My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 108 Kaiyang Opens the City

At this time, the Kaiyang battlefield remained calm.

Zang Ba hid in the city, refusing to fight or surrender. After Wu Dun came out, he told Chen Deng everything he had seen.

Upon hearing this, Chen Deng sneered repeatedly, "What kind of thing is Zang Ba? How dare you compare yourself to the magistrate?"
Really desperate.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei flew into a rage. In his eyes, Zang Ba was nothing more than a bandit from Mount Tai. It was one thing for him to occupy a territory, but how dare he look down on his elder brother?

Zhang Fei immediately asked Chen Deng for permission to lead troops to attack the city, but the latter stopped him.

At this time, Kaiyang was surrounded by layers of enemy troops, and even on the opposite bank of the Yi River, there were two troops stationed there, only defending and not attacking.

The day before yesterday afternoon, the brothers Sun Guan and Sun Kang led more than a thousand reinforcements to the city and crossed the river to aid Zang Ba.

Following Chen Deng's orders, Zhao Yun's troops ignored him and let him into the city.

Getting in is easy, but getting out is difficult.

Chen Deng issued a special order: people are allowed to enter the city, but not to leave. They can enter the city, but if they try to break out of the city, they will not be allowed to leave.

Letting you in is to speed up the consumption of food in the city. But if you want to get out, well, don't even think about it.

Under these circumstances, Liu Feng led his team to the outskirts of Kaiyang City and successfully met up with Chen Deng.

That night, Chen Deng informed the entire army of the news that Liu Feng had annihilated Chang Xi's army in one battle, boosting morale. At the same time, he hosted a banquet to entertain the newly arrived generals and Sun Qian.

During the banquet, Chen Deng also told Liu Feng and Sun Qian about Zang Ba's conflicting and complex thoughts.

Liu Feng actually wanted to enter Kaiyang himself. He was confident in his persuasive skills, and now that he understood Zang Ba's inner struggles, there was a high probability that he could successfully persuade Zang Ba to surrender.

Moreover, he wasn't worried at all that Zang Ba would harm him. Zang Ba was essentially a warlord who was content with the status quo and would never easily offend any faction.

Not to mention, Liu Feng also has a trump card in his hand. Once Zang Ba sees it, he'll probably have to pamper Liu Feng like a princess.

But Liu Feng himself knew that there was absolutely no way he could get Chen Deng and Liu Bei's consent.

He could only offer some advice to Sun Qian and write another letter for Sun Qian to give to Zang Ba if necessary.

Sun Qian was somewhat surprised, not knowing Liu Feng's intentions.

However, he was outnumbered and lacked both curiosity and self-esteem, so he readily accepted the letter.

In any case, whether or not to use it at the time is Sun Qian's own decision.

The next day, Sun Qian, along with Chang Xi, Wu Dun, and Qian Zhao, who had been sent by Liu Feng to gain credit, entered Kaiyang City to see Zang Ba.

In just a few days, Zang Ba seemed to have become a completely different person.

The once domineering, dignified, generous, and heroic cavalry captain has become a dejected middle-aged man.

"Chu Ji, why are you here again?"

Zang Ba looked up and saw that not only Wu Dun had come again, but Chang Xi had also arrived. He exclaimed in surprise, "Xuanyi, you too..."

Wu Dun, courtesy name Chuji.

Changxi, courtesy name Xuanyi.

Chang Xi blushed, waved his hand, and sat down to the side without saying a word.

Chang Xi always held himself in high esteem, and among the Five Thieves of Mount Tai, he was the only one who had any competitive spirit towards Zang Ba.

The other four had long since completely submitted and regarded Zang Ba as their leader, but Chang Xi always wanted to have a contest with Zang Ba.

Despite his resentment, Chang Xi and Zang Ba had an excellent relationship. Otherwise, he wouldn't have led his two thousand men out in full force as soon as he heard that Kaiyang was besieged, intending to bypass Xiangben and rush to Zang Ba's rescue.

