Chapter 331 Loyal Zang Ba
Langya State, Kaiyang.

Zang Ba inspected the civilian settlements in the suburbs and checked all kinds of registers and warehouses.

When we returned to Kaiyang City, we saw a group of merchants resting in the cool air on the side of the road.

Zang Ba reined in his horse and observed, sensing the strong military atmosphere of this group of people, he slowly raised his right hand holding the horse whip, and the accompanying guards also drew their swords, grasped their spears and halberds, and became alert.

Before Zang Ba could retreat into the crowd, a young man in a coarse cloth shirt stepped forward and saluted: "I am Xu Ci from Nanyang. Are you the Prime Minister Zang?"

"It's me. You came from Nanyang, but are you a disciple of Envoy Liu?"

"Yes, the envoy's handwriting is here."

Xu Ci turned around and took out a scroll of silk book from the wooden box, handed it to one of Zang Ba's guards, and after a brief inspection, handed it to Zang Ba.

After Zang Ba took the silk book, he controlled his horse to retreat seven or eight steps, and the guards on his left and right rode forward to block the empty space.

As a man who was good at fighting, Zang Ba naturally knew that people could easily be attacked while reading books.

After retreating into the crowd, Zang Ba spread out the silk book and saw that it was indeed Liu Bei's handwriting, and the seals used were also the seal of the Left General, the seal of the Governor of Yuzhou, and his personal seal.

Calligraphy and seals can be forged, but in the letter Liu Bei talked about some deeds that only the two of them knew. Zang Ba immediately believed that the scholar in front of him was Liu Bei's messenger.

He immediately said, "It is not convenient to talk here, let's go into the city and talk in detail."

"As you command."

Xu Ci bowed deeply and also let out a sigh of relief.

The journey was not easy, and he was often noticed by the Jinwei and Tingzhang, but these people let him go intentionally or unintentionally.

In Zang Ba's mansion in the city, Xu Ci bathed, changed clothes, and waited to be summoned by Zang Ba.

Zang Ba also took a bath and thought about the future in the quiet room.

Whether it is Liu Bei or Cao Cao, it is actually the same to him.

Zang Ba was not even afraid of the previous Lu Bu.

He is not an emotional person like Chang Xi. As the actual ruler of part of Xuzhou and part of Qingzhou, Zang Ba also wants to expand outward.

But he knew that his clan was weak and lacked prestige, and it was impossible for him to get support from the big families in other regions.

It was only in the Qingzhou and Xuzhou areas that the big families in Qingzhou were wiped out by the Yellow Turban Army, and Xuzhou was repeatedly attacked by the Yellow Turban Army and the Cao Army, so Zang Ba was able to gain a foothold.

During the Guandu period, Zang Ba almost single-handedly carried the war on the eastern front, counterattacked into Qi, Beihai, Le'an and other places, defeated Yuan Tan and directly destroyed the foundation of Yuan Tan's governance of Qingzhou.

But even so, Cao Cao would not agree to Zang Ba taking over these areas, so Zang Ba decisively withdrew his troops and returned to Langya.

In the three years since then, Qingzhou has been in chaos, and there is no big family to check and balance it, but Zang Ba ignores it.

Given the current situation in Qingzhou, Zang Ba could naturally take it all away bite by bite, and he would be confident of maintaining his rule.

But he felt that it was meaningless. Even if he conquered it, there would be no other room for development in the future.

The scale is getting bigger and bigger, and it will be more difficult to land in the future.

Concentrating on protecting the current foundation, Zang Ba has a strong internal cohesion.

As long as he has no intention of external expansion, neither Cao Cao nor Liu Bei, or that black Sima, can tolerate him.

Zang Ba was not even prepared to show any obvious preference. If he showed his friendliness towards Liu Bei now, and Hei Da Sima broke with Liu Bei in the future, wouldn't he have to follow Liu Bei all the way to the end?
As for passing the foundation to his son, Zang Ba had never even thought about it.

Now, he has raised the family's prestige to a certain limit; landing safely and securely is more important than anything else.

After he had calmed down, Zang Ba was allowed to see Xu Ci.

Xu Ci is a young man, but he is nearly thirty years old.

He was from Nanyang and had studied under Zheng Xuan in Beihai. Later, when Yuan Tan attacked Qingzhou, Xu Ci took the sea route to Jiaozhou to avoid the chaos and studied under Liu Xi in Beihai with Xue Zong, Cheng Bing and others.

