Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 44 Refutation in the Account
It was getting dark at night, and Zhang Yu and Cheng Pu walked side by side.

"De Mou was a man of strategy and honor. He first served as a county official and made many contributions, but he has been wandering around for many years. It's such a pity!" Zhang Yu said regretfully.

Through chatting with Cheng Pu, Zhang Yu roughly understood Cheng Pu's life. Cheng Pu was originally from Youbeiping. Because of his outstanding talents, he was recruited as a county official. Later, in order to make achievements, Cheng Pu gave up his position as a county official and joined the Five Schools of the Northern Army.

However, Cheng Pu was not lucky. Since the campaign against the Yellow Turbans, Cheng Pu had not made any significant achievements. When he set fire to the Yellow Turbans last night, Cheng Pu only beheaded one person. Compared with the military exploits of his colleagues, his achievements were not enough.

Cheng Pu looked a little gloomy, and said, "It's just bad luck!"

"Then I wonder what De Mou's plans are for the future?" Zhang Yu asked with secret joy in his heart.

Seeing Cheng Pu seemed to be unsuccessful, Zhang Yu was not worried but happy. If Cheng Pu was doing well, he would have no chance to "recruit" Cheng Pu. Now Cheng Pu was worried about his future. If he could extend an olive branch, he might be able to "recruit" Cheng Pu.

Cheng Pu pondered for a moment and said, "Although we have just defeated Bo Cai, the Yellow Turbans are still there. We are fighting in battle array and at the forefront of every war. We may have a chance to come out on top in the future."

While listening to Cheng Pu's story, Zhang Yu gradually calmed down. He was only a Baishi official and a subordinate of Wang Yun, while Cheng Pu had at least been a county official. How could he possibly follow him?

How can we avoid missing Cheng Pu?

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Yu came up with an idea and said, "Fighting in battle is not a long-term strategy. Envoy Wang has just arrived in Yuzhou and is short of manpower. If you are willing to accept my advice, I would like to recommend you. And..."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Pu was slightly stunned, as he did not expect that Zhang Yu wanted to recommend him to Wang Yun.

But Cheng Pu immediately realized that, including the meeting tonight, he and Zhang Yu had only met twice. Just based on these two meetings, it was not worth it for Zhang Yu to recommend him to Wang Yun. Unless Zhang Yu had other hidden secrets, or Zhang Yu really appreciated him.

In addition, if Wang Yun recruited me, what official position would he give me?

If he was treated like a servant, he might as well stay on the edge of the sword in the army and work hard to get a military position.

Seeing Cheng Pu remained silent, Zhang Yu could probably guess what Cheng Pu was thinking. Cheng Pu could make a name for himself in the Eastern Wu, in addition to his loyalty, he must have long-term vision, so how could he turn around and serve Wang Yun just because of his words?

If you remain silent now, it means you are hesitant and don't know which choice is better. Or it means you have rashly made recommendations when you meet someone for the first time.

Zhang Yu thought about it for a while and said, "To be honest, the reason why I want to recommend Demou is because of Wang Yuzhou's consideration."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu deliberately lowered his voice and asked, "Do you know the relationship between me and Wang Yuzhou?"

Cheng Pu looked Zhang Yu up and down, frowned slightly, and asked boldly: "Could it be that Yuzhou is Ji'an's adoptive father?"

Zhang Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes. He was not Lu Bu, a slave of three surnames. Why should he recognize Wang Yun as his godfather?
Seeing this reaction, Cheng Pu knew that he had guessed wrong, and smiled awkwardly, saying, "Pu is talking nonsense, Ji An, don't take it to heart."

Zhang Yu smiled and said truthfully: "Wang Yuzhou is my uncle, and I am Wang Yuzhou's nephew-in-law. The reason why I recommend Demou to my uncle is because I will be selected as a filial and honest official and will go to Luoyang at the end of the year."

Cheng Pu's eyes widened, as if he had discovered some kind of noble person. But he was still confused, and he hesitated to speak, not knowing how to start.

"It's okay to talk about your moral strategy?" Zhang Yu said.

Cheng Pu hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "Ji'an was born in the frontier, how can he ..."

Zhang Yu was speechless. He didn't expect that his minister Cheng Pu was actually a gossip lover.

"I was born in the frontier of Yunzhong, went to study in Qi County, and was then recruited as a son-in-law." Zhang Yu said patiently.

"This is similar to Gongsun Zan!" Cheng Pu muttered.

