Han officials

Chapter 201: Mars Guarding the Heart [3.5K]

People are going to change.

When Zhang Yan was penniless, he naturally dared to risk his life.

But now that he is the leader of the Black Mountain Army, it is natural that he has some concerns in his mind.

Even though he was quite tempted by the seal of "General Pingbei", he did not give an immediate answer.

No matter how much Li Fu talked, he never gave a definite answer.

Li Fu had no choice but to go down and rest for a while to give Zhang Yan time to discuss.

that's the truth.

After Li Fu left, Zhang Yan immediately called together his trusted associates to discuss the matter.

……

"Father, is Yuan Benchu serious?"

Inside the inner hall, Zhang Yan's son Zhang Fang asked suspiciously, "Are they trying to lure us out of seclusion so they can capture us all in one fell swoop?"

Hearing him say this, Du Chang and other generals beside him could not help but nod repeatedly.

Indeed, it was obvious that Yu Du had just offended him, but Yuan Shao did not retaliate against the Black Mountain Army. Instead, he offered generous rewards to recruit them. This was a bit unreasonable no matter how you looked at it.

Zhang Yan thought for a moment before shaking his head, "That's not the case. Not only does Wei Zhe control three provinces, he's also eyeing Jizhou. Yuan Benchu might be trying to recapture Bohai and Hejian counties, and that's why he's targeting us."

However, despite this, Zhang Yan immediately ordered his men to send more scouts out of the mountain to investigate and see if there were any signs of an ambush.

However, after hearing his father's analysis, Zhang Fang couldn't help but ask, "Then why not surrender to General Zuo? Youzhou is powerful, isn't it just the right place for us to lead it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall suddenly fell into dead silence.

Generals such as Du Chang looked gloomy, and even Zhang Yan looked a little uncomfortable.

After all, Wei Zhe started his career by fighting the Yellow Turbans, and Zhang Yan had fought with Wei Zhe many times under the city of Guangzong.

Let’s put it this way, if the conflict between Zhang Yan and Yuan Shao was a minor one, then the conflict between him and Wei Zhe was an old feud.

For example, the arrow that seriously injured Taishi Ci was the work of Zhang Yan's subordinates.

If he really joined Wei Zhe's army, not to mention the other Black Mountain Army generals, even Zhang Yan would feel a little nervous.

Zhang Fang is just young and has no experience, otherwise he would never say such a thing.

But then again, in the face of life and death, all the old grudges and hatreds are actually nothing.

In other words, Zhang Yan still has a choice now, otherwise he will definitely kneel faster than anyone else when the time comes.

So after muttering "he is my biological son" a few times, Zhang Yan glared at Zhang Fang and ignored the discussion.

In this way, the remaining problems become much simpler.

Soon, after everyone brainstormed, a decision was finally made on Yuan Shao's recruitment of the Black Mountain Army.

……

A few days later, Yecheng.

In the main hall of the governor's mansion, Li Fu was reported to Yuan Shao with a nervous mood about the results of the trip.

After he had finished speaking, Li Fu added cautiously, "The Black Mountain bandit leader, Zhang Yan, says he cannot bear to leave his homeland, so he requests that the Taihang Mountains and valleys be divided into the Black Mountain Commandery. He also requests to be appointed the governor of Black Mountain. From now on, there will be no restrictions on buying and selling."

Yes, after much consideration, Zhang Yan decided to submit to Yuan Shao.

After all, one of the three brothers of the Yuan family accounts for one-third of the world's population, so no matter how you look at it, it is a foregone conclusion that the Yuan family will replace the Liu family.

In this case, one of the two Yuans will probably become the emperor in the future.

Faced with this two-choice gamble, the only one Zhang Yan could choose was Yuan Shao.

Even Zhang Yan secretly thanked his lucky stars that he did not take advantage of Gongsun Zan's misfortune when he attacked Jizhou.

Otherwise, even if he wanted to surrender to Yuan Shao now, it would probably be impossible.

However, he still had some concerns in his heart, which led to the proposal to establish Heishan County.

At the same time, as soon as Li Fu finished speaking, Yuan Shao immediately snorted with a gloomy expression: "How dare you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Fu quickly bowed and said, "My Lord, please bear with me. From what I've seen, Zhang Yan truly harbors the intention to surrender. He has previously stated that Yu Du is colluding with Dong Zhuo and betraying Black Mountain, and he is willing to eliminate this threat for you, General. As far as I know, the previous attack on Jizhou was the result of Yu Du, Bai Rao, Sui Gu, and others being instigated by Chang'an, and Zhang Yan was unaware of this."

After hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression looked a little better.

Now that Bai Rao and Sui Gu have been killed by Cao Cao, if Yu Du is eliminated by Zhang Yan, then the resentment from the last sneak attack will be largely dissipated, and his face can be saved.

However, Yuan Shao was still somewhat displeased with Zhang Yan's excessive demands.

Upon seeing this, Shen Pei immediately stepped forward and said, "If my suspicions are correct, Zhang Yan's request to be appointed governor of Heishan is merely a test. I beg you to remain at peace. Considering the millions of people in Heishan, why should you be so stingy with a mere title?"

When Shen Pei said this, many civil and military officials in the hall nodded.

Because what he said was the truth. Even if he was not given the title of Heishan Prefect, the territory would still belong to Zhang Yan.

If they could exchange a mere seal of the Montenegro governor for a million Montenegro troops, they would actually be making a profit.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao thought about it and could only nod reluctantly.

That's just the way he is. His wisdom and decisiveness depend entirely on the surrounding environment.

If the enemy were at the gates right now, Yuan Shao would probably become wise immediately.

So, Jizhou, which had just lost two counties, suddenly gained another county.

After getting the seal of General Pingbei and becoming the governor of Heishan as he wished, Zhang Yan's Heishan army finally set out, and soon smoke of war broke out all over the area west of Zhuojun.

……

At the same time, Nanpi County, Bohai County.

In the backyard of the county government office, Ju Su handed a piece of information to Zhong Hu with a serious expression.

"The Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou will soon invade Bohai. General, make preparations early!"

This was news from a good friend of his in Qingzhou Pingyuan County.

Zhong Hu was not surprised to hear this. He immediately took the letter and read it. It turned out that the Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou were not only invading Bohai, but were also attacking from all directions. In addition to the Yellow Turban army in Bohai, another group was raiding Mount Tai in Yanzhou to the west, and another was harassing Xuzhou to the south. Clearly, after years of Yellow Turban incursions in Qingzhou, Qingzhou could no longer bear the consequences.

But soon Zhong Hu frowned slightly: "At Zhang Yan's invitation, you want to join forces with the Black Mountain Army?"

"That's right!" Ju Su nodded. "Zhang Rao's troops do have this rumor."

Ju Su was not sure whether the news was true or false, but he reported it to be on the safe side.

After all, if this news is true, then the Montenegrin Army is an enemy rather than a friend, so we should prepare early.

After learning that Ju Su had already reported it to Zhong Hu, he nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Lord Ju. I'll go and prepare it right away!"

However, Ju Su couldn't help but ask, "Zhang Rao has gathered 300,000 men to invade us. Do you think you have enough troops? Do you need me to recruit more volunteers?"

It’s not that Ju Su didn’t believe in Zhong Hu’s ability, but there were too many Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou invading this time.

Zhong Hu laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Lord Ju is worrying too much. There's no need to make such a big fuss over such a small thief."

After all, the garrison troops in the twelve counties of Bohai County alone total 12,000 people, plus there are 5,000 palace soldiers under Zhong Hu.

In Zhong Hu's opinion, it was more than enough to deal with Zhang Rao's Yellow Turban Army.

You have to know that he started out by fighting against the Yellow Turbans, and no one knows how to defeat the Yellow Turban Army better than him!
Seeing Zhong Hu so confident, Ju Su didn't say much.

However, after Zhong Hu left, Ju Su hesitated for a moment and then took action.

Since he doesn't need to worry about things on the battlefield, he should just focus on logistics.

Although the farming army has some savings, it would also be good to raise another batch of food and fodder.

Especially since the invaders this time were the Yellow Turban Army, Ju Su believed that the Bohai clans would be very sensible.

You have to know that they have seen the tragic situation in the neighboring Plain County.

If the county had not successfully stopped the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, the fate of Bohai County would be self-evident.

As expected, it didn't take long for Ju Su to raise nearly 200,000 shi of grain.

In fact, as the news of the Yellow Turbans' imminent invasion from Qingzhou spread, people throughout Bohai County were suddenly in a panic.

There is no way. If the attackers were other Guandong lords, it would be fine. They would just change their masters.

But if the troops coming were the Yellow Turban Army from Qingzhou, then the situation would be a different matter.

Haven’t you seen that most of the nobles and powerful people in Qingzhou have now fled to other places?
……

The second year of Chuping, the fourth month of summer, the day of Xinchou.

