Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 286 Recruiting talents
On the road far away from Shangyong City, Cheng Yu, the envoy from Hanzhong, was happy on the one hand. This time he successfully completed the prisoner exchange mission entrusted to him by Liu Zhang. Of course, a discussion of merit would be indispensable later, but there was another feeling in his heart. On the one hand, I am somewhat irritable and feel that my head is much bigger.

The reason why Cheng Yu felt irritated was because of the group of Jingzhou soldiers who had been bought in front of him. The group of Jingzhou soldiers in front of him were not in a queue, but in small groups, and they were still talking in a low voice, but even though it was a low voice , but when the number of people increases, the sound becomes loud and chaotic, which can be heard in the sky.

Why did Ming Gong buy this group of defeated soldiers? Cheng Yu frowned with a pair of thick eyebrows and showed a puzzled look. Earlier, Liu Zhang sent him to Shangyong and made two things clear. One was to sacrifice wine to Yang Ren in exchange for Fangling County Magistrate Kuai. Qi, Cheng Yu can understand this matter, because Kuai Liang of the Kuai family has some friendship with Liu Zhang, and out of friendship, this matter can be done. Another thing Liu Zhang asked him to do was to ransom Jingzhou prisoners and spend money to buy prisoners. This made Cheng Yu incomprehensible, and the prisoners he bought were Jingzhou prisoners.

According to Cheng Yu's idea, the Jingzhou prisoners were all defeated soldiers on the battlefield, and there were few brave men, so they would not be of much use after being redeemed. Secondly, the Jingzhou prisoners had their hearts attached to the Chu land, so they must not want to stay in the Shu land, so they were forced to stay. He would only wait for an opportunity to escape. For the past three years, it was the messy situation of the prisoners in Jingzhou that gave him a very bad impression. It didn't look like a group of soldiers, but more like a market where merchants gathered.

However, as a scribe, Cheng Yu had no ability to command the sergeants. In addition, as a Ba native, he did not understand the language of the Jingzhou soldiers, but it was difficult for him to get the Jingzhou soldiers to be strict. Just when he frowned and was displeased, he just I saw a burly general coming out of the ranks of Jingzhou soldiers, shouting orders and directing them left and right. After a while, the Jingzhou soldiers calmed down and formed a queue, marching one by one.

Cheng Yu suddenly showed joy on his face. He rode up to the general. He dismounted and raised his hands to salute the general. After informing him of his name, he asked about the name of the general.

"I am a native of Xia Nanyang Wan. My surname is Wenpin and my courtesy name is Zhongye." Wenpin, who came out from the crowd, showed no complacency on his face after commanding the soldiers of Jingzhou to be strict. He just calmly informed the envoy from Shu of his name.

"My brother's appointment as a captain is not a soldier." Wen San saw that Wenpin had not informed him of his official position, so he rushed to Wenpin's side and quickly added, hoping that Wenpin would gain Cheng Yu's respect. .

"It turns out to be Captain Wenpin." Cheng Yu did not look down upon Wenpin because of his identity as a prisoner. He greeted Wenpin respectfully.

Wenpin's face darkened when he heard this. He waved his hand and said, "How dare a defeated general be called a captain? Mr. Cheng just calls me Zhongye."

Cheng Yu had no intention of following Wenpin. He still had a respectful attitude and expressed admiration to Wenpin: "Wendu Lieutenant commanded the soldiers and became strict in an instant. There are not many people with such talent in running an army." See... As for the four words "defeated general", don't you hear about Meng Mingshi and Xiqi Shu? "

Cheng Yu was well versed in history books. Faced with Wenpin's claim to be a defeated general, he brought out the story of Meng Mingshi and Xiqi Shu to comfort Wenpin. At the same time, seeing Wenpin's talents, he started recruiting Liu Zhang. He planned to recommend Wenpin in front of Liu Zhang after returning to Hanzhong.

