In the spring of the first year of Xingping (194), Tao Qian, the general of Xuzhou Mu and Andong, died of illness in Tancheng, the East China Sea.

Before he died, although Tao Qian couldn't speak, he entrusted the seal to Han Lie in public, it was obvious that this was the meaning of Xuzhou entrusting Han Lie, and now Han Lie is not yet a Xuzhou pastor in name, but his strength is enough to control Xuzhou.

"Tao Gong also asked to take care of his health, there is no need to worry about the safety of Xuzhou, now that Cao Cao is defeated and missing, it is no longer enough to be a threat. Moreover, Xuzhou is the territory of the Han Dynasty, and the people of Xuzhou are also my Han people, although I am not talented, as long as I am in his position for a day, I will ensure that I Xuzhou is not lost. Han Lie excused himself and did not take the ribbon, but stroked the back of his hand and comforted him.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm......" Tao Qian, who was in a hurry, pushed Han Lie away, and once again printed the ribbon with his fingers, asking Han Lie to accept it.

After repeating this, the officials in Xuzhou who were full of Xuzhou also bowed to the ground and prayed, and Han Lie agreed: "Thanks to the weight of the pottery and the fact that my colleagues in the palace will not give up, I dare not die." ”

Han Lie didn't want to be so hypocritical, but the times were like this, as the master of the people, he should be virtuous and honest, and he should be humble and benevolent, although everyone in the world knows that such a prevarication is just acting, and no one thinks it is inappropriate.

On the contrary, if Han Lie accepted the seal ribbon as soon as he came up, and showed impatience, the world would decide on it, criticizing him for being a widow and immoral, and not a human monarch.

Seeing Han Lie take the seal, the expression on Tao Qian's face relaxed, and when his cloudy eyes slowly closed, he raised his arm slightly, pointing to the pottery merchant Tao Ying's second son on the side, with some unwillingness and worry about the second son, and finally closed his eyes forever.

"Father......" Tao Ying, a potter, although they are average in learning, they can't say that they have any evil deeds, so Han Lie doesn't have any bad feelings towards the two.

"Order, the three armies mourn for Tao Envoy." Han Lie immediately ordered that the whole of Donghai County mourn for Tao Qian, and Chen Qi, the county guard of Donghai County, set up a person in charge of the funeral, and gave him a generous burial with the gift of the marquis.

The Han Dynasty advocated thick burials, and the funerals of officials at each level were clearly stipulated, and once the overstepping was reported, the family would be implicated, because in the Han Dynasty, up to the emperor, down to the common people of Limin, all believed in ghosts and gods, and believed that after death, they were like the sun, so when they were buried, there must be a variety of funeral goods, so as to ensure that they could continue to be clothed and fed in the underworld.

Tao Qian is the pastor of Xuzhou, but he is not a marquis, but now that Han Lie is in charge of Xuzhou, he opened his mouth to raise Tao Qian's funeral specifications, and naturally no one dared to object. Tao Qian has been an official in Xuzhou for many years, and his official achievements are quite good, so the people of Xuzhou have praised him for his kindness, and learned that Tao Qian died of illness, and on the day of the funeral, as many as 10,000 people came to the funeral.

Tao Qian was sixty-one years old, and he was already a long life in the Han Dynasty, and he had a prominent official residence in front of him, and he received this honor after his death, which is enough to have no regrets.

Especially before the burial, Zhang Zhao asked people to send the eulogy "Xuzhou Thorn Shi Tao Qian's Mourning", which was even more for Tao Qian's death, presenting a glorious image, which was enough to make Tao Qian's nine springs blind.

You must know that Zhang Zhao is a world-famous person and world-famous, and Zhang Zhao was able to personally eulogize him, which is enough to show that Tao Qian's political achievements in Xuzhou have been recognized by Zhang Zhao, a native of Xuzhou.

After the vigorous mourning for Tao Qian, Han Lie expressed the Son of Heaven and asked Tao Qian for the title at the same time, he also wrote a letter for his succession, and at the same time said that he would resign from the position of Guangling Taishou, but at the same time, Han Lie still took the post of Xuzhou pastor.

In the late Han Dynasty, self-leadership was already a good trick for princes everywhere, regardless of whether the emperor agreed or not, no one dared to gossip anyway, not to mention that Han Lie is still holding the Xuzhou Mu Yin ribbon.

