Tiger Guards

Chapter 246: Battle of Zhending
In Zhending County, Zhang Yan had just finished an internal meeting.

After the military leaders dispersed, Zhang Yan sat alone in front of the map, staring blankly.

Rumors were spreading inside and outside the army, saying that the Yuan and Zhao families had reached a truce and that they had been betrayed by the Zhao family.

Therefore, the leaders of each army urgently requested to withdraw their troops, and the peripheral forces could accept it even if they lost some spoils.

The Battle of Changshan had already left psychological scars on the various units of the Black Mountain Army.

The same is true now. Those who arrived in Zhending first have already grabbed some things.

If they can win the battle, these people don't mind staying on the front line to confront Yuan's army.

But if Zhao Ji negotiates peace with Yuan Shao, it will be dangerous to stay in Zhending.

Once Yuan Shao's main force surrounds us, it will be difficult to escape unscathed.

After all... I have already grabbed some things, so the trip was worthwhile.

This was very different from Zhang Yan's plan. Zhang Yan also knew that he could not annihilate the Yuan family in one go. He had to severely damage or delay the main force of the Yuan family to create opportunities for Gongsun Zan.

Relatively speaking, Gongsun Zan paid more attention to regional obedience and did not care who the land belonged to.

Yuan Shao had more to consider here. He expelled Han Fu and killed the people with the same surname, noble family, and powerful people in Jizhou, basically dealing a heavy blow to the imperial faction in Jizhou.

By eliminating so many powerful families, Yuan Shao obtained military supplies and manpower, and the powerful families who followed and supported him obtained more means of production.

Therefore, Yuan Shao and the powerful people who occupied the ruling position in Jizhou generally benefited from it, and it was impossible for them to allow the Black Mountain Army to return home.

Even though there is obviously enough land per capita now, after several generations of reproduction, no amount of land will be enough.

He would rather let his descendants fight for land and die than let them unite and fight against outsiders.

No matter how fierce the internal strife is, the final winner will still be one's own descendants; if outsiders are allowed in, there is a risk of the clan being destroyed if one is not careful.

In this long-term event that concerns hundreds or even thousands of years, the people of Jizhou showed extreme unity.

The far-sighted leaders of the Montenegrin Army naturally do not want to compromise for the sake of survival, otherwise their descendants will be trapped in the mountains for generations, and there will be almost no chance for them to succeed in the future.

They don't even have the opportunity to study or work as officials. Productivity is insufficient, hunger is the norm, and it is highly likely that they will be extinct if they can't get married.

Even if you try to survive tenaciously, when the big families in Hebei are short of strong slaves, they will come to the mountains to capture slaves. If they capture you, your life will be worse than death. When the counties are short of soldiers, they will also come to the mountains to coax and capture you by force.

In short, only losers would be trapped in the mountains and passively wait for extinction.

Unfortunately, those who have foresight are always a minority among the crowd.

Zhang Yan was helpless. When the Black Mountain Army in Zhending began to withdraw, the Black Mountain Army that was sweeping the periphery would also rush to retreat.

Then all the neutral and powerful people who have paid grain will hear the news and cooperate with Yuan's army to pursue and kill the various units of the Black Mountain Army.

Just like the Battle of Changshan that year, just a slight defeat led to the entire army's collapse, and they were chased and killed by Yuan's army and the coalition forces of powerful people.

"General Daqu, the envoy from the Marquis of Zhao has arrived."

Hearing the sound, Zhang Yan stood up suddenly, walked out quickly, and saw Zhao Fan also walking quickly towards him.

Zhao Fan had also heard what had happened to the Black Mountain Army and dared not delay. Seeing Zhang Yan, he immediately took out the letter and said, "General, here is Minister Zhao's reply."

Zhang Yan eagerly took it and read it, frowning, "The emperor is returning to Luodu?"

"Yes, the King of Chen and Marquis Lü Meng are joining forces in Yan and Yu to attack the treacherous minister Cao Cao. The Emperor will lead the royal army and General Zhang of Henei to assist in the battle."

Zhao Fan quickly replied, "The emperor has bestowed upon Minister Zhao the imperial banner and chariot. Minister Zhao will soon lead his army north with the imperial banner and chariot to aid us in the battle."

Zhang Yan still frowned, not because they loved the emperor so much.

But if the emperor arrived in Changshan, the neutral warlords would immediately turn against Yuan Shao and rise up to attack him. Yuan Shao would lose his external support and his army would become unstable.

It was precisely because the emperor personally led the army that the various Black Mountain troops rushed down the mountain to join the battle.

At the same time, the emperor can rule the world. After defeating the Yuan family, he can pardon the crimes of the various Black Mountain Army units. They can naturally return home to seize their ancestral lands, and even reversely annex them!

Zhang Yan looked at Zhao Ji's handwritten letter, in which Zhao Ji promised to lead 3,000 elite cavalry to the north to assist in the battle... Zhang Yan had no idea how strong these 3,000 elite cavalry were, but he felt that the prospects were a bit pessimistic.

His expression gradually softened. At least the news of Zhao Ji sending troops to aid the battle would stabilize the morale of the Black Mountain Army and prevent a total collapse. "The situation is critical now, even angels can sense it. I will write this letter immediately and submit it to Minister Zhao, requesting the swift dispatch of reinforcements."

