Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 264: Controlling Yanshan and Planning for the Future

Time passed quickly, and soon it was December. As the New Year approached, according to custom, Zhang Yu first offered sacrifices to his ancestors with his father Zhang Ji, and then paid a visit to Zhang Ji the next day.

"My father has moved far away to Anyi!"

Looking at the scene of grandfather and grandson playing, Zhang Yu knelt at the table and said respectfully.

Zhang Ji touched Zhang Luo's head and said happily, "How can I not come when Mu Mo arrives in Anyi? Besides, my son has now gone to Guanzhong and controls the two states of Bing and Yong. He has achieved great success and fame, and has brought honor to our Zhang family. You and I, father and son, should offer sacrifices to our ancestors together!"

In his previous life in the northern border, Zhang Ji had always suffered from the invasion of the Hu people. But now that the border has stabilized, Zhang Yu has made great achievements, and he has been playing with his grandchildren every day, Zhang Ji is naturally in a happy mood.

Zhang Yu said: "If father does not come to Anyi, I will also bring my wife and children to Jinyang to pay a visit to father."

"No need!"

Zhang Ji smiled and said, "Your government has just moved to Anyi, and you will be heading to Youzhou next year. If you delay official business due to personal feelings, it will be your fault as a father."

After a pause, Zhang Ji asked, "I heard that Ji'an recruited the son of Lord Piran (Zhang Huan) as an official. Is this true?"

"To reply father, I have recruited Zhang Meng, the second son of Mr. Zhang, as an official under him. He is now serving as Gongcao of the prefecture government and the government office has been moved to Anyi," said Zhang Yu.

Zhang Ji pondered for a moment and said, "When I was in the army in my early years, I was appreciated by Mr. Zhang. So since he is the son of an old friend, Ji'an might as well take good care of him."

Zhang Ji was afraid that Zhang Yu would be in trouble, so he said: "If he has talent, then use him. If he doesn't have talent, then give him an idle position."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Father, do you want to meet Zhang Meng?"

Zhang Ji was moved and said, "If it does not interfere with official business, I will take some time to see him. The old friend has passed away, and his son is serving under my son. I must meet him."

"Yu asked someone to notify Zhang Meng!"

"it is good!"

Zhang Ji clapped his hands and sighed, saying, "I need to go back to Chanhewu when I have time to visit my old friends in the village and see my hometown home. If I don't go to see them now, I'm afraid my legs will be difficult to walk, and I won't be able to see my old friends in Northern Xinjiang again!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yu said, "If father misses his hometown, he can send someone to bring the villagers to Anyi to meet him."

Zhang Ji shook his head and said, "It costs money and manpower to bring the villagers to Anyi, but it is not necessary now. I have plenty of time, so I can go back home when I can, and Ji An won't have to worry about it. You should focus more on official business. Don't be distracted by personal matters when there are disputes and heroes competing for supremacy in the world!"

"it is good!"

After chatting for a while, someone came to inform that Liu He was here to pay a visit, so Zhang Yu said goodbye to Zhang Ji.

Before leaving, Zhang Ji reminded him: "Ji'an is in his prime, so he should focus on important matters first. Don't indulge in women, which will hurt your health and waste your time!"

"Thank you for your advice, father!" Zhang Yu said with a slightly red face.

Many of his wives and concubines in the house had heard about his trip to the Li Palace with Zou Qi and Yin Wen. Now they were probably jealous and told their father about it.

Leaving his son with Zhang Ji, Zhang Yu walked away and went to the council hall to meet Liu He.

In the hall, Liu He, who was wearing sackcloth, saw Zhang Yu and stood up to greet him. He bowed and said, "Greetings to the General of Chariots and Cavalry."

"Youzhou is so polite!"

Zhang Yu motioned Liu He to sit down and asked, "I wonder if you are here to hear news about Youzhou?"

"Of course!"

Liu He said: "I have contacted the righteous men of Dai County. Because of my father's kindness, the righteous men of Dai said that if our army goes out of Yanmen, they are willing to kill the county governor and welcome our army into Yan. As for Yan Rou's promotion, I have received the approval of the court, allowing Yan Rou to serve as the governor of Dai County."

