The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 700 699 subsidized food and wages
Yan Pu said: "The imperial court is willing to send troops, and the first batch is a [-] army composed of elite soldiers and strong generals."

Zhang Ludao: "In that case, why do you have a sullen face?"

Yan Pu said: "My lord, it is true that the imperial court is willing to send troops, but the imperial treasury is now empty, and it will not be able to provide so much food and payment to deal with the Western Expedition at once. It will be this time next year at the earliest!"

"What? By this time next year? If it does come then, the day lily will be cold. Brother, you have to know that Zhang Fei is really powerful. Now that he has occupied Yizhou, if he brings an army to attack If Hanzhong is in danger, then Hanzhong is in danger, we can't wait until next year!" Zhang Wei immediately became anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly yelled out.

Zhang Lu frowned. Although he had never seen Zhang Fei, he could tell from his brother Zhang Wei's description that Zhang Fei was an enemy of ten thousand people, and his subordinates were also very powerful. Although there are many horses, they are all farmers who have not received formal training. There are only tens of thousands of people who can really fight, and the rest are mobs.

If there is no help from the imperial court, in case Zhang Fei really leads troops to kill him, then he can only sit and wait for death, or prepare in advance, withdraw from Hanzhong, and take the wealth that he has accumulated over the years to find a stable country. , Where there is no war, live in seclusion, live the rest of his life in peace and stability, and then pass the wealth to the next generation, from generation to generation, this wealth is enough for him to spend a hundred lifetimes.

Zhang Lu was still immersed in his own thoughts, Yan Pu suddenly said: "The imperial court is willing to send troops, but there is no food and pay, but under my strong persuasion, the regent is still willing to send troops. After all, it is very important for him to eliminate Zhang Fei." , is a great opportunity.”

"Without food and pay, how can the imperial court send troops?" Zhang Wei asked.

Yan Pu said: "My lord, please forgive me for arbitrarily making a claim. In order to invite the court to send troops, I agreed to the request made by the regent king without authorization. The court sends troops, our army pays the food and salaries, and all the expenses of the court army will be borne by our army..."

As soon as he said this halfway, Zhang Lu frowned like a twist, and looked at Yan Pu with a kind of resentful eyes. He who hadn't spoken a word all this time suddenly became furious, and shouted at Yan Pu: "You are so brave. You didn't report such an important matter to me. Why did you decide on your own and agreed to this matter?"

Zhang Wei also scolded the sky, raised his hand and wanted to beat Yan Pu, but was stopped by Zhang Lu.

At this time, Yan Pu hurriedly argued: "My lord, please listen to my explanation. The imperial court's southern expedition did not get any benefits. Moreover, the Central Plains have been in constant war these years, fertile land has been barren everywhere, and the regent can't even pay for the army. , From this we can see how poor the Central Plains court is. In contrast, our army has always been stable in Hanzhong, and the wealth accumulated by the lord can also be called a rich country. Instead of being threatened by Zhang Fei leading an army to the city Why don't you spend a little money and invite the soldiers to solve Zhang Fei's worries. Only in this way can the lord stay in Hanzhong for a long time. And I also expressed the lord's loyalty to the court to the regent on behalf of the lord. The regent attaches great importance to the lord He also said that if the lord is really willing to provide food and salaries this time to subsidize the imperial army to pacify the Southwest, then the country will be unified, which is of great significance. He will also be named King of Hanning!"

"What did you say? King Hanning?" Yan Pu's words hit Zhang Lu's weakness and asked hastily.

Yan Pu nodded and said: "Yes, it is King Hanning. The regent said that if the lord is really willing to subsidize the imperial army to pacify the southwest, and when the southwest is pacified and the country is unified, the regent will make a petition to His Majesty and formally confer The lord is the king of Han Ning, and he will not be replaced by hereditary."

"What about me?" Zhang Wei immediately became jealous after hearing this, and hurriedly asked, "Did the Regent tell me what to do?"

"Marquis of Nanzheng!" Yan Pu said firmly, as if it really happened.

The two brothers Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei are not ambitious people, they are the kind of people who get rich when they are small. Although they have a lot of soldiers, they only stay in Hanzhong and live a life where no one offends me and I don’t offend them. , but also leisurely and leisurely.

And Yan Pu's words instantly ignited the desire in the hearts of the two brothers Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei. The King of Han Ning was something that Zhang Lu had always dreamed of. He was stopped by Yan Pu, and now he heard from Yan Pu that the regent was going to make him king of Han Ning, not to mention how happy he was.

Zhang Wei is also very happy. He who was furious at Yan Pu just now changed his attitude instantly, and said to Yan Pu with a smile: "So, as long as the elder brother is willing to subsidize the imperial army's food and salary, the regent will send troops to Hanzhong to help us Eliminate Zhang Fei?"

Yan Pu said: "It's not helping us, it's the unification war launched by the imperial court itself. We have already surrendered, and the regent will also surrender. Now we are members of the imperial court. For this reason, the regent also named the lord Yongning Township Marquis The title of..."

After speaking, Yan Pu took out the imperial edict that had been granted, and showed it in front of Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei, and continued: "This is the official imperial edict issued by the imperial court, and the lord is already a marquis!"

Zhang Lu took the imperial edict from Yan Pu's hand, opened it, read it carefully, and his face was full of joy, not to mention how happy he was.

Zhang Lu is the leader of the Five Dou of Rice Road, and he should value fame and wealth, but he always yearns for one day to become a rich and powerful person, and he will not worry about food and drink in his life.

Moreover, fame is also what Zhang Lu likes, but because his father and grandfather are the leaders of the Five Dou of Rice Dao, he can't get these so-called fame, otherwise it would be against the morality of the Five Dou of Rice Dao.

