"Second brother, can you let me take a look at that heirloom jade seal?"

As soon as he withdrew to Guangling City, he had just returned to the Guangling Taishou Mansion Hall used by the Xuzhou army for deliberations, Tao Ji was the first to rush to Tao Ying, and asked Tao Ying to show the jade seal of the country with a flattering face, Zhang Xu, Xie Yan and Xu Sheng and other Xuzhou generals also surrounded Tao Ying, and rushed to see the jade seal of the country that Tao Ying was abducted and deceived by Tao Yingkeng, and the jade seal carved by the legendary Heshi Bi.

"You can see it if you want to, why are you so tight? Spread the point, spread the point. Tao Ying complained and pushed away the surrounding generals, untied the package tied to his back, took out the jade seal of the country and threw it to Tao Ji, and scolded angrily: "Oh, if you want to see it, you can see enough, soil buns, make a fuss." After scolding, Tao Ying ignored the whereabouts of the heirloom jade seal, and went straight to the back hall to bathe and change clothes.

"Second brother, don't throw it away, this is a jade seal of the country! Heirloom jade seal! ”

Tao Ji was frightened by Tao Ying's rough movements and screamed like a pig, and fortunately caught it in a hurry, took it in his hand and looked through it carefully, the generals of Xuzhou also swarmed around Tao Ji, and approached to appreciate this heirloom jade seal with countless legends and stories.

It wasn't until Tao Ying, who hadn't washed his face for two days, finished bathing and changing clothes, changed into a scholar's dress and returned to the lobby of Taishou Mansion, that the generals of Xuzhou basically passed the jade seal of the country to the country, and Tao Ji was very loyal to guard the jade seal of the country, supervising the last general of Xuzhou After looking through and appreciating the jade seal, Tao Ji took the jade seal back and was about to return it to Tao Ying for disposal, but he saw Lu Su sitting aside and looking at the bamboo slips, so he kindly held the jade seal in front of Lu Su and said with a smile: "Military advisor, you haven't seen this jade seal of the country, right?" Hurry up and take a look, and then I'll hand it back to my brother. ”

"Thank you for the kindness of the third general, but I'm not interested in it and don't want to see it." Lu Su replied without raising his head.

"How?" Tao Ji was stunned and hurriedly asked: "Military advisor, is it possible that you are also like those pedantic nerds, and think that my second brother's means of inheriting the jade seal of the country are disgraceful?" ”

"What is not glorious?" Lu Su finally stopped flipping through the bamboo slips, raised his head and said lightly: "Could it be that Sun Jian's father and son took advantage of the chaos to hide and swallow this heirloom jade seal, it was very glorious?" The son uses the way of others to govern others, why not? ”

"Then why don't you look at this heirloom jade seal?" Taugie was completely confused.

"Because in Su's eyes, this heirloom jade seal is no different from a poisonous snake and beast, and if you are not careful, you may set yourself on fire and cause a catastrophe, so I don't even want to touch it." Lu Su replied calmly.

"Zijing's sentence is too right." Tao Ying held the teacup and said: "In my eyes, this heirloom jade seal is also as terrible as the flood beast, holding it in your hand is as dangerous as holding a poisonous snake in your arms, only the third brother you fools treat this broken stone as a treasure, it's just a shame, I don't know how to write dead words." ”

Hearing Tao Ying's words, Tao Ji, Zhang Ji and others were of course confused, and Lu Su, who had been expressionless, breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Tao Ying: "It seems that I really misunderstood my son, and I am still worried that my son will be greedy, since my son can understand this truth, then I can rest assured." But I still have to remind my son that this jade seal is an ominous thing, and it must not be kept, and if it stays, it will cause trouble! ”

"Of course, I'm stupid to leave this heirloom jade seal, such a dangerous thing, if you keep it in your hand for a day, it will cause trouble!" Tao Ying's answer completely relieved Lu Su, and also made Tao Ji and the others completely confused.

