The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 118 Chapter 118
Pingyuan County, Gaotang County.

Zang Ba led Wu Dun, Sun Guan, Chang Xi and others to line up at the gate of the city, warmly welcoming Zhang Yan and others.

Zhang Yan led four generals Zhang Hong, Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, and Xu Sheng, with iron cavalry and the second battalion of iron armor, coming from the south in a mighty manner. When they arrived at Gaotang County, they saw the city of Gaotang County The door was wide open, and Zang Ba led the generals to wait there.

When they met each other, Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Sun Guan, and Chang Xi clasped their fists together and said, "See my lord!"

Zhang Yan reined in the horse, jumped off the horse in a hurry, and said with a happy face: "Quickly forgive me!"

"Thank you, my lord!" Zang Ba used to call Zhang Yan brothers and sisters. Since Zhang Yan became Xuzhou Mu, he has also shown special respect for Zhang Yan. He has changed from his previous unruly personality, and is very strict with his subordinates, for fear of causing trouble. Something happened.

Zhang Yan grabbed Zang Ba's hand and looked very friendly. In front of everyone, he said to Zang Ba: "Xuan Gao, you have done a great job in driving away Yuan Tan for me this time. I am going to show you what you did for me." General Yangwei..."

Before Zhang Yan could finish speaking, Zang Ba interrupted Zhang Yan, clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for your kindness, lord, but this is not due to me alone, but the result of the whole army fighting the enemy bravely. I hope the lord can reward these bloody soldiers together!"

Zhang Yandao: "Don't worry, I will never treat these soldiers badly. After a while, you will write a report on military exploits, and I will reward you according to your merits."

"Here!" Zang Ba said respectfully.

Zhang Yan took Zang Ba's hand, and walked into the city, and said as he walked: "The last time we parted in Tancheng, our brothers hadn't seen each other for several months, and we meet again here today, so we must have a drink with him." stop."

Zang Ba saw that Zhang Yan did not put on the airs of state herdsmen, and did not give people a sense of superiority. He was still the same as before, so approachable and forthright.And Zang Ba also liked this feeling very much, so he walked straight towards the city with Zhang Yan.

The soldiers and horses brought by Zhang Yan all filed into the city. When Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, Xu Sheng and others passed by Zang Ba's subordinates, they were all arrogant, and the armor they wore made Wu Dun, Sun Guan, Chang Xi and the others were envious for a while.

"My lord's army is different, even the weapons and armor are so good..." Wu Dun said with a tut.

After Sun Guan and Chang Xi saw it, they felt sad for a while. If they could have such armor when they attacked the city, at least they could reduce many casualties.

Everyone entered the city one after another, Wu Dun, Sun Guan, and Chang Xi arranged the army on the school grounds, and then came to the hall of the county government together with Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, and Xu Sheng.

In the hall, Zhang Yan sat at the top, Zang Ba, Zhang Hong and others sat on the two sides respectively. After entering the hall, Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, and Xu Sheng walked over to Zhang Hong and sat down one by one. Wu Dun .Sun Guan and Chang Xi went to Zang Ba and sat down one by one.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers served the food and wine respectively. Zang Ba opened a jar of fine wine, then cupped his hands to Zhang Yan and said, "My lord has come a long way, and it must be hard work. I toast my lord with a cup, which can be regarded as my lord's cleansing."

As soon as the words fell, Zang Ba drank it down in one gulp.

Zhang Yan was not polite at all, he also picked up the wine glass with a smile, and drank it down in one gulp.

Afterwards, Zhang Yan and Zang Ba had a good time drinking and talking to each other, and the whole hall was full of joy.

During this period, the scout sent by Zhang Yan came back and found out about Yuan Tan's situation. Only then did Zhang Yan know that Yuan Tan crossed north from the ferry in Ande County to Hebei, and then blocked all the ferry along the river. Tunbing Pingyuan City just across the river from Gaotang County.

The news brought by the scouts ruined Zhang Yan's mood, and Zhang Yan drank a little too much today, seeing that all the generals were there, he said: "That boy Yuan Tan runs quite fast, and now his soldiers and horses are already dead. There is not much left, our army is now strong and strong, and tomorrow morning we can cross the river by boat and attack Pingyuan City, we must catch that boy Yuan Tan and let Yuan Shao know that I am not easy to mess with!"

