Ji Han Liu Zhang

Plain County.

Yuan Tan, the eldest son and commander of the left wing of the army heading south, left Yecheng in early May of the fifth year of Jian'an and came to the territory of Pingyuan County. He was accompanied by Left General Liu Bei, Brave General Zhang Fei and others.

'Pingyuan County.' When Liu Bei arrived at the border of Pingyuan County, he saw a familiar scene. He seemed to have some feelings. When he first joined his senior brother Gongsun Zan, he served as the Prime Minister of Pingyuan. Today he was revisiting the old place, so he was full of emotion.

"Son."

Wang Xiu, the deputy governor of Qingzhou who stayed behind in Qingzhou, was leading the officials of Qingzhou prefecture and county to wait for Yuan Tan's arrival. Now seeing Yuan Tan, he led a group of Qingzhou officials to step forward and saluted Yuan Tan in unison.

"General Liu." After paying his respects to Yuan Tan, Wang Xiu bowed to Liu Bei, who returned the greeting.

Wang Xiu was delighted to see Liu Bei. This time the army was marching southwards towards Mount Tai and Xuzhou, places that Liu Bei was familiar with. Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others stationed in Mount Tai and Langya were also Liu Bei's old friends.

As the saying goes, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. With Liu Bei's joining, Wang Xiu felt more confident about the war to the south. At the same time, he was sincerely happy for Yuan Tan. After all, if Yuan Tan could shine in this battle, it would be of great benefit to Yuan Tan's ascension to the throne.

Without saying much, the few of them greeted each other and headed for the county seat of Pingyuan County. On the way, Yuan Tan could not wait to ask Wang Xiu: "My dear, have the soldiers, baggage, armor, food and other things been prepared?"

Wang Xiu responded by cupping his hands and saying, "After receiving your letter, I started to prepare. Thanks to the hard work of the officials in the palace, we have prepared more than 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 horses. As for the food and supplies, it can last for half a year."

"Thank you for your hard work, my dear driver." Yuan Tan consoled him, and then he said to Liu Bei beside him: "Lord Xuande, with these 30,000 elite soldiers and 3,000 horses, plus your own 4,000 elite soldiers, if you lead this army to Mount Tai and Langya, you will be able to defeat them all."

"In terms of troops, we are indeed better than Zang Ba and Sun Guan." Liu Bei first responded, then he said: "However, Zang Ba and Sun Guan have been in Taishan and Langya for a long time, and their roots are intertwined and deep. Although our troops are twice as many as theirs, the way to use troops is to be cautious. When we march to Taishan and Langya, I hope you can be cautious and strive for a great victory."

"That's right, Lord Xuande." Yuan Tan looked like he was accepting advice with an open mind, and his expression was very sincere. "I have been entrusted with this battle by my father. The troops are heading to Mount Tai and Langya. With such a heavy responsibility, I must be cautious and strive for perfection. First, I hope to be beneficial to the war situation, and second, I hope to make progress and live up to my father's trust."

"Young master, you think so highly of yourself and have the virtue of the ancient sages who examine themselves three times a day. But I am just talking too much." Liu Bei was just making polite remarks. It was also true that Yuan Tan was good at respecting the wise and admired famous scholars, so he was indeed commendable in this matter.

Yuan Tan laughed out loud and waved his hand: "Mr. Xuande, you are too kind."

Looking at Yuan Tan's ambitious look, Liu Bei sighed in his heart. He had been the prime minister of Pingyuan and had led troops to rescue Kong Rong of Beihai. He was familiar with Qingzhou. Qingzhou had suffered from wars many times over the years, such as the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou and the fight between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in Qingzhou. As a result, the people's livelihood in Qingzhou was impoverished and the scholars and common people were in chaos.

Even in such a miserable situation in Qingzhou, Yuan Tan ordered Wang Xiu to recruit 30,000 men and requisition 3,000 horses, in addition to enough money and food to support them for half a year. I am afraid that in order to fight southward, all the manpower and material resources of Qingzhou were plundered.

'Eager, with a hint of madness.'

Liu Bei gave his comments on Yuan Tan's actions, and he also knew the reason behind it, which was probably the dispute over the succession to the throne of Duke Wei.

As Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan was adopted by his elder brother and sent to Qingzhou to take up an official post, far away from Yecheng, the political center of Hebei. It can be seen that Yuan Shao did not like Yuan Tan, and it was difficult for the throne to fall to Yuan Tan according to the rule of seniority.

At the same time, Yuan Shao was well-known for his love for his youngest son Yuan Shang. He privately mentioned making Yuan Shang his heir, but he never made it public.

Under such circumstances, Liu Bei could understand that Yuan Tan was eager to make achievements in order to please Yuan Shao and seek the position of successor. This was not only related to the ownership of Hebei, but also the ownership of the world, which would all depend on this successor.

It just makes life hard for the people of Qingzhou!!!

The people of Qingzhou have not had a year's rest due to successive years of war, and this year they will be involved in another war.

The group traveled eastward, stayed in Pingyuan County for a few days, then crossed the river and headed for Qi County. Within a few days, Yuan Tan and Liu Bei arrived at Linzi, the county seat of Qi County. They planned to rest in Linzi for more than ten days, reorganize the troops, collect supplies, and then head south to capture Mount Tai and Langya.

Before marching southward, Yuan Tan, with the idea of ​​trying his best, sent his trusted men Hua Yan and Kong Shun as the chief and deputy envoys, carrying valuable gifts to Taishan County to recruit Zang Ba, Sun Guan and other Taishan generals, in order to capture Taishan and Langya without bloodshed, and then turn westward to meet up with Yuan Shao's central force in Yanzhou.

As it happened, a few days later, two envoys were welcomed into Zang Ba’s mansion. They were Hua Yan and Kong Shun sent by Yuan Tan.

"General Zang." Hua Yan bowed and then said, "My Duke Wei controls Ji, You, Qing and Bing provinces, and is a leader in Hebei and Hebei. He has a million men and thousands of good generals. No other prince in the world can match him. Now, General, you are defending this county with only over ten thousand men and horses, and you are vainly trying to resist us. I think it is very unwise."

"Besides, my Duke Wei has followed the imperial edict to fight the enemy. He is using obedience to fight rebellion and virtue to attack the unvirtuous. The chance of victory is within his grasp. General, you should think deeply about yourself and don't make mistakes."

This was a threat, and also a stick to hit Zang Ba. After the stick fell, Hua Yan said, "Everyone knows that Duke Wei of my family respects the wise and the talented, and my son admires heroes. If you, a general, surrender, you will be welcomed by my master, and you will be given a high position and generous salary. Is it not your intention?"

After the big stick, a sweet date was stuffed into Zang Ba's mouth. Hua Yan stopped talking at this moment. He waited quietly for Zang Ba to submit and kneel down, and then went with him to meet Yuan Tan. In this way, he would have accomplished a great deed.

However, Hua Yan's expectations were wrong. Zang Ba, who was tall and strong like a pagoda, looked indifferent and unmoved. He said, "Please go back, envoy. Since I have surrendered to Cao Gong, I should die for him. How can I do something unjust? This is not what a man of my generation should do."

"Hmm?" Hua Yan was somewhat surprised. He had not expected that Zang Ba would try to stop a chariot with his bare hands, without regard for the safety of himself and his family. He did not try to persuade him again, but said arrogantly: "General, if you insist on doing this, you will regret it in the future."

After saying this, Hua Yan waved his sleeves and left. (End of this chapter)