"Now that we have formed an alliance, we promise to return to our good deeds, share disasters and sympathize with each other, and share weal and woe." [Book of Wei·Biography of Xu Qian]
After Xiao Jian left, Zang Ba sat in the tent and thought for a while, then slammed the table and shouted outside: "Lu'er!"
One of the four or five brothers who gathered together with Zang Ba to revolt, Yin Li, who is still with him now, came in. 'Lu'er' was exactly the alias he had used. Only in private, the closest people could
Call him face to face. When Yin Li entered the tent and saw Zang Ba alone, he was puzzled. He clasped his fists and asked, "Xuan Gao, then Xiao Jian left? Why didn't you keep him?"
"He is the envoy of King Langxie and the Kaiyang Order of the imperial court. Why should I keep him?" Zang Ba glanced at Yin Li displeased, waved his hand for him to sit down, and said softly: "Yingzi and Annu kept it secret.
How much do you know about what I'm doing?"
Yingzi and Annu are the aliases of Sun Guan and Wu Dun. The four of them deliberately concealed their real names when they were living as bandits and called each other by their code names. After being recruited by Tao Qian and transformed into officers and soldiers, they all
The original name was used again. This time Zang Ba mentioned the name of the thief from Luocao again, obviously he was dissatisfied with them.
Yin Li belatedly noticed Zang Ba's displeased attitude. He hesitated for a moment and then said frankly: "Sun Zhongtai and the others have come to see me in private. Now that Tao Shijun is gone, we hold military power and are powerful.
Taishan, why can't we stand on our own, why should we live under Liu Bei's tent? Now Langye Kingdom is in our hands, and Taishan County is where our family business is, and Liu Bei is still in Huainan to resist Yuan Shu, so we have no time to care about him, as long as we
If brothers work together and join forces, they will not have to worry about Xuzhou."
"So they want to borrow Lu Bu's foreign troops?" Zang Ba said coldly: "Since I have already said that Langxie is in my hands, why do they kill people along the way and harm the people? In the final analysis, Chang Xi and his group still haven't given up on the bandits.
What a character! If a general is like this, his army will be prosperous for a while, but how can it last for a long time?"
"Xuan Gao, among the brothers, you have always been wise and far-sighted." Zang Ba once had a life-saving favor for Yin Li, so although Yin Li was tempted at first, he never agreed to work with Sun Guan, Wu Dun and others.
Although he didn't understand why Zang Ba was impatient, he still subconsciously assumed that the other party was following his lead: "Sun Zhongtai and the others started a fight without telling you and I. It is true that they don't treat us as brothers, let alone you! At the beginning, Xuan Gao was recommended as the leader.
They have completely forgotten your oath! Now whether it is war or peace, I, Yin Luer, will listen to you!"
Yes, they killed first and then reported, leaving themselves passive. Why should they care about the friendship back then? What's more, regardless of what Sun Guan and Wu Dun think, Chang Xi has always coveted the position of his leader for a long time, so this time is inevitable
It was due to his instigation. If he didn't fight a ruthless battle to re-establish his authority in the minds of everyone and let them know who was the leader in Langye and Mount Tai; even if he went to join the rebellion now, they would still be
If you regard yourself as the master, you will be despised in private.
Zang Ba's thoughts changed rapidly, and he quickly made up his mind: "Go into the city immediately, tell King Langxie, the Prime Minister, and the Kaiyang Order that I will mobilize troops to attack Changxi and ask them to provide food, grass, money, and silk."
.In addition, I need the Prime Minister to send county troops to my disposal. This is for the sake of the peace of Langxie country. They must not be stingy!"
After Xiao Jian learned of Zang Ba's decision, he immediately informed Liu Xi. At this time, the country's county soldiers were completely in the hands of Prime Minister Yin De. Zang Ba proposed to subdue the county soldiers, which did not cause any loss to Liu Xi. Liu Xi readily agreed.
