"Young master, I think it is necessary to send a message to Qingzhou."
Bai Qi's meaning was simple: although we cannot cross Yanzhou and Yuzhou to enter Xuzhou, the Qingzhou army has long been ready to go. As long as they all march south, Qingzhou and Xuzhou will surely be ours.
"I understand General Bai's meaning. But now is not the time to invade our lands. What do you think those hesitant and indecisive noble families will do if they see our army rising up in full force? And what do you think the other lords of the land will do?"
Bai Qi paused for a moment, then said, "The nature of aristocratic families is to hedge their bets. If one side is profitable, they will betray the other."
"As for the feudal lords... perhaps, perhaps they will rise up together to attack."
Zhao Hao nodded in satisfaction, "That's right, exactly. I, Zhao Hao, don't need this kind of indecisive world, my Great Qin doesn't need it, and neither do the people of the world!"
Giving them a way out will only prolong the scourge for millennia. My true desire is to seize this opportunity to eradicate them completely!
Li Ru's admiration for Zhao Hao surged like a mighty river, unstoppable and overflowing.
Such a vicious plan—isn't that exactly what Li Ru excels at?
"Young master, Confucian..."
"Haha, Wenhe, needless to say, I'll ask you to handle these matters when the time comes."
"Thank you, young master!"
"With our current strength, these feudal lords could actually fight the whole world against them."
However, Liangzhou is now exhausted, Yizhou still has strength, and Yunzhou is inconsistent in its internal and external affairs.
If possible, I would like to revive the agricultural economy of Liangzhou, so that the people of the half of Jizhou under our control are strong and well-fed, and then we can put up a good fight with these ambitious individuals!
...
Yuzhou, Pei County.
"Brother! The imperial court has really issued the appointment letter!"
Holding the imperial edict appointing him, Guan Yu excitedly approached the crowd.
"Yun Chang, isn't this something we expected? No need to panic, no need to panic!"
Zhang Fei happily joined in, "Brother, how about I become a general too?"
"You brat, you two are my two most important generals, is that even a question?"
"Hahaha..."
Chen Gong, however, was extremely sensitive to this official position.
But at this point, saying these vague and unrealistic things to Liu Bei would be completely useless.
Thus, Chen Gong could only keep everything to himself.
"This General Who Guards the East... Yuan Shao also held this title!"
At the same time, both Tao Ying and Tao Shang received their appointment letters from the imperial court.
"Gentlemen, why did the court give my brother such an important position as the governor of Xuzhou when it offered me the title of general? I really don't understand, please enlighten me!"
After exchanging a glance with Que Xuan, Zhao Gao spoke frankly.
"My lord, to put it bluntly, the court wants us in Xuzhou to fight each other."
To put it nicely, they don't know the actual situation in Xuzhou. Therefore, we've let our lord and the eldest son fight it out; whoever wins will rightfully take control of Xuzhou!
Que Xuanfu nodded, "Old Zhao is right, my lord, we can't hesitate any longer."
Tao Ying looked troubled, his brows furrowed, and he sighed.
"He is, after all, my own brother."
Que Xuan smiled inwardly, thinking to himself, "This man is so hypocritical. If he had known he was your own brother, why would he have fought over him in the first place? There is an order of seniority; wouldn't it have been better to just hand over all the power to your good older brother?"
However, he kept these thoughts to himself. After thinking it over, Que Xuan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and offered a way out for Tao Ying.
"My lord, in the struggle for power, it's either you or me. Even if he's your own brother, would he really let you go?"
Don't forget, if he didn't want the position of Xuzhou, why would he have led Cao Bao and a group of Tao Qian's former generals to Guangling?
Therefore, we should quickly unite with the heroes of Mount Tai, win a decisive battle as soon as possible, and reassure the people!
Zhao Gao added fuel to the fire, urging Tao Ying to make a decision quickly.
"What Magistrate Que said makes sense, my lord. We should not only unite with the heroes of Mount Tai, but also with Liu Bei, Liu Xuande of Pei County. Although they are few in number, they are well-trained and well-supplied, and they have received the favor of Old Master Tao."
We must win him over to our side, and even if we can't, we can't let him side with the eldest son.
Otherwise, all will be lost...
Tao Ying snorted, "Just a weaver of mats and a seller of shoes, what kind of hero is he who fought so many rounds against the Duke of Qin and the King of Qin at Hulao Pass? Taking defeat as his glory, what kind of hero is he?"
Although the bandits of Mount Tai are numerous, they are not benevolent people and will definitely demand excessive rewards. We haven't even fully occupied Xuzhou yet, where are we going to get so much money and food to supply them?"
The two men tried to persuade him further, "Young master..."
"Alright, that's enough! I'll think about it some more before making a decision. You guys go back now!"
The two had no choice but to return home dejectedly.
But in their hearts, Tao Ying now had four big labels on his head.
That's... being stubborn and self-willed!
...
"Elder Chen, Yuanlong, the imperial edict has been issued. I would appreciate it if you two could observe it carefully and see what the court's intentions are."
In Guangling, Tao Shang also circulated the imperial edict that he had been appointed as the governor of Xuzhou to Cao Bao and the Chen family father and son.
Guangling was originally the Chen family's stronghold. If supporting Tao Shang could bring them profit, the Chen family wouldn't mind helping this poor young master.
"Hiss... Yuanlong, what do you think?" Chen Gui looked at the imperial edict, his brows furrowed.
Cao Bao naturally couldn't understand why the two members of the Chen family seemed unhappy when this was clearly a good thing.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
