Ji Han Liu Zhang

Lueyang.

From afar, Gan Ning, standing on the top of the city wall, saw the Liangzhou bandits gradually moving away, until they disappeared from his sight. He felt no emotion at all.

It was snowing heavily and the north wind was blowing violently at the time, so it was not surprising that the bandits from Liangzhou retreated.

"Gan Jiu, have the scouts hang around at a distance to see if the Liangzhou bandits have really left... Remember, send a few careful scouts to investigate all directions and make sure no place is missed."

The departure of Ma Teng and Han Sui did not mean the end of the war. After all, it was unpredictable whether the enemy would come or go. Therefore, Gan Ning was cautious and asked Gan Jiu to send scouts to investigate the situation.

"Yes." Gan Jiulang responded loudly, then he hurried down the city wall, preparing to go out of the city to investigate the situation of the Liangzhou thieves.

Within a few days, after thoroughly investigating the area around Lueyang City and finding no trace of the Liangzhou bandits, and confirming that the Liangzhou bandits had indeed fled to another place, Gan Ning's tense heart relaxed a little.

Of course, he was only a little lax. Gan Ning, who was both aggressive and steady, still devoted himself to the task of defending the city. He sent out scouts from afar every day to find out the situation around Lueyang City from the greatest distance to prevent others from sneaking into Lueyang City and catching it off guard.

At the same time, Gan Ning also made proper arrangements for defending the city. There were constant patrols on the top of the city walls, and under the strict military orders, the soldiers defending the city would not be allowed to slack off in the slightest, always giving the enemy the impression that they were invulnerable.

In addition to the top priority of defending the city, Gan Ning sent envoys to Longdi to establish communication with Wen Pin who was stationed in Longdi, and they had exchanges of news and intelligence.

When the envoy sent to Longdi returned and brought Gan Ning a piece of news, Gan Ning was overjoyed.

"My lord, we have arrived at Chencang!" Gan Ning declared to Gan Jiu and Gan Shisan.

Hearing the word "Ming Gong", Gan Jiu's eyes suddenly lit up. He took a step forward, and his joy came from the bottom of his heart: "Ming Gong has arrived in Chencang, but he continued to travel west and came to us."

Gan Ning shook his head calmly and said with a smile, "The mountains are covered with snow and the north wind is biting. Although the Guanlong Road is slightly flatter, it is still not easy to travel in this winter... The last stop of your westward inspection this time will be Chencang, not Lueyang."

Upon hearing this, the light in Gan Jiu's eyes dimmed a little, and his expression became a little depressed.

"Besides, a son of a wealthy family should not sit in the hall. Given your importance, it is not appropriate for you to travel in simple attire and come to the battlefield in Lueyang." Gan Ning's expression also showed some disappointment, but it was not as strong as the disappointment on Gan Jiu's face.

"General Qu is right. It's so cold today that it's cold even if we hide in the house, let alone running into the wilderness. We might even freeze our fingers and toes off." Gan Jiu put away his disappointed look, nodded, and responded to Gan Ning.

"No hurry." Gan Ning patted Gan Jiu on the shoulder. He laughed happily and said, "Sooner or later, you will send troops to Liangzhou and advance west to here. By then, I will meet you again."

After comforting the lost Gan Jiu, Gan Ning sighed: "Jiu, you have followed me for more than ten years since Ba County, but I never saw you and I separate. You longed to meet me so much..." At the end of the sigh, Gan Ning's tone was a little sour, but he didn't know whether it was true or deliberately mixed in.

After he finished speaking, Gan Ning looked at Gan Jiu, who had followed him since he was a teenager. After so many years and so many things, his figure gradually became taller, he grew a beard, and his face became dignified. He had indeed grown into a husband. Although he could not be called a great man, he was on the path to becoming a great man.

"General Qu, what are you talking about? Back then, you gave up your identity as a ranger and ran to Shu County to be an official. Didn't I repeatedly invite you and your brothers to stay together and have fun together in Ba County?" Upon hearing this, Gan Jiu hurriedly explained.

"Oh, then let me ask you, who is more important in your heart, me or you?" Gan Ning asked mischievously. Gan Shisan next to him looked at Gan Jiu with a look of anticipation and a smile, staring at his mouth, wanting to know how Gan Jiu would respond.

"This..." Gan Jiu couldn't help but touch the back of his head, as if he had encountered a difficult problem, racking his brains to come up with a best of both worlds answer. Gan Jiu, who was usually alert, had a flash of inspiration and gave a response.

"Sir Qu is my elder brother, and you are my ruler. One is righteousness, and the other is loyalty. Loyalty and righteousness have always been valued together, and there is no distinction between the two. It is not that loyalty can be superior to righteousness, but righteousness can be superior to loyalty."

