Liu Bei, who lived in Xuzhou, learned that Yuan Shu had usurped the title of emperor and Liu Xie issued an edict to recruit all the princes to crusade against Yuan Shu, so he locked himself in his room and thought about it for a night, thinking repeatedly about how he could benefit from it. At the beginning, Zhang Min escorted Cao Cao's father Cao Song at the instigation of Liu Bei, but who expected Zhang Min to turn back halfway, and before he could reach Yanzhou, he killed dozens of Cao Song's entire family, so that Liu Bei's plan to kill people with a knife came to naught, and he also attracted Cao Cao, a strong enemy to Xuzhou.

Since then, Liu Bei has been thinking day and night about how to escape from Xuzhou, and not to damage his reputation, so as not to fall into the infamy of being greedy for life and afraid of death. Liu Bei knew that Tao Qian had no ambitions, once Cao Cao led his troops to attack Xuzhou, Tao Qian would be unstoppable by 10,000, and if the gentleman did not stand under the dangerous wall, Liu Bei did not want to die in Xuzhou with Tao Qian. But since entering Xuzhou in the past two years, Liu Bei has always pretended to be compassionate and compassionate, and after pretending for a long time, he even thought that it was his own nature, and he left a benevolent and generous public image in the hearts of the majority of Xuzhou residents. If Liu Bei is allowed to flee from Xuzhou when he is in distress, Liu Bei's reputation will be ruined.

This time Yuan Shu was called the emperor, so that the scheming Liu Bei saw the opportunity, after a night of thinking, Liu Bei decided to borrow troops from Tao Qian to recruit Yuan Shu. Liu Bei understood that Tao Qian would not personally go on the expedition, he must stay in Xuzhou, in case Cao Cao came to conquest, on the other hand, Liu Xie's edict has spread all over the world, if Tao Qian, who is the pastor of Xuzhou, does not send people and horses to crusade against Yuan Shu, it is really unreasonable, Liu Bei believes that Tao Qian will symbolically send a team of military horses to conquer Yuan Shu. Then, Liu Bei's opportunity has come, he can take the initiative to ask Ying, receive this task, and lead his troops to recruit Yuan Shu, in that case. Liu Bei can not only get a team of people from Tao Qian, but also leave Xuzhou justifiably and avoid the end of burning with Tao Qian's jade, which is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone.

The next day, Liu Bei, who had not slept all night, cheered up and came to Tao Qian's house early in the morning to see Tao Qian. After meeting, Liu Bei exchanged a few words of greeting, and then said straightforwardly: "Ming Gong." The Son of Heaven issued an edict, calling on all the princes to crusade against Yuan Shu, who usurped the emperor, I don't know what Ming Gong planned to do? ”

When Tao Qian heard this, he sighed sadly, and said in an old tone: "Xuande, Zhang Min killed Cao Cao's father a few days ago, and Cao Cao is bound to refuse to give up. If the old man leaves Xuzhou, with Cao Cao's strategy, he will definitely take advantage of Xuzhou's emptiness. sent troops to attack Xuzhou, so the old man must not leave Xuzhou at this time. However, in the edict of the Son of Heaven. The attitude is very resolute, and the old man can't help but obey, dilemma, dilemma......"

Seeing Tao Qian was the same as what he had guessed in his heart. Liu Bei hurriedly took the opportunity to say: "Duke Ming must not leave Xuzhou, otherwise the soldiers and people in the territory will be fluctuating, and they will no longer be able to resist Cao Cao, who may come to attack Xuzhou." Prepare a suggestion to Ming Gong. You can send a general under your command to lead a team of men and horses to crusade against Yuan Shu. It's just that the commander sent by the Ming Duke must be a famous man in the world, otherwise, there will be people with ulterior motives, indicating that the Duke is perfunctory in the edict of the Son of Heaven. ”

Tao Qian listened to Liu Bei's words, and was suspicious at first, but when he heard half of it, his brows gradually eased, obviously thinking that Liu Bei's words were very reasonable, but after hearing the most slugging, Tao Qian's brows were unfolded, and they wrinkled together unconsciously. With a bitter smile, Tao Qian said: "Xuande, your time in Xuzhou is not short, do you think that in Xuzhou, who can be called a famous person in the world?" ”

Liu Bei was secretly satisfied with Tao Qian's cooperation, and things were already developing steadily according to Liu Bei's plan. At that moment, Liu Bei pretended to say: "The two brothers Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, although they are businessmen, they are also the staff members under the Ming Gong's account, are they worthy of this position?" Tao Qian shook his head and sighed: "These two people can be regarded as county guards in business and governance, but if they march to fight, it is really difficult. ”

After the two people he recommended were denied, Liu Bei was even happier in his heart, if he wanted this effect, he would list the famous people in Xuzhou one by one, and then let Tao Qian deny them one by one.

"Then, Chen Yuanlong is smart and witty, can he take on this heavy responsibility?" Liu Bei pretended to be thinking and continued to recommend candidates who were simply incompetent. Chen Yuanlong is Chen Deng, a person from Xiapi in Xuzhou, a celebrity in Xuzhou, and Yuanlong is his word. Chen Deng served as a county magistrate when he was young, and because of his outstanding political achievements and deep popular support, he was later appointed by Tao Qian as the captain of the agricultural school. His father, Chen Qi, is also a famous scholar in Xuzhou, whose name is Hanyu. Whether it is Chen Qi or Chen Deng, the expertise of the father and son is to manage the internal affairs of the county and county, and they have nothing to do with leading troops to fight. Therefore, Tao Qian still shook his head and denied Liu Bei's recommendation again.

