The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 16: The dying bird cries sadly (Please read on!)
Xuzhou, Xiapi.

Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian was lying on the hospital bed at this moment, his limbs weak and his eyes cloudy.

Standing around him were Mi Zhu, the deputy governor of Donghai, and Chen Deng, the commander of agriculture.

These two were the trusted and important ministers that Tao Qian relied on, and now they were even more so the important ministers whom Tao Qian entrusted with the care of his young son.

Tao Qian reached out and held Mi Zhu's hand. Mi Zhu lowered his body and said softly:

"Envoy Tao, if you have any instructions, please speak frankly."

"Zhu will definitely do his best!"

Although Mi Zhu was born into a merchant family, he was an honest gentleman.

Tao Qian believed in Mi Zhu's character, gritted his teeth, and said with effort:
"After I die, you must welcome Liu Bei to Xuzhou."

"This state can only be conquered by Liu Bei!"

Mi Zhu nodded repeatedly and said with tears in his eyes:

"Don't worry, sir. Zhu will definitely follow your instructions."

Tao Qian nodded, let out a long sigh, and looked at Chen Deng beside him.

“…Yuanlong.”

Chen Deng hurried forward, lowered his body, and asked softly:
"What do you want, sir?"

Compared to Mi Zhu's emotional tears, Chen Deng seemed much calmer.

He knew that after Tao Qian's death, the situation in Xuzhou would inevitably undergo a reshuffle.

He and his family were inevitably affected.

This is something Chen Deng must consider.

Tao Qian also held Chen Deng's hand tightly as he did before, and said earnestly:

"…I have been in Xuzhou for six years, and have done little good to the people. I have fought for two years, and my flesh and blood have been wasted in the wilderness. This is all my fault."

When a bird is about to die, its cry is sad; when a person is about to die, his words are kind.

At this moment, Tao Qian finally revealed his true feelings in front of his confidants.

In fact, the conflict between Tao Qian and Cao Cao can be summarized in one sentence: "both inexperienced and playful."

In 194, the two Yuans competed for supremacy.

Cao Cao belonged to Yuan Shao's faction, while Tao Qian sided with Yuan Shu.

Xuzhou is adjacent to Yanzhou and is a big province, so Cao Cao would definitely attack Tao Qian.

But it was indeed Tao Qian who took the first step.

And the behavior is not very glorious.

At that time, there was a man named Que Xuan in Xuzhou. He was very ambitious and wanted to become emperor.

Tao Qian pretended to acknowledge Que Xuan as the "emperor". Que Xuan was very happy to hear that, thinking that even the officials of Xuzhou acknowledged me, I am so awesome.

So Tao Qian instigated Que Xuan to attack Cao Cao.

Que Xuan had several thousand men at the time, and he really listened to Tao Qian's words and attacked the border of Yanzhou, burning, killing and looting.

As a result, Tao Qian counterattacked and destroyed Que Xuan.

By the way, he took the wealth that Que Xuan had snatched from Cao Cao for himself.

Then he comforted Cao Cao and said, I didn't hit you, it was Que Xuan who hit you, I sent troops to eliminate the traitors.

But how shrewd a person is Cao Cao?
Why are you, Tao Qian, pretending to be so high and mighty? Everyone knows that you are just crying thief.

So a war between the two sides was imminent.

Unfortunately, Tao Qian was indeed old, and he met Cao Cao who had reached his prime. He was completely defeated by Cao Cao in military terms.

Tao Qian was now so panicked that he simply fell ill and gave up.

Fortunately, Liu Bei rushed over from Pingyuan and helped Tao Qian to withstand the attack, otherwise Tao Qian might not have survived.

Tao Qian is now critically ill and wants to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei.

On the one hand, he was indeed selfish. He knew that Xuzhou was already a mess and he didn't want his two sons to be involved.

On the one hand, he really wanted to repay Liu Bei and thank him for his willingness to support Xuzhou for the sake of justice.

And Tao Qian also truly believed that handing over Xuzhou to Liu Bei now would be the best outcome for the people of Xuzhou.

Is Tao Qian sincere?
Tao Qian did feel guilty towards the people of Xuzhou.

