Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 191: Before Departure, Leading the Army to Changshan

The sky is blue and cloudless, the grassland is endless, cattle and sheep are in herds, and wheat leaves are fluttering in the fields.

Stopping his horse and looking, Zhang Yu raised his whip and pointed at Chanhe Pond, saying, "I haven't seen Chanhe Pond for several years, and it has become so prosperous."

Li Song held the reins and said with a smile: "Depending on the salt and iron trade, there are many merchants coming and going. In addition, the water and grass in the pond are lush, and the Xiongnu tribes graze and farm. After several years of accumulation, it has become as prosperous as it is today."

Li Song pointed to the earthen city not far from Chanhe Pond and said, "During the Western Han Dynasty, a strong Yin city was built at Chanhe Pond, and the Western Commander was stationed there. Now that Chanhe Pond is gradually inhabited, it is better to restore the city pass and use it to protect the border residents."

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "If Bosong goes south to Mayi to govern, he needs to build a city for the Xiongnu to live in to protect the salt pond. The newly built city can be used as a safe haven for the Xiongnu. I hope that the border will be safe for the rest of my life. After the city is built, it will be under the jurisdiction of the Mayi Duwei Mansion together with the three counties of Dingxiang, and civil and military officials will be selected to govern it."

"promise!"

Dingxiang County only had three counties left, and with the population of Canhewu, there were only 2873 households. It would be meaningless to send someone to govern it alone. Therefore, when Zhang Yu appointed Li Song as the commander of Mayi, he specifically gave him the title of commander of Dingxiang County.

At this point, there were only two powerful officials left in the northern border of Bingzhou, one was Yanmen prefect Guo Wei, and the other was Li Song. Li Song had the power to govern the Hu people, and his troops were not much less than Guo Wei's. He stationed his troops in Mayi, adjacent to Yinguan, and was Zhang Yu's disguised surveillance of Guo Wei.

"Sir!"

Li Song seemed to remember something, pointing to the camels by the lake, and said with a smile: "At the beginning, the Lord asked Budugen for camels and white cotton, but there is no trace of white cotton. Nearly a thousand camels were sent to us, and they have bred with each other, and there are more than a thousand camels now. If the Lord returns to Jinyang this time, you can take the camels with you."

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes and looked at it, then smiled and said, "Camels are good things. Not only can they work in the field instead of cattle, but they can also carry heavy objects and travel through mountains and rivers. Their speed is not inferior to that of horses. Bingzhou has a rugged terrain, so using camels to transport food for the army or to transport people will be much more convenient."

Then Zhang Yu said to Li Song: "I have great use for camels. Bosong, see if you can let the Hu people in the two counties raise camels, so that they can pay taxes instead of cattle and horses."

Li Song thought for a moment and said, "There are quite a few camels among the Xianbei tribes. If you need them now, I can buy camels from the various Hu tribes on the border to see if I can gather 2,000 camels for the army."

"good!"

Zhang Yu recalled what Zhong Yao had said before he set out, and asked, "Last year, we recruited many refugees. We have more land than we can afford, but we are short of livestock. I wonder how many cattle the two counties can provide to the state?"

Li Song thought deeply for a long time and said, "There are no less than 10,000 tribes of Hu people in the two counties, and at least 200,000 to 300,000 cattle and horses. In an emergency, we can borrow 10,000 cattle from the tribes and give them to you. If we use them for farming, it may take time for the 10,000 cattle and government to be turned around."

"Under normal circumstances, how long does it take to prepare ten thousand cows?" Zhang Yu asked.

"How about half a year?" Li Song said, "Besides, we need to spend a lot of money and grain to buy cattle from the Hu people in the two counties."

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Then the period will be half a year. If you are short of money and food to buy cattle, you can report to Jinyang and ask Zhong Jun to allocate money and food to you."

"promise!"

Each prefecture in the world has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, although the population in Bingzhou is declining and the land is not as fertile as in Hebei, it is close to the border, and in addition to the tough folks, it is also convenient to obtain livestock. Ten thousand cows are unimaginable in inland prefectures, but in the border, it is not an impossible number.

