Great Han Empire

Chapter 836 The Heroes of Troubled Times Compete in the Central Plains
In mid-April, Xuzhou, Langya Kingdom, and Kaiyang City.

In the middle of the night, Xiao Jian, Minister of Langya Kingdom, dragged his exhausted body back to his residence.Xiao Jian was in his 40s, tall and thin, with a long beard, elegant demeanor, and a bit of a celestial being.Due to the intense war situation and his busy schedule, he went directly to the study.

Xiao Jian sat down and took a sip of water, and was about to review the official documents, when the guards in the mansion came to report, "My lord, Lord Wang Xun has returned from Yangdu and is waiting outside the gate of the mansion."

Xiao Jian hurriedly waved his hand, "Please, please."

Not long after, Chang Shi Wang Xun walked in accompanied by an alchemist in a black robe.That alchemist was very strong, followed behind Wang Xun, hiding his face in the darkness intentionally or unintentionally.

"Master Guan is urging food and recruiting soldiers. We are so busy that we don't even have time to catch our breath." Xiao Jian stood at the door, stretched out his hand to greet him, and said with a smile, "How is the situation in Yangdu? Is it fierce?" Then he pointed to the alchemist behind Wang Xun, and asked strangely, "Is this your friend?"

The alchemist came out from behind Wang Xun.When Xiao Jian saw it suddenly, his expression changed suddenly, "It's you?"

Wang Xun turned around and closed the door.Xiao Jian took two quick steps and grabbed the alchemist's hand, "Xuan Gao, you are too courageous, how dare you come to Kaiyang at this time?"

Zang Ba smiled slightly, "I haven't seen you in two years, how is your lord?"

"What are you doing here in Kaiyang?" Xiao Jian subconsciously asked in a low voice.

Zang Ba smiled but did not answer, "Can my lord please sit down?"

"You sit, you sit..." Xiao Jian was horrified, turned around and asked Wang Xun, "Where did you meet Xuan Gao? In Yangdu?"

"Outside Kaiyang City." Wang Xun pointed to Zang Ba and said, "Xuan Gao said that he has been here for two days and has no chance to enter the city. I just came back from Yangdu today and I happened to show him."

"And you took him into town?"

Wang Xun nodded, "Don't worry, so far, no one has discovered that Xuan Gao has entered the city."

=

Xiao Jian asked Wang Xun to stand guard outside the study in case someone broke in.

After exchanging pleasantries with Zang Ba, Xiao Jian asked bluntly: "Xuan Gao, tell me, you took such a big risk to come to Kaiyang yourself, what's the matter?"

Zang Ba wiped the water stains from his mouth, and said slowly: "More than ten years ago, when the great virtuous teacher preached the world, the lord felt that his life was devastated. He not only donated his family money to help the refugees, but also secretly joined the Taiping Road. At that time, My lord is the magistrate of Taishan County, and he is close friends with Zhang Ju, the prefect, and has contacts with many leaders of the Yellow Turban Army."

Xiao Jian frowned, and said with a wry smile: "Why are you saying this all of a sudden? I'm not old yet, I still remember these old things, I don't need you to remind me."

"How long has your lord been the Minister of Langya? About four or five years?" Zang Ba asked, "I remember that when Tao Qian recommended you to be the Minister of Langya, it happened that Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou for the second time. ?"

Xiao Jian nodded, his expression gradually serious.Zang Ba will not talk about the past for no reason.Very few people know about his participation in the Taiping Dao.Zang Ba's father and himself are from the same school, and they joined the Taiping Road together, so Zang Ba knew the secret.When Zang Ba left the Yellow Turban Army and took refuge in Tao Qian, he was the one who persuaded him.After Tao Qian's death, Xuzhou was succeeded by Liu Bei as the prefect.In order to consolidate his power in Xuzhou, Liu Bei drove Zang Ba to Langya Kingdom.So I, together with Zang Ba, took Langya Kingdom as the foundation, carefully recruited the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, pacified and relieved the refugees, and tried to let most of the people live a stable life.

However, after the outbreak of the Jizhou War, Zang Ba never returned, and Liu Bei's forces quickly entered Langya Kingdom.If it hadn't been for the continuous war, Liu Bei might have found an excuse to drive him out of Langya country long ago.

"Then..." Zang Ba looked at Xiao Jian's old face, and asked in a low voice, "Does your lord know that General Li Hong has led an army to attack the Central Plains?"

"I know. The news has just been sent from Pengcheng." Xiao Jian said, "I heard that the northern border army is attacking like a wave, and they are invincible. There are frequent emergencies throughout the Central Plains."

Zang Ba paused for a while, and then continued: "After careful discussion with Sun Guan, Guan Hai and others, I decided to respect the emperor and the court of Jinyang, follow the general Li Hong to conquer the world, and revive the country."

"I know." Xiao Jian said very calmly without the slightest surprise, "I heard from Mr. Guan that the army attacking Xuzhou this time, in addition to you and Guan Hai from the Yellow Turban Army, also Gao Shun from the Northern Xinjiang Army." .” Then he stared at Zang Ba, and asked solemnly, “Xuan Gao, are you here to persuade me to submit to Hebei?”

