Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 315 The Difficulty of Getting Things Done
"play off?"

Zang Ba was stunned for a moment: "But Tao Qian..."

“It is now late March. Last autumn and winter, Tao Gongzu and Que Xuan took Huaxian and Feixian, and withdrew in December last year. Two months ago, at the end of January this year, Mount Tai was in complete turmoil, and Chang Xi had already proclaimed himself king.”

Liu Bei counted the time on his fingers: "Zhang Kai's troops are few in number. If he is Tao Gongzu's man, how could a lone army linger in Huaxian, plundering and killing thousands, and return safely in such a short time? This man is an inside agent planted by someone else! Let's go... come with me to find Tao Gongzu."

Liu Bei took Zang Ba to find Tao Qian.

After the two sides confronted each other, Tao Qian was dumbfounded: "I did go to Huaxian and take money and grain from the county treasury, but that was last year! Two months ago... two months ago I only ordered Zhang Kai to garrison Langya to guard against the Taishan bandits! I swear to God, I really didn't kill anyone in Huaxian!"

Tao Qian certainly wouldn't kill Zang Ba's relatives, friends, and neighbors. He did rob the Huaxian granary, but he wasn't foolish enough to carry out a massacre. After all, he was after money, not deliberately trying to make an enemy of Zang Ba.

"That was Zhang Kai's deliberate provocation... Where is Zhang Kai now? Is Magistrate Tao willing to slay this scoundrel as a sacrifice to the flag?"

Zang Ba believed Tao Qian's words to some extent, but his hostility was still obvious, so he told Tao Qian to kill Zhang Kai himself.

"After we destroyed Que Xuan a few days ago, I was worried that the Taishan bandits would move east to Langya, so I sent Zhang Kai back to garrison Kaiyang... I will send someone to chase after them right away."

Tao Qian immediately expressed his opinion.

"Xuan Gao, Zilong, you lead the cavalry to pursue them."

Liu Bei frowned, then turned and gave the order.

Zang Ba and Zhao Yun quickly went out.

Liu Bei then turned to Tao Qian: "Lord Tao, you sent Que Xuan to scheme for money and provisions, which allowed Que Xuan to grow powerful and become a target of manipulation. Now you are sending Zhang Kai to Langya... I ask you frankly, what exactly do you want Zhang Kai to do in Kaiyang?"

"...Arrest them..."

Tao Qian remained silent for a while before answering: "To be honest, General Right, I originally sent Zhang Kai to Kaiyang to cultivate land and keep an eye on Zang Xuangao to prevent him from colluding with the Taishan bandits to cause trouble."

"Troop reclamation? Shouldn't it be to collect money and grain from the government treasury?"

Liu Bei sighed: "Go to Kaiyang and let your troops cause chaos, then frame Zang Ba and take Zang Ba's family hostage... Is that what you mean?"

Langya Kaiyang was Zang Ba's base. Tao Qian sent Zhang Kai to Langya at this time, obviously to set Zang Ba up.

After all, Zang Ba's hostility towards Tao Qian was quite obvious, and Tao Qian was not a good-tempered person.

"...General Right, I am also worried that Zang Ba is conspiring with the bandits of Mount Tai to cause trouble..."

Tao Qian was somewhat embarrassed that Liu Bei had seen through his thoughts, but since there was no one else in the tent, he spoke more frankly: "Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and others didn't even put in any effort when fighting Que Xuan, so why would they put in any effort when fighting the Taishan bandits? I do indeed intend to take their families as hostages..."

"If Zhang Kai kills Zang Ba's family, what will you do then?"

Liu Bei stared at Tao Qian, his face darkening with anger: "What if you force Zang Ba to rebel?! You have the will to pacify Xuzhou, yet you use such methods... Tao Gongzu, what will you do if I take your family members as hostages?!"

Tao Qian sighed: "I am wrong... but I also have my difficulties... Xuzhou is a place of constant warfare, with no natural defenses. I can only recruit more troops to be stationed in various places."

