It was getting late. Tao Qian did not go back to rest after drinking. Instead, he came to the pottery merchant's room and quietly waited for the child to come back.
The old man's face was a little red. It was obvious that he had drank a lot during the banquet, but judging from his condition, there should be no major problems.
The pottery merchant hurriedly walked to the Zhuo table in the room, poured a glass of water for Tao Qian, and handed it to the old man.
Tao Qian took it with a smile, raised his head and drank it all, wiping his mouth and sighing: "How long has it been, more than a year, and you haven't been by my side to fulfill your filial piety to me."
The pottery merchant looked at him calmly and said, "Father, look at what you said. I'm back now. If you are willing, I will serve you tea and water every day to honor you."
Tao Qian waved his hand and sighed: "It's difficult. In the past, I would have believed what you said. But after this year, you have also made a name for yourself outside. Not only have you brought back many powerful generals and talents,
, there are so many surrendered soldiers, how can you still be an honest child who can stay with me... But just thinking about how to arrange your people really makes me anxious."
When the potter heard this, he smiled apologetically and said, "What's so hard to think about? My father is the lord of Xuzhou, and those whom my children conquer are my father's people. If my father wants to use them, he can just incorporate them all into the Xuzhou army."
Tao Qian was very satisfied with the pottery merchant's attitude, but he still shook his head and said helplessly: "It makes sense, but it cannot be done like this. Do you know why I won't let you attend tonight's banquet?"
The pottery merchant had already known this in his mind, and tried to say: "My father wanted to see how Huangfu Song and Wang Yun came to Xuzhou to settle down, and the boy took back the yellow scarf troops. How would the gentry and the gentry react? Boy, no.
On the court, their performance may be more direct."
Tao Qian was very satisfied with Tao Shang's wisdom and said: "You are right. At tonight's banquet, when the surrendered troops you brought back were mentioned, Cao Bao proposed that the strongest ones be selected to be incorporated into the Xuzhou Central Army.
Xu Chu, who defeated Lu Bu at Hulao Pass, was supposed to be assigned a position by the Chinese army. However, he was strongly opposed by Mi Zhu. Mi Zhu said that the depth of the Yellow Turban soldiers' surrender was unpredictable and should not be mixed with the official army. It was regarded as a separate army.
In the army, we must select talents who can control it.”
Tao Shang heard the string and understood the elegant meaning, and said: "This is normal. Cao Bao is in charge of the Chinese army in Pengcheng. If he integrates the Yellow Turban elites and warriors like Xu Chu into the regular army, there is no doubt that they will be under his direct control. This increase will be increased out of thin air."
If Cao Bao loses his power in Xuzhou, how can Mi Zhu, his old rival, agree to it?"
Tao Qian stroked the white beard on his chin and said helplessly: "Boy, when you come back this time, you have given me a lot of problems. First there is Wang Yun, then Huangfu Song, and then there are hundreds of thousands of yellow turbans.
No matter how I arrange it, it will disrupt the current situation in Xuzhou."
The pottery merchant smiled and said: "Then father might as well just follow Mi Zhu's words and form an independent army of the Yellow Turbans, under your direct control. Wouldn't there be no such difficulties?"
Tao Qian tapped the pottery merchant's nose in the air and sighed: "You are just using words to try to get rid of me. You have brought all the people back. How can there be any reason for me to rob people with my son? Although our Pengcheng Zhongjun has
Cao Bao is in charge, but I directly control Danyang's elite troops. The military strength is enough to intimidate the nobles. If the power is increased for no reason, the nobles in Xuzhou will be suspicious, and there will be another turmoil within Xuzhou, which is not conducive to what I want to do next.
Great job."
The potter stared at Tao Qian closely and said, "What is the big thing that father wants to do?"
"Hehe." Tao Qian smiled leisurely and tested: "You have become so capable now that even Wang Yun and Huangfu Song treat you differently, so you might as well guess what my plan is?"
