Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 153 Fish enters the sea, unfettered

"Zhang Yu left the capital to recruit soldiers?"

"Of course!"

Yuan Shu stood with his hands behind his back and said respectfully, "Uncle, Zhang Yu said that He Jin has sent his confidants to recruit soldiers. He thinks that our Yuan family also needs to recruit soldiers to fight against He Jin. Moreover, Zhang Yu said that he is familiar with Liu Yu. Now he has left the capital and gone to Shangdang. He can contact Liu Yu for our Yuan family."

Yuan Wei stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then asked, "Gong Lu, do you think Zhang Yu can be trusted?"

Yuan Shu pondered for a long time and said, "I have known Zhang Yu for several years. Although Yuan Shi has the desire to curry favor with him, Zhang Yu behaves respectfully. Moreover, he always takes it as his responsibility to restore the Han Dynasty, which is quite similar to Wang Yun's style of doing things."

"The plot to plot against He Jin and bring Dong Zhuo into the capital was mentioned when the late emperor was seriously ill. As for now, there is no need for Zhang Yu to betray our Yuan family."

Yuan Wei took a sip of tea and said, "Zhang Yu is leaving the capital today because he is worried about the He family's power, or maybe he is really thinking about our Yuan family. Zhang Yu is willing to do something now, and you trust him, so let him go out of the capital to recruit soldiers in the name of the Black Mountain bandits."

As Dong Zhuo led his troops into the territory of Henan Yin and said that 3,000 soldiers were the vanguard and 2,000 soldiers would follow, Yuan Kui was now full of confidence. Therefore, the more than 1,000 soldiers in Zhang Yu's hands were dispensable to Yuan Kui.

"correct!"

Yuan Wei thought of something and said, "I ordered you to select two hundred gentle and brave soldiers to replace the imperial guards and guard the palace gates. I wonder how are the preparations now?"

"Uncle, I have already selected two hundred people and they are ready to be used at any time!" Yuan Shu said.

"good!"

Yuan Wei put down the teacup and said, "Just make your own preparations. Whether my Yuan family can succeed depends on the troops in your hands and Benchu's."

"promise!"

With Yuan Kui's consent, He Jin was happy to see Zhang Yu leave the capital, and soon asked the Secretariat to issue an imperial edict to Zhang Yu, appointing Zhang Yu as the General of the Central Army to defeat bandits, allowing him to recruit soldiers on his own and fight against the bandits in Shangdang.

On July 28th, Zhang Yu received the imperial edict in the army. Fearing that Yuan Wei would suddenly change his mind, he led his troops to set out before dawn the next day, preparing to cross the Yellow River from Pingyinjin and settle in Henei County.

As for Wang Yun, who took office as the governor of Henan, Zhang Yu met with Wang Yun in Luoyang the day before he received the imperial edict.

Because Wang Yun had just arrived in Luoyang and was unaware of the dangers involved, he only talked about private matters when he spoke to the two men.

For example, Wang Ji had just given birth to a boy for Zhang Yu, and now the mother and son lived in Chanhewu; or it could be Zhang Yu's father-in-law Wang Hong, who was appointed as the prefect of Lujiang before Zhang Yu entered the capital, and had already hurriedly gone to Huainan to take up the post.

Today, the Wang family of Xiaqi County is prosperous, with Wang Yun as the governor of Henan, Wang Hong as the governor of the region, and his son-in-law Zhang Yu as a marquis and a general. Among the four major families in Taiyuan, the most dazzling one today is the Wang family.

Apart from personal matters, Wang Yun not only discussed with Zhang Yu his dissatisfaction with He Jin's recruitment of strong soldiers into the capital, but also introduced his connections in Hanoi to Zhang Yu to see if they could help Zhang Yu fight the enemy.

On the 30th, Zhang Yu's troops had crossed Pingyin Ferry and marched towards Shangdang.

Zhang Yu rode on Wutiyun, holding a whip in his hand and smiling, feeling very happy.

Zhang Liao rode up to follow him and asked, "Your Excellency has been in a very happy mood since leaving Luoyang. I wonder why?"

