Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 217 Although there are many heroes in the world, few can be our enemies!
Wang Jing stayed in Jinyang for a few days and then hurried back to Chang'an. Zhang Yu, on the other hand, took the time to study the situation of the remaining troops under Dong Zhuo and discuss the matter of sending troops to attack Niu Fu.

"Sir, before Dong Zhuo returned to Chang'an, he ordered Dong Yue to station troops in Mianchi, Duan Wei to station troops in Huayin, and other generals to guard various counties to resist the princes in Guandong. Only Niu Fu was left to station troops in Anyi, Hedong, to prevent our army from spying on Hedong."

Guo Tu pointed at the map and said, "Since Zhu Jun gathered troops from Guandong last year to attack Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo ordered Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and other generals to lead tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to defeat Zhu Jun in the east and plunder the counties of Yingchuan in the south. Sun Jian led his troops to attack them, and only then did he curb the momentum of the Liangzhou troops."

"Dong Zhuo was killed by the princes, and tens of thousands of his elite troops were stranded in Guandong, and Niu Fu was stationed alone in Hedong. Niu Fu was Dong Zhuo's son-in-law and was deeply favored by Dong Zhuo. Li Jue, Guo Si and other generals were originally captains under Niu Fu. Now that Dong Zhuo is dead, the generals are without a leader. If our army goes to attack at this time, Niu Fu will be isolated and helpless!"

Zhang Yu asked, "How many soldiers and horses does Niu Fu have now?"

"There are about 10,000 infantry and cavalry. Yang Feng and Han Xian were defeated by you and led the remnants to surrender to Niu Fu. Now Niu Fu has Yang Feng, Han Xian, Dong Cheng and other generals as his minions. Although his 10,000 infantry and cavalry are brave, they are not popular with the people of Hedong because they indulge in looting."

Zhong Yao said in a firm tone, "Now that Dong Zhuo is dead, the prince is in power. The people of Hedong have no desire to rebel. If you can defeat Niu Fu, all the counties will surrender and wait for your orders."

Zhang Yu looked around at everyone and asked, "Our army is going to attack Niu Fu now. Do you have any suggestions?"

Xu Huang stepped out of the crowd, his face firm, and said with a stern hand: "My Lord, I am from Yang County in Hedong. In the past, I served under Guo Tai together with Yang Feng and Han Xian. They were rude and rude, greedy and lustful. Now Dong Zhuo is dead in Chang'an, and the troops are leaderless. Huang's prediction is correct. Unrest is gradually arising in Niu Fu's army. Therefore, Huang is willing to be the vanguard to persuade Yang Feng and Han Xian to defect."

After the expansion of the army, Xu Huang was under the command of Zhang Liao's Gaoping Army, and was promoted to the rank of Cavalry Commander, commanding two thousand troops. He was now highly valued by Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "It is good that Gongming wants to surrender Yang and Han, but I am afraid that Gongming's life will be in danger."

Xu Huang said solemnly: "Your Excellency is so powerful in Hebei that everyone in the country is submissive. Now Dong Zhuo is on the run and his remaining troops are in panic. I will follow your order and go to persuade Yang and Han. They will not dare to harm me!"

Zhang Yu nodded and said, "In that case, Gongming will be the vanguard and lead the troops to occupy the strategic point first to see if he can convince Yang and Han. I will lead the main force in the rear to help Gongming gain more respect."

"I will obey your orders!"

Xu Huang bowed and left in high spirits.

After Xu Huang left, Zhong Yao reminded him, "Sir, Yu Fuluo has stationed his troops in Pingyang. I wonder if we should let him lead the troops with us."

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "I will lead the army southward. When I pass through Pingyang, I will see if he is willing to send troops to accompany me."

At the beginning of the year, Yu Fuluo came to Zhang Yu, hoping that Zhang Yu would fulfill his promise. However, Zhang Yu's request for the right to govern the Xiongnu made Yu Fuluo worried, and he did not respond. Now that Zhang Yu is leading his troops south, when he passes through Pingyang, he may be able to meet with Yu Fuluo to see if he agrees.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at everyone and said, "This expedition to Hedong is not comparable to the expedition to Jizhou. The situation is different from the past. We need to fight against the strong troops of Liangzhou. I hope you will not relax."

"No!" Everyone responded in unison.

After Zhang Yu returned from Hebei Province after quelling the fighting in You and Ji, he did not disband his 15,000 soldiers and horses but stationed them in Jinyang.

