Chapter Thirty-One (Part One) Appointment

  At noon, the clear sky was endless, and the white sun shone on the ground as if it were steaming, dazzling and painful to the eyes. Zang Ba, Sun Guan, and Wu Dun also began to regret their decision to use force to intimidate Tao Er Gongzi - having a thousand armored soldiers stand under such a big sun, wasn't that making the soldiers suffer in vain?

  It wasn't long before the originally tidy Langya army formation was in disarray, and the Langya soldiers who had been spirited and eager to fight were now scattered all over the place. Sun Guan, who had previously been shouting that he would scare Tao Ying out of his wits, had already hidden himself away in a nearby forest, drinking water furiously. In the end, Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Yin Li, Chang Bin, and Sun Sheng couldn't hold on any longer either, and they all took refuge in the nearby forest to cool off, sending only a few scouts southward to reconnoiter Tao Ying's position.

  It's okay, Tao Ying's actions were quick, and after waiting for a moment, the scout who went south rushed back to report that Tao Ying was approaching. Zang Ba and others had to hurry out of the forest again, ordering the already disorganized soldiers to reassemble, holding spears and standing solemnly in full armor. After another moment, more than ten riders appeared in front of Zang Ba and others, followed closely by a team of scouts from Zang Ba's army, ostensibly to protect Tao Ying on his way north, but actually to monitor him.

  "Hahaha!" Sun Guan, who had always been dissatisfied with Tao Ying, suddenly burst out laughing and pointed at Tao Ying's troops, laughing loudly: "Brothers, do you see? Just as Governor Mi said, Tao Ying is indeed riding a Northern Xiongnu dwarf horse, which is not much taller than a donkey!"

  Everyone looked carefully and found that the war horses ridden by Tao Ying's team of over a dozen riders were indeed all shorter, compared to the ordinary war horses ridden by Zang Ba's hundred-man cavalry on the side, they were at least one head shorter, without any majesty. Sun Guan also began to loudly proclaim what he had heard from Mi Fang about Tao Er Gongzi's horse selection process, crazily ridiculing Tao Ying for being blind and ignorant of military affairs, doing his best to belittle him. Zang Ba and Wu Dun also couldn't help but feel a few points of contempt for Tao Ying, thinking that the reputation of "bookworm" was indeed well-deserved, completely ignorant of military matters, yet daring to build an army and train soldiers himself.

  "Gentlemen, brothers, actually this Tao Yingxiao has another even more ridiculous thing. He used the money and grain given by Tao Qian to recruit an army, and he actually gave it a name called 'Junzi Army'. Moreover, they also created two deputy flags. One flag had five words written on it: Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin. The other flag also had five words written on it: Wen, Liang, Gong, Jian, Rang. Tell me, if such a flag were to appear on the battlefield, wouldn't it make people laugh their teeth off?!"

  In the midst of Sun Guan's unrestrained and scornful laughter, Tao Ying's troops quickly arrived in front of Zang Ba's troops. Zang Ba had met Tao Ying a few times before, and his impression of Tao Ying had always been stuck at the stage of being a bookish scholar. This time, after a long separation, Tao Ying gave Zang Ba a new impression - he was darker, more robust, and his eyes had a bit of spirit. Only Tao Ying's attire as a Confucian scholar still retained some semblance of the bookworm Tao Er Gongzi from back then.

  Zang Ba was not the first time to see Tao Ying, but Tao Ying was really the first time to meet Zang Ba. Compared with what Tao Ying had imagined, the 28-year-old Zang Ba had a rough and hard beard all over his face, a sturdy and tall figure, at least half a head taller than Tao Ying. At first glance, he looked like he was in his mid-30s, but his personality was rough and his style was bold. However, Zang Ba's bright and piercing copper bell eyes added a new impression to Tao Ying - absolutely a tough guy with a rough exterior and a delicate interior.

  "End will ride all Wei, see over the public son." Reputation on Tao Qian's subordinate Zang Ba still gave face, took the initiative to rush to Tao Ying's horse front, and made a fist to salute, "Four years without seeing, is the public son safe?"

  "General Xuan Gao, no need for excessive courtesy." Tao Ying hastily dismounted his horse and returned the salute with a bow, saying: "General Xuan Gao, in terms of age, you are older than me; in terms of position, you are a cavalry commander, while I am just a military officer, one rank lower than you. How can you let me pay respects to you? Isn't that belittling me?"

  "It's okay, at least you didn't put on airs." Zang Ba nodded secretly and smiled: "Young master is polite, I will salute young master. Firstly, because young master is the son of Lord Bao, secondly, to show respect for young master's selfless act of saving Xuzhou, which has nothing to do with your official rank."