Tao Shang frowned and thought for a while, then said: "Three counties and three kingdoms in Xuzhou. My father has been the governor for three years. Currently, I can only control the East China Sea, Pengcheng, and Surabaya, but the other three counties have never been in my father's hands. This should be my father."
Want to do something big?”
Tao Qian nodded and said with satisfaction: "It is indeed different from before, for a moment."
After a pause, the old man said again: "I have written a letter to discuss with the governor of Yangzhou. I will report that Wang Lang will be the prefect of Kuaiji and Zhao Yu will be the prefect of Guangling. I ordered them to choose a day to take office and go to the two counties to take up their posts.
.”
The pottery merchant was quite puzzled when he heard this.
Guangling is Xuzhou's own place, but Kuaiji does not belong to Xuzhou. When Tao Qian sent Wang Lang to Kuaiji, did he want to go deeper into the south of the Yangtze River? The question is, will the Yangzhou governor agree?
Seeing the potter's confused look, Tao Qian immediately explained to him.
"Son, only half of our six counties in Xuzhou are under my father's control. Zang Ba stationed his troops in Kaiyang, cutting off the connection between the nine Langya counties in the northeast and Pengcheng, while Xiapi Kingdom was occupied by Zuo Rong. It is also strange that
My father was blind at the beginning, but he actually allowed him to be the Prime Minister of Xiapi, which caused many troubles today. Guangling is located in the south of Xiapi, and was also cut off from our Pengcheng by Zuo Rong. The land of the six counties of Xuzhou, because of Zang
The relationship between Ba and Zuo Rong was almost cut in half."
Tao Qian's words, Chen Deng once said to himself before Tao Shang returned to Pengcheng, so he also had a general idea.
The pottery merchant thought thoughtfully: "It depends on what dad wants. Zang Ba in the northeast is very powerful. Let's leave him alone for the time being. Does dad want to kill Zuo Rong first and take back Xiapi Kingdom and Guangling County?"
Tao Qian nodded and said: "Killing him is not a big deal. Zuo Rong and I are old acquaintances. If he is willing to take advantage of the situation, I may not necessarily kill him. However, in these two counties, I must
Taking it back... and reporting Zhao Yu as the prefect of Guangling is the first step."
Tao Shang smiled and shook his head and said: "Dad, it's not that I look down on Zhao Yu. I left Xuzhou a year ago and met him once at a court meeting. What can I say about this man? I'm going to fight with him.
Rong, I'm afraid he is no match at all."
Tao Qian raised the corner of his mouth: "Of course I can't just rely on Zhao Yu. Doesn't this also indicate that Wang Lang is the governor of Kuaiji? Kuaiji County is to the south of Guangling, and Wang Lang is in charge of Kuaiji to support Zhao Yu. Zuo Rong is afraid
They don't dare to mess around easily. Moreover, the real opponents of the four major families in Pengcheng are Cao Bao and Mi Zhu. Although Wang Lang and Zhao Yu rarely participate in them, they are after all the objects of competition between Cao and Mi during their internal fights.
I was a little tired of trying to plan four things with one, so I simply released Wang and Zhao. On the one hand, it could weaken some local gentry forces, and on the other hand, it also prevented Cao and Mi from colluding with Wang and Zhao in private in the future.
"
Tao Shang scratched his head and said unclearly: "Kuiji County is under the control of Yangzhou. You proposed that Wang Lang be the prefect of Kuaiji. How did Yangzhou Governor Liu Yao agree?"
Tao Qian looked at the pottery merchant in confusion, wondering: "What Liu Yao? Where are you following? The governor of Yangzhou is Chen Wen of Runan."
"Oh." The pottery merchant stuck out his tongue and looked quite embarrassed. It seems that Liu Yao has not yet taken the throne in Yangzhou.
Tao Qian looked at Tao Shang in confusion for a while, then answered the topic: "Chen Wen was born in the Runan family. He used to be the disciple of the old Taiwei Yang Ci, and Wang Lang was also the old Taiwei's disciple, so he had this kind of colleague relationship.
