Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 429 Insulting a General, Kill Him

Summer, the Yellow River in the Gaotang section.

The Yellow River roared, and soldiers on both the north and south banks of Gaotang stood in their camps facing each other. The soldiers on the north bank had higher morale and better equipment than Yuan's army on the south bank, with almost every soldier wearing armor.

In the Black Mountain army camp, Zhang Yu, led by Zhang Yan, inspected the camp and asked, "How is the morale of the army today?"

"The soldiers' morale is high!"

Zhang Yan followed closely and said, “Since the fall of Jizhou, the tribes of Heishan have successively descended the mountain and moved to the plains to live and cultivate fertile fields. Every soldier in the army has fertile land to cultivate, how can they not be happy? Moreover, Your Excellency is generous, pardoning the soldiers from taxes and providing them with military pay, so everyone is wholeheartedly serving Your Excellency.”

Before and after Zhang Yu surrendered Ji Province, a series of changes occurred. For example, Shang'ai County, which Zhang Yu had previously relied on as his base of support among the Black Mountain army and civilians, was officially established, with Ge Hong, a confidant of Zhang Yan, serving as its governor.

Because fertile river valleys are scarce in the Taihang Mountains, many of the Black Mountain soldiers and civilians live in barren valleys. In order to better control the Black Mountain people, Zhang Yu specifically ordered that they be allowed to move down the mountain to Changshan County, and that land be distributed to each household. Thus, the Black Mountain soldiers and civilians were divided, with the majority living in Shang'ai County and a portion living in Changshan County.

"That's good!"

Zhang Yu laughed and said, "When I raised an army to conquer the world, all the soldiers under my command contributed their efforts. How can you and I benefit while the soldiers live in hunger and cold?"

"Your Excellency is truly righteous!" Zhang Yan exclaimed with admiration.

As his troops grew in number and their composition became increasingly complex, Zhang Yuyuan never mentioned that they included former subordinates of Dong Zhuo, rebels from Liangzhou, the Black Mountain Army, and soldiers from Youzhou and Jizhou—a truly diverse mix.

In order to prevent surrendered generals from developing any dissent, Zhang Yu frequently inspected non-direct-line troops to monitor the movements of various units. Now, he paid special attention to the surrendered people from Ji Province and the soldiers of the Black Mountain Army.

After surveying the area and learning that a military report had been delivered, Zhang Yu returned to his main tent.

Inside the main tent, when the staff saw Zhang Yu, they rose and bowed to greet him, led by Xun You and Guo Tu.

"There is a military report, but I don't know where it is from?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Li Song and Meng Ningzhi were ordered to attack Dongjun. After being persuaded to surrender by Xin Ping, Li Song sent Jiao Chu to surrender the counties of Dongjun and Hebei. Yuan Xi originally intended to cross the river at Cangting, but now he is afraid to flee to Dong'e and wants to rely on the strong city to defend it in order to defeat our half-crossing army," Xun You reported.

Zhang Yu smiled with satisfaction and said, "Dongwuyang is a fortified city. If Jiao Chu intends to hold it, it will take several months to take it. Now, Jiao Chu is hereby granted the title of Marquis and will be temporarily at the disposal of Li Song."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu perused the letters and asked, "Has Li Song submitted a report on the military strategy?"

"Have!"

Xun You said, "Li Song sent Meng Ning westward, intending to cross the river at Liyang, first take Baima and Puyang, and then contact Lü Bu to jointly besiege Yuan Xi at Dong'e. If we can capture and kill Yuan Xi, then the counties of Jibei, Jiyin, and Dongping will surrender on their own."

"If Meng Ningzhi crosses the river at Liyang, and Zhang Miao of Chenliu sends troops to cut off his retreat, what should we do?" Zhang Yu frowned and asked, "Send a message to Li Song, telling him to be wary of Zhang Miao and not to rush into battle. If Yuan Shu's army comes to our aid, we can retreat slightly and hold Liyang and the river crossings in Hebei."

"promise!"

Li Song's military tactics remained too aggressive, with an ambition to wipe out Yuan Xi in one fell swoop—a cardinal sin in warfare. This forced Zhang Yu to reprimand him to prevent further defeats. However, if Li Song proved incompetent, Zhang Yu would have no choice but to leave him to guard the home front.