Zang Ba smiled, "My lord, don't you want to?"

"Li Hong killed the monarch and attempted to usurp the throne. He is the enemy of the world. His crime is serious, especially Dong Zhuo back then. Don't you know?" Xiao Jian asked worriedly, "Such a person, you How can you rely on him?"

"The general has many crimes, but I would like to ask my lord, does the general have no credit for getting rid of these charges piled on the general's head? Who conquered the desert and stabilized the northern border? Who resettled the northern border? Millions of refugees? When the world was in turmoil and disasters broke out in the Central Plains, who accepted and resettled millions of refugees who fled to northern Xinjiang in just a few years?"

"Why did your lord join the Taiping Road back then? Wasn't it because you cared about the innocent people in the world and wanted the homeless refugees to live? For more than ten years, looking at the world today, besides the general, who else cherishes the lives of the people in the world? ? Who else is fighting bloody battles for the survival of the people?"

"My lord, have you forgotten your oath to join the Taiping Road?"

Xiao Jian was stunned for a moment, and sat there thinking for a long time.

"Have you met Li Hong?"

"I've seen him."

"He...looks...like..." Xiao Jian hesitated to ask something.

"He is very ordinary, he looks like a tall and mighty soldier." Zang Ba said with admiration, "Although we don't know much about him, but looking at today's Hebei, looking at today's northern frontier, we have to admit , Today, the only one who can save the country, save the common people in the world, and allow tens of thousands of people in the world to enjoy a peaceful world is only this general."

Xiao Jian remained silent.

"I have also met Master Zhang Yan." Zang Ba continued, "Master Zhang Yan said a lot to me. We don't care whether Master Zhang Yan's actions were correct, but we must admit that it is precisely because Master Zhang Yan Hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers and millions of refugees who followed the Yellow Turban Army survived. If Mr. Zhang Yan continues to persevere in Taihang Mountains, his ending will be the same as that of Commander Sima Ju and hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers in Qingzhou. The fate is the same. Of course, in the Northern Xinjiang Army today, we don’t see so many Yellow Turban generals.”

Zang Ba stretched out his hand to pat Xiao Jian, and said in a low voice: "In the future, the northern border army will pacify the world, the people will live and work in peace and contentment, and the emperor of Jinyang and the court will return to Luoyang. Wealth, fame and fortune are inexhaustible, has your lord never thought about this point?"

Xiao Jian hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Xuan Gao, what if the northern border army is defeated?"

"My lord, as long as Hebei wins the Great War in the Central Plains, the days to pacify the world will be numbered." Zang Ba smiled and said with deep meaning, "If Hebei is defeated, how much power will the parties in the Central Plains have? Qingzhou, on Mount Tai, as long as we raise the banner, within ten days and a half months, we will be able to gather hundreds of thousands of troops and directly attack the Central Plains. At that time, whether it is Hebei, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, or Liu Bei, it will all depend on our faces. Form an alliance with us. Maybe one day, the dream that the great virtuous teacher, the commander of Niujiao, and the commander of Sima Ju failed to realize back then will be realized in our hands, and the peaceful world in the dream may really come..."

=

Xiao Jian, Zang Ba, and Wang Xun discussed for a whole night and carefully weighed the pros and cons. In the end, Xiao Jian decided to accept Zang Ba's suggestion, submit to the Jinyang court, and seek refuge in Hebei.

"Can you tell me where your army is now?" Xiao Jian looked at Zang Ba and asked, "Is it on the other side of the Yishui River?"

"There are only 3000 people on the other side of the river." Zang Ba spread out the map on the case table, stretched out his hand to a place, and clicked, "The army of Sun Guan and Yin Li has already approached here."

"Tan (tan) city?" Xiao Jian's eyes widened in surprise, "Your army attacked Tancheng in Donghai County, and you cut off my retreat."

"How many defenders are there in Tancheng?" Zang Ba asked casually.

"1000 people, only 1000 people."

Then Xiao Jian asked suspiciously, "How did your army approach Tancheng? The water and land roads from Tancheng to Kaiyang have been transporting food, grass and supplies, and the defense is tight. If your army goes south, it will definitely be discovered? Are you lying to me? ?”

"The army moved down along the east bank of the Shushui River, day and night." Zang Ba pointed to the map and said, "Your troops are all focusing on the Yangdu battlefield and the banks of the Yishui River, and neglected to guard against the Shushui River. The discovery is also normal. I have stayed in Langya for more than ten years, and I am very familiar with the terrain here. Is it not easy to hide it from you? If my calculations are not wrong, Sun Guan will attack Tancheng today."

Xiao Jian and Wang Xun looked at each other speechlessly.Zang Ba cut off his retreat route. With the supply of food and grass cut off, it was difficult for the army to support, and it would soon break through and withdraw from Langya.Why is he in such a hurry to take down Langya?Is it necessary to go to Pengcheng before Liu Bei's reinforcements come back to support the northern border army on the Central Plains battlefield?
"Xuan Gao, are you going to kill Guan Yu?" Xiao Jian looked at Zang Ba and sighed softly, "Master Guan has gotten along well with us all these years, do you have to kill them all?"

