I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 82 Dong Zhuo is a good man [revised]

Being granted a title of nobility or appointed as a general is naturally a great pleasure in life.

But then, everyone's expression changed.

Because there were actually two imperial edicts sent from Luoyang!

And this second imperial edict was addressed to Zhang Liao.

Dong Zhuo, in the name of the imperial court, directly appointed Zhang Liao as Bingzhou governor and granted him the title of Guannei Hou, replacing Ding Yuan. This was equivalent to turning Zhang Liao from a mere general into one of the most important frontier officials in the Yanhan Dynasty.

You have to know that Zhang Liao was only 20 years old at that time. Such a speed of promotion is not enough to describe as meteoric rise to the top, it is simply a step to heaven.

Li Ru's move was obviously a strategy of sowing discord, and he made no secret of it. It was an open conspiracy, which aimed to divide Wang Jing and Zhang Liao and undermine the morale and military spirit of the Northern Army.

If Zhang Liao accepted the order, his status would be equal to Wang Jing's. This plan could split the Northern Army's combat power into two, especially Ding Yuan's former subordinates.

If Zhang Liao refused, Dong Zhuo could publicly declare that Wang Jing was narrow-minded and intolerant, and then use this to severely damage Wang Jing's reputation, causing Wang Jing and Zhang Liao to become alienated, which would be equivalent to cutting off one of Wang Jing's arms.

There is no doubt that this was a blatant conspiracy. Dong Zhuo just wanted to prevent Wang Jing from returning to Luoyang with peace of mind and pose a threat to the Xiliang army.

Zhang Liao was no fool. He knew that the imperial edict sent from Luoyang was full of malice. How could he dare to accept it? He looked at Wang Jing hesitantly and said, "My lord, I..."

But Wang Jing didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, he smiled generously and urged: "Wenyuan, what are you standing there for? Accept the order."

Zhang Liao thought Wang Jing was being sarcastic, so he immediately bowed his head and apologized: "I dare not have such second thoughts. My lord, please do not fall for Dong's evil plan!"

Wang Jing laughed loudly upon hearing this, and helped Zhang Liao up from the ground. He comforted him in a heroic tone, "A real man is a man of integrity. What is there to be afraid of? Or do you think, Wenyuan, that I am narrow-minded and cannot tolerate my subordinates ascending to high positions?"

In the Eight Battalions of the Northern Army, Yan Hu and others were originally indignant at Zhang Liao, but after hearing what Wang Jing said, they were too embarrassed to speak.

Although they were dissatisfied with Zhang Liao becoming the governor of Bingzhou out of thin air, they could not put Wang Jing in an unjust position, so they all remained silent, but the look they gave Zhang Liao was still full of strangeness and exclusion.

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.

The generals and soldiers of the eight battalions of the Northern Army include those from the six counties of Xiliang, those from Luoyang, veterans brought from Chenliu in Yanzhou, and militiamen recruited during the expedition against the Yellow Turbans in Runan in Yuzhou, and even family warriors from their hometown of Qi County. Now, a group of strong soldiers have been recruited in Hedong.

It is no exaggeration to say that such an army is a hodgepodge. Its members come from all over the country and were forcibly blended together by Wang Jing.

When there are many people, there are many ideas. Everyone has their own interests and factions, and they stick together for warmth. This is human nature, and it is difficult to avoid at any time.

Therefore, Li Ru's plan was extremely vicious. If it had been used by someone else who was suspicious, this trick would have really worked.

Even though Wang Jing did not fall into the trap, the people under his command felt deeply unbalanced.

Zhang Liao was not a brainless reckless man. His political IQ was not low. Therefore, he saw all of this and felt secretly moved, but also felt warm in his heart.

Because Wang Jing did not doubt him because of this, but instead trusted him as always.

Wang Jing urged Zhang Liao to accept the appointment of Bingzhou Mu, and continued to entrust him with important tasks: "Bingzhou is the northern barrier, facing the threats from the Xianbei and Xiongnu. This position is not easy to sit on. I will hand over the Bingzhou Wolf Riders to you. Guard this northern gate for me and prevent the Hu people from grazing their horses southward."

