Chapter 2382 The Height of Mount Tai

Langya.

Brother Pig’s hometown.

What's interesting is that the two characters "Langya", except for the same "wang" or "yu", one is a good thing and the other is a bad thing, and then they appear together in pairs.

It's like the good and bad aspects of an event, and it's like people.

Good guys, bad guys, or there are never good guys or bad guys, just twisted, mixed, contradictory but unified people.

A hundred miles outside Langya City, Zang Ba stood on the left side of the road early, with the black cloak behind him fluttering in the wind.

Although it is already past the twelfth lunar month, the cold wind in the first lunar month is still biting.

Taixing six years.

The first month.

General Cao Cao patrols Xuzhou.

"General..." the confidant guard beside Zang Ba said, "Didn't I say there are still thirty miles? Why haven't I seen anyone yet?" Do you want to send someone..."

Zang Ba thought for a moment and shook his head.

Behind him, about three hundred soldiers formed an array and waited quietly.

No one likes to wait.

Unless some value can be recovered from the time spent waiting.

Zang Ba's personal guards were of course carefully selected. The soldiers wore battle armor, with cloaks tied on their backs, holding spears and shields, as well as swords, bows and arrows. In addition, they had the aura of having experienced battle formations. How could they come here? They can be considered elites. But at the moment, these elites are somewhat uneasy. Even though he was standing there without much restlessness, the expression on his face showed some uneasiness.

The Taishan Army was a local private army at the beginning. Later, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it continued to absorb the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers, and finally formed the current military strength. So from this point of view, many of these Taishan troops are actually Yellow Turban thieves who have changed their jobs, and they are even somewhat similar to Cao Cao's Qingzhou soldiers.

It can be said that most of Cao Cao's soldiers are pieced together, and their composition is much more complex than those under General Hussars.

Under the rule of General Hussar, Bingzhou soldiers and Xiliang soldiers were the most important pillars of the cavalry force, and the rest of the local soldiers served as supplements. In Cao Cao's case, some of the Yuzhou soldiers are Yuan Shu's remnants, there are naturally Yuan Shao's remaining forces among the Jizhou soldiers, the Qingzhou soldiers are the transformation of the Yellow Turban thieves, and the Jingzhou soldiers are newly incorporated into the system...

Brothers who are related by blood live together, and they will quarrel or even fight over this or that matter from time to time. What's more, these soldiers are no longer together, or even originally hostile? Under a limited economic system, whichever side gets more soldiers, food and grass supplies means that others may be short of food and money.

Undoubtedly, the Taishan Army basically belongs to the part with the least central supply, almost equal to none.

Because this is the price the Taishan Army paid for wanting independence.

Zang Ba is different from other generals under Cao Cao. He has his own small force, his own elite soldiers, and an independent territory. He is responsible for the taxes in his territory. He only needs to pay a small part, and can even deduct it for various reasons.

Although Langya has been abused once or twice by classmate Lao Cao, after all, he still has some foundation, and he also has some money and property...

After all, not just anyone can pick up a technician with good skills and good looks on the street.

According to the military system of the Han Dynasty, even a general had a certain limit on the number of personal troops he could independently own, that is, private soldiers. Historically, Zhang Babai didn't mean that he didn't want to cross the thousand line, but that he couldn't cross the line. No one can move other soldiers dispatched by the central government without the tiger talisman.

In addition to the limit on the number of soldiers, financial support is also another restriction.

Not everyone has a fiefdom, and currently Langya is almost like Zang Ba’s fiefdom. As long as Zang Ba wants to explode his troops and can hold on, the number will not be hundreds, but tens of thousands are possible. In addition, Zang Ba has a huge reputation for loyalty among Qingxu, and has many brothers of life and death, and these brothers of life and death also have soldiers...

To put it simply, if Zang Ba is really driven crazy, it is not completely impossible for Zang Ba to draw tens of thousands of elite soldiers between Qing and Xu without giving an order.

Therefore, Cao Cao's initial arrangement for Yu Taishan's army was to be silent rather than moving.

But this doesn’t mean that the Taishan Army will always be allowed to show off like this...

Historically, due to the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao's prestige collapsed in the later period. Coupled with the rebellions that broke out in various places, he did not have time to consolidate the Taishan Army in the later stages. Until Cao Pi came to power, all the Taishan Army's troops were also eliminated. He was so old that he killed Zang Ba with an "unfounded" name.

But now, Cao Cao was stimulated by General Hussar, and Cao Cao had a bad experience in Jizhou...

