The big man is on the run

Chapter 153
Qiao County, Cao Cao East Commandery Prefect's Mansion.

Although Cao Cao has actually controlled Yanzhou and Yuzhou now, but in name, he is still the prefect of Dongjun, no, it should be the prefect of Weijun.

The prefect of Dongjun was given to him by Yuan Shao, but he was the prefect of Weijun who should stay in Yecheng in Weijun in theory, but he didn't know the news that Yecheng was captured by the army until he returned from Taishan County.

Yes, the matter of delivering food to the officers and soldiers was decided by Xun Yu himself.

He sent part of the precious and abnormal food to the officers and soldiers. After Cao Cao heard this, instead of being angry, he fell into deep thought.

Inside the mansion, the soldiers handed over a silk letter left by Xun Yu to Cao Cao.

"The imperial court appointed me as the governor of Jizhou?" Cao Cao frowned, his eyes shot out a bright light, and Yuan Shao's appearance suddenly appeared in his mind.

Cao Cao is a very smart person, and he has been with Yuan Shao since he was a teenager. Cao Cao knows what Yuan Shao did in Jizhou, especially after Yuan Shao was raided in Jizhou's lair and the battle situation in Hedong gradually became apparent. When Yuan Shao immediately left Hedong to Jushou's command, Cao Cao knew exactly what Yuan Shao's purpose was.

But now the imperial court appoints Cao Cao as the governor of Jizhou. On the surface, it is to thank him for the grain and grass and the sincerity, but in fact it is to provoke the relationship between him and Yuan Shao.

"Hehe, the imperial court wants to borrow a knife to kill people!"

After he figured this out almost instantly, Cao Cao couldn't help sneering. He felt a little funny about the court's move, and he was also speechless.

The reason why Cao Cao agreed to let Xun Yu deliver food to the imperial court was to increase the strength of the imperial court and drag Yuan Shao down, so that Yuan Shao would lose a piece of fat in Bingzhou, so that Cao Cao would no longer have to worry about Yuan Shao taking Bingzhou and defeating Gongsun Zan. After that, he would turn around and go south Now, Cao Cao can concentrate on dealing with Lu Bu and Liu Bei in Xuzhou, and even Yuan Shu in Huainan.

It's a pity that Yuan Shao, a pig, didn't know Cao Cao's intentions at all, so he directly withdrew the main force to Jizhou and left Hedong to the imperial army.

Cao Cao read the edict carefully, and then began to write a letter to Yuan Shao, put it in the letter, sealed it with wax, and handed it to the soldiers around him.

Cao Cao believed that with the ability and willingness of the imperial court, he would do his best to attack Yuan Shao in Bingzhou.

As long as Yuan Shao becomes a living target to attract the court and buys him enough time, Cao Cao is confident that he will destroy Xuzhou's two defeated generals.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao stood up and stretched, with a trace of exhaustion on his face.

At this moment, a person whom Cao Cao did not want to see for the time being, suddenly and urgently asked for an interview.

"Wen Ruo, are you here to persuade me to join the court?" Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and asked calmly.

Xun Yu froze for a moment, pondered for a moment and then said: "That's not the case. I just received the report from Huainan. Yuan Shu has the intention of attacking Xuzhou with a large force. What should my lord do?"

Hearing Xun Yu's words, Cao Cao smiled.

It is not enough to persuade him to join the imperial court. Both he and Xun Yu are trying to avoid this point.

"What do you think, how about we join forces with Yuan Shu to deal with Liu Bei?" Cao Cao asked straight to the point.

Xun Yu was almost stunned on the spot, what kind of bad idea is this?

"My lord, please forgive my subordinates for speaking bluntly. Yuan Shu is cunning and treacherous, and he is good at using power. At this time, he is very powerful. You may suffer losses if you join forces with him." Xun Yu said with a frown, trying to find someone who would not embarrass Cao Cao. reason.

