Three Kingdoms: I will act as a substitute for the Hunjun

"Uncle, go!"

The sound of fighting in the yard alerted Zhang Xiu. He saw that his uncle Zhang Ji was still chopping the naked man's body, so he hurriedly pulled Zhang Ji and ran out, "If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"

Zhang Ji saw that the courtyard had become a mess, and subconsciously asked, "Where is Mr. Jia?"

"Don't worry about who's the real gentleman or the fake gentleman, just kill our way out first." Zhang Xiu said as he shook his spear and knocked down a government soldier, then led the way and charged out. At this moment, Zhang Ji had no choice but to follow behind.

They were clearly going to surrender to the government army, but now, they have killed another officer. Judging from the armor thrown on the ground, he must be of a high rank. Now it is impossible for them to surrender.

But even if we get out of this yard and kill people, where can we go?
Zhang Ji was very confused now. Should he go back to the south city gate to look for his subordinates? Obviously, it was unwise. The entire Linfen city was about to fall. How could the south city gate be a safe island?
I heard that the north gate has been opened, but there are a large number of government troops rushing in. How can they let these rebels pass?

Zhang Ji simply gritted his teeth and ignored all the worries. He followed Zhang Xiu and killed wherever he could.

Looking at his nephew's back as he rushed around, Zhang Ji couldn't help but blame himself. If there was a suitable platform, with his nephew's martial arts, he should be able to achieve remarkable success. It's a pity... he didn't set a good stage for him.

As Zhang Xiu and Zhang Ji charged in anger, the government troops in the courtyard could not resist at all. Soon more than half of them were killed or wounded, and the rest retreated out of the courtyard.

Fortunately, the captain had sent people for help before, and nearby government troops were constantly gathering here.

The uncle and nephew led the remaining troops out of the gate of Zhang's mansion and engaged in a melee with a group of government troops.

At this time, a team passed by here, with as many as three or four hundred people. Each of them was full of fighting spirit and covered in blood. The murderous aura that was hard to conceal was not comparable to that of ordinary government troops. The two young generals in the lead were also covered in blood.

"You two generals have arrived just in time!" The captain recognized the two young generals as Cao Hong and Cao Chun, the relatives of Cao Cao. "This is terrible! Commander Cao has been murdered by this villain!"

"Ah!?" Cao Hong and Cao Chun were shocked and asked hurriedly, "What happened? How is Brother Meng De?"

"This traitor is none other than Zhang Ji, the defender of Linfen City. He pretended to submit to the imperial court, but he blocked Captain Cao here and killed him." The team leader combined what he saw and heard with his own guess and said briefly, "Don't let them get away. We must avenge Captain Cao."

"Ah..." Cao Hong and Cao Chun almost fell off their horses.

"Zihe (Cao Chun's courtesy name), you lead your troops to stop the rebel general Zhang Ji. I'll go inside to take a look." Cao Hong said as he jumped off his horse, pushed through the crowd and rushed into the courtyard.

Everywhere they passed, there were corpses and pools of blood. A bad premonition came to their mind, thinking that what the commander said was true. However, as they did not see the body of their brother Cao Cao, they still had a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

He rushed to the backyard and saw Cao Anmin's body lying on the doorstep.

"Anmin! Brother!" Cao Hong stepped into the room, which was in a mess. There were corpses lying all over the place in a pool of blood. The most eye-catching thing was the corpse of a man crawling on the couch. He was naked and his body was incomplete.

The most horrifying thing was that the male corpse was lying among a pile of chopped-up pieces of corpse. Judging from the missing parts of the corpse, it should be a female corpse.

Cao Hong's heart suddenly rose to his throat, because he could tell at a glance from the body shape that this was clearly his brother Cao Cao.

Slowly walked forward and carefully turned the male corpse's head to the side...

"Brother..." Cao Hong's earth-shaking cry echoed out of the house and reached outside the yard.

Although the face was covered in blood, it was still clearly recognizable. It was undoubtedly Cao Cao.

From the current perspective, Cao Cao should be the most promising person in the Cao family. He can also be regarded as the pillar of the Cao family's future prosperity. He has experienced countless sword fights and countless life-and-death battles and remained unscathed. Unexpectedly, today, he died on his bed in this way.

"Ah!" Cao Hong roared at the top of his lungs, turned around angrily, ran wildly in the pool of blood, rushed out of the house, and rushed out of the yard.

"Zi Lian (Cao Hong's pen name), how is Brother Meng De?" Cao Chun asked hurriedly.

"Cut little Zhang Ji into pieces to avenge my brother!" Cao Hong roared, pushed everyone away, and rushed towards Zhang Ji with a brandished sword.

Cao Chun understood everything when he heard it and began to attack with all his might.

At this moment, all the confidants brought by Zhang Ji had died in the battle, and only his nephew Zhang Xiu was left by his side, still waving his spear and struggling to hold on.

In this situation, it is impossible to break out.

"Xiu'er, it's your uncle who has implicated you." Zhang Ji said as he fought back, "The only solution now is to fight to the death. Don't let the reputation of our Wuwei Zhang family be tarnished!"

