Chapter 108 Kaiyang Kaicheng
At this time, the Kaiyang battlefield was still peaceful.
Zang Ba hid in the city and refused to surrender without fighting. After Wu Dun came out, he told Chen Deng everything he saw.
After hearing this, Chen Deng couldn't help but sneer, "Who are you, Zang Ba, to be worthy of comparing yourself to the envoy?"
I really don’t know how to live or die.
After Zhang Fei heard this, he was furious. In his opinion, Zang Ba was just a Taishan bandit who could only separate the territory. How dare he look down on his eldest brother?
Zhang Fei immediately asked Chen Deng for orders and wanted to lead troops to attack the city, but was stopped by the latter.
At this time, Kaiyang has been surrounded on three levels inside and three levels out. Even on the other side of Yishui River, there are two troops stationed, only defending but not attacking.
The day before yesterday in the afternoon, brothers Sun Guan and Sun Kang arrived with more than a thousand reinforcements and crossed the river into the city to assist Zang Ba.
According to Chen Deng's command, Zhao Yunbu didn't care about him at all and let him enter the city directly.
But it's easy to get in, but hard to get out.
Chen Dengte issued an order that no one was allowed in or out. They could enter the city, but if they wanted to break out of the city again, they would not be allowed.
Let you in to speed up the consumption of food in the city. If you think about it again, you will be sorry. Don't even think about it.
Under such circumstances, Liu Feng led the team to the outside of Kaiyang City and successfully reunited with Chen Deng.
That night, Chen Deng informed the entire army of Liu Feng's annihilation of Chang Xi's army in a battle to boost morale. At the same time, he held a banquet in honor of the new generals and Sun Qian.
During the banquet, Chen Deng also told Liu Feng and Sun Qian about Zang Ba's contradictory and complicated thoughts.
Liu Feng actually wanted to enter Kaiyang by himself. He was still confident in his words. Now that he understood the struggle in Zang Ba's heart, there was a high probability that he could successfully persuade Zang Ba to surrender. Tyrant.
Besides, he is not worried that Zang Ba will be disadvantageous to him. Zang Ba is essentially a warlord who is content with the status quo and will never offend any force easily.
Not to mention, Liu Feng also had a king bomb in his hand. As long as Zang Ba was allowed to read it, he would probably hold Liu Feng in his hand and coax him.
But Liu Feng himself knew that there was absolutely no way he could get the consent of Chen Deng and Liu Bei.
I could only help Sun Qian with some advice, and wrote another letter so that Sun Qian could hand it over to Zang Ba when necessary.
Sun Qian was a little surprised and didn't know Liu Feng's intention.
But after all, he was weak and didn’t have much curiosity or self-esteem, so he accepted the letter easily.
Anyway, Sun Qian will make his own decision whether to use it or not.
The next day, Sun Qian took Chang Xi, Wu Dun, and Qianzhao, who was arranged by Liu Feng to take credit, and a group of four entered Kaiyang City to see Zang Ba.
In just a few days, Zang Ba seemed to have become a different person.
The former domineering, majestic, generous and heroic Cavalry Captain has turned into a depressed middle-aged man.
"Chu Ji, why are you here again?"
Zang Ba looked up and found that not only Wu Dun was here again this time, but also Chang Xi, and he couldn't help but be surprised. Said: "Xuanyi, you also..."
Wu Dun, courtesy name Chuji.
Changxi, named Xuanyi.
Chang Xi blushed and waved his hands, then sat aside and remained silent.
Chang Xi always had a high regard for himself. Among the five thieves in Mount Tai, he was the only one who had a rivalry with Zang Ba.
The other four have long been completely convinced and regard Zang Ba as their leader, but Chang Xi always wants to compete with Zang Ba.
However, if you are not convinced, you are not convinced, but the friendship between Chang Xi and Zang Ba is also very good, otherwise they would not have brought their two thousand men with them as soon as they heard that Kaiyang was besieged. When he came out, he wanted to bypass Xiangbi and rush to rescue Zang Ba.