Zhang Liao had never expected that Wang Jing would not deprive him of his military power, but would let him command the Bingzhou Wolf Riders, a powerful army in the world. He was so moved that he knelt on one knee, clasped his fists with tears in his eyes and said, "Liao is willing to follow my lord until death!"

If it were an ordinary prince, he would have already had the murderous intention to kill the general and seize power by now.

There was such a case in the history of the Three Kingdoms. Qu Yi helped Yuan Shao defeat Gongsun Zan and unify the north. He became the overlord of Hebei, dominated Jizhou, and was the most powerful person in the Central Plains.

But the result?

After defeating Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao could not wait to find a reason to execute Qu Yi and take away his military power.

Why?

It was only because General Qu Yi had a very high prestige in the army that Yuan Shao felt threatened, so he did not hesitate to execute him.

For many monarchs, it doesn’t matter whether their subordinates are rebelling or not. As long as their subordinates have the ability to rebel, they deserve to die.

In history books, are there not many famous generals who were killed because of their great achievements that frightened their ruler?
Unfortunately, this time, both Dong Zhuo and Li Ru made the wrong calculations.

Wang Jing would never fall for such a low-level plot to sow discord. After all, Wang Jing trusted Zhang Liao's character and intelligence. At the same time, Wang Jing's situation was different from Yuan Shao's.

Yuan Shao seized Jizhou mainly through political means. When he raised his army in Bohai, the soldiers under his command were neither able to conquer nor good at fighting. On the contrary, Han Fu's general Qu Yi was from Liangzhou, was proficient in Qiang people's tactics, and had a strong army and horses.

If it weren't for the conflict between Qu Yi and Han Fu, which was taken advantage of by Yuan Shao, if the two armies really had to fight head-on, ten Yuan Shaos would not be enough to defeat Qu Yi.

So after Yuan Shao bribed Qu Yi, took Jizhou, and defeated Gongsun Zan in succession, he immediately took action against Qu Yi as soon as the situation stabilized.

It's simply because the lord is weak and the ministers are strong, so this is the only way.

Compared with the guilty Yuan Shao, the Eight Battalions of the Northern Army were founded by Wang Jing, and the officers and soldiers in the army were all convinced by him. Therefore, Wang Jing did not have to worry about being overtaken by Zhang Liao and losing control of the army.

After all, whoever dares to rebel will be killed.

If you have strength, you will naturally have confidence.

Therefore, since Dong Zhuo dared to appoint Zhang Liao as the governor of Bingzhou, Wang Jing dared to let Zhang Liao take office and allocated him three thousand Bingzhou Wolf Riders, allowing Zhang Liao to sit firmly in the position of the governor of Bingzhou, just as he could expand the territory for the Northern Army.

The Wang family of Taiyuan was originally a prominent family in Bingzhou. Zhang Liao came from a humble family but suddenly rose to a high position. If it weren't for Wang Jing's support behind the scenes, how could he have secured the position of governor?

By letting Zhang Liao serve as the governor of Bingzhou, Wang Jing could legitimately use his family's influence to completely control the entire Bingzhou. Perhaps within a year, Wang Jing could get a piece of land for nothing, and even make Bingzhou a stable rear base for the Northern Army. Why not?
If Dong Zhuo knew what Wang Jing was thinking at this moment, he would probably be so angry that he would have a cerebral hemorrhage.

His plan of division has now become an act of aiding the enemy. Wang Jing was worrying about how to occupy the entire Bingzhou legally and reasonably, and then Dong Zhuo and Li Ru gave him this trick. Just when he was about to fall asleep, someone handed him a fragrant and soft pillow. There are still many good people in the world.

Wang Jing's disgust towards Fatty Dong was slightly reduced.

Before Zhang Liao took office, Wang Jing specifically asked a few questions: "Wenyuan, what is the current situation in Bingzhou?"

