Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 569: Repeated Attempts to Win Over
Zhang Fei rode north quickly, and when he came out of the Zhuolu Valley, he saw herds of beasts all over the mountains coming from Guangning Pass and slowly driving westward.

He reined his horse up the hillside and saw a group of people building a wooden pavilion nearby.

When we got closer, we realized that Black Bear had rested here when he led his troops north from here.

After hearing the news, local officials organized manpower and material resources to build a pavilion and erect a monument to commemorate the event.

Seeing this kind of thing, Zhang Fei was not very interested and continued to observe the herd of animals moving on the road.

Herds of cattle and sheep followed one after another. Looking up, the road was filled with smoke and dust, and even the wind blowing in the face was mixed with a faint smell of cow and sheep dung.

The main people who drove the beasts were the Xianbei people, who had their hair untied. This was very obvious from their hairstyle, which mostly had the hair shaved in the middle.

Unlike the Xiongnu and Wuhuan who were influenced by the Han army, many tribes had the tradition of growing long hair.

The Xianbei people, who originated from the Donghu, had a wide variety of hairstyles, and it was easy to distinguish their tribes based on the severed heads.

Not long after, Zhang Fei saw a group of elite Hun cavalrymen surrounding a large banner. The patterns on the banner could not be seen clearly, but the banner was standing on a large cart with high wheels.

Zhang Fei continued to observe and said to those around him: "Since the battle with the Grand Marshal, the Xiongnu have abandoned their horn bows and mostly used cavalry. This shows that the solid armor of the officers and soldiers in Guanzhong has discouraged the Xiongnu."

Zhang Te, who was traveling with him, also expressed his opinion: "General, I think it was because of the bravery of Taishi Wengong that the Xiongnu gave up the horn bow and cavalry tactics and turned to the development of cavalry."

The cavalry tactics are fierce and can destroy the enemy's fighting spirit in one wave.

The effect of rangers is slow and the killing efficiency is low.

Zhang Fei did not comment on Zhang Te's opinion, and said: "The Hu outside the Great Wall are learning to use cavalry... The Xiongnu are regaining their power. It seems that these are the cattle and sheep captured from Kebi Neng. There are very few horses, which means that Kebi Neng's losses are limited. It is also possible that this is the money to buy Kebi Neng's life."

The life at the border was cold and bitter. Between freezing to death and dying in battle, Zhang Fei concluded that the fleeing Xianbei people would choose to die in battle.

If we can’t defeat the soldiers from Guanzhong, can we defeat the soldiers from Liaodong and Dongyi?
Gongsun Kang has not yet sent an envoy to beg for surrender, which shows that this war is inevitable.

They got the position of Protector of Wuhuan, but not the position of Lieutenant General of Protecting Xianbei. Budugen, the nominal king of Xianbei, had surrendered to Guanzhong, so they were unable to gather Kebi Neng's tribe.

Even if Kebi Neng wanted to surrender or cease fire, he could only do so through the General for Protecting the Xianbei or the Xianbei King, not the Shogun's Office.

The name and procedure are not right. If Liu Bei is forced to do it, Budugen, the Xianbei King, and the newly appointed General of the Xianbei Army will impeach Liu Bei in the future.

The bad thing about being controlled by Guanzhong is that we cannot conduct free diplomacy.

Otherwise, we can now start to win over Kebi Neng and attack Liaodong and the Dongyi countries together.

However, the method of cooperation does not have to be limited to formal alliances and coalition forces. It is also possible to reach a certain level of tacit understanding and cooperation.

Zhang Fei thought about it and said to Zhang Te, "I will go to pay my respects to the Grand Marshal. You guys go to see Lord Xuande on horseback and tell him what we saw today. Tell him that Ke Bineng has lost a large number of his herds and will raid Liaodong."

"Here!"

These people immediately found horses, climbed on board, and headed back south.

On the road, Liu Bao sat on a high-wheeled cart, with his face covered with a scarf to cover the dust.

He was in high spirits and quite complacent, but Ma Teng did not want him to follow him and regarded him as an unexpected disturbance. So as soon as Ma Teng led his troops from Wuyuan, Liu Bao led more than 10,000 cavalrymen to march eastward from the north bank of the Liao River.

As Liu Bao was separated from Ma Teng by the Liao River, it was difficult to cross the river, so Ma Teng let Liu Bao go.

The result was that he captured a large group of Xianbei people who were halfway across the river. Before the battle even started, the Xianbei people fled as he expected. He captured a group of slaves and seized a large number of beasts.

Compared with the herds of animals and people plundered from Guanzhong, this amount of spoils is just a drop in the bucket.

But this was the first time he had obtained any spoils of war since he took over as Chanyu, and it was of great significance.

So they evacuated quickly and drove the beasts into the border to show their merit to the Grand Marshal.

Not only Liu Bao, but all the Xiongnu knights who followed the expedition were refined on the spiritual level and regained their long-lost confidence.

The Huns were slow in driving away the beasts, so Zhang Fei naturally arrived in Pingcheng first.

When he arrived, there were a dozen craftsmen hanging on the east gate of Pingcheng, rebuilding the doorplate of the east gate.

