Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 26: Hundreds of Cavalry Trampling the Hu
The battle between the caravan and more than a hundred Hu people could be more appropriately described as a conflict.

Neither side had elite cavalry, and after repeated clashes, the Hu people left behind seven or eight corpses, and three were injured and captured. On the merchant caravan side, not counting the minor injuries, two were seriously injured and one was killed.

In order to treat the injured brothers, the caravan cleaned up the battlefield and rushed towards Chanhewu.

After traveling all night, we finally arrived at the fortress in the afternoon of the next day.

As the dock gate opened, the caravan finally dared to relax.

"Doctor, come quickly and help Datou!"

Zhang Yang rode his horse to the carriage where the wounded were lying and called for the doctor in the dock.

However, Zhang Yang's voice suddenly stopped halfway through his words, and then he burst into a sad cry.

"Big head!"

Zhang Yu looked back and saw many people surrounding the two sides of the carriage, shouting and yelling. The atmosphere was extremely sad.

"Jian, what's going on?"

Zhang Ji walked out slowly with a cane and asked.

"Big Head is dead!" Zhang Yu said after a moment of silence.

"Hey!"

Zhang Jiwei exhaled and said, "Including Datou, how many people died in total?"

"Two people!"

Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Yang, who was wiping his tears, and said, "Let's not count the few who were slightly injured. Another person was shot in the shoulder by an arrow, and the wound has become an abscess."

Seeing this, Zhang Ji said earnestly, "Datou has been in the dock for five years, and has always been with Uncle Zhi. Uncle Zhi is tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and he hates this kind of thing the most!"

Then Zhang Ji ordered, "Tell Doctor Li to do his best to treat the remaining injured!"

"promise!"

"Father!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "What about the cadres?"

"Now is not the time to talk, let's talk later!"

Zhang Ji interrupted Zhang Yu and said in a deep voice: "You should comfort Datou's family on behalf of your father first. Remember to comfort them well, so as not to hurt the feelings of the brothers in the dock!"

"I wonder what kind of treatment I get for dying for the caravan?" Zhang Yu asked.

"If there are any prisoners, we will know how to provide them with relief. After all, I still need to report to the governor Guo of Dingxiang and ask for money and honor for the majority of them!" Zhang Ji said.

Although Chanhewu is a local armed force, it is a local armed force with an organization. If there is any gain, the county will give some things as rewards. Maybe the rewards are not much, but it is better than nothing.

With Zhang Ji's instructions, Zhang Yu went back to the treasury first and brought some rice, grain and cloth. On the way, he met Li Suyi who came to look for him. Perhaps she knew something, so Li Suyi stayed with Zhang Yu.

Datou's home is in the northeast corner of the dock. It has two small wooden houses and a cattle and horse shed outside. The roofs are all covered with thatch, and it looks quite neat from the outside.

Zhang Yu knew a little about the origin of Datou. His original surname was Geng and he was from Yunzhong. Because of the Xianbei invasion, he had no choice but to flee south with his family and was taken in by Zhang. Now there were only his wife and the boy and girl born to Datou at home.

When Zhang Yu arrived at Datou's house, his wife was cooking meat and vegetables, apparently preparing to welcome Datou. His children stared at the meat and vegetables on the stove, drooling.

"Master!"

Seeing Zhang Yu, Li Song and the other two suddenly come to visit, Geng's wife was a little surprised. She wiped her hands on her kitchen skirt and said with a smile: "Young Master, are you back from studying?"

"came back!"

Zhang Yu was a little speechless and didn't know how to start talking to Geng's wife.

"Are you here to look for Datou, Shaojun?" asked Geng's wife.

"no!"

Zhang Yu looked at the two timid children and motioned Li Song to take them out first.

"mother!"

The girl was a little afraid of Li Song and hid behind Geng's wife.

Geng's wife understood that Zhang Yu had something to say to her, so she handed the girl's hand to the boy and said, "Hu'er, take your sister out first."

"it is good!"

