A thousand Jinling Army soldiers and members of the school affairs office, under the command of Li Tong, protected Tao Shang, Guo Jia, Tao Ying, and Mi Zhu as they headed north towards the border of Beihai County.
On the way to Qingzhou, they passed by the Langya Kingdom, but it was obvious that Zang Ba did not deliberately make things difficult for the Xuzhou Army this time and ignored them as they crossed the border.
This is also normal. Zang Ba also knew about Cao Cao's eastward expedition to Xuzhou. Although Tao Qian was currently the main culprit, Cao Song had always lived in Langya Kingdom. Once Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou, Zang Ba would not be able to escape his involvement.
Zang Meng also knew the truth about the coldness of lips and teeth.
It is estimated that he also heard the news and knew that Xuzhou's envoys were going to Qingzhou to ask for help, so he did not stop them and went directly.
…
On the way, Guo Jia and Tao Ying had the rare chance of thinking at the same time, and they both expressed their incomprehension about the pottery merchant's sudden request to go to Qingzhou in person to ask for help.
Although it is a serious matter to go to Qingzhou to request Tian Kai and Kong Rong's reinforcements, it is enough to give full power to Mi Zhu alone. What are they going to do with them?
On the way, when Mi Zhu was not paying attention, the pottery merchant talked about the matter with Tao Ying and Guo Jia, and told them his main purpose of going north this time.
"Have you ever heard of Liu Bei?" the pottery merchant said with rare seriousness.
Tao Ying looked at him cutely and shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."
Guo Jia obviously has more knowledge than Tao Ying: "I have heard a little bit."
The pottery merchant nodded to Guo Jia with satisfaction, then turned to criticize Tao Ying and said, "I will go back and strengthen my cultural studies."
Tao Ying was a little confused. He didn't understand why he didn't know Liu Bei's name. It was a sign of lack of culture.
Guo Jia continued what he just said: "I heard that Liu Bei is a disciple of Lu Shangshu and a close friend of Gongsun Zan! When Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were fighting, it was said that Liu Bei was on Gongsun Zan's side and was very helpful to him."
Tao Shang nodded in agreement and whispered: "The reason why I followed Mi Zhu to Qingzhou this time is not important whether I can get help from Kong Rong and Tian Kai to send troops. The main reason why I came here is because of Liu Bei. I heard that he
Now it’s Pingyuan Xiangba, which should be part of the Qingzhou territory.”
Tao Ying seemed to understand something after hearing this: "My eldest brother came to Qingzhou in person. Could it be that he wanted to ask Liu Bei, the Prime Minister of Pingyuan, to send troops to Xuzhou to help us fight against Cao Cao?"
The potter shook his head decisively: "No, I came here to kill him."
Tao Ying: "..."
Guo Jia carefully observed the potter's expression. Seeing that the potter was not joking, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Looking at your attitude, Guo is more interested in Liu Bei! What kind of urinary properties does this person have?
To be able to make Prince Taiping look so moved, it seems that the other party is definitely not an ordinary person."
The pottery merchant looked at Guo Jia's smiling face and sighed inwardly.
The man named Guo seems to be looking down on Liu Bei now... It doesn't matter, when you really meet this person, you will probably understand what's going on.
Not long after, the group arrived at Yingling City, the seat of Beihai County in Qingzhou.
Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai County, was one of the Seven Sons of Jian'an a few years later. He is now also a great Confucian of the time. His family history is very deep and he is the 20th generation grandson of Confucius. He and Cao Cao had just killed him.
Bian Rang and Tao Qiuhong, the first famous scholars in Yanzhou, are also known as the three famous families in Zhongzhou.
Kong Rong was a very polite person. When he heard that the famous Prince Taiping had arrived with a team of envoys from Xuzhou, the head of the county actually came out to greet him in person. The ceremony was very grand.
Among the princes who attacked Dong Zhuo, Kong Rong also occupied a place, but the pottery merchant at that time was not familiar with him, and he had no interest in Kong Rong.
In contrast, Kong Rong was not very interested in the young man at that time, and he did not take the pottery merchant seriously, so the two of them basically didn't know each other.
However, the current situation is different. As the Prince of Taiping and the governor of the four southeastern counties, Tao Shang has already fallen into the eyes of Kong Rong in terms of his status.
And Tao Shang now wants to ask Kong Rong to send troops to Xuzhou to help deal with Cao Cao, so Tao Shang and Kong Rong are naturally much more interested in each other than they were back then.
When the Xuzhou envoys arrived at the city gate, the pottery merchant looked around at the people greeting him and was shocked to find that all the officials in Beihai County were all handsome men.
The potter couldn't remember what Kong Rong looked like. He squinted his eyes and finally focused on the one standing in the middle among the handsome men.
The pottery merchant stepped forward and grabbed the hands of the gentleman in the middle who was wearing a soap suit, a high crown, three long beards, a thin face and a fairy-like appearance, and spoke with emotion.
"Kong Beihai, I haven't seen you for almost four years. Kong Beihai's appearance has really not changed at all. He is still as handsome as before... He is simply so handsome!"
The man was shaken by the potter and was confused. He smiled bitterly and said: "Young Master is too polite! I don't dare to take it seriously!"
