Qiaoxian was once controlled by the Xuzhou army, but it didn't take long for the Xuzhou army that was still weak at the time to give up, and the Cao army team that entered Chen County took over the hometown of Cao Laoda, which was close to Chen County, and the Xuzhou army retreated to Xiangxian and Xiaoguan to defend themselves, and there were no soldiers in the next time in Qiaoxian County.

Qian County was also one of the hardest hit areas of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, devastated by the war, the population was greatly reduced, and the people's livelihood and economy were also seriously damaged, so after taking over Qian County, Cao Laoda, whose comprehensive strength was severely reduced, has never been able to spare energy and money to run this hometown city, and at the same time, he has not been able to free up a large number of troops to deploy here to confront the Xuzhou army, so he temporarily ignored the surname and let the clan family in his hometown take charge of the county border, and did not send troops from here to threaten Xuzhou.

Not being noticed by those in power in troubled times is not necessarily a bad thing, at least because Deputy Director Tao and Boss Cao are not very interested in Qian County, and they have never regarded Qian County as a battlefield for hegemony, but Qian County, which was seriously damaged by the war, has been given a chance to recuperate during this period, the population has begun to recover, the abandoned land has been reclaimed, and the population has gradually become denser again.

At the same time, because the road leads directly to the economically prosperous hinterland of Xuzhou, there is still no war, and because of the relatively light taxation -- no matter how bold the local officials appointed by Cao Jun are, they do not dare to expropriate and extort money in the territory of Qiaoxian, which is full of Cao's relatives, and Qiaoxian has inadvertently become the road of choice for non-governmental business and trade ties between Henan and Xuzhou and Xuzhou in the Central Plains.

There are also poor people in the peaceful land, at least in a small village next to the official road of the ferry on the bank of the Huanguoshui River outside the city of Qiaoxian, a beautiful girl of eleven or two years old is looking at the red rope on a merchant's cart, and her clear eyes are full of longing.

The little girl was dressed in a simple blue cloth dress, although the coarse cloth clothes were very clean, but there were several patches with very dense stitches, and she held a rope and a firewood knife in her hand, as if she was about to go out of the village to cut wood, but when she passed by the merchant's cart, the little girl stopped, and just kept looking at the red rope sold by the merchant, and refused to take a step again.

After selling the two fences, the merchant also noticed the little girl, so he picked up the red rope and said with a smile: "Little sister, do you want to pull the two-foot red rope?" It's good to wear it on your head, it's only a penny a foot, if you want it, I'll give you more. ”

The little girl quickly shook her head and left, and there was still nervousness on the immature little face that had been washed cleanly, but after bowing her head and walking two steps, the little girl couldn't help but look back at the red rope in the merchant's hand. If you want to buy it, buy it, buy a red rope for money and tie it on your head, and the future generations in the city will be tempted to see you. ”

The little girl called Xiao Juan's tender face suddenly turned red, and she quickly lowered her head and walked quickly, never thought that she would walk too quickly and bumped into a person in a few steps, Xiao Juan screamed in pain, and then looked up to see who she had bumped into, the little girl's little face couldn't help but be even more red, it turned out that she hit a very handsome young man, holding a roll of bamboo slips in his hand, wearing the Confucian robes often worn by scholars, the clothes were ordinary, and the white and slippery face was full of friendly smiles.

"Little sister, didn't hurt there, did you?" The handsome young man, who looked like he had a greasy face, took the initiative to speak, and asked with a gentle smile.

The little girl shook her head, but her little face couldn't help but be a little redder, but the oily face refused to stop, and said with a smile: "It's good that it didn't hurt, it just so happens that I also have something I want to inquire about in the village, may I ask the little sister, is this the boundary of the Qiandong Pavilion?" ”

The little girl nodded, but she was a little timid and didn't dare to speak, and the oily face said again: "Oh, yes, it's good, please ask the little sister again, I heard that there is a river temple here in Qian Dongting, does the little sister know where the temple is?" ”

"Yes." The little girl finally spoke, pointed in the direction, and said in a very immature and crisp voice: "Go out of the village to the river, walk down the river for three miles, and you can see the river temple, on the mountainside, but the temple has been abandoned for a long time, and the road is full of long grass, and it is not easy to walk." ”