The boy was very tactful. He took the girl's hand and followed Li Song out of the house.

"Young Master, just tell me what's on your mind!" Geng's wife seemed to understand something and spoke directly.

Zhang Yu didn't dare to look directly at Geng's wife's face and said, "On the way back, the caravan encountered the Chigan Hu people who robbed the road. Datou was seriously injured and died!"

"Gone?"

Geng's wife's body went limp, and Li Suyi hurried forward to support her.

"I am sorry for your loss!"

Zhang Yu, who was always eloquent, opened his mouth for a long time but could only utter four words.

Geng's wife burst into tears, covered her face with her hands and cried, "You have no conscience, you left so easily, leaving me and my three children behind. How are we going to live?"

Zhang Yu remained silent!

If memory serves me right, Datou stayed with Zhang family to make a living, and later followed Zhang family because Zhang Ji was kind. Now that Datou passed away, the family lost its pillar. In such a bad place like the frontier, the family of three would not be able to survive for long without external protection.

Fortunately, Shanhewu would help them, give them as much food as possible, and help Geng's wife raise their two young children. This might be the agreement signed between Shanhewu and Datou, Datou used his life to exchange for the future life of the family of three.

This blood contract may be fair, but it seems a bit unbearable in Zhang Yu's eyes!
Of course, Zhang Yu might not be qualified to sympathize. The upcoming chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty would be even more cruel and bloody. He didn't even know whether he could survive to the end.

Listening to Geng's wife crying and the noises coming from outside the house, Zhang Yu felt a sense of time and space being torn apart. Zhang Yu increasingly wanted to change the world, not to leave a name for himself in history, but to bring well-being to the people.

Zhang Yu put down the white cloth bag and said, "There is a large amount of relief in the bag, including rice, grain, and cloth. The New Year is coming soon, so buy some clothes for the children. From now on, the fort will take care of the food for the two children, so don't worry too much!"

"Thank you, young master!"

Geng's wife sobbed and bowed to Zhang Yu to express her gratitude.

"correct!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Datou was a brave warrior. Unfortunately, he was injured while killing the enemy. He has no enemies. Datou's body is in the caravan now. Someone from Wu will deliver the body later!"

When leaving, Zhang Yu saw the two children with their big round eyes open. He couldn't bear it, so he took out his personal money from his pocket and secretly put it on the stove.

"If you have any problems in the future, you can go find the owner and me!"

"Thank you, young master!"

After walking out of Datou's house, Zhang Yu felt relieved and couldn't help saying, "If the Chigan Hu people are not destroyed, who knows how many people will be killed or injured in the future!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu was in a bad mood, Li Suyi changed the subject and said, "My mother knew that you had returned, so she cooked a meal at home. Why don't you eat first and tell me about what you saw and heard in Taiyuan?"

Zhang Yu was thinking about sending troops to rebuke the cadres, so he shook his head and said, "I still have to pay my respects to my father. Su Yi can go home first and I will come to see you later!"

"Then remember to eat!"

As they had been separated for a long time, Li Suyi was reluctant to leave Zhang Yu, looking back every few steps.

Zhang Yu and Li Song took another road to the council hall to find Zhang Ji.

In the meeting hall, Zhang Ji sat upright on the couch, while Zhang Yang, with red eyes, sat in the second seat.

Seeing Zhang Yu and Li Song, Zhang Ji pointed at the seats and motioned them to sit down.

In the past, Li Song might not have been qualified to attend the meeting in the hall, but Li Song went to Taiyuan to study, his status was different, and Zhang Yu took care of him, so Li Song was able to attend the meeting.

Zhang Ji stretched out one leg slightly and asked, "How are the big head's family?"

Zhang Yuwei sighed and said, "Big Head was killed in the battle, and there is only a woman and two children left at home. I'm afraid their future life will be difficult!"

Zhang Ji looked up at Zhang Yu and asked, "Do you know why I asked you to comfort the big boss family on behalf of your father?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Rang'er should be more careful in the future and think more about the brothers in the dock!"

