Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 292: Raising cloth is like raising an eagle. It runs away because it is scared of its wife.

September, Anyi.

"Sir, the disaster in Guanzhong has eased. Mulberries are now growing, and the people have food to eat."

Zhong Yao reported his work to Zhang Yu, who had come back from a long journey, and said, "Yao has ordered the affected counties to plant wheat in autumn and winter. If there is no wheat seed, the government will lend it to those who don't have it at interest. Now that farming is going well, we will be able to harvest wheat in April or May next year. In the spring of the following year, we will plant millet and rice, and we will have a good harvest in autumn. If we continue to do this, we won't have to worry about food next year."

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged, leaning back on the couch, with his sour and sweaty feet resting straight down, looking like a rough and uncouth man.

"Yuan Chang has been working hard while I'm away from Anyi!"

Zhang Yushu said: "Not only did you supervise the transportation of grain and grass for me, but you also helped me to resist Zhu Jun and Yuan Shao. If you were not in Anyi, I would not be able to go north with peace of mind."

Zhong Yao sat at the side seat, ignoring Zhang Yu's lazy posture, and said with a smile: "It's not just Yao's achievement, Bohou, Jicai, Shao Ran and others all helped. General Shi Yi rushed east and west, first frightened Zhu Jun, then retreated Zhang He, and had the merit of repelling the enemy; General Wen Yuan sat in Guanzhong, pacified the people, dispatched troops, and had the merit of stabilizing the border."

"Zhu Jun?"

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "I think I have done nothing wrong in serving the Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty wants to attack Guanzhong and seize my base. This is really disheartening!"

"Sir, Zhu Jun died of illness in Shan County a few days ago!" Guo Tu took the opportunity to take credit.

"Zhu Jun died of illness?" Zhang Yu restrained his expression and confirmed.

"Of course!"

Guo Tu said, "Tu followed the Lord's instructions and ordered Wu Shuo, Dong Cheng and others to spread rumors in the court and the public, saying that Zhu Jun secretly colluded with the Lord and revealed the plan to seize Guanzhong. Your Majesty did not distinguish the truth from the false and fell for the rumor. You ordered Zhu Jun to be recalled to the court to question him. When Zhu Jun heard what happened in the army, he must have died of anger."

Dong Cheng was spying on Zhu Jun's position and learned that Zhang Yu wanted to alienate Zhu Jun, so he agreed to work for Zhang Yu. Wu Shuo needed no further explanation. Now that he left Zhang Yu, he had nowhere to go. And because Zhu Jun was a straightforward person, he offended many officials during his time as the Shangshu. Therefore, when the rumors were spread, many people deliberately fanned the flames and repeatedly spread the rumors to Liu Xie's ears.

Liu Xie asked Tai Chong to recall Zhu Jun, but Tai Chong was attached to Wu and Dong. So when he met Zhu Jun, Tai Chong deliberately exaggerated Liu Xie's attitude, letting out Liu Xie's dissatisfaction with Zhu Jun and guessing that Zhu Jun was secretly communicating with Zhang Yu. Zhu Jun was a strong-willed person. Seeing that he worked hard for the Han Dynasty, but was met with Liu Xie's suspicion, he was very angry and died of depression that night.

"Zhu Jun was a loyal and faithful man to the Han Dynasty, but now he has lost his master and the right time."

The coldness on Zhang Yu's face melted away, and turned into a look of sorrow. He said, "I originally wanted to alienate the emperor and his ministers, but I didn't expect Zhu Jun to be a generous man who would rather die than suffer humiliation."

"When the Yellow Turbans were in chaos, I followed them to fight against the bandits; when Li Jue hijacked the Han dynasty, I joined him to fight against the bandits. Now, I heard news about Zhu Jun again, but it turned out to be the news that my old friend had passed away."

The relationship between Zhang Yu and Zhu Jun was complicated. When they were fighting against the Liangzhou army, they were in a honeymoon relationship. It was not until the establishment of Yongzhou that the relationship between the two representatives deteriorated. Although the relationship deteriorated, it did not mean that there was a life-and-death feud. Now that he heard that his old friend died indirectly because of him, especially died directly at the hands of Liu Xie, Zhang Yu could not help but sigh.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu looked at Guo Tu and said, "Please ask Wu Shuo to submit a petition on behalf of Zhu Jun to see if the court can posthumously confer a title on him and allow his remains to be sent back to his hometown for burial!"

"Yes, sir!" Guo Tu bowed.