  "General Xuan Gao is overpraising me, it's just a small matter, what's there to make a fuss about?" Tao Ying laughed and pulled Zang Ba's hand again, saying warmly: "General Xuan Gao, you and I are on an equal footing, if we go by official position and identity, it's inevitable that there will be some distance between us. It's better to address each other as brothers. You're older than me, Ying, from now on, I'll call you Big Brother Xuan Gao, is that alright?"

  "I don't dare, I really don't dare." Sun Guan chimed in from the side, and Wu Dun pulled him back, but he continued to speak in a sarcastic tone: "The young master is a scholar (of noble birth), while Zang Dage is of humble origin. How could he possibly be referred to as brother?"

  "This general has spoken too much, kings and nobles, is there any difference? What's the difference between commoners and scholars, aren't they just two ears and one mouth?" Tao Ying laughed loudly: "Han Gaozu was a village chief, Fan Kuai slaughtered pigs and dogs, Xiao He was a small official in the county government, but in the end didn't they join forces to create the great Han dynasty that lasted for 400 years? Being born as a commoner, what shame is there to speak of? Moreover, with Xuan Gao's identity, status, and achievements, how many scholars in this world can compare?"

  Tao Ying's flattery was just right, and people like Zang Ba, who came from a humble background, were originally very sensitive about their own status. They also resented those aristocratic families who talked big but did nothing, looking down on them with disdain. When they heard Tao Ying use the examples of Liu Bang, Fan Kuai, and Xiao He to belittle the aristocracy and elevate the common people, they felt extremely pleased and their impression of Tao Ying greatly improved. Even Sun Guan shut his mouth, although it couldn't be said that he immediately changed his opinion about Tao Ying, but he did start to have doubts: "Are those things that little Zou said about Tao Ying's son true?"

  "You're too kind." With a satisfied smile, Zang Ba also gave up the idea of giving Tao Ying a warning shot and made an inviting gesture to him. "Sir, please, I have already prepared some simple food and drink in Kaiyang City, please come into the city for dinner."

  "Xuan Gao brother, you might as well just call me Ming Wu. In front of you, how dare I call myself 'young master'?" Tao Ying's words were as smooth as honey, but then he seemed to have just discovered the thousand armored soldiers behind Zang Ba and others, and exclaimed: "Xuan Gao brother, why did you bring so many Langya generals to welcome me? How can I possibly accept this?"

  "This……" Zang Ba hesitated for a moment, but he was still quite quick-witted and immediately changed his words: "Young master, don't misunderstand. The Langya region is infested with bandits, so to ensure your safety, I've brought a troop of soldiers out of the city to escort you in."

  "It's a lot of trouble to declare Gaodi, younger brother really dare not." Tao Ying then seemed to have truly not seen Zang Ba's intimidating intention, and loudly praised: "Long heard that elder brother is good at using troops, today seeing him for the first time, indeed the name is not in vain! These thousand Qiangui soldiers, each one is like a bear or tiger, majestic and extraordinary, today getting to see them, younger brother is lucky for three lifetimes!"

  "What's with this kid's sweet talk? Is he really stupid or just pretending to be?" Zang Ba muttered to himself, while humbly saying: "Young master is overpraising me. I've heard that you also have an army, called the Junzi, which was personally trained by you and has a great reputation in the five counties of Xuzhou. That's what I call a heroic warrior, a seasoned veteran."

  "You little scamp, are you doing this on purpose? My Junzi Army has fought several battles, but we're not just pretending to be bandits or robbers. Even Cao Hong couldn't figure out the details of my Junzi Army, so where did they get their reputation from?"

  Tao Ying was also muttering to himself, shaking his head and sighing: "They're not even worthy, I taught them the essence of battle tactics, but they only learned about 30% of it. What kind of hundred-battle warriors are they?"

  Speaking of which, Tao Yisuddenly turned the conversation to the main topic, shaking his head and admiring Zang Ba's troops while saying with a double meaning: "Tiger wolf teacher, tiger wolf teacher! Unfortunately, this one branch of tiger wolf teacher will be idle in Langya, unable to go on stage to kill enemies, make achievements, bright pearls are wasted, really unfortunate, unfortunate."

  "Sure enough." Zang Ba sneered in his heart, blinking his copper bell eyes, and pretended to be puzzled, saying: "What does the young master mean by this? Although Zang Ba's troops are stationed in Langya, when Cao Ze invaded Xuzhou last time, Zang Ba's troops did not hide and ignore them. They fought side by side with General Cao Bao's troops, resisting Cao Ze, why did the young master say that they were idle in a corner of Langya?"

