Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 142: Get Xu Shu and Meet Important Officials

The second day of December, the day before Zhang Yu led his troops to the expedition.

Huang Wan, the governor of Yuzhou, sent someone to report that the two counties of Runan and Yingchuan had combined their forces to send out 3,000 infantry and cavalry, led by the two county commanders Lu Qi and Xu Jun respectively, and would temporarily be under the command of Zhang Yu.

With the consent of his mother, Xu Fu brought several swordsmen to join Zhang Yu's army, and served as a warehouse clerk, coordinating the food and grass for the army.

On the third day of the next month, Zhang Yu joined Lu Qi and the army set out eastward, aiming directly at Laixiang of Chen State. In order to join the Runan County troops led by Xu Jun, Zhang Yu wanted to go to Nandun County first.

From Yingyin to Laixiang (now Qiaocheng District, Bozhou City), it is about 600 to 700 li. If the cavalry marches at a gallop, it will take three days at the fastest and five or six days at the slowest; if the infantry and cavalry march together, it will take eight or nine days. If you go to Nandun on the way, it is estimated that it will take more than ten days to reach Laixiang.

When they reached Nandun County in Runan, Xu Jun led more than a thousand soldiers from Runan County to join the army. Because of the new army joining the army, Zhang Yu rested a little longer in Nandun to replenish his baggage and food.

On December 11, Zhang Yu led 4,000 soldiers to Song City to rest and receive food and grass supplies, as well as guides provided by Runan County, in preparation for stationing troops at Banliang on the border between Runan and Chen State the next day.

Inside the military tent, Zhang Yu sat on a chair, while Lu Qi, Xu Jun and other generals sat on his left and right, while three Han officials stood respectfully in the tent.

"The 30,000 Hu cakes shipped by Xiyang have arrived at the army. Captain, please check them!"

"Chengfu has transported 10,000 shi of grain to the outside of the fort. Please inspect it, Captain!"

"A thousand Xinyang civilians are outside the village. Please ask the captain to check!"

Due to the solemn atmosphere in the tent, the other two county officials, except the Xianyang county official, were a little nervous and almost dropped the documents on the ground when handing them over.

Zhang Yu glanced at the three official documents, then looked up at the three people and asked, "Are you three here under the command of the county commander to serve in the front of the army and guide the way for our army?"

"Exactly!"

The handsome Xiyang County official looked calm and said, "We three often travel between the counties and borders, and we are familiar with the terrain."

Zhang Yu picked up another official document, which contained the resumes of the three people in front of him.

Soon, a familiar name appeared in Zhang Yu's eyes, namely, Lü Fan, an official in Xianyang County, whose courtesy name was Ziheng.

Zhang Yu looked up at Lu Fan and narrowed his eyes slightly. He wondered whether this Lu Fan was the Lu Fan in history or just a coincidental person with the same name.

"Are you Lu Ziheng from Xiyang?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Servant is here!"

Lu Fan was neither humble nor arrogant, he bowed and waited for Zhang Yu to ask questions.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Now the Gepi bandits are entrenched in Lai Township. Since you are familiar with the terrain, do you think we can station our troops in Banliang?"

Lu Fan thought for a long time and replied: "Although Banliang is high, it is close to the river and has convenient transportation. It is only more than 20 miles away from Laixiang. Fan thinks that the captain can camp at Banliang."

After a pause, Lu Fan added: "The Gepi bandits are cunning. The reason they were able to defeat the county troops twice in the past was that they lured the enemy deep into our territory and attacked our camp the next day. Therefore, if the captain wants to defeat the Gepi bandits, he must be careful."

Zhang Yu looked at Lu Qi and Xu Jun, as if asking about the details of their two defeats.

Xu Jun said ashamedly: "Before, the Gepi bandits pretended to be defeated, and I led my troops to pursue them. Unfortunately, they were ambushed in the dense forest and suffered heavy casualties. Fortunately, Chen Guoxiang led his troops to rescue us, so we were able to escape unscathed."

"As for the attack on the camp, the enemy took advantage of our army getting up early to cook and attacked us with their best troops. Our army was slightly defeated and retreated."

Zhang Yu appeased him and said, "The Gepi bandits are good at using troops. It's not Lord Xu's fault."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Lu Fan and said with a smile, "Mr. Lu can stay as a guide, and the two of you can return to the county on your own."

"As for the reply letter on military supplies, I will have someone hand it over to you two later."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu kept Lü Fan from Xianyang not only because he had the same name as an important official of the Wu State in history, but also because Lü Fan's performance was much better than the other two.

In the following period, we only need to observe Lü Fan's talents to see if he is outstanding. If Lü Fan is outstanding, he will probably be an important official of the Wu Kingdom in history, and Zhang Yu will also recruit Lü Fan as an official.

Zhang Yu was very happy now. He sent troops to Yuzhou to fight the bandits. Before he even fought with the bandits, he accepted Xu Fu and the suspicious county official Lu Fan.

After resting in Song City for half a day, Zhang Yu led his troops to the border of Chen State on the 12th day and stationed his troops at Banliang to keep an eye on the bandits entrenched in Gepi, Lai Township.

Because the 4,000 soldiers were composed of three different armies, Zhang Yu simply divided the camp into three camps to build camps separately in order to avoid trouble. In order to understand the detailed movements of the Gepi bandits, Zhang Yu also asked Ke Bi to lead the cavalry to disperse.

At dusk on the 20th, Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao walked side by side, accompanied by Zhang Yang, Zhang Feng and others, and inspected the situation in the military camp together.

Seeing Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao chatting and laughing in front of him, Zhang Yang was a little dissatisfied and said to Zhang Feng: "Although Zhong Yuanchang is a son of a noble family, he should not be treated so well by Ji An. He discusses military affairs with him every day and is inseparable from him. Even the treatment of your and my relatives is not as good as Zhong Yuanchang. It's too much!"