However, as a veteran general, Chang Xi's entire army was wiped out in just over half an hour after encountering Liu Feng, which made him lose all face.

Chang Xi's feelings towards Zang Ba were somewhat complicated. He had always been rivals with Zang Ba, not because he truly wanted to take Zang Ba's position, but because he was also very uncomfortable staying under Zang Ba's command indefinitely.

The two were so awkward with each other. Historically, after Liu Bei recommended Chang Xi to be the governor of Donghai Commandery, Chang Xi separated from Zang Ba and the other five, and their actions were no longer completely in sync.

This awkwardness is somewhat reminiscent of Zang Ba's reluctance to bow down and surrender to Liu Bei.

There were two other people sitting in the hall, naturally the brothers Sun Kang and Sun Guan.

They finally made it into Kaiyang, only to find that the situation was not what they had expected; the city was almost out of food.

This terrified the Sun brothers. They finally understood that Zang Ba had used grain as collateral to get money to go north and buy warhorses.

The Sun brothers looked at each other, speechless.

The grain has already been sold, and the granary is now empty. What's the use of complaining to my elder brother?

Do you think the grain can fly back?

Now, seeing Changxi and Wudun captured, of the six brothers, only Yinli remains outside, and we don't know if he's alive or dead.

There were eight people in the hall: Zang Ba and his son Zang Ai, the brothers Sun Guan and Sun Kang, Chang Xi, Wu Dun, and Sun Qian and Qian Zhao, who served as persuaders.

Of the eight people, seven supported surrendering, while only Zang Ba was still undecided.

Sun Qian also offered some kind words of advice, explaining in detail how much Liu Bei valued Zang Ba and others, as well as his reputation for benevolence.

Even though Zang Ba's surrender meant they could no longer remain in Langya, they would certainly not be left idle and would always have opportunities to make further contributions.

Once you have made a meritorious contribution, the position of prefect is not out of reach.

Sun Guan and Sun Kang were already in favor of surrendering, and now, upon hearing these terms, they were even more tempted.

They couldn't understand why Zang Ba refused to back down, since they had no deep-seated hatred for Liu Bei.

Liu Bei has already demonstrated his formidable strength and ability; my men are already fish on the chopping block. Why doesn't my elder brother know when to stop while he's ahead?
Zang Ba was also conflicted. Although he was still holding his breath, his attitude had softened considerably compared to a few days ago.

There was no other way; I couldn't just drag my sons and brothers to their deaths for the sake of pride, could I?

He was still somewhat unwilling to give up, even though he was asked to surrender immediately.

Sun Qian remembered Liu Feng's instructions, so he took out the letter and handed it to Zang Ba: "Captain, this letter was written by my young master. He wants to say a few words of advice to you. Please take the time to read it."

Zang Ba took the letter with some surprise. He had heard of Liu Bei's son before, as he was already famous in the north.

But this kid should be around ten years old this year, right?

Did Liu Bei really involve his children in even important military and national affairs?
Zang Ba snorted coldly in his heart, becoming even more annoyed.

Are all the scholars of Xuzhou blind to this big-eared thief's reckless behavior?

Chen Yuanlong and Mi Zizhong, what great reputations they have, they are both sycophants!

While inwardly grumbling, Zang Ba opened the letter.

Leaving aside the initial pleasantries, the letter immediately caught his eye.

"My father was in Qingzhou with no more than a hundred barbarian cavalry, less than a thousand Han soldiers, and two thousand refugees. They all carried bamboo spears and wooden shields, yet they went south to Tancheng without hesitation, joined forces with Cao Bao, and launched a counterattack from the east of Tancheng, ultimately forcing Cao Yanzhou to retreat due to lack of supplies. I ask you, Cavalry Commandant, where were you at that time?"

Zang Ba's face turned blood red in an instant. As the saying goes, you shouldn't hit someone in the face, but Liu Feng's actions were more than just hitting him in the face; they were practically riding on his face.

