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Chapter 332 Cao Bao is not a straw bag, Zang Ba will explode! Xuzhou is not as easy as you imagined!

Speaking of Li Ru, Dong Zhuo returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion in a carriage.

Dong Cao and Wei Zhan were waiting anxiously in the mansion. When they saw Dong Zhuo and Li Ru coming back, they hurriedly greeted them: "Prime Minister, something has happened."

The last thing Dong Zhuo wanted to hear now was the word "disaster", so he frowned and asked with a look of anger on his face: "What happened?"

Wei Zhan didn't know Dong Zhuo's temper, but he couldn't hide this kind of thing at all. He could only bite the bullet and said: "The news just came back from Xuzhou that Tao Qian accepted the edict from King Hongnong and annihilated the Yuan Sui clan."

hiss-!

Dong Zhuo, who was returning home quickly, stopped for a moment, turned around, and asked with a surprised look on his face: "What did you say?"

Wei Zhan bowed and held up his hands, and repeated again: "Tao Qian accepted the edict from King Hongnong and destroyed the Yuan Sui clan!"

Li Ru hurriedly stepped forward to help: "Prime Minister, calm down, it's important to save your health."

Dong Zhuo felt his head was buzzing and he was dizzy. He paused for a long time before he finally recovered: "Is it possible that this old man, Tao Qian, wants to submit to King Hongnong?"

When he was on the battlefield with Zhang Wen, he was a general with Tao Qian. Although he was not as brave as Sun Jian, he was still a capable general. I thought that with this period of time, I could firmly tie Tao Qian, but I never

After all, I voted for King Hongnong.

Dong Zhuo felt a deep sense of frustration!

Sun Jian and Tao Qian were like two steel needles piercing his heart. They should be close to him, but in the end they all chose the young King Hongnong.

Is it possible...

Are you really not as good as that boy?

"Wenyou!"

Furious, Dong Zhuo turned to glance at Li Ru, his eyes filled with murderous intent: "Didn't you already bribe the Xuzhou officials? How could something like this happen? Didn't those people stop it?"

"this......"

Li Ru was also surprised.

But he couldn't give an answer because he didn't understand the whole story yet.

According to common sense, the Nanyang court should not have moved so quickly. After all, Xuzhou and Nanyang are separated by half a big man. Even if they work hard, they will not be able to arrive in less than two or three days.

"Confucianism will investigate as soon as possible."

As a last resort, Li Ru could only give this answer.

But he knew very well that such an answer would not satisfy Dong Zhuo, so he hurriedly changed his gaze and said: "But Prime Minister, judging from the current situation, King Hongnong must have sent people to the Yuan family while convicting the Yuan family.

to Xuzhou."

"Otherwise, it would be impossible for us to receive news about the Yuan clan being annihilated in Runan and then receive news about the Yuan clan being annihilated in Guangling right after that. The time difference between the two is too short."

Dong Zhuo's attention was indeed diverted and he nodded slowly: "That makes sense! King Hongnong is really brave. He dared to take the lead in attacking the Yuan family in Guangling without being convicted!"

"Wenyou."

"exist."

Dong Zhuo suppressed his anger and stayed calm as much as possible: "Xuzhou must not be so easily handed over to King Hongnong, otherwise it will even span three states. Even if we join forces with Yuan Shao, it will be difficult to compete."

Li Ru bowed his head and said: "Prime Minister, don't worry, Ru will deal with it carefully and will never let Xuzhou live in peace. This place is different from Nanyang. Our influence has penetrated into the high-level officials of Xuzhou."

Dong Zhuo said coldly: "It's up to you to decide how to operate it. In short, Xuzhou must not fall into the hands of King Hongnong easily, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

Li Ru nodded: "Here."

"Oh right."

Dong Zhuo waved his hand and ordered: "Yuan Shao's matter must be implemented as soon as possible. He has only become the shepherd of Jizhou not long ago, and his development is too slow. It will be difficult for him to check and balance King Hongnong."

"Prime Minister, don't worry."

Li Ru said with great certainty: "The edict will be issued today. First, we will provoke a war between Liu Yu and Yuan Shao, help them pacify Youzhou, and then march to Qingzhou and merge the states."

"kindness."

Dong Zhuo nodded affirmatively: "Not only Yuan Shao, we must also hurry up. I heard that Ma Teng in Longxi and Han Sui are very powerful. We will find a way to bring him into the imperial court. He can be a high-ranking official with a generous salary, and he can become a general and a marquis."

