Chapter 113 Zang Ba returns home
Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction and continued: "Bei has an old friend beside Yuan Shu. He has never been used to Yuan Shu's behavior of killing celebrities, plundering places, massacring common people, and looting wealthy households. He was persuaded but refused and decided to leave. "
"Recently, he learned from Yuan Shu that Zang Ba of our state had colluded with him and agreed to invade our state with troops in the coming year, and cooperate with the outside to subvert our state. Yuan Jiuji entered Xuzhou. "
Hearing this, Xu Xuan changed his expression. He was also a man who had served two thousand stones. How could he not know that Yuan Shu wanted to enter Xuzhou, and his hometown Guangling County was the first to bear the brunt. .
In addition, if Zang Ba really colludes with Yuan Shu, then Uncle Fang's situation will indeed be very dangerous.
If we don't take action now and solve the internal problems first, when Yuan Shu raises his troops to go north to Guangling next year, Uncle Fang, who has Zang Ba behind him, will be in an irreversible situation regardless of whether he goes south to meet the enemy or not.
If you go, you will be attacked from both sides, and your nest will be raided.
If he doesn't go, Yuan Shu can easily occupy Guangling, continue north to Xiapi and Donghai, and finally join forces with Zang Ba to trap Fang Bo to death in Tancheng.
If this matter is true, then Uncle Fang's move is far from being a militancy, but actually a helpless move.
“Is this serious?”
Xu Qiu actually believed most of it at this time. After all, he had this vision and could see Yuan Shu's ambition for Xuzhou. He could also see that Yuan Shu had the ability to go north to Xuzhou.
Had it not been for Cao Cao's second expedition to Xuzhou last year, Yuan Shu, who was psychologically shadowed by Cao Cao, would have taken the lead in attacking Guangling.
In fact, Yuan Shu had even prepared a memorial to report that Wu Jing was the governor of Guangling. However, after Cao Cao sent troops to the East China Sea, Yuan Shu burned the memorial and pretended that nothing happened.
He was really scared by Cao Cao.
Compared with Cao Cao, the big devil, those little brothers in Jiangdong are so cute.
"It must be true! This person couldn't bear the disaster of war in Xuzhou again, and he missed his old friendship and worried about Bei's safety, so he sent his confidants thousands of miles away to send a message to warn Bei. Bei believed it deeply, so there is no doubt about it."
Liu Bei's answer was categorical. His precious son had already analyzed it for him. He naturally believed in his son, so he was confident and had no guilt at all.
Xu Qiu was silent for a moment, chose to believe Liu Bei, and leaned over to apologize: "Xu Qiu was stupid and did not understand Ming Gong's intention. He hastily offended. Please forgive Ming Gong."
Liu Bei was immediately overjoyed. , hurriedly stepped forward to lift him up with his own hands: "Why did Mr. Xu say this? He is preparing to take over as the prefecture pastor. He is sincerely afraid. He is deeply afraid that his talents are insufficient and he will not be able to stabilize the people of the state. We need a respected elder like you to fill in the gaps."
Xu Qiu expressed his position: "Qiu will definitely do his best."
Seeing Xu Zhuan relenting, Mi Zhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This man is very famous in Xuzhou, especially from Guangling. Liu Bei is about to destroy Zang Ba. The next step must be to regain Guangling. Xu Qiu is a very useful card. .
Liu Ye watched from the side and was quite satisfied. As soon as he came, he offered a plan and it was adopted, which made him feel very satisfied.
In this way, the originally tense atmosphere suddenly relaxed.
“It’s just...”
Xu Xuan's words made Liu Bei and Mi Zhu feel anxious again, but Liu Ye did not panic at all and concluded that the situation was decided.
"I wonder how the battle situation is on the front line?"
Xu Qiu actually took the initiative to care about the battle situation: "In Qiu's opinion, Kaiyang is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the Taishan army has always been brave, waiting for work and holding on. The city is fortified, and there is enough food in the city. I am afraid that there may not be any progress in three to five months. If Yuan Shu suddenly sends troops to the north, Fang Bo should have prepared a plan." The military rations are still enough. If he doesn't take advantage of it, he is willing to go to Guangling to purchase a batch of grain for Liu Bei to meet unexpected needs.
Liu Bei thanked him happily and said that it was enough for the time being.
Just when the atmosphere in the hall became harmonious, the attendant came forward to report that there was a new battle situation on the front line.
Liu Bei's heart tightened, hoping that no bad news would come at this time. It would be bad if Xu Zhuan's advice was triggered.
However, Liu Bei thought about it carefully and felt that the probability of good news was much higher. Chen Deng on the front line had already surrounded Zang Ba to death in Kaiyang City, so there should not be any big changes. And if it is good news, it may make Xu Qiu support him more firmly, and things in Guangling will be much easier next.