"How much food does he have? How many days can he last?"

"There is at least half a month's food." Wang Xun said, "There are nearly ten thousand troops in Yangdu. With Guan Yu's bravery and the Danyang soldiers' fierceness, it will definitely not be a problem to hold on for half a month."

"Let him go." Zang Ba waved his hand without hesitation, "immediately report to Guan Yu that you have surrendered to Hebei, and the northern army has reached the East China Sea and occupied Tancheng. Guan Yu was cut off from the back, food and grass were cut off, and the East China Sea was in a hurry. Under the circumstances, the only option is to quickly retreat along the west bank of the Yishui River."

Xiao Jian was overjoyed, and said hastily: "Okay, okay, I will immediately tell Guan Yu to withdraw from Wushui crossing the river and return to the East China Sea. I will guarantee his safety while crossing the river."

=

After Guan Yu received Xiao Jian's letter, although he was furious, at this moment of life and death, timing is everything, and we should withdraw across the Wushui River first.Whether Xiao Jian's promise is true or not, he has to take a chance, otherwise the whole army will be wiped out.

Under the command of Guan Yu, the Xuzhou army withdrew overnight.

Gao Shun, Guan Hai, Xiang Cheng, and Chang Xi led their troops to occupy Yangdu and Linyi successively, and the army immediately went north.

All the way, led by Gao Shun and Chang Xi, crossed the Wushui River and directly killed the State of Lu.A group led by Xiang Cheng and Guan Hai directly killed the southern part of Taishan County.

Zang Ba and Xiao Jian rushed to Daying to meet before Gao Shun left Linyi.

"It is up to the two adults to garrison the Langya Kingdom, block the Xuzhou Army's counterattack, and contain the Xuzhou Army's strength." Gao Shun, Zang Ba and others discussed the details of the division of troops into three groups, and said solemnly, "The battle of the Central Plains battlefield The more difficult the fight, the greater part of Xuzhou's army will definitely go to the Central Plains battlefield in the future. Although Guan Yu intends to counterattack, he is powerless and it is difficult to make a difference. Whether he can defend Langya Kingdom and threaten the hinterland of Xuzhou will have a great impact on the main force of the army on the Central Plains battlefield. It is of great help to the attack, so the two adults have to worry a lot."

"Your Excellency, don't worry about going north. Guan Yu has been severely injured and his vitality has been greatly injured. The possibility of a counterattack is too small." Zang Ba said, "I will try my best to raise and transport food and supplies. Although Qingzhou can supply very little food, it is better to have more. Less is better."

Gao Shun thanked repeatedly.

"After Sun Guan and Yin Li occupied Tancheng, they seized a large amount of food, grass and luggage. Considering that Guan Yu's attack will be very fierce, you should organize the people to transport the city's grain, grass and luggage to Kaiyang as soon as possible." Gao Shun instructed, "After the army went north, you only have [-] troops. In order to preserve your strength, you should withdraw from Tancheng earlier and stick to Kaiyang to avoid accidents."

Zang Ba nodded again and again, but stopped talking.

"Xuan Gao, speak up if you have something to do. You have made great achievements this time, no matter what conditions you put forward, I believe the court will agree."

"In the Central Plains War, the loss of troops must be astonishing. Now all the soldiers and horses of the seven battalions in Jizhou have been dispatched, and the reserve troops in Hebei have been exhausted. All the troops in Qingzhou have also been dispatched, and the counties and counties in Qingzhou have no soldiers to defend." Zang Ba cautiously He said, "I want to go to the imperial court and immediately recruit soldiers in Qingzhou to protect Qingzhou. I don't know..."

Gao Shun was slightly surprised, and his expression suddenly became serious.Qingzhou has already surrendered, and the military and political power of Qingzhou will be handed over to the imperial court. Zang Ba and Guan Hai may become officials in the court or lead the army in Qingzhou. It is obviously inappropriate for Zang Ba to submit this memorial at this time.After the imperial court implemented the recruitment system, it had canceled the recruitment system, and Zang Ba's proposal would definitely be rejected.In addition, what disturbed Gao Shun was that the court would express doubts about Zang Ba's surrender because of this memorial, and the consequences were unpredictable.

Seeing that Gao Shun hadn't spoken for a long time, Zang Ba felt a little panicked, and asked in a low voice, "Can't you?"

"No." Gao Shun waved his hand resolutely, and explained all the reasons without hesitation, "The military system of the Han Dynasty has been revised, and it is absolutely impossible to recruit soldiers. If Brother Xuan Gao is worried about the safety of Qingzhou, it is best to First report this worry to the imperial court, or first write a letter to the general and general Zhang Yan, and ask them to report to the imperial court on their behalf, and try to solve it."

Seeing Gao Shun's seriousness, Zang Ba couldn't accept it for a while, "Isn't Hebei the general who has the final say? Can the court restrict the general?"

Gao Shun shook his head, said word by word, solemnly: "In Hebei, the emperor and the court have the final say."

=

(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)