It is said that Zhao Chen confidently went to capture Zang Ba and others in the mountainous woods northwest of Kaiyang City, but found that he missed the target and was ambushed on the way back, losing many brothers.
After returning to Kaiyang, Zhao Chen inadvertently looked through the county annals and discovered that he was not the only one who was attacked and defeated. This was also the case in many previous battles against bandits.
Zhao Chen thought for a long time and suddenly understood the reason for this defeat.
There must be something exquisite in Kaiyang City!
Thinking deeply, Zhao Chen suddenly realized, and then he understood why Zang Ba was so tough in the face of Cao Cao in history.
It was him who underestimated Zang Ba.
Cao Cao had attacked Chang Xi (also known as Chang Ba) five times but failed, and what he feared was the Taishan Group behind him.
The scope of activities of the Taishan Group is basically in the Beihai, Langya, Taishan, and Donghai areas, which is equivalent to the junction of Qing, Xu, and Yanzhou.
Zang Ba and others existed as an independent force in the late Eastern Han Dynasty for a long time.
Cao Cao was reluctant to take the trouble to destroy Zang Ba, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.
Zang Ba and others have lived near Mount Tai for a long time and have deep roots. They are very familiar with the surrounding terrain and culture, and it is basically impossible to uproot them. After leaving the Taishan area, Zang Ba and others lost the natural barrier, so Zang Ba and others were very wise and stayed near Mount Tai without going anywhere.
Even if Cao Cao later used them to resist Yuan Tan in the north and check and balance Xuzhou, they didn't care.
In the end, after Cao Cao obtained the four states of Qing, Ji, Yan, and Xu, he could only encircle them without attacking. He appointed his confidants at the boundaries of Zang Ba and others' activities, cut off Zang Ba and others' contact with the outside world, and forced Zang Ba to Waiting for others to surrender.
After Cao Cao died, Zang Ba and others went back to the Taishan area.
Therefore, if you want to defeat the Taishan Group represented by Zang Ba here, there is only one way to capture the thief first.
Zhao Chen figured out the reason and had a plan in his mind.
He called Zhang Fei and Chen Dao, gave them a few instructions each, and then they left in a hurry to prepare.
Then he called Cheng Yu and told him his thoughts.
Cheng Yu smiled and said: "This method is so kind and soft-hearted!"
Zhao Chen smiled awkwardly and said, "It's enough to shock the entire Kaiyang."
Early the next morning, Zhao Chen gave the order: "Send troops today, with the whistle as the signal."
Zhang Fei and his soldiers were waiting at the gate of Kaiyang City to send out troops at any time.
But when it got dark, Zhao Chen never blew the whistle.
The soldiers all discussed whether Zhao Chen had forgotten, or whether Zhao Chen had experienced a failure and did not dare to send troops again.
In short, the rumors that had been circulated in the army before began to spread among the army.
For the first time, Zhang Fei didn't care. He just sat on the horse and stared ahead.
After a long time, a group of people came not far away.
The leader is Chen Dao.
Zhang Feice immediately stepped forward and asked hurriedly: "Did you catch it?"
Chen Dao pointed to the person behind him and said with a smile: "General Zhang, please look!"
Zhang Fei glanced behind Chen Dao and laughed loudly: "Look where Zang Ba is hiding now!"
Chen Dao immediately led the people behind him to the county government office. Zhang Fei turned around and shouted to the soldiers: "Those who criticized the military advisor here before should go get the ten army sticks by themselves! After that, all the soldiers went to the county government office and waited for the military advisor's arrangements. .”
The soldiers who had been chatting happily before were now surprised and had no choice but to go and get their military sticks.
In the county government hall, Zhao Chen was sitting in front of the desk. Lu Xun came out from behind and said, "The military advisor has ordered us to interrogate him immediately!"
Chen Dao brought the two captured people to the court and asked them why they wanted to report the news!
