Xuzhou Thorn History Mansion is also the state pastoral mansion.

In the inner room of the back hall, incense fills the air.

On the couch, Tao Qian, who has been lying on the couch for several months, is now terminally ill, with a sallow face, sunken eye sockets, snow-white temples, and is about to die.

In front of the sickbed, Tao Qian's eldest son Tao Shang and second son Tao Ying both stayed in front of the bed, quietly waiting for their father's orders. It's just that the second son Tao Ying is a little absent-minded, and he doesn't seem to care about his father Tao Qian's illness, or he knows that this discussion has nothing to do with him, so he can't be interested, and he doesn't know what to think with his head down.

On the sickbed, Tao Qian leaned on the brocade quilt, forced his spirit to read the letter and silk word by word, and then coughed continuously for a while, and then leaned on the brocade quilt and gasped, his sunken eyes narrowed slightly in contemplation, and handed the letter to the eldest son potter.

After a while, Tao Qian whispered weakly: "Shang'er, what have the three brothers Liu Bei been busy with lately?" ”

"Recruit young men and train soldiers." The potter replied casually, and after seeing his father's expression, he continued: "It is said that they have recruited tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in recent months, plus the four thousand Danyang soldiers that my father handed over to him at the beginning of the year, and now Liu Bei's account should have 20,000 soldiers and horses. ”

"20,000 soldiers?" Tao Qian's face changed slightly, and he whispered softly: "The general said in his letter to his father that Liu Bei is ambitious, tenacious by nature, and a person who can achieve great things; However, although Liu Bei has great ambitions and acts to advertise benevolence and righteousness everywhere, he cannot entrust family affairs, otherwise he will inevitably be entrusted to no one. ”

Speaking of this, Tao Qian gasped a few times hurriedly, and after taking a breath, he said in a low voice: "When Xuande led his troops to aid me in Xuzhou last year, there were only more than 4,000 people in his department, and most of them were young and strong recruited along the way, and now after a series of battles, he has 20,000 soldiers and horses under his account. From this point of view. This man does have great ambitions, and he may be able to achieve things in the future. Shang'er, what do you think about this? Is what the general said true? ”

"This 、、、 child is only afraid that if he can't say it well, he will make his father angry." The potter said hesitantly.

Tao Qian's eyes widened slightly, shook his hand, and said, "Say whatever you think in your heart, what else do you want to hide in front of your father?" ”

"Yes." The potter nodded when he heard this, and said softly: "Speaking of which, the general has no deep friendship with his father. It doesn't matter. Although his father had funded the old general Zhu Jun to fight against Dong Zhuo in his early years, it was all in the past, and it was because of this that the general captured Zhu Jun and became famous all over the world in one fell swoop. In recent years, my Xuzhou and Xiliang are far apart. Only sent food and salary to the imperial court twice a year to Xiliang, and there was no other contact. And the general has always been courteous to his father. Whatever the father asks. The general never rejected the book, and all of them were granted, and even some additional benefits were given, and the existing position of Zhonglang general for the child and his younger brother was given by the general. Therefore, the child thinks that the general will not slander Liu Bei for no reason, and it must be something to say. For my father's sake.

As for Liu Bei and his two brothers, the child is not sure. Liu Bei treats people modestly, with a smiling face, as if he has no temper. But the child had secretly watched him train his soldiers, and it was the opposite of what he usually saw, cold and stern. His two brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, are strong in martial arts and have perverse personalities, Guan Yu is cold and almost impersonal, but Zhang Fei is heroic but often strong. However, these two people have a lot of respect for Liu Bei, and they take Liu Bei as the head of the horse everywhere, and obey their orders. Therefore, the child doesn't know if Liu Bei is the kind of person the general said. The child is stupid, and all he sees is this, and he disappoints his father, please punish him! ”

What the potter said was not an excuse, but he felt that his answer was difficult to satisfy his father, so he felt quite remorseful, lest his father get angry and hurt his body.

It can be seen that the potter may not have much talent, but he is a filial son, and there is no doubt about his loyalty and filial piety.

Squinting at the potter, Tao Qian was slightly disappointed, but he was not angry, but a little relieved. Although what the potter said was a superficial phenomenon and did not say the main point, he also saw the surface of things and did not see the substance; But what I just said is close to the truth, and it is only one opportunity away.

From this, Tao Qian can see that the eldest son pottery merchant is not useless, in fact, he is mediocre but not stupid, although he has no great talent, but he is not a foolish person who is fooled by others. This made Tao Qian feel relieved and a little relieved, otherwise he was really worried that after his death, it would be difficult for his two sons to survive in the troubled times and not be able to continue the Tao family's incense.

"Shang'er and Ying'er, in front of your father today, you two brothers must tell the truth, do you have the ambition to succeed to the state pastor?" Secretly pondering, Tao Qian stared at his two sons intently and asked in a deep voice.

"Ahh This? The potter and Tao Ying were shocked when they heard this, but they opened their mouths wide but didn't know how to reply.

Especially Tao Ying, who was absent-minded, after hearing this, his heart was pounding, and he almost casually said a positive answer. Fortunately, the moment he blurted out, he finally kept an eye on it, and when he saw that the eldest brother potter didn't say anything, he immediately stopped his mouth and swallowed the words that had reached his throat.

Before that, Tao Ying had no interest in the conversation between his father and his eldest brother, and he was still thinking about the Miss Mihuan of the Mi family.