"Tao Gong recommended you as Cavalry Commandant, stationed in Kaiyang, and garrisoned Langya, commanding ten thousand troops of the Taishan Army. You are only fifty li away from Tancheng. Cavalry Commandant, why did Tao Gong choose the distant place instead of the nearby one?"

The veins on Zang Ba's forehead throbbed, and his face turned blood red, which surprised and puzzled Zang Ai, the Sun brothers, and others standing to the side.

What exactly was written in this letter that provoked the boss to this extent?

"In times of great contention, those who advance grow strong, and those who retreat grow weak. The strong rise, and the weak decline. The rising gradually become stronger, and the declining grow weaker. I ask you, Cavalry Commandant, you feared Tao Qian in the past and Cao Cao in the future. You could not even defend Qiu, and you dared not aid Tancheng. Even if Tao Qian entrusted Xuzhou to you, how could you possibly win the hearts of the people?"

Zang Ba was panting heavily. If Liu Feng were standing in front of him, Zang Ba had no doubt that he would crush him to death.

"Heroes and great men see opportunity in crisis. Mediocre and incompetent men see danger in crisis."

"Your current situation is a major crisis."

"May I ask, Commandant, what did you see?"

"Finally, I have one more thing to say to you, Commandant. If you are hoping to rely on Yuan Gonglu, you should give up that idea immediately. Right now, General Hou is in the Jianghuai region being attacked from both sides by Liu Jingzhou and Liu Yangzhou. He is too busy to take care of himself and has long forgotten about you, Commandant."

"Although the matter of the Commandant's collusion with Yuan Shu is a secret, I happen to know this secret and have evidence to prove it."

Zang Ba felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his whole body chilled to the bone. His deepest secret, hidden in the depths of his heart, had been exposed.

That's right, Zang Ba had actually been secretly colluding with Yuan Shu for a long time.

In fact, Zang Ba's true attitude was to support Yuan Shu's entry into Xuzhou!
He was a Yuan Shu faction member, one of a kind in Xuzhou!
Zang Ba's disguise was so good that no one in the entire Xuzhou could see through it.

Even veterans like Cao Bao and Xu Dan, generals of the Danyang Army who had cooperated with Zang Ba for six or seven years, only thought that Zang Ba supported the Danyang faction and was an ally of the Danyang faction.

But only Zang Ba knew that his only ally was Yuan Shu.

In fact, many strange things happened during this period in history. Upon closer analysis, Zang Ba emerged from the water.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, each prefecture and county was considered as their home and country. However, Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others were from Danyang in Yangzhou, while Lü Bu was from Jiuyuan in Wuyuan County, Bingzhou. These two groups of people were from completely different places and could not be connected in any way.

Because there is no communication channel between them.

Therefore, the novel fictionalizes the marriage between Lü Bu and Cao Bao, because there is simply no way to connect them.

In reality, the only person who could connect them was Zang Ba.

Zang Ba's Langya Commandery was always adjacent to Yanzhou. During the Cao-Lü war in Yanzhou, Zang Ba was independent in Langya, which made it much easier for him to collude with Lü Bu than for Cao Bao and Xu Dan, who were in Tancheng.

In other words, Zang Ba acted as an intermediary between the Danyang army and Lü Bu, a vassal state, and he guaranteed the mutual trust between Lü Bu and the Danyang army.

If that's the case, then the actions of Cao Bao, Xu Dan, and Zhang Kuang during the Xiapi Incident are illogical.

Before the Xiapi Incident, Cao Bao had already taken office as the Chancellor of Xiapi. In fact, the Danyang Army had successfully reached a compromise with Liu Bei, giving up most of its military power.

However, when Cao Bao was killed by Zhang Fei, and Xu Dan was in a life-or-death situation, they could not possibly abandon their traditional ally Zang Ba, who was nearby in the north, to seek help, but instead rushed a hundred miles to seek help from Lü Bu in Xiaopei.

