Ji Han Liu Zhang

He has broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and is inexplicably sturdy.

This was the first impression Zhang Yan, the leader of the Black Mountain Army, gave Fa Zheng when he met him. After all, he was a general who had been rampant in Changshan, Zhaojun, Zhongshan and other places for many years, and he did have some heroic demeanor.

"Zhang Ping." Fa Zheng stepped forward and bowed to Zhang Yan.

Fa Zheng had done a thorough investigation into Zhang Yan's past before meeting Zhang Yan. He was always prepared for any eventuality and never did or rarely did anything that was not well prepared.

Zhang Yan, whose original name was Chu Yan.

In the first year of Zhongping, the Yellow Turbans rebelled. Chu Yan gathered a group of young men to become bandits. They roamed the land of Youyan and their power grew rapidly. Soon they had tens of thousands of people. Then in the second year of Zhongping, Chu Yan joined forces with Zhang Niujiao from Boling and respected Zhang Niujiao as their leader.

Next, when the Black Mountain Army was advancing to attack Yingtao, Zhang Niujiao had bad luck and was hit by a stray arrow. Before his death, he entrusted the Black Mountain Army to Chu Yan. Chu Yan then changed his surname to Zhang, called himself Zhang Yan, and became the leader of the Black Mountain Army.

Under the command of Zhang Yan, the Black Mountain Army continued to grow and develop, and was said to have a million people. Of course, how many of them were capable of fighting, and how many were the elderly, the weak, women and children, probably only Zhang Yan knew.

The Han court was unable to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, so it recruited Zhang Yan and made him the General of the Central Army to Suppress the Rebellion. Zhang Yan was ordered to be in charge of administrative and security affairs in the Taihang Mountain area north of the Yellow River. He was also allowed to recommend filial and honest officials to the court and send accountants every year.

As it was, when Fa Zheng saw Zhang Yan, he said "Zhang Pingnan", referring to Zhang Yan by the title of Pingnan Zhonglang Jiang granted by the court, thus disregarding Zhang Yan's identity as a rebel.

"Follow the prefect," Zhang Yan replied. He looked a little depressed and spoke in a low voice. "Yan, a defeated general, has come here with more than 10,000 old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers. I only hope that the King of Qin can be kind and the prefect can show kindness and take us in."

After saying this, Zhang Yan bowed down. In order to preserve the remnants of the Black Mountain Army, in order for them to survive, and in order to live up to Zhang Niujiao's trust, he lowered himself to an extremely low position, almost level with the dust.

At the side, Gongsun Xu, the son of General Gongsun Zan, followed Zhang Yan and bowed down, saying in a pleading tone: "We really have no other way to go. Now that we are close to Hedong, we only hope that the governor will accept our request."

"Generals, please stand up quickly." Fa Zheng leaned forward and stretched out his hand to pretend to help Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu stand up. At the same time, he said, "The King of Qin has already issued an order. If the two generals come to Hedong, we should accept them and not let them down."

"Yan...Xu...thanks to the King of Qin and the governor. I can't repay you in this life, but I hope you will carry grass in my mouth in the next life." Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu were delighted when they heard this. Although they had been in contact with the King of Qin Liu Zhang for a long time, they had no idea whether he was willing to accept their group of remnants.

After hearing Fa Zheng's words, Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu felt as if a huge rock had been lifted from their hearts. Their expressions became a little more settled, and they were no longer as hesitant and confused as when they first arrived in Hedong.

At night, a banquet was taking place in the Shu army camp on the banks of the Fen River.

Inside the central army camp, Fa Zheng raised his glass to Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu and said, "Two generals, drink this glass to the full." After that, Fa Zheng took the lead and drank a glass of warm wine. Then he turned the glass over to indicate that he had finished it.

"The governor is straightforward, so I, Zhang Yan, naturally cannot lag behind." Zhang Yan felt a liking for Fa Zheng's forthright attitude. For a common man like him, what he likes most is being straightforward, and what he hates is those corrupt and boring formalities.

Zhang Yan imitated Fa Zheng and drank from the cup. He drank the whole cup as well. The wine flowed down his throat, and a warm and refreshing feeling rushed from his throat to his chest and abdomen. "Good wine." Zhang Yan put down the wine glass and praised it brightly: "I don't know which family brewed it. I'd better go find it and buy a few jars."

"This is not brewed by the common people, but brewed by the government." Fa Zheng responded, and with a smile on his face, he said, "If the general likes it, I will send a few jars to the general."

"In that case, thank you very much, Governor." Zhang Yan attended and thanked him.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere of the banquet gradually became warmer, and it was time to talk about business.

Fa Zheng drank another cup, then he put down the cup and asked Zhang Yan, "How many soldiers and horses do you have? How many are able to fight? How many are old and weak?"

Hearing Fa Zheng's question, Zhang Yan stopped drinking and eating, and replied respectfully: "Yan's troops number about 11,000, of which about 2,500 are able to fight. The rest are mostly the elderly, women, children, or soldiers who are too injured to fight."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Yan's expression became a little gloomy, and his tone gradually became depressed. Thinking back to the time when he replaced Zhang Niujiao as the leader of the Black Mountain Army, he was rampant in Hebei and no one could stop him.

In three to five years, he gathered a crowd of more than 100,000 people, claiming to have a million of them. Among them were tens of thousands of elite soldiers and thousands of war horses. He was a respectable force in Hebei.

But since he formed an alliance with Gongsun Zan and became the enemy of Yuan Shao, he has been defeated time and time again, lost his troops many times, his troops were dispersed, and his momentum was waning. Now, as he said, there are only about 10,000 remnants left, and less than 3,000 soldiers who can fight. It is no longer the glorious scene of the past.

"Yes." Fa Zheng nodded first, then said: "According to the King of Qin's opinion, the general's capable soldiers will still be under his command, and the old, weak, women and children in the army... Guanzhong is a vast area with few people, so they can be moved to Guanzhong for resettlement. I wonder what the general thinks?"

Fa Zheng used inquiring words, but there was not much of a negotiating tone in his voice. Instead, it sounded like he was giving a direct order to Zhang Yan, who had just surrendered to him.

"Just follow the King of Qin's orders." Zhang Yan bowed and accepted the order. He did not raise any objections or questions. He only responded with a willing heart.

This was also the order of the King of Qin, which far exceeded Zhang Yan's expectations. As a stray dog ​​who had fled to Hedong, he only wanted to preserve the remnants of the Black Mountain Army. As for other things, he did not make any unreasonable requests.

But now, the Black Mountain soldiers are still under his command, and the elderly, the weak, women and children in the army are able to move to the fertile land of Guanzhong. Zhang Yan is naturally grateful and his joy is beyond words.

Although moving the women and children of the Black Mountain Army to live in Guanzhong might seem like taking hostages, Zhang Yan knew his own limitations. He didn't have many bargaining chips left and there was no room for bargaining. He was already satisfied with the current treatment he received.

Day two.

Zhang Yan handed the Black Mountain Army over to Fa Zheng for placement, and he, along with Gongsun Xu, would leave the Black Mountain Army and go to Chang'an to meet the King of Qin. This meant that he was ready to serve the King of Qin. Naturally, he had to meet the King of Qin as soon as possible and could not delay for too long. (End of this chapter)