Li Ru responded and promised: "Just leave this matter to Ru, Prime Minister, don't worry."

****

Nanyang, Wancheng.

Emperor's palace.

Warm Pavilion.

Liu Bian held the memorial handed over by Lu Su, frowned slightly, and murmured to himself: "Zhao Yu? Why have I never heard of this person? Is he a famous scholar in Xuzhou?"

"Yes."

The voice of the military advisor alliance followed: "According to the "Book of the Later Han": (Xuzhou) Biejia engaged Zhao Yu, a well-known scholar, and he was loyal and straightforward."

"Judging from the content of Lu Su's memorial, this Zhao Yu is very close to you, Mr. Bian. Xuzhou is beyond his reach. We should promote him and see the consequences."

"kindness."

Liu Bian nodded and said to himself: "I think so too, but he is still secondary. The key question now is, how to deal with Tao Qian?"

"Although he accepted our edict and annihilated the Yuan Sui clan as required, I still feel uneasy if Xuzhou is not under the control of the imperial court."

The Military Advisor Alliance intended to cultivate Liu Bian's political capabilities, so it did not give any direct advice, but asked tentatively: "Does Mr. Bian have his own ideas?"

"have!"

Liu Bian nodded affirmatively and said in his heart: "The first way is to imitate the trick that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty used against Dong Zhuo, find him an official position in the court, promote him openly and secretly, and take back the power of Xuzhou."

"However, judging from Tao Qian's current prestige and status, he must be at least a Jiuqing to be qualified, and among the current Jiuqing official positions, there are only Shaofu, Dasi Nong, Taipu, Dahonglu, etc.

"

"From my personal wishes, if I want to be paid, I will give him a servant, Dangdang, who will be in charge of the palace's carriages, horses, and animal husbandry, or a young master, who will be in charge of the royal family's money, etc."

"As for the second method..."

Liu Bian thought for a moment and then thought to himself: "Considering that Tao Qian is already sixty years old this year and has reached the age where he can enjoy his old age, I don't want to make him a marquis, honor his ancestors, and give him some food to live in his old age.

never mind."

In a sense, Xuzhou can be regarded as peacefully returned to the imperial court, but its internal operation method is still different from Liu Bian. Liu Bian will not set up a state pastor, so Tao Qian's authority must be reduced!

How it can be cut is a very demanding question. Once it is not cut well, it will inevitably cause a series of chain reactions, and even give Chang'an a reason to spread rumors and cause trouble.

"Master Ben has indeed made great progress."

The Alliance of Military Advisors first gave affirmation and encouragement: "Promotion and demotion in secret is indeed a common method of reducing power, and it is relatively easy to accept. However, no matter which official position, it is not suitable for Tao Qian."

"He has passed the age of passionate struggle. Now that he has accepted your edict, Mr. Ben, he actually hopes to enjoy his old age, so the experts from the Military Advisor Alliance prefer the second option."

"In history, Tao Qian once sent envoys to Beijing to pay tribute, and was granted the title of General Anton, Xuzhou Mu, and the title of Marquis of Liyang. And this Liyang, which belongs to Danyang County, should be Tao Qian's ancestral home. This is a symbol of honor. There is no

Food town."

"So..."

Liu Bian tentatively asked: "What do the experts mean, is to give Tao Qian a title with a seat, allow him to return to his hometown, and take care of himself, thereby completely handing Xuzhou over to the imperial court?"

"That's right."

The Military Advisor Alliance immediately said: "This is what the experts mean, but not now."

Liu Bian frowned: "When was that?"

"I wonder if Mr. Bian has noticed the description of officials in Xuzhou in Lu Su's memorial."

"Xuzhou officials?"

"kindness."

"Any questions?"

"Captain Cao Bao knew he was outmatched, but he was the main combatant. He even thought about recruiting troops to fight against the imperial court."

hiss-!

Liu Bian took a deep breath and hurriedly combed through the memorial carefully.

Sure enough, Lu Su mentioned this matter in the description of the memorial, but he ignored it because he mentioned it briefly.

"Cao Bao?"

Liu Bian was still very impressed by him: "Could he be the idiot in the novel who became Lu Bu's father-in-law but was eventually killed by Zhang Fei?"

"That's right!"

