Ma Chao, the crossing man, is paying close attention to whether Liu Bei can take Xuzhou; And Xiaopei's Liu Bei is indeed planning to fight for Xuzhou.

Liu Bei, the word Xuande, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhuo County, Youzhou Zhuo County (now Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province) people, the descendants of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan in the Western Han Dynasty, is because Liu Bei's background is Miao Hong, so this point was greatly used by Liu Bei, has been living in the Han Dynasty himself, and through this to envelop Guan Yu, Zhang Fei such fierce generals, in the early years of displacement, hardships, refuge in many princes. At this time, it was a turning point in Liu Bei's life, seeking a golden opportunity in Xuzhou. This opportunity came from Tao Qian and Lu Zhu:

Tao Qian was appointed by the imperial court as the assassin of Xuzhou in his early years, broke the Xuzhou Yellow Turban, and implemented Tuntian to resume production. Later, he listened to the advice of Wang Lang and Zhao Yu to send envoys to Beijing to pay tribute, and was rewarded by General Andong and Xuzhou Mu, and was named the Marquis of Liyang. However, many local wealthy families in Xuzhou were not satisfied with Tao Qian's rule, thinking that Tao Qian's cronies Cao Bao and other villains ignored many celebrities. is typical of Zhao Yu, who is a celebrity in Xuzhou, but he cannot be reused because of his integrity. For another example, the Chen family is a well-known local family, but under Tao Qian, Chen Deng is only an official in charge of agriculture and is not reused. Tao Qian started in the military, and he held the elite soldiers of Danyang from his hometown, and his force was enough to deter the local powerful families. So even if they are dissatisfied, these wealthy families are helpless.

However, the longer the contradictions accumulate, the easier it is to erupt, and Lu Zhu is one of the key figures, Lu Zhu was originally a wealthy businessman in Xuzhou, and was later opened by Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian to be a different driver, but it still represents the interests of Xuzhou's local wealthy families.

In the fourth year of Chuping (that is, in 193 AD), because Tao Qian's subordinate Zhang Min coveted Cao Song's (Cao Cao's father) assets and killed Cao Song, which caused Cao Cao to be furious, on the grounds of avenging his father, he raised troops to attack Tao Qian. Kong Rong asked Liu Beitong to save Tao Qian. Liu Bei then gladly led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and thousands of men and horses to Xuzhou.

In this way, Liu Bei and Lu Zhu got acquainted, and the two met late, and their various outlooks on life, world views, and values were similar, so the two became confidants; At this time, Liu Bei's image of generosity, benevolence, righteousness and loyalty as a family member of the Han family who had worked hard to create played a role, and Lu Zhu was willing to pour the financial resources of the whole clan to help Liu Bei achieve great things.

Let's say that Tao Qian was disheartened and exhausted after losing consecutive battles, plus Tao Qian himself was old and in poor health, and soon Tao Qian fell ill...

Tao Qian has two sons under his knees, one is a pottery merchant and the other is Tao Ying, neither of whom has the ability to lead troops to fight, nor does he have the ambition to become an official and enter politics, so Tao Qian wants to pass on the foundation of Xuzhou to his confidant Cao Bao.

The political and economic center of Xuzhou was Xiapi, and Tao Qian appointed Cao Bao as the minister of Xiapi, and together with Xu Tan, he commanded the Danyang soldiers under Tao Qian.

Tao Qian is seriously ill day by day, and seeing that he can't live long, Lu Zhu, who is engaged in other driving (equivalent to a close attendant), is naturally very clear and very anxious.

I have to say that Tao Qian is really not good at employing people, and he uses people nepotism, and handed over the military power to his cronies Cao Bao and Xu Tan, but these two people are still okay with their armed forces, and they have no merit in resourcefulness and politics! Tao Qian still couldn't hold Xuzhou, and he was defeated in a row, not to mention Cao Bao and Xu Tan. Once Tao Qian passed the position of Xuzhou Mu to Cao Bao, Lu Zhu estimated that Xuzhou would not last three months and would perish.

