Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 43: Post-War Talk
On the way back to the camp after being rescued by Zhang Yu, Sun Jian met Wu Jing and others who were looking for him.

Wu Jing, Sun He and others were delighted to see Sun Jian being rescued, and expressed their gratitude to Zhang Yu repeatedly.

Team 2 merged into Team 1 and returned to the Changge camp together.

On the way back to the camp, they saw a large number of Yellow Turban bandits being captured by the Han army. The Han army's infantry and cavalry were driving the unarmed rebels back like cattle, in strings and rows, in hundreds and thousands.

There were many young boys, hunchbacked men, and even frail women in the queue. They had panic on their faces and their eyes revealed confusion about the future.

According to Zhang Yu's observation, these people had no military training and were even working in the fields a few months ago. Now they followed the Taiping Dao's ideas and hastily raised their troops to join the uprising against the tyranny of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

As the person who suppressed them, the injured Sun Jian felt a little bit reluctant. He expressed his feelings to everyone about the difficulties of people's lives and cursed the Taiping Dao for misleading people.

Zhang Yu remained silent, because his and Sun Jian's compassion was like a butcher's compassion, which was extremely ridiculous!
At this moment, Zhang Yu recalled the contrast between Cao Cao's words and deeds in history. He treated the people of Xuzhou as grass, but the poems he wrote revealed his compassion for the world.

After returning to the camp, Zhang Yu said goodbye to Sun Jian and went to visit Wang Yun.

Inside the big tent, Wang Yun held a pen and wrote, and officials from each camp came with files and reported to Wang Yun the situation of prisoners killed in each camp.

Seeing Zhang Yu, Wang Yun took a look and said, "Ji'an, please sit down for a moment!"

"promise!"

Zhang Yu sat respectfully at the table, waiting for Wang Yun to finish processing the official documents.

After a long time, Wang Yun handed the document to his attendant and gave him some instructions.

"Ji'an, have you found Sun Wentai?" Wang Yun put down his pen and asked.

"Sun Wentai was wounded several times and hid in the bushes. I followed his horse and found Sun Wentai." Zhang Yu bowed and said, "I have handed Sun Wentai over to his side. I think he has been treated now."

Wang Yun sipped the warm water and sighed, "Last night, Sun Jian wore armor and held sharp weapons, led his troops to burn the camp, destroyed the camp and killed the enemy, and made great contributions. If such a brave general dies, it will not be a blessing for the country."

After a pause, he added: "The Right General thinks highly of Sun Wentai and will promote him in the future. If you help him now, it may be beneficial to you in the future. Whether you are in the army or in politics, you need to know many wise men to help you in the future."

"Thank you for your teachings, Your Excellency!" Zhang Yu bowed in thanks.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Yu thought of the captured Yellow Turban soldiers and asked, "Sir, I saw many Yellow Turban bandits captured by our army on the way back to the camp. I don't know what to do with them?"

Wang Yun held the lacquer cup and asked, "What does Ji'an mean?"

"Yu is an official of the king and duke, and also the king and duke's successor. He must speak his private words."

Zhang Yu said respectfully: "I saw that among the captives, most were old, weak, women and children. They believed in the Taiping Dao's instigation and rebelled. Now that we have defeated them, we should consider that they were good people in the past and rebelled because of the hardship of life. It is better to consider them as Han people and pardon the remaining evildoers."

"I know Ji'an has a kind heart, but what he said now is really biased."

Wang Yun frowned slightly and said, "If there are thieves who are in financial difficulty and stop people on the road to kill and rob, can you show mercy to their crimes and pardon their crimes of robbery?"

"cannot!"

Zhang Yu looked up at Wang Yun and said sharply, "If one person robs, it is the fault of that person. But if hundreds of thousands of people riot, it is probably not the fault of hundreds of thousands of people."

"Whose fault is it?" Wang Yun asked with sharp eyes.