In all fairness, Xuzhou was in the Han Dynasty, even if it was not a place of outstanding people, there were very few talented people, and Tao Qian had no ambitions, just to keep Xuzhou, and some ambitious people also left Xuzhou and went elsewhere. Combining these two reasons, Tao Qian's subordinates did not have generals who marched and fought at all.

After saying the names of several people one after another, Liu Bei saw that Tao Qian shook his head and refused as he expected, Liu Bei thought that the time was ripe. So, Liu Bei put on an impassioned look and said to Tao Qian: "Duke Ming, although the Son of Heaven was deceived by the villain and removed the branch of the Bei lineage, but no matter what, Bei has always been a relative of the Han family, how can he sit back and watch Yuan Shu be so rampant?" If Ming Gong believes Liu Bei, he is willing to borrow thousands of troops and go to Jianghuai to fight to the death with Yuan Shu! ”

Where did Tao Qian know Liu Bei's true thoughts? He also thought that Liu Bei was angry at Yuan Shu's self-reliance, and at the same time thought about Xuzhou with a benevolent heart, so he recommended himself and was willing to lead thousands of troops to fight Yuan Shu to the death. Tao Qian, who didn't know what was going on, was almost moved to tears: "Xuande, your hard work, the old man naturally understands, but now it is impossible for Xuzhou to take out a large army to fight Yuan Shu, at most 5,000 men and horses can be transferred, in that case, isn't it for you to be sent to death?" How can the old man watch you die for the sake of Xuzhou? ”

Liu Bei pretended to be grateful, stepped forward and grabbed Tao Qian's hands, took the killer weapon out, and said with tears: "Ming Gong, Liu Bei has been deeply favored by Ming Gong since he entered Xuzhou, and the people of Xuzhou are under the governance of Ming Gong, everyone lives and works in peace and contentment, Xuzhou can live and work without Liu Bei, but it can't be without Ming Gong, Bei is willing to replace Ming Gong and fight with Yuan Shu, no matter whether it succeeds or fails, it can be regarded as repaying Ming Gong's kindness, please allow Ming Gong!" ”

Liu Bei's tears have always been his sharpest weapon, it can be said that from eighty-year-old people to eight-year-old children, as long as they are sophisticated, few people can escape Liu Bei's tears. Tao Qian was no exception, holding Liu Bei's hands, he was moved by Liu Bei's tears and words, and said in a choked voice: "Xuande, you are kind-hearted...... Anyway, the old man will go with you with 5,000 elite soldiers on behalf of the old man. Remember, once the war is unfavorable, return to Xuzhou immediately, and don't fall into danger because of a momentary mood. ”

Returning to Xuzhou? This time, in the name of crusading against Yuan Shu, he was going to leave Xuzhou, how could Liu Bei return to Xuzhou? What do you do when you come back? Waiting for Cao Cao's army to attack, and you Tao Qian's jade will be burned, and you will be Cao Cao's ghost under the knife together? Although he thought so in his heart, Liu Bei's face didn't show it at all, but he cried even more, and he had the potential to go to the soup for Tao Qian.

After coming out of Tao Qian's mansion, the sadness on Liu Bei's face disappeared in an instant, and he slowly showed a smile after the conspiracy succeeded, and then with a hint of anxiety, he quickly returned to his residence.

As soon as he entered the door, Liu Bei shouted impatiently: "Yun Chang, Yide, quickly reorganize the army!" The two brothers who were practicing in the courtyard, after hearing Liu Bei's shout, Zhang Fei raised the snake spear in his hand and said angrily: "Big brother, is Cao Cao here to kill?" Just in time, watch me poke him through 10,000 transparent holes! ”

Liu Bei stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Fei, shook his head and said, "Cao Cao didn't come, we are going to replace Tao Envoy Jun and lead 5,000 elite soldiers to conquer Yuan Shu under the edict of the Son of Heaven." After hearing Liu Bei's explanation, Zhang Fei became even more angry: "It turned out that he was going to fight Yuan Shu, that's better, this Yuan Shu is arrogant and arrogant, he dares to stand up as the Son of Heaven, I must poke him 10,000 ...... 20,000 transparent holes! ”

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are both good men who stand up to the sky, and they have long been unaccustomed to Yuan Shu's arrogant and domineering appearance, since he heard that Yuan Shu was arrogating to be the emperor, Zhang Fei has been shouting every day to kill Yuan Shu. Although Guan Yu is not like Zhang Fei, who says what he thinks in his heart every day, the hatred for Yuan Shu in his heart cannot be concealed. Immediately, Guan Yu snorted coldly, and then said: "Big brother, let the third brother go to the army later, and now go to the Xuzhou camp and personally pick up troops!" We'll be off early tomorrow morning! ”

At the same time, Cao Cao personally led an army of 50,000 to embark on a journey to conquer Yuan Shu. In this expedition, although Cao Cao did not think that he would be able to defeat Yuan Shu on the basis, the necessary preparations still had to be in place, so the elite troops Tiger Leopard Cavalry and Tiger Guard, which had just been formed into an army, were all taken by Cao Cao's side, plus 30,000 strong people, to form this army to defeat Yuan Shu. In order to show respect and attention to the Son of Heaven, Cao Cao's generals exhausted, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan brothers, Cao Hong, Cao Chun and other clan brothers, Yu Ban, Li Dian and other generals with foreign surnames, as well as strategists Cheng Yu and ghost genius Guo Jia, all followed Cao Cao on the expedition.

Before setting out on the expedition, Cao Cao quietly called Cao Ren, who stayed in Yanzhou, and asked him to pay attention to the movements of Xuzhou at all times. For this reason, Cao Cao deliberately left Le Jin and Cao Xiu as Cao Ren's deputies, and told Cao Ren that if necessary, in the name of Cao Cao, he could use Zang Ba's headquarters in Qingzhou to jointly attack Xuzhou. (To be continued......)