Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 15 Seeing Old Friends Again
The conflict with Wen Shao was just a part of Zhang Yu's life. Wen Shao seemed to understand Zhang Yu's strength and did not dare to bully him anymore.

Over a period of more than a month, Wang Hong took more than ten days to teach Zhang Yu "The Art of War".

Although Wang Hong had no knowledge of warfare and could not explain military cases to Zhang Yu, he relied on his high level of Confucian classics and used the form of Han Confucian classics to interpret the meaning of each word for Zhang Yu, and helped Zhang Yu string together the key points of "The Art of War". Due to his limited knowledge, when Wang Hong taught "The Art of War", he focused more on explaining logistics, organization and other related knowledge to Zhang Yu. Even so, Zhang Yu benefited a lot from his lectures.

With Wang Hong's in-depth and easy-to-understand explanation, Zhang Yu gained a different understanding of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and also understood why Wang Hong asked him to learn the more practical "Wu Zi's Art of War" first.

When Sun Wu wrote The Art of War, his purpose was to use the book to serve the state of Wu. Therefore, the book was not read by laymen, but by high-ranking officials. Therefore, the content described by Sun Wu in the book was mostly macro-strategy and tactics, and the words were awkward and the content was concise.

The discussions in Wu Zi's Art of War and Sima Fa on micro issues such as tactics, troop formations, marching and camping are much more detailed than in The Art of War. Therefore, reading these two books first will be more conducive to understanding The Art of War.

In the evening, the sun sets.

In the woods, the sound of the piano was like a complaint and weeping, lingering for a long time; in the stone pavilion, Zhang Yu was reading a book while walking slowly.

Perhaps he was tired of reading, so Zhang Yu put down the bamboo slips, listened to the sound of the piano gradually fading away, and felt a little moved in his heart, so he followed the path he had taken before.

After a while, Zhang Yu straightened his clothes, held his sword, and walked with his head held high, and came to the bamboo pavilion.

In the bamboo pavilion, a girl in plain clothes was adjusting the strings of a musical instrument, and there was a maid in red beside her.

"Who are you coming? This is Wang's private place!" Hongniang asked.

The sound probably startled the girl who was trying out the strings. Wang Ji looked up and saw that it was Zhang Yu who came to visit him.

"Matchmaker, step back!"

"promise!"

Wang Ji stood up to greet him, and said with a smile: "It has been half a month since we last saw each other. I thought Mr. Zhang was gone!"

Zhang Yu leaned against the pavilion pillar and said with a smile, "The beautiful lady plays the zither so melodiously. If I leave now, wouldn't it be boring to study?"

"That day my father was giving lectures and teaching scriptures, and he also ordered maids and singing girls to perform dances. Why didn't you take a closer look, Mr. Zhang?" Wang Ji smiled, slightly raising the corners of his lips.

Zhang Yu looked at Wang Ji's shy face and said with a smile, "It's not as good as the music played by a thousand gold coins, it's hard to get people addicted!"

Wang Ji covered his mouth and laughed, saying: "I learned my piano skills from them, how can you say they are not as good as me?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "Confucius's teachers were Tan Zi, Chang Hong, Shi Xiang, and Lao Dan. None of these philosophers were as virtuous as Confucius, so it is said that a disciple need not be inferior to his teacher. Although I paid a thousand gold to serve as a maid, my zither skills may have surpassed them now."

Zhang Yu was not exaggerating when he praised Wang Ji's qin skills. Although Zhang Yu did not know how to play the qin, he could tell the quality of the qin's sound.

After a pause, Zhang Yu deliberately said: "Having said that, from what I have seen, Qianjin's piano skills are still insufficient."

"What's lacking?" Wang Ji asked immediately.

"You can't touch my heart!"

Hearing this, Wang Ji's pink cheeks instantly blushed, even her ears turned red, and she said angrily, "Who wants to touch your heart?"

Zhang Yu blinked his eyes innocently and said, "When Master was in Qi, he heard Shao music and for three months he did not taste meat. He sighed and said, 'I never thought music could be so good.' Although music worth thousands of gold is beautiful, it cannot make Master feel the same way as Master, so he said it is lacking."

Wang Ji rolled her eyes at Zhang Yu, feeling a little embarrassed and annoyed. She thought Zhang Yu was hinting at love, but he was actually talking about music in a serious tone, which made her feel like she was being teased.