"hehe!"

Zhang Yu smiled lightly, waved his whip and pointed to the mountains in the distance that met the clouds, and said: "I live in Luoyang like a bird in a cage, with no other use except singing to please people. Now I am leaving the capital, like a fish entering the sea, a bird flying into the sky, and I will never be bound by others again!"

Zhang Liao did not understand the deep meaning of Zhang Yu's words. He just thought that Zhang Yu was happy to show his talent, so he said excitedly: "The Black Mountain Army has a million people. If you can make achievements and defeat the bandits, your name will spread throughout the world, and all the generals will be granted titles and appointed generals."

"We only have a thousand soldiers in our army, while the Black Mountain Army has a million people. If we want to defeat the bandits, we need to recruit soldiers first," said Lu Fan.

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu was so happy that he said, "We should first set up camp in Shangdang, and then we can recruit soldiers from the nearby prefectures and counties."

In order to get to where he is today, Zhang Yu has worked very hard for so many years and shown his loyalty to the Yuan family. Now that his efforts have finally borne fruit, how could Zhang Yu not be happy?
Suddenly, he saw a straw man chasing birds in the field. Zhang Yu couldn't wait to shoot, so he rode his horse, drew his bow, and shot the straw man.

"Whoosh!"

One arrow hit the straw man's head, and the rest of the people shouted.

"Your Excellency's Archery Skills are Excellent!"

Zhang Yu put away his bow and laughed, saying to the crowd, "When I was young, I lived in the frontier, where the land was vast and the grasslands were endless. Sometimes I could shoot more than 200 rabbits a day. But now in the Central Plains, there are few places to hunt, let alone shoot 200 rabbits a day."

Zhang Yu's words were full of nostalgia for his hometown. In Zhang Yu's opinion, although life in the frontier was a bit difficult, he sometimes missed the feeling of freedom.

Without waiting for everyone to respond, Man Chong asked in a stern tone, "Sir, the straw man is a property of the common people, used to drive away birds and beasts. I wonder if your shooting of it with an arrow is an act of destroying property?"

"Master Man, how can a mere straw man talk about money and property?"

Hao Zhao said in dissatisfaction: "Your Excellency, you are shooting a straw man with an arrow. What's wrong with that?"

Man Chong said stiffly, "Your Excellency is shooting straw men with arrows now. I wonder if you will let your horse trample on the fields or shoot innocent people in the future? And the soldiers and officers see your Excellency behaving like this, and everyone is unrestrained. I wonder what military discipline will be like?"

"Man Boying, stop talking nonsense. Since you took up the command of the army, you have ruled the people with kindness. How could what you said be possible?" Hao Zhao scolded.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Yu rebuked Hao Zhao and said, "King Zhou was frugal in the past, but the reason why he became tyrannical and extravagant was that he ate with jade chopsticks. I must listen to Lord Man's advice and take it as a warning."

Hao Zhao looked depressed. He bowed to Man Chong and apologized, saying, "My words were vulgar. I hope you can forgive me, Chief Secretary."

"Don't dare!"

Zhang Yu consulted Man Chong and asked, "Bo Ning, I have committed a crime by shooting a straw man with an arrow. I wonder how I should be punished?" Man Chong said respectfully, "Your Excellency, the straw man is cheap and shooting it with arrows will not harm the people's property. However, the straw man is troublesome to make, and it is the people's hard work. Therefore, you have to dismount and restore the straw man to its original state."

Man Chong is no fool. He knows what it means to go with the flow and knows that he should not be shameless when someone treats him well.

"good!"

Zhang Yu rebuked the attendant who was helping him to get the arrows, and he dismounted his horse alone, following the paths between the fields, and slowly found the straw man.

Then, under the watchful eyes of more than a thousand soldiers, Zhang Yu personally removed the arrow, restored the face of the straw man, and then put the straw man back in its original place.

Then, Zhang Yu bowed to the people who were watching from afar and said loudly, "Please forgive me for destroying the grass."

The common people were a little bit at a loss, so they returned the gift to Zhang Yu and remembered the flag of "Zhang Yu, the General who Defeated Bandits".

