After resting for a few days, Lu Yao went to Taofu to visit the patient.

Tao Qian knew that his time was short, and he broke it off simply, and the family moved out of the mansion and lived in another house in the city. It is adjacent to the government office, but it cannot delay the handling of internal affairs. He was recuperating in the house at the moment.

When I arrived outside the Detao Mansion, there were already people waiting at the door. In addition to the potters who had already met, there was another young man. Lu Yao knew in his heart that most of them were Tao Qian's other son, Tao Ying, who was also an unknown person in history.

"I've seen the prince." The potter brothers saw Lu Yao riding on a snow black horse, and arrived with Xu You, Zhang Jaw and others, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

After a few simple greetings, the pottery merchant brothers led the way, took Lu Yao into the house, and came to Tao Qian's sickbed.

Tao Qian was already bedridden at this time, his face was gray, and the whole person was left with skin and bones, obviously terminally ill, and the medicine stone was hopeless. Seeing Lu Yao and the others coming, he smiled reluctantly and motioned to his two sons to show Lu Yao and the others a seat.

"Please also ask the prince to forgive the old man for being physically inconvenient and unable to see the ceremony."

"Tao Xuzhou doesn't have to be polite." Lu Yao smiled faintly and sat down beside the sickbed: "This king has sent someone to find the divine doctor Hua Tuo, Tao Xuzhou and rest assured." Xuzhou still needs Tao Xuzhou to preside. ”

Tao Qian's cloudy old eyes were tangled for a moment, and he reluctantly shook his head and smiled: "The old man is not a person who cherishes his life. Being sick no longer deserves to be burdened with government affairs. The old man has already intended to entrust Xuzhou to Uncle Liu Huang. I don't know what the prince thinks? ”

"That's very good. Uncle Liu Huang is benevolent, and taking over Xuzhou will not disappoint Tao Xuzhou. Lu Yao nodded happily.

Tao Qian was stunned at first, then shook his head and smiled bitterly. Checks and balances are king. Although he intended to urge the Tao family to get out of the pit and give up Xuzhou to Liu Bei, there was only Liu Bei alone, who could guarantee that he would treat the Tao family well. If you pull in a strong King Zhuya, you can compete with Liu Bei for Xuzhou. The two sides check and balance each other, and the Tao family will get out safely.

This makes it unnecessary to really give up the seat in Xuzhou. As long as Lu Yao slightly revealed the meaning of wanting to accept Xuzhou just now, Liu Bei would definitely know afterwards. At that time, contradictions between the two sides will inevitably arise.

It's a pity that Lu Yao was not fooled at all, and vigorously supported him on the spot to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei. If he hadn't been seriously ill, he would have been a little sure of provoking the two sides to fight. But now, he can only hope that Liu Bei's benevolence is not bragging. After handing over Xuzhou, the Tao family can be saved.

Lu Yao took in the changes in Tao Qian's eyes, and was noncommittal. The old fox is worthy of being an old fox, and he wants to calculate before he dies. It's a pity that I didn't have the heart to do it. Not to mention Xuzhou, even if it is sent together with Qingzhou, it may not be able to make you tempted.

So the two tacitly bypassed the topic and chatted. After a while, a servant walked in and whispered a few words in the potter's ear.

The pottery merchant nodded, waved his subordinates away, and said to Tao Qian on the sickbed: "Daddy, Uncle Liu Huang came to visit and is waiting outside the house." ”

"Please." Tao Qian's face was a little more bloody, and he immediately glanced at his eldest son complainingly.

This is when a tripartite meeting is needed. But his two sons couldn't see the meaning. Liu Bei pinched the point to visit the patient, what the purpose is, it is self-evident.

Tao Qian couldn't help but feel ashamed. Thinking that he has been sitting alone in Xuzhou for many years, there have been wars all over the Central Plains, but Xuzhou has only experienced Cao Cao's revenge. This is a situation that he has worked so hard to maintain. When Cao Cao invaded Xuzhou, he was also wronged, and he took the blame for his subordinates. In general, under his rule, Xuzhou can be regarded as a piece of paradise.

