After hearing Chen Deng's words, Old Man Tao Qian was very happy and immediately sent someone to Xiaopei to call Liu Bei's three brothers to Xuzhou to discuss military affairs. Liu Bei's spy had already found out that Tao Qian was seriously ill and probably wouldn't live long. He also knew that he was about to take over Xuzhou, and he was even more happy.

After receiving Tao Qian's invitation, Liu Bei immediately took Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and his two men to Xuzhou with more than ten personal guards. After Tao Qian heard Liu Bei's arrival, he immediately invited Liu Bei into the bedroom. After Liu Bei asked Tao Qian about his safety, Tao Qian said, "Xiande, I invite you here this time, not for other things. The main reason is that I am terminally ill now, and I will have a few days to live. The safety of the people of Xuzhou has always been in my heart. I think that only by handing it over to Xuzhou can Xuzhou protect the safety of the people of Xuzhou, otherwise Xuzhou will have a great disaster and the people will suffer. At the same time, you must also put the city of the Han court first, and you cannot let the Han city fall into the hands of traitors. In this way, I can die immediately and rest in peace. Please don't refuse."

After hearing this, Liu Bei thought, it seemed that my strategy was correct, and it would not be too late to take over after I refuse. "Mr. Tao, you have two sons, why don't you pass it to them? Even if you pass it to his son, my three brothers will do their best to assist him."

Tao Qian sighed and said, "Xiande, my eldest son is Tao Shang and my second son is Tao Ying. They are all ignorant people. They only know how to eat, drink and have fun. What ability do they have to manage Xuzhou? After I die, I hope that Xiande will take care of their brothers for my sake and let them be rich. Never let them work in the prefecture. Neither of them has the ability."

After hearing this, Liu Bei felt even happier and immediately said, "Mr. Tao, I am also a little uninformed. If you ask me to manage a state at once, I'm afraid I can't manage it alone."

When Tao Qian heard this, he was as Yun Long said, and immediately said, "Xiande, I recommend someone for you, he can help you. This person is from Beihai, named Sun Qian, with the name Gongyou. This person is very talented and can definitely help you." Then he pointed at Chen Deng and Zhao Yu and the other two said, "He is also a famous scholar in Xuzhou, and he can also help you. As long as you treat them well, they will do their best to do your best."

In this way, Liu Bei, a big-eared thief, tricked Tao Qian into Xuzhou. Now Liu Bei was in a good mood and was full of energy. In a few days, Tao Qian died, and Liu Bei presided over the host of a grand funeral for Tao Qian, which made the people of Xuzhou feel even more like he was good.

However, after Cao Cao defeated Lu Bu, Lu Bu did not dare to go out to Puyang City to fight. Cao Cao had no choice but to retreat to Juancheng. After the spring of the following year, locust plagues followed one after another, eating all the crops in the fields. The people could not survive at all, and fled their homes and pouring in to Jizhou and Bingzhou. Lu Bu himself was no longer calling on the people to escape, nor would he care about the people's lives or death. He had no food for himself now, so he could still control the people, so that 70% or 80% of the people fled to famine. The people heard that Jizhou and Bingzhou were resettling a large number of victims and refugees, but now it was even more out of control. Basically, Chengcun and Chengzhai fled to Jizhou and Bingzhou.

Cao Cao had no choice but to watch the people in his jurisdiction fleeing, and there was no way. His army was short of food and grass, and he could only drink some porridge every day, so he had the ability to help the people. Although Cao Cao and his officials knew that they could not let the people escape from their homes, they were powerless and could not watch the people starve to death. So Cao Cao could only turn a blind eye and escape with the people himself.

Cao Cao called Li Dian, Le Jin, Yu Jin, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Mao Jie, Man Chong, Che Zhou, Xi Zhicai, Xun You, Liu Fu, Cheng Yu, Lu Qian, Xun Yu, Xu You, Cao Chun, Cao Ang, Liu Ye and others to the official residence of Juancheng and said to them: "Now our army lacks food and grass. It seems that our army cannot eliminate the Lu Bu Tartars this year, and we can only deal with him next year. I will call you all here today to hear what good solutions you all have.

, and also study the work. Now Big Bear has eliminated Yuan Shao, and the entire Jizhou area belongs to him. Gongsun Du from Liaodong has also been destroyed by him. Now the entire Youzhou area is also taken under the tent. Big Bear now has Bingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, Henoi, Hedong, Beidi, Shuofang and other territories, and is actually extremely powerful. The most terrifying thing is that Big Bear now has a large amount of food and grass, and now people from all over the country are pouring into his territory. This is not a good thing, it will only strengthen his strength."

Xu You thought, what's strange about this? When Big Bear attacked Jizhou last year, he snatched all the grain in the fields of Jizhou. His army last year did not spend more than half of the grain, and he could not use up all the wheat harvested. "Lord, Big Bear has food and grass. He snatched the wheat in Yuan Benchu's field last year. At that time, Benchu ​​didn't dare to send troops to fight with his army in field. Later, he was so angry that he sent more than 10,000 cavalry to sneak attack the Big Bear army that harvested wheat, but was plotted by Big Bear. The cavalry lost it completely. Later, he could only look at Big Bear harvesting wheat in the fields. With preliminary estimates, the wheat he received was about three to four million dan."

