Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 211 Hebei Military Police
Zhang Yu originally thought that Gongsun Zan was powerful, and Zhang Yan led the Black Mountain Army in Changshan, which could delay Yuan Shao's development. Therefore, Zhang Yu planned to develop westward this year and did not want to intervene in the chaotic situation in Hebei.

But Gongsun Zan unexpectedly pulled off a big defeat, suffered heavy casualties at Jie Bridge, and fled all the way back to Youzhou, even defeating the reinforcements sent by Zhang Yan.

At this point, considering that Gongsun Zan still had troops, Zhang Yu had to put aside his plan to attack the Xiongnu in the west and send troops to Jizhou to serve as the military police in Hebei to allow the two to stop fighting. If he went too late, Gongsun Zan's troops would be defeated, and it would be too late for everything.

It is time to lead the troops on a long-distance exercise to see the quality of the elite troops selected!

"Why send troops to Hebei?"

Wang Ji said, "Didn't you say that we should attack the Xiongnu first and then lead the army to attack Dong?"

"Yuan Shao has the potential to become more powerful. We have to send troops to suppress him in order to maintain the divided situation in Jizhou." Zhang Yu said helplessly as he looked at the bright moonlight outside the window.

"Why don't we take over Hebei and use Hebei's power to dominate the Central Plains?" Wang Ji said after thinking for a moment.

"We have considered attacking Hebei!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "However, Yuan Shao and Liu Dai have joined forces, and Cao Cao is their lackey. It will be difficult to determine the winner if we fight them now. Moreover, Gongsun Zan is eyeing us covetously, and I am afraid he will do something behind our backs. Moreover, if too many soldiers are killed, I am afraid Dong Zhuo will make a move."

Zhang Yu did consider taking Hebei first, following Yuan Shao's path and leaving Yuan Shao with nowhere to go. However, the situation in Hebei was complicated, and Zhang Yu really didn't want to intervene too early.

If he went to war with Yuan Shao, would Liu Dai, who was related to Yuan Shao by marriage, turn a blind eye?

Now that Gongsun Zan is attacking Yuan Shao, the reason why Liu Dai did not make any big moves is essentially because Liu Dai, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao are all related by marriage. It is even possible that Liu Dai may have plans to seize Jizhou.

In addition, Cao Cao, who has troops stationed in Dongjun, will definitely participate in the battle.

If the war gets intense, he will lead his troops out, which will give Dong Zhuo a chance. Although Dong Zhuo's ambitions have faded, his generals are still capable of fighting.

Moreover, if he fights Yuan Shao to the death, Gongsun Zan may gain the upper hand, and he will then be deeply involved in the war in Hebei.

Therefore, for the above reasons, Zhang Yu must firmly follow one path, that is, to avoid the emergence of strong enemies in Hebei as much as possible. Even if they are to appear, they must wait until he conquers Guanzhong and connects Bingzhou with Guanzhong, following Qin's strategy of marching eastward.

"That's it!"

Wang Ji couldn't think of a better way, so he could only say: "Since my husband has sent troops to Hebei, don't get bogged down in Hebei. It's a taboo to seek small gains and forget about big gains. This is a taboo in the struggle for supremacy in the world."

"After the Five Kingdoms attacked Qi, Zhao plundered Qi territory in the east and Wei territory in the south, and made enemies with the Yan people, which annoyed the three states in Hebei. As a result, during the Battle of Changping, Wei and Qi sat back and did nothing, and the Yan people took advantage of the situation."

Seeing Wang Ji's speaking skills getting higher and higher, Zhang Yu smiled and asked, "What would you like to do if you were the King of Zhao?"

Wang Ji's beautiful eyes moved as she said, "Help Qi to restore its country and take the Hejian area. After that, make friends with Qi and Wei, so as to plot against Zhongshan and the land of Yan, so as to eliminate the worries, and then confront Qin in the east and west."

"It's a pity that Madam is not a man!" Zhang Yu sighed and felt that Wang Ji had extraordinary insight.

