(PS: The money is gone, and the manuscript is almost finished.) ）

persuaded Liu Bei to stay in Xuzhou, as soon as the banquet ended, Tao Qian discussed with Liu Bei about the various details of Liu Jun's stationing in Xiaopei, and one of the two sides was gentle and pure, and the other was unwilling to bear the infamy of injustice, and they all took the initiative to make concessions in the negotiations, so as not to make the other party a little embarrassed, so the details of the garrison were quickly and completely finalized.

The approximate details of Liu Jun's stationing in Xiaopei are as follows: Liu Beijun settled in Xiaopei City, bounded by Liuxian, Xiaopei's extremely attached Xuzhou City was handed over to Liu Jun Tuntian and managed, and local officials were also handed over to Liu Bei for appointment, Tao Qian paid Liu Bei a batch of money and grain every once in a while, allowing Liu Bei to recruit troops and horses in the controlled area and expand the army, but Liu Beijun did not have Tao Qian's permission and could not go south to Liuxian County, and at the same time, in wartime, Liu Beijun must obey Tao Qian's command and cooperate with the Xuzhou army. The two sides also did not make documents, and asked Kong Rong and Tian Kai to act as Chinese people and witness the covenant.

After finalizing these details, Liu Bei, Kong Rong and Tian Kai each said goodbye and returned to their respective barracks to rest and stay, the old and sick Tao Qian also returned to the back room to rest with the support of his entourage, and the Tao Shang, Tao Ying and Tao Ji brothers were sent by Tao Qian as representatives to lead the Xuzhou civil and military officials to send Liu Bei and Kong Rong and others out of the city. The pottery merchant brothers and the Wenwu of Xuzhou led the people to send Kong Rong and others to the city gate, and said goodbye to Kong Rong and others.

Kong Rong and Tian Kai and others gradually walked away, in order to receive them were tossed for most of the day, the Tao brothers and Xuzhou civil and military officials were all relieved, civil and military officials said goodbye and went home, Tao Shang also asked Tao Ying, Tao Ji and themselves to go home, it was also at this time, Tao Ji, who had been angry about Tao Qian's concession of Xuzhou to Liu Bei, finally seized the opportunity, and complained to Tao Ying, "Second brother, I said are you crazy or what's wrong?" Xuzhou is my uncle's foundation, and it will also be the foothold of our Tao brothers in the future, why do you want to let Xuzhou people at every turn? Xuzhou sent out, what should our brothers do? ”

"The father's order cannot be violated, and if it is violated, it will be unfilial." Tao Yingzheng replied, and the corner of his eyes quietly glanced at the Mizhu brothers, seeing that although the Mizhu brothers were also silent, they refused to go far when they said anything. However, Chen Qi and his son glanced at this side, and then strode away, as if they didn't want to get involved in this matter.

"The second brother is right." The potter was an honest child, and echoed: "It is the father's decision to give Xuzhou to Xuande Gong, and those of us who are sons can only do what is ordered, not disobey." ”

"Uncle......." Tao Ji showed a hesitant look on his face, and stomped his feet again and said hatefully: "I really don't know what my uncle thinks, he doesn't want to be Xuzhou Mu anymore, he can pass it on to your two brothers, why do you want to give it to outsiders?" ”

"Third son, don't complain, the lord also has his troubles." The voice of Cao Bao, the chief general of Xuzhou, came from the side, Cao Bao walked in front of the three brothers of the Tao family, smiled at Tao Ji and said: "The third prince can think about it, Xuande Gong is neither a subordinate of the lord, nor an old friend of the lord, raise troops to save Xuzhou, the army enters the city and is stationed, and there is an army of Cao thieves outside. If the lord doesn't give Xuande Gong a little benefit, a little hope, in case Xuande Gong ......, hehe, Xuzhou will be in trouble. ”

"Really?" Tao Ji was taken aback and said in surprise: "The name of Xuande Gongren and virtue is spread all over the world, how can he do such a thing?" ”

