Chapter 265: The Temptation of Two Thousand Stones, Zang Ba Sends Out His Troops Since Xu Shu joined Liu Bei's army, he and Guan Yu have been responsible for guarding the rear. Although he had made great contributions, he did not have any opportunity to show his abilities. After all, Guan Yu was transferred to the south by Qin Zhen to cut off Yuan Shu's retreat, but Xu Shu actually stayed in Pei State all the time. But even so, Xu Shu had no complaints and continued to work hard in Xiang County. Because he is not like Zhuge Liang and Qin Zhen. Although he was a knight-errant in his early years, his temperament has become much more restrained since he gave up martial arts and turned to literature. Although the position of Pei Xiang was not high, he was still a high-ranking official of the same rank as a county governor. Xu Shu had only been under Liu Bei's command for a year, but he was already content with the position of 2,000-stone official. Theoretically speaking, as a local garrison commander, Xu Shu should not have been sent on a diplomatic mission easily. The reason why he went to Langya in person can be traced back to when Liu Bei went south. After Liu Bei went south, Xu Shu and Guan Yu were responsible for guarding Xiang County.

Originally, Xu Shu was just a clerk at this time, but as Guan Yu went south, he became the highest official of Pei State. In the following year, when Qin Zhen and Lao Liu continued to expand their territory in the south, Xu Shu was promoted to the prime minister of Pei and had been governing the State of Pei ever since. The situation around Pei State was extremely complicated. For a long time, Pei State was surrounded by powerful enemies. Faced with this situation, Xu Shu's strategy was to focus on the interior while weakening the exterior, and to station heavy troops in Xiang County. Establish militia organizations in various places to be responsible for daily stability maintenance and security work. In addition, he still insisted on maintaining the Talent Recruitment Hall established by Qin Zhen. Thanks to this, he had a lot more talented civil and military personnel under his command. In addition to Wen Ji who was recommended to Guan Yu, there were also talents such as Yan Jun from Pengcheng, Wu Zhi from Jiyin, and Deng Zhan from Nanyang who came to join him one after another. After obtaining these talents, he actively took in refugees, restored production, and gradually restored the vitality of Pei State. But at this moment, a problem that needed to be solved urgently arose - Lu Bu might attack them. That’s right, long before Qin Zhen went north, Xu Shu discovered Lu Bu’s abnormal condition! Because although Qin Zhen is extremely perceptive, he still needs to look at the overall situation and it is difficult for him to take into account all the details. But it was different for Xu Shu. His only task was to take good care of the land of Pei State. Therefore, whether it was the issue of troop mobilization of Lu Bu or several surrounding counties, it was all under Xu Shu's attention. Originally, because Lu Bu went north, he was no longer on guard against Lu Bu. But after Lu Bu went north and was driven back by Ju Shou this year, he found that something was wrong! On the one hand, since Lu Bu had a good life in the past two years, he had been recruiting soldiers and horses. On the other hand, Lu Bu was trapped in the narrow area of ​​Xuzhou. If the progress of moving north goes smoothly, Lu Bu will most likely set his sights on Qingzhou, which is easier to capture. But the problem was that the process of moving north was not smooth. After being frightened by Yuan Shao, Lu Bu returned to Xuzhou in disgrace. In this case, Lu Bu probably wouldn't dare to go to the north, and Lu Bu didn't dare to provoke Cao Cao, so who would be the remaining target? Therefore, when Qin Zhen was on a diplomatic mission to Jingzhou, Xu Shu called everyone together for a discussion.

