Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 51: Success
It was no small matter that Peng Tuo gathered the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Shaoling. Although Zhang Yu remembered that the Yellow Turban Rebellion was eventually suppressed by the Eastern Han Dynasty, he could not remember why Wang Yun stepped down from the position of Yuzhou Governor.

If Zhang Yu were to be held accountable today for Wang Yun's ineffective campaigns, he would probably cry!

For Wang Yun's official position and his own future, Zhang Yu rushed to the government office.

Inside the hall, Wang Yun was pointing at the map with everyone else.

"Peng Tuo escaped by luck. Although he has gathered troops to rebel, his troops are few and far between, so he should not be a formidable enemy," said Kong Rong.

"Don't underestimate it!"

Wang Yun stroked his beard and chanted, saying: "Peng Tuo is the leader of the bandits. If we are not careful when sending troops, we will be defeated by them. Peng Tuo will regroup and cause chaos in the Ru and Ying regions. We must send troops with all our strength now."

"How many soldiers and horses does Zhao Runan have?" Yin Xiu asked.

"There are more than 3,000 soldiers, including 100 to 200 cavalrymen," Cheng Pu reported.

"Your Majesty!"

As Cheng Pu finished speaking, Zhang Yu hurried into the hall and apologized, "I'm sorry for being late!"

"nothing!"

Wang Yun waved his hand, motioning Zhang Yu to step forward and listen to everyone's analysis of the military situation first.

"According to the report from Shaoling, Peng Tuo has gathered three to four thousand people, most of whom are old and weak soldiers." Cheng Pu said again.

"Then in your opinion, how many troops should be sent to support Zhao Runan?" Yin Xiu asked.

"How many soldiers are available in Yingchuan County now?" Wang Yun asked.

Yin Xiu pondered for a moment and said, "The chaos in Yingchuan has just been quelled, and each county needs to leave soldiers to garrison. If you want to send troops south, you can send 1,300 people."

"How many new soldiers are there?"

Zhang Yu said, "Sir, we have recruited more than 600 soldiers, but since they have just arrived at the military camp, they are not familiar with the drums, flags, and formations. Captain Du You is training them. We cannot use them in battle, but we can bluff and use them as auxiliary troops."

Du You was originally a Cao Yuan of the Yingchuan bandits. Because of his meritorious service in fighting against the Yellow Turbans, he was promoted to the position of temporary county commander and was responsible for recruiting new soldiers.

"There are two thousand old and weak people in total. I will be a small army and cooperate with Zhao Runan's troops. The two groups have no less than five thousand people. We should not be afraid of Peng Tuo's remnants." Wang Yun said.

Looking at Shaoling on the map, Wang Yun asked, "Peng Tuo is stationed in Shaoling now. Zhao Runan is heading north from the south, and our army is heading south from the north. The two armies are fighting the E bandits together. Is there anything we should be careful of?"

Yin Xiu pondered for a moment and said, "The two armies are divided into north and south, and Peng Tuo is in the middle. To prevent being taken advantage of by the moth bandits, the two armies should advance cautiously."

Obviously, Yin Xiu had learned from the early battle of Changsha, when Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song advanced in parallel and were attacked by Bo Cai. Now that the two armies were advancing together, in order to prevent Peng Tuo from defeating them one by one, he naturally needed to remind him again.

"good!"

Wang Yun nodded slightly and said, "In the battle against Pengtuo, the Laoyin governor led the troops. If we win this battle, I will submit a memorial to ask for credit for you."

"promise!"

Wang Yun then looked at Zhang Yu and said, "Lao Jian leads the cavalry to assist him."

"promise!"

After discussing a few more points of attention, Wang Yun asked everyone except Zhang Yu to leave.

Wang Yun sat upright on the couch and motioned Zhang Yu not to be restrained. He asked, "Does Ji An have any ideas on how to use the troops this time?"

