Ji Han Liu Zhang

"I am the nephew of General Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu."

After a night of running around, Zhang Xiu was still in high spirits and looked not tired at all. He explained his identity and purpose of visit to the Shu army general in front of him.

"My uncle was careless for a moment and was killed by Li Jue and Guo Si. The army had just lost its commander and was attacked by Li Jue and Guo Si. He fled here in panic and wanted to join Liu Yizhou... Hu Che'er, a captain under my uncle's command, asked to see Liu Yizhou, and Liu Yizhou said he would accept us. I wonder if the general knows this secret."

"I know about this." Zhang Ren nodded, indicating that he knew that Zhang Ji had secretly surrendered to Liu Zhang.

As a general of the Shu army, Zhang Ren was promoted from a minor official by Liu Zhang. He could be said to be Liu Zhang's trusted minister. Therefore, Liu Zhang and Zhang Ji were in agreement about Zhang Ji's surrender.

"My surname is Zhang, my given name is Ren, my courtesy name is Gongyi, and I am from Shu County." Zhang Ren informed Zhang Xiu of his name and hometown.

Zhang Xiu said politely to try to get closer to Zhang Ren: "General, your last name is also Zhang. We do have a connection."

Zhang Ren nodded calmly, without much fluctuation on his face. Not only did he know the news of Zhang Ji's surrender, he also knew that the army chief Xun You, the military advisor Fa Zheng and others were all cautious about Zhang Ji's surrender, and believed that it was difficult to determine whether Zhang Ji's surrender was true or not.

After all, the character and quality of the people from Liangzhou are witnessed by people all over the world. Fraud, deception, lies, etc., these bad adjectives are basically engraved in the bones of most people in Liangzhou.

Needless to say, Zhang Ji was an old general of the traitor Dong Zhuo. When the emperor moved east and the court moved to Yue, Zhang Ji contributed to it. It is not very reliable for such a person to be trustworthy and keep his promises.

Therefore, Zhang Ren just stayed where his horse was and did not move forward. Although his brows relaxed a little, his vigilance still lingered, and he did not feel at ease or trust Zhang Xiu's words.

"It is unfortunate that the cavalry was killed by the enemy. General Zhang, please accept my condolences." Although he did not trust him, Zhang Ren was not an rude person. He comforted Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu nodded silently and accepted it, and thanked Zhang Ren. At the same time, he noticed the vigilance revealed in Zhang Ren's posture and micro-movements, but he did not mind it. After all, under sudden circumstances, no one could trust a new surrenderer or trust the words of this new surrenderer.

The two sides briefly communicated with each other, and Zhang Xiu decided to do something to gain Zhang Ren's trust. He lowered the spear in his hand and waved backwards to signal his elite cavalry to lay down their weapons and not engage in fighting or attacking.

Under Zhang Xiu's command, the knights under his command either put down their tightly grasped bows and the arrows that were ready to be put on the bows, or lowered the spears in their hands and no longer held them horizontally forward, preparing to charge into the battle formation.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Ren also glanced at the cavalrymen behind him. With just a simple look, the cavalrymen under his command relaxed their bodies and stopped tense postures. They changed from a tiger coming down the mountain to a fat tiger with its belly exposed and resting lazily after a full meal.

For a moment, the two sides, who were originally on the verge of a tense situation, suddenly became harmonious.

"Since General Zhang is here, you can follow me back to the camp. I will report this matter to you in person." Zhang Ren bowed and offered to be the one to report the matter to Liu Zhang.

"Of course I will. Thank you, General." Zhang Xiu, who had fled here like a lost dog, bowed to Zhang Ren to express his gratitude.

But when Zhang Xiu expressed his thanks, he saw that Zhang Ren no longer looked at him, but looked behind him. He couldn't help but look back, and saw smoke and dust behind him. He thought that Xia Yu and Gao Shuo, who were chasing him, took advantage of his stay here to catch up with him.

"This group of people are Generals Xia Yu and Gao Shuo under Guo Si. I didn't expect that they would chase us here. If we don't defeat them, we won't be able to travel west safely... General, please wait a moment. I will defeat these bandits for you." Zhang Xiu requested.

Zhang Ren clenched the spear in his hand and nodded in agreement: "Then I'll trouble you, General Zhang. I'll be here to help you."

After saying this, Zhang Xiu turned his horse around and gave an order, leaving more than fifty riders to guard his aunt Zou and teacher Jia Xu, while the rest followed him and rushed in the opposite direction towards the troops of Xia Yu and Gao Shuo who were chasing him.

People are like dragons, horses are like tigers, and the wind and dust are rolling, sweeping in all directions.

Zhang Ren half-squinted his eyes and carefully observed the fight between the Liangzhou knights. As a cavalry general from Shu, although he had good riding skills and martial arts that were unmatched in battle, he was born in Shu after all, and was not as proficient in the cavalry's separation and convergence of fighting as the Liangzhou generals.

Now that he has the opportunity, he should observe carefully, take the essence and discard the dross, and train a cavalry team that is unparalleled in the world for his master.