However, the two sons were not successful, they were too honest and upright, and let him rest early on to let the Tao family sit in Xuzhou for generations.

Not long after, the potter led Liu Bei in. Before the person arrives, the sound comes first.

"Brother Gongzu, I found a thousand-year-old ginseng yesterday, and I came to give it to Brother Gong to recuperate." Liu Bei came in with a smile and saw Lu Yao sitting next to the couch, and couldn't help but be surprised and stepped forward to salute: "I don't know that the prince is also there, forgive your sins." ”

"Uncle Liu Huang is polite, this king is also here to visit the sick, how can he be noisy." Lu Yao returned the salute and took the initiative to give up his position, saying that he was a guest and Tao Qian was the host.

Liu Bei heard Lu Yao call himself Uncle Huang, and a flash of joy flashed in his eyes. A few days ago, he called himself Liu Yuzhou, but today he changed his name to Uncle Huang, which clearly means that Lu Yao threw an olive branch to him. So he happily smiled, took it a step further, and opened his mouth to close his mouth to be you and my brother, and the relationship was too good to be good.

After a few warm words with Lu Yao, Liu Bei waved his hand behind and signaled his entourage to send the thousand-year-old ginseng. Lu Yao swept his eyes from the side, but he didn't see Guan and Zhang, and his heart suddenly became clear, secretly thinking that Liu Bei was worthy of being one of the three overlords in the future, and he was so careful that he was going to die. Knowing that Zhang Fei was quick to talk, he made some trouble from time to time, and deliberately arranged for Guan Yu to look at this rough man and come to Tao Mansion alone.

Liu Bei exchanged a few words with Tao Qian, and then pulled Lu Yao into the chat: "Recently, Cao Cao sent an army to attack Qingzhou, so that the people of Xuzhou were panicked, and the prince didn't know if there was a way to save the people?" ”

"Cao thief coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and he was a thief of the country. Today, Cao Thief recklessly mobilized troops to invade Qingzhou, and he could wave his army eastward and invade Xuzhou again. It's better to strike first and cooperate with Hebei Yehou to kill this fang. Without waiting for Lu Yao to speak, Xu You hurriedly said.

Tao Qian's expression couldn't help but change slightly when he heard this. One of those present was counted as one, and no one knew Cao Cao's strength better than him. He experienced it firsthand. At the beginning, Cao Cao waved his army to invade Xuzhou in order to avenge his father, which was like a bamboo. His illness also came from this, and in the end he couldn't afford to be sick, so he had to think about the Tao family in advance.

Liu Bei also looked different when he heard this. He is just a straw mat seller, and what he wants is a stable territory to develop with peace of mind, so as to close the gap with the princes of all walks of life. If Cao Cao waved his army to invade Xuzhou again, he would be completely helpless. Xu You's proposal really moved him.

Cao Cao's momentum skyrocketed, and he confronted Yuan Shao of Hebei across the Yellow River. Recently, he sent troops to Liyang on the other side of the Yellow River, obviously to fight Yuan Shao. But he is really not optimistic about Yuan Shao.

To put it nicely, Yuan Shao is the fourth and third duke of the Yuan family, and after the Yuan family, he occupied all the land of Hebei, and should be the first prince in the world. But in fact, although Yuan Shao's territory is large and occupies the richest Hebei land in the Central Plains, there are many hidden dangers inside.

First of all, Yuan Shu. Cao Cao annexed Yuan Shu's territory, and Yuan Shu failed to get the jade seal of the country because of Lu Yao's relationship, so he did not have the brains to ascend the throne and become the emperor. After the defeat, he retreated to Hebei and took refuge with his brother Yuan Shao. But as the son-in-law of the Yuan family, how could he tolerate Yuan Shao, a concubine, riding on his head to show off his might.

Secondly, Yuan Shao occupied Jizhou, and his methods were a little inauthentic. Han Fu gave up Jizhou and committed suicide in fear of Yuan Shao. The former subordinates also had some criticism of this.

How can a force full of internal hidden dangers defeat Cao Cao, who is monolithic?

Lu Yao took in the expressions on the faces of Tao and Liu, and then smiled: "This king has a big gift, I don't know if the two of you are willing to laugh?" ”