Smash the original clay plaque, paste fine clay on the yellow mud wall again, and then carve new words before the clay layer dries.

When Zhang Fei entered the city, he looked up and saw the four characters "Datong East Gate". He felt that the word "gate" in this golden calligraphy was too simple.

After expressing his feelings about the great victory in this battle, the Grand Marshal went a step further and began to publicize his ambitions.

All under heaven are one family, what is the essential difference between this and world unification?
It was not until the next day at noon that Hei Xiong found time to see Zhang Fei while he was having lunch. After he sat down, he picked up the list of people he was going to see at noon and said to Fa Zheng, "If Zhang Yide comes in the future, he will be put first in the queue."

Fa Zheng was puzzled: "Although this man is known as a man who can defeat ten thousand enemies, he has been traveling around with Liu Xuande. If it weren't for the fact that Your Majesty has no place to stay, and Your Majesty has countless talented generals under his command, why would you value him so much?"

"He is one of Liu Xuande's right-hand men. His presence is like Liu Xuande's personal presence. We should not treat him lightly."

Black Bear then asked, "You and I dealt with the rebellious officials in Zhuo County by separating the men and women from each other. Was that a bit too much?"

"Your Majesty is joking."

Fa Zheng said solemnly: "Exiling Taiyuan is a benevolent act. Everyone knows what Liu Xuande is thinking. The shogunate's move is just to dispel his delusions. It will only benefit both countries in the long run."

"Having said that, I think it goes against natural ethics and is not conducive to population growth."

Black Bear heard footsteps outside and said, "Let me see what Zhang Yide wants to say first. After all, he is from Zhuo County. If he is unwilling to help his fellow villagers, what can we expect from him in the future?"

"Yes, I understand."

Fa Zheng stood up and said, "I will take my leave."

Black Bear just nodded. It was difficult for Fa Zheng to say some things if he stayed here.

The more people there are, the more concerns there are, which is not conducive to negotiations.

Zhang Fei saw Fa Zheng coming out and bowed: "Greetings, Lord Ling."

"The Lord is waiting for the General."

Fa Zheng smiled slightly, which made Zhang Fei flattered. He hurriedly bowed and said goodbye, then entered the hall under the guidance of a courtier.

Black Bear was the only one left in the hall. He motioned Zhang Fei to take a seat and raised his glass: "General, are you here for the matter of Zhuo County?"

"As the Grand Marshal expected, I have thought deeply about it overnight and feel that this arrangement is not a bad thing."

Zhang Fei sat down, raised his cup, drank the wine in it, and said: "I can't find a better way to resettle them. After all, the law of the country is hard to violate. If we don't punish them severely, there will be endless troubles. But most of them are women, and I am afraid they will be bullied by the people of Taiyuan."

"They are slaves. I will arrange for them to grow mulberry and hemp, and they will not be required to perform heavy labor."

Black Bear took a bite of the goose leg, poured himself some wine, chewed the meat and swallowed it: "The only concession I can make is to allow them to exchange letters. Letters can be sent by post, and money can also be sent by post. If you want to make their lives easier, Lord Xuande must speed up the conquest. In addition, next spring and summer, I will transport a batch of equipment and armor."

"After the general returned, he also warned the men in each family that only by fighting hard against the enemy can they make meritorious deeds and atone for their crimes. I will not force them to settle in Taiyuan. After redeeming their families in the future, they can move back to Zhuo County if they want."

Seeing Zhang Fei still waiting eagerly, Black Bear smiled and said, "I will send a few priests to preach. With them around, the people of Taiyuan and the soldiers stationed nearby will not dare to harass the women."

These Taoists are only responsible for preaching in the resettlement areas and do not need to master military skills. There are still sufficient candidates of this type.

For example, the people sent to the chiefs and garrisons in the valleys under Zhang Yan's rule must have military capabilities, as these are the scarce talents.

Zhang Fei still has faith in the current quality of the Taiping Dao.

His doubts dissipated, and he began to eat under the persuasion of the black bear. Zhang Fei soon ate half of the wild goose on the table, leaving only bones.

Zhang Fei drank the half jar of sweet millet wine that was specially placed for him until his belly was full.

He ate happily, and Black Bear also had a rare big appetite, so he ate an extra bowl of rice.

After the meal, Black Bear personally escorted Zhang Fei out and said, "I usually have three meals a day, and the people around me are very reserved. There are many rules for eating, and it's not fun. In the future, when the world is at peace, I really want to keep the general by my side."

Zhang Fei remained silent, which was considered a polite refusal.

Black Bear is not in a hurry about this, as there is still a long time to come.

He can go without food for two or three days without any problem, as he can maintain his energy by drinking water, but this will take away the joy of life.

Eating with your subordinates is the fastest way to bring you closer together.

Even though many middle and low-level military officers couldn't hold chopsticks when eating because of shaking hands, eating together was a very important honor for them.

After lunch, Black Bear began to read Liu Bao's victory report.

He didn't think Liu Bao was too much in this matter. As long as he didn't interfere with Ma Teng at that time, Liu Bao would be a good Liu Bao.

(End of this chapter)