EBE Chapter 87: Tao Qian to pick up Cao Song via Pengcheng? A conflict is imminent!
Chapter 87: Tao Qian to pick up Cao Song via Pengcheng? A conflict is imminent!
"Master Tao, what's going on...?"
Instead of making wild guesses, Man Chong directly asked Tao Qian for his opinion.
Tao Qian couldn't help but look at Man Chong with newfound respect.
The same thing can have different meanings depending on the interpretation.
Man Chong understood perfectly well that what the matter was was not important.
The important thing is what Tao Qian wanted to express.
"Young friend, don't overthink it."
"I took this out to tell you, young friend, that the border between Xuzhou and Yanzhou has not been peaceful lately."
Why is all this happening?
"Ultimately, it was because Liu Dai closed the trade route between us and Xuzhou during his tenure as the governor of Yanzhou."
“Our two states should have had a good neighborly relationship, but because of the foolish Liu Dai, it has become like this.”
"I have witnessed all of this with my own eyes, and it is truly heartbreaking!"
Tao Qian's acting skills are truly top-notch.
Liu Dai was indeed the governor of Yanzhou, but his performance as governor was extremely disgraceful.
Now that everyone is dead, Tao Qian is pinning the blame for the conflict on the border between Yanzhou and Xuzhou on Liu Dai.
In truth, Liu Dai was even more wronged than Dou E.
Man Chong cupped his hands and said:
"What Master Tao said is very true."
"My lord also believes that Yanzhou and Xuzhou should be friendly and mutually supportive neighbors."
Tao Qian followed Man Chong's words and said:
"right?"
"It seems that both Mengde and I are peace-loving people."
"That makes it much easier."
"My idea is to increase trade between Xuzhou and Yanzhou, so that the people of both prefectures can enjoy the benefits of trade."
Although Man Chong didn't know what Tao Qian was really up to, he had to give him face.
Moreover, at this moment, he represents the face of Cao Cao and the entire Yan Province.
The two chatted happily.
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner.
Tao Qian warmly invited Man Chong to dine with him.
Furthermore, during the meal, he invited Mi Zhu, Chen Gui, and Cao Bao, three men whose power in Xuzhou was second only to Tao Qian, to accompany him.
There's no need to elaborate on Mi Zhu; we've already discussed him in the previous chapter.
Chen Gui was Chen Deng's father and a typical representative of a prominent local family in Xuzhou.
Cao Bao was the commander of the Danyang troops.
The fact that the Danyang soldiers were the strongest armed force under Tao Qian shows that Cao Bao was deeply trusted by Tao Qian.
Otherwise, the Danyang troops would not have been handed over to him for control.
In the original history, after Tao Qian died, Liu Bei failed to deal with the problem of Cao Bao.
This ultimately caused Cao Bao to harbor resentment, and he colluded with Lü Bu to launch a surprise attack and seize Pengcheng while Liu Bei and Ji Ling were in a standoff!
And now.
When Tao Qian was still alive, Cao Bao lived a fairly good life.
Man Chong was both a scholar and a warrior, and he also had a good capacity for alcohol.
Facing Tao Qian and three civil and military officials from Xuzhou, Man Chong easily dealt with them all by himself.
Seeing that Cao Bao was drunk and talking nonsense, Tao Qian quickly sent someone to take Cao Bao away to rest.
Seeing this, Chen Gui also excused himself, saying he was too drunk to continue drinking.
Only Mi Zhu stayed until the end.
however.
After Chen Gui and Cao Bao left, Man Chong seemed to suddenly perk up and started chattering away to Mi Zhu.
Mi Zhu must be very experienced in doing business.
And what about Man Chong?
Before his mission to Xuzhou, he made a special effort to study.
For a time, Man Chong and Mi Zhu were having a very pleasant conversation, and even Tao Qian couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Seeing Tao Qian's expression growing increasingly grim, Mi Zhu quickly stopped the conversation.
A mocking glint flashed in Man Chong's eyes.
Tao Qian was indeed fooled.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Although Mi Zhu was promoted by Tao Qian to be the Prefect of Xuzhou.
But that was mainly because Mi Zhu was wealthy, and the Mi family were local scholars from Xuzhou, so Tao Qian definitely needed the support of the local scholars.