It's just that as a veteran general, Chang Xi's army was wiped out in just half an hour after encountering Liu Feng, which also made him lose face.
Chang Xi's feelings for Zang Ba are also a bit complicated. He has been competing with him, but he doesn't really want to usurp Zang Ba's position. But if he was asked to stay under Zang Ba's command with peace of mind, he would also feel very uncomfortable.
There is such an awkwardness between the two. Historically, after Liu Bei appointed Chang Xi as the governor of Donghai County, Chang Xi and Zang Ba were separated, and their steps were no longer completely consistent.
This awkwardness is a bit like Zang Ba's unwillingness to bow his head and surrender to Liu Bei.
There are two people sitting in the hall, naturally the brothers Sun Kang and Sun Guan.
The two of them finally entered Kaiyang, but found that the situation was different from what they thought. The city of Kaiyang was almost out of food.
This frightened the Sun brothers, and finally they figured it out. It turned out that Zang Ba had mortgaged grain in exchange for money and went north to buy war horses.
The Sun brothers looked at each other with nothing to say.
All the grain has been sold, and the grain depot is now empty. What's the use of complaining about Big Brother?
Is it possible to make the food fly back?
Now I saw Chang Xi and Wu Dun being captured. Of the six brothers, only Yin Li was left outside, and he didn't know whether he was alive or dead.
There were eight people in the hall, Zang Ba Zang Ai and his son, Sun Guan and Sun Kang brothers, Chang Xi, Wu Dun, and Sun Qian and Qianzhao as lobbyists.
Out of the eight people, a full seven supported surrender, and only Zang Ba was still struggling.
Sun Qian also gave some kind words to persuade Liu Bei, describing Liu Bei's regard for Zang Ba and others and his reputation for kindness.
Even after Zang Ba surrenders, it is impossible to keep them in Langya, but they will never be left idle. There will always be opportunities to continue to make meritorious deeds.
Once you have achieved meritorious service, the post of county governor is not impossible to obtain.
Sun Guan and Sun Kang had already agreed to surrender, but now they were even more excited when they heard the terms.
They also couldn't understand. There was no deep hatred between their group and Liu Bei, so why did Zang Ba refuse to bow his head?
Liu Bei has shown great strength and ability. He is already a piece of cake on the chopping board. Why doesn't the eldest brother just accept it as soon as he sees it?
Zang Ba was also conflicted. Although he was still holding his breath, his attitude was much more relaxed than the previous few days.
There is no other way. You can't drag your sons and brothers to die together in one go, right?
But he was asked to surrender immediately, but he was still a little unwilling to give up.
Sun Qian remembered Liu Feng's request, so he took out the letter and handed it to Zang Ba: "Captain, this letter is written by my young master. I want to persuade the Commander to give me some advice. Please take the time to read it.”
Zang Ba was a little surprised when he received the letter. He had also heard of Liu Bei’s son. After all, he was already famous in the north.
But this kid should be about ten years old this year, right?
Did Liu Bei actually involve his children in military and state affairs?
Zang Ba snorted in his heart and became more and more angry.
This big-eared thief is so messy, are the Xuzhou scholars blind?
Chen Yuanlong and Mi Zizhong are so famous, but they are all sycophants!
Zang Ba opened the letter while cursing in his heart.
Regardless of the politeness in front of him, the letter immediately caught his eye.
"My father was in Qingzhou. He had no more than a hundred barbarian cavalry, less than a thousand Han soldiers, and two thousand refugees, all with bamboo spears and wooden shields. However, he never looked back. He went south to Tancheng, joined Cao Bao, and counterattacked in Tandong, and finally Cao Yanzhou's grain As the saying goes, hitting someone is not a slap in the face, but Liu Feng was more than just a slap in the face. It's face-riding.
