and Tao Qian's two grandsons, Tao Xin and Tao Yong, after worshipping Gao Shun as their teacher, the relationship between the two became more harmonious and intimate; Tao Qian felt that he was leaning on the big tree, and with his support, he could ensure the longevity of the family, and Gao Shun was determined to win Xuzhou.

Now the situation in Xuzhou is complicated.

The civil officials, led by Zhao Yu and Wang Lang, were loyal to Tao Qian, and Tao Qian also trusted them so much that they formed a bureaucracy.

The military attache is dominated by Cao Bao, and it is divided into several factions, with Cao Bao as the leader being the Shi family; Xu Sheng was led by a group of young and humble-born generals; There is also Tao Qian's descendant, Danyang Bing; and the many Yellow Turban thieves who were co-opted.

Tao Qian likes to be poor and looks down on people from poor families, those who come from humble backgrounds and the Yellow Turban thieves who surrender will only be used and will not be reused, which is also one of the reasons why Xu Sheng secretly took refuge in Liu Bei.

The family is the most important in the Chen family, and the Chen family has a wide influence in Xuzhou.

Chen Jue, whose name is Hanyu, is a native of Xiapi, Xuzhou (northwest of Suining, Jiangsu); Born in a famous scholar family, he is a descendant of the Gong clan with Yuan Shu and others, and has had a friendship since childhood; It is the grandson of Guanghan Taishou Chen Cong, the nephew of Taiwei Chen Qiu, and the brother of Wujun Taishou Chen Yu (a Chen Li) and Ruyin Taishou Chen Cong; Chen Qi was initially investigated as filial piety and honesty, and the official was the best minister.

The merchant group is headed by the Mi family, and through trade, many merchants in Xuzhou are closely linked together. The Mi family moved to Langya County, but Gao Shun asked his family to act as an agent for many materials such as cotton cloth, refined salt, and fine wine in Xuzhou.

In addition, there is also Gongsun Zhan's military power, and now Liu Bei has separated from it and has become a force of his own, and the two of them are small warlords; Tao Qian looked down on them and just wanted to use them, and now, Tao Qian leaned on the big tree of Gaoshun, so he naturally looked down on them even more.

Liu Bei and Xu Sheng expelled Zhang Chao and temporarily seized Guangling County, forming de facto independence.

Tao Qian was resentful in his heart, and he was silent on the surface, but secretly he had plans to expel or eliminate them; Xu Sheng's 10,000 infantry is extremely strong in combat, they are loyal to Tao Qian, not Xu Sheng, who recruited them, if Tao Qian comes forward to surrender, they will definitely echo in the city and annihilate Liu Bei and Xu Sheng on the spot; What he is worried about now is Gongsun Chan, who is stronger and not easy to deal with.

On the third day, Gao Shun was invited to Chen's house as a guest, and invited Chen Deng, the son of Chen Qi, to go to Jizhou as an official, but Chen Qi refused.

On the fourth day, Gao Shun was invited to Cao's house as a guest; Cao Bao wanted to marry his daughter to Gao Shun as his wife, but Gao Shun refused.

The Chen family only seeks to protect themselves in Xuzhou; Cao Bao has greater ambitions, if the Cao family leans on the big tree of Gaoshun, the Cao family will no longer be limited to Xuzhou, and will soar.

On the fifth day, Gao Shun had a basic understanding of the situation in Xuzhou, and had a detailed meeting with Tao Qian to prepare for the response in advance.

Tao Qian now has something to rely on, but it is not as simple as just expelling them at the beginning, he wants to absorb those cavalry for his own use.

Gao Shun first asked, "Mr. Tao, what are the difficulties in Xuzhou?" ”

Tao Qian was expecting Gao Shun to ask, so he said: "The old man was ordered by the imperial court to send Xu Sheng and the guest army Liu Bei to expel Zhang Chao, the Taishou of Guangling County, but I didn't expect Liu Bei's wolf ambition to persuade Xu Sheng to occupy Guangling County and divide one side, is it tolerable or unbearable?" What if other counties followed suit? Their plot must be thwarted in order to set an example. ”

Gao Shun understood Tao Qian's intentions, so he said: "Haha, Mr. Tao don't be in a hurry, just stick to Xiapi City, and Xuzhou will be safe; Liu Bei and Xu Sheng will not fight back against Yuan Shu, and Liu Biao will not use the army, and when Yuan Shu stabilizes, they will definitely seek revenge on Liu Bei, and when the time comes, they will not be able to resist, and they will definitely come to surrender. ”

Tao Qian saw that Gao Shun was pretending to be confused, so he asked directly: "Zhenyuan, that time is too long, and it will change later, how can we expel Liu Bei and safely absorb his cavalry?" ”

He was very enthusiastic about Liu Bei and Gongsun Zhan's cavalry, and if he had these cavalry, Xuzhou's military strength would definitely go to a higher level.

