Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 340 Three Days Later Another Three Days

On July 28, the Han army arrived at the city of Wangdu County and captured more than 3,400 people. The rest of the enemy troops were too frightened to move.

Liu Bei rode his horse to the high ground and looked around carefully, exploring the terrain and finding a place that was convenient for advance and retreat. He ordered his auxiliary soldiers to cut wood and set up camp, preparing to attack the camp wall outside the city after resting.

The powerful people in the city were caught off guard. They looked out from the city wall and learned that there were at least 10,000 Han troops. They also heard that the King of Han had arrived outside the city. Zhang Jing and other powerful clan leaders were all shocked and at a loss as to what to do.

They thought that the Han army would react and at most send a general or a captain. They did not expect that the King of Han would lead the army himself, which made the nobles panic-stricken, like ants on a hot pan.

Wangdu County is just a small town. How can it withstand the fierce siege of the Han army?

What's more, if the enemy uses infantry to besiege them in the city and cavalry quickly raids the manors and forts in the northern counties, wouldn't all the clans behind them be finished?
Someone accidentally expressed this worry, and immediately the hair of many clan leaders around him stood up, their spines went cold, and they broke out in cold sweats.

The powerful people who were relatively weak and whose clans only had manors but no fortresses looked at each other with drastic changes of expression.

The fort could hold out for some time, but the fortifications of the manor would be difficult to stop. If the Han army deliberately spread the news to the city, the people would surely lose their morale and lose the will to fight.

In a few days, both Wangdu County in the front and the clans in the rear will be breached. The danger of destroying the nest and the eggs is imminent!

Thinking of this, many people turned their eyes to Zhang Jing, hoping that he could come up with a good idea.

Now the Han cavalry has reached the city. If they flee without caring about their backs and allow the enemy to shoot them with bows and arrows, they will be wiped out within ten miles.

The most urgent task is to find a way to force the other side to leave their cavalry behind and protect the clans behind.

Facing the anxious gazes of the crowd, Zhang Jing's forehead was covered with sweat, and he couldn't think of a good way to resist for a moment.

There were as many as two thousand Han cavalrymen galloping on the scene, and the chariots and chevaux-de-frise built previously were totally insufficient.

If they dared to go out of the city to fight, they would probably be immediately seized by the enemy and attacked fiercely, and their army would be completely defeated.

Fortunately, all his family members were in Wangdu City. He had no worries about his fellow clan members in the village. Even when he raised an army to rebel, Du Tian refused to help. How could he have any clan ties?

Zhang Jing thought to himself.

The other clan leaders saw that their leader Zhang Jing was hesitating and couldn't come up with a solution, and they couldn't help but curse in their hearts.

"Rat, you are incompetent."

They had to gather in groups of three or five to discuss countermeasures.

That night, the Han army used round wooden tools to hammer through the walls of the enemy camp. The shouts of killing from all sides shook the sky. The tribes of the wealthy families outside the city were defeated at the first blow. All the soldiers fled in panic. Countless people surrendered.

A powerful family in the city saw that tens of thousands of people outside the city were defeated and beaten to pieces by the Han army. He dared not stay in Wangdu County any longer, and immediately opened the north gate and fled back to his hometown on horseback with his confidants.

The news that some people had escaped spread like wildfire. Seeing flames rising to the sky outside the south city and the north city gate wide open, it was unknown how many people had escaped. The remaining powerful people no longer had the will to resist, and everyone dispersed and fled in panic.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zhang Jing fled westwards to Changshan State with his family.

When Liu Bei heard that Wangdu County was in chaos and 20,000 people fled at night, he immediately ordered Xu Chu to lead more than a thousand Hu Ben cavalry to pursue the remaining enemies to the north. The Ruichongying infantry did not stop and rushed into the city. On the 29th, the Hu Ben cavalry chased to the vicinity of Tang County and defeated the enemy again. The guards of Tang County saw that the Han army was coming in an overwhelming manner and did not dare to resist at all. The county magistrate and county lieutenant immediately trembled and opened the city gate to surrender.

