Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 130: County Marquis, Twin Flying Swallows

In March, Zhang Yi's troops were defeated by the Xiongnu rebels. Zhang Yu was appointed to lead the remaining troops and defeated and killed the Xiongnu Chanyu.

Gongsun Zan was trapped in Guanzi City for more than 200 days. He ran out of food and horses. He was defeated in battle. In order to survive, Gongsun Zan said goodbye to his soldiers and tried to escape. Fortunately, due to rain and snow, the Wuhuan were starving and fled to Liucheng, so Gongsun Zan survived.

Sun Jian defeated the Lingling bandits in southern Jing, cleared out Lingling County, and crossed the border south to attack the Guilin bandits.

In April, Liu Hong issued an edict to confer titles and rewards on Zhang Yu, who was given the title of Marquis of Pingcheng and ordered to report to Luoyang. Gongsun Zan was promoted to the rank of Captain of the Po Lu Army for his meritorious service and was given the title of Marquis of Duting.

In the same month, Ding Yuan took office as the governor of Bingzhou. On the grounds that Bingzhou had a small population, he went to Hedong to recruit soldiers. Cui Jun, the prefect of Xihe, took office and temporarily made Pingzhou the county seat.

Zhang Yu continued to station his troops in Pingzhou, watching the situation in Hedong. The imperial court sent envoys to Pingzhou to confer titles on Zhang Yu and his generals.

After the messenger finished reading the imperial edict, he handed it to Zhang Yu and said with a smile: "Congratulations on your title of Marquis of Pingcheng. Your Majesty is waiting in Luoyang now. When you arrive in the capital, I will personally grant you the seal and ribbon of the county marquis."

Zhang Yu remained calm, respectfully accepted the order, and asked, "The Baibo army is now plundering Hedong. I would like to ask for your order to fight against the Baibo bandits for the country. I wonder if Your Majesty will approve it?"

The messenger smiled and said, "Your Majesty has ordered the governor of Hedong to suppress the rebellion. If it fails, Your Majesty will order another general to take over. Your Excellency has made great contributions in the border counties, and Your Majesty is very pleased. Therefore, I specially summoned you to the capital and wanted to personally grant you the seal and ribbon."

"Then I wonder how to arrange our troops?" Zhang Yu asked.

The messenger smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you can ask your soldiers to return to their base for the time being and then report to Luoyang. But please be careful about your pace and don't keep His Majesty waiting for too long."

Although Zhang Yu was reluctant, he could only smile and say because of the presence of the envoy: "I have been away from the capital for many years. Now that I have made great contributions, I am truly grateful to receive the favor of Your Majesty. Thanks to the angel for delivering the message, Yu will go to the capital to report on his work soon."

"good!"

After looking at the situation in the tent, the messenger said goodbye to Zhang Yu and left.

After the messenger left, Zhang Yu's face darkened and he was reluctant to accept the imperial edict to go to Luoyang.

"Your Majesty conferred the title but not the official position, and ignored the Baibo bandits. He urgently ordered you to go to Luoyang. I wonder why?" Zhang Liao put away the seal of Guannei Hou and asked in confusion.

As a general under Zhang Yu, Zhang Liao had accumulated military merits in the past, and the court conferred him the title of Guannei Hou, the only Guannei Hou under Zhang Yu. In the Bingzhou army, Feng Bo, Guo Yu, and Wang Ze were all conferred the title of Tinghou for their contributions in defeating the Xiongnu, which was considered to be due to Zhang Yu's achievement in killing the Xiongnu Chanyu.

Zhang Yu put away the imperial edict, walked with his hands behind his back, shook his head and said, "There is no letter from Luoyang today. I don't know why this sudden change happened."

Zhang Yu's original intention was to use the incident of suppressing the Baibo bandits to expand his army. But now Liu Hong sent him to Luoyang directly in a report letter, which undoubtedly destroyed Zhang Yu's development strategy.

Zhang Yu was also puzzled as to why Liu Hong suddenly transferred him to Luoyang.

Could it be that his secret training of troops was discovered?

But considering Liu Hong's control over the prefectures and counties, he couldn't have known what he was doing. Could there be some other reason?
Yu Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty may have invited you to Luoyang because you are from Bingzhou. You have made great military achievements. If you command a large army, it may not be a good thing for the court."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu frowned slightly. What Yu Yi said made sense.