"You are such a slippery guy, Jiu." Gan Ning laughed loudly upon hearing this. He patted Gan Jiu's shoulder even harder and said, "You want to be both loyal and righteous. You are indeed a little greedy."

"With a general like my brother and a monarch like you, who are both loyal and righteous, isn't it easy for me?!" Gan Jiu smiled.

As Gan Jiu spoke these words with such confidence that they were a bit conceited, Gan Ning, Gan Jiu, Gan Shisan and the others couldn't help but laugh out loud. On the top of the city wall, their hearty laughter shook the snow on the wall.

Guanlong Road, Longdi.

Wen Pin, who was stationed here, looked at the snow on the wall of the village. He ordered the soldiers to clean it up to prevent the snow from crushing the wall. Otherwise, it would take a lot of effort to rebuild it. It is better to clear the hidden dangers as early as possible.

"My lord, you have arrived at Chencang." Wen Pin seemed to be speaking to himself, but he was actually speaking to his cousin Wen San who was standing behind him.

When Wen San heard the news, he first showed a happy face, but after a moment he hesitated: "Now is a time of heavy snow, it is not the right time to attack Liangzhou. What do you want to do in Chencang?"

Wen San initially suspected that Liu Zhang wanted to take advantage of the heavy snow to launch a surprise attack on Liangzhou, but when he thought about the current climate and environment, he thought it was unlikely.

"Nothing else, just an inspection." Wen Pin shook his head and explained, "Although Guanzhong and Hanzhong are connected by three roads: Ziwu, Baoxiang, and Tangluo, all three roads are dangerous and not conducive to travel. Only the Chencang Road is slightly flatter and wider."

After spending some time in Hanzhong and Wudu, and since joining Liu Zhang's camp, Wen Pin has been studying the astronomy and geography of Guanzhong and Shu, so he is now very familiar with the geography of Guanxi. "At present, Longyou has not been conquered, and there are some hidden dangers. If the Liangzhou bandits cut off the Chencang Road and cut off the connection between Guanzhong and Shu, it will cause great harm... So Ming Gong personally inspected Chencang to prevent any accidents."

"So that's how it is." Wen San nodded.

……

In the Chencang official temple.

Liu Zhang put down the military intelligence document in his hand, his face relaxed and happy. Although he did not tell the content of the military intelligence document handed to him by Gan Ning and Wen Pin, his expression revealed the content of the document.

Fa Zheng, the military advisor, bowed to Liu Zhang and asked, "My lord, is there any happy event in Lueyang and Longdi?" Fa Zheng observed Liu Zhang's expression and his eyes moved around on his face. He naturally noticed the joy on Liu Zhang's face.

"Ma Teng and Han Sui were trapped under the fortified city, helpless. In addition, it was snowing heavily, with the snow piled up several feet. Such circumstances were certainly not conducive to attacking. Therefore, Ma Teng and Han Sui led their troops to retreat." While handing the military information document to Fa Zheng, Liu Zhang briefly described the contents of the document.

Fa Zheng took the document and after reading it, he smiled and said, "Although Ma Teng and Han Sui retreated because of the heavy snow, the two bandits failed to capture the city and suffered heavy losses. In addition, their camp was destroyed by General Gan's night raid. They left because they were worried and did not dare to stay outside Lueyang City."

Zheng Du, the commander of Chencang, said loudly: "Ma Teng and Han Sui are just ordinary people...Lueyang is an important place and Longdi is a key road. The two bandits led a large army here to recapture the two places, but they retreated due to heavy snow. It's really unbearable."

Zheng Du, who was a staff member under Liu Zhang, was now arranged by Liu Zhang to serve as the magistrate of Chencang. It seemed a bit of a waste of talent for a staff member to serve as the magistrate of a county, but considering that Chencang was now serving as an outpost for the attack on Liangzhou, it was heavily garrisoned with troops and stored a lot of food and grass. Moreover, Chencang was an important place connecting Bashu and controlled one end of the Chencang Road. It was a very important place.

Therefore, although the post of Chencang Ling was the post of a county magistrate, the responsibility was no less heavy than that of a county governor. So Zheng Du accepted the post of Chencang Ling calmly and was somewhat happy about it, as it was a heavy responsibility to be the Chencang Ling.

"However, the retreat of the two bandits Ma Teng and Han Sui was a wise move. Otherwise, with Gan Xingba in Lueyang and Wen Zhongye in Longdi, coupled with heavy snow and biting north winds, the two bandits would not be able to take Lueyang and Longdi even if they had worn out their elite soldiers." Wu Yi, the prefect of Fufeng, said a good word for Ma Teng and Han Sui.

But soon, Wu Yi said with regret: "It's a pity that Ma Teng and Han Sui are not tenacious enough. When they encountered a small setback, they led their troops away. They have no courage of Liangzhou heroes. Otherwise, we can use Lueyang and Longdi to exhaust the elite soldiers under the command of the two thieves, and Liangzhou will be easy to capture."

