Chapter 268 It’s time to eradicate this big cancer! Xuzhou, I, Liu Bei, have finally returned!
Zang Ba raised his head tremblingly, and looked at Zhang Liao with extremely complicated eyes in disbelief.

Of course he recognized Zhang Liao.

When Lu Bu was the lord of Xuzhou, he and Zhang Liao were nominally colleagues and both were Lu Bu's subordinates.

However, Zang Ba never expected that the man who followed Lu Bu and fled to Huainan in disgrace has now become Liu Bei's subordinate.

He never dreamed that one day Zhang Liao would hold a knife to his neck.

"Zhang... Zhang Wenyuan~~"

Zang Ba gnashed his teeth and looked at Zhang Liao with resentment, but he couldn't utter a word.

Zhang Liao sighed, a look of regret flashing across his face.

"Zang Ba, over the years, no matter who was the ruler of Xuzhou, you always kept your troops to yourself and never participated in the battle for Xuzhou."

"Why do you have to change your ways this time, and work so actively for the Yuan family and become an enemy of the general?"

"Do you think the Yuan family can really conquer the world? Do you think the general will really be defeated by Yuan Shao?"

"What a pity! You are smart all your life but stupid for a moment. You bet on the wrong place!"

Zang Ba's body shuddered, and a hint of shame appeared on his sad and angry face.

Obviously, all his wishful thinking had been exposed by Zhang Liao.

"Zhang Wenyuan, I..."

"Come here, escort this thief back to Xuyi City and hand him over to the general for punishment!"

Zhang Liao had no time to listen to what Zang Ba said. He sheathed his sword and shouted sternly.

Liu Jun's troops on both sides rushed forward and tied Zang Ba up and took him down.

Zhang Liao swept his eyes around the enemies and shouted:

"Listen, Taishan soldiers! I have captured Zang Ba alive!"

"Those who surrender to the general will be spared death!"

"Kill those who resist!"

This powerful shout made the remaining Taishan soldiers' eardrums numb and their livers and gallbladders shattered.

Seeing Sun Guan killed in battle and Zang Ba captured, their only remaining hope collapsed at this moment.

then.

Thousands of Taishan soldiers dropped their weapons, knelt down on the beach, and begged for mercy and surrender to Liu's army.

As night fell, the shouting and screaming over Xuyi finally died down.

On top of the city.

Liu Bei was already in high spirits as he listened to Chen Dao announcing the results of the battle.

"In this battle, our army killed 4,000 enemies and captured about 5,000 of them."

"Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and other Taishan army generals were all killed by us."

"Zang Ba has been captured alive by General Zhang and will be escorted back to the city later."

Chen Dao read out loudly the battle results summarized by the generals.

When Liu Bei heard that Zang Ba was captured, his eyes trembled slightly and he couldn't help but sigh:
"It seems that in this battle, Zang Ba and his Taishan Army have been completely wiped out!"

Xiao Fang smiled and bowed, saying:
"Congratulations, my lord, on the great victory in the first battle to recapture Xuzhou."

"Speaking of which, my lord should also thank Yuan Tan for helping me eradicate the Taishan Army, which is a big cancer, so that there will be no hidden dangers when I recover Xuzhou in the future."

Liu Bei was stunned at first, but then he understood what Xiao Fang meant.

There were a total of five counties and kingdoms in Xuzhou. Zang Ba, Sun Guan and their gang of Taishan bandits occupied two counties and kingdoms, namely Donghai and Langye, which meant that they took away nearly half of Xuzhou's territory and population.

Since the time of Tao Qian, they have been relying on their own military power and have always watched Xuzhou being invaded by foreign enemies or changing hands without offering any help.

This means that no matter who is the lord of Xuzhou, he can only fight against foreign enemies with the strength of three counties.

This is also the reason why Xuzhou changed hands so frequently.

There is no way. They are coming with troops from an entire state, but you only have troops from three counties to fight against them. The gap in strength is huge. How can you resist them with your head?
Who made you have a fence-sitter in your family? He holds half of the family property but does nothing but sits there and watches you get beaten up by outsiders without helping you, allowing outsiders to take over your nest.

If Liu Bei recaptured Xuzhou this time, under normal circumstances, Zang Ba should continue to be a fence-sitter, and wait until Liu Bei and Yuan Tan decided the outcome, and then submit a letter of false surrender.