Tao Shang smiled kindly and said: "What can't you do? Who doesn't know that Lord Kongfu is the most handsome guy among the eighteen princes besides Yuan Benchu. It is really an honor for the younger generation to be able to see the honor again this time.
...It’s so handsome!”
After saying that, the pottery merchant turned around, took a package from the standing Pei Qian, and handed it into the hand of the handsome man.
"Kong Beihai, look what Tao has brought for you... This is your favorite plow!"
The handsome man's face suddenly became a little hesitant.
"uh-huh!"
Behind the handsome man, a middle-aged dwarf with an ordinary appearance coughed hard.
The handsome man looked embarrassed and bowed to the pottery merchant: "I am deeply touched by Mr. Taiping's kindness. However, I am not Kong Beihai himself. I am a meritorious officer under Kong Beihai's account. My surname is Fang and my name is Xiu. The young master seems to have mistakenly recognized the person."
Already..."
When the pottery merchant heard this, he was immediately speechless.
After bragging for a long time, he actually admitted the wrong person. This is really embarrassing.
Although the two of them did not know each other, they had met each other at least when they met at the Jujube Alliance. Now when they met, they even recognized the wrong person. Wouldn't this move hurt Kong Rong's heart?
The same goes for Fang Xiu. It took him so long to say that he was a fake. What was he thinking during that time?
The pottery merchant took the plow from Beihai Gongcao Fangxiu's hand and said shyly: "I'm sorry, Tao has been suffering from the cold recently, and his eyesight is a little hard to use."
Fang Xiu grinned in embarrassment, secretly thinking that cold and bad eyesight... these seem to be two diseases, right? Is there any inevitable connection between them?
Next to Fang Xiu, the ordinary-looking short fat man smiled and stepped forward to meet the pottery merchant.
The pottery merchant also smiled and walked directly past him, as if he hadn't seen this person, and walked straight behind him to another middle-aged man with extremely handsome appearance and extraordinary temperament.
"Kong Beihai, long time no see, I brought you your favorite plow..."
The ordinary-looking man's face was stiff, and the beard on his chin was trembling back and forth in anger.
Another handsome middle-aged man was also extremely embarrassed. He quietly stuffed the plow back into the potter's hands and said weakly: "Young Master Taiping has admitted the wrong person. I am Wang Xiong, who works under Kong Beihai's account, not Kong."
Beihai himself..."
The potter was stunned for a moment.
I admit my mistake again
These people are all sick. They all look like embroidered pillows. Why can't they take the initiative to introduce them if they have no emotional intelligence at all?
Which bastard is Kong Rong! Can you stand up and shout out yourself?
"Master Taiping, Mr. Kong is here, could you please turn around?" The short, fat man with a plain appearance finally couldn't stand the neglect and spoke resentfully behind the pottery merchant.
The potter slowly turned around and looked down at the short, fat, black and bruised farmer in front of him...
"You are...Kong Beihai" the pottery merchant inquired in disbelief.
Kong Rong stretched out his big sleeves and said proudly: "Of course!"
Looking at this short and humble scholar, who was even uglier than Cao Cao, Tao Shang turned to look at the handsome officials from Beihai County brought out by Kong Rong...
It’s no wonder that Tao Shang recognized the wrong person. No one would dare to recognize him as Kong Rong.
Every official from Beijun County led by Kong Rong was handsome, tall and straight, as if they were selected from a model team.
This is not an official team, they are clearly selected from a beauty pageant!
On the other hand, the short, fat and dark Kong Rong himself... the potter didn't even know what he was thinking.
Having grown up to be as virtuous as Wu Dalang, he actually hired a bunch of Yan Qing-like followers, for fear that he would drown in the crowd.
It really stands out from the crowd.
With resentment and doubt in his heart, the potter put the plow into Kong Rong's hands.
"Kong Beihai, you are still as handsome as you were when we parted four years ago... Tao is so handsome that he doesn't dare to recognize you. It's just a small thing, but Kong Beihai please accept it."
Kong Rong was generous and didn't seem to hold any grudge at all. He took out a plow from the package, wiped it with his hand, put it in his mouth and took a bite.
"You kid, seeing that you are so good at talking, Mr. Kong will forgive you... Yeah, you are so fragile! You really are a good plow! How did Mr. Tao know that Mr. Kong is good at this?"
The pottery merchant said with a smile: "Kong Beihai's act of giving away pears when he was young is unparalleled in the world and admired by thousands of people. It is really a model for the world. Every time the younger generation hears this story, they will be moved by Kong Beihai's humility and broad mind.
, This plow is not to respect Kong Beihai himself, but to respect Kong Beihai’s sentiments.”
After the flattery was filmed, Kong Rong, who was eating the plow, not only did not look happy, but actually looked a little lonely.
Kong Rong turned his head and stared at the distant sky, with a trace of indescribable sadness flashing in his eyes.
"It's just a trivial matter, it doesn't matter...if you had a few brothers who would beat you up every day when you were young, you have to let it go..."
The pottery merchant was stunned when he heard this.
The childhood of this great scholar seems to have been quite dark.