So Liu Bei's confidence was boosted and he directly ordered: "Call Chuanqi to the hall, and I will inquire personally."
When he saw the excitement and smile on Chuanqi's face from a distance, Liu Bei I knew this time it must be good news.
Sure enough, after Chuanqi came to the hall, he knelt down and saluted Liu Bei and others, and reported with an excited voice: "Reporting to Uncle Fang, at noon the day before yesterday, Kaiyang had already opened the city, and Zang Ba took his two sons and dozens of close followers out of the city. Surrender."
"Oh!?"
Liu Bei was overjoyed. He had expected good news, but he didn't expect the news to be so good.
"Congratulations to Uncle Fang! Uncle Fang's prosperity reaches the sky. With this great victory, our state can be stable."
"This righteous person wins. Zang Ba hooked up with Yuan Shu, and Uncle Fang used his A righteous attack should have this result!”
"Uncle Fang can quickly send someone to order Chen Yuanlong to pacify the place. The cities in Kaiyang are densely populated and it is not suitable to station large armies to avoid disturbing the people."
Mi Zhu, Liu Ye and Xu Qiu all congratulated Liu Bei, but each had their own emphasis. .
"Okay! Send an order to the three armies. It is strictly prohibited to disturb the people, bully the people, rob wealthy households, or violate women's family members. All those who are guilty will be beheaded as a warning to others."
Liu Bei stood up excitedly, his face With a smile on his face, he was circling around and giving an order: "Also, the governor Chen Deng is allowed to control the local area and act on his own convenience. After the garrison generals are appointed, the troops can be slowly withdrawn."
In fact, the term "slowly withdraw the troops" is Perfunctory Xu Zhuan.
In the original plan, after taking down Zang Ba, as long as there was still strength left, Xiao Jian would be wiped out as well.
In less than half a month, Zang Ba has surrendered in Kaicheng. The Xuzhou Army has suffered less than two thousand casualties and has not even experienced a fierce battle. Naturally, there is no need to worry about the division's fatigue and lack of troops.
Xiao Jian is already in the bag and will definitely not let it go.
But if Xu Qiu finds out, the other party will definitely oppose it and even break up with Liu Bei.
Xu Qiu did not think about Xiao Jian's problem at this time. In fact, the Langya prefect was too unpopular and could not even enter the county administration. It was indeed easy to be ignored.
That night, Liu Bei held a banquet with his ministers and reported the news of Chen Deng's victory.
It turns out that there were some people in Tancheng who said strange things behind their backs and were not optimistic about the outcome of Liu Bei's Northern Expedition to Zang Ba. Some people even hinted that Liu Bei was militaristic.
This is normal. Liu Bei and his son are engaged in farming, but they have not allocated any resources to the powerful nobles of the East China Sea. How can these people feel comfortable?
But these people couldn't do anything to Liu Bei and his son, and they could only say small things behind their backs.
These people never dreamed that Zang Ba could not hold out for even half a month. Back then, Zang Ba defeated hundreds of thousands of Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army. This was a real military achievement. It was better than the Danyang soldiers who relied on the reputation of their ancestors. The so-called strong soldiers who came out were much stronger.
In addition, Kaiyang is easy to defend and difficult to attack, so the Taishan Army has been in power for several years and can be considered deeply entrenched.
Is this Liu Bei so good at fighting?
For whatever reason, Kaiyang has been defeated, Taishan's army has surrendered, and even Zang Ba himself is on the way to Tancheng with his brothers and sons.
Before, several small families went to see Xu Xuan, accusing Liu Feng of interfering in county affairs and killing people without reason.
In fact, they wanted to accuse Liu Feng of doing evil and killing officials and rebelling.
It's a pity that Liu Feng's father is Liu Bei, who is currently the governor of Xuzhou.
This is also the reason why Liu Feng took action for Lu Su to clean up the insects.
Liu Feng is still young, and his father is the master, so even if there is a slight stigma, it will dissipate quickly.
But Lu Su is different. Not to mention he chopped off thirty-six heads in one breath, even if he only chopped off half, he would have been drowned in saliva. The person who impeached him would be Liu Feng. Dozens of times, the powerful nobles of Tancheng would work together to oust Lu Su so that they could replace him with one of their own.
With the opening of the city in Kaiyang and the news that Zang Ba had asked to surrender, the wind direction in Tancheng changed drastically in an instant.
All the news that Qi Mimi had slandered Liu Feng was wiped out, leaving only the praise of Liu Bei and sour jealousy. Kaiyang was only a few dozen miles away from Tancheng, and Zang Ba arrived at Tancheng at noon on the fourth day.
Contrary to the possible scolding and humiliation as imagined, Liu Bei not only did not treat him harshly in the slightest, he even acted very kindly.