Zhang Liao couldn't help but sigh: "In the past few decades, Bingzhou has not been peaceful. The Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei have been raiding the northern border. Every autumn and winter, the people on the border are in a state of panic. The Hu people are causing great harm."

"Not long ago, the Wuhuan cavalry demanded payment. The Wuhuan leader Qiu Liju, together with Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, attacked Ji County, burned the city walls, looted the people, and killed the Wuhuan Protector Gong Qi Chou, You Beiping Governor Liu Zheng, Liaodong Governor Yang Zhong, etc. The number of their troops reached more than 100,000 and they were stationed in Feiru. In order to quell the war, Youzhou Governor Liu Yu finally used a soft strategy to recruit Qiu Liju, and the assassin Wang Zheng assassinated Zhang Chun, and finally put down the rebellion. But the threat of the Wuhuan people still exists, and they may become a major threat to the northern border of our empire in the future."

Through Zhang Liao’s own narration, Wang Jing couldn’t help but sigh in his heart, it turned out that the dead Hu people were the good Hu people.

The living Hu people are simply a cancer to the Han people, and keeping them around will only cause more trouble.

In fact, since the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, the Hu peoples such as the Southern Xiongnu, Xianbei and Wuhuan, who were originally employed by the Han Dynasty, had become restless.

They were originally mercenaries of the Yanhan Dynasty, and were originally mainly used to fight against the Northern Xiongnu. However, the Southern Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan, who were supported by the Han army, quickly grew stronger after annexing some nomadic tribes outside the Great Wall, and replaced the original ecological position of the Northern Xiongnu, and in turn became a major threat to the dynasty. The Xianbei and Wuhuan were of the same origin, and were different branches of the ancient Donghu tribe. After the death of the heroic leader Tan Shihuai, the Xianbei fell into a struggle for succession, and thus the threat to the dynasty was reduced.

Instead, the Wuhuan people began to become active. First, Xiu Tuge and other tribes contacted the Wuhuan people in Shuofang to rebel against the Han Dynasty and invaded the border counties. After they were beaten to death by Zhang Huan, they behaved themselves for a while.

Later, due to the interference of the Eastern Han Dynasty's foreign relatives and eunuchs in government affairs and endless internal strife, the Southern Xiongnu began to stir up trouble again, rebelling many times and joining forces with the Xianbei to raid the border and kill officials.

During this period, several khans appointed by the imperial court were killed, and then they launched a crazy invasion, causing chaos in Bingzhou.

Dingxiang, Yunzhong, Wuyuan, Shuofang, and Shangjun were all affected, and countless Han people were killed or captured. Almost every household had a blood feud with the Hu people in the northern border.

The year before Emperor Ling's death, Xiu Tuge plundered Xihe County and killed the prefect Xing Ji. Later, he killed Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou. The various tribes of the Southern Xiongnu took turns to plunder the grasslands and commit numerous blood debts. It can be said that no Hu people were innocent. They came and went like the wind and regarded the Han people as standing animals.

No matter what happens in the future, the two sides are now definitely mortal enemies.

Therefore, Wang Jing was very contemptuous of Liu Yu's conciliatory policy in Youzhou. From the Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, has the imperial dynasty's conciliatory policy ever been successful?

When dealing with the Hu people, the only way to bring true peace to the northern border of the empire is to destroy their system and then annex their land and population.

Wang Jing was filled with anger when he heard about the evil deeds of the Hu people: "Wenyuan, the right wing of the Southern Xiongnu and Xiutu have joined forces and claim to have 100,000 cavalry. How much of this is true?"

Zhang Liao was disdainful when he heard this: "One hundred thousand cavalry is impossible, at most sixty thousand, and their troops can only be assembled in autumn and winter, usually they are scattered around to guard the pastures."

Wang Jing was speechless. Did people in ancient times like to brag when fighting wars?
Where has the sincerity and trust between people gone?