Cao Cao laughed contemptuously, his face full of disdain.

In Cao Cao's view, no matter how cunning Yuan Shu is, he cannot compare with Cao Cao's wisdom.

Yuan Shu is a collection of contradictions. He was born in a top aristocrat but likes to deal with bandits and rangers. He does basically nothing but likes to invite fame.

He is indeed powerful, and his personality is quite cunning. In terms of strategy formulation, whether it was the Yuan Shu-Gongsun Zan-Tao Qian anti-Yuan Shao alliance organized in Yuzhou, or the north and south after transferring to Huainan, the north attacked Liu Bei to collect Huaibei, and the south Attacking Liu Yao and capturing Jiangdong is a good move.

It's a pity that no matter how good the strategy was at the execution level, it was spoiled by Yuan Shu's lack of execution.

"Furthermore, if we form an alliance with Yuan Shu to attack Liu Bei, where will my lord put Yuan Shao? Although Yuan Shao's situation in the east of the river is unfavorable due to the attack on Yecheng, his strength has not been compromised. At present, he is still the most suitable ally of my lord."

After hearing Xun Yu's words, Cao Cao nodded approvingly.

Being able to say these words shows that Xun Yu still has his heart in his heart.

"As far as Huainan is concerned, in my opinion, let Yuan Shu go. Anyway, with Yuan Shu's combat power, as long as Lu Bu and Liu Bei are united, it will be difficult to capture Xuzhou. All three parties are weakened, which is what I want." Cao Cao slowly road.

Xun Yu nodded. Now that Taishan County has just been captured, even if he wants to use troops against Xuzhou again, he will have to wait until after autumn.

Xun Yu wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

"My lord, I will take my leave now." Xun Yu saluted Cao Cao.

With that said, Xun Yu left Cao Cao's mansion.

To the east of Zhaoyuze, Zhongdu County.

At this moment, in the city of Zhongdu, apart from the defenders on the city wall, the entire city is empty, and there are few soldiers on patrol.

Inside the city, in Zhang Yan's bedroom, Zhang Yan was dressed in fine clothes and sat quietly on a chair. On the table beside him was a jar of fine wine. Zhang Yan picked up the jar and took a sip of the fine wine.

The wine was dripping and spilled on the Chinese clothes, Zhang Yan didn't care at all.

As the leader of the Black Mountain Army, Zhang Yan occupies a county with hundreds of thousands of people under his rule. For Zhang Yan, a piece of clothing may have been very important to Zhang Yan when he was poor, but now he doesn't care at all. There are as many clothes as there are clothes.

Zhang Yan's original name was Chu Yan. When the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out, Chu Yan gathered people as robbers, but he had nothing to do with the Yellow Turban Army. In the second year of Zhongping, Zhang Niujiao from Boling also gathered a group of people to join forces with Chu Yan.Chu Yan elected Zhang Niujiao as the leader. Zhang Niujiao was shot by a stray arrow when he attacked Yingtao and was seriously injured. Before he died, he ordered his subordinates to respect Chu Yan as the leader.After Zhang Niujiao's death, everyone supported Chu Yan as the leader, so Chu Yan changed his surname to Zhang.

As for the Black Mountain Army, it was formed by Zhang Yan.As Zhang Yan's troops continued to grow, they communicated with the rebels in Changshan, Zhaojun, Zhongshan, Shangdang, Hanoi and other places. The small leaders of the rebels, Sun Qing and Wang Dang, all brought their troops to join Zhang Yan. Under Yan's command, there was the Black Mountain Army.

However, Zhang Yan was not a short-sighted person. He didn't want to be the Caotou King, but sent envoys to Luoyang, the capital, to write to the court to request surrender.Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty then appointed Zhang Yan as the General of Ping Nan Zhong Lang, and asked him to manage the administrative and public security affairs in Taihang Mountains. He could recommend Xiaolian to the imperial court every year, and sent planners to Luoyang to report.

