After discussing with Huangfu Song, Tao Shang said goodbye to his mentor in the Art of War. While thinking about what he had just said, he walked towards his tent.
The Baibo Army was stationed in the Baibo Valley of the Xihe River, which is within the territory of Bingzhou. Going north from Luoyang requires passing through Hanoi County. Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, was a die-hard supporter of Yuan Shao. When he first attacked Dong Zhuo, they were both stationed in Hanoi.
of.
The pottery merchant had Wang Kuang's Xiao Jiujiu in mind... Perhaps, the logistical supplies for the crusade against the Yellow Turbans and many other matters would have to fall on Wang Kuang's mind... And the only one who has the qualifications to order Wang Kuang to do this for him is currently
Yuan Shao can do it.
But how to solve the problem of insufficient troops and horses?
There are only 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command, while the Baibo Army has 150,000 or 60,000 soldiers. Even though these more than 100,000 people are more fishermen in troubled waters and less elite, their numbers are real and there is no way for a good tiger to hold them back.
What a pack of wolves... If the ten thousand of us fought alone against the White Wave Army, they would be trampled to death.
In fact, Tao Shang fell into a misunderstanding at this time. He was accustomed to simply using numbers as a comparison of strength and weakness. However, after trying his best in some things, he will find that his opponents are sometimes not as terrible as he imagined.
While the potter's mind was still racing, he saw Mi Fang running towards him in a hurry, breathing heavily as he ran.
"Huh? What's the matter? Why are you running in such a hurry?" The pottery merchant looked at Mi Fang strangely.
Mi Fang chuckled, rubbed her hands and said, "You are back, and I have two pieces of news to tell you, one good and one bad. Which one do you want to hear first?"
The potter rolled his eyes and said, "You are a person who sometimes can't even tell the difference between good and bad things... first tell me the good things and listen to them."
Mi Fang touched her nose and said cheerfully: "That general of Dong Zhuo's army named Xu Rong, he finally woke up after being in a coma for so many days! Hey, he has put the medical officers in our army through a lot of trouble."
The potter's face showed joy: "This is really good news. So, his life is safe?"
Mi Fang nodded vigorously: "The medical officer said that his life can be saved. As long as Xu Rong doesn't harm his body, there should be no problem... It's all thanks to your good prescription, Master."
When Tao Shang heard this, he felt very happy in his heart. He tried to recall the prescriptions of "Thousands of Gold Prescriptions" and Guizhi Decoction in vain. He never thought that these medical officers were really pretty.
"Then what's the bad news?" the pottery merchant asked Mi Fang curiously.
Mi Fang's old face suddenly tightened: "The bad news is that Xu Rong is harming his body."
The pottery merchant couldn't help being shocked when he heard this, and said: "What did he do? Chopping his hands or stamping his feet? Could it be that he committed seppuku and committed suicide?"
Mi Fang shook her head and said: "That's not the case... The problem is that as soon as this guy opened his eyes, he knew that he was in the enemy's camp, and one of his eyes was blind and disfigured. His will was quite depressed, and he remained silent.
He can't eat or drink, and seems to have thoughts of death."
The potter laughed a few times and shook his head helplessly.
If you really want to commit suicide, what is not the best way to cut your pulse and rub your neck? Even if you don't have weapons to commit the murder, there is still a way to commit suicide by biting your tongue... Do you have to go on a hunger strike to starve yourself to death in such a cruel and inhumane way?
Not to mention suffering, and the probability of failure is too high, right?... It’s clear that I still don’t want to die.
If he doesn't want to die, it means there is still a way to do it... I'm afraid that he wants to die so much that he doesn't even give himself a chance.
"Take me over and have a look. He is feeling lonely now. He was originally a famous general, but he suddenly became disabled. It is normal for him to be a little confused. He will just wait for me to enlighten him."
Mi Fang immediately led the way and led the pottery merchant to the tent where Xu Rong was resting.
Xu Rong was lying on the bed, with his right eye still tightly wrapped in white cloth. His face was sallow, his cheeks were sunken, and he was extremely thin. The remaining left eye was staring blankly at the top of the tent, his eyes straight.
Yes, quite lonely.
The military doctor standing next to him was holding a bowl of rice porridge in his hand and looking at him helplessly... Even if he refused to eat it despite everyone's advice, it would be hard for even the gods to save him.
When he saw Tao Shang and Mi Fang coming in, the military doctor was holding a bowl and was at a loss as to how to salute.
Tao Shang shook his head, indicating that it was okay, and reached out to take the bowl of rice porridge from the military doctor's hand. He came to Xu Rong, lowered his head and quietly observed half of his cheeks that had been disfigured.
