Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 194: The Governor of Changshan
On May 3rd, we set up camp on the Fen River.

When it was daybreak, Zhang Yu, surrounded by his generals, took a stroll in the military camp.

After returning to the tent, Zhang Yu said to the civil and military officials in the tent: "Bingzhou is so big, but there are less than 20,000 soldiers and horses. This time we will send troops to Jizhou, we only have 5,000 infantry and cavalry available, which is really too few."

"We need to expand our army!"

Guo Tu said: "Shangdang has 40,000 registered households and is the largest county in Bingzhou, but there are only 2,000 old and weak soldiers guarding the land. Excluding the soldiers stationed in the army and guarding the city, there are only a few hundred people who can be used. In Tu's opinion, you should restore the system of prefecture-county soldiers and let Shangdang train county soldiers."

"Mr. Guo is right!"

Xu Shu agreed and said, "In the past, you entered Shangdang with a thousand men, and then expanded your army to five thousand, and then eight thousand. Now the warlords in Guandong are annexing counties and kingdoms, and you don't have enough soldiers, not to mention the money and food you spent on recruiting soldiers in the past. If you want to compete for supremacy in the world today, you need to implement the military service of the previous dynasty."

The military systems of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty were quite different. The Western Han Dynasty had a strong legacy of the Warring States Period, so each county had no fewer than 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers. In order to strengthen the trunk and weaken the branches, the Eastern Han Dynasty abolished the capital trial system and reduced the number of soldiers in the inland counties.

In today's world of hegemony, if Zhang Yu still implements the recruitment system, he will definitely not be able to keep up with the times. The only way is to restore the county-state military system of the Western Han Dynasty, train soldiers during the slack season and cultivate the land during the busy season. In order to intimidate the prefectures and counties, a team of elite soldiers must be directly under his command to be qualified to fight for the world.

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "We will not use the Shangdang troops for this expedition to Jizhou. Let Zhang Jun and Du Ji restore the trial system and increase the Shangdang troops to 5,000. If there are refugees entering Jin in the future, they will all be moved to Taiyuan County to enrich the Taiyuan household registration."

"promise!"

Shangdang already has more than 40,000 registered residents, and although it can continue to accommodate the people, considering that Taiyuan County is more fertile than Shangdang and is where the government seat Jinyang is located, it is now necessary to increase the population of Taiyuan County.

Gao Shun hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, is it true that you don't need me to lead the troops to follow you on this expedition to Jizhou?"

Zhang Yu shook his head, raised his head to Xu Chu, and said, "Jinyang is the seat of Bingzhou, and it is the foundation of success. Only when Zixun and his soldiers are in charge can I rest assured. This time, Zhongkang will lead the right camp. If the situation is difficult to solve, I will send a transfer order."

Seeing that Zhang Yu entrusted him with the important task of guarding Taiyuan, Gao Shun suddenly felt a great pressure and responded in a deep voice: "I will definitely live up to your trust."

"Have all the troops arrived now?" Zhang Yu asked.

Lu Fan stood up and said, "My Lord, the soldiers from the five schools have all arrived, and there are no vacancies."

"good!"

Zhang Yu looked at the officers in the tent and said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow, Hao Zhao will be the vanguard, and the rest of the troops will march out at noon and enter Changshan from Jingxing."

"promise!"

All the generals stood up in their armor and bowed in response to the order.

Zhang Yu had his own plan for the expedition to Jizhou. The Left Camp led by Gao Shun had proven their bravery in many tough battles. With the increase in troops, Zhang Yu needed to let other troops take on important tasks. The Right Camp led by Xu Chu was the one Zhang Yu had been paying attention to recently, so he planned to let Xu Chu take on more important tasks.

Among the five schools of infantry and cavalry, in addition to Xu Chu and Hao Zhao, there were three other generals, Man Chong, Xu Huang, and Linghu Shao, while the cavalry commander Zhang Liao supervised the two generals Xu Huang and Linghu Shao.

The next morning, Hao Zhao led a thousand infantry and cavalry to clear the way, preparing to march eastward along Yuci, to Shangai in Changshan, and out of Jingxing Pass.

After Hao Zhao set off, Zhang Yu still entrusted the government affairs to Zhong Yao and Yu Yi before leaving, and if he encountered any undecided issues, he could consult Wang Ji.

