Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 163: Appointment as Military Advisor and Kill Liu Jingsheng

Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao were in a side hall, discussing matters from morning till afternoon. The topics they talked about covered military, political, and personnel matters, and they also analyzed the famous families in Shangdang County.

Among them, Zhong Yao gave Zhang Yu many suggestions on the policies he was currently implementing, which benefited Zhang Yu a lot.

The next day, Zhang Yu summoned civil and military officials to the hall to clarify Zhong Yao's status.

The generals and clerks stood on the left and right of the hall according to their ranks. Because Zhang Yu had not informed anyone in advance, no one knew what had happened.

Zhang Yang saw that there was an empty seat in front of him, so he asked his attendants, "Who is sitting here?"

The generals were confused. Zhang Feng, who knew the situation, said, "Yesterday, you had a long conversation with Mr. Zhong, and I felt it was very helpful. Today, it seems that you want to appoint Mr. Zhong as a military advisor and captain, and he will also participate in military affairs and supervise Shangdang's government affairs."

"Military Advisor Captain?"

Zhang Yang frowned and said, "Zhong Yao has not done anything yet, how can he be promoted to captain?"

Not only Zhang Yang was dissatisfied, but also Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and other generals looked unhappy. They had followed Zhang Yu and fought hard for a long time, only to get a colonel. It was really outrageous that Zhong Yao was directly promoted to colonel.

Hearing this, Guo Tu was stunned for a moment. Zhang Yu's kindness to Zhong Yao was beyond his expectation. He thought that Zhong Yao would be in charge of civil affairs, but he didn't expect that he would also let Zhong Yao participate in military affairs. Isn't this stealing his job?
Without waiting for anyone to say anything, Zhang Yu asked Zhong Yao to step into the hall.

"Your Majesty!"

Everyone stood up and bowed, and Zhang Yu smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "Everyone, please sit down!"

After sitting down with everyone, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I have called you all here today to make one thing clear. From today on, Mr. Zhong will be the military advisor and lieutenant. He will be in charge of 50 soldiers, supervise the government affairs of Shangdang, and allocate military supplies and money. His position is second only to me, and he is on the same level as Mr. Zhang. I hope you will respect him."

Zhang Yang, who was confident of his close relationship with Zhang Yu, said, "Sir, the position of lieutenant is very important. All those who serve as lieutenants in the army are willing to sacrifice their own lives and have made outstanding contributions. I wonder how Mr. Zhong can be ranked on the same level as Wen Yuan?"

Zhang Yu pressed his hands down, signaling everyone not to rush, and said: "Yesterday I had a long talk with Yuan Chang, which opened my eyes. Although Mr. Zhong has not made any military achievements, his words are no less than the achievements of defeating the enemy and beheading the generals."

Zhang Yang opened his mouth to refute, but Zhang Yu stared at him for a few seconds, so he shut up.

Seeing that everyone was curious about what Zhong Yao said, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "As for what Mr. Zhong is talking about, you will know it later!"

"promise!"

Because of the rejection of Zhong Yao, everyone was in a low mood and responded calmly.

Zhang Yu found an opportunity and pushed Zhong Yao to the front of the stage. Zhong Yao bowed to everyone and said, "I will be your colleague in the future. I hope you can give me your guidance!"

"Greetings to the military advisor and captain!"

Everyone had no intention of paying a visit to Zhong Yao, but when they saw Zhang Yu threatening them with his eyes, they couldn't help but straighten their expressions and bow to Zhong Yao.

Seeing this, Zhong Yao glanced at Zhang Yu and felt grateful in his heart. He felt like he had met a wise leader.

After the greeting, Zhong Yao did not follow the seat arranged by Zhang Yu. Instead, he asked Zhang Yang to sit at the first seat because he was older than him, and he sat at the second seat. Zhang Yang was respected by Zhong Yao and his attitude became much more relaxed.

Obviously, if Zhong Yao wanted to gain everyone's admiration or recognition of his rank, he would have to rely on his future achievements.

With Zhong Yao joining the group, Zhang Yu was no longer in charge of Shangdang affairs. Instead, Zhong Yao was in charge of the details, and Zhang Yu was in charge of the general direction. Without being disturbed by trivial political affairs, Zhang Yu spent more time on military affairs.

