Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 95: Meeting an Old Friend in Yanbei

Zhang Yu originally thought that since he was so close to the frontier and guarding the border in Yanbei, he would not be able to see his old friends, but unexpectedly, the mayor of Pingcheng turned out to be an old friend.

Yang Zan, the governor of Pingcheng, was a divine man Zhang Yu met when he was a palace official in Luoyang. When Yang Zan was attending the court meeting, he ignored his status and participated in the court meeting, whether to attract attention or because he did not know the rules. Later, when assigning official positions, he was thrown into Lucheng, Yanmen County, by Liu Yu.

I saw Yang Zan again after two years. Perhaps because of the hardships and beatings he had experienced in the frontier environment, Yang Zan had lost his recklessness.

In the county hall of Pingcheng, Yang Zan said with emotion: "I have been in Yanmen for more than two years and have never seen my old friends. Now in the bitter cold of Pingcheng, I am lucky to meet Ji'an."

Yang Zan and Zhang Yu did not have much in common, but things are different now. It is a pity to meet a familiar face in the unfamiliar Yanbei area.

Zhang Yu smiled and asked, "If I remember correctly, Gong Tan was originally the mayor of Lucheng. How come he is now the mayor of Pingcheng?"

Yang Zan said with a hint of resentment, "Last winter, the Xianbei suddenly came south to plunder, and the former Pingcheng chief was accidentally shot and killed. Because Zan was able to govern Lucheng well, he was transferred to the position of Pingcheng chief."

After a pause, Yang Zan said enviously: "Among the officials of the same period, Ji An was promoted very quickly. He was promoted from a county magistrate to a deputy lieutenant, and now he has even gone to Yanbei to protect the Xiongnu at Yanmen."

"The Xianbei invaded, and Your Majesty considered me a fellow villager, so he appointed me like this." Zhang Yu smiled and said, "From now on, I will serve in Yanbei with you, and we will need to visit each other."

"It's natural!"

Yang Zan was relieved and said, "There are not many soldiers in the city. I was worried that the Xianbei would go south to plunder. Now that we have Ji'an's 800 soldiers, we don't have to worry about Pingcheng anymore!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu asked, "What is the current situation of Qiang Yin and Chang Cheng?"

Yang Zan thought for a moment and replied, "Since the defeat at Xiping, Qiangyin has been repeatedly plundered, and many people have fled south. Since the border trade was opened, because of the Chanhepo Salt Pond, the county wanted to send soldiers and officials to the north, but they were threatened by the Hu people on the way and could not go north, so they returned south. Qiangyin may be occupied by the Hu people, or it has been abandoned."

"As for the border fortresses of the Great Wall, there are no Han soldiers guarding it. Instead, the Wuhuan and Xiongnu are guarding the border. Last year, the Xianbei invaded, and the two Hu were defeated and moved south. At the beginning of the year, there was no governor in Pingcheng, and many of the two Hu rebelled."

The defeat of Xiping is not well-known in history, but the impact it brought was comparable to the Ming Dynasty's defeat at Sarhu in Liaodong.

After the defeat at Sarhu, the Ming lost the initiative in the Liaodong battlefield, and many important towns were lost one after another. After the defeat at Xiping, the Eastern Han lost the initiative in the You and Bing borders, and because of the Xianbei's constant looting, the Han people were either plundered or fled the dangerous borders, which led to the collapse of the border defense system.

The population of Yunzhong and Wuyuan counties was displaced, and Yanmen County, which had the largest population, was also not doing well. The Yanbei area was reduced to Pingcheng. If Pingcheng was abandoned again, the Datong Basin would become the front line of the conflict between Han and Hu.

"When I first took office, I was afraid that the Xianbei would plunder this year, so I had to relax my rule in order to borrow the power of the Hu people to defend the border. Now that Ji'an has brought his troops here, he may be able to intimidate the Hu people and prevent them from invading the Han people." Yang Zan said thankfully.

Seeing that Yang Zan had misunderstood the cause and effect, Zhang Yu corrected him and said, "The Hu tribe relies on protecting the frontier and ignores the law. If you want to make the Hu people fear you, you must use strict laws. It is not until our troops arrive in Pingcheng that we can make the Hu tribe fear you."

