Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 321: Surrender
Since Shi Yi was sent by Zhang Yu to attack the grain road, in order to successfully plunder grain and grass, he led 2,000 Hu cavalry to detour from the north, first as far as Fanxu Road, rested for several days in Ayang (now Ningjing County), ensured to avoid the scouts of Han Sui and Song Jian, and then headed west.

After crossing mountains and ridges for more than 600 miles, they finally reached the Huachuan River Basin. When they arrived at the Huachuan River Basin, Shi Yi sent scouts to investigate and found out that the food from Jincheng would be supplied to the Lueyang front through Pingxiang. When Shi Yi arrived, the military food had just been transported away.

Therefore, in order to successfully burn and plunder grain and grass, Shi Yi explored the terrain and designed a military strategy. In August, when Yang Kui was ordered to transport grain, Shi Yi followed the old strategy and used the old and weak to provoke Yang Kui and lure Yang Kui to lead his troops to pursue.

Yang Kui was eager for merit, and when he pursued for several miles, he was ambushed by Shi Yi on the way. Shi Yi led his troops to kill Yang Kui, defeated his troops, burned the food that could not be carried, and distributed some of the military food to the people in Pingxiang City. After Yang Kui was beheaded, seeing that there was no large army stationed in Pingxiang, Shi Yi led his troops into Pingxiang, and only then did he control the Huachuan River and cut off the food route from Jincheng to Lueyang.

As the news of Shiyi's occupation of Pingxiang spread, shortly after Zhang Yu learned about it, the generals in Longshang soon received news that food and grass had been burned and the food supply route had been cut off, which shocked everyone.

Inside the big tent, Song Jian was scowling, pacing around with his hands behind his back, complaining, "Zhang Yu is well versed in military tactics. He first led his troops to open up the Qingshui Canal, and now he has sent his generals to rob Pingxiang. Our army is controlled by Zhang Yu everywhere. Now that the food supply is cut off, if we don't discuss countermeasures soon, when the army runs out of food, our army may be defeated by Zhang Yu."

"Yes!"

Cheng Yi said helplessly: "Zhang Yu is holding on and may wait until today. There is not much food and grass now, our army needs to find another strategy to repel the enemy, or lead troops to encircle Pingxiang to relieve the siege, or retreat to Jincheng County for refuge. Our army is slow to act and cannot predict Zhang Yu's military moves, so the army may be in deep danger!"

Seeing that there were many complaints from people in the tent, Commander Han Sui looked gloomy and felt very upset.

Seeing Han Sui's grim expression, Fan Chou asked, "General Han, the army has only enough food and grass to last for more than a month. I wonder if you can send a letter to Yuan Shao and ask him to send troops to Anyi to help our army out of the difficulty it is in now."

"I'm afraid it will be difficult!"

Yan Xingyou was concerned about the situation in the Central Plains and said, "I heard that Yuan Shao is marching south to Yanzhou and fighting against Lu Bu and Zhang Miao of Yanzhou, and Yuan Shu is supporting him in Yuzhou. I am afraid that Yuan Shao will not have enough strength to march west to Anyi."

Han Sui hesitated for a moment and said, "We are just sending envoys eastward. All the counties along the way are under the jurisdiction of Zhang Yu. I don't know how long it will take to send a letter asking for help to Yuan Shao. I am also afraid that the letter will be intercepted by the counties!"

"What about the view on literary simplicity?" Song Jian asked.

Han Sui looked at the people in the tent and said tentatively, "I have thought deeply about this. Zhang Yu has strong soldiers and horses, and abundant food and grass. But our army's food supply is cut off, and the situation is not favorable to our army. Therefore, I want to send an envoy to Zhang Yu to ask for peace, cede land, and send hostages to show submission, so as to induce Zhang Yu to withdraw his troops and return east. I wonder what you think?"

"Which land do you want to cede?" Cheng Yi asked.

Han Sui said: "Our army will retain the two counties of Longxi and Jincheng, and cede Hanyang County to Zhang Yu."

