Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 57 Candidates

In the mountains, after his defeat, Liu Pi fled with his confidants. They ran for about a day, and as a group of people gathered around him, he saw that it was getting dark and there was no trace of pursuers, so Liu Pi dared to stop and reorganize the remaining troops.

Sitting on a stone, the disheveled Liu Pi wiped the sweat from his forehead. The yellow headscarf that symbolized the Taiping Dao had fallen somewhere.

"Go get some firewood!"

The confidant beside Liu Pi kicked the miscellaneous soldiers and said.

The soldiers were urged to work and did not dare to sit down to rest. They dragged their tired bodies to work.

"You go too!"

Before his confidant could say anything, Liu Pi also urged him, saying, "It's getting dark. If you don't light a fire, how can you sleep tonight?"

"promise!"

The confidant cursed inwardly, then got up helplessly and took several remaining Yellow Turban soldiers to the forest to collect firewood.

Some people were gathering firewood to start a fire. Liu Pi looked around at everyone and asked, "Does anyone have any food left?"

"There's a cake!"

Another confidant took out a Hu cake from his bosom and gave it to Liu Pi to enjoy.

Liu Pi was not greedy. He took a small piece of the Hu Bing. Then, seeing that everyone was starving, he shared the Hu Bing with everyone.

Taking this opportunity, the confidant asked, "General, where are you going from now on?"

Liu Pi was confused for a moment, then thought and said, "Let's go to Gepi first, where my Yellow Turban brothers are!"

"General, we won't meet that cavalry commander in the white cloak again!" said the miscellaneous soldier with lingering fear.

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's figure appeared in Liu Pi's mind, and he secretly sighed at his bad luck.

When I was in Changsha, I met that man, and was defeated by fire attack the next day. I was even more unlucky in the fight today. I almost defeated the Runan County soldiers, but the situation was reversed by that man, which directly led to the defeat of my own soldiers.

Moreover, that guy's archery skills were truly amazing. In two consecutive fights, he demonstrated his superb riding and archery skills. I even saw with my own eyes that the commander Peng Tuo was shot off his horse by him.

"If we go to Gepi to hide, we probably won't meet that cavalry general." Liu Pi said after calming down a little.

"Go to bed early tonight and set off tomorrow. Remember to take off your headscarf."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu had never thought that he could defeat Liu Pi twice. The escape of the remnants of the Yellow Turbans could no longer attract his attention. After all, Wang Yun's position as governor was secure, and the remnants of the Yellow Turbans could be dealt with by the local government.

After many days of marching, he had led his troops back to Yingyin and was summoned by Wang Yun alone.

Outside the hall, Cheng Pu stood guard with his sword in hand. Seeing Zhang Yu walking quickly towards him, he immediately went down the steps to greet him.

Cheng Pu took a small step to greet him and said with a smile: "Ji'an went south this time and saved the situation. The envoy praised him a lot."

Zhang Yu smiled and asked, "It's just a small achievement, not worth mentioning."

Cheng Pu showed envy on his face and said, "I would like to make achievements, but I cannot leave you."

Zhang Yu saw Cheng Pu's desire to fight and said with a smile: "Next time if there is a chance, I will ask for you from Envoy Wang!"

"Ji'an, don't forget what I said today!" Cheng Pu held Zhang Yu's hand, fearing that he would regret it.

Zhang Yu glanced at the inner hall and asked in a low voice, "How is Envoy Wang doing?"

"Not bad!"

Cheng Pu lowered his voice and said, "It was not good for the Prime Minister of Pei to pacify the Yellow Turbans, so the envoy is somewhat dissatisfied with the Prime Minister of Pei. It does not affect you."

"Thank you Demou!"

With Cheng Pu's advance notice, Zhang Yu already had an idea in his mind.

As he walked into the hall, he saw Wang Yun with his head bowed and a pen in his hand, writing something on an official document.

"Your servant greets the envoy!"

Hearing this, Wang Yun looked up and saw that it was Zhang Yu. He put down the pen in his hand, stood up, raised his hand, and said with a smile: "There are no outsiders here now, so you and I can call each other uncle and nephew!"

"Thank you uncle!"

"sit!"

Wang Yun smiled and said, "I listened carefully to the military report from Yinyingchuan. Today we are able to win and turn the situation around, thanks to Ji'an's decisiveness and his quick cavalry rescue."

"Huapi was able to win a great victory over the Yellow Turbans thanks to Zhao Runan who was able to hold back Peng Tuo. I dare not take all the credit for it." Zhang Yu said modestly.

"it is good!"

"Good!" Wang Yun said "good" twice, obviously very satisfied that Zhang Yu did not show complacency.

As he spoke, Wang Yun handed the letter sent by Guo Yu to Zhang Yu and said, "Ji'an has made remarkable contributions. Guo Dingxiang has recommended you to the court as a filial and honest official."

Looking at the words on the letter, Zhang Yu was extremely happy and said with a smile: "Thank you uncle for running around for me."

