The administrative seat of Qingzhou is Linzi City.
"Hahaha!"
A proud young man was sitting in the main hall of the Governor's Mansion, playing with the seal of the Qingzhou Governor in his hand, with a look of arrogance and contentment on his face.
This young man is Yuan Tan, the eldest son of Yuan Shao.
Below him, Yuan Shang and Pang Ji, the third son sent by Yuan Shao to oversee the army, stood.
Under the supervision of Yuan Shang and Pang Ji, Yuan Tan commanded the army to launch five battles against Qingzhou governor Tian Kai and Kong Rong in consecutive months.
Yuan's army was powerful and invincible. All the prefectures and counties in Qingzhou looked at the wind and fell. Tian Kai and Kong Rong were unable to match Yuan Tan's momentum. They had no choice but to abandon the city and go straight south to Xuzhou.
Since all the generals have fled, the rest of the counties in Qingzhou can basically send a message.
Last month, Yuan Shao personally raised his troops to attack Gongsun Zan, and the battle in Youzhou was about to start again.
As long as Yuan Shao's victory comes, the whole of Hebei will completely fall into the hands of the Yuan family.
Seeing Yuan Tan's proud expression, Yuan Shang couldn't help but sneer.
He just defeated those two old losers Tian Kai and Kong Rong, look at how angry they are!
Although I think so in my heart, Yuan Shang is still somewhat wealthy.
He cupped his hands at Yuan Tan and said: "My eldest brother is so brave that he won Qingzhou, a prosperous land near the sea in Shandong. From now on, it belongs to my Yuan family. He is indeed my father's eldest son and a role model for our younger brothers."
Yuan Tan was very happy with Yuan Shang's flattery.
Although he had never been very fond of, or even hated, this smooth-talking younger brother, but now that these flattering words came from Yuan Shang's mouth, Yuan Tan felt like drinking from a sweet spring.
Who makes him feel that he is awesome?
"Third brother, thank you for your praise. This time we conquered Qingzhou, it's more or less yours..."
Yuan Tan stretched out his hand, pinched it with his index finger and thumb, and said, "A little bit of credit."
Seeing Yuan Tan's arrogant expression, Yuan Shang wished he could peel off three layers of his skin.
Let you pretend! Just wait!
"My eldest brother is so powerful that he has captured Qingzhou overnight, and my father's victory over Gongsun Zan is also inevitable. The unification of the four states in Hebei is imminent. Before my father returns to the army, why don't eldest brother put the icing on the cake and capture Xuzhou to celebrate?"
Pang Ji was nearby, drinking hot water and eating pastries as if nothing had happened. When he suddenly heard this, he was so frightened that he almost choked to death.
He glanced at Yuan Shang from the side and complained secretly in his heart.
What did this bastard boy promise me when he was ordered to supervise the army? Didn't he promise not to provoke the pottery merchant?
But in front of Yuan Tan, Pang Ji was really embarrassed to say anything wrong with Yuan Shang.
When Yuan Tan heard this, he looked slightly hesitant.
This time he was ordered to attack Qingzhou, but the general order he received was only to conquer the entire territory of Qingzhou, but he was not allowed to send troops to Xuzhou.
In fact, in Yuan Tan's heart, he also had the intention of sending troops to Xuzhou.
After all, the pottery merchant was ranked first among the younger generation in the Han Dynasty at a young age, so Yuan Tan was somewhat dissatisfied.
He can also be regarded as a fierce general who can fight fierce beasts, and he comes from a famous family. Subconsciously, he still cares about reputation.
What am I missing?
Seeing Yuan Tan's hesitation, Yuan Shang understood in his heart that there was a way to do this, and then sighed with emotion: "My little brother is just a suggestion. If the elder brother is not willing, then forget it... Oh, what can I say about this matter? The elder brother is afraid
It’s normal, after all, although the pottery merchant is young, he can be compared with his father. Among us younger generations, who is his opponent?”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Tan couldn't stand it.
He is a person with a high moral character, and he has been advocating martial arts since he was a child. In terms of his character, at best he is said to be upright and at worst he is courageous and unintelligent.
Yuan Shang's method of provoking generals may not be easy for others, but for his elder brother, it is exactly what he wants.
Yuan Tan snorted and said, "Who said I'm afraid of pottery merchants? I'm just a humble guy, so what's the point? Third brother, don't underestimate me. Let's see how I handle the pottery merchants!"
Yuan Shang was overjoyed when he heard this.
Yuan Tan is so cooperative.
He pondered for a moment and said to Yuan Tan: "I heard that Chang Xi, Wu Dun and others among the Taishan thieves have surrendered to Cao Cao and stationed their troops in Taishan County. The barrier between Langya Kingdom and Qingzhou has been lost. This time
This is the time for my brother to use force."
Yuan Tan raised his hand to block Yuan Shang's words and said: "I have my own plan for this matter, so I don't need my third brother to worry about it."
Yuan Tan was so tyrannical and put his boss's reputation in front of him. Yuan Shang felt very unhappy, but he didn't say much.
After saying a few more words casually, Yuan Shang immediately withdrew.
