Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 1 Wedges
In the winter of 177 AD, the sixth year of Xiping, Xia Yu, Tian Yan, Zang Min and the Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu went out of the border to attack the Xianbei and were defeated. Eighty to nine out of ten people died. When the news reached Luoyang, the government and the public were shocked.

Luoyang, Deyang Palace.

Emperor Liu Hong threw the battle report onto the table, his expression filled with rage.

"The three armies were incompetent, and the Xianbei were able to commit atrocities."

Liu Hong stood up from the couch and pointed at the memorial to vent his dissatisfaction.

"Three generals lost their troops and humiliated their country, yet they have the dignity to return?"

Seeing His Majesty so furious, the attendants in the palace fell silent.

In the crowd, counselor Cai Yong sighed, looking a little lonely.

When the two generals Xia Yu and Tian Yan submitted memorials to the emperor to advise against the expedition to the Xianbei, he kept submitting memorials to dissuade him. However, with Wang Fu's mischief behind the scenes, the young emperor got carried away and actually agreed to this outrageous military action.

Since the rise of Tan Shihuai, the three states of You, Bing and Liang have been plundered every year. If it were not for the previous Du Liao General Zhang Huan's combination of civil and military skills, and the cooperation with the Xiongnu Lieutenant General Huangfu Gui, who barely stabilized the border, I'm afraid they would have joined forces with the Qiang and Hu and formed a bigger rebellion.

During the time of Zhang Huan and Huangfu Gui, they did not dare to go on expeditions, let alone Generals Xia, Tian, and Zang. Now that 30,000 elite cavalry have been annihilated and the counties of Bingzhou are extremely weak, how can they contain the rising Xianbei?

As Cai Yong sighed, a low voice was heard in the hall.

Si Tu Liu He suddenly spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, Xia Yu, Tian Yan, and Zang Min have lost their troops and humiliated the country. They should be handed over to the officials for punishment."

After a pause, Liu He looked at Wang Fu coldly and said calmly, "Tian Yan, the General who defeated the Xianbei, broke the law and discipline, and should have been dismissed and punished. It was only because of the recommendation of the Eunuch Wang Fu that he was able to lead the army out of the border."

"Now that Tian Yan has been defeated, we should investigate his crime thoroughly!"

"I think what Minister Liu said is absolutely right. Your Majesty was bewitched by Wang Fu and sent three generals out of the border. Now that the three generals have been defeated, Wang Fu's responsibility should be thoroughly investigated." Inspector of the Capital Yang Qiu responded.

Listening to the ministers holding him accountable, Wang Fu couldn't help but panic and looked at Emperor Liu Hong pleadingly.

Whether in the Eastern Han or Western Han, the court attached great importance to military merit. If one could achieve military merit, most crimes could be pardoned, and one could even go further. For example, Dou Xian went on an expedition to the Northern Xiongnu, originally with the intention of redeeming his sins, but because of the achievement of engraving a stone tablet at Yanran, he was promoted to a high position.

Tian Yan violated the law and discipline, and in order to atone for his crimes, he teamed up with Xia Yu to write a petition. And Wang Fu, in order to get a share of the credit for the war, accepted bribes and tried his best to promote this expedition. Now that he made an inappropriate recommendation and was criticized, he was doomed to be condemned by all forces.

The young Emperor Liu Hong looked at the frightened Wang Fu with a stern gaze. Thinking that this man was trying to deceive him with words about Emperor Xiaowu's achievements, he suddenly felt disgusted.

Liu Hong said with a sullen face, "As you have requested, we will investigate the details of this defeat!"

As soon as these words came out, Wang Fu's face suddenly changed.

As a man who is well versed in the political world, he is very clear about what Emperor Liu Hong means, which is that the emperor is not prepared to protect him in this matter. And based on his past actions, once he is abandoned by the emperor, he will definitely be besieged by various forces. Whether he can survive in the political struggle depends entirely on his own ability.

In a desperate situation, Wang Fu looked at Cao Jie, who was also a Zhong Chang Shi, with pleading eyes, hoping to get Cao Jie's help. Unfortunately, Cao Jie only glanced at Wang Fu and ignored him.

Seeing this, Wang Fu's face became even uglier.

Although Cao Jie and Wang Fu were both eunuchs, it did not mean that Cao Jie would lend a hand to Wang Fu. After all, there was only so much power, and Wang Fu's existence would only divide his power. If Wang Fu's party could be uprooted, its political resources would be divided up by Cao Jie and everyone else.

