I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 429 Black Bandits

Zhao Yan died, along with all his treasures, destroyed by the bandits.

The bandits even raised the slogan of eliminating eunuchs.

This slogan is both familiar and unfamiliar.

This has been shouted for too many years in the past, but in recent years not many people have shouted it openly.

When the news reached Luoyang, Zhao Zhong, who was originally serving Empress Dowager He, fell to the ground and cried bitterly.

After all, Zhao Zhong was a veteran minister who had served three dynasties, so Liu Bian went to visit him in person after hearing the news.

At the eunuch's residence, Zhao Zhong, who was lying on his sickbed, was very excited to see Liu Bian coming in person. He wanted to stand up to greet him, but Liu Bian stopped him. He suppressed his grief and said to Liu Bian: "Your Majesty, it is not a pity for my brother to die. You must not let him delay the affairs of the state!"

"Don't worry, Lord Zhao. This is not a private matter. I will definitely give you an explanation."

The more Zhao Zhong showed his deep sense of justice, the more Liu Bian could not let Zhao Yan die in vain.

Moreover, Liu Bian would not sit idly by and do nothing if anyone was treated like this by the bandits.

So, even though Liu Bian could see that Zhao Zhong said this on purpose, he still agreed. Zhao Zhong also knew that Liu Bian could see his deliberateness, but he still did it.

After comforting the sad Zhao Zhong for a while, Liu Bian left, leaving Zhao Zhong lying on the couch wiping his tears. He made up his mind secretly: "Brother, I will definitely avenge you!"

When the eunuchs serving on the side saw that the emperor came to visit them in person, they were all shocked at how much Zhao Zhong was favored by the emperor.

After the emperor left, they all took better care of Zhao Zhong.

As soon as Liu Bian left the eunuch's residence, he met the eunuch sent by Empress Dowager He to invite him.

When Liu Bian finished dealing with Queen Mother He and promised Queen Mother He's request to appease Zhao Zhong, and returned to Yuntai Palace, Sun Ce and Zhang Yan's son Zhang Fang, whom he had summoned, had been waiting for a long time.

Liu Bian originally thought that Zhang Yan could control the Black Mountain Army, but now it seems that he overestimated Zhang Yan. At least some of the Black Mountain bandits have gone out of control.

At the beginning, Zhang Yan asked his son Zhang Fang to be Ying Shao's disciple. Ying Shao gave Zhang Fang a name, calling him Bo Zheng. The meaning of the name is self-evident.

This was not the first time Zhang Fang had seen the emperor, but even today, he still felt a little nervous under the emperor's gaze.

He has always been very sensitive about his identity.

His father said he was an official, but in fact he was a thief.

He said he was a Yulin Lang, but in fact he was a hostage.

Liu Bian said, "Bo Zheng, don't be nervous. Have you heard about what happened in Julu County?"

Zhang Fang nodded repeatedly.

In the past, when the family members and children of eunuchs committed crimes in the local area, there were often officials and knights who would eliminate the harm to the people, but that was several years ago.

The news of Zhao Yan's death has now begun to spread in Luoyang.

Seeing that Zhang Fang was still somewhat panicked, Liu Bian comforted him, "I called you here this time not to blame you for this matter."

"I want you to do something for me."

Zhang Fang was a little stunned when he heard this. It was only when Sun Ce, who had been beside him, quietly reached out and poked him that he came back to his senses.

The training Zhang Fang had received as a Yulin Lang in recent years finally came into play. He reacted quickly and bowed as fast as he could, "Your Majesty, please give the order!"

"I want you to go see Zhang Pingnan on my behalf and ask him if he has anything to say to me about the death of my former city gate captain at the hands of the bandits in Julu County?"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Fang responded immediately, and then he realized that what Liu Bian asked him to do was to go home.

He was excited and nervous at the same time. Seeing that he had finally finished talking about Zhang Fang, Sun Ce, who was standing by, could not wait to look at Liu Bian.

Liu Bian could see what Sun Ce was thinking. After training as a Yulin Lang for more than a year, the latter could no longer hold back.

He said to Sun Ce, "I heard that your group of Yu Lin Lang have always been united in their efforts. This time, Bo Zheng is away, so I will not keep you. Bo Fu, I will use you as an envoy this time. Take your Yu Lin Lang to investigate the origins of the bandits in Julu County."

"I obey your command!" Sun Ce replied happily. Then, he asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, Zhang Bozheng is also under my command..."

"Well, do you have any questions?" Liu Bian looked at Sun Ce.

Sun Ce understood and immediately took Zhang Fang with him to express his gratitude and leave.

……

In a valley within the territory of Zhao State, Zhang Yan was pacing around in the house like a lion with its fur standing on end.

"Who is it? Don't let me find out!" he said gritting his teeth.

The nearby young generals Sun Qing and Wang Dang had not seen Fei Yanshuai so furious for a long time. Looking at Zhang Yan with red eyes, they were silent.

"General, getting angry won't solve the problem."

A gentle voice came, but it couldn't suppress Zhang Yan's anger.

Zhang Yan looked over angrily, only to see that the person who spoke was Dong Zhao who was walking over.

Sun Qing and Wang Dang both breathed a sigh of relief when they heard the voice.

In these valleys, Zhang Yan could get angry at anyone except Dong Zhao.

Because Dong Zhao is really powerful, the kind that can convince everyone.

The fact was just as the two had expected. Facing Dong Zhao, Zhang Yan suppressed his anger and said, "Gongren, Zhao Yan's death has nothing to do with our Black Mountain Army."

"I suspect that bandits from other places deliberately used the name of Black Mountain."

Dong Zhao was not afraid of Zhang Yan's suppressed anger. He asked directly, "If you say that Zhao Yan's death has nothing to do with the general, I believe it, but if you say that it has nothing to do with the Black Mountain Army... General, are you really so confident?"

"They are all my old brothers..." Zhang Yan said angrily.

But under Dong Zhao's unyielding gaze, Zhang Yan's anger gradually dissipated.

Finally, he explained, "I know Yu Du and Sui Gu have some tricks up their sleeves, but their followers are all in Changshan County. Bai Rao's followers are in Julu. He should have the ability, but he doesn't have the courage... Besides, Bai Rao's base is not far from here. It is said that there are at least 2,000 people besieging Zhao Yan. If he mobilizes so many people, he will definitely not be able to hide it from me!"

"So, I think it's probably because of this year's drought that the victims gathered together to become thieves, and they just happened to meet someone like Zhao Yan who doesn't even understand the principle of 'don't show off your wealth'..."

Zhang Yan gave what he thought was a reasonable explanation and looked at Dong Zhao, hoping to get a positive answer.

"General, let's check it out!"

Zhang Yan's mouth drooped, and he was about to glare in anger again.

"General, there is no need to pretend... Even if you can fool me, can you fool yourself?" Dong Zhao ignored Zhang Yan's face that fell again and continued, "Now everyone thinks that the Black Mountain Army is the most suspicious. Can you make everyone believe your thoughts?"

"There is no evidence!" Zhang Yan emphasized.

"Just not now!" Dong Zhao replied.

"General, it's not too late to cut off your arm!"

Zhang Yan suddenly looked at Sun Qing and Wang Dang. They were originally shrinking their necks, but under Zhang Yan's gaze, they seemed to be jumping up as if there were needles on their seats. They hurriedly expressed their opinions one after another: "We will obey the orders of Marshal Feiyan!"

(End of this chapter)