In addition, Xiao Jian made another suggestion to Liu Xi: to betroth Liu Xi's daughter, Lord Yunting, to Zang Ai, Zang Ba's son.
In the Han Dynasty, the emperor's daughters were all county princesses, and the daughters of princes and kings were all township princesses and ting princesses. Liu Xicai succeeded to the throne not long ago, and he was young and had only one daughter. When he was named King Langxie last year
He was made the Lord of Yunting by Da Honglu and Zhou Huan, and he would only choose a date to be named the head of the village when he came of age and discussed marriage.
"Master Yunting is only five years old!" Liu Xi's fair face turned red, like an offended beast. His daughter was at his father's knees at the age where she was usually the apple of his eye. How could he be so easily betrothed to someone:
"Zang Xuangao's son is only four years old. You are too eager to mention this now!"
"It's called marriage, but it's actually an alliance." Xiao Jian looked at Liu Xi without fear and said calmly: "Your Highness can only befriend Zang Ba now and rely on him to stabilize Langxie and draw support. If it weren't for
What can His Highness do to win over them through marriage? What is more, Zang Xuangao must show his attitude at the moment. Whether he respects His Highness or regards His Highness as a friend depends on whether he is willing to accept this marriage.
."
Liu Xi took a deep breath, and after weighing the pros and cons, he was finally able to control his emotions. Xiao Jian was right. Zang Ba was asking for help from him at this time, so he could take the opportunity to propose measures to subjugate him, but
"How do you know that Zang Xuangao won't get angry because of this, lead his troops to back me, and conspire with Chang Xi and others?"
Xiao Jian replied softly: "If we want to collude, they have already agreed to raise an army together. How come Zang Ba still didn't know about it after Chang Xi and others raised an army? And when I went out of the city to lobby Zang Ba, I tried many times with words.
, knowing that he has resentment in his heart, it can be seen that this battle is inevitable. Zang Ba can only fight Chang Xi with the support of Langye Kingdom, so I think that they will probably agree if they review the current situation."
Zang Ba has always been tacit about King Langxie's ambitions and his frequent overtures to him recently, and has not expressed his position for a long time. Now, firstly, it is to ensure the supply of food and grass in the rear when he attacks Sun Guan, and secondly, because of the rebellion of Chang Xi and others
This deeply stimulated him and made him understand that he needed stronger strength to suppress his subordinates and get a share of the subsequent turmoil in Xuzhou.
The Langye Kingdom can be regarded as a prosperous and stable country in Xuzhou. The royal family has won the hearts of the people. The Langye King Liu Xitian is not an incompetent person...
All kinds of factors made Zang Ba feel that in this chaotic world, it would not be a bad thing to get closer to King Langxie, as long as he made other plans at the last moment when he met.
Therefore, when faced with Liu Xi's request, Zang Ba immediately agreed. However, as a result, Yin De, the Prime Minister of Langye State, was not happy.
He sensed the hidden ambition of King Langxie and believed that as the prime minister of the country, he had the responsibility of Kuangbi, so he excitedly went to the palace and asked, "Does Your Highness want to imitate Liu Penzi?"
Before Liu Xi could react, the panting Yin De continued: "Liu Penzi had Fan Chong leading 300,000 troops to support him, so he dared to form an army and proclaim himself emperor. Now Zang Ba can only have more than 10,000 troops, and there are prosperous people in the country, such as Sun Guanzhi.
When chaos is not yet settled, why dare you risk serious disobedience?"
"The Prime Minister's words are serious, but the boy's morals are poor. Even the throne is difficult for him to occupy. How dare he go beyond that and offend the honorable position?" Liu Xi's eyes were as sinister as those of a fighting cock, and he seemed a little timid. He spoke softly and slowly.
He said tactfully: "I don't know where the Prime Minister heard such nonsense, and he dared to slander the royal family. The Prime Minister must investigate and deal with it seriously!"