"Your Majesty, the army has suffered heavy losses and the border defenses are empty. Tan Shihuai has a beastly nature and will definitely plunder the border counties. For the sake of the people, we should make plans early." Taiwei Qiao Xuan coughed softly a few times and said while holding the tablet.

Qiao Xuan, after Zhang Huan, was appointed General Du Liao and was responsible for border military affairs. He was well aware of Tan Shihuai's cunning character. The Han court offered to marry him as a condition for peaceful coexistence with him. However, Tan Shihuai not only refused, but also saw through the weakness of the Han Dynasty and increased the intensity of looting.

Now that the border troops have suffered heavy losses, it is not difficult to imagine how Tan Shihuai will retaliate!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu Hong was silent for a long time, then asked, "Are there any troops that can be transferred to Bingzhou?"

"Except for the Northern and Southern armies, there is no other army available!"

Si Tu Liu He pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the rebellion of the Qiang in the west has just been quelled, and the rebellion of the Southwestern Yi has just been quelled. The treasury is empty now, and there is no money to recruit elite soldiers to guard the border. It is better to follow the example of Liangzhou and select people from You and Bing counties as governors of border counties, so that border people can guard the border land and temporarily resist the Xianbei."

"Yes!" After hesitating for a long time, Emperor Liu Hong knew that doing so would strengthen the power of the powerful people in the border areas, but under the circumstances, he had to agree.

After all, there had been disasters every year since he took the throne. The three Qiang rebellions that lasted for sixty years seriously dragged down the Han Dynasty's finances, with a total military expenditure of 32 billion, and the finances were close to collapse.

So much so that when the Southwestern Barbarians rebelled two years ago, the central government even voiced the need to abandon the southwestern counties due to the unfavorable war situation. If it weren't for Li Yong, a man from Yizhou, who stepped forward and used the power of the Bantun Barbarians to quell the rebellion, the southwestern counties would have been hard to survive.

Now that 30,000 troops were annihilated, the financial burden on the Han Dynasty was further exacerbated. It would be difficult for the Han Dynasty to form a second large-scale border army in the short term to garrison the border counties of Youzhou and Bingzhou for a long time.

Therefore, if we want to stop the Xianbei from looting now, we can only follow the example of Liangzhou, take advantage of the border people's desire to defend their hometown, appoint border people as officials, and stabilize the border counties of the two states.

While the Luoyang court was mired in financial difficulties and political turmoil, a remnant of the army escaped back to the border town of Yunzhong County after many hardships.

Dark clouds rolled in the sky, and the cold wind whistled and hit the withered grass and trees.

In the quiet mountains, several Han riders, all dirty and with messy hair and beards, were moving slowly forward under the support of their war horses. Although they looked haggard from a closer look, they could not hide their joy at having escaped.

The young Han cavalry was indignant and complained, "Tian Yan did not listen to his brother's advice and insisted on advancing deep into the enemy's territory alone. When faced with a powerful enemy, he abandoned his army and fled. If it weren't for our bravery and our knowledge of the Baidao terrain, I'm afraid we would have died in the desert."

The leading Han cavalry commander took off his helmet, revealing a tired face. He twisted his stiff neck and sneered, "Although Tian Yan may have escaped the calamity of the Hu cavalry, he will not be able to escape the punishment of the central government."

As he spoke, he lamented, "It's a pity that the soldiers of the Du Liao and Li Yang camps died in the desert and their souls could not return to their homeland. This man is so reckless and tyrannical, it's really hateful!"

The Cavalry Supervisor looked somewhat similar to the Han Cavalry, but he was much older, tall and strong, with broad shoulders and a handsome appearance. It was not difficult to see that this Cavalry Supervisor was quite powerful, but he had an injury in his thigh, which made it difficult for him to move.

The young cavalryman was smaller than the cavalry commander, had a rather immature face, and was only about twenty years old.

The two were brothers. The older cavalry commander was named Zhang Ji, with the courtesy name Bozhuo; the younger Han cavalryman was named Zhang Yang, with the courtesy name Zhishu. Both were from Yunzhong County, and the Zhang family was considered a powerful family in Yunzhong.