"It's a good thing to be able to assist my husband in achieving success!" Wang Ji said with a sweet smile on her pretty face.

Zhang Yu held Wang Ji in his arms and said with a smile, "With a virtuous wife, my family will be prosperous and I will have no worries."

Wang Ji smiled and said, "Husband, don't forget to play three pieces of music!"

"Don't forget!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Every time I conquer a city, I will look for music for my wife."

Helping Wang Ji find the music was something Zhang Yu had agreed to do with Wang Ji in his early years. During the past ten years, Zhang Yu often forgot about it, but whenever he remembered it, he would ask someone to look for it, but to no avail.

"Hongniang and Suyi are both pregnant. You should visit them before you go to the battle. Don't let them down." Wang Ji reminded them of the matters at home.

"Remember!"

Since I have been spending more time with my wives and concubines, now except Hu Yanyu, all of them have children. Therefore, before going to the war, I must favor Hu Yanyu and not let her down.

On the eve of the expedition, in addition to settling his family, Zhang Yu did not dare to forget another thing, which was to meet with Yang Jun, a scholar who came from Hanoi.

Yang Jun was from Wen County, Henei, and was a fellow villager of the Sima family. After the war, he and his fellow villagers fled to the Songshan Mountain area. When Du Ji heard the news, he sent people to the Songshan Mountain area to invite scholars and civilians to settle in Henei. Yang Jun then went north with more than a thousand families to seek refuge.

After Du Ji met Yang Jun and talked with him, he was deeply impressed by his outstanding talent and recommended him to Jinyang.

"Jun greets the Lord!"

Yang Jun was dressed simply and had a thin face. He bowed and greeted.

"No need to be polite, take a seat!"

Zhang Yu tried his best to be friendly and said, "I heard that Ji Cai is a disciple of the great scholar Bian Gong (Bian Rang). I wonder if he is good at governing the country?" Yang Jun said, "Although Jun is a disciple of Bian Gong, his talent and learning are shallow. Compared with Sima Zihua, I dare not say that he is good at governing the country. He only has a rough understanding of government affairs."

"Who is Sima Zihua?" Zhang Yu asked.

Yang Jun pondered for a moment and said, "My Lord, Sima Zihua is from the same hometown as me. His name is Sima Zhi. Although he is not as famous as Sima Boda, he is more capable of practical work."

Seeing Yang Jun talking about more people, Zhang Yu patiently asked, "Who is Sima Boda?"

"Sima Lang, the son of Sima Fang, the Imperial Censor, has a courtesy name of Boda. Although he is not as strategic as Zhao Junchu, he is capable and diligent, and has the talent of a senior minister." Yang Jun said.

Zhang Yu was overjoyed to see that Yang Jun had recommended more and more Henei scholars. After he occupied Henei County, he wanted to recruit several outstanding and wise men, but he had been unsuccessful and could only hastily recruit Xue Hong as the county chief. Now, he did not expect that his conversation with Yang Jun would bring up so many people.

"May I ask who Zhao Junchu is and how talented and knowledgeable he is?" Zhang Yu asked.

Yang Jun thought for a while and said, "Mr. Zhao is from Wen County, Henei. His name is Zhao Zi. His reputation is not as good as Sima Lang, but his strategy is better. You can recruit him as an official."

"After Zhao Junchu, do you have anyone else to recommend?" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"There are many wise men in Hanoi, but I don't know who to recommend?"

Yang Jun said sternly: "Huai Nei Shan Yao, Ji County Guo Gong, Xiu Wu Zhang Fan and others are all virtuous men, but you live in Jinyang and cannot see the talents in He Nei. Moreover, when it comes to virtuous men, I think Bingzhou is also full of talents, but you cannot see them carefully."

Zhang Yu was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he clapped his legs and laughed, saying, "What the scholar said is very true. I was not able to carefully examine the wise men in the counties under my jurisdiction, so I sighed in vain that I have no one to entrust."

"Now that I have heard what you said, I know what you are good at!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "You may not be as good at governing as Sima Lang and Sima Zhi, but you are good at judging people."

