Shu Chen

Chapter 254 Teach Me
In front of the fortress of Yuyin City, there is a drought in Pingchuan.

A small military tent abruptly fell along the bank of the big river, and dozens of soldiers in strong and sharp clothes guarded the surrounding area.

This was set up by the Han army to receive the Hexi Haoyou envoy.

In order to prevent Ni Wei Xi from pretending to be an envoy to come to find out the reality of the city, Zhang Bao expressly forbids anyone from crossing the river, and those who violate it will be punished as spies.And on the other side of the big river, a small ferry was set up to protect Jiang Wei's tribe who went to Wuting Nishui River Valley;

Because of this, many messengers speculated that the big man was planning to capture Jincheng County, to wipe out Wei State's prestige in Liangzhou's soldiers and horses, and then discuss in detail how to deal with the Hexi matter, and then left one after another.

However, some people who are not at both ends of the first mouse are still waiting.

One is the messenger of Zhang Jiu, the prefect of Dunhuang.

Zhang Jiu was the son of Zhang Gong, the former captain of Wuji School in the Western Regions, and the son of Zhang Hua, the prefect of Xihai (Zhangye Juyan).

The Zhang family rose up in the Jian'an period and fought against the rebellion for the country. The three fathers and sons are all educated and loved by the common people. Their prestige in Liangzhou is no less than that of Pang Yu and others.

That is to say, the Zhang family is not the kind of people who are only interested in profit and want to benefit the family.

And under the Wei State's policy of "ruling the border by people from the border", the Zhang family became the most powerful force in the Hexi Corridor with one family and two eunuchs, which can be called a great favor.

Now that he actually sent an envoy, to Zheng Pu and Zhuge Qiao, it was a blessing from heaven.

If the Zhang family is willing to be recruited by the big man, then the resistance of the counties in the Hexi Corridor will usher in a meltdown.

After all, the two counties of Dunhuang and Xihai are located in the far west and the north of Hexi respectively. At that time, Zhang Jiake and the Han army will form a front and back attack, leaving Jiuquan, Zhangye and Wuwei counties safe from danger.

However, the reality is not as expected.

After the envoy was welcomed into the military tent and the guests of honor were seated for a short greeting, the envoy presented a surrender letter written by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang himself.

Said: "The sincerity of the prime minister of your army, my family's eunuch is inscribed five times, and the flag should have been changed to share the Han Dynasty. However, since the great disturbance in Hexi when Emperor Xian was emperor, the Luoyang temple has been very generous to the Zhang family in Dunhuang. If they surrender without a fight, The family members all regard the prefect of my family as a repeated person, and the common people in the county are no longer enamored! Therefore, I came here today to thank the Zhang family in Dunhuang for the precious military weapon."

At this point, without waiting for Zheng and Zhuge to make a sound, he left the table and bowed, and continued talking.

"However, my family's prefect also knows that using soldiers from several counties in the west of Hexi to fight against your army's front is just like a mantis' arm, which will increase the number of orphans and widows in the county. For this reason, since my family's prefect got the letter from your prime minister, Suye is worried. If you surrender, the Zhang family will live up to the responsibility of guarding the land, and it will be difficult to gain a foothold in the world; if you do not surrender, the soldiers and common people will be devastated, and they will have no regard for benevolence and righteousness. .”

Uh.
After Zheng Pu heard it, he knew it in his heart.

It turned out that the Zhang family in Dunhuang did not resist returning to the big man, but it was difficult to make a choice due to secular loyalty.

However, this is also easy to understand.

Although the state of Wei treats Zhang's family well, but now all the soldiers and horses are huddled in Jincheng County, and the Hexi Corridor has been abandoned.

Moreover, it didn't take long for Cao Pi to rule the Han Dynasty, and the scholars in Hexi must be sad and angry at being abandoned. Even if Zhang wanted to repay Wei Guo's kindness, it was rare for his soldiers to follow him.

"I know what your envoy means."

