Ji Han Liu Zhang

"Black Mountain is in danger."

After receiving news of a crime from Hebei, Liu Zhang gave a verdict.

Previously, they had formed an alliance with White Horse General Gongsun Zan to fight against Yuan Shao's Black Mountain Army. However, since Gongsun Zan's defeat in Yi County and a series of defeats at the hands of Yuan Shao, the Black Mountain Army's momentum declined and its soldiers dispersed. Zhang Yan led the remnants of the Black Mountain Army to escape into the Taihang Mountains in the hope of surviving for a while.

Because the Black Mountain Army was not good at management and was accustomed to looting for a living, the remnants of the Black Mountain Army often harassed and looted the prefectures and counties of Hebei in order to survive.

As for the remnants of the Black Mountain Army who occasionally harassed the prefectures and counties, Yuan Shao, in order to eliminate internal troubles, sent Liu Bei, the governor of Yuzhou who had defected to him, to lead the expedition.

The situation had reached this point, and considering Liu Bei's military level and Zhang Yan and other Black Mountain troops' familiarity with Taihang Mountains, the Black Mountain troops could still hide and survive.

However, recent news from Hebei said that after Yuan Shao returned to Yecheng from Hedong, he did not stop, but instead sent famous Hebei generals such as Qu Yi, Zhang He, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou to attack from many directions, encircling and suppressing the remnants of the Black Mountain Army like a skynet.

It was the middle of winter, with biting cold winds. The Black Mountain Army was not allowed to plunder counties and prefectures to obtain food and supplies, and they also had to be careful about Yuan's troops who were rushing towards Taihang Mountains. They were trapped both internally and externally, and the road ahead was uncertain.

Therefore, Liu Zhang became very pessimistic about the future of the Black Mountain Army. He concluded that the Black Mountain Army would probably have a hard time surviving this cold winter, and this was not what he wanted to see.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. With this idea in mind, Liu Zhang sent Zhang Song to Taihang Mountain, where he obtained Zhang Yan's loyalty from the Black Mountain Army. Many wives and children of the Black Mountain Army generals were sent to Chang'an as hostages.

In other words, the Black Mountain Army can now be classified as Liu Zhang's men.

After half-squinting his eyes and thinking for a while, Liu Zhang instructed Xun You: "Order Fa Zheng to lead the army from Hedong to the north to see if he can support the Black Mountain Army in Hedong... Of course, you also need to send an envoy to inform Zhang Yan to quickly go south and not fight to the death with Yuan's army."

"Yes." Xun You responded. He had no objection to Liu Zhang's arrangement. Since the Black Mountain Army had surrendered to Liu Zhang, they should make some efforts for the survival of the Black Mountain Army.

Of course, it was only one or two efforts. In Xun You's eyes, it was not a good time to mobilize troops in the cold winter, so sending Hedong governor Fa Zheng to welcome the Black Mountain Army was considered enough effort.

Xun You wrote a letter in one go, ordering the Hedong governor Fa Zheng to do two things. One was to send an envoy to the Black Mountain Army's Zhang Yan camp to call on Zhang Yan to go south, and the second was to urge Fa Zheng to go north to meet Zhang Yan.

After Xun You finished writing, the clerk Cheng Yu came forward with a seal and stamped the end of the letter with the seal of the King of Qin. Now that Liu Zhang has ascended the throne of the King of Qin, all correspondence requires the seal of the King of Qin.

After being stamped, the document will soon be delivered from Chang'an to Hedong. However, this is the business of the clerks below. As the chief clerk of the shogunate, Xun You gave his opinion on Yuan Shao's mobilization of the masses to encircle and suppress the Black Mountain Army.

"Yuan Shao first sent Liu Bei to suppress the Black Mountain Rebellion, and now he has sent Qu Yi, Zhang He and others to advance." Xun You analyzed the situation and said, "It can be seen that Yuan Shao does not trust Liu Bei enough, and is not confident in Liu Bei's ability."