The Alliance of Military Advisors affirmed: "It is this person, but this Cao Bao may not be an idiot. After all, Tao Qian's 30,000 Danyang soldiers were led by him."

"According to expert research, the surname Cao is a common surname in Xuzhou. This Cao Bao is very likely to have a scholar's background. Tao Qian can give him 30,000 Danyang soldiers to command, which also proves that he has certain military talents."

"In addition, Lu Su did not mention another important person, that is Zang Ba, who is stationed in Langya. Although he is nominally Tao Qian's Cavalry Commander, he is actually independent and an unstable factor."

"If Tao Qian is laid off now and people from the imperial court take over Xuzhou, I am afraid that various unstable factors will explode. The effect of the peaceful liberation of Xuzhou will be greatly compromised."

"so......"

The Alliance of Military Advisors explained: "In the opinion of experts, Tao Qian cannot be allowed to step down as the governor of Xuzhou for the time being. With Tao Qian around, both Cao Bao and Zang Ba can still exist relatively stably."

"That makes sense."

Liu Bian nodded with interest: "This is just an unstable factor within Xuzhou. It is estimated that Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao and the like will not sit back and watch us grow smoothly."

"The internal and external environmental pressure in Xuzhou is indeed much greater than I imagined. It may indeed be bad to remove Tao Qian from the position of Xuzhou governor now."

"Especially there are 30,000 Danyang soldiers!"

Liu Bian frowned and thought for a long time.

Even he understands the bravery of Danyang soldiers.

This was the guarantee for Tao Qian to secure Xuzhou. In the entire history of soldiers, Danyang soldiers were among the best.

Liu Bian roughly understood the idea of ​​​​the military-strategist alliance. Specific situations should be analyzed in detail, and conventional models cannot be applied: "So what the experts mean is to take back the internal power of Xuzhou during a smooth transition?"

"That's right!"

The Military Advisor Alliance said with absolute certainty: "Judging from the current description, the most unstable factor within Xuzhou is Zang Ba and Cao Bao from the military community."

"So, if you want to stabilize Xuzhou and successfully take back Xuzhou's military and political power, the first thing to solve is the issue of military power. Master Bian must send a capable general to lead troops into Xuzhou."

Liu Bian frowned and nodded slowly: "It makes sense! But who should be sent? If the general is not chosen well, it is likely to have counterproductive effects. After all, this is a sensitive period."

"Master Ben has made a good decision."

The Military Advisor Alliance marveled at Liu Bian's acumen and said happily: "According to the review by the Military Advisor Alliance experts, considering the current personnel situation in our army, it is best to send Xu Rong and Cheng Pu into Xuzhou."

"Xu Rong, Cheng Pu?"

Liu Bian couldn't help but feel curious: "Why the two of them?"

The Military Advisor Alliance explained: "First: Xu Rong was born in the Northern Army and often appeared in battles against Qiang and Hu. Tao Qian had previously followed Zhang Wen and conquered Beigong Boyu. The two may be familiar with each other."

"Second: Xu Rong and Cheng Pu are both from Youzhou. In the future, we will definitely go north to fight Yuan Shao to the death. This time we will decide the true ownership of the Han Dynasty."

"Xu Rong and Cheng Pu will be the most suitable candidates to conquer Youzhou in the future. It is necessary to let them enter the role in advance. Accumulating strength is one, and running into each other is the other."

"But......"

Liu Bian frowned and felt a little pity: "Xu Rong is already a handsome man. Isn't it a bit redundant to assign Cheng Pu to him? Cheng Pu's abilities in all aspects are also good."

The Military Advisor Alliance continued: "Xu Rong is in charge of the infantry and Cheng Pu is in charge of the navy."

Liu Bian was surprised: "Navy?"

"kindness."

The Alliance of Military Advisors said with great certainty: "We finally got close to the sea, so it will naturally be put on the agenda. From now on, Xu Rong and Cheng Pu can be responsible for all the coastal counties, such as Donglai, Bohai, Liaoxi, Liaodong, etc."

Liu Bian suddenly realized: "I see, okay, let's arrange it like this. I will summon the two of them to the palace now."

Military Advisor Alliance: "Okay."

"Here comes someone."

Liu Bian put down the memorial and shouted loudly.

Squeak—!

Zhu Tong pushed the door open and entered, bowing and holding his hands: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Liu Bian said softly: "Summon Xu Rong quickly and Cheng Pu into the palace. I have important arrangements."