In terms of trust alone, Mi Zhu was no match for his old subordinate Cao Bao in Tao Qian's eyes.
It can be said that Tao Qian both used Mi Zhu and guarded against Mi Zhu.
The next few days.
Tao Qian was no longer in the mood to personally accompany Man Chong, and instead sent his son Tao Shang to take Man Chong to tour Pengcheng.
Man Chong became a time management master.
This morning, I strolled around Pengcheng with Tao Shang, chatting and laughing. (I gleaned some information about Pengcheng from Tao Shang.)
In the afternoon, I went to Mi Zhu's residence to discuss some business issues with him.
That evening, he visited various wealthy merchants in Xuzhou, except for Mi Zhu, and returned home drunk, even staying overnight at one of their shops.
Mi Zhu also sensed that Man Chong's intentions were impure.
However... the social hierarchy of this era was scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant.
Mi Zhu also had a strong interest in business, and the Mi family had built its fortune through commerce for three generations.
When he interacted with other scholars, they couldn't find common ground at all.
Or perhaps other scholars disdained to discuss topics related to commerce.
Only Man Chong, who was sent from Yanzhou to Xuzhou on a mission, and Mi Zhu could find common ground on commercial issues.
It's like.
You know some people are bad, but because you share common interests, you still want to communicate with them from time to time.
Aside from Mi Zhu, the other wealthy merchants truly treated Man Chong like a god of wealth!
Within Xuzhou, Mi Zhu and the Mi family were undoubtedly the most powerful and influential merchants.
Other wealthy merchants also did very well in business, but ultimately they could not compare to Mi Zhu.
What price did Manchong offer?
He called on other wealthy businessmen to invest more money in Yanzhou and to build more trade routes there!
It's important to know that Yanzhou's commerce is currently far less prosperous than Xuzhou's.
This market is undoubtedly a hot commodity in the eyes of these wealthy businessmen from Xuzhou.
The only person who felt dissatisfied was Tao Qian.
But he couldn't lash out.
Even in a battle between two armies, the envoy is not attacked.
Now it is he who has taken the initiative to send people to Xuzhou to establish friendly diplomatic relations with Cao Cao.
If we were to kill Man Chong now, wouldn't that be tantamount to declaring war on Cao Cao?
The aging Tao Qian lacked the courage to wage a war against Cao Cao on a whim!
therefore.
Tao Qian was very upset, and even his face turned red with anger.
It should be noted that Tao Qian's initial purpose was both to lull Cao Cao into a false sense of security and to infiltrate Yanzhou through commerce.
but now……
Tao Qian felt a pang of regret.
Tao Qian didn't know whether he could infiltrate Yanzhou.
These merchants from Xuzhou are truly starting to distance themselves from him!
Fortunately, after staying in Pengcheng for eight days, Man Chong finally decided to return to Yanzhou.
On the day he left, the group of wealthy merchants from Xuzhou waved to him repeatedly, reluctant to see him go.
Only Tao Qian was eager for Man Chong to get out of here.
Upon returning to the governor's mansion, Tao Qian summoned Cao Bao to discuss countermeasures.
Why not call out Mi Zhu and Chen Gui?
Of the three, only Cao Bao enjoyed Tao Qian's utmost trust.
Tao Qian tapped his finger on the table, and said meaningfully:
“Ah Bao, you have followed me for nearly twenty years.”
"I have always trusted you the most."
“This Cao Mengde is like a wild wolf by my side; I must be on guard.”
"What brilliant plan do you have?"
Cao Bao instantly understood that Tao Qian's feelings at this moment were extremely complicated.
He couldn't swallow the humiliation of being manipulated by Cao Cao, a junior, yet he also didn't want to antagonize Cao Cao.
Cao Bao rolled his eyes and cupped his hands in greeting:
"My lord, I have heard that Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, is still in Qiao County, which is Yuan Shu's territory."
"Why doesn't my lord send someone to bring him to Xuzhou, and then let him cross the border to Yanzhou?"
"In this way, Cao Cao will not only feel our lord's boldness, but also dare not act rashly!"
"Thus, it has given Xuzhou a diplomatic advantage!"
……