I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 432 Returning Carnage

"Yes, but not entirely."

Sun Ce had realized something at this time.

But Dian Wei was even more confused after hearing what Sun Ce said. He simply stopped thinking about it and asked directly: "No matter what, now is the time to lead the army to quell the rebellion!"

Sun Ce nodded: "That's right, I'm just waiting for your order."

Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Zhang Fang, Huang She and others were all extremely excited when they heard this.

They have been training for so long, and finally they have the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice!
Dian Wei said: "I really hope that Envoy Ying's military order will come soon!"

Just as he finished speaking, Ju Su came in from outside, holding a document in his hand, and shouted, "The military order is coming!"

After receiving the order, Sun Ce and others quickly summoned the soldiers from the states and counties that had been assigned to them by Ying Shao earlier, obeyed Ying Shao's military order, and led the army to suppress the Black Mountain rebels!

After Zhang Fang arrived, Sun Ce also assigned troops to his command.

After receiving the order, he was anxious to meet with the soldiers from the prefectures and counties, who did not know each other yet, and left Zhang Yan in the room.

Zhang Yan looked at Ju Su in the room and smiled awkwardly.

Originally, Dong Zhao could help him ease the embarrassment, but after seeing that he was safe, the latter went to see Ying Shao again despite the hard work.

Ju Shou first bowed to break the awkward situation: "To suppress the rebellion later, we will need Zhang Pingnan's help!"

"Of course, of course!" After saying this, Zhang Yan secretly cursed herself in her heart where her usual wit had gone, since she was still living under someone else's roof.

However, seeing that Ju Shou's attitude towards him was quite good, Zhang Yan suddenly thought of Zhang Fang's suggestion on the way to escape - if he could be a Han official in peace and stability, it seemed not bad.

When the army was dispatched, Zhang Yan was too embarrassed to follow Zhang Fang, who was in charge of the troops, so he and Ju Shou followed Sun Ce, the main general.

But in the central army, he was still very careful about Zhang Fang.

He originally thought that Zhang Fang's service as a so-called Yulin Lang in Luoyang was nothing more than being indoctrinated with the ideas of loyalty and filial piety by the Confucian scholars in Luoyang. As for how much he could learn, he never expected it.

But now, he saw that he was commanding the soldiers from the provinces and counties in an orderly manner.

Zhang Yan had some understanding of the true nature of the Jizhou county soldiers. Even though the county soldiers under Ying Shao looked elite, they were just elite because the soldiers were replaced every year.

Zhang Fang was able to keep the team in order as soon as he took over, which showed that he definitely had some ability.

Sun Ce also noticed Zhang Yan's focus, and he couldn't wait to brag about his friend, the emperor: "Zhang Pingnan, look at the army. There are many Yulin Lang like me and Bo Zheng in Luoyang."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan instantly thought of a situation where someone like Sun Ce was appointed to a position like Qujunhou or Tunzhang, commanding one or two hundred men respectively… If there were such an army, equipped with food and supplies, it would be difficult to defeat an enemy that was several times stronger than him.

As for the Black Mountain Army under his command - it was fine to ask those centurions to charge at the risk of their lives, but when it came to organizing a military formation... Zhang Yan suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself.

As for the marching road, most people would hide away when they saw the army from afar, but occasionally there would be curious people who would boldly look around on the side of the road when there were no scouts to drive them away.

Zhang Yan saw this and asked Sun Ce, "If we don't drive them away, isn't Bofu afraid of leaking military information?"

"I am leading the royal army, why should I be afraid of the common people?"

Zhang Yan secretly complained that "this answer is irrelevant" and stopped asking.

At the same time, a scoundrel who was looking around on the side of the road seemed to have spotted someone he knew among the county soldiers, and he shouted, "Sun San, where are you going?"

However, the Sun San he mentioned was frightened by military regulations and did not even turn his head when he heard the shouting.

Seeing this, Zhang Yan nodded secretly.

Soon, the scoundrel probably felt humiliated and left cursing.

After a long time, he came to a secluded place and told the people waiting there what he had seen. After that, he smiled and stretched out his hand: "Mr. Sun, agree to my reward..."

"Don't worry, I'll promise you no less than that." After Sun Kang said that, he threw a purse over.

The scoundrel hurriedly counted the money, asking, "Mr. Sun, you asked me to go over there and wait to ask where Sun San was. Do you think Sun San's wife is very beautiful?"

After asking, he didn't answer. As soon as he raised his head, he felt a pain in his abdomen. When he looked down, he found that a sword had pierced his stomach from the back.

After killing the people, Sun Kang rode away on his horse and came to a place where several people had gathered. He announced, "It has been confirmed that Sun Ce has been ordered to go and suppress the Black Mountain bandits."

"Good!" one of them shouted, slapping his thigh.

"The Black Mountain bandits are causing chaos, and Ying Shao has urgently dispatched soldiers from various counties and states to quell the rebellion... Now that the counties and states are empty, this is a good opportunity!"

