Xuzhou Governor's Mansion is also the prefecture's Mansion.

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

On the couch, Tao Qian, who had been on the couch for several months, is now terminally ill, with a pale face, deep eyes, and white temples. He is about to die.

In front of the sickbed, Tao Qian's eldest son Tao Shang and the second son Tao Ying were all waiting in front of the bed, quietly waiting for his father's instructions. However, the second son Tao Ying was a little absent-minded, as if he didn't care about his father Tao Qian's condition, or he knew that the matter discussed this time had nothing to do with him, so he couldn't be interested and lowered his head and didn't know what to think.

On the sickbed, Tao Qian leaned against the brocade quilt and forced himself to read the letter and silk word by word. Then he coughed continuously for a while. Then he leaned against the brocade quilt and gasped. His sunken eyes narrowed slightly and thought, and handed the letter and silk to his eldest son Tao Shang.

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

"Recruiting young and strong soldiers, training soldiers." Tao Shang responded casually. After seeing his father's expression, he continued: "It is said that they have recruited tens of thousands of soldiers in recent months. In addition to the 4,000 Danyang soldiers handed over to him by his father at the beginning of the year, now Liu Bei's tent should have 20,000 soldiers under his tent."

"Twenty thousand soldiers?" Tao Qian's face changed slightly and he whispered softly: "In his letter to the father, the general said that Liu Bei had great ambitions and was a tough person by nature. He was a man who could accomplish great things. However, although Liu Bei had great ambitions and praised benevolence and righteousness in his work, he could not entrust his family affairs, otherwise he would definitely be entrusted with non-humans."

Speaking of this, Tao Qian gasped for a few quick breaths, then whispered: "When Xuande led his troops to help me Xuzhou last year, his troops were only more than 4,000, and most of them were young and strong recruited along the way. Now he has fought one after another. He already has 20,000 troops under his tent. From this point of view, this person is indeed ambitious and may be able to accomplish things in the future. Shang'er, what do you think about this? Are the generals correct? "

"This,, I'm afraid that the child will make his father angry." Tao Shang said hesitantly.

Tao Qian's eyes opened slightly, shook his hand and said, "You can say whatever you think in your heart. What else do you want to hide in front of your father?"

"Yes." Tao Shang nodded and said softly: "To put it in detail, the general and his father have neither deep friendship nor relationship. Although his father had sponsored the veteran General Zhu Jun to fight against Dong Zhuo in his early years, it was all in the past. The general captured Zhu Jun alive and became famous all over the world. In recent years, our Xuzhou and Xiliang have been far apart, so we can only send food and salary to the court twice a year to Xiliang. There is no contact. The general has always been courteous to his father. However, the general never rejected the memorial, and even gave him some additional benefits. The current position of General of the Central Army and his younger brother was given by the General. Therefore, the child believed that the general would not slander Liu Bei for no reason. It must be a matter of words and considering his father.

As for Liu Bei and his two brothers, the child was not sure. Liu Bei treated others humble and smiled, and seemed to have no temper at all, but the child had secretly seen him trained his soldiers, which was completely opposite to what he saw on weekdays. He was cold and harsh. His two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were skilled in martial arts and had a perverse personality. Guan Yu was cold and almost unkind, but Zhang Fei was heroic but often forced others to make things difficult. However, these two respected Liu Bei very much, and followed Liu Bei's leader everywhere and followed his orders. Therefore, the child did not know whether Liu Bei was the kind of person he said. The child was stupid. What he saw was limited to this, which disappointed his father. Please punish him!"

What Tao Merchants said was not an excuse, but it was because she felt that her answer was difficult to satisfy her father, so she felt quite blamed herself for fear that her father would get angry and hurt her body.

From this we can see that the Tao merchant may not have very talented people, but he is a filial son, and his loyalty and filial piety are beyond doubt.

When he squinted his eyes and stared at the pottery merchant, Tao Qian was slightly disappointed, but was not angry, but felt a little relieved. Although what the pottery merchant said was superficial, without saying the key points, and seeing the surface, without seeing the essence of things; but what he said just now was close to the truth, and it was only one opportunity.

From this, Tao Qian can see that his eldest son Tao Shang is not useless. In fact, he is mediocre and not stupid. Although he is not talented, he is not a foolish person who can fool others. This made Tao Qian feel relieved and feel a little relieved. Otherwise, he would be really worried that after his death, his two sons would find it difficult for him to survive in troubled times and would not be able to continue the Tao family's incense.

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

"Ah! This,,?" Tao Shang and Tao Ying were shocked when they heard the sound, opened their mouths but didn't know how to reply.

Especially Tao Ying, who was absent-minded, his heart pounded after hearing this, and he almost gave a positive answer casually. Fortunately, the moment he blurted out, he was finally careful. Seeing that his elder brother Tao Shang didn't say it, he immediately stopped and swallowed the words that had reached his throat.

Before this, Tao Ying had no interest in the conversation between her father and her elder brother, and was still thinking about the beautiful Miss Mi family Mi Huan.