Yang Zan seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Ji'an's words make sense. If we need to deal with the Hu people in the future, perhaps Ji'an can help us."

"I am the protector of the Xiongnu and will cooperate with Gong Tan to control the Huns." Zhang Yu said.

"Thank you Jian!"

"Don't dare!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a while and said, "Although my officers are cavalrymen, the army is short of horses."

Yang Zan instantly understood Zhang Yu's intention and said with a smile, "Pingcheng is close to the border, there should be many horses. Let me take a look at the horses under my jurisdiction."

"Thank you, Gongtan!"

Zhang Yu went to Yanbei to station troops, and was worried that the local officials would be at odds with him. But seeing that it was an old friend who was appointed, Zhang Yu felt a little relieved.

After meeting with Yang Zan, Zhang Yu did not set up camp in Pingcheng, but led his troops to build a camp on Baideng Mountain, seven miles away from Pingcheng.

The reason why Zhang Yu went to Baideng Mountain to set up a camp was not because he intended to trace the traces of the ancients, but because he could overlook the surroundings of Pingcheng by occupying Baideng Mountain. There were springs, pools, and streams on the mountain, which made it easy for Zhang Yu's troops to obtain resources.

When setting up camp on Baideng Mountain, Yang Zan kept his promise and asked the county officials to send more than 60 horses. Although most of them were camels, they were still horses. From another perspective, it was Yang Zan's gesture of goodwill to Zhang Yu.

"The captain is here!"

When building the camp, Zhang Yu personally inspected the construction work of the camp.

Hao Zhao was sharp-eyed and when he saw the egret feathers on Zhang Yu's head, he immediately ordered the soldiers to disperse and show off their work results.

"Bo Dao!" Zhang Yu shouted.

"The general is here!"

Hao Zhao stepped out from the crowd and responded.

"How are the deer antlers?" asked Zhang Yu.

Hao Zhao led Zhang Yu and pointed at the antlers that were almost finished, saying, "Captain, the antlers are almost done. Please inspect them."

Hao Zhao, Zhang Liao, and Shi Yi were the three major generals under Zhang Yu, and each of them was responsible for repairing part of the camp. For example, Zhang Liao was assigned to dig a manure pit, Shi Yi was responsible for clearing the grass and trees in the camp, and Hao Zhao was responsible for repairing the antlers. In addition to considering military geography issues, the soldiers' eating, drinking, and defecation issues must also be considered when marching to the camp. This series of issues requires a lot of ability from the chief officer. Fortunately, Zhang Yu had read a lot of military books, and with the experience of the Yellow Turban War, it was not a problem for him to take care of 800 people.

Zhang Yu touched the antlers and said, "After the antlers are repaired, remember to place them according to the camp map."

"Yes!" Hao Zhao nodded in response.

After inspecting Lujiao, Zhang Yu took Hao Zhao outside and asked, "How have you been leading the troops these days? Do your men obey you?"

Hao Zhao scratched his head and said, "Many of the 200 men under my command were recruited by me. Some bullied me because I was young, but I was defeated. Since I took command of the army, I have followed my brother's advice and shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. Many of them love me."

The officers and soldiers under Zhang Yu were mostly young. Hao Zhao, Zhang Liao and Li Song were all relatively young. If they were underestimated, it would be difficult for them to lead the soldiers.

Since the formation of the army, Zhang Yu has held more than one meeting with his subordinates to discuss how to lead the troops and teach military discipline in order to achieve unity as soon as possible.

"Bodao!"

Zhang Yu said patiently, "A general of a hundred men rises early and sleeps late, and speaks carefully; a general of a thousand men is upright and thoughtful, brave and able to fight; a general of ten thousand men looks dignified, but has a fierce heart, knows how hard people work, and knows when people are hungry and cold."

"Bo Dao is currently working diligently and working with the soldiers, but he can only be a general of 100 men. If Bo Dao wants to make further progress, he needs to support his confidants and find minions to do trivial things for you. And you should think more about marching and fighting, and how to win and defeat the enemy. I think Bo Dao has extraordinary talent, and he will be able to lead 10,000 men in the future."