  "Brother Xuan, I'm talking about the present." Tao Ying was even more straightforward and said directly in front of Zang Ba and his accomplices: "Although Cao's villain has temporarily retreated now, the army of Xuzhou is severely damaged, bandits are rampant within the territory, and the southern rebel Chen Feng occupies Guangling, poisoning the people. On the west side, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu stare at each other, broken and exhausted. With internal worries and external troubles, we are in a critical moment of survival. Brother Xuan's tiger wolf army is still stationed in Langya, unwilling to go to a broader world to show off their skills, protect the border, pacify the people, build merit, and establish achievements. Isn't it a great pity?"

  Zang Ba had nothing to say, and Wu Dun, who was beside him, interrupted and said: "Young master, it's not that we don't want to make achievements for our lord, kill the enemy and pacify the rebellion. It's just that the people under our lord can't tolerate us, and how did our lord treat us before? Didn't you see it with your own eyes?"

  "Previously, my father had some shortcomings towards all of you generals, and Tao Ying is well aware of this. However, my father also had his own difficulties. Gentlemen, please ask yourselves, if my father had not catered to those aristocratic families back then, would he have been able to remain in the position of Governor of Xuzhou until today?"

  "For his throne, we're just pawns to be used?" Sun Guan shouted in discontent.

  "This general, please ask yourself again." Tao Ying asked Sun Guan: "Similarly, in the treatment of surrendered subordinates, compared to other princes, is my father not enough, or more than enough? The various generals stationed in Langya have not listened to orders for many years and do not follow commands. Is my father facing you with a single word of malice, or has he punished you in any way? I ask the princes of the world, who else can be as magnanimous as my father, with a heart as broad as the sea? A gentleman does not recall past evils, must you generals remember those trivial matters?"

  Sun Guan had nothing to say, and the other generals of Zang Ba's army thought carefully and also felt that it was not bad. Although Tao Qian was not a good thing, compared to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, those so-called four generations of three public officials, Tao Qian was much better. If we had joined Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu at the beginning, we might have suffered even more humiliation, and now it's possible that we would all be dead. Zang Ba was not a person who was content with small gains, and when he heard Tao Ying's words, he couldn't help but feel a little moved - but only for a moment.

  "Brother Xuan Gao." Tao Ying turned to Zang Ba again and said sincerely: "You should know the situation before, you and the generals have suffered a lot of grievances. My father was forced by circumstances and also had something to apologize for. But now it's different, after Cao's banditry in Xuzhou, the military strength of Xuzhou has been greatly damaged, and the door-to-door aristocrats of Xuzhou have also been greatly damaged. From top to bottom, scholars, citizens, they are all looking forward to Brother Xuan Gao not remembering past hatreds, leading the army back, and naturally, you will not suffer from those petty abuses again."

  At this point, Tao Ying smiled slightly and added: "For example, the brothers who used to often scold Xuan Gao as a bandit on Mount Tai, don't they dare say it now? Not only do they not dare say it, but they also seem to be actively drawing closer to Xuan Gao, right? What are they after? Isn't it just hoping that Xuan Gao can return to Xuzhou and protect the people of Xuzhou, as well as their own family businesses?"

  Everyone including Sun Guan burst out laughing, all of them looked down on the Mi brothers who were arrogant in front but humble behind. Only Zang Ba didn't laugh, his face still expressionless, after a while he said calmly: "Since the young master has spoken so frankly, I won't hold back either. I understand the lord's thoughts very well, and I also know that if we return to the lord now, he will definitely treat our soldiers kindly. But what about afterwards? After the crisis in Xuzhou is resolved, or after our army is weakened from fighting against external enemies and can no longer be of use to the lord, how will the lord treat me then? How will the people under the lord's command treat me?"

  "Xuan Gao brother's worries are indeed justified." Tao Ying's words shocked everyone, "Kill the donkey after crossing the river, hide the bow after shooting the bird, this has been the case since ancient times. It is not uncommon to see it repeatedly. When Han Gaozu unified the world, Xiang Yu and Peng Yue died unjustly. Xiao He also had to destroy himself to protect himself. Let's not mention Xuan Gao brother, I'm afraid that each of the generals present has such concerns in their hearts."

  The Langya army generals nodded silently, knowing that Zang Ba and Tao Ying were telling the truth. At present, the Xuzhou army was severely damaged, with internal and external troubles coming together, and urgently needed Zang Ba's fresh troops to quickly replenish their strength. Now that the Langya army had returned to Tao Kan's side, it was certain that Tao Kan would treat them well - but what about in the future? Once the Langya army lost its usefulness or suffered heavy casualties in a bloody battle with the enemy, would Tao Kan still treat Zang Ba and others kindly? Would the aristocratic families of Xuzhou ride roughshod over Zang Ba and others again, who could guarantee it?

  To know what's going on, see the second half of this chapter. Tao Deputy Director's first external surname thug is about to make an appearance.