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

Chapter 177 Zhang Wenyuan Slays Huang Shao

While Zhang Liao and the others were waiting anxiously, they saw Lu Bu walking in drunk.

"Marquis Wen!"

Zhang Liao and the others were all overjoyed to see Lu Bu Wuhai, and hurried forward to salute.

Lu Bu patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and laughed loudly: "I was indeed right as I said before. Yuan Gongli invited me to the banquet to repay his kindness."

When Wei Xu heard this, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and asked hurriedly: "Did Yuan Gongli give the general a place to live?"

Lu Bu's face was rosy at this time, he waved his right arm and said with a smile: "Yuan Gongzhu appointed me as the prefect of Lujiang and lent me two thousand soldiers and horses."

"With my reputation for killing Dong Zhuo, if I can take over a county, I can recruit troops and gain a foothold in these troubled times."

Wei Xu and others were all overjoyed, but Zhang Liao frowned slightly.

He said, "As far as I know, Lujiang is under the rule of Yangzhou Mu Zhouqi. Zhou Cheqi holds a heavy army and dominates the southeast. Even Yuan Gonglu dare not provoke him easily."

"He appointed the general as the governor of Lujiang. Could it be that he wants to make an enemy of Zhou Cheqi?"

Lu Bu patted Zhang Liao's shoulder again and said with a smile: "Wen Yuan only knows one, but not the other."

"Since Zhou Qi acquired Yangzhou, he has replaced all the prefects in the county. Only the prefect of Lujiang, Lu Kang, has a prominent family background and dare not act rashly."

"Zhou Qi neither replaced the prefect of Lujiang, nor garrisoned additional troops in Lujiang, so there must be something wrong with Lu Kang."

"If I capture Lujiang and make friends with Zhou Cheqi again, he will definitely not attack me."

"After our soldiers have enough food, why should we be afraid of the heroes of the world?"

Hearing this, Zhang Liao felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell.

He had never met Zhou Qi before, so he didn't know much about him, he had only heard about his reputation.

Today is ancient times and transportation is underdeveloped. Zhang Liao has no own information channels and has no idea of ​​the real situation in Lujiang.

So after listening to Lu Bu's words suddenly, I didn't find any flaws.

But soon, he said: "The north of Lujiang is located on the Huai River, and Lu Kang has been the governor of Lujiang for a long time, and the people's hearts are attached to it. If the general wants to attack by force with four thousand troops, it may not be easy."

"I see refugees everywhere in Runan, and I guess Yuan Gonglu doesn't have much food and grass in his hands. If Lujiang can't be captured as soon as possible, there may be troubles in his life."

Hearing this, Lu Bu was a little sober from the wine, and then frowned.

Although he is arrogant and domineering, he is quite talented in leading troops.

Otherwise, it would not be possible to conquer east and west at the end of the Han Dynasty, fleeing to various places, and even made Cao Cao homeless for a time. There were only more than [-] soldiers and horses under his command, and Cao Cao was almost forced to go north and go to Yuan Shao directly.

If it hadn't been for Cheng Yu's strong remonstrance to make Cao Cao regain his confidence, I am afraid that at the end of the Han Dynasty, the world would be divided into three parts, and Cao Cao would have nothing to do.

Such a brave and good fighter is very sensitive to war, and all the lessons learned from actual combat are very scary.

If his subordinates were all former Bingzhou elites, Lu Bu would naturally not have the slightest fear.

But now, there are only a few hundred elite cavalry under his command, and the more than a thousand people who were kidnapped lack training and have no combat effectiveness at all.

It is okay to let them defend the city, but if they want to attack the city, they may not be able to do it.

As for the two thousand troops seconded by Yuan Shu, Lu Bu did not hold much hope.

Ask yourself, no one is willing to lend their elites to others.

Even if you want to borrow it, the people who borrow it must be old, weak, sick and disabled, and their combat effectiveness is worrying.

And just like what Zhang Liao said, there are many famines nowadays, and Sun Jian has been attacking Xiangyang for a long time, wasting a lot of money and food.

He didn't believe how much food and grass Yuan Shu could allocate for him.

Lu Bu pondered for a long time, and then asked, "Wen Yuan has a good plan to teach me?"

Today's Zhang Liao, with whom Lv Bu lived, had no fixed place, and was tired of this kind of life, and wanted to find a place where he could settle down.

If Lujiang was really not under Zhou Qi's control, it might not be a bad thing to take it down.

Thinking of this, Zhang Liao immediately said seriously: "The general lies in wisdom rather than courage, and the quality of soldiers lies not in numbers."

