Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 204 Former General

Several bells rang out in Guangzong City.

The west gate slowly opened, and a silent crowd surged out.

There was little sound, no cursing, only a chilling, deathly silence.

The crowd flowed slowly out of the city gate like a turbid mud stream.

Men, women, the elderly, children... all dressed in rags, emaciated and frail.

The deep-set eyes reflected the numbness honed by prolonged hunger.

The crowd huddled together, supporting each other, taking each step with utmost care, as if afraid that the slightest sound would bring about their doom.

They were both terrified and loyal, and they kept in mind the final instructions of the Great Teacher.

The cold wind whipped up their thin clothes, taking away their remaining warmth and leaving behind a biting chill and a depressing silence.

In the crowd, Zhang Ning was wrapped in an inconspicuous old gray cloak, the hood of which was pulled low, covering most of her pale face.

Her knuckles were white from gripping the corner of the cloak so tightly.

Beside her stood Zhang Bailu, who had also changed into coarse cloth clothes and deliberately hunched his back. His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings, wary of any potential risks that might harm Zhang Ning.

The commanders had long since disappeared into the crowd, swallowed up without a trace.

"Liu Xuande!" Zhang Xian's voice broke the silence.

"The general is here!"

Liu Bei quickly spurred his horse forward, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei following closely behind.

"Immediately organize your eight hundred local militia into the Anmin Battalion!" Zhang Xian pointed his whip at the slowly moving crowd to the north.

"Join my Mountain Battalion! Proceed twenty li ahead, clear the road and establish a guard! Take my command arrow and take control of the checkpoints along the way!"

"Ah Shan!"

"exist!"

"Adong has already rushed back to Jingdao yesterday. Supplies should be arriving on the way. You go ahead and order the garrison commanders of Tumen Pass and Jingjing Pass to set up soup kitchens!"

"promise!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ah Shan mounted his horse and rode off, his hands simultaneously loosening the joints of his armor as he rode.

"Yes, sir!" A glint flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, and he immediately accepted the order.

These eight hundred people were his only asset for survival!

He clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, his voice steady and powerful: "Please rest assured, General! I will certainly live up to your expectations!" He immediately turned his horse around.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also called out, and the local militia quickly assembled, joining the black iron torrent of the Mountain Battalion, heading towards Bingzhou.

As Liu Bei and his men disappeared into the dust, Zhang Xian's gaze fell back on the Northern Army that had begun to accept surrender and the slowly moving refugees.

He summoned another guard and whispered, "Send a message to Xun Wenruo in Jinyang: Hundreds of thousands of starving people from Guangzong have begun to migrate to Taiyuan. Instruct him to coordinate all the granaries, workshops, and wastelands in Taiyuan and prepare them immediately! Make sure that the land distribution tools, winter clothing, and workshop positions are all prepared before the refugees arrive!"

Furthermore, Zhao Zilong is to lead a portion of the guerrilla army out of Lishi and advance eastward to provide support! Lü Bu is also ordered to strictly guard Xihe and suppress the grasslands; no loss is permitted!

"Yes, sir!" The guard noted down the order and immediately rode off.

Zhang Xian was left with only ten men in the end. He finally looked at the silent Guangzong City and sighed.

'I need to write a report.'
-
a few days later.

Luoyang, Nangong, Deyang Hall.

The huge gilded bronze animal-shaped charcoal brazier burned bright red, making the hall warm as spring, and the fragrance was elegant and luxurious.

The melodious sounds of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air as dancers, clad in thin gauze, gracefully twirled and danced on the smooth jade brick floor.

Emperor Liu Hong of Han leaned back on the imperial couch covered with a white tiger skin, his face pale and swollen from excessive indulgence, his eyes glazed over as he watched the singing and dancing, and he played with a warm jade pendant in his hand.

Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and the other ten attendants stood like the most loyal shadows, fawning over Liu Hong with obsequious smiles on their faces, occasionally whispering a few amusing remarks, which elicited a few lazy laughs from Liu Hong.