While the two were chatting, a cavalryman came galloping over, dismounted, handed over the letter in his arms, and reported: "Sir, there is an urgent military report from Jinyang."

Zhang Yu opened the letter and read its contents, his expression suddenly changed.

Seeing this, Li Song asked curiously, "Are the bandits causing trouble?"

Zhang Yu handed the letter to Li Song, looked at the vast scenery of Chanhe Pond, and said: "Yuan Shao is plotting to take over Jizhou, and now he invites me and Gongsun Zan to lead troops to Jizhou. After the success, I will give him Henei County as a gift."

Li Song asked, "Your Excellency, when you sent troops to Jizhou, did you go from Changshan or Weijun? And what cities did you capture along the way?"

Zhang Yu put his hands behind his waist and said, "Weijun is where Han Fu's capital Yecheng is located, so most of his troops must be stationed in Weijun. That's why I intend to send troops to Changshan. Enter Changshan from Jingxing Road, wait for Yuan Shao to conquer Jizhou, and then my troops will occupy Henei. I will return the cities and towns captured along the way in Hebei to Yuan Shao."

Li Song frowned and said, "The cities in Hebei were taken by you, and later returned to Yuan Shao. Our army only got the messy land in Henei. Isn't that a pity?"

Zhang Yu was confident and said, "The most important thing for us now is the soldiers and civilians, not the territory. Taiyuan has fertile land, but the registered population is not large. Now that Yuan Shao has invited me to send troops, I will move the people of Hebei to Taiyuan. As for the county of Changshan, I will hand it over to a virtuous ruler."

When talking about the virtuous ruler, Zhang Yu showed a playful look. It was obvious that during his northern tour, Zhang Yu had already thought of how to trick Yuan Shao.

How can there be room for others to sleep peacefully on the side of the couch?
As Yuan Shao said, his strong enemy is Zhang Yu. And for Zhang Yu, Yuan Shao is also his strong enemy. At this stage, Zhang Yu is still unable to participate in the hegemony of Jizhou, but it does not mean that Zhang Yu will sit back and watch Yuan Shao take over Jizhou. Zhang Yu is happy to do anything that can trip up Yuan Shao.

Seeing that Zhang Yu had already made up his mind, Li Song did not say much, and only asked: "Does your Excellency need me to lead the Hu army to fight this time?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Although the Pingcheng Assembly made the various Hu people submit, I see that many of the leaders are hesitant. Therefore, Bo Song needs to stay in the northern border to preside over the division of land and pastures; in addition, the number of Hu people's tents in the two counties and the number of each tribe should be reported by the end of the year." Zhang Yu would not be so naive as to make all the tribes serve him with a single assembly. If he wanted to make the Hu people in the two counties obey him, it depended on whether the Mayi Duwei Mansion could operate. At such a critical moment, it was impossible to let Li Song leave the northern border and follow him to Jizhou.

Of course, although Han Fu controls Jizhou, he is not a strong enemy. Moreover, Gongsun Zan might be more active than him in this expedition to Jizhou. Therefore, Zhang Yu does not intend to send out all his troops, but sending a few thousand troops to support Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao is enough!
After a pause, Zhang Yu said, "Budugen's troops are adjacent to the border. Bosong is in charge of the affairs of the northern border, so we need to have more friendly exchanges with Budugen. But if Budugen asks for too much ironware, Bosong needs to intervene in time and don't let Budugen become too powerful."

"Please rest assured, my lord. Song will be able to control himself!" said Li Song.

Zhang Yu patted Li Song on the shoulder and said with emotion: "The foundation of Bingzhou today is not owned by me alone, but Bosong has also contributed a lot. The northern border has just begun to have order, and it cannot be governed without Bosong. When the Mayi Commandery is in operation and the Hu people in the two counties surrender, I will transfer you to Jinyang to accompany me."

Li Song glanced at Li Suyi in the distance, and said with a bow, "For the sake of your majesty's foundation, it is okay for Song to suffer. Suyi has been married to you for many years, but her temper is still impatient, and she has no children yet. I hope you will be more tolerant."

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu put his arm around Li Song's shoulders and said with a smile, "How could I not know what Bo Song meant? The relationship between Su Yi and I is extraordinary. Although she is not my wife, I treat her like one. In the mansion, Su Yi is second only to Shu Lan."

