Ji Han Liu Zhang

Changan.

In the middle of the night, Cai Yan, who was temporarily staying in the official residence, suddenly woke up from her sleep. She dreamed of the past, when Dong Zhuo, Li Guo rebelled one after another, and the Southern Xiongnu took the opportunity to rebel and plunder. The Left Wise King Liu Bao abducted her. She was helpless and fell into trouble among the Qiang and Hu.

Waking up from her sleep, Cai Yan listened to the north wind blowing outside and hitting the window frames, felt the warmth brought by the mattress made by Jibei, and when she thought about the county she was in, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Chang'an, Cai Yan softly read out the name of the county where she was currently. She was in the peaceful and stable city of Chang'an, but she had been free from the hands of the barbarians for some time. She no longer had to worry and be depressed.

All this was possible thanks to the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang. It was Liu Zhang who lent a helping hand and redeemed her from the Southern Xiongnu, saving her from having to live a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood in the barbarian tribe.

On the second day, Cai Yan came to the waiting room of the official residence in Chang'an with a grateful heart, waiting to be received by Grand Marshal Liu Zhang, which had been decided yesterday.

In the waiting room, Cai Yan gave her name. Not long after the attendant who delivered the message left, someone led Cai Yan to meet Grand Marshal Liu Zhang. After turning several corridors, Cai Yan met Liu Zhang in the courtyard of the official residence.

"But she is the daughter of the late Cai Zhonglang, Cai Zhaoji." Liu Zhang asked a question, but this sentence did not contain much questioning meaning. He was just following the convention to verify the identity of the visitor.

Cai Yan quickly bowed and said, "The daughter of the late Cai Zhonglang, Cai Zhaoji, greets the Grand Marshal." Cai Yan bowed and lowered her head, but at this moment she was feeling emotional in her heart, feeling emotional about the youthful face of the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang.

Cai Yan knew Liu Zhang's age and was fully prepared, but when she saw Liu Zhang, she couldn't help but sigh. The Grand Marshal who controlled Qin and Shu and was feared by the world looked like a young man, but from the majesty emanating from the man in front of her, Cai Yan could be sure that it was Grand Marshal Liu Zhang who held great power.

After announcing her name, Cai Yan thanked him respectfully, saying, "I have been trapped among the Xiongnu for several years. I thought I would never be able to return to the Han Dynasty, but with the help of the Grand Marshal, I was able to escape from the control of the Southern Xiongnu. I have no way to repay this kindness. I can only pray every day and bring grass and a ring to repay you."

"That's not necessary." Liu Zhang shook his head. "We, the Liu family, came to rule the world, but we were unable to stop the evil and violence, causing the children of the Han family to become the vassals of the barbarians. This is our Liu family's failure, and it is my failure. Rescuing you this time is just a way to save you, and I don't deserve any thanks."

Cai Yan's eyes were slightly stunned. She had never thought that Liu Zhang would say this, blaming himself for her being trapped in the Southern Xiongnu. With deep emotion in her heart, Cai Yan defended herself by saying, "This is the fault of Dong Zhuo, Li and Guo, the traitors of the country, not the fault of the Grand Marshal."

After talking with Cai Yan for a while, Liu Zhang said to her, "I heard that there were many ancient books in your home, more than a thousand volumes." He revealed the real intention of summoning Cai Yan.

"There are more than a thousand volumes." Cai Yan replied: "When my father passed away, he left behind more than four thousand volumes of books, but..."

Cai Yan was a little sad when she said this. She paused and continued, "Due to the chaos and displacement, very few ancient books have been preserved. However, I have read through the ancient books in the past and can still remember more than 400 articles."

"Would you be so kind as to write one or two of them, so that the ancient books will not be lost in the dust and cannot be passed down to future generations?" Liu Zhang asked.

Cai Yan nodded: "If it weren't for the Grand Marshal, I wouldn't be here today. The Grand Marshal has given orders, and I will obey them."

"Good, you can stay in the official residence temporarily to write ancient books. As for your future residence, I will have people repair it and build it for you." Liu Zhang gave his decision on Cai Yan.

"At your command." Cai Yan responded.

At the end of the conversation, Liu Zhang said, "Your father died in prison and was hastily buried. This time, I have ordered people to find your father's burial place, dig up the coffin, and rebury him with the ceremony of a noble. This will comfort your father's reputation."

"I will never forget your kindness, my lord." Cai Yan bowed down and expressed her gratitude to Liu Zhang again. After all, she was afraid that she would never be able to repay such a favor in her lifetime.

……

As winter approaches, the north wind blows hard, snow falls on the earth, and the sky and the earth, the mountains and the sea, all turn into the same color.

More than ten days had passed since he met Cai Yan. In his official residence, Liu Zhang flipped through the ancient books that Cai Yan had written from memory. This was the so-called inheritance of the unique knowledge of the sages, and it was a matter of establishing merit and virtue.

"As expected of the daughter of Cai Zhonglang, she is knowledgeable and has a strong memory, beyond the average person." Putting down the book in his hand, Liu Zhang sighed. Cai Yan's memory was truly extraordinary, as she could remember so many ancient texts word for word.

