Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 26: Bring Zhao Yun here, and these 3,000 cavalry will be under your command

Cao Yan followed Cao Ang to the outside of the military camp.
At first glance, I saw a boy who was only in his teens.
He was kneeling in front of the camp gate with his hands tied behind his back.

Cao Yan walked closer and threw an [Insight] over.

After seeing the boy's name, he was stunned.

"Xiahou Lan? Is that Zhao Yun's good friend Xiahou Lan?"

Judging from their ages, they should be about the same.

There are only two blue and two white entries.

Although it is not outstanding now,

But for a teenager,
It also indicates that its potential should still be good.

Cao Yan couldn't help but feel a little excited, thinking to himself: "Zhao Yun should still be an unknown person under Gongsun Zan at this time. There is a great chance to pull him over to our side!"

Thinking about this,

Cao Yan walked forward slowly,

Gently helped Xia Houlan up,

But he did not rush to have anyone untie him.

He looked at me with a gentle gaze and asked in a calm tone, "What's your name? Where are you from?"

Xia Houlan looked up,
The person in front of me had an elegant temperament and a friendly demeanor, and I couldn't help but feel a bit of good impression of him.

He hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "My name is Xiahou Lan, courtesy name Qingyuan, and I'm from Zhending County, Changshan Commandery."

"It's him!" Cao Yan was delighted and immediately ordered, "Untie him."

Xiahou Lan rubbed his aching arm and explained, "I heard that Lord Cao was a benevolent ruler and had recently defeated a hundred thousand Black Mountain troops. I admire him, so I came to join him."

Cao Ang, however, did not believe him and asked, "Then why were you spying on our camp?"

Xiahou Lan looked embarrassed and scratched his head, saying, "Lord Cao defeated the Black Mountain Army of 100,000 with only 10,000 men.

I am really curious, what kind of army can be so brave?
I happened to pass by the military camp and couldn’t help but get closer…”

Upon hearing this, Cao Ang turned to look at Cao Yan, as if waiting for his decision.

Cao Yan simply smiled and asked, "Since you're from Zhending, Changshan, you must have heard of Zhaojiazhuang, right?"

"I know! I grew up in Zhaojiazhuang!" Xiahou Lan's eyes flashed with surprise. "You know Zhaojiazhuang too?"

"I also know that there is a young hero in Zhaojiazhuang, named Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong!" Cao Yan raised the corner of his mouth with a slightly playful smile.

"Ah? How did you know about Zilong?!" Xia Houlan asked with eyes wide open, a look of disbelief on his face. Then he quickly asked, "I haven't asked for your name yet, sir."

"My name is Cao Yan, my courtesy name is Zi'an, and Cao Mengde is my elder brother." Cao Yan continued with a smile as warm as the morning sun.

"You are Cao Zi'an!!!" Xiahou Lan was shocked when he heard this.

"Why, have you heard of my name?" Cao Yan asked curiously.

"Four thousand defeated forty thousand, and you launched a surprise attack on Jiedunqiu! Your deeds have spread throughout Jizhou!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Ang couldn't help but laugh and said, "I guess it was the Black Mountain Army that escaped and spread your reputation, uncle."

Cao Yan didn't care about this. He just wanted to poach his cavalry commander!

"Qingyuan, are you here to join the army?" Cao Yan asked.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Lan quickly knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "Captain, please take me in!
Cao Yan helped him up again and said with a smile, "I have three thousand cavalrymen, but I still lack a commander..."

"No, no! I can't be the commander-in-chief!" Xiahou Lan waved his hands repeatedly.

Seeing this, Cao Ang couldn't help but think to himself, "Leaving three thousand cavalrymen to this brat? Isn't this a bit too hasty, uncle?"

"I didn't say anything about you."

"Oh, that's good. I was scared to death..." Xiahou Lan said, patting his chest.

Cao Ang also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking: "You scared me."

"I'm talking about Zhao Zilong! If you can persuade him to surrender to me, I will hand over these three thousand cavalrymen to him! And you will serve as his deputy, helping him lead this cavalry."

"!!!"

