Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 219: Troops enter Hedong, two generals surrender

When Guanzhong was in turmoil, Zhang Yu had already led his army southward. The distance from Taiyuan Jinyang to Hedong Pingyang (now Linfen City) was about 700 li, and it took the army ten days to reach Pingyang on May 20.

When Yu Furuo learned that Zhang Yu had arrived in Pingyang, he personally led people to greet him.

"Greetings, my Lord!"

The present is different from the past. In the past, when Zhang Yu only had Shangdang, Yu Fuluo could still communicate with Zhang Yu on an equal footing. But now Zhang Yu controls Bingzhou and coordinates the war between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. His reputation is already prominent in Heshuo. When Yu Fuluo sees Zhang Yu now, he has to leave the city and dismount to wait for Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu dismounted and helped Yu Fuluo up, saying with a smile: "I am related to the Chanyu by marriage, why should we be so polite?"

Yu Fuluo cupped his hands and said, "The title of Chanyu is just a name without substance. Thank you for your recent gifts of money and food."

Zhang Yu said with a smile: "When Shangdang was hit by a locust plague, the Chanyu gave up his annual food rations. Now that Bingzhou is a little more prosperous, how can we forget the past?"

Yu Furuo was quite clever in his words. In order to get Yu Furuo to switch sides, Zhang Yu agreed with him on a corresponding reward.

In the same year, Shangdang was affected by a locust plague, and Yu Fuluo agreed to Zhang Yu's extension of the grain and grass for that year. Now, as Zhang Yu's territory expanded, he was able to deliver food to the Xiongnu on schedule, and even paid back the grain and grass owed that year.

Yu Fuluo's words were a disguised reminder to Zhang Yu not to forget his promise to help him restore his country. Zhang Yu, on the other hand, said that he had not forgotten his promise.

After a pause, Zhang Yu took Yu Fuluo's arm and said, "I have wanted to attack the Xiongnu for a long time, but due to various reasons, it is difficult to do so for the time being. I will lead my troops south to Hedong to eliminate the bandit Niu Fu. I wonder if the Chanyu thinks this is possible?"

The two men went to the top of a hill to talk. Yu Furo looked down from the high ground and saw that the road was almost entirely filled with soldiers leading horses and camels. The line stretched for ten miles, and the camels and pack horses were loaded with armor, weapons, and half a month's worth of food.

"Your Excellency's cavalry number no less than 10,000, they are the best cavalry in the world, the only difference is that they lack horses." Yu Furuo said.

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Although there are 15,000 soldiers under my command, there are only 5,000 cavalrymen, and the rest are infantrymen. Infantrymen ride one horse, either a camel or a horse; cavalrymen ride two horses, which are tall and strong horses."

Upon hearing this, Yu Furuo's scalp went numb. He originally thought that the troops under his brother-in-law were cavalry, but unexpectedly they were a highly mobile mixed infantry and cavalry army. Even the infantry were equipped with mounts to help with transportation. It was really too scary!

"Your Excellency's soldiers are strong and well-equipped. Niu Fu is no match for you!" said Yu Furuo.

As he spoke, Yu Furuo was thinking quickly in his mind.

Zhang Yu developed so rapidly that in just two or three years, he expanded from one Shangdang prefecture to five prefectures. Now that Dong Zhuo was killed by Wang Yun, Zhang Yu destroyed Niu Fu. If he could conquer Hedong prefecture, his strength would be far greater than his.

It is not difficult to guess that as Zhang Yu's power expands further, his right to speak will become weaker and weaker. Now that his sister has given birth to Zhang Yu's second son, he still has the right to speak, but he should make plans early.

Thinking of this, Yu Fuluo said: "Since you want to destroy Niu Fu, I am willing to send a thousand elite cavalry to join the army, and my brother Huchuquan will lead them."

Zhang Yu glanced at Yu Fuluo and said with a smile: "I heard that the Chanyu wants to conquer the Xiongnu. Now he has sent a thousand elite cavalry to me. I wonder how we can defeat the Xiongnu?"

Yu Furuo looked embarrassed. He had been unwilling to let Zhang Yu take charge of the governance of the Xiongnu, so he had been hiding it from Zhang Yu and was planning how to defeat the Xiongnu on his own. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yu found out now.

