Ji Han Liu Zhang

Changan.

Zhang Ji looked down from the city wall and saw that Chang'an, the Western Capital of the Han Dynasty, was a desolate and deserted scene. There were no bustling people and commoners in the city, nor rows of houses, but only broken walls and traces of war.

The ancient capital of the Western Han Dynasty, now Xijing of the Eastern Han Dynasty, has become what it is today. The root cause is that first the traitor Dong Zhuo rebelled, then Li and Guo committed crimes, and the Qiang and Hu people from Liangzhou invaded the three prefectures from time to time, which led to the current desolate Chang'an city.

Zhang Ji lowered his eyes and his expression became a little gloomy. Born in Gaoling, Fengyi, he was saddened by this scene. He felt infinite sorrow in his heart. If Chang'an was like this, what about the world?

It is unfortunate for the Han family to have come to this.

"De Rong." Wei Kang, who was born in the Jingzhao Wei family, found out where Zhang Ji was. He followed the horse path to the city wall and called Zhang Ji.

Zhang Ji was awakened by Wei Kang's call. He looked towards the source of the voice and replied naturally, "It's Brother Yuanjiang!"

"Yeah." Wei Kang nodded. As he walked towards Zhang Ji, he looked at the scenery in Chang'an City.

When he reached Zhang Ji's side, Wei Kang first sighed deeply. He lamented the desolation of Chang'an City: "Chang'an, Chang'an, there is no peace!"

"The unrest in Chang'an is a thing of the past." Zhang Ji put on a smile, "Now that Liu Yizhou is in charge of Guanzhong, Chang'an will be safe, and the people and elders of Guanzhong will be able to enjoy peace."

"Yes." Wei Kang responded affirmatively. Thinking of Zhang Ji's new position, he said, "There are no pedestrians in Chang'an now, and all the houses are burned down. If we want to clean up Chang'an, we need to make great efforts."

"De Jong, as the Chang'an Order, you have a heavy burden on your shoulders."

"Chang'an Ling." Zhang Ji's face straightened up when Wei Kang mentioned his official position. Last night, the wise Lord Liu Zhang summoned him to consult him about the customs and people of Guanzhong, and at the end of the conversation, he granted him the position of Chang'an Ling.

For Zhang Ji, the position of Chang'an Ling was a great promotion, this was what Zhang Ji thought.

Zhang Ji believed that he had only served as a minor official in the county and a right-hand man in the past. Although he was later selected as a filial and honest official, he had never been to the capital to serve as an official in the Lang Office. His qualifications were not very strong, so he was not qualified to take on the position of Chang'an Magistrate.

After all, with his qualifications and family background, it would have been impossible for him to be the county magistrate in Xijing, the ancient capital of the Han Dynasty, but Lord Ming chose him anyway.

Zhang was puzzled, but did not dare to ask more questions. He just showed some humility and made concessions as usual when Ming Gong appointed him as the magistrate of Chang'an. However, Ming Gong was determined to appoint him as the magistrate of Chang'an and did not accept his concession.

"Brother Yuanjiang is right. The post of Chang'an Ling is a heavy responsibility." Zhang Ji nodded, his mind immersed in the conversation with Liu Zhang last night, and then he responded.

"You have entrusted me with such an important task. I will do my best to help you build a prosperous Chang'an City."

Zhang seemed to be swearing to Wei Kang, and also to himself, but no matter who he was swearing to, he had already made up his mind to bring new vitality to the desolate Chang'an no matter what.

Wei Kang smiled. Born in Jingzhao, he was very happy about Zhang Ji's determination. He also believed that Zhang Ji, who was known for his talent, could do what he said: "With Brother Derong's talent, he will live up to your trust."

"I heard that Brother Yuanjiang was appointed as the magistrate of Xinfeng County?" Zhang Ji changed the subject and turned the topic to Wei Kang.

"Yes." Wei Kang nodded, and said with a worried look on his face: "Your Excellency has appointed me as the magistrate of Xinfeng County, but I am afraid that I am not qualified for the position given my talents."

"What kind of words are you talking about?" Zhang Ji shook his head and denied it, "I heard that the former Taiwei Yang Biao once said that although Wei Jun is young, he has the demeanor of an old man, and is a proud and capable horse that can run a thousand miles."

"With your talent, General Yuan, you are qualified to be the magistrate of Xinfeng County, or even the governor of a county. Don't underestimate yourself. This is not the behavior of a gentleman." Zhang Ji encouraged Wei Kang.

"How dare I aspire to be the county magistrate." Wei Kang smiled and shook his head: "I just hope I can be competent as the magistrate of Xinfeng County and live up to your expectations."

When Zhang heard this, he thought Wei Kang was being humble. After all, considering Wei Kang's background, he would sooner or later be awarded an official salary of one or two thousand stones. If he took a step further, he might even be able to become the governor of a state.