For Tao Qian's son, Han Lie was not embarrassed, but also promoted the pottery merchant to Xiao Cheng Ling, guarding the mausoleum for Tao Qian, Tao Ying was appointed as Xuancheng County, Danyang County, and brought the widows of the Tao family to return to Danyang's hometown and live for the rest of their lives.

Because Tao Qian died of illness and was buried, three months had passed by the time Han Lie took charge of Xuzhou Mu.

Although Han Lie delayed the Northern Expedition with Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu did not stop, he personally commanded an army of 50,000, known as 100,000, all the way forward, only in three months, he took Chen State, Liang State, Lu State, and at the same time the large army surrounded Pei State.

Yuzhou assassin Guo Gong, retreat to Yingchuan, one day sent several groups of messengers to Yanzhou for help, Lu Bu sat in Yanzhou after the pastor, Guo Gong was invincible, so the above table expressed the intention of surrender, now Yuzhou is in danger, he can only ask Lu Bu for help.

The reason why Peiguo was able to be surrounded by Yuan Shu's heavy troops was mainly because Peiguo's lieutenant was guarded by Lu Bu's general Gao Shun, followed by Lu Bufeng's Lu State Minister Zhang Liao, because he took office with Gao Shun and was blocked in Peiguo.

Although the number of people is less than 1,000, they are all elite soldiers, especially the 700 soldiers under Gao Shun's account, who are even the best soldiers among the elite soldiers.

In the face of the siege of Yuan Shu's tens of thousands of troops, the two of them who had experienced a hundred battles did not show any panic and worry, while rectifying the armament and defense, while appeasing the people, they gradually gathered the hearts of the people, plus Peiguo's thousands of state and county soldiers, with their extraordinary bravery, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun held Peiguo as solid, so that Yuan Shu's tens of thousands of troops could only stare dryly.

After receiving the news of Yuzhou's assassination of Guo Gong, Lu Bu summoned the generals and said: "Yuan Shu thief, it is really hateful, he dares to invade the land of Yuzhou, I decided to lead the army to fight in person, I don't know what you think?" ”

"Yuzhou is not guaranteed, Yanzhou is difficult to be safe, Ming Gong, as the lord of Yanzhou, personally commanded the army to defeat it, and won the victory." The person who spoke was Cao Cao's former strategist Xun Yu, who was lost in Dongjun at the beginning, because the clansmen were in the city, and failed to get lost, and became famous, Lu Bu also admired it very much, so he personally came to the door and threatened Xun Yu if he did not use it for himself, beware of the small clan.

Although Xun Yu was praised by Cao Cao as Wang Zuozhicai, in the face of Lu Bu, a tiger and wolf man, he was the so-called Xiucai who met the soldiers, and he was unreasonable, so he had to submit to the Yanzhou shogunate, and was appointed by Lu Bu as the subordinate of the Gongcao.

"Yuan Shu is just a person with a false name, and he dares to covet my state and county, but he just thinks that Ming Gong was in Yanzhou at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and he does not dare to fight with it, I expect that once Ming Gong sends troops, Yuan Shu will inevitably retreat." Chen Qun also hurriedly agreed, he didn't have a good impression of Lu Bu, but he was forced to be helpless, and now he has become Lu Bu's business.

"Well, what the two of you said is not unreasonable, but if Han Lie in Xuzhou sends troops, won't I be attacked on my back?" Lu Bu is not really stupid and stupid, Xun Yu and Chen Qun persuaded him to lead the troops in person, although he was motivated, but he had to consider the safety of Yanzhou.

"Don't worry about Ming Gong, Han Lie's new defeat to Cao Cao, although he won, but it was also a tragic victory, not to say that he didn't recover his strength so quickly, even if he recovered his strength, the first thing he had to do was not to send troops to Yanzhou and compete with Ming Gong, but to recover the counties and counties of Xuzhou, and take over the forces that deprived Tao Qian. It's a pity that Yuan Shu didn't know Han Lie's plan, and gave up the best opportunity to enter Xuzhou, and attacked Yuzhou, I expected that once Han Lie pacified Xuzhou, the next step would definitely be to enter Jianghuai, but Yuan Shu not only missed the best opportunity to hit the opponent, but dug a grave for himself. In the face of Lu Bu's hesitation, Xun Yu stood up and made a statement with emotion, making a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the relationship between Han Lie, Yuan Shu, and Lu Bu.