The other party surrenders, there is no reason for you not to accept it.

Then Zang Ba and his Taishan Army would be retained as an organized unit, and would most likely continue to be entrenched in Xubei and continue to command its own troops.

Two of Xuzhou's five fingers were still broken, so he couldn't make a fist.

This is why Xiao Fang said that Zang Ba and the Taishan Army were the hidden dangers of Xuzhou.

But now, all these hidden dangers no longer exist.

To show his loyalty to the Yuan family, Zang Ba led the Taishan army in full force to fall into the trap. In the first battle, the entire army was wiped out and all the Taishan generals were killed.

The Taishan Army, which had occupied Xubei for nearly ten years, fell.

Then, when he recovers Xuzhou in the future, he will naturally be able to recover the two counties and states of Langya and Donghai at the same time, allowing Xuzhou to return to de facto unification.

"Military Advisor, your words make sense. The Taishan Army has been entrenched in Xuzhou for so many years. This cancer should indeed be eradicated, and the division in Xuzhou should also end."

Liu Bei put away his emotion and a look of determination flashed across his brow.

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard. It was Zhang Liao climbing up the city wall.

"My lord, Liao has fulfilled our mission and killed the enemy general Sun Guan and captured the enemy leader Zang Ba alive. I am reporting to you!"

Zhang Liao, with an excited look on his face, bowed to Lao Liu.

Liu Bei laughed, patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and praised him:
"In today's battle, I finally saw the strength of Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. It really is as good as its reputation. It can be compared with Wen Jin's Xiliang Iron Cavalry!"

"In this battle, Wenyuan, you deserve the most credit!"

Zhang Liao's lips curled up slightly in a smile, and a huge weight of relief fell from his heart.

As a military general, he naturally knew that his position in the camp had to be earned through fists and military exploits.

After surrendering to Liu Bei, although he was treated very well by Liu Bei, he had not made any contribution, which made Zhang Liao feel uneasy.

Now that he had captured Zang Ba and killed Sun Guan in one battle, he had made great contributions, proved his strength, and established his position in the army. Naturally, he breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Liao did not dare to boast of his achievements. After being humble, he ordered Zang Ba to be escorted to the tower.

A moment.

A prisoner, half covered in blood and with a gloomy and guilty look on his face, was dragged to Liu Bei.

The moment he saw Zang Ba, a cold light flashed in Liu Bei's eyes.

"General, Ba knows his crime!"

"Ba shouldn't be afraid of Yuan Tan's coercion and overestimate his own capabilities to attack the general!"

"Ba has now repented and is willing to return to the general's command. I will go through fire and water for the general without any hesitation!"

Zang Ba was indeed a fence-sitter. As soon as he saw Liu Bei, he slid down to his knees and begged for mercy sincerely.

Before Liu Bei sent out his troops, he had already set the goal of beheading Zang Ba as a sacrifice. Originally, he planned to kill Zang Ba directly without saying anything.

However, he did not expect that Zang Ba's unexpected kneeling and begging made him hesitate for a moment.

"Although the Taishan Army was completely wiped out, this man has been entrenched in Xubei for many years. His foundation is unfathomable. As long as he raises his arm and calls for help, he can easily gather another army."

"If it were another general, it wouldn't matter. This thief has no loyalty at all. He is as fickle as Lu Bu. All he cares about is to have his own army."

"My lord, you have finally defeated the Taishan army. How can you let him live just because you are soft-hearted and believe his lies?"

"My lord, you want to use Xuzhou as your base to recover the Central Plains, so how can you leave such a hidden danger in Xuzhou?
"My Lord, please put the overall situation first and the future stability of Xuzhou first. Kill this thief and sacrifice to our battle flag to put an end to the internal troubles in Xuzhou forever!"

Xiao Fang skinned Zang Ba alive, revealing his inherent fickleness to Lao Liu.

These words made Lao Liu shudder, and his hesitation disappeared in an instant.

The murderous intent in his eyes resurfaced, and Liu Bei waved his hand and shouted:

"Military Advisor, your words make sense. I want to use Xuzhou as my base to recover the Central Plains. I cannot allow Xuzhou to have any hidden dangers."