Zhang knew about Wei Kang's past. Wei Kang, who came from the Jingzhao Wei family, was not like him, who came from a poor family and was just a minor official in the county when he first entered the officialdom. When Wei Kang was fifteen years old, he was appointed as the county magistrate's clerk and was able to receive comments from the Grand Marshal Yang Biao. With Wei Kang's experience and past, he could not achieve what a poor boy like him could.

In fact, Zhang Ji believed that it would be more appropriate to give the post of Chang'an Magistrate to Wei Kang. After all, Wei Kang had great talents and a profound family background, and was much more suitable for the position than him, a boy from a poor family.

"Speaking of which, my lord, are you planning to clean up Chang'an before entering the city?" Wei Kang expressed his doubts. He didn't understand why my lord Liu Zhang didn't enter Chang'an City immediately after taking it, but instead stationed outside the city.

Zhang Ji shook his head and said, "No, the reason why you didn't enter Chang'an is not because it is in ruins, but because Li Jue and Guo Si are now on the run and the culprit has not been eliminated. You feel unsatisfied, so you don't want to enter the city."

"So that's how it is." Wei Kang nodded and said, "That means you have to wait until you have hunted down and killed the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si, and beheaded the two main culprits, before you can enter the city."

Zhang Ji smiled and nodded: "You are very strict with yourself, so if you don't behead Li Jue and Guo Si, you can't give an explanation to the people of Guanzhong. You are ashamed to enter the city. Only by killing Li Jue and Guo Si can this war be considered complete and successful."

"I heard that Li Jue and Guo Si fled far away and went to Beidi County, but I don't know what the current situation is?" Zhang Ji showed worry here. Li Jue and Guo Si abandoned Chang'an City and fled to Beidi County, which was Li Jue's hometown. If they could not stop Li Jue before he arrived in Beidi County, it would take some effort to kill Li Jue and Guo Si later.

"With Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu leading the light cavalry to pursue, they should be able to catch up with Li Jue and Guo Si. And if Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu can delay the pace of Li Jue and Guo Si, and Gan Ning, Lou Fa and other generals will come to support them, they will definitely not escape Li Jue and Guo Si." Wei Kang looked relaxed, and his tone was also quite relaxed. "Besides, the two thieves like Li Jue and Guo Si have no land left now, and they are forced by you. I think there are very few people willing to follow Li Jue and Guo Si... It is possible that some of Li Jue and Guo Si's subordinates are greedy for your bounty, thinking that no matter life or death, as long as they kill Li Jue and Guo Si, they will get a huge reward of thousands of gold and a title of nobility, so they will commit the act of killing their master and ask for a reward from you with the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si."

Wei Kang looked ahead and said that he did not care about Li Jue and Guo Si who lost Chang'an and fled. He believed that even if Li Jue and Guo Si were not caught up and killed by the pursuing troops led by Zhang Ren, Zhang Xiu, Gan Ning and Lou Fa, they would be harmed by the greed of the soldiers under the two thieves.

"General Yuan is right." Zhang Ji agreed. "The subordinates of Li and Guo are mostly from Liangzhou. It is common for Liangzhou soldiers to be greedy for money and forget about loyalty... I remember that Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu was killed by a soldier named Zhihu Chier, and his head was sent to Chang'an to receive a reward. It is possible that the subordinates of Li and Guo are already planning to harm them."

"In other words, given the evil deeds and past that are hated by both humans and gods, there is no place for these two thieves, Li Jue and Guo Si, in the vast world." Wei Kang added with a smile, and then with hatred towards Li Jue and Guo Si, he gritted his teeth and said, "You and I can wait for the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si to be delivered. There will be a time when the heads of these two thieves, Li Jue and Guo Si, will be hung on the top of the city wall of Chang'an."

"These two evil villains, Li Jue and Guo Si, should be hung high on the city wall for three days to show the elders of Guanzhong, so as to relieve some of the resentment in the hearts of the elders of Guanzhong." Zhang Ji's eyes were slightly fierce at this moment. Even though he was usually upright and peaceful, when he mentioned Li Jue and Guo Si, the two evil villains who caused chaos in Guanzhong, there would be a bit of gnashing of teeth.

The Shu army camp outside Chang'an city.

Liu Zhang was meeting with the Guanzhong generals who had surrendered to him. Standing before him now were Hou Xuan and Liang Xing, who had a broken arm. In addition, he already knew that Cheng Yin, one of the Guanzhong generals, had been killed by Li Jue.

"Alas, Mr. Cheng, who was killed by two thieves." Liu Zhang sighed, but it was unknown whether he was sighing for Cheng Yin's unfortunate fate of dying before the great victory, or because he was sighing that after Cheng Yin's death, he would not have to pretend to be nice to Cheng Yin and would receive less reward.