Does this make sense?

Isn't that strange?

There are two possible explanations for this unusual situation.

The first explanation is that Cao Bao and Xu Dan each sent two groups of men to seek help, one heading north to find Zang Ba and the other heading west to find Lü Bu.

However, Lü Bu arrived first and, with the help of the Danyang soldiers, captured Xiapi.

This explanation seems reasonable, but it is actually the least likely.

There are two key points. First, Zang Ba was close to Lü Bu, while Lü Bu was distant. Second, Zang Ba was very close, while Lü Bu was far away.

Whether from an emotional or temporal perspective, the Danyang army had no reason not to seek help from Zang Ba immediately, but where was Zhang Kuang?

They appeared on Lu Bu's side.

Zhang Kuang is a very important person. He is Xu Dan's confidant. Cao Bao is dead, and Xu Dan is the leader of the remaining Danyang soldiers. The fact that his confidant went to Lü Bu instead of Zang Ba speaks volumes.

In fact, Zang Ba's Taishan Army was quite slow to react during the Xiapi Incident, and did not react at all. This could not be concealed by Zang Ba's indecisiveness; it could only mean that the Taishan Army had not received any information about the Xiapi Incident.

Why did this happen?
That is the second scenario, which seems impossible but is actually very likely.

That is, before the Xiapi Incident, Cao Bao and Xu Dan had already discovered the collusion between Zang Ba and Yuan Shu. It was because of Zang Ba's betrayal that they were willing to compromise with Liu Bei and give up most of their military power.

During the Xiapi Incident, they preferred to contact Lü Bu rather than let Zang Ba benefit.

This may seem odd, but it actually fits the situation quite well at the time.

Because starting in the third year of the Chuping era (192 AD), Tao Qian and Yuan Shu turned against each other, and it was a fight to the death, with both sides almost aiming to kill each other.

Tao Qian was the first to strike. He directly instructed the Chen family of Xiapi to attack Pei, which was occupied by Yuan Shu, and then ordered Chen Yu to cut off Yuan Shu's route south to Yangzhou, which almost caused Yuan Shu's entire power to collapse and starve to death.

Unfortunately, Tao Qian was too hasty. He thought Yuan Shu was doomed and couldn't wait to launch a surprise attack on Cao Cao.

As a result, they were soundly defeated by Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu survived, drove away Chen Yu, occupied Lujiang, and made a comeback!

For this reason, Yuan Shu directly abandoned all pretense and bestowed upon himself the title of Earl of Xuzhou, which was entirely aimed at Tao Qian.

The two sides were mortal enemies at that time.

Cao Bao and Xu Dan were both Tao Qian's most trusted confidants. If Zang Ba had actually let Yuan Shu into Xuzhou, their deaths would probably have been several times more tragic than those during the Xiapi Incident.

Otherwise, if Cao Bao and Xu Dan had contacted Zang Ba instead, there would have been no issue between Liu Bei and Lü Bu in Xuzhou.

Once Zang Ba enters Xiapi, cuts off Liu Bei's rear, captures all of Liu Bei's family members, and then marches south to join Yuan Shu in a pincer attack, Liu Bei will have no chance of winning at all, and the entire Xuzhou will instantly become Yuan Shu's territory.

After Lü Bu took control of Xuzhou, Zang Ba's behavior was very abnormal and strange, but it made perfect sense when viewed from the perspective of Yuan Shu's ally.

Why did Zang Ba dare to kill Xiao Jian, the governor of Langya, in front of Lü Bu?
Why did the relationship between Zang Ba and Lü Bu always align with the relationship between Yuan Shu and Lü Bu?
If Lü Bu and Yuan Shu are at peace, then Zang Ba will be safe; if Lü Bu and Yuan Shu are at war, then Zang Ba will rebel.
Another extremely important piece of evidence is the testimony personally given by Lü Bu, as recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

During the incident of shooting the halberd at the gate, Lü Bu's confidant asked him why he saved Liu Bei and why they couldn't join forces with Yuan Shu to destroy Liu Bei and eliminate future troubles.
Lü Bu's reply was quite interesting. He said, "No. If Shu defeats Bei, he will then join forces with the generals of Mount Tai in the north. I am trapped in Shu's encirclement and will have no choice but to come to his aid."