"The Danyang soldiers are unruly and cost a lot of money. If we don't reward them with more money and food, there is a risk of mutiny."

“There are many bandits in Xuzhou. They gather their own groups, are unruly, and refuse to pay taxes. I can only let Que Xuan and others eliminate these bandits, otherwise it will be difficult to continue.”

“Zang Ba is not under my command, but his military strength is considerable. All the spoils of Langya Prefecture have been intercepted by him for military supplies…”

"Zhang Chao of Guangling holds his troops and defends himself; Xu Qiu, the Chancellor of Donghai, has a powerful and difficult-to-control clan; Tancheng has been devastated since being plundered; and Pengcheng is inhabited by commoners who still need to replenish their taxes and provisions..."

"I, Tao, am eager to serve my country, but... in the vast Xuzhou region, the only usable place is Xiapi!"

"General Right, tell me... if we don't allow people to obtain additional funds and provisions, if we don't find a way to control the warlords... what can I, Tao, do?"

This was indeed Tao Qian's true feeling, but Liu Bei shook his head upon hearing it.

"Yes, there are difficulties... But... the Emperor only has Qingzhou as his territory. Is it difficult for the Emperor? I only have two prefectures as my territory. Is it difficult for me? Have I ever allowed my troops to plunder? Have I ever kidnapped people's relatives?"

Liu Bei's tone had become rather cold: "Tao Gongzu, if you're truly dedicated to serving the country, stop complaining and blaming others. Wanting to achieve everything at once, and expecting everything to go smoothly... there's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Tao Qian remained silent, his old face showing a hint of dejection: "Right General... I am already fifty-eight years old. I know some things cannot be rushed, but I have made too many enemies, and my son is rather cowardly..."

Liu Bei also sighed.

Yes, Tao Qian is getting old.

Sometimes, some people are not incapable of doing things, but they feel that they are not going to live long enough, so they try to achieve the best possible outcome before they die by any means necessary, but often things don't go as planned.

Tao Qian was still in power at this time, but if he died, those he had offended would surely make things difficult for his children.

He was indeed eager to take on the task, but he also wanted to eliminate those potential threats.

There were indeed reasons why Que Xuan was allowed to purge the clans he had offended, Zhang Kai was allowed to frame Zang Ba, or other underhanded methods were used.

"Let's take care of the important business first, and then deal with Chang Xi..."

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, but he knew he couldn't afford to cause internal strife at this time, so he decided to continue letting Tao Qian take charge: "Since ancient times, which emperor or general could truly worry about what happens after their death? Descendants have their own paths to follow, you just need to walk your own path well. Lord Tao, you have helped me before, and I will protect your whole family in the future."

……

A few days later, Zang Ba returned.

But he failed to capture Zhang Kai.

"General, we rushed to Kaiyang, but Zhang Kai has already disappeared."

Zang Ba looked exhausted, clearly having been traveling at high speed: "Zhang Kai's men tried to kidnap my relatives, but fortunately we arrived in time... I have interrogated Zhang Kai's men by torture, and some of them claim that Zhang Kai left with Zhang Xun, a subordinate of Yuan Shu..."

Zhao Yun nodded in agreement: "Zhang Xun is the chief commander of the Zhang clan of Runan. He came to Xuzhou with Yuan Shugong a few days ago, but he did not return with Yuan Shugong's army..."

Liu Bei sighed: "Que Xuan... Zhang Kai, Yuan Shu and Tao Qian are probably being used... The enemy we are facing is not simple."

Liu Bei did not mention Tao Qian's original intentions to Zang Ba, but only told Zang Ba to rest well, as there was still an undercover mission waiting for him.

Although Zhang Kai was no longer there as a pledge of loyalty, there were still things that could convince Chang Xi.

Liu Bei instructed Zang Ba to use Langya Commandery to lure Chang Xi.

Langya Kaiyang was Zang Ba's garrison and a vital passage east of Mount Tai, connecting Qingzhou to the north and Xuzhou to the south.

Sun Guan is currently searching all over Kaiyang for Zhang Kai's whereabouts.