"Cheng Qing died for his country, and I should take care of his family. But I don't know where Cheng Qing's family is now?"

When Hou Xuan heard this, he immediately clasped his hands and replied, "My Lord, Mr. Cheng's family was killed by Li Jue and Guo Si."

"Are there lucky enough to be one or two people left alive?" Liu Zhang asked.

Hou Xuan looked dejected. He replied, "Mr. Cheng's family is unfortunate. None of Mr. Cheng's immediate relatives survived. Only one or two distant descendants are still alive."

"How painful!" Liu Zhang sighed heavily. Now, he could even save the bulk of the pension.

"If that is the case, I will bury Cheng Qing with honor. In addition, although Cheng Qing's sons and nephews are distant relatives, I will also provide them with relief and reward."

"Your Excellency's benevolence is unparalleled in the world. I believe that Mr. Cheng can rest in peace in peace in his nine springs... I would like to thank you on behalf of Mr. Cheng." Hou Xuan knelt down and thanked Liu Zhang on behalf of Cheng Yin.

Liu Zhang waved his hand and motioned for the candidate to stand up: "This is what Cheng Qing deserves. There is no need to thank him for anything."

After discussing Cheng Yin's matter, Liu Zhang comforted Hou Xuan and Liang Xing: "You two have abandoned evil and joined the light, and returned to the right path after straying. This is also a great achievement. After killing Li Jue and Guo Si, I will reward you... Now you two should take a good rest. The military affairs are busy and the war is tiring. I see that you two look haggard. You should take care of your health."

Liang Xing, who had lost an arm and knew that he had no hope in the military career, had no other thoughts. He only wished to be a rich man for the rest of his life. So he knelt down with one arm in a gesture of greeting, and thanked Liu Zhang, saying, "Thank you, sir."

Hou Xuan was intact, and he wanted to show his attitude to Liu Zhang, so he cupped his hands and said, "My lord, I heard that Li Jue and Guo Si, the two thieves, have fled far away to Beidi County. I am willing to help capture and kill them. I hope you will grant my approval."

"It is enough for you to have such intention. As for the matter of pursuing and killing Li Jue and Guo Si, someone has already done it. You should take a good rest." Liu Zhang politely declined Hou Xuan's request. He knew that Hou Xuan did not really want to rush to fight with Li Jue and Guo Si, and was just being polite.

Just as Liu Zhang expected, Hou Xuan was merely expressing his loyalty, so after Liu Zhang politely declined, Hou Xuan said nothing more but just promised.

After saying a few words of consolation, Hou Xuan and Liang Xing took their leave.

After Liu Zhang watched the two men leave, he asked Peng Ying, who was rushing to the central army tent, "What's the situation?"

The situation here naturally refers to the escape of Li Jue and Guo Si. Bing Cao Peng Ying immediately responded and threw out the news he received: "Li Jue and Guo Si were approached by Generals Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu. The two thieves panicked and led their troops to attack Huangbai City and defend it."

"Generals Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu had only cavalry under their command, so it was not convenient for them to attack the city. Therefore, Generals Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu only led light cavalry to patrol around Huangbai City to prevent the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si from escaping... In addition, Generals Gan Ning and Lou Fa sent news that they were heading towards Huangbai City. According to the distance they had traveled, they should have arrived at the foot of Huangbai City and assisted Generals Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu in besieging the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si."

"That's great." Liu Zhang clapped his hands and praised.

After learning that Li Jue and Guo Si were besieged in Huangbai City, Liu Zhang quickly responded. He appointed Xun You, the chief clerk and military advisor, to control the Shu army camp outside Chang'an City, while he led more than 10,000 troops northward towards Huangbai City.

Yellow and white city.

Li Jue and Guo Si, with haggard faces and decadent looks, stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the Shu army outside the city who were digging trenches and setting up chevaux de frise. Judging from the Shu army's actions, they were planning to trap them in the city and not give them any chance of survival.

"In two or three days at most, the trenches dug by the Shu army and the chevaux de frise they set up will completely encircle the entire Huangbai City." Guo Si gave his estimate, but he spoke weakly.

Li Jue nodded, with a bitter look on his face. This was the so-called hero's end. This hero from Liangzhou had now reached a dead end and saw no hope of survival.

"We can't let the Shu army act on its own outside the city. We must lead our troops out of the city to attack and kill the Shu soldiers who are digging trenches and setting up chevaux de frise." Li Jue stated his response plan, and he was determined to put up a fight.

"But today our army is still exhausted from running around. Tomorrow, when the soldiers have recovered their strength, I will lead them out of the city and have a big fight with the Shu army, thus destroying their siege plan." (End of this chapter)