After Zhang Hong heard this, he hurriedly said: "My lord, Pingyuan City is next to Jizhou, and Yuan Shao dominates Jizhou. He has a large army and a large number of generals. He must not be underestimated. At present, our army has controlled most of Qingzhou. Guarding the ferry of the Yellow River and preventing Yuan Jun from crossing the Yellow River will not pose a threat to Qingzhou. And Yuan Jun will never set foot in Qingzhou easily after this defeat. He will inevitably form a confrontation with our army and face each other across the river. If our army Taking advantage of the victory to pursue and crossing the Hebei River, Yuan Shao will think that our army is going to invade Jizhou, and he will definitely lead an army to attack the lord. With the current situation of our army, it is not enough to fight Yuan Shao, I hope the lord thinks twice."

Zang Badao: "Master, Zhang Junshi's words are reasonable, and the last general also agrees."

Zhang Yan thought for a while, and then said: "I'm just talking casually, I don't really want to cross the Hebei and attack the plains. Under the rule of Pingyuan County, only Gaotang, Zhu'a, and Luoyin counties are south of the Yellow River, and the rest of the counties They are all in Hebei, so let’s leave it to Yuan Shao for the time being. As long as our army guards the Yellow River ferry and prevents Yuan Jun from crossing the river, that’s fine.”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Yan suddenly called out: "Zang Ba!"

"The last general is here!" Zang Ba clasped his fists and said immediately.

Zhang Yanlang said: "From now on, you will be the General of Yangwei, and you will be appointed as the governor of Qingzhou, and you will be fully responsible for the affairs of Qingzhou."

When Zang Ba heard this appointment suddenly, he was startled, stunned for a moment, and hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "My lord, the general is just a warrior, the governor of Qingzhou has a heavy responsibility, I'm afraid the general will not be able to do it, please take it back! "

Zhang Yandao: "If you say it, it is equivalent to the water that was poured out. How can you take it back? I know how capable you are. You are fully qualified for the post of governor of Qingzhou. Besides, I have already found a batch of them for you." Talent will come to assist you, as long as you accept advice with an open mind and think twice before doing everything."

"But……"

"Don't worry, it's settled like this." Zhang Yan is very clear about the decision he made, because in history, after Zang Ba took refuge in Cao Cao, Cao Cao appointed Qingzhou and Xuzhou to Zang Ba, and Zang Ba was in charge of justice. , conquered violence, cleared Haidai, and managed Qingzhou and Xuzhou in an orderly manner.Later, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao rejected each other at Guandu, and Zang Ba led elite troops several times to harass Qingzhou occupied by Yuan Shao, so that Cao Cao no longer had to take care of Eastern affairs and could concentrate on dealing with Yuan Shao.

It is precisely because Zang Ba once took on this important task in history that Zhang Yan dared to entrust Qingzhou to Zang Ba. In this way, he can wholeheartedly deal with Cao Cao and no longer have to worry about Qingzhou affairs.

Zhang Yan then appointed Wu Dun as Minister of Jinan, Yin Li as Minister of Le'an, Sun Guan, Sun Kang, and Chang Xi as school captains, and the five were still under Zang Ba's subordinates, and each was rewarded with five hundred gold. And Zang Ba got a thousand pieces of gold.

Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Sun Guan, and Chang Xi were all moved when they received the award, and they came to the center of the hall one after another, and knelt in front of Zhang Yan together to express their gratitude.

After the banquet was over, Zhang Yan left Zang Ba alone again, and whispered to Zang Ba for a while, telling him that Qingzhou is rich in salt and iron, and the fishery is also very developed, and asked Zang Ba to use Kong Rong as a different driver, and Wang Xiu as the governor , I hope Zang Ba can govern Qingzhou well.

Zang Ba was so grateful to Zhang Yan for being so reused, and swore his allegiance to Zhang Yan forever. Please don't think of Qingzhou.

Zhang Yan had a lot of trust in Zang Ba, and he was very optimistic about his ability. The two chatted very late, and then went back to their rooms to rest.

Early the next morning, Zhang Yan assembled the army and led the army back to Xuzhou. Zang Ba personally sent Zhang Yan for more than ten miles before leaving reluctantly.

When Zhang Yan passed through Linzi, he informed Kong Rong of the appointment of Zang Ba as the governor of Qingzhou, and asked Kong Rong to assist Zang Ba well. At the same time, he also met Wang Xiu, a famous scholar recommended by Kong Rong, and praised Wang Xiu very much. Immediately let Wang Xiu be the governor of Qingzhou.