Zhang Yu realized that his words were inappropriate and had to conceal his intentions. He said, "The ten eunuchs are causing chaos in the court, and corrupt officials are tyrannizing the prefectures and counties. In addition, Zhang Jue is plotting evil and using the Huang-Lao doctrine to deceive people, which is why there is chaos today."

Wang Yun looked solemn and said in a deep voice: "The world is like this. We should eliminate the evildoers, improve people's livelihood, support the Han Dynasty, and rectify the world."

Zhang Yu stood in awe and said, "Your Excellency has great ambitions, and I admire you deeply. However, there are few ministers like you in the world, and many people cling to the Ten Eunuchs. If you let mediocre officials govern the counties and oppress the people, how can the people not rebel?"

"Your Excellency has been appointed to Yuzhou, to investigate county officials and pacify the rioters in the countryside. Now that Bo Cai has been badly defeated and will be beheaded soon, the rioters in Yuzhou are terrified. If you can pardon the remaining traitors and allow them to return to their hometowns to farm, it will not only help pacify the countryside quickly, but also show your benevolence and raise your high reputation in the countryside."

Wang Yun stroked his beard and pondered over Zhang Yu's words.

To be honest, pardoning the Yellow Turban bandits was a great help to Wang Yun. In addition to showing Wang Yun's benevolence as Zhang Yu said, it also helped Wang Yun to quickly restore stability in Yuzhou.

After all, these Yellow Turban soldiers were frightened by the beatings, and they knew the gap between themselves and the government troops, and they also knew the horror of fighting. If they could be appeased, these people would not only not cause chaos, but through word of mouth, many bandits could be persuaded to return home.

After a while, Wang Yun said, "The people are pitiful. If you can pardon them, it will really bring peace to Yuzhou. I am afraid that someone will take the opportunity to return home and do evil and harm the area!"

"Killing the main culprit and pardoning the rest is the strategy for appeasement!" Zhang Yu suggested.

"good!"

Wang Yun stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Although I am the governor of Yuzhou, I cannot make the final decision on pardons. The two lieutenant generals are in charge of the troops, so I still need to listen to their opinions."

"promise!"

Seeing that Wang Yun was ready to pardon him, Zhang Yu did not want to say more. Indeed, as he said, Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, as military commanders, had the final say.

"Is there anything else?" Wang Yun asked.

"Excuse me for being so presumptuous, but may I ask what your plans are after this battle?" Zhang Yu asked.

Wang Yun stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Bo Cai and Peng Tuo have fled to Yangdi, and the two Lieutenants intend to lead troops to pursue them. If Yangdi can be recovered, Yingchuan will be under our rule."

"I want to go south to Yingyin and make Yingyin the temporary seat of government. I want to recruit famous people from Yingchuan and seek to quickly pacify the two counties of Ru and Ying."

"In this case, I will order someone to head south now to inform the officials in Yingyin and find out the details of the road," said Zhang Yu.

"Thank you, Jian, for arranging the itinerary!"

Wang Yun waved his hand and said, "Ji'an has worked hard all night, please go back and rest early."

"promise!"

After leaving Wang Yun's tent, when Ji'an was about to return to the camp to rest, he saw Wu Jing waiting for him in front of the tent.

"Mr. Wu!"

"Zhang Congshi!" Wu Jing went to meet him and said, "My Sima ordered me to come to a worship service to thank Congshi for saving his life."

“You’re welcome!”

Zhang Yu invited Wu Jing into the tent and asked, "How is Wentai's injury?"

Wu Jing smiled and said, "After the doctor's bandage and treatment, it's nothing serious. Wen Tai will recover after just resting in bed."

"That's good!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Let Wen Tai take a good rest. I will visit him tomorrow."

"Thank you for your hard work!"

After chatting with Wu Jing for a few words, Wu Jing left on the pretext of taking care of his subordinates.

After Wu Jing left, Zhang Yu looked at the generous gift that Sun Jian had sent back and instantly thought of the powerful general Cheng Pu whom he had sent away.

