Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 221 Bai Yueguang becomes a wife, Niu Fu dies and the generals surrender
"Yong thanks you for your kindness in saving me!"

Cai Yong, who was over 60 years old and had half white hair, bowed to Zhang Yu to express his gratitude when he saw him.

"Don't dare!"

Zhang Yu stepped aside and welcomed Cai Yong into the tent, saying, "When I was young, I received your teaching kindness, and I never forgot it. I am honored to invite Cai Yong to stay in Jinyang for a while."

Cai Yong had some difficulty walking, so he slowly stepped into the tent and said, "Yong was exiled by the court, and I am guilty. If I trouble you in the future, I hope you will forgive me."

"sit!"

Zhang Yu invited Cai Yong to sit down and said, "Mr. Cai is well-versed in ancient and modern times, and is a great scholar in the world. Bingzhou is not well-educated, and its customs are rough. I only hope that when Mr. Cai lives in Jinyang, he can teach the classics to the scholars and people of Bingzhou, so as to educate the customs of the people of the Three Jins."

Cai Yong stroked his beard and nodded, saying: "Although I am old and frail, I can still teach the classics. Besides, educating the people is what Confucian scholars do, so Yong dare not refuse."

After a pause, Cai Yong thought of Zhang Ji and asked, "It has been more than ten years since I last saw your father. I would like to ask how your father is doing."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "My father is in good health, but he is old and his legs and feet are not so convenient. If he knew that Lord Cai was coming to Jinyang, he would be very happy."

"Hey!"

Cai Yong sighed slightly and said, "Fifteen years ago, Yong was exiled by the court and sent to the north. Fortunately, your father escorted me on the way. Until now, I have been protected by your father, and now I am treated with courtesy. I am very grateful to Zhang for his kindness to me."

"You're welcome!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively, "I met Lord Cai's daughter when we were young, I wonder what the situation is now?"

Cai Yong was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "When I was temporarily living in Jianghuai, I was taken care of by the Yang family, so I promised my eldest daughter to Yang Xun of Taishan as a wife. Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency."

Zhang Yu frowned slightly. He had expected Bai Yueguang to be a married woman, but it was unexpected that she would marry Yang Xun. Shouldn't she have married Wei Zhongdao?
Seeing Zhang Yu remained silent, Cai Yong weighed the matter in his heart and said, "Thank you for your kindness, my Lord, but it's a pity that my eldest daughter is not blessed."

"How many daughters does Cai Yong have?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Two women!"

Cai Yong said: "When my daughter was young, I was exiled to the north, and I entrusted her to someone else to raise her temporarily."

Zhang Yu came to his senses and realized that the person he originally saw was Cai Yong's eldest daughter, but he had preconceived ideas and mistakenly thought it was Cai Zhaoji.

"I'm sorry!" Zhang Yu said in a uninterested manner.

Cai Yong pondered for a while and said, "My daughter Zhaoji is still by my side. She is talented in writing and proficient in music. When she got married last year, the King of Wei died. If you are interested, you may meet her."

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly. Could it be that Cai Yong was promoting his daughter?

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "When I return to Jinyang, if there is a chance, I will come to visit you."

"good!"

In fact, it is not surprising that Cai Yong promoted his daughter. During the twelve years that Cai Yong took refuge in Jianghuai, he was deeply touched by the Yang family of Taishan. Therefore, after Yang Xin's original wife, Kong, passed away, he betrothed his eldest daughter Zhenji to Yang Xin as his second wife.

At the moment, the country was in chaos, and Cai Yong needed Zhang Yu's protection. Now Zhang Yu seemed to be interested in his daughter, and Cai Yong was happy to go with the flow and see if his daughter could be favored by Zhang Yu. After all, he was old, and his daughter was a widow. Cai's situation was not as good as before, and being a concubine of a prince was much better than being a wife of a noble family.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Cai Yong said, "I have a favor to ask of you, Your Excellency, can you grant it?"

When someone wanted to give his daughter to him as a concubine, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Just say it!"