"Apart from the Luoyang incident, is there any news of unrest in the Central Plains, such as the war between Lu Bu and Cao Cao?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Lü Bu and Cao Cao confronted each other in July, and both armies withdrew due to lack of food and fodder. Lu Bu led his troops to Shanyang in Yanzhou to get food, while Chen Gong stayed in Puyang; Cao Cao withdrew his army to Lu and fed on food from Qing and Ji." Zhong Yao said.

"How's the outcome?"

"Lü Bu is slightly better than Cao Cao!"

Zhong Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Lü Bu defeated Cao Cao in Puyang. Cao Cao suffered heavy casualties and only had more than 10,000 soldiers available. General Xiahou Dun was shot in the left eye by an arrow and nearly died. Although he was treated later, his left eye was already blind. In the battle of Puyang, Lü Bu nearly killed Cao Cao, but unfortunately Cao Cao escaped."

"Tsk tsk!"

Zhang Yu could not help but exclaim in admiration, and said with a smile: "Lü Bu is swift in his use of his troops, and his cavalry are fierce. Cao Cao will be exhausted and will return to Puyang. Lü Bu will take advantage of his rest to attack him. How can Cao Cao not be defeated?"

Lu Bu is much stronger than in the original history. In the history, Lu Bu stationed his troops in Henei, and he had few soldiers and horses, let alone elite soldiers. In the current dimension, when Lu Bu fled to Hedong, he had 700 to 800 cavalrymen; when he and Zhang Yu fought against Li Jue, Lu Bu had 2,000 to 3,000 infantry and cavalrymen.

When Lü Bu left Guanzhong and reached Yingchuan, he recruited soldiers and got support from Zhang Yu and Yuan Shu. He had nearly 10,000 soldiers and more than 2,000 cavalry. Lü Bu entered Yanzhou and recruited Cao Cao's soldiers who stayed in Yanzhou. Zhang Miao raised troops to support him, with 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers.

Cao Cao first fought with the troops of Xuzhou for several months, and then led his army on a rapid march to rescue Yanzhou. His soldiers were exhausted and were no match for Lu Bu. It was because Cao Cao lost too many soldiers in the Battle of Puyang that he decided to surrender to Yuan Shao in the north.

"After the Battle of Puyang, Lü Bu lost many of his cavalrymen, so he sent an envoy to buy horses at a high price." Zhong Yao said, "Your Excellency is far away in the northern border, so I made a decision on my own and sold 500 horses to Lü Bu, and sent 200 horses to help him, as well as 300 dan of salt."

"Seven hundred horses are enough for Lu Bu to use for a while!" Zhang Yu smiled and said, "But if it goes as I expected, Cao Cao will ask Yuan Shao for help, and Yuan Shao will also provide Cao Cao with food and soldiers considering the situation."

"Should we provide more military supplies to Lu Bu?" Guo Tu asked.

"That's not necessary!"

Xun You stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Lü Bu is slightly better than Cao Cao, and is still feeling proud. We may as well wait and see how the military situation develops next year. If Lü Bu is defeated, it won't be too late to send troops to help him. Your Excellency, raising Lü Bu is like raising a hawk. It will be used when it is hungry, but it will fly away when it is full, so you should not treat him too well."

"good!"

Zhang Yu nodded and said with a smile: "Gongda's words are in line with my own ideas. Although Lü Bu and I are from the same hometown and have a close relationship, he has a fickle temperament and insatiable desires. If I want to use Lü Bu for my own benefit, I cannot feed him well." Zhang Yu found some ideas on how to control Lü Bu. Although he did not dare to recruit him directly, it should be more than enough for him to be a troublemaker.

"Except for Yanzhou, Xuzhou is in turmoil!"

Zhong Yao continued to report to Zhang Yu, saying, "After Cao Cao led his troops back to Yanzhou, Tao Qian of Xuzhou died of a serious illness. Now Tao Shang has succeeded him as governor of the state. Due to his lack of experience, although he has the title of governor, he is unable to command the counties. I wonder if you would like to recommend a governor to the court?"

"Xuzhou?"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "I have no connection with Xuzhou. If I send someone to Xuzhou to take up the post, I am afraid that the people will not obey me. Besides, Tao Qian has made great contributions in governing Xuzhou, and Zi Shang still has people's support. So I will not recommend him as the governor of Xuzhou now."