"Second brother, military advisor, what are you talking about, why can't I understand it at all?" Tao Ji couldn't help but ask tentatively: "Listening to the tone of the second brother and the military advisor, do you want to give away this heirloom jade seal again?" ”

"If you don't send it out, what will you do when you stay?" Tao Ying smiled and asked Tao Ji in reverse: "Third brother, if we leave this heirloom jade seal, what do you think will happen?" What will our Cao Ying, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Lu Bu and others around Xuzhou do? ”

In addition to being too young and too little knowledge, Tao Ji's mind is actually not stupid, listening to Tao Ying's question, Tao Ji quickly came to his senses and exclaimed: "Second brother is right, we will not keep this piece of jade seal, once it is left, the strong enemies around us will never give up, and they will definitely raise troops to ask for guilt and reach out to grab it!" ”

"Yes, the third brother has finally grown a little." Tao Ying said with a smile: "Our five counties in Xuzhou are relatively rich, and their military strength is relatively weak, and they have always been lamb and fish meat in the eyes of the surrounding princes, and they have long coveted our Xuzhou. In this case, if we keep this heirloom jade seal in our hands, we will immediately give these jackals an excuse to ask for their guilt, and also give them the opportunity to annex Xuzhou, so before our strength is strong enough to dominate the world, this heirloom jade seal is not worthy of our possession, so we can only throw it out quickly, and if we delay a little, it may cause a monstrous disaster. ”

Hearing Tao Ying's words, the generals in Xuzhou looked at each other, both felt that Tao Ying was reasonable, but also felt that it was too pity, and Tao Ji, who was rarely praised by Tao Ying, was also both happy and regretful, "The second brother is still smarter than me, I have thought of these things a long time ago, it's a pity, it's a pity to pass on the jade seal of the country, just give it to people like this." ”

"Of course I'm distressed, but it's useless, we're still too weak now, it's so hard to beat a newly debuted Sun Ce, let alone the old and refined Cao Ying, Lu Bu and Yuan Shao." Tao Ying shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, and then asked the heirloom jade seal back from Tao Ji's hand, played with admiration and said: "Besides, I once swore an arrow in front of everyone to return this heirloom jade seal to the Han Emperor. ”

"What Gongzi said is very true, you have sworn to return the heirloom jade seal to the Son of Heaven, and you can't break your oath." Xuzhou veteran Zhang Zhen was more superstitious and echoed: "Legend has it that when Sun Jian got this jade seal, Yuan Shao forced him to hand it over, but he flatly denied it, and swore that if he hid the jade seal, he would let him die under the sword and arrow, and finally fulfilled such an oath." I heard just now that you also made such an oath, and since this is the case, the last general thinks that Childe, you had better keep your promises, and you must not repeat Sun Jian's mistakes. ”

"Then we will take advantage of the fact that Yuan Shu's army has not yet besieged the city, and quickly send the jade seal back to Xuzhou City to hand it over to my uncle, and ask my uncle and his old man to send someone to send the jade seal to Chang'an and return it to the Han Emperor." Tao Ji suggested: "In this way, under the great joy of the Son of Heaven, he will definitely give his uncle an official promotion, and the second brother, you will definitely be able to get a court official position and title." ”

"I just praised you twice, why did you say stupid things again?" Tao Ying scolded with a smile: "How precious is the jade seal of the country, Xuzhou and Chang'an are thousands of miles apart, no matter which road our envoy takes, he must pass through the territory of other princes, can other princes not be greedy?" Can our envoys take the heirloom jade seal through their territory and go to Chang'an to ask for merit? The princes around us, which one is such a fool? ”

"If you can't send it to the Son of Heaven, what should I do?" Tao Ji looked embarrassed.

"Simple." Tao Ying took a sip of tea and said lightly: "Since we can't send the heirloom jade seal to the Son of Heaven, then we can push others to return it to the Son of Heaven, first hand over this heirloom jade seal to a prince with enough strength, and ask him to help return the heirloom jade seal to the Son of Heaven for us." In this way, I have fulfilled my oath, and the jade seal of the country can be safely returned to the hands of the Son of Heaven, and the princes who helped us can also follow to make some credit, and everyone is happy. ”

"Second brother, you're talking nerds again." Tao Ji complained: "Ask others to return the heirloom jade seal to the Son of Heaven, aren't you afraid that the prince will detain this heirloom jade seal?" ”

