Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 193: Stealing Shao's secrets and offering advice

The situation in the world is always so delicate. Yuan Shao used Zhang and Sun to plot Jizhou to force Han Fu to give up his throne to him. Zhang and Sun knew what Yuan Shao was thinking and gladly accepted the invitation for their own goals.

The three of them conspired to take Jizhou. Zhang Yu could not gather many soldiers due to the declining population of Bingzhou. Moreover, he had just arrived in Bingzhou, so he needed to send troops to garrison Taiyuan to resist the invasion of the Xiongnu and Dong Zhuo.

Under such circumstances, Zhang Yu was reluctant to let Jizhou be occupied by Yuan Shao. The best strategy was to use Yuan Shao's strength to his advantage, bring in Zhang Yan of Heishan, and control the situation in Hebei.

"My husband has just returned to Jinyang, and he is going to go to war again?"

Upon hearing the news that Zhang Yu was going to send troops in May, Wang Ji's eyebrows slightly curved, with a look of reluctance on her pretty face.

Zhang Yu held the child in his arms, picked up fish with chopsticks and fed him, saying with a smile: "In this chaotic world, if you want to gain an advantage, you must use your troops diligently. If you stay in Jinyang and don't move around, you will be conquered by others sooner or later."

"Where are you going to lead the troops this time?" Li Suyi was eager to try and asked, "Can I go with the army?"

Ever since Li Suyi served as "Zhang An" and experienced the feeling of leading troops, he became more and more restless.

"Attack Jizhou!"

Zhang Yu rubbed the boy's face and said with a smile, "There are no women allowed in the army. Su Yi should stay in Jinyang and help Shu Lan take care of the military affairs."

Li Suyi's pretty face was displeased, and she said, "Last time when we fought Guo Xuan, I was able to personally arrange the military strategy. He can be the governor of Yanmen, so why can't I follow the army?"

"Ha ha!"

Seeing Li Suyi talking about defeating Guo Yu, Zhang Yu couldn't help laughing and said, "When I went north, Guo Yu asked where Zhang An was. If he knew that he was defeated by a woman, wouldn't he be ashamed to face the soldiers and officials in the northern border!"

"Don't tell anyone nonsense!"

Wang Ji reminded: "If outsiders knew that Su Yi led people to attack and kill Hu Qi, the people of Bingzhou would definitely talk about your husband because of this."

"It's natural!"

Zhang Yu restrained his smile and said, in order to find something for Li Suyi to do, "The inner house of the prefecture is short of guards. If Suyi is interested in joining the army, you may train a female soldier for the inner house. The number should not exceed 200. You can ask Mr. Zhong for money and food."

"Is what you said true?" Li Suyi said happily.

"It's true!"

Seeing the two talking about military affairs, Wang Ji said, "My husband, I think Jinyang is too small to accommodate a large army. Since you want to make Jinyang your base, I think it would be better to expand Jinyang and build it close to the mountains and rivers so that it can be a complete and solid city."

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the circumference of Jinyang City was only six miles, and it was not yet a complete and solid city like the one at the turn of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Regarding the problem of Jinyang City, Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao talked about it, and both believed that Jinyang had a rugged geographical location, but the city was not big enough.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Zhong and I both have the intention to expand Jinyang City, but we are focusing on resting the people and not wasting their energy. When I leave Changshan this time and relocate the refugees from Hebei, I will use the work as relief to expand Jinyang."

The previous wave of work-for-relief in Shangdang repaired almost all the cities outside Shangdang, especially the strong cities and dangerous passes on the Taihang Mountain Road. If there is a wave of refugees in Taiyuan today, it is necessary to repair Jinyang City on a large scale.

Seeing that Zhang Yu had plans to expand, Wang Ji changed the topic and said, "My husband has already established a career in Bingzhou, and most of the civil and military officials around him are outsiders. I want to call my brother and brother Ling back to help my husband. What do you think?"

"Why not!"

Zhang Yu touched Mu Mo's head and said with a smile: "Bingzhou has a vast territory, and I am in great need of trusted people. If you and Ling can return home this morning, I will go out of the city twenty miles to welcome you personally. I am just afraid that Dong Zhuo will not let you two return to the county."

"I will write to my brother first."

