The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 52 Xu Yuanzhi persuades Zang Ba: The martial world is not just about fighting and killing.
"Military Advisor Xu."

Zang Bahu's eyes gleamed as he carefully chose his words.

"Last winter, because my soldiers had no warm clothes and shoes, I wrote to Che Zhou and asked him to collect five thousand sets of thick linen clothes and five thousand pairs of thick linen shoes."

"These five thousand sets of clothing and shoes should have been transported to Kaiyang by the Left General and his corvée laborers, but due to Che Zhou's situation, the Left General was unable to transport the clothing and shoes there."

"I greatly admire General Zuo's bravery in venturing deep behind enemy lines; General Zuo's troops entering Hebei certainly needed supplies such as food and weapons."

"How about I present these five thousand sets of clothing and shoes to General Zuo?"

As expected of someone from the Taishan bandits, Zang Ba's method of getting something for nothing is quite skillful.

Ask Zang Ba to provide food, weapons, able-bodied men, and old soldiers.

Zang Ba simply waved his hand and gifted General Liu Bei five thousand sets of clothing and shoes. Wasn't that sincere enough?

None of those who were able to establish their own power during the chaotic end of the Han Dynasty were simple-minded.

If it were a less astute envoy, he would probably have been fooled by Zang Ba's scheme.

pity.

Zang Ba encountered Xu Shu, who was of a higher level.

Xu Shu devised a countermeasure after only a moment's thought.

"Zang Xiangken generously donated five thousand sets of clothing and shoes, a magnanimous act that is truly admirable."

"However, General Zuo did not hold a post in Xuzhou and could not take away Xuzhou's supplies without authorization. In addition, Che Zhou was dead and the five thousand sets of clothing and shoes had not been delivered to General Zuo."

"Now that Sikong has appointed Yuan Huan, the Southern Commandant of Pei State, as the Governor of Xuzhou, Zang Xiangke can send someone to Xiapi to inquire about these five thousand sets of clothing and shoes."

"General Zuo can wait!"

Xu Shu's smile remained refined and scholarly.

He then explicitly showed Zang Ba the line from Cao Cao's letter that "Cao Cao has appointed Yuan Huan as the governor of Xuzhou."

In short.

Xu Shu's message was essentially the same: Zang Ba, you either need to send someone to consult Cao Cao or Yuan Huan.

Zang Ba was thoroughly annoyed by what he heard.

Where could Yuan Huan, a newly appointed governor of Xuzhou, possibly procure five thousand sets of clothing and shoes?

not to mention.

As soon as Yuan Huan took office, Zang Ba sent people to make things difficult for him. How can they get along in the future?

Zang Ba looked down on Che Zhou because Che Zhou lacked prestige.

But Yuan Huan.

Born into the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery, he was the son of Yuan Pang, the Minister of Works. He first served as a clerk, and when corrupt officials in the commandery heard that Yuan Huan was coming, they would voluntarily resign.

Later, he was recruited by the government and was recommended as a high-ranking official.

Despite changing hands multiple times, he was still highly valued by Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, and Cao Cao.

Only a fool like Zang Ba would make things difficult for Yuan Huan, a renowned scholar from the state and county with a distinguished background, family connections, reputation, and talent.

See this.

Zang Ba laughed to conceal his true thoughts, saying, "Military Advisor Xu, General Zuo and I have worked together before, so why should we quarrel over a few supplies?"

"The population of Langya is small, and I am in a real predicament. I am willing to provide 1,000 shi of grain to show my support for General Zuo's fearless journey deep behind enemy lines."

A thousand stones?

Sending beggars away!

Xu Shu remained calm and took out the "Delivery Order" that he had prepared beforehand.

"General Zuo understands Zang Xiang's difficulties. Please have Zang Xiang record the donated supplies on the 'Delivery Order' and sign and seal it. Make three copies: one for Zang Xiang, one for General Zuo, and one to be sent to Xuchang for filing."

Zang Ba's lips twitched involuntarily: "It's just a thousand shi of grain, why go to such trouble?"

They only gave Liu Bei 1,000 shi of grain, and he had to sign and stamp it, and then send a copy to Xuchang for filing.

This was the first time Zang Ba had encountered such an outrageous "transfer," and he looked at Xu Shu with suspicion, secretly guessing Xu Shu's intentions.

“No!” Xu Shu then took out another stack of “Delivery Orders”.

