Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 170 Father's love is as high as a mountain, how could Yun not repay it with his life?

Zhang Xun brought 20,000 elite troops from Danyang to Lujiang. While they were more than capable of defending the city, they lacked the ability to make any significant advances.

It's not that we can't fight; the Danyang soldiers are constantly clamoring and boasting that they will break out of the city and often launch counterattacks when the enemy attacks the city.

However, General Zhang Xun appeared extremely composed. Even though the Jingzhou troops were already showing signs of defeat and chaos, he resolutely ordered his soldiers not to leave the city to pursue them.

His military tactics were as steady as a tortoise, leaving Wen Ping helpless and frustrated in his camp.

"I have already suffered eight consecutive defeats, deliberately causing my soldiers to flee in disarray and morale to plummet. Why aren't they coming out of the city to chase me?"
Could it be that Zhang Xun has already seen through my plan to feign weakness and lure the enemy? General Zhang Xun is indeed unfathomable.

No wonder he was on par with Ji Ling and was even left by Yuan Shu to guard the rear. It seems that Zhang Xun and Ji Ling were both top generals under Yuan Shu, one skilled in defense and the other in offense.

If Zhang Xun does not leave the city with his field army, but instead focuses solely on defending the city with his 20,000 elite troops, a strong attack by me would result in casualties, which contradicts my lord's instruction to prioritize preserving our strength.

But if we don't launch a full-scale attack, how can we capture Lujiang and force Shouchun to join our lord's strategy of relieving the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao, thus forcing Yuan Shu's main force to return to reinforce the city?

Wen Ping frowned for a long time, unable to advance or retreat, facing Zhang Xun across the city, and had no good plan.

But Zhang Xun in the city was happy to see this protracted struggle going.

He had made up his mind that as long as he didn't make a move, he would be an invincible general. As long as he didn't go out and fight Wen Ping, Zhang Xun would be invincible in terms of defense.

Anyway, he doesn't plan to advance on Jingzhou. The one who's anxious is definitely Wen Ping, who's on the offensive. If we stall him for a few days, and Wen Ping can't hold out any longer and retreat, we can send a military report to our lord.

I, Zhang Xun, with 20,000 men against 50,000, utterly defeated Wen Ping at Lujiang, my might shaking the nine prefectures of Jingzhou!

Thus, Wen Pin and Zhang Xun faced off in Lujiang, neither gaining the upper hand for the time being, while Yan Xiang in Shouchun looked at the spoils of war being continuously transported back from the north.

A full 50,000 Black Mountain bandit prisoners of war!
Yan Xiang: "."

Could it be that after obtaining the Imperial Seal, my lord has truly been blessed by Heaven and possesses divine wisdom, just as the old Taoist Yu Ji of Mount Bagong said?
I haven't even asked him for help yet, and he's already sending troops to my rear. What's going on?

In short, after receiving the 50,000 prisoners of war as a reward from his lord, Yan Xiang selected the able-bodied young men and discarded the dross, choosing 20,000 soldiers who were willing to join the army and were ready to fight.

The rest were made tenant farmers and managed in various scattered settlements.

The main problem is that these Black Mountain bandits are all defeated soldiers who have already been terrified by Yuan's army. If they are not carefully selected and forcibly sent to the front line, they might just cause more trouble.

Yan Xiang carefully selected those who were brave and capable of fighting, choosing loyal and reliable individuals, distributing them with excellent weapons, and enticing them with military pay and titles.

For the lower-ranking soldiers, serving in the army and receiving a salary was much better than being a lowly soldier in the Black Mountain, where they sometimes went hungry and sometimes full.
Therefore, from the 50,000 Black Mountain bandits, the best and worst were separated, and 20,000 were barely selected. Although they could not compare to the elite Danyang soldiers, they were still soldiers who had seen blood on the battlefield.

Now that more troops have arrived and are about to be sent to Lujiang to support Zhang Xun, Yan Xiang faces another problem: who should be appointed as the general to lead these 20,000 men?

It should be noted that these 20,000 men were originally Black Mountain bandits. If it weren't for a general like Zhang Xun who possessed real skills and was comparable to Ji Ling in command, it would have been difficult for an ordinary general to control them.

If the support fails, it might instead burden General Zhang Xun, or lead to him plundering the people in various places and damaging Lord Yuan's reputation, which would not be a good thing.

