"There are wonderful men in the gate, and the autumn wind is flowing in the Huaihe River. Now that the king has come to this world, his subordinates are in love with each other." [Wei Dao'an]

Chen Deng had an expected expression. As early as when Kong Rong and Zheng Xuan planned to enter the imperial court westward and passed through Xuzhou, they had preliminary discussions with Tao Qian, Chen Ji and others who were staying here. They all agreed.

Liu Bei was a man of great integrity, showed his loyalty at the top, eliminated evil at the bottom, and was able to carry out the affairs of Huan and Wen.

At that time, Tao Qian was still healthy, and they only regarded Liu Bei as Xuzhou's barrier. However, with the subsequent development and observation of the situation, Liu Bei, who had a shallow foundation in the past, actually became highly regarded in the eyes of Xuzhou's powerful people, even more than anyone else.

Suitable to be the Lord of Xuzhou.

Letting Liu Bei take over Xuzhou after Tao Qian's death is a result that satisfies all powerful parties in Xuzhou. Even Tao Qian himself believes that Liu Bei will take better care of his two sons in all aspects compared to Cao Cao and Yuan Shu.

A few days later, Tao Qian summoned the governor to the prefecture and asked him not to leave. On the grounds that the capital was far away and the road was not quiet, he planned to give up the position of prefecture pastor to Pei Prime Minister Liu Bei. He also appointed Chen Deng to be in charge of governance and led the people of the prefecture to

Peiguo welcomed Liu Bei. After making this series of decisions, Tao Qian called the pottery brothers. In front of the famous scholars Chen Ji and Chen Gui, he took the hands of the two potters and said: "Liu Xuande will live up to you Cao."

!”

The senile Chen Ji sat aside, as if an old monk was in meditation, motionless, as if he was staying out of the matter and had nothing to do with it.

Chen Gui, who was not much younger than Chen Ji, twitched his brows, opened a pair of cloudy eyes, stared at Tao Qian sincerely, and then expressed his stance: "Liu Bei is tolerant and benevolent, so that you know him well."

, be worry-free!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian squinted his eyes and looked at the two people. He laughed twice like "ho, ho" as if there was phlegm in his throat, and then passed away suddenly.

After Tao Qian died of illness, Chen Deng, who had already made preparations, immediately asked the prestigious Chen Ji, his father Chen Gui, and the Prime Minister of the East China Sea Liu Kui to jointly take charge of the overall situation for the time being, and left his own troops to garrison the city to prevent changes.

.

Afterwards, he took the state officials, Biejia and others, and with the support of Pengcheng Prime Minister Ji Lian and Diannong Captain Mifang who was stationed in Pengcheng, he quickly rushed to Pei County and asked to take Pei Prime Minister Liu Bei into Xuzhou.

When everyone arrived in Peixian County, Liu Bei had already learned about this from Chen Qun, and with a sad face met Chen Deng and others outside the city.

When Liu Bei invited everyone to enter the mansion, they first offered sacrifices to Tao Qian in the distance and cried a lot. Liu Bei's eyes were filled with tears, and he kept crying and howling in front of everyone in Xuzhou, feeling extremely sad. Everyone who was doing the routine was only a little bit sad, but when he saw this, they were all

Infected by Liu Bei's emotions, everyone actually burst into tears.

"When I came to Xuzhou, my envoy gave me four thousand elite soldiers, and he repeatedly allocated me a lot of money and food. My envoy treated me well, but I failed to repay him for my merits. In the end, I was not even allowed to attend the funeral in person!" Liu Bei thought of Tao Qian.

He burst into tears at his kindness and said, "I, Liu Bei, have broken my trust and betrayed my righteousness to others!"

Chen Deng managed to persuade everyone, and helped Liu Bei sit on the main table. After calming down his emotions, he said straight to the point: "Now that violence has been unleashed today, it will bring disaster to Bizhou; Tao Gong is ill and has no one to live in, and the people have no one to live in."

The imperial court is far away in Guanzhong and cannot be reached at the moment, and I am afraid that some traitors will take advantage of the opportunity to get in and harm our people, so I would like to ask the emperor to temporarily come to Xuzhou to attend to the affairs."

Liu Bei immediately jumped up from his seat and said repeatedly: "How can a person with such a weak virtue like you accept such a great responsibility... No, no!"

After saying that, he walked towards the back room as if to escape.

