Three Kingdoms New Emperor

Chapter 334 The Forgotten Han Dynasty Envoy
Just when Chang'an Tai Shici had no choice but to prepare to leave for Yuzhou, the situation in Yixian County, Youzhou was gradually surging.

When the chenshi clapper rang, Zhang Zhong stepped out of the house on time.He was wearing a bamboo hat on his head, and he was wearing a dark blue, somewhat faded but clean gown, with a cloth bag hanging around his waist, which contained pens, ink, paper and inkstones.Zhang Zhong checked the equipment carefully, then locked the door, pushed open the courtyard door and went out.

"Mr. Zhang, are you going out so early?" Zhang Zhong's neighbor across the door saw him coming out and greeted him.

"Yes, it's an extraordinary time."

Although Zhang Zhong replied with a smile on his face, a trace of resentment suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart.He hated the deceased Situ Wang Yun, if not for Wang Yun, he would not be in the situation he is today.

After Dong Zhuo's rebellion subsided, Zhang Zhong was sent by the court to appease the Guandong.In that place in Chang'an, at that time, Zhang Zhong originally thought that he could sacrifice his life for righteousness and keep a good name for history.But recalling the tragedy when the imperial court sent Han Rong, Hu Muban, Yinxiu and others to comfort Kanto, his ambition to come here was gradually wiped out by the long journey along the way.

Originally, Situ Wangyun meant to let him come to Yuan Shao in Hebei first.However, Zhang Zhong obeyed His Majesty's order and rushed to Youzhou.After all, when he came to Youzhou, he also brought Gongsun Zan the good news of being promoted to General Protector and Marquis of Yi, but when he entered Jizhou, he wanted Yuan Shao to submit to the imperial court just by saying nothing...

'hehe. Zhang Zhong smiled wryly, he didn't think he was the kind of scholar-bureaucrat who fearless of life and death, heroic martyrdom.But unexpectedly, after coming to Youzhou, although his own life was saved, he would not be able to return to Chang'an.

The imperial court of Xijing is not what it used to be, and everyone hopes to establish a relationship with the imperial court so as to make their rule more legitimate.Gongsun Zan was not a fool. After seeing this, he kept Zhang Zhongqiang as proof that he was still a courtier of the Han Dynasty.In this way, I stayed in Youzhou for more than a year.

"Are you going to go out in this attire?" the neighbor asked again at this time.

"Oh, there is a market today, and the prefect Guan sent me to buy a batch of mules and horses for military use." Zhang Zhong explained.When the neighbor heard the word 'Guan Taishou', his expression became tense, and he closed the door without greeting Zhang Zhong.

Zhang Zhong smiled wryly again, he naturally knew why.Now Guan Jing's name is comparable to Yan Luo in Yi County, and no one wants to get half of it.

Things have to start with the Jieqiao battle.

Since the Battle of Jieqiao, after Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao's general Qu Yi, he retreated back to Yi County in embarrassment.In the Qingzhou battlefield in the south, the situation was not optimistic. Tian Kai wanted to join forces with Tao Qian to attack Cao Cao in the south, but was defeated by Cao Cao's plan first from the north and then from the south.The entire Gongsun Zan power was divided into north and south at once.

In addition, Gongsun Zan was at odds with Liu Yu, the Tai Fu of the dynasty. Although Gongsun Zan was brave, he defeated Liu Yu and still established him as a puppet in charge of state affairs by taking advantage of Liu Yu's nominal weakness.However, Liu Yu has a great reputation in the north, Wuhuan, Xianbei and other clans are no longer angry with Gongsun Zan's move, and Liu Yu's subordinates have also begun to associate with Yuan Shao... Such a situation makes Gongsun Zan feel that he is surrounded by all sides.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan, who was once ambitious, was like an inflated balloon suddenly being punctured by a needle.Like an ostrich, he planted his head in the soil, only pouted his buttocks high, never heard of the wars in all directions, and only planned to run his own strong city in Yi County.

As early as Dong Zhuo's rebellion period, there was a nursery rhyme among the children in Youzhou that "Yan Nanchui, Zhao Beiji, the discord between the central and the central government is as big as a stick, and there is only one where you can escape from the world".In the Warring States Period, Yanzhao used Yishui as the boundary, and Gongsun Zan searched for it in response to the prophecy, and finally found a huge and flat mountain four miles upstream of Yishui.So Guan Jing, a cruel official under the account, was dispatched to forcefully conscript Yuyang and other county officials. He threatened innocent people with whips and sticks, and began to build Yijing Castle.

The city of Yijing has a radius of six li, and the city wall is six to seven feet high.Dozens of deep trenches were dug outside the city wall, and between the trenches there were antlers and branches blocking the road, and rolling stones protruding through the gates to block the fortress. The defenders could come out under cover to guard, but it was difficult for the attacker to step forward.