Pang Ji also went out with him.
As soon as he went out, Pang Ji was very dissatisfied and said to Yuan Shang: "Third Young Master! When you left Yecheng and came to Qingzhou, what did you promise me? Didn't you agree not to provoke the pottery merchants? How could you..."
Yuan Shangwu waved his hand indifferently and said: "Mr. Pang, what I told you at the beginning was that I would not provoke the pottery merchant. Now it is my eldest brother who wants to fight. What does it have to do with me?"
Pang Ji stomped his feet angrily: "Your elder brother wants to fight! Wasn't it you who instigated it? He later sued the general. Isn't it still your fault?"
Yuan Shang raised his eyebrows: "In the hall just now, apart from you and me, who can prove that I was the one who instigated him?"
Pang Ji was stunned when he heard this.
This kid... what does this mean? Are you asking me to commit perjury?
How unjust!
Looking at Pang Ji's dumbfounded expression, Yuan Shang said with a smile: "Do you understand? Some things don't have to be so unreasonable. When Yuan Tan sends troops to Xuzhou, you and I will secretly write to my father and say that Yuan Tan is arbitrary.
, others tried to persuade him not to listen, and he decided to send troops on his own. When the time comes, he will bite him in return, how can my father believe him?"
…
Xuzhou, Pengcheng.
After Tao Shang brought Lu Su back to Pengcheng, he immediately summoned all the civil and military officials, introduced Lu Su to them, and announced to all the civil and military officials that he would appoint Lu Su as a general.
The position of general did not exist in the Eastern Han Dynasty official system. This time it was established by the pottery merchants imitating the historical Soochow. Its main function was to guard the areas along the river and sweep away invading enemies.
However, the general is just a title after all, with no actual military power. After Tao Shang appeased Lu Su, the main task he wanted him to undertake was to sweep through the Shanyue in the territory, either to capture or to exterminate it, it all depends on his convenience.
So no matter what, at least one army must be allocated to Lu Su.
But based on his current military exploits, it would be inconvenient to send any major general or any group of troops to him to take over.
At least it won't convince the public in the short term.
Regarding this point, the pottery merchant approached Lu Su for discussion and wanted to hear his opinion.
Lu Su was very accommodating and said: "There is no need for the old army. If it is convenient for Taifu, he can summon thousands of new troops to join me."
Just when the pottery merchant was thinking about recruiting a group of new soldiers in Xuzhou, news came from the south.
It is said that Tao Ying was in Yuzhang and recruited a group of three thousand strong men from Baiyue for the pottery merchants, who could arrive at Jinling City at any time.
The people of Baiyue still relied on tribes to make a living and were short of supplies. Therefore, many orphans in the tribe were eager to join the army in the counties under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
At least in their eyes, this can fill their stomachs without having to sleep in the open after a full meal.
After careful consideration, the pottery merchant authorized Lu Su to go to Jinling City and promised to hand over the Baiyue army to Lu Su's control.
The pottery merchant ordered the division of Yuyao and Shangyu counties in Kuaiji County, changed Wu County to Suzhou City, allocated it as a county, and made Lu Su the prefect of Suzhou to lead the troops to guard it.
Lu Su was appointed and went to Wuxian, that is, Suzhou City, to take office.
Immediately afterwards, the pottery merchant began to complete the other three strategies Lu Su advised him.
It was imminent for the pottery merchant to instigate Zhang Xian to rebel against Liu Biao. After careful consideration, the pottery merchant first sent someone to inform Sun Ce.
By the way, he also wanted to see Sun Ce's attitude towards this matter.
Sun Ce was eager for revenge and had long wanted to seize Jiangxia to expand his territory and kill Huang Zu to avenge his father. He quickly gave the pottery merchant a reply, saying that he was willing to facilitate this.
Moreover, Sun Ce also recommended a person to persuade Zhang Xian to rebel. This person was called Huan Jie, who was once promoted as Xiaolian by Sun Jian. When Sun Jian was killed by Liu Biao, it was he who took the risk to ask for Sun Jian's body from Liu Biao, and he and the Sun family
One is extremely good.
After settling this matter, Zhao Yun and others returned to Pengcheng. Taishi Ci and Zang Ba returned with the Taishan bandit Sun Guan who surrendered to the pottery merchants. At the same time, Zhang Xun went to persuade Lei Bo, and Chen Lan and others also returned.
This matter went very smoothly, and Lei Bo and other three generals expressed their willingness to join the pottery business.
Zhang Xun returned to Pengcheng and was deeply moved when he learned that Tao Shang had rescued Yuan Wan and Mrs. Feng and preserved a bloodline for Yuan Shu.
So, he finally put down his last precaution against the pottery merchant and took out the jade seal that had been hidden by Yuan Yao when he died.
With the imperial seal, the pottery merchant couldn't help but be overjoyed!
With this thing as a medium, Tao and Liu Xie were much more certain that they would be in-laws.
But right now, who among the Tao family should be chosen to marry Liu Xie?
The pottery merchant was unsure about this matter and decided to go to Tao Qian.