He was really a fairy-like beauty, with a beautiful appearance, a plump breast as a mountain, a slender waist as a silver snake, a graceful and charming, and a little bit unruly, and he never took Tao Ying seriously. It was such a beautiful woman who was as beautiful as a flower and had a small temper. Tao Ying was so confused that she was so confused that Tao Ying was dizzy and indulged in it, and could not extricate herself. An unprecedented sense of conquest filled his heart and lingered around and lingered. Today, he wanted to take advantage of his father's enthusiasm and wait for an opportunity to raise this matter, fantasizing that while his father was still alive, he would quickly propose marriage and make a mature meal soon. Otherwise, once his father died of illness, he would be afraid that the Mi family would no longer take him, the second son of the state's palace master, and Mi Huan ignored him more and more, and he would definitely have no chance to have such a beauties in this life.

Coincidentally, when Tao Ying was thinking about something, he happened to hear his father Tao Qian ask him and his elder brother Tao Shang who wanted to succeed the throne of the prefect. This sentence really made Tao Ying's heart shock, his heart beat faster, and his breathing became heavy and rapid in an instant. Fortunately, he was not completely lost and was still awake, knowing that the elder brother Tao Shang was the first heir, and he could only be ranked behind the elder brother. If the elder brother did not want to take the position of the prefect, then he would naturally be Tao Ying took over Xuzhou, and there was no third choice, because his father Tao Qian had only two sons.

In addition, Tao Ying had thought about dealing with his elder brother Tao Shang, but although his father favored him, his youngest son, he relied on his elder son Tao Shang in everything. In this way, Tao Ying naturally did not dare to act rashly, and his elder brother Tao Shang was very caring for him on weekdays and never let him suffer grievances. In this way, the two brothers were peaceful and did not develop to the point where brothers were ill. At the same time, even if the elder brother Tao Shang succeeded to the throne, Tao Ying was sure that his elder brother would definitely help him accomplish this and let him embrace the beauty.

Therefore, Tao Ying is not interested in fighting with his elder brother Tao Shang at the moment. Otherwise, it will not only make his father unhappy, but also destroy the brotherly relationship and make the gains less than the loss. Tao Ying will not do such a stupid thing, because he is not hopelessly stupid, and he is somewhat self-aware and knows very well that his literary and martial arts skills are not as good as his brother Tao Shang.

Moreover, Tao Yingzhi was not here and did not have the interest in governing prefectures and counties. The reason why he thought about the position of prefecture was entirely because of Mi Huan's Miss Mi Huan. Because Mi Huan's two brothers were both greedy for power and vain. The Mi family was originally a merchant family, but now the two brothers Mi Zhu and Mi Fang were squeezing their heads and climbing up, and they had a strong desire for power.

Relatively speaking, Tao Ying can be regarded as a truly unambitious person. His most beloved life is to be rich and frugal, surrounded by majestic people, lingering in the singing and dancing of the belles all day long, lying drunk on the knees of a beautiful woman, carefree and carefree. This is the day he has always yearned for. Unfortunately, his father Tao Qian was so strict that he could only sneak out to have a leisurely life while his father was sick, and usually stayed in the mansion for his father to summon him at any time.

"Father, the position of the governor of the state should be the elder brother ascended the throne. The child will do his best to assist the elder brother in the future and not let his father down!" After making up his mind, Tao Ying did not wait for the Tao merchant to speak, and immediately spoke respectfully to Tao Qian.

"Oh? Ying'er finally grew up and understood the truth. She was very pleased for her father." Tao Qian looked at Tao Ying in a little surprised, with a loving smile on her face, and nodded slightly and smiled.

Then his eyes turned to Tao Shang and asked softly: "Shang'er, your brother supports you in succession to the throne of the state governor. What do you think?"

"This, the child is afraid that he will not be able to do anything to let his father down!" Tao Shang's cheeks flushed and his breathing was a little uncomfortable. After hesitating for a moment, he said respectfully.

However, his tone was filled with indescribable excitement, and his face was clearly excited, which all showed that he intended to be the position of Xuzhou Mu and his son inherited his father's business.

"Shang'er, if you succeed to the throne of the prefecture, how will you deal with the attack of Cao Cao's army next, and how can you protect Xuzhou in troubled times, so as not to destroy the Tao family by other princes?" Tao Qian looked at his eldest son Tao Shang with a calm expression and asked slowly.

Tao Shang was stunned when he heard this. While paying attention to his father's expression, he thought and said: "The child will follow the method of his father's defense against the enemy, be kind to the people, train soldiers, and be wary of the Cao thieves leading the army invading the territory at any time. In addition, he will try his best to keep the three brothers Liu Bei and try to take it for themselves, so that Xuzhou can be safe without worries. After Xuzhou gets out of trouble, the child will also follow his father's strategy, get along with the enemy from afar, and get along with the general and the governor of Jingzhou Liu Biao, always beware of Cao Cao in Yanzhou and Yuan Shu in Yangzhou, cultivate government affairs internally, and defend against strong enemies outside."

After saying that, Tao Shang saw that there was no trace of joy on his father's face, and immediately bowed and said, "You are respectful to your father's teachings!"

At this moment, Tao Qian's face was deep, but he had no joy or anger. His sunken eyes were sharp and imposing, but he had no intention of blame.

After staring at Tao Shang quietly for a while, Tao Qian asked softly: "Shang'er, based on your heart, what do you think you are compared with General Li Li?"

"The general is wise and powerful. He commanded the 400,000 Xiliang army at his age and governed the three prefectures of Xiliang. The people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the army was extremely strong. Children were beyond their reach and felt ashamed of themselves." The Taoist merchant changed his expression and answered respectfully.

———————————————— (To be continued)
Chapter completed!