Chapter 27 Filial Piety Will Be Loyal, Righteous Will Be Courageous
"Liu Shijun often warns us that those who are filial must be loyal, and those who are just must be brave. I heard that Captain Zang saved his father from a robbery at the age of eighteen, and Zhongtai (Sun Guan) and other brothers helped each other with righteousness, so I respect your loyalty and bravery.
, are all extraordinary men in this world, so I have been specially ordered to come here today to worship Captain Zang as Langya Prime Minister."
Zhou Ping got straight to the point and explained his purpose directly.
First talk about appointing Zang Ba as the prime minister of Langya, and then talk to him about the war.
This is not about negotiating conditions in exchange for benefits, but asking Zang Ba to appreciate Liu Bei's kindness and send troops voluntarily, which has a different meaning.
If he talks about sending troops first and then talks about Langya Prime Minister, Zang Ba will think that he has obtained Langya Prime Minister in exchange, and he will not be so grateful to Liu Bei.
Based on Zhou Ping's understanding of Zang Ba, he was a man who cared deeply about kindness and loyalty. Being a Jianghu person, it is necessary to value kindness and loyalty.
As long as you let him feel how good you are to him, he will be loyal to you.
Zhou Ping's words really shocked Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others.
They really didn't expect that Liu Bei would appoint Zang Ba as Langya Prime Minister just after he took office in Xuzhou. You know, the current Langya Prime Minister is Xiao Jian. How would Xiao Jian deal with this?
Zang Ba was stunned for a moment and then asked: "What...what did you say? Mr. Liu wants me to be Langya Prime Minister?"
Zhou Ping said with a smile on his face: "Yes, why, Captain Zang is unwilling?"
"Why did Liu Shijun want me to be Langya Prime Minister?" Zang Ba asked again.
Anyone would have doubts about a sudden big benefit.
If you want to take something, you must give it first. Many people understand this truth. However, many people lose their minds when they see the benefits suddenly in front of them, and thus they are greedy for small things and lose big things.
Zhou Ping picked up the wine glass on the table, took a sip of wine, and then said with a smile: "Do you want me to tell the truth?"
"explain."
Yin Li's beard looked like a Chinese character and his eyes were fixed on Zhou Ping, as if he was looking forward to the answer.
Ever since he and Wu Dun heard Zhou Ping say that Zang Ba would be the Prime Minister of Langya, they no longer looked at Xu Chu, and the anger in their eyes disappeared.
"Because the envoy heard that you often rob the people."
As soon as Zhou Ping said this, everyone was shocked and looked at him warily and doubtfully.
Yin Li and Wu Dun became even more angry and stared at Zhou Ping.
Xu Chu, who was standing behind Zhou Ping, had his eyes wide open and his face showed anger. He clutched the handle of the knife tightly and stared at Yin Li and Wu Dun.
Yin Li and Wu Dun felt Xu Chu's glare. They looked up and did not dare to look directly at Xu Chu. They quickly lowered their heads to look at Zhou Ping.
"What do you mean by envoy?"
The person who asked the question was Sun Kang.
Among these people, the one who has read the most is Sun Kang, and he is also the oldest.
At this moment, they all couldn't figure out why Liu Bei wanted to make Zang Ba the Prime Minister of Langya when his own people went to plunder the people. This didn't seem to make sense.
"Liu Shijun has a benevolent heart and loves the people. I believe you all know that."
Zhou Ping said, seeing several people across from him nodding, and then said: "If Captain Zang becomes Langya Prime Minister, you will have money and food to support the army, and you will no longer need to rob the people. This is the only condition of the envoy. Can you agree?"
?”
Zang Ba thought for a moment and replied: "We don't want to rob the people, but the army has no food, so we have to do it. If we have food to eat, there is no need to rob anymore."
"Is this really what your Majesty is asking for? Are there no other conditions?" Sun Kang asked.
He didn't quite believe that Liu Bei would hand over the post of Langya Prime Minister to Zang Ba just to prevent them from robbing the people.
These people do not have the ambition to dominate the world. They just want to segregate their territory and live in a corner. They do not have a clear view of the world's situation.
They could not have imagined that Liu Bei would not only bring peace to the people of Langya, but also want to use their troops to deal with Yuan Shu.
Based on the situation they have seen so far, including the Danyang soldiers in Xiapi, they think that Liu Bei has more than 30,000 and nearly 40,000 troops and horses, which is enough to defend Xuzhou, and there is no need to use their troops.
In fact, if Lu Bu's sneak attack was not considered and Cao Bao's Danyang troops were mobilized according to orders, it would not be difficult for Liu Bei to resist Yuan Shu and defend Xuzhou.
"Haha, what else do you think the envoy would ask for?" Zhou Ping asked rhetorically.
"Uh..." Sun Kang was speechless for a moment.
"But..." Zhou Ping continued, "Cao Cao attacked Xu twice before. As you all know, Cao Cao slaughtered hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou, piled corpses all over the river, and blood froze the Surabaya River. It was too horrible to see. If Cao Cao or others raise troops again,
Attack, your Majesty asked you to send troops to jointly resist the enemy and protect Xuzhou. Is this request not too much?"