As the saying goes, how can one allow others to snore in one's own bed? Now that the Southern Xiongnu occupy the areas around Hetao, they are a major threat to Bingzhou. A hundred years later, they will become the vanguard of the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China. Therefore, Wang Jing hopes to resolve this threat.

But using military force against foreign countries requires caution, so Wang Jing did not make a hasty decision, but asked his civil and military officers: "The Southern Xiongnu are ambitious and are eyeing Bingzhou and even the Central Plains. Such a threat cannot be ignored. Do you have a good plan to solve this problem for me?"

Xun You was afraid that Wang Jing would act on impulse and attack the Xiongnu at this critical moment, so he hurriedly advised: "There is no one outside the Great Wall for thousands of miles. Even if the army goes out, it will be difficult to find any trace of the Hu people. During the reign of Emperor Wu, even the Marquis Guanjun, who established the immortal feat of Fenglangjuxu, was unable to completely eliminate the Xiongnu. Now our army is limited in strength, and it is not a good idea to send troops rashly."

Wang Jing was not someone who would not listen to advice. He also knew that the Northern Army had just experienced a great battle. Although it had won, it still needed time to recuperate.

"Wenyuan, what do you think?"

Zhang Liao thought for a moment and said, "We can follow the tactics of Li Mu, the Wu'an Jun of Zhao State in the past. We should first stay in Dai and Yanmen for a long time, and adopt the policy of fortifying the border, clearing the fields, conserving our strength, and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack, so that the Xiongnu will get nothing. Then we can avoid fighting and indulge the Xiongnu so that they will despise us. Our army can accumulate strength in secret, and when the time is right, we can use livestock and wealth as bait to lure the Xiongnu's isolated army deep into our territory, and then use the two-wing encirclement tactics to annihilate their main force by surprise, and decide the outcome of the battle in one battle."

Although Zhang Liao was young, he had been familiar with military books and historical materials since childhood. Therefore, he was brave and resourceful, and was a rare good general in the world.

Xun You also agreed with Zhang Liao's suggestion, saying: "Wenyuan's words are wise. In a battle with the Hu people outside the Great Wall, it is better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers. Taking the initiative to attack is a bad idea, because the Hu cavalry comes and goes like the wind. It is not difficult to defeat them, but it is difficult to annihilate them. The way to use troops is not to win in large numbers, but to win in key points. Our army must win a decisive victory once, otherwise everything will be in vain."

Li Mu was one of the four great generals of the Warring States Period. His military talent was unquestionable. He established a rule for fighting the Xiongnu: "If the Xiongnu invade, we must quickly gather our troops and retreat to the camp and defend it. Anyone who dares to capture the enemy will be beheaded."

Every time the Huns invaded, they would send out beacon fires as an alarm and immediately gather their troops and retreat into their camps to defend themselves, not daring to go out into battle.

Several years passed like this, with no loss of men, horses or supplies, but the Xiongnu thought Li Mu was a coward, and even the Zhao border guards thought their commander was timid and afraid of fighting.

In the following years, Li Mu pretended to be weak, then used a strategy of feigning defeat and used people, livestock and money as bait, which finally lured the Huns to launch a massive attack and fall directly into the trap that Li Mu had prepared for a long time.

The Huns were surrounded on all sides and more than 100,000 cavalry were annihilated in one go. The State of Zhao also took advantage of the momentum of this battle to destroy the Qianlan, defeat the Donghu, and subdue the Linhu, thus completely stabilizing the situation in the northern border and being able to devote its military forces to guarding against the invasion of Qin.

If King Qian of Zhao had not been so foolish and incompetent, and had not fallen into Qin's trap of sowing discord and actually sent people to assassinate Li Mu and seize military power, there would have been no way that Qin would have been able to win so quickly and destroy Zhao.

Wang Jing thought about it and felt that he could act according to this strategy: "Wenyuan, I will entrust the safety of Bingzhou to you. The Central Plains is the Central Plains of the Han people. Please defend China against the invasion of the barbarians outside the Great Wall."

