On the fourth day of August, Zhong Yao and Chen Chong discussed the strategy of Fudong in detail and immediately set off from Chang'an. He asked Chen Chong for more than ten personal followers. After fifty horses, he traveled day and night straight to Hebei. Every time he passed a post station, he would ride on a good horse in the name of Bafu. During the day they galloped along the mainland, ringing bells to disperse passers-by, and at night they marched with fires. Therefore, they made rapid progress, traveling two hundred miles every day, and soon passed through Hangu Pass from Hongnong.
After arriving in Guandong, he exchanged horses with Guan Yu for the last time, then crossed the river bridge to the north and walked for half a day before entering Jizhou. The orders here are not uniform, and it is close to Yezhong, so it is inconvenient to change horses, so we can only ride in rotation. In the end, even those handsome, strong and durable horses were foaming at the mouth at the end of the day. The rest fell ill, died, or were abandoned midway, far more than half.
Zhong Yao said to his entourage: "Since the reign of Guanghe, I have ridden hundreds of miles to study in Luoyang, but I have never traveled thousands of miles like this. It seems that all the hard work in this life is today."
All the way through Weijun and Handan, along the edge of Taihang Mountain all the way north, crossing one after another, across the fertile plains of the city, until Puyin. It is about two hundred miles away from Zhuoxian County. Zhong Yao breathed a sigh of relief and rested for two nights. On the third day, when he led his people on horseback across Xushui, the river was not deep, and exiled people could be seen scattered on the open land beside the forest on the north bank.
People live along the river and take water from the river for cooking and washing. Zhong Yao was puzzled and ordered someone to ask. The people came from the cavalry to ask questions. They said: "A cavalry army came from the south and has crossed Yishui. They were divided into two teams. One team occupied Fanyang and the other occupied Gu'an. They took us and others. They all drove out of the city. The surrounding areas were in panic and wanted to go east to join Gongsun Du. Unexpectedly, another cavalry flew into Quanzhou, and the people were not allowed to come and go, so they drove us all to the south to live on the Xu River." Zhong Yao heard this. He exclaimed: "Who is coming? He actually led others to cut off the way. How can I go north to Zhuoxian County?"
After walking less than four miles, I saw soldiers wearing red iron jackets and fur coats. Zhong Yao was lucky and ordered people to pass on the imperial and Bafu orders and proclaim the emperor's edict. The soldier said: "No matter what your majesty or the government is, whether you are upholding or losing integrity, we must wait until the envoy comes before making a decision."
The group had no choice but to wait in the autumn wind for a reply. It was getting dark, and hundreds of horsemen arrived like clouds. Zhong Yao saw the military flags, which were clearly the flags of Yuan Shao's old army. He couldn't help but be shocked, and thought to himself: "Who is here? Even Yuan Shao's people listened to him? "
At this time, a man wearing black armor and a mask on his face came first. On both sides, there were burly knights riding their horses, standing with swords in their hands and glaring angrily. The person in the middle said: "I am the Right Sima of Marshal Hebei's Mansion. Who am you? Dare you represent the people of Duke Yuan?"
When Zhong Yao heard the word "marshal", he couldn't help being surprised, thinking: The post of marshal was originally created by the late emperor, and was later given to Jian Shuo, ordering him to command the country's military. Abolition, how can you hear it here? Yes, it must be that the various tribes in Hebei are unwilling to surrender and have elected new leaders, hoping to use this to build momentum against the imperial court.
He plucked up the courage and said to the black-armored knight: "I am the servant of Shangshu on the right side of Shangshutai, She Zhongyao. Under the orders of the emperor, I recruit Yuan Shao's followers with integrity and supervise all the military forces in Hebei." Then he tried to persuade: "Who is the Duke? Don't you know that you have the power of heaven and the divine weapon of the state? The three auxiliary Yingyang soldiers have arrived in Hangu, the tigers and beni of Xihe have reached the courtyard, and the army of Yanmen who has fought hundreds of battles is circling in mediocrity. Although Hebei is strong, how can it resist? Really? I was ordered to come here to solve your disaster, so why should I control it?"