Zhu Tong cupped his hands: "Here."

Immediately.

Bowed and left Nuange.

About half an hour later.

Xu Rong and Cheng Pu came to Nuange, stepped forward, bowed and raised their hands: "Your Majesty, Xu Rong (Cheng Pu), comes to see you."

Liu Bian waved his hand and motioned for him to take a seat: "Get up, don't be formal."

The two of them stood up and sat down: "Here."

Liu Bian turned his gaze to his subordinate Xu Rong and said softly: "General Xu, do you have any complaints about having you train for the imperial court for a year? It should be noted that you have decades of combat experience, and your qualifications are comparable to those of Cao Cao, Zhang Liao and others.

Much older."

"Even Lu Bu became the commander of the Wolf Cavalry. Sun Ce, Chen Dao, Tai Shi Ci and others, although they are not very old, were promoted to captains because of their riding and shooting skills."

"How dare you, the general?"

Xu Rong hurriedly cupped his hands and clasped his fists, and said sonorously: "The general knows very well that His Majesty wants people to make the best use of their talents and materials. The reason why he has not used us is not because he does not trust us, but because he does not have a suitable position."

"That's right!"

Liu Bian was very satisfied with Xu Rong's answer and nodded affirmatively: "You two are different from ordinary generals, especially General Xu. You are from the Northern Army and are proficient in various tactics. In order to deal with you back then, I asked you to

I have such a headache.”

"Now that you have abandoned the dark and turned to the light, I have also been looking for good opportunities for you, but unfortunately there has never been a place that satisfies me. With Ning Que's mother-in-law's idea, I have hidden you until now."

"But it's fine now."

Liu Bianchong and the two of them broke into a faint smile: "Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, intends to submit to the imperial court. I intend to send you two to Xuzhou to help the imperial court complete the transition of Xuzhou's military power."

"Tao Qian?"

When Xu Rong heard this name, he couldn't help but frowned: "May I ask Your Majesty, is Tao Gongzu from Danyang?"

Liu Bian nodded: "Yes, it is this person! Does General Xu know him?"

"kindness."

Xu Rong twisted his beard and nodded, and said softly: "When I followed General Zhang Wen to conquer Beigong Boyu, the last general was an infantry Sima, and he and Tao Gongzu were responsible for assisting the defense of the right wing."

"In a battle, Tao Gongzu led his troops to attack and was surrounded by enemy troops. It was the general who rushed to support him and saved his life, so we became familiar with each other."

Liu Bian was surprised: "Is this happening?"

Xu Rong affirmed: "Yes, yes, but after returning to the court, we lost contact."

Experts are indeed experts, and their predictions are really accurate!

With this relationship, at least Tao Qian's resistance to Xu Rong and Cheng Pu will be greatly reduced.

This will be of great benefit to Xu Rong and Cheng Pu's future actions.

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Bian suppressed his excitement: "This time, I ask you to renew your relationship. You will lead five thousand elite troops and stationed in Xuzhou on the grounds of threatening Yanzhou."

"However, your real purpose is not to threaten Yanzhou, but to prevent Zang Ba and Cao Bao from rioting, and strive to return the military power of Xuzhou to the imperial court and put it into your hands."

Xu Rong was shocked: "This..."

Liu Bian waved his hand: "General Xu, please don't overthink it. According to reliable information, Cao Bao is the main combatant. Although he knew that he was defeated by the imperial court, he still wanted to fight. It is very likely that he has defected to Chang'an."

"As for Zang Ba..."

Liu Bian frowned and sighed: "Although this person is affiliated with Tao Qian, he is an independent existence. Now they are stationed in Langya Kaiyang. On the surface, they are guarding the north gate of Xuzhou. But once there is a riot, the entire Xuzhou will be destroyed."

The environment is under threat.”

"The winter festival has passed, and spring will begin in a few months, followed by spring plowing. If there is internal instability in Xuzhou, no matter how good our early planning is, it will be in vain."

Speaking of this, Liu Bian said extremely solemnly: "This matter is of great significance. I hope General Xu will take it seriously and not let these two unstable factors affect the imperial court's strategy in Xuzhou."

Xu Rong leaned forward and held up his hands: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the general will definitely target Cao Bao and Zang Ba to death."

Liu Bian nodded: "Very good, I believe that the general's ability will live up to my high expectations."

"Uh... that..."