Wang Yun stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Although I have some contribution to Ji'an's success as a filial and honest official, I am not in Bingzhou for a long time, so it has little to do with me. To be honest, my brother has contributed a lot to this, and it is also related to Ji'an's fame in the frontier."

What Wang Yun said was true. Zhang Yu’s appointment as a filial and incorruptible official was not only due to Wang’s help, but also had something to do with his own reputation and strength.

After all, if you want others to support and help you, you must first strive to do well yourself, otherwise why would others help you?

Of course, Wang Yun said so, and Zhang Yu dared not refuse to thank Wang Yun.

"If it weren't for my uncle's planning for my future, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been a filial and honest official now," said Zhang Yu.

"From now on, you should be loyal to the Han Dynasty and serve it with all your strength!" Wang Yun advised.

"Yes!" Zhang Yu responded with a loyal look.

"correct!"

Wang Yun thought of something and said, "Yingchuan is now at peace, and the Yellow Turbans in Runan have been pacified. After some time, I will move the state capital to Qiao County."

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your Excellency, do you want to govern Pei?"

"Ok!"

Wang Yun said: "Zhao Gou, the Prime Minister of Pei State, is an official under the Ten Eunuchs. Since he took over Pei State, he has imposed heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes, and has never achieved any political achievements. In addition, the Yellow Turbans in his county have been causing trouble for a long time. In order to quickly stabilize Pei State, I need to go to Qiao County to inspect it myself."

Then he added, "This time we are traveling east to Qiao County, Ji'an doesn't have to accompany me."

"Why is this?" Zhang Yu asked puzzledly.

Wang Yun pointed to the letter from Guo Yu in Zhang Yu's hand and said with a smile, "September and October are the months when the county officials and officials go to Luoyang. Now that Ji'an has been selected as an official, if he follows me to Qiao County, I'm afraid he will be late for Luoyang."

Logically speaking, the Yellow Turban Rebellion would affect the counties' reports and the trips of the Xiaolian officials to the Shangshutai. However, judging from the current situation, it is only a matter of time before the Yellow Turban Rebellion is quelled, and many areas have already been quelled.

For example, although Huangfu Song had just taken over the war in Hebei not long ago, Zhang Jiao died of illness in Guangzong, and now the Yellow Turban Army is led by his younger brother Zhang Liang.

As for the Nanyang battle that Zhu Jun was in charge of, after he killed Zhao Hong, the Yellow Turban Army, led by their leader Han Zhong, retreated to the inner city of Wancheng and was now heavily surrounded by the Han army.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "There are still remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Pei State. For the sake of my uncle's safety, I will escort him to his new post."

"No need!"

Wang Yun shook his head and said, "Can An leave some cavalry for me?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu's heart sank a little, and he said, "A hundred riders have followed me south for a long time, and many of them miss their hometown now. How about leaving fifty riders with you?"

Upon learning that he was recommended as a filial and honest official, Zhang Yu planned to let the soldiers return home. However, facing Wang Yun's request for cavalry, Zhang Yu hesitated, but considering his relationship with Wang Yun, he still agreed.

"Fifty?"

Wang Yun thought for a moment and said, "Dismiss the Hu cavalry and keep more Han cavalry in the army."

"promise!"

After chatting with Wang Yun for a while, Zhang Yu returned to the military camp with a worried look on his face.

Leaving fifty cavalrymen with Wang Yun may not seem like a big deal, but Zhang Yu was a little worried that these fifty cavalrymen would be lost outside, or that these fifty cavalrymen would be controlled by others. Therefore, if he wanted to leave fifty cavalrymen in Yuzhou, Zhang Yu needed to find a reliable leader for them.

Zhang Yu thought about the candidates and eliminated Shi Yi and Hao Zhao one after another, leaving only his cousin Li Song as the candidate.

After calling General Li Song, Zhang Yu said, "I have been recommended by Guo Dingxiang as a filial and incorrupt official, and will soon be sent to the Shangshutai in Luoyang. And Envoy Wang will also move the state capital to Qiao County to take charge of the affairs of Pei State."

Li Song was quite pleased and asked, "Jian is going to be appointed as an official, why are you worried?"

"I am worried about my subordinates!"

Zhang Yu said, "I originally wanted to send a hundred cavalrymen back home, but the envoy wanted fifty cavalrymen to serve as his entourage. Now I cannot rest assured that someone else will lead the fifty cavalrymen. So I want to let Bo Song lead the fifty cavalrymen on my behalf and serve the envoy Wang. What do you think?"

Li Song hesitated and said unconfidently: "I am not very capable and I am afraid I cannot lead fifty riders."

"I will leave Shi Yi to assist me, and I will also have Cheng Demou to help me."

Zhang Yu understood Li Song's nervousness about leading the team alone, and said, "After I leave, do not hand over the troops, and pay attention to the safety of Envoy Wang."

Seeing that Li Song was still not confident enough, Zhang Yu said, "I will talk about some things in the near future, just listen carefully."

"Remember Ji An's instructions!"

(End of this chapter)