Tao Qian lay on the bed, barely supporting his body, and kept his eyes on the door.

After a short time, Zhang Yan, Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Zang Ba, and Sun Qian walked in from outside the door one after another, and as soon as everyone entered the room, they all saluted Tao Qian and said, "See Tao Envoy!" ”

Tao Qian waved his hand and said weakly: "No courtesy, sit down first." ”

After Zhang Yan and the others sat down one after another, they listened to Tao Qian say: "You guys are visiting late at night, there must be something very important, right?" ”

The drunken Zang Ba immediately stood up, walked crookedly in front of Tao Qian, hugged his fists and said: "Tao Yuanjun, I don't hide it, we are all here for the matter of Xuzhou Mu." Since Tao Yuanjun doesn't want to be the pastor of Xuzhou, then simply hand over the seal of Xuzhou Mu, and we will nominate a person of high moral standing to take charge of Xuzhou's ......."

"Brother Zang, how can you talk to Tao Yuanjun like this?" Zhang Yan hurriedly stopped.

Zang Ba said: "I, Zang Ba, am a rough person, I don't read much, and what I say is all foul language, but what I just said is the truth." My Zang Ba can have today, and it is all thanks to Tao Envoy. If it wasn't for Tao Yuanjun recruiting me to join the army, I, Zang Ba, wouldn't know where to fool around now. It is precisely because I respect Tao Yuanjun that no matter what Tao Yuanjun encounters, I will try my best to help. However, this time, Tao Yuanjun wanted to give up the position of state pastor to others, and I Zang Ba was the first to disagree! ”

"Tao Envoy Jun, Zang Ba drank a little too much, and what he said was all drunk, please don't take it to heart." Zhang Yan hurriedly said.

Tao Qian said: "Whether it's drunk or the truth, anyway, the old man knows what you want to do today, it's nothing more than for Xuzhou Mu's affairs." The old man is old and his body is old, especially after returning from Kaiyang City, I only feel that my health is getting worse, and every day is not as good as a day, and I myself feel that I don't have long to live. But what I haven't been relieved about is Xuzhou. After all, Xuzhou is a place that I have worked hard to operate for many years......"

Speaking of this, Tao Qian's voice was a little choked, and his eyes were filled with tears.

"The bird is dying, and its song is mourning; When a man is about to die, his words are good. I Tao Qian has done many wrong things in my life, and I hope that the decision I made is right. Tao Qian sighed lightly and said slowly.

As he spoke, Tao Qian took out a seal ribbon from under the pillow, held it tightly in his hand, and then shouted loudly: "Zhang Yan listens to the order!" ”

"The last general!" Zhang Yan walked in front of Tao Qian and said respectfully.

Tao Qian handed the seal ribbon in his hand to Zhang Yan, and said earnestly: "This is the seal of Xuzhou Mu, I will hand it over to you tonight, I hope that after you take charge of Xuzhou, you can benefit the people of Xuzhou and let the people of Xuzhou live and work in peace and contentment." ”

Zhang Yan never expected that Tao Qian would take the initiative to hand over the seal ribbon, he was stunned, not knowing whether to take it or not.

Even the other people in the room were surprised, and they were deeply surprised by Tao Qian's actions.

"General Zhang, what are you doing there, don't you dare to look at the seal that caught Tao Yuanjun?" Sun Qian hurriedly reminded.

Zhang Yan took the seal ribbon of Xuzhou Mu from Tao Qian's hand, and hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you Tao Envoy!" ”

Tao Qian waved his hand and said, "You don't have to thank me, if you want to thank yourself." You are the Xuzhou pastor who is desired by the people and the people, and I hope that you Haode is in charge of Xuzhou. The old man will write a letter tomorrow, play it to the court, show you as the pastor of Xuzhou, and let the court personally entitle you to show orthodoxy. ”

As soon as the words fell, Tao Qian looked at Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Zang Ba and others, and said slowly: "You are all my heroes in Xuzhou, I hope you will be good to assist Zhang Yan and revitalize Xuzhou." ”

Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, and Zang Ba replied in unison: "Huh! ”

Tao Qian said to Zhang Yan again: "From tomorrow, you will temporarily act as the pastor of Xuzhou, and the affairs of Xuzhou will be handled by you, and I hope you will do it yourself." ”

"Tao Yuanjun, please rest assured, Zhang Yan will definitely live up to Tao Yuanjun's high hopes for me." Zhang Yan said.

