Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 112 At the critical moment, everyone is an old silver coin

Tancheng, Tao Qian's temporary residence.

Tao Qian, who had suffered a serious illness, lay in bed with his eyes closed and a lonely look on his face.

He muttered to himself, as if talking to himself: "I wanted to make peace with Cao Cao, but Zhang Kai got greedy and robbed and killed Old Master Cao's convoy... It's all my fault, my fault!"

At this time, Cao Bao came hurriedly, clasped his fists and reported: "My lord, Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, and Zhao Yu have all arrived and are waiting outside the door for an audience."

Upon hearing this, Tao Qian struggled to sit up.

Now, his face looks more haggard, his hair and beard are completely white, as if he has aged ten years overnight.

Soon, several important officials from Xuzhou walked into the house one after another.

After not seeing him for only a dozen days, everyone was secretly shocked to see how old Tao Qian had become.

After a round of greetings, Tao Qian waved his hand for everyone to be quiet.

Then, suppressing his inner emotions, he tried his best to speak in a calm tone: "Zhang Kai was originally a bandit in his early years. After I suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Xuzhou, I saw that he had the intention to turn over a new leaf, so I appointed him as a cavalry captain, hoping that he could do some good deeds for the people of Xuzhou to atone for his sins.

However, he still had evil intentions and was tempted by money, thus provoking Cao Cao, a hungry tiger.

It is me who has brought trouble upon Xuzhou. I, Tao Qian, feel guilty towards the people of Xuzhou and towards all of you..."

Zhao Yu was a loyal and upright person. Although he was forced by Tao Qian to be an official, he recognized Tao Qian as his master and remained loyal to him.

Hearing Tao Qian's words, he couldn't help but be moved, and stepped forward to comfort him softly.

Chen Deng frowned, as if thinking about something.

Judging from his expression, he obviously didn't quite believe what Tao Qian said.

Tao Qian smiled bitterly and said, "But now Cao's army is powerful, like wolves and tigers, and they want to slaughter our Xuzhou..."

When they said this, Mi Zhu and Chen Deng couldn't help but look at each other, and both wondered if Tao Qian had become senile and confused.

It was Zhao Yu who first stood up and told the truth: "My lord, as far as I know, wherever Cao's army went, they did not harm the people at all. They even opened their warehouses to transport food, took in refugees, sent them north, and distributed land and houses to them.

Because of this, many people from many counties and towns in Pengcheng have taken the initiative to move north, saying they want to find a real place to settle down..."

Tao Qian's right hand, which had just been raised, suddenly froze in mid-air.

After a while, he asked in astonishment, "Cao Cao... Cao Cao didn't massacre the people of Xuzhou? He didn't plunder everywhere? Instead, he opened the granaries and distributed grain???"

Tao Qian was somewhat bewildered and even suspicious. He asked, "Cao Cao fought a great battle with Yuan Shu last year. Where would he get so much food to support his army and the refugees?"

After saying this,

Tao Qian was so excited that he almost couldn't breathe and skipped his meal.

Seeing that Tao Qian looked like he was about to roll his eyes and burp, Zhao Yu and the others immediately started to scramble to help him pat his back and rub his chest to help him calm down.

After much difficulty, everyone rescued Tao Qian from the brink of death. They did not dare to provoke him anymore, so they all kept silent.

After a long pause, Tao Qian's face was filled with sorrow, and he trembled as he said, "If we allow Cao Cao to win over the people's hearts like this, the people of Xuzhou will lose their will. If the people lose their will, Xuzhou will be in real danger!"

However, Chen Deng, Mi Zhu and others were somewhat skeptical, secretly thinking, "The only one in danger is you, Tao Qian, right? After all, Cao Cao has declared that he will only punish the main culprits and not implicate others, and he is extremely kind to the people.

If you go out and take a look now, you might run into someone from Xuzhou who can speak well of Boss Cao..."

And to be honest, Mi Zhu now has a bold idea: to let his retainers and servants disguise themselves as refugees and go to Taishan County to claim land.

He estimated that his family had at least three to five thousand servants. If each person was given five mu of good farmland, wouldn't that mean he would have an extra ten to twenty thousand mu of good farmland out of thin air?
This idea, seconds! However, Mi Zhu quickly dismissed the idea because he was afraid of being caught by Boss Cao. Then his cleverness would turn into a big joke.

