si-mexico Chapter 86 Man Chong is sent as an envoy to Tao Qian! Is there a conflict on the border of Yan and X
Chapter 86 Man Chong is sent as an envoy to Tao Qian! Is there a conflict on the border of Yan and X
In the end, Su Yu accepted Cao Ang's offer.
Let him be the Imperial Tutor of Wei.
Compared to Cao Pi, that cunning young man, Su Yu felt that Cao Ang was more likable.
Cao Ang's performance was indeed quite good.
He quickly learned the knowledge that Su Yu taught him, and could even apply it to other situations.
It can be said that this disciple is quite worry-free.
Cao Cao was overjoyed and praised Cao Ang's intelligence to everyone he met.
This is quite different from Cao Cao's attitude towards Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and others.
The historical Cao Cao had a perverse sense of humor, often threatening Cao Pi.
When it comes to Cao Zhi, the praise is usually limited to his achievements in poetry and Han-style prose.
Cao Cao's only legitimate heir was Cao Ang, who died in the Battle of Wancheng.
Everyone else is just a substitute.
And just like that, two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
this day.
Cao Cao suddenly received a letter from Tao Qian's side.
After opening the letter, Cao Cao immediately went to Su Yu's residence to discuss the matter with him.
"Ziyi, this is a letter sent by Tao Qian."
Su Yu quickly glanced through the letters and sighed softly:
"Old man Tao Qian is trying to play both sides."
"However, my lord, you should not completely trust him."
What was written in the letter?
Tao Qian hoped to maintain good diplomatic relations with Cao Cao and to facilitate trade routes.
At first glance, this seems like nothing, and it even feels like Tao Qian is trying to make a good impression.
But the question is, why would Tao Qian try to curry favor with Cao Cao?
Was he afraid of Cao Cao?
There was definitely some fear involved.
With a powerful neighbor boasting over 100,000 troops on the side, who wouldn't be afraid?
However, it is not entirely true that Tao Qian dared not fight Cao Cao.
After all, the current situation is quite different from that in the past.
With Su Yu's help, Cao Cao's consolidation of Yan Province was accelerated by more than a year!
Tao Qian's physical condition is most likely much better than in previous historical records.
In addition, there was Yuan Shu as a supporting force.
It's hard to guarantee that Tao Qian didn't have the intention of dividing Yan Province with Yuan Shu.
Even the oldest tiger is still a tiger, not a sick cat!
"Ziyi, how should I, Cao, respond to this old man Tao Qian?"
Cao Cao was in a bit of a dilemma.
Fighting Tao Qian directly is definitely out of the question.
But neither side would feel comfortable forming an alliance.
At most, they can only be neither friends nor enemies.
Su Yu pondered:
"My lord, you may send an envoy to meet Tao Qian in your place, under the pretense of discussing trade."
"If Tao Qian is truly interested in trade, then doing business is not a bad thing."
"If they have no interest, then take this opportunity to communicate with the Mi family of Xuzhou and make Tao Qian suspicious of them!"
Cao Cao almost couldn't resist giving a thumbs up to the cunning Su Yu.
That's such a nasty trick!
The Mi family of Xuzhou was one of the most famous wealthy merchants in the country.
The current head of the family, Mi Zhu, is said to possess the wealth of half of Pengcheng (the seat of Xuzhou)!
Besides being wealthy, Mi Zhu also held a high position in Xuzhou.
His current official position is Prefectural Governor of Xuzhou.
This position is equivalent to the top official in Xuzhou's government affairs, second only to Tao Qian in status.
Historically, when Liu Bei took control of Xuzhou, he received strong support from Mi Zhu.
Otherwise, would Liu Bei, an outsider, really think that he could secure Xuzhou by relying on Tao Qian's so-called "three refusals of Xuzhou"?
A governor who doesn't have the support of his subordinates will suffer the same fate as Liu Dai!
He's even inferior to Liu Dai!
thus.
The support of Mi Zhu and others was crucial.
Mi Zhu, as the Prefect of Xuzhou, also owned the world-renowned Mi Family Merchant Caravan.
Both logically and emotionally, Cao Cao's envoys sent to discuss trade issues had every reason to contact Mi Zhu.
Even Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, couldn't directly stop Cao Cao's envoy from discussing matters with Mi Zhu.
……
The chosen envoy from Cao Cao's camp was named Man Chong.
He was the infamous cruel official who would later strike fear into the hearts of Cao Cao's camp and even the entire Wei Dynasty!
However, at this time, Man Chong was just a young man about the same age as Su Yu.
Having joined Cao Cao's camp not long ago, he volunteered to serve as an envoy.
Looking at Pengcheng, a bustling commercial city teeming with merchants, Man Chong genuinely felt that Xuzhou was developing quite well.
of course.
This cannot be attributed to Tao Qian.
People from Xuzhou are skilled at business; this is a long-established custom. (Ancient Xuzhou was much larger than modern Xuzhou, encompassing almost two-thirds of Jiangsu Province and a small part of Shandong Province.)
As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the State of Qi, which occupied Xuzhou, was one of the most prosperous states in the east.
By the end of the Han Dynasty, although Xuzhou's economic level was not as good as Jizhou and Yuzhou, it still ranked third.
……
Upon entering the governor's mansion, Man Chong met the elderly and frail Tao Qian.
Compared to when the Allied Forces were at their peak, Tao Qian's mental state was clearly not as good as before.
But that's how it is with older people; they might wake up one day and find themselves suddenly older.
Man Chong had never seen Tao Qian before.
But the perceptive man realized that although Tao Qian was old, he was not so senile as to be incapable of thinking.
Those slightly cloudy eyes still revealed shrewdness.
Everyone knows that Sun Jian was hailed as the "Tiger of Jiangdong".
Little did they know that his title was actually modeled after Tao Qian.
The first person to be hailed as a fierce tiger in this era was actually Tao Qian, the Tiger of Xuzhou.
"Young man, you must be the envoy sent by Mengde?"
"It has been more than a year since I last saw Mengde after we parted at Hulao Pass."
"I wonder how Mengde is doing these days?"
Tao Qian asked Cao Cao about his recent situation with a smile.
Anyone who didn't know the situation would definitely think Tao Qian was a kind and benevolent old man.
Man Chong replied neither humbly nor arrogantly:
"Thanks to Master Tao's kindness, my lord is doing well."
"However... compared to my lord, you should take better care of yourself, Lord Tao."
"This is a wild game tonic that my lord specially sent someone to hunt, and I was sent here to present it to Lord Tao."
After saying this, Man Chong took out a gift box and handed it to the guard beside Tao Qian.
"Hahaha, Mengde is so kind."
"I have always been in good health, but I have been somewhat worried about some conflicts on the border lately."
Tao Qian clearly sensed the sarcasm in Man Chong's words and decisively skipped the greeting phase to get to the point.
Man Chong immediately cupped his hands and said:
"I am ignorant, so please speak frankly, Master Tao. What do you mean by the conflict on the border?"
Tao Qian sighed, took out several files from the table behind him, and gestured for his guards to hand them to Man Chong.
Man Chong opened it.
The record states that several villages on the border of Xuzhou and Yanzhou have recently experienced violent incidents due to issues with water supply and trade.
Don't assume that such records only exist in modern times.
It existed in ancient times as well, but it wasn't necessarily as detailed as it is in modern times.
The brawls between several villages, to put it mildly, can be called a public security issue.
Moreover, we are in a chaotic world where death is a common occurrence, so who cares about public order?
On a larger scale, this is called a border conflict, and it could even very likely lead to war.
Even the quick-witted Man Chong was unsure of Tao Qian's meaning for a moment.
……