Chapter four hundred and eighteen the son inherits the father's business
Yu Ji explained to Tao Qian: "Shijun's health is good, but he has been very anxious in recent years. He has not been able to sleep well day and night, which has hurt the vitality of the five internal organs. No matter what kind of miracle doctor he is, the medicine cannot cure the root cause of his stubborn disease. This disease is here."
In your mind and thoughts, if you want to be healthy and live longer, in your situation, you have to put down these worldly things and quietly practice alchemy with me. You may be able to extend your life, but there is no other way."
Tao Qian couldn't help but fell silent after hearing this.
Do you want me to delegate my power, go into seclusion, and enjoy my old age in peace?
The pottery merchant said with concern: "Father, if not, you might as well give it a try according to Yu Shenxian's words?"
Tao Qian did not answer Tao Shang directly. He thought carefully for a while and suddenly said to Ji: "Yu Shenxian, I thank you! The Shenxian came from afar and worked hard. He came to see me before he even took a break. I felt really sorry for him.
I feel sorry for you. If it is convenient for the gods, you might as well go to the post house to have a rest. I will order a banquet tonight to welcome the old gods. How about we discuss this matter in detail? "
Although Yu Ji is old and slow to react, he still understands a little bit about the ways of the world...even more than many young people.
After listening to Tao Qian's words, he immediately understood what he meant.
This old guy has some things that are inconvenient for outsiders to say, so he has to talk to the potter alone.
After all, as the overlord of a party, if he really delegates power, he will probably have a lot to do.
Yu Ji bowed his head and said: "Master Immeasurable Life, since this is the case, I will take my leave now."
Tao Qian sent someone to guide Yu Ji.
Yu Ji very wisely followed the Tao family's servants to the post house, leaving only Tao Qian and Tao Shang's father and son staring in the pavilion, silently for a long time.
The silence between the father and son lasted for three sticks of incense, and finally they heard Tao Shang speak first and said to Tao Qian: "Father, you asked Yu Ji to go out and left the child alone here. Do you have something to say?"
"
Tao Qian's cloudy old eyes seemed to be reminiscing about something, and he was not in a hurry to answer Tao Shang.
After a long time, I heard Tao Qian say: "What Yu Ji said actually makes some sense. In recent years, I have become older, less resistant, more preoccupied, and more anxious... Ever since I started the crusade against the Guandong princes,
Since Dong Zhuo, I have been worried about the safety and future of the Tao family every day, thinking hard day and night. I am always afraid that one wrong move will lead to the destruction of the entire Tao family, but there is no one to discuss with me.
If you're being polite, I have to keep one eye open at night...sigh, I can't sleep well."
The potter looked at Tao Qian doubtfully and said curiously: "Can't you sleep well? That's not right, Dad! Last time I passed by your room door, I heard you snoring inside. The sound of snoring made the roof of the room collapse.
Yeah, that's not something ordinary people can breathe out..."
Before he could finish his words, Tao Qian reached out and was about to slash him with his crutch.
"Little calf! Do you really want to piss me off to death?"
"My child never meant this..."
"fart!"
After scolding the pottery merchant, Tao Qian leaned back on the recliner, took a long breath, and continued: "My temperament and mind are too narrow, and I am not suitable for fighting for supremacy in the world. I am small-minded and thoughtful, so I can't do anything like this."
They are so free and easy, they fight back and forth, and they can't fight for anything. Instead, they become sick... It's really ridiculous! But the problem is that you two little brats are not living up to your expectations, which makes me worried.
What if we don’t stand firm and our Tao family is destroyed?”
The potter was quite moved when he heard this, and continued: "Father, what about now?"
"Now?" There were some tears in Tao Qian's eyes: "It's different now! You have now taken the position of Taifu, and Ying'er has now been appointed by you to be in charge of the southeastern border, the entire Xuzhou and Jiangdong, a total of ten counties.
The land is all owned by me, the Tao family, and most of the credit belongs to you, what else do I have to worry about?"
Speaking of this, Tao Qian paused and said: "I should be selfish for once... For this old life, I decided to go into seclusion, and like Yu Shenxian and Wang Situ, we will cultivate our hearts together and practice the method of alchemy.
Try to live a few more years... so that you can see how my son rules the roost in this world!"
After hearing this, the potter suddenly felt a heavy sense of responsibility in his chest.
Will you finally become the head of the family?
"Father, don't worry, my child will not let you down. In this world where many heroes are competing for the throne, my child will definitely come out on top!"
Tao Qian nodded happily, then suddenly changed the topic and said: "My child, although I say so, in this troubled world, human life is not as good as a dog... I hope you, I hope you..."
When he said this, Tao Qian's tone was sobbed, and his tears couldn't stop flowing out.
"If there comes a day when my son cannot compete with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao...or Lu Bu, Sun Ce and others, my son, I hope you won't be stubborn. Whether you surrender or submit, we don't want Xuzhou or Jinling.
It doesn’t matter... Dad just hopes you can live..."
Saying these words, it was like ringing a bell, hitting the potter's mind hard, making him unable to calm down for a long time.
No land, no city, no status... As long as I can live, this may be a father's true emotion, true expectation, and true heartfelt words, right?
Tao Shang stretched out his hand, squeezed Tao Qian's withered old hands tightly, and said with certainty: "Father, I promise you, my brother and I will live well, for sure!"
…
In the second year of Xingping, AD 195, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, went to Fan County to resign, took the blame and left, retreating bravely.
