Shu Han Confucian General of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 180

"Everyone, I've just made a detailed report. Guan Yunchang has led an army of [-], and he has already marched to Shangyong, less than a hundred miles away from Xicheng!" The voice announced the not-so-happy news.

Silence, deathly silence.

In the past year, to be precise, since Zhang Lu helped Cao Cao send troops to Jingzhou, his life has not been easy.First, Shangyong was beaten up by Zang Ba and forced to withdraw from the army; secondly, Zhang Ren took the opportunity to go down to Dangqu and Badong counties, losing almost half of the territory.Now Guan Yu came here with a force of [-] men, obviously not to drink tea, but to settle old scores.

After a long time, Zhang Wei, Zhang Lu's younger brother, said, "Brother, when the soldiers come, you will be blocked, and the water will come to cover you. Guan Yu will come as soon as he comes. My younger brother is willing to lead a team to meet the enemy in the west city."

"Huh?" Zhang Lu hadn't made a decision when he heard the words, Yan Pu, the counselor beside him, frowned and said, "The city of Xicheng is not very dangerous, and it also caused heavy casualties in our previous battle in Hanzhong. Guan Yu had a full [-] army. At this time, it is probably not the best policy to stick to the west city!"

"What does the military master mean by this?" Zhang Lu felt something was wrong when he heard Yan Pu's words, and asked quickly.As the most resourceful Yan Pu under his command, Zhang Lu had to listen to his opinion more at this time.

"It's better to retreat to Hanzhong and stick to Yangping Pass!" Yan Pu hesitated for a while, and finally gritted his teeth.Zhang Lu's expression darkened immediately when he heard this, and all the officials also had an unhappy expression.Badong and Dangqu had already been lost, and Zhang Lu would suffer a great loss if he voluntarily gave up on Xicheng now.If it was in the past, Xicheng, which is easy to attack and difficult to defend, would be lost, but now the capital is running out, and even if he loses another county, Zhang Lu will die with heartache.

"Brother, you can't, retreat before fighting, it's not good for the army, let me resist first!" Zhang Wei said anxiously.Zhang Lu was silent for a long time, and then asked: "How many horses are there now?"

"There are about [-] troops and horses, and another [-] new troops are training." General Yang Ren replied.

"Since that is the case, second brother, you will lead 2 people to go to Xicheng Xiazhai first, and Yang Ren will go with the army." Zhang Lu thought for a while and arranged first, and the two agreed respectfully, leading the army without mentioning it.Yan Pu watched from the side, and secretly sighed in his heart: Originally, the troops were not enough, and they divided up to resist the enemy. Isn't this self-defeating?Furthermore, is it possible to stop the Jingzhou army with 2 people?You must know that it is Guan Yu, and Pingyu Prefecture and Pingjing Prefecture are almost effortless Guan Yu.With Zhang Wei's material, even Zang Ba can't fight, let alone Guan Yu?

But Yan Pu also knew that the current Zhang Lu must not be able to hear his own words.Having already suffered heavy losses, he no longer wants to lose West City.But even so, Yan Pu still had to make as many plans as possible for Zhang Lu.Not for other reasons, just because Zhang Lu has always valued himself so much, and he can't watch him be defeated.Zhang Lu governed Hanzhong by teaching, while others only conferred positions in the teaching center, but he was the only military adviser, which shows how much he valued him.

After sorting out his thoughts for a while, Yan Pu remonstrated: "My lord, although Guan Yu's army is here, Liu Bei's soldiers are always unexpected, and Liu Zhang is his brother in Yizhou. If Liu Zhang joins forces with him to attack, the big thing will be over. !"

"That's right!" Zhang Lu regretted that he agreed to send troops to Cao Cao when his head got hot that day.I thought I could take the opportunity to get a share of the pie, but I didn't want Liu Zhang to take the opportunity to attack me; I didn't want Liu Bei to be under the siege of several armies, and he didn't even lose a hair; He ran to fight with the Xianbei people, leaving himself here as a scapegoat; let alone expecting that he would be flanked by Er Liu now, so passive.

"From the public's point of view, what should we do?" Zhang Lu knew that Yan Pu would not be aimless, and there must be countermeasures, so he asked quickly.Yan Pu lowered his head and thought about it, and finally said helplessly: "The Yizhou army must go through Jiameng Pass or Baishui Pass. But if they want to enter Hanzhong from now on, they must go through Yangping Pass. Right now our army is not strong enough. We should first shrink our troops to garrison Yangping Pass, Xingshi and Baocheng. As for some places outside the pass, let’s abandon it first.”

"That's the only way to go!" Zhang Lu sighed.Zhang Wei and Yang Ren were ordered to lead [-] troops to Xicheng to resist Guan Yu, and Yang Ang led [-] troops to Yangping Pass to guard against Liu Zhang.

"What a difficult road to walk!"