Song Jian paced and thought, and said, "I can send an envoy to Zhang Yu to ask for surrender, but I call myself the King of Heshou Pinghan, and I am afraid Zhang Yu will not tolerate me!"

"Now that things have come to this, why don't you give up your title as king and submit a letter of surrender to Zhang Yu?" Han Sui said earnestly.

Han Sui naturally looked down on Song Jian's claim to be king. He had only occupied a small amount of land, but he dared to call himself king. If the situation was not critical and Zhang Yu had not raised an army to invade, he would never have contacted Song Jian.

"to make!"

Song Jian was reluctant to give up the title of king, but considering the situation was against him, he had no choice but to agree to Han Sui's request.

"Mr. Han, what should we do if Zhang Yu does not agree to our surrender?" Cheng Yi asked.

Hearing this, Han Sui narrowed his eyes and said, "Longyou is full of ravines and the distances between the counties are long. If Zhang Yu does not accept our army's surrender, you and I can return to Jincheng in the north."

"Jincheng is as solid as a rock. It is more than a thousand miles away from Ji County, and it is difficult to supply food and grass. The people along the way are in dire straits, which is different from the situation in Hanyang. If Zhang Yu travels a thousand miles to attack us, you and I will follow the old strategy and plunder Zhang Yu's food supply route, so that Zhang Yu will be short of food and defeated."

It was previously said that when Han Sui defeated the armies of Zhang Wen and Dong Zhuo, he lured the two generals deep into Jincheng, then used Yuzhong as the vanguard and dispatched cavalry to rob the army's food supply, ultimately leading to a defeat before victory.

Therefore, for Han Sui, if Zhang Yu did not accept his and everyone's surrender, he would not mind leading his army to withdraw to Jincheng, fight another battle to defend Jincheng, and use the strategic depth to wear down Zhang Yu. After all, it was almost September, and winter would soon arrive, and the winter in Longyou should not be underestimated.

In fact, for Han Sui, he had two lines of defense. The first was the danger of Longshan Mountain, and the second was the distance of Jincheng. These two geographical lines of defense were the basis of his struggle with famous Han Dynasty generals such as Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo.

"Bojie, you will serve as my envoy today and submit a petition for surrender to Zhang Yu!"

Han Sui glanced at everyone and saw that only Cheng Gongying was knowledgeable and knowledgeable, so he named him.

"promise!"

Not to mention that because Shi Yi attacked and occupied Pingxiang, the rebels in Longshang were in panic. Under Han Sui's persuasion, the generals sent Cheng Gongying as an envoy to visit Zhang Yu and request to surrender.

Qin Ting, inside the big tent.

Zhang Yu sat on a stool, and Jia Xu, Xun You, Zhang Liao and other civil and military officials sat in the hall. Cheng Gongying entered the tent with the help of his attendants, greeted Zhang Yu first, and then presented him with a gift. Perhaps because Zhang Yu was less than 30 years old and had already ruled Shanxi at such a young age, Cheng Gongying could not help but look at him a few more times, secretly sighing that Zhang Yu was heroic and extraordinary.

"Han Sui sent you here, but I wonder why?" Zhang Yu asked.

"General, General Han has no intention of confronting you. He is willing to cede land in exchange for peace, send a hostage, and be obedient to you," Cheng Gongying said respectfully.

"Cede the land?"

Zhang Yu gradually became interested and asked, "I wonder what land the Han ruler wants to cede?"

"Hanyang County!"

Cheng Gongying said: "If you are willing to accept the surrender of our generals in Longshang, General Han will stay in Jincheng from now on to pacify the Qiang people for you, so that the Qiang tribes will surrender and connect with the counties in Hexi; Song Jian will give up his title of king and present a letter of apology to you, and then he will sit on the side of the Western Rong and will not rebel again; and Ma Teng will retreat to Didao and ask to be appointed as a general to pacify the Qiang and Di tribes and not plunder Hanyang."