When Yuan Tan entered Jiaozhou, Wang Xiu traveled with him. Upon learning of the great changes in the Central Plains, many scholars who had been living in seclusion in Jiaozhou headed north.

Xu Ci was originally going to go north to Guanzhong with Wang Xiu, but he met Sun Qian, a classmate with whom he had a better relationship, in his hometown of Nanyang. So, at Sun Qian's invitation, Xu Ci served as an official under Liu Bei.

After the two men exchanged greetings, Xu Ci said, "The traitor killed the emperor, and now the people of the world wish they could punish him."

After hearing the first sentence, Zang Ba waved his hand and said, "I am a bandit from Mount Tai, so don't try to talk about righteousness. I respect Lord Xuande as a man, and if you talk about human feelings, I might be able to send troops to help."

Xu Ci was stunned and looked at Zang Ba in surprise. He didn't expect Zang Ba to be so shameless.

Zang Ba was calm, raised his cup to signal, and then drank by himself, saying: "It is true that Cao Gong's time is short, but he has been kind to me. I was born a thief, and I followed Lü Wenhou and fought against Cao Gong for a long time. But Cao Gong spared my life by not pursuing the matter, and granted me an official title and treated me like a national hero. I cannot repay him with a national hero, but I cannot send troops to attack him either."

Seeing Xu Ci calm down, Zang Ba was in a dilemma. "Although Lord Xuande and I have a friendship, it is not worth it for me to repay kindness with hatred. Moreover, Lord Cao is now on the verge of death, how can I ignore the soldiers under his command? The officers and soldiers under my command are also flesh and blood born of their parents. How can I ruin the lives of thousands of men and children because of my personal feelings?"

Seeing Xu Ci trying to open his mouth again, Zang Ba stopped smiling and said, "I am from a good family. The Han Dynasty lacks virtue, and corrupt officials are in power in the court and counties. I fled to the mountains and became a bandit to save my father. Between loyalty and filial piety, I chose filial piety. Please don't use the righteousness of a loyal minister to explain it."

Xu Ci was also helpless after hearing this, because Zang Ba really had everything he needed now.

Besides, Liu Bei couldn't produce any valuables. Besides, Zang Ba, a man who valued loyalty and straightforwardness, didn't appreciate luxury goods such as gold and silk.

After a long while, Xu Ci said, "If you raise your arms and shout loudly, Qingxu will change color. This will avoid many unnecessary fights and save countless lives. This is a great act of benevolence."

"There are enough people dying in this world, not even tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands more."

Zang Ba said indifferently, "In my opinion, the soldiers and civilians under my rule are the real people. What do the people outside have to do with me? My power is limited and it is difficult for me to help the world. Please pass on my words to Lord Xuande. I respect Lord Xuande and Lord Yunchang. Please forgive me for my deep personal feelings and my difficulty in fighting for justice and benevolence in the world."

"Yes, I dare not change a single word. I will repeat it to you in person without missing a word."

Xu Ci could only bow deeply, but Zang Ba said, "I will write a letter later. Sir, you have come from afar, please enjoy the banquet. I am sorry that I cannot accompany you."

After Zang Ba finished speaking, he raised the glass that he had just filled with wine, and Xu Ci also quickly raised his glass. The two of them gestured to each other from a distance, raised their heads and drank it all in one gulp.

Then Zang Ba put down his wine glass, stood up, clapped his hands, and said to Xu Ci with a smile: "Sir, please do as you please. Don't be polite to me."

At this time, a group of Kabuki actors came in from the side door. The weather was hot, and more than a dozen tall and slender women with plump figures were dancing in thin clothes, and they were all barefoot.

Xu Ci recognized it at the first sight. It was a specialty of Mount Tai and in the past it was a goddess who served in the Temple of the Lord of Mount Tai.

Since the turmoil in the world, temples and sacrifices in various places have been impacted by the Yellow Turban Army, but some traditions have also been preserved.

For example, in the selection of this kind of goddess, when Xu Ci was studying in Beihai, he was taken by Sun Qian to experience the taste of a goddess.

Now Zang Ba can kill more than ten people at a time, and Xu Ci suddenly feels that this trip is not in vain.

The little emotion in my heart towards Zang Ba disappeared in an instant.

In just a moment of change in his thinking, Xu Ci understood Zang Ba's difficulties and helplessness.

(End of this chapter)