Chapter 41: Brave Warriors March Forward, Unstoppable

A deep furrow creased Liu Bei's brow.

The military strategist was indeed thinking far ahead. At this moment, he was still pondering how to pacify the hearts of the people in Xuzhou, how to reform the administration, and how to establish agricultural colonies to nourish the populace. These were all matters of utmost urgency for Xuzhou, chips that could increase Liu Bei's tangible strength. Yet Li Yi had already looked ahead to Yuan Shao's future annexation of Qingzhou and the threat it would pose to Xuzhou.

How should one evaluate this?

Calling it chasing the unattainable did not quite seem right. Dismissing it as groundless fears felt equally inappropriate. It was not that Liu Bei had never considered the issue of Zang Ba in the north; rather, he felt the strategist's train of thought was somewhat too leaping. Should they really be considering the Zang Ba problem at such an early stage?

In truth, Liu Bei and Zang Ba's group of Mount Tai bandits got along reasonably well. Liu Bei possessed a strong ability to read people, and he knew that Zang Ba only harbored ambitions of carving out a separatist domain, lacking any desire to vie for supremacy over the realm. Historically, Liu Bei and Zang Ba also got along quite well. After all, since Zang Ba had accepted Liu Bei's favors, he had no reason to act as an adversary.

However, Li Yi put forward a different opinion.

"Absolute loyalty does not exist when loyalty is conditional; that is nothing less than absolute disloyalty."

"Although Zang Ba submits to my lord on the surface, he remains a hidden danger in the end, even if he chooses not to become our enemy in the future."

"If he cannot be utilized by us, it would be better to eliminate him sooner rather than later, so as to prevent any complications from arising out of prolonged delays."

Zang Ba's stance was entirely different from Chen Deng's, although both historically tended to lean toward neutral factions. Chen Deng always upheld the interests of Xuzhou. Zang Ba, on the other hand, leaned more toward the leader of a bandit gang, looking after his brothers of the Mount Tai faction. He was indeed a man who valued loyalty, but the loyalty he valued was the brotherhood of the underworld. This also explained why he could never become a true warlord. Men of the rivers and lakes possessed only the airs of bandits, lacking the heroic spirit capable of swallowing mountains and rivers and maneuvering across the realm with ease.

Such underworld figures were easily bought off by others. Both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao shared direct borders with him. Once Yuan or Cao utilized Zang Ba to open the northern gateway to Xuzhou, old Liu's Xiapi would be left completely undefended. When Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou for the second time, he had struck south from north of Langya, marching straight into Xuzhou. Along the way, his path was virtually unobstructed.

Hearing Li Yi put it this way, Liu Bei felt a slight chill of fear. If things were truly as Li Yi described, then Zang Ba was indeed far too dangerous—completely an unpredictable variable.

This was not Li Yi exaggerating the situation to create panic. After all, when Cao Cao entered Xuzhou from Langya, old Liu had experienced it firsthand and fought against him.

"The terrain of Langya is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, with the sea bordering its southeast."

"From north to south, Mount Yi, Mount Meng, and Mount Ni stretch across the region. As long as we hold the south and defend it, it will be no easy feat for ordinary forces to break in."

Li Yi proceeded to explain the geography of Langya to Liu Bei, elucidating why they absolutely had to grasp Langya in their own hands. Xuzhou originally possessed no strategic natural barriers to defend. Since Langya fortunately had several large mountains on its northwest side to block forces coming from that direction, how could it simply be handed over to someone else for nothing?

Although these natural barriers were not as exaggerated as one might think, they could at least alleviate the pressure coming from the north. Then they could simply focus on defending the eastern and southern threats of Pengcheng and Guangling.

Why did Cao Cao massacre Pengcheng until it was reduced to barren land? Was it not because that place was easier to defend? Anyone who had played Romance of the Three Kingdoms 11 knew that when enemy troops approached from Xiapi, one only needed to dispatch troops from Xiapi to block them. Although reality was not a game, it served as a useful reference. Otherwise, Cao Cao would not have changed his route to enter Langya through Mount Tai during his second massacre of Xuzhou. With Zang Ba guarding Langya, he had outwardly obeyed Tao Qian, yet when Cao Cao arrived, he simply turned a blind eye and let him through—a textbook example of offending neither side.

