Although Gongsun Zan was confused by Liu Bei's request, he finally agreed to Liu Bei's request.
After all, Liu Bei is now his right-hand man. Judging from the matter of dealing with Liu Yu, Liu Bei's role in it is far beyond Gongsun Zan's ability.
We are about to deal with Yuan Shao. No matter how you look at it, Liu Bei will need him.
Therefore, no matter what Liu Bei wants to do, Gongsun Zan will support him without hesitation.
Gongsun Zan is now the governor of Youzhou, and has been granted the power to control the four states by the emperor. Therefore, Gongsun Zan is qualified to appoint himself to the positions of Zhonglang General of Protecting Xianbei and Zhonglang General of Supporting Xiong.
Liu Bei was appointed by Gongsun Zan to hold both posts at the same time!
…
When the news spread back to the Central Plains, it was almost the same time that the pottery merchants returned to Pengcheng.
The pottery merchant cannot return to Jinling City for the time being.
Now that Tao Qian is seriously ill, changes may occur in Pengcheng at any time, and the pottery merchant must stay in Xuzhou to take charge of the overall situation.
Most of Jinling's soldiers and generals were sent back to Jinling City for garrison and reorganization by Tao Shang, but he kept the two most elite troops, the Tiger Guards and the Danyang Elites.
At the same time, the pottery merchant also left four people, Guo Jia, Xu Chu, Zhao Yun, and Tai Shici, to assist him in Pengcheng.
Chen Deng and the other generals returned to Jinling City to set up defenses. Before he left, Tao Shang asked Chen Deng to send a message to Han Hao, asking him to invite Zhang Ji from Jinling City to Pengcheng to treat Tao Qian.
A few days later, Zhang Ji arrived in Xuzhou. The pottery merchant did not dare to delay, so he immediately asked him to diagnose Tao Qian.
For the Tao brothers, whether Zhang Ji's diagnosis is successful or not is the last hope for Tao Qian's recovery.
After all, when it comes to treating internal diseases, Zhang Ji can be called a medical benchmark figure of this era, and Hua Tuo may not be able to compare with him.
"Doctor Zhang, how is my father's illness?"
Facing the expectant looks of Tao Shang and Tao Ying, Zhang Ji's expression looked very heavy.
"Tao Jun's life span is about to end. His body is depleted and internally damaged. He has been agitated for many years and has damaged his heart and divine veins. I'm afraid there is nothing he can do about it... However, if he takes appropriate supplements with medicine, he may be able to extend his life a little.
But how long we can persist depends on God’s will.”
After listening to Zhang Ji's words, the last glimmer of hope in the pottery merchant's heart was extinguished.
Compared with the pottery merchant's city, Taoying obviously still lacked a lot of training.
The child grabbed Zhang Ji's hand and jumped anxiously: "You're talking nonsense! My father's body has always been strong! How could he suddenly lose his life? You treat him randomly, what kind of miracle doctor are you?"
Tao Shang stretched out his hand and pulled Tao Ying away, shaking his head at him: "Second brother, don't be rude."
Zhang Ji could understand the current mood of the Tao brothers. Faced with Tao Ying's unrestrained words, he was not angry. He just smiled bitterly and laughed at himself helplessly.
"I have really tried my best. Second Young Master... the title of miracle doctor is just a random name given by the world. It cannot be taken seriously. I am not a miracle doctor at all. Even if I am, a miracle doctor is not a god... Life, old age, illness and death are beyond human control.
Yeah."
Tao Ying's tears fell instantly.
Tao Shang knew in his heart that with Zhang Ji's character and compassionate heart, if he could save Tao Qian, he would not let it go.
Zhang Zhongjing is right, doctors are just doctors after all, not the Lord of Hell. He can cure diseases, but he cannot cure lives.
"Second brother is in a hurry, and any words he says may offend him. Don't take it seriously, Doctor Zhang... Please help my father prescribe medicine."
Zhang Ji said "Promise", then went to find pen and ink, and began to write out the prescriptions blindly.
The potter watched him write the prescription and said, "Miracle doctor, how is the medical department in our official school in Jinling City doing now? There are quite a lot of students?"
