Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 3 Zhang Babai

In February, the sky is blue, the mountains are quiet, and there is only the occasional whistle of the wind.

Zhang Yu rode a black-maned horse, following the hoof prints and horse dung to chase the horse thieves. As the trail was intermittent, the horse's speed increased and decreased.

Since the failure of the Han army's expedition against the Xianbei six years ago, Tan Shihuai's subordinates' strength was greatly enhanced because they obtained the Han army's armor and equipment, so they launched an unprecedented looting offensive.

From Dunhuang in the west to Liaoxi in the east, along this border line of tens of thousands of miles, the Xianbei plundered every year. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, wars were raging everywhere, and there was never peace in the border counties. They even plundered Beidi County in Guanzhong.

Fortunately, Tan Shihuai died of illness two years ago. Although his son He Lian was lustful and licentious, he still succeeded to the throne successfully by relying on the prestige of his father Tan Shihuai.

In the same year, in order to show off his military power, Helian contacted the Qiang people and plundered the counties in Guanzhong. As a result, Helian himself was shot and killed during the southern expedition to Beidi County. Because his son Qianman was young, the position of Chanyu fell to his brother Kuitou.

For the past two years, the Xianbei had been in internal turmoil. In order to consolidate his position, Kuitou had continuously suppressed the various factions of the Helian faction, which in turn made the Helian faction more united and gradually alienated from Kuitou. There were signs of a split within the Xianbei.

Although there were signs of chaos within the Xianbei, as the population grew, the tribes continued to migrate southward in order to obtain land more suitable for grazing, constantly clashing with the Han people and looting the Han people's cattle and horses.

Ru Chigan moved south last year. The people of the tribe were poor, so they coveted the wealth of the Han people and often traveled through the mountains to rob Han settlements. Zhang had conflicts with them many times. Recently, as the conflicts intensified, Chigan became even more aggressive, often stealing cattle and horses while Zhang was grazing.

After all, horses are a strategic resource for both the Han and the Hu peoples. Therefore, in order to increase their own power and weaken their opponents, nomadic peoples often start by plundering the enemy's horses.

In order to find the trace of the horse thief, Zhang Yu set out to track him early in the morning and followed the trail until noon.

The weather was getting a little warmer and the black-maned horse was a little thirsty.

Zhang Yu noticed the changes in his beloved horse and prepared to rest by the stream ahead.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Yu dismounted and let the black-maned horse drink water. He squatted by the stream and washed his face with the cold water.

At this time, there was a young Han man resting by the river upstream. Seeing Zhang Yu coming suddenly, the young man first held the bow at his side, and only put down the bow after he saw that Zhang Yu was a Han Chinese.

"Cool!"

Feeling the icy cold water penetrating into his bones, Zhang Yu could not help but hum softly.

In order to replenish the warhorse's physical strength, Zhang Yu grabbed a handful of fine grain from the bag and put it in front of the horse's mouth, letting the black-maned horse lick it with its tongue.

After feeding the horses, Zhang Yu also spotted a Han man upstream. In order to confirm the traces of the Hu people, he bowed and called out, "My dear, are you all right? Did you see a group of Hu people leading horses across the stream just now?"

The young man stood up from the stream and replied, "I'm fine. Who are you and why are you asking about the whereabouts of those barbarians?"

Zhang Yu bowed and said, "That Chigan barbarian stole my fine horse. I followed him along the way. I hope you can give me some directions."

The young man approached with his horse and offered, "In that case, I am willing to lead the way for you."

Zhang Yu did not want the young man to be involved in this matter, so he said, "There are many horse thieves, and their details are unknown. I dare not trouble you to take risks, so just point out the direction."

The young man spoke proudly, cupping his hands and saying, "I am a county official. A thief stole my horse, and I failed in my duty. Now the owner is chasing me, how can I just sit there and do nothing?"

While the young man was talking, Zhang Yu also saw the appearance of the man. The young man was more than seven feet tall, with his hair tied up and wearing a linen shirt, a strong body and long arms, and a dark face that revealed his immaturity. His bold words and actions made Zhang Yu feel a little favorable.

Zhang Yu hummed a little, considering that the young man was recruited as a county official at a young age, and now he appeared here alone, he must be good at martial arts. Now that he is in trouble, how could he refuse!
"In that case, I would like to thank you here. If you can get my horse back this time, I will thank you with a generous gift."

"No need, it's just a piece of cake!"

As he said this, without waiting for Zhang Yu to ask his name, the young man jumped on his horse, whipped the horse, and shouted, "Hurry up and mount the horse, don't let the Hu people get away."

"promise!"

Under the leadership of the young man, Zhang Yu rode on a black-maned horse and the two of them rode at full speed to chase the horse thieves.

With the young man's guidance, Zhang Yu's tracking speed became much faster. After about an hour, they finally found a large amount of fresh horse manure in the valley. The two men dismounted and walked, but after only a few hundred steps, they heard the neighing sound coming from the valley.

So the two men tied their horses to a dead tree and, following the cover of the bushes, groped their way towards higher ground.

The two men looked down from above and saw five short, dirty-dressed Hu people resting on the ground. Some took out the leftover bones and meat from their bags and put them into their mouths to suck repeatedly; some drank the rice soup that had cooled overnight in their bags and carefully licked the rice grains on their hands.

