Liu Bei and Zang Ba had a very speculative conversation.
He promised Zang Ba that as long as Zang Ba could defend Langya and block other troops of the Yuan army, he would submit a letter to the emperor and recommend Zang Ba as the prime minister of Langya.
Zang Ba was originally from Hua County, Taishan. His family was quite wealthy, but his achievements in his career were very limited. Zang Ba's father Zang Jie became a prison officer in the county and was even harmed. Zang Ba was a bandit in the mountains and relied on Tao.
Qian Shi was once called the cavalry commander, but he was not officially appointed by the court. Later, he became a bandit in Langya. Although he controlled many parts of Langya, he had no official identity.
Liu Bei was willing to recommend Zang Ba as the Prime Minister of Langya as Xuzhou's governor. This was a good opportunity for Zang Ba.
From a bandit to two thousand stones, and the chance to be recognized by the court, the reward is very generous and difficult for people to refuse.
Judging from the performance of the past two or three years, although the Han Dynasty lived in the northwest, it won repeatedly and repeatedly, and it might not be destroyed. Although Yuan Shao pacified Gongsun Zan, he was attacked from all sides and might not be able to win. At this time, he would not be able to surrender to the court without losing.
machine.
Zang Ba was very satisfied and patted his chest to assure Liu Bei that he would do his best to defend Langya.
Liu Bei believed in Zang Ba's attitude. Once he won, Langya would be Zang Ba's own territory, and he had no reason not to do his best.
The two parted in joy.
Liu Bei ordered Sun Qian to send Zang Ba on the boat, watched Zang Ba go away, and then let out a long sigh.
"Go back to the city and discuss with Zizhong. Whether it can be successful depends on his attitude."
Jian Yong nodded and agreed, followed Liu Bei down the mountain, turned over and headed straight for Tan County.
If you want to defend Xuzhou, the key is money and food. Only with enough money and food can you recruit people and implement the military training method suggested by Guan Yu.
Xuzhou has not shortage of people for many years of war, which has created a large number of refugees, as well as scattered soldiers and bandits with experience in combat as long as they have money and food.
Mi Zhu is a big businessman in the East China Sea, and his family has tens of thousands of dollars. As long as Mi Zhu is willing to help him with all his strength, Liu Bei can quickly recruit thousands of people and expand his total force to about 30,000. With these 30,000 people, field battles may not be possible.
The city is enough.
Faced with the fierce Yuan Shao, Liu Bei never expected to win in the field. He didn't even dare to hope to save Xuzhou, but just wanted to defend a few important cities so that Yuan Shao could not move forward easily.
In addition to Kaiyang, the capital of Langya County, Liu Bei chose Pengcheng and Pei County, while Chen Deng was responsible for the south in case of accidents.
Zhang Fei has led 10,000 infantry and cavalry to Pei County for defense.
The ten thousand insurgents were the only power Liu Bei had at hand, and the rest were some mobs, which should not be of great use. Therefore, he urgently needed Mi Zhu's help in order to have enough troops to defend Pengcheng.
After returning to Tan County, getting off the horse, Liu Bei went straight to the lobby.
"Have Mi Zizhong arrived?"
Liu Yan, an engaged person, came. "I have contacted him, I should have arrived, but for some reason I haven't arrived yet. I'll send someone to invite him."
Liu Bei's heart tightened.
If Mi Zhu doesn’t come, he won’t regret it.
It is normal for Mi Zhu to regret it. Facing Cao Cao, he may still have a glimmer of hope. Facing Yuan Shao, he has no chance to win. Mi Zhu's family has great business and cannot help but consider the survival of the family, and there is no need to follow him to fight to the death.
.
"Wait." Liu Bei called Liu Yan and sighed. "A gentleman should not force others to do anything."
Liu Yan's eyes darkened and he didn't say anything more.
Jian Yong also sighed and shook his sleeves.
"Encourt." There was a sound of footsteps outside, and Mi Fang walked in with great strides and bowed to Liu Bei. "You are back, how are you talking to Zang Ba?"