Although Cao Cao hated others saying that he was born into a family of eunuchs, for Cao Cao, the skills of eunuchs were almost engraved in his bones.

Take advantage of the situation.

The reason why eunuchs are arrogant is that most of the time, they represent the authority of the emperor.

When Cao Cao first started, he was moving around in places like Yanzhou and Chenliu. In addition to his personal martial arts and military strategies, there was also Cao Cao who would take advantage of the situation!

At first I borrowed it from Yuan Shao, but later I borrowed it from the emperor.

At the moment, Cao Cao used the momentum of the gentry children in Yuzhou to suppress Jizhou. After discovering the rebound, he immediately made peace with the gentry children in Jizhou. After negotiating the terms, he turned around. At the time of Qingxu, in front of the Taishan Army...

Cao Cao appeared suddenly, almost as if he had appeared directly from the ground, with a huge momentum, and there were many cavalry in the vanguard. These cavalry had enough maneuverability to attack the relatively flat area in Qingxu area. Controls a large area.

After Zang Ba discovered the appearance of Cao Cao's army, he immediately discovered that Cao Cao's cavalry formations appeared on almost three sides, with only the south side being empty...

To arouse the enemy?

Knocking on mountains and shaking tigers?

Or is it driving a tiger to devour a wolf?

Or some other strategy?

Although Zang Ba's private soldiers are loyal to Zang Ba, it does not mean that everyone in Zhe Langya is willing to die for Zang Ba. For the more ordinary people or soldiers, there is probably not much People would be willing to get involved in the war between Cao Cao and Zang Ba, as long as Zang Ba's direct lineage is not wrong, it is inevitable to be frightened by Cao Cao's huge momentum and have some other thoughts.

The problem is, no one knows what Cao Cao wants to do!

Even though Cao Cao ostensibly said he was coming to comfort the army and review the Taishan Army...

After getting the news, Zang Ba took action immediately. On the one hand, he met with his subordinates, especially the soldiers of his direct lineage, to cheer up and stabilize the morale of the army. On the other hand, he arranged military affairs and delivered letters to Sun Guan and others. In human hands, just in case... If there is any eventuality, as long as there are Sun Guan and others outside and they are not caught by Cao Cao, then even if Cao Cao wants to take action, he still needs to consider one or two things.

After the military alert was completed and people's hearts were slightly calmed down, Zang Ba led hundreds of elite soldiers out of the city to meet him. Everyone was neatly dressed and tidied up, and all the etiquette for welcoming the general was done meticulously and in place, so that when Cao Cao arrived, he would not find anything wrong.

All in all, Zang Ba believed that Cao Cao was willing to come to see him in person, which meant something...

Of course, if the meeting is not ideal, it may be the last meeting.

Various thoughts were weighing various possibilities in his mind, and Zang Ba himself was not a very resourceful person. In the end, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became, and his mood gradually became irritable.

Seeing that the general's expression was a little shaken and even showing some anger, Zang Ba's close guards were secretly uneasy, but they did not dare to say anything more and could only wait with bated breath.

After a while, Zang Ba finally regained his composure and cast his gaze far into the distance. I don't know how long it took, maybe an hour, maybe longer, but I finally saw some smoke rising in the distance. Immediately, a dozen cavalrymen from Zang Ba's vanguard came back quickly to report the news, running wildly and shouting. : "The general is here!" The general has arrived! 』

The formation of soldiers behind Zang Ba couldn't help but stir uproar, and then Zang Ba looked back with a sullen look, and finally calmed down again.

Zang Ba touched the armor straps on his body again, and tightened the belt a little tighter. Then he touched the sword at his side and held the handle of the sword. His heart, which was beating wildly, gradually began to beat. became orderly.

But soon, Zang Ba’s brows wrinkled again…

There were more hoofbeats in the distance, and then they rolled like thunder, making the dust on the ground beat!

Where did Cao Cao get so many cavalry? !

Didn't the previous sentinel say that there were only more than a thousand cavalry? Now the momentum is at least 3,000 cavalry! The majestic sound of horse hooves was so shocking that it made the earth tremble slightly, and also made Zang Ba and the soldiers behind him turn pale!

Anyone with a little battle experience can tell that the thunderous sound of horse hooves means that the cavalry is running at full speed, and it does not slow down at all even when it is close to the surrounding area!

What is Cao Cao going to do?

Do you really want to kill him directly? !

