Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 52: Thoughtful
The army set out from Yingyin and stretched southward for one or two miles.

Although Yin Xiu was commanding the army with literary power, the army was well-organized due to the experience gained in recent months and the assistance of officers.

However, since they were not part of the central army, the soldiers were not elite, and there were few armored soldiers and knights. If Zhang Yu had not led a hundred cavalrymen with the army, there would only be about a hundred cavalrymen in the army of two thousand people. Excluding the generals and scouts, there would only be dozens of cavalrymen available.

If these dozens of cavalrymen marched side by side with Zhang Yu's hundred cavalrymen, their level and degree of eliteness would be obvious at a glance.

"What do you think of the Yingchuan troops now?" Zhang Yu asked casually, pointing at the troops with his whip.

Hao Zhaowei straightened up and said, "Tai Shou Yin has no ability to lead an army, but his subordinates Du and Guo have some talent. The new soldiers march in an orderly manner, with clear flags and drums. But judging from the spirit of the soldiers, few of them are brave enough to fight, and most of them are cowardly and unable to fight a tough battle."

Hao Zhao saw through the strength of Yingchuan's troops. Yingchuan County was located in the inland area and its military preparations were lax, otherwise it would not have been helpless in the face of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

The reason why Hao Zhao dared to make such an evaluation naturally came from his experience in recent days. Since he joined the caravan and followed Zhang Yu to the south, he had a lot of hardships and had grown up slowly.

Of course, not only Hao Zhao has grown, but also Li Song, Shi Yi and others have significantly improved their ability to lead a team under Zhang Yu's careful cultivation. If nothing unexpected happens, they will be the team that Zhang Yu will use to start his army.

Regardless of whether Zhang Yu will fight for hegemony in the future, Hao Zhao, Li Song and the cavalry from Chanhewu are his capital and cannot be easily destroyed, let alone controlled by others!

Zhang Yu patted Hao Zhao on the shoulder and said with a smile: "If I let you lead the troops in the future, you must lead them with dignity for me!"

"It's natural!"

Hao Zhao patted his chest and said confidently, "Since Young Master taught me how to command the cavalry, have there been any mistakes?"

"Ha ha!"

"Have courage!"

On July 10, the army arrived at Fanyangting in Linying County, more than 150 miles away from Shaoling County.

Speaking of Linying, according to history, Cao Pi would build a platform at Fanyang Pavilion in Linying and accept Liu Xie's abdication. In order to celebrate the establishment of the Wei Kingdom, Cao Pi specially upgraded Fanyang Pavilion to a county, and named it Fanchang County, which means prosperity.

I just don’t know whether Cao Pi can still establish the Wei Kingdom in the future with Zhang Yu’s intervention!
Zhang Yu once pessimistically thought that if he failed in his fight for hegemony, he might be able to join the Eastern Wu and possibly become a marquis because of Sun Jian's life-saving grace.

Of course, this is just a joke. Instead of expecting Sun Wu to bring him wealth and honor, it is better for him to take advantage of the opportunity of reshuffle in the world before the rebellion of the princes and seize the initiative before the chaos.

I don’t know if I will be ready by then!
On July 13, the army crossed the Yingshui River and prepared to set up camp.

In reality, crossing a river is a test of a commander's organizational skills. Although there was some confusion when the Yingchuan soldiers crossed the river, there was still order under Yin Xiu's command.

The army camped in Qiangxia, which was only two or three days' walk from Shaoling. In order to be safe, Yin Xiu adopted Xun You's advice and stationed his troops in Qiangxia, sending people to Shaoling to inquire about the news and understand the movements of the troops under Zhao Qian, the governor of Runan.

The task of sending scouts to investigate Pengtuo's Yellow Turban Army naturally fell to the hundred cavalrymen led by Zhang Yu, while the task of conducting specific intelligence investigations was carried out by Shi Yi's troops.

Shi Yi spent three days to find out the general situation of the Yellow Turban Army.

After Peng Tuo escaped from Zhu Jun, he led the remaining troops into the mountains and forests to hide until June, when he broke out of the mountains and forests, plundered from the border of Yingchuan all the way to the territory of Runan, and broke through the city of Shaoling. He distributed food and recruited soldiers, and gathered several thousand people.

Zhao Qian reacted quickly. In order to wipe out Peng Tuo as soon as possible, his troops had already reached Shaoling and were now confronting Peng Tuo's troops at Huapi.

At the same time, the messenger sent by Yin Xiu successfully found Zhao Qian's troops and brought back military intelligence in letters.

On July 17, Yin Xiu beat the drum and went up to the tent to summon all the generals to discuss matters.

Zhang Yu hurried over with Li Song. Before entering the tent, he met Xun You, the military advisor. Out of a desire to make friends, Zhang Yu chatted with him for a few more words.

Xun You is older than Xun Yu, but younger than him. He does not look smart, but rather simple and honest, with a scar on his left ear. If it were not for Xun You's reputation, outsiders would probably think he was stupid.

Although Xun You is a commoner now, he has been defending Yingyin and has provided many strategies for Yin Xiu, so he is now highly valued by Yin Xiu.

On this expedition, Yin Xiu specially brought Xun You along, allowed him to participate in military affairs, and promised to select him as a filial and honest official next year.

As for Xun Yu, Zhong Yao and Guo Tu, they were left in Yingyin by Yin Xiu to prepare food and fodder for the troops and to manage local affairs.

After entering the tent, Zhang Yu, as Wang Yun's confidant and commander of the most elite cavalry, sat second, while Xun You, because of his common status, sat last. Li Song, who was accompanying them, had no right to enter the tent and had to be left outside.