Therefore, in name, the Black Mountain Army is an armed force in the imperial court establishment, and the formal name should be called "Pingnan Army".

Now Zhang Yan is also the prefect of Taiyuan County, and he joins forces with King Zuo Xian of the Southern Huns to go to Bei. Although the road to the south of Fenshui Valley has not been opened, but with the reversal of the battle in Hedong, Gao Lan retreated from Jiexiu, and they began to prepare to follow The officers and soldiers beat the dog in the water together.

Beside Zhang Yan, a middle-aged scribe, wearing a black robe, stood bowed, standing behind Zhang Yan respectfully.

"Do you think the emperor will expel the Xianbei tribes entrenched in Bingzhou on the surface, but in fact he is here to take advantage of the situation and join forces with the Southern Huns to attack us, and then take Taiyuan and Yanmen counties?" Zhang Yan raised his head and looked Looking at Yang Feng who was standing beside him, he asked.

"The subordinates can't figure out this matter, but I'm sure that the Son of Heaven must have his own considerations. In other words, the Son of Heaven is not such a person." Yang Feng said.

"Oh, how do you know?" Zhang Yan asked curiously.

"I also only received the news a few days ago that Yuan Shao withdrew because Ye City was attacked, and the commander who attacked Ye City was the Son of Heaven!" Yang Feng replied.

"This emperor really has the guts!" Hearing Yang Feng's answer, Zhang Yan's eyebrows twitched involuntarily.

He knew Yuan Shao's inexplicable retreat, and there were rumors that Yecheng was raided, but Zhang Yan never thought that the emperor would personally lead the army to attack Yecheng at such a time.

You know, Hebei is now Yuan Shao's hinterland, as long as the emperor's army is found on the road, they will be harassed by them.

"And." Yang Feng added: "I heard from the brothers of Bai Bojun that Yang Feng was reused by the emperor. Yang Feng was able to be a marquis like that, which shows that the emperor is capable."

Zhang Yan nodded, he felt that he was countless times stronger than Yang Feng, and he had actually considered surrendering to the court.

After all, he was already a serious official when he was Emperor Ling, and there was no doubt about changing his family at this time, it was just whether he wanted to make a formal statement.

Now Zhang Yan controls Taiyuan County and most of the Taihang Mountains. Now Wang Yi and Baibo Army in Hedong County have surrendered to the emperor. The Southern Huns in Xihe County have once again become the dogs of the big man. Zhang Yang in Hanoi County has also moved to follow the emperor. In Guanzhong, looking at it now, if Zhang Yan opens the passage to the Fenshui Valley, the imperial court will be able to restore its rule over Bingzhou.

Because Shuofang County, Wuyuan County, Yunzhong County, and Dingxiang County were actually occupied by various small and medium tribes of the Xianbei people.

The Shangjun and Xihe counties distributed along both sides of the Yellow River were the territory of the Southern Huns. The Han people really controlled only the unaffiliated Yanmen County, the Shangdang County occupied by Yuan Shao, and the Taiyuan County occupied by Zhang Yan.

Of course, these are not important, what Zhang Yan cares about is what is the real purpose of the emperor leading the army northward?
Thinking of this, a light flashed in Zhang Yan's head.

"Could it be that he is going to take the opportunity to expel the Xianbei people and plunder their cattle and sheep supplies?" Thinking of this, Zhang Yan's forehead was immediately covered with sweat.

Although Zhang Yan is not a particularly strategic person, he is not stupid either.

He knows very well that what the emperor lacks most now is food and supplies. As long as he can lead his army to expel the Xianbei people who have fallen into fragments, he will be able to continuously obtain supplies from various Xianbei tribes.

This is the fastest way for the imperial court to restore its vitality, to support war with war.

Because although the current Xianbei people occupy a lot of land, they still have the habit of living by water and grass, and there is no solid city to rely on, they just occupy the pasture in the north.