Chief Clerk Xun You was sitting at the table. He was also reading the ancient books written by Cai Yanshu, and he was completely immersed in it, as if he was intoxicated by tasting a jar of mellow old wine.

After a long time, after Xun You finished reading the ancient books that were delivered to him today, he stretched his arms, loosened his muscles and bones, and exhaled a long breath. His body and soul seemed to have undergone a baptism, and he looked radiant.

"This is truly top-quality wine, intoxicating." Xun You reluctantly turned his eyes away from the ancient books and began to deal with today's paperwork.

The first thing Liu Zhang and Xun You discussed was the war in Taiyuan County. With autumn rain and winter snow following one after another, Liu Zhang wisely ordered Gan Ning and Zhang Ren to lead their troops back to avoid the situation where the roads were blocked by heavy snow and there was a shortage of food and fodder.

At this moment, Gan Ning and Zhang Ren had retreated to Hedong, while in Hebei, Gao Gan and Yan Liang followed the retreat route of the Shu army and launched a pursuit after delaying their pace for several days.

At this moment, Gao Gan and Yan Liang arrived close to the border of Hedong.

Xun You said, "Mingsir, it is snowing and windy now, and the cold is pressing. Gao Gan and Yan Liang cannot attack against the will of heaven, and they will surely withdraw their troops soon."

"That's what I think." Liu Zhang nodded. Although there were examples of winter battles, such as Ding Feng fighting with short weapons in the snow, and Li Su entering Caizhou in the snow at night, Gao Gan and Yan Liang were not of that kind. After all, Gao Gan and Yan Liang were so slow in pursuing the enemy that they would most likely leave soon.

At this time, Xun You seemed to remember something. He chuckled and said, "I heard from Yecheng that Yuan Shao defeated us with Gao Gan and Yan Liang, and they were very meritorious. He first praised Gao Gan and Yan Liang, and then held a banquet in Yecheng. He was very happy and joyful."

At this point, Xun You and Liu Zhang each laughed out loud, and a happy atmosphere emerged in the conference room. It should be noted that Gan Ning and Zhang Ren's retreat was a voluntary retreat, and Gao Gan and Yan Liang took credit for it, and Yuan Shao enjoyed it. It is laughable to think about it.

The war in Taiyuan County ended temporarily. Gan Ning and Zhang Ren retreated to Hedong. It was winter again and the end of the year was approaching. The war between Hebei and Guanzhong subsided, and the world welcomed more than a month of peace.

……

The southern entrance of Queshu Valley.

Gao Gan and Yan Liang followed the retreating Shu army and pursued them here. Because the Southern Xiongnu troops in front were ambushed when they were chasing, the two of them followed the Shu army from a distance and almost escorted the Shu army out of the country. Therefore, everything went smoothly and they did not fall into the ambush set by Jia Xu.

However, although the Shu army withdrew on its own, the content of what Gao Gan and Yan Liang wrote in the battle report was not consistent with the actual situation. It cannot be said that they were trying to conceal a defeat and turn it into a victory. The two of them just made a fuss about the Shu army's retreat, and wrote that the Shu army's voluntary withdrawal was as if they were defeated by them, hoping to get some credit.

In any case, the army fought against the Shu army for several months, and even if they had no merit, they had worked hard. Moreover, the Shu army did retreat. As for why they retreated, whether they withdrew on their own or were repelled by Gao Gan and Yan Liang, this was not important. Gao Gan and Yan Liang only needed to make some changes in the war report, and a small but not insignificant merit would fall into their hands. With this, they could get some rewards from Yuan Shao and comfort the soldiers who had worked hard for several months.

"Will someone reveal the details to me, my lord?" Yan Liang was a little worried. He was afraid that someone would be ignorant and expose in front of Yuan Shao the fact that he and Gao Gan took advantage of the Shu army's voluntary withdrawal and falsely claimed to have defeated the Shu army and asked for credit.

"No, no." Gao Gan waved his hand indifferently.

"Except for the stubborn Tian Feng, no one in Yezhong dared to speak out and expose this matter in front of you. And Tian Feng is in prison now, how can he see you?"

"Besides, even if someone is ignorant and tries to speculate on the truth of our request for merit in front of you, my lord, as the saying goes, a distant relative cannot alienate a close relative, my uncle will believe me and will also be biased towards you, my beloved general, General Yan."

"In addition, the fact that the Shu army retreated and you and I followed them is indeed true. To be honest, the Shu army was forced to retreat because of our resistance. Who can tell the truth from the falsehood when we say that we drove them away?"

"Your Excellency is right." Yan Liang nodded, no longer having any doubts in his heart. In fact, he was not too worried. He would not be afraid even if the truth was revealed. It was just that he was a bit straightforward in character, and felt a little uneasy about deceiving Yuan Shao.

However, military battle reports often contain this kind of situation, for example, one person is worth ten, killing one hundred bandits, but the number of one thousand is recorded in the military intelligence documents. Another example is to conceal defeat and say that a loss is a win, or a small win is a big win. These are all common things.

While Gao Gan and Yan Liang were talking, several voices called out from outside the tent.

"The reward has arrived."