"Wen Ruo is worthy of being a high sergeant, I don't know if Wen Ruo is willing to serve as a military advisor and follow me to counsel military affairs?" Lu Bu invited movingly.

"Ming Gong's words are wrong, if you talk about military affairs, Gongtai is ten times better than me, how can I compare with it, not to mention that Gongtai has long been a candidate for military division appointed by Ming Gong, and now the change of generals is really not conducive to the army's heart, and I am a scholar, I can't stand the fatigue of carriages and horses, stay behind to settle the people, and deploy military personnel for Ming Gong, Fang is my director." Xun Yu hurriedly bowed down and resigned.

And Chen Gong on the side, his heart was relieved, he originally wanted to oppose sending troops, and he would also shut up with interest. Although he vaguely felt that Xun Yu and Chen Qun and other Cao Cao ministers had been a little too active recently, because he didn't catch any tricks, and Lu Bu obviously attached more importance to Xun Yu than himself, so that Chen Gong didn't dare to say more.

Previously, Gao Shun, a confidant under Lu Bu's account, was opposed with Zhang Miao because Lu Bu (bullied) Cao Cao's wife and concubine, which caused Lu Bu to be furious and directly demoted Gao Shun to Peiguo as a national lieutenant, and Zhang Liao just said a few words to Gao Shun, and was also kicked out by Lu Bu to Lu Guo as the minister of state.

For the moody Lu Bu, Chen Gong now also seems to be, this person likes sycophants, but does not accept advice, if he does not really accuse Xun Yu and others with real evidence, the result will definitely be even worse.

"Okay, just according to Wenruo." Lu Bu nodded happily and said: "Order the three armies, set off the day after tomorrow, and send the troops to Peiguo, I want to fight with Yuan Shu." ”

Lu Bu commanded all the generals under his account, raised 20,000 troops, appointed Chen Gong as a military advisor, Hou Cheng and Cao Xing as the vanguard, and Wei Xu was responsible for staying behind as the Taishou of Dongjun.

Not long after Lu Bu led his troops out of Yanzhou, Chen Qun secretly visited Zhang Miao, who was under house arrest, and no one knew what the two said, but after three days of secret talking, Zhang Miao, with his high prestige in Yanzhou, ascended to the heights and supported Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang, who was only eighteen years old, to succeed him as the Taishou of Dongjun, and under the vassal of Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Cao Anmin and other children of the Cao clan, he entered the county guard mansion in one fell swoop, and killed Wei Xu, the Taishou of Dongjun appointed by Lu Bu.

Although Cao Ang is young, he is humble because of his studiousness, coupled with what he has learned from his family, he is good at riding horses and archery, and he already has a faint bit of Cao Cao's youthful demeanor.

After killing Wei Xu and obtaining Dongjun, Cao Ang's first thing was to recommend Zhang Miao to serve as the assassin of Yanzhou, expressing his willingness to obey, Cao Ang's statement won him the hearts of the army and the people in Yanzhou, and also made Zhang Miao feel guilty, and even as an elder, he fell to the ground and cried: "Thanks to Gongzi not abandoning, I dare to seek a high position again, from now on, I will swear to follow Gongzi to the death, if there is the slightest disrespect, I am willing to die with five horses." ”

Although Zhang Miao's ability is not very strong, but this person was young in the name of chivalry, and when he traveled in Luoyang, he had a good relationship with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and other high-ranking disciples, and now he has been operating in Yanzhou for many years, and his popularity is high, even higher than Cao Cao, which is also the reason why he raised the flag against Cao, Yanzhou obeyed it.

Cao Ang's rise to prominence, and Zhang Miao's support, coupled with Xun Yu, Chen Qun and others, soon gathered the men and horses of Cao Cao's former department, controlled the power of Yanzhou in one fell swoop, and cut off the grain and grass of Lu Bu's army.

At this time, Lu Bu, who had just arrived in Peiguo, had not had time to open the passage into Peiguo City, and was stunned by the news of the loss of Yanzhou. ”

Lu Bu did not kill Cao Ang and Cao Anmin and other Cao family children, firstly, he slept with Cao Cao's three wives and concubines, and secondly, it was also the advice of Zhang Miao and others, so he locked these people in prison, but he didn't want to cause such a catastrophe, and now he regrets it.

The news of Yanzhou's change of ownership made the 20,000 soldiers under Lu Bu's account originally Yanzhou's disciples, and the army's morale was disturbed all of a sudden, but at this time, Yuan Shu sent the general Zhang Xun to launch a sneak attack at night.