Here Wenpin heard the names of Meng Mingshi and Xiqi Shu, and he said humbly: "Wenpin is no better than a prisoner, how dare he compare with the sages."

"Captain Wen, please don't be humble." Cheng Yu stepped forward and held Wenpin's hand, and asked someone to bring in two good horses. Wenpin and Wensan were asked to mount their horses, and they immediately talked while marching.

Not long after, the group arrived at the ferry of Han River, boarded the boat, and headed upstream toward Hanzhong. Hanzhong and Shangyong were very close to each other. Cheng Yu and Wenpin arrived in Hanzhong in just a few days.

Hanzhong here had already received Cheng Yu's letter and prepared a camp and residence for the Jingzhou soldiers. As soon as Cheng Yu and his party arrived, they arranged for the Jingzhou soldiers to move in. Cheng Yu patiently waited until the Jingzhou soldiers settled in properly, and then he asked Wen He said goodbye to Ping and hurried to meet Liu Zhang to give him the mission of Shangyong.

Wenpin stood at the gate of the camp, bidding farewell to Cheng Yu, until Cheng Yu's figure turned into a black line, and he just withdrew his farewell gaze. Along the way from Shangyong to Hanzhong, he had a chat with the bold Cheng Yu. We talked happily and became close friends.

"Brother, on the road ahead, Cheng Jun said he would recommend you in front of Liu Yizhou. Do you think he will really recommend you?" Wen San, who was beside Wenpin, thought of something, and he asked Wenpin. , and at the same time he groaned: "It would be bad if Mr. Cheng forgot. I should have reminded Mr. Cheng just now."

Wenpin lowered his eyelids. As he turned around, he asked Wensan: "Don't you want to go back to Nanyang?"

Hearing this, Wen San looked downcast, and he sighed deeply: "My hometown in Nanyang, why don't I want to go back... But we were framed by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, and we were charged with greed for power and rash advancement. We are afraid of returning to Xiangyang." He is going to be thrown into hell again, so it is better to stay in Shu... It is said that Liu Yizhou is a powerful man, a close friend of talented people, and he hires people regardless of their origins. With his brother's talents, he will definitely be reused. If Liu Yizhou is willing to take us in, I hope we can stay here. Sichuan is pretty good too.”

Wenpin walked silently and said nothing for a long time. After a long time, he slowly said: "Let's listen to fate."

Stepping into the tent that Cheng Yu had specially ordered for him, he saw that everything was in place, but Wenpin felt a little confused. He was not only a warrior, he also studied "Spring and Autumn" when he was young, and knew the meaning of Spring and Autumn. But the word 'loyalty'. Therefore, facing the current situation, Wenpin felt that he should ask Cheng Yu to help make a request to Liu Zhang and let him return to Xiangyang. As the so-called loyal ministers have no regard for the two masters, he should return to Xiangyang, no matter what situation he would face after returning to Xiangyang. But just as Wen San said just now, after returning to Xiangyang, he is afraid that he will be imprisoned in hell and bear unjust injustice. In this case, serving Liu Yizhou may be his best choice.

After a long time, Wenpin smiled and shook his head. Not to mention whether Liu Zhang would keep them. After all, Liu Zhang might look down on them as defeated soldiers. Secondly, whether Liu Zhang would take Cheng Yu's recommendation to him seriously is another matter. He said that as a defeated general, God knows whether he will fall into the eyes of Liu Yizhou, who has many civilized soldiers.

'Let's listen to fate. Wenpin used the four words he used to deal with Wensan and silently warned himself.

The next day, on the top of Dingjun Mountain.

"Zhongye, look, what's the scenery like in Hanzhong?" Liu Zhang greeted Wenpin behind him with a smile to enjoy the scenery.

Wenpin was stunned for a moment, and then he stepped forward and praised: "Climb high and look into the distance, the scenery is extraordinary." Wenpin was very confused and a little confused. After Zheng Yu came back from meeting Liu Zhang yesterday, he made it clear to him Liu Zhang invited him to climb Dingjun Mountain together today, so that he could have a good rest last night and relieve himself of the difficulties of the journey.

