Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 203: Peaceful River
In July, in order to find out the situation in Henei County, Zhang Yu asked Du Ji to lead a thousand troops to Henei after Xun Chen's mission.

Although a thousand men are not many, they are enough to play a significant role when there is a power vacuum, and can even change the ownership of a county.

After Du Ji led his troops to Henei County, he, as the prefect of Henei County and with the help of Zhang Yu's prestige, conquered the three counties of Mishui, Bo, and Chen at the Taihang Xingkou. After the three counties surrendered, Du Ji led his troops eastward to help Zhang Yu surrender Yewang County.

Considering that Yewang was the barrier of the three counties, Du Ji temporarily used Yewang as the seat of government and sent out scouts to investigate the situation in various counties in Henei, and also to recruit the county officials who were willing to surrender to Zhang Yu.

On September 1st, when Zhang Yu led his troops out of Jingxing, Du Ji sent an envoy to greet him and invite Zhang Yu to station troops in Yewang (now Qinyang City).

On the third day, when Zhang Yu led his troops to Yewang, Du Ji led his people out of the city to welcome Zhang Yu.

"Greetings to the Lord!"

Du Ji bowed as soon as he came up, looking quite respectful.

Zhang Yu dismounted, held Du Ji's arm, and said, "Why are you being so polite, Lord Bo? I wonder what the situation is like in Henei now?"

"Ashamed!"

Du Ji bowed and said, "Dong Zhuo moved west to Chang'an, and Wang Kuang went east to recruit soldiers. I wanted to conquer the counties of Henei for you before you arrived. However, because each county was occupied by powerful people, there were many bandits in the mountains, and most of the towns along the river were deserted, I could only conquer the four counties along the mountains for you."

Henei County is located between the Taihang Mountains and the Yellow River. It is bordered by the Taihang Mountains to the north and the Yellow River to the south. The width between the mountains and the river is only a hundred miles.

When people came to the bank of the Yellow River, they could see the towering Taihang Mountains. Because the distance between north and south was narrow, there were two types of counties in Henei Prefecture: one was formed by the mountains and the water, and the other was formed by the Yellow River. For example, Wen County, where Sima lived, was near the Yellow River.

The cities were affected by the war to different degrees because of their different locations. Wen County was the front line of the battle between the two armies, and the people either fled or died, with few survivors. Although the counties along the mountains were plundered and even bandits arose due to the disorder, more people survived than the cities along the river.

Zhang Yu held Du Ji's arm and entered the city, saying with a smile: "It is not easy to conquer four counties in more than a month. If we want to pacify Henei, we must rely on Bo Hou to give us advice!"

"I am willing to serve you!" said Du Ji.

"good!"

Under the leadership of Du Ji, Zhang Yu and his civil and military officials went to the county hall together.

After everyone had taken their seats, Zhang Yu asked, "Bo Hou has lived in Henei for a long time. I am the first to govern Henei. I wonder what you have to teach me?"

Du Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Due to the war, the household registration of each county has been distorted. If you want to collect taxes, you need to re-summon the county officials to regain the people's hearts."

"In addition to the inaccurate household registration, Henei County has suffered from the rebellion of bandits, so the counties are in disorder and the powerful have formed associations to protect themselves. Therefore, in Ji's opinion, it is necessary to send troops to suppress the bandits in the mountains, behead the bandit leaders, subdue the bandits, and settle them as civilians."

"Once the bandits are pacified, the people will be at peace and agricultural production will be vigorously promoted. The people who have drifted to the Central Plains will rush back home, and then Hanoi will be able to prosper again!" Du Ji said.

Zhang Yu frowned and pondered, then asked, "What the Lord said should be a way to govern Henei. However, Henei is adjacent to Wei and Dong counties, and the Black Mountain bandits are entrenched in Linlu. Yu Du, Sui Gu, Bai Rao and other bandits have more than 100,000 people and have plundered the three counties. Can you give me a detailed outline now?"

The distance between Henei County and the north is narrow, but it is crescent-shaped from east to west. Therefore, Henei County extends to the town of Yecheng in the east and borders Suanzao in the south.

Du Ji stroked his beard and thought, then he cupped his hands and said, "Rong Ji presents the map of Henei County."