If Zang Ba were to pledge allegiance to Kaiyang, allow Sun Guan to cooperate, and permit Chang Xi to send people to garrison the area, he would not only gain their trust but also achieve a high status—Zang Ba and Sun Guan already had a very prominent reputation in Mount Tai.

……

Early April.

Pengcheng County.

Chang Xi, who called himself the King of Qi, saw two groups of heroes come to join him on the same day.

The one coming from the west is Lü Qian, a hero from Rencheng.

Lu Qian was a powerful figure in the underworld with connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. He claimed that he was persecuted by Cao Cao, so he arrested Liu He, the Prince of Pengcheng, and used Liu He to increase his investment.

To the east lies the renowned Zang Ba.

Zang Ba claimed that Liu Bei and Tao Qian were persecuting him, saying that Liu Bei had found fault with him by accusing him of disobeying orders and allowing his troops to plunder, and that Tao Qian had sent people to kill his relatives and arrest his family. So he simply rebelled and planned to give Langya County to Chang Xi as a form of investment.

This round of Series A funding made Changxi extremely happy—he openly rebelled by calling himself the King of Qi, precisely to attract heroes from all walks of life to invest in him.

The heroes who have come to join us are of such high caliber that Lü Qian and Zang Ba not only brought two thousand men each, but also Liu He, the newly established "emperor," and the vast Langya Commandery.

This wave is equivalent to the 'King of Qi' having more than 10,000 soldiers from three prefectures under his command, and it seems that he will be able to rival the Qingzhou court.

Chang Xi ordered Yin Li, a notorious bandit from Mount Tai, to lead troops to Kaiyang. As expected, they successfully took over Kaiyang, the capital of Langya Commandery, and the garrison commander Sun Guan, along with his troops, surrendered.

The gates of Qingzhou and Xuzhou appear to have been opened to the Taishan bandits.

Chang Xi then became somewhat arrogant, which was also to test Zang Ba and Lü Qian again, so that Zang Ba would send troops to Lü County and Lü Qian would send troops to Xiaopei.

Zang Ba was very effective; he captured Lü County in just three days, forcing Tao Qian to retreat fifty miles... It was a real battle, and over a hundred people died.

Tao Qian carried out a military trial, purging some unruly soldiers. Zang Ba came to enforce military law to vent his anger—of course, he also had some personal grudges involved.

As soon as Lü Qian arrived at Xiaopei, he captured it in one fell swoop, and Cao Cao was "forced" to retreat south to Xiao County, leaving behind hundreds of corpses.

There was no doubt that Zang Ba and Lü Qian became Chang Xi's right and left hands, even more valued than Wu Dun and Yin Li, the bandits of Mount Tai.

Liu Bei finally received the behind-the-scenes intelligence sent back by Zang Ba—the people providing Chang Xi with money, food and supplies were the famous families of Yingchuan Xun Clan, Xu County Chen Clan, Dongwu Fu Clan and others.

This is not surprising; what is surprising is that the Kong family did not participate in this matter.

Kong Rong and Kong Zhou were indeed in Chang Xi's army, but they were actually kidnapped... or rather, the Kong family of Lu was used as a scapegoat!

Cao Cao received the same intelligence.

In mid-April, Liu Bei launched a counterattack and recaptured Lü County.

Zang Ba was unable to hold out and retreated to Pengcheng County, handing over the troops that Chang Xi had used to monitor him to Liu Bei.

Cao Cao also launched another attack on Xiaopei.

Lü Qian's actions were no different from Zang Ba's.

Subsequently, Liu Bei and Cao Cao's armies simultaneously attacked Pengcheng from the upper and lower reaches of the Si River, completely surrounding Pengcheng. This time, it was not a coincidence, but rather a pre-arranged meeting.

Because by this time, a great many military leaders had come to assist after receiving the tender order, Chang Xi was not only treated as a general with a dozen or so troops, but surrounded by dozens of units.

From generals to county magistrates, plus all sorts of haphazardly made banners by various social groups...

The variety of flags was dazzling.

(End of this chapter)