Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 140: Old Friend's Advice
In November, Zhang Yu led his troops to Yingyin, the capital of Yingchuan County. Under the arrangement of the Yingchuan County officials, more than 800 soldiers and horses were stationed outside the city.

In the military tent, Zhang Yu adjusted his clothes and said to everyone, "The court has allowed our school to recruit 400 soldiers. We are now stationed in Yingchuan. You can recruit soldiers on the spot. According to the convention, we need to select those who are healthy and strong. If there are those who bring their own armor to join the army, the standards can be slightly relaxed."

"promise!"

Yu Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Your Excellency has led the troops to Yingchuan. I wonder if you would like to inform our old friend?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Shao Ran sent gifts to the Xun family friends on my behalf, saying that I had just arrived in Yingchuan and was unable to visit them due to heavy military duties."

Zhang Yang curled his lips and said, "The lieutenant is a county marquis, an official of two thousand stones, but the people did not come to the camp to pay him a visit, but the lieutenant sent people to give him gifts. How can this be justified?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I haven't contacted you all for several years, and I didn't inform you in advance. How could you know my whereabouts? Don't be too upset."

"correct!"

Zhang Yu thought of something and said, "Shao Ran, please send a gift to Zhong Yuanchang on my behalf and tell him that I have an empty seat waiting for you in the Yingyin tent."

"Shao Ran has been away from home for many years. You may as well go back and take a look. Remember to bring more money and food."

"Maoshan selected ten cavalrymen to escort Yu Zhubu back home in glory!"

"Thank you, sir!" A look of gratitude appeared on Yu Yi's face.

Because of his poor family background, Yu Yi had to be summoned by Wang Yun to go to Pingcheng to work for Zhang Yu in order to support his family.

Over the years, as Zhang Yu's official position has been promoted, Yu Yi's status has also risen. Now he is at ease serving under Zhang Yu. Now he is returning home as the chief clerk of the Imperial Army, which can barely be regarded as a glorious return.

Zhang Yu took a few steps forward, looked at the short and ugly Meng Ningzhi, and said, "We are recruiting more troops now, so Bo'an will temporarily take over the post of Sima of the military. Don't let me down!"

"Thank you, Captain. I will live up to your expectations!" Meng Ningzhi said excitedly.

Meng Ningzhi was not a fool. How could he not know the significance of Zhang Yu appointing him as the fake Sima? In addition to managing the new soldiers, it also allowed him to meet his fellow villagers.

"I will go visit Huang Yuzhou first. Everyone please remember to take good care of the soldiers." Zhang Yu reminded everyone as he left the tent.

"promise!"

Huang Wan, the newly appointed governor of Yuzhou by the court, followed the same itinerary as Wang Yun had done a few years ago when he governed Yuzhou. He first went to the nearby Yingchuan County and then prepared to go to the provincial capital, Qiao County.

After a while, Zhang Yu rode slowly to the mansion where Huang Wan was staying. When Huang Wan heard that Zhang Yu was coming to visit her, she immediately went to the mansion gate to greet him.

"Envoy Huang!"

"Lord Zhang!"

Huang Wan was born in the Huang family of Jiangxia and was now nearly fifty years old. However, she did not treat Zhang Yu, who was in his early twenties, with an arrogant attitude, but welcomed him warmly.

Huang Wan invited Zhang Yu into the front hall and said with a smile, "Thank you for leading the troops to help us in Yuzhou to suppress the bandits."

Zhang Yu said modestly, "I am serving the country by order of Your Majesty to fight against the bandits. Your Excellency is very polite. I am here to visit you to discuss the matter of fighting against the bandits in Gepi."

Huang Wan asked the servant to serve tea and asked, "You are young and promising, and you have a lot of strategies in mind. I wonder what strategy you have to defeat the enemy?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Most of the Gepi bandits are villagers from Yuzhou. They probably rebelled because they were oppressed by powerful people and evil officials. Now the bandits are in Pei, Chen, and Runan counties, and it is difficult for the troops from the counties to join forces to suppress them."

