Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 107: Get a wise man and hunt the Hu

After discussing the salt trade with Yan Rou, Zhang Yu entertained Yan Rou for several days until the first batch of salt was delivered and Yan Rou paid the money, and then he left Pingcheng.

After a few days, Yan Zhi followed Yan Rou's order to march west and became a member of Zhang Yu's army. Within two days, the letter Zhang Yu wrote to Wang Yun took effect, and a scholar took Wang Yun's letter to the front of the military camp and asked to see Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu, who was training new recruits in the camp at that time, was overjoyed and immediately went out of the camp to greet him.

The person who came was none other than Yu Yi, who had worked with Zhang Yu!
At that time, Wang Yun was the governor of Yuzhou, and Yu Yi was in charge of recruiting soldiers. He eliminated Meng Ning because of his ugly appearance. Zhang Yu stepped forward to prevent the conflict.

As Zhang Yu went to the capital area, the two lost contact and had not seen each other for three or four years. Unexpectedly, Wang Yun persuaded Yu Yi to go to the border and serve as Zhang Yu's subordinate.

In fact, Yu Yi was able to serve under Zhang Yu due to many factors. In addition to the poor family background of Yu's family, he was also influenced by Wang Yun's letter of invitation and Zhang Yu's initial title of Marquis of Ting. If Zhang Yu had not made a name for himself in the frontier, Yu Yi would probably not have been willing to come and serve.

Because Yu Yi had traveled thousands of miles to serve, Zhang Yu readily appointed him as the chief clerk, in charge of the army's documents and logistics. As for Yan Zhi, Zhang Yu appointed him as a staff member, responsible for coordinating the Han and Hu affairs in the army.

Previously, Meng Ningzhi was put in charge of military discipline. Although he worked diligently, he made many mistakes because he was unfamiliar with the customs of the Hu people. With the arrival of Yan Zhi, due to his special experience with his brother Yan Rou, Meng Ningzhi was allowed to concentrate on enforcing military law, while Yan Zhi was responsible for coordinating the conflict between Han and Hu people.

As Meng Ningzhi was brave in martial arts and loyal, Zhang Yu appointed him as the commander of the military camp, in charge of guarding the military camp and maintaining military discipline.

March 28th, Pingcheng.

In order to celebrate the arrival of Yan Zhi and Yu Yi, Zhang Yu held a Hu banquet full of Hu customs in Pingcheng to entertain the generals in the army, and even summoned Li Song from Chanhebi.

Zhang Yu cut off a piece of Yanchi mutton with a knife and ate it with Hu Bing. After chewing, he said, "The Sanhe Yanchi mutton sent by Zuo Nanbu is really fat, tender and delicious, with almost no fishy smell!"

The meat of ordinary sheep has a strong fishy smell, but for some reason, the sheep raised around the salt lake have a unique taste, so they are extremely expensive and are loved by many nobles.

Zhang Liao, Hao Zhao, Shi Yi, Zhang Feng, Yu Yi and others who were eating mutton together either nodded in agreement or praised the meal out loud.

Perhaps worried that Yu Yi, a native of Yingchuan, would not be able to adapt, Zhang Yu looked at Yu Yi and asked, "Coming from the Central Plains to the frontier, where the customs are rough, I wonder if Shao Ran is used to it?"

Yu Yi wiped his hands with a rag, bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, I am used to it!"

Seeing Yu Yi cutting the meat with a knife and then picking it up with chopsticks, Zhang Yu knew that Yu Yi was still a little uncomfortable. After all, the scholars in the Central Plains were very particular about etiquette when eating, and even if Yu's family was poor, it was impossible for them to eat mutton directly with their hands.

Yan Zhiziran, on the other hand, had lived with the Hu people for many years. Like everyone else, his hands were greasy, and he ate mutton with Hu cakes.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The frontier is different from the Central Plains. The food, transportation and clothing are very different. Shao Ran needs to adapt a lot!"

"If it's inconvenient, Shao Ran can come find me!"

"promise!"

"Sir, His Majesty ordered you to protect the Xiongnu in Yanmen and Dingxiang. Now the Xiongnu in the south of Yanmen have surrendered. I wonder when you will protect the Xiongnu in Dingxiang?"