"Tao Gong appointed you as the Cavalry Commander, stationed in Kaiyang, and held Langya. You are surrounded by tens of thousands of troops from Mount Tai. You are only more than fifty miles away from Tancheng. I would like to ask the Cavalry Commander, why did Tao Gong choose the distance at that time? "
The veins on Zang Ba's forehead were pulsing, and his face was blood red. Zang Ai, the Sun brothers and others who were watching were shocked and suspicious.
What on earth was written in this letter that actually stimulated the boss to this point?
"In a time of great strife, advancement will make you strong, retreat will make you weak. The strong will become strong, and the weak will weaken. The strong will become stronger, and the weak will become weaker. Let me ask the captain of the cavalry. He is afraid of Tao Gong in front and Cao Cao in the back. Duke, even though Qiu cannot be defended and Tancheng does not dare to support him, even if Duke Tao entrusts Xuzhou to you, how can he still convince the people?" Ba has no doubt that he will crush the opponent to death.
“Any hero will see opportunities in crisis. Anyone who is mediocre and inactive will see danger in crisis.”
“Today, your situation can be a big crisis.”< br>
"Feng dares to ask the captain, what do you see?"
"Finally, Feng has one more thing to say to the captain. If the captain is counting on Yuan Gongguo, he can quickly give up. The general is currently in Jianghuai. Liu Jingzhou and Liu Yangzhou were attacking from both sides and had no time to take care of themselves. They had already forgotten about the captain. "
"Although the affair between the captain and Yuan Shu is secret, the boy happened to know the secret and there is more evidence. Evidence."
Zang Ba felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and his whole body was as cold as ice. The deepest secret he had hidden in his heart was revealed.
That's right, Zang Ba had actually been secretly communicating with Yuan Shu for a long time.
In fact, Zang Ba’s true attitude is to support Yuan Shu’s entry into Xuzhou!
He is a unique Yuan Shu sect in Xuzhou!
Zang Ba’s disguise on the surface was so good that no one in Xuzhou could see it.
Even the generals of the Danyang Army, Cao Bao and Xu Dan, who had cooperated with Zang Ba for six or seven years, only thought that Zang Ba supported the Danyang faction and was an ally of the Danyang faction.
But only Zang Ba knew that his only ally was Yuan Shu.
In fact, many bizarre things happened during this period in history. After careful analysis, Zang Ba emerged from the water.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, all states and counties regarded the state and county as their homeland. However, Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others were from Danyang, Yangzhou, and Lu Bu was from Jiuyuan, Wuyuan County, Bingzhou. These two groups of people could be said to be worlds apart. No matter what, they can't be connected.
Because there is no communication channel between them.
For this reason, the fictional marriage between Lu Bu and Cao Bao was made in the novel, because there was really no place for them to be related.
But in fact, the only one who can hook them up is Zang Ba.
Zang Ba's Langya County has always relied on Yanzhou. During the battle between Cao and Lu, Zang Ba was independent in Langya, and it was much easier to hook up with Lu Bu than Cao Bao and Xu Dan in Tancheng.
In other words, Zang Ba was the intermediary between the Danyang Army and Lu Bu, the vassal, and he guaranteed the mutual trust between Lu Bu and the Danyang Army.
In this case, the behavior of Cao Bao, Xu Dan, and Zhang Jie during the Xiapi Incident was unreasonable.
Before the Xiapi Incident, Cao Bao had already taken office as the Prime Minister of Xiapi. The Danyang Army had actually successfully reached a compromise with Liu Bei and gave up most of its military power.
But when Cao Bao was attacked and killed by Zhang Fei, and Xu Dan was at a critical moment of life and death, they could not leave Zang Ba, their traditional ally close at hand in the north, to call for help. Instead, they galloped hundreds of miles to ask for help from Xiaopei's Lu Bu.
Is this reasonable?
Isn’t it strange?
To explain such an abnormal situation, there are two explanations.
