The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

Zang Ba put away his contempt for Cheng Jia, and said politely: "It is hard to walk with one step. I just don't know why Xun Jun made him come with one step? I dare to ask."

The straight-line distance from Kaiyang to Guangling County is about 500 miles.

Cheng Jia said in his heart: "Xun Jun is going to raise troops to attack Dong, and he needs to stabilize Guangling urgently, and Tao Qian has already had a rift with Xun Jun. With the honor of the prefect of the state, the tigers are in the East China Sea, and he has soldiers to watch, and you have Taishan soldiers as claws and wings. Of course, I'm here this time to win over you, even if I can't make you switch to Xun Jun's command, even if it doesn't help, I will make you remain neutral, so that Tao Qian's orders will not be yours."

These words cannot be said directly.

Cheng Jia did not answer Zang Ba's question, but first discussed the current situation with Zang Ba.

He said, "Jia went north this time, passing through Guangling, Xiapi, Donghai and Guijun counties. Along the way, he saw a lot of abandoned fields, people in the county had no food and clothing, and refugees were everywhere." He sighed, "Although I haven't been to Xuzhou before, I have heard that Xuzhou has a wealth of households. I really didn't expect that the Yellow Turban Rebellion last October brought so much damage to Xuzhou!"

From Guangling to Kaiyang, there are two ways to choose.

One is to take the land road, the official road along the coast, that is, the sea-facing road built by the first emperor of the former Qin Dynasty.

If you take this road, you don't need to go through Xiapi, go out of Guangling County, go northeast, pass Gaoyou, Sheyang, Haixi, then Donghai County, turn northwest, and then pass Quxian and Licheng , that is, Langya County, and after a few dozen miles, it will be Kaiyang.

The other is to take the water route first, and then take the land route.

This road needs to pass through the State of Xiapi. After leaving Guangling County, first take a boat to the north through Hangou, pass west of Gaoyou, and travel 200 miles to enter the State of Xiapi, arrive at Huaiyin County, disembark at Huaiyin, and then travel by land. , all the way north, pass Quyang County in Xiapi Country, then enter the territory of Donghai, then pass Houqiu County in Donghai County, walk a hundred or ten miles, enter the border of Langya County, pass Jiqiu County, and then arrive at Kaiyang.

"Hanggou" is an artificial river built by Fuchai of Wu State in the Spring and Autumn Period to fight for hegemony in the Central Plains and to facilitate the transportation of troops and grain. The south starts from Guazhou in the south of Guangling County and on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and in the north to the southeast of Huaiyin and the south bank of the Huaihe River. The end of the mouth is an artificial river connecting the Yangtze River and the Huai River. This artificial river was later incorporated into the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and it was the earliest stretch of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

This section of the river originally only reached the end of the mouth and was still a certain distance from the main stream of the Huai River. .

Cheng Jia came to Kaiyang this time. The reason why he did not take the land route near the sea, but went through Hangou first and then took the land route, was for two reasons.

One is to be able to walk faster by water.

One more thing, the current situation is unstable. Although there are no large groups of land thieves in Guangling, there are many pirates in the seaside area. Although Xun Zhen has dispatched troops to point out generals, they will move in parallel, and they will greatly suppress the pirates in the county. Pirates and pirates, but the main area of ​​​​the battle is inland, but there is still no time to take care of the pirates. It is not safe to take the coastal official road. - Last time Xun You and Yao Sheng went to Tan County in the East China Sea to see Tao Qian, they did not go either. The official roads along the coast also take the Hangou waterway first, and then go to Donghai County via Xiapi.

Therefore, Cheng Jia's visit this time did not only pass through some counties in Guangling, Donghai, and Langya, but also through the country of Xiapi.

In other words, that is to say, Xuzhou has only five counties in total, and he passed through four counties along the way, so what he saw along the way was actually the overall situation of Xuzhou.

Zang Ba was even more touched by the damage caused by the Yellow Turban Rebellion in October last year because of his personal experience. He said: "When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out last year, I was in Langya, and there was only one county in Langya. Bandits and robbers, their generation started in the countryside, whether they were Taiping believers or not, they all competed to use the yellow turban as their banner. When a husband called, several townships responded, and when several townships gathered, thousands of troops, holding wooden hoes, attacked cities and towns. I scrambled to be the first to plunder, many counties were captured, and the sages lost their clothes. In order to protect myself, I had no choice but to face the crime and summoned heroes and warriors to fight against them. Keep the county. After Fang Bo arrived in office, as soon as I was in desperation, I should have been imprisoned by the law, but Meng Fang did not abandon it, and did not think that I was a guilty person. He fought in several counties in the East China Sea, Xiapi, and Guangling, Lai Fangbo Shenwei, and finally put down the chaos.... Looking back on that day, I still feel shaken. At that time, Xuzhou was really in danger. If there is a slight difference, the whole prefecture will become the domain of thieves!"