"good!"

Zhang Yu couldn't help but smile and said, "If we can control Dai County, we can reach Shanggu. If the army goes to Jundu or Puyin, we can reach the south of Yan. The roads along the way are unobstructed, and the army will not have to worry about food and supplies."

If Bingzhou wanted to go to Hebei, it had to go through the eight passes of Taihang Mountain. To get to Youzhou, apart from Jingxing Road, it was necessary to start from Yanmen County and take Jundu Pass or Puyin Pass. If one wanted to take the two passes, one had to go through Dai County or Shanggu County (now Zhangjiakou) to reach the southern part of Yanzhou.

In the Battle of Tumu in history, the Oirat invaded from Zhangjiakou, first defeated Zhu Qizhen, then entered the Hebei Plain from Puyinxing, and surrounded the capital.

Therefore, the route Zhang Yu took to conquer Youzhou was similar to the route Wala took to besiege Beijing, both of them transited through Zhangjiakou and then went to the south of Yan. The difference was that Zhang Yu went west from Yanmen, while Wala went south from the outside of the Great Wall.

Liu He pondered for a moment and said, "I have received news from Qi Zhou that he and Xianyu Fu and others have arrived in Yanbei and met Yan Rou in Pingcheng. Yan Rou and others are rushing to summon Han and Hu heroes from Yanbei and gather troops from all over Youzhou. It is estimated that more than 20,000 people can be obtained. I want to go north to Yanmen first to see if I can seize the two counties of Dai and Shanggu in Yanbei before the army sets out to ensure that the road is open." "Failed!"

Zhang Yu said, "I'm afraid that the weather in the northern border is very cold right now, and it will be inconvenient for Youzhou to lead troops north!"

Hearing this, Liu He looked serious and said, "Gongsun Zan and I have a deep hatred. I have nothing to fear from the cold weather today. If I can reach Dai as soon as possible, I can contact more righteous men."

Seeing that Liu He was eager to take revenge, Zhang Yu said, "In that case, Youzhou can lead 3,000 elite cavalry to go ahead and see if they can gain a foothold in the north of Yan so that they can transport food and grass to Dai. After the spring comes and the rain and snow melt, I will lead the army north to join Youzhou."

"it is good!"

Liu He responded first, then he paused for a moment and said, "I have been stationed in Hedong for more than a month, and the army is already short of food and grass. So if I lead the army north, I may need you to provide food and grass along the way."

"Providing food and fodder is not difficult!"

Zhang Yu said without hesitation: "I will order Xin Taiyuan and Yang Yanmen to transfer military rations to Youzhou."

"Thank you, Lord!"

Liu He showed gratitude and said, "This expedition to Youzhou is all thanks to your help. If I can avenge my great hatred, I will repay you."

"No need to thank me!"

Zhang Yu sighed and said, "When Shangdang was hit by a locust plague, Lord Liu allocated 300,000 shi of grain to me, which was a great favor to me. Now Lord Liu has been killed by Gongsun Zan, how can I not avenge him!"

Zhang Yu had many purposes for sending troops to Youzhou. In addition to facilitating the future attack on Hebei, Zhang Yu really wanted to avenge Liu Yu. On Zhang Yu's road to prosperity, Liu Yu really provided a lot of help, allocating 300,000 dan of grain to aid Shangdang, which almost saved Zhang Yu's foundation.

With 300,000 shi of grain, Zhang Yu was able to first conquer Taiyuan, and then transfer grain from Taiyuan to Shangdang, absorbing refugees from Hebei into Jin, allowing him to rise. Later, when he sent troops to attack Guanzhong, Liu Yu was willing to provide grain, saving Zhang Yu a large amount of military rations.

Therefore, if Zhang Yu did not avenge Liu Yu under such great favor, he would probably be criticized.

After Liu He stood up to say goodbye, Lü Fan, who was sitting with him, said worriedly, "The court has appointed Liu He as the governor of Youzhou. Your Excellency has sent troops to attack Gongsun Zan. If you defeat Gongsun Zan, Liu He may benefit!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I know what Ziheng said. Now we are conquering Youzhou to help Liu He succeed as governor."

