Han officials

Chapter 251 A Talented Man Left Behind [22]

On the last day of June, the last batch of grassland prisoners were finally sent to Youzhou.

The water conservancy project that Guoyuan had been longing for could finally begin.

Dredging ditches and excavating waterways—these Xianbei people were always busy with these tasks.

At the same time, Wei Zhe finally began to reward those who had contributed.

To be honest, the Wei army actually had a very difficult time fighting this major battle on both the northern and southern fronts.

Especially after Wei Zhe set the strategy of defending the south and attacking the north, the Wei army on the southern front was caught in a bitter battle from the very beginning.

If it weren't for the military settlement system, which allowed the Jixian shogunate to mobilize far more troops than Jizhou could have imagined, it might have suffered a severe blow.

Even so, the Wei army still suffered heavy losses.

For example, Mao Kun's two older brothers died in battle within a month of each other, and Mao Kun himself was seriously injured and fell into a coma.

Fortunately, he was fighting on the southern front, and thanks to Hua Tuo's timely rescue, he was able to save his life.

Therefore, Wei Zhe exceptionally promoted Mao Kun to the rank of Wuwei Colonel, and his elder brothers were also posthumously honored.

Hua Xiong, Han Zhong, Zhang Chang, and others were also promoted to the rank of Colonel based on their merits, which was slightly less than the rank of Colonel with the title of Colonel.

Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun were appointed as lieutenant generals, placing them in the second tier of generals after Zhong Hu and Taishi Ci.

This is the principle of natural selection; the more chaotic the times, the easier it is for talented people to stand out.

Of course, Wei Zhe did not only promote old people, but also recruited many new people.

For example, Gao Rou was transferred by Wei Zhe to the Household Department as an aide, which made Yuan Shao suspicious. He thought that Wei Zhe was trying to turn Gao Gan against him, leaving Gao Gan with a bitter pill to swallow.

In comparison, cultivating interpersonal relationships is much simpler.

When he was a little over ten years old, he became a student of Yue Yin, a great Confucian scholar from the same county. In his youth, he formed a close friendship with Liu Bei, becoming sworn brothers.

It's fair to say that Liu Bei's fate was somewhat similar to that of Emperor Gaozu of Han; he encountered quite a few talented people in his early years.

During the Zhongping era, Yue Yin was recruited by General He Miao to serve as the chief secretary of his staff, and Qian Zhao followed his teacher to Luoyang as a result.

In the sixth year of the Zhongping era, the Rebellion of the Ten Attendants broke out in Luoyang. In the chaos, He Miao and Yue Yin were killed. Qian Zhao, along with Yue Yin's disciple Shi Lu and others, risked their lives to collect Yue Yin's body and return to their hometown. Unexpectedly, they encountered bandits on their way home. Shi Lu and the others all scattered and fled, but Qian Zhao tearfully pleaded with them. The bandits, seeing him as a righteous man, let him go, and Qian Zhao's reputation soared.

In this protracted battle on the southern front, Taishi Ci launched a defensive counterattack and instead occupied Guanjin County in Anping Kingdom, thus bringing Qianzhao under his rule.

Upon learning that such a talented person existed in this village, Taishi Ci naturally would not let the opportunity pass and immediately recommended him to Wei Zhe.

Qian Zhao, who came from a humble background, had long heard of Wei Zhe's reputation. If it weren't for the constraints of her hometown, she would have already gone to Ji County.

Therefore, upon receiving the summons from the shogunate, Kensho set off for Youzhou without hesitation.

After a brief meeting, Wei Zhe immediately appointed Qian Zhao as the military supervisor of the shogunate, tasked with inspecting the land reclamation affairs in Yingzhou.

……

Meanwhile, while Wei Zhe was recuperating in Ji County, Qingzhou was making frequent moves.

"This humble man, Guan Hai, pays his respects to General Zhong!"

Le'an Kingdom, outside Le'an County.

A burly, fierce-looking, dark-skinned man with a yellow turban on his head led a group of bandits to kneel down in a thunderous roar.

Seeing this, Zhong Hu remained calm and composed, and simply said in a deep voice:
"Since you wish to abandon darkness and embrace the light, you must thoroughly repent of your past mistakes. My lord's army cannot tolerate traitors who rebel."

Upon hearing this, Guan Hai nodded hurriedly and said, "In the past, we were misled and went astray. Now that we have returned to the royal army, we should turn over a new leaf."

However, despite this, Guan Hai's rough and unrefined air was still particularly striking.

Despite having the surname Guan, Guan Hai actually had no connection with the Guan family of Beihai.

Perhaps his ancestors were indeed from the Guan family, but after more than a hundred years, they could no longer even be considered collateral relatives.

However, there is absolutely no trace of Guan Hai in the Guan family's genealogy.