However, this kind of pursuit of fame and fame has already taken root in Zhang Lu's heart. It is actually his kind of heart that is at work in his separatist regime in Hanzhong.

Now, when holding the imperial edict in hand, the mood is even more different.

Looking at the faces of Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei, Yan Pu knew that his strategy had succeeded, and it seemed that the matter of subsidizing the imperial army's food and salaries would definitely be as he expected.

Sure enough, after studying the imperial court's imperial edict conferring him the title of Marquis of Yongning Township, Zhang Lu said to Yan Pu righteously: "The imperial court treats me well, and I shouldn't be stingy. Since the imperial court is in such a difficult situation At this moment, as a subject, I should also show some sincerity. I am willing to subsidize the imperial army's food and salaries, so that the imperial court can send troops to fight against Zhang Fei's traitors, pacify the southwest, and unify the country. Yan Gongcao, this matter will be handed over to I'll take care of it for you, and I'll pass on my opinion to the Prince Regent, and I'll trouble you to make another trip to Pengcheng yourself."

Yan Pu was very happy in his heart, but there was no expression on his face, he cupped his hands and said: "This subordinate will definitely fulfill the entrustment of the Marquis, and I will die!"

……

At this moment, Ma Chao still returned to Liangzhou. He issued an order in Jicheng to immediately summon the tribal leaders of Qianghu and his generals to gather in Jicheng.

Ma Chao first explained his intention of convening the crowd, and then explained the policy of the court. Finally, he carefully selected a hundred thousand elite troops and prepared to go to Hanzhong to destroy Zhang Lu first and then pacify Zhang Fei. This is a meritorious service Whether it is Ma Chao's subordinates or the leader of Qianghu, they all actively responded to the call of this war and wanted to gain some benefits from this war.

Ma Chao left Liangzhou with a large army, and he mobilized elite soldiers, mainly Qiang people, while most of his subordinates stayed in Liangzhou, all under the jurisdiction of Xu Shu.

Ma Chao originally wanted to lead his subordinates there, but after several considerations, he decided to take the Qiang people as the main body and dispatched a large number of strong and strong men of the Qiang people, lest he take away a large number of his subordinates, Liangzhou was empty, and the Qiang people were bewitched by others. Liangzhou cannot resist the rebellion.

Secondly, Ma Chao handed over all the remaining soldiers and horses to Xu Shu's jurisdiction. In fact, he wanted to prove to Zhang Yan that he had no rebellious heart and dared to hand over the army to the people Zhang Yan arranged to monitor him.

In fact, Zhang Yan left Xu Shu in Liangzhou. Ma Chao knew Zhang Yan's intentions a long time ago. I am aboveboard.

Ma Chao led an army of [-] without fanfare, but moved forward secretly, leading the army to Chencang first.

Chencang is the only place leading to Hanzhong, and its guard, Niu Jin, is also a strong general, who is now under the subordinate of General Zuo Xu Huang.Xu Huang, the general of the left, went out hunting and did not return, but Ma Chao came to Chen Cang with a hundred fine riders. On the one hand, Niu Jin sent someone to inform Xu Huang, on the other hand, he went out to meet Ma Chao himself, and set up a banquet for Ma Chao.

While the two were having a hearty drink, someone reported that General Zuo Xu Huang had arrived. According to the official position of the court, Xu Huang's official position was General Zuo, which was one level higher than Ma Chao, who was General Zhenxi.

It wasn't the first time the two met, but this time the meeting smelled like gunpowder. Xu Huang walked in from the outside and saw Niu Jinzheng and Ma Chao drinking, so he couldn't get angry.

At this time, Niu Jin hurriedly got up, came to Xu Huang, cupped his hands and said, "General..."

Xu Huang raised his hand, stopped what Niu Jin was about to say, then looked at Ma Chao, and asked, "General Ma is so arrogant, why don't you get up to greet me when you see this general?"

Ma Chao didn't seem to hear, he just sat there, drinking his small wine, with contempt in his eyes.

Xu Huang frowned. He was once one of the Five Tiger Generals under the Prince Regent's command. He was respected and admired. He had never suffered such a blank stare. He immediately became furious, pointed at Ma Chao and shouted: "Ma Chao! Didn't you hear this general talking to you?"

Ma Chao sneered, then stood up suddenly, cupped his hands at Xu Huang and said, "Oh, it turned out that it was General Xu who was driving here. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Meng Qi is a bit disappointed, I hope General Xu will not be offended, if it wasn't General Xu who was so loud just now If not, I thought it was a dog that ran out and barked wildly!"

"Ma Chao! You...you dare to call this general a dog?" Xu Huang suddenly became furious, leaped over with one stride, drew out the saber from his waist, and stabbed at Ma Chao.

When Niu Jin saw it, he screamed and hurriedly said, "General, please calm down. General, please calm down..."

But Xu Huang is not willing to listen, once the long sword is drawn and pointed at Ma Chao, how can he take it back?
Ma Chao stood still, but when he saw Xu Huang's sword approaching, he heard Niu Jin's cry, "General Ma, get out of the way!" In his heart, he suddenly stretched out two fingers, and directly clamped the point of the sword stabbed by Xu Huang, and the long sword stopped in front of Ma Chao's chest, unable to move forward any more.

Xu Huang was taken aback. He never expected that Ma Chao had such skill, but before he could react, he saw that Ma Chao's two fingers clamped the tip of the sword with a little force, and the tip of the sword was caught by Ma Chao's two fingers. Fingers were broken.

Both Xu Huang and Niu Jin were surprised from ear to ear. Ma Chao's skill is really shocking!

"General Xu, if you want to fight, I advise you to stop here, lest when the sword has no eyes, you are injured, and you see blood, it will be bad." Ma Chao said arrogantly.

(End of this chapter)