Chapter 278 Tao Qian's Death
The news that Tao Qian was about to inspect the counties naturally reached Zuo Rong much faster than it arrived in Chang'an.
Zuo Rong held on to this piece of news for a long time, revealing an expression of determination.
Regardless of whether the bright light was truly blessed by gods or Buddhas, or someone was helping him behind the scenes, the final result was always the same -
Tao Qian left the East China Sea, which was the safest area for him, and headed towards Guangling!
If he really wants to take action, he must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In fact, he had no choice but to take action.
The illusion of gods and Buddhas appearing in the world has already put him on the fire, and Tao Qian came here just for the magic in it.
But since he didn't know how this situation came about, it was natural that he didn't know what method he should use to make such a scene reappear and meet Tao Qian's needs.
In order to prevent the halo of Buddha's blessing from being easily removed from him, Zuo Rong had to eliminate all unstable factors.
The first one is Tao Qian!
"We can't let old Tao Qian die in Guangling..." Zuo Rong muttered.
Tao Qian could not die so bluntly at his hands. Even if he raised the banner that Tao Qian was hated by the Buddha, it would be impossible to quell all the criticisms.
Zuo Rong must have been promoted by Tao Qian. If he rashly betrayed him, he would only lead to condemnation from all parties in Xuzhou.
His eyes swept over Tao Qian's patrol route.
From Donghai County to Pengcheng State, and then to——
Xia Pi!
Yes, Xia Pi!
His eyes lit up and he immediately asked someone to invite Zu Lang over.
After the scene that day, Zu Lang, who had originally scoffed at his theory of punishment from gods and Buddhas, could not help but feel a sense of awe and fear towards Zuo Rong.
Now that he was invited by Zuo Rong, there was still some residual fear on his face.
Such rumors about gods and Buddhas could cause a greater deterrent effect on the relatively unopened areas in the south, even if Zu Lang claimed to be the marshal of Jing County.
Zuo Rong saw Zu Lang's expression and became more and more convinced that his goal could be achieved.
Zu Lang had never expected that when Zuo Rong came to him, he did not continue to provide him with any generous treatment here like he did a while ago, but said seriously: "Last night, the Buddha sent me a message that Tao Gongzu was wavering in his leadership of Xuzhou and was complacent. Sooner or later, Xuzhou would be hit by a war. By then, all lives would be lost and Guangling, the holy place, would be difficult to preserve. Naturally, the Buddha would be unhappy."
Zu Lang's eyelids twitched.
I don't say this casually.
What does it mean that Tao Qian would bring disaster to Xuzhou?
If we put it more bluntly, it means nothing more than -
Tao Qian is no longer qualified to command Xuzhou!
The Buddhist spokesperson sitting in front of him had just transformed himself into the representative of miracles in the world at the Buddha Bathing Festival in Guangling. So when he brought up this matter at such a delicate time, it was definitely not that he wanted to persuade and educate Tao Qian.
The most likely possibility is that he will replace him!
Zu Lang studied Zuo Rong's expression for a long time before asking, "Master, what do you want me to do?"
Zuo Rong replied: "I hope you can cooperate with my men and enter Xia Pi to ambush Tao Qian."
His face still had the same expression as when he was lecturing on Buddhist scriptures, and he temporarily suppressed his covetousness for Xuzhou and his greed for Tao Qian's power.
Seeing that Zu Lang was still hesitant, he added: "If Xuzhou is well governed, Yangzhou will naturally be peaceful as well. This is inevitable. Even if it is for the sake of the people of the two states, we should try this. Fortunately, with the blessing of the Buddha, we will surely turn danger into safety."
This sounds very high-sounding, but Zu Lang is not so stupid. He really thinks that Zuo Rong made this decision for the sake of the people of Xuzhou and Yangzhou.
It's obviously for his own benefit.
But there were indeed two points in Zuo Rong's words that touched him.
One is that if Zuo Rong could capture Xuzhou and use the military support of Xuzhou to support him, he would definitely be able to deal a heavy blow to Sun Ce.
This may be the key to his breakthrough.
If he didn't want Sun Ce to turn around and attack him after he captured Kuaiji County, and take him down like he did with Yan Baihu before, he had to come up with a plan before Sun Ce returned.