Zhang Liao heard this and solemnly promised, "My lord, please rest assured that Liao will guard the borders, fortify the walls and clear the fields, and prevent the Hu cavalry from invading our Shenzhou territory."

At this point, Wang Jing had set the military tone for the Northern Army in Bingzhou, focusing on defense and showing weakness, waiting to successfully lure the main forces of the Xiongnu and Xianbei to the south, and then launching a decisive battle to decide the outcome.

As Xun You said, when fighting against the Hu people who come and go like the wind, victory does not lie in numbers but in the key points.

It is meaningless to just drive the Hu cavalry away if we cannot annihilate the Hu people's vitality in one go. After all, even if they run away today, they can come back again tomorrow.

There are only thieves who can steal for a thousand days in this world, but there is no one who can guard against thieves for a thousand days.

After solving the development and security issues of Bingzhou, Wang Jing's attention returned to Luoyang again and began to pay attention to the changes in the central power of the empire.

At this time in Luoyang, in addition to Dong Zhuo, there was another person who was very concerned about Wang Jing.

Taifu’s residence, study.

Yuan Ji personally brought Yuan Wei news about Wang Jing: "Uncle, the Northern Army has wiped out the Baibo Army and even fought with Yu Fuluo."

After reading the secret letter, Yuan Wei sighed, "It is true that heroes emerge young. Yu Fuluo even used the Golden Man for Heaven Sacrifice, but he was still defeated. The Overlord Bow and Fiery Feather Arrow, the magical skills of the former Overlord Xiang Yu, were actually obtained by this boy. It seems that I underestimated him in the beginning."

Originally, Yuan Wei only regarded Wang Jing as a chess piece to contain Dong Zhuo.

But now, not only is Dong Zhuo gradually out of control, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have fled to Luoyang, and even Wang Jing has made Yuan Wei feel a huge threat.

However, as an evergreen in the political arena, Yuan Wei was still able to keep his composure. After putting down the secret letter, he asked another question: "Hongye, do you know the whereabouts of the imperial seal?"

Yuan Ji showed an embarrassed expression: "Uncle, at that time, Benchu ​​and Gonglu led people to kill all the eunuchs in the palace. Now we know that Zhang Rang had ordered his confidants to hide the imperial seal before he left, but those who knew about it have already died. Although I have found someone who is good at observing the weather to deduce the secrets of heaven and calculate the whereabouts of the seal, it is in vain."

Yuan Wei was also helpless about this: "The Imperial Seal carries the fate of the dynasty, and has the fire and dragon energy of the Yanhan Dynasty to conceal the secrets of heaven. How can ordinary fortune tellers deduce and calculate it? It's a pity that the Qin Dynasty's national magic skill "Xingluo Shendian" was destroyed in the war and burned by Xiang Yu. Otherwise, if we can find the successor who practices the "Purple Star Emperor Qi Chapter" in it, we may be able to peek into the secrets of heaven and calculate the whereabouts of the Imperial Seal."

The reason why Yuan family of Runan was worried about finding the imperial seal was entirely because if the plan of ruling the world with Confucianism was to succeed, three major elements had to be gathered.

First, he is a relative of the Han Dynasty and a direct descendant of the Liu family.

In this regard, Yuan Wei has already met this condition by placing Chenliu King Liu Bian under house arrest.

Second, the sacred artifact of the Yanhan Dynasty, the Map of Mountains, Rivers and States.

These precious treasures were kept jointly by two regent ministers when Emperor Lingdi passed away. Emperor Lingdi's original intention was to let Yuan Wei and He Jin check and balance each other.

As a result, Yuan Wei set up a tight network through Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and finally got rid of He Jin with the help of the Ten Eunuchs. He then killed the eunuch group, completely freed himself from all constraints, and secretly took the country for himself.

At this point, two of the three major elements have been gathered.

But something went wrong with this last key element.

Yuan Wei was also gritting his teeth in hatred at this time: "Zhang Rang, you bastard, I can't rest in peace even if you die."

(End of this chapter)