Apparently, the story of Gongsun Zan, the county secretary, who lived off his wife and thus reached the pinnacle of his life, was widely circulated in the counties of Youzhou.

Zhang Yu put his hand on his belt and said with a smile: "Yuzhou is where the Taiping Dao gathers and flourishes. If I go to Luoyang, I am afraid that there will be no one available to you. Demou Gudao is kind-hearted and can save people he doesn't know. So although I have only met Demou twice, I am willing to recommend him."

After hearing these words, Cheng Pu was already moved by Zhang Yu's words. Although he had served as a county official, it would be very difficult for a county official to be promoted unless he was appreciated by a noble.

After all, a state has at least five or six counties, and a county has no less than two hundred officials. If a state is counted, there are at least a thousand county officials. On the contrary, the officials of the state governor are few in number, especially the officials who are responsible for the safety of the chief officer. Because of the status of the chief officer, they are deeply treated with courtesy by the county officials.

If Cheng Pu is not moved at this moment, he must be mentally ill.

Cheng Pu straightened his face and said, "Thank you Ji'an for your recommendation, but I wonder what Envoy Wang thinks?"

Seeing that Cheng Pu had taken the bait, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Envoy Wang also has this intention. You can wait a few days. By then, the conscription documents will arrive."

"Thank you, Jian!" Cheng Pu said happily.

Using Wang Yun's fame and status to recruit Cheng Pu was a temporary solution that Zhang Yu came up with.

In recruiting officials, Wang Yun's connections were more prominent among scholars. According to Zhang Yu, Wang Yun had even written a letter to Kong Rong, intending to recruit him as an official.

The military aspect is Wang Yun's weak point, so Wang Yun relies heavily on Zhang Yu. Now let Wang Yun conquer Cheng Pu, it will be a win-win situation for all three sides.

Cheng Pu's future was developing, Wang Yun strengthened the military officials, and Zhang Yu tried to win over Cheng Pu.

On the first day after the victory, the soldiers of each army celebrated with wine and meat. At dawn on the second day, the three leaders Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Wang Yun went up to the tent to hold a meeting, and the commanders of each camp attended.

Zhang Yu, who was sitting behind Wang Yun, saw the Cavalry Commander Cao Cao.

As the history books said, Cao Cao was not tall and strong, and his appearance was ordinary, but for some reason, Zhang Yu could sense a kind of temperament from Cao Cao that made him unable to help but take a few more glances.

The imposing Zhang Yu also attracted Cao Cao's attention. Although the two did not know each other, Cao Cao was particularly friendly and took the initiative to nod to Zhang Yu.

Sitting in the main seat, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun showed some humility. Due to Zhu Jun's older age, Huangfu Song declined the main seat and Zhu Jun presided over the military meeting.

"Cough cough~"

Zhu Jun coughed a few times and said, "Yesterday, our army went out together and set fire to the camp. We joined forces with you to defeat the two bandits Bo Cai and Peng Tuo, killing and capturing nearly 40,000 people. This is a rare victory. However, although it is a great victory, Bo Cai fled to Yangdi and Peng Tuo fled to Xihua. If we don't quickly suppress the two tribes, the rebellion in Ru and Ying will be difficult to quell."

Huangfu Song nodded slightly and said, "The fire in Changsha has frightened the E-thieves. We should seize the opportunity to pursue them. We should prevent the two thieves from escaping to Nanyang and joining forces with Zhang Mancheng to cause the situation in Nanyang to deteriorate."

"good!"

Zhu Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "It is difficult for the two bandits to become great. We can now divide our forces and march forward. However, our army still has more than 20,000 prisoners. If we divide our forces and march forward now, we will need to deal with them separately."

Huangfu Song said without hesitation: "All the remnants of the rebels should be killed!"

When these words were spoken, everyone in the tent looked at each other in surprise. They had never expected that Huangfu Song was so murderous and was ready to kill the remnants of the Yellow Turbans.

"I'm afraid it's inappropriate!"

Wang Yun frowned and said, "General Huangfu, most of the captured bandits are old, weak, women and children. It is useless to kill them now. It is better to pardon them."

Huangfu Song looked at Wang Yun and sneered, "The thieves have been bewitched by the evil ways and are beyond redemption. If we pardon them today, they will be bewitched tomorrow and rebel again the day after tomorrow. If they keep rebelling, it may cause disaster for Liangzhou. It is better to kill them all and build a Jingguan to deter the Yellow Turbans in Henan."