The theme is, if Lu Bu takes advantage of Liu Bei's southward march and suddenly launches a surprise attack, how should they respond? Faced with this problem, Wu Zhi suggested to Xu Shu that he should report the news to Liu Bei and ask Liu Bei to send more troops to guard against Lu Bu. But when Xu Shu heard this, he said directly that this was not acceptable. His original words were: "Now our army is in alliance with Lu Bu. Before Lu Bu starts, our army cannot move first!" "Otherwise, sending more troops to the border would only give Lü Bu an excuse to advance." "Also, our army must guard against Cao Cao. Now the military advisor wants to march south to Jiangdong. We have been ordered to guard against this. How can we not share our lord's worries?" Speaking of Wu Zhi, he was actually a famous official of Cao Wei and one of Cao Pi's four friends. He was young and from a poor family, and was not respected by his fellow villagers. Although he had good talents and learning, he was not very good at governing. Fortunately, Xu Shu had Yan Jun under his command, who later became the Minister of the Eastern Wu. According to the original course of events, Yan Jun should have fled south to avoid disaster when Cao Cao attacked Lu Bu. However, due to this change in the timeline, Yan Jun did not go south, but instead joined Liu Bei's army. Although this person has poor military ability, his political ability is excellent. Seeing that Xu Shu was trying to help Liu Bei relieve his worries, he persuaded Xu Shu: "Since you know that Lu Bu will cause trouble, and you don't want to trouble you with this matter, why don't you increase the number of troops under your command first?" Xu Shu hurriedly asked how to increase the troops, and he pointed to two people, namely Xu Xi and Mao Hui. These two men were former generals under Cao Cao. When Lu Bu entered Yanzhou, they both rebelled. Later, when the rebellion was suppressed by Qin Zhen, the two fled to Taishan County and relied on Zang Ba. Yan Jun told Xu Shu that Zang Ba was now attached to Lu Bu, and his subordinates might not be convinced. If the two could be persuaded to bring their troops to surrender, Lu Bu's power could be reduced! When Xu Shu heard this, he readily agreed and sent Yan Jun to Mount Tai to persuade the two. Although Xu Xi and Mao Hui rebelled against Cao Cao, they had long been willing to do good. When they saw that Liu Bei's army was actively recruiting them, they decided to take their troops and join Xu Shu. However, the two were somewhat afraid of Zang Ba's pursuit, so they asked Xu Shu to lead troops to support them. Upon seeing this, Xu Shu simply ordered Lu Kai, Fu Shiren, Xiahou Bo and others to guard Xiang County, and he personally led his troops northward and entered the border of Pengcheng. This continued until mid-October, when Xu Shu received two generals, Xu Xi and Mao Hui, and their 6,000 troops. But at this moment, Qin Zhen's military order came from the south, saying that Lu Bu might raid Jiujiang, and asked Xu Shu to send troops to Xiaoxian to support. When Xu Shu heard the letter, he took his troops and prepared to march south to Xiao County. Unexpectedly, a few days later, he received another letter from Qin Zhen, saying that the strategy had changed and he was preparing to seize Xuzhou, and asked him to persuade Zang Ba to go south. This letter shocked everyone, especially the planner Yan Jun. Because they had just accepted Generals Xu Xi and Mao Hui, they didn't know what Zang Ba's attitude was. Qin Zhen wants Xu Shu to persuade Zang Ba to go south. If Zang Ba has any resentment, wouldn't he be going to die? Therefore, after knowing the content of the letter, Yan Jun advised Xu Shu: "Although the military advisor has sent orders, he does not know our situation. Prime Minister Xu should not respond lightly!"

"You must know that Zang Ba was originally a bandit, and now he is following Lu Bu. How can he be easily persuaded?" "It's difficult to send an envoy at this time. If he fails to obey, he will inevitably be punished!" But who is Xu Shu? He is Qin Zhen's good friend for many years, and he knows very well that Qin Zhen's orders are never forced. Since he is now asked to persuade Zang Ba at all costs, it proves that Zang Ba is the key to capturing Xuzhou! This is not only an order given to him, but also a trust in his ability. So in the face of Yan Jun's persuasion, Xu Shu said that it was not a big problem. I am familiar with Zang Ba, and I will go and persuade Zang Ba myself. He then ordered everyone to stop advancing and wait until he persuaded Zang Ba before taking action together. Then Xu Shu took Deng Zhan and rode fast horses directly towards Dongguan County, Langya County. Finally, when Qin Zhen and Lu Bu were confronting each other, he met Zang Ba, explained his purpose, and asked Zang Ba to mobilize his troops. I saw that Zang Ba was more than seven feet tall, not very strong, with a dark face, but quite majestic. Facing Xu Shu's sudden request, Zang Ba stroked his beard and pondered: "I really don't know what your army's intention is, because I have always respected Mr. Xuande as a person, so I asked to follow you last year!" "But your army only advised me to withdraw, and I did not see your army take any action since then." "Now that Lu Bu has gone north to fight with our army and we have reached an alliance, your army wants me to betray it?" "Does Lord Xuande think that I can be ordered around at will just because I am of humble origin?" Xu Shu originally thought that Zang Ba would question the two generals Xu Xi and Mao Hui, but he did not expect that Zang Ba would not even mention them. Instead, he seemed to be somewhat resentful that Liu Bei had not taken any action before. After thinking for a while, he shook his head and smiled, saying to Zang Badao: "I originally wanted to recruit Generals Xu and Mao to surrender, thinking that the general would be angry, but I didn't expect that the general would complain about this!" "If I may borrow a phrase from my good friend, why would the general be so self-deprecating?" "You must know that when I heard that the general was interested in following me, my military advisor Qin Zhen said that the general was famous for his filial piety and bravery, and could be a good arm of his!" "So I advised my chief general to be the captain of Mount Tai to show my closeness and wait for your help today." "I didn't expect the general to think this way. I really don't know how to respond!" After hearing these words, Zang Ba's expression became better, but he still refused to speak. "If Lord Xuande really values ​​me so much, why didn't he go to Xuzhou before? Instead, he is looking for my help now that we are facing a powerful enemy?" "You must know that the reason why Zang was able to establish himself is because of the two words loyalty and righteousness!" "Although Lu Bu has betrayed the alliance, he is still my ally. If I betray the alliance and attack you, how will I survive in the future?" But as soon as he finished speaking, Xu Shu shook his head and said: "My lord originally thought that the general was a hero, and just now he wanted to unite with the general!" "I didn't expect the general to be so absurd and his words were so ridiculous!" "In today's world, it is not the time of Qin's chaos. Heroes from all over the country have emerged. We can conquer each other and gain allies!" "And the emperor is still alive today. You, me, and Lu Bu are all Han subjects. How can we form an alliance?" "The reason I came here is not because I want to form an alliance with the general, but because I am now in charge of the military affairs of the three states and I have been ordered to go south to suppress the rebels!"