The children of the noble families in Wu County were probably unreliable, so the only person he could connect with was Zuo Rong.
Then boosting Zuo Rong's reputation might also be helping himself!
One is that what Zuo Rong said about “turning misfortune into fortune” might actually be possible after he first put on a performance at the Buddha’s Bathing Festival.
Since Zu Lang couldn't figure out how Zuo Rong managed to make thousands of lanterns float in the air, why not believe for once that Zuo Rong was indeed a man of great ability?
Zu Lang said, "I can help you, but I don't know much about the situation in Xia Pi."
If the action was to be carried out in Gaoyou, Zu Lang could still be somewhat familiar with the place because of his recent travels.
But Xia Pi was a completely blind place for him.
Assassinating a governor is an act that requires careful consideration. It would be reckless not to consider the circumstances in which the action would be taken in advance.
Zuo Rong shook his head and said, "Don't worry about that. I am in charge of all the food and grass for Pengcheng, Xiapi and Guangling. Many of my men are familiar with Xiapi and they will lead the way for you."
These people have long been brainwashed by Zuo Rong's religion, or they are reluctant to give up their current treatment, or even want to achieve further advancement by helping Zuo Rong get promoted. They will never betray him in this advantageous situation where the enemy is in the open and they are in the dark.
They are undoubtedly the best people to lead Zu Lang.
Zu Lang weighed the pros and cons again in his mind, and when he spoke again his tone had softened a lot, so it was not difficult for Zuo Rong to hear the choice he had made.
"I have three final questions."
“The first question is, why did you choose Xia Pi?”
Zuo Rong replied, "The Buddha cannot bear the stigma, and in order to reduce casualties, once we need to send troops from Guangling to the north to occupy the prefecture, we will announce to the public that Tao Gongzu's death was caused by Xiapi Chen Hanyu and Chen Yuanlong, father and son, who intended to steal Xuzhou by illegal means."
This is absolutely shameless.
But since Zu Lang had already made the decision, it didn't matter whether this frame-up was dirty or not.
After all, this gave Zuo Rong the opportunity to become the ruler of Xuzhou with full legitimacy.
Zu Lang then asked, "Xuzhou is a flat land, easy to invade. Master, aren't you afraid that the change in Xuzhou will arouse the covetousness of the surrounding areas, and instead make wedding dresses for others?"
Zuo Rong replied, "That's wrong. It's almost autumn harvest time, and it's not suitable to mobilize troops everywhere. Moreover, Yuan Shao in the north is restrained by Qiao Yan. In Yanzhou in the west, Cao Cao is in conflict with Yanzhou scholars. For example, Bian Rang of Chenliu has been slandering him repeatedly, which is giving him a headache. He has no chance to send troops before the civil strife is settled. Yuan Shu in Yuzhou is fighting Liu Bei. As for the situation in the south, you know it too."
There is no possibility for Yangzhou in the south to send troops directly to Xuzhou.
This is indeed the most appropriate time for Xuzhou to "clean up".
By the time other parties had the time to take advantage of the chaos in Xuzhou, he should have already firmly controlled Xuzhou in his own hands.
Zuo Rong has full confidence in this.
His confidence made Zu Lang feel that perhaps the other party still had many tricks up their sleeves that were not suitable to be disclosed at this time, so he asked the last question: "Master, you invited Donghai Mi Zizhong here as well. Can he be considered to be on the same side as us?"
Zuo Rong replied calmly: "Even if it's not now, it will be soon."
Since Mi Zhu came to Guangling County, although he has not made any clear promises, he has never shown any resistance to Zuo Rong.
In Zuo Rong's opinion, if Tao Qian had died, the blame for Tao Qian's death would have been on Chen Gui and Chen Deng, father and son, so Mi Zhu should have no need to refuse to join the army.
Tao Qian was not generous enough or decisive enough towards his subordinates, which was why, even though there was such a wealthy force in his territory, they did not formally submit to him and provide him with sufficient support.
Zuo Rong would never make such a mistake.
In addition, after he took action against Tao Qian, he was forced to do something, so he had to tie Mi Zhu into his team.