Now Zhang Yu sent troops to Hedong, which saved the time of assembling troops. In order to prevent the troops from being exhausted from running around, Zhang Yu specially let the troops rest for five days. In order to prevent the soldiers from losing their spirits, Zhang Yu did not return to live in Jinyang City, but lived in the military camp.

During the few days in the military camp, good news came from the nurse Guo Jun. The cloth armor he was ordered to cast was completed. A total of five sets of armor were cast and now presented to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu and everyone else gathered on the parade ground, and five sets of cloth armor were draped on the dummies. Their shapes were different, such as two sets of cloth armor with the armor plates facing outwards, and the other three sets of cloth armor with the armor plates facing inside.

"Whoosh!"

Five archers drew their bows and loaded arrows, aiming at the cloth armor forty steps away. As the arrows were shot, feedback soon came from the soldiers on the left and right of the cloth armor.

"There's a hole in the armor, but no serious damage!" the soldier shouted.

Zhang Yu looked at Shi Yi and said, "Go and try!"

"promise!"

Shi Yi raised his heavy bow and shot an arrow at the cloth armor forty steps away. With a whoosh, the arrowhead penetrated into the armor. The next four arrows were all shot, and all of them could penetrate the armor.

"The arrow penetrated the armor to a depth of two inches (4.6 cm)." the soldier shouted loudly.

Seeing that the cloth armor performed well, Zhang Liao praised it and said, "Although cloth armor is not as strong as scale armor, it is enough to resist ordinary arrows. If it can save time and effort compared to scale armor, we can let all soldiers wear cloth armor. If they wear double armor, they can wear scale armor inside, or leather armor inside."

Zhang Yu nodded and asked, "How much cheaper is cloth armor than scale armor?"

Guo Jun nodded and said, "My Lord, one set of scale armor can be used to cast two sets of cloth armor, and the cost of cloth armor is half of that of scale armor. Casting cloth armor is not difficult, and the materials used are silk, linen and other fabrics."

The difference between cloth armor and lamellar armor is that the armor plates are riveted to the clothes, so the material of the clothes needs to be thicker so that the armor plates can be inlaid on the cloth.

"Yuan Chang, what do you think now?" Zhang Yu asked.

Zhong Yao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, cloth armor saves half the cost and is as strong as armor. We can order the craftsmen to cast it as much as possible. As for the consumption of cloth, it is not a big deal compared to the cost of scale armor." "Since there is no objection, let the craftsmen cast a large number of cloth armor and see if it can be equipped to the army as soon as possible." Zhang Yu said.

"My lord, there is still a doubt about the cloth armor, and I am afraid I need your clarification." Guo Jun said.

"But it doesn't matter!"

"Sir, I wonder if the armor should be riveted to the outside of the clothes or inside the clothes?" Guo Jun asked.

"Bring Armor!"

"promise!"

After a while, two pairs of cloth armor were presented by the attendants. One pair was a hidden armor with the armor plates on the inside, and the other was a visible armor with the armor plates on the outside.

Zhang Yu studied it for a while and said, "Although it is easy to damage the outer garment if the armor is riveted inside, it can hide the seams of the armor. If the armor is riveted outside, the enemy may cut along the seams. Therefore, if cloth armor is made, the armor should be riveted inside and not inlaid outside."

"promise!"

Cloth armor wastes fabric. After a battle, the armor plates may be intact, but the outer fabric will be torn by the knife. However, considering the protection, it is better to waste fabric than to expose the seams of the armor to the enemy. After all, because cloth armor has fewer scales, the gaps will be larger than those of iron armor, and hiding the gaps between the armor plates is the key.

Everyone discussed the other issues about the cloth armor. After Guo Jun got a clear answer, he said goodbye to Zhang Yu.

After Guo Jun left, Zhang Yu led his men back to the tent. When Zhang Yu entered the tent, he saw Xin Pi waiting in the tent.

"George, what's the important matter today?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Sir, according to the report from Du Ji in Henei, there was a sudden change in Yanzhou!" Xin Pi said.

"What's the matter?"

Xin Pi handed the letter to Zhang Yu, saying: "The Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou were defeated by Gongsun Zan, and the remnants fled back to the counties of Qingzhou, looting Qing and Xu, and taking refugees with them. The number of troops reached hundreds of thousands, and it was said that there were millions of people. Last month, they looted Yanzhou to the west, and Liu Dai of Yanzhou led his troops to attack them, but unfortunately they died at the hands of the Yellow Turbans."