Since the pottery merchants detained Zhang Ji in Jinling City, Jinling City has been funded by the governor's office to establish an official school and set up a medical office in it.
The position of honorary principal is naturally held by Tao Shang himself, but the director of subjects in the hospital is Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji smiled when he heard this and said: "It's okay, there are a lot of people, but all the scholars here are commoners, and there are almost no children from the noble clan..."
This was already expected by the pottery merchants.
In this day and age, who would go to the doctor if they could be an official?
He smiled softly and said: "It is normal for nobles to not want to study medicine, and it is not a problem...Commoners who come to study can be admitted as long as they have good qualifications and a clean family background. Those who cannot afford the tuition...
...You go back to Zhang Hong, and the county will fund and manage...a few medical students, I, Jinling City, can still afford to support them."
After Zhang Ji heard this, although he didn't say anything, he was still quite moved in his heart.
Among the current gentry, apart from myself, I am afraid that the only one who can understand and admire medicine in this way is the pottery merchant.
After the prescription was filled, Zhang Ji immediately went to grab the medicine.
Tao Ying was thinking about his father and followed Zhang Ji.
In fact, Tao Ying went with him, which could not help him at all except causing trouble, but the pottery merchant still let him do it.
He was the only one in authority who could understand the pain of losing his father.
But he can't be as willful and crazy as Tao Ying. There are still a lot of problems in Xuzhou that need his intervention.
The pottery merchant went to the meeting hall. In the main hall, many civil and military officials from Jinling City and Pengcheng were waiting for him.
Guo Jia submitted a report from the school affairs office to the pottery merchant. It clearly stated that Liu Bei had been appointed and removed by Gongsun Zan as the General of Fuxiong and Zhonglang of Xianbei. He was fully responsible for dealing with foreign affairs.
Tao Shang read the report quietly for a while, then suddenly said: "Liu Xuande is really a smart man. If he continues to hang out with Gongsun Zan, it will really not be good for his reputation. Now he has no choice but to go to a foreign land.
If he can negotiate as a foreign envoy to a certain extent and solve some of the threats from Xianbei and the Southern Xiongnu for the Han Dynasty, he may be able to gain the reputation of a national hero in the near future... In this way, it may be able to offset the death of Liu Yu.
Notoriety as an accomplice.”
Guo Jia lamented and said: "Liu Bei is a thoughtful person. Although he has no foundation, he is capable. If he becomes a lieutenant general against the foreign tribes in the north, will he collude with foreign tribes to invade the interior and bring disaster to us?"
earth?"
The pottery merchant thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Absolutely not!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard this.
How come this guy has so much confidence in Liu Bei?
Guo Jia looked at the pottery merchant doubtfully and said, "Why is Taifu so sure?"
Tao Shang smiled when he heard this and said: "I know Liu Bei is an ambitious person, but ambition is another word, which is the so-called great ambition! Being ambitious is not a bad thing. Everyone has ambition, but
Some ambitious people have no bottom line in doing things, which is not advisable...but I don’t think Liu Bei is that kind of person."
After a pause, Tao Shang continued to affirm: "Liu Bei has the potential to be a hero. He will work hard to deal with all the princes in the world, but he will never harm the country and the people."
Although they did not understand why the potter was so sure, Guo Jia and others still recognized the potter's words.
It's not that they recognized Liu Bei, but that they recognized the potter's vision.
Although I don't know the reason.
There are some things that the potter cannot explain clearly to them.
Liu Bei is a hero, and from some aspects, he is indeed a hero.
Gongsun Zan's younger brother, Tao Qian, surrendered the country, became brother to Lu Bu, made wine with Cao Cao with green plums, was welcomed by Yuan Shao, was introduced to the same clan by Liu Biao, was promised to Sun Quan as his sister, and was dedicated to Zhuge Liang until his death.
From starting from scratch to winning the hearts of heroes all over the world, Liu Bei's indomitable spirit is deeply rooted in people's hearts and is admirable.
Such a man will at most become a ruthless tyrant, but he will never become a beast that brings disaster to the country and the people!
The pottery merchant believed that Liu Bei had a bottom line.
But even if the pottery merchant knew that Liu Bei had his shining points, he still had to do his best to harm Liu Bei.