After coming out of the state pastor's mansion, Zhang Yan, Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Zang Ba and others were all very happy, Mi Zhu set up a banquet in his home, and everyone celebrated Zhang Yan's reign in Xuzhou.

The next day, under the auspices of Chen Deng, Tao Qian gave up the position of Xuzhou pastor to Zhang Yan, and invited Tian Kai, Kong Rong, Liu Bei and others to testify.

Xuzhou was cheering, but Tian Kai and Kong Rong were all feeling sorry for Liu Bei.

Zhang Yan held a simple inauguration ceremony and began to officially take charge of Xuzhou.

Tian Kai, Kong Rong, Liu Bei and others saw that there was no need to stay in Tancheng any longer, so they came to ask Zhang Yan for their resignation.

Zhang Yan agreed one by one, so Tian Kai, Kong Rong, and Liu Bei each led their soldiers and horses to prepare to leave Tancheng and return to their original station.

Before leaving, Zhang Yan specially set up a banquet and invited Tian Kai, Kong Rong, Liu Bei and others, among which Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Tai Shici were also among the banquets.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhang Yan held his wine glass, walked straight to Zhao Yun, and asked: "This little general is heroic, it should be Changshan Zhao Yun and Zhao Zilong, right?" ”

Zhao Yun and Zhang Yan were just meeting for the first time, but they didn't expect Zhang Yan to recognize him at a glance, and asked suspiciously: "Zhang Yuanjun really has good eyesight, and he is indeed Changshan Zhao Zilong!" ”

Zhang Yan said: "Haha, I have heard it for a long time, and I don't want to be in Yujian today, it is really a blessing for three lives." General Zhao, come, I'll toast you. ”

Zhao Yun raised his wine glass and drank it all with Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan glanced at Tai Shi Ci sitting next to Zhao Yun again, looked at it carefully, and then said, "This must be Tai Shi Ci who is anxious for justice and righteousness, right?" ”

Tai Shi Ci frowned, looked at Zhang Yan with a pair of puzzled eyes, and asked curiously, "The adult also said about me?" ”

Zhang Yan nodded, and when he told some of the deeds that Tai Shi Ci had done in his early years, the surprised Tai Shi Ci couldn't close his mouth.

"How did the adults know so much about me?" Tai Shi Ci asked puzzled.

Zhang Yan said: "It's not a secret, I have sent people to various places to look for benevolent and righteous people, and people like Brother Taishi who are eager for justice and righteousness have always been the people I want to find." A good man has ambitions in all directions, and the eldest husband should carry a three-foot long sword and make meritorious contributions, it is the first time I have seen such a heroic figure like Brother Taishi. And my army also happens to lack a general like Brother Taishi, I wonder if Brother Taishi is willing to stay in Xuzhou and serve me? ”

Tai Shici's heart suddenly bloomed, and his face was even more happy, he had always wanted to join the army but couldn't, and now there was such an opportunity, so he hurriedly asked: "If I join the army, can I be a general?" ”

Zhang Yan said: "Do you still need to talk about it?" is a hero like Brother Taishi, if you are not a general, who will be a general? ”

Tai Shici can also be regarded as a person who has traveled from south to north, all along, it is not that he has not joined the army, but as soon as he joined the army, he asked people if he could be a general, who would be willing to recruit such a person who would be a general as soon as he came?

After he heard Zhang Yan's answer, he got up and was about to answer Zhang Yan, but the figure of his elderly mother suddenly flashed in his mind, and his brows furrowed suddenly, and he said hesitantly: "My lord, I also want to follow the adult, be a general, and serve the adult." However, my mother is old and has limited mobility, and now there is no one to take care of her in her hometown in Donglai, so it would be unfilial for me to stay away from my mother. I don't do that unfilial thing, and I hope that my lord will understand, please forgive me for not being able to obey my fate. ”

After Zhang Yan heard this, he said: "Brother Taishi is really a filial son." It's better to do this, I will send someone to go back with Brother Taishi and bring the old lady to Xuzhou, so that you can be a general and take care of the old lady, killing two birds with one stone, why not? ”

"If I'm alone, I can live in a barracks, but if I want to take my mother with me, I have to have a house. However, I don't have a house in Xuzhou......"

