Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 367: The Manifesto is as Sharp as an Arrow, a Strong-willed Woman

"To the Prime Minister of Bing, You and Yong Prefectures: Since the time of Emperor Huang and Emperor Xi, there have been relations between the ruler and his subjects. Civilization is used to educate the people, and punishment is used to prevent violence. Zhang Ji'an, the governor of Yong Prefecture, was originally from Taiyuan Prefecture. His ancestors were defiled, exiled to the north, and associated with the Hu people. He has been humiliated to this day. He is a descendant of the Xianbei, a hybrid of the Han and the Hu people, and he prides himself on being a Han child..."

"I was once a lieutenant of the imperial army. When the country was in danger, Dong Zhuo took up residence in Luoyang. Yu was obsessed with evil and could not do what was right. He persecuted the officials in Shangdang and Taiyuan, and made it impossible to defeat Dong Zhuo. This was Yu's first crime!"

……

"When he was the governor of Bingzhou, he was afraid that the former prime minister Wang Yun would seize power, so he watched the rebellion of Li Jue and Zhang Ji spread to the capital. He also pretended to welcome the emperor to move east to separate the capital and set up Yongzhou, cut off the channels of speech, arrested and killed people at will, took in the remnants of the rebellious party in the western border, and forced He's widow to be his concubine. These are the four crimes of Yu!"

"Yu raised troops for ten years, without caring about the national crisis, and expanded his own territory, using up most of his resources for unimportant matters. He exploited the rich, tortured and extorted money from them, and the people groaned and complained bitterly. These were Yu's five sins."

……

"Yu Yu secretly occupied the empty position, forged imperial edicts, carved seals, and issued documents, claiming to be the emperor without waiting for the emperor to report. His intention to usurp the throne is obvious to everyone. Yu's seventh crime is this!"

"The army passed through the Dangxi Mountain and slaughtered all the left schools. They all surrendered and fought to climb the mountain. Dogs and sheep were disabled and disappeared in the mountains and valleys. The Yu army was frightened and fled day and night. They camped in Huguan and blocked the mountain to make it a dangerous place. They wanted to use the axe of the mantis to block the tunnel of the chariot. The shogunate followed the power of the Han Dynasty and fought against the universe. A million long spears and thousands of Hu cavalry were mobilized. The soldiers of Huang Yuhuo were mobilized with good bows and strong crossbows. They were about to cross Taihang Mountain and attack Bing."

……

"The four states of Ji, Yan, Xu, and Qing will advance together today. When the letter arrives, Wuhuan will mobilize their troops and join forces with Gongsun Bogui. All states and counties will mobilize their troops and horses, and will march across the borders to show off their power and build extraordinary achievements. Whoever captures the head of Yu will be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households and rewarded with 100 million yuan. Those who surrender will not be questioned. Widely publicize the grace and trust, and announce the rewards to the whole world~."

“The article is brilliant!”

Zhang Yu could not help but admire him and said, "Chen Kongzhang is extremely talented. There are few people in the world who can match him. Now I read his articles and my mind is clear."

Chen Lin's writing style is vicious. He started by cursing Zhang Yu's ancestors, slandering Zhang Yu for having Hu blood, and even used the style of the Spring and Autumn Annals to fabricate Zhang Yu's crimes. If someone does not understand the depth of the text, they will undoubtedly believe Chen Lin's words and think that Zhang Yu is cunning and vicious.

Of course, Zhang Yu did not deny that his methods were despicable, but knowing it himself is one thing and having it publicized is another.

Seeing that Zhang Yu was insulted, he was not angry but praised Chen Lin's manifesto. All the civil and military officials had doubts.

"Chen Lin slandered you, Lord. Why are you not angry but happy instead?" Xu Chu asked.

"Why are you angry?"

Zhang Yu put down the letter and laughed loudly, "The letter is vicious, but what can it do to me? Besides, I can see from the letter that Yuan Shao is afraid of me."

"Whoever gets my head will be made a marquis of ten thousand households and rewarded with 100 million coins. Who in ancient and modern times can compare with me?"