Zhang Yu looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Zhang Liao who spoke, so he said, "The Xiongnu in Dingxiang are located to the north of the tribe under Qianman's command. According to previous news, the Xiongnu in Dingxiang have suffered from the looting of the Xianbei. Now the tribe is scattered and lives in the mountains to avoid the looting of the Xianbei."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Li Song and asked, "Bo Song has had many contacts with the Guduhou tribe of the Lan family. If he wants to protect the Lan family, do you have any suggestions?"

Li Song took a sip of water and said, "It is not difficult to protect the Lan clan. It's just that the Lan clan is scattered and lives in different mountains. If you want to protect them, you can choose a friendly person and make him a Guduhou to gather the people. You also need to choose a new land for the Lan clan Xiongnu people to graze."

Zhang Yu thought for a while and said, "I want to join Budugen in hunting Qianman and eliminate the Xianbei near Dingxiang, and then think about the matter of protecting the Lan clan."

Since the northern part of Dingxiang County was occupied by the Xianbei, the Lan clan Xiongnu tribe had no choice but to take refuge in the mountains. Under such circumstances, the unfortunate death of the leader Guduhou, the young and lack of reputation of his sons, and the fragmented terrain led to the disintegration of the Lan clan.

Based on this situation, it is not difficult to integrate the Lan clan. The key is that the Xianbei near the border always threaten the Han and Hu people in Dingxiang. Now Zhang Yu went out of the border to wipe out the Xianbei near the border in the north of Dingxiang County, and then went south to reunite the Lan clan.

"According to the scouts who went out to the border, Qianman and Budugen have mobilized soldiers from various tribes to decide the outcome of the battle in the south of the desert. I wonder when our army will set out?" Li Song asked.

Zhang Yu looked at the people at the banquet and asked, "What do you think?"

Zhang Liao thought for a moment and said, "Sir, half of the thousand cavalrymen in the school are new soldiers. If they fight against Qianman's army, I'm afraid they will suffer a lot. We need to learn from the Battle of Aobao."

"Moreover, this battle is a fight between Qianman and Budugen for the position of Chanyu. As far as our dynasty is concerned, it is better to sit back and watch the victory or defeat of the two countries, so as to prevent Budugen from destroying Qianman and then taking over the southern grasslands and endangering the border."

Zhang Yu nodded and praised: "Wenyuan is very wise. The conflict between the two tribes is beneficial to our country. If one of them takes over the south of the desert again, it will not be beneficial to our Bingzhou."

After a pause, Zhang Yu cut the mutton with a knife and said, "So I went out to the border this time to take advantage of the weakness of the tribes under Qian Man's command and hunt the Hu tribe near the border. One is to train the troops and practice fighting, and the other is to deter the Hu tribes near the border."

"Your Excellency is wise!" Hao Zhao said with a smile, "Qianman's troops are restrained by Bu Dugen, and the able-bodied men are sent to fight. Most of the troops are old, weak, women and children. It is easy for our army to send troops to hunt the Hu!"

Zhang Yu used a knife to put the mutton into his mouth and said, "Shao Ran, please count how many soldiers in the camp are without wives. This time, I will go out of the border to find wives and concubines for the soldiers and officers!"

A Hu woman was betrothed to a soldier in the camp?
Yu Yi was stunned for a moment. The Zhang Yu in front of him had changed so much from the Zhang Yu a few years ago. When he was in Yingchuan, he was polite and courteous, but now his style of behavior was no different from that of the crude warriors on the frontier.

Glancing at the excited generals at the banquet, Yu Yi had no choice but to accept the offer.

Zhang Yu took in Yu Yi's expression and felt helpless. The values of the scholars from the Central Plains conflicted too much with those of the warriors on the frontier. If Yu Yi stayed for a few years, he might be able to adapt.

"Guangyuan sent a letter to Budugen on my behalf, saying that my troops had gone out of the border to attack Qianman's troops and support his army." Zhang Yu ordered: "Recruit 500 cavalry from the Zuonan army, and let Bosong lead them."