Xiahou Yuan said with a depressed look: "Mr. Ziyuan, I heard that Yuan Shao also has an army of more than 400,000. How could he be so vulnerable? Why didn't he even dare to go out of the city to fight? He let Big Bear easily defeat Jizhou. Are you too timid?"

Xu You sighed, "Although there are 400,000 troops, only about 100,000 people can fight, and the other more than 300,000 are temporary force moves. What kind of combat power does it have? The most powerful elite troops were all destroyed by Big Bear when they attacked Huguan in the first year. Isn't such soldiers seeking death when they left the city to fight? Later, they were forced to go out of the city to fight, but were wiped out by Big Bear. The Big Bear Army did not attack the city at all. He only used crossbow archers to shoot the soldiers on the city wall. His crossbow archers were too powerful. The soldiers on our city wall were useless to fight with bows and arrows. We only had the life of the shooting team. How do you think this battle is fought?"

After hearing this, Cao Ren smiled and said, "The bows and arrows produced by Big Bear are indeed far-range and very useful. The part we bought from him is indeed better than our own bows and arrows. This is a fact."

Cheng Yu thought, does Big Bear really have so much food? It’s not just cheating the victims and refugees. “Lord, as I know, Big Bear often complained to the court that he was short of food and money? Why are there so many food and grass suddenly there? It’s not a trick that Big Bear played.”

After hearing this, Cao Cao also felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't explain it clearly. "Lu Ning kept complaining to the court and cheated a lot of food and grass from the court. For this reason, the court felt that it was not easy for him to resettle the victims and refugees, and he also exempted him from his three-year tax revenue. At that time, the ministers in the court had opinions about Lu Ning, but He Jin and Zhang Rang were opposite each other in everything, but they were very consistent with Lu Ning. Both of them agreed to Lu Ning's request. The emperor finally saw that he had the same opinion, so he gave Lu Ning a lot of food and grass. But Gongda said that he had indeed resettled many victims and refugees. This should not be fake. As for how much food he had now, he didn't know. However, after hearing the information sent back by our spies from Bingzhou, the food supply in Lu Ning's jurisdiction was sufficient and the prices were relatively stable."

Xun You thought, if you have been to Bingzhou, you will know that the people's lives under the Lu Ning system are indeed very good. The rumors outside are basically irrelevant. Lu Ning is much more powerful than we imagined. "Lord, there is a large amount of grain in the jurisdiction of Lu Ning. Now Mi Zhu, the largest grain merchant in the world, also works under Lu Ning. With the support of the Mi family, it is not surprising that Lu Ning has abundant food and grass. He now has the support of the Mi family and the Zhen family, and there will be a shortage of food and grass. These two big families are one of the five rich merchants in the world. The lives of the people in Bingzhou are really good, which is incomparable to other places. The ordinary people there are much better than the small merchants under our system, and the things on the Bingzhou market are also very cheap."

Xun Yu thought that none of these were the main ones. The most terrifying thing was Lu Ning's new currency, which was fatal to other princes. "Lord, Lu Ning's development does have his own unique side, especially the currency he issued, which has now basically become the most valuable currency in the world. Now, Lu Ning's currency is circulating everywhere. People and merchants are collecting his currency and using his currency because his currency will not depreciate and is constantly rising. The Lao Wuzhu coins are ignored, which also prompted the rapid development of his economy."

After hearing this, Cao Cao said, "Wen Ruo means that Lu Ning can buy things from other places by issuing currency. Aren't our other princes doing production for him? If this is the case, no matter how we develop, we will not be able to catch up with him. As long as he keeps minting some coins, he can have a large amount of supplies, and we will be in vain."

After Xun Yu heard this, it was so simple. The issuance of currency is of particular importance. It can be minted at will. "My lord, I can't say that. I can only say that Lu Ning's currency is a hard currency. He dare not mint money at will. Otherwise, the most harmful thing will be himself. After all, the materials produced in his jurisdiction occupy more than 60% of the market share in the world. The amount of currency he issued is also determined based on the production volume in his jurisdiction. His currency appreciation is also something he does not want. Of course, he does not want his currency to continue to appreciate. This lord is a commoner in other states and counties. The merchants have a large amount of his currency in his hands, which makes his money supply a little tight, and then it will be appreciated."

After hearing this, Cao Hong smiled and said, "Then we can just mint our own currency, so that everyone in the world can collect and use our currency. Then we can also keep minting currency like that boy Lu Ning, and then we can have supplies."

After hearing this, Liu Ye laughed and said, "That's so easy. If we want to become a hard-to-coin currency, our production capacity must have a certain position. Besides, we do not have the technology of minting currency like Lu Ning, and other people cannot imitate his currency. If we mint ourselves, if the technology is not good, it will be easily imitated by others. If that happens, it will be even more troublesome."

