Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 730 Zhang Yong is furious

At the gate of Wudu Road, Zhang Yong stopped immediately and looked at the city in front of him. There was no one on the city wall, and he couldn't help but frown.

"It has only been three days since we arrived here, but Zhang Ren's army was able to withdraw without making any noise. This is really unusual."

A young general came over holding a huge sword. It was Chen Lie.

On that day in Yunhai County, he made great contributions in resisting the Xiongnu army, and together with the Xianbei Budugen, he attacked the Xiongnu from both sides and won a great victory. In addition, he had been learning government affairs from Xun Chen for more than a year, and Xun Chen had a good opinion of him. Therefore, he was transferred to Liangzhou by Liu He to serve as a county magistrate. This time, he was also brought here by Zhang Yong to temporarily serve as his deputy general.

"General, I think Zhang Rending is frightened by your reputation. He can't even defeat General Ma. If he wants to fight you, isn't it like hitting a rock with an egg?"

When Chen Lie was learning martial arts in his early years, he had admired Zhang Yong's name very much. Now he has the opportunity to become his deputy general, which is simply a dream come true. Naturally, he thinks that his general is the best in the world.

Zhang Yong, however, looked serious, still worried. "No. Zhang Ren is a meticulous person, and is definitely not someone you can easily deal with. Although he was injured, he just couldn't lead the charge himself. It's not a big deal for him to command the troops on the battlefield. It's really strange that he suddenly abandoned the city pass and evacuated. There must be a trap."

Chen Lie also thought it made sense: "General, how do you think our army should respond now?"

Zhang Yong thought for a moment and said, "Pass the order down, order the army to split into two groups, 30,000 troops to be stationed outside the city, and 20,000 troops to follow me into the city. No one is allowed to act rashly without my order. In addition, order the governor of Wudu County and several county magistrates to personally lead 500 soldiers to search for clues outside the city to see if they can find any clues."

"I obey your command!" Chen Lie took the order and ran away.

At night, Zhang Yong personally visited Ma Chao to check on his injuries. After seeing that he was fine, he left Ma Chao's room.

When he turned a corner, Zhang Yong bumped into someone. Zhang Yong looked up and saw that it was Chen Lie.

"Ah... General Zhang, I deserve to die, I deserve to die..."

Chen Lie knelt on the ground and apologized repeatedly.

"Don't worry, I'm a very brave general. You can't hurt me by bumping into me. Get up."

Seeing Zhang Yong being so magnanimous, Chen Lie stood up with some trepidation.

Zhang Yong noticed that he looked a little strange, so he asked, "What's wrong? This general didn't blame you, why are you looking so sad?"

Chen Lie seemed to be hesitant to speak, and only after Zhang Yong asked him again did he finally speak.

"General, didn't you order the governor of Wudu County and the county magistrates to lead troops to investigate the Shu army? They..."

Zhang Yong seemed to have sensed something: "What happened to them? Did they find out something, or did something unexpected happen during the process?"

Except for the two county magistrates who were promoted by Liu He, the others were recommended by the ministers in the court. In fact, Zhang Yong didn't think much of them in terms of ability and courage. However, on the one hand, they were appointed officials of the court after all, and Zhang Yong would always assign them some tasks in order to train them. On the other hand, these people were the sons and nephews of those ministers. If they died or were injured here inexplicably, it would inevitably cause trouble for Liu He. Although Zhang Yong himself was not afraid, when it did not touch on principles, it was better to have less trouble than more.

Chen Lie's face showed embarrassment and indignation. "General, you don't know that they...they didn't go out to gather information this afternoon. Instead, they gathered in the military camp and chatted. They said that Zhang Ren was very brave and asked them to take 500 people to find out. If they didn't meet Zhang Ren, it would be a waste of time. If they met him, they would die. It's obvious that you, General, want to..."

Zhang Yong was furious when he heard this: "What should we do?"

Chen Lie said cautiously: "You must eliminate dissidents so that you can place your own people in important positions in Wudu County..."

"How can this be possible!" Zhang Yong has always had a good temper. He is not like Guan Yu, Cheng Liang and Zhu Ye who get angry easily, but at this moment he was also filled with anger.

"These people are cowardly and have delayed my military duties. They also spread rumors in the army and disrupted the morale of the troops. They are really hateful! Who are these people who are talking nonsense?"

Chen Lie said: "Except for the three county magistrates of Qiangdao, Gudao, and Juxian, and the county commander who has led troops to investigate, everyone else has participated..."

Zhang Yong was not surprised at all by this list.

The two county magistrates of Qiangdao and Gudao were brought up by Qian Li, and they were naturally reliable in character and personality. The county magistrate of Ju County was Zhu Jun's nephew. Zhang Yong had had a lot of contact with him in the army in the past few days and had a good impression of him.