That's really a fairy-like beauty, with a beautiful appearance, plump breasts like mountains, a slender waist like a silver snake, graceful, and a little rude, self-esteem is very high, and never put Tao Ying in his eyes. It is such a beautiful woman with a small temper who is so fascinated that Tao Ying is dizzy, indulged in it, and cannot extricate himself, and an unprecedented sense of conquest fills his heart, lingering and lingering. Today, he wanted to take advantage of his father's enthusiasm and wait for the opportunity to raise the matter, fantasizing that while his father was still alive, he would hurry up and make mature rice as soon as possible. Otherwise, once his father dies, I am afraid that the Mi family will no longer take him, the second son of the state pastor, in their eyes, and Mi Huan will ignore him more and more, and I am afraid that he will have no chance with such a beauty in this life.

Coincidentally, when Tao Ying was thinking about what was wrong, he happened to hear his father Tao Qian asking him and his eldest brother Tao Shang who wanted to succeed him as the state pastor. This sentence really asked Tao Ying's heart, which made him tremble, his heart beat faster, and his breathing became heavy and rapid in an instant. Fortunately, he was not completely lost, and he was quite sober, knowing that the eldest brother potter was the first heir, and he could only be ranked behind the eldest brother. If the eldest brother does not want to take the position of state pastor, then it is natural that he Tao Ying will take over Xuzhou, and there is no third candidate, because his father Tao Qian only has two sons under his knees.

In addition, Tao Ying didn't think about dealing with the eldest brother potter, although his father doted on his young son, he relied on the eldest son potter for everything. In this way, Tao Ying naturally did not dare to act rashly, not to mention that the eldest brother Tao Shang also loved him a lot on weekdays and never let him be wronged. Since then, the brothers have been at peace with each other, and have not developed to the point of fratricidal killing. At the same time, even if the eldest brother Tao Shang succeeded to the state pastor, Tao Ying was sure that the eldest brother would definitely help him to become a jade and let himself return to the beauty.

Therefore, at present, Tao Ying has no intention of competing with the eldest brother pottery merchant, otherwise it will not only make his father unhappy, but also destroy the brother's feelings, and the gains outweigh the losses. Tao Ying will not do this kind of stupid thing, because he is not incorrigibly stupid Cheng Dù, and he is somewhat self-aware, and he knows very well that his martial arts are not as good as his brother Tao Shang.

Besides, Tao Yingzhi is not here, and he has no interest in governing the state and county, and the reason why he thinks about the position of state pastor is completely because of Miss Mi Huan. Because Mihuan's two brothers are greedy for power and vanity, the Mi family was originally a family of merchants, but now Mi Zhu and Mi Fang brothers are squeezing their heads and climbing up, and their desire for power is very heavy.

Relatively speaking, Tao Ying can be said to be a person who really has no ambitions. His most beloved life is brocade clothes and jade food, surrounded by majesty in all directions, lingering in the song and dance of warblers all day long, drunk and lying on the knees of beautiful women, carefree and free. This is the day he has always longed for, but unfortunately his father Tao Qian is very strict, so that he can only take advantage of his father's illness to sneak out for a leisure, and usually stay in the house for his father to call at any time.

"Father, the position of state pastor should be taken by the elder brother, and the child will do his best to assist the eldest brother in the future and not let his father down!" After making up his mind, Tao Ying didn't wait for the potter to speak, and immediately spoke to Tao Qian.

"Oh? Ying'er finally grew up and understood the matter, and she was very relieved for her father. Tao Qian looked at Tao Ying in surprise, with a loving smile on his face, and nodded lightly and smiled.

Then he shifted his gaze to the pottery merchant and asked softly, "Shang'er, what do you think of your brother's support for you to succeed to the throne of the state pastor?" ”

"This 、、、 child is terrified, lest he will not be able to live up to his father's high expectations!" The potter's cheeks flushed, his breathing was a little difficult, and after a moment's hesitation, he said in a respectful voice.

However, his tone of voice was filled with indescribable excitement, coupled with a clear look of excitement on his face, which showed that he was interested in the position of Xuzhou pastor and inherited his father's business.

"Shang'er, if you succeed to the throne of the state pastor, how will you deal with the attack of Cao Cao's army next, and how will you keep Xuzhou in the troubled times, so that the Tao family will not be wiped out by other princes?" Tao Qian looked at his eldest son, Tao Shang, calmly, and asked slowly.

The potter was stunned when he heard this, and while paying attention to his father's expression, he pondered and said: "The child will follow his father's method of defending against the enemy, treat the people leniently, train the sergeants, and beware of the Cao thief leading the army to invade the territory at any time." In addition, try your best to keep Liu Bei's three brothers in Xuzhou and try to collect them for their own use, so as to ensure that Xuzhou is worry-free. After Xuzhou is out of trouble, the child will also follow his father's policy, make friends with distant and close attacks, make friends with the general, Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao, and always beware of Yanzhou Cao Cao and Yangzhou Yuan Shu, internal government affairs, and external defense against strong enemies. ”

After speaking, the potter saw that there was no trace of joy on his father's face, and immediately bowed down and said, "The child listens to his father's teachings!" ”

At this moment, Tao Qian's face was dark, but there was no joy or anger, and his sunken eyes were sharp and pressing, but there was no sense of reproach.

After quietly staring at Tao Shang for a long time, Tao Qian asked softly: "Shang'er, in your heart, how do you think your talent is comparable to the great general Li Li?" ”

"The general is wise and martial, and he is in charge of the 400,000 Xiliang army at the age of a weak crown, governing the land of Xiliang Sanzhou, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the army is extremely strong. The child is beyond his reach, and he is ashamed of himself. When the potter heard this, his voice changed, and he replied truthfully.

—————————————— (To be continued)(To be continued......