Zang Ba

Zang Ba (onyomi: Zō Ha) joined the suppression of the Yellow Turbans as vassal to Tao Qian, after being an outlaw who had to rescue his father from a corrupt arrest. He later is stationed as an outlaw with fellow brigands at Mount Tai around Xu Province out of self-defense. Soon, he fights around the country under Lu Bu, and eventually joins him in his stand against Cao Cao alongside his fellow with brigands. After Lu Bu's fall, he is eventually captured and joins up with Cao Cao. Zang Ba has two sons, Zang Ai, and Zang Shun.

He placed twenty-first with fans in Gamecity's Shin Sangoku Musou Blast first card promotion poll and voted to third in the second card promotion poll.

Role in Games
Zang Ba is usually seen in the ranks of Lu Bu's forces in Dynasty Warriors, fighting against Cao Cao and Liu Bei at Xiapi. He also appears as a subordinate of Tao Qian in Battle of Xu Province, some games even have him serve Dong Zhuo at Hulao Gate.

He would fight alongside Lu Bu and Diao Chan in their respective stories in Dynasty Warriors 6, joining the former in his rampages across the land, or assisting the latter in her quest to make her late adoptive father's wish to restore the Han Dynasty a reality.

Dynasty Warriors 7 has him appear under Cao Cao's forces for the first time in the base game, with him defending Cao Cao's escape at Chibi. In Dynasty Warriors 8, he is mostly present during Wu's story in their historical route at Ruxukou, as well as their hypothetical route at Shouchun. In Lu Bu's version of Xiapi, he defends the central part of the castle.

Xtreme Legends gives Zang Ba a slightly larger role during the story of Lu Bu's forces. He will often accompany Lu Bu in the battles against Cao Cao and Liu Bei. In Lu Bu's historical path at the final battle of Xiapi, Zang Ba will defect to Cao Cao's forces alongside Hao Meng if Cao Cao's fire attack succeeds.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, his role under Lu Bu remains similar to previous titles, but he appears a lot more as a general under Cao Cao, with him being a roaming unit in several battles he historically did not take part in. His importance is emphasised at both battles of Ruxukou.

In Warriors Orochi 3, Zang Ba will appear at Nagashino as reinforcements for the Coalition from Shouchun.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zang Ba is a decent military general who is skilled with cavalry tactics. He can be seen serving Tao Qian and Lu Bu before going over to Cao Cao, where he eventually ends up as one of the main leaders in the eastern part of the kingdom in the later scenarios. Depending on the game, he might serve He Jin during the Yellow Turban Rebellion scenario. His skill in the eleventh game prevents bandits from attacking the city he is located in, hinting towards his past as a bandit leader.

Voice Actors

 * S. Scott Bullock - Dynasty Warriors 4 (English)
 * Skip Stellrecht - Dynasty Warriors 6 (English-uncredited)
 * Tony Oliver - Warriors Orochi series (English-uncredited)
 * Kenji Yoshida - Shin Sangoku Musou Blast

Quotes

 * "Master Zhang Liao, are you going out on patrol again today?"
 * "Hahaha. You're sharp."
 * "That's because I've known you for so long. I remember our days in the vanguard like they were yesterday."
 * "Then why don't you come with me? We can reminisce about the good old days while we make the rounds."
 * Zang Ba and Zhang Liao; Dynasty Warriors 8

Historical Information
Zang Ba was born in Taishan Commandery. His father Zang Jie was a prison warden, but was displeased when the Grand Administrator abused the laws by putting locals to death. Zang Jie began to disobey orders and was thrown into prison. Zang Ba, 18 at that time, rallied 20-30 men and went to rescue his father. Although 100 men escorted Zang Jie, they did not dare to attack Zang Ba, thus allowing him to free his father.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Zang Ba joined the governor of Xu Province, Tao Qian, along with his subordinates Sun Guan, Yin Li, Wu Dun and Chang Xi. They fought the Yellow Turban remnants in Xu and defeated them, but they did not return to Tao Qian and declared independence instead. Later, when Lu Bu took control of Xu, Zang Ba and his men would attack Lu Bu's ally Xiao Jian in Langye and pillage city. They became known as the Taishan Bandits and Lu Bu sent his general Gao Shun to destroy them. Zang Ba and his men repelled Gao Shun, but fearing the threat of Yuan Shu in Huainan, Zang Ba agreed to form an alliance with Lu Bu and together they repelled Yuan Shu's attack on Xu.