In Elkzhu's heart, neither Tao Qian nor Cao Bao are far inferior to the far-sighted male lord Liu Bei, and only by following Liu Bei will Xuzhou have a future.

So a plan appeared in Elk's head. As Tao Qian's close attendant, only he knows Tao Qian's condition best, and only he knows that Tao Qian wants to pass on the throne to Cao Bao. And Cao Bao and Xu Tan were outside, and they didn't know that Tao Qian's life was short, and when they reacted, everything was already in the boat.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhu rode out of the house in a carriage.

Winter nights come early, and the streets are pitch black, with only a few dim lights coming out of the homes of the wealthy. Because it was still early, the street lights had not yet been lit, and the pedestrians on the road were in a hurry, as if they were hiding from the cold winter wind, and Lu Zhu hurried to Liu Bei's residence.

"Xuande Gong, Elk Zhu is here to visit, there is something important to discuss!"

"Brother Zizhong (i.e., Lu Zhu), please come in quickly, drink a cup of hot tea to warm up first, and then you and I will have a long talk!"

Lu Zhu took a sip of tea, warmed his stomach, and said: "Zhu Guan Xuande Gong is a hero in the world, and he will become a great weapon one day!" Although you and I have known each other for a short time, they are like old friends at first sight, and Jinzhu has some heartfelt words, and he is not unhappy! ”

"Brother Zizhong praised it falsely, he is already thirty and four this year, how can he achieve nothing, he has the ambition to help the Han family, but there is no way to serve the country, and there is no place for heroes! Nowadays, there is a shortage of soldiers and food, no long things, and the courage of the cloud chief and the winged virtue of a thousand husbands, but there is no place to settle down, how can we achieve a great cause! ”

"Xuande Gong is too humble, the Duke is a clan member of the Han family, and the peerless generals such as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will help each other, and now there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of Xuande Gong.

"I want to hear about it!"

"In Xuandegong's opinion, how will Xuzhou develop in the future?"

"You and I will unite around Brother Gong Zu (that is, Tao Qian) and reject the Cao thief together!"

"But the lord is ill, and I am afraid that his life will not be long in coming!"

"Is that true?"

"It's true, Zhu is the lord's other driver, and the news is naturally accurate! And only you and I know about this matter, and no third person knows about it. ”

"Then Brother Gong has arranged the future? Who do you want to pass on? ”

"The lord wants to pass on the news of his confidant General Cao Bao! However, Cao Bao is a wild man in a village, and can An help Xuzhou in troubled times? If Cao Bao is the shepherd of Xuzhou, it is expected that Xuzhou will die at the hands of Cao Cao in March! ”

"Then in the opinion of Brother Zizhong, what should we do now?"

"Xuande Gong, in front of the Ming people, do not say dark words, Zhu thinks, with the talent of Xuande Gong, immediately Xuzhou pastoral position, from then on Xuande Gong should be like a dragon into the deep sea, birds fly in the sky, from now on the sea is wide with fish jumping, the sky is high and birds fly! We should be so and so...! The stakes are very high, Lu Zhu was afraid that the wall would have ears, so his mouth was attached to Liu Bei's ear: "In this way, it will be done, and after the matter is completed, Zhu should pour the strength of the whole clan to help Xuande Gong achieve great things!" ”

Liu Bei was thinking about how to settle down, the two hit it off, set up a treacherous plan, and after discussing the details, Liu Bei said: "Brother Zizhong's great kindness and virtue, there is nothing to repay, Bei swears to the sky here, he will succeed in the future, Brother Zizhong will become the head of a hundred officials, under one person, above ten thousand!" ”

So the following content appeared in the history books of later generations: In December 195 AD, Tao Qian was seriously ill and died, and when he died, only his two sons and Don't drive Lu Zhu in front of the bed, Tao Qian left his last words to Lu Zhu: 'If you are not Liu Bei, you can't settle this state! , entrusted Xuzhou to Liu Bei and passed away!