Zhang Yu said to his attendants with a smile, "When Xiang Yu died, the five marquises divided his body, leaving less than 8,000 households. But Yuan Shao offered a reward of 10,000 households, which shows that Yuan Shao is deeply worried about me!"

"Your Excellency, be careful with your words!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's ominous words, Guo Tu said worriedly: "Now the two armies are fighting, and you are the commander of an army, how can you talk about life and death lightly!"

In fact, Yuan Shao's civil and military officials were worried about Shanxi. How could the people of Shanxi not be troubled by the ruler and ministers of Hebei?
Although this battle was crucial for Zhang and Yuan to conquer the world, neither side was sure of victory, and Zhang Yu's statement just now was nothing more than an attempt to show that he was full of confidence.

After all, the general is the courage of the soldiers, and the king is the courage of his subjects. If the king is timid and afraid of things, how can he expect his subjects to fight bravely?

"Yuan Shao claims to have raised 400,000 troops. In my humble opinion, Yuan Shao is just boasting." Zhong Yao said to everyone in the hall, "Yuan Shao claims to have four states, but he actually owns only Qing and Ji states. After the Yellow Turbans' rampage and the conquests of other heroes, Qing state was in decline, with only one in ten remaining. Ji state is prosperous, but judging from its registered households, there are less than 300,000 households. Therefore, Yuan Shao can use 100,000 troops and horses, but falsely claim to have 400,000."

Du Ji, who seldom spoke, analyzed the advantages and disadvantages and said, "Yuan Shao has been raising troops repeatedly. Last year, he attacked Zang Hong and besieged the city for several months before finally taking Dongjun. In autumn and winter, he attacked Tao Shang and fought for months, but only took Donghai. Yuan Shao's soldiers were tired and his people were exhausted, while our army had rested for a year. This is called waiting for the tired army to tire out. This is why our army defeated Yuan Shao."

"Of course!"

Xun You said: "Zhang Yan's Black Mountain can fight with 10,000 soldiers; Liu He's Youzhou can use tens of thousands of soldiers. If our army sends out more than 60,000 soldiers, the number of soldiers may be less than Yuan Shao's, but if the Black Mountain and Youzhou armies are combined, the number of the two is similar. However, if we look at the elite soldiers in Hebei, Yuan Shao is inferior to you!"

"You all have great ideas, which are very much to my liking!"

Zhang Yu paced with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "To be honest, I originally wanted to attack Yuan Shao first, but now it is Yuan Shao who attacks me first. It seems that Yuan Shao has a strategy to defeat me."

Zhang Yu had not discussed the time of sending troops with Yuan Shao. Compared with Zhang Yu who wanted to send troops after spring, Yuan Shao was much earlier in time. He issued a letter in early February, preparing to take the initiative against Zhang Yu. Taking the initiative means that the one who sends troops first will be able to seize the initiative. If the enemy is not well prepared, it is possible to gain something.

"Sir, now that Yuan Shao has raised an army of 100,000, should we change our deployment?" Zhong Yao asked. Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "We will continue with the original plan and dispatch the army in March. We will send scouts to investigate Yuan Shao's movements and strictly guard Shangdang and Henei counties to see if it is necessary to deploy troops in advance."

Zhang Yu then ordered, "Pass on my military order to mobilize the eleven armies of Huguo, Xi'an, Xihe, Heyang, Gaoping, Yunzhong, Hezhong, Xianyang, Pinglong, Tianshui, and Fengxiang, totaling 65,000 men. Now let all the troops gather so that they can be ready to go at any time."

"As ordered!"

Xun You stroked his beard and thought, then said, "Sir, Yuan Shao would not mobilize a large army without a reason. The road to Shangdang is steep and difficult for a large army to conquer. And looking at the situation in Bing and You, Zhang Yan and Liu He are your wings. Yuan Shao may do the easy thing first and then the difficult one, first attack Zhang Yan in Heishan, and then confront you, so as to prevent Zhang Yan from plundering Zhao and Wei."

Zhang Yu seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Order the troops of Hao Zhao and Li Song to gather and station in Taiyuan and Shangdang respectively, to serve as the vanguard."

"promise!"

