Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 804: Undecided

Zang Ba was currently in his camp outside Qu City, summoning his generals to discuss matters.

He is a native of Huaxian County, Taishan County, and has been famous for his bravery since he was a child. His father was a county jailer. Because he adhered to the law and prevented the eunuch from killing prisoners privately, he was imprisoned by the eunuch for questioning.

Zang Ba, who was only 18 years old at the time, heard about it and gathered a dozen of his family's diners. They went to the prison, defeated hundreds of jailers, rescued his father, killed the prefect, and then took refuge in Donghai County, where he became famous for a while.

Later, Zang Ba defected to Tao Qian during the Yellow Turban Uprising, defeated the Yellow Turban Army many times, and was worshiped as the Cavalry Captain. Later Zang Ba withdrew his troops in Xuzhou, recruited Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others, and made himself the commander-in-chief, separatist power. , was called a Taishan thief by the people of the time.

In later generations, after Cao Cao captured Qingxu, Zang Ba defected to Cao Cao. He had a transcendent status and was granted 3,000 households. He was among the top officials in the Wei State. The territories under his rule had a transcendent status in the Wei State, similar to that of Zang Ba. A vassal-like existence.

And this experience in Zang Ba was a typical example of the government forcing the people to rebel and then successfully laundering them. But having said that, county officials who can afford to feed customers are quite similar to Song Jiang later. Among civilians and underworld, Among them, I am more inclined to the latter.

At present, most of his generals have arrived, except for Wu Dun, who was killed by Yuan Xi when he entered the Yellow River westward.

Zang Ba said: "The spies have come to report that a large number of ships have arrived in Haixi City, and more than ten thousand people have crossed the Huai River and entered Qu City. It is obvious that their intentions are against me. What can they do?"

The generals looked at each other. They came to fight against the East China Sea, nominally in the name of Yuan Tan, but in fact they were just showing off and no one wanted to sacrifice their lives.

Wu Dun's death shocked all the generals. They knew that Xiu Hu was someone they couldn't mess with. If he messed with him, there was a real possibility that he would die without a complete body!

But at this time, no one dared to suggest a retreat, lest others suspect their position. The generals were silent for a moment, and Sun Guan came out first and said: "Leader, the enemy army is powerful and ferocious and cunning, so you need to be careful."

Yin Li laughed and said: "Brother Sun must be the first to ascend in every battle, and his bravery is the first among us. Why is he so timid afterward?"

"If we retreat, how will we explain to Yuan Qingzhou?"

Sun Guan snorted coldly, "General Yin has also seen it. The fierce tiger has been on the battlefield in the past two years. Although we are strong, are we stronger than Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, or Jiangdong?"

"I am advising the leader to be careful. No matter what the outcome of the battle, we must first protect ourselves and retreat. Otherwise, if we work hard for Yuan Qingzhou, if the war goes against him, will he come to rescue us?"

Everyone agreed in their hearts. Yuan Tan is plotting against Jizhou now. How can he control them?

Yin Li hesitated and said, "But if we retreat without fighting, we might harm Chang Xi who is in Pengcheng Kingdom."

Chang Xi was also from Taishan County, and his power was slightly weaker than Zang Ba's. Although he joined Zang Ba, his status was different from that of the generals, so he led his own army. Now he was ordered to attack Pengcheng Kingdom, echoing Zang Ba's army on the border of Langya's East China Sea.

Sun Guan sneered and said, "You should know what Chang Xi thinks."

"It's not that I'm afraid of fighting, but I don't want to risk the lives of my brothers by fighting. If the leader really wants to fight, I will ask to be the vanguard and have a chance to fight against the ferocious general!"

Zang Ba thought about it, and he naturally understood what Sun Guan said, because since Yuan Tan took refuge with Cao Cao, Chang Xi's attitude was very ambiguous.

The same goes for Zang Ba, because he and Chang Xin are both from Taishan County, and their hometowns are in the Fei County area of ​​Hua County, which was the place where Cao Cao massacred him twice.

There was no conflict in the two people's hearts when it came to joining Yuan Tan, but suddenly they became Cao Cao's generals. For the sake of all his subordinates, Zang Ba pinched his nose and admitted it, but Chang Xi was a stubborn person. Are you convinced?

He pointed his finger on the table. Cao Cao's two massacres of Xuzhou were all carried out from Taishan County in Qingzhou. Everywhere where the soldiers went, there was no life left. Most of the people who were born in Taishan County died. This kind of thing cannot be forgotten.

At this time, Sun Guan expressed Zang Ba's concerns, and he said: "I think Chang En will rebel in the future."

"He was born in Taishan County and has a family feud. How could he be willing to be subordinate to Cao Cao?"

Yin Li said disapprovingly: "What's wrong with Taishan County? Isn't it just that people died in battles?"

"In this world, one is an enemy today and a peer tomorrow. Is this kind of thing rare enough?"

"If nothing else, isn't Yu Jin, a fellow from Changxi, also serving as a general under Cao Cao?"

"In these two wars, his people also died a lot, right?"

"Cheng Yu is still using fellow villagers to make preserved human meat in Dong'a. It would be good to save his own life at that time. Is it possible that you have the ability to save them all?"

Sun Guan raised his eyebrows after hearing this, and was about to get angry when Zang Ba said: "What I want you to discuss now is how to deal with the reinforcements coming from Haixi."

"We have been here for a long time, and the food and grass for 20,000 people is not a small amount. We have almost eaten all the local food, and we can't even grab it."

"The opponent must be much better prepared than us. Even if we can block it once, can we block it the next time?"

