At the turn of the old and new, news came that Yuan Shao had launched an army to attack Dong. According to Zhang Yang's legend, all the heroes from Guandong came together to fight against the national calamity. An army of 400,000 surrounded Luoyang, distributed in the north, south, south, and south. Tigers and flowers gathered together, eagles flew bravely, and everyone in Kyushu celebrated. He was determined to join King Qin's army, so he went to Chen Chong reported. At the end of the letter, Zhang Yang also said: As a celebrity of the gentry, Chen Chong is admired by the world. If he does not deal with this matter, he may lose the hope of the world.
According to Liu Bei's thinking, he was bound to win against Dong, but he took into account that Cai Yong, Zhong Yao and others were still in Luoyang, and knew that Dong Zhuo had a violent temper and might hurt others, so he asked Chen Chong. Chen Chong flipped over the map in his hand and said to Liu Bei: "Everyone has his own destiny. If we take these into consideration, the emperor would have been lost to Xiang Ji. If the great ancestor had stopped the war because of love, how could he have succeeded in Gaixia? Taishan is a man who understands reason and understands How to protect yourself wisely.”
So he made a plan to participate in the crusade against Dong. He just analyzed the situation of the crusade against Dong. Chen Chong thought it was extremely difficult. He said: "Although King Qin's army is powerful now, there are only a few people who can fight. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Han Fu, Liu Dai and Kong Ni had never been in battle and were mostly talking about war on paper. The only one who could be considered to have a strategy was Meng De, but he had only wiped out the Yellow Turbans. How could he compare with the Liang people who had been fighting against the rebels all year round? I also understand the abilities of Uncle Zhi (Zhang Yang). He is brave but not as strategic as Meng De. In this situation, the more Yuan Shao has, the faster and more miserable he will be. Even if Dong Zhuo can't figure it out for the moment, when he and the coalition forces After fighting once, you will understand who is strong and who is weak."
Liu Bei frowned when he heard this. He took a sip of wine, leaned back on the beam beside the case, then closed his eyes and said, "Aren't we going to join forces with Yuan Shao?"
Chen Chong put down the letter in his hand and thought of Yuan Shao's pretending to be generous and gloomy every time the Imperial Academy met each other. He couldn't help but laugh and said: "You still have to say hello, just come in." He turned to look out the door. Bai Baishan climbed the mountain, thinking about the next arrangement, and said to his brothers with a snap of his fingers: "The number of soldiers does not need to be as many as Yuan Benchu's, but it cannot be too few, but the most important thing is that we have to find some who can fight."
On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month of the first year of Chuping, the soldiers celebrated the new year and hugged their families goodbye. They packed their swords and armor into their bags and set off on the journey to Jinyang. Zhou Mu and General Zhonglang had already issued orders a year ago that there would be a war at the beginning of this year. They did not dare to slack off. After returning to camp, they practiced martial arts and military formations day and night. However, at this time, there was only one unit that needed to go first. .
Chen Chong recommended Guan Yu as the captain of Zhenjun, assigned six thousand knights to his command, and appointed Gao Zhun and Xu Huang as his forwards. Meng Jian and Shi Tao were his assistants. Guan Yu led the army to Hanoi first, and then to Suanzao. , and finally went to Luyang to observe the arrangements between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and assist in the offensive as appropriate to show Chen Chong and Liu Bei's sincerity in challenging Dong. It can also be used to deceive others and create room for surprise attacks by Bingzhou's advance.
Guan Yu ordered his troops and horses to arrive in Qi County in the evening of the same day. On the 18th, he crossed the Yangtou Mountain and entered Nie County. Along the way, the sky was blue, and the spring breeze blew, bringing a little bit of water vapor from the Yellow River in the West River. The winter cold was not over yet, and the foxes in the mountains were The wolves were looking for prey in the road. When they saw them, they all disappeared into the woods, leaving only clusters of plum blossoms like snow, fragrant alone before the spring flowers bloom.