Zhang Yu took a closer look and said, "I heard that the three pieces of music in the zither are "High Mountain and Flowing Water", "Spring Snow" and "Guangling San". I wonder if Qian Jin can play them?"

Wang Ji shook her head and said, "Guangling San has been lost, Gao Shan Liu Shui is nowhere to be found, and Yang Chun Bai Xue can barely be played!"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "If I am willing to find the two pieces of music, Guangling San and Gao Shan Liu Shui, for a huge sum of money, what will be my reward?"

"If Mr. Zhang can find the two pieces of music, "Guangling San" and "Gao Shan Liu Shui", Ji will reward him with a huge sum of gold," said Wang Ji.

Zhang Yu deliberately stared at Wang Ji's elegant face and teased, "I wonder what you mean by promising me a thousand gold coins?"

Hearing this, Wang Ji realized his slip of the tongue, blushed again, and said, "Ji is willing to repay you with money."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "If money can buy two songs, how can two songs be hard to find?"

After plucking the strings with his hands, Zhang Yu stared into Wang Ji's eyes and said, "I only ask the girl to play these three songs for me and give me a few boxes of cakes!"

Not daring to look directly into Zhang Yu's deep and bright eyes, Wang Ji turned away, blushing, and said, "If I could play the two songs "Guangling" and "Gaoshan" for you, I would like to play them for you."

"good!"

Zhang Yu left with his sword pressed down, saying with a smile: "Let me take some money first. I'll have to ask the lady to send me some cakes tomorrow. I'm really hungry from studying scriptures every day!"

Staring at Zhang Yu's tall and straight figure, Wang Ji gradually became distracted!
Hongniang looked at Wang Ji's expression and couldn't help thinking in her heart: "Could it be that the daughter of a rich family has taken a fancy to Mr. Zhang?"

"A thousand gold!"

After being called by Hongniang, Wang Ji came back to his senses and said with a smile: "This Zhang Lang is really interesting!"
-
Zhang Yu returned along the way, and when he was about to reach the stone pavilion, he saw Li Song had been waiting in the pavilion without him knowing when.

Seeing Zhang Yu's figure, Li Song quickly walked over to him and asked, "Where did Ji'an go?"

For some reason, Zhang Yu felt guilty and said vaguely, "I was a little tired, so I walked around the pavilion!"

"I wonder what important matter Bosong is here for?" Zhang Yu changed the subject.

Li Song did not doubt him and asked, "Does Ji'an remember the young man who sold horses two months ago?"

"Hauberdau?"

"Yes~" "Now that Bodao is here to visit me, I have asked Maoshan to accompany him in the house!" Li Song said.

"go!"

Zhang Yu was overjoyed, and he sorted out the bamboo slips on the stone table, saying with a smile: "Don't keep Bo Dao waiting for too long!"

The two men stuffed the bamboo slips into their book bags and rushed towards the temporary house where they were staying.

Only a mile away from the house, Zhang Yu soon saw Hao Zhao and Zhang Maoshan sitting under a big tree, chatting and laughing with each other.

Seeing Zhang Yu, Hao Zhao stood up quickly, bowed and said, "Zhao greets Mr. Zhang!"

Zhang Yu held Hao Zhao's arms and said with a smile, "I haven't seen Bo Dao for a long time. I can't help but be happy!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked Hao Zhao up and down, and saw that his clothes were old and dirty, and he looked haggard, no longer the same as he was two months ago. He asked with concern, "Why does Bodao look like this?"

Hao Zhao looked at his current appearance and said with a wry smile: "It's a long story!"

"Come!"

As the house was small and simple, Zhang Yu pulled Hao Zhao to sit under a big tree, stretched out his hand to greet his followers and said.

"Maoshan, go down the mountain and buy some dog meat so that I can have a good time with Bodao, and keep the extra money for yourself!"

"Thank you, brother!"

Zhang Maoshan is one year older than Zhang Yu, and can barely be considered a distant relative of the Zhang family. He has been following Zhang Yu since he was a child. He is smart and loves reading. Xingji brought him out on this trip with the intention of training him and also wanted him to run errands for him.

After Zhang Maoshan left, Hao Zhao told Zhang Yu what had happened in the past two months.

After Hao Zhao sold the horse, he spent more than a month to cure his mother's illness. Because his mother had just recovered from a serious illness and his younger siblings were still young, Hao Zhao planned to redeem the land he sold and prepare to farm while taking care of his family.