Five thousand soldiers and horses marched out in a mighty force, intending to march towards the top of Mount Changshan.

Shangai County (now Pingding County, Yangquan City) is geographically located west of Jingxing Pass, in a small basin in the Taihang Mountains, and is the rear base of Jingxing Pass. If Bingzhou has Shangai and Jingxing, it will be able to overlook the northern part of Jizhou.

During the Western Han Dynasty, it was incorporated into Taiyuan County due to its geographical location; during the Eastern Han Dynasty, considering that Shangai County was the gateway to Taiyuan, in order to prevent Taiyuan from becoming an independent regime, it was incorporated into Changshan County together with Jingxing Pass.

Therefore, when Zhang Yu sent troops to Jizhou, in addition to taking advantage of the chaos and trapping Yuan Shao, he also wanted to occupy the two cities of Shangai and Jingxing, making Taiyuan independent in a geographical sense.

Although Zhang Yu's idea was good, it was difficult to implement it. Shangaiyin was surrounded by mountains on all sides and was located in the river valley of Taihang Mountain. There were tens of thousands of black mountain bandits in the river valleys around it, and they echoed the black mountain bandits entrenched in the Linzhou Basin in the south of Taihang Mountain.

Although the Black Mountain bandits claimed to have a million people, their actual number was about 400,000. They were distributed in the river valleys on the edge of the Taihang Mountains, starting from the Linzhou Basin County in Hanoi and extending north to the Jingxing Mountain area in Changshan.

The southern Black Mountain bandits were distributed around Linlu, with more than ten groups entrenched, including Yudu, Bairao, Suigu, etc. The northern Black Mountain bandits were distributed around Shangai, and unlike the southern Black Mountain bandits, their groups were governed by Zhang Yan, the General of the Central Army who suppressed the rebellion.

Previously, Zhang Liao defeated Wang Dang and stabilized Zhan County, but did not dare to go deep into Shangai, because he fully considered that the fragmented basin around Shangai was Zhang Yan's territory. If he rashly went deep, it would inevitably cause a conflict between Zhang Yu and Zhang Yan.

Now that Zhang Yu was marching into Changshan, he would have to pass through Zhang Yan's territory. However, considering that Zhang Yan had more than 200,000 men, who were entrenched in the river valley area in the north of Taihang Mountain, were familiar with the terrain of Jingxing Mountain Road, had fought with the government for many years, and his men were brave and valiant, Zhang Yu really did not want to have a conflict with Zhang Yan.

After all, fighting in mountainous areas is not what Zhang Yu's troops are good at. And if they cannot wipe out Zhang Yan's troops in one go, the Black Mountain bandits who are familiar with the Taihang terrain will probably plunder Taiyuan and Shangdang counties crazily.

At the same time, Yuan Shao was plotting to take over Jizhou. If Zhang Yu did not intervene, he would have to sit back and watch Yuan Shao take over Jizhou.

For various considerations, Zhang Yu did not intend to have a conflict with Zhang Yan, but instead wanted to see if he could form an alliance with Zhang Yan.

After all, Zhang Yu had no time to look east, and the Black Mountain bandits' base was located on the east side of Taihang Mountain. It was much more profitable to plunder Hebei than to plunder Taiyuan and Shangdang, and they were also closer in distance. Especially since there was no conflict of interest between the two sides, it was not difficult to reach a cooperation. Therefore, when the troops arrived in Yuci, Zhang Yu sent Xu Shu to Shangai with a letter to meet Zhang Yan in advance.

Xu Shu led two attendants on horseback to Shangai, and with the guidance of the Black Mountain bandits along the way, they finally arrived at Qiuyi, which was under the jurisdiction of Shangai County and was the seat of the General of the Central Army who pacified the rebellion.

The residence of the General of the Central Army was decorated like a Han official residence, and Zhang Yan wore Han clothing, a general's seal, and looked dignified. The people sitting on his left and right had a coarse temperament, but they tried their best to look serious.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Xu Shu walked slowly with his sword, and there was no fear on his face.

When he came to Zhang Yan's desk, Xu Shu bowed and said, "I am Xu Shu of Yingchuan, Xu Yuanzhi, who came here on the orders of General Du Liao, to pay a special visit to General Zhang."

"How dare you come here?"

