The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 355 Black Mountain Army

"Zhen?"

Qin Shou looked at the people in front of him with a slight smile on his face. Seeing this, Jia Xu sighed. He had followed Qin Shou for the longest time, so how could he not see that Qin Shou was actually very angry at this time.

"I, Zhen Yan, pay my respects to the Prime Minister."

Zhen Yan seemed to sense Qin Shou's anger and quickly fell to the ground.

"Do you think that I will spare the lives of your Zhen family just because of your sister's beauty?" Qin Shou lifted Zhen Mi's chin with the whip in his hand, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

She is indeed a great beauty, even Ms. Zhang cannot compare with her. No wonder there is a saying that there is the beauty of Zhen Mi in Hebei and the two Qiao sisters in Jiangdong.

"The common people don't dare, the common people don't dare."

Zhen Yan knelt on the ground, his back covered in cold sweat. As for Zhen Zhang, she was trembling with fear at this time. The powerful aura made it hard for her to breathe, and she was secretly regretting it in her heart.

"What are you afraid of? Last year, I issued an order that anyone who dared to support Yuan Shao with grain and grass would be punished as aiding the enemy and collaborating with the enemy. Not only did you disobey the order, but you also sent money and grain in a big way. Do you really have a lot of money?"

A hint of murderous intent flashed across Qin Shou's eyes.

"Prime Minister, I, Zhen, really have no other choice. Yuan Shao has a strong army and controls Jizhou. If I disobey, my life will be in danger. I hope the Prime Minister will understand." Zhen Zhang hurriedly begged.

Although she had been prepared, she only realized at this moment the situation she was about to face. The person in front of her was not Yuan Shao, but Qin Shou, the most powerful man in the entire Han Dynasty.

The life and death of the entire Zhen family was in the hands of the other party. The so-called excuses were pale and powerless at this moment.

Although Zhen Mi is very beautiful, will this peerless hero in front of him still care about her beauty?

"Prime Minister, I was born in Hebei, which is controlled by Yuan Shao. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. It was not my intention to offer food and grass to Yuan Shao. The Prime Minister is smart and kind, and he will understand the reason. It is also a fact that I disobeyed the Prime Minister's order, and I am willing to accept the punishment."

A pleasant voice sounded, it was Zhen Mi's voice.

As soon as the words came out, Qin Shou was embarrassed. The woman in front of him was very smart. She saw what he wanted to do at a glance and directly put the whole Zhen on the chopping board and let him cut it.

Unlike his mother and brother, he admitted his mistakes with a little cunning. This kind of bad behavior made it difficult for Qin Shou to take action.

"My lord, although the Zhen family is guilty, it is mainly because of Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao is cruel and the Hebei families dare not disobey him. Therefore, I think they should be given a lighter sentence. After all, Yuan Shao is also a minister of our Han Dynasty and is not an enemy." Jia Xu suddenly said.

Qin Shou was stunned. He still wanted to get money and food from Zhen! But what did Jia Xu, the old fox, want to do? If Yuan Shao was not the enemy, who was the enemy?

"Well, Wenhe is right. The people of Hebei have suffered too much loss because of Yuan Shao. There is really no other way. We have to obey Yuan Shao's orders." Qin Shou nodded.

"The Prime Minister is wise. He led the royal army to pacify Hebei, wipe out Yuan Shao, and save the people of Hebei from the dire straits. I, Zhen Mi, am willing to offer ten thousand kilograms of gold and twenty thousand stones of grain and grass to boost the military's prestige." Zhen Mi said immediately.

Qin Shou was about to agree when Jia Xu said, "Madam Yuan, you are joking. The Prime Minister serves the country and the people. The Cavalry has strict discipline. How could he possibly ask for money from the people? Madam, you have misunderstood the Prime Minister."

"My lord, Yuan Tan's wife is here." Pang De's voice came from outside, and a group of people were seen escorting several people in the distance. In front was a woman in plain clothes, holding a boy of five or six years old. "I heard that Yuan Shao didn't like Yuan Tan very much. I didn't expect that it was Yuan Tan who left his bloodline in the end." Qin Shou sighed: "In any case, Yuan Shao has made contributions to unifying the north and restoring the people's livelihood in the north. He should not be extinct."

"My Lord, be merciful."

Everyone nodded, and Xin Ping and others looked more relaxed.

Qin Shou's words meant that the other party would treat Yuan Shao well. If they treated Yuan Shao like this, they would surely be even more relaxed towards himself and others.

"Is there any news about Yuan Tan's brothers?" Qin Shou asked again.

"Although they have fled to Pingyuan, Nanpi and Youzhou, I believe that they cannot hold these places for long." Jia Xu said quickly.

"Yuan Shao is dead, but there is still a force in the north that I have not yet used." Qin Shou looked to the northwest.

"My lord, you are talking about Zhang Yan." Pang Tong said indifferently: "My lord, the Black Mountain Army today is no longer the Black Mountain Army of the past. Zhang Yan is stationed in Black Mountain and is fighting Yuan Shao to the death. Although he claims to have 100,000 troops, he now has only 10,000. I think my lord can go and persuade him to surrender."

Qin Shou nodded and said, "The Yellow Turban bandits had no choice but to rebel. Now that peace is about to be restored in the north, it is time for them to come down the mountain. Wenhe can send people to persuade them to surrender. If they refuse to surrender, he can send people to blockade the fortresses in Taihang Mountain. By then, there will be no food in the mountains, and they will have no choice but to surrender."

"My lord, I am willing to be an envoy to go to Heishan to persuade Zhang Yan to surrender." Xin Pi said quickly.

"It's perfect that George is willing to go." Qin Shou was overjoyed, with a look of satisfaction on his face.

After the failure of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Zhang Yan led an army of 100,000 into Taihang Mountains. How come he was still alive? Qin Shou believed that it was all related to the aristocratic families in Jizhou and Bingzhou. Without their secret support, Zhang Yan would definitely not be alive today.

However, Qin Shou was not Yuan Shao. If the other party did not surrender, he would immediately mobilize his army to block all exits of Taihang Mountain and trap Zhang Yan in Taihang.

He also believed that Zhang Yan was a smart man and would make the right choice when the north was about to calm down.

Deep in the Taihang Mountains, in a large camp, flags were flying and the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. War horses galloped into the camp from time to time. This was Zhang Yan's old nest. Among all the mountain strongholds in the Taihang Mountains, Zhang Yan had the greatest power, followed by Yang Feng, Yu Du, Bai Rao and others. Then there were Liu Shi, Qing Niu Jiao, Huang Long, Zuo Xiao, Guo Daxian, Li Damu, Yu Digen and so on. These people were even weaker, with thousands or even hundreds of soldiers and horses.

Fortunately, although these people had some conflicts, they were generally united. When dealing with Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others, they all sent troops together.

The most impressive thing was probably that they joined forces to capture Ye City, which led to a fatal fight between Yuan Shao and Zhang Yan, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.

Today Zhang Yan gathered everyone again.

"Everyone, Yuan Shao is dead, and the Cavalry has already marched towards Yecheng. I estimate that Jizhou, no, the entire north will soon be the territory of the Cavalry. What should we do? I invited you all here today for this matter."

Zhang Yan had a bitter look on his face and glanced at everyone.

Thinking back to the time when he was so powerful and had a million soldiers under his command, even Emperor Ling of Han could not do anything to him. Now, all his troops have been lost, and he is helpless in the face of Qin Shou.

(End of this chapter)