Yin Xiu handed Zhao Qian's letter to everyone in the tent for circulation, and Zhang Yu was the first to browse the contents.

However, Zhao Qian said that most of Peng Tuo's men were old and weak, and were not elite. He could defeat Peng Tuo with his men. Regarding Yin Xiu's troops, Zhao Qian said that there were boundaries between counties, and county governors could not easily lead troops across them, otherwise they would violate national laws. Seeing the above, Zhang Yu knew that Zhao Qian was worried that Yin Xiu would come to steal his credit, so he wrote a letter hoping that Yin Xiu would watch the show from the side.

This made Zhang Yu shake his head and sigh. If Peng Tuo was so easy to bully, he wouldn't have caused so much trouble to Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song in Changsha.

Zhang Yu handed the letter to Du You, and soon everyone read it one by one.

After a while, Yin Xiu slowly opened his mouth and said, "What suggestions do you have?"

"My Lord, Zhao Qian is afraid that we will take away his credit, so he wrote this letter. Little did he know that without your order, how could we go south?" Du You said with a little indignation: "Why don't we just sit back and watch and see how Zhao Qian succeeds or fails?"

"Military affairs are not to be trifled with!"

Yin Xiu glanced at Zhang Yu, his expression slightly gloomy, and scolded: "If we let Peng Tuo become too powerful, our troops will not be able to stop him!"

Wang Yun sent Zhang Yu to supervise Yin Xiu's use of troops. If Yin Xiu really stayed there, he would just sit back and watch Zhao Qian's success or failure. If Zhao Qian succeeded, it would be good. If he was defeated by Peng Tuo, Yin Xiu would most likely be impeached by Wang Yun.

After being scolded by Yin Xiu, Du You seemed to realize that he had said something wrong, so he restrained his expression, smiled awkwardly and said: "I said this in anger, of course, I need to put state affairs first!"

"Ji'an, what do you think?" Yin Xiu asked proactively.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment, then said cryptically, "Peng Tuo is not a man without strategy. His military strength is unclear, and Zhao Runan seems to be arbitrary. In order to avoid the danger of defeat, in my opinion, we should follow the order of Envoy Wang and march south to join Zhao Runan's troops as soon as possible."

Yin Xiu nodded slightly and said, "Shaoling is in Runan, and I am the governor of Yingchuan County. I am guilty of crossing the border to attack. However, I dare to attack southward with the order of Envoy Wang. I have no intention of following Zhao Runan's words."

"Gongda is good at strategy. Do you have any good ideas now?" Yin Xiu asked.

Xun You pondered for a moment and said, "Forgive me for speaking frankly. Zhao Runan seems to be overconfident and the situation in Huapi is complicated. If Peng Tuo shows weakness and Zhao Runan advances lightly, he will be in danger of defeat. You should lead your army to march quickly and meet up with Zhao Runan's troops as soon as possible."

When Xun You said this, Zhang Yu couldn't help but squint his eyes, and suddenly he understood something.

Xun You is worthy of being called a strategist on par with Jia Xu in history books. He can give appropriate answers based on only a small amount of information.

Judging from Zhao Qian's letter, he said in the letter that Peng Tuo's remaining troops were vulnerable and could be pacified with the help of Runan's troops.

Under such circumstances, there are only two possibilities. One is that Peng Tuo's troops are really old and weak and vulnerable as Zhao Qian said. The other possibility is that Peng Tuo is deceiving Zhao Qian and is trying to lure him out to first destroy Zhao Qian's troops and then defeat Yin Xiu in the north.

After organizing his thoughts, Zhang Yu added: "Our army has more soldiers than the enemy, and the enemy may gather heavy troops to attack in batches in order to break the current siege. Now, according to what Xun Jun said, if Peng Tuo shows weakness and lures Zhao Runan to advance lightly, his troops will surely be defeated. When Runan's troops are defeated, our army will be no match for Peng Tuo!"

Yin Xiu pondered for a long time and said, "You all have a point. If Peng Tuo is cheating to lure Zhao Runan into using his troops, then his army will be in danger!"

"If Zhao Runan is defeated, Runan County will be ruined, and Yingchuan and Chen counties will be hard to survive!"

As he spoke, Yin Xiu slammed the table heavily and raised his voice, "I have been ordered to march south, and I cannot sit idly by and watch Zhao Runan suffer. Today, all the generals should return to the camp first, prepare the troops, food, and equipment, and tomorrow morning, the whole army will advance quickly."

"We will follow the Lord's orders!" The generals stood up and responded.

Everyone left the tent, and Zhang Yu went to find Xun You.

"Brother Gongda!"

"Jian!"

After so many days of marching, Zhang Yu and Xun You gradually became familiar with each other and called each other by their courtesy names.

Zhang Yu walked side by side with Xun You and asked, "Why are you so sure that Peng Tuo is cheating?"

Xun You hesitated for a moment and said, "Peng Tuo is not afraid of our two armies attacking him. If we don't have a plan, it will be hard to convince people. For the sake of safety, it is best to quickly join forces with Zhao Runan."

Xun You was actually not sure that Peng Tuo was cheating, but he did not believe the words that Peng Tuo's troops were vulnerable. And for the sake of safety, he believed the possibility that Peng Tuo was cheating.

"You have thought it through thoroughly!" Zhang Yu praised.

Xun You was quite modest and said, "It is just a crude plan, I don't dare to accept praise. Whether the two armies can win the battle depends on Mr. Zhang!"

(End of this chapter)