"Come here, drag this capricious Zang Ba away and behead him as a sacrifice!"

When Chen Dao received the order, he waved his hand and the Bai Li soldiers on both sides rushed forward and dragged Zang Ba up.

Zang Ba was stunned, and when he looked at Liu Bei again, he felt as if he had seen a ghost.

That’s not right. Is this still the Liu Bei I know?

Originally, he thought he had grasped Liu Bei's character, which was just benevolence and righteousness.

As long as I say a few soft words and bow my head in surrender, you, Liu Bei, will be concerned about your reputation for benevolence and righteousness and have no reason not to accept my surrender.

As long as I'm alive, if I find a chance to escape back to Xubei in the future, I can just raise my arm and easily gather a group of people!
As long as I have soldiers in my hands, I will still have the capital to survive under the Yuan family.

Unfortunately, his understanding of Liu Bei still remains at the time when Liu Bei was in charge of Xuzhou. He never expected that Liu Bei today has been completely transformed.

I am still kind and righteous!
But my kindness and justice will not be abused on someone as fickle as you!
"Liu Bei, aren't you a righteous ruler? I am willing to surrender to you, why do you still want to kill me?"

"Liu Bei, you hypocritical fellow, if I had known this would happen, I should have helped Lu Bu and strangled you in Xuzhou—"

Zang Ba was filled with grief, anger and remorse, and his screams could be heard on the top of the city wall, but he was ruthlessly dragged away by the Bai Li soldiers.

The screams stopped abruptly and a head fell to the ground.

Liu Bei let out a long breath, as if he had finally released some of the anger that had been suppressed in his heart for years.

And this depression originated from the tragic loss of Xuzhou that year.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze turned to the north of Xuyi, the mountains and rivers of Xuzhou, and the familiar plants and trees were all within his sight.

"Xuzhou, I, Liu Bei, have finally fought back!"

Liu Bei uttered a long sigh, and then, with a burst of heroic spirit, he shouted:

"Pass on my order. All troops will gather in Xuyi immediately. The army will march north along the Sishui River and directly take Xiapi!"

"In this battle, I will defeat Yuan Tan and recapture Xuzhou!"

...

South of Xia Pi City, the parade ground.

Yuan Tan was standing on his horse with his sword in hand, reviewing the mighty Yuan family army that was marching in front of the stage.

"According to You's calculations, Zang Ba should have taken over Xuyi City by now, and the Huainan gate has already been kicked open by us."

"My 70,000-man army has also been assembled, and we have sufficient food and fodder."

"My Lord, after reviewing the soldiers today, we should march south and attack Huainan."

Xu You beside him was smiling as he outlined a blueprint for Yuan Tan.

Chen Gong, Chen Deng and other "outsiders" looked suspicious and did not understand what Xu You meant by "Zang Ba has taken Xuyi".

Yuan Tan had a high-spirited smile on his face and glanced at Xu You with approval:
"Ziyuan, if I can defeat Liu Bei in this battle and quickly take Huainan, you will be the first to achieve the credit!"

"The Yuan family will never forget your contribution, and Yuan Tan will never forget it!"

Xu You heard the hidden meaning in Yuan Tan's words. He was promising him that after Yuan Tan inherited the throne of the Yuan family, he would definitely not treat Xu You unfairly.

Xu You understood and complimented with a smile:

"The eldest son is a man of great courage and strategy, and has the demeanor of a lord. You is lucky to be able to offer advice to the eldest son and do his best to help."

This flattery made Yuan Tan feel relaxed and happy, and full of confidence.

So after laughing, Yuan Tan waved his whip:
"Pass on my order. The army will immediately march south along the Si River—"

"Report—urgent news from Xuyi!"

A rider came galloping and interrupted Yuan Tan's order.

"My Lord, urgent news from Xuyi."

"Our army was ambushed by Liu's army, and all 10,000 Taishan soldiers were wiped out. Zang Ba and other Taishan generals were all killed by Liu Bei!"

"Liu Bei is leading his army northward along the Sishui River, invading our Xuzhou, and heading for our Xiapi City!"

There was an uproar on the school platform.

Yuan Tan's raised whip also hung in the air, and the high-spirited look on his face had solidified into astonishment and shock.

(End of this chapter)