Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 122: Appointed as a Commander
The hall was silent, and everyone looked at Zhang Yu, hoping to understand his stance.

Zhang Yu looked at the crowd and asked, "Most of you here are from Jin. Do you want to see the Hu soldiers plunder the Three Jins?"

Wang Ze blushed when he heard this. Although Zhang Yu didn't point out anyone directly, he was listening with interest, and this sentence was obviously meant for him.

Zhang Yu knelt up, clasped his hands and said: "Now the rebels in Youzhou and Liangzhou are causing unrest. White waves are rising in Hedong, and Black Mountain is located in Daxing (Taihang Mountains). Except for our Bingzhou, the northern border is in turmoil, and the court is constantly fighting against the bandits."

"If we abandon the city and flee, and take over Zishi, the bandits will seize the strategic points and will surely plunder Taiyuan. Taiyuan and its counties are the richest places in the Three Jins. Men and women live in the fields, and farmers live in the fields. If we allow the bandits to plunder, Taiyuan will be devastated! Therefore, according to Yu's opinion, we must not abandon Yuli."

Zhang Yu paced back and forth, holding his sword, and said in a sonorous tone: "Yuli is located in a narrow valley, where it is difficult to deploy heavy troops and cavalry. The Hu people abandoned their cavalry and followed the infantry, which is not their strong point. Now if we can take the steep terrain, the Xiongnu army may be strong, but we can resist it."

Zhang Yu stopped, standing tall in the hall, and said in a deep voice: "So I share the same opinion with Lords Guo and Feng. We cannot leave now, and we must fight the Hu bandits in the river valley."

Seeing that Zhang Yu spoke out in support of Guo and Feng's opinions and preached from the perspective of local sentiment, even though Wang Ze was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to succumb to the collective opinion of the crowd.

Guo Yu thought for a moment and asked, "Captain Zhang is very resourceful. I wonder if he has any good ideas for the current situation?"

Zhang Yu pressed his sword and hummed softly, saying, "To be honest, I have a plan, but I'm afraid you guys are unwilling to follow it."

"Please tell me in detail!" Guo Yu bowed and asked.

Zhang Yu sorted out his thoughts and said, "Although Yuli is a strategic gateway, the city is small and the walls are low. It has not been repaired for many years. Defending the city is not the best strategy."

"To the west of Yuli is a river valley, while to the east of Yuli is a mountain range, rolling and steep. Twenty miles from the city is Huanglu Ridge, where horses cannot pass and carts cannot cross. To occupy it, one can lie down, but to attack, one must climb up."

"So our strategy is to build fences and fortifications at Huangluling, using the mountain terrain to hold the enemy hostage. When the enemy's morale is worn down and they decide to withdraw, our army will be able to win!"

"What about Yuli City?" Feng Bo asked.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "You can occupy Yuli City, or not. If you occupy Yuli City, you should not have too many soldiers and horses to weaken the enemy's desire to attack the city; if you don't occupy it, you can temporarily move the people to the caves in the mountains to avoid the enemy's front."

"Why not stay in Yulicheng, but guard Huangluling?" Li Jin asked.

Zhang Yu said patiently, "Yuli City is small, with mountains to the east and a river valley to the west. If our army wants to come to help, it must come from the east, and the enemy can defend Huanglu Ridge to stop us. There are not many supplies in Yuli City. If the reinforcements cannot arrive, how can the city be defended for long?"

If the city could be defended, Zhang Yu would have defended Yuli long ago, so why would he go to Huangluling to defend it? Because he had no intention of defending the city when he went to the expedition to fight the Xiongnu, he did not prepare any supplies for defending the city in advance in Yuli. Now that he was preparing for war in a hurry, the city could not provide supplies for thousands of soldiers and horses, and if he insisted on defending the city without knowing whether there would be reinforcements, wouldn't he be courting death?

By firmly holding Huangluling and blocking the main road from Yuli to Zishi, the Xiongnu needed to break through the mountains before they could enter Taiyuan to plunder. The army could continuously receive supplies from Taiyuan County, and relying on the supply advantage of Taiyuan, it was enough to wear down the Xiongnu. If the Xiongnu gave Zhang Yu a chance, he could also pursue and make merit.

