Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 331: Heart-to-heart talk, conquering Longshang

"You must be Yan Yanming of Jincheng. I have heard that you are an outstanding warrior!"

Inside the tent, Zhang Yu looked at the eight-foot-tall, square-faced man and spoke with great interest.

"A defeated general dare not talk about bravery. My humble name is not worth mentioning." Yan Xing bowed to show his humility and said.

Zhang Yu looked up at everyone, waved his hand to signal Zhang Gui and Fan Chou to leave the tent, and said, "Let me talk to Yan Xing, Wenyuan can sort out the military affairs first."

"promise!"

Everyone couldn't help but look at Yan Xing, and then responded in unison.

After everyone left, only Zhang Yu and Yan Xing were left in the tent. Yan Xing didn't know why Zhang Yu asked everyone to leave the tent, and he felt a little frightened, but also a little expectant.

"sit!"

Zhang Yu seemed to notice Yan Xing's discomfort and pointed at the stool and said.

"Thank you, my Lord, for the seat!"

Yan Xing sat stiffly and slightly, ready to ask Zhang Yu questions at any time.

Zhang Yu's lips were dry. He held the kettle and was about to pour himself some water. Suddenly he asked, "Would Yanming like to drink some water?"

"I dare not trouble you, my Lord!"

Yan Xing hurriedly stood up, reached out to take the kettle, poured water for Zhang Yu first, and then poured a glass of water for himself. His series of words and actions were quite appropriate.

After taking a sip of boiled water, Zhang Yu's thirst was relieved. He asked, "Yanming, I have served under Han Wenyue for a long time. Who do you think he is?"

Yan Xing did not know the meaning of Zhang Yu's question, so he chose his words carefully and said, "My Lord, Han Jun has the ability to pacify the Qiang and Di tribes, and his actions and strategies are the best among the people of Liang. However, he has a fickle temperament and is difficult to get close to. Since my hometown is in Jincheng, I will serve him."

After a pause, Yan Xing recommended: "Han Sui's subordinate Cheng Gongying is proficient in both civil and military affairs, has outstanding archery skills, and is well versed in Qiang customs. If you want to make important use of Liang people, you may be able to recommend him."

Yan Xing's evaluation of Han Sui is very cautious. To put it in a positive way, he was afraid that Zhang Yu would worry that Han Sui was loyal to his former master and would not use him in the future; to put it in a negative way, he was afraid that Zhang Yu would doubt his character and would not dare to use him. In addition to the evaluation, Yan Xing recommended the wise men under Han Sui's command, which was a disguised way of expressing his feelings to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said, "I have met Cheng Gong Bo Jie several times. He is indeed quite talented. Now I wonder how talented Yan Ming is?"

"I have some knowledge of cavalry warfare and am familiar with Qiang customs. Now I am willing to serve you to the best of my ability." Yan Xing said with a sincere tone and bowed deeply.

Seeing Yan Xing actively expressing his willingness to serve, Zhang Yu could not help but respond, so he held Yan Xing's arms and said with a smile: "I have heard of Yan Ming's ability for a long time, and I have wanted to select him as a general for a long time. Now I am happy to go to Longyou, and I am happy to have Yan Ming's service.

Zhang Yu paused and said, "You will temporarily lead 3,000 soldiers and horses of our army, and go to Hehuang with General Shi Yi the next day to conquer Jincheng County for me. Your official rank and merit will be rewarded later."

"I am willing to serve you, my lord!"

Zhang Yu patted Yan Xing on the shoulder and said with a smile: "There are so many Di and Hu people in the camp that I dare not sleep peacefully. Please Yan Ming guard the tent for me tonight."

Upon hearing that Zhang Yu wanted him to guard the tent, Yan Xing quickly refused and said, "I have just served you, my lord. How dare I accept such an important task? I am grateful for your love and care for me, but I hope you will think twice about guarding the tent!"

"Ha ha!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yu laughed a few times and said, "Don't employ people you doubt, and don't doubt people you employ. Since Yan Ming is willing to work for me, how can I not trust Yan Ming's intentions?"

Yan Xing was deeply moved, and a warm feeling of trust surged in his heart. He said in a deep voice: "Since the Lord has trusted me, how dare I not serve you!"