"Uncle, rest assured. Even if I die today, it will be enough." Zhang Xiu gritted his teeth and said, "It's just that the government troops are too bullying. It's not too much to kill as many as you want!"

Just as he finished speaking, Zhang Ji's body suddenly stiffened, and a long spear pierced into his waist from behind, and the tip of the spear pierced out from his front abdomen.

It was a shot fired by Cao Chun in anger, which pierced Zhang Ji directly.

At the moment when Zhang Ji paused, countless swords and spears fell on him, and he was chopped to the ground almost instantly.

"Alas!" Zhang Xiu saw it clearly and sighed helplessly, "It's a pity that I have worked so hard to learn martial arts, but I have no chance to become famous."

As he spoke, he swung his spear, knocking away the swords and spears of the government troops, then poked the spear into the ground, with the tip of the spear pointing at his throat, "My life will only end at the hands of my own spear!"

As Zhang Xiu spoke, he lunged forward. The tip of the spear pierced his throat and came out from the back of his neck. Blood flowed down the spear shaft.

Thanks to the support of the spear, Zhang Xiu's body remained standing. For a moment, the surrounding government troops did not dare to move forward.

Cao Hong and Cao Chun didn't care about all this. They rushed forward and vented their anger on Zhang Xiu's body, chopping the corpse into a pool of blood.

……

Linfen City was quickly captured and fell into the hands of the government troops. Because Dong Zhuo's army fled north, Gai Xun took advantage of the opportunity and the siege went much more smoothly than originally planned. The defending generals Dong Min and Zhang Ji died in the battle.

But Cao Cao's death cast an unnecessary shadow on this victory.

Huangfu Song and Gai Xun joined forces and their military power was greatly enhanced. When they were about to write a victory report, they received the imperial edict from His Majesty the Emperor.

The imperial edict ordered the Grand Marshal Huangfu Song to command the troops to continue their march northward, eliminate the remnants of Dong Zhuo, and put down the Hetao Rebellion. Gai Xun returned to the court to preside over the affairs of the Grand Justice Department.

Although the five major departments have been established, their functions have not yet been fully utilized in operation. Apart from other things, the chief officer in charge is only Lu Zhi, the chief of the four major departments, and none of the chief officers of the other four departments are in office.

Grand Marshal Huangfu Song was in Hedong to suppress the rebellion. Although he was not in office, at least he was doing his job. Looking at the other three people, it is even more ridiculous.

The Grand Tutor Liu Yu was still managing the political affairs of Youzhou, the Grand Judge Gai Xun was also suppressing Dong Zhuo's rebellion, and the Grand Chancellor Zhu Jun was fighting hard against the remnants of the Black Mountain bandits and the White Wave bandits in Hanoi.

In the residence of the Grand Marshal, both the Grand Marshal and the Grand Marshal's Assistant were absent; in the residence of the Grand Tutor, the Grand Tutor was absent and the Grand Tutor's Assistant was vacant, with only a Chief Clerk supporting the position; the Grand Justices and the Grand Chancellors were both absent, and were acted upon by their respective Assistants.

Although the administrative capacity of the Han court is much stronger than that of Emperor Ling Liu Hong, it is still far from the optimal state expected by Liu Ming. At least the functions of the five major departments have not been fully utilized.

Not only Gai Xun will return to the court, but Zhu Jun will also return to the court after the Henei Rebellion is quelled. If a suitable candidate is found for the post of Governor of Youzhou, Liu Yu will also have to fulfill his duties as Grand Tutor.

"Brother Yuan Gu (Gai Xun's name) has been a soldier all his life, but now he has to give up his military power and return to the court to manage law and punishment." Huangfu Song said solemnly, "You also know that when the troops are deployed at the front, the most fearful thing is the obstruction from the rear. I hope Brother Yuan Gu can make good use of the power of the criminal law and provide more protection for the soldiers who are deployed at the front."

Huangfu Song has never met Liu Ming since he traveled through time. He only heard that His Majesty had suddenly become wise and brave, but the impression of his stupidity and incompetence left by the long years before was too deeply rooted.

I am afraid that when the battle is at a critical moment in the front, treacherous villains in the rear will make slanderous remarks. If the emperor fails to distinguish right from wrong, it will cause endless harm, not only costing the lives of soldiers, but also the country.

Gai Xun had a good relationship with him, so Huangfu Song specifically instructed Gai Xun to be recalled to the court to take charge of criminal law.

"Brother Yizhen (Huangfu Song's courtesy name), don't worry too much." Gai Xun smiled and waved his hand, "The court today is no longer the chaotic situation of the past. Foreign relatives' monopoly of power? Ten eunuchs' disorderly politics? Aristocratic families controlling the government? Factional chaos? These sources of trouble have been eliminated. As long as our five major departments work together and nothing goes wrong, this court will be an ironclad empire."

Gai Xun looked around to see if there was anyone around, and lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty now has the appearance of a wise ruler!"