"When all the food and grass are gone, how long can we hold back? I'm afraid we won't be able to leave!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals knew that Zang Ba had intended to retreat, and they all bowed and said, "But it depends on the leader's orders."

Zang Ba spoke up: "It is not good to retreat without fighting, and if we retreat like this, the other side will inevitably pursue us, and the losses will be unpredictable."

"After you all go back, pack your baggage first and prepare to retreat at any time." "Tomorrow I will meet with Yuan Xijun for a while, and then decide whether to advance or retreat based on his reaction."

Yin Li said: "Over there at Changxi..."

Zang Ba waved his hand and said: "Send him a message and ask him to prepare to retreat from Yanzhou to Mount Tai."

After the generals retreated, Zang Ba finished handling military affairs and looked at the darkening sky. He walked all the way to the gate of the camp, climbed up the wooden building, and stared at Qucheng in the distance with squinted eyes.

The wall of Qu City was not high, and Zang Ba also made several tentative attacks. Even facing Zang Hong, who was famous for defending the city, Zang Ba thought that if he attacked the city with all his strength, he would have a good chance of breaking through the city.

The price is that at least half of the 20,000 soldiers will be killed or injured, and then how can I cross the Huai River and continue south?

Zang Ba suspected that he was Yuan Tan's abandoned son, and what his opponent wanted from beginning to end was Jizhou. In fact, Yuan Tan himself didn't have the confidence to face the fierce tiger at all, so he wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife, right?

Thinking of this, Zang Ba suddenly smelled a faint smell of danger. Calculating the size of those fleets, they could indeed transport tens of thousands of soldiers, but...

He always felt something was wrong, so he immediately turned back to the camp to find the spies who had inquired about the military situation during the day. As soon as he entered the camp, a soldier came forward and said that a messenger had arrived in Qucheng and delivered a letter written by Fierce Tiger.

After hearing this, Zang Ba quickly opened the letter to see what Yuan Xi had written.

The letter didn't say much, but it was very organized.

First of all, Yuan Xi said that he understood Zang Ba's experience and deeply understood that he had become a bandit. He said that he was forced by corrupt officials and had no choice but to do evil things. He was different from those who had always done evil.

Moreover, although Zang Ba occupied the mountain and became the king, his reputation was not obvious. He was obviously concerned about the friendship between his fellow villagers in Qingzhou, which shows that he was a man who valued affection and righteousness.

Zang Ba saw it, and he was also relieved. After all, Yuan Xi was now famous all over the world, and he felt a little proud to be recognized by him.

But then Yuan Xi changed the topic and said that Zang Ba's biggest shortcoming was that he didn't know people well.

First, he took refuge with Tao Qian and relied on Yuan Shu. As a result, Yuan Shu rebelled, leaving Zang Ba with no way to retreat. Later, although he joined the Yuan family, he failed to cut off from the Yuan family in time after Yuan Tan betrayed the Yuan family. The situation has turned into an enemy of the Yuan family.

Now he has become a subordinate of Cao Cao in Ertu Taishan County, working for the enemy who massacred his relatives. The original name of Zang Ba, a righteous thief, is no longer worthy of the name, which is really disappointing.

In the end, Yuan Xi persuaded Zang Ba to rein in his horse and surrender. If Zang Ba could surrender voluntarily, the previous things would be forgotten, and Yuan Xi could still get a name for Zang Ba.

But if Zang Ba persists in his stubbornness, Yuan Xi won't mind having a big battle with him. We will see the truth on the battlefield. When the time comes, the sword will be smokeless, and the consequences will be difficult to predict.

Finally, Yuan Xi gave a time and asked Zang Ba to reply before noon tomorrow.

When Zang Ba saw this, his heart tightened. Why was he given so little time?

He quickly sent people to call back the generals from all over the camp. At this time, the spies from the daytime also came over. Zang Ba didn't talk nonsense when he saw it, and went straight to the point: "Let me ask you, the fierce tiger who crossed the river from Haixi to Qucheng during the day Soldier, can you see it with your own eyes?"

The spy answered honestly: "It is indeed the villain who saw it with his own eyes. The villain was hiding on the big tree next to Qucheng Avenue. He was very well hidden. He saw soldiers passing by for several miles until they all passed. I just took a chance and slipped back."

Zang Ba spoke up: "Can you identify clearly, where are those soldiers from?"

The spy tried hard to remember. He thought for a while and then said: "According to what I saw, those people should be Jianghuai soldiers."

Zang Ba was still uneasy, "Are you sure?"

"How can you recognize there are so many people?"

The spy replied: "The good leader learned that the villain has been a spy for a short time. The soldiers under Fierce Tiger are indeed mixed, but their characteristics are also obvious."

"If it were the Youzhou soldiers under his command, their bodies would be larger, but the most obvious feature is that their faces have more weathered color than those of the Jianghuai soldiers."

"Youzhou soldiers have more or less traces of cracked skin on their faces and ears, but there are far fewer of them among Jianghuai soldiers."

"Moreover, the armor systems on both sides are also different. Youzhou produces fine iron, so the armor is relatively thick and heavy. The Jianghuai soldiers are also involved in water warfare, so the armor is lighter."

"Other habits such as gestures and gestures are also different, so only a villain can tell them apart."

At this time, Sun Guan Yinli and others came in. After listening to the spies, Sun Li nodded and said: "He is right. The Youzhou soldiers under Fierce Tiger are all battle-hardened, and their killing aura is much thicker. At the beginning, they Leading the fleet to break through the Yellow River, I have seen it several times at the top of the city, and the characteristics are indeed obvious."

After hearing this, Zang Ba's face became even more ugly and he said, "If this is really the case, we will be in big trouble."

(End of this chapter)