Frankly speaking, the last time Tao Shang harmed Liu Bei, he even worked harder than he did against Cao Cao.
Moreover, Liu Bei at that time was not hostile to the pottery merchants, but the pottery merchants were still ruthless in their attacks.
This was not because he had any personal prejudice against Liu Bei, but because he had to do it for the sake of the overall situation.
In the pottery merchant's view, from the perspective of social development, Liu Bei and Sun Quan in history, and even Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, were all important factors that undermined social stability.
Without their stubborn resistance in the Battle of Chibi, China at that time would most likely have ushered in a new period of peace thirteen years after Jian'an.
And because of their personal desires and the desire to prove their own worth, the world, which was already close to unification, turned into a situation where the three kingdoms were separated, and the civil war lasted for seventy-two years for no reason, almost forever.
for a century.
The number of people who have died in this century! Retrograde social productivity! Weak economic development! It is simply impossible to estimate.
Liu Bei was persevering and persevering, and he indeed had the ambition to help the Han Dynasty and his unique personality charm. The pottery merchants admired these advantages of his.
But his perseverance is a serious obstacle to the completion of great unification in today's society.
Regardless of whether Liu Bei is a tyrant or a hero, history has proved that Liu Bei does not have the talent and strategy like Cao Cao to unify troubled times.
But he is an important factor that can continue the troubled times.
Therefore, the way the pottery merchant treated Liu Bei was surprisingly cruel, even so cruel that the pottery merchant himself felt pitiful for Liu Bei.
In order to end the troubled times as soon as possible, the pottery merchants had to do this.
"Continue to send people to monitor Liu Bei's movements. If you have any news, report to me at any time." Tao Shang told Guo Jia.
Guo Jia had known for a long time that the pottery merchant was attracted to Liu Bei, so he was not surprised.
"One more thing." Guo Jia continued to tell Tao Shang: "After Yuan Shao returned to Yecheng, he ordered senior officials to continue to appease the counties in Bingzhou and recruit brave soldiers. At the same time, he ordered his eldest son Yuan Tan to be the governor and mobilize troops to station in the plains.
.”
Ever since Liu Bei left the plains, this place has been in a vacuum. Now Yuan Shao took the initiative and sent his eldest son to lead the troops to garrison. The meaning is self-evident.
The potter touched his chin and said, "Yuan Tan is stationed in the plains. It seems that Yuan Shao is going to attack Qingzhou?"
Guo Jia cupped his hands and said, "That's exactly it."
"Then quickly send someone to inform Gongsun Zan that Tao needs to eliminate Zang Ba and unify the entire Yangzhou. He cannot spare the energy to take care of Qingzhou's affairs."
Hearing Tao Shang mention Zang Ba, Cao Bao stood up and bowed his hands to him: "The Grand Duke...how does the Grand Tutor plan to deal with Zang Ba?"
Tao Shang smiled and said: "We didn't attack him originally because we didn't have strong strength. Now we in Xuzhou and Jinling City need soldiers and generals, so we can directly send troops to Langya County. If Zang Ba understands the situation, he will naturally
Surrender, if you are not convinced...just crush him."
It was rare for a pottery merchant to engage in such a direct and violent strategy against his opponent, which was very surprising to the ministers.
Only Guo Jia understood in his heart.
The current situation is tense, Xuzhou is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there is not much time left for the pottery merchants, so they must start to use drastic and tough measures.
Thinking of this, Guo Jia came out to advise: "Guo has a way to catch Zang Ba off guard and quickly pacify Langya County, but he is afraid that the Taifu and your father will not agree..."
The pottery merchant looked at him and said, "Tell me about it?"
Guo Jia cleared his throat and said with a smile: "Tao Jun wants to hold a wedding for Taifu Chuwei next month. The wedding is a grand celebration for the entire Xuzhou. If Guo spends it, Zang Ba will never think of me.
The army will launch an attack on Kaiyang during the Grand Tutor's wedding..."
The pottery merchant was suddenly surprised when he heard this: "This is a good idea!"
Guo Jia smiled awkwardly and said, "The question is, going to war during the wedding period...can Mr. Tao agree to it?"