Zhang Xiu led his troops to collide head-on with the pursuing cavalry, but his tactics were different from the usual harassment tactics of the Shu cavalry. In fact, he adopted a style of attack that involved colliding with the enemy's formation and breaking through its lines without hesitation.

This is a bit like the famous Youzhou Tuqi. Tuqi means brave and sharp and can clash with the enemy. From the literal meaning, we can know that Tuqi is a cavalry unit that can charge into battle.

"The cavalry of Liangzhou is not inferior to the cavalry of Youzhou." Zhang Ren sighed, the soldiers and horses of the border states are generally stronger, better than those of the Central Province, and even better than the cavalry of the remote Shu land.

While Zhang Ren was watching the battle comfortably, Zhang Xiu's eyes were red with killing intent. He held his spear in his hand and rode his horse, charging towards Xia Yu and Gao Shuo's troops without caring about his own life. As a native of Tongzhou, to be honest, he should not be so heartless.

However, due to the death of his uncle Zhang Ji, he and the troops of Li Jue and Guo Si were already in a situation of blood feud. If the enemies met, they would fight to the death.

Secondly, Zhang Xiu showed his sincerity to the Shu cavalry general named Zhang Ren. The more fiercely he fought with the pursuing Liangzhou cavalry, the more Zhang Ren would trust him, and Liu Yizhou would accept him.

"Crazy, crazy." Faced with the crazy Zhang Xiu, Xia Yu had the idea of ​​retreating. Originally, he wanted to keep a distance from Zhang Xiu and his group, neither too close nor too far away, and wait until most of Guo Si's troops were about to catch up, and then go forward to entangle Zhang Xiu.

But Zhang Xiu was going further and further away, and if they went any further they were afraid they would run into Shu soldiers, and it would be difficult for them to catch up. So he gave chase with all his might, hoping to entangle Zhang Xiu until Guo Si arrived with a large group of troops.

But given the current situation, they might be killed by Zhang Xiu before Guo Si arrives.

It is worth mentioning here that after he engaged Zhang Xiu's cavalry, he no longer had Zhang Xiu's troops blocking his view. In the chaos of the two armies, he saw from the side that there were more than a thousand cavalrymen raiding the formation behind Zhang Xiu, and a large banner with the word "Zhang" on it was erected in the middle of the knights.

It goes without saying that these are the cavalry of the Shu army.

However, the Shu cavalry seemed to have no intention of joining the battle. They just wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the fight, wanting the people of Liangzhou to fight among themselves.

This was also the reason why Xia Yu and his group of more than a thousand cavalry were able to fight with the furious Zhang Xiu. Otherwise, as long as the Shu soldiers made a few movements and advanced a certain distance, they would have to flee in panic.

But the more they feared something, the more it would come. The Shu army's banner suddenly moved, and more than a thousand Shu knights were divided into several teams, with more than a hundred knights in the front rushing towards them.

Seeing this, Xia Yu suddenly felt a heavy pressure. Perhaps he could fight to the death until Guo Si led the troops to arrive, but by that time, he would probably only have a few men left.

As a general, his relatives and children were the foundation of his life. "Retreat... Retreat..." Xia Yu shouted to Gao Shuo, and at the same time called on his knights. He kept shouting, and his hands did not stop moving. He turned his horse and galloped towards the east.

Hearing this, Gao Shuo, who was fighting, was a little confused for a moment, but he soon came to his senses and also turned his horse and left. Since Xia Yu had left, he naturally would not stay here.

They came quickly and left quickly. Xia Yu and Gao Shuo's troops did not evacuate without order. After leaving behind dozens of rear guards, the two led their troops eastward.

With the combined efforts of Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu, after a refreshing blow like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, all the death squads left behind by Xia Yu and Gao Shuo were defeated.

"General Zhang, there is a lot of smoke and dust rising in the east, we must not chase them lightly." Zhang Ren was 80% convinced of Zhang Xiu's surrender after seeing how hard Zhang Xiu fought. Therefore, he stopped his plan to chase after Xia Yu and Gao Shuo to prevent Zhang Xiu from making any mistakes if he acted rashly.

"Yes." Zhang Xiu bowed and agreed, pretending to be obedient and submissive.

At this point, the soldiers under Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu let down their guard against each other. After all, there is a saying that having carried guns together, studied together, and gone to the countryside together is the best way to achieve mutual trust and friendship.

Then the two teams headed west. Here Zhang Ren rode past the fifty-odd horsemen who were left behind when Zhang Xiu led his troops to fight. He saw two guards among the fifty-odd horsemen, one was a beautiful woman, and the other was a slightly wealthy scholar.

Zhang Ren did not ask any further questions. He just glanced at him calmly and then left.

……

Wuzhangyuan, the main camp of the Shu army.

"Zhang Ji was killed by Li Jue and Guo Si, and Zhang Xiu came to surrender?" Liu Zhang was a little confused. Zhang Ji had surrendered to him not long ago, and it had been less than three or five days, and Zhang Ji died. This was a little hard for him to believe.

How could such a good person die?