"It's still going well." Liu Bei looked at Mi Fang, and saw Mi Fang's calm expression, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart. "Where is Zi Zhong?"
"He went to visit Wang Lang and Wang Jingxing."
"Wang Jingxing?" Liu Bei was surprised and happy. "Have he returned to Tan County?"
"Yes, my brother rushed over immediately as soon as he received the news." Mi Fang explained. "The matter is urgent. My brother is worried that the envoy will wait for a long time, so he asked me to inform me first. Wang Jingxing had just returned home, so there might be more visitors.
, It is not clear whether you can see it or not, and when will it be seen, so please wait patiently."
Liu Bei laughed and took Mi Fang to the hall. "As long as Zi Zhong can come, it doesn't matter how long it will take."
Mi Zhu was so dedicated, so naturally he did not regret it. If Mi Zhu could invite Wang Lang, he would be even more confident. Wang Lang was a famous scholar in the East China Sea and even the entire Xuzhou. He was once a Tao Qian's ruling school and was very helpful to Tao Qian's governance of Xuzhou.
"Uncle Zi, this battle is extraordinary. I hope Xian Kunzhong will help you." Liu Bei said sincerely.
"Don't worry, I, Mi, are willing to help you."
"Take it seriously?" Liu Bei was both surprised and happy.
He hoped to get help from the Mi brothers, but he did not dare to expect the Mi brothers to help him. Mi Fang's promise was much beyond his expectations.
Mi Fang was very satisfied with Liu Bei's reaction, but didn't say anything else, just nodded solemnly.
Liu Bei didn't ask much, so he had to wait patiently.
He was in a state of great concern. He didn't know if Mi Zhu could meet Wang Lang successfully and if he could ask Wang Lang for help. However, there was no slight turmoil on his face. He still looked like he was full of feet and discussed the war with Mi Fang.
.
Mi Zhu, although Mi Fang was a businessman, she was skilled in bows and horses. Mi Fang even had the experience of fighting bandits with her troops. However, when Tao Qian was a member of Xuzhou, she did not attach much importance to their brothers, nor did she give Mi Fang more.
Opportunity.
"Uncle Zi, please take charge of the guards for me." Liu Bei said.
"Me?" Mi Fang's personal ability is reasonable, but her experience in commanding the cavalry was blank. Liu Bei asked him to take charge of the guards, which made him frightened. "Thank you for your trust, but... I'm afraid I'm not able to do it."
"Learn slowly." Liu Bei said. "There is no thing in the world that you can do without learning. The same is true for the horse and horseman. As long as you are willing to learn, you can always learn it. Besides, Yuan Shao comes to attack and we will defend the city.
The cavalry only needs to follow me to inspect, and there will not be many opportunities for direct confrontation."
While talking, Liu Bei remembered Zhao Yun.
Mi Fang is indeed not a qualified personal guard cavalry general, but he has no more choice.
Zhao Yun went to the street and was entrusted by the emperor with an important task. Guan Yu was also far away from Hedong and was the commander of Jiguan. The only general around him was Zhang Fei, who now shouldered the important task of sticking to Pei County and had no time to do so.
He cares.
After thinking about it, only Mi Fang could use it. It would be easier to let Mi Fang take charge of the guards in the future.
When Liu Bei thought of the war horses, he felt a little regretful. Yuan Shao occupied Jizhou and cut off his source of war horses. The strength of the cavalry was increasing. If he wanted to get the war horses, he could only purchase them from Bingliang. Not only did the journey be long, but he was also under the imperial court.
control.
It would have been great if he had already paid tribute to the court. Cao Cao had paid tribute to the court early because of his gifts. He received support from the court, with sufficient supply of war horses and strong cavalry, which is enviable.
Maybe we should contact Cao Cao and ask him to send troops to support him and deal with Yuan Shao together.
But... I can't open my mouth. Not only did he be incompatible with Cao Cao, but Xuzhou also hated Cao Cao deeply. Any open contact may arouse fierce opposition from Xuzhou people.