Kong Rong was sent under the fence, and Zhang Yan was so important, so he naturally had nothing to say.And promised Zhang Yan and Wang Xiu to assist Zang Ba and govern Qingzhou together.

After returning to Pengcheng, since Zang Ba was transferred by Zhang Yan to be the governor of Qingzhou, there was no prefect in Taishan County.For this reason, Zhang Yan appointed Zhuge Jin as the prefect of Mount Tai, and Niu Jin as the long history of Mount Tai, who was responsible for mining iron ore and smelting weapons in Ying County.After that, he appointed Yan Yan as the prefect of Donglai and Bu Zhi as the prime minister of Qi, and together with Kong Rong, Wang Xiu and others, he assisted Zang Ba to stabilize Qingzhou as soon as possible.

After everything was arranged properly, on the one hand, Zhang Yan rampantly garrisoned fields in the sphere of influence he occupied, on the other hand, he actively trained soldiers and forged weapons.

In addition, Zhang Yan specially asked Zhang Zhao to write a letter on his behalf, and sent someone to send it to Youzhou by sea, forming an alliance with Gongsun Zan.

Then, Zhang Yan asked Zhang Zhao to write three letters in a row, and sent people to Liu Biao, Liu Yao, and Wang Lang respectively, expressing friendship and sincerity and making an alliance with each other.

In this way, Zhang Yan can successfully contain Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, temporarily preventing them from threatening him, and he can also spare time to concentrate on development.

……

Huainan, Shouchun.

Since Yuan Shu returned to Huainan from Xuzhou in embarrassment a few months ago, he not only repelled Liu Yao who came to attack and harass him, but also recruited soldiers aggressively, winning tens of thousands of soldiers. .

When the director Yan Xiang heard that Yuan Shu was going to send troops to attack Xuzhou, he immediately ran to Yuan Shu and advised Yuan Shu not to send troops on the grounds of a severe drought and a poor harvest.

But Yuan Shu didn't listen. In order to avenge the hatred in Xuzhou last time, he insisted on going his own way, and even sent people to Lujiang to borrow [-] shi from Lu Kang, the prefect of Lujiang.

Unexpectedly, Lu Kang did not buy Yuan Shu's account, and directly rejected Yuan Shu's request for a loan.

Yuan Shu was furious and wanted to send troops to attack Lu Kang, but Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Liu Xun and other senior generals were all stationed outside, so he thought of Sun Ce who was living under his tent.So, he sent someone to find Sun Ce.

Sun Ce heard Yuan Shu's invitation, so he went straight to the hall. Seeing Yuan Shu, he immediately cupped his fists and said, "The last general will see you!"

"Bo Fu, it's just in time for you to come, please sit down!" Yuan Shu said with a look of news.

After Sun Ce sat down, he cupped his hands and asked, "My lord, I don't know why you have come here for such an urgent summons?"

Yuan Shu said: "It's like this. I'm going to lead the army to attack Xuzhou again. It's a shame. However, the army doesn't have enough food and grass, so I asked someone to go to Lu Kang, the prefect of Lujiang, to borrow food. Not only did Lu Kang refuse to lend it to me, You still wantonly humiliate me, which is really annoying. So, I wanted to send troops to attack Lujiang. After much deliberation, I still think you are the best candidate. If you can conquer Lujiang for me, I will appoint you as the prefect of Lujiang. how?"

"Your Excellency's words are true?" Sun Ce asked hurriedly after hearing this.

"A real man speaks a lot of words, so naturally he won't joke." Yuan Shu said.

Sun Ce immediately stood up, cupped his fists and said, "My lord, I am willing to lead the army to attack Lujiang!"

"Okay, okay..." Yuan Shu said happily, "I'll give you five thousand troops..."

"Your Excellency, we don't need that much, only five hundred cavalry are enough." Sun Ce said confidently.

"Five hundred cavalry? Isn't Bo Fu kidding me?" Yuan Shu said in surprise.

Sun Ce said confidently: "My lord, I only need five hundred cavalry. If I lose the victory, Bo Fu will come to see you!"

Yuan Shu said: "Excellent! Then I will give you five hundred cavalry!"

Afterwards, Yuan Shu ordered [-] cavalrymen to be collected and handed them over to Sun Ce. Sun Cechu mounted his horse, took [-] cavalrymen and five days' dry rations, and left Shouchun directly towards the Lujiang River.

(End of this chapter)