Gao Shun thought for a while and said: "If you only expel Liu Bei and incorporate his cavalry, it will be very easy, for fear of arousing the hostility of Gongsun Zhan, things will not be beautiful, you must think of a perfect plan." ”

Tao Qian asked Gao Shun for help because he didn't have a perfect strategy, so he said: "Haha, the old man knows that Zhenyuan is resourceful, so he will have to find a way to drive Zhenyuan." ”

Gao Shun thought about it carefully and said: "Sir, Liu Bei only has a few thousand cavalry, which is very easy to absorb, while Gongsun Chan has nearly 20,000 troops, which is strong and difficult to absorb, if he is transferred, it will not threaten the interests of Xuzhou." ”

Tao Qian was overjoyed in his heart, and hurriedly said: "Zhenyuan, tell me quickly, how to do it?" ”

Gao Shun said: "Sir, this matter is simple, it can be divided into two steps, first, send someone to contact Yuan Shu and recognize his jurisdiction over Yangzhou, Xuzhou is willing to live in harmony with him, on the condition that they jointly eliminate the Xuzhou traitors Xu Sheng and Liu Bei and recover Guangling County, presumably Yuan Shu will agree." ”

Tao Qian asked puzzledly: "Zhenyuan, the old man has an agreement with Liu Jingsheng in Jingzhou to jointly deal with Yuan Shu and divide the two northern counties of Yangzhou. ”

Gao Shun said with a smile: "Haha, sir, only by befriending Yuan Shu, he can rest assured that he can attack Jingzhou with all his might, Mr. not only recovers Guangling County, gets thousands of war horses, but also can avoid the war in Xuzhou, why not do it?" Besides, if there is a big war between Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, how can Liu Biao account for Xuzhou's minor mistakes? He's certainly not going to lose a big deal because of a small thing. ”

Gao Shun remembered that Sun Jian died in the war against Jingzhou, and if Yuan Shu and Jingzhou were allowed to form a mortal enemy, Xuzhou's security would be greatly increased.

Tao Qian thought carefully for a while, and felt that Gao Shun's method was very good, in the era of war, interests come first, so he nodded and agreed to this suggestion, and asked rhetorically: "Then how to treat Gongsun Zhan?" If Liu Bei's cavalry is absorbed, Gongsun Zhan will definitely have different intentions, and he must not be allowed to continue to stay in Peixian County, threatening the safety of Xuzhou. ”

Gao Shun said with a smile: "Haha, Mr. Tao, this matter is simpler, just send an envoy to the capital, and suggest that the imperial court appoint Gongsun Zan as the pastor of Yuzhou, and we just need to sit and watch the show." ”

Tao Qian was shocked, the champion Hou is amazing, the problem that has troubled him for so long, Gao Shun just solved it with a light sentence.

Several major warlords in Yuzhou were powerful, and Dong Zhuo sent an army to confront them; If the imperial court appoints Gongsun Zan as the pastor of Yuzhou, they will definitely be killed by each other, and he can reap the benefits.

And Gongsun Chan has no territory, so he just has the excuse of the order of the imperial court to justifiably grab the territory.

The current warlords in Yuzhou definitely do not want the intervention of external forces, and they will definitely unite and unite with the outside world, and a civil war in Yuzhou is inevitable.

This move not only transferred Gongsun Chan away, eliminated the threat to Xuzhou, but also really befriended Gongsun Chan and made him owe a favor.

Gao Shun This is a plan to kill many birds with one stone, which Tao Qian admires.

Using the power of hostile forces to eliminate hostile forces is a dignified and upright conspiracy, even if Gongsun Chan and Dong Zhuo understand in their hearts, they will adopt Gao Shun's advice.

Fortunately, he befriended Gao Shun, Tao Qian was glad in his heart, otherwise, he would be an enemy of Gao Shun, and he would not know how to be calculated to death.