On both sides of the hall, the three dukes and nine ministers, and important civil and military officials stood solemnly in their respective ranks.

General He Jin stood at the head of the military officers, wearing a purple robe, with a gold seal hanging from his waist. He was tall and strong, and his face had a ruddy glow.

Below him stood Situ Yuanwei, his hands hanging down, his hair and beard all white, his face gaunt, his eyes half-open and half-closed. Only when he occasionally glanced at He Jin's back would a faint, imperceptible glint of cold light flash in the depths of his eyes.

Sikong Zhang Ji, Tingwei Cui Lie, and others also kept their eyes down, appearing mature and composed.

Inside the palace, there was a scene of singing and dancing, a display of wealth and elegance.

Suddenly, a series of hurried and heavy footsteps broke the languid music in the hall!
A messenger, covered in dust and adorned with crimson feathers, stumbled into the main hall, guided by two eunuchs!
He knelt down on the polished gold brick floor with a thud, his voice hoarse, filled with extreme exhaustion from the long journey and an unbelievable excitement, even cracking slightly.

"Urgent dispatch! Military report from Guangzong, Jizhou! A great victory! A monumental victory!"

The music stopped abruptly! The dancers retreated in panic.

The hall fell silent instantly! All eyes, like countless sharp arrows, focused on the messenger prostrate on the ground!

Liu Hong's dazed eyes suddenly cleared, and he sat up abruptly: "Speak!"

The messenger took a deep breath and shouted hoarsely, "On the ninth day of the month, Zhang Xian, the General of the Xiongnu, was ordered by the Grand General to lead a hundred elite cavalry to aid Guangzong! Upon arriving at the camp, he acted swiftly and decisively, seizing the Northern Army's military seal and stripping Dong Zhuo of his command!"

A suppressed gasp rippled through the hall! Taking over Dong Zhuo's military power?! A hundred men?! This…

The messenger's voice suddenly rose: "That night! Commander Zhang led only 113 of his personal guards into the isolated city of Guangzong! In the heart of the 100,000 Yellow Turban rebels, he killed the rebel leader Han Qiong and more than 740 of his followers! He beheaded them! And, surrounded by the rebels, he found the body of the traitor Zhang Jiao!"

boom--!
The hall erupted in chaos! The officials could no longer maintain their composure, and an uproar broke out!
"A hundred men entered the city? They killed hundreds of chieftains? And they even found Zhang Jiao's corpse?!"

"Is this a fantasy?! Falsely reporting military intelligence is a capital offense!"

"This is impossible!"

“Zhang Xian…”

Liu Hong abruptly stood up, his swollen face trembling, his eyes blazing with a sharp light as he demanded, "Zhang Jiao's corpse?! Really?!"

“Absolutely true!” the messenger’s voice was firm and resolute.

"The body of the bandit leader Zhang Jiao has been identified. His condition was terrible, clearly indicating that he died from prolonged hunger and illness! Lord Zhang has already beheaded him on the battlefield and placed his head in a box! It is being rushed to Luoyang overnight!"

"Good! Good! Good!"

Liu Hong was so excited that he shouted "Good!" three times and slammed his hand heavily on the imperial desk, making the cups and saucers jump around.

"Minister Zhang is truly my champion! His bravery is unparalleled! His bravery is unparalleled!"

The eunuchs Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and others instantly plastered their faces with fawning smiles and shouted in unison, "Your Majesty is blessed! Heaven protects the Han Dynasty! Zhang Zhonglang is truly a divine man!"

Their hearts were already in turmoil, and the thought that this person had been giving them tributes every year made them tremble slightly.

You should return the favor as soon as you get back!

He Jin was stunned upon hearing the messenger's words, but then his joy turned to ecstasy! It was him! He was the one who secretly ordered Zhang Xian to go to Ji Province! This tremendous achievement, the greatest share, was destined to fall on General He Jin's head!

He suppressed his excitement and stepped forward to report: "Your Majesty! Zhang Xian has lived up to Your Majesty's grace and my expectations! He defeated the bandits and captured their chieftain in a single day. This is a testament to Your Majesty's divine might! I congratulate Your Majesty! I congratulate the Great Han!"