"Then let's follow the rhetoric we have already discussed and put forward our own slogan! Clear out the treacherous officials around the emperor!"

"Back then, the Wuhuan cavalry rebelled against the two Zhangs and came to Jizhou to plunder. Many counties and states were harmed by them, and the people hated the Wuhuan to the core." Another person said with a smile, "Now we are spreading the news that there are treacherous officials in Luoyang, and we are trying to persuade the emperor to supply Jizhou's grain to the Wuhuan people who once plundered the people of Jizhou. This will surely arouse the resentment of those people!"

"There is no time to lose. While Bai Rao and his men have attracted Ying Shao's attention, everyone should return home and start the movement immediately!"

"Yes! Eradicate the treacherous and restore the old system!"

"Eliminate the treacherous and corrupt officials! Restore the old system!"

Several people shouted slogans and scattered.

That night, Sun Ce, who had already set up camp with his men, suddenly called the generals in the army and announced the latest military orders.

"What, return the same way?" Dian Wei shouted, he asked puzzledly, "Have the Black Mountain bandits been wiped out so quickly?"

After saying this, he subconsciously glanced at Zhang Yan who was present.

Zhang Yan was almost furious at his look, and immediately retorted: "Although Bai Rao and his men are ungrateful, they still have some ability to command troops. With the advantage of the terrain, it is impossible that they can't hold out for such a short time."

"Indeed! The roads in the mountains are rugged and complex, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Three days ago, Bai Rao led his troops to attack the county town, but was forced to retreat by Envoy Ying. Later, Bai Rao hid in the mountains and refused to fight. Even if Zhang Pingnan's Sun Qing, Wang Dang and others led their troops to help, it would be difficult to defeat Bai Rao and his three men in a short period of time." Sun Ce first affirmed what Zhang Yan said, and then explained, "We were ordered to go back because there are more urgent matters."

Then Sun Ce looked at Zhang Yan again and said, "Our army will not go west from now on. What will Zhang Ping do next?"

Zhang Yan smiled, and suddenly realized that Sun Ce was really asking him a question, so he asked back: "If you don't take me back, aren't you afraid of letting the tiger go back to the mountain and leaving trouble?"

"Father!" Zhang Fang shouted.

"Zhang Pingnan was the General of the Central Army appointed by the late emperor. The rebellion under his command was not caused by Zhang Pingnan. Why should I detain Zhang Pingnan?" Sun Ce asked in return.

Zhang Yan laughed twice, then saw that no one in the tent agreed with him. He chuckled twice more before saying, "Tomorrow I will leave you and go see Envoy Ying!"

Seeing that Dian Wei and the others still didn't understand why they were going back, Sun Ce looked at Ju Su, who then slowly explained, "Earlier, Lord Dian had asked who was responsible for Zhao Yan's death. The Black Mountain rebels did it, but without the help of the local tyrants, how could they not leave traces?"

"It's just that it's hard to tell who the participants are. What the envoy has been busy with recently is investigating in secret."

"But I never thought that the Black Mountain Army would run into trouble first. But it's just the right time to take advantage of the situation. The only way to catch them in one fell swoop is to lure them out of their hole!"

When he said the last sentence, Ju Su was filled with murderous intent.

Dian Wei looked at Ju Shou. At this moment, he suddenly felt that this Ju Biejia, although he looked harmless, was actually much more cruel than himself!

Don't ever provoke him again.

The next morning, Sun Ce led his army back and accelerated the march. …

Julu County, Xiaquyang County.

Zhang Ji raised his arms and shouted, "I swear I won't give the Wuhuan people a single grain of food!"

Many people around him shouted along.

Zhang Ji shouted again: "No tax this year!"

Now, the people’s voices became even louder.

Zhang Ji, who had never experienced such a scene, looked at Sun Kang beside him, and continued to shout at Sun Kang's signal -

"I am the general appointed by the emperor himself. As long as you follow me, everyone will have food to eat!"

He was originally a leader who occupied the mountains and acted as a king. At most, the number of bandits under his command was less than a thousand. In the past two years, there were only one or two hundred. It was not until this year that Sun Kang found him. With Sun Kang's help, he took advantage of the drought to greatly expand the number of his troops.

It was only after two quarters of an hour that Zhang Ji had time to talk to Sun Kang.

"I think the soldiers are more adaptable to this kind of situation than I am. Why not let the soldiers take the position of general?"

"General, what are you talking about?" Sun Kang was extremely terrified. "Without your trust, how could I be so calm and confident today? To be honest, my palms were sweaty just now..."

"Just kidding, look how scared you are..." Zhang Ji patted Sun Kang on the shoulder and said with emotion, "The army commander has a good plan. This time, I think I can recruit another 300 to 500 people. In another ten days or so, I can also lead 10,000 soldiers... Tsk, before I met the army commander, I didn't even dare to think about it!"