A warrior with a thick face on Zhang Yan's left suddenly asked angrily, "You sent troops to attack Wang Dang last year, and now you are going to attack us again. What do you want to do? Don't underestimate the Black Mountain Army, which has no soldiers."

Xu Shu, who was born as a knight-errant, was not a timid person. He immediately raised his voice and said, "Last year, the king robbed the people of Shangdang. I led the troops to fight him, which was actually to protect the territory and the people. Now the prince has sent out troops not to attack you, but to discuss a business with Zhang Ping."

"Buy or sell?"

Wu Fu sneered and said, "Why would I bring troops to discuss business?"

"You just don't understand!"

Xu Shu turned to look at Zhang Yan and said calmly, "Only Zhang Ping can understand the pros and cons of this deal. Others can hardly know the pros and cons."

"You~"

"quiet!"

Seeing that Xu Shu underestimated him, Wu Fu was about to get angry but was stopped by Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan looked at Xu Shu, who was standing tall and proud. His tense face relaxed slightly and he asked, "What business does Zhang Duliao want to discuss with me?"

"Changshan Governor!"

As Xu Shu uttered the four words, Zhang Yan's pupils dilated and his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he asked, "What do you mean, Mr. Xu?"

Seeing Zhang Yan's interest, Xu Shu smiled and said, "Your reputation is so great that the people of Shandong are all submissive to you. It is a pity for you to stay in the mountains with your talent and reputation, so my lord wants to recommend you to be the governor of Changshan."

Zhang Yan pondered for a long time and said, "Although Zhang Duliao can recommend me as the governor of Changshan, the governor of Changshan already has a master. How can I occupy it now?"

"Why not?"

Xu Shu looked around at everyone in the hall and said, "I hope the general can keep the secrets out of the way."

"They are all my trusted people, you can speak as you please!" Zhang Yan said.

Seeing that Zhang Yan didn't care, Xu Shu said boldly: "General, you don't know that Dong Zhuo is leading his troops westward to Guanzhong. Yuan Shao has withdrawn his troops from Henei and invited my lord and Gongsun Zan of Youzhou to attack Jizhou. If the general sends someone eastward, he will surely find out that Gongsun Zan has already sent troops to Jizhou."

"Now Jizhou is about to collapse, and the three families are dividing Hebei. The governor Han Fu cannot even protect himself. Can Changshan be taken?"

Zhang Yan was very interested and asked, "Zhang Duliao recommended me to be the governor of Changshan. I wonder what his intention is? If you say that Zhang Duliao is a good man, I don't believe it."

Xu Shu said bluntly: "There are few registered households in Bingzhou. This time we invade Jizhou. My lord wants to gain the people. Since his ambition is not in Jizhou, I would like to recommend you to be the governor of Changshan so that you can return home in glory."

Zhang Yan was from Zhending, Changshan County, and was from the same hometown as Zhao Yun. Now Zhang Yan is recommended as the governor of Changshan, which is in line with the saying of returning home in glory.

"I'm afraid it will be restricted by the Three Mutual Laws!" Zhang Yan said.

"The world is in chaos, Dong Zhuo is in charge of the government, the rigid discipline and law are in disarray, and no one cares about the Three Mutuals Law anymore. The general sent an envoy to give gifts to Dong Zhuo, asking for the title of Changshan prefect, to control Yuan Shao and Han Fu. Dong Zhuo will surely agree." Xu Shu said.

Hearing this, Zhang Yan thought he had figured out Zhang Yu's plan and said with a smile, "So you want me to be an enemy of Yuan Benchu and Han Wenjie, so you recommended me as the governor of Changshan."

Xu Shu smiled and said, "You have millions of people under your command, and tens of thousands of soldiers hidden in the mountains. If anyone with ambitions takes over Jizhou, they will surely be troubled by your soldiers and people. If Yuan Shao takes over Jizhou, do you think we can be at peace?"

Zhang Yan pondered in silence, agreeing with many of Xu Shu's words.

After a while, Zhang Yan asked, "Jizhou has a rich population, and Han Wenjie has a strong army. Even if the three families share the food, how can they be easily replaced by Yuan Shao?"

Xu Shu thought for a moment and said, "General, you don't know the secrets. My lord wants to make friends with you, so I hope you can choose a place to meet and discuss the pros and cons."

(End of this chapter)