Yu Fuluo calmed down and said, "After defeating Niu Fu, you led the army to restore our country. From now on, we will be at your disposal, and you will rule all the Xiongnu tribes yourself."

"it is good!"

Zhang Yu laughed loudly and said, "From now on, I will not rule alone. I will rule the Xiongnu together with your clan."

"Thank you, Lord!"

Zhang Yu could not ignore Yu Fuluo's wisdom, so he naturally had to share political interests with Yu Fuluo's clan. Moreover, Zhang Yu had some ideas about the policies for governing the Xiongnu tribes, and he needed the help of Yu Fuluo's clan.

After all, it was too difficult to disintegrate the Xiongnu social system, and it would take too long for them to assimilate into the Han Chinese. Therefore, Zhang Yu planned to use a crude semi-official, semi-hereditary system to govern the tribe-based Hu people's society, so he made great use of the original large tribes in the Xiongnu tribes.

At Yu Fuluo's invitation, Zhang Yu stayed overnight in Pingyang. However, Zhang Yu remembered the fact that Yu Fuluo did not govern Pingyang well and there were few people in the city.

Hedong County had 20 counties, Pingyang was located in the north of Hedong County, surrounded by Xiangling, Yangxian, and Yong'an counties. Due to the rebellion of the Xiongnu and Baibo bandits, the population of the counties was sparse, and the chief officials had resigned early in the previous turmoil.

After Zhang Yu entered Bingzhou, he set his sights on the counties north of Pingyang, so he asked Cui Jun, the governor of Xihe County, to concurrently manage them. Considering the relationship between Yu Fuluo and Zhang Yu, Cui Jun was unwilling to confront him, and only maintained order, allowing the people to farm in places far away from the Xiongnu to avoid the Xiongnu's looting.

After Zhang Yu conquered the Hedong counties, he would certainly make good arrangements to restore the livelihood of Hedong County, such as moving the Huns out of the Han area to prevent the Huns from invading the Han people or the Han people from bullying the Huns.

Huchuquan led a thousand cavalrymen to join the army. Now Zhang Yu had 16,000 soldiers and horses. After leaving Pingyang, Zhang Yu's troops traveled more than 100 miles and arrived at Jiangyi.

When Zhang Yu led his troops to Jiangyi, Shisun Meng came with his family to join him. Zhang Yu asked about the latest news in Chang'an and learned that Wang Yun did not adopt his strategy, which led to Guo Si, Li Jue and other generals gathering the remnants of Dong Zhuo and launching a counterattack against Chang'an. He was deeply saddened.

"It's just as you expected, my lord. The remnants of Dong Zhuo have become worried because of the prince's inconsistent behavior. Now that Dong Zhuo's remnants have revived, Li Su has failed to defeat Dong Yue, and chaos will surely break out in Guanzhong." Guo Tu said with a frown.

"Sir, the remnants of Dong Zhuo have united to rise up, and Chang'an may be in danger!" Xin Pi said, "To resolve the crisis in Guanzhong, we must first defeat Niu Fu as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Guo and Li are allowed to break through Guanzhong, the generals in Guanxi may rush to support Niu Fu!" Zhang Yu pondered for a while and said, "Let Xu Huang go to Wenxi County to see if he can persuade Yang Feng and Han Xian to defect. If they can, Niu Fu is timid and his soldiers will lose their morale, so he will not be a threat."

Because of his understanding from his previous life, although Zhang Yu knew that Guo, Li and others would rebel, he did not react too strongly. Instead, he sighed at Wang Yun's stubbornness.

At the same time, Xu Huang, as the vanguard, had been ordered to camp in Wenxi County. He was less than a hundred miles away from Anyi, and only more than sixty miles away from Yang Feng and Han Xian.

Xu Huang was extremely courageous. Upon learning the news about Yang Feng and Han Xian, he rode alone to their camps, trying to persuade them to defect.

Inside the big tent, the candlelight flickered. Yang Feng sat on a chair in armor, his expression full of worry.

"General, is there an old friend outside the camp who wants to see you?" The attendant broke into the military tent and reported.

"What's your name?" Yang Feng asked.

"The man's surname is Xu, and he said he worked with the general in Baibo!" said the attendant.

