Free Web NovelChapter 290: Western Region Beauty
Seeing that Tao Qian had already agreed to his request, Long Chen nodded and smiled, saying:
“Tao Gong is indeed righteous. Being able to meet you on this trip is truly a blessing for me!”
Nice words don’t cost anything, so Long Chen naturally wanted to say more.
After all, the demands he had just made—300,000 shi of grain and 100,000 taels of silver—were indeed a lot, almost like asking for the moon.
So why didn’t he just accept Xuzhou directly?
Wouldn’t that be more convenient and bring greater benefits? After all, Xuzhou had always been the strategic location he planned for in his heart!
The truth is that it’s not that Long Chen was unwilling to accept Xuzhou, but now is not the best time to take it.
At this moment.
Xuzhou was facing several great enemies.
To the north were Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Gongsun Zan, and to the southwest were other warlords like Liu Biao of Jingzhou.
If Long Chen swallowed Xuzhou, these forces wouldn’t just stand by and watch!
After all, the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will feel cold" is something these great warlords understand very well.
Once Long Chen took Xuzhou, he would become the most powerful force in the Eastern Han, and with the emperor in his hands, the other forces would definitely unite to jointly crusade against him.
The reason would be simple, any excuse would do, just like when the eighteen warlords marched against Dong Zhuo.
Or they could establish a new emperor with Han blood, in which case the Emperor Xian of Han on Long Chen’s side would become utterly useless.
These are outcomes that Long Chen does not want to see.
Therefore, he decided to continue waiting, at least until Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao are at each other’s throats, too preoccupied to deal with the south; then that would be the best time to seize Xuzhou.
Before that, he could take the opportunity to suppress old Cao, who was entrenched in Yanzhou, to prevent future trouble.
The method to suppress him is also simple. Isn’t more than half of Yanzhou now occupied by Lü Bu and Guo Jia?
Just the right time to coordinate with them, and together they could give old Cao a beating to bring back his old sickness. Not only that, but he wanted to beat Cao Cao until he became self-deprecating, to the point where seeing him would make Cao like a mouse seeing a cat.
But all these are just Long Chen’s fantasies for now, and the actual implementation will certainly differ from the ideal state.
After all, Cao Cao is a great hero of the ages, extremely strong in all aspects.
If it weren’t for his foreknowledge from history, he might have already been beaten down by old Cao.
Pulling his thoughts back.
Hearing that Long Chen valued him so highly, Tao Qian’s old face smiled like a chrysanthemum, full of wrinkles.
“Hahaha! Not at all, Long Hou is so young and already ennobled; your future prospects are limitless! It is I who should feel extremely honored.”
For a typical scholar-official like Tao Qian, face is more important than money or grain.
Now that the all-powerful Long Chen was praising him in public, his tail was practically wagging with pride.
The anger he had felt earlier over the huge military funds Long Chen demanded also dissipated quite a bit.
What followed was an extremely harmonious scene.
Everyone drank until they were thoroughly drunk, while the dancing girls performed graceful, alluring dances in the middle of the hall.
The civil and military officials watching felt a deep itch in their hearts. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Seeing that Long Chen’s gaze wasn’t on the dancing girls, Tao Qian thought Long Chen wasn’t interested in them, so he raised his cup in a toast and jokingly asked:
“I’ve heard that Long Hou has three golden beauties at home, each one a national treasure, like an immortal descended from the heavens. Is this true?”
Hearing this, Long Chen just smiled without saying anything.
This was indeed true.
It was because the beauty of his wives and concubines at home was so tempting that he had become quite immune to these so-called absolute beauties.
After all, though the world is vast, women more beautiful than Diao Chan, Xiao Qiao, and Da Qiao were few and far between.
And these dancing girls were far inferior, falling short by a wide margin!
When the officials of Xuzhou heard this, they all showed curious expressions.
“A fair lady is a gentleman’s desire!”
This is an ancient and universally understood truth.
But they dared not set their sights on Long Chen’s wives and concubines; if they did, they might end up living a fate worse than death, possibly half-paralyzed for the rest of their lives.
Seeing that Long Chen tacitly agreed, Tao Qian continued with a smile:
“Though Long Hou’s wives and concubines are unparalleled beauties, they are all Chinese women. Have you ever witnessed the charm of women from beyond the borders?”
As soon as he said this, not only did Long Chen become interested, but everyone else did as well.
After eating braised pork all the time, trying a different dish occasionally can make it especially delicious.
“Oh? I wonder how extraordinary the women from beyond the borders that the Governor speaks of might be. I would indeed like to see for myself,” Long Chen said with a smile, clasping his hands.
Although in his past life he had seen many foreign beauties, most were seen online, and he hadn’t really seen them in person.
Tao Qian said nothing more and clapped his hands.
Accompanied by exotic music, several stunning beauties emerged from behind the screen.
There were nine of them, all from beyond the frontier.
They wore revealing gauze dresses, exposing their alluring white navels, and their faces were covered with a thin veil, making them appear faintly visible, exuding extreme sensuality and allure.
Combined with their wild and direct dance style from the frontier, they immediately made everyone present restless.
Their bodies felt as if they were drenched in hot water, burning all over.
Everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Long Chen was no exception.
His eyes were fixed on the dancer in the center of the nine; she was the most alluring and seductive among them.
Tao Qian had been silently observing Long Chen’s gaze ever since the dancers appeared.
Seeing that his attention was entirely on Rosanna, the dancer in the center, a slight smile appeared on his lips. He then whispered a few instructions to the servant beside him and continued watching the dance.
These nine dancers from beyond the frontier were from the Western Regions, and they were among the most beautiful women in those lands. Most importantly, they were all virgins, and Tao Qian had paid a huge price to acquire them.
He originally planned to present them to the Emperor or use them to make connections with influential figures in the capital.
But he didn’t expect to encounter Long Chen.
However, when he thought about it, Long Chen was the Grand General and Champion Marquis, the highest-ranking figure aside from the Emperor.
Moreover, anyone with keen eyes could see that Emperor Liu Xie was already under Long Chen’s control.
This was truly a case of using the Emperor to command the feudal lords!
Building a good relationship with Long Chen would greatly benefit him.
With this thought, Tao Qian no longer felt any reluctance.
But little did he know, the gentle and docile Long Chen in front of him had already planned in his mind how to take over Xuzhou in the future.
An hour later.
The banquet finally ended.
Long Chen stretched his body and was led by a servant to an elegant room in Tao Qian’s residence.
The interior was luxurious and spacious.
It was probably one of the finest rooms in the residence. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
“Marquis, this is the room that the Governor mentioned. If you have any dissatisfaction, please feel free to let me know,”
The servant bent low, showing great respect.
There was no choice—after all, the man in front of him was the Champion Marquis of the Han Dynasty!!!
He was a hero admired and revered by countless people!!!
He didn’t dare show any disrespect.
“It’s already very good, thank you for your efforts,”
Long Chen said warmly, cupping his fists.
This small gesture deeply moved the servant.
He couldn’t help but think that the rumors were true—the Champion Marquis was indeed approachable and cared for the common people.
His admiration for Long Chen grew even more.
After the servant left, Long Chen stepped into the room.
Just as he was about to lie down to rest, he noticed a moving blanket on the bed.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a stunning woman wrapped in the blanket...