Stretching out his hand to lure the envoy to his seat, Zheng Pu said with a gurgling smile, "The Zhang family in Dunhuang has always been known for their loyalty, so when the Wuji Colonel in the Western Regions was cut off from the road, he was still handsome and strict, and the people did not join forces with rebels. People like to talk about it. It is reasonable for Zhang Taishou to make a difficult choice. As for the strategy of getting the best of both worlds, please allow me to think about it for a moment."

After saying that, he slightly nodded to Zhuge Qiao who was at the banquet with him.

Zhuge Qiao understood, raised a cup to invite the envoy, and said some anecdotes about Hexi, etc. to change the topic.

Taking advantage of this time, Zheng Pu laid out the prime minister's surrender letter on the case, looked down and read it carefully.

Regarding the surrender of Hexi Haoyou, the prime minister did not generalize.

Instead, according to their power, personal prestige and temperament, Zheng Pu made different conditions. Zheng Pu had to watch carefully before he could have an in-depth talk with the envoys of the Zhang family.

There are quite a few letters in the letter. First, they praised the Zhang family's family style, and compared the Zhang family's achievements during the Hexi disturbance to Leyang Shizi and Li Tongfu's family.Afterwards, it will roughly describe the righteousness of the late emperor Liu Bei to continue the Han Dynasty, condemn the violence of Wei Wu Cao Cao and the injustice of Cao Pi's replacement of the Han, let the Zhang family abandon Wei and return to the Han, and strive to restore the glory of the Han Dynasty.

In the end, it is natural to fall into the actual interest commitment.

The treatment is generous.

First, the imperial court will use the merits of the whole county to enshrine Zhangjiu and Zhang Hua as marquises, each with [-] households in the town, and each of them can shade a son into the court as a man.

Secondly, it is claimed that the Zhang family will build a high residence in Chengdu and give them mulberry gardens, so that they can have the complete Silk Road benefits of "Silkworm Breeding in Central Sichuan - Jade Gate in the West".

Finally, it is the adjustment of official positions.

The imperial court will enlist the older Zhang Hua to enter the court as Qing, and make Zhang Jiu a servant, and stay in Jincheng or Xiping County in Liangzhou as the prefect; 【Note 1】

If Zhang intends to lead the army to conquer, he can be changed to serve as a general and join the prime minister's army.

Of course, the Zhang family in Dunhuang needs to lead by example and respond to the imperial court's edict on Hexi Haoyou's "relocation of frontier people inward"-moving half of the clan to settle in Shu.

After Zheng Pu saw it, he couldn't help being speechless in secret.

It's not that Prime Minister Zhuge is too generous.

But from such conditions, I deeply realized the helplessness of the prime minister's depletion of people's power in the land of Bashu.

If the great man had enough soldiers and enough food, and sent a general to lead an army of [-] to [-] troops out of the fortress of Shuyin, from Wuwei to Dunhuang, who could be the front of the great man?

At that time, when the soldiers come to the city, those who dare not to be ministers will be punished!
Why do you need to surrender?
oh~~
Quietly sighed.

After reading the letter, Zheng Pu tried his best to suppress the hostility in his heart, and focused on thinking about the reply to the messenger.

In fact, there is nothing to think about.

The attitude of the Zhang family in Dunhuang is obvious, and what they want is also very clear.

They are willing to return to the big Han, but they will not directly change their banners and send troops to fight with the Han army to quell other dissidents. Instead, they want to ask the big Han to treat the Zhang family as the second "traveling Chu".

They thought that after the Han army arrived in Dunhuang County, they would have no choice but to surrender in order to save the lives of the common people because Wei had no reinforcements.

In this way, not only can the scholars be saved from the flames of war, but also the Zhang family will not be condemned by the secular etiquette.

As for the envoy who was sent, why didn't he say it clearly, but instead asked Zheng Pu for advice.
It's just that the benefits promised by the prime minister are too heavy, making them feel that if they don't send troops to fight against them, they fear that when the big Han soldiers arrive in Dunhuang in the future, the current promise will be reduced!

How amazing!
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[Note 1: During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were many military affairs in the border counties. 】

(End of this chapter)