"Can!"

After a while, the county official took out a sheepskin map from a bamboo tube. Du Ji bowed to Zhang Yu and went forward to hang it on the screen.

"Your Majesty!"

Du Ji pointed to the map and said, "When we were fighting against Dong, the princes met in Suanzao. They had hundreds of thousands of soldiers, covering Henei in the north and Chenliu in the south. Because the troops of each army were in short supply, the princes allowed their soldiers to plunder. Therefore, Xiuwu and the counties to the east were plundered by the chaotic soldiers, and many people went into the mountains to become bandits."

"More than ten bandits including Yu Du, Sui Gu, Bai Rao and others were entrenched in the valleys along the mountains and rivers of Linlu, and built camps along the Zhan and Qi rivers. Because they were near Qingshui, they often went down along Qingshui and plundered the villages and pavilions east of Xiuwu."

"So from Ji's point of view, it is not easy to fully recover the territory of Henei County. Now, Your Excellency might as well abandon the counties east of Qingshui, use Xiuwu County and Nanyang City as a border city, vigorously reorganize the counties west of it, and recruit refugees from the counties east of it."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, very satisfied with the solution provided by Du Ji.

There are seven county towns to the east of Xiuwu. Although the territory under their jurisdiction is larger than the eleven county towns to the west of Xiuwu, they are more suitable to serve as a buffer zone because they are close to Wei County owned by Yuan Shao and are adjacent to the Black Mountain bandits.

The counties west of Xiuwu are all fertile land, with good farmland that can be irrigated by river water. If agriculture can be developed in Henei County, Zhang Yu will not have to worry about food and grass when he conquers the world.

After thinking about it, Zhang Yu asked Guo Tu, Xin Pi, Zhang Liao and other civil and military officials, "What do you think of Bo Hou's strategy?"

"feasible!"

Zhang Liaoyuan pointed to the map and said, "Xiuwu is narrow from north to south, bordering Qingshui in the east and Qinshui in the west. If we station troops at Xiuwu, anyone who wants to invade Henei will have to pass through Xiuwu. And if we can build sieges around Xiuwu, then the enemies in Jizhou will not be able to invade."

Guo Tu pondered for a long time and said, "It is good to use Xiuwu as a border, but if Xiuwu is defeated, the enemy will be able to march in, and Henei County will have no defenses."

Guo Tu pointed to the crossing along the river and said, "If the enemy comes from the capital and crosses the river from the south, Henei will not be easy to defend. Therefore, if our army attacks Henei, the enemy may take advantage of it. In Tu's opinion, it is better to move the people of Henei to Bingzhou."

Xin Pi nodded and said, "Sir, what Lord Guo said makes sense. Henei County is bordered by Xiuwu in the east and the Yellow River in the south, so it can be used by you. But if you want to improve Henei, you need to consider it carefully." "Move the people to Bingzhou?"

Zhang Yu restrained his expression and pondered the strategic significance of Henei County.

"What's your opinion, Bo Hou?"

Du Ji bowed to Zhang Yu and said, "Your Excellency, Henei is a solid place with the river, a rich population, and is connected to Shangdang in the north and close to the capital in the south. That's why Emperor Taizu appointed Kou Xun to Henei without worrying about the south. He was able to focus on Hebei and eventually achieve great success. Now that Your Excellency wants to rule the world, Henei must be governed."

"You all say that Henei is difficult to defend, but what about the time of Emperor Shizu? Back then, Zhu Yu had a large army and occupied Luoyang, but Bingzhou was not safe. Now you have Bingzhou, and Luoyang is uninhabited for a hundred miles. The enemy you are facing is Yuan Shao of Jizhou. From the perspective of the capital, Henei seems difficult to defend, but it is a small place with a strong city. With the support of Shangdang, it is enough to hold the enemy."

Listening to Du Ji's talk, Zhang Yu was firm in his belief and said, "When Emperor Guangwu pacified Hebei in the north, Zhu Yu knew that Henei was empty, so he led 30,000 troops to invade Wen County in the north. But Kou Xun led the troops from various counties to occupy it, and joined Feng Yi to defeat them. The old people were still able to hold it, so why can't the old people do it again?"