In the early years, Zhang Ji was appreciated by Zhang Huan, the then General Du Liao, for his extraordinary military prowess. Unfortunately, Zhang Huan was misled by eunuchs and was eventually dismissed and returned home. With the loss of the nobleman's promotion, Zhang Ji also lost his room for advancement. Now he is over thirty years old and has just been appointed as the Cavalry Commander, commanding 500 cavalry.

Zhang Yang was young after all, and seemed a little confused about his future. He asked, "Brother, what should we do in the future?"

Zhang Ji rubbed his shoulders and said, "Now that the elite troops of the border army have been killed, the counties on the north are empty, and the Xianbei will surely go south to plunder. What we should do now is to return to our hometowns to protect the people, find a dangerous place to protect ourselves, and then see what the central government will do."

As he spoke, Zhang Ji thought of his ten-year-old son Zhang Yu, and his mood improved a little.

Zhang Yu was the only son of Zhang Ji. As he was away from home most of the year and his wife Li died during childbirth, Zhang Yu was raised by his brother-in-law Li Ying and his family.

Fortunately, his wife's brother's family treated Zhang Yu as their own son, not only educating him from a young age, but also training him in riding and archery. Although he is now ten years old, he has already shown his outstanding talent.

This time Zhang Ji fled to the desert, and he was able to hold on with gritted teeth, not only for the sake of survival, but also because he couldn't bear to leave his child!
Zhang Ji said to his colleagues, "The barbarians may arrive soon. You and I are all from the border, so we should work together to protect ourselves. If we are separated and unprepared, we will be robbed by the barbarians, and our families and fellow villagers will be in danger. When Shuofang moved its capital to Wuyuan, the people were displaced and had difficulty surviving. This should serve as a lesson for us."

"promise!"

The relocation of Shuofang's capital to Wuyuan took place in the fifth year of Yonghe. At that time, the Southern Xiongnu rebelled and colluded with the Wuhuan and Qiang people to launch a large-scale rebellion. Shangjun was moved to Xiayang, Xihejun was moved to Lishi, and Shuofangjun was moved to Wuyuanjun.

Later, due to the Xianbei issue, Shuofang County never returned to its old land of Shuofang, but only remained on documents, and the people of Shuofang also migrated to the various counties on Shuofang.

With Zhang Ji's insight, it is not difficult to see that after the border troops are annihilated, the Xianbei tribes will speed up their looting. If we do not make plans early, abandoning our land and fleeing for our lives will be a small matter, but the lives of our clansmen and fellow villagers will be in danger.

"Book of Tang: Chronicle of Taizu" states: "Taizu was from Shengle, Yunzhong. His surname was Zhang, his taboo name was Yu, and his courtesy name was Ji'an. His ancestor was Zhang Mengtan, a minister of the Zhao clan, who lived in Jinyang, Taiyuan. His fourth-generation ancestor Qing was the governor of Xihe in the Han Dynasty. He was exiled to Yunzhong because of a crime. Qing gave birth to Tai, and Tai gave birth to Fa, both of whom served in Yunzhong."

"When Fa gave birth to his father, Ji, he was a man of great talent, fond of military strategy, skilled in archery and horse riding, and lived by the Baishui River. At that time, when the mother-in-law, Li, was pregnant, she had a strange feeling of a yellow dragon and purple air, which the villagers thought was strange. When Taizu was born, the mother-in-law, Li, died, and the emperor was raised in the home of his uncle, Li Ying."

"When the Xiongnu in the north were destroyed, the Xianbei rose in the desert, and the Chanyu Tan Shihuai was established. The border counties of Youzhou, Bingzhou and Liangzhou were raided by the Xianbei every year, and countless people were killed and looted. The counties were relocated, and the people on the border were in turmoil."

"At the end of the Han Dynasty, my father led the cavalry to defeat the Xianbei Zhonglang General Tian Yan and went out of Yanmen to attack the Xianbei Tan Shihuai. Yan did not accept my father's advice, so he fled alone. Later, my father returned to his hometown and gathered hundreds of clan members and refugees to build a strong fortress to resist the Hu."

"At that time, Taizu was ten years old. A 100-year-old witch saw Taizu and said, 'The son of Yu Shun, who inherited the mandate of heaven, will help the people and govern the vast land.' My father was terrified and took up his bow to shoot, but lost his aim. So he named him after the meaning of 'Yu Ji Li Min'."

(End of this chapter)