"Knowing the face but not the heart, who knows whether the name of Xuande Gong's benevolence is true or false?" Cao Bao sneered and said: "So the last general speculated that the lord was not sure of Liu Bei's character, so he simply offered to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei, which not only seized the name of righteousness, but also appeased Liu Bei." ”

Tao Ji and the potter's brother looked at each other, and they were skeptical of Cao Bao's explanation, and the potter was also surprised, and said in a loud voice: "Uncle Cao, how can you say that? My father is upright, and Xuande, benevolence and righteousness are spread all over the world, how can he have such a heart of intrigue? According to Tao Ying's opinion, Xuande Gong is a humble gentleman, and he is by no means an unkind and unrighteous person, and his uncle misunderstood Xuande Gong. ”

said it beautifully, but Tao Ying whispered in his heart, "This Cao Bao is still a bit of a brain, and he basically guessed half right." It's a pity that there are still few tendons - how can such words come out of the mouth and still say them in public? In addition, the ability to fight by force and war is also weak, and it is difficult to entrust it with heavy responsibilities. ”

Sure enough, after Mi Zhu and Mi Fang brothers heard Cao Bao's words, their expressions really changed, and they strode away with their heads held high, leading several Xuzhou civil and military officials to leave. Cao Bao didn't notice it at all, but just bowed his hand to Tao Ying and said: "Second son, Kong Taishou and they have already left the city, and it just so happens that the military affairs of the last general have been completed. ”

"Uncle is called, how dare the little nephew disobey?" Tao Ying agreed - Cao Bao is the chief general of Xuzhou, and the soldiers and horses in Xuzhou are controlled by him, and now he takes the initiative to move closer to Tao Ying, and Tao Ying is of course unable to ask for it. But Tao Ying, as the second son, didn't want to ignore the existence of his brother too much, so he turned to the pottery merchant and Tao Ji and said, "Big brother, third brother, how about we go to General Cao's mansion for a banquet together?" ”

"I'm not going, my father's condition is just getting better, and I'm going back to serve the decoction." The potter shook his head, not thinking about any other direction at all—for example, Cao Bao and his younger brother approached and threatened his eldest son's throne.

"I can't go." Tao Ji also shook his head, "It's going to be dark soon, it's my turn to guard the city defense today, and the Cao thief hasn't gone far yet, so you can't take it lightly." ”

"In that case, then I can only go to Uncle Cao's house alone to disturb me." Tao Ying, who was eager to grasp the military power, was not reluctant, and instructed the pottery merchant Haosheng to take care of his father and Tao Ying Haosheng to guard the city, and walked with Cao Bao on the horse and went to Cao Bao's house for a banquet.

All the way to Cao Bao's mansion, Cao Bao's family received the news, early to the front of the door to play music to greet, Tao Ying was flattered, even said that he did not dare to be, Cao Bao laughed, said that Tao Ying sacrificed his life to save the military and civilian people in Xuzhou, deserved to receive this great gift, and personally put Tao Ying off the horse, please sit in the main hall, with wine and food, pay tribute, but Cao Bao from the day of the ring does not drink, can only make tea to accompany, Tao Ying is not Zhang Fei of course does not mind, and Cao Bao wine and tea talk very happily, the relationship has also quickly narrowed a lot.

Tao Yingjiu passed three rounds, and Cao Bao, who had a ghost in his heart, turned the conversation to the topic, and while pouring wine for Tao Ying in person, he asked with a smile: "Second son, the siege of Xuzhou has been resolved, and Cao Bing has also retreated to Xiaopei, not to mention that he will completely withdraw from Xuzhou, and the five counties of Xuzhou will turn from danger to safety, I don't know what Gongzi's next plan is?" ”

"It's all up to my father's arrangement, Tao Ying doesn't dare to make decisions anymore." Tao Ying heard the tentative meaning in Cao Bao's words, and deliberately pretended to be confused.

