At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 143 Soldiers Entering Mei County, Condolences to Celebrities

But he said that Zhou Qi killed Xu You's disciples and sued Wang Fen and others for their meritorious service in treason.

However, dealing with Wang Fen and others was done in secret, so it was inconvenient to reward meritorious ministers, so the emperor asked Gai Xun, "How should I reward General Zuo?"

Gai Xun pondered for a long time and said: "The most important thing today is to quell the rebellion in the kingdom. Although General Zuo is confident in quelling the rebellion, he still has too few troops under his command."

"If the thieves divide their forces and plunder the three auxiliary areas, and the soldiers and horses under the command of General Zuo are afraid, they will pay attention to one thing and lose the other."

The emperor asked again: "What do you think we should do?"

Gai Xun said: "Your servant, please take five thousand soldiers from the county, and then recruit five thousand soldiers and horses in the Sanfu area, a total of [-] people, select virtuous and famous people, and divide the troops into the important areas of Sanfu to prepare for bandits. .”

"In this way, even if the kingdom divides its forces to attack various places, it will be difficult to achieve meritorious service. I can also share the worries of General Zuo."

"And recruiting county soldiers locally can also save a lot of money and food."

Di Zhun played and asked: "Aside from Qing, who can take on the important task of protecting the three assistants?"

Gai Xun thought for a long time and wrote: "Fufengshi Sun Rui, Guiyang Wei Jie, Jingzhao Du Kai, Hongnong Yang Ru, and Changling No. [-] Jun are all well-known and worthy of big posts."

After Wang Fen's incident, the emperor trusted Gai Xun very much and immediately said: "I confer Fufeng Shi Sun Rui as the Eagle Commander, Guiyang Wei Jie as the Enemy Defeator Commander, Jingzhao Du Kai as the Weilu Commander, Hongnong Yang Ru was the captain of the Bird Strikes, and the fifth handsome man in Changling was the captain of the Qing invaders."

"These five captains are all under Qing's command, but if there are secret matters, they can be reported directly to me without being dispatched by anyone."

This move was tantamount to directly allowing Gai Xun to command the Fifth Military Academy, and he had absolute power to command the troops. This may indicate that the emperor valued Gai Xun.

Gai Xun thanked the emperor, and immediately began to recruit troops, horses and manpower, and went to the Sanfu place to garrison.

When Zhou Qi learned the news, he couldn't help but sigh: "Apart from being close to the eunuchs, has your Majesty ever been so kind to others?"

Xi Zhicai said with a smile: "Mr.'s concentration of holy family members is rare in this dynasty."

"Mr. You commanded [-] troops to guard the land of Sanfu. The general will no longer have to worry about the future, and there is no need to humbly ask Dong Zhuo for cooperation."

A bright smile appeared on Zhou Qi's face.

at the same time.

Wang Guo led hundreds of thousands of rebels to storm Chencang, but Chencang has been a military fortress since ancient times.

When Zhang Wen withdrew his troops earlier, he also dispatched capable generals to lead the imperial elite to guard Chencang.

Therefore, the rebels stormed Chen Cang for more than a month, but they were still unable to conquer the city. This also made the morale of the originally aggressive rebels low.

Wang Guo was worried, so he summoned Han Sui, Ma Teng and others to discuss the matter.

"Last time when the army looted Sanfu, the court's defenses were lax, so Chencang was easily captured, and they drove straight forward to attack Meiyang."

"Now Zhang Wen has already made arrangements, and Chencang is unbreakable."

"There is also Zhou Qi who has commanded [-] elite troops and is stationed in Meiyang. I know that he is very knowledgeable about military matters and is brave and good at fighting. If his troops and horses are fully trained, he will be a serious trouble for us. What can we do?"

Han Sui pondered for a long while, then smiled and said, "Zhou Qi's command of the army is light today, and the soldiers and horses under his command have not yet been reorganized, and the orders are different, so there is nothing to be afraid of."

"If we can lure him to rescue Chen Cang, our troops will have an absolute advantage, and if we lay an ambush, we will be able to encircle and wipe him out."

Ma Teng frowned and said, "Zhou Qi is proficient in the art of war, and the sergeants under his command have not been rectified, how could he easily lead the troops to Chencang?"

Han Sui stroked his beard and said: "Have you forgotten, we have an ally in the court, if we can offer a lot of money, he will definitely help."

Wang Guo's expression moved slightly and he said, "You mean Dong Zhongying?"

Han Sui smiled and said, "Of course."

But it is said that Dong Zhuo was named a former general at this time and led [-] soldiers to garrison Yong County, which is the time when the spring breeze is in full swing.