Who are these generals of Mount Tai? Aren't they Zang Ba and his gang?
Lü Bu himself admitted that Zang Ba was Yuan Shu's accomplice, and that if Liu Bei were gone, he would be completely controlled by Yuan Shu.

At this time, Zang Ba's public identity was that of a vassal under Lü Bu.

It is conceivable that Zang Ba's allegiance to Yuan Shu was not a recent development, but rather something that had been going on for a very long time.

Zang Ba's hands, which were gripping the letter, turned white, and his face, which had been flushed just moments before, turned deathly pale.

Zang Ai couldn't resist wanting to see what was written in the letter, but Zang Ba dodged her.

Zang Ba's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he looked completely exhausted.

He didn't know how Liu Bei and his son knew about such a confidential matter.

But an even greater crisis was looming ahead. His decision to defect to Yuan Shu was made by him alone, and the other generals of Mount Tai were unaware of it at the time.

Zang Ba was originally worried that too many people would cause a leak, so he planned to tell the other brothers after the matter was settled.

But now, if the incident were to occur, Zang Ba had no idea whether this explanation would still convince Sun Guan and Wu Dun.

It was out of necessity for Zang Ba to defect to Yuan Shu, since Tao Qian had always been wary of him like a thief, only willing to give him four or five counties as territory, and even had to place Xiao Jian in Ju County to keep him in check.

Yuan Shu was incredibly generous, offering him the positions of governor of Langya and Donghai, and even recommending him for the post of governor of Xuzhou.

The offer was too good to be true; any normal person would doubt the other party's sincerity, but Zang Ba simply believed it.

Who made the Sun family so comfortable under Yuan Shu's command?

Sun Wentai may be a good fighter, but I, Zang Xuangao, can fight too!

Why can't I be a prefect or a governor?

I'm not convinced!

Zang Ba wanted to shout, but when his gaze swept over the letter in his hand again, he broke down once more.

If this matter were to leak out, the Taishan Army would likely fall apart.

Sun Guan, Sun Kang, Wu Dun, and Chang Xi might even suspect that I betrayed them in secret.

Zang Ba felt a mixture of shock, fear, hatred, and dread towards Liu Feng, who wrote the letter.

He racked his brains but couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong and leaked evidence of such an important matter.

Sun Kang and the others looked at their elder brother, trembling as they put the letter into their pockets, then stood up and bowed deeply to Sun Qian.

"Ba, please surrender."

With Zang Ba's surrender, the entire southern part of Langya was considered pacified.

Yin Li's forces had come to Kaiyang's aid, but were ambushed and defeated by Guan Yu, and fled back to Yangdu in disarray, no longer able to support Kaiyang.

Now that Zang Ba has surrendered, Yin Li immediately followed suit without any resistance.

With only a few hundred defeated soldiers under his command, even if he mobilized all the able-bodied men of Yangdu, he wouldn't be able to defend the city.

Upon hearing the news, Chen Deng was overjoyed and dispatched Cao Bao to lead a team, while Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Xu Dan each led a contingent to enter the city first to accept the surrender and to control key locations such as the city gates, granaries, armories, and the county government office.

As expected, there was no resistance in Kaiyang City. Including the more than 1,000 Taishan soldiers brought by Sun Kang and his brothers, a total of more than 4,000 men, as well as more than 3,700 strong men, were all gathered in the military camp, waiting for the Xuzhou army to surrender.

Zang Ba himself, along with his sons Zang Ai and Zang Shun, and his brothers Sun Guan and Sun Kang, surrendered outside the city and were quickly sent to Tancheng by Chen Deng.

(End of this chapter)