"Now the Han Dynasty is in decline, Luoyang was burned down by a fire, and many books in Dongguan and Zhangtai were damaged. Although I am not talented, I also know that it is difficult to stabilize the country when it is torn apart. Therefore, I only hope that you can help me compile the later history and leave the events of this dynasty to future generations." Cai Yong pleaded.

The Western Han Dynasty did not have a mature system of historical records, but by the Eastern Han Dynasty, a system of historians had gradually matured. The institution that recorded historical records in the Eastern Han Dynasty was the Dongguan Pavilion. Every few decades, the Eastern Han Dynasty would let the responsible ministers take the lead in writing past history, namely the Dongguan Hanji.

There were four large-scale historical compilations in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The first was during the reign of Emperor Guangwu, when Ban Gu, Chen Zong, Liu Fu and others compiled historical books. The next two were during the reigns of Emperor An and Emperor Huan, and the last was during the reign of Emperor Ling, when Cai Yong, Lu Zhi, Yang Biao and others presided over it.

Compiling history is a large-scale social activity. Thanks to the efforts of three previous waves of people, Cai Yong only needed to compile the content between Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, as well as the meritorious officials and generals who deserved to be mentioned in the middle.

In history, due to frequent wars in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties after the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "Dongguan Han Ji" was lost one after another, so the "Book of the Later Han" appeared.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Since Ban Gu compiled the history of the Han Dynasty, the historical materials of our dynasty have been recorded in the Dongguan Pavilion. Today, the world is in chaos, and it is difficult for the Dongguan Pavilion to record history. Lord Cai wants to compile a later history to pass on the deeds to future generations. How dare Yu An not agree!"

"Besides, Lord Lu is still in Jinyang now. You can work with Lord Lu to compile future history together!"

"Thank you, sir!" Cai Yong said gratefully.

While Zhang Yu and Cai Yong were discussing something, Guo Tu walked in a hurry and interrupted their discussion.

"Sir, the enemy army was shocked and Niu Fu was killed. Now they are begging for surrender to our army!" Guo Tu asked with a happy face.

Cai Yong stood up and said, "Your Excellency has military affairs to attend to, so I will withdraw first."

Zhang Yu stood up from his chair to see him off and said, "Mr. Cai can go to Jinyang first. I have asked someone to wait for him." "Thank you for your concern, Lord!" said Cai Yong.

After Cai Yong left, Zhang Yu asked, "What happened?"

"Last night, Niu Fu and his general Hu Chi'er abandoned the army and fled. Hu Chi'er killed Niu Fu on the way. Now Hu Chi'er, Dong Cheng and other generals will lead their troops to join our army." Guo Tu said.

Zhang Yu frowned and asked, "Why did Hu Chi'er kill Niu Fu?"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment and said, "According to our scouts, Niu Fu fled with gold and silver last night. Perhaps Hu Chi'er coveted Niu Fu's money and wanted to kill him."

Zhang Yu snorted coldly and said, "He is greedy for money and forgets righteousness. If he surrenders now, he will rebel in the future!"

Guo Tu said: "Niu Fu was a thief, and our subordinates beheaded him, thus eliminating the thief for the country. Now Hu Chier has led his troops to surrender, I hope you will take this as a priority and carefully place Hu Chier!"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Niu Fu was defeated. Although his troops have surrendered, they number more than 10,000. If we do not pacify them properly, there may be other incidents."

Guo Tu said: "In my opinion, we can first let Generals Xu Huang, Yang Feng, and Han Xian lead the way to recruit troops from Niu Fu's divisions. When the major events are settled, you can select troops from other divisions."

"What Gongze said makes sense!"

Zhang Yu said without hesitation: "Gather all the generals and send out the troops. Now send Xu Huang and Yang Feng as the vanguard to pacify the tribes that have surrendered."

"promise!"

When setting out for the expedition to Hedong, Zhang Yu originally thought that he would have to fight a tough battle, but he did not expect that Niu Fu, who had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command, would cowardly flee and die violently at the hands of Hu Chi'er. It was truly a case of great start but whimper at the end.