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to appoint you as the chief secretary and chief priest to help me clean up the personnel of the prefecture, select outstanding people in the prefecture, and recommend virtuous officials to me. I wonder if you dare to take the position?"

Zhang Yu was responsible for the selection and recommendation of talents. When he was on a military campaign, Zhong Yao would send people to ask for instructions on important official positions, while some non-important positions would be appointed by Zhong Yao himself.

However, as the territory is vast and there are many people under his jurisdiction, Zhang Yu needs a systematic personnel system. Although Yang Jun has just entered the state government, his unique self-recommendation model is refreshing to Zhang Yu.

The position of Dianshu Jijiu was created by Zhang Yu and was directly under him. This position was not very important, but if it was used well, it could help Zhang Yu discover more talents, which would be the best use of talents. If Yang Jun could help Zhang Yu assess the officials of the prefecture and select outstanding talents, it would be even better.

As for other reasons?

Zhang Yu needs to consider the feelings of the scholars in Henei. There are many talented people in Henei County. If he can make use of Yang Jun, who is good at judging people, perhaps many of the talented people in Henei will come to serve under him.

Yang Jun bowed and said in a deep voice: "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, my lord. How dare I not serve you now!"

Zhang Yu helped Yang Jun up and said with a smile, "Sima Lang, Sima Zhi, and Zhao Zi are three outstanding men. I hope you can write letters to invite them to Jinyang. I will entrust them with important positions one by one. As for the rest of the wise men, I will ask you to contact Du Henei to see if they can be recruited as officials by the prefectures and counties."

Of the three above, Zhang Yu had only heard of Sima Lang, and had never heard of the other two. However, in Yang Jun's words, the three of them were on par with each other, which clearly showed that the other two had special talents, but were just not well-known.

"I will follow your orders!" Yang Jun said.

"good!"

Zhang Yu now has the Wang family of Qixian, the Cui family of Boling, the Guo family of Yangqu, and the Zhong family of Changsha working for him. The power of the gentry is gradually growing, but now Zhang Yu still needs more gentry to work for him.

The status of the aristocratic family is not within Zhang Junhou's consideration. As long as they can assist Zhang Junhou in achieving success, their families can become prominent aristocratic families.

The gentry brought not only talents, but also intricate networks of relationships and potential population resources. Especially when Zhang Yu ruled the areas where they lived, with the service of these people, Zhang Yu's ruling foundation would be solid.

For example, Guo Jun, the official guard of Daling, was a member of the Guo family in Yangqu. Don't just look at the one or two people at the top of the big families. Many officials in the counties and prefectures are descendants of branches of local big families.

However, the power of the gentry should be limited, and the children of gentry from other places should be introduced to curb the corruption of the local gentry children. In addition, the promotion of children from poor families should not be relaxed. We must make good use of the collapse of the official selection system caused by the collapse of the court and gradually promote the selection of people by examination.

After arranging a series of things, Zhang Yu escaped from Hu Yanyu's gentle embrace and led his troops eastward out of Taihang.

This time, a total of 15,000 infantry and cavalry from the three armies of Huguo, Yunzhong and Gaoping were mobilized, including more than 10,000 infantry and more than 4,000 cavalry.

The commander of the Yunzhong Army was Li Song, and his deputy commander was Shi Yi; the commander of the Gaoping Army was Zhang Liao, and his deputy commander was Man Chong. Lü Fan, who replaced Zhang Yu in charge of the National Defense Army, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Xu Chu was appointed as the vanguard, and Zhao Yun was in charge of scouts.
The three armies first assembled in Shouyang, then marched out from Jingxing to join forces with Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army, observed the situation, and then marched out to Hebei.

On March 15, the National Protection Army first arrived in Shouyang, where they stayed for several days, waiting for the remaining two armies.

Three days later, as Li Song led his troops to reunite, the three armies marched eastward through Jingxing and met Zhang Yan in Changshan on March 21st.

(End of this chapter)