"I'd rather teach the people of the world to bear me, and stop teaching me to bear the people of the world." Tao Ying said without blinking his eyelids: "I treat people with sincerity, people will treat me with sincerity, I believe that no matter which prince I entrust to return the jade seal, he will definitely take care of Jun's grace, keep his promise, and transfer the jade seal to the Son of Heaven for me." ”

Tao Ji was in a hurry, and was about to refute Tao Ying's nonsense, but Tao Ying waved his hand to stop his questioning, turned to Lu Su next to him and asked, "Military advisor, in your opinion, should I ask that prince to return the jade seal?" ”

"Childe already has a plan in his heart, so why bother asking me?" Lu Su asked with a smile.

"I do have a plan in my heart, but again, my strategic vision is not as good as that of a military advisor." Tao replied: "So please also ask the military advisor to give advice to correct the fallacy." ”

"Then I'll be presumptuous." Lu Su was not polite, and said loudly: "According to Su's opinion, among the heroes around Xuzhou, Cao Ying should be discharged first, Cao Thief is known for his deceit, and he will not fail to see through the intentions of the son, and it is useless to give him the jade seal." Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zhan in the north are fighting to the death, and they are powerless to look south before they decide the male and female, and after they divide the victory and defeat, Gongzi, you almost don't need to be afraid of them, so they can also be ruled out. Lu Bu is capricious, greedy like a jackal and weak, it is not necessary to give him the jade seal, but it is also possible for him to think that Gongzi is weak and can be bullied, and he is greedy for Xuzhou. Liu Xuan, Yan Baihu, Wang Lang and others in the south are all mediocre and incompetent, and if you don't clean them up, they will already be grateful, so they don't have to think about it. ”

"As for the last prince." Lu Su paused here, and said with a smile: "Whether it is strategic or tactical needs, he is the most ideal person to entrust, and handed over the heirloom jade seal to him, and the prince has a chance to get the jade seal back again." ”

Tao Ying grinned toothily and said, "Strategist, it seems that we think of the same point again, I wonder if Strategist is willing to work hard to serve as this messenger?" ”

"Sent by the son, Su dares to disobey his orders." Lu Su agreed, and laughed at Tao Ying's eyes, while Tao Ji and Zhang Zhen and other Xuzhou generals next to him were confused, I don't know who Tao Ying and Lu Su are talking about, and what are the strategic and tactical purposes?

……………………

At the same time when Tao Ying and Lu Su laughed, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, the two old subordinates of Sun Jian and Sun Ce's father and son, were screaming and furious, because they didn't have time to take Sun Ce's body to board the boat to cross the river, and they were blocked on the shore by the sailors led by Yuan Shujun's general Chen Fen, and then Yuan Shujun quickly landed on the boat, quickly surrounded hundreds of Sun Ce's remnants, forcing Sun Ce's remnants to lay down their arms and surrender, and a small number of Yuan Shujun soldiers in Sun Ce's remnants put down their weapons very happily, while Huang Gai and Cheng Pu weighed again and again, finally put down his weapon to temporarily save his surname, and tried his best to defend Sun Ce in front of Chen Fen, saying that Sun Ce had no rebellious intentions.

What made Cheng Pu and Huang Gai very angry was that Chen Fen didn't listen to Cheng Pu and Huang Gai's explanation at all, and refused to send Sun Ce's body to Qu'a to Sun Jian's widow, and decided that Sun Ce's body should be sent to Shouchun first and handed over to Yuan Shu for disposal. At the same time, Chen Fen disarmed all the soldiers of Sun Jian's old army, and violently scattered these elite soldiers of a hundred battles and put them on the warship as coolie paddle sailors, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were also disarmed and put into the prisoner car, and sent to Shouchun together with Sun Ce's body and handed over to Yuan Shu for disposal.

Cheng Pu and Huang Gai are not miserable, the most miserable person is still Sun Jian's old official Zhu Zhi, in order to report the news of Ji Ling's army to Sun Ce, Zhu Zhi abandoned his wife and children in Shouchun and fled alone, but Sun Jian's old favor was repaid, and when it fell into the hands of Yuan Shujun again, Zhu Zhi didn't even have a chance to explain in front of Yuan Shu, and was directly beheaded by Chen Fen according to Yuan Shu's orders, and his wife and children in Shouchun had already been put in prison, waiting for the fate of being demoted to slaves.