Zhang Yan extended his arms to invite Zhao Fan, and Zhao Fan followed Zhang Yan into the house. Zhang Yan picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Zhao Ji.

If we cannot defeat the Yuan family in one battle, then we can safely evacuate with the spoils of this robbery and fight again next year.

Besides, as winter approaches, it is time for Gongsun Zan to show his power.

By that time, there must be people in the mountains who are short of food and are about to starve to death. At that time, organizing a death-defying army to go out of the mountains to help fight and ask for food will always weaken the Yuan family.

Zhao Fan did not dare to delay and immediately handed the letter to the envoy to send it quickly to Shangdang.

He came to the military camp on the outskirts of Zhending to look for Zhao Yun.

Among the powerful and heroic people in Changshan and Zhongshan who rose up in rebellion against Yuan Shikai, the powerful formed their own forces and formed an alliance, with their leader being granted the title of captain.

Although Zhao Yun was not a powerful person, he formed an alliance with other armed forces of similar nature and was appointed as the lieutenant of Changshan State by Zhao Ji.

The lieutenant of a prefecture or state is similar to a county lieutenant; the lieutenant of a marquisate or state is similar to a county lieutenant.

Therefore, the army that Zhao Yun was commanding and training was named Changshan Guobing.

Unlike the coalition forces of Changshan Duwei and Zhongshan Duwei, these powerful people had no intention of moving their families to Taiyuan.

Even if the situation is unfavorable, if they turn around and surrender to Yuan Shao, they will most likely be able to preserve their property and families, but they will have to pay hostages and be formally incorporated into Yuan's military system.

Therefore, these two armies had a way to retreat and were unwilling to move their families, and were controlled by Zhao Ji.

Zhao Yun's people are mostly small landlords, ordinary households, and poor families. They have no qualifications or room to negotiate with Yuan Shao.

Regarding the resistance forces of Zhao Yun, a small and humble family, Jizhou had no shortage of such armed forces that resisted Yuan Shao before. Yuan Shao called these armed forces bandits and had no interest in negotiations. He mainly suppressed, eliminated and digested them.

With no way to retreat, the families of the Changshan soldiers had already begun to migrate. In order to protect the migrating team, Zhao Yun repeatedly streamlined the troops, and finally left only 200 knights and 900 infantrymen, a total of less than 1,200 people.

There are also advantages to streamlining the personnel. Those who remain are all strong men, and the various miscellaneous equipment are gathered and then distributed on a preferential basis, making Zhao Yun's thousand-man national army exceptionally elite.

Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, this generation of young and middle-aged people have spent their time in war, and there is almost no need for any new recruit training.

Once the army is fully organized, it can be deployed to the battlefield.

Zhao Ji was very generous to Zhao Yun, and started by giving him the official rank of lieutenant of a county with a rank of 2,000 stones granted by the imperial court.

When Zhao Yun followed Gongsun Zan before, Gongsun Zan never treated him as a human being, but just as one of the many speculators in Jizhou.

Later, Gongsun Zan lent Zhao Yun to Liu Bei to help him command the knights. Liu Bei was just a prime minister of the incomplete Pingyuan State.

He was still the prime minister of the incomplete Pingyuan State. Pingyuan State was occupied by Yuan Tan and Tian Kai respectively. Liu Bei was under the command of Tian Kai and could only govern one county. He lacked control over other counties.

Later, when Tian Kai was defeated, Liu Bei's power grew slightly, but he simply divided the army into left and right divisions, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as Sima of each division.

Liu Bei was so poor, and after his connection with Youzhou was cut off by Yuan Shao, how many cavalrymen could he afford?
Therefore, Zhao Yun, the chief cavalryman, actually no longer had a decent cavalry team to command, and his main responsibility was to serve as Liu Bei's guards.

Later, Zhao Yun returned home to mourn, and Liu Bei took two thousand people to rescue Kong Rong and saved him from the Yellow Turban Army.

Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou, and Tao Qian sent an envoy to ask for help.

Kong Rong had no soldiers to help him fight, so Liu Bei could only take more than a thousand newly surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers and two thousand old subordinates, claiming to have three thousand men, and rushed to rescue Xuzhou.

Liu Bei did not like digging graves, nor would he plunder the powerful and wealthy. Without any unexpected wealth, the military strength of Liu Bei's army developed very slowly.

Relatively speaking, Zhao Yun did not resist Zhao Ji's appointment, at least it was a two thousand stone position recognized by the court.

At least Zhao Ji didn't do anything evil, and he was extremely calm in battle, which was in line with Zhao Yun's thinking.

As an excellent fighting general, Zhao Yun prefers to take a steady and cautious approach.

Zhao Fan entered the camp, and Zhao Yun, upon hearing the news, hurried to greet him. From a distance of a dozen steps, Zhao Yun bowed and said, "Angel."

"Zilong, there's no need to be so polite. Minister Zhao's military orders have arrived."

Zhao Fan took out the silk scroll and handed it forward, his expression delighted. "Minister Zhao has sent five hundred elite cavalry north, and they will be under Zilong's command!"

(End of this chapter)