And today, when Wenpin met the rumored Liu Yizhou Liu Zhang, he was surprised. Compared with the rumored Corporal Li Xian, Liu Zhang's style was more friendly, without any pretense of being a state pastor, and he didn't pay attention to any princes. When he saw him, he didn't take any precautions when he saw him, so he approached him, took his hand and started talking, without any slighting in his words because of his status as a defeated general.

'Did Cheng Yu overly boast about himself in front of Liu Yizhou yesterday? Wen Ping didn't know why. He suspected that Cheng Yu said too many good things about Xiang when he recommended him. However, Liu Yizhou wouldn't be so kind to him just based on some good things he said when recommending him. Or maybe Liu Yizhou was like this on weekdays.

"Oh, is it just that the scenery is unique?" Liu Zhang turned his head and asked something meaningful.

Wenpin immediately gathered his thoughts after hearing this. He heard the deep meaning of Liu Zhang's words and knew that Liu Zhang was trying to imitate him. After taking a look at the geographical terrain at the foot of Dingjun Mountain, he thought about it and replied: "Dingjun" The military mountain is so high that everyone in Hanzhong can see it. This is what the military book says: Every army loves being high and hates being low."

"In the former, Ming Gong occupied Dingjun Mountain, and the rice thieves led troops to fight for Dingjun Mountain. The rice thieves had to face the unfavorable situation of having mountains in front of them and a large river (Han River) behind them. The military taboos took full advantage... And Ming Dynasty Gonggao lives on Dingjun Mountain. It is clear at a glance how the rice thieves mobilize, how they set up their formations, and how they set up camp. Their strengths and weaknesses are clear." After saying this, Wenpin praised: "It's no wonder that the rice thieves abandoned Hanzhong. If it's rice. If the thief hesitates for a day or two, he will beheaded at the foot of Dingjun Mountain."

Liu Zhang smiled. It was expected that Wenpin would have such a thorough understanding. After all, Wenpin had guarded Jiangxia for decades in history. A rare general.

"Zhongye, are you willing to serve under my account?" Liu Zhang went straight to the point, looked straight in the eyes, and asked Wenpin, but his polite and virtuous attitude did not receive an immediate response from Wenpin. Wenpin had a troubled look on his face.

Cheng Yu, who accompanied Liu Zhang and Wenpin on the mountain climbing trip, knew little about it. Having spent some time with Wenpin, he knew Wenpin's character and his difficulties: "Brother Zhongye, in today's world, it is not the king who chooses his ministers, but the ministers. I also choose you, and I hope my brother will think deeply about it."

Cheng Yu did not move Liu Biao out without asking the reason, but only believed Cai Mao and Zhang Yun's one-sided words, blaming Wenpin for what happened. Considering Wenpin's personality, and talking about Liu Biao's fault to Wenpin, instead of being able to convince Wenpin, he would actually This caused Wenpin's displeasure. After all, Wenpin and Liu Biao had the status of monarchs and ministers.

After hearing this, Wenpin lowered his eyes and thought hard. After a moment, he finally raised his hands, knelt down and saluted Liu Zhang and said, "I am willing to serve Duke Ming."

"I've got you, Xie Ye." Liu Zhang held up Wenpin, who was kneeling on the ground, and comforted him with a smile: "Your Majesty was transferred from Liu Jingzhou's tent to Zhang's. Although Liu Jingzhou and I are both members of the clan, it is unreasonable to act like this. There is nothing wrong with it, but I know that you are a loyal person, and I feel a little uncomfortable about the change of court... I will leave it to me to talk to Liu Jingzhou, and I will make you more upright and more upright in my work."

"Thank you Ming Gong." Wenpin looked moved and knelt down again to thank Liu Zhang.

(End of this chapter)