"Lü Bu was a minister of the Han Dynasty, but he colluded with Sun Ce and turned against the Han Dynasty." "So I urge you to go south to fight together, so as to preserve your integrity. Why do you hesitate and refuse to go south?" "Could it be that the general no longer has the Han Dynasty in his heart and is unwilling to obey the emperor's orders?" "Furthermore, even if you follow your words and form an alliance with Lu Bu, may I ask you, can Lu Bu be your friend?" "You must know that when Lü Bu was stranded in the Central Plains, all the princes in the world abandoned him, but only my lord accepted him!" "But this person ignored our old friendship and turned against us, causing our lord to lose his foundation." "Now our army is on good terms with Lu Bu and often gives him money. How generous is that?" "So what is Lu Bu doing now? Didn't the general know about all this? Did you think Lu Bu would be wholeheartedly in alliance with the general?" "How can you be loyal to such an alliance? It's simply foolish!" "I dare to assert that if you remain loyal and righteous, you will not only lose your reputation in the future, but after Lu Bu is defeated, the emperor will also issue an edict to punish you for helping him!" "In such a situation, how could the general be so stubborn and unwilling to send troops to help?" Zang Ba listened to Xu Shu's words, stroked his beard and pondered for a while. Of course he knew whether Lu Bu was reliable or not. In fact, in his heart, the alliance with Lu Bu was just a matter of interests, mainly for self-protection. But the reason why he didn't send troops now was not because he trusted Lu Bu, but because he didn't trust Qin Zhen very much! After all, if Lao Liu were here, he would have no objection and would send troops if he was told to! Because he knew that he was doing Liu Bei a favor. Even if Liu Bei didn't eliminate Lu Bu, if Lu Bu went north in the future, Liu Bei would send troops anyway. But Qin Zhen is different. Although he is famous for his wisdom, he is not as trustworthy as Liu Bei! Now he has followed Qin Zhen's orders and headed south, offending Lu Bu. What if Lu Bu goes north in the future and Qin Zhen turns against him? But now Xu Shu's words have hit the nail on the head. If Lu Bu joins forces with Sun Ce to resist Liu Bei, that is rebellion! He disobeyed Liu Bei's order and went south, which was also a rebellion in a sense! In this case, what should Lu Bu do when the emperor calls him to account after he is defeated? After thinking about it for a while, he raised his head and looked at Xu Shu and said in a deep voice: "If I send troops south, and Lu Bu is defeated in the future, how will you deal with us?" Seeing that he was relieved, Xu Shu immediately said to Zang Ba: "This time the military advisor asked me to come and persuade you, and he has clearly stated that no matter what the general's request is, it can be met!" "But this is too empty. I can guarantee it to the general." "After Lu Bu's defeat tomorrow, the general and his generals will all be paid 2,000 dan!" "If this doesn't come true, General, you can come and take my head!" Two thousand stones was the ultimate dream of almost all scholars in the Han Dynasty. The three dukes and nine ministers may not be very realistic, but the position of a prefect with a salary of two thousand stones is very attractive. Seeing Xu Shu's solemn promise, Zang Ba thought that all of Liu Bei's men should not be such liars, so he made up his mind and said: "I believe what Prime Minister Xu said. If this is the case, I will send troops to help them!"

(End of this chapter)