Although the imperial court used border people to guard the border, it was very cautious in selecting military chiefs. It was impossible to allow someone from Bingzhou to have the strongest military force in Bingzhou under his command.

For example, when the Xiongnu rebelled, Liu Hong selected Bingzhou Governor Zhang Yi as the chief general and used him and Wang Rou as his assistants, which illustrates the court's general policy on employing people.

In this battle, he turned the tide, defeated the Huns, and became famous in Bingzhou. Under such circumstances, it is not impossible that the court transferred him to Luoyang for deep considerations.

Upon learning of the court's intention, Zhang Liao said worriedly, "If you go to Luoyang, what will we do?"

Many generals looked dissatisfied. If Zhang Yuruo was transferred to Luoyang, wouldn't they have to welcome a new commander?

Now not only his subordinates were dissatisfied, but even Zhang Yu had a headache. If the army he had trained with great difficulty was transferred to Luoyang, wouldn't it be making things easier for others?

But if he did not obey the order, the troops under Zhang Yu's command would not be qualified to challenge the court. From another perspective, if Zhang Yu did not obey the order, not to mention whether he had the qualifications to challenge the court, he would probably cause dissatisfaction among the scholars in Bingzhou.

No matter what, Zhang Yu could only obey the imperial edict and go to Luoyang to report on his work, and take things one step at a time. As for the issue of his troops, Zhang Yu had to do his best and find ways to continue to control his troops.

Zhang Yu paced a little and said, "Let's follow your majesty's order and let me go to Luoyang to report on my duties first, while the soldiers can return to the Yanmen garrison in the north first. Maybe after the report, your majesty will allow me to return to Bingzhou."

"promise!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao, Hao Zhao and the others could only respond in silence.

Since the imperial court had issued an edict, Zhang Yu could only act according to it. On the second day after the edict was delivered, Zhang Yu led his army to Jinyang to meet his wives and concubines, and then took the Shangdang route from Henei to Luoyang.

On that day, under the leadership of Zhang Yu, the cavalry marched slowly towards the north.

When the people of Pingzhou learned that Zhang Yu was leaving with his troops, an old man led more than ten people, some holding sheep and some holding wine, to see him off. When Zhang Yu learned that the villagers were seeing him off, he immediately rode his horse over.

Seeing Zhang Yu approaching, the old man led everyone to pay respect and said, "I greet you, sir. Thank you for your help."

"Please get up!"

Zhang Yu got off his horse and quickly helped the old man up. He said to the crowd, "Yu's merits and virtues are shallow, and I am not willing to accept your great gift."

The old man who was helped up asked, "May I ask if you are going to withdraw your troops?"

Zhang Yu looked back at the marching cavalry and said truthfully, "I originally wanted to march south to attack Bai Bo, but His Majesty has issued an edict, so I can only return north."

The old man sighed and said, "Your Majesty's troops are kind and benevolent. I have never seen such a kind in my life. Now that Your Majesty is leading his troops back north, I wonder if I will be able to see Yunzhong soldiers again in the future!"

When Zhang Yu's troops moved to Pingzhou, in addition to letting his subordinates gather refugees, Zhang Yu consciously began to build the image of his own troops, such as sending soldiers to the countryside to eliminate bandits in the countryside. When he learned that there was a shortage of water in the villages around the army's station, Zhang Yu also asked Hao Zhao to lead the team to dig a well. After all, in the late Han Dynasty, it was lucky to meet officers and soldiers who did not oppress the people, let alone officers and soldiers like Zhang Yu who would help the people.

Zhang Yu held the old man's hand and said soothingly, "I wish that Ping Zhou would be peaceful, that you and the villagers could live and work in peace, and that Yu would never come here again."

The old man bowed and said, "Your Excellency is kind and kind. We have nothing to repay you. Now we are offering sheep and wine for the officers and soldiers to enjoy. Although the gift is not heavy, it is a token of our heart."

"No!"

Zhang Yu declined, looked at the villagers who came to see him off, and said, "The Yunzhong Army and I are both from Bingzhou. Now we are helping the villagers to eliminate the bandits. It is just a small favor, how can we ask for anything in return?"

"My Lord~"

"The villagers are poor, and Yu and his subordinates dare not accept it." Zhang Yu refused.

The old man was moved and said, "I will never forget you, my lord."

Zhang Yu grabbed the reins, turned his horse over and mounted it, saying, "You don't have to see me off. I hope I can see you again next time I come here."