When he was about to walk out of the mountain road, Shi Tao saw a stele at the end. He went forward to look at it curiously. When he came back, he said to Guan Yu happily: "Guan Jun, this is an article to commemorate us!" Guan Yu immediately went to look at it. A piece of white rock was engraved with seal script one by one, and the letter said: "In March of the fifth year of Zhongping, Liu Junbabei, Guanjunbayu, and Zhangjunbaifei of Zhuo County led more than ten thousand Dongping righteous men to join the annexation. The county was in chaos, bandits were roaming, and barbarians were sucking blood. The three monarchs clashed with Chen Jun, the prefect of Xihe. They fought to pacify the Rong, and taught the people to farm and fight. They listened to their feelings and believed in rewards and punishments. However, the government was harmonious and the people were harmonious, and the whole state was in great order. For example, Qiu withered. The morning wind stirs up hail and does not cover your ears. The people are virtuous, so they are inscribed here for future generations to remember." At the end of the inscription, it is written in small characters: "Guyuan Kongkong Taoist Records."
Guan Yu smiled, and then he remembered that this was the way he came. But he then thought about how short the time was. It was actually two years ago when he came to Bingzhou. During that time, so many lives had been lost, and he had experienced so many hardships. I couldn't help but feel sad again. He returned to the army and said to his subordinates: "Life in this world is like a gray dog in the clouds, and heroes have withered bones. Only my martial name will last forever. If I can be known to the world as Guan Yu, my life will be in vain."
So they speeded up, entered Shangdang from Nie County, then went south along Zhuoshui, passed Huguan, Changzi, passed the Changping Ancient Battlefield, and then crossed the Qinling Mountains to Gaodu. The Tianjing Pass at the time of the annexation was right in front of them. Although he had been here once, Guan Yu still sighed at the danger of Tianjing Pass. The mountains formed a front and pine trees hung horizontally. From a close look, it looked like a solid screen, carved with indescribable patterns. From a distance, it looked like floating islands. Wandering quietly in the sea of clouds.
It's just that when they came two years ago, Tianjing Pass was empty, but now there are soldiers guarding Tianjing Pass. These thirty or so soldiers are all Zhang Yang's subordinates. They have nothing to do and are discussing the situation in front of the gate. Qu Chang, who was guarding the pass, had seen Guan Yu's ultimatum and Chen Chong's handwriting, with a look of joy on his face. He asked: "When will the two envoys Chen and Liu set off?" Guan Yu replied: "I just fought with Xianbei. In a few months, I have cut off thousands of swords, and I have to rest for a while." The music leader showed a disappointed look again, Guan Yu pointed at his subordinates and said boldly: "Friends, if you want to look down on my comrades, these are all These are warriors who fight with the Xianbei armored cavalry. Even though there are six thousand people, they are worth tens of thousands of infantry!"
Then they held high the banner of the Xiaojun, spent a day descending from Tianjing Pass, and entered Hanoi County on the 23rd of the first lunar month. Descending from Taihang Mountain, the ground suddenly became flat. Looking to the south, the land was vast and vast. Only fields and roads connected the cities and villages. However, in the spring season, Guan Yu could not see many farmers. Instead, there were wanderers migrating to the countryside everywhere. There were only a few roosters crowing in the pavilion.
Shortly after the annexation, Zhang Yang learned the news and sent Xue Hong, the chief secretary, to greet Guan Yu and brought Guan Yu's troops to Heyang County, where Zhang Yangzheng led his troops and Wang Kuang were stationed here.
Heyang County is located on the north bank of the river. When Guan Yu came, the river was in the flood season. The waves rolled up the vast silt from the upper reaches, and the turbid ice edges kept rolling. The camp of King Qin's division was set up on the flat land three miles away from the bank, and the tents were connected for more than ten miles. Guan Yu looked at the sergeants who were coming and going in the camp. Most of them were only wearing cloth armor. Their martial arts seemed to be ordinary, and a few could see. The soldiers were unruly and domineering in their words and deeds, just like men in the green forest, which made him sigh.