"good!"

Yan Xing received Zhang Yu's military order and quickly walked out of the tent.

Outside the big tent, a burly general soon appeared. He was wearing armor and holding a spear, with a serious face. He stood at the entrance of the tent and glanced at the people coming and going outside the tent.

The news that Zhang Yu had appointed the surrendered general Yan Xing to guard the big tent quickly spread in the camp. All the generals were worried, and Gao Shun was the most worried among them. So he went into the big tent to meet Zhang Yu under the pretext of delivering a night meal.

"Your Majesty!"

"Zixun!"

Zhang Yu saw Gao Shun personally delivering the night meal and said with a smile, "Could it be that there is no one in the army who asked Zixun to deliver the meal to me?"

Gao Shun served the night meal and said worriedly: "There are so many talented people in the army, why do you use surrendered people to guard the tent? If the surrendered people cause chaos, you will be in danger. Don't forget the saying that a gentleman does not build a dangerous wall."

"Zixun is worrying too much!"

Zhang Yu waved his hands and said, "Since Yan Xing has surrendered to me, I cannot doubt him. If he cannot guard my tent now, how can he guard the border for the country in the future?"

After a pause, Zhang Yu smiled and explained, "The people of Long have been rebelling against the imperial court for a long time. They have colluded with each other and become friends. It is difficult for them to trust outsiders. If we want to regain control of the people of Long, we must win their trust. That is why I use Yan Xing to guard the account, which is the same as Shang Jun's intention of moving the tree to set up a trust. Yan Xing is not like others. He is willing to surrender to me. If I don't use him now, will I use Han Sui or Fan Chou?"

In addition to helping Yan Xing return to his loyalty, Zhang Yu also intended to use Yan Xing as an example to make all the people of Long submit to him. Why did he choose Yan Xing?
It's nothing more than that Yan Xing showed sincerity after surrendering, and in history Yan Xing was not a die-hard follower of Han Sui.

Gao Shun hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm sorry that I and the other generals don't fully understand your move to gain the trust of the Long people. But letting Yan Xing guard the big tent really makes me and the other generals feel uneasy. I am willing to guard the big tent with Yan Xing to protect your safety."

"Don't doubt people who are suspicious of you, don't be suspicious of people who are employed!"

Zhang Yu waved his hand and said with a smile: "If Zixun is worried, you will be in charge of guarding the camp tonight. You can come to inspect the big tent occasionally."

"promise!"

Seeing Zhang Yu give in, Gao Shun no longer insisted, but planned to pay more attention to Yan Xing tonight.

When Gao Shun left, Zhang Yu was exhausted both physically and mentally, so he washed up briefly and lay down on the fur bed.

That night, Yan Xing did not sleep a wink in order to live up to Zhang Yu's expectations. Gao Shun was worried about riots, so he led his troops to patrol the big tent several times.

When the surrendered people learned that Zhang Yu had chosen the surrendered general Yan Xing to guard the big tent, they all respected Zhang Yu for his broad-mindedness.

In the side tent, Fan Chou, who was worried about being punished by Zhang Yuqiu in the future, was completely relieved. He said to his subordinates, "Lord Zhang is sincere and honest. You and I don't need to worry about the past!"

Tonight, not only Fan Chou and his followers marveled at Zhang Yu's broad-mindedness, but even the surrendered Di generals such as Zhang Gui, Han Sui, and Cheng Gongying all admired Zhang Yu's sincerity and trust in his employees.

Han Sui said to Cheng Gongying with emotion: "Although Zhang Hou is young, less than 30 years old, he has the demeanor of the two ancestors Gao and Shi. Zhang Hou can rule Shanxi not by force, but by winning the hearts of the people."

Cheng Gongying remained silent. Zhang Yu's generosity and sincerity were truly touching. If he had not already recognized Han Sui as his master, he would probably have been convinced by Zhang Yu. It was a real pleasure to serve under such a hero.

What Han Sui and Cheng Gongying thought and said were not exaggerations. We must know that human hearts are unpredictable, especially in battle, where "surrendered troops will be suspicious." Now they broke the convention and trusted the surrendered generals to guard the big tent. Even if it was for political purposes, the people of Long were still convinced.