In contrast, Guan Cheng, a notorious pirate from Qingzhou who was also a bandit, was the Gray Glove of the Guan family of Beihai.

Therefore, when Wei Zhe sent Zhong Hu to attack Qingzhou, Guan Cheng immediately surrendered with his navy. To be precise, Guan Cheng had already completely joined Wei Zhe's forces when Wei Zhe took control of Youzhou.

The reason for surrendering again this time is just to put on a show for Zhong Hu.

On the contrary, Guan Hai, having spent his life among the Yellow Turban rebels, rose to prominence as the Yellow Turbans ravaged Qingzhou, eventually becoming a local leader.

So when Zhong Hu first tried to persuade him to surrender, this guy didn't take it seriously at all.

Only after being slapped a few times by Zhong Hu and suffering several defeats did he realize the gap between the two sides.

Even so, Guan Hai, who was used to being wild, still had no intention of surrendering. Instead, he wanted to flee to the sea to avoid his sharp edge.

However, he did not realize that Captain Wei Muhua of the Henghai Sea was a man who wanted to become the Pirate King.

When Zhong Hu slapped him, he held back somewhat, but Wei Muhua's blow was incredibly ruthless.

After a while, Guan Hai, who had been relentlessly beaten by Zhong Hu and Wei Muhua, finally regained his composure.

If Zhou Ang hadn't been constantly restraining him, Zhong Hu probably would have already dealt with him.

However, this mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as Zhou Ang's delay actually allowed Zhong Hu to gain a talented individual.

When Yuan Shao allied with various Hu tribes in the north to attack Wei Zhe from both sides, Wei's allies also joined the effort.

For example, Tao Qian sent a force to assist Zhong Hu in attacking Zhou Ang, which greatly relieved the logistical pressure on the Wei army in Qingzhou.

Zhong Hu's troops, who had previously relied on sea freight from Liaodong for their provisions, were finally able to purchase them locally in Xuzhou.

It should be noted that Langya Kingdom and Beihai Kingdom are connected by a dense network of waterways, making travel between the two extremely convenient.

It was during this process that Wei Muhua discovered Zhuge Xuan, who was studying diligently in Yangdu County, Langya Kingdom.

This man was a descendant of Zhuge Feng, the Commandant of the Capital Region during the Former Han Dynasty, and the elder cousin of Zhuge Gui, the Prefect of Taishan Commandery.

At first, Wei Muhua simply purchased grain and supplies from various aristocratic families in Langya. However, after several interactions, he discovered that although Zhuge Xuan was a recluse, he was quite insightful in his conversations, so he recommended him to Zhong Hu.

Zhong Hu and Wei Muhua were both retainers of the Wei family and had been friends since their youth, so Zhong Hu naturally knew Wei Muhua's personality.

Thus, to Zhuge Xuan's complete surprise, he received Zhong Hu's invitation to serve.

Faced with the prestigious position of "Prefect of Qingzhou," Zhuge Xuan was unsurprisingly dragged into the mess by Zhong Hu.

Even after Tao Qian learned of this, he didn't say anything. Instead, he ordered someone to send a congratulatory gift to the Zhuge family.

The first thing Zhuge Xuan did after taking office was to help Zhong Hu solve the problem of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou being unable to be defeated quickly.

Under his planning, Guan Hai, who was already inclined to surrender, began to fight in the State of Qi, gathering the Yellow Turban rebels scattered in various places.

The various Yellow Turban factions scattered throughout Qingzhou were thus brought together in the State of Qi.

However, Guan Hai did not use the pretext of fighting a decisive battle with the Wei army, but rather the pretext of preparing to escape.

After all, the Yellow Turban rebel leaders were all aware of the current situation in Qingzhou.

The fighting power of the Wei army is truly terrifying. If they stay in Qingzhou for a short period of time, they may live a carefree life, but they will surely die within three to five years.

So when Guan Hai expressed his intention to take his brothers to Yanzhou to take advantage of the situation, all the Yellow Turban rebels were tempted.

Although Cao Cao was a ruthless character, he has now lost even his stronghold, so these mere stray dogs are nothing to fear.

Moreover, if they travel north through Yanzhou, they might be able to take the opportunity to enter the Taihang Mountains and join the Black Mountain Army.

It should be noted that among these remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Black Mountain Army was the most successful, something the Yellow Turban bandit leaders in Qingzhou had long envied.

Unfortunately, their dream was not yet finished when they were betrayed by Guan Hai, the nominal leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou.

In a major battle, where even one's own commander-in-chief is a spy for the enemy, the outcome is naturally predictable.

As the saying goes: I would rather die than let my friend die.

Thanks to the selfless dedication of his fellow Daoists, Guan Hai managed to obtain the position of Commandant of the Pacification Army, thus clearing his name and going ashore.

After all, his mistress was a general's wife, so naturally he couldn't associate with these bandits...

(End of this chapter)