The first explanation is that Cao Bao and Xu Dan sent two groups of troops to ask for help, all the way north to find Zang Ba and all the way west to find Lu Bu.
But Lu Bu arrived first and captured Xiapi with the cooperation of Danyang soldiers.
This explanation seems reasonable, but in fact it is the most impossible.
There are two key points. First, Zang Ba is close and Lu Bu is distant. The second Zang Ba is close at hand, but Lu Bu is far away.
Whether it was based on feelings or time, there was no reason for the Danyang Army not to seek help from Zang Ba immediately, but where did Zhang Jie appear?
Appeared on Lu Bu's side.
Zhang Jie is a very important person. He is Xu Dan's crony. Cao Bao is dead and Xu Dan is the boss of the remaining Danyang soldiers. His cronies don't go to Zang Ba but go to Lu Bu. This speaks volumes.
In fact, Zang Ba's Taishan Army was quite slow during the Xiapi Incident and did not react at all. This can no longer be covered up by Zang Ba's hesitation. It can only be that the Taishan Army simply confiscated Any information about the Xiapi Incident.
Why does this happen?
That is the second situation that seems impossible, but is actually very possible.
That is, before the Xiapi Incident, Cao Bao and Xu Dan had already discovered the connection between Zang Ba and Yuan Shu. Because of Zang Ba's betrayal, they were willing to compromise with Liu Bei and transfer most of their military power. .
When the Xiapi Incident happened, they would rather contact Lu Bu than let Zang Ba gain.
This may seem wrong, but it is actually quite consistent with the situation at that time.
Because in the third year of Chuping (AD 192), Tao Qian and Yuan Shu had a falling out, and they were still fighting to the death. Both sides were almost rushing to kill each other.
The first one to strike was Tao Qian. He directly ordered the Xiapi Chen family to attack the Pei Kingdom occupied by Yuan Shu, and then asked Chen Yu to block Yuan Shu's southward march to Yangzhou, almost causing Yuan Shu's entire power to collapse and starve him to death. die.
Unfortunately, Tao Qian was too impatient, thinking that Yuan Shu was dead, and couldn't wait to attack Cao Cao.
As a result, he was beaten up by Cao Cao and allowed Yuan Shugou to come back to life. Instead, he drove Chen Yu away, occupied Lujiang, and revived!
It is precisely because of this that Yuan Shu went out of his way to name himself Xuzhou Bo. This was entirely for Tao Qian.
The two sides were mortal enemies at that time.
Cao Bao and Xu Dan were both Tao Qian's top confidants. If Zang Ba really allowed Yuan Shu to be welcomed into Xuzhou, their deaths would probably be several times worse than in the Xiapi Incident.
Otherwise, as long as the person in contact between Cao Bao and Xu Dan is Zang Ba, there will be no problems with Liu Bei and Lu Bu in Xuzhou.
Once Zang Ba enters Xiapi, steals Liu Bei's retreat, captures Liu Bei's entire army's family members, and then moves south to attack Yuan Shu from north to south, Liu Bei has no chance of winning, and the entire Xuzhou will become Yuan Shu's territory in an instant.
After that, after Lu Bu took control of Xuzhou, Zang Ba's various behaviors were very abnormal and weird, but it was very reasonable when viewed from the perspective of Yuan Shu's allies.
Why did Zang Ba dare to kill Xiao Jian, the prefect of Langya, in front of Lu Bu?
Why does the relationship between Zang Ba and Lu Bu always keep pace with the relationship between Yuan Shu and Lu Bu?
If Lu Bu and Yuan Shu are in harmony, Zang Ba will be safe. If Lu Bu and Yuan Shu are fighting, Zang Ba will rebel?
There is another extremely important piece of evidence, which is the testimony recorded by Lu Bu himself in the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms.