Zang Ba's trusted guard stepped forward and said eagerly: "General!" The cavalry is coming at full speed! He definitely has bad intentions! what to do? How about I lead my men to break up the rear here and return to the city as quickly as possible! 』

Zang Ba took a deep breath to calm down his brain. He looked back at his queue, and saw fear and wavering in the eyes of his men. Unknowingly, Zang Ba's hand was already on the handle of the sword. If he used a little strength, it would be You can pull it out directly, raise your arms and shout, either to resist, or to protect yourself and retreat to the city!

But at the next moment, Zang Ba let go of his hand. Not only did he loosen the handle of the knife, he even took the entire sword off his waist and handed it to the guard on the side.

The trusted guard was puzzled, his eyes widened, he looked at Zang Ba's sword, then looked up at Zang Ba, "General... this is..."

"Everyone is standing still!" Get ready to welcome the general in person! ” Zang Ba shouted, as if he couldn’t hear the sound of rolling horse hooves getting closer, and he didn’t see the smoke and dust raised by his wings as high as clouds!

Zang Ba wants to take a gamble.

On the horizon, a dark blue banner representing Cao Cao finally appeared, with layers of canopy and ribbons inlaid with gold and silver. At the same time, behind the vehicle, there were seven or eight large flags, which were more than half the height of ordinary flags, in the air. They flutter in the wind, and the tops of these large flags are inlaid with golden melons or long feathers, which are extremely gorgeous.

In front of the large canopy chariot, there were cavalry in black armor, all with black light armor. Hundreds of soldiers came in at once, like a galloping black wave, as dark as if they were about to crash into people. From the bottom of my heart!

The cavalry on both sides moved non-stop, directly outflanking Zang Ba's queue!

As soon as the array of generals appeared, they pressed in front of Zang Ba and others with overwhelming vigor!

Zang Ba gritted his teeth and raised his head and chest without saying a word or taking a step back. The soldiers behind him also gritted their teeth and just stared in front of him, not looking at the flanks that were surrounded on both sides. …

Time passes and the vehicle moves forward. This moment seems extremely short and yet extremely long.

The cavalry on both sides of Cao's army finally slowed down under an order, and gradually came to a stop behind Zang Ba's array. The horses neighed for a long time, sending clods of earth flying around, snorting like a forest. With his lance pointing straight into the sky, a cavalry general took aim at Zang Ba's formation, clicked his tongue, then turned around and ordered his men to be on guard.

General Cao Cao's carriage finally slowly arrived in front of Zang Ba and others.

Zang Ba took a step forward, bowed down and said, "My lord, I welcome you, General!" 』

The soldiers behind Zang Ba also bowed down together and shouted in unison, "Welcome to the general!" 』

There was silence all around. Cao Cao didn't speak. He seemed to be sitting on the canopy, looking into the distance. It's also like he didn't hear it on purpose and didn't give Zang Ba face in public.

Zang Ba lowered his head, like a solidified statue.

"Ah ha ha ha ha..."

Cao Cao raised his head and laughed.

It's just a pity that no one around me asked...

Cao Cao jumped out of the car, walked to Zang Ba and stood in front of him, then raised his hand to signal, "Xuan Gao, please get up!" After so many years of separation, is it okay for Xuan Gao to say goodbye? 』

Cao Cao's eyes flickered and fell on Zang Ba.

Zang Ba raised his head slightly and bowed again, "I am truly lucky to have my lord care about me..."

Before Zang Ba finished speaking, Cao Cao stepped forward and approached Zang Ba, "Why is Xuan Gao so indifferent?" ! Could it be that someone is sorry for Xuan Gao? Please speak up! 』

"this……"

Zang Ba didn't know what to say for a moment.

In fact, speaking of it, Cao Cao treated Zang Ba well.

As we all know, under Cao Cao at the moment, the generals of the Cao family and the Xiahou family are basically in charge of the soldiers. Among the generals with different surnames, they can be like Zang Ba, who has his own fixed territory and does not limit the number of private soldiers. , these are the only people in the Taishan Army. Although Cao Cao promised such good conditions to the Taishan Army at that time, it was to make Zang Ba willing to fight against Yuan Shao with Cao Cao, but it was still Cao Cao's preferential treatment to the Taishan Army.

Because whether it was Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, their previous attitude towards the Taishan Army, as well as the Black Mountain Army, the Baibo Bandits, the Runan Bandits, etc., was basically to reward these people with some meat and ask these people to kowtow immediately and express gratitude, otherwise they would burst into tears. Just don’t give face...