Outside Ji County, in the western suburbs camp.

Wei Zhe was in a good mood after watching the palace soldiers' drill. Although there had been some unexpected events in Zhuo County, the prefect, Gongsun Zhao, was a man of both civil and military prowess, and the minor bandit troubles had been unable to harm him. Especially after Wei Zhe's extensive military farming in Youzhou, Zhuo County's defensive strength had been greatly enhanced.

But after seeing the memorials from Zhong Hu and Ju Su, Wei Zhe couldn't help but frown.

“The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop! Eh~”

In the commander's tent, Wei Zhe sighed helplessly.

He originally wanted to recuperate for a while, sort out internal affairs before expanding outward, but he didn't expect Yuan Shao to be so impatient.

Xi Zhicai laughed when he heard this and said, "A tall tree attracts the wind. It's because you are so outstanding!"

Only after chatting and laughing for a few words did Xi Zhicai couldn't help but nod his head in agreement with Yecheng's plan.

Driving the Black Mountain bandits and the Yellow Turban bandits to serve one's own ends, it must be said that this is indeed a brilliant move!
Whether winning or losing, there is no loss for Yuan Shao himself.

Wei Zhe couldn't help but sigh, "Shen Zhengnan is indeed a famous scholar in Jizhou, but it's a pity that I can't use him!"

He finally understood why Prime Minister Cao always liked to collect talents. It turned out that he was really addicted.

Xi Zhicai was not so sentimental and immediately suggested: "Since Yuan Shao is ready to make a move, why don't you take Qingzhou as soon as possible?"

He pointed to Donglai County on the map and said, "The Liaodong garrison will enter from here. When General Zhong leads his troops south, we can attack from both sides and capture Qingzhou easily. If we can capture Qingzhou, Ganling State will be within reach, and we can then strangle Jizhou."

Hearing this, Wei Zhe nodded slightly.

However, there is another problem with this plan, which is that it cannot free up Yuan Shao's hands.

After all, with Jizhou's wealth, if the Wei army doesn't find a way to divert his energy, it may not be so easy for them to take over Qingzhou.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe thought for a moment and then said, "Draft an order."

Wang Xiu, a shogunate official standing by, immediately picked up his pen and waited upon hearing this.

Then Wei Zhe said decisively:

Today, bandits are swarming in Qingzhou, causing great suffering to the people. I, a general, have been ordered to Youyan to wield the imperial sword and put an end to this evil rebellion.

I now recommend General Zhong Hu, the Protector-General, to be the Governor of Qingzhou, to take charge of the suppression of the rebellion in the six counties of Qingzhou.
Wei Muhua, the lieutenant of Henghai, was dispatched with his own navy and 5,000 Liaodong garrison troops to set sail on time and land in Donglai. They were to build a fort along the sea and gradually advance westward, making sure to cut off the bandits' escape routes eastward to the coastal areas.

General Taishi Ci, the Eagle-Flying General, led his own troops to launch a feint attack on Anping. They would lie dormant during the day and emerge at night to harass the enemy's exhausted forces. If they saw the enemy's momentum wavering, they could seize the opportunity to capture the city.

In addition, Xu Rong, the General of the Imperial Guard, was appointed as the Governor of Bingzhou, and Zhang Liao, the Military Attendant, was appointed as the Cavalry Commandant, to lead 5,000 troops stationed in Dai County, and to march west through Yanmen Pass. All the counties in Bingzhou could act as they saw fit.

All the generals should organize their troops and not let down my ambition to quell the rebellion and bring peace to the people.

Anyone who defeats the bandits and makes meritorious contributions should report to the court and will be rewarded with a title of nobility. If anyone hesitates and does not advance, the military law is in place, so don't say that I didn't warn you!
-
Doesn’t Yuan Shao want to start a war? Then Wei Zhe will satisfy him and see if he can handle it.

When Wang Xiu, a shogunate official standing by, heard Wei Zhe's series of orders, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Although Wei Zhe said it lightly, he seemed to have already seen the scene of smoke everywhere.

Today he finally understood what the ancients meant when they said, "One anger makes the princes afraid, and when he is at peace, the world is at peace."

Despite his emotion, Wang Xiu quickly drafted the appointment.

After all, he is also from Beihai, and Wang Xiu is also very sad to see Qingzhou fall into such a situation.

If Wei Zhe could quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, it would be a good thing for the people of Qingzhou.
-
I read this book again today and finally found my groove. Sorry, I'll be back to normal in the future updates.

(End of this chapter)