Moreover, the relationship between the Xianbei people and Yuan Shao is good, and hitting the weak Xianbei people is also hitting Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao's army retreated to Shangdang County. Shangdang was difficult to attack in the first place, and Yuan Shao's main force was not damaged. At this time, all the valley entrances of Shangdang were blocked, and the cavalry army was sent to collect the wool of Xianbei people, so that Hedong could recover from the trauma of the war. the best way.

The reason why Zhang Yan didn't fight the Xianbei people was not because he didn't want to fight, but because he didn't have a large cavalry army.

Zhang Yan believed that if the emperor really wanted to regain the entire Bingzhou, no matter what angle he looked at, he would attack the Xianbei people.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yan couldn't help but gasped.

If this is the case, wouldn't it be possible for the emperor to successfully regain Bingzhou, and Zhang Yan, if he voted for the court at this point in time, he might really become the bandit with the highest official position in history.

Anyway, he is now the prefect of Taiyuan County.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yan couldn't help shivering excitedly.

Of course, he must have a condition. Zhang Yan has also thought about this condition, and that is food!
Now the Taihang Mountains are very short of food!

"General"

Just as Zhang Yan was thinking, a hurried shout came from outside the room.

"Why panic?" Hearing the sound, Zhang Yan hurriedly got up, walked to the door quickly, opened the door, and asked the guard outside.

"My lord, the emperor's envoy is asking to see you." The guard replied with a bow.

"Emissary of the Son of Heaven? Let him in." Zhang Yan nodded and said.

"No!" The guard responded and turned to leave.

Soon, the envoy of the emperor came in.

"Greetings to Zhang Taishou!" The envoy came to Zhang Yan, bowed and saluted, and said.

"Well, what can I do with the prefect?" Seeing the emperor's envoy enter the room, Zhang Yan's eyes lit up, and she asked hastily.

Zhang Yan was looking forward to what news the emperor's envoy would bring.

"I'm here to tell Zhang Taishou a good news." The envoy of the Son of Heaven immediately saluted after hearing the words.

"What good news?" Zhang Yan asked impatiently.

"The Son of Heaven sent a batch of food and grass to Taishou Zhang, and they are now heading for the territory of Taiyuan County. It is estimated that they will arrive in less than three to five days." The messenger replied.

Hearing these words, Zhang Yan couldn't help being overjoyed, her eyes fixed on the messenger.

"By water or by land? That's great, that's great. There is a shortage of food this year, and so many people in the Taihang Mountains are about to starve to death." Zhang Yan asked the envoy eagerly.

"That's right, the Son of Heaven has sent [-] hu of grain to Fenshui for shipping by water." The envoy replied hastily.

"Hahaha that's great. We finally have food to use. We've been worrying about the shortage of food and grass for a while. I didn't expect that His Majesty's food transportation team would be so timely." Hearing the emperor's food and grass delivered Zhang Yan couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"I would like your envoy to rest for a while. The eunuch will take a bath and change clothes and set up an incense table before receiving the order."

Seeing that the envoy was still holding the imperial decree in his hand, looking like he wanted to say it but dared not say it, Zhang Yan suddenly realized.

Seeing this, the envoy quickly bowed to Zhang Yan, then bowed and left.

After the envoy left the room, Zhang Yan couldn't help but smile.

This batch of food came just in time!
Of course, he didn't know that Liu Yi, who had just returned to Hedong, borrowed flowers to present Buddha, and the food was all sent by Cao Cao.

"Yeah, the Son of Heaven is really a hero. He didn't say anything to solve the problem of food and grass for us, and he wanted to conquer Xianbei. It's really admirable." Yang Feng said in admiration.

"Send the order to call the leaders to discuss."

Zhang Yan turned around and walked to the only soft couch in the room, lay down slowly, and spoke to Yang Feng.

"promise!"

Hearing Zhang Yan's order, Yang Feng responded and left Zhang Yan's room.

(End of this chapter)