Tao Qian was appointed by the imperial court as the prefect of Xuzhou to fight the fire after the rise of the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou. Before he arrived in Xuzhou, Zang Ba had gathered thousands of brave men from Mount Tai and Langya, and the Yellow Turban Army in Langya County many times. They fought and both won. Although Tao Qian won the first battle after taking office, the preservation of Langya County was not Tao Qian's merit, but Zang Ba's merit.

This is why Tao Qian did not consider Zang Ba to be desperate, but immediately called him to use him after he arrived in Xuzhou, and named him the captain of the cavalry, and told him to settle the army in Kaiyang. In fact, he acquiesced that he was in Langya County power.

Cheng Jia said with a smile: "The decision of Xuzhou, although Lai Fangbo's supernatural power, the power of the commander is also indispensable. If there is no commander, then I don't say that Langya would have fallen long ago, only that if there is no commander of the commander of the commander. With the help of the soldiers, even if Fang Bo can quell the rebellion, it will not be so quick."

Zang Ba agreed with this, he said a few words of humility, and said: "Last year's Yellow Turban Rebellion did great damage to Xuzhou, but Uncle Fang dared to make a decision, and after the war, he used the sages of the state and imposed them on him. Wang Hua, political affairs are clear and bright, and people gather in the fields. Although there are still scars after the chaos, it is much better than last year. With time, Xuzhou will be able to 'popular households' again."

Cheng Jia said, "I hope so." After speaking, she shook her head and sighed again.

Zang Ba was not surprised and asked, "Why do you sigh under your feet?"

Cheng Jia said: "The commander of the military is a wise man, the hero of the state, and Jia dares to ask him: I don't know what the commander thinks of the current situation at home and abroad?"

Zang Ba Fuxu pondered for a moment, then said: "Ba has lived on the seashore for a long time, and has rarely heard about the world, and has no knowledge of the current situation at home and abroad." He asked Cheng Jia, "I don't know how you can teach me?"

Although Zang Ba has been in Langya for a long time, he is not a person with no information. He is actually very clear about the various bad situations in the imperial court, the Central Plains, and the border areas. However, how could he dare to take the position of the captain of the cavalry, and sit in Langya in a grand manner. It's just that he didn't know why Cheng Jia suddenly asked this question. For the sake of safety, he claimed to be a frog at the bottom of the well and didn't know the situation at home.

Cheng Jia glanced at Chang Xi and the others who were sitting with him, but refused to say any more.

Zang Ba was already suspicious of why he came to see him, but when he saw his behavior, he was even more puzzled, so he ordered Chang Xi and others to go out, leaving only him and Cheng Jia in the tent.

As a lobbyist, he never stops talking without being surprised, and Cheng Jia is no exception.

Seeing that there were no unsightly outsiders, Cheng Jianai made a worried look, sighed again, and said, "Captain! I'm afraid the world will be in chaos."

What Cheng Jia said is true, and Zang Ba also has this opinion, but "this kind of opinion" can be pondered by himself, and he can tell his confidants that Cheng Jia and him only met for the first time, but he said this kind of words, he was suddenly surprised, He hurriedly said: "Why did you say this at a single step!"

"In the first year of Zhongping, when the Yellow Turbans were raised, the lord Xun Jun went to conquer Yu and Ji from Duke Huangfu. Do you know about this matter?"

"I know."

When Xun Zhen asked for the yellow turban, Xin Ai forced Zhang Jiao to commit suicide. This incident spread all over the world. Zang Ba may not know much about the specific deeds of Xun Zhen's pursuit of the yellow turban, but he does know about Xun Zhen's experience.

Cheng Jia said, "Yan Zhong in Liangzhou, does the commander know who he is?"

It is true that Yan Zhong is a famous person in Liangzhou, but he is not a famous person in the world. Zang Ba is not a famous person in the party. He is a young chivalrous person, but he does not know the name of Yan Zhong. He shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"Yan Zhong is a famous scholar in Liangzhou, so he is a letter to the commander, and he is always friends with Duke Huangfu. He is known to the world for his wisdom and foresight. After Huangfu set Jizhou fairly, Yan Zhong once secretly persuaded him to use the government's day. Because of the emptiness at home and abroad, I persuade Duke Huangfu to make the system in the south."