"almost!"

Zhang Ji nodded and said earnestly, "You left your property behind yesterday and fled, waiting for an opportunity to strike back, shooting and killing Chigan Puda and repelling the Hu people. You did a great job!"

"But the disparity between us and the enemy is huge. If Ji'an continues to act like this for a long time, mistakes are bound to happen. We need to be extremely cautious in the future."

In Zhang Ji's eyes, Zhang Yu relied too much on his own bravery, often defeating the majority with a small number of people. He might succeed four or five times, but there would always be one failure. As a father, Zhang Ji was really worried that Zhang Yu would become arrogant one day and get himself and his subordinates involved.

"promise!"

Zhang Yu looked calm and respectfully accepted Zhang Ji's criticism.

Seeing that Zhang Yu accepted his teachings, Zhang Ji nodded with satisfaction and said, "Now that Chigan Puda is dead, the tribe has no leader for the time being, so it is time to use the army. I want to ask Lu Bu and Geng Kuan for help, and join forces with my Zhang family to crush Chigan."

"Lu Bu is a greedy person by nature. It may not be easy to ask him for help now," said Zhang Yang.

Zhang Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "I plan to share the wealth with Lu Bu. When I go out to do business in the future, I will cooperate with Lu Bu more."

"I think there is no need to ask Lu Bu and Geng Kuan for help. My Zhang family is capable of crushing Chi cadres!" Zhang Yu said.

Zhang Ji raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Ji'an, have you forgotten what your father said before? Although my army can severely injure the cadre Chi, I am afraid that we will suffer a lot of losses."

Zhang Yu bowed and said, "Father, I think calling in the Lu and Geng tribes for help will make it harder for me, the Zhang family, to quickly defeat the officials!"

Zhang Ji frowned and asked, "Why did Ji'an say that?"

Zhang Yu gathered his thoughts and said, "I, the Zhang family, have asked the Lü and Geng tribes to send out troops. It will take more than half a month for the troops to gather. By then, my tribe will be very powerful, so how could the Hu people not know about it?"

"In half a month, it is expected that the Chi cadres have already selected a leader. When they know that our army is attacking, they will either move to other places to avoid the war, or call on their friends to raise troops to protect themselves. I would like to ask my father, can I, Zhang, quickly defeat the Chi cadres?"

Seeing Zhang Ji remained silent, Zhang Yu continued, "The Art of War says: 'Attack where the enemy is least prepared and take advantage of the enemy's surprise.' Now Chi Gan is trapped and has no leader, so the upper and lower levels are out of order. Now the enemy is unprepared and we are prepared, so we will surely win if we attack him."

"Although there are many people in Chigan, the soldiers are not about quantity but quality. If I send elite cavalry to Chigan and attack them by surprise, the Hu people will not leave because of their blood relatives nearby. It will be difficult for them to form a team when they are unprepared for a night attack. Why should I worry about the enemy's injustice?"

"When I returned to the fort, I had interrogated the captured Hu and learned the location of the Chigan cadres and the distribution of the personnel in the felt tents. Now we can send a cavalry raid and we will be able to quickly defeat the Chigan Hu. Please allow father to think about it carefully!"

Zhang Ji frowned and remained silent, thinking about two different options, his expression full of hesitation.

After a while, Zhang Ji looked up at Zhang Yu and couldn't help but sigh: "I originally wanted to gather a large number of troops and act cautiously, but if I act this way, the Hu bandits may have been prepared. Now, according to Ji'an's advice, we should send out surprise troops and advance quickly, and perhaps we can seize the opportunity to defeat the Hu bandits!"

"How many cavalry does my son need to defeat the Hu people?" Zhang Ji asked.

Zhang Yu straightened his back and said proudly, "We only need a hundred knights!"

"Hundred Riders?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ji's face changed slightly. He had just said to act cautiously, but Zhang Yu was so bold!

(End of this chapter)