When everyone gathered in the main hall of Shouchun Palace to discuss the selection of a military leader, one person stepped forward. It was none other than Wang Lang, the dean of Shouchun Academy!
"Lord Yama!"

"Prince?"

"Lord Yan, I, Wang, volunteer for battle!"

Since arriving in Shouchun, I, Wang, have made no contribution whatsoever, yet I have been entrusted with this high position by the trust of our lord.

Whenever I meet the admiring gazes of the students, I feel ashamed and unworthy of my lord.

Now that a powerful enemy is invading, if Lord Yan has no suitable candidate for general, I, Wang, though incompetent, will not shirk my duty!
"Lord Yan, you may not know this, but when I was the governor of Kuaiji, I also commanded a large army and fought against Yan Baihu of Wu Commandery, and won many battles."

Yan Xiang: "."

Yan Xiang barely managed to keep his composure. "My goodness, Your Majesty! When you were commanding the army in Kuaiji, didn't you surrender to my lord after only two days of fighting?"
And what about Yan Baihu of Wu Commandery? He's the one whose name only appeared once in the military report:

Is that the little bandit Yan Baihu who stubbornly resisted at the stronghold, was killed by the generals in a short time, and his body was divided among the generals to share the credit?
Unfortunately, Wang Lang was a renowned scholar with high moral character and prestige, so Yan Xiang couldn't easily offend him.

Just then, a messenger urgently reported that a letter from the lord had arrived!
When Yan Xiang opened the letter and read it, he understood the detailed arrangements Yuan Shu had made for a certain adopted son. He couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh, "Is our lord truly a divine being?"

The ministers were puzzled, so Yan Xiang smiled and said to them:
"A divine general has been sent by heaven. Our lord's fifth adopted son is about to arrive. With him leading the troops, we have nothing to worry about."

"The fifth adopted son? But the military report says: Zhao Zilong of Changshan, who charged in and out of Mengcheng seven times, slaying eighteen generals, a lone rider on a white horse with a silver spear, fighting against ten thousand men and defeating an army of ten thousand?"

Although that's what the military report says, everyone knows that Yuan's army is now following the example of his superiors and subordinates, and that Yuan is fond of grandiose achievements.

Therefore, even Yuan's own military reports should be viewed with suspicion, even by his own people within the Yuan army.

But only Yan Xiang, who had carefully read Yuan Shu's letter and understood its hidden meanings, knew the truth.

Good heavens, although most of Yuan's military reports these days contain elements of exaggeration, Zhao Yun's report, which seems the most outrageous, of seven charges in and out of enemy lines and fighting against ten thousand men single-handedly, is actually true.

Even judging from the meaning in the lord's letter, the reason why Zhao Yun was able to charge in and out seven times and fight against ten thousand men was because Sun Qing only had ten thousand men under his command, not because Zhao Yun's limit was ten thousand men!

Yan Xiang: "???"

My lord, is your fifth adopted son even human?
Regardless, upon hearing that such a divine general would soon arrive in Shouchun, Yan Xiang was no longer flustered.

What is there to worry about? Our lord is so considerate that while fighting a bloody battle on the front lines, he can also send troops and generals back to the rear.

Let alone holding Lujiang and repelling Wen Ping, if you send more men, my lord, I'll be ready to launch a preemptive strike and invade Jingzhou.

As for the claim that Zhao Yun came to ask Gongsun Zan for supplies, urgently needing to ship them by sea to Youzhou?
What a joke! Jiang Qin's navy is still fighting Cai Mao and Zhang Yun on the Yangtze River. Young Master Yun, if you don't first defeat Wen Pin in Lujiang, I can't requisition large ships for you!
Although this group of 50,000 Black Mountain bandits was defeated by Yuan Shu earlier, and had arrived long before Zhao Yun.

However, they were prisoners of war and traveling on foot, making their progress slow, while Zhao Yun and his eighteen riders were all on fast horses. As a result, the two arrived in Shouchun at roughly the same time.

After reading the letter, Yan Xiang understood that Yuan Shu wanted Zhao Yun to feel a strong sense of fatherly love in order to win him over. He immediately gave instructions to everyone.

"Young Master Yun will arrive in half a day. Please follow me to make some preparations, and we will go out of the city to welcome him."