Seeing that Zhang Yu was not opposed, Wang Ji smiled with eyes as big as crescent moons and said, "Let's see if they can escape the custody of Dong Zhuo's soldiers and officials."

Wang Chen and Wang Ling are Zhang Yu's relatives. To some extent, they are Zhang Yu's relatives. Their coming to serve will enrich Zhang Yu's wings, not to mention that they are both talented. For example, if Wang Chen has been trained in Luoyang, it will not be a problem for him to supervise a county.

While Zhang Yu was talking to his wives and concubines, Hongniang stepped inside and reported, "My husband, the right lady is pregnant."

"Alahai is pregnant?"

Wang Ji smiled and said, "Congratulations to my husband on having another child."

“Rain and dew are equally distributed!”

"Ha ha!"

The warm and leisurely home life soon came to an end. Since Zhang Yu had ambitions to rule the world, he could not linger in the land of pleasure for too long.

Before the expedition, Zhang Yu needed to meet Xin Pi and Guo Yuan, who had defected from Yuan Shao. In the hall, Zhang Yu signaled the attendants to serve honey water while asking Xin Pi and Guo Yuan to take their seats.

Since Wang Ji came to Zhang Yu's side, the biggest change was the replacement of his attendants. Previously, Zhang Yu used warriors as attendants, or used attendants left over from the past. But when Wang Ji was in charge of the affairs of the inner and outer houses, the attendants were replaced by well-behaved and agile young men and women.

Especially in the inner house, when there are too many wives and concubines, there are not enough maids. Wang Ji selected more than ten good-looking girls from Wang's family to serve as maids in the state government. Needless to say, the quality of the maids is not good, and Zhang Yu has chosen the one he likes. But Zhang Yu still abided by the rules and did not mess around in the state government.

"I am very pleased that you two have traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers to be invited to Jin." Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"Your Excellency is powerful and famous in Hebei Province. I have admired you for a long time!" Xin Pi said.

"Since I received your letter, I have wanted to write to you for a long time!" Guo Yuan bowed and said, "Thank you for taking the time to meet me!"

After being invited to Jizhou by Han Fu, Guo Yuan, a young and energetic man, was eager to become an official. However, since he was unfamiliar with the place, Guo Yuan could only wait for the right opportunity. At the same time, Guo Yuan had heard that his uncle had joined Zhang Yu and became his adviser. At the beginning, Guo Yuan wrote a letter to Zhong Yao asking if he could join Zhang Yu.

Although Zhong Yao worked for Zhang Yu at that time, he was still watching Zhang Yu's development. It was not until Zhang Yu conquered Taiyuan that Zhong Yao was convinced that Zhang Yu had the ability to accomplish things, so he wrote a letter to Guo Yuan, asking Guo Yuan to bring his family and come to him.

Guo Tu and Zhong Yao's actions of recruiting friends and companions were undoubtedly a signal of loyalty to Zhang Yu. After all, if Zhang Yu was not trustworthy, how could Guo and Zhong not only sacrifice themselves but also their relatives and friends!

Zhang Yu first looked at Guo Yuan and said with a smile, "I heard Yuan Chang say that Xiulin is a talented person who has been an official in Yingchuan County since he was young. I want to give you an important position. Mayi is the seat of the Duwei Mansion, where Han and Hu people gather. I want to appoint you as the head of Mayi. I wonder if Xiulin is willing to take the position?"

"Thank you, Lord!"

Guo Yuan was very happy to be appointed as the head of Mayi. Although he had just arrived in Jinyang, he knew from Zhong Yao's advice that Mayi would be as important as a county seat after it was established as the seat of the Duwei Mansion. If he could accomplish something in Mayi, he would surely be valued by Zhang Yu.

As Zhang Yu's status rose, the position of county magistrate was nothing to him. But for a fledgling scholar, the position of county magistrate was an important task. And being a county magistrate was Zhang Yu's test for them. After all, if they couldn't even manage a county well, how could they be entrusted with such an important task?

Zhang Yu chatted with Guo Yuan for a while, then sent Guo Yuan to find Zhong Yao, leaving Xin Pi alone in the hall.

Xin Pi had the demeanor of a famous minister. He sat neither humble nor arrogant, waiting for Zhang Yu to ask questions.

Zhang Yu looked at Xin Pi for a while and said with a smile: "Your name is Zuozhi, so you must be very talented. Now that we are in Jin, I wonder what you have to teach me?"