On the day Zang Ba arrived in Tancheng, Liu Bei not only did not hold any ceremony to present prisoners, but instead followed him in a light carriage with Mi Zhu, Xu Wei, Liu Ye and others outside the city gate to greet him.
Zang Ba was caught off guard. When he was told that Liu Bei had personally greeted him outside the city gate, he was still confused.
Frightened by this, I woke up with a jolt and hurriedly got out of the car.
For Zang Ba, Chen Deng also treated him with courtesy, not to mention shackles and other shackles, and even used high-quality carriages and horses.
People in other carriages also received the message, such as brothers Zang Ai, Sun Guan, Sun Kang, Wu Dun, Yin Li, Chang Xi and others all got off the carriage.
As soon as Zang Ba got off the carriage, he saw that Liu Bei was almost walking to the carriage. He suddenly panicked and hurriedly knelt down on the ground. For a moment, his mind was a little empty and he didn't know what to say.
But Liu Bei looked friendly and smiling, took two steps forward, took Zang Ba's hand, helped him up, and said with a warm smile: "Xuan Gao, why is it so late? ”
Zang Bahu's body trembled and his eyes turned red.
He thought about many possibilities, but he never thought that Liu Bei would treat him well.
Being in a different place, he thought he would not bring any good results to Liu Bei, but Liu Bei treated him like a guest, which made Zang Ba feel ashamed and ashamed.
Zang Ba paused and blamed himself: "Ba, I am ashamed of Ming Gong! I am ashamed of Xuzhou elders."
"Hey!"
Liu Bei squatted down, put his arms around Zang Ba's shoulders, and dragged Zang Ba up again, who was about to kneel down and repent: "Xuan Gao, Bei once heard someone say that a man who is a real man has gold at his knees, how can he kneel down so easily? . Bei Zhongxuan Gao is a hero, treat him with the courtesy of a hero, Xuan Gao must not belittle himself."
Zang Ba was really moved by Liu Bei, and burst into tears, feeling that he was the old man. Lard is blinded.
Liu Bei is such a hero and refuses to surrender, so he hooks up with Yuan Shu for the mere position of Langya County Governor.
With Liu Bei being so heroic and treating the defeated generals with such high regard, if he could have led the Taishan army to raise Kaiyang to surrender a few months ago, would he be afraid that the governor of the country without two thousand stones would be left in vain?
The surrounding generals also felt sad in their hearts, with a look of shame on their faces.
Don't brag or be slanderous, the moral bottom line of this group of people is quite good compared to many people in troubled times.
They appease the local area, encourage production, and relieve the people, so that Qing and Xuzhou can leave a very good foundation for Cao Wei in the future. It is true that their ultimate goal is to rule and separatize the place for themselves, but they cannot Deny it, they are far better than many people from famous families.
Take Xuzhou as an example. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xuzhou had five counties, 470,000 households, and a population of 2.8 million.
Throughout the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao destroyed the two counties of Pengcheng and Guangling. Xiapi and Donghai were smashed, Langya was half disabled, and the remaining population was less than 100,000.
But after twenty years of recuperation, Zang Ba restored Xuzhou, which was missing one Guangling, to a population of 82,000 households and a population of 550,000. (Guangling County had become a no-man’s land at that time.)
If we compare it with Yanzhou and Yuzhou next door, Xuzhou's recovery speed is basically more than twice that of other states.
It can be seen that Zang Ba and others have put in hard work and excellent political performance.
Besides being ashamed, many of the generals of the Taishan Army were relieved. Who was not worried about what would happen to them along the way? But looking at it now, it was only because of Liu Bei's words and deeds that he valued Zang Ba. , everyone should have a good result.
I saw a sudden change in the scene. Zang Ba gently broke away from Liu Bei. In the eyes of Liu Bei and everyone, who were a little surprised, he pushed the golden mountain and poured the jade pillar, saluted Liu Bei, and said loudly To: "Ming Gong does not care about past grievances, and treats Ba Ba as a mountain of kindness! Ba has no repayment. From now on, I recognize Ming Gong and am willing to die for Ming Gong!"
Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this, and felt that he had finally received it. Zang Ba was worried, so he hurried forward to help him up for the third time, holding Zang Ba's hand and comforting him harmoniously: "Xuan Gao, why are you doing this? I know all your intentions, and I will not let you down."
Liu Bei's statement made Zang Ba and all the Taishan generals calm down and no longer have random thoughts.
If Liu Bei really wanted to kill them, he would not do something like this. It would only make people think that Liu Bei went back on his word and the gain outweighed the loss.
Subsequently, Liu Bei announced that a banquet had been set up for Zang Ba and others in the state capital to wash away the dust.
So, everyone who felt relaxed followed Liu Bei into the city for the banquet.