Zhang Yu sat cross-legged and said, "I think it is better to play it safe this time. The two armies will meet and confront Peng Tuo's army to consume the Yellow Turbans' food and grass. When Peng Tuo's food is exhausted and his troops are tired, we can attack him with our elite troops and we will surely win."

"Can't win the battle?" Wang Yun asked with a frown.

“We can win, but we are not sure of winning.”

Zhang Yu analyzed and said: "Peng Tuo has re-established Shaoling. The more troops he has, the more food and grass he needs. That's why Peng Tuo is eager to fight. I will defend the camp and wear down his spirit. When his morale is low, I will go out to fight him and defeat the bandits!"

In Zhang Yu's view, when two armies are fighting, the success or failure is closely related to what happens on the battlefield, in addition to the quality of the soldiers. To be on the safe side, one should increase the chances of victory before the battle, rather than engaging in direct combat.

Wang Yun pondered for a long time and said, "Although I am the governor, it is difficult for me to make decisions on military operations. Moreover, the Yellow Turbans have risen again, so a quick victory is the best. If the court knows about it, I am afraid that the eunuchs will interfere."

"Yin Yingchuan is not a man without strategy. When the two armies are fighting, Ji'an can offer more advice to prevent mistakes."

"Yes!" Zhang Yu said with a bow.

"correct!"

Wang Yun pulled out a letter from under the bamboo slips on the table and said, "Guo Dingxiang wrote to me saying that he will recommend you as a filial and honest official this year."

"Thank you, uncle!" Zhang Yu bowed and thanked.

Wang Yun pondered for a moment and said, "You are not even twenty years old yet, so it is easy for you to be recommended as a filial and honest official. But if you want to enter the court and be sent out as a magistrate, I am afraid it will be difficult."

"What should we do?" Zhang Yu asked. "No rush!"

Wang Yun smiled and pointed at the map, saying, "The reason why I am letting you go with the army is to help you accumulate merit. Although you may not have enough family background or age, you have made great achievements. If you are recommended by others, you will be sent to be a magistrate. After you have made great achievements, if there is unrest in a border county, you may be promoted to be a county governor and lead troops to conquer the border barbarians for the country!"

"The sooner you move up, the more chances you'll have to enter Luoyang. Otherwise, when you get older, new people will come up and replace you soon."

"Ji'an has military strategy and is knowledgeable in military tactics. He has made many contributions and served the Han Dynasty well. In the future, he may be granted a title of nobility and appointed as a general, bringing honor to his family and leaving his name in history."

Wang Yun had already pointed out Zhang Yu's promotion path, which was to follow Cao Cao's example and become a magistrate, and then get some military merits and become a local county governor.

As for the promotion of county governors, it was beyond Wang Yun's control. After all, the Wang family was not the Cao family, who could easily appoint Cao Cao as prime minister, nor was it the Yuan family, who could appoint Yuan Shu as the governor of Henan.

Just look at Wang Hong's official position, he was appointed as the governor of Hongnong when he was middle-aged and old, and because he offended the eunuchs, he had to be demoted and return home. Wang Yun, on the other hand, was appreciated by the three ministers, so he could be appointed as the governor of a state on his own.

"Thank you uncle for the plan!"

Zhang Yu said gratefully: "I will be loyal to the Han Dynasty and live up to my uncle's cultivation."

It is not known whether Zhang Yu was sincere in his loyalty to the Han Dynasty, but he was really grateful for Wang Yun's help. Without the help of Wang Hong and Wang Yun, it is estimated that Zhang Yu would have to wait for a long time before he could make a name for himself in the Han Dynasty.

Looking back now, I have married Wang Ji, which is like a fish leaping over the dragon gate.

"No need to be polite!"

Wang Yun saw Zhang Yu's sincere feelings, so he handed him several letters sent from Bingzhou and said with a smile: "You can go back to the camp and read the letters carefully now."

"Thank you uncle!"

He said some personal words to Wang Yun and then returned to the camp with the letter.