It's just that when he learned that the court named Zhou Qi as General Zuo, who supervised the army of the three auxiliary lands, and was the commander-in-chief for begging thieves, he felt a little dissatisfied in his heart.

He said to the generals under his command: "I have gone through hundreds of battles and become famous in Liangzhou. It has been forty years before I was named a former general by the imperial court."

"Zhou Qi is only in his early twenties and comes from a humble background. How can He De get the title of General Zuo?"

All the generals under his command knew Dong Zhuo's character, and they immediately fought against him and tried to do what he liked.

While everyone was discussing, a trusted aide came in hurriedly and whispered something in Dong Zhuo's ear, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but froze slightly.

He said to the generals in the house: "I am too weak to drink, and I am already tired, so I will retreat first."

The generals understood and left one after another, but Dong Zhuo secretly left behind his confidant Li Ru and his son-in-law Niu Fu.

"Bring Han Sui's envoy in."

As soon as Han Sui's envoy entered the house, he paid homage to Dong Zhuo and flattered Dong Zhuo, which made Dong Zhuo smile.

On the contrary, Li Ru was more sober, and when the envoy finished flattering, he asked, "Han Sui sent you here, what are you talking about?"

The messenger said: "Sir asked me to bring 2000 million yuan and various rare treasures, and I came here specially to give to the former general."

Dong Zhuo's eyes shone, and he leaned forward slightly, saying: "General, I have received Han Wen's message. You don't need to beat around the bush, just say what you want."

The envoy said: "Chencang is strong, my lord can't attack for a long time, and he is afraid that Zhou Qi will train the army in Meiyang, so I hope the former general can persuade Zhou Qi to rescue Chencang."

"At that time, it will be just like in the past. When I defeated Zhou Qi's troops, I deliberately lost to the former general, so that the general could be rewarded by the court for his merits."

Dong Zhuo was feeling annoyed at Zhou Qi's pressure on him, when he suddenly heard such a suggestion from Han Sui's emissary, his eyes lit up immediately.

He turned to look at Li Ru and asked, "Sir, do you think this plan is feasible?"

Li Ru thought for a long time and said: "Although this plan is good, Zhou Qi is not an ordinary person, so he may not fall into the plan."

Dong Zhuo smiled disdainfully: "Even Huangfusong and Zhang Wen are under my control, Zhou Qi is just a child, what's the point, can it be compared to these two?"

Zhou Qi was training in Meiyang, when he suddenly learned that Dong Zhuo was coming with his personal guards, he immediately asked with some doubts: "Dong Zhuo and I guarded two places before, why did you come here suddenly?"

However, Xi Zhicai's eyes flashed and he said: "Dong Zhuo is extremely ambitious and has become a separatist force."

"Your Majesty might as well take this opportunity to kill this person and take his soldiers and horses under his command, so that His Majesty can also get rid of the serious troubles in his heart."

Zhou Qi heard the words, but just laughed without saying a word.

No one knows better than Zhou Qi, a traveler, how ambitious Dong Zhuo is. He still hopes that Dong Zhuo will stir up the situation in the world.

Killing Dong Zhuo is equivalent to changing the general trend of history, which is not a good thing for Zhou Qi.

"Let's listen first, why is he here?"

It didn't take long for Dong Zhuo to enter Zhou Qi's tent in armor, and he was as arrogant and domineering as the legend said.

Now that Zhou Qi is the counter-insurgency commander in name, Dong Zhuo didn't show courtesy when he came here, but was very arrogant.

Seeing this, Dian Wei and Xu Chu stared angrily, wishing they could step forward and behead him.

Only Zhou Qi didn't take it seriously, always smiling, and asked: "The former general was busy with military affairs, but now he suddenly came to visit me, why?"

Dong Zhuo said: "The rebel army gathered tens of thousands of people and besieged Chencang for more than a month."

"Chencang is a small city and is in danger. Since General Zuo is the commander in chief of counterinsurgency, why doesn't he send troops to rescue?"

Zhou Qi pondered for a while, and then said: "What the former general said is very true, but I stationed troops in Meiyang, which is still far away from Chencang. On the other hand, the former general stationed in Yong County, which is only two days away from Chencang."

"Since Chen Cang is in crisis, how about the former general leading the troops to rescue first?"

Dong Zhuo didn't know how to refute when he heard the words.

At this moment, Li Ru said, "The bandits are so numerous. The former general has only [-] mobs. If you go to the rescue alone, you may be defeated by the bandits."

"General Zuo's subordinates are all the elite of the imperial court. Why don't you go to Chencang and arrive at the same time as the former general. With a crowd of [-], we will not be afraid of bandits."

Zhou Qi looked at the middle-aged scribe who was a little thinner and had some dark eyes, and asked, "Dare to ask Mr.'s name?"

