I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 430 The sea is vast and the fish jumps

Sun Ce was very excited after leaving Luoyang.

This was the first time he left Luoyang since he became a palace attendant and came to the capital.

Thinking of Ma Chao's resentful face when he said goodbye, he became even more excited.

It’s a pity that Guanjin County where Lu Jun is located is not near the area where the Black Mountain Army is active, otherwise Sun Ce would like to take the opportunity to meet an old friend.

Along the way, Sun Ce and his group of Yu Lin Lang were eating hot pot and singing songs.

After all, these Yulin Lang had been cooped up for too long. Even Xu Chu and Dian Wei, who joined later, felt refreshed as soon as they were away from the palace walls.

Yes, the two of them finally stayed with Sun Ce.

"How can I say that I have no clothes, but I share the same robe with you..."

When they passed by a place, the singing of several of them caused several dogs in the residents' homes to bark.

Dian Wei, in particular, did not stop after hearing the dogs barking, but continued to howl even more excitedly. It was not until Xu Chu took out a piece of dried meat and blocked Dian Wei's mouth that the ears of everyone except Dian Wei were saved.

However, although this group of people were having fun, their pace was not slow at all.

Henan County, Hanoi County...

"Bo Zheng, are you worried about something?" When they were about to leave Henei County, Sun Ce keenly noticed that Zhang Fang's mood was not as cheerful as when he just left Beijing, so he found Zhang Fang alone during the evening rest.

You know, when Zhang Fang left Yuntai Palace, Sun Ce, who was accompanying him, clearly felt that Zhang Fang was eager to return home.

Zhang Fang saw that it was Sun Ce and heaved a long sigh. He did not hide his thoughts: "My father is the most suspected of Zhao Yan's death, but His Majesty let me go home... But the closer I get to home, the more worried I am..."

Sun Ce understood what Zhang Fang was worried about, but he was not sure what role Zhang Yan played in Zhao Yan's death, so he could only comfort him, "Don't worry, Bo Zheng, your Majesty must trust Zhang Pingnan, otherwise how could he be so confident in letting us accompany you to Jizhou!"

Zhang Fang suddenly grabbed Sun Ce's hand and promised, "Bofu, I, Zhang Fang, swear here that even if we face the worst in a few days, I will never let down our brotherhood!"

At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

After opening the door, Sun Ce realized that Zhang Yan, who had already heard the news, had sent someone to pick up Zhang Fang in advance.

Sun Ce and his companions had to continue to Weijun to meet Ying Shao, the governor of Jizhou.

When they parted, Sun Ce said, "Bo Zheng, please go now. I will wait for you in Julu County with the other members of the Shizhong Army!"

Afterwards, they said goodbye one by one.

Then Sun Ce and others watched Zhang Fang leave overnight.

Shizhong Huangshe suddenly said with emotion: "I only hope that we can meet again as friends instead of enemies."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Dian Wei shouted.

"Alright!" Although Sun Ce did not stamp his feet, he still calmed the two men down. "Rest well today. We will arrive at Weijun tomorrow. I believe the people sent by Envoy Ying to welcome us are already here. Remember, we, the Yulin Lang, represent His Majesty outside. Be careful with your words and actions. Those who violate the law will be punished by military law!"

"only!"

Nothing happened that night. The next day, when Sun Ce and his companions arrived in Weijun, Jizhou's deputy governor Ju Su came to greet them on behalf of the governor Ying Shao.

On the way to meet Ying Shao, Sun Ce asked about the recent situation of the Black Mountain Army. Ju Su introduced the general situation of Jizhou to them.

"The terrain in Bohai, Hejian, Qinghe and other places is flat, and the bandits have nowhere to hide. Only in the valleys of Hebei where the Black Mountain Army is located, there are many mountains. The bandits hide in them, like a drop of water into the sea, disappearing without a trace."

“It can even be said that even the Black Mountain Army cannot claim to know all the valleys.”

The so-called Hebei valleys actually refer to the Taihang Mountains, which have been a good place for guerrilla warfare since ancient times. Clearing the valleys would take too much manpower and material resources, and it might not even be possible to clear them all, which was one of the reasons why the court chose to recruit the Black Mountain bandits.

Sun Ce asked, "According to Lord Ju, could it be that someone else was responsible for Zhao Yan's death?"

Ju Shou shook his head slightly and replied: "The truth is still unknown."

He said this deliberately because he saw that Sun Ce looked young and was only asking about the Black Mountain Army, and he was worried that Sun Ce would have a preconceived idea.

Afterwards, the group met Ying Shao and was equipped with troops from the prefecture and county before heading towards Julu County.

……

Changshan County.

Zhang Yan frowned and looked at Yu Du and Sui Gu in the hall.

"You guys..." He wanted to curse at people but felt like he was dirtying his mouth by scolding these two people for their actions.

According to Zhang Yan's investigation, these two people did send people some time ago, but...

Yu Du, who was tied up in the hall, defended himself aggrievedly: "General Feiyan, you know what I meant. I wanted to send some people to cause some damage in Changshan County. But every village in Changshan has guards and night watchmen stationed there, especially that guy named Xiahou Lan, who killed many of my people. As a result, the people I sent out secretly with great difficulty failed a few times..."

Sui Gu quickly echoed: "Me too!"

"You haven't succeeded a few times? How many more times do you want to succeed?" Zhang Yan asked.

"General Feiyan, we really didn't do what happened to Zhao Yan. You know us well. If we lead troops to Julu, we will definitely not be able to hide it from you..."

Zhang Yan looked at Dong Zhao, who nodded slightly.

Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and scolded Du and Sui Gu, "We've learned this lesson and we won't do it again!"

After cursing, Zhang Yan signaled his men to untie the ropes that bound the two men.

"Wait a minute!" Dong Zhao said, "Although Zhao Yan's matter has nothing to do with them, they are to blame for the thieves who attacked the people of Changshan County! How can we let them go?"

“Kimihito…”

"General, don't you know how many people in Changshan County have lost their money or even their lives because of the attacks by bandits?" Dong Zhao asked.

"Then dismiss them from their posts as generals!" Zhang Yan looked at Dong Zhao.

But Dong Zhao said nothing.

Yu Du and Sui Gu saw this and called out to Zhang Yan and cursed Dong Zhao.

But Dong Zhaoli ignored them.

"Confiscate their property and compensate the people who have been harmed..." Zhang Yan looked at Dong Zhao, his tone softer than ever before, "Is this okay?"

Dong Zhao finally spoke up at this time - "Those who lose money can naturally use money to make up for it, but what about those who lose their lives?"

"You bastard, you actually want to kill us!" Yu Du called out to Zhang Yan again, "Marshal Feiyan, this is exactly why the court officials arranged for him to come here, to make us brothers kill each other!"

Sui Gu also echoed Yu Du's words.

Faced with the two opposing parties, Zhang Yan was unable to make up his mind and just had Yu Du and Sui Gu taken away.

Dong Zhao continued to advise: "General, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Although Yu Du and Sui Gu had nothing to do with Zhao Yan's death, they ignored the general's orders and secretly sent people to rob and kill the people. It is true! If the general had thought more about the future, he should have made a decision earlier!"

(End of this chapter)