Therefore, Cao Cao's attitude towards the Taishan Army is the best among these princes. This is absolutely correct.

As for utilizing...

hehe.

So Zang Ba used Cao Cao to obtain Langya Prime Minister, and Cao Cao used Zang Ba to contain Yuan Shao's flanks. It was originally a relationship of mutual use. No one could say who owed the other, but when the interests were relatively consistent before, the relationship between the two people Of course it is very harmonious, but now, the relationship is not so harmonious.

But the problem is that Zang Ba and Cao Cao have not yet broken up, nor have they said that they are completely incompatible.

"I...I'm scared..." Zang Ba gritted his teeth and decided to hit a straight shot. To be honest, Zang Ba wasn't good at beating around the bush, "My dog ​​is still young and can't bear to be separated..."

When there are a lot of reasons, the verbal rejection is often the most inconspicuous one.

Cao Cao seemed to really believe it. He nodded and took Zang Ba's arm, "I also know that I have a high heart...but..."

Cao Cao looked around and saw a small slope on the side. He pointed at the slope and said, "Xuan Gao, come with me..."

The two of them stood on the slope, and their view broadened a little.

Cao Cao pointed to the distance and said, "In the past, Kong Zhongni once said that if you climb Mount Tai, you will make the world smaller... Xuan Gao has lived near Mount Tai for a long time, and he asked if Mount Tai is really high, is it really the highest in the world?" 』

"This..." Zang Ba was stunned for a moment and pondered a few thoughts in his mind. He didn't know whether Cao Cao was referring to the mountain Taishan, the Taishan army, or the people near Mount Tai. In the end, he simply just As if we were talking about the true nature of Mount Tai, "The peak of Mount Tai may not be higher than any other mountain in the world..."

"But that's what Kong Zhongni said!" "Xuan Gao..." Cao Cao sighed, pointed in the direction of Jizhou, and then sighed quietly, in a low tone, as if he was complaining to an old friend, "These people said the same!" They don't want us to see other mountains, nor do they want us to know how high they are... They are even ready to tell our children that Mount Tai is so majestic that it is the best in the world... But is it really so? 』

"They know some things, but they won't tell us, let alone our children, then..." Cao Cao took Zang Ba's arm, "Then let me ask Xuan Gao, in the future our children will meet people like them, What to do? Xuan Gao, do you have any idea? 』

"..." Zang Ba was stunned. Boss Cao, what does this mean?

"A certain person in Yecheng founded a school himself in order to adopt the strengths of each family..." Cao Cao turned to look at Zang Ba with a sincere face, "Besides that, the more important thing is that his children and grandchildren can learn from each other in the school." Learn more skills and gain more insights... You don't have to follow what others say, because there is no truth in the world! 』

"Xuan Gao is also my friend. I originally wanted your son and Quanzi to be companions, so that they can strengthen each other and work together to promote each other..." Cao Cao said with a smile, "I never thought that my subordinates could not explain clearly, which made Xuan Gao worried... …Forget it, if Xuan Gao doesn’t want to, then he doesn’t want to, and I’m not forcing it…”

Zang Ba glanced at Cao Cao, lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then prostrated himself on the ground, "I don't understand the great kindness of the general, and speculate with a villain's heart. It is really a sin!" Now that the general has explained it, all my doubts will be gone! I also ask the general to allow his ministers to be bold and allow the dog to read with the prince, riding in front of the horse and behind the horse, so as to fulfill his duties as a minister! 』

"Hey, since we are reading together as companions, how can we talk about the front and back of the horse?" ” Cao Cao laughed and said, “Since you have the desire to learn, you should consider yourself a beautiful person! Don't worry, Xuan Gao! 』

The two looked at each other and laughed together. It seemed that at this moment, the haze hanging over the two people was swept away. Then they walked down the slope hand in hand, ready to move on.

Zang Ba strode forward, his magnanimity seemed to have returned to him. After helping Cao Cao get into the car, he personally stepped forward to hold Cao Cao's horse's bit and guide Cao Cao's way.

Cao Cao smiled, held Zang Ba's hand, and said, "I'll invite Xuan Gao to ride with me today!" 』

Zang Ba refused repeatedly, but Cao Cao insisted on asking again and again. Finally Zang Ba had to get in the car and sit beside Cao Cao, not daring to sit with Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's guards and Zang Ba's soldiers naturally divided into two teams, followed the left and right sides of the vehicle, and slowly headed towards Langya City...

The atmosphere became harmonious for a moment.

perhaps.