Compared with Yuan Shao's factional disputes and conflicts over the succession to the throne, Zhang Yu's civil and military affairs were relatively stable. Even though there were disputes and conflicts, they did not develop into factional strife, so they were able to work together.

When Zhang Yu returned to the back house from the front hall, he saw Wang Ji with a worried look on his face, and his newly born son was taken away by a maid.

"Why do you look like that, madam?" Zhang Yu asked puzzledly.

Wang Ji pointed at the manifesto on the table and asked worriedly, "Is Yuan Shao sending an army of 400,000 to attack my husband?"

Zhang Yu looked at the letter and said, "Yuan Shao is just bluffing. How can he have an army of 400,000? According to my and yours, Yuan Shao may only have 100,000 soldiers."

"How many troops does my husband want to send out?" Wang Ji asked.

"Sixty thousand infantry and cavalry!"

Wang Ji frowned and asked, "Only half of Yuan Shao's troops?"

"more than!"

In order to reassure Wang Ji, Zhang Yu lied and said, "Lü Bu leads 10,000 people from Yanzhou, Zhang Yan leads 10,000 people from Black Mountain, and Liu He has 30,000 soldiers from Youzhou. Now I am leading an army of 110,000 to fight against Yuan Shao's army of 100,000."

"Don't lie to me!"

Wang Ji exposed the lie and said, "Yuan Shao's second son Yuan Xi is the governor of Yanzhou and controls the strategic point of Heji. How can Lu Bu's troops reach Hebei? Besides, you have Zhang Yan and Liu He as your helpers, and Yuan Shao also has Wuhuan and Gongsun Zan as his support. You are clearly using 60,000 to 70,000 troops to fight against Yuan Shao's 100,000 troops."

Zhang Yu sat down beside Wang Ji, holding his wife's hand, and said to her in a soothing tone, "There are eight powerful armies in the world, and now seven of them are in my hands. Yuan Shao only has the Wuhuan cavalry. Most of his 100,000 infantry and cavalry are butchers, peddlers, and are just for show. Even if they are well-armored, they are not the tigers and wolves under my command. I hope my wife will not worry."

Wang Ji looked at Zhang Yu with her beautiful eyes and said, "This battle is not only about the success or failure of Hebei, but also about the lives of my family. I dare not hope that my husband can win a great victory, I just hope that my husband can return safely."

As she spoke, Wang Ji's tone gradually became sad, and she said: "If my husband cannot return, I will kill the family members who have lived in the house before, so that they will not be violated by the rebels, or there will be people who betray their loyalty and join the bandits."

"Why do you say that, ma'am?"

Perhaps he did not expect Wang Ji to be so resolute, Zhang Yu was shocked and said: "We will fight with the enemy soon, and Madam said such an ominous thing. I am not afraid of Yuan Shao, but now I am afraid that Madam will say such sad words."

After a pause, Zhang Yu held Wang Ji's hand tightly and assured him, "Don't worry, Madam Lao. Even if we cannot defeat Yuan Shao in this battle, I can still preserve Shanxi. Shanxi is a well-protected place. Tongguan and Taixing are strategically located in Hebei. In the past, Emperor Gaozu defeated Xiang Yu several times, and was able to win at Gaixia thanks to the terrain of Shanxi."

"Besides, I promised my wife that I would make you my queen and rule the world with me. How could I go back on my word now?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's big reaction, Wang Ji realized that he had spoken out of turn and said, "My husband has fought so many battles so far and has never been defeated. I am just talking nonsense!"

In order to change the subject, Wang Ji said: "I just saw that the two girls of Cai and Yin were not married for the first time. They were widows and could not keep their chastity for their ex-husbands. Now I am afraid that the two girls will be captured by the enemy and do things that will humiliate their husbands in order to survive."

Zhang Yu put his arm around Wang Ji's shoulders and sighed, "In troubled times, it's hard enough to survive, and it's even harder to ask someone to remain faithful to you!"

"If I lose to Yuan Shao, most of my civil and military officials will probably surrender to Yuan. There are only a few who are loyal to me, including Generals Gao, Xu, and Zhang, so I can't force them!"

(End of this chapter)