As for the commander of Wudu County, the military affairs of other counties were all under the charge of the prefects. Wudu County was adjacent to Yizhou, so Liu He transferred Wu Qin, who had resisted Gao Lan of Jizhou in Lucheng, to serve as the commander. Wu Qin had followed Liu He for many years and was a veteran of the Bingzhou Anmin Army, so he was naturally reliable.

There was a look of anger in Zhang Yong's eyes.

"Pass the order down, go to the tent and discuss the matter!" In the hall of the county government, all the officials and generals who came with the army, as many as dozens of people, were all lined up in an orderly manner.

No one understood what Zhang Yong wanted to discuss when he suddenly came to the tent. Everyone felt uneasy when they saw his ugly face.

After Zhang Yong sat down, he looked at everyone in his tent and shouted, "Wudu Prefecture Governor, where are the county magistrates of Xiabian, Hechi, Shanglu, and Wudu?"

The five people looked at each other, confused.

Seeing that they did not step out, Zhang Yong shouted again: "Five people step out. Do you want me to shout again?"

Seeing that he was really angry, the five people walked out casually.

"General Zhang, it's getting dark now, and we should all rest. Why did you suddenly call us out? What do you want to talk about? Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

The prefect of Wudu County said slowly. He was Guo Qiao, the second son of Grand Herald Guo Fang. He was nearly forty years old and had quite a lot of experience. He had served as county magistrate and county chancellor in Bingzhou, Yanzhou, Sili and other regions, and had also served as an official under the Nine Ministers in Luoyang. Therefore, after the recovery of Liangzhou last time, many officials recommended him to be promoted to the prefect of Wudu County.

Seeing his attitude, Zhang Yong couldn't help but become even angrier.

"How dare you, Guo Qiao, I am here to discuss matters, and you dare to be so negligent. Do you still have the discipline of the court in your eyes?"

Among the five brothers, Zhang Yong has attached the most importance to military discipline since he began training in Huangshui Township when he was a teenager. Although these people are not generals in his army, they are naturally under his jurisdiction as they are traveling with the army on this expedition. But seeing them behave like this, Zhang Yong naturally feels very upset.

Although the five men relied on their backgrounds and did not take Zhang Yong seriously, he was the commander-in-chief of this expedition after all, and also the sworn brother of the emperor. They did not dare to offend him. Seeing Zhang Yong's expression, the five men quickly apologized.

"I was worried about state affairs and was distracted for a moment. I did not mean to offend you, General. Please forgive me."

Zhang Yong snorted coldly, "Humph, considering that you have a repentant heart, I will temporarily record the crime of neglecting the military camp. I want to ask you, at noon, I ordered you to lead 500 soldiers to inquire about the movements of Zhang Ren's army. Why did you disobey the order? That's fine, but you also spread rumors in the army and disturbed the morale of the army. What crime should you be punished for!"

He said these last four words when he was angry, and his voice naturally became much louder instantly, scaring the five people so much that they took a step back involuntarily.

When Guo Qiao heard that he was talking about this matter, he felt relieved.

"General Zhang is angry about this matter, but there is no need to do so. We are like this for our own reasons."

Zhang Yong looked at him coldly: "Oh? This general wants to hear why you dare to disobey orders in front of the army."

Guo Qiao curled his lips and said, "General, in your opinion, how capable is the enemy general Zhang Ren?"

"How dare you! General Zhang asked you a question, but you didn't answer and asked the general a question instead. What's the reason?"

Chen Lie shouted angrily, and the five people became unhappy immediately.

"Who do you think you are? You are just the son of a lowly merchant. How dare you speak to us like this?"

"You..." Chen Lie was furious and was about to rush out with his sword.

"Zi Fu, step back. It's okay for this general to answer their questions." Zhang Yong stopped Chen Lie, and Chen Lie retreated indignantly, which made the five men even more proud.

Zhang Yong said: "Although I have never met Zhang Ren, from his many appearances, I can tell that he is a master at using troops, and his bravery is comparable to that of General Ma Chao. He can be regarded as a first-class general in the world."

"That's it." Guo Qiao seemed to have found some great reason.

"Zhang Ren leads about 20,000 soldiers and is extremely brave. General, you want us to take 500 soldiers to find him. Isn't this asking us to die? Such an unreasonable order is naturally unacceptable. It's just that the general is busy patrolling everywhere, so we have no time to give you advice."

"Yes, yes, we are all officials appointed by the court, and we are not here to die." The other four also joined in.

"Nonsense!" Zhang Yong shouted angrily.

"I only asked you to gather information outside the city to see which direction the enemy army retreated. How could you encounter Zhang Ren's army? I think you are lazy. It would be fine if you were lazy, but you dared to spread rumors and slander me. Just for disobeying orders and disrupting the morale of the army, I will behead you five!"

(End of this chapter)