After all, Mi Zhu was in Guangling during the Buddha Bathing Ceremony. Could it be that Chen Deng, who was blamed by Mi Zhu, thought that Mi Zhu and Zuo Rong were birds of a feather?
As Zuo Rong saw off Zu Lang who was about to leave, he smiled with a look of good news.
Tao Qian was not as relaxed and happy as Zuo Rong.
Although the purpose of his trip was to see the Buddha's appearance, the autumn harvest was approaching, and this tour was not just a casual pretext.
So when he passed through Pengcheng and then arrived at Xia Pi, he also took the opportunity to inquire about the farmland conditions and grain reserves in the two counties.
It’s okay if you don’t ask, but it’s really shocking when you do!
In the county seats of Pengcheng State and Xia Pi, the grain stores in the government warehouses were still normal, almost the same as what Tao Qian had known earlier. The problem lay in the surrounding counties.
Take Liu County, which is on the way from Pengcheng to Xia Pi, as an example. The grain reserves here are less than one-fifth of what is in the county treasury.
This amount of food reserves is not enough to cope with ordinary disasters, let alone other emergencies, such as the need to supply military rations in the event of a war.
It is also clearly not a gap caused by a poor harvest.
With a tense expression, Tao Qian called the county's clerk to inquire, and learned an unexpected answer from him.
All these grains were actually transferred away by Zuo Rong!
The clerk faced Tao Qian's angry gaze and replied in a lower and lower voice, "He has a dispatch order from the Lord of the Prefecture, saying that this part of the grain should be sent to the prefecture so that it can be distributed to Captain Sun and others to prevent them from disobeying the prefecture's discipline. We did not suspect him and gave it to him."
Who knows, judging from Tao Qian's performance at this moment, Zuo Rong had done all these actions secretly from Tao Qian.
These grains were not given to Tao Qian to appease his subordinates, but were clearly embezzled by Zuo Rong himself.
As for the purpose of embezzling the funds, it is very clear.
If it weren't for these foods, how could Zuo Rong feed the Buddhist believers under his command?
Tao Qian laughed in anger, "Well, he actually knew how to delay my discovery of his actions. He showed mercy to the county seat and the big counties, but exploited the small counties. I asked him to dispatch food and grass within the three counties to prevent the enemy from attacking from Yangzhou and Yuzhou. If the food and grass were not dispatched in time, it would delay the important matter. But he dispatched and gave me this result!"
He was so angry that he slammed the table and stood up, "I forgot that he used this batch of grain to bribe the Buddha. If I were the Buddha, I would also like to have such a believer."
Tao Qian had not yet realized that Zuo Rong's Buddhist miracle was also fake.
But no matter whether it was true or false, he had already decided to go to Guangling to find Zuo Rong and call him to account.
He was old and frail, and did not have that many ambitions, but he could not accept that he would be deceived by his subordinates in this way.
His name is Tao Qian, and his courtesy name is Gongzu, but no one has ever been so respectful to Buddha without any limits!
Tao Qian rejected Chen Gui's idea of asking him to bring a group of subordinates with him.
Those who traveled with him this time were all elite soldiers from the Donghai County government, all of them were brave and skilled fighters.
Traveling with such a team would undoubtedly lower Zuo Rong's vigilance and catch the other party off guard.
Tao Qian said to Chen Gui, "Zuo Rong has been operating in Guangling for a long time, and Gaoyou is full of his followers. If we mobilize a large army, I'm afraid he will be tipped off before we even reach Gaoyou. He has a lot of grain in his treasury, and he has some tricks that are hard to figure out. If we defend the city, it will be difficult to break through, and other parties may even take advantage of it. It's better to still use the banner of inspection to let him prepare for the Buddhist wonders, and then take him down when we meet him."
Chen Gui thought about it and felt that this was the safest way to do it, so he just replied: "That's good, please be careful and cautious on your trip to Guangling."
So the message that Tao Qian sent to Gaoyou first was:
After he spent half a day drinking and chatting with Chen Gui, he came to Guangling.
Regardless of what Zuo Rong thought when he received this text message, his subordinates who were familiar with the terrain of Xia Pi and Zu Lang and others had already appeared on the road that Tao Qian had to take to get to Xia Pi.