"What about Childe personally?" Cao Bao refused to give up, and asked clearly: "This time Xuzhou broke the siege, Gongzi is undoubtedly the first merit, the people of Xuzhou, the military and the people, all of them are grateful to Gongzi, and the lord naturally looks at Gongzi differently, I believe that it will not be long before the lord will let Gongzi come out to do things and experience the test." Cao Bao was brave and wanted to ask Gongzi's personal plans, if Gongzi had something to need, Cao Bao would definitely help. ”

Cao Bao said to this point, if Tao Ying pretended to be stupid and talked about him left and right, it would be to turn away the chief general of Xuzhou who took the initiative to get closer, so Tao Ying thought about it for a while, or decided to give Cao Bao an explanation, and said to Cao Bao: "Thank you uncle for your care, the little nephew has thanked him in advance, and the little nephew does not dare to deceive his uncle, although the little nephew does not know whether his father will let the little nephew come out to do anything next, but the little nephew himself still wants to stand up and do something for Xuzhou and his father. Repay the father's nurturing grace and repay the care of the people of Xuzhou. ”

"The son can think like this, it is really the blessing of the lord and the blessing of Xuzhou." Cao Bao's expression was still happy, and he couldn't wait to ask: "That being the case, then Cao Bao dares to ask again, I don't know if the son wants to be a civil servant or a martial artist?" ”

"What does this guy ask so clearly? Are you afraid that I will rob him of the position of chief general in Xuzhou? Tao Ying was very strange about Cao Bao's shallow words, in order to avoid extraneous branches, and after a little calculation, Tao Ying replied very ambiguously: "Back to my uncle, the little nephew is stupid, he can't do anything, and he can't do anything, and he can't do it." So the little nephew hasn't made up his mind for a while, everything has to be arranged by his father, if the father wants the little nephew to be a civilian, the little nephew will be a civilian. ”

"Childe, don't be a civilian." Cao Bao's answer was a little unexpected by Tao Ying, Cao Bao said very sincerely: "Childe, if there is a big chaos today, the heroes rise together, and they are at war with each other. Therefore, Cao Bao secretly thought that it was best for Gongzi to serve in the Xuzhou army and be familiar with the military, so that he could not only share the worries of the Lord and the public in the future, but also protect the lives of the people of Xuzhou, and let Gongzi show his strength and move the world. ”

"This guy actually wants to persuade me to join the army, and he is not afraid that I will take away his military power?" Tao Ying was a little surprised, and deliberately asked, "Uncle thinks that the little nephew should be from martial arts?" But the little nephew's martial arts are low, and he doesn't know the art of war, can he do it? ”

"As a general, the level of martial arts does not matter, can Han Xin's martial arts catch up with Xiang Yu? But who will lose in the battle? Cao Bao waved his hand, told the truth, and said more sincerely: "As for the art of war, this point is even less important, no one is born to fight, Gongzi can go to the army and learn slowly." ”

Speaking of this, Cao Bao suddenly changed his face and said very affectionately: "What's more, Gongzi has served in the Xuzhou Army, and the last general has also worked for Gongzi a lot, helping Gongzi to make contributions, so that the lord will be more impressed with Gongzi, and he will ...... in the future, hehe." ”

"Heh, after doing it for a long time, this guy originally wanted to burn the cold stove." Tao Ying smiled in his heart, and finally understood Cao Bao's true intentions - now he has made great contributions to Xuzhou and won the hearts of the people of Xuzhou, his cheap father Tao Qian is old and sick, and he may kick his legs at any time, and his cheap big brother Tao Shang is cowardly and incompetent, Tao Qian is very likely to designate himself as the heir of Xuzhou when he dies, Cao Bao rushes to close the relationship with himself before passing on the throne, which can not only consolidate Cao Bao's own position in the Xuzhou army, but also have more authority in the future, and even cover the sky in Xuzhou. Become the de facto ruler of Xuzhou.