Chen Deng also stood up, followed Liu Bei alone, and said after Liu Bei: "Now the imperial court is weak and has retreated to a corner. The wars in Guandong have continued. Xuzhou is rich and has a household registration of one million. Although it has suffered from wars many times, it can still serve The prince of Fu has assembled a hundred thousand troops and cavalry. With this as a capital, the prince of Fu can help the people when he advances, and when he retreats, he can cede territory and defend the territory. A man has made great contributions and established a career. Why is the prince so hesitant today?"

Liu Bei hid under the verandah of the west wing, his face red and his heart beating. He felt that the heart in his chest was pounding louder than ever, and the desire in his heart was stronger than ever. However, Liu Bei also knew it. The situation in Xuzhou was turbulent and was being spied on from all sides. However, with the tens of thousands of troops under his command, it was simply impossible to capture the entire Xuzhou.

Even if Chen Deng, Mi Fang and other local powerful people help him gain a foothold, how long can he stand firm? And in exchange, how much power will he have left in his hands afterwards?

The more he weighed the pros and cons, the calmer he gradually became. After hearing what Chen Deng said, he no longer dared to respond casually.

Under Chen Deng's questioning, Liu Bei turned away hesitantly, ran to the foot of a big tree in the courtyard, put his hands behind his back, tossed his sleeves, and sighed helplessly: "I am a big man. I, my minister, came here to help Duke Tao retreat from the enemy. How can I seize Xuzhou as my own for no reason? If I do this, people in the world will say that I am unfaithful and unjust, and you must not mention it again!"

Chen Deng said resolutely: "Nowadays, there are bandits and bandits roaming the country. The common people do not dare to live in peace, and the prefectures and counties do not dare to let go of their soldiers. If it were not for Mr. Liu Fu who knew the troops, loved the people, and was loyal to the country, Who, who is there, can make the people here know that they have someone to rely on? That they are still citizens of the Han Dynasty?"

Liu Bei turned around at this time, frowned and said, "General Yuan Gongli is near in Shouchun. This king is the fourth and fifth prince. He is famous all over the world and has returned home. He has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, and countless good generals and ministers." , Chen Jun, why don’t you entrust Xuzhou to him?”

Yuan Shu and Chen Gui were both descendants of the public clan, and they had known each other since they were young. They had a close relationship. Even though Chen Yu refused to welcome Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu sent troops to expel him, and detained Chen Cong and Chen Ying, the relationship between the two families was still there. It's not that it cannot be repaired and mitigated, not to mention that Xuzhou has such huge interests at stake.

Chen Deng knew that Liu Bei was testing his attitude, so he immediately sneered and said disdainfully: "Yuan Gongdao is arrogant and indulgent. He is not the master of chaos, nor is he someone who is worried about his country and forgets his family. Although this person is now occupying Huainan, he seems to be It is powerful, but it is nothing more than dry bones in a grave, and the Lord of the Palace cannot care about it!"

Liu Bei was still a little hesitant, unsure of whether Chen Deng's words were true or false. Although he and Chen Deng admired each other's ambitions and heroic spirit, in this crucial matter, subjective factors still had to be put aside. Think about it carefully.

Having said this, Chen Deng also knows Liu Bei's concerns, so he is not in a hurry. Based on his understanding of Liu Bei, although this man is a nobleman of the Liu family, his background is too low. If he wants to make a career in this world, he must Or if the Guanzhong court can work hard and redefine the world to have sufficient strength and enough space for him to move around, he must continue to seize political capital.

Although Xuzhou is currently in a dangerous location, for Liu Bei, it is a deal that has more advantages than disadvantages.

Chen Deng had analyzed all the advantages clearly and was just waiting for Liu Bei to figure it out. He was not worried that Liu Bei would not be able to figure it out.

At this time, Chen Qun, Liu Bei's subordinate, came over. Seeing the deadlock, he quickly understood what was going on. He approached and said, "Your Majesty, don't be humble anymore. Tao Gong upholds justice and gives way to the states and counties."

, it is truly a deep and profound friendship. Xuzhou is vast and densely populated, and it is an important area. If you don’t take advantage of it, you may regret it in the future.”

Liu Bei raised his eyes and looked at Chen Qun, but hesitated to speak: "Changwen, you..."

Chen Qun nodded to Liu Bei imperceptibly, bowed and said, "Please think again, sir."
Chapter completed!