"Under the current situation, if you want to capture Lujiang in a short period of time, you can only attack by outsmarting, not by force."

Afterwards, Zhang Liao walked to Lu Bu's side and whispered a phone call.

Hearing Zhang Liao's plan, Lü Bu frowned and pondered for a long time, finally he said through gritted teeth, "I dispatched five hundred elite cavalry under your command to you. If you can capture Lujiang, you will never forget Wenyuan's contribution."

Lu Bu was able to do this, almost putting all his wealth and life on Zhang Liao.

Five hundred fine cavalry can be regarded as Lu Bu's entire property.

"only!"

Zhang Liao was slightly moved and took his orders to leave.

Lujiang County, Shu County.

Shu County is the county seat of Lujiang County, but it is located in the southeast of the entire Lujiang River. Most of the soldiers and horses in the county are also gathered here.

With Lu Bu's soldiers and horses, it is obviously unrealistic to attack city by city from north to south.

On this day, Captain Huang Shao of Lujiang County, who had just finished training his soldiers and was drinking at home, received a piece of news that made him very happy.

Since Huang Shao served as the captain of Lujiang County, he has lived a very relaxed and comfortable life.

Because of Anfeng County, Lujiang County has a very prosperous business.

In addition, Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang, implemented benevolent policies, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and even thieves were almost eliminated.

After Zhou Qi led Yangzhou Mu, he received the full support of the Lujiang Zhou family, and the territory of Lujiang County was as stable as Mount Tai.

It was precisely because Lujiang County was too stable that Zhou Qi didn't even send more troops here.

Just relying on the troops from the three counties recruited locally in Lujiang can fully cope with everything in the territory.

In fact.

Because of Lu Kang's good governance, Huang Shao, the captain of Lujiang County, often has nothing to do except to train soldiers.

He came from a bad background, and when he was working as a yellow scarf, he used to live with his head up every day.

But since following Zhou Qi, he lived a stable life in Anfeng County, and now he has been promoted to be the captain of Lujiang County. He still has three thousand soldiers under his command.

Even when he raised his troops to rebel, he never thought that he would have what he is today.

Therefore, Huang Shao was very grateful to Zhou Qi.

He also knew that his talents were not enough to hold such a high position. The reason why he was reused was because he followed Zhou Qi earlier.

Huang Shao has always kept this kindness of knowledge and encounter in his heart, and has never forgotten it. Every day in his spare time, he also wants to do something to repay Zhou Qi's kindness.

Compared with the Central Plains and the North, what Yangzhou lacks most is war horses. It is very difficult to develop cavalry.

Without cavalry, they might be at a disadvantage during a head-on confrontation with the northern princes.

This is why, since ancient times, the world has been almost unified from north to south, but rarely succeeded from south to north.

Because there are many horses in the north, the soldiers are sturdy and good at attacking.

There are many rivers in the south, which often tends to be defensive.

Huang Shao knew that Zhou Qi had great ambitions, so he had been taking advantage of Lujiang's prosperous commercial conditions to purchase war horses everywhere.

only.

Since the reunification of the princes, war horses have become a scarce commodity, and the price has been rising again and again. In many cases, even if you have money, you can't buy them.

Huang Shao spent a lot of effort, but only purchased two to three hundred war horses, and the condition of them was not good.

Unexpectedly, Huang Shao got the news today that Lu Bu, the Marquis of Wen, wanted to sell his war horses in order to raise money and food to regroup.

As for Zhang Liao, who was in charge of selling horses, although he had the title of riding captain, he was also an unknown person, and Huang Shao had never heard of it.

This news immediately made Huang Shao excited, so he ordered the cities along the way to open their doors for convenience, allowing Zhang Liao to come to Shu County with his war horses.

Huang Shao said happily: "Ming Gong is preparing to form a cavalry, but he is suffering from the lack of horses in the territory."

"Now that Lu Bu has lost power, he can only rely on selling horses to raise money and food, but he has made it easier for me."

While Huang Shao was excited, someone suddenly came to report that Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang County, was here.

Huang Shao hurriedly went out to greet him in person. After the two of them had finished greeting, Lu Kang suddenly asked, "I heard that the general wants to buy war horses from Marquis Wen. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Huang Shao smiled and said: "I was just planning to discuss this matter with the county governor, but I never thought that you would take the initiative to come."

The county guard is in power, and the captain is in charge of the army.

Huang Shao wanted to buy horses. Although it was a military matter, he needed money and food to buy horses. In the end, he asked Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang County, to allocate money and food.

Lu Kang pondered for a long time and said: "The general Chariot and Cavalry is planning to form a cavalry, so there is no harm in purchasing war horses."