"When Cao Cao learned of Liu Dai's death, he sent Chen Gong to Yanzhou to persuade the Beijia, Zhizhong and other state officials of Yanzhou. Jibei Xiang Bao Xin encouraged Cao Cao, saying that Cao Cao had defeated the Black Mountain bandits many times, and now that he was the governor of Yanzhou, he would surely be able to defeat the bandits for the state and county. Therefore, after Chen Gong and Bao Xin's efforts, the Yanzhou nobles welcomed Cao Cao as the governor of Yanzhou."

As he spoke, Xin Pi showed admiration on his face and said, "In the past, you worried about Cao Cao, but not Liu Dai of Yanzhou. Now I know why!"

After Cao Cao's experience in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, his military level was greatly improved, and he helped Yuan Shao to solve the rebellion of the Black Mountain Bandits. It was because of Cao Cao's brilliant record of repeatedly defeating the Black Mountain Bandits, and the efforts of Chen Gong and Bao Xin, that Cao Cao was able to rule Yanzhou.

Although Cao Cao entered Yanzhou, he could only control Dongjun. The seven counties of Chenliu, Jiyin, Shanyang, Rencheng, Dongping, Jibei and Taishan were not under his control. Therefore, Cao Cao's rule in Yanzhou was not solid and he was very dependent on the support of the local gentry in Yanzhou.

In Zhang Yu's opinion, Cao Cao's entry into Yanzhou this time is similar to Liu Bei's entry into Xuzhou in history. The difference is that Cao Cao has a base in Dongjun, while Liu Bei lacks a deep and cultivated base.

Therefore, when Lü Bu attacked Yanzhou, Cao Cao relied on the cities he owned to fight a fierce battle with Lü Bu. When Liu Bei faced Lü Bu's attack on Xuzhou, he had no chance to fight back.

Guo Tu stroked his beard and smiled, saying: "Although Cao Cao has taken control of Yanzhou, he can only control Dongjun. As Tu predicted, Cao Cao will be in danger of being overthrown in the future!"

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Yu asked with great interest.

Guo Tu said: "Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, was successful in the meeting and his reputation is well known in the Central Plains. Now Cao Cao was the prefect of Dongjun and is now the governor of Yanzhou. I am afraid that Zhang Miao will be dissatisfied. In addition, Cao Cao used to be attached to Yuan Shao, but now he is the governor of Yanzhou. I am afraid that Yuan Shao will be afraid of him."

"Although the current situation is unclear, if Cao Cao wants to completely govern Yanzhou, he must follow your example and appoint a trusted person to serve as the governor. However, Yanzhou is surrounded by enemies, how can Cao Cao not be harmed?"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said approvingly: "If you want to establish your foundation, you must monopolize the prefectures and counties. Cao Cao is a small country but is in charge of a large one. If he fails to appease the people of Yanzhou, he will be in danger of being overthrown."

In fact, it is not difficult to judge that Cao Cao was in danger of being overthrown. The counties and kingdoms of Yanzhou were not under Cao Cao's control, and Zhang Miao's reputation was higher than Cao Cao's. Cao Cao was willing to be the governor of Yanzhou in name only, and he might be able to keep peace with the counties. But if Cao Cao wanted to extend his hand to other counties and kingdoms, he would be resisted by the officials of other counties and kingdoms.

Historically, Cao Cao was able to control Yanzhou because of the rebellions launched by Lu Bu and Zhang Miao. Cao Cao put down the wars between the two and took over the counties of Yanzhou one by one.

Similar to Cao Cao, if Liu Bei could defeat Lu Bu, he could conquer all the counties in Xuzhou. After all, just because everyone could conquer Tao Qian, it didn't mean they could conquer Liu Bei. However, Liu Bei lacked the strength to defeat Lu Bu, so he could only continue to wander around in the Central Plains.

Zhang Yu sighed and said to his attendants, "Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in Hebei, Cao Cao, Tao Qian, and Sun Jian in the Central Plains, Liu Yan in Yizhou, and Yuan Shu in Jingzhou. The heroes of the world each control a state or county. How difficult it is to bring peace to the world now!"

Xin Pi smiled and said, "Although there are many heroes in the world, there are very few who can be your rivals. In my opinion, only Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu are your enemies. The rest are nothing to worry about!"

Zhang Yu smiled but said nothing. Compared to the Skeleton King Yuan Shu, he was more worried about the Sun family who were parasitic on Yuan Shu's territory.

ps: I have a fever today, sore throat, headache, and difficulty typing. I can only update once today, plus the one I owed before, I owe two more, I will return them when I feel better.

(End of this chapter)