The black-armored knight smiled and said: "Who am I? Duke Zhong doesn't have to worry too much. Since my lord is highly respected by the public, he will naturally not be afraid of the so-called imperial army. If Duke Zhong doesn't worry about it, in a few days, not only Duke Zhong, The whole world will know his name, and Mr. Zhong can go back and report to His Majesty."
After saying this, he raised his hands to see off the guests. When the knights behind him saw this, they all raised their bows and made ferocious looks as if they were about to attack. Seeing this, Zhong Yao was helpless and said mockingly: "Strong men don't have to be like this. We are in the same country and are ministers. We are all just our own masters. Then we will see you on the battlefield in the future!"
So Zhong Yao turned his horse around sadly and walked away slowly south.
On the way, the eldest son Zhong Yu who was accompanying him asked, "Sir, are we going to go back and recover like this?"
Zhong Yao shook his head and said: "Since we can't go to Zhuo County to subdue everyone, we can also follow Liu Jingsheng's old wisdom. Now most of the Taihang Mountain passes are occupied by Yuan's army. We should take advantage of the overall situation to stabilize the road for the imperial court. The mountain danger is in hand, and the king's division can come and go. It doesn’t matter, our trip is considered worthwhile.”
Everyone applauded this plan, but Zhong Yao, thinking about the situation in Hebei, still had doubts in his heart, wondering who could conquer Yuan Shao's old troops under such circumstances. He was determined not to think that it was Cao Hong, the leader of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, who actually stopped him, and Cao Cao, the marshal recommended by everyone, had only arrived in Zhuoxian two days before him. If he did not rest in Puyin, he would probably arrive on the same day as Cao Cao, but where Hebei would go is still uncertain.
But Zhong Yao didn't know any of this. He thought it was man's destiny. Can't force it. When I passed by Julu Ze again, I saw the waves surging in the lake, and I was filled with melancholy. I couldn't help but act like a Confucian scholar, and chanted two sentences casually: "I am following the waves passing by, and the wind and waves can't bear to be heard." In the end, I could only whip the horse to gallop again, long and short. Just a few whistles.
Let’s talk about the situation in Yanzhou. When Cao Cao went north this time, in addition to taking away the most elite tiger and leopard cavalry in the army, he also took away a large number of troops such as Xia Houyuan, Bao Xin, Dian Wei, Xu Zhu, Shi Huan, Lu Zhao, and Li Qian. Direct line, used to demonstrate to the generals in Hebei. But as a result, Yanzhou was empty. Although there were only 30,000 soldiers, there was no general to command. Therefore, before leaving, Xiahou Dun specifically asked Cao Cao who in the state could be his assistant.
There are only a few wise men in Yanzhou. Among them, Xun Yu was transferred to Qingzhou, Guo Jia wanted to go north with the army, and Chen Gong could not be trusted. Therefore, before leaving, Cao Cao repeatedly told Xiahou Dun to go find Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu. This person can be entrusted with life and death, and he will not be with me.
Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, whose courtesy name was Mengzhuo, was born in Shouzhang, Dongping. When he was young, he was famous for his chivalry, helping the poor and helping others. Even if he lost his family and property, he didn't care about it. Therefore, many strong men in Yanzhou followed him. The party members also ranked him at the end of the "Eight Chefs" because of his virtue. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were both Zhang Miao's friends.
When he defeated Dong Dajun in the Jujube Alliance, Zhang Miao ranked among the top five. Cao Cao Bei supported him as the shepherd of Yanzhou, and the name on the form was Zhang Miao. Even when the Black Mountain Army made a surprise attack on Yanzhou, he and his younger brother Zhang Chao fought hard to resist the enemy. As a result, Zhang Chao was killed and Zhang Miao was seriously injured. He had to return west to Luoyang with Cao Cao. Thinking that the two are brothers with different surnames, they are indistinguishable from each other. His love was so strong and deep that Cao Cao relied on him.