Zhang Yu didn't care about the complicated emotions of the people in the camp. He slept soundly tonight, and perhaps because he was too tired, his snoring filled the tent. Yan Xing heard the snoring outside the tent and knew that Zhang Yu had completely entrusted his safety to him, and he was grateful in his heart.

Zhang Yu slept until dawn, and even for the first time in his life he did not get up early. Instead, he slept until noon, a full six hours, before waking up from a sweet dream.

"Yan Ming!"

"Your Majesty!"

Yan Xing, who had not slept all night, heard Zhang Yu's call and hurried into the big tent. Zhang Liao, Shi Yi, Xu Chu and other generals squeezed into the big tent with Yan Xing, fearing that Zhang Yu in the tent was in danger.

Zhang Yu put on his outer robe and saw the people who had been waiting outside the tent rushing into the tent. He smiled and said, "What time is it now? You have no military affairs to attend to!"

"My Lord, it is now Si hour!"

Zhang Liao replied, "I and the other generals have already taken care of the military affairs and wanted to present them to you for your approval. But seeing that you were sleeping peacefully in the tent, we dared not let General Yan disturb you."

Zhang Yu rubbed his eyes and said, "I didn't dare to rest a few days ago because of military reasons. Now that we have defeated the bandits and captured their leader, I have nothing to worry about. I was so eager to sleep that I fell asleep without knowing the time. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time!"

"I take your own health as my priority!"

Zhang Liao was the second most important person in the army. He asked on behalf of everyone: "Sir, although we have defeated Han Sui and killed Song Jian, Ma Teng's troops are still there. I wonder if you want to attack them or appease them?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Although Ma Teng is a vassal of Longshang, he has no intention of resisting. Now I will send Guo Tu as an envoy to meet Ma Teng with my imperial seal and persuade him to surrender. The same goes for Yang Qianwan. First, we will try to persuade him to surrender. If he refuses to surrender, we will send troops to conquer him."

"Shiyi, Yanxing, you two will lead 5,000 soldiers to Jincheng in the north for me, persuade the counties of Jincheng and Yuzhong to surrender, and pacify the Qiang people in Hehuang in the north."

Yan Xing said, "Sir, there are two powerful families named Guo and Qu on the Huangshui River in Jincheng County. Since the rebellion in Longyou, the two families have ruled the counties along the Huangshui River. Although Han Wenyue controls Jincheng, he also respects the two families. It is easy for you to pacify the Yellow River, but it is not easy to pacify the Huangshui River!"

Yuan Shao's general Qu Yi was from the Qu family of Jincheng. Because the Qu family had been dealing with the Qiang people for many years, there were many Qiang and Di tribes in the family. There were thousands of children and all of them were good at archery and horse riding, and were proficient in fighting against cavalry. The Guo family was in the same situation as the Qu family, but they were stronger.

Historically, due to the complicated situation of Huangshui River, Cao Wei divided Jincheng County to set up Xiping County. When Cao Wei was established, Cao Rui favored the daughter of Guo, so he made her his lady. Through the two emperors Cao Mao and Cao Huan, she was a staunch ally of Sima in politics.

Zhang Yu pondered for a long time and said, "After you two go to Jincheng and Yuzhong, send someone to take my letter to the Guo and Qu clans and invite the elders of the two clans to Ji County. If the elders of the two clans refuse to comply, I will send troops to attack them."

"The last general takes command!"

"Also send a message to Yu Man Chong. If Ma Teng leads his troops to surrender, order him to lead his troops westward along the Wei River to conquer Longxi County. Order Zhang Ze to supervise the transportation of food and fodder for the troops and make sure to wipe out the remnants of Song Jian." Zhang Yu ordered.

"As ordered!"

"What about our troops?" asked Zhang Liao.

"Zhang Ji will leave his troops in Xingguo temporarily to wipe out the Qiang and Di tribes that are not following the Changli and Zuli rivers. The rest of the troops will be withdrawn to Ji County to rest and regroup. When the counties in Longyou surrender, they will return to Hedong." Zhang Yu said, "And send someone to report the victory back to Hedong to make the officials happy."

"promise!"

ps: I missed one update last night, so I’ll make up for it tonight, so there are still two updates!
(End of this chapter)