"Thank you, little sister." The oily head noodles thanked him politely, and took out a few big money and handed it to the little girl, and said with a smile: "Little sister, this is thank you, take it and buy something you like." ”

The little girl was a little surprised, but soon blushed and shook her head, and said timidly, "Thank you, Childe, but I can't ask for it, my mother said, you can't take other people's things." ”

"What a sensible little sister." Oily Flour smiled, and said with a smile: "Take it, this is your reward for showing the way to your eldest brother, not stealing or robbing, your mother won't blame you." Besides, haven't you been looking at that red rope just now? Take it and buy a foot. ”

The little girl's little face began to get hot, and she knew that the oily noodles in front of her had actually noticed herself, but she still shook her head and said, "No, I can't ask for it, my mother will be unhappy, I ......, I'm going to chop wood." After saying that, the little girl picked up the firewood knife and hurried away, leaving the oily face in place with an evil smile.

Merchants continue to come and go, the population is increasing, the firewood near the village has of course been cut down, the little girl can only go to the distance to find fellable wood, but because of the mention of the river temple, the little girl suddenly remembered that the river temple is rarely used to cut wood, there are many trees, so she simply carried the firewood knife to the direction of the river temple, and also pulled a wild flower on the side of the road and inserted it in the black hair, entertaining herself and singing a little song to hurry.

"Sister, you boldly go forward! Go ahead! Don't look back! The road to heaven, nine thousand nine hundred, nine thousand nine hundred and nine! ”

After walking more than a mile, the song of killing pigs and slaughtering sheep suddenly came from behind, interrupting the little girl's beautiful song, startling the crows and birds foraging in the grass by the roadside, and also frightened the little girl a spirit, and when she quickly looked back, she saw that the oily face was riding a horse, leading a dozen or so horseback attendants who did not know where they came from, and were riding horses here, and the hoarse and ugly singing continued to echo in the wilderness, "Go forward!" Don't look back! From then on, you will build the red embroidery building! ”

"Little sister, we meet again." Seeing the little girl standing in front, the oily noodles finally stopped the strange and ugly singing, waved to the little girl and smiled: "Little sister, we are really fateful, where are you going?" Do you want your big brother to take you on a horse? ”

The oily face was obviously uneasy and the evil smile of the good heart frightened the little girl, so frightened that the little girl hurriedly ran into the grass on the side of the road, and plunged into the depths of the grass, and the oily face quickly shouted: "Little girl, don't run around, there is danger, come back quickly, the big brother has no malice." ”

Although I don't know whether the words of the oily head and noodles are true or not, but the little girl dared to go back and talk to the oily noodles who looked like frivolous people, and she just drilled into the depths of the grass, but she didn't run far, but the little girl was almost paralyzed by fright - in the depths of the grass, I don't know when suddenly a dozen or so heavily armed big men suddenly stood up, and the fierce gods blocked the way of the little girl, so frightened that the little girl screamed out loud, "Help! There are strongmen! Help me! ”

"What's the name of the stinky little girl? Who is a strongman? A big man shouted viciously: "Go back to those who come from there, don't get in the way here!" ”

The little girl was paralyzed on the ground, trembling and afraid to speak, but there was a voice of oily noodles on the other side of the road, and she said lazily and loudly: "Xuchang is here, right?" My soldiers don't dare to be so fierce to the common people, but I advise you not to be so fierce, your boss is from here, maybe this little sister is still related to your boss, scaring her, afraid that you can't afford to eat. ”

A dozen or so big men didn't dare to answer, but their faces were very angry, and the oily face said loudly: "The nearest team came out and protected that little girl, without her to guide the way, I don't know how to go to the River Temple." ”

"No!" A voice suddenly sounded in the grass not far away, and then more than a dozen fully armed strong men walked out of the depths of the grass silently, not only startling the little girl again, but also scaring the previous team of big men into a blank face, and several big men screamed, "When did you touch here?" ”

"Why should I tell you?" Later, a strong man asked arrogantly, and then saluted the little girl, and said respectfully: "Little sister, my lord asked us to protect you in the past, please go with us, if the girl you can't walk, we don't mind, we can carry you." ”