Huangfu Song nodded thoughtfully, and then asked doubtfully: "Yuan Gu, don't you think the change is a bit too big? As ministers, we naturally hope that a wise monarch will rule the country, but we don't know if it can last long. I hope it's not a temporary excitement, and it will go back to the old ways once the excitement is over..."

During the years when Emperor Lingdi was in power, many of his policies were made on a whim, and even after careful consideration, it was difficult to maintain them for a long time. Especially during the period when the Ten Eunuchs controlled the government, the political situation was chaotic, orders changed every day, and loyal ministers and generals suffered terribly.

Huangfu Song was certainly happy to see His Majesty's transformation into a wise ruler, but he was afraid that once the trend passed, the emperor would return to his extravagant and decadent state.

Gai Xun thought about it, shook his head, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "In my opinion, I will not go back. Judging from your majesty's series of measures, you really want the world to prosper, especially you want the people to live a good life. You have also heard of your majesty's famous saying: Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it."

Huangfu Song nodded and said, "Of course I have heard of it, but I didn't pay too much attention to it at the time. After all, there have been many high-sounding words before, but how many of them have really been put into practice? But now it seems that it is really your Majesty's true feelings. If the monarch is enlightened, why would the soldiers complain about the blood on the battlefield?"

"Since I am in charge of the criminal law, no one should try to bend the law for personal gain." Gai Xun said in a deep voice, "No matter if he is from a noble family or a powerful person, I will punish him to the end!"

Huangfu Song stared at his old friend with burning eyes and nodded vigorously.

The next day, Gai Xun returned to the capital with more than ten personal followers, leaving all the troops to Huangfu Song.

At this time, Huangfu Song had more than 80,000 people under his command, and many of them were brave generals and warriors. Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Xiahou Dun, Xu Huang, Hua Xiong and others were all capable of fighting against thousands of enemies. His strength was much stronger than when he pacified the Qiang rebellion in the northwest.

Sima Fang, the governor of Hedong, was finally able to come to Hedong to perform his duties. Upon hearing that Cao Cao died in Hedong while quelling the rebellion, Sima Fang was very sad and wrote a letter to tell his family in Wen County the bad news.

Madam Sima and Sima Yi were also very sad after hearing this. Although Cao Cao had only been with them for a short time, he was Sima Yi's adoptive father after all, and his sudden death in battle made people feel sad.

Ding Yuan finally led his direct troops back to Bingzhou to take up the post of Governor of Bingzhou. Dong Zhuo's escape to the north might affect the safety of Bingzhou. If no one in charge returned, chaos would probably break out soon.

What's more, Ding Yuan has now been promoted from Governor of Bingzhou to Governor of Bingzhou, and there is a lot of things for him to take care of.

After a few days of rest, Huangfu Song left Yang Feng to assist Sima Fang in maintaining order in Hedong, and then led the army northward to suppress the bandits.

Hedong first experienced the Baibo Rebellion and was later occupied by Dong Zhuo. The original order was basically disrupted, and normal production and life had to be restored as soon as possible.

In addition, it is close to the capital Luoyang. It can be said that the peace of Hedong directly affects the stability of the heart of the Han Dynasty.

Yang Feng was originally from Hedong and was familiar with the local customs and practices. Moreover, after such a long period of actual combat experience, his ability to command troops and his personal strength had greatly improved. It was most appropriate for him to assist Sima Fang in maintaining public order in Hedong.

Dong Zhuo did not stay in other counties in Hedong, but went directly into the Hetao area where many Hu people gathered. Although Hedong had been pacified, it would probably take some time for Huangfu Song to pacify Hetao, or even the areas beyond the Great Wall to the north.

Just when Hedong had been pacified, fierce fighting was raging in Hanoi and flames of war were raging everywhere.

Xu Rong led the Black Mountain bandits and the White Wave bandits to attack Huai County after a long siege, but the results were not as optimistic as they expected.

Zhu Jun was good at commanding troops. After he became the governor of Henei, he had vigorously trained local militia. Especially in the past few months which was the slack farming season, each county had trained a large number of young and strong local militia.

When the Black Mountain bandits and the White Wave bandits came down the mountain again to attack Huai County, Zhu Jun promptly ordered the counties to ask the militia and farmers to take refuge in the city, which not only reduced casualties but also increased the city defense strength of the counties.

Therefore, Xu Rong divided his troops to attack other county towns, but he failed in any of them. In order to solve the food problem, the bandits could only plunder some empty villages, but the harvest was not great.

This surprised Xu Rong. He thought Huai County was difficult to capture because of the presence of Zhu Jun, a military expert, but he did not expect that other counties could not be captured either!

Xu Rong attributed the cause to the Black Mountain bandits and the White Wave bandits being weak in combat power and a motley crowd, but it was not easy for him to accuse them openly. After all, he still had to rely on the Henei Rebellion to contain the government troops in Hedong.

It was not convenient for him to leave Huai County and lead troops to attack other counties. Finally, the leader of the Baibo Army, Guo Tai, volunteered to lead troops to attack Yewang City. (End of this chapter)