On the third day of August, the Han army swept through all the manors and forts of the rebellious powerful people in Wangdu, Tangxian, Puyin and Beiping counties. Under the large battering rams, the barriers built by the powerful people were broken one after another.

On the sixth day of August, after the Han army had seized tens of thousands of troops, all local officials were dismissed, all the wealthy families were imprisoned, and the four counties were taken over by military officials. Zhuge Jin and Chen Jiao were both tried out as county magistrates.

The rest of the subordinate officials filled the positions of county chancellor, lieutenant, clerk and chief official. Two hundred military and legal officials were transferred to each county to reorganize the villages. All the cultivated land of the wealthy families was taken back as official land, and their wives, daughters and concubines were registered in the household department. After the war, those soldiers in Yanzhou who had no wives were selected to marry them.

Faced with the shortage of clerks in the army, military officers can no longer be appointed as officials, otherwise it will affect the normal operation of the army.

Liu Bei ordered Zhang Zhao, Bu Zhi, Wei Jing, Liu Ye in Luoyang, Sima Lang, Zhang Fan, Zhang Cheng in Henei, Cao Hong in Beihai, Chen Qun in Pei and others to rush to various counties in Jizhou.

When transferring Sima Lang from Henei, Liu Bei made some calculations and found that Zhongda, among the eight Sima officials from Henei, was almost twenty years old. He heard that Zhongda was smart, resourceful, knowledgeable and well-informed, so it was a good time for him to start an official career.

He then appointed Sima Zhongda as his subordinate and ordered him to ride quickly to the army on horseback to serve the Han family.

Sima Yi must devote his whole life to the Han Dynasty, devote his blood and soul to it, and sacrifice his life until the last moment of his life.

The Han Dynasty is not Cao Wei, there is no room for him to sneak in.

Liu Bei couldn't help but grin. No matter Cao Mengde or Sima Zhongda, they would never be able to escape from his control in this life.

It's a pity that Cao Pi, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi were still too young to be officials, otherwise they would have to work day and night, devote all their energy to serving the Han Dynasty and making up for the mistakes made in history, and they would have been Han officials for the rest of their lives.

……

On August 197, , after dealing with Zhongshan state affairs, Liu Bei led his army from Beiping County to Gu'an, Zhuo County. Unable to resist the warm hospitality of the local elders and people, Liu Bei stayed for a few days, drinking, dancing and singing to celebrate.

"Why is the king so anxious to go to Zhuo County? Do you think Gu'an County is not good?"

"Gu'an is also the king's hometown. It is not appropriate to favor one over the other and discourage the elders and the younger generation."

"Yes, yes, yes. When the people heard that the king was coming, they all raised their brows and clasped their hands. They sharpened their knives, slaughtered cattle and horses, and set up a banquet to entertain the king. Why don't you stay a few more days?"

"Your Majesty, wait a few more days. It is easy to take Jizhou now, and Youzhou is your hometown. Where the flag is raised, all the counties will surely surrender. Why worry about it? Life is like a white horse passing by in the gap between heaven and earth. Time is fleeting and passes in a flash.

When you become the emperor in the future, your capital will be Guanzhong or Luoyang, and it will be even more difficult to travel. How can you have the chance to return to Zhuo County to see us farmers and old men? I hope you can stay for a few more days."

Upon hearing that Liu Bei was leaving, the white-haired old men in Gu'an County, regardless of their old age and frailty, stood up to dissuade him, wanting to ask the King of Han to stay in Gu'an for a few more days, fearing that they would not be able to see Liu Bei again.

Seeing how anxious the old men in their eighties with gray hair and wrinkled faces were, Liu Bei couldn't help but smile bitterly, and immediately used his hands to lift them up.

"Gentlemen, why do you have to do this? Get up quickly. You can't give up your hometown. You can stay for another three days."

Three days passed and another three days passed. He had already stayed in Gu'an for six days and had reminisced about the past, but he could not resist the enthusiastic invitation of the elders to stay.

(End of this chapter)