When the two of them saw that Zhao Chen was just a young man in his twenties, they didn't take it seriously at all, and refused to admit to Zhao Chen's questioning.
They firmly believed that since Zhao Chen had no witnesses or physical evidence, there would be nothing he could do against them.
Liu Bei has always been known to be kind and loving to his people, and his soldiers will never go against their lord's wishes and ruin Liu Bei's reputation.
Seeing the two people standing arrogantly in the hall, they kept saying they were wronged, and they also accused Zhao Chen of bullying the people, framing innocent people, etc.
Chen Dao, who was on the side, beat the two of them angrily, and then led the army on his own.
Cheng Yu looked directly at Zhao Chen to see how he dealt with this difficult problem.
Zhao Chen didn't seem to take it to heart. He called Chen Dao and confirmed to the two of them again and again: "Do you refuse to admit that you had an affair with Zang Ba and other thieves?"
"Absolutely not!"
"Okay, if that's the case, come and be punished!"
Zhao Chen was very decisive, and regardless of the two men's cries, he had people take out all the torture instruments that could be used in the prison and place them in the lobby one by one.
Then several soldiers rushed over and pushed the two men onto the torture benches.
This action gave Cheng Yu a new understanding of Zhao Chen. He originally thought that Zhao Chen would not really take action. After all, it was an action that would damage Liu Bei's reputation. Unexpectedly, Zhao Chen did not hesitate at all. He indeed had the potential to become a general. .
The two of them had never seen such a posture before. Looking at the various torture instruments, they were so frightened that their feet trembled.
Seeing that he was about to be pushed onto the torture bench, one of them couldn't bear it anymore and immediately kowtowed and confessed.
Zhao Chen asked Lu Xun to write down when he was bribed by the thieves, how he tipped them off, how he collected the share, etc.
During the interrogation, an episode occurred, which shocked Zhao Chen.
After the two men finished explaining their affairs, they should be taken to jail.
However, the two of them refused to obey, and they only wanted to stay in Zhao Chen's military camp and not go anywhere else.
Zhao Chen asked doubtfully: "What's so different about my military camp that you insist on staying?"
The two expressed their worries. It turned out that they were afraid that if they were caught, their families would be robbed by bandits.
Zhao Chen was puzzled. He had considered the details of the operation. Only a few people knew about this operation. He also ordered Zhao Chen to secretly follow the whereabouts of the two of them. They were all covered up when they were brought back. How could they be caught by thieves far away in the mountains? Do you know?
After careful questioning, I found out that these thieves were all locals before they turned into bandits. They basically had their own families in various places. Only because there were so many of them and they had Zang Ba and others to rely on, the local people The officials dared not touch them at all.
Zhao Chen suddenly understood and stood up to comfort them and said: "Don't worry, I have my own way. You can stay in this military camp with peace of mind. If you are willing, you can follow the army to suppress the bandits."
The two kowtowed to express gratitude and followed Chen Dao to report to the military camp.
Seeing the two people walking away, Lu Xun asked Zhao Chen: "Sir, I'm afraid there are many people involved in this matter. If we eradicate them one by one, it is very likely to cause a civil uprising and cause unnecessary trouble. If we cannot eradicate the root causes, it will affect the army." Suppressing bandits is a tricky business."
Zhao Chen smiled happily and said: "Bo Yan saw through the key points at a glance, and he is already ahead of everyone."
Hearing Zhao Chen's approval, Lu Xun didn't hesitate at all, he just stood upright with a smile on his face.
It has to be said that Lu Xun was able to keep his composure before joining the Fire Company because of his calm and tenacious character. He has shown such a posture now at the age of fourteen, and his future is bound to be limitless.
Zhao Chen looked at Lu Xun with satisfaction, while Cheng Yu cast an envious look at him.
"Bo Yan, Zhong De, there is only one way to solve this matter."
"What method?"
"Have you ever heard of Shijia Card Techniques?"