"Then why are you doing such a futile thing?" Lu Fan asked puzzledly.

Guo Tu stroked his beard and laughed, saying, "Does Sima Lu think that he can conquer Youzhou without Liu He as governor of Youzhou?"

"If our army conquers Youzhou now, Yuan Shao will worry about the threat in the northern border and will definitely not want to see our army occupy Youzhou, so he will decisively send troops to attack our Bingzhou. Or he will send troops to Youzhou to drive our army out of Youzhou." Guo Tu said: "If Liu He governs Youzhou now, Yuan Shao will be concerned about the imperial edict and can tolerate it for a while. Therefore, unless Gongsun Zan is in danger of defeat, Yuan Shao will not easily send troops."

Lü Fan seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "From what Gongze said, Yuan Shao has no objection to you ruling Youzhou, nor does he want to see Gongsun Zan occupy Youzhou. Instead, he wants to make Youzhou a threat to his borders."

Guo Tu and Zhang Yu looked at each other and said with a smile: "I can't be sure what Yuan Shao is thinking, but I can say that Yuan Shao will never do anything that is not profitable given his character."

After a pause, Guo Tu added: "Yuan Shao may want to sit on the sidelines and watch. If Gongsun Zan wins, he will take Bingzhou in the west. If Gongsun Zan loses, he may send troops to help him."

"Yuan Shao is standing by and watching, hoping that Youzhou will not be a threat to him, so he is happy to see Gongsun Zan's defeat. However, in order to prevent our army from taking Youzhou, he may send troops when Gongsun Zan is in danger, so as to relieve Gongsun Zan's danger and eliminate the threat to the northern border."

Lü Fan gradually understood the situation and said, "Your Excellency knows that it is difficult for our army to conquer Youzhou, so you want to make Liu He the governor of Youzhou and use him to fight Gongsun Zan, so as to avoid our army's eastward expedition to Yuan Shao in the future. Gongsun Zan will send troops to help us!"

“That’s about it!”

Zhang Yu paced with his hands behind his back and said, "Youzhou is far away from Bingzhou, but adjacent to Jizhou, so it is not easy to govern Youzhou. I am sending troops to occupy the two northern counties of Yan and support Liu He to gain a foothold in Youzhou. I am enough!"

"If we want to conquer Hebei in the future, we can send our army out of Shangdang and order Liu He to lead his troops south, or send cavalry to plunder Jizhou. At that time, our army will have the support of Qin and Jin, while Yuan Shao's territory is vast, and his generals will be powerless!"

Youzhou is located in the north of Jizhou. If Zhang Yu can extend his hand into Hebei, he can send troops to harass Yuan Shao from the south when he fights with Yuan Shao in the future. And his army will be backed by Bingzhou, which will prevent Yuan Shao from harassing him. Therefore, when the two fight, Zhang Yu will be able to fight Yuan Shao more calmly.

If it was Youzhou territory, Zhang Yu would have occupied it, otherwise why would he have recommended Yan Rou to be the governor of Dai County? Therefore, Zhang Yu's actual goal was to control the Dai and Shanggu counties north of Yanshan Mountain, to hold the danger of Yanshan Mountain in his hands, and to let Liu He manage the southern part of Yan.

Once Zhang Yu controls the Yanshan Mountains, the Youzhou counties in southern Yan will be unstoppable, and the vast plains will be within the attack range of Zhang Yu's horse hooves. This can be regarded as a way for Zhang Yu to control Youzhou in disguise.

Lu Fan nodded and praised: "Your Excellency's wisdom and strategy are far-reaching, which I could not have expected!"

Zhang Yu stopped in the hall, looking at the snow outside the window, and said in a deep voice: "I now control the Three Jins and Guanzhong. There is no one in the Central Plains who can be a strong enemy for me except Yuan Shao. Therefore, we cannot act rashly in a confrontation with him, and we need to make plans early."

As a large number of counties and kingdoms were annexed by the princes, the situation of turbulent times and struggle for supremacy has passed the early stage. The most critical mid-term is about to come, and the performance in the mid-term will determine who is qualified to unify the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)