Cheng Yu said: "Then we can send a secret spy to Bingzhou to kidnap the Big Bear's craftsmen, so that we can also mint Big Bear's currency."

Xun You shook his head, saying it simply, is it that easy to kidnap? This is the lifeblood of Big Bear, it would be strange if he doesn't have heavy troops to guard it. "Impossible, let alone kidnap Big Bear's craftsmen who mint currency, it's difficult for ordinary craftsmen to fight Big Bear to pay attention to cement craftsmen? So far, I have achieved nothing. I have been to the Big Bear's factory, and important factories are guarded by soldiers, let alone the mint. I heard that Big Bear's factories are all assembly line operations, and it's not OK to have one or two craftsmen.

Yes, his factory has many processes, and each process has different people to produce. If you want to have a complete product, you must get all the craftsmen of all processes. This is too difficult. Besides, we dare not provoke Big Bear easily now. Once he is discovered, it will cause trouble. Big Bear, you are not unclear. He is a person who never follows the rules and does not dare to do anything. He is a guy who will take revenge. If he is really angry and leads a large army to kill, will we have the ability to resist now?"

Xun Yu said: "The blacksmith must rely on itself. Don't think about those unrealistic things. We still have to find ways to become stronger by ourselves. It is always unreliable to rely on others. I have been studying Big Bear recently. He really doesn't know a word? He is really just a grassroots hero? I think this person is very scheming and has a long-term layout. He is not an ordinary person. Otherwise, with the talent of filial piety, how could he be willing to give advice to a reckless village man? Those who can conquer filial piety are not something that ordinary people can do. Moreover, filial piety and talent are like each other, so he will immediately give him the highest military power. This is not easy. This shows that Big Bear is very capable of cognizing talents and valuing talents. Isn't this what anyone can do? "

Cao Cao said: "Wen Ruo is right, we should attach great importance to Lu Ning. We cannot just listen to rumors. Those are unreliable. I can't figure out what kind of person Lu Ning is, but this person is indeed not simple. Lu Ning said to the public that he is from Jianning, but from the information I got back from Jianning, that Jianning had no such person at all, and Lu Ning himself was a mystery."

Xun You said: "Lu Ning is illiterate. When I was in Jinyang, the officials under his command said this. Even Guan Ning and Cai Yong said that he did not know Chinese characters, but I had contact with him. Although Lu Ning spoke roughly, he was well-organized and had a wide range of knowledge."

At this time, the guards ran in and said to Cao Cao: "Lord, Xuzhou has sent information, saying that it was Liu Bei who led the governor of Xuzhou, and Tao Qian gave in. Now Tao Qian is also ill."

After hearing this, Cao Cao said sternly: "I have not revenged my great revenge. Liu Bei is a hypocrite. He doesn't spend any effort, so he picked up Xuzhou for nothing. I must kill Liu Bei, and then dig out Tao Qian's body to kill him, so as to avenge his father's revenge." Then he was about to raise an army to attack Xuzhou.

After seeing this, Xun Yu immediately said, "Lord, our army is short of food and grass now, how can we send troops without food? Besides, when Emperor Gaozu died in Guanzhong and Guangwu occupied Hanoi, they all strengthened their roots and controlled the world. They could defeat the enemy when attacking and defend the city when retreating. Although there were many difficulties, they would eventually achieve great achievements. The Lord's main task now is Yanzhou, which is our foundation. Now we have to send troops to Xuzhou. How many soldiers do you want to stay and garrison? If the soldiers stay, there will be more troops to attack Xuzhou. If there are few soldiers left, then the troops will not be enough.

Then what should Lu Bu do when he takes advantage of the attack? Once the lord loses his foothold, then the lord Xuzhou has not been defeated, where will the lord settle down? Besides, after Tao Qian's death, Liu Bei was already stationed in Xuzhou, and his three brothers were not unknown. They would definitely defend Xuzhou at that time. The lord may find it difficult to solve the Xuzhou problem for a while. The lord wants to give up Yanzhou and take Xuzhou. It is a loss of the small and big mistake, putting the cart before the horse, and not guarding the safe place, but fighting for dangerous places. This is an unwise approach. Please think twice."

Cao Cao said: "Wenruo, this year the locust disaster is severe, there is no harvest in the fields, and our army lacks food and grass. It is not a solution for soldiers to sit in the city. You have to do something."

Xun Yu said: "Lord, our army can send troops to Chenjun, Runan, and Yingchuan. On the one hand, we can seize a large number of territory. On the other hand, the Yellow Turban Army has been in chaos everywhere in Yuzhou in recent years. The main song is He Yi, Huang Shao, etc. They have been burning, killing and looting in Yuzhou for many years. Many cities in Yuzhou have been robbed by them. They should have a large amount of gold, silver, treasures and grain. The Yellow Turban Army is no match for our army at all. Our army can rob their food and grass to eat for our army. In this way, the court will be happy and the people like it, and we can still occupy the territory. This is more beneficial than disadvantages."

Cao Cao was also happy after hearing this and immediately said, "Just follow Wenruo's opinion."
Chapter completed!