"You don't have to worry about the house, this can make a courtyard for you in Xuzhou for Brother Taishi and the old lady to live in."

After hearing this, Tai Shici was deeply moved and immediately agreed.

Liu Bei, who was sitting in the hall, saw that Zhang Yan had recruited Tai Shici to his account in an instant, and hated it again and again.

Subsequently, Zhang Yan toasted Tian Kai, Kong Rong, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others one by one, and chatted for a while, and then ended the banquet.

After the banquet was dispersed, Zhang Yan personally sent Tian Kai, Kong Rong, Liu Bei and others out of the city, and these people each led their own troops and horses and began to return to the station.

After that, Zhang Yan sent 200 cavalrymen, with gifts, money and food, and Tai Shi Ci back to Donglai to pick up Tai Shi Ci's mother.

In the evening, after Zhang Yan sent all the foreign visitors away, with the assistance of Chen Deng and Mi Zhu, he began to check Xuzhou's household registration, as well as the granary, arsenal, and treasury, and verify the situation of the soldiers, and count the places damaged in the war.

It took Zhang Yan three days and more than 100 subordinate officials in the prefecture to make a clear count of the situation in Xuzhou.

Under the rule of Xuzhou, there are five counties and 62 cities, and the current population is more than 1.365 million, a sharp decrease of 610,000 compared with this time last year. Of these 610,000 people, most of them died under the butcher's knife of Cao's army, and the rest took refuge in Jiangdong.

In terms of troops, Xuzhou's cavalry was less than 5,000, and there were only more than 43,000 infantry left, with a total strength of less than 50,000.

However, Xuzhou has an amazing amount of money and grain, there are more than 20,000 gold, more than 10,000 silver, and hundreds of millions of five baht in the treasury, and only the granary of Tancheng has two million stone grains, no wonder so many people are staring at Xuzhou, such a large piece of fat is indeed greedy.

As the so-called new official took office with three fires, Zhang Yan roughly understood the strong strength of Xuzhou, and he had a bottom in his heart. He immediately appointed Sun Qian as the Taishou of Langya, Mi Zhu as the Taishou of the East China Sea, Chen Deng as the Taishou of Guangling, Chen Qun as the Taishou of Pengcheng, Zhou Kui as the Taishou of Xiapi, and Chen Jiaojiao as the Taishou of Xiapi.

Zang Ba was promoted from the cavalry captain to the captain of Xuanyi, and led 10,000 soldiers and horses to occupy Taishan County, and served as the Taishan Taishou. Captain Wu Wei Yu Ban took 5,000 soldiers and horses from his headquarters to occupy Dongping Kingdom, stationed in Wuyan, paid close attention to the movements of Lu Bu and Cao Cao's army, and waited for an opportunity to move.

Zhang Yan officially appointed Mi Fang as the captain of the thief, led 5,000 soldiers and horses to occupy Rencheng, and temporarily served as the minister of the city. Jun Sima Lu Dai was promoted to the rank of lieutenant of Zhongyi, led an army of 3,000 soldiers and horses to occupy the state of Lu, and temporarily took the post of prime minister of Lu.

In addition, the military Sima Deng Yi, promoted to the rank of captain of Zhaoxin, led an army of 2,000 to Changyi to assist Bao Xun in Shanyang and Bao Shao, the chief of Shanyang, to defend Shanyang.

Zhang Yan also asked Chen Ying to be the captain of Jianwei, and led the soldiers and horses to still garrison Kang's father and hold this dangerous road.

After the appointment documents were issued, the officialdom of the entire Xuzhou has an obvious adjustment, as the so-called once a son of heaven and a courtier, Zhang Yan after such an adjustment, almost firmly controlled Xuzhou in his own hands, and also laid a solid foundation for the division of Xuzhou!