"My lord, shall we send a military supervisor to the army to assist General Li?" Guo Tu suggested.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and then said, "Then Gongze will lead the westward expedition on my behalf, while you will serve as the military commander, assisting General Li and offering him advice and strategies!"

"Leader!"

When Zhang Yu called out his name, Guo Tu didn't hesitate and stood up to accept the order.

"Do you have any intelligence on Zhang Liao's army?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Zhang Liao has led 20,000 troops to besiege Nanpi City. Yuan Shao has ordered his eldest son, Yuan Tan, to go to its rescue, but the battle is still undecided!" Xun You said.

Zhang Yu frowned slightly, then turned to look at Ju Shou and asked, "What do you think of Yuan Tan, sir?"

Since his capture, Ju Shou had never surrendered to Zhang Yu. When the campaign against Yuan Shao was launched, Ju Shou feigned illness and refused to go. Zhang Yu, however, hoped Ju Shou would surrender, so he forcibly brought Ju Shou along.

Ju Shou remained calm and said indifferently, "Young Master Yuan is a brilliant strategist. Although Zhang Liao has many troops, he will still be defeated by Young Master Yuan."

As he spoke, Ju Shou glanced at Zhang Yu and said coldly, "Your Excellency has been waging war year after year, yet you have not thought of pacifying Ji Province. How dare you resort to force?"

Zhang Yu stared coldly at Ju Shou and said, "I spared your life, sir, yet you show no gratitude and now deliberately spout nonsense. What are your intentions?"

Ju Shou snorted coldly and said, "I have no need for you to spare my life, my lord. A true man fears neither death nor life!"

"Gongyu!"

Seeing Ju Shou's stubbornness, Tian Feng said, "A ruler chooses his ministers, and a minister chooses his ruler. Yuan Shao is not a wise ruler, so why should you be loyal to him?"

Ju Shou, his neck stiff, said, "Lord Yuan has wronged you, but he has not wronged me. To betray one's lord in battle, to follow the example of Zhang He, I will die with my eyes open in disgrace!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang He's face flushed red, and he wished he could disappear into the ground if there were a crack in it.

Zhang Yu squinted and stared intently for a long time before waving his hand and saying, "Bring Ju Shou down and then strangle him."

"promise!"

Xu Chu excitedly stepped forward and led his men to subdue Ju Shou. He had disliked Ju Shou for a long time. Ju Shou was clearly a surrendered person, yet he acted aloof. If he had the guts, he should have committed suicide instead of making such a fuss. Now that Zhang Yu had given the order, Xu Chu naturally had to take matters into his own hands.

"My lord!"

Seeing that Zhang Yu intended to kill Ju Shou, Tian Feng bowed and said, "Ju Shou has a long-standing reputation for virtue in Hebei. Your Excellency, why not spare his life and exile him to a border region?" Zhang Yu helped Tian Feng up and said, "I know that Ju Shou saved your life, sir, so I spared his life before out of respect for you. Now Ju Shou is ungrateful and slanders your general. If I were to pardon an outsider, wouldn't it chill my heart?"

"This~"

Tian Feng was speechless for a moment, then glanced at Zhang He in secret and had no choice but to retreat.

Zhang Yu could tolerate Ju Shou's unwillingness to serve him. However, he could not tolerate Ju Shou's nonsensical remarks, first falsely claiming Zhang Liao's defeat and then slandering Zhang He. If he didn't kill Ju Shou, wouldn't that make things difficult for Zhang He?

Besides, those who cannot be used by him and are constantly causing trouble, so killing them is fine, why should it be a pity?

Zhang Yu walked to Zhang He's side, pressed down on Zhang He who was about to get up, and said, "When Emperor Gaozu was vying for supremacy with Xiang Yu, Han Xin and Chen Ping, because Xiang Yu did not give them important positions, went to join Emperor Gaozu and achieved great success. Now, General, you have joined me, just like Chen and Han!"

"Thank you, Lord!"

A warm feeling welled up in his heart, and Zhang He bowed sincerely.

A short while later, Xu Chu entered the tent excitedly and asked, "Ju Shou has been strangled to death. What should be done with his body?"

"Yuan Hao?"

Regarding the disposal of Ju Shou's body, Zhang Yu was still willing to do Tian Feng a favor.

Tian Feng looked bitter and said, "You and Yuan Shao were loyal to the Duke. Now, Your Excellency is magnanimous. I hope you can hand over your body to Yuan Shao to fulfill your wishes."