Zhang Yu could actually recommend Liu Bei to be the governor of Xuzhou, but considering Liu Bei's personality, Zhang Yu did not intend to raise a tiger to cause trouble, so it was good to let Xuzhou maintain the status quo. Moreover, the internal political situation in Xuzhou was complicated, with generals separatist in the north of Xuzhou and nobles controlling the county affairs. Sending someone else to be the governor of Xuzhou would only make him a puppet.

"Except for Yanzhou and Xuzhou, there is no major incident in Henan at the moment. The only thing is the battle between Yuan Shu and Liu Yao in Yangzhou."

After a pause, Zhong Yao asked, "How are you going to deal with the three hundred barbarians you brought with you?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Let people build houses in Boshan to accommodate 300 children. Send scholars to teach Han doctrines, recruit translators to teach the four languages of the Western Regions, Hu, Han, and Qiang, and let the soldiers learn military skills, the art of wielding bows and spears, and the art of riding and shooting. The study will last for five years. All supplies will be paid for by the government treasury."

"Oh, and find some Taoist disciples to convert Hu'er to Islam!"

Hearing this, Zhong Yao frowned and asked, "Since you want to treat him as an attendant, it would be fine to teach him martial arts. Why do you want to teach him Han doctrines and learn the languages of all regions?"

Guo Tu nodded and said, "Don't trust Hu'er too much, my lord, don't take him too seriously!"

Seeing that the crowd could not understand his idea, Zhang Yu did not intend to explain too much, and only said: "The three hundred Hu children are my Zhang family's troops. Now I want to use them as death warriors, how can I not use them and cultivate them? Moreover, if we want to govern the northern border, we must have Han and Hu children."

Zhang Yu would not tolerate any objection and said, "This matter is settled, no need to discuss it further!"

"promise!"

Zhang Yu didn't know how Osman cultivated the people of Mangkhut, but he knew how to cultivate elites. Cultivating them with the elite model and brainwashing them with Han culture was enough to educate the people of Mangkhut who were in line with the temperament of the Chinese.

Eight to twelve years old is a critical stage for the development of a teenager's mind, and during this period, they are taught Chinese studies and brainwashed to be loyal to Zhang Yu. Then when these children grow up and return to the northern border as soldiers, they will no longer have the joy of returning to their hometown, but will be filled with fanatical ideas of being loyal to Zhang Yu and expanding the empire's territory.

"Your Majesty!"

While Zhang Yu was chatting with the others, Zhao Yun quickly stepped into the hall and announced, "Madam learned that the Lord has returned home, so I have come to look for him in person."

"Madam is here to see me?"

Zhang Yu was startled, and hurriedly put on his boots, and asked, "Gong Ze, how is Wang An's pacification?"

Without thinking too much, Wang Ji came to him because of his father-in-law Wang Hong. He almost forgot about it today.

"I drove to Chang'an with your letter and apologized to you first. Then I welcomed you out of the city and escorted you all the way to Anyi." Guo Tu told the truth and said, "Your Highness was upset on the way and he did not leave the palace after returning to Anyi."

"As for the punishment, it is in accordance with the instructions of the Lord. I wonder if there is anything wrong with my actions?"

Zhang Yu put on his boots and asked, "Have you met the lady beforehand to explain the reason to her?"

"no!"

Zhang Yu clapped his hands and sighed, saying, "Madam, you came to me today for this very reason!"

Zhang Yu then told everyone, "I am leaving the palace now to visit the prince. If the lady comes here, you can delay for a while, and then you can say that I am apologizing to the prince!"

Guo Tu suddenly realized what was going on and apologized, saying, "I have done something wrong. Please punish me, my lord."

"You are punished to teach Hu'er!"

Zhang Yu took a few attendants and strolled out from the side, fearing that he would run into Wang Ji.

Looking at Zhang Yu's fleeing figure, the counselors in the hall were stunned for a moment, and Xun You was the first to laugh. He had worked for Zhang Yu for a long time, and Zhang Yu had always been calm and composed in the past. However, this was the first time he saw Zhang Yu's awe-inspiring expression, which really made him want to laugh.

With Xun You taking the lead, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Soon, Wang Ji and his maid entered the palace hall. He looked around but didn't see Zhang Yu. He only saw the scholars who were laughing. His expression slowed down and he asked, "Where is the Lord?"

"Madam, the Lord returned to the city in a hurry, gave us some instructions, and then went to visit the prince, saying that he wanted to apologize to the prince and punish Lü Fan." Jia Xu smiled and said, "The Lord has been gone for a long time, so Madam is late. If you have something to ask the Lord, you can go to the prince's house."

"Thank you, Mr. Jia!"

(End of this chapter)