Hanoi is narrow and difficult to defend, but it must be defended.

If an enemy from the Central Plains came to attack him in the future, Henei County would most likely be the primary target. If Henei could withstand the initial attack, then Bingzhou's troops would continue to come to support him. If Hedong was occupied at that time, then Hedong's military supplies could be sent to Henei through the Chenguan Pass.

If he were to conquer the Central Plains, Henei County would become his bridgehead in Guandong, and the grain from Bingzhou could be transported to Henei, and then from Henei to the army.

From the above, it can be seen that it is necessary to renovate Hanoi and turn it into a military fortress, rather than taking a nonchalant attitude towards it.

Zhang Yu looked at Du Ji and said, "Since the Marquis has a strategy, the matter of Henei will be handled as you say. Although I am leading the troops here, the Marquis can dispatch the troops to suppress the bandits."

"As ordered!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu had entrusted him with the affairs of Henei County despite all the opposition, Du Ji was extremely grateful and said, "My Lord, although Chen County has submitted its surrender, there is a tyrant named Tao Ming under its jurisdiction who has gathered more than a thousand households of villagers and settled in Zhancheng. We need to send a general to lead troops to attack him."

"Bo Ning, lead our troops to attack Tao Ming!" Zhang Yu ordered.

"As ordered!"

Man Chong put on his armor, drew his sword, and stood up, bowing to receive the order.

"My lord, there is a clan thief named Chen Sheng in Yongcheng County who has refused to submit to us. His tribesmen number more than 3,000 households, and we need you to send a general." Du Ji said.

"Zhongkang, lead your troops to attack Chen Sheng, be sure to cut off his head and recapture the prefecture and county."

"Yes, sir!" the burly Xu Chu responded.

Du Ji said: "To the east of the prefecture is Huai County, the seat of Henei. Although Wang Kuang went to Mount Tai to recruit soldiers, he left his clansman Wang Ze in Huai County, with more than 3,000 soldiers under his command."

"More than 3,000 infantry and cavalry?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Gongming, do you dare to obey my order and defeat the enemy?"

Xu Huang stood up from his seat and said solemnly, "Although the enemy is numerous, we are not invincible. I am willing to lead the troops to conquer them and surrender Huai County to you, my Lord."

"good!"

Seeing Xu Huang's high morale, Zhang Yu said, "Wenyuan will dispatch 300 cavalrymen to Gongming to help him capture the city and defeat the enemy."

"promise!"

Although there were many enemies in Henei County, most of them were insignificant. Zhang Yu did not intend to personally fight against such a small number of enemies, but instead asked his officers to fight them in order to cultivate their ability to lead troops and fight independently.

If Zhang Yu always led the army to fight, it would be tiring, but more importantly, he would not be able to train a general who could take charge of the situation. When the territory became more and more vast, Zhang Yu would have to put out fires everywhere.

When Zhang Yu had arranged everything to defeat the bandits, Du Ji remembered something and said, "My Lord, do you remember Zhu Jun?"

"Why don't you remember?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "When Dong Zhuo entered the capital, he left Zhu Jun to guard Luoyang. After that, Zhu Jun abandoned his post and left. I have no news of him since then."

"My Lord, Zhu Jun abandoned his post and fled south to Jingzhou. Yuan Shu appointed him as the governor of Yingchuan and ordered him to lead 4,000 soldiers to station in Luoyang. Zhu Jun thought that the capital was in ruins and could not support the troops, so he stationed his troops in Zhongmou."

Du Ji bowed and said, "According to what I have heard, Zhu Jun sent a message to each state and county, summoning troops to attack Dong Zhuo. If he knew that you were coming to Henei, he would definitely invite you to join the army."

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. When the Yellow Turbans were pacified, he was still serving under Zhu Jun. Now, less than ten years later, the Eastern Han Dynasty collapsed. The only thing that remained unchanged was Zhu Jun, an old minister of the Han Dynasty, who worked hard for the Han Dynasty. It was easy for others to evade, but when Zhu Jun invited him to send troops, he had to think of a good way to respond.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "If General Zhu comes to Hanoi, send someone to inform him immediately!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)