Although Zhang Feng felt that Zhang Yu favored Zhong Yao too much, he respected Zhang Yu in his heart and could only say: "Uncle, Zhong Yuanchang is an extraordinary person. He is wise and knowledgeable about government affairs. Your Excellency favored Zhong Yuanchang because you must have other ideas!" Zhang Yang curled his lips and said: "If Zhong Yuanchang is so powerful, why don't Ji'an let him lead the troops to suppress the Gepi bandits?"

"Believe it or not, if Ji'an wants to defeat the bandits, he still needs you and me to lead the way!"

Zhang Feng nodded and said, "Uncle is an expert in martial arts and a valiant commander on horseback. He is second only to you in the army. Therefore, if we want to defeat the Gepi bandits, no one else but uncle can do it."

Zhang Yang smiled proudly. As Zhang Yu's uncle, he thought he was second only to Zhang Yu in the army, both in martial arts and status.

Zhang Liao was at a distance from Zhang Yang, but because he had sharp ears, he heard the conversation between Zhang Yang and Zhang Feng. When Zhang Yang said that he was the second best martial artist in the army, he just smiled faintly and showed some disdain.

"Wenyuan, come here!"

Seeing Zhang Yu calling him, Zhang Liao hurried over and said, "What do you want, Captain?"

Zhang Yu pointed at the gate and said, "Wenyuan, notify Lu Duwei and see if he can spare some troops to reinforce the gate to prevent the Gepi bandits from attacking at night!"

"promise!"

Zhang Liao bowed and accepted the order, then retreated quickly.

When it came to matters of coordination within the army, Zhang Yu would often let Zhang Liao act on his behalf, rather than letting Zhang Yang, the number two figure, do so.

As for why?

The reason is not difficult to understand. In Zhang Yu's mind, his uncle was sometimes unreliable and not as cautious as Zhang Liao. In addition, in order to cultivate Zhang Liao's growth, Zhang Yu intentionally or unintentionally let Zhang Liao participate in many affairs.

Because Zhang Yu treated Zhang Liao well, and Zhang Liao's surname was Zhang, everyone in the army thought that Zhang Liao was Zhang Yu's blood relative. Zhang Liao might have clarified it before, but as the number of troops increased, Zhang Yu hinted that Zhang Liao didn't need to clarify it. Now everyone in the army has tacitly accepted that Zhang Liao, like Zhang Yang and Zhang Feng, is a member of the Zhang clan.

After Zhang Liao left, Zhang Yang stepped forward and asked, "Captain, our army has been stationed in Banliang for many days. I wonder when we will be able to go out and fight the bandits?"

"Not urgent!"

Zhang Yu looked relaxed and said with a smile: "Luo Chenguo (Luo Jun) sent someone to deliver a message saying that since the issuance of the pacification order, more than a thousand Gepi bandits have surrendered. Now, according to the surrendered, they heard that our army has entered Banliang, and the morale of the Gepi bandits is low, and many of the old and weak want to surrender to the government. If my prediction is correct, the Gepi bandits will ask for a fight soon!"

The Gepi bandits fled from Runan to Chen State because they were attracted by the wealth of Chen State and the transportation advantages of Laixiang. However, they did not expect that Chen Wang Liu Chong was brave and had thousands of powerful crossbows, making it difficult for the Gepi bandits to break into the city and they could only plunder the countryside.

The Prime Minister Luo Jun opened the granaries to release grain and provide relief to the elderly and weak, winning the hearts of many people and making it difficult for the Gepi bandits to develop in the territory of Chen. Now the decree of "only punishing the main culprit and pardoning the followers" has been issued, which has tempted many Gepi bandits.

Zhang Yang was eager to try, and said, "When the troops go out, I am willing to lead the cavalry to defeat the enemy."

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu rubbed Zhang Yang's shoulders and said with a smile, "I'll trouble you, Mr. Zhang, when the time comes!"

As they were talking, Xu Fu came up and reported, "Sir, I have already counted the grain given by the State of Chen. It is consistent with what the officials of the State of Chen said. There are about 10,000 dan of grain and grass."

Zhang Yu flipped through the official documents and asked, "How much food and grass do we have left in the army?"

"About 20,000 shi, enough for our army to eat for 45 days." Xu Fu said without hesitation.

Seeing that Xu Fu's report was well-organized, Zhang Yu nodded and asked, "I wonder how Yuan Zhi is doing these days?"

Xu Fu bowed and said, "I have learned a lot from the military officials. The number of the baggage depots under my management is all in my mind."

Since joining the army, Xu Fu has been very diligent. Because he was worried that he was guilty and would be looked down upon by others, Xu Fu often took the lead in helping his colleagues with their work. If there was something he didn't understand, he would bow down and ask with a humble attitude. This made Xu Fu popular in the army.

"good!"

Zhang Yu smiled and encouraged him, "If Yuanzhi has time these days, he can come to the tent to borrow military books."

"Thank you, sir!" Xu Fu said gratefully.

After a pause, Xu Fu said, "Captain, I have changed my name to Shu, so from now on you can call me Xu Shu!"

"Xu Shu?"

Zhang Yu was puzzled and asked, "Why did you change the name? What does Shu mean?"

Xu Shu bowed and said, "Shu means lucky. I was lucky to have Bo'an rescue me, and the captain took care of me. From now on, I will use Shu to reflect on myself and warn myself that if I want to accomplish something, I must be cautious and never rely on luck, otherwise it will be difficult to accomplish anything!"

"color!"

Zhang Yu applauded and said, "If Yuan Zhi has this feeling, there is no need to worry about not being able to accomplish anything!"

(End of this chapter)