Liu Bei furrowed his brows deeply and sighed heavily:

"This matter is indeed difficult..."

Although Li Yi's warning made him aware of the danger posed by this unpredictable variable named Zang Ba, it did not mean Liu Bei was in any position to spare the energy to deal with him.

On the one hand, he lacked a righteous pretext. Zang Ba had maintained a fairly good relationship with both the previous Governor of Xuzhou, Tao Qian, and the current one, Liu Bei. There was no need to tear their faces apart.

On the other hand, Zang Ba was not easy to deal with. Despite his bandit origins, the Mount Tai troops under his command possessed extremely fierce combat capabilities, rivalling the Danyang elite troops without the slightest bit of inferiority. Furthermore, Zang Ba was a native of Mount Tai himself, and Mount Tai Commandery bordered Langya, allowing a continuous stream of fresh blood to be funneled to him. This was mainly because the Mount Tai faction enjoyed great renown, and the strongmen of Mount Tai were more than willing to pledge their service to him.

Another reason was that when Zang Ba was eighteen, he had once gathered retainers, bravely stormed the county yamen, killed a heinous prefect, and rescued his own father. During the Han Dynasty, which ardently championed filial piety, this earned Zang Ba deep respect among the local populace. At the same time, his bold feat of slaying the prefect spread his reputation for filial piety and valor across the countryside, and bandits near Mount Tai all submitted to his bravery, unanimously electing him as their eldest brother. That was how the Mount Tai faction came to be.

Zang Ba commanded immense popular support locally, making it difficult for Liu Bei to make a move against him. Even if he did strike, the Mount Tai faction was not so easily subdued. That was why Liu Bei repeatedly sighed, "Difficult, difficult, difficult..."

Having finished his analysis, Li Yi's mouth and throat were parched. At that exact moment, the kitchen servants had prepared and served the peach-infused wine along with a plate of food. Li Yi seized the opportunity to rest, picked up his chopsticks, and said to Liu Bei:

"My Lord, let us partake in the meal first."

Seeing that the dish appeared rather novel, Liu Bei asked what it was.

Li Yi answered openly:

"This was bought from a hunter. It is snake meat."

Hmm... Snake meat?

Liu Bei thought to himself that the strategist's culinary tastes were truly unique.

Seeing this, Li Yi smiled and explained:

"It is not that I have a particular fondness for snake meat; it just so happened that yesterday the estate's cook chanced upon a mountain hunter who had caught a white snake, and bought it back."

"Since my Lord is here today, you and I shall taste the meat of this white snake together."

A white snake?

Liu Bei instantly grew interested. "In the past, when the Exalted Emperor walked the narrow paths of the marshlands, he once encountered a white snake blocking the road, and his followers all dared not advance."

"Only the Exalted Emperor spoke with bold confidence: 'A brave warrior presses forward and is unstoppable; how dare a mere snake block our path?'"

"With that, he drew his sword and cleaved it into two segments, and only then could the company resume their journey."

Liu Bei was intimately familiar with the deeds of the Exalted Emperor. As he spoke, his eyes shone with profound admiration.

Hearing this, Li Yi could not help but chuckle:

"Indeed, when a great man marches forward, what is there to fear from a white snake blocking the path?"

"Just like the white snake looming over our heads—with a single stroke of the sword, it can be slain. What is there to fear?"

Hearing these words, Liu Bei felt a surge of heroic spirit well up within him.

"Good! With the strategist's words, I am entirely at ease."

"You and I shall first taste the meat of this white snake together."

Li Yi curved his lips into a smile and said:

"Snake meat is naturally light and refreshing, entirely devoid of any fishy odor, yet rich and fragrant upon the palate."

"If paired with this plum wine, its fragrance becomes truly intoxicating, unmatched by anything else."

Liu Bei beamed with delight.

"Hearing you describe it thus, sir, my stomach is already starting to beat drums."

With that, he picked up his chopsticks and plucked a piece of snake meat.

Li Yi asked how it tasted.

Liu Bei chewed slowly and deliberately, then said with a solemn expression:

"If the strategist were to change professions and become a cook, I know not how many wine shops across the realm would be driven out of business!"

Hearing this heartfelt praise, Li Yi burst out laughing.

"I only know how to eat, not how to cook."

"I shall not compete with the culinary cooks for their livelihood."

Hahaha.

The two men looked at each other and laughed heartily.