"If you don't want to eat, do you want to go on a hunger strike?" the pottery merchant asked.
Xu Rong glanced sideways at the pottery merchant and said slowly: "Are you the one who saved me?"
Tao Shang showed a warm smile and said: "I am Tao Shang, the eldest son of the governor of Xuzhou. The general guessed right. I am the one who saved you."
Xu Rong's one-eye frowned, and he whispered hoarsely: "Why do you want to save me? Is there anything that can be saved like this? It's better to die!"
The pottery merchant could somewhat understand Xu Rong's current mood. He had lost one eye, his appearance was ruined, and he had become a disabled person. The tough man couldn't accept it psychologically for a while.
The potter gently shook his head and persuaded: "General, this is too extreme. One eye is missing, but you still have one left. Your face is ruined, but why does a man need such a beautiful face? General, he has fought a hundred battles.
After death, a strong man returns in ten years...isn't life better than anything else?"
Having said this, the pottery merchant turned his head and looked inside the tent. There was a pair of bronze mirrors facing him on the table not far away, with his handsome face vaguely reflected on it.
That being said...but having good looks is quite eye-catching. At least it feels comfortable to look in the mirror every morning when you wake up.
Xu Rong stared at him without comment.
The pottery man scooped the porridge out of the bowl with a spoon, put it under his lips and blew the hot air gently.
Xu Rong looked at the potter's actions and said slowly: "Don't waste your efforts, I won't eat..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the pottery merchant smiling and showing his small white teeth: "You are overthinking, I didn't say I would give it to you."
The potter put the porridge in the spoon directly into his mouth.
The corners of Xu Rong's mouth twitched involuntarily, whether it was because his eyes hurt or because he was angry.
In front of Xu Rong, the potter slowly blew the porridge in the bowl and put it into his mouth one after another.
Xu Rong's only remaining eye stared at him fiercely.
After a while...
"Master Tao..." Xu Rong said hoarsely: "Can you please stop...eating in front of me!"
The potter smiled and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"It's delicious...don't you want to try it?"
After saying that, he handed the spoon to Xu Rong's mouth. The aroma of rice porridge floated into Xu Rong's nostrils with the heat. The potter saw Xu Rong's Adam's apple rolling for a moment, and a trace of desire appeared on his face.
But it disappeared instantly.
The potter understood that this man was really greedy.
The wound on his eyes has not healed yet, and he has just come out of the dangerous period. Every part of his body needs to replenish nutrition and energy. How can he not be hungry?
What supported his stubbornness was nothing but so-called dignity... Everyone has dignity, but it shouldn't be shown at a time like this, not to mention that the pottery merchant did not deprive Xu Rong of his dignity.
"Eat it. Only after eating can you have the strength to talk about anything else." The pottery merchant pursed his lips at the spoonful of porridge.
Xu Rong took a deep breath and said, "Xu doesn't eat the food he comes with."
After Tao Shang was behind him, Mi Fang couldn't help but get angry when he heard the words: "You are so rude! Do you know how much effort my eldest son put in to save you? Sun Ce wants to kill you to avenge his father Sun Jian! He hides you from Yuan Shao.
He almost caused trouble for my young master again, and it was not easy for my young master to..."
The pottery merchant suddenly turned his head, with a slightly unhappy look on his face, and shook his head at Mi Fang: "Brother Mi, don't say anything you shouldn't say."
Mi Fang then swallowed her words angrily.
Tao Shang sighed, sat beside Xu Rong's bed, and said thoughtfully: "In the Book of Rites, Qian Ao called out to the hungry people, saying 'Sigh! Come and eat!'. The hungry people refused to eat and came to eat. Qian Ao apologized.
, the hungry people eventually died without food. When Zengzi heard about it, he said, 'Thank you, it's edible.'"
Xu Rong looked at the pottery merchant in confusion: "Why did you tell Xu about this?"
The pottery merchant raised his eyebrows and persuaded Xu Rong: "Since Zengzi said, 'If you thank me, you can eat it.' Then you see that I am still polite to you. If you eat some of this meal, it won't be regarded as a grudge, right?"
Xu Rong was speechless after hearing this, and after a while he grinned, as if he was teased by the pottery merchant.
"Mr. Tao, you are obviously sophistry. Xu didn't mean that."
The potter smiled and said, "Then what do you mean?"
Xu Rong sighed, shook his head and said: "Your Excellency and Xu are in opposing camps. Xu is not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. If he eats your meal, won't he be the one who betrays the Lord and surrenders to the enemy?"