Looking at Zhang Yu's back, the old man sighed and said, "The troops led by Lord Zhang can be called the army of benevolence!"

Amid the villagers' cheers, Zhang Yu whipped his horse and caught up with the cavalry returning north.

As they were about to set off, Yu Yi bowed to Zhang Yu and said with emotion: "Your Excellency has governed Ping Zhou with benevolence and won the hearts of the people of Ping Zhou. If all the generals were like you, there would be no need to worry about unrest in the world!"

Zhang Yu remained silent. During the Pingcheng period, the troops under his command were not so close to the people. Instead, he used the violent weapons in his hands to intimidate the Hu people on the border.

Now that he has entered Bingzhou, in order to maintain his image as a person who protects the country and the people, he consciously gave his army the concept of Bingzhou's soldiers, which led to his series of operations in Pingzhou.

From today's perspective, the personality created by Zhang Yu is very effective. From the perspective of political interests, Zhang Yu gained public support from the people; from the perspective of personal needs, it satisfied Zhang Yu's realization of his personal ideals.

Although Zhang Yu had commanded troops and fought for many years, he still had the remaining ideas of later generations and really did not want to be a person like Cao Cao, who claimed to love the people but was actually a butcher.

If the soldiers under his command could have half the level of future generations' soldiers, the people in the counties and prefectures he conquers in the future will have no worries about insecurity, and material and human resources will be supplied to him to the maximum extent to help him pacify the world.

When the troops arrived at Jinyang, due to different destinations, Zhang Yu handed over the cavalry to Zhang Liao, Hao Zhao and others, while he stayed in Jinyang, preparing to spend a few days with the beauty before heading to Luoyang.

Seeing Li Suyi walking into the hall, Zhang Yu pulled his hand out of Wang Ji's clothes and said, "Although I have been conferred the title of county marquis this time, Your Majesty has not given me any official position or reward, and ordered me to go to the capital to report on my work."

Wang Ji's pretty face flushed, she straightened her collar, and said, "Does my husband know why I went to Luoyang to report on my work?"

Zhang Yu reached out and took Li Suyi's hand, then pulled it to his side, and said gloomily, "According to Yuan Shu's letter, Gai Xun asked Your Majesty not to grant me the task of conquering the Baibo bandits, on the grounds that it would be disadvantageous for a fellow countryman to lead a large army."

Yuan Shu's letter was similar to Yu Yi's guess, which put Zhang Yu, who had been worrying about something, at ease. The worst case scenario was that he would lead his troops to another place to fight the enemy, or be transferred to a central government position.

Wang Ji's eyes moved and she smiled, "Are you dissatisfied with Gai Xun, my husband?"

In front of Wang Ji, Zhang Yu secretly put his hand on Li Suyi's hips and said calmly: "Gai Xun is favored by His Majesty. If I am dissatisfied with him, wouldn't I be dissatisfied with His Majesty?"

"As long as my husband understands!"

Wang Ji thought about it and said, "After my husband enters Luoyang, maybe he can pay a visit to Gai Xun to express his gratitude!"

Zhang Yu seemed to be thinking about something, as if he understood the deep meaning of what Wang Ji said.

Li Suyi sneered and said, "My husband was transferred to Luoyang to report on his work because of Gai Xun. How can it be reasonable to thank Gai Xun now?"

"Crack~"

Zhang Yu patted Li Suyi's buttocks and said in a feigned dissatisfaction, "You ignorant woman, how can you understand the deep meaning of Shu Lan's words?"

Being spanked in front of his wife, Li Suyi blushed and said in shame: "Zhang Ji'an, if you think I'm ignorant, don't talk to me anymore!"

"Hehe~"

Zhang Yu rubbed the affected area and said with a smile, "I'm not in Pingcheng, and Shu Lan is busy with affairs. I need you to take more people to the Hu tribe and the army to show favor to my subordinates on my behalf!"

"Humph!"

Seeing the affection between the two getting stronger, Wang Ji stood up and said, "I'm leaving first!"

Zhang Yu reached out and grabbed Wang Ji's arm, and when he stood up, he pulled him into his arms.

"Ah~"

With a cry of surprise, Wang Ji found himself falling into Zhang Yu's arms.

"This bed is big, it's no problem for three people to sleep on it!"

"Can we call the matchmaker?"

"You can?"

"Why can't I do it!"

(End of this chapter)