Even if they get to the bottom of the city, more difficult troubles are yet to come.Mozi said, "The gate of Beicheng is a building with a hundred steps, and a building with two hundred steps." Gongsun Zan really followed the tactics of the sages, and built hundreds of archery towers in the city, no matter from which direction he approached the city. Accumulate the enemy's random arrows.The main building where he lived with his wife and concubines was more than ten feet high, with rock as the material and cast iron as the door, and the grain hoarded in it reached 300 million dendrobium, enough to last for several years.

A strong castle is the easiest to breach from the inside, so Gongsun Zan paid extra attention to his own safety.He will never step out of the building without important military affairs.The iron gate is tightly closed, and there are confidant warriors guarding both inside and outside. Anyone who has military reports is not allowed to open the door to submit, and all are delivered by rope hanging baskets.In addition, Gongsun Zan specially trained a group of servants with loud voices, and whenever he wanted to issue military orders to the soldiers, they would stand on a ten-foot-high building and shout to convey them.This kind of deployment is comprehensive, and it can be said that the soldiers are besieging the city and it is difficult to destroy it.

Looking at the terrifying buildings in the distance, Zhang Zhong was still dizzy.Such a project is no different from Dong Zhuoying's Dong Zhuoying in the past, when every brick and stone was poured by the flesh and blood of the people.Before the castle was completed, there was a mass grave three miles away from the castle... As a result, when the people heard the name of Guan Jing, how could they have any good feelings?

After all, Zhang Zhong came here from Chang'an, he knew that Gongsun Zan would eventually commit many unrighteous actions and kill himself.However, even if he could have expected this at the moment, it would be of no avail. He only hoped that he would not be buried with Gongsun Zan.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhong believes that he has this hope.

With these in mind, Zhang Zhong came to the market without knowing it.The market here was created by Liu Yu when he was a shepherd in Youzhou.Youzhou was originally a poor state, and Qingzhou and Jizhou were needed to subsidize official expenses. However, years of melee, traffic cut off, and princes in all states did not follow the king's law. How could it be possible to help Youzhou?
Liu Yu had no choice but to open up the market in Shanggu to trade with foreigners and earn income from mining the salt and iron mines in Yuyang. Since then, markets have blossomed everywhere in Youzhou, so that more than a million people from Qingzhou and Xuzhou have been exiled here to live and work in peace and contentment.

There were a lot of people in the market, and a large proportion of them were Gongsun Zan soldiers in black armor. They lined up in a long line to inspect every move in the market, and their uniform steps seemed to remind passers-by that it was a time of war. .

Zhang Zhong bypassed these soldiers and went directly to the market in the east of the city where the horse dealers were.Many horse dealers from outside the Great Wall are operating here. They all smell the smell of war and know that their goods can be sold at a good price.

As soon as you get close to the mules and horses, you can smell a pungent smell of horse dung. Horses of various breeds are snorting in the wooden fences that are divided into rooms, and hang tags made of bark on the railings. The place of origin, the sex and age of the horses are written in ink on it, while the horse dealers stand aside with folded arms, shouting the merits of their horses to everyone passing by.

Donkeys and mules were sold in the more crude pens beside them, which were far less ornate than the stables.Most of the horse sellers are Xianbei and Wuhuan people, with weird shapes; while the donkey and mule sellers are mainly merchants from the Central Plains.

Facing these horses, Zhang Zhong seemed a little absent-minded, just walking back and forth between the fences over and over again, unable to make up his mind.Finally, he noticed that the sign hanging on the fence of a donkey seller was a bit strange. The sign was lightly dotted with light ink on the oblique top of the word "donkey", as if it was accidentally spilled on it when writing, and it was impossible to read it carefully. not out.

Zhang Zhong went around a few more times, and asked the price from the fourth shop from the right next to the donkey-selling fence. After asking one by one, he finally came to the fence of this shop.

"This donkey has an owner?"

Zhang Zhong asked loudly, and the donkey owner came over in a hurry, nodded and bowed, and said yes again and again.This is a thin and dry Central Plains man, young but wrinkled, and his hair is covered with straw residue.

"My lord, my donkey sells five dendrobium millet, or two horses of silk."

"It's too expensive, can it be cheaper?"

The donkey owner quickly put on a bitter face, and spread his hands: "Master, please do me a favor. This is Ji County, which is not as rich as our capital." Hearing the donkey owner say the word "Kyoto", A sharp light flashed in Zhang Zhong's eyes, which was fleeting, and he slowly replied: "Which capital are you talking about, Luoyang or Chang'an?"

"Of course it is Chang'an, the place where the overlord of Chu Jinyi travels at night." The donkey owner saw that Zhang Zhong was a scholar, and deliberately showed off his knowledge.It's just that when Xiang Yu said this, he was not in Chang'an at all, but in Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty.Moreover, what Xiang Yu said back then was also the four words 'Yi Jin Ye Xing', not 'Jin Yi Ye Xing' at all.

However, this unattractive horse dealer just spoke so convincingly.A gleam of brilliance suddenly flashed in his eyes, which was sharper and astonishing than Zhang Zhong.

Of course, such a look is still fleeting.It almost made Zhang Zhong think that he was just delusional just now...

(End of this chapter)