After returning to the tent, Zhang Yu called Li Song, Shi Yi, Hao Zhao and others.

Beside the campfire, Zhang Yu sat around the fire with everyone.

"Peng Tuo gathered his remaining troops and started a riot in the Shaoling area. The envoy, considering Peng Tuo as the leader of the Yellow Turbans, has ordered Governor Yin to lead his troops south to cooperate with Zhao Runan to fight against Peng Tuo. And my troops must follow Governor Yin's troops south."

Zhang Yu looked at the faces of the people around him and said, "Everyone, go back to the tent and inform the brothers to prepare armor, shields, bows and spears, and check the condition of the horses. If there is any loss or damage, please report it in time."

"This time we are heading south, Shi Yi will lead the cavalry to investigate, and we must not slack off."

In order to prevent someone from not understanding, Zhang Yu translated it again into Xianbei language.

"Yes!" Everyone present responded.

After finishing the serious business, Zhang Yu asked with concern: "How are the brothers doing now?"

"We don't have to worry about food and drink, and we practice archery and martial arts every day. It's much better than being on the frontier!"

Li Song took the lead and said, "Many brothers miss their families. They don't know what the situation is like in their hometown. They don't know when they can return home."

We left our hometown in March and it is already July now. We are thousands of miles away from home. It would be strange if we didn't miss home.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Tell everyone that there is nothing happening in my hometown right now. It is generally peaceful. Everyone will be able to return home at the end of the year. I will distribute money and food to reward you for your hard work this year."

"Okay, I'll go back to the tent later and inform the brothers in the camp!" said Li Song.

They chatted about some trivial matters, and when they saw that there was nothing important to deal with, everyone left.

After everyone left, Zhang Yu read letters alone by lamplight at night.

Wang Yun gave Zhang Yu three letters in total, one was written by Zhang Ji, one was a greeting from Wang Hong, and the other was a letter from Li Suyi pretending to be her uncle Zhang Yang.

Father Zhang Ji talked mostly about trivial matters of Chanhewu, describing to Zhang Yu how prosperous Chanhewu became after it became a border market, how many Hu people came to trade, and how much money Zhang made from it.

Even in his letters, his father talked to Zhang Yu about expanding the Canhewu and preparing to make room for Zhang Yu to renovate his house. After all, he would marry Wang Ji in the future, so he couldn't live so shabby.

Zhang Yu couldn't help but smile after reading his father's letter. After careful consideration, Zhang Yu wrote back a letter to discuss the issue of his own house.

Compared with Zhang Ji's letter, Wang Hong's letter was quite conventional, asking about Zhang Yu's recent situation and asking him to be careful.

Regarding the content, Zhang Yu truthfully wrote down his recent achievements, especially the incident of delivering the letter alone, and sent greetings to Wang Hong and his wife as well as Wang Ji.

Zhang Yu opened Li Suyi's letter with guilt, but found that Li Suyi did not cry like a nagging woman. Instead, she talked about many things in the letter, such as the situation of the three tribes of Hu people and the situation of Da Huang, who taught her to feed.

It was not until the end of the letter that Li Suyi expressed her longing for Zhang Yu and asked when Zhang Yu would return home.

Zhang Yuwei sighed and felt more and more sorry for Li Suyi.

After some consideration, Zhang Yu wrote back to Li Suyi, expressing his longing for her and saying that he might not be able to return in the short term. However, he promised that if he had a place to stay in the Central Plains, he would tell Li Suyi the address.

"Jiangzuo Yishu": "Empress Gao Wang, whose taboo name is Ji and whose courtesy name is Shulan, is the daughter of Wang from Qi County. She was intelligent and sensible from a young age, and many powerful families offered her marriage proposals, but she refused. When she saw Emperor Shenwu studying Dalushan, she fell in love with him and sent her maid to convey her feelings... Emperor Shenwu married Wang, and he rose to prominence..."

(End of this chapter)