Although Cheng Pu was calm, he saw that the tasks had been distributed but it was not his turn yet, and he felt a little anxious: "May I ask your Majesty, will the general assist General Xu with all his strength, or..."

"General Cheng, please be patient."

After Liu Bian settled Xu Rong's tasks, he immediately turned to Cheng Pu: "Strictly speaking, you and General Xu are partners, but your respective tasks are different."

Cheng Pu bowed and held up his hands: "I hope your Majesty will say so clearly."

Liu Bian said softly: "Before the military power in Xuzhou is taken back, you should work together to protect Xuzhou. However, after the military power is taken back, General Xu will be in charge of the infantry and General Cheng will be in charge of building the navy."

"navy?"

Cheng Pu's eyes were as wide as bells, with a look of disbelief on his face.

Liu Bian nodded affirmatively: "That's right! Xuzhou is close to the sea, and Langya has an old port where Qin Shihuang went to sea. It is suitable for setting up a navy. In the future, the counties along the coast will be jointly managed by General Cheng and General Xu, and the sea and land will be jointly responsible.

Come in, who can stop me?"

"this......"

Cheng Pu really couldn't believe it.

His final mission in Xuzhou was to form a navy.

Seeing Cheng Pu's hesitation, Liu Bian asked tentatively: "Why, is it possible that the general is unwilling?"

Cheng Pu hurriedly handed over his hand: "No! The general is willing, but Your Majesty, setting up a navy is not easy and will cost a lot. The general is just worried that it will be difficult to form an army within three or five years."

"General, don't worry about money."

Although the current financial situation of Hanting in Nanyang is worrying, now that glass and paper production have been successful, and Lu Su is in charge of business affairs, it won't be long before the court will have a steady stream of funds.

Are you still worried about not being able to build a navy?

Liu Bian was full of confidence: "I will help you plan everything. You only need to be responsible for recruiting the navy, training the navy, and forming combat effectiveness in a short time. The remaining shipbuilding and armaments will be handled by the imperial court for you."

Cheng Pu was overjoyed and nodded: "If this is the case, I will guarantee that the navy will be completed within three years!"

Liu Bian was satisfied: "With the general's words, I feel at ease."

"That being the case..."

Liu Bian took a long breath, glanced at the two of them, and ordered: "You will each return to the camp to prepare, and lead the troops to Xuzhou early tomorrow morning."

The two of them raised their hands together: "Here."

*****

Xuzhou, Guangling.

Prefect's Mansion.

night.

A lamp is like a bean.

Next to the flickering candlelight, Zhao Yu was holding a bowl of wine, already slightly tipsy: "Zijing, I, Zhao Yu, hope from the bottom of my heart that our Xuzhou can become the second Nanyang."

"Your Majesty ordered you to stay and help the various ministers and county governors in Xuzhou. It's really great. With your help, I believe that Xuzhou will definitely change a lot next year."

"Come!"

Zhao Yu solemnly said: "We have done this, and from now on, I hope Zijing can help more."

Lu Su held up the bowl of wine in front of him and said softly: "Yuan Da, you are now the governor of Guangling County appointed by the imperial court. His Majesty has high hopes for you. You must not let him down."

"Zhao will naturally go all out."

"but......"

The conversation changed and Zhao Yu grinned: "Whether I will disappoint His Majesty depends not on me, but on Zijing. If Zijing can help me more, he will naturally not disappoint His Majesty."

"Ha ha!"

Lu Su looked up to the sky and laughed, twisting his beard and smiling: "You, it turns out you are waiting for me here. Don't worry, I, Lu Su, will do my best to help!"

"You are from Langya, and I am from Dongcheng, Xiapi. We are all from Xuzhou. Naturally, we hope that Xuzhou can be better. I will rush back to Pengcheng tomorrow. We will not go home until we are drunk tonight."

"Hahaha!"

Zhao Yu was in a great mood and invited him to drink wine: "Zhao asked for more, come on, let's have this bowl."

Lu Su nodded: "Do it!"

Immediately.

The two of them raised their necks and poured wine into the bowls, feeling very happy.

"To be honest, you dare to personally lead the troops and annihilate the Yuan Sui clan, which is beyond my expectations."

"I hold the emperor's edict in my hand, why should I fear the men of the Yuan family! But Zijing, that Yuan Di..."

"We have been secretly escorted to Nanyang, we don't need to ask anything."

"..."


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