"I have been traveling outside for many years. From now on, I will bring my family to Jinyang. Before long, Bosong will be your uncle!"

Although Li Song supported Zhang Yu to marry Wang Ji, he loved his sister Li Suyi very much. Whether Zhang Yu wanted to win over Li Song or treat his childhood sweetheart well, it is impossible to say that he treated Li Suyi badly.

"hope so!"

"Ha ha!"

When Zhang Yu was about to return south after his northern tour of Chanhebi, Yan Rou heard about Zhang Yu and came from Dai County to pay him a visit.

"Rou pays respect to Envoy Zhang!"

Inside the big tent, Zhang Yu invited Yan Rou, who was dressed in brocade and jade robes, to sit down and said warmly, "I haven't seen you for several years. Zirun has become more and more prosperous!"

Nowadays, Yan Rou benefits from Liu Yu's policies and travels between Han and Hu, making a lot of money. He dresses more luxuriously than he did a few years ago, wearing jade rings and gold jewelry, looking like a nouveau riche.

Yan Rou said humbly, "I am becoming richer and richer, and you are becoming more powerful. When the envoy went to Taiyuan, I was still busy in Youbeiping and had no time to congratulate you. Now that you have arrived in Pingcheng, I have come to see you as soon as I can."

As he spoke, Yan Rou took out a gift list from his bosom and said with a smile, "The Wuhuan tribes in Youzhou have heard of your great reputation, so they specially asked me to present a thousand horses, two thousand cattle, five thousand sheep, and some furs and skins!"

Zhang Yu handed the gift list to the attendant beside him and said with a smile: "Zirun is very thoughtful. When I went to Shangdang before, you came from afar to send gifts. Now that I am in charge of Bingzhou, you have given me such a generous gift again."

"It's just a simple gift, please don't despise it!" Yan Rou said with a smile.

Zhang Yu poured a bottle of wine for Yan Rou and said with a smile: "Zirun has a good brother, Ziyuan (Yan Zhi's name), who is very talented and is now working as an official under me."

"Don't dare!"

Yan Rou took the wine bottle with both hands and said with a smile: "It is all thanks to the teachings of the envoy that I have achieved what I have today. From now on, when the envoy governs Bingzhou, I hope that the envoy will not abandon my stupidity and teach me more."

Seeing Yan Rou's thoughts, Zhang Yu restrained his expression and asked, "Zirun has come a hundred miles to visit me. I wonder why?"

Yan Rou knows how to behave. Zhang Yu has been giving gifts to Yan Rou since they started working together. Especially when Zhang Yu was seizing the territory, Yan Rou began to bet on Zhang Yu. Now that he is giving such a generous gift, it is impossible for Zhang Yu to remain indifferent.

Yan Rou considered his words carefully and said, "To be honest, Your Excellency, although I have a good relationship with the Xianbei and Wuhuan, the Wuhuan lieutenant Xing Ju has often oppressed me. Now that I am determined to become an official, I wonder if Your Excellency can ~?"

"Zirun has been traveling in Youzhou for many years. Now that you want to seek an official position, why don't you look for Mr. Liu?" Zhang Yu asked.

Yan Rou hesitated for a moment, then said truthfully: "Although Lord Liu is a good man, Gongsun Zan often robs the Hu people and seizes the property of merchants, which makes me miserable."

Zhang Yu understood Yan Rou's idea. Gongsun Zan was in charge of military affairs and had a high position in Youzhou. In particular, Xing Ju, the commander of the Wuhuan, was probably under Gongsun Zan's control. Yan Rou probably couldn't get through Liu Yu's way, so he came to Zhang Yu. He wanted to borrow Zhang Yu's reputation to make Xing Ju afraid.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "If Zirun is willing, I can recommend you to join the army as General Du Liao and station you in Pingcheng so that you can trade with Wuhuan and Xianbei. You can recruit your own soldiers, but the number cannot exceed 1,000. You need to maintain the order of Pingcheng city on weekdays."

"Thank you for your kindness, my Lord!"

Yan Rou was overjoyed when he heard this and bowed to him.

(End of this chapter)