Judging from his personnel arrangements, he sincerely hoped that Liu Bei could manage Xuzhou well.

He left two important talents for Liu Bei.

One was Mi Zhu, a wealthy man from Donghai, and the other was Chen Deng, a prominent family from Xuzhou.

Mi Zhu's main focus is on the word "talent". His family has huge wealth in Xuzhou. It is impossible to revitalize Xuzhou without spending money. In this regard, they can only rely on their Mi family.

Chen Deng's family, the Chen family, is an old family in Xuzhou, with great prestige and influence. Tao Qian definitely had good intentions in leaving these two people to Liu Bei.

"After I die, please ask Yuanlong to welcome Liu Bei to Xuzhou. He may hesitate."

"…You should do your best to persuade them and don't let Xuzhou down."

Chen Deng blinked, thought about something, and then nodded.

"Please rest assured, I will definitely do as you ask!"

With Chen Deng's assurance, Tao Qian finally felt relieved.

After leaving behind a sentence "Don't let Xuzhou down", his eyelids sank and he closed his eyes...

"Envoy! Envoy!!!"

Mi Zhu saw this and cried loudly.

The life of Tao Qian, a hero of his time, came to an end.

He was of upright character and honest in his official duties. He selected talented people for positions in Xuzhou and made great contributions to the production of Xuzhou.

However, in his later years, during his confrontation with Cao Cao, he made many stupid moves, which brought much suffering to Xuzhou.

It's a mixed bag.

Chen Deng and Mi Zhu began to arrange Tao Qian's funeral.

On the other side, Liu Bei also led his men to Xuzhou.

When Liu Bei saw that everyone in Xia Pi was white and dressed in mourning, he was shocked and said:

"Ah! The envoy is dead!"

He then led everyone to rush to the provincial capital to attend Tao Qian's funeral.

Officials from Xuzhou, led by Mi Zhu and Chen Deng, came to talk with Liu Bei. Both sides shed tears when they talked about Cao Cao's withdrawal and Tao Qian's death.

The funeral lasted for three days, and all the guests were present, except for the high-ranking officials and wealthy families in Xuzhou.

Many officials from other counties also came to attend Tao Qian's funeral.

This also included Kong Rong, the Prime Minister of Beihai.

It can be seen that old man Tao Qian had indeed a wide network of contacts during his lifetime.

After the funeral, Mi Zhu and Chen Deng welcomed Liu Bei to Xuzhou in accordance with Tao Qian's wishes.

Fearing that Liu Bei would be unwilling to accept the mess in Xuzhou, Chen Deng suggested bringing Kong Rong up as well.

Mi Zhu said: "Kong Beihai is not from Xuzhou, how can he interfere in Xuzhou's affairs?"

Chen Deng said, "No, Kong Beihai and Envoy Tao have a close relationship. Now that it is the Envoy's last wish, how can Kong Beihai not help?"

"Besides, Xuzhou is so big that someone has to take it over. Kong Beihai is kind and righteous, and he will not bear to see the people of Xuzhou suffer."

Mi Zhu was impressed by Chen Deng's remarks and said:

"In that case, how about you and I go together to invite Kong Beihai?"

So, the two of them went together to find Kong Rong and told him the whole story.

As expected, Kong Rong readily agreed, "Since this is the last wish of Lord Tao, I will go with you to ask for his help."

The three of them found Liu Bei together.

Liu Bei was in the mansion at this time, discussing with Li Yi and others before taking action.

At this time, a servant came to report that Kong Rong, Mi Zhu and others were visiting.

Liu Bei was slightly startled and wondered why these three people came here.

Li Yi stood up and said with a smile:

"Congratulations, you will take Xuzhou."

Although he had expected this, Liu Bei still felt complicated at the moment.

Since he was a visitor, he ordered someone to invite the three people in.

The three men came in and exchanged greetings with Liu Bei.

Liu Bei asked the three men why they came here.

Mi Zhu was a straightforward person, and without much beating around the bush, he got straight to the point and said:

"We are following the will of Lord Tao and have come to ask the general to take over Xuzhou!"

Liu Bei took a deep breath and looked gently at Li Yi standing beside him.

As if to say, the gentleman was right again...

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(End of this chapter)