Lu Bu eventually faced the combined forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the former governor of Xu, at Xiapi and was defeated. Cao Cao started a manhunt on Zang Ba, but upon his capture, he asked Zang Ba to join him and gave him autonomy over Xu and Qing provinces. During the Battle of Guandu, Zang Ba led his elite troops against Yuan Tan in Qing Province, effectively harassing the Yuan army's eastern flank and allowing Cao Cao to concentrate his troops on Yuan Shao's main forces. After Yuan Tan was killed at Nanpi, Zang Ba personally went to congratulate Cao Cao and asked his family to be moved to Ye, ending his own autonomy. Zang Ba afterwards put down many rebellions in his region, including one of his former allies Chang Xi and Yellow Turban remnants. For this he was made governor of Xu Province, his former subordinate Sun Guan became governor of Qing Province. Although Cao Cao put Xiahou Yuan in charge of military supplies in Xu and Qing, Zang Ba retained control of his Qing Province troops. He later accompanied Zhang Liao in quelling Chen Lan's rebellion and attacked Wu's forces at Ruxu. In this battle, Sun Guan was fataly injured. Zang Ba rode out and rescued him, but Sun Guan nonetheless died in Wei's camp. Heavy rainfall and Sun Quan's approaching navy made Zhang Liao suggest a retreat, but Zang Ba told him that Cao Cao wouldn't abandon them. The next day, Cao Cao sent orders to officially retreat and the two generals returned. Zhang Liao told Cao Cao about the incident, who was impressed by Zang Ba. Zang Ba later accompanied Xiahou Dun to resist Sun Quan's invasion and played a minor role at Hefei.

When Cao Cao died, Zang Ba refused to take command from his successor Cao Pi, but Cao Pi still promoted him after creating the Kingdom of Wei. However, Cao Pi also put Cao Xiu in charge of the eastern Wei region, making Zang Ba a subordinate to him. Zang Ba nonetheless accompanied Cao Xiu on the campaign against Wu and defeated Lu Fan at Dongkou. Zang Ba was called back to the capital Luoyang to take up a post as Mayor of the Capitol, but Zang Ba refused to leave his troops and complained to Cao Xiu. Cao Xiu reported the complaints to Cao Pi, who then plotted to strip Zang Ba off his command. When Cao Pi started his great offensive on Wu, he personally went east to face Sun Quan. Zang Ba greeted him upon his arrival and Cao Pi stripped him off his military command, forcing him to take up the post at the capital. Still, Zang Ba was often consulted by Cao Pi in military affairs and highly respected. When Cao Rui succeeded Cao Pi, Zang Ba enjoyed a tax revenue of 3,500 households, which was much higher than that of the generals who were responsible for the eastern Wei borders, such as Cao Xiu and previously Zhang Liao. After Zang Ba's death, he was named Majestic Marquis was succeeded by his oldest son Zang Ai, who became a politician in Wei. His second son Zang Shun served as a politician during the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Zang Ba first appears in chapter 11 of the novel, where he fought Cao Cao's forces at Puyang and dueled Yue Jin. He later fought Yuan Shu's forces under Zhang Liao's command and surrendered to Cao Cao after Xiapi. Chapter 22 has him being sent by Cao Cao to harass Qing Province during the attack on Liu Bei in Xu. In chapter 48 during the Battle of Chibi, many generals feared an attack on the rear by Ma Teng and Han Sui. Xu Shu proposed to go to San Pass and defend it from any potential invaders. Cao Cao agreed and sent Xu Shu and Zang Ba to San Pass. This was part of Pang Tong's scheme to ensure Xu Shu's safety.