, Chen Wen not only would not object to Wang Lang's entry into Yangzhou, but would take extra care of him. In this way, I could use Wang Lang's line to get in touch with Chen Wen, the governor of Yangzhou, and make friends with him. From now on, we would be friends with each other. Why not?
No? But in this way, Wang Lang will become Chen Wen's person from now on."
When the pottery merchant heard this, he suddenly realized.
Tao Qian continued: "And speaking of it carefully, Chen, the governor of Yangzhou, will also be your superior officer from now on."
Tao Shang rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Father, are you referring to the fact that the child was appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Danyang County? That's true. Danyang County is nominally under the jurisdiction of the governor of Yangzhou."
Seeing Tao Shang's unhurried look, Tao Qian rubbed his forehead sadly and said, "Son, do you understand how hot the position of Danyang County Sheriff is?"
Seeing that Tao Qian had a headache, Tao Shang stepped forward, stretched out his hand and began to knead the acupuncture points on Tao Qian's head to relieve his tense nerves.
Tao Qian closed his eyes, let out a comfortable "hum", and praised: "I don't see that you still have this technique, who did you learn it from?"
The potter stuck out his tongue and said nothing.
He couldn't tell Tao Qian that this was how hair salons used to cut hair.
"Self-taught, I came back specifically to honor my father."
Tao Qian was very satisfied when he heard this, and Gao Xin said: "I can't tell, but you are quite thoughtful. Alas, an honest and filial child like you would have had a good future in the Qingping era... Mr. Taiping."
"
The fingers that the potter was rubbing his head suddenly stopped moving.
Even my father used this title to make fun of himself.
Seeing that Tao Shang was silent, Tao Qian asked again: "What do you think of the imperial court appointing you as the governor of Danyang County?"
Tao Shang smiled and said: "Danyang County is one of the targets of competition between Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao. The current governor Zhou Xin is close to Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu wants to send Wu Jing to take over Danyang County. Dong Zhuo appointed me as the governor of Danyang at this time, but it is just
He just wants to harm our Tao family."
When Tao Qian heard this, a look of relief appeared on his face: "It's rare that you can still see the pros and cons, so what are you going to do now?"
"My son was originally hesitant about taking the post in Danyang County, but today I heard my father's idea of regaining Guangling County and Xiapi Kingdom, which has strengthened my determination to take the post."
Tao Qian was quite surprised when he heard this and said, "You know clearly that this is something to offend Er Yuan, but you still want to go to the post. Why are you here?"
"My father reported that Zhao Yu was appointed as the prefect of Guangling and Wang Lang was appointed as the prefect of Kuaiji, both to deal with Zuo Rong, but Guangling has always been Zuo Rong's power. If Zhao Yu goes there, there may not be any turmoil. Even if Wang Lang is the backup, Wang Lang
Without strong troops, it is hard to achieve anything big... Danyang County, Guangling County, and Kuaiji County are geographically at odds with each other. It is better for me to lead the Baibo Yellow Turban and Taishan troops to Danyang County to train troops and develop their troops.
Farming, laying a foreign aid foundation for his father in the south, and assisting Wang and Zhao in dealing with Zhe Rong. At the same time, the child took away all the soldiers and generals brought back from the field, and Cao Bao, Mi Zhu and others from the province were also interested, and indirectly
It can be regarded as maintaining the balance of power in Pengcheng."
Speaking of this, Tao Shang paused for a moment before continuing: "My father is in charge of the overall situation in Pengcheng, and my son is in the south for my father as an important vassal. If anyone in Pengcheng dares to cause trouble, my father can recall my army with just a letter."
…”
"Uh-huh!" The pottery merchant coughed heavily and said dissatisfied: "What Qin Wang, don't talk nonsense! This word is too arrogant! I'm looking for a beating!"
The potter smiled and continued: "My child just made a slip of the tongue. In short, you and I, father and son, are like horns, but who dares to touch our Tao family in the future?"