The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 53: Lao Liu, you can’t open the champagne at halftime (please read it later!)
Strictly speaking, Liu Bei, as the governor of Xuzhou, had no command authority over Xiao Jian, the prime minister of Langya State.

In other words, Xiao Jian could disobey Liu Bei's orders.

But from a realistic perspective, Xiao Jian only controlled a corner of Ju County and was surrounded by the Taishan Legion on all sides. It was impossible for him to offend both families at the same time.

He had to choose between Zang Ba and Liu Bei.

The former was a completely impossible option, as Xiao Jian looked down upon these Taishan bandits from the bottom of his heart.

Zang Ba and Xiao Jian also had deep-seated grudges, and it was impossible for the two sides to reach a reconciliation.

Then there is only one option left.

Liu Bei had now secured the title of Governor of Xuzhou, and when he extended an olive branch, it seemed that Xiao Jian had no choice but to refuse.

Xiao Jian came to the top of the city wall and unfolded the letter sent by Liu Bei again.

The letter read:

——"Ever since Dong Zhuo rebelled, the whole country has risen up in arms."

"At that time, the mountains, rivers and people were all destroyed by war."

"Good conscience and kindness will keep away from the disaster of war."

"I have the heart to support the Han Dynasty, but my power is limited. I only seek like-minded people to join me."

"Ju and Xiapi are not far from each other, so they should be connected."

"Do you wish for every county in Xuzhou to be an emperor and every county to be a king?"

"In the past, Le Yi attacked Qi and took over 70 cities in a short time, except Ju and Jimo. The reason for this was that Tian Dan was among them."

"Although I am not Yue Yi, and you are not Tian Dan, why don't you take the letter and come to the city to discuss the important affairs of Xuzhou with me?"

The letter written by Lao Liu was very inflammatory and neither humble nor arrogant. It explained to Xiao Jian the current interests of Langya.

In summary, if you cooperate with us and recapture Langya, you will be a hero of Xuzhou.

If you hope to be like Zang Ba and Sun Guan, who would become kings or emperors in their respective Ju counties, it would be difficult for you to protect yourself.

To sum it up in one sentence, there is no hope of secession and the whole clan is bound to be exterminated.

"……Ugh."

Xiao Jian let out a long sigh and looked at the Xuzhou soldiers scattered across the mountains and fields outside the city. He knew in his heart that the game was over.

"Open the gates and offer the city."

"..."

……

The news of Xiao Jian's surrender to Liu Bei soon spread back to Kaiyang.

When Zang Ba learned about this, he was shocked and said:
"Could it be that Lord Xuande doubts me?"

He then summoned all the Taishan generals and held an emergency meeting.

"Xiao Jiansu and I are not on good terms. Now he has surrendered to Liu Xuande. Where will we be?"

"You have entrusted your lives and property to me, so I cannot ignore the future of you brothers for my own selfish reasons."

"Why don't we raise our troops and go to Ju County together to surrender to Liu Bei? What do you think?"

Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Chang Xi and others looked at each other, and everyone had a different expression on their face.

But undoubtedly, there is a hint of regret.

Being a slave to others is not as good as being a king.

At first everyone thought that they could be local emperors in Langya for life.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xuande adopted such tough measures as soon as he took office, forcing them to take sides.

"Just at my brother's command!"

The Taishan Gang is about brotherhood in the underworld. Now that the big brother has made the decision, what reason do they have to object?

"...Well, then everyone go back to your camps and gather your troops."

"Tonight we will kill cattle and sheep and give the brothers a good meal. Tomorrow we will set off to meet Liu Bei in Ju County."

"……Yes."

Just as the generals were preparing to return to the camp in a depressed mood, a scout on horseback suddenly came with a report.

“——Report!”

"It's bad, General. General Yin..."

"What's up with him?"

Zang Ba frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

"He took his troops and went to Qingzhou!"

hiss……

Everyone frowned when they heard this.