"But it is also true that Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan were both students of the former Shangshu Lu Zhi, and Gongsun Zan's son Gongsun Xu is now in the Black Mountain Army. Liu Bei has been unable to wipe out the Black Mountain Army, so it is inevitable that Yuan Shao has some doubts." "Of course, Yuan Shao must have just been suspicious. Yuan Shao may think that it is just that Liu Bei is not capable enough and has low military strategy, and does not have the ability to defeat the Black Mountain Army. After all, Liu Bei has been defeated in many battles in his life. He was first occupied by Lu Bu in Xuzhou, and then defeated by Cao Cao. It is obvious that he is not a good fighter."

Xun You knew something about the heroes from all over the world, and he narrated Liu Bei's life in great detail, which was the professional quality he should have as a chief clerk.

As for the so-called family affairs, national affairs and world affairs, Xun You could not and dared not be ignorant of them. After all, the wise man he served had the ambition to encompass the four seas and pacify the universe. As the chief clerk, he should be well-informed about the affairs of the world in order to be prepared for Liu Zhang's occasional inquiries.

When inferring and analyzing things in all directions, it is necessary to know and understand the people and forces on all sides, as well as the famous heroes. Otherwise, you will be blind and unable to know yourself and the enemy, and you will not be able to win every battle.

"Your words agree with mine." Liu Zhang nodded in response. He guessed in his heart that what Xun You said was not far from the truth. He believed that Yuan Shao would not necessarily think that Liu Bei failed to destroy Black Mountain because he was concerned about Gongsun Xu, the son of Gongsun Zan. Yuan Shao probably simply thought that Liu Bei's military ability was not good enough.

However, it is also true that Liu Bei's military ability was indeed his weak point. Historically, Liu Bei wandered around the north in his early years, suffered countless defeats, and abandoned his wife and children countless times. The last battle of his life - the Battle of Yiling, almost wiped out the wealth of Shu Han.

It can be seen that although Liu Bei was an old warrior and had been proficient in swords and guns all his life, his military ability did not improve much. He could only be a general, not a commander.

It was the last month of the fifth year of Jian'an, which was also the coldest time of the year. Liu Zhang, who lived in Chang'an, had nothing else to do. He just waited quietly for news from Hedong.

……

The boundary line between Hedong County and Taiyuan County.

Liu Bei, the Left General and Governor of Yuzhou, stopped pursuing the Black Mountain Army. Firstly, further ahead was Hedong County, which was the sphere of influence of Qin King Liu Zhang. Secondly, he learned from the scouts that Hedong Prefect Fa Zheng was leading his troops approaching and had joined up with the remnants of the Black Mountain Army.

Therefore, as to whether to march into Hedong, continue pursuing the remnants of the Black Mountain Army, and fight with the Hedong Army, Liu Bei believed that he still needed to report to Yecheng and it was not up to him to make the decision.

After all, one has to bow his head under the eaves, and as a guest general, Liu Bei knows his own limitations.

In addition, Liu Bei was indeed happy to see the Black Mountain Army sneak into Hedong, because his senior brother Gongsun Zan's son Gongsun Xu was in the camp of Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army.

Gongsun Xu was the son of his senior brother, and Liu Bei had some sympathy for him. He did not want to see Gongsun Xu being killed, and Gongsun Zan being without descendants and no one to offer sacrifices to him.

Furthermore, Liu Bei, who had served under Gongsun Zan and served as the Prime Minister of Pingyuan in his early years, had frequent contacts with Gongsun Xu at that time. He liked Gongsun Xu, a younger generation, very much and naturally did not want to see Gongsun Xu being captured by Yuan's army and beheaded in the East Market of Yecheng.

As such, Liu Bei was pleased with Gongsun Xu's escape to Hedong. His fellow apprentice was delighted that his brother's son was saved. (End of this chapter)