Zang Ba hurriedly said: "If this is the case, it is not excessive. If the state is attacked by foreign enemies, we should send troops to resist the enemy together."
Hearing Zang Ba say this himself, Zhou Ping was satisfied and he believed in Zang Ba.
Zhou Ping took out a piece of cloth from his arms. This was Liu Bei's letter of appointment stamped with the state pastoral seal, appointing Zang Ba as Langya Prime Minister.
Zang Ba carefully took the cloth and read the words on it carefully. Sun Guan and Sun Kang next to him stretched their heads to watch together.
"This is actually true!" Sun Guan exclaimed.
"It is indeed the seal of Xuzhou Mu. Liu Shijun indeed asked Xuan Gao to be the Prime Minister of Langya."
Sun Kang seemed to find it hard to believe that this was actually true.
Yin Li and Wu Dun couldn't see the writing on the cloth, and even if they saw it they wouldn't understand it. They were illiterate.
But they could tell from the surprised expressions of Sun Guan and Sun Kang that this thing must be real.
"What about...Xiao Xiang?"
Zang Ba handed the cloth to Sun Kang, showed it to them to take a closer look, and asked Zhou Ping.
Zhou Ping smiled and replied: "Liu Shijun asked Xiao Xiang to move to Pengcheng, and he has high hopes for Captain Zang! Langya is mountainous and connected to Mount Tai. There are many mountain bandits and thieves. In the future, Captain... Oh, Zang Mansion
Sir, since you are now the Lord of Langya, you must ensure that the people of Langya can live in peace!"
"Zang Shuai, haha, no, we will call you Mr. Zang from now on, haha..." Yin Li looked at Zang Ba and said with a smile.
They usually call Zang Ba handsome.
At this time, Zang Ba completely believed that he had been appointed as Langya Prime Minister by Liu Bei. He suddenly stood up, bowed to Zhou Ping and said: "Sir, please tell the envoy, Zang Ba thanks the envoy for your love. If you are destined to have your life, Ba will definitely do it."
Go through fire and water, no matter what!"
After hearing Zang Ba's oath, Zhou Ping knew that these Taishan people were stable.
After Zang Ba sat down again, took the cloth from Sun Kang and carefully put it in his arms, Zhou Ping looked at Sun Guan and Sun Kang again and said: "I know that you brothers are as righteous as brothers and you all have the authority to govern the county.
There are only five counties in Xuzhou, so you cannot appoint them all at the moment. If you have great achievements in the future, the envoy will not treat you badly. However...Brother Bo'an (Sun Kang), when I return from this trip, I will propose an appointment to the envoy.
How about you order me?"
It was Zhou Ping's impromptu idea to ask Sun Kang to go to Piling. He had not discussed it with Liu Bei before, so he did not dare to give Sun Kang a guarantee, but he believed that Liu Bei would definitely agree.
Now Cao Bao is the Prime Minister of Xia Pi. If Sun Kang is arranged to serve as the magistrate of Pi County, maybe Cao Bao will not be too wary of him. After all, he is from Mount Tai and is not Liu Bei's confidant.
When Sun Kang went to serve as Piling, he could bring more Taishan troops with him, and it would be much easier to protect the city by then.
Zhou Ping's most important goal at the moment is to appease Zang Ba's brothers.
Among these people, Zang Ba was the commander-in-chief, and Sun Guan was his deputy. Both of them made meritorious service with Tao Qian in fighting the Yellow Turbans, and were worshiped as cavalry captains at the same time.
But now Liu Bei cannot use the emperor's court to divide Langya and some counties in Donghai and Beihai into five counties like Cao Cao did, and let each of the five of them guard a county and serve as governors.
All Liu Bei can give now is the county magistrate.
With Sun Guan's qualifications, it would be impossible for him to be the county magistrate. It would be most suitable for his brother to be the magistrate, and Sun Kang was more talented than them.
After hearing this, Sun Guan hurriedly raised his hands to Zhou Ping and said, "Then I will thank you sir on behalf of my brother!"
Sun Kang also looked happy and thanked Zhou Ping.
Yin Li and Wu Dun knew that they couldn't compare with them, so they didn't care. They were happy for them, with smiles on their faces. When they looked at Xu Chu again, Xu Chu had put away their anger, and they cast a kind look at Xu Chu.
After the banquet, Zhou Ping said to Zang Ba: "I have always heard that the Taishan soldiers and the Danyang soldiers are the best in the world. You are all from Taishan. The envoy now wants to expand the army. I wonder if Zangfu can recruit five thousand for the envoy.
Where is Taishanshi?"
Zang Ba was very happy today. He could almost agree to any request at this time.
"Of course five thousand people are no problem. Even ten thousand people can be recruited."
"Soldiers should be strong and strong, not numerous. What you want is strong men."
"That's no problem."
"Is it likely that all the men in Zang's army are elite?" Zhou Ping asked with a smile.
Before Zang Ba could answer, Yin Li rushed to answer: "Of course, we have no weak soldiers in Mount Tai."
"Then I would like to see it. The three guards I brought are all very good in martial arts. How about you select a brave man. If you compare with them, if one of them is better, I will give you a reward of 10,000 yuan. How about that?"