However, misfortunes never come alone, and blessings never come in pairs. Wen Shao was so angry that he was fooled that he asked his followers to find Hao Zhao's hometown and prepare for revenge. Fortunately, Hao Zhao's fellow villagers discovered something unusual and informed Hao Zhao in advance.

Hao Zhao had no choice but to leave his hometown and take his mother and siblings to seek refuge with his uncle. With the help of his uncle, the four of them settled down. After the Wen family's followers came to nothing, they temporarily gave up looking for Hao Zhao because they did not know where he was.

After going to my uncle's house, my aunt was quite welcoming at first, but as time went on, she became resentful and often vented her anger on my uncle.

After learning the truth, Hao Zhao thought deeply for a long time and felt that staying in his uncle's house was not a long-term solution. After leaving the money from selling the horse to his mother, Hao Zhao left home to make a living.

To make a living, Hao Zhao first thought of Zhang Yu and came to Dalu Mountain to visit him. At the same time, because he had little money, Hao Zhao slept in the open air to save money. When he was hungry, he ate some Hu cakes to fill his stomach; when he was thirsty, he borrowed some water from the villagers; when he was tired, he rested in a secluded place. It took Hao Zhao many days to reach Dalu Mountain.

Zhang Yu sighed and said with emotion: "Wen Shao is indeed a villain. Not only did he cause trouble for me in the mountain courtyard, but he also went to seek revenge on Bo Dao."

"Wen Shao is in Dalu Mountain?" Hao Zhao asked in surprise.

"Yup!"

Li Song poured a glass of wine for Hao Zhao and said, "Wen Shao became a disciple of Lord Chang Wen and studied the classics with us."

After a pause, Li Song said, "Don't worry, Bodao. Dalu Mountain is owned by the Wang family. Wen Shao wants to marry Wang's daughter, so he doesn't dare to do anything wrong here."

"I'm sorry for causing trouble for you two!" Hao Zhao said ashamedly.

"It's just a clown!"

Zhang Yu first sneered, then looked at Hao Zhao and asked, "Bo Dao left his hometown, what are his plans?"

Hao Zhao hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest, Brother Ji'an, the Bingzhou Army is recruiting brave men. I want to join the army to see if I can fight and gain fame. If I don't join the army, I want to join a wealthy family as a soldier to avoid disaster for a while."

Hao Zhao wanted to sell horses for Zhang, but he was worried that it was not reliable. In order to show his value, Hao Zhao said two ways out.

How could Zhang Yu not see through Hao Zhao's little thoughts? People always have to show their own value in order to be respected by others.

Zhang Yu pretended to be in deep thought and said, "Joining the army to fight, licking blood on the edge of the knife, Bo Dao still has a mother and brothers and sisters at home, how can I do it!"

"As for being a powerful subordinate, although you can get food and clothing temporarily, you will be dependent on others, which is not a long-term solution!"

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Yu said, "I received a letter from home a few days ago saying that a caravan is being formed, but they are just short of manpower. If Bo Dao is willing, he can stay in the caravan temporarily, travel north and south, and earn money so that he can bring his family out and live in another place as soon as possible."

Under the leadership of Zhang Ji, the three clans of Lu Bu, Geng Kuan and Wei Xu have been persuaded to invest. The four families either provide quotas or sources of goods. The formation of the caravan is only a matter of time.

"As for the monthly salary, my father will not treat Bodao unfairly. Bodao can also smuggle some items so that he can earn some hard-earned money."

In order to win over Hao Zhao, Zhang Yu offered generous conditions. Not only did he allow Hao Zhao to receive a monthly salary, he also allowed Hao Zhao to make money with the help of the caravan.

If Hao Zhao had an idea and went on a few caravan trips to build up his network, he would be able to break away from the Zhang caravan and do business with others.

"Brother, you are so kind to me. I will try my best to repay you in the future!" Hao Zhao said, flattered.

"It's just a small favor, not worth mentioning!"

"A bottle for both of you brothers!"

"please!"

"Book of Tang·Biography 7": "Hao Zhao, courtesy name Bodao, was from Zhongdu, Taiyuan. He was a strong man. He lost his father at a young age and his family was poor. He sold his horse to pay for his mother's medical treatment. Wen Shao was reluctant to do so, but Taizu praised his filial piety and helped Zhao out. Zhao was grateful for his kindness and promised Taizu to serve him..."

(End of this chapter)