The luckier person is Zhou Yu, because Zhou Yu is not Sun Jian's old department, and he led the civil volunteers to join Yuan Shujun as the head of Chaohu, so Chen Fen was not too difficult for Zhou Yu, and decided to incorporate Zhou Yu into the army, and like other Yuan Shujun soldiers in Sun Ce's remnants, he continued to stay in Yuan Shujun's team as a soldier to eat food. However, Zhou Yu did not accept Chen Fen's kindness, and took the initiative to say to Chen Fen: "General Chen, please put Zai Ye into the prisoner car and send it to Shouchun to General Zuo, Sun Ce is the best in Xia's general corner, he knows everything in Xia, please send it to General Zuo, General Zuo will definitely reward you." ”

"What do you mean by that?" Chen Fen asked in surprise: "Could it be that you want to expose Sun Ce'er's crime in front of the lord?" ”

"Not bad." Zhou Yu also ignored the crazy roars of Cheng Pu and Huang Gai and others in the distance, nodded and replied with great calmness: "Sun Ce does have a heart of disobedience, and he also has disrespectful words to General Zuo, Sun Ce's other plans to send troops to Guangling this time are also clear below, and he is willing to make meritorious contributions to Yuan Gong and expose Sun Ce's various crimes to Yuan Gong in person." ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Yu paused for a moment, and then said: "General Chen, after being considered a famous family, my grandfather Zhou Jinggong and uncle Zhou Zhong both served as the captain of the Han Dynasty, and my father Zhou Yi also served as the Luoyang Commander, and they both had a relationship with General Zuo, so Yuan Gong will definitely meet me, and he will not blame the general for making a fuss." ”

Zhou Yu said that at this point, of course Chen Fen could not refuse, so Chen Fen no longer hesitated, and immediately agreed to Zhou Yu's request, and decided to send Zhou Yu to Shouchun along with Sun Ce's corpse, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, and hand them over to Yuan Shufa. However, Shouchun was too far away from the Yangtze River, and it was not as convenient and fast as taking the land route to escort Zhou Yu and others to Shouchun, so Chen Fen quickly arranged a team of men and horses to escort Zhou Yu and others westward, and the Yuan Shujun naval division led by Chen Fen was temporarily stationed at Guangling Ferry, while blocking the contact between the Guangling Xuzhou Army and Liu Xuan, another enemy of Yuan Shujun, while waiting for the main force led by Ji Ling to arrive, or waiting for the next order from Yuan Shu.

As soon as Sun Ce died, Zhou Yu, who was as close to Sun Ce as a sibling, turned his face so ruthlessly, and even said the words of exposing Sun Ce's crimes and making meritorious contributions in front of Yuan Shu, Huang Gai and Cheng Pu were of course furious, scolding Zhou Yu for being ruthless and unjust, and inferior to beasts, while Zhou Yu was silent, and turned a deaf ear to how Cheng Pu and Huang Gai scolded, as if they had forgotten their brotherhood with Sun Ce. Only in the dead of night would Zhou Yu shrink into the corner of the prisoner car and weep silently, muttering to himself, "Bo Fu, don't worry, please wait patiently for a few more days, I will definitely send Tao Yingxiao'er to you as a companion......." ”

Because there was no Junzi Army on the road this time, Yuan Shujun, who escorted Zhou Yu and others back to Shouchun, walked very fast, and it took more than four days to send Zhou Yu and others to Dongcheng, and the main force of Yuan Shu's army led by Ji Ling had also arrived in Dongcheng and was stationed outside the Dongcheng City that Sun Ce took for Yuan Shu, but Ji Ling had received the news that Sun Ce's entire army had been wiped out, and he could not continue to carry out the task of arresting Sun Ce and questioning him, so Ji Ling did not continue to go east, and was waiting for Yuan Shu's order in Dongcheng County. Will it continue to march east to take Guangling, or will it collect troops and return to Shouchun?