Everyone had their own thoughts and spoke vaguely.

Only Zhao Yu, who was devoted to the public good, nodded and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will treat the people of Guangling well and do my best to keep them in their hometown."

Tao Qian was feeling upset at the moment, and he couldn't help feeling a little guilty after hearing Zhao Yu's response.

Zhao Yu was from Langya. He was known for his integrity and honesty. He always behaved with courtesy, hated evil, and devoted himself to learning. He could be said to be a true gentleman.

He was once selected as a filial and incorrupt official and served as the county magistrate of Ju County, assisting in the suppression of the Yellow Turbans. However, he was unwilling to accept the reward and resolutely resigned from his post and returned home.

Later, he was forced by Tao Qian to serve as an attendant to the imperial guard, and then transferred to be the prefect of Guangling.

Because Zhao Yu spoke more directly, Tao Qian wanted to make use of his talents but did not want to keep him by his side, so he sent him to the more remote Guangling County to serve as the prefect.

But now, among all the "confidants" in the room, only Zhao Yu, whom he has always disliked, is willing to make his position clear.

Is it sad?
In any case, Tao Qian felt very sad.

At this time, Tao Qian turned to Mi Zhu and asked anxiously, "Zi Zhong, where are the reinforcements you requested from Qingzhou now?"

Mi Zhu bowed and replied, "Qingzhou Governor Tian Kai has already led an army of 30,000 south. Calculating the time, they should have entered Langya County by now."

When Tao Qian heard that 30,000 troops were coming to support him, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Zi Zhong!"

Mi Zhu bowed again and said, "This is my responsibility."

Tao Qian nodded, then looked at Chen Deng and asked, "Yuanlong, have you made any progress in your request for help?"

Chen Deng also bowed and said, "General Yuan Gonglu of Huainan has replied with a letter, stating that he has learned of Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou and is waiting to inform Grand Tutor Ma Riti to see if he can mediate for us."

Tao Qian almost laughed out loud after hearing this. "Ma Riti has long been reduced to a puppet of Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu uses his imperial seal to recruit soldiers and officials at will. How dare he ask him to mediate?"

Chen Deng said helplessly, "Yuan Gonglu has been frightened by Cao Cao. It's probably unrealistic to ask him to go against Cao Cao at this moment."

However, the Taifu was ultimately an official appointed by the imperial court. If he really spoke up for Xuzhou, perhaps the Han court would come forward to blame Cao Cao, making it difficult for him to gain the upper hand morally.

It seems that when Cao Cao invaded Xuzhou, except for Tian Kai of Qingzhou, everyone else was watching and waiting, and might even be thinking about whether they could break into Yanzhou and Xuzhou to take advantage of the opportunity to get a piece of the pie.

Just as Tao Qian was secretly cursing those men for their lack of justice and lamenting Tian Kai's true gentlemanliness, someone suddenly arrived with a report: "My lord, the 30,000-man army led by Governor Tian of Qingzhou has stopped at the border of Xuzhou. Only Liu Bei, the Prime Minister of Pingyuan, is leading 2,000 men towards Tancheng!"

"What? Tian Kai's troops won't move forward? Liu Bei only brought two thousand people?" Tao Qian widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, and his breathing, which had calmed down a little, became rapid again.

"I..." Tao Qian almost choked out his breath, scaring everyone into a panic again.

Tao Qian woke up faintly and said weakly, "Well, it's better to have something than nothing... You all should leave first."

Seeing this, everyone decided not to stay any longer and bowed before filing out.

The house fell silent again, with only Tao Qian's heavy breathing echoing in the empty room.

After everyone left, Tao Qian finally heaved a long sigh and muttered to himself, "I wanted to put on a good show and get them to help me delay for a little longer... What a pity, what a pity, each and every one of them is just an old silver coin..."

At this moment, Tao Qian had completely gotten rid of his previous old look and turned back into the sharp-eyed Tao Qian of the past.

He walked to the window, looked out at the night sky, and murmured, "I wonder how Weiming (Zao Rong's courtesy name is Weiming) is doing now... The wealth we have accumulated over the years must be safely delivered to Danyang!"

(End of this chapter)