In Shangyong City, Guan Yu also sighed.Since we left Xiangyang, we went to Xicheng via Shangyong, the road was rugged and narrow, and the daily march was no more than tens of miles.Such a slow march is also unprecedented for Guan Yu.If it is said that the soldiers who go into battle with light clothes can naturally walk faster, but they have to bring food, grass and luggage.

"The mountain road has always been like this, but at most two more days, we can reach the west city." Shen Dan, the general guard of Shangyong, is a local, and he is most familiar with the terrain in this area.The line from Hanzhong to Shangyong is just a narrow and long valley road between Daba Mountain and Qinling Mountains. Compared with the plain, this road is more difficult to walk than 01:30.

"Mr. Shen, the valley road is already so rugged. If we enter Guanzhong via Hanzhong in the future, won't it be even more rugged and difficult?" Guan Yu asked suddenly after taking a breath.

Shen Dan thought for a while but smiled wryly: "Junhou, if you go to Guanzhong via Hanzhong Valley Road, those valley roads are more difficult than this small road. Unless you take the Qishan Avenue in Longyou, otherwise it will be very difficult." Guan Yu nodded when he heard the words, but didn't say anything for a while.

"My lord, Zhang Lu sent his younger brother Zhang Wei and general Yang Ren to lead an army of [-] to the west city." At this time, a spy came back to report.

"Hmph, it's just in time." Guan Yu just snorted when he heard the words.Shen Dan also smiled from the side: "Your Majesty, the city of Xicheng is not very tall. With the bravery of our Jingzhou army, combined with the trebuchet, we can easily win!"

"It's so good!" Guan Yu immediately sent an order, and the whole army marched to the west city.

"What a difficult road to walk!"

On a trail in Berkshire, the young Ma Di looked up at the burning sun in the sky, feeling dizzy with his head shaking.Gathering his mind, he quickly untied the kettle from Ma'anshan.After drinking two sips of water, it was only a little bit to relieve the heat.

This is already the third day after Zhao Feng and his group entered Yizhou.In the past three days, everyone has been walking on mountain roads, which really have nine bends and eighteen bends.Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to cross a mountain, but suddenly finds that there is a bigger mountain in front of it.

"Young Chang, are you still able to eat?" Zhuge Jun asked after riding his horse to catch up with Ma Su.

"I'm fine, Ah Jun, how about you?" Ma Di asked back.

"I have cultivated the land before, so I can bear the hardship!" Zhuge Jun said with a smile.Compared to Ma Di who was so hot, Zhuge Jun's complexion did look much better.

"Hey, Ah Jun, you and I were sent out this year. We thought we could make a big splash and benefit the common people, but unexpectedly, we were sent here to suffer hardships with the army. Although fighting is not enjoyable, General Zhao is not very interesting. Just arrange How come you are a secretary and don't even have a staff officer, so he must have underestimated the strength of our Lumen Mountain disciples." Ma Di suddenly said indignantly.

That day Ma Di and Zhuge Jun came to defect to Zhao Feng one after another. After talking with them for a while, the latter felt that both of them were exaggerated, so he arranged Ma Di and Zhuge Jun as assistants first, and wanted them to experience it at the grassroots level. .

The so-called shuzuo is a civil official similar to the accountants of later generations, responsible for bookkeeping and other affairs. Before Jian Yong joined Liu Bei in the army, he was a shuzuo in the county government of Zhuo County.In terms of official rank, forty stones per year!Ma Di and Zhuge Jun thought that they were the children of Lumen Mountain's famous family, and their elder brother had a close relationship with Zhao Feng, and he didn't have all the officials in the left general's mansion, so how could they have a four hundred or even six hundred stone officials? Dangdang, if he plays well, he might be able to become a general or work in the middle class, who knows that Zhao Feng is so stingy and only gives him a secretary.

"Forget about you, let the general hear it. Be careful that you don't even have the qualifications to be a secretary. Go and become a soldier with a gun!" Although Zhuge Jun was also a little dissatisfied, he was a person who had experienced family changes after all, and had seen the cruelty of the world. Temperament is still calmer than Ma Di.It's just that in his heart, he couldn't help but feel that Zhao Feng was a little jealous of talents, otherwise he didn't know good talents.

"Niu Jin, how are those two boys doing now?" Zhao Feng, who was commanding the army in the middle army, also took the time to ask Niu Jin.He said he wanted to train them, but Zhao Feng still didn't treat them like ordinary officials.Among other things, ordinary Shuzuo would not have a horse to ride.

"Don't mention the general, these two boys have been complaining all the way, just like little daughters-in-law." Niu Jin pouted.

"Hmph, it seems that we have to beat them hard." Zhao Feng said silently in his heart.That night, the army stationed at a place more than 80 miles away from Berkshire, Zhao Feng took the opportunity to order Ma Su and Zhuge Jun to ask about something.

"Greetings to the general, I don't know what the general is calling us, what's the matter?" Ma Di and Zhuge Jun came to Zhao Feng's big tent, after the salute, Ma Di asked loudly.Although the tone was still respectful, it sounded like he was pretending to be a counselor.