Seeing that Ji Ling did not move, although Ji Ling did not say that he would not see Zhou Yu and the others, Zhou Yu still took the initiative to shout in the prisoner car, asking Ji Ling to meet him, and also said that there was a big secret to report to Ji Ling in person, and there was also a great credit to give to Ji Ling. The guards had no choice but to report the matter to Ji Ling, who was also very curious, and ordered Zhou Yu to be escorted into Dongcheng and took the time to see Zhou Yu once.

Escorted to Ji Ling in shackles, Zhou Yu, who has always been pretentious, rarely showed some flattery, first knelt down in front of Ji Ling and saluted, and then reported his family background and name, so that Ji Ling had a good impression of himself, Zhou Yu said with a flattering face: "Congratulations to General Ji, congratulations to General Ji, there is a great merit, and I am already waiting for you to get it, General." ”

"What great merit?" Ji Ling asked curiously.

"I wonder if the general has ever heard of the jade seal of the country?" Zhou Yu said with a smile: "It was rumored among the people before that during Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the jade seal of the country fell into the hands of Sun Jian, I wonder if the general has ever heard of it?" ”

"Why haven't you heard of it?" Ji Ling said angrily: "My lord has repeatedly questioned Sun Ce Xiao'er and asked Sun Ce Xiao'er to sacrifice the jade seal of the country, but that Xiao'er flatly denied it, and insisted that this matter was just a rumor. ”

"Sun Ce'er is lying." Zhou Yu changed his serious look and said: "The jade seal of the country is not only in the hands of Sun Ce, but also has been seen more than once with my own eyes. ”

"Is it really in Sun Ce's hands?" Ji Ling jumped up and said angrily: "Where is the heirloom jade seal now?" Why didn't Chen Fen send someone to send it? ”

"General, don't get me wrong, it's not that General Chen Fen is greedy for ink, but that the heirloom jade seal has changed hands." Zhou Yu hurriedly defended Chen Fen, and told Ji Ling in detail about Tao Ying's deception of the jade seal of the country--in fact, Chen Fen also heard about this from Yuan Shu's old pawn, and reported the matter to Ji Ling in the letter, but our General Ji Ling only cared about spending time and drinking, and he didn't have time to read the letter.

After listening to Zhou Yu's introduction, he quickly took out Chen Fen's letter and read it, confirming that Zhou Yu was not lying, Ji Ling was suddenly furious, "What a little Sun Ce, it turns out that the jade seal of the country is really in your hands!" What a Tao Ying child, the jade seal is the treasure of the Son of Heaven, you are a little unofficial and unemployed second son of Xuzhou Mu, and you dare to take it away and hide! ”

"General Ji, this is a great opportunity for you to make contributions to the Lord, please don't miss it." Seeing that the fire had arrived, Zhou Yu immediately instigated: "The jade seal is the treasure of the Son of Heaven, Yuan Gong will definitely not sit back and watch this treasure fall into Tao Ying's hands, the general also asks to wave his army eastward as soon as possible, go straight to Guangling City, break through Guangling to get back the jade seal, and dedicate it to Yuan Gong, Yuan Gong is overjoyed, and he will definitely reward the general." And although Tao Ying Xiaoer defeated Sun Ce's traitor, his own casualties were also very huge, and the general was attacking the city in the east at the moment, just in time to receive the persuasion to take advantage of the weakness and take Guangling, it was as easy as a snap! ”

"Not bad!" Ji Ling patted the case in front of him, gritted his teeth and said: "How can such a treasure as the heirloom jade seal be monopolized by that Tao Ying child?" I should immediately march east and recapture this treasure for my lord! ”

"General, please rest assured." Zhou Yu took the opportunity to say: "Also, please send someone to escort the general to Shouchun quickly, and after going down to Yuan Gong, he will definitely explain this matter to Yuan Gong, and ask Yuan Gong to quickly send grain and grass to rescue the general, and take Guangling to recapture this treasure." ”

"You can get away with it, don't you?" Ji Ling looked at Zhou Yu and smiled.

"Let the general be right, and I am really eager to atone for my sins." Zhou Yu lowered his head in shame, and quickly raised his head and said: "Again, General Ji, I have fought with Tao Ying Xiao'er many times, and I know his tactics and tactics very well. ”