During the banquet, Liu Bei noticed that Zang Ba was depressed, so he took the initiative to get up and carry it to Zang Ba's side.
"Xuan Gao, but the drinks and food are not to your taste?"
Zang Ba looked up and saw Liu Bei, and hurriedly left the table, but was held down by Liu Bei.
Following this, Liu Bei sat down without any etiquette, as if he were dining with Zang Ba.
Zang Ba shook his head and sighed: "The naked eyes of Ba mortals cannot recognize heroes. They are like the frog at the bottom of the well. They sit in the well and look at the sky, thinking that the heaven and earth are so vast. If you had known the power of Ming Gong, Even if Ba Dang can raise his flag and surrender, Zang Ba’s words came from the bottom of his heart. He looked down on Liu Bei before, but now he feels ashamed.
He really didn't expect that the Liu family and his son would even be aware of such a secret thing about Yuan Shu. God knows how the other party did it. It must be Yuan Shu who leaked the news.
After all, he didn’t even tell his biological son Zang Ai, his sworn brothers Sun Kang, Sun Guan and others.
"Why did Xuan Gao say this?"
Liu Bei squeezed Zang Ba's palm tightly, nodded with his right hand holding the wine glass, and then pointed to himself: "Xuan Gao can I once knew that I had heard about Xuan Gao's name for a long time, and I just regretted not being able to meet him. Today, I finally got my wish, but I felt wronged by Xuan Gao."
Zang Ba was inexplicably panicked, and he bowed down in a panic. : "My humble name is not enough for Ming Gong to care about, let alone feel grievances. This time Ming Gong's heavenly soldiers descended on me, Ba Ru woke up from his dream. From now on, I am willing to work hard for Ming Gong to atone for the sin of disrespect in the past. ! ”
Liu Bei laughed heartily and lifted Zang Ba up with one hand: "Xuan Gao, why do you say this?"
"Xuan Gao, in my heart, is a hero in the world. A hero has integrity in his chest. , how can you be a mediocre and inactive master?"
At this point, Liu Bei held Zang Ba down and wanted to defend himself, and continued: "Xuan Gaoyan didn't know me as a hero in the past, but he didn't know. I have heard about Xuangao's name for a long time. Last year, I went south from Qingzhou to aid Xu and passed through Kaiyang. I also received help from Xuangao in grain, grass and weapons.
Subsequently, Liu Bei also spoke sincerely and honestly: "Xuan Gao, you are in Kaiyang, making Bei sit on pins and needles in Tancheng, day and night. If you don't invite Xuan Gao first, Bei, the Xuzhou pastor, will accomplish nothing, even protect the territory. It is also a delusion to calm the people. Therefore, we have to send troops to the north and invite Xuang Gao to Tancheng as a guest."
"I am not happy to win Langya, but I am happy to win Xuang Gao."
< br>
Liu Bei looked at Zang Ba affectionately, raised his glass and said: "Xuan Gao, I'm going to toast you. The past is like the wind, let's forget about it. From today on, I hope that my king and ministers will start well and end well. Is that okay?"
Zang Ba was impressed in his heart and felt that what he just said was indeed correct.
Ba’s naked eyes really couldn’t see Liu Bei, the true hero.
What Liu Bei said was sincere, coupled with his tolerance and magnanimity, it was really heartbreaking.
Zang Ba immediately bowed his head and bowed, and swore and swore: "Being righteous and kind, and trusting people with all their heart, Baan Ba will be safe and will not surrender to death!"
Liu Bei was overjoyed. He helped Zang Ba and drank with him. Then he directly pulled him back to his seat and sat down with Zang Ba.
Brothers Chang Xi, Sun Kang, Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others who had been paying attention here were all overjoyed when they saw this scene. If even Zang Ba got a good result, then Wouldn’t it be even less likely that their followers would be punished?
Chang Xi and others discussed in a low voice for a few words, then left the table together, walked to the hall, bowed to Liu Bei, and then said in unison: "We don't know what Uncle Fang is capable of, and we stubbornly resist. It's a crime." He deserves to die, but fortunately Uncle Fang will not give up. From now on, I am willing to die for Uncle Fang!"
When Zang Ba saw it, he also hurriedly left the table and prostrated: "Heaven and earth can learn from each other, and I am willing to join you in the same! "I will die for Uncle Fang."
Liu Bei stood up and shouted warmly: "Why do you need to do this? Please get up first. If you can help me, you will be able to protect your hometown and stabilize Xuzhou!"
"Prepare this thin wine and drink it with all of you. From now on, we will never let you down!"
"Thank you, Uncle Fang!"
It's night, let's have fun with everyone.
Liu Bei and all the generals on Mount Tai were all drunk, without exception.
(End of this chapter)