Seeing that the attitude of this group of strong men was kind, the little girl somewhat relieved her heart, mustered up the courage to nod, and then walked out of the grass under the protection of the group of strong men. If they had made a sudden move just now, we would have ...... miserable. ”

was surrounded by more than a dozen strong men in front of the oily head noodles, and the oily noodles smiled at the little girl and said, "Little sister, why are you here too?" Are you going to the River Temple too? ”

"I'm ......, I'm going to chop wood." The little girl trembled and replied, "The firewood around is almost all chopped, and there is a lot of firewood on the side of the river temple." ”

"Would you like to chop wood in another place?" Oily Flour said gently: "There is something going on in the River Temple today, you can't cut firewood in the past, it's better to cut firewood in another place." ”

"Okay." The little girl nodded, and asked curiously, "What's going on over there at the River Temple?" Worship the river god? ”

"No, it's something else." Oily Flour shook his head with a smile, and said with a smile: "Little sister, go to other places to chop wood, I can't get over there at the River Temple today." ”

The little girl nodded again, and was about to leave, when a fast horse suddenly ran in front of her, and immediately the knight hugged his fists and said loudly: "The last general Cao Anmin, I have seen Xuzhou Tao Envoy, my lord has prepared wine and food at the foot of the River Temple Mountain, Gong Hou Envoy Jun is coming, please rest assured, my lord is public and has a letter, one hundred followers are not many, one person is not many, in order to show sincerity, the special order will come to summon the sneaking retinue to appear in front of the envoy." ”

After finishing speaking, Cao Anmin whistled on the horse, and countless big men suddenly stood up in the grass and woods on both sides of the road, and rushed to the top of the station behind Xia Houen, and also frightened the little girl to the point that her face was pale, saying that she couldn't imagine that there would be so many majestic warriors hidden in this area, Cao Anmin arched his hand and said loudly: "Please make Jun count, there are a total of fifty-five people here, including the general, and another forty-five people, who are guarding the lord by the river temple." If you don't believe it, you can send someone to the river temple to count it first. ”

"No need, I can trust Cao Gong." Oily Flour smiled, nodded to a tall strong man next to him, the tall strong man understood, and also made a whistle, and countless strong men suddenly drilled out of the grass and woods behind Oily Flour, and they also rushed to the back of Oily Flour Noodles to line up, and then the tall strong man said in a rough voice: "Except for the lord, all 100 people are here, please General Cao count." ”

Seeing that the oily-headed and powder-faced entourage was hiding so close, Xia Houen's face was also a little pale, and he nodded very reluctantly and said, "No need, the last general, like the lord, can trust Tao Envoy." ”

"Little sister, don't be afraid, we don't have any ill intentions." The oily face comforted the little girl who was already trembling with fright, and said to Cao Anmin: "General Cao, please wait a moment, wait for me to send this little sister away first." ”

"Please make your please." Cao Anmin nodded, and said, "But please make your husband faster, my lord and General Xiahou Yuan have been waiting for more than an hour." ”

"Xiahou Yuan?!" The little girl's petite body was shocked, and a shocked look suddenly appeared on her beautiful face, when she looked at Cao Anmin in surprise, she saw that Cao Anmin's expression was serious and difficult to approach, and the words on her lips were immediately swallowed back into her stomach, and the oily noodles took out a handful of five baht coins and stuffed them into the little girl's hand, and told her to go back and don't talk nonsense, and then got on the horse and went straight away, and the hundred entourages brought by the oily head noodles also lined up to follow, and followed Cao Anmin straight to the river temple, leaving the little girl to hesitate in place, and couldn't help but look at the river temple in the distance.

……………… When Cao Anmin led him to the bottom of the mountain where the river temple was located, the dark and short Boss Cao was dressed in civilian clothes, and sure enough, he was already sitting in the middle of an open space, and next to him was another old friend of Deputy Director Tao, Guo Jia, and Xiahou Yuan led the rest of the guards to stand behind Boss Cao. Seeing the arrival of Deputy Director Tao's team, Boss Cao gave a low command, and Xiahou Yuan immediately led the guards to retreat a hundred steps away, and the guards led by Cao Anmin also rushed to Xiahou Yuan's side, and also stood a hundred steps away from Boss Cao.