"However, this matter is quite strange, please be more cautious, general."

Huang Shao asked with a puzzled face, "It's reasonable for Marquis Wen to sell horses, what's wrong?"

Lu Kang asked rhetorically: "Lv Fengxian brought Dong Zhuo's leader to join Yuan Shu, and he has done a great favor to the Yuan family in Runan. If there is a shortage of money and food, it is expected that the Yuan family will help. This is one of them."

"Not only is there a shortage of horses in Yangzhou, but so is Yuzhou. Even if Lu Bu really wants to sell horses, he can sell the horses directly to Yuan Shu. Why bother to come to Lujiang to sell horses, the second thing."

Huang Shao heard this, but shook his head with a smile and said: "Yuan Shu, although he comes from a famous family, is narrow-minded, mean and ungrateful."

"On the other hand, Lu Bu, who was born in the northern borderlands, lacked etiquette and education. He killed Ding Yuan first and then Dong Zhuo. He was only looking for profit, and he behaved like a villain."

"Your Majesty thinks that these two people might be in the same room harmoniously?"

Lu Kang pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

He knew that what Huang Shao said was true. Yuan Shu and Lu Bu were not the same people at all, and they could not get together in any case.

Yuan Shu was proud and arrogant because of his family background.

Lü Bu is arrogant, relying on his bravery to rule the sky.

These two people are naturally in conflict with each other and will inevitably not get along well with each other.

Huang Shao continued: "I was born in Runan, and I know that although this place is rich, it has been dilapidated since the Yellow Turban Uprising and has not yet recovered."

"Since Yuan Shu occupied Runan, he didn't know how to rest and recuperate. Instead, he resorted to military tactics. He first attacked Dong Zhuo and then attacked Jingzhou. There must not be much money and food in the territory."

"Hundreds of war horses are worth a lot of money, and Yuan Shu may not be willing to buy them at a high price."

"Lü Bu is greedy for profit and forgets his loyalty. He knows that Lujiang is rich and is in urgent need of war horses. It is reasonable for him to want to come to Lujiang to sell horses."

Lu Kang pondered for a while, feeling that what Huang Shao said was not unreasonable, but he still urged: "If you buy war horses normally, the county will naturally have money and food to support it."

"However, this transaction is not trivial, general please proceed with caution."

Huang Shao agreed in his mouth, but he didn't care about it in his heart.

This is Lujiang County, if Lu Bu came by himself, Huang Shao would be more afraid.

Now those who come to sell horses are just borrowing from the nameless Zhang Liao, and there are only three to five hundred people under his command, so what kind of trouble can they cause?
If Huang Shao was willing, he could even send troops to annihilate Zhang Liao and his men, and then seize the horses by force.

However, the reason why Lujiang is prosperous is inseparable from the relatively fair business atmosphere here.

If Huang Shao did this, although it would save a lot of expenses, it would also ruin Lujiang's reputation, which would be very detrimental to the future development of Lujiang County.

I'm afraid even Lu Kang won't agree.

Therefore, as soon as the idea came into Huang Shao's mind, he quickly killed it.

"By purchasing these war horses at a high price, there will be a steady stream of people in the future who are willing to transport the war horses to Lujiang for sale."

Just when Huang Shao was full of expectations, Zhang Liao had already arrived in Shu County with three to five hundred people and his horses.

For the sake of safety, Huang Shao even led a thousand fully armed soldiers and horses over.

After seeing Zhang Liao and others, I was completely relieved to see that although they were all armed, they were not wearing armor.

However, he still deliberately asked: "Since your Excellency is here to sell horses, why do you still carry weapons?"

Zhang Liao patted his horse and said with a smile on his face, "These war horses are expensive, so naturally I dare not neglect them."

"What's more, after the deal is completed, we still plan to purchase grain and grass in Lujiang, which needs to be escorted back long distances."

"If you don't carry weapons, if there are refugees robbing you on the way, what should you do?"

Huang Shao originally just asked casually, but when he saw that what the other party said was reasonable, he didn't have any doubts in his heart.

"In that case, let's start the transaction. I have already found a special appraiser who will evaluate each war horse objectively. This should take a long time."

War horses are different in appearance and have huge differences in value, which cannot be generalized and require careful consideration.

When Zhang Liao heard this, he pointed to the people behind him and said: "Brothers have come with me from afar. We are tired along the way. I wonder if we can go into the city to repair it, or buy some food and drinks."

Huang Shao was wary and refused directly: "You are all armed with sharp swords. We cannot all enter the city. You can settle down outside the city."