"The reward has arrived."

It was the voice of General Guo Yuan, who walked in with a letter commending Gao Gan and Yan Liang in his hand, and read out Yuan Shao's decree amid the joy of Gao Gan and Yan Liang.

"Gao Gan was appointed governor of Bingzhou, Yan Liang was appointed general of the state, and both were made marquises of Guannei. As for the officers and soldiers in the army, all were rewarded."

Guo Yuan issued Yuan Shao's decree, and the joy on Gao Gan and Yan Liang's faces became even more intense. They were both delighted and very happy.

"Your Excellency is fair in rewards and punishments, and your kindness is as deep as the sea." Gao Gan bowed in the direction of Yecheng.

"Yes, yes, your kindness is immeasurable." Yan Liang, who was awarded the title of General Auxiliary to the State, responded with a grin.

In Yuan Shao's decree of commendation, there was also an order for Gao Gan and Yan Liang to withdraw their troops. After all, it was snowing heavily and the roads were difficult to travel, so it was not a good time to mobilize troops.

Gao Gan and Yan Liang both received rewards and had no objection to this. They led the army back north to Jinyang and spent the cold winter in the city.

……

Yecheng.

A celebratory banquet was being held. The reason for the celebration was the victory of Gao Gan and Yan Liang in defeating the Shu army in Taiyuan County and pursuing the Shu army to the Hedong border.

"The Shu army invaded Taiyuan, but General Gao and General Yan relied on your prestige and drove the Shu army away. This is a great achievement and a great victory. We congratulate you." Ju Su was the first, leading a group of civil and military officials to congratulate Yuan Shao.

"I congratulate you, sir."

Although they were words of congratulation, most of those who spoke sincerely were civil and military officials from Hebei. These people, led by Ju Su and Shen Pei, advocated advancing westward to Guanzhong and giving priority to eliminating Liu Zhang. Gao Gan and Yan Liang repelled the Shu army to promote their view of advancing westward to Guanzhong.

As for Yuan Shao's ministers from Runan and Yingchuan, led by Xun Chen, Xin Ping and others, who advocated moving south to the Central Plains, their congratulations were loud but seemed weak.

Yuan Shao, who was sitting at the head of the group, listened to the congratulations from the civil and military officials. He smiled and humbly waved his hand, saying, "This is not my achievement, but the achievement of all the ministers. If it were not for your planning, Gao Gan and Yan Liang would not have achieved their success."

After saying this, Yuan Shao signaled to the attendants on his left and right, and the attendants nodded in response. Soon, Tian Feng, who was wearing shabby prison clothes but was tall and straight, stepped into the banquet hall.

After Tian Feng walked into the hall, the joyful sounds at the banquet suddenly stopped. The civil and military officials under Yuan Shao no longer had the happy expressions they had just had, and they all fell silent.

While everyone was looking at Tian Feng, they secretly glanced at Yuan Shao with a puzzled look on their face. After all, why did Tian Feng, who was supposed to be in the prison in Yecheng, appear in the celebration hall? It was really confusing.

"Mr. Tian, ​​do you know about the battle in Taiyuan? What happened today?" Yuan Shao asked.

As for Tian Feng, Yuan Shao respected him on the one hand, but also disliked him on the other. He respected Tian Feng's talents but disliked his character.

Tian Feng was a straight-forward person and had offended him many times. Tian Feng once said that due to his child's illness, Tian Feng failed to go south when Cao Cao conquered Qingxu, thus missing a great opportunity. He also believed that Liu Zhang in Guanzhong was wise and talented, and was afraid that he would swallow up Hebei and destroy the Yuan family, so Tian Feng threw him into prison and detained him.

Today, Gao Gan and Yan Liang repelled the Shu army in Taiyuan County. Yuan Shao wanted to see what Tian Feng would say and whether he would admit that Liu Zhang was not his, Yuan Shao's opponent. This was also an opportunity he gave Tian Feng, an opportunity to escape from prison.

As soon as Yuan Shao asked the question, Ju Su and Shen Pei immediately looked at Tian Feng. They hoped that Tian Feng would take the opportunity to bow his head to Yuan Shao, admit his mistake, and thereby gain Yuan Shao's forgiveness.

Xun Chen, who was born in Ruying, became worried. He was afraid that Tian Feng would take the opportunity given by Yuan Shao and make Yuan Shao happy with his words. Then Yuan Shao would pardon Tian Feng's crime and appoint Tian Feng as his deputy. The arrogance of Hebei scholars would be boosted again.

But Tian Feng is still Tian Feng, and the hardships of prison cannot change his will and character.

Tian Feng said solemnly: "I heard that Taiyuan County has had continuous autumn rains recently. After the winter came, there was a heavy snowfall within a few days. With the wind and snow, the Shu army probably withdrew on their own. It was not repelled as Gao Gan and Yan Liang said."

"Your Excellency did not delve into the details, but celebrated based on the battle reports of Gao Gan and Yan Liang. You first rewarded Gao Gan and Yan Liang, and then held a banquet here to celebrate the victory. This is not what a wise ruler should do."

Tian Feng's words shocked everyone in the room. (End of this chapter)