The Huai River divides Xuzhou into two parts, and Guangling County is located south of the Huai River.
So if Tao Qian wanted to reach Guangling, he had to cross the river.
The best way to get to Gaoyou is to board a boat in Xu County, Xia Pi, pass through Hongze Lake, and naturally cross the Huai River, and then go east through Sanhe in the southeast of Hongze Lake to enter the Gaoyou Lake area.
To the east of Gaoyou Lake is Gaoyou County.
Because the weather had been calm in the past few days, Tao Qian chose to take this water route without hesitation, rather than changing back to a horse-drawn carriage after crossing the river.
But he also didn't expect that although the helpers from Yangzhou invited by Zuo Rong were nominally called Shanyue, most of them were good at water!
These people had entered the Hongze Lake basin from the other end early, disguised as fishermen, waiting for Tao Qian to come to them.
Tao Qian knew nothing about this.
Most of the summer heat was shielded by the cabin above his head. There was still a slight breeze carrying some moisture on the lake. He lay fully clothed on the soft couch in the boat, and the swaying of the water waves carried away some of his earlier anger.
Zuo Rong, this deceiving bastard, had indeed made him extremely depressed before, but now he had temporarily eased from the peak of his anger.
After all, the ruler of Xuzhou is still Tao Qian, not this guy Zuo Rong.
It’s not too late to take action after arriving in Gaoyou.
The crops in the Huaihe River basin grew exceptionally well because of these irrigation water sources. He saw it clearly before boarding the ship. In another half a month, the treasury would be further filled. He didn't need to get angry about Zuo Rong's actions.
He should enjoy the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains first.
However, at this moment, Tao Qian suddenly felt his boat shake, as if it had hit something.
The next moment, a cry of surprise was heard on the ship, "What are you going to do?"
In the afternoon, which should have been very quiet, there was a sudden sound of a sharp blade breaking through the air. Then the person who had spoken earlier groaned and fell directly off the boat, making a sound of falling into the water.
Upon hearing the noise, Tao Qian stood up without thinking.
He was not a weak scholar to begin with, so he immediately picked up the knife at hand, intending to see who had the guts to attack him, the governor of Xuzhou, on Hongze Lake.
But as soon as he took a step, he suddenly realized that something was wrong with the ship.
The draft seems to have become deeper!
His suspicion was immediately confirmed. The boatman at the stern shouted, "Someone is smashing the boat from below!"
Tao Qian's heart tightened.
Because they had to take the Sanhe River next, he did not choose a particularly large boat, which resulted in a considerable number of his subordinates not sitting on the same boat with him.
However, his opponent did not show mercy to him and was clearly determined to kill him with one blow.
Once the hull is damaged, it will be difficult for the ship to turn around or escape.
The fishing boats that were gathering quickly around them and the water ghosts lurking in the water all quickly jumped onto the boats when the rest of his subordinates realized something was wrong.
These people were dressed in the most ordinary linen clothes, which were also the garb of fishermen, making it impossible to judge their origins at a glance.
He just had a hunch that these people...
Even if there are no monks among these people, they are most likely Zuo Rong's subordinates!
The letter he sent to appease Zuo Rong in an attempt to launch a successful attack upon arrival may still be on the way to Gaoyou, but Zuo Rong had already made plans to be hostile to him and was determined to strike first!
So this treacherous assassination took place here.
The enemy came prepared, and the military advantage that Tao Qian's subordinates should have had was completely wiped out.
He could only watch helplessly as the other party chopped down the guards in front of him one after another and pressed towards him step by step.
Faced with this life-and-death crisis, even though there might be risks, Tao Qian decided to jump off the boat, at least to fight for a way out for himself.
But before he could retreat to the window with the help of his subordinates and jump out, a short arrow flew across the sky and pierced his chest.
Since they were sailing on the lake, there was no way Tao Qian would wear any armor to protect himself.
The arrow went straight in, and in an instant it sent a paralyzing feeling to his mouth and tongue.
This is also a poison arrow!
In Tao Qian's eyes, the subordinates' ships seemed to be only one step away from him, but it was too late for him to see the result of this rescue.
His eyes went dark and he completely lost consciousness.
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