Understanding Cao Bao's wishful thinking, Tao Ying suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, immediately left the table and bowed to Cao Bao, and said respectfully: "In this case, the little nephew will thank his uncle first, if the little nephew can really serve in the Xuzhou army, please ask your uncle for more advice and care." ”

"It should be, it should be." Cao Bao was overjoyed, hurriedly picked up Tao Ying, and said with a smile: "Son, please sit down, Cao Bao still has a jar of old good wine at home, which has been treasured for many years. ”

"No need, my uncle has given me a generous gift, and my little nephew is already grateful, and I don't dare to use my uncle's many years of treasure." Tao Ying modestly excused himself. Cao Bao said that he refused to agree to anything, and repeatedly invited Tao Ying to sit down and wait, and went to fetch good wine to entertain Tao Ying, Tao Ying had no choice but to agree, and Cao Bao left happily temporarily.

"It's a pity that his ability is a little worse, otherwise, with his intelligence and sensibility, he will definitely be my good helper." Looking at the back of Cao Bao leaving happily, Tao Ying sighed in his heart, couldn't help but smile slightly, and said secretly: "Fortunately, he has a low ability, otherwise, it will not be too easy to snatch the military power of Xuzhou from him." ”

Muttering, Tao Ying suddenly felt that his eyes flashed, and Tingting approached a woman outside the hall, covered in silk Luo Zhucui and showed that she was not a member of Cao's mansion, Tao Ying took a closer look at the woman's appearance, and immediately regretted that she was lustful and cheap, and she looked at things that should not be seen, and this meal was uncomfortable for anything.

It turned out that the woman who came in from outside the hall was extremely ugly, with a toad beak and mung bean eyes, skin like paint, a flat nose and chicken breasts, yellow and thin hair, thick and black eyebrows, she was simply a female version of the bell tower weirdo, and it was definitely not a problem to go to the street and scare three or five disciples to death Yanagishita Megumi!

What made Tao Ying even more unbearable was that after this strange ugly woman entered the door, she neither spoke nor saluted, blinking her mung bean eyes and just looking Tao Ying up and down, seeing Tao Ying's heart hairy, she quickly pretended to serve wine and bowed her head, avoiding the strange eyes of the strange ugly woman. But fortunately, the strange ugly woman didn't stay in the hall for long, and after looking at Tao Ying for a while, she quietly exited the hall and disappeared without a trace. Tao Ying inevitably wondered in his heart, "Who is this ugly girl?" ”

"Childe, I've been waiting for a long time." After another moment, Cao Bao returned to the hall with a wine jar and laughed, and said with a smile while patting the wine jar open: "Childe, although the last general never drinks, this jar of wine is a good wine in Sichuan that was bought at a high price ten years ago, and Childe must drink more." ”

"Thank you uncle, uncle is generous, and the little nephew doesn't dare to be a loss." Tao Ying hurried to be humble.

"General." Outside the hall, a subordinate of Cao's mansion suddenly came in, saluted Cao Bao and said: "General, just now the general's daughter is looking for the general, and now the lady is looking for her, I don't know if the general's daughter can be here?" ”

"Cao Ling is looking for me, what's the matter?" Cao Bao asked pretending to be surprised.

"The villain doesn't know." The servant shook his head and replied.

"Childe, did the little girl enter the hall just now?" Cao Bao turned to Tao Ying again and asked.

"Shicai had a female son-in-law enter the hall and soon went out of the hall again, but she didn't speak, I don't know if it's my uncle's daughter." Tao Ying answered truthfully, and at the same time Tao Ying muttered secretly, "Cao Bao's daughter? Could it be that he married Lu Bu later? Lu Wenhou really has a good appetite, and that kind of goods also has the guts? Admire, admire! ”

"It's the little girl Cao Ling!" Cao Bao slapped his thigh, pretended to be annoyed, and said, "This child, why don't you speak when you see Gongzi?" It's really worth fighting. ”