Liu Honglong was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "The General's recommendation is meritorious! He deserves a reward! A generous reward!"

Yuan Wei slowly lifted his half-closed eyelids and stepped forward, his voice aged: "Your Majesty, General Zhang is incredibly brave. He captured the bandit stronghold of Guangzong in one day, a truly unparalleled achievement, worthy of celebration. However..." He changed the subject: "There are still hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban rebels in Guangzong! Why is General Zhang's victory report so vague about this? These hundreds of thousands of bandits are all young and strong, unruly and undisciplined!"
Zhang Xian accepted the surrender without the court's explicit edict, failed to investigate the rebel leader, and did not distinguish between the ringleaders and those who had been coerced. Such actions of acting first and reporting later, and of wielding military power for personal gain, suggest he may be plotting something sinister!

"Hiss..." A collective gasp of cold air instantly filled the hall!
Yuan Wei's words were like a bucket of ice water poured into boiling oil! They instantly awakened the ministers who had been stunned by the news!
Yes! Although Zhang Jiao is dead, what about those hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban rebels who had fought and seen blood?
So Zhang Xian just swallowed them whole like that? Or did he settle them in his Bingzhou stronghold?
This isn't accepting surrender; it's clearly expanding a private army! How can the harsh and cold land of Bingzhou possibly feed hundreds of thousands of suddenly added mouths? What exactly is Zhang Xian's intention in doing this?!
"With hundreds of thousands of bandits entering Bingzhou, is Bingzhou still the Bingzhou of the imperial court?!"

"Zhang Xian is a treacherous man! Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible!"

The crowd inside the hall was in an uproar, with voices of doubt and criticism instantly drowning out the previous praise.

He Jin's face immediately turned ugly.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say a few words in defense of Zhang Xian, mainly to claim credit for his own work.

However, it is said that Bingzhou is a vast and sparsely populated area, and the resettlement of refugees was a last resort. Zhang Xian's loyalty is evident.

But in the face of those eight words, “possessing military power and plotting treason,” these excuses seem so pale and powerless!

The ecstasy on Liu Hong's face froze instantly, and his brows furrowed tightly.

He was no fool. Yuan Wei's words of advice instantly replaced the joy he felt from the great victory with doubt and apprehension.

Hundreds of thousands of surrendered soldiers...

Zhang Rang, observing the situation, immediately said in a shrill voice, "Your Majesty, Zhang Zhonglang is loyal and devoted. He was able to rise from humble beginnings to this position entirely thanks to Your Majesty's discerning eye. I don't know what's wrong with the court officials. Why are they ignoring the great victory and instead ganging up to criticize the meritorious official?"

"Could it be that, apart from Dong Zhonglang, who was strongly recommended by the ministers, Zhang Zhonglang is incapable of attacking Guangzong? Or is it that..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but he made his meaning very clear. He was reminding his emperor that the ministers were getting too close, and that Dong Zhuo was not the emperor's general, but rather the ministers' protégé.

Liu Hong's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He waved his hand impatiently, interrupting the noise in the hall, and looked at the victory report from Emperor Guangzong on the imperial desk.

His gaze swept across the hall, briefly touching each minister before moving on.

"Issue the decree..." Liu Hong's voice slowly rang out.

"Zhang Xian is promoted to General of the Vanguard, granted the title of Marquis of Jinxiang, with a fief of three thousand households, and given the authority to command troops. He is appointed to oversee the military affairs of Bing, Liang, and You prefectures, and ordered to quell the rebellion of the steppes..."

Granted a title of nobility?! Granted the authority to act as an imperial envoy?! Appointed governor of three prefectures?!
Silence fell over the hall.

Wait, it's the Marquis of Jinxiang, not the Marquis of Jinyang!
His Majesty is...
Looking at everyone's reactions, Liu Hong leaned back against the couch once again.

Since the central government can't keep you in check, let's see if the external government can balance you.