When they got back to the village road, Zhang Yu bowed to Man Chong and asked, "Chief Secretary, is what I am doing OK?"

"Your Excellency is wise!"

Man Chong straightened his expression, bowed and said, "I apologize for my inappropriate words just now."

Zhang Yu stood with his sword in hand, looked around at the people who had dismounted, and said, "I have always said that the food and rice you and I eat are all from the hard work of the people, so no matter you or I, we cannot damage the people's property. Moreover, I am the commander-in-chief and I cannot escape military discipline, let alone you, my friends?"

"I hope you will take me as an example and respect the words of the Chief Secretary!"

"promise!"

Everyone looked solemn and bowed to Zhang Yu.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu nodded slightly, quite satisfied with everyone's feedback.

Zhang Yu personally pulled out the arrows and repaired the straw man today, not only to respect Man Chong and strictly observe military discipline, but also to prepare for the subsequent recruitment of soldiers.

Since the court allowed him to recruit soldiers, Zhang Yu did not intend to be polite. He planned to let his subordinates lead the troops to the nearby prefectures and counties to recruit soldiers, and would probably expand the number to 3,000 people first. As the number of troops increased, their military discipline would inevitably decline. Now he would test the law himself to remind his soldiers.

After the interlude, Zhang Yu mounted his horse and went on.

Not long after they had gone, a cavalryman came running up and reported, "Sir, Lü Fengxian of Wuyuan heard the news about you and came to pay you a visit."

"Lu Bu?"

Zhang Yu grabbed the reins and frowned slightly, not understanding the purpose of Lu Bu's visit.

"Everyone, please continue marching. Allow me to go and see Lu Fengxian," said Zhang Yu.

"promise!"

Zhang Yu held the reins and led several of his followers to meet Lu Bu.

After the two greeted each other, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I heard that Fengxian is now serving as the chief clerk under Governor Ding and is also in charge of the troops. I wonder why you are here now?"

Lu Bu bowed to Zhang Yu and said, "I heard that you crossed the river to fight the enemy, so I came to pay you a visit."

After a pause, Lu Bu looked at the infantry and cavalry moving forward and kindly reminded them, "I heard from Envoy Ding that the situation in Luoyang is very delicate right now, and it is a good opportunity for a man to establish his career. Now that you are leading the troops to fight the enemy, why not miss the opportunity?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The court has issued an edict, and Yu dare not disobey it."

"Pity!"

Lü Bu said with regret, "I came to the capital recently and wanted to pay a visit to you, but you left the court unexpectedly."

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "If Fengxian stays in the capital more often in the future, you might as well interact more with the princes."

"I am a person of limited knowledge, and I hope you can give me some advice!" Lu Bu said respectfully.

Zhang Yu looked at Lu Bu for a while and asked, "Fengxian, can you trust me?"

Lu Bu said solemnly: "I worship Zhang Gong as my uncle, and now I regard you as my relative and friend. How can I not believe the words of my relatives and friends and fellow townsmen!"

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu said meaningfully, "The situation in Luoyang is delicate. Fengxian has entered Luoyang and has great confidence in me. You may wish to remember what I said. Few people in the world can be trusted. Apart from Fengxian's confidants, the words of people from Bingzhou can be trusted, and the words of fellow townsmen can be trusted."

Lu Bu frowned slightly and asked, "That's all?"

"That's all!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I am close to Fengxian. If you have nowhere to go in the future, you can come and find me."

Lu Bu thought for a long time and thought that Zhang Yu's words were just a reminder to stick together with the villagers for warmth, so he didn't think much about it. He just bowed and said, "Thank you for your advice, I will keep it in mind!"

"Thank you for seeing me off!"

Zhang Yu stopped to watch Lü Bu's figure going far away, and sighed softly. Luoyang was like a besieged city. He wanted to lead his troops to leave the capital, but Lü Bu wanted to enter the capital.

The world will change as a result of Lu Bu's trip. I wonder what kind of foundation Lu Bu will have when I see him next time, and what his situation will be like?

(End of this chapter)