The defenseless Lu Bu, and because of the discouragement of the army, the result of the 20,000 troops was lost, Lu Bu only took more than 100 horsemen, under the escort of the generals and Chen Gong ran overnight to escape Yingchuan, but when they arrived in Yingchuan, Yuzhou Assassin Shi Guo Gong not only did not take them in, but scolded them for being chaotic ministers and thieves, and ordered the city head to release arrows.

"How dare Piffon do that?" Lu Bu was furious and scolded for a while, and left Yingchuan in frustration, only then did he realize that he had nowhere to go.

"Lord, Hanoi guards Liu Xuande, doesn't he have a good relationship with you? Now we might as well go and go to him. Chen Gong saw Lu Bu's decadent face, and he could only sigh lightly.

"Brother Xuande is an old friend of me, but the last time he asked me to send troops to help crusade against the Han and Siamese rebels in Hedong, I was complacent for a while and refused him, and now I go again, I'm afraid that he may not be willing to take him in." Lu Bu thought of his own smugness during this period of time, and Liu Bei's assistance to him in the past, and suddenly felt guilty.

"Lord, Liu Xuande is a gentleman, as long as the lord is sincerely attached, he will definitely accept it. Besides, now within the four seas, where can the lord go? Chen Gong smiled bitterly, looked around at the less than 100 horsemen and horses, and then thought about the grand occasion in Yanzhou a month ago, he couldn't help but feel a trace of regret for his original choice.

"Here, how about having Lao Gongtai go first?" Lu Bu thought about it, so he had to nod. As Chen Gong said, what is the difference between the bleak scene of Lu Bu and the lost dog, and is there any other choice?

Although Han Lie has always paid attention to the war between Yanzhou and Yuzhou, he is just cooperating with Yuan Shu to act in the north this time, and his real target is not Yanzhou, but Langya in the north of Xuzhou, as well as Taishan and Donglai counties in Qingzhou.

Han Lie stared at Langya County, naturally because Langya County originally belonged to Xuzhou, and now that he has taken Xuzhou Mu, Langya County must obey his own deployment, otherwise there will only be Dangping.

Taishan County is the northern barrier of Xuzhou, there is Taishan natural danger, Han Lie does not have to worry about the defense of the northern part of the East China Sea, and Taishan County is also an idle city, half of it is in the hands of Zang Ba, who means Taishan Qunkou, and part of it is in the hands of the new Qingzhou Thorn Shi Tian Kai, as long as he takes Zang Ba, it will be easy to take Mount Tai.

As for the acquisition of Dongnae-gun, it can be said that it was a temporary idea, because Tai Shici of the Dongnae-gun clan informed Han Lie that it was relatively convenient for Dongnae-gun to go to sea to Liaodong and Goguryeo, and secondly, the long and barren coastline along the coast of Dongnae-gun was very suitable for raising horses.

Now if Han Lie wants to train his cavalry, he must have stallions and pastures, but at the moment, he does not have these two conditions, so the establishment of a strong cavalry class will naturally become a castle in the air.

But as Tai Shici said, if he could obtain Donglai County, use Donglai County as a base for going to sea, go north to Goguryeo in Liaodong to buy stallions and war horses, and then graze and cultivate them on the coastline of Donglai, over time, he could build a strong cavalry.

With these two advantages alone, Han Lie was very interested in Donglai, and speaking of Donglai, there was another thing that attracted Han Lie, that is, the gold in Yecheng County. When he was in Beihai, he once led the army to Yecheng, and also found that Yecheng contained rich gold, but because of his lack of strength at the beginning, he could not mine it, let alone have the strength to guard such a rich place, so he had to look at the golden mountain and sigh.

But now that he has Xuzhou, plus Yangzhou's Danyang, Wu County, and the newly obtained Huiji, the region and the entire coastline of the East China Sea, it is enough to have the strength to hold the fruits of victory, if the strength of the naval army is improved, then he can really gallop across this land.

However, Lu Bu's defeat so quickly was still a bit unexpected by Han Lie, especially when he learned that Lu Bu's entire force had collapsed, and only the Peiguo Guards were still stubbornly holding on, Han Lie was curious and asked Diao Chan, who had come to deliver information to him, "I don't know who Pei Guo's Guards are?" (To be continued.) )