"Bodao, find Cheng Pu's tent for me quickly and come with me to visit him later!" Zhang Yu shouted outside.

"promise!"

It didn't take long for Hao Zhao to find the organization to which Cheng Pu belonged. Zhang Yu asked Hao Zhao to take the generous gift sent by Wu Jing.

Apparently, in order to save effort, Zhang Yu used the gift from Sun Jian to pass it on to Cheng Pu. Although it was a bit strange, it seemed quite reasonable. After all, the two were monarchs and ministers in history, and in this life, it was just Zhang Yu who passed through.

After some inquiries, Zhang Yu arrived at Cheng Pu's camp.

But Cheng Pu was seen washing his beloved horse, from its back, mane to its hooves.

"Hey~"

The black horse neighed as if it was in pain in its front hooves.

Cheng Pu wanted to lift his leg to check, but found that the black horse was moving around randomly. When he wanted to call his companions for help, someone had already come to help him and helped him to fix the black horse's body from front to back.

Cheng Pu looked up and was surprised to see that it was Zhang Yu whom he had met in the morning.

"Zhang Congshi?"

"Let's look at the horse's hooves first!" Zhang Yu said, holding the horse's head.

Cheng Pu guided the black horse to lift its hoof, but saw that the fine stone was embedded in the hoof, seemingly very deeply. No wonder the black horse had been standing restlessly before.

"The fine stones need to be scraped out!" said Zhang Yu.

"It's too deep. We need someone who is good at hoof trimming to do it." Cheng Pu said.

"I come!"

Zhang Yu released the horse's head and said, "Demou, secure the horse. Bring me the hoof cutter. I will trim your hoof."

"Does he know how to trim horseshoes?" Cheng Pu asked in surprise.

"Why not?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I am from Yunzhong County. I have been herding cattle and horses since I was a child. I can repair both horse and cattle hooves."

"In that case, thank you for your help!" said Cheng Pu.

With Cheng Pu's help, they quickly fixed the rope and fetched the hoof knife, while Hao Zhao went back to the camp to get the herbs to treat the horse's legs.

After Hao Zhao and Cheng Pu secured the black horse with ropes, Zhang Yu grabbed its front right leg, rinsed it with clean water, scraped off the hoof box around it with a hoof knife, took out the fine stones, and then rinsed it with clean water.

Zhang Yu crushed the herbs and wrapped it with a linen towel.

After lowering its front hooves and untying the control rope, the black horse stomped its hooves a few times and then walked forward, returning to its normal posture.

Cheng Pu was delighted and said gratefully, "Thank you very much, Pu!"

"It's just a piece of cake!" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Cheng Pu was stunned for a moment, then remembered that this was what he had said in the morning, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I wonder how your friends are doing?" Cheng Pu asked.

"I have rescued him, and he is fine now!" Zhang Yu gestured to Hao Zhao to hand over the gift, saying, "This is just a small gift to show my respect!"

"Don't dare!"

Because Zhang Yu had been kind enough to teach him about horses, Cheng Pu was unwilling to accept the gift and said, "I dare not accept it!"

"It is not a gift from me, but a gift of respect from my friend."

Zhang Yu pretended to be displeased, turned around and was about to leave, saying: "If Mr. Cheng doesn't like it, I will leave now!"

"Stop doing this!"

Cheng Pu held Zhang Yu's hand, smiled bitterly and said, "How dare I not be happy to serve you? I will accept this gift!"

Zhang Yu took Cheng Pu's hand and asked with a smile, "How did Demou know my name this morning?"

"The fact that Mr. Zhang rode alone to deliver the letter was known to all the soldiers in and out of the camp. I had the honor to see it on the day he returned to the camp." Cheng Pu said with a smile.

"Taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness is not worth mentioning!" Zhang Yu said: "I wonder what Demou gained in this battle?"

As they were talking, Cheng Pu felt that the camp was too noisy, so he went to a secluded place with Zhang Yu to talk.

(End of this chapter)