I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 285 Zhang Ping will die soon

Of course, Xiaolian's salary and salary from the imperial court were still willing to be paid together with Zhang Yan's salary. As for the salaries and military resources of other officials and soldiers recruited by Zhang Yan himself, it was naturally difficult for Zhang Ping to find a solution on his own.

But having said that, if there were really capable and talented people, how could Zhang Yan be willing to send people to the imperial court? Definitely keep the person for yourself!

All in all, both the imperial court and the Montenegrin Army wanted to prostitute each other for free while avoiding themselves from being prostituted for free by the other party.

Zhang Yan was in such a contradictory state of mind at this time.

On the one hand, he understood that the status quo of his country within a country was becoming increasingly unsustainable. If his subordinates were to bear the court's corvee taxes, Zhang Yan would feel that the later the better.

On the other hand, almost all of his people, including himself, came from poor backgrounds and abandoned their families to become thieves because they could no longer survive. They have a natural distrust of officials. Only good officials like Liu Yu and Jia Cong who have proven themselves through practical actions can gain their trust.

This is also the reason why Zhang Yan immediately found an excuse to expel the officials sent by Jia Cong after his death. Because he was already hesitant, a straw could affect the balance in his mind.

But no matter what Zhang Yan was thinking, Ying Shao's governor came with an unstoppable trend.

"The governor's chariot is here, how dare you stop him?" Min Chunyi, who was in charge of the government, sternly scolded the soldiers of General Pingnan Zhonglang who were guarding the road into the mountain.

The leader of the soldiers was honest and said: "I know that the former governor Jia was a good official, but unfortunately he did not live long. I don't know about other governors. If you want to pass by me, you must have a husband from my family. General’s military order.”

Although Ying Shao was blocked, he felt relieved when he heard that the soldiers in front of him called Zhang Yan Zhonglang General instead of Heishan Commander or Feiyan Commander. At least these people recognized the official position appointed by the imperial court and treated him accordingly The confidence is getting stronger.

Little did he know that in the Black Mountain Army, people were always called commanders, and the small leader who joined Zhang Yan was called Xiaoshuai, just like Qu Shuai's subordinates in the Yellow Turbans.

It's just that Zhang Yan once fought under Liu Yu and was influenced by the clear ranking of officials in the armies of Cao Cao and Gongsun Zan. After all, compared with the regular army, the composition of the Montenegrin Army was too chaotic. The commanders brought their own troops, and the numbers varied.

Therefore, it is almost impossible to reach the level of a regular army. Zhang Yan can only hide his ears and steal the bell - outside, everyone gives me official positions!

Compared to Min Chun, Ying Shao's attitude is much more easy-going.

He said to the soldiers who had spoken before: "Since passing the border requires Zhang Pingnan's military orders, please send someone to inform him. Ying Shao, the governor of Jizhou, wants to go up the mountain to meet Zhang Pingnan for a while."

The soldier did not refuse and immediately sent someone.

While waiting, Ying Shao chatted with the soldiers.

"Now, I'm still very mature!" Regarding the current situation, he was very satisfied.

And when talking about the past, he also had a lot to say——

"When the Yellow Turbans broke out, all the food in the fields was destroyed, and the village asked me to pay two years of settlement money all at once. I couldn't even eat, and I couldn't afford the settlement money at all. Later I heard that there was a general named Zhang Niujiao. He said that as long as he joined the army, he would not have to pay any fees, and he could also take care of his family. I thought there was such a good thing, so I took the whole family there..."

"Later, General Niujiao died, so I followed Feiyan... followed the general in my family..."

Not long after, someone hurriedly came from the mountain to greet Ying Shao.

Ying Shao knew very well that this person definitely didn't look like he had just arrived. However, he pretended not to know anything and politely said goodbye to the soldier who touched his heart deeply.

Instead, the man said with emotion: "I think you are as good an official as Governor Jia." Ying Shao burst into laughter before leaving.

On the other hand, the facts were just as Ying Shao expected, Zhang Yan had no intention of letting Ying Shao go deep into the mountains as a guest.

After walking no more than ten or twenty miles, Ying Shao met Zhang Yan who was waiting here.

Zhang Yan, taking advantage of her position as lieutenant general, took the lead and asked, "I wonder what the governor is doing here?"

Ying Shao would not show weakness: "This place is under the rule of Jizhou, and I am the governor of Jizhou. It is my duty to supervise the county and the country. Why does Zhang Ping have such a question?"

Seeing that Ying Shao was not convinced, Zhang Yan pointed to the newly built pavilion next to him and said, "Why don't you come in and talk about it?"

"Please!" Ying Shao said naturally.

"The visitor is a guest, so I invite you first!" Zhang Yan emphasized.

Ying Shao did not struggle with Zhang Yan on this issue and sat down first, followed by Min Chun and Zhao Fu.

After Zhang Yan sat down, he spoke again: "Why should you make false claims? Don't you know what is going on here? Otherwise, when I went to inspect other counties, I brought many officials and soldiers with me, why did I come here with only These few people?”

"Good! Since Zhang Pingnan said this, I won't say any polite words." Ying Shao said seriously, "I came here to save Zhang Pingnan. I wonder if Zhang Pingnan knew that he was going to die soon. ?”

Before Zhang Yan could respond, Sun Qing, the young handsome man behind him, shouted: "Don't try to coax us, my general is in very good health and can eat three bowls of rice at a meal!"

Zhang Yan stopped Sun Qing who was still talking and said: "The rough people under my command are rude and make the emperor laugh... Isn't it just that the emperor bullies me? Isn't it wise? Lobbyists in history books often make shocking remarks, but that's nothing. It’s just what you said.”

However, his thoughts seemed to have been exposed, but Ying Shao was not embarrassed at all. He explained: "The ancient lobbyists often exaggerated their words. However, since I am here today, I want to be honest with Zhang Ping. As for me, It’s up to Zhang Ping to judge whether what he said is reasonable!”

Knowing Ying Shao's purpose, Zhang Yan couldn't help but said: "Please give me a try!"

"In the first year of Zhongping, the world was in chaos. Zhang Pingnan also gathered his people to become bandits from that year on, right?" Ying Shao said.

"Yes!" Zhang Yan responded simply.

"In the third year of Zhongping, Zhang Pingnan sent an envoy to Kyoto to ask for surrender, and he was appointed as General Pingnan Zhonglang. Later, he sent troops to Hanoi, and was repulsed by Zhu Jungong, who was the prefect of Hanoi at the time. Is that right?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yan gritted his teeth. This was indeed what happened after he became the general who was in trouble. He defended, "At that time, some people did it privately and did not listen to orders. Later, they did not disturb the counties. ”

Ying Shao didn't say whether he believed it or not, but continued to ask: "Since Zhongping, wars have continued in various places, and one has waxed and waned while the other has waxed and waned. In order to quell the rebellion, the imperial court has spent immeasurable money and food. Therefore, the imperial court only asked Zhang Ping to attack the prefectures and counties. , so that the place can be stable, right?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yan hesitated before saying.

"However, today is different from the past. Liangzhou is established, Xianbei has been defeated, the Central Plains is stable, and the small chaos in the south is nothing more than a clown. However, because Zhang Ping cannot form an army by himself and refuses to obey the regulations, Jizhou must maintain a larger than usual number of state and county soldiers. , In this way, the extra grain to support the soldiers of the prefectures and counties will have to withhold part of the tax, which is difficult for Zhang Ping to do. Can this situation continue? "

(End of this chapter)