"Xu?"

Yang Feng's expression changed slightly, as if he remembered someone, and he hurriedly said, "Invite the old friend to the tent!"

"promise!"

After a while, Xu Huang entered the tent in casual clothes. Seeing Yang Feng, who looked surprised, he bowed and said with a smile, "How are you, my old friend?"

Yang Feng jumped up from his chair in surprise, took a few glances, and saw that it was indeed Xu Huang's face. He asked, "I heard that Gongming is now serving under General Zhang and has led his troops to Wenxi. Why is he here now? Isn't he afraid of my ordering people to capture him?"

Xu Huang said, "Mr. Yang and I are colleagues. I am leading troops here and learned of your whereabouts. I want to give you some advice, so I am risking my life to come here."

"I wonder why Gongming came here?" Yang Feng asked knowingly.

Xu Huang hesitated for a moment and said, "Dong Zhuo was executed and died. Wang Yun is in power in the court. The remnants of Dong Zhuo are in a panic. Now Lord Zhang leads 20,000 soldiers to Hedong to attack Niu Fu. However, Niu Fu is incompetent and is no match for Lord Zhang. And you are brave and wise, the bravest of the three armies. How can you submit to the enemy and die for him?"

"Lord Zhang is a contemporary hero, with a great reputation in Hebei and Jin. He is a man of virtue and respect for scholars, and everyone in the Three Jins knows this. When we fought in the past, you first saw Lord Yang's bravery and strategy, and you deeply loved your talent. I remember the friendship between us, and you respect your bravery and strategy, so I dare to invite you."

"I wonder if you can abandon the dark and join the light, and lead your troops to serve you, my lord?"

Xu Huang's words to persuade Yang Feng were half true and half false. Yang Feng was indeed very brave, but not brave enough to make Zhang Yu fall in love with him. It was nothing more than Xu Huang's attempt to say a few nice words to make Yang Feng surrender.

Yang Feng pondered for a long time, then sighed and said, "I know that the situation is critical now, and Niu Fu is not a man who can accomplish anything. But I came to serve you in such a difficult time, and now I can't bear to leave you."

Xu Huang observed Yang Feng's expression and saw that what he said was not true, so he said: "Haven't you heard that good birds choose trees to roost in, and good ministers choose masters to serve? Now I have met a master I can serve. If I miss him because of a little friendship, wouldn't it be a mistake for me?"

"Besides, Niu Fu is a traitor. Now you are holding the emperor's edict to fight him. How can you help the traitor?"

Yang Feng thought for a while and said, "Gongming is right. I am willing to follow your advice. However, if I offer my gift without courtesy, I am afraid that I will be implicated by the enemy. It is hard for you to value me."

"otherwise!"

Xu Huang shook his head and said, "Your Excellency selects people based on their talents, not their social status. I surrendered to the bandits, but Your Excellency still appointed me as the Cavalry Commander, so Lord Yang should not worry about this."

Xu Huang thought for a moment and said, "You want to ask for a gift? Why not kill Niu Fu?"

Yang Feng frowned, looking unhappy, and said, "It is not the will of a righteous man to kill his master as a minister. Moreover, I have received the kindness of Niu Fu in taking me in. If I kill him now, it would be an unrighteous act, and I am unwilling to do it."

"You are a righteous man!"

Xu Huang looked at Yang Feng with admiration. He didn't expect Yang Feng to be so despicable. If it were someone else, they might have borrowed Niu Fu's head in exchange for wealth.

After a pause, Yang Feng said, "Han Xian and I have a close relationship. I can now persuade Han Xian to lead the troops with me to serve you, my lord."

"color!"

Xu Huang said happily: "I have always known that Han Xian is brave and courageous. Now that you have persuaded Han Xian to surrender to you, you will be overjoyed."

That night, Yang Feng asked someone to invite Han Xian. Han Xian was originally frightened because Zhang Yu was approaching with his troops, but when he saw Xu Huang coming to surrender, he immediately agreed to Yang Feng's suggestion to serve Zhang Yu.

At dawn the next day, Yang Feng and Han Xian falsely conveyed military orders and led their troops to Jiangyi to join Zhang Yu's army.

ps: Three more updates tomorrow

(End of this chapter)