Zhao Feng silently picked up the two account books on the table, opened one of them and said to Ma Di: "Ma Di, Zhuge Jun, you two, as assistants, are responsible for the calculation of the money and food consumption of my [-]-strong army. Why in the account book, Full of mistakes and omissions?" At the end, his tone was a little harsh, and he threw the account book in front of the two of them with a "snap".

"Huh?" Both Ma Di and Zhuge were stunned. Because the two of them were not reused on this journey, and the trek on the mountain road was very painful, they did things with ease, and it was best to save effort.The two of them knew that they were the two clerks in the army who were responsible for keeping the accounts, so they simply made do with it, so as not to make any big troubles.I thought that no one would be able to see through the doorway, but today Zhao Feng made it clear.

Ma Di had a ghost in his heart, so naturally he didn't dare to insist, so he could only say with a smile: "The general said that, there may be some omissions between the two of us, let me check." After speaking, he stepped forward to pick up the account book and prepared to read it again.He only knew that after Zhao Feng entered Central Sichuan, he found a local official who was familiar with accounts to check the accounts, and only then did he discover the problem.

"No need, I've already accounted for all the gaps in your accounts." After Zhao Feng finished speaking, he picked up another account book and threw it to them.Ma Di and Zhuge Jun looked at each other in blank dismay, and quickly picked them up to see, sure enough, everything was settled.What surprised Ma Su even more was that the handwriting was clearly Zhao Feng's own.

"General, you also know how to settle accounts?" Ma Su stammered.In this era, general generals would only read military books at most, and there were very few who could settle accounts.

"Hmph, do you think I don't know anything?" Zhao Feng snorted coldly, but he was secretly proud. In his previous life, I was a person who had studied mathematics for more than ten years. If I counted the money and food consumed by an army of ten thousand, it would be easy to grasp. It's better than you guys who can't even use abacus.

"The general stayed up all night last night just to settle this account?" Zhuge Jun suddenly remembered something and asked hastily.

"That's it!" Zhao Feng snorted.The two of them felt ashamed and worried at the same time.

At this moment, Zhao Feng's voice rang in the ears of the two of them again: "The three armies have not sent out, the food and grass go first. As the secretary, you have made the army's food and grass unclear, and the allocation is unclear. If you pursue it, I'm afraid you will all run away Don't get rid of the crime of corruption and fraud!"

When the two heard the words "corruption and fraud", even though it was early summer, they felt as if a pot of cold water had been poured down their heads, and they almost lost their souls on the spot.To put it lightly, this matter can only be regarded as a work error, but to put it seriously, it can be said that they have embezzled and cheated, and it can also be said to be conclusive evidence.If they really want to be investigated, they will be dismissed and investigated at the very least, not even a secretary.At that moment Ma Su also said anxiously: "General, I just miscalculated, and I dare not embezzle the army rations, General." After speaking, the two immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Hmph!" Zhao Feng looked at the two men who were terrified by him, and Zhao Feng felt that the heat was about the same, but his tone was still serious: "I see that the two of you have been marching with the army these days, it is true that there is no general." The army rations were transported away for corruption. There may be no crime of corruption.”

"That is, that is!" Ma Di and Zhuge Jun heard that although Zhao Feng's tone was still very bad, they finally relaxed and agreed quickly.

"Hey!" Zhao Feng also sighed, and said in a slow tone: "You two elder brothers asked me to give you some advice and experience more. Both of you are the senior disciples of Lord Pang De, with a bright future. It's a pity that you are young and frivolous, and you are impetuous. I just want to put you in grassroots jobs to hone your temperament. I don’t think you two can’t even do things like settling accounts. It’s really beyond my expectations. You are so ambitious, your eyes are high, and your hands are low. You don’t have to do big things, and you can’t do it well when you are young. , I despise such a person!"

"The general taught me that!" Ma Su said with some shame.The two of them finally understood that Zhao Feng came to beat them today.Even so, the two of them broke out in a cold sweat.

"Right now, you are negligent in your duties. You can avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape the death penalty. You two will be fined half a year's salary, and I will settle the accounts overnight!" Zhao Feng finally said.

"I'll understand!" Both Ma Di and Zhuge Jun secretly heaved a sigh of relief.Their family is quite rich, and this little salary is not taken seriously.It's just that in the future, I don't have the guts to fool around anymore.

"Small sample, I can't fix you two rookies, I'll pay you back!" Looking at Zhuge Jun and Ma Di who were going away, Zhao Feng curled his lips and smiled bitterly in his heart. He was helping Zhuge Liang and Ma Liang to educate his younger brother.

Some people want to educate their younger brothers, while others want to educate their sons.Thousands of miles away on the Mobei Grassland, Cao Cao looked at the military report that had just been delivered, but his expression did not fluctuate at all.In front of him, the famous Cao Pi and the 16-year-old Cao Zhang stood beside him, listening to the teachings respectfully.

(End of this chapter)