Yan Zhong's persuasion of Huangfu Song to rebel was a secret at the time, but it has been a long time since there was no airtight wall in the world, but now many people have heard about it.

This year, when Dong Zhuo entered Beijing, Huangfu Song sat on the sidelines and led troops to Luoyang without listening to the advice of some people to check and balance Dong Zhuo. Part of the reason was because the incident that Yan Zhong persuaded him to rebel was leaked out, and the court is now unable to pursue it. In this matter, he still needs to rely on him to resist the rebels in Xiliang, but he can't help worrying about "if he also brings troops into Beijing, will he be convinced that he will rebel".

Zang Ba was really surprised this time, and said, "Is there such a thing?"

Cheng Jia went on to say, "So Wang Fen, the prefect of Jizhou, does the prefect know?"

Dongping County, like Taishan County, also belongs to Yanzhou. Wang Fen is one of the "eight chefs" of the party members. Speaking of which, there are quite a few famous people in Yanzhou who are rich, and there are six of the party members' "eight chefs". All of them are from Yanzhou. Zang Ba, who is a native of Yanzhou, naturally knows Wang Fen. He nodded and said, "The person you are talking about is Zhang Mengzhuo's fellow county townsman, Dongping Wang Wenzu?"

"Exactly. Wang Fen committed suicide while serving as the prefect of Jizhou. Do you know the reason?"

"I don't know."

"When Wang Fen was the prefect of Jizhou, the lord Xun Jun was worshipped as the prefect of Wei County because of his military exploits. Wang Fen passed on the book to the lord and planned to abolish the emperor, but he was rejected by the lord. Later, the court called Wang Fen to the capital, and Wang Fen was suspicious. The matter leaked, so he committed suicide.”

Zang Ba was taken aback again and said again: "Is there such a thing?"

"Yan Zhong, a wise and far-sighted person, Wang Fen, one of the eight chefs of the party, the former emperor was still there, and they either persuaded the generals to stand on their own, or tried to abolish the emperor. Duwei! This is still all. It happened in the early years of Zhongping. Now the first emperor has passed away. Today, he is young, and he has not been on the throne for a long time. There is no support from his uncle and relatives, and there is no trustworthy person inside. The regiment, the state and the county each have their own opinions, but the rebellion of Liang and You is getting more and more intense, and bandits from the north and south are swarming.

It is an indisputable fact that the Han family was in the mausoleum and the Liu family declined.

Lord Shaoguo is suspicious, today Ziben is young, and his relatives He Jin and He Miao were all killed. From Yuan Shao's bloodbath in the North Palace, it can be seen that the imperial power is already crumbling. To make the situation turbulent, Zang Ba already felt that the world was going to be unstable, but at this time he heard that Yan Zhong and Wang Fen actually had such ambitions when the late emperor was still in power, and even more felt that the heaven of this big man was about to change. It's not long before the world is in chaos.

He remained silent~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Cheng Jia checked his face, turned generous, and continued: "The world will be in chaos, although the country is unfortunate, but it is also the time for heroes! For the sight of Mount Tai and Langya, where flags are raised, thousands of heroes follow, attack thieves and betray, liberate people from water and fire, and have a great reputation. In the position of 'Capital Commander', he lives in several counties, and he is not allowed to flutter his wings, unable to ride the clouds for pleasure, and the name and reality do not match.

Zang Ba said in his heart: "It seems that the world is in chaos, but what does he mean when he tells me this? 'Submissive to the position of the captain of the cavalry, and subordinate to several counties'? He said that he was the one who served Xun Guangling ordered him to come to see me, so what did he think?" His heart moved, and he asked, "It is a big taboo for gentlemen to talk to each other. Although there are chaos in the sea today, the Han family has its own power of heaven, and the court is in the middle. All the princes are wise, all the generals in the army are clear, there is a little confusion, and it is not enough. To say that the world will be in chaos, but it is alarmist. I don’t know what you mean when you say this to me?”

In what Cheng Jia said just now, "The world will be in chaos. It is a country's misfortune, but it is also the time for heroes to rise up." If you look into it, this sentence is very "rebellious", but Zang Ba did not turn his face and scold him for it. He didn't evict the guests because of this, let alone leave the table because of this, Cheng Jia was instantly determined.

He thought to himself: "Zang Ba, a young chivalrous disciple, has been hiding for more than ten years, secretly connecting Taishan and Langya heroes, and now he is in his prime. He rose up in chaos with the yellow turban, and has more than 10,000 people. He dominates Kaiyang. The princes of the northern state, I expected that he must not be a person who keeps his own feet and must have 'heroic will', and now it seems that I expected it to be good! My mission this time is 90% sure to be completed."