Among them are the handover orders for supplies such as "1,600 ring-pommel swords" handed over by General Wang Zhong, and the handover orders for various county magistrates such as Xiaopei, Fengxian, and Guangqi.

"General Zuo has always acted with clarity."

"We cannot disregard the fact that Prime Minister Zang only gave us a thousand shi of grain. It is all for the sake of the country and the people. Even if it is only a single grain of rice, it is still a meritorious deed."

"When General Zuo achieves great merit in the future, these handover orders will be presented to the Emperor, who will then distribute the rewards to the people according to their merits."

Xu Shu spoke eloquently and earnestly.

It elevates the issue directly to the level of national and social stability, and the final phrase "presented to the emperor" is the ultimate finishing touch.

Imagine.

When Liu Bei returned victorious, he presented the handover order to the emperor to acknowledge the merits of everyone.

When the Emperor saw that Langya Chancellor Zang Ba had only provided Liu Bei with 1,000 shi of grain, and compared this to figures like Wang Zhong, what would the Emperor think? What would the Minister of Works think? What would the officials in the palace think?
Zang Ba went from being a thief to an official, but ultimately he was destined to remain in the officialdom.

During wartime, Zang Ba was needed and could be tolerated; but once the situation stabilized, he would be held accountable later.

For example, a man named Zhang Xiu died while following Cao Cao in his campaign against the Wuhuan, and shortly afterward, his son was implicated in the Wei Feng case and executed by Cao Pi.

Logically speaking, since Zhang Xiu's daughter married Cao Cao's son, Zhang Xiu's son Zhang Quan, no matter how stupid he was, should not have been involved in the Wei Feng case, unless Zhang Quan suspected that there were other hidden reasons for Zhang Xiu's death.

Regardless of whether Zhang Xiu's death was normal or not, it is undeniable that Cao Pi only wanted to get rid of Zhang Quan as soon as possible.

The main reason why Zang Ba was able to live longer than Chang Xi, who was also a bandit from Mount Tai, and even survived until Cao Rui succeeded to the throne, was that Zang Ba knew how to be pragmatic.

Especially after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Tan at Nanpi, Zang Ba personally went to congratulate him and requested that his sons, brothers, fathers, brothers, and their families be sent to Ye City to show his loyalty.

In times of chaos, one should not be too stubborn in order to preserve one's life.

A man who can bend and stretch can be a husband.

Mind this.

Zang Ba laughed again: "General Zuo's actions are admirable."

“I was just thinking that, given the daily travel distance of General Zuo leading the people north, it would take at least a month to get from Langya to Beihai.”

"If my actions delay General Zuo's journey and consequently affect the struggle between the Minister of Works and Yuan Shao, it would be a grave mistake on my part."

"Although Langya has little grain, I am willing to do my part for the country and the nation. Therefore, I will give the Left General three thousand shi of grain, five hundred ring-pommel swords, two hundred longbows, one thousand arrows, one hundred sets of leather armor, one hundred able-bodied men, and fifty old soldiers."

"What is your opinion, Military Advisor Xu?"

Seeing that Zang Ba had changed his tune.

Xu Shu also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If Zang Ba insists on refusing, Xu Shu will be unable to fulfill the promise he made to Liu Bei.

Although Liu Bei would not blame Xu Shu for his failed persuasion, Xu Shu was proud and only allowed success, not failure.

"Zang Xiang's willingness to dedicate himself to the country and its people is truly a blessing for the Han Dynasty!"

Xu Shu did not hold back his praise.

The handover order also recorded in detail the grain, weapons, able-bodied men, and old soldiers that Zang Ba had gifted him.

Since Liu Bei had already signed and stamped the handover order, only Zang Ba and Xu Shu needed to sign and stamp it.

in triplicate.

Zang Ba kept one copy, while Xu Shu took two.

However, when it came time to sign and stamp the document, Zang Ba felt a pang of heartache.

Not only did they fail to obtain the 5,000 sets of clothing and shoes they "demanded" from Che Zhou, they also had to "compensate" Liu Bei with grain, weapons, able-bodied men, and old soldiers!

[Enough, enough. Even the Grand Commandant wants to ally with Liu Bei, why should I offend him?]

Mind this.

Zang Ba picked up his pen to sign, took the seal, and stamped it, wanting nothing more than to get rid of Liu Bei, this great god, as soon as possible!

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(End of this chapter)