"allow!"

Zhang Yu said, "Hand over Ju Shou's body to Yuan Shao to honor Ju Shou's loyalty and righteousness!"

"promise!"

"Thank you, Lord!"

Tian Feng cupped his hands and said, "Yuan Tan is not a famous general, only somewhat clever. With General Zhang Liao's abilities, I believe he can withstand him. If you are worried, you may write a letter to remind him."

"Let's agree with your opinion, sir!"

After speaking for a short while, Hao Zhao rose from his stool, cupped his hands, and said, "The Yellow River is wide, and it is not easy for the army to cross it. I am willing to take this opportunity to cross the river and build a camp on the south bank so that the army can cross."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow and said, "It is already difficult to cross the river and form ranks, let alone build camps on the riverbank. Bo Dao's courage is commendable, but I fear that it will only result in the loss of soldiers' lives and the failure to accomplish anything."

Hao Zhao solemnly said, "Your Excellency has been confronting them for more than ten days, hoping that Zhang Liao and Li Song will achieve some merit. However, in my opinion, the situation is unpredictable. The reason why our army is in such a predicament is that we have no foothold on the south bank. I will lead my troops across the river to set up camp, while Your Excellency repairs the pontoon bridge. At that time, the north and south will be connected. Even if Yuan Shao launches a strong attack, with Your Excellency as our support, I will have no fear of Yuan Shao!"

As a former follower of Zhang Yu in his uprising, Hao Zhao saw that Zhang Liao and Li Song had already become powerful generals, and Man Chong had even surpassed them, while he remained a general with a miscellaneous title. Now, in order to achieve merit and to help Zhang Yu defeat the enemy, Hao Zhao resolved to undertake a difficult task.

Zhang Yu paced back and forth in thought, then looked around and asked, "What are your opinions, gentlemen?"

Tian Feng said, "If we can establish a camp and build fortifications on the south bank, it will surely make Yuan Shao worry day and night. However, this journey will be difficult, and we may be defeated by Yuan's troops."

Xun You nodded in agreement and said, "The Yellow River is a strategic pass, which is why Yuan Shao has seized control of our territory. If you can build a southern camp and connect the north and south with a pontoon bridge, Yuan Shao will surely be terrified. Even if our army cannot defeat Yuan Shao in this battle, the fortifications along the river will be enough to harass the Yuan family every month, keeping them constantly on edge!"

“It’s feasible!” Jia Xu said succinctly.

"I think it's feasible, but the key issue right now is how to establish a camp on the south bank!" Guo Jia said.

Seeing that no one objected, Zhang Yu looked at Hao Zhao and asked, "Do you have a strategy?"

Hao Zhao said in a deep voice, "The current in the Gaotang section of the river is gentle. I would like to trouble you, my lord, to send your generals to cross the river to the east, pretending that you want to cut off the Qingzhou army's food supply in order to attract Yuan Shao's troops. I will cross the river at Guangliting, thirty miles upstream, and set up camp when Yuan's army is unprepared. Afterwards, you will send your generals to build a pontoon bridge on the north bank, so that I can gain a foothold on the south bank."

After considering for a while, Zhang Yu asked, "Besides the troops of this unit, what else do you require?"

"Please prepare plenty of arrows, and once Zhao has established a foothold, have supplies delivered urgently," Hao Zhao said.

Zhang Yu said, "If things don't go well, Lao Bodao should withdraw his troops immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Hao Zhao assumed Zhang Yu did not trust him and solemnly replied, "If Your Excellency does not believe me, I am willing to sign a military pledge. If we fail to establish a camp on the south bank this time, I will bring you my head!"

Zhang Yu reassured him, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but I fear it would harm the general. Bo Dao has followed me since I raised my army, and we have a deep relationship. How could I possibly see you die? But now that you have spoken so boldly, how could I not believe you, General!"

Where is Gao Shun?

"The general is here!"

"I order your battalion to serve as Hao Zhao's rear guard. If Hao Zhao establishes a camp on the south bank, immediately repair the pontoon bridge," Zhang Yu instructed.

"promise!"

Where is Zhang Yan?

Zhang Yan stepped forward and replied, "Present!"

"I order your troops to march east, raise many flags, cross the river at Ningqiu, and feign cutting off Yuan Shao's army's food supplies."

"As ordered!"

(End of this chapter)