"So according to Yu's opinion, if we want to suppress the Gepi bandits, we need to 'suppress and appease at the same time'. However, I am afraid that our troops alone are not enough to suppress and appease the Gepi bandits."

Huang Wan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Excellency's strategy of 'suppressing and appeasing at the same time' is very much to my liking. Now, besides military supplies and money and food, what else do you want?"

Zhang Yu said: "The Gepi bandits have fled to the border of three counties. If we want to wipe out the Gepi bandits, we may need to let the troops of the three counties guard the strategic points to prevent the Gepi bandits from fleeing to Xuzhou and Yanzhou. When our troops go to attack, we need the soldiers and officials of the three counties to serve as guides, and actively contact the tyrants of the border counties to report the movements of the Gepi bandits to our army."

Zhang Yu's troops are not native to Yuzhou. If they want to fight against the local bandits in Gepi, they need a guide to show the way. Otherwise, no matter how elite the troops are, they will be at risk of defeat.

Huang Wan took a sip of hot tea and said, "What you ask for is not difficult. I will write to the counties and ask them to send troops to cooperate with you."

After a pause, Huang Wan asked, "But I wonder if you need to send other county soldiers to help?"

Zhang Yu thought for a long time and said, "I don't know the details of the Gepi bandits. If there are tens of thousands of Gepi bandits, we need Yuzhou to send troops to help."

Huang Wan looked apologetic and said, "The reports of the Gepi bandits by the military officers of the three counties vary greatly. Some say there are tens of thousands of them, while others say there are only 10,000 or 20,000. If we want to find out the details of the Gepi bandits, it will probably take some time to investigate."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu was speechless. The counties in Yuzhou had not even done basic military intelligence work well. No wonder the Gepi bandits had not been eliminated for several months.

After calming down, Zhang Yu said, "In this case, after the governor of Rongzhou writes to all the counties, Yu will lead the army to the east to personally investigate the number of troops and horses of the Gepi bandits. As for sending troops to assist, can you see if you can transfer 3,000 infantry and cavalry to my temporary supervision? I also have nearly 1,000 elite armored soldiers and 4,000 victorious soldiers, which are enough to defeat the bandits."

"The number of bandits ranges from tens of thousands to as few as ten or twenty thousand. Can Ji'an really defeat them with only four thousand soldiers and horses?" Huang Wan asked worriedly.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu smiled a few times and said confidently: "There are 100 armored cavalrymen under Yu's command, 200 frontier cavalrymen, and hundreds of armored infantrymen. One can defeat ten. If we can get thousands of county soldiers to help, tens of thousands of bandits will not be a match for our Zuoxiao Camp."

After so many years of military service, Zhang Yu had a general understanding of the situation of the wars in the late Han Dynasty. In many cases, in a battle of 20,000 to 30,000 people, only a few thousand elite troops could be used, and the rest were subordinate soldiers.

Fighting bandits is even simpler. Among the so-called tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of bandits, it would be a disaster if only one tenth of them were real combat soldiers.

Huang Wan didn't know much about military affairs, and seeing Zhang Yu's confidence, he didn't say much. "Three thousand soldiers and horses, I have deployed from various counties, and I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to fight against the Gepi bandits!" Huang Wan said, "As for the strategy of surrendering and pacifying them, I will formulate it in the near future, and let the officials of the three counties surrender the bandits to shake their hearts."

"Thank you for your help, sir!"

Huang Wan and Zhang Yu discussed the topic of suppression and appeasement for a long time. It was not until dusk that Zhang Yu politely declined Huang Wan's request to stay and returned to the camp.

After sitting in the tent for a while, Zhang Feng hurried into the tent and said with joy: "Captain, Zhong Yuanchang came to visit you."

Zhang Yu put down the brush in his hand and asked happily: "Brother Yuan Chang, where are you now?"

"At the village gate!"

Zhang Yu stood up quickly and said, "Yuan Chang and I have a close relationship. How can I let him wait at the gate of the village today?"

"Then I will invite him into the village now!"

"madness!"

Zhang Yu laughed and scolded: "Since you want to invite Yuan Chang to join the camp, naturally I have to go and invite him!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu hurried to the entrance of the village, wanting to meet Zhong Yao in person.