Xiahou Dun also agreed with this. Before he set off, he said to Cheng Yu who stayed behind: "Zhang Mengzhuo has many connections in Yanzhou. As long as he has his support, it will be no problem to hold on until Meng De returns to the army."
Cheng Yu was worried. He thought to himself: "People's hearts cannot be judged. Zhang Mengzhuo has been stationed in Chenliu for a long time and has not been in contact with his lord for a long time. I am afraid that he will change his mind." However, this was Cao Cao's identification. He did not dare to refute it publicly. He only told Xiahou Dun that After all, this trip is a matter of confidentiality, so there should be no fanfare along the way.
Two days later, Xiahou Dun took Cao Cao's letter and went to Chenliu County Mansion to meet Zhang Miao. However, it was not a coincidence. Cangtou in the mansion said that Ambassador Zhang and his friends had gone out of the city to go fishing in the autumn, and they would not be able to come back until evening. Xiahou Dun didn't take it seriously, thinking that it was not an urgent matter. He just happened to be tired from riding his horse, so he rested in the side room of the county mansion.
It was dusk after this break, and when Xiahou Dun woke up, Cang Tou was still knocking at the door, saying that Commander Zhang was back and asking if he would have dinner with him. Xiahou Dun opened his eyes and realized that it was already midnight, and the sunlight in the west had turned into a thick orange. He quickly got up, reluctantly washed his face with cold water, and then went to see Zhang Miao.
Zhang Miao had just changed into new clothes and planned to entertain guests in the hall. Unexpectedly, as soon as Xiahou Dun met him, he whispered to him, saying that he had something secret to discuss. Zhang Miao looked at him for a moment with a strange look on his face. Xiahou Dun had no choice but to say that this was Cao Cao's arrangement. Zhang Miao then dismissed everyone and led him into the study room in the backyard.
Seeing that there was no one around him, Xiahou Dun breathed a sigh of relief, and sat on the couch opposite Zhang Miao. While eating and drinking, he explained the current situation in Hebei and Cao Cao's plans. At the end, he asked Zhang Miao: "Meng Zhuogong is a close friend of Yanzhou Mu, so before leaving, he specially asked me to come and discuss my interests with you. Yanzhou Mu said: 'The Duke has been friends with Ah Ma for thirty years. How can we forget each other for a long time? 'As long as there is Meng Zhuo Gong's Pillar Cauldron, when the country is established in the future, Gong's wealth and honor will be indispensable!"
After speaking, he looked up at Zhang Miao and saw that he was sitting upright, supporting his head with one hand, leaning on the desk and lost in thought. After a while, Zhang Miao remembered that he had finished speaking, and apologized to Xiahou Dun: "This is a serious matter, and Yuan Rang's words just now made me confused."
Seeing that Xiahou Dun was about to speak, he smiled and said: "Mengde trusts me, which is naturally a good thing. But now Yanzhou is no longer the Yanzhou of the past. The Bian ambassador often stops in Chenliu. I have just been thinking carefully about it. I'm afraid this problem will not be a big one." The implication is that he has agreed.
Xiahou Dun was overjoyed. He held Zhang Miao's hand and talked a lot more intimately. He said: "What Meng Zhuo said is true! I came here today to get rid of this ugly person with Meng Zhuo. I gave in and jumped off the beam. I have been resented for a long time. , how long will it last?”
The two talked for a while, and after making an appointment to continue the discussion tomorrow, Xiahou Dun continued to go back to his room to rest.
After Zhang Miao sent him back to his room, his expression changed slightly and he immediately walked to another wing. It turns out that the perpetrator of the case, Bian Rang, was resting here. Besides Cao Cao, Bian Rang was also Zhang Miao's close friend. Today, during the day, he was fishing with Zhang Miao.
Zhang Miao and Bian Rang murmured in secret for half an hour. They immediately called in the county officials and rushed into Xiahou Dun's room. While he was sleeping, he tied up Xiahou Dun and drove him to Luoyang in a carriage.
The news that Cao Cao went north to Hebei spread to Xijing.