Although he couldn't believe it, Liu Zhang was somewhat relieved in his heart. Given Zhang Ji's current status - Emperor Liu Xie granted Zhang Ji the title of General of Cavalry. Although it was due to the court's indiscriminate granting of official titles, it was still a genuine General of Cavalry awarded by the court.

The position of General of Cavalry is better than Liu Zhang's current position as the military supervisor and governor of Yizhou. If Zhang Ji really surrenders to him, it will be difficult for him to find a suitable position for Zhang Ji.

Because in name, Zhang Ji's position was higher than Liu Zhang's, but in actual power, Liu Zhang was far superior to Zhang Ji. A low-ranking official had great power, or a high-ranking official had little power. How could this be?

In fact, Liu Zhang didn't care much about Zhang Ji's life or death. Zhang Ji was dead, and there was nothing to regret. What he cared about was Zhang Ji's nephew Zhang Xiu who came to surrender.

Zhang Xiu was a brave general.

When Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao for the first time, he was resentful because Cao Cao married Zhang Ji's widow, so he raised an army in anger, causing Cao Cao to lose his eldest son Cao Ang, his nephew Cao Anmin, and the fierce general Dian Wei.

Cao Anmin and Dian Wei are secondary here. The death of his eldest son Cao Ang was a huge blow to Cao Cao. Firstly, Cao Cao broke up with Madam Ding, and secondly, when Cao Cao was fighting in all directions, he lost the most suitable person to sit in the central government for Cao Cao.

The second time, Zhang Xiu listened to Jia Xu's advice and surrendered to Cao Cao. In the Battle of Guandu, Zhang Xiu fought hard and made great contributions. Then Zhang Xiu followed Cao Cao to defeat Yuan Tan in Nanpi, and his fief increased to two thousand households. At that time, the population of the world had dropped drastically, and only one household out of ten remained. Among the generals, no fief had reached a thousand households.

As a surrendered general who had an old grudge against Cao Cao, Zhang Xiu stood out from the crowd due to his military achievements and was granted a fief of 2,000 households, which shows Zhang Xiu's ability and martial arts.

It's just a pity that Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, did not have the magnanimity and generosity of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu. Zhang Xiu was scolded by Cao Pi several times: "You killed my brother, how can you bear to look at me!" Zhang Xiu felt uneasy and had to be secretly executed. Zhang Xiu's son Zhang Quan was inexplicably involved in Wei Feng's rebellion and was killed as Wei Feng's accomplice.

Both father and son did not have a good end, so it is no wonder that Cao Wei failed to unify the world.

"Emperor Wen was gifted with literary talent, and he could write well. He was well-informed, knowledgeable, and talented. If he had a broad mind, was fair and honest, had a high ambition, was virtuous, and had a broad heart, then he would be a wise ruler in ancient times!"

Liu Zhang couldn't help but recite Chen Shou's comments on Cao Pi. Under Chen Shou's Spring and Autumn style of writing, the great Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, was denigrated beyond recognition.

Gifted with eloquence, able to write eloquently, well-informed, and versatile, there is no need to look at these, they are just polite remarks, just like because a student is naughty, the teacher invites the parents, in front of the parents, the teacher will not criticize the student directly, but will lay the groundwork first, saying that the student is smart, but... but the real evaluation comes after that.

When used in the comments on Cao Pi, the "but" in the teacher's mouth refers to the word "若". "若" means, if, or hypothetically, which means that Cao Pi did not have anything behind the word "若".

Cao Pi was not magnanimous, fair, in accordance with the will of heaven, and had no virtue throughout the world. This actually showed that he was petty, narrow-minded, and lacked moral integrity. It was no surprise that Cao Wei's reign was short.

With this thought in mind, Liu Zhang shook off all distractions, stepped out of the central army tent and headed towards the gate. Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu and others who had come to surrender were waiting for him at the gate.

"Jia Xu of Liangzhou, I meet Liu Yizhou."

"Zhang Xiu of Liangzhou, meet Liu Yizhou."

Jia Xu was in front and Zhang Xiu was behind, they staggered their positions and bowed to Liu Zhang.

"Where is General Zhang Piaoqi's head?" Liu Zhang did not answer, but asked Zhang Ji.

Zhang Xiu was a little stunned when he heard this. He was wondering whether he should take out his uncle Zhang Ji's head. After all, Zhang Ji's death was tragic and it should not be revealed.

But facing Liu Zhang's order, Zhang Xiu hesitated for a moment and took out Zhang Ji's head, untied the cloth wrapped around it, and revealed the tragic scene of Zhang Ji dying with his eyes open.

"I originally intended to join the cavalry in a righteous cause to kill the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si, but I didn't expect the two thieves to be cunning and the cavalry fled in the middle of the journey. God, how can you be so unkind to the cavalry?"

Liu Zhang's words were so touching that he stretched out his hand, not sparing the blood, and covered Zhang Ji's eyes, which were still open in death.

"Just rest in peace, my cavalry. I will kill the two thieves, Li Jue and Guo Si, and offer their heads to you. As for your wife and children, I will take care of them and not let you worry in the afterlife." (End of this chapter)