Zhang Yu shook his head and smiled, saying: "Your army's food supply has been cut off, and Hanyang County has almost fallen into our hands. Since you have surrendered, your sincerity is not enough!"

Cheng Gongying thought for a while and said, "Our army can cede the counties and towns east of Didao, and the generals can only live in the remote Qiang areas. I wonder what you think?"

Zhang Yu shook his head to show his dissatisfaction. It was obvious that Cheng Gongying's conditions did not satisfy him.

Seeing this, Cheng Gongying felt a little depressed and said, "I wonder how much land you want before you allow our army to surrender?"

Zhang Yu showed his white teeth and said, "Unless General Han can cede Longxi and Jincheng counties to me, I will never withdraw my troops!"

Hearing this, Cheng Gongying's face suddenly changed, and he said, "Your Excellency's words are harsh, how can the generals agree to them? Your Excellency, please don't bully us because we don't have any soldiers. Besides, Jincheng is a thousand miles away. I wonder if your Excellency's army has enough food with the heavy snow blocking the road?"

Now that he has control over the battlefield situation, how could Zhang Yu be content to just eat a little meat? He must completely subdue Longyou. Otherwise, when he withdraws his troops to Hedong, Han Sui, Song Jian, Ma Teng and other Longyou rebels will make a comeback.

Zhang Yu placed the memorial on the table and said in a deep voice, "Tell Han Sui that the men of Shuofang are not afraid of wind and snow. If he wants to surrender, he can offer the city and hand over his troops, and I can guarantee him wealth and honor for life."

"As for Song Jian, since he calls himself the King of Heshou Pinghan, I will hang his head at the head of the river to warn future generations!" Zhang Yu stood up from his stool and looked at Cheng Gongying in front of him.

Whether out of fear or admiration for Zhang Yu's courage, Cheng Gongying fell silent. After a while, he bowed and said, "I will convey your intention to General Han."

"I'd like to see you again!" Zhang Yu waved his hand to signal the attendants to let him go, and said with a smile.

After Cheng Gongying left, Zhang Yu looked at everyone and said, "Han Sui has sent an envoy to surrender. It is known that his army is short of food and has no intention of fighting. Do you have any strategy to teach me how to defeat the enemy?"

"Wenhe is familiar with Han Sui. Can he give him advice?" Zhang Yu called out.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and chanted, then he asked, "My Lord, do you remember what I said when I defeated the generals in Longshan?"

Zhang Yu recalled the past and asked carefully, "Is it a plan to sow discord?"

At that time, Zhang Yu was about to go to Longyou, and he discussed with Jia Xu the strategy of defeating the enemy. Jia Xu believed that the generals of Longyou united because of the situation, and if he could make the generals of Longyou in danger during the continuous confrontation and fighting, then the generals would leave.

"Of course!"

Jia Xu laughed and said, "Han Sui, Ma Teng, and Song Jian joined together because they were afraid that you would attack Long. Now the enemy is short of food and grass, Han Sui wants to withdraw, and Song Jian is someone you must kill. If you don't use a plan to leave, it will be a pity!"

Zhang Yu thought of Jia Xu's actions in history and said with a smile, "In that case, I'll ask you to write a letter to Han Sui to separate him from Song Jian."

"It's not just that!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu understood his strategy immediately, Jia Xu couldn't help but be amazed.

After a pause, Jia Xu added, "Ma Teng is stationed in Weinan and is leading the army alone. Why don't you send an envoy to recruit him, saying that you have negotiated the terms of surrender with Han Sui, so that Ma Teng will be suspicious and doubtful. When you defeat Han Sui, Ma Teng will see the danger and will lead his army to surrender. If Ma Teng surrenders, Longxi will be pacified. It's just that Jincheng is far away and difficult to secure, so I'm afraid you will need to attack it in the future!"

Zhang Yu paced back and forth, holding his sword, and said, "Since we have defeated the enemy, we should complete the task in one battle. If Han Sui escapes to Jincheng and invites the Qiang people to cause chaos, then Longyou will not be at peace again!"

(End of this chapter)