Seeing Zhang Yu asking the question, Xin Pi bowed and said, "Yuan Shao has great ambitions and is plotting to seize Jizhou, so he invited you to send troops. If you send troops now, I'm afraid Han Fu will be forced to give up his throne to Yuan Shao. Han Fu is a mediocre man, while Yuan Shao is a fierce tiger. Now that you are sending troops to Jizhou, you should be cautious to avoid letting Yuan Shao gain power."

Zhang Yu looked at Guo Tu, who was sitting beside him, and seemed to ask Guo Tu whether he had told Xin Pi about the conspiracy. But Guo Tu shook his head, indicating that he had not revealed the conspiracy to Xin Pi.

Zhang Yu knew what was going on, so he asked, "In addition to supporting me, Yuan Shao also invited Gongsun Zan to come south. Gongsun Zan has 10,000 infantry and cavalry under his command, and his White Horse Volunteers are powerful at the border. Even if I don't go to Jizhou, Gongsun Zan will still come south. Why?"

Xin Pi pondered for a long time and said, "Yuan Shao invited Gongsun Zan to come south and granted him the counties, kingdoms and cities of Jizhou. Yuan Shao is interested in Jizhou and will definitely clash with Gongsun Zan in the future. Hebei is rich and has a large population, which is the foundation for great things. If Sun and Yuan compete for Jizhou, Jizhou will be in chaos."

"If Yuan controls Hebei, he will certainly plot against Gongsun and Junhou; and if Gongsun controls Jizhou, he will certainly spy on the counties of Bingzhou. Therefore, in my opinion, Junhou should not let one family dominate Jizhou alone. Let two or three families divide Jizhou. This is the key to the current situation."

"Bingzhou is where Jin State achieved its hegemony in the past. It has great mountains outside and ravines inside. It is a perfect and solid place with fertile fields and crisscrossing mountains and rivers. Now that you have occupied Bingzhou, you should recruit refugees from Hebei, reclaim the abandoned fields, store grain and train your soldiers to strengthen your muscles and bones."

"When there is a disturbance in Hebei, we can send troops eastwards, and Hebei will be pacified; when there is a turmoil in Guanzhong, we can send troops westwards, and Guanxi will surrender. The enemy in all directions is no greater than Guanxi; the wealthiest place in the world is no greater than Hebei. If Guanzhong and Hebei are pacified, and the six armies are strong, the whole world will be shaken."

Zhang Yu narrowed his eyes slightly. He really didn't expect Xin Pi to have such insight. The strategy he discussed with Guo Tu and Zhong Yao was similar. There are so many talented people in the world. He really deserves to be the father of Xin Xianying.

"color!"

Zhang Yu clapped his hands and laughed, saying to Guo Tu, "When we go out to fight, I am so happy that I can get your help and offer you strategies."

Zhang Yu said with a pleasant face, "Zuo Zhi's views are similar to those of Gong Ze and Yuan Chang. I would like to appoint you as my military advisor, to assist Gong Ze in military affairs and to give me advice. What do you think?"

The above opinions of Xin Pi were enough for Zhang Yu to appoint him as a military advisor and let him discuss military affairs with Guo Tu as a counselor. As for letting Xin Pi be ranked below Guo Tu, it was to take Guo Tu's psychology into consideration. After all, he was invited by Guo Tu, and his qualifications were not as good as Guo Tu's.

Seeing that Zhang Yu had invited him to be his confidant, Xin Pi stood up and bowed without hesitation, saying, "Your Excellency has entrusted me with a great responsibility. Now I am willing to work hard for you."

"good!"

Zhang Yu helped Xin Pi up, and held Guo Tu's hand, saying with a smile: "With the help of Gongze and Zuozhi, this expedition will surely yield gains. When the great cause is accomplished in the future, I will not let you two down."

Getting a talented person before going out to fight is a pleasant surprise, while getting a strategic person with insight is a pleasant surprise.

"Jiangzuo Yice": "Brother Xin Pi was Yuan Shao's confidant. At first, when Shao was planning to seize Jizhou, Pi was deceived by Guo Tu and stole Shao's secrets. He fled to Jin and reported it to Emperor Shenwu, so Shao's plan could not be carried out."

(End of this chapter)