Now, after Zhao Yun parted ways with Yuan Shu, he rode eighteen white horses straight to Shouchun. Along the way, the people on both sides of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, having heard of his name as the adopted son of Lord Yuan, all welcomed him with food and drink.

Zhao Yun then realized just how prestigious his adoptive father was in the Jianghuai region.

Seeing that his adoptive father was blocking Cao Cao and Liu Bei on the front lines in the north, and was also implementing benevolent policies in the south, annexing the land of local powerful families and renting it out to the people.

This ensured stability and prosperity in Huainan, in contrast to the famine and displacement of the people in the north caused by wars among feudal lords and rampant banditry.

Zhao Yun sighed softly, "I previously thought that Liu Bei's benevolence was rare in this world."

Now that I have met my adoptive father, I understand that enabling the people under his rule to live in peace and prosperity is called benevolence, and rescuing people from suffering in times of chaos is called virtue.

"Having traveled far and wide, I have seen many lords throughout the land, but none possessed the benevolence and virtue of Lord Yuan. Now that I have become his adoptive father, what more could I ask for?"

When a procession of white horses arrived in Shouchun, the city gates were opened wide, officials welcomed them, and the people lined the streets to cheer.

"It's Yuan Gongyi's adopted son!"

"The last issue of the official gazette of Shouchun reported that Yuan Gong's fifth adopted son, named Zhao Zilong of Changshan, charged in and out seven times, treating ten thousand troops as nothing." "I wonder when Young Master Bofu will return. I even drank a cup of wedding wine at his wedding last year."

"If you ask me, Xu Sheng, our third adopted son from Wu County, is the most capable."

With fewer than a thousand men, he decisively defeated Cao Cao's five thousand troops, and in thirty rounds, he defeated the great general Dian Wei. Even Yuan Shao called him the Tiger General of Jianghuai.

"You're talking nonsense! Xu Sheng is from Langya. He was just staying in Wu County before. How did he become someone from Wu County?"
Clearly, it is Yuan Gong's second adopted son, our Chen Shuzhi from Runan who is formidable!

One man and one general held off Dian Wei's 20,000-strong army, and even when questioned, Dian Wei dared not come forward to fight.

"Well, actually I think the fourth adopted son, Young Master Xiahou, is also a remarkable person. With General Zhengbei as his backer, his future prospects are probably limitless."

As the crowd argued over which adopted son was more powerful, an old Taoist priest, with white hair and a youthful face, dressed in a Taoist robe, floated in.

He splashed the talisman water while letting out a long sigh.

"Gentlemen, please do not argue. It is because Lord Yuan personally braved arrows and stones, abandoned his comfortable and wealthy life, and led a group of adopted sons to the front line to block the tyrannical and wicked lords under the rule of Heaven that we have the peaceful and prosperous world before us."

Our peace and tranquility are thanks to Lord Yuan and his adopted sons who carried the burden for us.

Today, Young Master Yun has returned. All people, please follow the old Taoist priest and pray for his well-being, to ward off misfortune and disaster.

"The old immortal has arrived!"

"That's wonderful! With the blessing of the old immortal, may Young Master Yun be victorious in every battle."

"May Young Master Yun achieve even greater success and bring forth frequent good news."

"Although we cannot fight on the front lines, we offer this sentiment as a prayer for Young Master Yun, and ask Heaven to protect him."

The people prayed sincerely to clear the road. The old Taoist priest sprinkled talismanic water along the way to cleanse the streets. He then performed the ritual of walking on the Big Dipper and came to Zhao Yun, where he bowed.

Those who follow the will of Heaven live long, while those who defy it perish.

Lord Yuan obeyed the will of Heaven, and the young master followed the trend of the times. Now, at Lord Yan's request, I, along with the wishes and efforts of the people, pray for the young master's salvation.

The Great Way is illusory, but the heart is true; it depends only on whether one believes or not.

With deepest sentiments, I hope you will not disappoint the people. This humble Taoist priest, a man of the world, will depart now!

Zhao Yun had never seen anything like this before; he had only ever been a military commander under Gongsun Zan.

Is he gathering the wishes of the masses to pray for blessings for himself? Prayers may be illusory, but the expectant eyes of the people around him are more real than those of gods and immortals.