"Qingzhou is in chaos right now, with Yuan Shao, Tian Kai, and Kong Rong fighting each other. What is he going to do there?" "Looking for trouble?"

Zang Ba rubbed his temples. The series of events in the past two days made him feel a little breathless. He felt that he had never been under so much pressure in his entire life as today.

"I don't know!"

Sun Guan said loudly:
"That guy probably didn't want to be controlled by others, so he went to Qingzhou to fish in troubled waters."

"Confused!"

Zang Ba was furious. "Yuan Shao is powerful, and Tian Kai is attached to Gongsun Zan. The two families are incompatible. That kid actually wants to get something out of them. What a fantasy!"

"Go and find him right away!"

"General, there is not a single Taishan soldier left in Dong'an. I guess General Yin has no intention of coming back."

"Haha." Wu Dun sneered, "Dong'an is this guy's lair. He took the soldiers with him. It seems that he is determined to part ways with us."

"Should we chase them?" Sun Guan asked.

Everyone turned their eyes to Zang Ba to see how the eldest brother would decide.

"Do not."

Zang Ba waved his hand and said, "Yin Li alone can't cause much trouble. We have a large army here. If we rashly chase him, I'm afraid Lord Xuande will be suspicious, which is not good."

"The most urgent thing now is to rush to Ju County and meet Lord Xuande."

Everyone bowed and accepted the order.

Three days later,
Zang Ba led the Taishan army, headed north along the Shushui River, and headed straight for Ju County.

When the army arrived at Ju County, the county had already changed hands and Liu Bei had been waiting there for a long time.

He ordered his men to prepare wine, meat, food and other provisions for the troops in advance, and personally led his troops five miles out of the city to meet them.

The army set up camp in the south of the city.

In the Chinese military tent.

"Kaiyang Zang Ba, I pay my respects to my lord."

"Licheng Wu Dun, hello to the lord!"

"Dongwu Sun Guan, I greet my lord!"

"Changxi of the East Sea, I greet my lord!"

Led by Zang Ba, all the generals of the Taishan Army came together to pay homage to Liu Bei, the new lord of Xuzhou.

Just ten days ago, Liu Bei was still an unknown figure in the war and he himself was not sure how long it would last.

Not to mention conquering the Taishan Army.

But just a few days later, all the Taishan generals led by Zang Ba knelt before him and accepted him as their leader.

This was something Liu Bei had never dared to think about before.

Liu Bei was in great joy and looked at Li Yi beside him with admiration.

Everything is going according to the script written by Li Yi.

The next step was for Zang Ba to surrender his military power and give up his separatist rule over Langya.

Then Liu Bei would not only be able to unify Xuzhou and enhance his reputation, but he would also be able to gain a powerful new force.

"...Zi Yu."

Liu Bei smiled, called Li Yi's name softly, and stretched out a fist.

His five fingers formed into a fist, implying that he could finally unite Xuzhou and attack the outside world.

But Li Yi's face did not reveal much relief. On the contrary, the closer he was to victory, the more cautious he had to be.

Don't open champagne at halftime.

Every time I see Li Yi doing things, he always seems calm and composed, but little do people know how much work he has to do behind the scenes and how many times he has to rehearse in his mind to ensure that everything goes well.

"Please stand up, gentlemen."

Liu Bei stepped forward and personally helped Zang Ba and others up one by one.

Although this was just Lao Liu's routine operation, in the eyes of warriors such as Zang Ba, Lao Liu was indeed friendly.

Perhaps it was because of Lao Liu's heroic spirit that the generals did not feel uncomfortable getting along with him.

Liu Bei invited all his generals into the camp to welcome them.

The cook brought out fine wine and barbecue, and Liu Bei raised his glass to congratulate everyone.

Li Yi did not let down his guard, but still had a smile on his face and seemed to be thinking about something.

Suddenly, he stood up and walked towards Zang Ba.

　I'm going to do three rounds today. Thank you brothers for taking the time to come and read my article. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)