Place your bets and let me see if you can still unite as one.

Whether you become friends or enemies is entirely up to you.

As for Zhang Xian
A shadow still crossed Liu Hong's mind. How many cities in Liangzhou were still Han territory? And how many cities in Bingzhou were still Han territory?
The cold and harsh conditions in Youzhou are even worse. Zhang Xian, aren't you a skilled and courageous warrior?
Then show me what you've got. Let's see how long it will take you to quell the border issues that the Han Dynasty couldn't resolve for nearly a century.

Or will it be dragged down?

You want those hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans, is that it? I'll give them to you.

That depends on whether you can afford to raise it!
His eyes darted around, and the political talent that belonged to the Liu family was once again on display.

foreign enemy?

What foreign enemy?!

That is my General Who Guards the North!
Compared to Zhang Xian, the powerful ministers are in greater danger right now. Everyone knows how the Yellow Turbans came about!

As for the rest?
Forget it, let's enjoy ourselves!

"Let the music continue, and let the dance begin!"

"only."

The sounds of silk and bamboo instruments filled the air once again.

The carved beams and painted rafters in Deyang Palace are still brightly colored, and the heat from the charcoal fire rises into the air through the doors and windows until it dissipates.
-
Guangzong.

The Union Army had a heavy workload.

Several days have passed, and the task of accepting the surrender of the refugees is still not over.

Guangzong City is like a machine that keeps producing people; no matter how you count them, you can never count them all.

If it weren't for Zhang Zhonglang's men bringing in a lot of grain and fodder, the entire Northern Army would probably have been eaten out of business by now.

They were complaining bitterly, as people were being released in batches, with hundreds or thousands of people migrating westward intermittently.

It's been several days, and there's still no end in sight.

Northern Army Camp.

Zhang Xian sat alone in the main tent, his writing style completely unfamiliar.

The report he wrote by hand a few days ago has already been sent to Luoyang.

Later, people were arranged to send the so-called heads of Zhang Jiao and Qu Shuai to Luoyang.

The arrangement of these people's identities was not clever at all; on the contrary, it was quite crude.

But it's enough to deal with the public's explanation.

The value of the living and the dead can be used differently, and these dead people need to have their value realized.

Then the only option left is to attack and slander, resorting to political mudslinging.

Moreover, this isn't something they can use immediately; it's a fatal blow that they can only unleash when they have absolutely no other way to deal with him.

This is a gift I specially saved for them.

You need to make them feel like you've caught them by the tail, but also make them feel like they have a weakness.

As for whether it actually works or not?
That's certainly true, but it only works if you eat from the same trough as these ministers.

When you start your own business, you don't care who you are anymore.

Put pen to paper.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

In the few days since the surrender of Guangzong, the grain and fodder along the Weize Pass line have been almost completely replenished.

The Jinyang direction is also ramping up its efforts to continuously transport supplies to Baijingbao.

Fortunately, Zhang Xian had already made preparations before his arrival, which made the large-scale allocation of supplies go smoothly.

Once they entered the passageway, the refugees were officially within the territory of Bingzhou, making them relatively easy to manage. Indeed, as Zhang Jiao had said, with Zhang Ning around, these Yellow Turban followers were remarkably obedient.

The snow is now falling heavier and heavier, and the sooner the refugees are sent to Bingzhou, the safer they will be.

If we wait until heavy snow closes the mountains and hundreds of thousands of refugees are stranded in the Taihang Mountains, then the supply of materials will become truly difficult.

　General of the Vanguard: One of the high-ranking military officers in the Eastern Han Dynasty, below the Grand General, General of the Cavalry, General of the Chariots and Cavalry, and General of the Guards, but above the miscellaneous generals. He was in charge of border defense and conquest, and his actual power varied depending on the individual strength of the general.

　　The "false imperial axe" was the highest military authorization granted by the emperor. The holder had the power to wage war and decide life and death, and the actual power was close to that of the monarch. However, the axe had to be returned after the mission was completed, so it was a "false imperial axe".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)