Fa Zheng continued Wu Yi's words and calculated, "The two thieves Ma Teng and Han Sui will probably try to lure the Qiang and Hu tribesmen, and then march east when the weather warms up next spring... The two thieves have shown great favor to the Qiang and Hu tribesmen, so it's possible that they will be able to lure tens of thousands of them. Although the Qiang and Hu tribesmen have different armor and weapons, and they don't form a formation when they line up, having so many people will still be a big problem."

As he spoke slowly, Fa Zheng's brows gradually furrowed. He was deeply worried about Ma Teng and Han Sui's recruitment of Qiang and Hu. After all, even if 50,000 pigs were killed freely, it would take several days, and tens of thousands of Qiang and Hu would cause considerable trouble to Liu Zhang's attack on Longyou.

“But when there are too many people, their hearts will be divided. Take Ma Teng and Han Sui for example. They attacked each other in Tianshui County not long ago. It was only because they met us that they joined forces. Maybe they are more cautious against their allies than we are.” Fa Zheng sneered, and this sneer was directed at Ma Teng and Han Sui, the two heroes of Liangzhou.

"Next year, we will attack Longyou and conquer the two bandits Ma Teng and Han Sui. Then we may be able to use spies to destroy their alliance and create a rift between the two bandits. Then we can defeat Ma Teng and Han Sui and take Longyou in one fell swoop."

Although the real time to attack Longyou would have to wait until next year, as a strategist, he should be able to foresee opportunities and detect the enemy's weaknesses. Fa Zheng seemed to be unobstructed by the clouds and mist, and he saw at a glance the biggest problem between Ma Teng and Han Sui's alliance - mutual suspicion and lack of mutual trust.

"Your Excellency is right." Fufeng Governor Wu Yi nodded and agreed, "Ma Teng was recommended by your Excellency as the governor of Liang Province. He led his troops to capture Han Sui's old nest, Jincheng. Then Han Sui recruited the Qiang and Hu tribes, and with the help of the Qiang and Hu tribes, he led his troops to Tianshui County and killed Ma Teng's wife and children, leaving almost no one alive... There was a deep rift between the two bandits. They only joined forces reluctantly when they met a strong enemy, but they were very wary of each other and were afraid that the other would harm them. They were more worried about their allies than foreign enemies."

Liu Zhang stroked his hand and smiled, "What Xiaozhi said is as clear as seeing through fire. The enemy's situation is under our control. Why should we worry about not defeating Ma Han and taking Longyou?"

into the night.

The north wind was blowing hard, and the rustling sound of falling snow was extremely quiet, and could only be heard occasionally. Liu Zhang sat at the desk, holding a document in his hand, and read it carefully in the bright light of the room.

In the middle of the room, a charcoal fire was burning brightly. The hot flames spread out, forcing out the cold air outside. The temperature inside the house was like spring, and even a fine line of sweat appeared on Liu Zhang's forehead.

'Peng Ying and Lou Qi have already arrived in Tianshui County and met with many of the noble families in Tianshui County. The noble families in Tianshui County are all willing to serve and are unwilling to help Ma Teng and Han Sui in their cruelty.'

Liu Zhang put his hands together and folded the document handed to him by Peng Ying. The news brought by this document was also a happy event. Together with the news handed in by Gan Ning and Wen Pin, today was a double happiness.

Liu Zhang was not surprised at the attitude of most of the Tianshui County nobles to surrender. It didn't matter whether they were afraid of his powerful military might or were loyal to the Han Dynasty and wanted to assist him. As long as the Tianshui County nobles stood on his side, it was enough.

However, Liu Zhang had not expected that Ma Teng would join hands with Han Sui to fight against him. After all, Ma Teng in history was not an ambitious man, otherwise he would not have abandoned his troops, entered the court as an official, and entrusted his life and death to Cao Cao.

On the contrary, Ma Chao, a filial son, in order to seize power in a region, joined hands with Han Sui when Cao Cao intended to seize Guanzhong. He ignored his father Ma Teng, who was an official in the court, and more than a hundred members of his clan, and stationed troops in Tongguan to block Cao's army from entering Guanzhong, showing the demeanor of a warlord.

Therefore, Liu Zhang had hoped that Ma Teng would surrender and become a leisurely rich man under his command. However, after Ma Teng surrendered, Han Sui would be alone and would not be able to achieve anything, and it would be easy to conquer Longyou.

"What a pity." Liu Zhang sighed, but he was not too sorry. It is common for things not to go as planned. Just prepare for the worst possible outcome. If there is any surprise, it will be a pleasant surprise.

With this thought in mind, Liu Zhang put on his cloak and walked outside. At this time, the wind was blowing westwards towards Liangzhou. Liangzhou was about to be hit by a wind. (End of this chapter)