As they ate and drank, they recalled the events of the horse theft, and laughter could be heard from time to time. The horses they had robbed were scattered around looking for food, including Zhang's six horses.

"Za Hu!"

The young man said in a low voice with contempt, his tone mixed with disgust. "Don't underestimate these mobs of barbarians!"

Zhang Yu seemed to be able to sense that the young man had a grudge against the Xianbei, and reminded him: "Although the Xianbei are short, they dare to fight for their lives, and they are strong bandits!"

It was a common phenomenon that the Hu people were short in stature, with the tallest being just over 6 feet 9 inches, which is around 160cm in later generations.

In his early years, Zhang Yu was influenced by the preconceived notions of later generations and believed that the Hu people on the grasslands ate meat every day, so they were all strong and tall.

When he arrived in the late Han Dynasty and learned about the living conditions of the Xianbei people, he realized the backwardness and fragility of the nomadic economy.

For example, due to the backward productivity and the fragility of the nomadic economy, the Hu people could not eat meat every day and could only kill sheep and eat meat during festivals.

On ordinary days, the Hu people never abstain from food, they will eat everything they can. In addition to grazing, they also hunt dogs, wolves, foxes, rabbits and other things as their daily rations.

If they can't find prey, they will eat anything when they are hungry, including things like afterbirth and lice. In times of famine, they will even eat human flesh.

Especially in summer, because summer is the lactation period of the herd, the Hu people almost only drink horse milk, plus the prey they get from hunting. The cattle and horses that died of old age or disease would be made into dried meat as food for migration.

Of course, this is not always the case. The young and middle-aged people who are the backbone of the tribe will eat better than ordinary people. If they are nobles or leaders of various tribes, the food will be more abundant.

The Hu people endure hunger all year round, develop small stomachs, and eat very little, so they can run while hungry; the Hu people live by following water and grass, hunt for a long time, have superb riding skills, so they are natural riders; the Hu people live in a harsh environment, and there are conflicts all year round for living resources, so the people are fierce.

The young man observed for a long time and asked, "What are your plans?"

Zhang Yu looked through the bushes and whispered, "The Hu bandits have been running for a long time, and I think they are tired. Now they are grazing and resting, which is the time to use force. I want to take this opportunity to kill them and take back the horses."

Then Zhang Yu looked at the young man and said, "I am very grateful to you for leading me here. Although there are many enemies, they are no match for me. You can rest for a while."

"Do you look down on me?"

The young man frowned and said unhappily: "If I were afraid of death, why would I lead you here?"

After a pause, the young man seemed unconvinced and said, "Although you are brave, your martial arts skills are definitely not as good as mine!"

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at the young man. Since he started to grow up a few years ago, few people dared to openly claim that their martial arts were better than his in front of him.

The young man seemed to sense Zhang Yu's distrust and said sternly, "If you don't believe me, let's fight with swords. The left three is mine, and the right two is yours."

Zhang Yu was calm and composed. He cupped his hands and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you, so I dare not trouble you to help. Now that you have great righteousness and are helping me, I will remember it in my heart!"

Then, Zhang Yu took the young man and pointed out the surrounding terrain, saying: "The Hu people live in a valley, with low trees on the left and grass on the right. You can act as a decoy and run through the low trees to attract the Hu bandits. I will ride a fast horse and follow behind, and the two riders will encircle them from both sides, and we will surely kill the Hu bandits."

"color!"

The young man's eyes sparkled, and he smiled, "It is right to fight together, but it is a surprise to attack later. You know military strategy."

Seeing that the young man had read military books, Zhang Yu admired him even more and said, "My surname is Zhang, my given name is Yu, and my courtesy name is Ji'an. I am from Yunzhong County. You and Yu have come here together, but I don't know your name. I am now bold enough to ask."

The young man watched the movements of the Hu people, sneaked down the slope, and said with a smile: "I have the same surname as you, my name is Liao, my courtesy name is Wenyuan, and I am from Yanmen County."

"Zhang Wenyuan!"

Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Liao's back and was stunned. This young man turned out to be Zhang Babai. The world seemed a little smaller!

I just don't know where Sun Quan, the King of Wu in Wei, is now? Has he been born?
"What's the matter, brother?"

Seeing that Zhang Yu's expression changed a little, Zhang Liao asked.

"Nothing, just thought of something funny."

Zhang Yu couldn't help but raise his lips slightly, and said, "Sir, that's a very good name!"

Young Zhang Liao was a little proud and said, "The title of General Du Liao means to stretch out one's arms across the Liao River. This is what my grandfather wished for."

"Book of Tang·Biography 5": "Zhang Liao, courtesy name Wenyuan, was a native of Mayi, Yanmen. He was a descendant of Nie Yi, but changed his surname to avoid resentment. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the Hu people plundered Yanmen, and many civilians and officials died. When he was young, he became a county official. At first, he scolded the soldiers for stealing herdsmen. Taizu asked for directions, and Liao wanted to follow him."

"Taizu refused and said, 'It is not your business!' Liao said, 'I am an official. It is my responsibility to bring the Hu people to steal horses. Now that you are pursuing them, Liao should follow you.' Taizu encouraged his courage and went with him to pursue them. At that time, Liao was fifteen. Knowing that he was outnumbered, he attacked them from the side and finally captured and killed all the Hu people."

　From now on, there will be one update at 16:21 and one update at :

　　
　
(End of this chapter)