The Lujiang bandits were not led by Cao Jun, but by Lei Shu and Chen Lan's subordinates.

Cao Shuo, who was in Shouchun, didn't take long to get the news.

After reading the letter sent by Chen Gongren, he handed it to Pang Tong and said with a smile: "Gongtai really has a way, just went to Tianzhu Mountain, and he accepted Lei Shu and Chen Lan. Now the thieves in the Lujiang area have been wiped out by him. ”

"Lei Ji and Chen Lan have been in the grass for several years, and they already have some roots among the thieves." Pang Tong said: "Let them exterminate the thieves, it is more effective than Gongzi sending soldiers." ”

Cao Shuo nodded: "Do you think you should invite them to Huainan to meet?" ”

"I don't think there's a need to invite them to Shouchun yet." Pang Tong said: "The two of them are so busy exterminating the thieves, in order to make some contributions before serving the son, if the son sees them at this time, they will definitely slack off in the future." ”

"Liu Bei has gone to Qingzhou." Cao Shuo said: "Yuan Tan will definitely recommend it to Yuan Gong. With Liu Bei's ability, the day when the Cao and Yuan families were instigated by him to turn against their goals should not be far away. ”

"Even if there is no instigation from Liu Bei, the Cao and Yuan families will turn against each other sooner or later." Pang Tong said: "All he can do is to make the anti-purpose date earlier." ”

"You're right." Cao Shuo said: "Recently, the commercial port has been built, and many merchants have crossed the Huai River from there to Shouchun, and it will not be long before Shouchun should become a cargo distribution center." ”

"The manager of Lingyun Pavilion will still do things." Pang Tong said: "In just a few months, Shouchun has already come to a lot of businessmen, and if it continues like this, in another two years, there will definitely be businessmen here." ”

"Once there are more merchants, we can start collecting taxes." Cao Shuo said: "As long as the levy is not too much, less than other places, they will still choose here." ”

"Should the peasants' taxes be levied?" Pang Tong asked.

"Don't!" Cao Shuo said: "I promised not to collect taxes for 10 years, which is aimed at farmers. I don't have a lot of grain and grass, and I need them to cultivate the fields. It's not too late to wait until 10 years from now. ”

"As long as it can be collected from the merchants, at least it doesn't need to be filled by the son." Pang Tong said: "Since Gongzi occupied Huainan, the daily cost is extremely huge, I have been worried, relying only on Lingyun Pavilion, I'm afraid it won't last long." ”

"Doing business also requires investment." Cao Shuo said: "What's more, we want to develop the foundation, and there must be a lot of investment. What I want is not how much to take from the people now, but how much they can give me in ten years. ”

"Childe's long-term strategy is admirable." Pang Tong said: "Now Huainan and other places are prospering day by day, and when the Cao and Yuan families start a war, they must be full of grain and money." ”

"It takes money to fight a war." Cao Shuo said: "The treasury does not have any reserves to forcibly use troops, which is no different from bandits. ”

Cao Shuo was still busy pacifying the bandits and developing the economy in Huainan, Xuzhou and other places, and Liu Bei also came to Yecheng under the escort of Yuan Tan.

Yecheng is the foundation of the Yuan family.

Yuan Shao has been operating here for many years, and the prosperity of Yecheng is even far above that of Xudu.

Knowing that Liu Bei was coming, Yuan Shao didn't want to see him very much at first, but he couldn't resist the repeated pleas of Yuan Tan and some staff, so he had to go out of the city to greet him in person.

Yuan Tan accompanied Liu Bei and walked all the way to Yecheng.

As they were walking, they saw a troop of men and horses appear in front of them.

After a while, a scout came running from the front.

When he arrived in front of Yuan Tan, the scout clasped his fists and said, "The eldest son of Qiqi, Yuan Gong personally came to greet Liu Yuanjun." ”

"I thought it was someone in front of me, but it turned out to be my father." Yuan Tan said to Liu Bei: "My father came to greet him in person, which shows that he attaches great importance to Xuande Gong. ”

"Yuan Gong and Xiansi's affection, I remember it in my heart." Liu Bei arched his hand to Yuan Tan.

"Let's speed up, but don't keep my father waiting too long." Yuan Tan said to Liu Bei.

"And rightfully so." Liu Bei responded.

The two of them quickened their march, and the escort team behind them also sped up.

The two sides were getting closer and closer, and they could already see Yuan Shao's face clearly, Liu Bei turned over and dismounted and bowed to the ground, shouting loudly: "Liu Bei knocks on Yuan Gong." ”

As soon as he got off the horse, he fell to the ground again, and Yuan Shao and Yuan Tan were taken aback.

Yuan Tan Zhuma asked, "What is Xuande Gong doing?" ”

Liu Bei just knelt on the ground, crying before he could speak.

Coming to him, Yuan Shao jumped off the horse and stepped forward to help: "Xuande, what is this doing?" You and I are ministers in the same palace, how can there be a reason for you to bow down? ”

"Gong Yuan is on top, please save my life!" Liu Bei raised his face and looked at Yuan Shao, his face was already full of tears and miserable.

"Xuande, hurry up." personally helped Liu Bei up, Yuan Shao said to him: "What do you have to say slowly on the road, what do you look like when you kneel down and worship me in public?" ”

Liu Bei thanked Yuan Shao, and then got up.

Re-mounted on the horse, Yuan Shao and Liu Bei rode side by side, while Yuan Tan and others accompanied them.

"If it weren't for the eldest son, my life would have been suspended." Liu Bei said to Yuan Shao: "The kindness of the Yuan family to me is unforgettable in this life. ”

"Xuande's words are serious." Yuan Shao said: "It's just a gesture, you don't have to keep it in mind." ”

Liu Bei let out a long sigh, shook his head but didn't say anything.

"Does Xuande have something to say?" Yuan Shao asked.

"There are some things I do want to say." Liu Bei said: "But I don't know whether to say it or not." ”

"Xuande has something to say, just say it." Yuan Shao said: "There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to hide it. ”

"Yuan Gong has broken through Yijing, and Hebei has been pacified." Liu Bei said: "But there is a great crisis right now, I don't know if Yuan Gong has seen it?" ”

'You mean Cao Mengde?' Yuan Shao said with a smile: "He and I are in-laws of our children, Zirong is my son-in-law, I occupy Hebei, he fought in the south and north in the Central Plains, but he didn't let me see any crisis." ”

"Cao Mengde occupied Hanoi and Hedong, and now it is adjacent to Hebei. Cao Zirong also occupied Huainan, Xuzhou and other places. Qingzhou Zang Ba, Wu Shuo and others have now also voted for Cao Mengde. Liu Bei said: "If the Cao family wants to get more territory, who will they deal with next?" Yuan Gong should be very clear. ”

"Could it be that he can still come and beat me?" Yuan Shao laughed: "Don't say that he doesn't have this strength, even if he has this strength, he may not have the courage." ”

"Yuan Gong, don't underestimate Cao Mengde." Liu Bei said: "Over the years, he has won many battles in the south and the north, and it is no longer comparable to the original sour jujube alliance. How much territory has the Cao family leveled in the past two years? Yuan Gong should have seen it. With the ambition of the Cao family, how could they let Hebei ignore it? ”

Yuan Shao's face changed slightly, and he said to Liu Bei: "Let's talk about it when we go back to Yecheng." ”

(End of chapter)