Sun Kang noticed Zhang Ji's hands were still covered in mud. He paused for a moment before saying, "Don't worry, General. Good days are still to come!"

"Of course!" Zhang Ji said, and went to drink and eat meat.

Only Sun Kang was left looking at Zhang Ji's back, wondering whether he should find a chance to leave.

The leader of a thief always attracts attention, but the mastermind is different.

It’s a pity that Zhang Ji has not accomplished anything yet and people have started to doubt him, what a coward!

At this time, Sun Kang heard Zhang Ji inviting him to eat together, and he quickly responded enthusiastically.

Just as he sat down, he suddenly felt the ground shaking, and the water in the bowl on the low table next to him began to ripple for no reason.

Suddenly, he realized something and quickly stood up to remind Zhang Ji: "General, there are enemies..."

But there was no need for him to remind them at this time, as the shouts and screams had already come.

Sun Kang saw that many of the leaders were wearing armor and bravely marching forward. They rushed into the crowd of soldiers without fear, as if they were entering an empty place.

Most of the new recruits had never seen blood before. They were already panicked just by seeing someone riding a horse and rushing towards them, not to mention the bloody horse lances and the soldiers following behind.

He was shocked for only a moment before realizing that he was doomed to failure. He hurriedly looked for a direction to escape, not even daring to ride a horse.

After running just two steps, Sun Kang noticed that Zhang Ji had caught up with him.

Sun Kang hurriedly shouted: "General, you and I will split up and meet again tomorrow!"

Shouting these two sentences while running almost made him choke.

But there are effects.

Zhang Ji really changed direction, but as he was running he suddenly thought - Oh no, I forgot to tell the army where to meet up!

But he no longer needed to worry about it.

Since Dian Wei became a Yulin Lang, he kept in mind the fact that he lost to Xu Chu in horsemanship and archery, and he studied and practiced hard every day, even in windy and rainy weather.

Today, he can finally hold up Zhang Ji's head and proudly say these words:

"Zhongkang, although my riding skills are not as good as yours, my luck is much better than yours!"

Xu Chu snorted coldly: "It's just luck this time, there won't be a next time!"

Dian Wei: "Just admit that you envy me, I won't laugh at you!"

"Humph!"

"Humph!"

"Hum hum!"

In the end, Sun Ce couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted the fight between the two.

He gathered everyone together and said, "According to the information we got from the captives, people from several surrounding counties have risen up in response. I judge that most of them are like today's enemy and are vulnerable."

"So, speed is of the essence in war. I intend to divide my troops into three groups to prevent the bandits from taking advantage of the opportunity to expand their forces!"

Dian Wei and others all responded.

Sun Ce also said: "We only command the troops of the prefectures and counties. If we encounter a strong enemy, we must not advance rashly!"

Looking at Dian Wei who was still very happy about killing the bandit leader, Sun Ce stared at Dian Wei and emphasized again: "Don't advance rashly!"

Dian Wei responded solemnly again.

Afterwards, Sun Ce decided to send the two most courageous Dian Wei and Xu Chu to lead the other two routes, and told Yu Lin Lang to discuss matters with him. He then handed over the remaining cleanup work to the Xiaquyang County Magistrate, who could only defend the county town, and set out again...

In July of the fifth year of Guangxi, the Black Mountain bandits rebelled, and the four counties of Zhongshan, Hejian, Boling and Julu all responded.

Sun Ce was sent to Jizhou and led troops to Julu. The rebels suddenly rose up and the troops were insufficient. Sun Ce took advantage of their unstable foothold and divided his troops to march to four counties within a month and completely pacified them.

At that time, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Zhang Fang, Huang She and other Yulin Lang followed him in the expedition, and they all became famous after this battle.

Luoyang.

Liu Bian is summoning Hua Tuo.

"Lord Zhao had been in good health, so why did he fall so ill after hearing the bad news?" Liu Bian asked.

After Zhao Yan's death, Zhao Zhong fell ill and did not recover for a long time. Liu Bian initially thought that Zhao Zhong did it on purpose again, but as time went on, he realized that this time it was real.

Hua Tuo replied, "Mr. Zhao has worked very hard in his early years, and has many hidden illnesses, but they have never been revealed in the past. Now that the illness has broken out, we can only see if Mr. Zhao can survive it."

Liu Bian felt a little sad when he heard this.

Although Zhao Zhong had a bad reputation outside, he did do many evil things.

But since Liu Bian entered the palace, he had received a lot of help from him. Later, when the late emperor passed away, he also cooperated with the late emperor's wishes and helped Liu Bian control the eunuchs in the palace together with Zhang Rang.

The eunuchs, who were once powerful, were no longer feared by the court officials in the past few years. This was certainly due to Liu Bian, but without the unconditional cooperation of Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang, the situation would never have been so smooth.

Even the blueprint that Liu Bian promised Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang to set up an organization to deal with high-ranking officials has not been realized yet.

(End of this chapter)