"If cavalrymen want to be brave and useful, they must not only be skilled in martial arts, but also have strong horses."

Zhang Yu sat on a hill, looking at the Han cavalry galloping down the hill, and asked, "Have the horses become thinner?"

Zhang Liao took off his boots, poured out the stones in them, and said, "Sir, in order to save food and grass, the horses have been fed more grass in the past few months. However, it is winter in Shangdang, and the cavalry has not stopped training, so the horses have lost some weight. After the spring, the horses will be able to recover soon."

Zhang Yu glanced at Zhang Liao's stinking boots and said, "I'm afraid it's too late. The Baibo bandits are already heading east. We need to get our horses back to their old age as soon as possible."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu's tone changed slightly, and he said, "Wenyuan, you can change your boots!"

"Why?"

“It stinks!”

Zhang Liao looked embarrassed, and the air was filled with the smell of sweaty feet. He said, "I am sorry to have embarrassed you, my lord!"

"The Liao will make proper arrangements for the increase in the number of troops and horses!"

Zhang Yu stood up from the hill and said, "Now that we have auxiliary troops to help, the soldiers need to concentrate on raising horses. From now on, unless it is absolutely necessary, if a horse is stolen, not only will the person be punished, but all the soldiers will be punished as well."

"I will follow your orders!" Zhang Liao replied.

Before Zhang Yu could continue speaking, the attendant came quickly and reported, "Sir, the rear general Yuan Shu sent an envoy to the city, and now Military Advisor Zhong has sent someone to ask if you want to see him?"

"Who is the envoy?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Yuan Si and Yuan Zhongcheng, members of the Yuan family, are here to pay their respects to you, Your Excellency!" said the attendant.

"Yuan Zhongcheng!"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Tell Military Advisor Zhong to treat Yuan Si well. I will ride back to the city right away."

"promise!"

Zhang Liao asked curiously, "Yuan Shu raised an army in Nanyang, why did he send an envoy to see you now?" Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "He simply sent someone to ask me why I didn't raise an army to respond to the alliance."

"Wenyuan, just focus on training the cavalry. I will return to the city to receive Yuan Si first."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu led several personal guards and rode back to Huguan to receive Yuan Si who had come from afar. Yuan Si, at the invitation of Zhong Yao, was now waiting in the lobby accompanied by Zhong Yao and Guo Tu.

Soon, Zhang Yu returned to Huguan and met Yuan Si who had been waiting for a long time.

"Brother Zhongcheng, long time no see!"

"Jian!"

Zhang Yu was very enthusiastic. He took Yuan Si's arm, sat down with him, and said with a smile, "Zhongcheng is not in Nanyang, following the general to fight the bandits. Why did you come to Shangdang to see me now?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's enthusiasm, Yuan Si was embarrassed to ask him questions. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Ji'an, I am here on the orders of the rear general to ask why Ji'an is waiting to see the situation and not joining the righteous men to fight against Dong?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's expression changed slightly, and he sighed and said, "Zhongcheng really doesn't know the difficulty I am in now. It's not that I don't want to fight Dong, but I am forced by the situation and dare not lead the troops to fight the enemy!"

"Is it because of Wang?" Yuan Si asked.

"Wang's is only one of the reasons!"

Zhang Yu looked depressed and said, "The Baibo bandits are eyeing us covetously. If I lead my troops south to fight them, the people of Shangdang will be robbed. The people of Shangdang were able to protect the territory because of me, so the emperor appointed me as governor. How can I bear to watch the people being robbed while fighting the bandits?"

Seeing that Zhang Yu could not leave because of the people, Yuan Si nodded and said, "Ji'an is entrusted by the people, so it is not easy for him to leave with his troops."

Zhang Yu asked, "I wonder what the situation is like in the fight against Dong?"

Yuan Si gathered his thoughts and said, "The Chariot General is stationed in Henei, and they are trying to threaten the capital from across the river. The Yan-Yu coalition forces are stationed in Suanzao, and they are trying to enter the capital from Xingyang. The Rear General is stationed in Luyang, and Changsha Governor Sun Jian is the vanguard. There are about 100,000 soldiers and horses. Now Dong Zhuo is frightened and has moved to Chang'an, the Western Capital."