When Guan Yu arrived at Zhang Yang's tent, Zhang Yang was entertaining four guests. They were dressed in military uniforms, with indulgent expressions on their faces. In the tent, there were golden bottles of wine, grilled meat and fresh soup, and beauties dancing, which was full of enchantment. breath. When Zhang Yang saw him coming in, he immediately added a seat next to him and introduced to everyone: "This is Guan Yu, Guanjun, Liu Shijun's favorite general. It is said that he can tear a tiger with his hands!" The guests all said "Oh", their faces The color didn't even change at all.
Zhang Yang then introduced the guests to him. These four people were Wang Kuang's officer Han Hao, Cavalry Commander Hu Mubiao, chief bookkeeper Yang Bing, and Wen County celebrity Chang Zhi. But obviously the four of them had never heard of Guan Yu's reputation and did not care about it. They only talked with Zhang Yang about the recent strange things in Hanoi, such as Li Shao, the former governor of Jizhou, living in seclusion, the eldest son of the Sima family in Wen County returning to his hometown and relocating his clan, and the birth of a wild king. Both babies are ominous signs.
Guan Yu listened to their conversation for more than an hour. He didn't say a word during the whole process. He just kept eating meat and drinking wine. When the four people said goodbye to Zhang Yang and left, he put down the bowl and chopsticks and said to Zhang Yang: "Uncle Zhi, you Send a letter to urge us to come out and work hard for the king, is this how we work hard for the king?"
Zhang Yang knew that Guan Yushu was dissatisfied, so he could only defend himself and said: "Brother Guan, how can I help myself now that I am in a foreign land? They are all close ministers of the king's envoy and prominent local families. If they do not establish good relations, they will be afraid of fighting in the future." Most of them are constraints." Guan Yu couldn't help but sneer when he heard this. He stood up and opened the curtain, and looked at the soldiers in the camp with uneven armor and undisciplined soldiers. Then he turned around and asked Zhang Yang, "Even if there are no constraints, Uncle Zhi wants to Are you going to fight Dong Zhuo with this? Are you not laughing?"
These words made Zhang Yang speechless for a while. After a long time, he said: "After all, it is just a partial force. It can prevent Dong's thieves from crossing the river. Besides, if I have the ability to win now, why should I ask for help from the Ming government?" He and Guan Yu only said I met him a few times during the Xiongnu Rebellion, and I only knew him as a warrior who fought many battles. It was only then that I realized Guan Yu's uprightness and arrogance.
After Guan Yu heard what he said, he asked Zhang Yang to introduce him to Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, and asked about the details of Hanoi's arrangement. Zhang Yang shook his head and said: "The king is currently in Huai County and ignores the battle at the front. The Hanoi arrangement is all done by Han." I suggest that you have met Brother Guan just now. If not, why would I entertain you?" As soon as he said this, Guan Yu packed up his clothes and prepared to leave the tent. Zhang Yang was unable to persuade him to stay, so he only heard Guan Yu turning his back and saying goodbye: "As a member of the three armies, Although I, Guan Yunchang, am not afraid of death, but fighting with this man, I am afraid that I will live long, and Uncle Zhi will do this."
He came in a hurry and left in a hurry. He did not speculate. He soon led his people to leave Heyang and walked eastward along the overflowing river. To the north and south of the river were the outlines of Mang Mountain, and crows all over the mountain flew up from the dry forest. It hovered over the heads of the Bingzhou knights for a while and then flew south. Shi Tao faced the cold spring and asked Guan Yu loudly: "Aren't you going to stay in Hanoi for a few more days to see the situation?" Guan Yu smiled and replied: "How can a fierce kite keep an eye on the rotting rat all day long?"
The sound was thrown under the dome curtain and was drowned by the river. The people in Henan looked blankly at the speeding procession on the other side, but they could not stop moving. The Liang people used their swords to drive them westward, and frowned at the fast horses on the other side. flags, but they did not see them clearly and could not distinguish them, let alone the names of the generals on the other side.
But they will always remember this name.