The pottery merchant received full authority from Tao Qian and obtained the emperor's permission to take charge of Xuzhou's pastoral duties.
After the news reached Hebei, Yuan Shao, who had always been confident, suddenly became depressed.
Seeing that Yuan Shao was unhappy, his subordinate Pang Ji immediately tried to comfort him.
"General, Tao Qian can be considered a powerful figure. He has led Xuzhou for seven years and is considered the general's rival. Now that he is in poor health and can no longer take care of state affairs, for the general, it can be said that a strong enemy has passed away.
, How could the general be unhappy instead of worried, and his face was full of sorrow, and his subordinates really couldn't understand it."
Yuan Shao let out a long sigh and said: "Old Tao Qian, what are you afraid of? The only one to worry about is the Taoist merchant! Nowadays, most of the land in the two states of Xu and Yang is occupied by this son, and half of the country in the southeast lies in his hands...
This boy is naturally cunning, but he behaves like a gentleman in front of everyone. He has almost deceived everyone in the world. He can be called Yuan's biggest enemy! Now that he has taken over Tao Qian's business, he has been responsible for all the southeastern government orders.
, if it is not eradicated as soon as possible, it will become a problem in the long run! It will not be easy to deal with it by then! How can Yuan not worry? "
Pang Ji chuckled and said: "In the past three years, the general has worked hard to develop Jizhou and Bingzhou. Whether it is troops, horses, or food and grass, it has increased day by day. It is not comparable to the past. Looking at the world, who can be rivaled? Although the pottery merchants occupy the southeast,
But in the south of Yangzhou, most counties and counties are poor land and sparsely populated. No matter how powerful the pottery merchants are, they don't need to take it to heart... The only ones to worry about are the wealth of Jinling and Hangzhou."
Yuan Shao shook his head and sighed: "No! The wealth of Jinling is just a trivial matter... You have never seen that boy from the Tao family, so you don't know how powerful he is... No, Yuan's dominance can't be delayed any longer. Send the order quickly.
Pingyuan's thinking asked him to advance quickly, attack Tian Kai and Kong Rong, and capture the entire territory of Qingzhou within a time limit!"
Pang Ji usually had a very normal relationship with Yuan Tan, and Yuan Tan didn't respect him very much. When he heard this, he immediately took it into consideration.
"General, the eldest son has been stationing troops in the plains for nearly a year, but has not gained an inch of land. If this continues, money and food are wasted, troops and horses are wasted, the morale of the army is lost, and there is no city. Isn't it possible to just sit back and watch Tao's power grow in vain?"
When Yuan Shao heard this, he frowned and said, "This kid is so slow in doing things! Yuan immediately ordered the supervisory army to go to the plain to urge him to go into battle."
Pang Ji said with great regret: "Even if this is the case, I'm afraid it may not be as the general wishes."
Yuan Shao looked at Pang Ji and said, "What do you mean by this?"
"General, the eldest son is your eldest son, and he is also the chief general in charge of the three armies of Qingzhou. You have sent supervisors. Which supervisor dares to be disrespectful to the eldest son? Besides, the son's nature is like a raging fire. It is difficult to talk to one another. If you kill him angrily,
If you are a prisoner of the army, can you still hold your own son accountable?"
Yuan Shao was silent after hearing this.
After thinking carefully for a long time, he finally heard him say: "What do you mean by this, do you mean that my son respects himself as a soldier?"
Pang Ji wanted to say "yes", but he knew in his heart that he couldn't say this.
The so-called lack of intimacy meant that Yuan Shao had to be induced to judge some things by himself.
Pang Ji hurriedly waved his hand and said: "The general has misunderstood. This is not what my subordinates meant. Ji just thinks that ordinary generals in the army cannot control the eldest son. Moreover, it is also a critical moment when Tao Shang has just inherited Tao Qian's business. Qingzhou has nothing to do with it."
For a general, it is really crucial."
Yuan Shao nodded when he heard this and said: "Although what you say makes sense... but the question is, doesn't it require Yuan Mou to go there in person?"
Pang Ji chuckled and said: "Look, this is not necessary. After all, Gongsun Zan in the northeast is a great threat, and the Black Mountain Army has not been completely destroyed. The general is stationed in Yecheng, and it is convenient for him to make arrangements... Why don't you authorize the Third Young Master to do so?"
As a supervisor of the army, how about asking him to go to Qingzhou and supervise the eldest son to go into battle on behalf of the general?"
Hearing this, Yuan Shao suddenly realized and said: "It is a suitable choice to show off my son... It's just that this child has just been crowned, so he is too young."
Pang Jidao: "Although the Third Young Master is young, in terms of ability and temperament, among all the disciples, he is most similar to the General. Hasn't the General always wanted to train him? Isn't this an opportunity? Besides, in terms of status,
, only the Third Young Master, who is also a Young Master, can make the Eldest Young Master have some scruples."
Yuan Shao touched his neatly groomed beard, thought about it carefully for a while, and said: "That makes sense...but he is too young after all, so I still don't feel reassured. How about this, you go with him and assist Yu Shang'er."
, it’s better to give him some guidance at the critical moment.”
Pang Ji bowed deeply and said: "How dare you disobey orders! I will do my best to assist the Third Young Master so that everything in Qingzhou can be fully accomplished!"
Yuan Shao nodded and suddenly shouted to the guards outside the hall: "Here comes Yuan Shangwu's son. Yuan has something to tell him."