My godfather's love and the hopes of all people are profound. How can I ever repay such kindness?
At this moment, Zhao Yun knew that even if he returned to Youzhou in the future, these people of Jianghuai would still care about and be concerned about him, just as they had discussed Yuan Gong's adopted sons before.

Even worse, some would argue with others over who was better than Zhao Yun in order to claim his name.

This reminded Zhao Yun of Changshan, and of his elder brother at home who was in poor health but treated him like a father.

Even in Changshan, he was always concerned about himself and would argue with others over news of himself.

Now, facing these people who regarded him as family and were eagerly waiting for him, Zhao Yun bowed deeply and remained silent for a long time.

When Yan Xiang and his ministers dispersed the people to welcome him, Zhao Yun looked up and saw that the old immortal from before had already disappeared.

Yan Xiang saw this and laughed, saying:

"That was Yu Ji, a Taoist priest from Taiping Temple. I know that you came from Youzhou and have faced many life-and-death situations and hardships along the way. I specially invited him to help you get rid of your troubles and wash away the dust of your journey."

"If you wish to see him, sir, go to Mount Bagong outside the city and seek out the Taiping Temple."

When he saw the officials of Shouchun, they all regarded the white-haired old minister in front of them as their leader. Moreover, he was a civil official, and he always had a precious sword hanging at his waist.

Zhao Yun immediately recognized the man before him as Yan Xiang, the head of the civil officials in Yuan Shao's camp, who was in charge of the rear for his adoptive father.

He quickly bowed and presented Yuan Shu's letter.

"But is it in person, Lord Yan? This is a letter from my godfather, asking me to give it to you personally."

Yan Xiang took the letter, pretended to look at it, and then nodded.

"In fact, our lord was afraid that we would neglect you if we did not receive the letter, so he sent it by express courier earlier. I already know everything in the letter."

Young Master Yun, rest assured, since the lord has already agreed to your request, Shouchun will not be negligent in any way.

The city's newly crafted heavy armor and cavalry gear are all in the warehouse, originally intended to be shipped to the northern front with the next batch of supplies. Now that you've arrived, we can give them all to you to send to Youzhou.

"what?"

At this moment, Zhao Yun was truly stunned by the kindness shown to him by the people of Yuan's camp.

From his adoptive father, Lord Yuan, to the people of Jianghuai, and now to this white-haired old minister before him, everyone treated him so well that he felt deeply ashamed.

Now that they heard that he was coming to ask for supplies, Shouchun not only did not delay at all, but even wanted to take away all the heavy armor and cavalry equipment that was originally intended to be sent to his adoptive father at the front line.

This... This is clearly something I came here to ask for supplies from Yuan's camp on behalf of General Gongsun. I should have accepted everything that came my way, and ideally, taken as much as possible.

But why? Why are you people from Yuan's camp treating me so well, to the point that I'm embarrassed to accept your kindness now?

"Um, Lord Yan, I imagine my godfather is in a tense situation at the front. How about we supply him first?"

Yan Xiang smiled.

"What are you saying, Young Master Yun? My lord has already said in his letter that you should be the first priority in everything. Since he has already promised to give it to you, are you asking me to disobey his orders and make him break his promise to you?"

Zhao Yun was deeply moved!

"However, there is one thing I need to explain to Young Master Yun: heavy armor cavalry equipment is difficult to manufacture. At present, Shouchun has only made 108 new sets. I hope that you will not think it is too few."

As you've likely seen, out of our lord's 100,000-strong army, only twenty-eight bodies remained.

Too little?

How could Zhao Yun possibly complain about having too little?
The parents loved their son dearly. Of the 136 sets of heavy armor, they only used 28 for themselves and gave the rest to Zhao Yun.

A father's love is as strong as a mountain; Zhao Yun was almost moved to tears.

"You think it's too little? What kind of person does Lord Yan regard Yun as?"
When Yun arrived at his adoptive father's place, his adoptive father said, "If I cannot repay your kindness by slaying generals and raising banners for you in this life, even unto death, how can I face the world? I would be unworthy of being called a great man!"

"Very well! Young Master Yun has such intentions, but I currently have a difficult problem and a request that I cannot refuse."

To be honest, although our lord promised you, young master, to order Jiang Qin to send large ships with the navy to deliver supplies to Youzhou, your timing is simply unfortunate.

(End of this chapter)