Seeing that everyone was silent and thoughtful, Zhang Yu could not help but feel anxious. He drew his sword and said, "With my strategy, we will be able to defend Li. If you are suspicious, I am willing to lead my troops to defend the city and make sure that the enemy dare not cross my path. If you are afraid, you can follow behind me and come to protect Jin!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was struck with awe.

Guo Yu no longer hesitated, and stood up and said: "Now that General Zhang has died in battle, our army is leaderless. Now that we have a strategy, but we cannot make it, this is a big taboo for military strategists."

"On that day in Pingchuan, Captain Zhang led his troops to defeat the enemy. He knew that our army was defeated and was well versed in strategy. He led his troops to promote the enemy's power, frightened away the pursuing Hu people, and gathered the defeated soldiers and officers. This was a great achievement for the army."

"Captain Zhang was famous in the early days and was feared by the barbarians. Now the army has no commander and the situation is critical. Although he may be young, judging from the situation, Captain Zhang is the only one who can keep the army safe."

Guo Yu bowed to the crowd and said, "Yu is willing to appoint Captain Zhang as the commander-in-chief to lead all the troops and make decisions on the spot to defeat the barbarians."

Guo Yu's remarks pushed the content of the meeting to another level, and Zhang Yu looked at Guo Yu with gratitude.

In actual fact, Zhang Yu did not say that he was eyeing the position of temporary commander-in-chief. After all, he had very little experience. Wang Rou was also a deputy general and his former superior, so he was more qualified to be the commander-in-chief than him.

What he just said was due to his concern for the situation, and also because he wanted to gain fame in front of everyone.

Although Zhang Yu did not know the situation in Bingzhou before and after the death of Emperor Ling of Han, he knew that if he wanted to take control of Bingzhou, in addition to military means, his personal image was also very important.

For example, the reason why Yuan Shao was able to annex Jizhou was not only because the Yuan family had a good reputation, but also because he himself had a glorious image of an insurgent who fought against Dong Zhuo. In order to fight Dong, even his family members were killed by Dong Zhuo, which made him look even more tragic.

Or if Cao Cao took control of Yanzhou, it was Cao Cao who defeated the Yellow Turban Army and defended Yanzhou. Now looking at Zhang Yu's current situation, there is no better character setting than protecting the hometown and the people in the short term.

Now Guo Wei has recommended him to be the temporary commander-in-chief. It is no exaggeration to say that if he can take the position and lead the defeated army to victory, his reputation will spread among the people of Bingzhou, and even women and children may know his name.

Following the platform Guo Yu had set up for him, Zhang Yu bowed to the crowd and said, "I am ashamed to accept what Mr. Guo said. Your Excellency has ruled the Xiongnu for a long time and is the former ruler of Yu. If your Excellency has a plan to defeat the enemy and can repel the Xiongnu's invading army, Yu is willing to appoint your Excellency as its commander."

"Ahem~" Although Wang Rou wanted to take over the position of commander-in-chief, he could not guarantee that he could repel the Xiongnu. After all, the current situation was a mess, with only more than 6,000 soldiers and low morale. On the other hand, the Xiongnu had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and they were a strong enemy with a great victory.

Considering the difficulty of the mission, Wang Rou hesitated for a long time and said, "Ji'an has the potential to be a famous general. Now that he has presented a strategy to defeat the enemy, it is better for him to take the position of commander-in-chief temporarily and command all troops to resist the enemy. When Your Majesty hears the military report, you can appoint another general to lead the troops."

Seeing that Wang Rou humbly gave up her position and had no intention of competing with Zhang Yu for the position of commander, Feng Bo breathed a sigh of relief. He had been watching the show and finally expressed his opinion.

"Mr. Guo is right. Now that our commander has been killed in battle, our troops are scattered and have no will to fight. Captain Zhang is high-spirited and has the determination to defeat the Hu bandits and plans to repel the enemy. I am willing to appoint Captain Zhang as the commander to temporarily control the troops to resist the Hu bandits' invasion of Jin." Feng Bo said with a bow.

The two expressed their support for Zhang Yu, and Wang Rou took the initiative to withdraw. Wang Ze had no other choice, so he said: "Captain Zhang is both wise and brave, and Ze is willing to make him the commander."