Wang Yun said patiently, "The Han people were deceived by the bandits because the officials of the prefectures and counties did not educate them well. I am the shepherd of the people on behalf of God, and I should govern them with benevolence and help educate them. Now I pardon the remaining bandits, which will show the great grace of the Han people!"

Huangfu Song said in a stiff tone: "Zhang Jiao and his brothers are causing chaos in Hebei, and the bandits are rising in Henan. If we pardon them now, it will be disadvantageous to the Han Dynasty in suppressing the bandits. How can we ignore the overall situation of the world for the sake of a small profit?"

Wang Yun's expression gradually became unhappy. If Huangfu Song massacred more than 20,000 Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou, it would make it difficult for him to pacify the counties in Yuzhou.

Zhang Yu felt very uncomfortable listening to Huangfu Song's cold words.

Although he had killed many people since he traveled through time, most of them were killed in battles between the two armies. He was undoubtedly an executioner for torturing prisoners and slaughtering the elderly, the weak, women and children, not to mention that the people being slaughtered were suffering Han people who had no choice but to rebel because they were oppressed.

"What does General Zhu think?"

Huangfu Song looked at Zhu Jun, hoping that Zhu Jun would make clear the military order to kill the prisoners.

Zhu Jun glanced at Wang Yun with hesitation in his eyes.

He himself was a scholar from a poor family and understood the situation of the lower classes. Before he became an official in the central government, he led his troops to quell the Jiaozhi Rebellion. At that time, he recruited tens of thousands of rebels and appeased them one by one. Now he ordered the killing of the Yellow Turban captives. Zhu Jun, who was well-versed in Confucian classics, did not have such ruthless means.

Seeing Zhu Jun's hesitation, Zhang Yu gritted his teeth. If he didn't come out today and say a few words for the captives, Zhang Yu would feel uneasy.

Zhang Yu stepped out of the line, raised his head and stood in the tent, clasped his hands and said, "General Zhu, General Huangfu, I think we should not bury the surrendered prisoners alive."

Upon seeing this, all the generals looked at Zhang Yu with surprised eyes, but Huangfu Song never thought that Zhang Yu, a mere official of 100 stones, would dare to step out and refute.

"Why can't we kill him in a pit?" Huangfu Song said quietly.

"My two generals, Emperor Gaozu and Xiang Yu were fighting for the world. Xiang Yu was cruel and ruthless. He buried and killed Qin soldiers in Julu and burned down the Afang Palace. Emperor Gaozu was kind and helpful to the people. He accepted the surrendered soldiers and made them his own. He entered Guanzhong and made three laws. He won the hearts of the people and established the foundation of the Han Dynasty."

"Since our dynasty is a holy dynasty, how can we imitate the cruelty of Xiang Yu? To show the benevolence of the court, we should pardon the remaining evildoers and calm the people's hearts!"

Zhang Yu was not afraid of Huangfu Song's gaze, and spoke eloquently, saying: "Moreover, the military said that when besieging a city, one must show the enemy a way out, so as to leave a way for them to survive, and to carry out the strategy of encircling three and leaving one missing. Now the two generals will report that the one who rebels must die, and the rest will not surrender even if they die."

"There are millions of bandits following them, and the smoke of war has spread across seven states and twenty-seven counties. If we do not pardon those who surrender, no one in the world will surrender. At that time, attacking them will cause casualties, and a long battle will cost a lot of money. It is not a good idea for the two generals to travel thousands of miles to lead troops to attack the bandits who are bound to die!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu bowed respectfully to Huangfu Song and said, "As the general said, killing the captives may deter the invaders, but now that the war has just begun and the disaster in Hebei has not been resolved, it is not appropriate to resort to force."

"In addition, the imperial court is in financial difficulty. If more than 20,000 people can be pardoned, it will increase taxes to pay to the imperial court. Although it is a drop in the bucket, the more the better."

Zhang Yu's three points of explanation were logically clear and flawless, which attracted the attention of many people.

Wang Yun was originally dissatisfied with Zhang Yu's casual departure, but when he heard Zhang Yu's words, he nodded secretly.

Huangfu Song stroked his beard and thought deeply without saying a word, while Zhu Jun and Cao Cao showed admiration in their eyes.

"Book of Tang, Biography 12": "Cheng Pu, courtesy name Demou, was a native of Tuyin, Youbeiping. He was initially an official in a prefecture or county. He had a handsome appearance and was good at making decisions. During the campaign against the Yellow Turbans, Emperor Taizu recommended Pu to Wang Yun, who appointed him as his assistant."

(End of this chapter)