Zhang Liao smiled bitterly and said: "The war horses need to be brought into the city for appraisal. Without the care of our brothers, it would be difficult for ordinary people to comfort them."

"If the general has doubts, how about I only bring 200 people into the city?"

When Huang Shao heard this, he felt that he had 200 soldiers under his command, and the opponent had only [-] people without armor, so he couldn't make any trouble at all.

After pondering for a while, Huang Shao immediately said: "If there are only 200 people, it's okay, but after entering the city, you can only stay in a fixed area, you can't move around at will, and your weapons must be left outside the city."

Zhang Liao frowned slightly, not expecting the other party to be so cautious.

Zhang Liao didn't care if he only brought 200 people into the city.

But without weapons, 200 people can't make any trouble.

Although Zhang Liao was anxious, he didn't dare to show any abnormality, otherwise, once Huang Shao noticed it, the troops under his command would surely die.

He looked at the city gate in the distance calmly, and seeing that there were not many defenders on the city, a crazy light flashed in his eyes.

Zhang Liao originally planned to sneak into the city with 500 people under his command, and then launch a surprise attack at night.

But Huang Shao was too vigilant, so the plan had to be temporarily changed.

A smile appeared on his face and he said: "What the general said is true. I will go back and inform everyone under my command."

Zhang Liao turned back to the team, summoned several generals and commanders under his command, and said in a low voice: "Huang Shao only allowed 200 people to enter the city, and they are not allowed to carry weapons. We must change our plan."

"This place is not far from the gate of the city, and the horse charge is coming in no time. I plan to kill Huang Shao in a surprise attack, and then lead the cavalry to charge into the enemy's line."

"If the enemy loses their commander, they will panic and flee to the city in a panic. We will take advantage of the victory and enter the city."

When all the generals heard this, their expressions changed.

Their original plan was to sneak into the city and make a surprise attack at night, but now they want to attack by force.

Once the enemy general cannot be killed, or the opponent quickly closes the city gate, it will be impossible for them to invade the city with just their few men.

Seeing the hesitation on everyone's faces, Zhang Liao immediately said sternly: "You have followed Marquis Wen in the south and north for a long time. This place is just a few soldiers from Lujiang County. Why should you be afraid?"

"If we win, we can attack the city and seize the Lujiang River, which will be a great achievement."

"If things don't work, we can rely on the advantage of the speed of the cavalry to evacuate from Lujiang and return to Runan."

All the generals and schools were completely relieved after hearing the words, and agreed one after another.

But he said that Huang Shao had been waiting for a long time but never saw Zhang Liao return, so he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

When he was considering whether to return to the city first, he saw Zhang Liao coming with a dozen horses.

Seeing that Zhang Liao was getting closer, Huang Shao was about to step forward to ask questions, but he saw that the speed of the opponent's horse was getting faster and faster, and it was charging straight towards him.

Huang Shao secretly thought it was not good, so he turned around and hid in the army.

"The thief will leave and take my shot."

The speed of the war horse is so fast, when Zhang Liao and the others accelerated, they were already very close to Huang Shao and the others.

Just started.

No one noticed the danger at all, because Zhang Liao only led a dozen cavalry, and no matter how brave he was, he did not dare to attack the army formation of thousands of people.

However, they did not expect that Zhang Liao was a very brave man and could do what others could not do.

"Dare thieves!"

Huang Shao was startled and angry, he didn't expect the opponent to be so unscrupulous, seeing that Zhang Liao had already killed him, he immediately drew his sword in his hand, and was ready to fight with him.

"clang!"

Zhang Liao became famous when he was young, and his bravery was extraordinary. At this time, he used his horse's power to deliberately attack the unprepared, and with just one shot, the long sword in Huang Shao's hand was thrown flying.

Zhang Liao's spear continued unabated and stabbed Huang Shao through the heart. Then he pulled out the sword from his waist and beheaded Huang Shao.

"Huang Shao is dead, and those who surrender will not be killed!"

Almost at the same time Zhang Liao launched his charge, hundreds of cavalry behind him also launched an attack at the same time.

The power brought by the charge of hundreds of cavalry is absolutely appalling.

Although these Lujiang County soldiers received regular training, they had never actually been on the battlefield, let alone had any experience fighting cavalry.

Now that the general Huang Shao was killed, the cavalry from the opposite side charged again, and the leaderless county soldiers immediately scattered and fled towards the city in a panic.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao did not wait for the hundreds of cavalry who followed, but directly carried Huang Shao's head and led a dozen of his cavalry to charge towards the city gate.

(End of this chapter)