Seeing that everyone nominated him as the commander, Zhang Yu might have been happy, but he felt more of a heavy burden on his shoulders. If he could not repel the Xiongnu rebels, or turn the tide of the war, all his previous efforts would be wasted!

Zhang Yu looked serious, saluted to everyone, and said in a deep voice: "I did not intend to be a commander, but because you leaders did not think I was incompetent, you chose me as the commander-in-chief. I am now terrified!"

"If there were any offensive words in the past, I hope we can write them off and unite to resist the barbarians. And from now on, I will be the commander-in-chief and have the power to command all the troops. So if my orders are inappropriate or cause dissatisfaction among you, please don't be offended!"

After a pause, Zhang Yu immediately asked, "If you have no objection, how about withdrawing the army 20 miles to the east and building a camp at Huangluling?"

"The commander-in-chief's words are the most important. I have no other opinion!" Feng Bo supported.

"I am willing to obey the commander-in-chief's orders!"

"good!"

Seeing that everyone was quite cooperative, Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said frankly: "Our army was defeated and fled, and most of our baggage was picked up by the Xiongnu, so we are short of arrows. In order to kill the Xiongnu bandits, I would like you to select your own good archers, equip them with strong bows and crossbows, and have Guo Dingxiang lead them."

Zhang Yu saluted the two kings and said, "As for the infantry, you two should lead them to defend the mountain and fight to the death with the powerful enemy. You must not let the Hu people climb the mountain."

"promise!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu's allocation was reasonable, the three of them had no objections and accepted the order.

"Yu Li is backed by Taiyuan, and Mr. Feng is the governor of Taiyuan County. Now we have to trouble Mr. Feng to come here to guard the rear of the army and dispatch supplies and volunteers to Huangluling." Zhang Yu bowed.

"good!"

Feng Bo did not refuse. At the moment, apart from the fact that he could dispatch resources from Taiyuan and supply the army in a short time, the counties and prefectures under the jurisdiction of the rest were too far away and he was really out of reach.

"What about the people in Yuli City?" Li Jin asked.

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "The county magistrate will move all the people in the city to Huangluling to help the army build fortifications to avoid being plundered by the Hu people."

"Thank you, Mr. Li, for helping Governor Yu lead the army in writing documents!"

"promise!"

Zhang Yu was appointed commander-in-chief of the army. He felt the heavy burden on his shoulders, so after arranging tasks for everyone, he did not dare to return to the camp to reunite with his subordinates. He only asked his left and right men to report the tasks.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Yu rushed to Huangluling without stopping. He had to plan the layout of the fortifications before the Han soldiers arrived at Huangluling.

Soon, Zhang Yu arranged the fortifications through consultation with everyone and handed them over to the infantry and civilians to repair.

While repairing the fortifications, the governors followed Zhang Yu's instructions and selected archers and equipped them with strong bows and crossbows. In order to increase the lethality of the archers, Zhang Yu even asked his cavalry to join in.

However, Zhang Yu retained the armored cavalry, which was commanded by Zhang Yang, Zhang Liao and Lu Bu. The three of them obeyed his military orders and would not go into battle unless necessary.

While the Han army was preparing for war, the Xiongnu rebels were divided over their defeat of the Han army.

"Book of Tang: Chronicle of Taizu": "... Yi led the army to attack the Xiongnu, but he used the troops improperly. Taizu repeatedly advised him against it, but Yi would not do it... Wei Xuan, the governor of Shangdang, was frightened and fled. The army was defeated and Yi was killed in the army. All the troops were scattered. Taizu defeated the enemy and then withdrew. His troops were unharmed. He beat drums and held his ground, making a great show of strength. The Xiongnu suspected that he was an ambush and did not attack him."

"Book of Tang·Biographies 10": ...At that time, the army had just lost its marshal and was afraid that the Xiongnu would take advantage of it, so the three armies were all in dismay. Seeing that Taizu was well-known among the people and his reputation was well-known throughout the New World, he said to the people: "General Zhang is a famous general in Bingzhou, and is feared by the Xiongnu bandits. If we now appoint General Zhang as the commander-in-chief, he will surely lead his troops to defeat the enemy." So he appointed Taizu as the commander-in-chief.

(End of this chapter)