"promise!"

Then, Zhang Yu stabbed the knife hard on the table and said in a deep voice: "The troops of all units have stepped up their training recently. If anyone is lax during hunting training, don't blame me for punishing them according to military law."

"promise!"
-
In the backyard, Zhang Yu returned drunk, while Wang Ji was checking the detailed expenditure account book.

Seeing that Wang Ji was dignified and gullible, Zhang Yu hugged her from behind, reached into her collar, and held the soft big bun.

"Don't make trouble!"

Looking around, Wang Ji saw that only Hongniang was there. He resisted slightly and said, "I heard from my subordinates that you will lead troops out of the border again soon?"

"Ok!"

Zhang Yutong sat at the table, hugged the beautiful woman, and said, "We are only going out to the frontier to train our troops. This is different from the last time we went out to the frontier."

"Then you better be careful!"

Seeing the account book on the table, Zhang Yu changed the subject and asked, "How are the expenses today?"

Wang Ji frowned slightly and said, "The casualties of the soldiers have cost a lot of money. Fortunately, the profits from the lake salt have been received this month. The shortfall has been borrowed from Canhewu. The 300 households in the water control pavilion will not be able to hand over their fiefs until this winter."

After that, Wang Ji turned around and sat on Zhang Yu's lap, staring at her husband and asked seriously, "What do you want to do, husband?"

"what for?"

Wang Ji looked serious and said in a low voice: "To make friends with the Xiongnu, to occupy the salt pond, to buy people's hearts, to set up military merits privately, to cultivate confidants, and to teach military tactics, these are not things that a general can do."

As Zhang Yu's bedmate, Wang Ji had access to almost all of Zhang Yu's secrets, especially since Zhang Yu asked her to be in charge of accounting, all the expenditures and incomes were clear to Wang Ji. If Wang Ji couldn't detect anything, there must be something fishy.

After all, Zhang Yu occupied the Chanhebi Salt Pond under the pretext of Zuo Nanbu, and then developed the benefits of the salt pond and used the salt money to subsidize the army. This operation could deceive the Bingzhou officials, but it could not be hidden from Wang Ji.

It should be noted that the troops under Zhang Yu's command were recruited soldiers, and all their expenses and supplies came from Bingzhou. Zhang Yu took advantage of Bingzhou's insufficient military funds to increase the amount of pensions and privately subsidize soldiers and officials. This behavior was obviously a pure operation to train private soldiers.

Normal officials would be eager to move their money home, but Zhang Yu did the opposite. There is nothing wrong with such behavior. It is the biggest joke.

Zhang Yu coughed and lied, "If you want to achieve great things, you need to be willing to spend money. I used money to win over the soldiers and officials, hoping that they would sacrifice their lives to kill the Hu for me!"

Wang Ji looked dissatisfied and said, "If you think you are my wife, then tell me the truth. If you don't want to tell me, you might as well divorce me now!"

Wang Ji touched Zhang Yu's face and said softly, "The Liangzhou bandits are rampant and the court cannot stop them; the Black Mountain has occupied the mountains and plundered the counties of Hebei; and now the Wuhuan have rebelled in Youzhou with a hundred thousand troops. This is a sign of the end of the Han Dynasty. Ji An has great ambitions, how could I not know?"

Zhang Yu was slightly surprised. He knew that his wife was intelligent, but he didn't expect her to have such vision.

After a long silence, Zhang Yu leaned close to Wang Ji's ear and said vaguely: "The chaotic times are coming, and with soldiers and horses in hand, it is better than the title of duke or marquis!"

As his wife, she had to let Wang Ji know some of her thoughts, otherwise there would be a rift in trust. Zhang Yu did not dare to speak openly about the idea of separatism and hegemony, and could only talk about the benefits of having troops.

Wang Ji's beautiful eyes moved, and she said, "Husband and wife are one body. Now that my husband has great ambitions, I dare not not help him. In the future, it is better to let me handle the relief of the wives of the wounded soldiers. If we let the military officials do it, how can we let everyone know the kindness of my husband!"

"What a virtuous wife!"

(End of this chapter)