Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Of course, Zang Ba led his troops to station in Kaiyang, Langya State.

However, adhering to the principle of "a rabbit does not eat grass near its burrow", Zang Ba did not plunder in Xuzhou, but instead plundered in the nearby Taishan County of Yanzhou, and thus earned the name of Taishan Bandit.

In essence, Zang Ba was not greedy for money or power, but maintaining an army required a large amount of money and food.

In the early days, Zang Ba led Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others to make contributions in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but he fell out with his superiors, thus cutting off their supply of money and food.

In order to maintain money and food, Zang Ba could also lead his troops to become bandits, occupying a place in Kaiyang and then plundering the powerful in Taishan County to support his troops.

However, Zang Ba knew that this was not a long-term solution.

Different from Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others who only seek momentary happiness, Zang Ba knows clearly that in this chaotic world, sooner or later there will be no room for the Taishan bandits to survive.

Tao Qian was weak and Yanzhou was without a master, which allowed the Taishan bandits to occupy Kaiyang and plunder Taishan, and they barely lived a happy life for a few years.

But with the rise of Liu Bei and the Yuan family, can the existence of the gap still be tolerated?

And if Zang Ba was asked to choose between Yuan and Liu Bei, he would undoubtedly prefer Liu Bei.

Without him.

Zang Ba knew very well that Yuan's family did not value his background.

In contrast, Liu Bei was not only well-known for his benevolence and virtue, but also had the clan responsibility of supporting the Han Dynasty. Moreover, many of Liu Bei's civil and military officials came from grassroots backgrounds.

Even someone like Gan Ning, who was born a bandit, was accepted by Liu Bei as a general.

But for the Taishan bandits who were originally thieves, the fierce battle to defend the city has already made them want to retreat.

If Zang Ba had not insisted on defending the city, all these Taishan bandits would have scattered long ago.

After Sun Guan spoke, Wu Dun, Yin Li and Chang Xi also started to persuade him.

"Zhang Fei didn't help defend the city when he came, and he said most of the reinforcements were in the rear, but now it's been five or six days, where are the reinforcements?"

"General, what's the point of fighting for Liu Bei and Tao Qian? It's better to let the brothers plunder the city, then retreat from Pengcheng and go to Taishan County. I don't think Ji Ling will pursue us any further."

"If you keep the green hills, you won't have to worry about running out of firewood."

Faced with the continuous persuasion of a group of generals, Zang Ba frowned and interrupted with a wave of his hand.

"Don't say anything! If you don't know the current situation, you will be a bandit for the rest of your life."

"In order to obtain money and food, we were forced to become bandits for a while, but that is not a long-term solution after all."

"The world is in Yuan and Liu's hands today!"

"Now, as long as we hold on to Pengcheng, with the reputation of Uncle Liu and the wisdom of a national scholar, we will surely be able to repel the attack of Cao and Yuan on Xuzhou. We will also surely be valued by Uncle Liu, and from then on, it is not impossible for us to wash away our identity as thieves and be granted the title of marquis and appointed as a general."

After a pause, Zang Ba sighed and said.

"Besides, even if it's for the sake of our brothers, we have to fight. Being a bandit will always bring you unrest."

"But as long as we are accepted by Uncle Liu, we brothers will have the hope of marrying, having children, and enjoying our old age."

"If we don't fight now, when will we fight again?"

At the end, Zang Ba asked a question in a serious tone, which made Sun Guan and others couldn't help but show their emotions of being moved and ashamed.

In troubled times, big men have their own plans, and small men also have their own ways of survival.

How to survive and how to live better are the considerations of little people.

Zang Ba understood that the Taishan bandits who were ignorant of the current situation and did not understand the general trend and who lived a carefree and happy life for a while would eventually be crushed into dust by this chaotic world.

Now, Liu Bei and Yuan and Cao are fighting for Xuzhou. Although Tao Qian is a useless person, Zang Ba is willing to bet on Liu Bei, believing that with the wisdom of a great man, Liu Bei will definitely be able to take control of Xuzhou in the end.

By then, the Taishan bandits led by Zang Ba will be able to gain Liu Bei's attention by virtue of their contribution in defending Pengcheng, and the Taishan bandits who have a bad reputation will also have a good destination.

This matter had been brewing in Zang Ba's mind for a long time, and he did not want to say it out loud. However, seeing that the morale of the army was shaken, he had no choice but to say it out loud in order to stabilize the hearts of his generals.

However, Chang Xi, one of the four generals under Zang Ba, spoke angrily upon hearing this.

"It's fine if the general intends to be someone else's lackey, but I, Chang Xi, will never do such a thing!"

Chang Xi's reaction not only made Zang Ba frown slightly, but also made Sun Guan and others very puzzled, and they all spoke up.

"Chang Xi, you must not be rude to the general."

"General, what you said makes sense. Emperor Liu is known for his kindness. If we can get him to accept us, he will definitely not treat us unfairly."

"General, your good intentions are for the sake of our brothers. Why are you speaking ill of me?"

……

However, Chang Xi questioned Zang Ba regardless.

"General, do you really want to join Liu Bei?"

"That's right, and Uncle Liu is a benevolent ruler. As long as he accepts us, there will be nothing to worry about." Zang Ba replied.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Chang Xi laughed several times and said.

"In that case, please forgive Chang Xi for not accompanying you any longer! You may believe in the so-called benevolent master, but I, Chang Xi, do not believe in it, and I am even less willing to die here for some long-term plan."

After saying that, Chang Xi led a few trusted followers, completely ignored Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others, and turned away.

Seeing this, Sun Guan whispered.

"General, do you want to stop Chang Xi?"

Hearing this, Zang Ba hesitated and sighed.

"That's all. Everyone has their own aspirations. Chang Xi is used to being free and unrestrained. It's only natural that he doesn't want to be bound by Han laws and military regulations."

Of course, more importantly, Zang Ba knew that Chang Xi had a great influence among the Taishan bandits, and Yuan’s army was still attacking the city.

If troops were dispatched to surround and kill Chang Xi at this moment, Chang Xi's desperate and nonsense remarks would probably cause chaos among the Taishan bandits, and it is not impossible that Pengcheng would be directly captured as a result.

Therefore, whether out of old friendship or for the sake of the overall situation, Zang Ba had no choice but to let Chang Xi leave.

When Chang Xi left, he took hundreds of his trusted men and left through the north gate which was "surrounded on three sides and left with one gate".

Not only did it further reduce the limited number of available troops in Zang Ba's hands, it also caused a stir in the morale of some soldiers.

For this reason, Zang Ba could only lead his personal guards to rush to various city walls frequently, using his personal prestige to stabilize the morale of the army.

However, after learning that a small group of Taishan bandits had evacuated from the north gate, Ji Ling did not pursue Chang Xi. Instead, he realized that the Taishan bandits in Pengcheng had already started internal strife, and immediately continued to intensify the fierce attack on Pengcheng.

Zhang Fei's arrival in Pengcheng made Ji Ling very uneasy. He was so eager to capture Pengcheng that he was not afraid of casualties.

otherwise……

Ji Ling recalled the scene in Jingzhou where Li Jin commanded the army with ease and defeated the Yuzhou army with his inferior force on the front battlefield.

Yuan Shu was not the only one who cast a huge shadow on Li Ji. Didn't Ji Ling also have nightmares because of Li Ji? (End of this chapter)