"!!!" Xiahou Lan was so shocked by Cao Yan's words that her hand, which was rubbing her arm, froze in mid-air.

Cao Ang was also stunned, thinking to himself: "Uncle is really too careless!"

"No... you don't even know what Zhao Yun looks like?" After a long while, Xia Houlan finally came back to his senses, "Besides, Zilong is now under the command of General Gongsun..."

Cao Yan raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Gongsun Zan is narrow-minded, jealous of talented people, and extremely biased towards the aristocratic families.

How could he reuse a young man from Yuan Shao's rule?

If Zilong were to serve under him, he would probably never be able to make a name for himself.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Lan couldn't help but agree deeply.

After he and Zhao Yun left Changshan, they originally wanted to join Yuan Shao.

Because at the beginning,
Yuan Shao adopted Ju Su's suggestion and restored production through military farming and tax reduction.

They also attracted refugees through the policy of "dividing land and exempting taxes", and in that year alone, they absorbed tens of thousands of refugees.

If Cao Cao had not occupied Dongjun later,
If more attractive policies are introduced and some of the refugees are allowed to leave, Jizhou might be able to attract another 10,000 or 20,000 people.

Among the aristocratic families, all the stories were about Yuan Shao's wisdom.

Even Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan thought Yuan Shao was a wise ruler.
So at the beginning, they did go to Yuan Shao for help.

When they actually left their hometown, they saw a completely different scene.

What they saw was the behavior of treating the people like grass, which made Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan angry.

In order to raise military funds, Yuan Shao

The powerful were allowed to annex land, resulting in the rich having fields stretching for miles while the poor had no place to stand.

The so-called "dividing land and exempting taxes"
It is more like a means for powerful and wealthy families to absorb tenants.

Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan were extremely disappointed and angry about this, so they decided to leave Yuan Shao.

Zhao Yun chose to go north to join the White Horse General Gongsun Zan.
However, Xiahou Lan believed that Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were essentially the same kind of people, so he decided to go south to join Cao Cao.

In terms of vision alone, Xiahou Lan is indeed slightly better than Zhao Yun.

Hearing that Cao Yan offered such generous conditions to recruit Zhao Yun,

Xia Houlan did not feel the slightest bit of jealousy.

Because he knew Zhao Yun's strength too well, and he knew that Zhao Yun deserved such treatment.

But the young man was still a little hesitant. He was not sure whether the conditions offered by Cao Yan were sincere.

Cao Yan noticed his hesitation and pulled out the cavalry's new army's military order from his bosom. He handed it to Xiahou Lan and said, "This is the cavalry order. Take it and ask him. If he is willing to serve my elder brother, these 3,000 cavalrymen will be his."

Xiahou Lan stretched out his hands tremblingly and took the military order.

Although the military token was light, he could feel Cao Yan's heavy sincerity.

So he bowed solemnly and said, "I'm willing to give it a try. But you have to give me more time!"

Cao Yan leaned over and held his elbow, saying, "Go early and come back early. I'm waiting for your good news."

After saying that, Cao Yan instructed the military camp guard beside him: "Take the little brother to eat something good, change him into clean clothes, and prepare some money for his journey."

"Yes!" The guard bowed and said to Xia Houlan, "Little brother, follow me."

Xia Houlan's fingers holding the military token were still trembling slightly.
After hearing the guard's words, he quickly put the military token into his arms, placed it close to his skin, and then bowed deeply to Cao Yan and said, "Even if Xiahou Lan dies, I will not let down the captain's kindness!"

"Go ahead." Cao Yan waved his hand with a smile.

When Xia Houlan is far away,

Cao Ang then came over and asked, "Uncle, do you really think Zhao Yun is worth three thousand cavalrymen?"

Cao Yan looked at the northern skyline, a bright smile on his face as he said:
"Zhao Zilong is worth more than just 3,000 cavalrymen! Even if someone offers 300,000 cavalrymen, I won't trade him for them!"

When Cao Ang heard this, he was shocked!
But he also knew that his uncle's vision was always sharp.

To be able to be valued so much by him,

I think it is definitely not something you would find in a pond!

(End of this chapter)