In Shooting Halberds at Yuanmen, Lu Bu's confidants once asked Lu Bu why he wanted to save Liu Bei. Couldn't he join forces with Yuan Shu to destroy Liu Bei to avoid future troubles?
Lu Bu's answer is very interesting. What he said is: "Otherwise. If the technique is broken, the generals of Taishan will be connected to the north. I am surrounded by the technique and have to save him."
< br>Who is this Taishan general? Aren't they just Zang Ba and his group?
Lü Bu personally admitted that Zang Ba was Yuan Shu's accomplice. If Liu Bei was gone, he would be surrounded by Yuan Shu.
At this time, Zang Baming's official identity was that he was a vassal under Lu Bu.
It can be imagined that Zang Ba took refuge with Yuan Shu not just a day or two, but a very long time.
Zang Ba’s hand that pinched the letter turned a little white, and his face that was blood red just now also turned pale.
Zang Ai couldn't help but want to read what was written in the letter, but Zang Ba avoided him.
Zang Ba's forehead was covered with cold sweat at this time, and his whole body seemed to be exhausted.
He didn't know why Liu Bei and his son knew such a confidential matter.
But a greater crisis was ahead of him. He made his decision alone to take refuge with Yuan Shu, and the other generals in Taishan did not know about it at this time.
Originally Zang Ba was just afraid that people would talk too much and leak the news, and he would tell the other brothers after the matter was settled.
But if the incident happened now, Zang Ba was completely unsure whether this explanation would still convince Sun Guan and Wu Dun.
Zang Ba would have no choice but to defect to Yuan Shu. Tao Qian was always guarding him like a thief. Even the land was only willing to be given to four or five counties, and Xiao Jian was also included. Ju County came to check and balance him.
Yuan Shu was too generous. He directly promised him Langya, the position of governor of two counties in the East China Sea, and even offered him the title of governor of Xuzhou.
This condition is a bit too good. Normal people would doubt the sincerity of the other party, but Zang Ba believed it because he couldn't stand it.
Who allowed the Sun family to thrive under Yuan Shu's command?
Sun Wentai can fight, but I, Zang Xuangao, can fight too!
Why can't I be the governor or the governor?
I'm not convinced!
Zang Ba wanted to shout, but when his eyes glanced at the letter in his hand again, his whole body collapsed again.
If this matter is leaked, the Taishan Army will probably fall apart.
Sun Guan, Sun Kang, Wu Dun, Chang Xi and others might even suspect that I betrayed them secretly.
Zang Ba was frightened, frightened, hated and afraid of Liu Feng who wrote this letter.
He thought about it, but he still couldn't remember where he had made any omissions, and actually leaked evidence of such an important matter.
Sun Kang and others looked at their eldest brother, tremblingly put the letter in their arms, then stood up and saluted Sun Qian.
"Ba, please surrender."
Once Zang Ba surrenders, the entire south of Langya will be pacified.
Yin Li once came to aid Kaiyang, but was ambushed and defeated by Guan Yu. He fled back to Yangdu in embarrassment, and was no longer able to support Kaiyang.
Now as soon as Zang Ba surrendered, Yin Li immediately followed suit without any struggle.
With the few hundred defeated soldiers in his hand, even if he mobilized the young men of Yangdu, there was no way he could defend the city.
Chen Deng was overjoyed when he heard the news and sent Cao Bao to lead a team. Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Xu Dan each led a detachment. They entered the city first to accept the surrender, and controlled many key points in the city such as the city gates, granaries, arsenals, and county offices.
Sure enough, there was no resistance in Kaiyang City. Including the more than one thousand Taishan troops brought by Sun Kang's brother, there were more than 4,000 people in total, and more than 3,700 strong men, all concentrated in the military camp. Waiting for the Xuzhou Army to surrender.
Zang Ba himself took his sons Zang Ai, Zang Shun, brothers Sun Guan, Sun Kang, etc. out of the city to surrender, and was rushed to Tancheng by Chen Deng.
(End of this chapter)