Li Ru paid his respects and said, "I am Li Ru. I have a good literary character and have met General Zuo."

Zhou Qi's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he said with a smile: "I have admired Mr.'s name for a long time, and Mr.'s great opinion also enlightened me."

"In that case, I will send troops tomorrow and make an appointment with the former general to break the siege of Chencang. How about that?"

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed when he heard the words, and said, "That's very good."

Dong Zhuo had achieved his purpose here, and wanted to leave immediately, but Zhou Qi persuaded him: "You and I have been promoted by the Yuan family, and we are considered to belong to the same sect, why don't you stay and have a drink with me, general?"

Only then did Dong Zhuo remember that he had been conscripted by Situ Yuan Kui as an official, and only then was he able to rise to the top, and successively served as the governor of Bingzhou and the prefect of Hedong County.

In this era, the grace of support is very important.

However, Dong Zhuo is good at drilling and was born in Liangzhou. This kind of thinking is not important. On the contrary, he feels that he can have the current achievements all by himself, so he doesn't have much gratitude to Yuan.

However, as the mainstream thinking of this era, Dong Zhuo still needs to be respected in name, and he immediately expressed his gratitude to Yuan Shi.

He said to Zhou Qi: "You and I are both disciples of the Yuan family, and we should work together to suppress the rebellion. I will go back to Yong County to rectify the troops. I hope General Zuo can come and join me soon."

"As for the drinking, let's skip it for now."

"The war is urgent now. After the rebels are defeated, it will not be too late for you and me to drink."

Zhou Qi did not force him and sent Dong Zhuo away with a smile.

On the way back to Yongyang, Dong Zhuo said to Li Ru, "This Zhou Qi is still too young to agree so easily."

Li Ru had nothing to say, but he vaguely felt that things were not that simple.

The camp of the commander in chief of the officers and soldiers of Meiyang.

Xu Chu glared angrily and said, "That guy Dong Zhuo is so rude. If the general hadn't given the order, I would have killed him with a single blow."

Xiang Hong frowned and said: "I think Dong Zhuo has bad intentions, and the soldiers under his command have not yet finished training. Why did the general agree to rescue Chen Cang with him?"

Zhou Qi didn't answer, but set his sights on Xi Zhicai, and said with a smile, "Do you know my mind, sir?"

Xi Zhicai stroked his beard and said: "Although the general agrees, he does not necessarily act in accordance with the agreement."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he couldn't help stroking his hands and laughing, saying: "Those who know me have ambition."

But he said that after Dong Zhuo returned to Yong County, he sent someone to inform Han Sui, but he waited hard every day, imagining that Zhou Qi was defeated by the rebels, but he could make contributions and be rewarded by the court.

Zhou Qi really did as he had promised Dong Zhuo, and rushed to Chencang the next day, but the speed of the march was a bit anxious.

Dong Zhuo didn't know that Zhou Qi was still training the army during the march, training them to advance when they hear the drums and retreat when they hear the gold, training them in formation, camping, ambush, and rushing one by one.

It was for this reason that Zhou Qi marched so slowly.

In this way, the three-day journey was taken by Zhou Qi for eight days before arriving in Mei County.

Then, there was no more, and the army stayed in Xi County.

When Dong Zhuo heard the news, he was furious and sent someone to ask Zhou Qi why he was marching so slowly and why he stayed in Mei County and did not move forward.

But Zhou Qi vomited bitterness, saying: "It's not that this general broke the promise, but my command of the army is declining, and the soldiers under my command come from all over the world, and they don't belong to each other."

"Now the imperial court is in arrears with military pay, and there is not enough food and grass. After the soldiers arrived in Yi County, they were unwilling to leave again."

"If the former general can distribute some money and food, the soldiers under the general's command will definitely obey the military order and join forces with the former general after receiving rewards."

After these words spread to Yong County, Dong Zhuo was furious, knowing that he had been tricked by Zhou Qi.

He summoned Li Ru and asked, "Zhou Qi's son is stranded in Mei County, and he doesn't want to go to rescue Chen Cang, what can I do?"

Li Rulue's group pondered, and said: "This Zhou Qi is as cunning as a fox. He is indeed difficult to deal with, but he has weaknesses after all. Why don't you send someone with money to Luoyang to bribe Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong and others, saying that Zhou Qi is afraid of fighting and will not go forward. Waste money and food, ask them to play the emperor and seize his military power."

"With Huangfu Song's reputation, the emperor still listens to the slander of Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others, cuts his title, dismisses his official position, and takes over his military power. What's the situation like Zhou Qiye?"

Dong Zhuo's expression turned ugly when he heard this.

Although this strategy is easy to use, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong are greedy, and every time they ask them to do something, they need to offer a lot of property.