At this moment, Zhong Yao stopped at the entrance of the village, standing on tiptoe and looking into the village. He really wanted to know the strength of Zhang Yu's troops.

"Master, will Captain Zhang really meet us?"

The servant saw that the gatekeepers looked ferocious and fearful, and asked with awe.

Zhong Yao was not panicked, and said with a smile: "I have a close relationship with him. When he got married, I contributed a lot. Although he has achieved success and fame, and has been granted the title of county marquis, given his personality, he will definitely not forget me!"

Before he finished speaking, he heard Zhang Yu calling out "Brother Yuan Chang" from afar.

Zhong Yao looked over and saw Zhang Yu coming quickly. He said to his attendants, "Captain Zhang is here!"

"Brother Yuan Chang!"

In a moment, Zhang Yu came to meet Zhong Yao and said with a smile: "I have just arrived in Yingchuan with my troops, so it is inconvenient for me to pay a visit in person. I wanted to have someone send gifts to Changsha to pay a visit to Brother Yuan Chang on my behalf. Unexpectedly, Brother Yuan Chang came to the military camp to pay a visit in person."

"I haven't seen you for a few years. You have achieved great success!"

Zhong Yao smiled and said, "Your Excellency, please call me Yuan Chang. I am afraid I am not worthy of the title of brother."

Zhang Yu took Zhong Yao's arm and said with a smile: "Yuan Chang is older than me, so why shouldn't he be called brother? Now you can still call me Ji An, and I will still call him Brother Yuan Chang."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu took Zhong Yao's arm and walked away. When they passed the gatekeepers, he said solemnly, "See Mr. Zhong as you see me. You can let him go!"

"promise!"

Seeing what Zhang Yu did, Zhong Yao's worries were gone and he said with a smile: "Ji'an and I have only been separated for a few years, but I didn't expect that you would defeat the Xianbei and kill the Chanyu, which is said to be famous all over the world. I have heard a lot about the Yunzhong Yicong in my home in Changsha, and your name is gradually gaining popularity in the Central Plains. The young hero is Ji'an!"

"Brother, you shame me!"

Zhang Yu laughed a few times and said with emotion: "It's a pity that I can't work with Yuan Chang when I am making achievements on the frontier."

After a pause, Zhang Yu changed his tone slightly and asked tentatively: "My army led the troops to Yuzhou to fight against the bandits. I wonder if Yuan Chang can stay and help me, so as to do his best for Yuzhou?"

Zhong Yao smiled and said, "If Ji'an doesn't give up, I'm willing to lend a helping hand!"

"good!"

Zhang Yu said happily: "With Yuan Chang's help, the Gepi bandits can be pacified overnight."

While they were chatting and laughing, they went into the big tent and sat down separately.

Zhong Yao hummed for a moment and said, "I wonder if Ji An has any strategy to defeat the bandits?"

Zhang Yu sorted out his thoughts and said truthfully: "I want to implement the method of 'suppressing and appeasing at the same time', and in order to prevent the Gepi bandits from spreading to Xu and Yan states, I have asked the governor of Yuzhou to write to the three counties and ordered the soldiers of the three counties to block the dangerous places."

"As for the strategy to defeat the enemy, since we don't know the number of troops in Gepi, and we don't know where they are stationed, we don't have a detailed plan to defeat the enemy yet."

Zhong Yao stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "From what I know, the Gepi bandits have no less than 20,000 or 30,000 men, but many of them are old and weak, so their brave soldiers are no more than a few thousand, and armored soldiers are even rarer."

"Besides, the Gepi bandits are well prepared in the surrounding counties and towns, so they can only plunder the countryside and attack the strongholds. If Ji'an leads his elite troops to suppress them, the Gepi bandits may not be a match for Ji'an's elite troops."

Then, Zhong Yao changed the subject and said, "But Yao has a plan that may allow Ji'an to win easily!"

Seeing that Zhong Yao was well prepared, Zhang Yu lowered his posture and said, "Brother Yuan Chang, please give me some advice!"

(End of this chapter)