Zhang Yu shouted in praise, saying, "The warriors from Guandong are so powerful, they may be able to capture Luoyang soon."

After a pause, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "It seems that Yu is a weak person. Whether he joins the alliance or not will not affect the overall situation."

Yuan Si immediately waved his hand and said, "Ji'an is brave and valiant. If he can accept the alliance, it will surely help the army."

Zhang Yu said with regret: "The Baibo bandits are pressing forward step by step, and I dare not lead my troops to respond to the alliance."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu waved his hand and whispered into Yuan Si's ear.

Yuan Si immediately understood and said, "It is understandable that Ji'an is concerned about the people and his relatives, the Wang family, and it is inconvenient for him to raise an army to respond to the alliance. Only ~"

At the end, Yuan Si hesitated, and then said truthfully: "To be honest, Ji'an's decision not to join the alliance made the general very angry. I can understand how difficult it was for Ji'an, but I'm afraid the general can't understand it."

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then told the previous countermeasure: "I have a piece of news that may be of vital importance to Yuan Jun!"

"What's the matter?"

Zhang Yu lowered his voice and asked, "Does Zhongcheng know Liu Biao?"

"know!"

Yuan Si nodded and said, "Liu Biao is one of the eight talented people. He has a great reputation. He was once summoned by He Jin to be an official. You and I have had some experience with him!"

"As far as I know, because Wen Tai killed the governor of Jingzhou, Wang Rui, Dong Zhuo ordered Liu Biao to be the governor of Jingzhou in order to curb Yuan Jun's northern expedition. He wanted to take advantage of Yuan Jun's stationing of troops in Luyang to enter Nanjun as the governor and cut off Yuan Jun's retreat." Zhang Yu said.

Yuan Si was shocked and asked, "How did you know this?"

"How could Zhongcheng forget that my relative, the prince, is now the Minister of the Chancellery?" Zhang Yu asked with a smile.

"Correct!"

Yuan Si suddenly woke up and said, "I almost forgot about this matter. If Ji An hadn't revealed it, I'm afraid that I and Yuan Jun would not know about it."

As he spoke, Yuan Si seemed to recall something and asked in confusion, "Although Liu Biao has entered Jingzhou, he has no troops under his command. How can he cut off Yuan Jun's retreat?"

Zhang Yu pretended to be silent and said, "Liu Biao is not an ordinary person. Although he has no troops now, he may be able to convince the great families of Jingzhou to make plans for him. If I remember correctly, when he was under He Jin's command, Liu Biao had a good relationship with Kuai Yue, and Kuai Yue was a descendant of a prominent family in Nanjun."

When Zhang Yu was the captain of the imperial guards in Luoyang, he met many outstanding figures who left their names in history. For example, although Liu Biao and Kuai Yue became famous in the middle of the turbulent times, they actually entered officialdom very early and even served under He Jin.

Now Zhang Yu chose to tell Yuan Shu the news that Liu Biao had been appointed as the Governor of Jingzhou. In addition to wanting to continue to maintain friendly relations with Yuan Shu, he also planned to kill Liu Biao in advance.

As for why Liu Biao was killed and Yuan Shu was allowed to take control of Jingzhou, it was related to Zhang Yu's conspiracy.

No matter what, Liu Biao was a relative of the Han Dynasty. He ruled Jingzhou and was undoubtedly a minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, if Yuan Shu occupied Jingzhou, it is not difficult to guess that he would become emperor early based on his historical record. In the absence of a strong enemy attack, the longer Yuan Shu existed, the less prestige the Han Dynasty would have.

Moreover, Yuan Shu recommended Sun Jian as the governor of Yuzhou, which showed his ambition. If Yuan Shu obtained Jingzhou, he would definitely compete for hegemony in Henan, which would not only limit Cao Cao's development, but also cause Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao to fight in the Central Plains, which would be beneficial to Zhang Yu's own development.

Yuan Si understood, and said, "Thank you, Ji'an, for telling me this. This is a matter of life and death for Yuan Jun. I will head south immediately."

(End of this chapter)