After that, Cao Bao turned to the next person and shouted: "Go and tell Madame, let her find Ling'er, she will scold a few more words, if there is no son who sacrifices his life to persuade the Cao thief army to retreat, can one of our Cao family live?" ”

The subordinate only made a promise, saluted and left, and Tao Ying was suspicious in his heart, and said secretly: "No, in this era, there is a young lady who casually shows up?" Also, what happened just now, how do you look like it was arranged in advance, what does Cao Bao plan to do when he arranges it like this? ”

Thinking about this, Tao Ying subconsciously shivered, and said in his heart: "Could it be that Cao Bao, the old slippery head, ......?" ”

"Childe." Sure enough, Cao Bao really changed the topic, and while pouring wine for Tao Ying, he said with a smile: "Childe, as far as Cao Bao knows, Childe is already twenty years old this year, right?" Still haven't been married? ”

"The Huns have not been destroyed, why should they be at home." Tao Ying shivered again, and quickly refused: "If there is chaos today, Xuzhou's vitality is greatly damaged, and his father is old and sick, Tao Ying does not dare to consider marriage." ”

"Hey, if a man has no wife, like a house without beams, how can he be ruined because of state affairs?" Cao Bao waved his hand to deny Tao Ying's crooked reasoning, and said with a smile: "The appearance of the little girl, the son also saw it just now, it is still unsatisfactory, thin and beautiful, if the son does not dislike it, Cao Bao intends to take his daughter as his wife, I don't know what the son thinks?" ”

"Is that also unsatisfactory? Thin and beautiful? Your old Cao is not only not good at martial arts, but also not good at vision! Tao Ying almost didn't cry, and said in his heart that your old Cao Ke really gave me a big problem, even if your daughter looks mediocre, I can barely accept it for the sake of Xuzhou's military power, but she looks like that kind of ghost, I will marry her home, and I have to stage "Bell Tower Stranger" every night at home?

Frightened, Tao Ying had to hurriedly excuse himself: "Uncle is kind, the little nephew understands it, but the little nephew's brother Tao Shang has not yet married, and the little nephew, as the second son, is really inconvenient to get married before the elder brother." ”

"It doesn't matter, if the son agrees, we can get married first, and then get married after the eldest son gets married." Cao Bao really wanted to marry his daughter to Tao Ying, and took the initiative to make concessions, and at the same time Cao Bao snorted coldly in his heart, "Boy, it's cheap for you, with my daughter's appearance, it's not one or two wealthy sons rushing to ask for it." ”

"Since ancient times, marriage has been the order of parents, and the words of the matchmaker, Tao Ying, as a son of man, dare not make his own decisions." Tao Ying shirked again, and was ready to offend Cao Bao in his heart.

Fortunately, Cao Bao is a well-behaved and smooth person, seeing Tao Ying so repeatedly shirked, he immediately understood that Tao Ying did not take a fancy to his daughter, so Cao Bao was not reluctant, so he had to raise the teacup again, and said with a smile: "Gongzi is really a person of great filial piety, since this is the case, then this matter should be regarded as Cao Bao did not say, Gongzi, please, let's drink wine and taste tea." ”

"Uncle Xie." Tao Ying breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly broke the wine bowl and clinked glasses with Cao Bao, but at this moment, Tao Ying suddenly heard a very angry woman's cold snort from outside the window, and then there was a burst of angry footsteps, Tao Ying suddenly understood in his heart - today's incident is definitely not accidental, Cao Bao has long made up his mind to marry his daughter to himself, hiding outside the window and eavesdropping, and it must be Cao Bao's ugly and scary daughter Cao Ling!

"What kind of eyes is this kid?" Cao Bao also muttered in doubt, "Even if my daughter is not as good-looking as a fairy, she can be regarded as outstanding and moving, right?" I've already flattered this kid so much, why does this kid still resolutely refuse? Could it be that this kid is really a complete fool who doesn't understand the benefits of marrying my Cao Bao at all? ”;