Dong Zhuo is also a greedy person, so he is naturally reluctant.

Seeing this, Li Ru said with a smile: "Presumably the rebels want the court to dismiss Zhou Qi more than the general, and bribe Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhongzhi with money. Han Sui and others can definitely make money from it, and the general can also make a fortune from it." .”

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed when he heard the words, so he sent someone to ask for property from the rebels.

Wang Guo didn't expect Dong Zhuo to be so greedy, and immediately flew into a rage, but was persuaded by Han Sui.

"The general has tens of thousands of troops. As long as he captures a few county towns and loots the big families in the city, he will have countless money."

"Compared to Zhou Ziyi, what's the big deal about just money?"

Only then did Wang Guo suppress his anger, and asked someone to give Dong Zhuo a huge amount of money.

After Dong Zhuo received the money, he first withheld part of it, and then asked his confidants to go to Luoyang to bribe Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.

Luoyang.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong received Dong Zhuo's money, but they gathered together.

Zhang Rang said: "Although Zhou Qi and we are not friendly, we don't have much enmity. Previously, we have helped us by suing Wang Fen and others for treason."

"Now Gai Xun and Zhou Qi's family members are gathering, even if we speak up, His Majesty may not dismiss Zhou Qi."

"Instead of offending a powerful enemy for nothing, it's better to ignore this matter."

Zhao Zhong hesitated and said, "But we took Dong Zhuo's money."

Zhang Rang said with a smile: "Before we received the money, we said that we can help him with things, but we don't guarantee that it will be done."

"Dong Zhuo is able to come to this day, thanks to you and me. I don't know how to be filial on weekdays. It's too ignorant to send money when something happens."

"This little money should be used as a lesson to him."

When Zhao Zhong heard this, he didn't hesitate any longer.

No matter how powerful Dong Zhuo was, his foundation was shallow after all, and he didn't have a strong backing in the court. Even Yuan Shi could see Dong Zhuo's wolfish ambition and was unwilling to help too much.

The only person he can rely on is probably the money-grubbing Shi Changshi.

But it was said that after Zhou Qi led his troops to Xi County, he began daily military training again.

Mei County is located in the center of Chencang and Wugong, and it can be regarded as a strategic place. In history, Dong Zhuo's fief was here. After he was retreated to Chang'an by the princes, he built Wubao in Mei County.

Inside Wubao, a large amount of Dong Zhuo's looted property was stored, as well as a 30-year grain reserve.

When Zhou Qi was training troops in Mei County, a big incident happened in the city, that is, Fazhen, a famous scholar from Youfufeng, died of illness at the age of 89.

Fazhen is the son of Faxiong, the prefect of Nanjun. However, compared to his father Faxiong, Fazhen is somewhat indifferent to fame and wealth.

However, after the death of his father Faxiong, although Fazhen had a good reputation, his family began to decline because he did not serve as an official.

When Fazhen's son Fa Yan came of age, relying on the influence of his ancestors, he was promoted as Xiaolian by the officials in the county. He was moved to the left prison of Situ Tuo and Tingwei. He had great potential.

However, Fayan was in poor health and died of illness early in his tenure, leaving only his elderly father and young son behind.

After Fa Yan died of illness, Fa Zhen no longer had any interest in studying, but devoted all his energy to his grandson, hoping that he would achieve something in the future.

Unexpectedly, Fazhen died of illness before his grandson was an adult.

The originally prominent Legalist family in Mei County now has only one underage man left to support them. If there is no miracle, the family will inevitably fall into ruin.

Although Fazhen died, many of his students came to express their condolences, which made Mei County, which was somewhat depressed due to the bandits, become more prosperous.

Although Fazhen's grandson is only twelve or thirteen years old, he was taught by Fazhen since he was a child. He is not only smart and eloquent, but also impeccable in dealing with people and things.

The people who came to offer their condolences were secretly amazed when they saw that the grandson of Fazhen behaved in a polite and respectful manner, neither humble nor overbearing.

Zhou Qi, who was training in the army, when he heard the news of Fazhen's death, suddenly thought of a person, and his eyes sparkled.

He put down his military affairs, changed into plain clothes, took Xi Zhicai with him, and went to the Fa family to express his condolences in person.

The so-called people take tea cold.

The legalists who had this incident were no longer as crowded as they were at the beginning. Those former students of Fa Zhen left after paying their condolences and did not stay long.

Even those who came to express their condolences before, there were hardly any high-ranking officials.

Therefore, when the concierge called out the words "Zuo General Zhou Qi", all the guests who hadn't left were shocked.

Even Fazhen's grandson, who was only twelve or thirteen years old, hurried out to greet him in person.

　Everyone can guess who this guy is.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)