"Zhao will definitely live up to my brother's trust!" Hao Zhao replied in a deep voice.

"good!"

Soon, Hao Zhao directed his men to get busy.

Since Zhang Yu started to socialize with celebrities, he gradually discovered a fact: many civil officials and military generals left their names in history, and they did have their own unique qualities. But this does not mean that they were born outstanding, it only means that they have the potential to become outstanding people.

Zhang Yu had been a leader in both of his lives, and he knew very well that not everyone was worth training, and that only a few people could be trained into talents. Training talents was actually like gambling on stones or opening blind boxes. Sometimes you would make mistakes, and sometimes you could actually make money.

If we spend time cultivating people who will leave their names in history, there is a high probability that they can be cultivated, and their achievements may be even more outstanding than those in history.

Today, Zhang Yu leads an army of 800 men with a pure purpose. In addition to making achievements, his goal is to train his trusted backbones such as Zhang Liao, Hao Zhao, Shi Yi, and Li Song into qualified officers.

"Captain, the leader of the southern left is here to pay you a visit!"

Meng Ningzhi walked over quickly and said with a bow.

Considering that Meng Ning was good at walking but not riding, Zhang Yu arranged for him to temporarily serve as an assassin and be in charge of military discipline.

"Huh~"

Zhang Yu was a little surprised. He had wanted to wait until the soldiers were settled before visiting General Zuo Nan's headquarters, but he did not expect that the leader of Zuo Nan would take the initiative to come to him.

"go!"

Although the camp was under repair, Zhang Yu's tent had already been set up.

Inside the big tent, Zhang Yu received Hu Yanhe, the leader from General Zuonan's army.

General Zuo Nan's troops belonged to a middle-level tribe within the Xiongnu. During the Xiongnu period, they were responsible for fighting in the Yanmen and Daijun areas bordering You and Bing. During the period of southward migration, General Zuo Nan's troops moved inland to the Great Wall to guard Yanmen County.

The leader, Hu Yanhe, was over forty years old and had a thick beard. Because he had been interacting with the Han people for many years, he wore clothes similar to Han clothes, so it was hard to tell that he was a Xiongnu.

"The captain has come to Yanbei to protect the border. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person." Hu Yanhe said with a bow.

Zhang Yu returned the greeting by bowing his hands, saying, "I had intended to pay a visit to your department, but I did not expect you to come early, which is inappropriate. I wonder what important matter has brought you here, Chief?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's direct words, Hu Yanhe hesitated for a moment and asked, "I wonder how many soldiers the captain brought north?"

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and asked, "What do you mean, leader?"

Hu Yanhe said, "To be honest, last year the Xianbei came south to plunder, and many of our people were killed or injured. In addition, many of our people were separated in the past, and our tribe only has more than 2,000 tribes. The number of soldiers available is decreasing, and we are unable to defend the border for the country. I don't know if we can be allowed to move south."

General Zuo Nan was quite unlucky. When Xiping was defeated, he followed the Chanyu's orders and sent many strong men to fight. As a result, 30,000 elite cavalry were defeated. The Xianbei continued to plunder the south and enter the Great Wall from Yanmen. They often retaliated against Zuo Nanbu, causing his army to fail.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I have 800 soldiers. Although the troops are not numerous, they are all recruited and very brave. We are stationed in Yanbei to protect the southern part of the left wing. We also follow the military orders of the imperial court, are friendly with Budugen, and guard against Jian Man's southern plunder."

After a pause, Zhang Yu said, "The Xianbei are now divided, each calling themselves Chanyu, and are no longer as prosperous as they used to be. It would be better for the leaders to stay in Yanbei for a while and wait and see what happens in the future. I will report the matter of the southward migration to the court, and I dare not make the decision."

Regardless of whether Zhang Yu had the right to approve Zuo Nanbu's migration to the south, in terms of his demands, Zuo Nanbu did not meet the requirements of the court and Zhang Yu.

"Thank you, Captain!" Hu Yanhe said.

(End of this chapter)