxious face, "Lord! So how did Yuan Shu start, and the lord would not be unclear, although nominally he and the lord were allies, but who knew what he really thought? Moreover, Yuan Shu is arrogant and arrogant, and he was defeated by Cao Cao before, so he may not be able to solve the danger of Xuzhou! ”

Speaking of this, Mi Zhu paused, and then said meaningfully, "Moreover, Yuan Shu and Chen Hanyu, the head of the Chen family, are old acquaintances, and the Yuan family and the Chen family have been friends for several generations......

"Hmm...... This is also ......" Tao Qian nodded again when he heard this, and then fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Mi Zhu didn't say anything more, just stood aside respectfully and waited for Tao Qian's decision.

I don't know how long it took, Tao Qian sighed lightly, "Let's do it, Zizhong, you leave for Qingzhou immediately, and you must invite reinforcements." ”

"Please rest assured! The subordinates will definitely live up to the expectations of the lord! Mi Zhu said with a smile on his face when he heard this, and then after giving a salute to the three of them, he left quickly.

After Mi Zhu left, Tao Qian lay down again under the support of the two potters, and then looked at the two and asked lightly, "What do you two think of this matter?" ”

"Back to the father, the child thought that this matter was feasible. As Mi Beijia said, Liu Yuanjun's strength is not inferior to that Cao Cao, and we are in-laws......" The pottery merchant said respectfully when he heard this,

"The child also thinks that if Liu Yuanjun is really willing to send troops to help, he will definitely be able to relieve the danger in Xuzhou now!" Tao Ying also echoed.

"Well, got it, let's go down." Tao Qian nodded when he heard this, then waved his hand and said.

Hearing this, the two potters slowly withdrew after making a salute. And when the movement outside the house completely disappeared, Tao Qian suddenly let out a long sigh.

At the end of June, Cao Cao's army arrived outside Xiapi City, and as Tao Qian expected, after slaughtering Tancheng, the county and township defenders on the way could no longer raise the courage to resist desperately. In this regard, Tao Qian could only hold his body that had not fully recovered, and led the army to defend Xiapi, while waiting for Liu Bei's reinforcements.

At the same time, in the mansion of the Chen Palace in Puyang, East County, Yanzhou.

Since Cao Cao led the army to attack Xuzhou, he handed over the affairs of Dongjun to Chen Gong to manage. On the one hand, it is because Chen Gong has this ability and qualifications. On the other hand, it was also Cao Cao who hoped to make up for Chen Gong in this way.

On this day, Chen Gong invited Zhonglang Xu Yan and Wang Kai to a banquet, and after three rounds of drinking, Chen Gong suddenly looked at the two with a gloomy face and sighed, "The lord attacked Xuzhou this time, and in order to slaughter several cities in a row, hundreds of thousands of people were killed, such a terrifying thing is really unimaginable......

"This ......" Hearing this, Xu Yan and the two glanced at each other, but they didn't know why Chen Gong suddenly made such remarks.

Speaking of which, this matter has already spread in Yanzhou, or it is spreading in Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yangzhou and other places. The last time such a tragic incident occurred, it was Ma Teng who drove more than 500,000 people to Li Yi's rule in order to resist Li Yi. However, that time, because Li Yi's movements were fast enough, not many people died at all.

Further up, even if Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, although many people died that time, everyone's attention was more focused on moving the capital. For those who died on the road, the attention is actually not too high.

Now Cao Cao's slaughter of Xuzhou is a real massacre, and it is a full of tens of thousands of people! How does this not shake the world? In this case, not to mention the local people, even those officials under Cao Cao's command can't help but have a lot of thoughts in their hearts.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Yan looked at Chen Gong with some hesitation and said, "Don't drive, this news is passed on by the people after all, and I'm afraid it will be a little exaggerated compared to the facts." And maybe it was Tao Qian who deliberately exaggerated the casualties and spread them everywhere in order to disturb the rear of the lord......"

"Even if there are not so many people, the slaughter of the city is irrefutable." Chen Gong shook his head and sighed when he heard this, "The reason why the palace followed the lord in the past was because he felt that the lord could take the lead in issuing a payment document when the world was at a loss, and invite the world's heroes to crusade against Dong Thief, and he would definitely be able to sweep away the traitorous party Kuang Fu Sheji!" But now...... Huh! ”

"Gongtai, you are drunk, why don't you rest earlier......" Hearing Chen Gong's words, Xu Yan and Wang Kai hurriedly persuaded them, with a trace of panic on their faces.

Just hearing the words of the two, Chen Gong just sneered, "Drunk? The palace is sober! As he spoke, Chen Gong raised his wine glass and drank it up, then looked at the two of them and said in a deep voice, "Both of them are talented scholars, but they have only succumbed to mere middlemen over the years. Dare to ask the two, are you willing? ”

Hearing this, Xu Yan's expressions suddenly froze, if they couldn't hear Chen Gong's words at this time, then their books over the years had really been read in vain.

I saw that the expressions of the two of them were solemn, and they looked at Chen Gong and said in a deep voice, "Gongtai, the three of us have known each other for not too short, please speak up if you have anything to say." ”

"Hehe, in fact, what I want to say is very simple, in the past, the palace followed that Cao Mengde, and even put him in the position of Yanzhou Mu, just because he felt that he was a great talent who could support the Han family! It is precisely because of this that although Cao Mengde ignored Gong's proposal and stubbornly accepted the Yellow Turban, won over the Yingchuan family and Zang Ba, who was born as a thief, Gong still chose to continue to work for him. But in the previous paragraph, Cao Mengde sent someone to execute Wenli because of some slanderous rumors, and he didn't even send someone to investigate. Now it is even more in order to capture Xuzhou and slaughter tens of thousands of people in Tancheng! Such a cold-blooded person who loves to kill, but the palace can no longer turn a blind eye! Chen Gong looked at Xu Yan and the two said loudly.

"Both of them are loyal to the Han family, so the palace invited the two of them to come this time, just to unite the two and expel that Cao Mengde from Yanzhou!" Chen Gong looked at the two of them, and his tone was full of determination.

Hearing Chen Gong's words, Xu Yan and the others didn't have much surprise, after all, combined with what Chen Gong said before, they had already guessed. "The public station trusts the two of us so much and is willing to speak out, and the two of us are very grateful. It's just that although the words of the public station are very reasonable, I am afraid that the three of us want to expel Cao Mengde from Yanzhou, I am afraid it is just a delusion. Xu Yan sighed when he heard this.

"Yes, the two of us are just engaged in Zhonglang, and it is okay to assist Gongtai in handling the affairs of the county, but it is not realistic to help Gongtai expel Cao Mengde from Yanzhou. Although Gongtai is now in charge of the affairs of Dongjun, Yanzhou still has Cheng Zhongde, Xun Gongda, Xiahou Yuanrang and Zhang Mengzhuo. Although most of the troops have been taken away by Cao Mengde, with them, even if we wait for an incident, I am afraid it will be difficult to make any progress. As soon as Xu Yan's words fell, Wang Kai on the side opened his mouth and agreed.

"What the two said is extremely true, so Gong Cai hopes to get help from the two. Borrow the talents of the two to win over the people of Yanzhou! Hearing this, Chen Gong nodded and said.

"The public station is to say...... Meng Zhuojun? Xu Yan groaned when he heard Chen Gong's words, and after a while, he suddenly asked with a light in his eyes.

"Not bad! Meng Zhuo had a relationship with the three of us and the murdered Wenli, and with Gong's understanding of Meng Zhuo, I am afraid that he has also become extremely dissatisfied with Cao Mengde by now......" Chen Gong said in a firm tone.