From the facts, it was undoubtedly the right choice for Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and other generals to follow Jia Xu's advice. They led their troops to fight to the death and had a chance to survive. However, if they abandoned their troops and fled, their fate would most likely be the same as Niu Fu's, either being killed by their subordinates or being harmed by local tyrants or village chiefs.

When Zhang Yu led his troops to Anyi, after being appeased by Xu Huang and Yang Feng, the generals under Niu Fu did not riot, but went to pay their respects to Zhang Yu with great respect.

"Generals Dong Cheng, Hu Chier, and Wang Fang pay their respects to you, Your Excellency!"

The three generals led their subordinate officers out of the city and knelt on one knee to welcome Zhang Yu.

"Everyone, please get up!"

Seeing the respect of the crowd, Zhang Yu dismounted and helped them up, and said to comfort them: "Now that Niu Fu is dead, I am very happy that you have recognized the situation and surrendered. From now on, I will not hold you accountable for your past, your official titles will not be changed, and you will still be in charge of the troops!"

"Thank you, Lord!"

"Long live the prince!"

Upon hearing this, all the surrendered people were delighted. Compared with Wang Yun's approach of pardoning the soldiers but not the generals, Zhang Yu's appeasement undoubtedly gave them peace of mind.

In reality, Zhang Yu did not want to accept all of Niu Fu's former troops. It was just that Niu Fu's former troops were too numerous and it was difficult for Zhang Yu to make too many changes in a short period of time. He should continue to maintain the interests of the generals to ensure that the surrendered troops would not be easily deceived by the generals in Guanxi and rebel.

After some polite words, Zhang Yu wanted to first win over Dong Cheng, who was appointed General of the Central Army, to help stabilize the surrendered soldiers.

"I heard that General Dong is a relative of Empress Xiaoren, is that true?" Zhang Yu asked with a smile.

"It's true!"

Dong Cheng said, "I am the nephew of Empress Xiaoren. I hated myself for being deceived by Dong Zhuo and watching him cause chaos. Therefore, I have long wanted to fight against the enemy. However, it is difficult to fight against the enemy if the troops are stationed outside and supervised by other generals. Now the princes have killed the rebels and Dong Zhuo has died; the princes have marched south and Niu Fu has died of fear. I have nothing to worry about, so I will lead the troops back to Han."

Zhang Yu took Dong Cheng's arm affectionately and said, "The Han Dynasty is in decline, and you are a relative of the emperor. You and I should work together. When the rebels in Guanxi are annihilated, I will submit a petition to recommend you for an official title. When your majesty was young, you were raised by Empress Xiaoren. Now you should carry on the aspirations of your predecessors and assist your majesty in ruling the country."

Hearing that Zhang Yu was going to recommend him for a high position, Dong Cheng was delighted and said, "I am honored by your kindness. I will follow you to fight against the rebels in Guanxi."

"good!"

Zhang Yu said: "In this case, please comfort the surrendered soldiers more often to avoid unrest."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu had no intention of conquering Dong Cheng. As the initiator of the Yidaizhao in history, it is hard to say whether Dong Cheng was loyal to the Han Dynasty. But one thing is worth confirming, Dong Cheng was by no means a person who would not submit to fate, especially he was good at using his status to secretly connect with others.

In order to avoid disaster and at the same time use Dong Cheng to help him appease the military, Zhang Yu decided to elevate Dong Cheng's status and throw Dong Cheng out after he welcomed the emperor.

Under Zhang Yu's arrangement, the 10,000 soldiers led by Niu Fu did not cause any commotion. With the appeasement of Xu Huang, Dong Cheng, Yang Feng, Han Xian and others, they left the camp and set up camp near Zhang Yu's army. The two camps stood side by side, which made it easier for Zhang Yu's army to be supervised.

While subduing Niu Fu's surrendered troops, Zhang Yu took into account the high independence of Yanmen County, so he recommended Yanmen Prefect Guo Yu to be the Prefect of Hedong, and replaced Dingxiang Prefect Zhong Yao as the Prefect of Yanmen. Zhang Liao also served as the Prefect of Dingxiang in addition to his position as the General of the Central Army.

ps: There will be another chapter tonight

(End of this chapter)