Seeing Boss Cao's arrangement, in order to show his sincerity, Deputy Director Tao naturally asked Xu Chu to lead the guards to stand in line a hundred steps away, and only walked to Boss Cao and Guo Jia with Jia Xu, and bowed his hand to Boss Cao from a distance and smiled: "I didn't expect Meng Degong to come here in advance, let Meng Degong wait for a long time, and should be guilty." ”

"You don't have to be polite, you can't wait to thank you, it's too early." Boss Cao smiled and bowed back to Deputy Director Tao, invited Deputy Director Tao and Jia Xu to sit opposite him and Guo Jia, and then smiled and said: "I still make Jun punctual, and I said that I would arrive at noon when I met at noon, and sure enough, I promised a thousand dollars." ”

"I could have come here early to wait for Meng Degong, but I walked around the nearby village and delayed the time." Deputy Director Tao said in a big way: "Meng Degong, you must have seen it, we don't regard Qian County as a battlefield, Qian County will be peaceful and prosperous here immediately, and the common people will be better, it seems that friendly coexistence is not only beneficial to our army, but also to the benefit of the people." ”

"Make what you say reasonable." Boss Cao nodded calmly and said: "Thanks to the blessing of the envoy, there are indeed a lot of business travelers in the city of Qiaoxian, and it is almost in time for the peaceful years." ”

"Then does Duke Cao hope that the border cities of your and our armies will be as prosperous and rich as Qiao County, and the people will live and work in peace and contentment?" Deputy Director Tao asked with a smile.

"That's exactly what it means." Boss Cao said unabashedly: "Recent events, as well as the situation in Qian County, have made Jie understand a truth, being friends with the envoy is far better than being an enemy with the envoy a hundred times." ”

"Reasonable!" Deputy Director Tao applauded, and said with a smile: "Don't hide it from Meng Degong, you should always think that being friends with Meng Degong is far better than being an enemy with Meng Degong a hundred times, but it's a pity that Meng Degong didn't think so before, so there was so much blood between your and our two armies, so many people died, and hundreds of thousands of innocent people were involved." ”

Boss Cao nodded silently, expressing his approval of Deputy Director Tao's words, and at the end, Boss Cao said quite sincerely: "Envoy, let's stop the war, let's really join forces to be friends, if your two armies continue to be so hostile, it will only cheapen others for nothing, but if your and our two armies work together and work together, then even Yuan Shao and Yuan Benchu will not dare to peep into Xu Yan's two states." ”

"That's exactly what it should be." Deputy Director Tao also nodded, and asked again: "I just don't know how Meng Degong plans to work together?" ”

"Then he's going to be blunt." Boss Cao said straight to the point: "I heard that after the unfortunate death of Tao Gongzu, the father of the king, the prince of the envoy to the humble abdication of the elder brother Tao Shang Gongzi is respectful of the elder, and he also admires the character and virtue of the Tao Shang son, and wants to invite the Tao Shang son to the Xuchang Dynasty to come out of the office, and be named the imperial historian, ranking as the third duke!" ”

"Meng Degong wants his brother to enter the court and drive?" Deputy Director Tao pretended to be surprised and said, "Although this matter is not negotiable, Meng Degong ....... ”

Boss Cao is a smart person, hearing Deputy Director Tao's deliberate prolonged voice, he raised his hand above his head and patted it twice, and a young man immediately walked out of Xiahou Yuan's team, bowed in front of Boss Cao, and respectfully said, "Father." ”

"Ang'er, I've seen Tao Yuanjun and Mr. Wenhe." Boss Cao instructed, and introduced to Deputy Director Tao and Jia Xu: "Envoy, Mr. Wenhe, this is Cao Ang, the eldest son of Ying. ”

Cao Ang was ordered to salute Deputy Director Tao and Jia Xu, and Deputy Director Tao and Jia Xu returned the salute, and vaguely guessed Boss Cao's intentions. Sure enough, after the two sides finished saluting, Cao Boss really said: "Envoy, although you are already forty and three, there is only this one adult son, Cao Ang, who is also the eldest son and sister-in-law, if you don't give up, you want Ang'er to go to Xuzhou with the envoy this time to listen to the teachings, and learn the law of unifying the army from the envoy, so that you can inherit the foundation of the army in the future, and I hope that the envoy will approve it." ”

"Swap hostages, or pay first and receive later?" Deputy Director Tao and Jia Lao Poison glanced at each other, and they both saw the satisfied look in each other's eyes.

(To be continued)