Under the guidance of Dong Huang, Zhang Ji strode into the hall. Although his clothes were in tatters and he looked quite embarrassed, his expression was extremely determined. Instead of looking like a defeated general, he looked like a great general. The look of returning victorious.
Zhang Ji walked into the hall and saw Dong Zhuo on the throne. He knelt down with a plop and paid homage: "Zhang Ji, the guilty general, is here to see the Prime Minister!"
Being tough is tough, but the etiquette you should have is not ambiguous at all.
Faced with Zhang Ji's performance, Dong Zhuo's eyes flashed with doubt.
The soldiers who returned from defeat were all extremely frightened and cried bitterly. Some were even so frightened that they could not speak a complete sentence. Why is Zhang Ji so calm, even a little arrogant?
"Wencheng, how is the battle on the front line?"
Dong Zhuo asked calmly. He wanted to see what Zhang Ji could say.
"Return to the Prime Minister's Kingdom." Zhang Ji raised his head and shouted loudly, "The flood came from the sky, our army was defeated, and almost the entire army was wiped out!"
Dong Zhuo was completely speechless.
Why are you so proud of the whole army being annihilated?
"The entire army was wiped out. I actually thought I heard wrong." Dong Zhuo sneered coldly.
Zhang Ji cupped his hands and said, "The prime minister is so generous. If General Niu hadn't ignored the good advice of the last general, there would never have been such a big defeat."
"Oh, so this defeat was all caused by Niu Fu's reckless behavior?"
Dong Zhuo sneered, with a hint of murderous intention in his eyes.
The defeated general dared to be so arrogant and tried to blame others. Dong Zhuo hated such people the most.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ji changed the topic and said with a depressed face: "It's not entirely General Niu's fault. It's really our army's bad luck..."
With that said, Zhang Ji told the story of the whole battle in detail, which made Dong Zhuo frown. He wanted to get angry but didn't know where to start, and felt extremely aggrieved.
Frankly speaking, Niu Fu's performance was quite satisfactory and there was nothing wrong with it. The only mistake was to change the three camps that were at odds with each other into one, otherwise the entire army would not have been annihilated.
Again, who could have expected that a sudden flood would come from the sky.
"That's why the general refused to accept it. If it hadn't been for a flood from the sky, he would have already led his army into Xingyang and killed all the Kwantung bandits on behalf of the Prime Minister." Zhang Ji said with an angry look on his face, "The general knows that he cannot escape the blame for his crimes, so he came here. Please forgive me, the prime minister will kill or behead him, and all the generals will have no complaints! I just wish I could not see the Guandong bandits being crowned with my own eyes."
After saying that, Zhang Ji lowered his head again, waiting for Dong Zhuo's verdict.
Dong Zhuo, on the other hand, was a little hesitant because of Zhang Ji's bachelor appearance.
He wanted to let Zhang Ji take the blame, but suddenly he felt reluctant to do so.
The war will continue to be fought, and now is the time to employ people. Zhang Ji has been following him for many years and has never made any big mistakes, so he can be considered conscientious.
Furthermore, it is difficult to blame Zhang Ji for this defeat.
After Dong Zhuo thought for a moment, he finally shook his head slightly.
That's all, let's spare his life to see the consequences.
Thinking of this, Dong Zhuo said: "Wencheng, you are defeated today, will you dare to fight again in the future?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ji immediately said loudly: "If the prime minister spares the general and does not die, the general will be willing to be a pawn and charge forward for the prime minister."
"You are also a military captain after all, how can you talk such nonsense." Dong Zhuo chuckled and said, "There are many real soldiers at the front, and you are the only one who is missing. The real truth is that you should know your shame and then be brave, and you should pay for your crimes and make meritorious service."
"What the Prime Minister taught me is that it was the last general who made a mistake." Zhang Ji said quickly.
Dong Zhuo waved his sleeves, indicating that Zhang Ji could get up from the ground.
"But you will end up losing troops and generals. If I don't punish you, I might not be able to convince the public.
According to my general's order, Zhang Ji, the captain of the school, was not successful in the battle, resulting in the annihilation of his entire army. He should have beheaded Zhengfa, but he thought that he had been fighting for his true prime minister for many years, so he was forgiven for this incident. Let's make him the commander of the camp to see the effects! "
"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your forgiveness!"
Zhang Ji immediately cupped his fists and said.
At this moment, Zhang Ji's heart finally returned to his stomach, and he respected Jia Xu even more.
Mr. Wenhe really has a clever plan!
"However, the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped. You go and get a hundred military sticks yourself." At this point, Dong Zhuo paused before continuing, "In addition, I will allocate you another three thousand troops and order you to be the vanguard. Come and clear the way for the army!"
"Thank you, Prime Minister!" Zhang Ji said excitedly, clasping his fists.
"Okay, go ahead."
"I will retire at the end!"
Zhang Ji turned around and strode away.
After Zhang Ji walked out of the room, Dong Huang came up to him and said with cupped hands: "Uncle, Zhang Wencheng is a defeated general. We can just spare his life. Why should we entrust him with such a heavy responsibility?"
"Oh, then who does Ahuang think he should send as the vanguard?"
When facing his nephew Dong Huang, Dong Zhuo no longer had the murderous look on his face, but instead said with a smile.
"My nephew dare not speak nonsense about this... important military and national matter."
"Don't you dare say anything nonsense. My inheritance will not all be yours in the future." Dong Zhuo waved his sleeves and smiled, "The reason why Zhang Ji was sent as the vanguard was not only to make him guilty of crimes, but also because he had a close relationship with the Guandong bandits. We have fought, it is safer. If this battle is not a flood, we may not be defeated. Let me see if Zhang Ji dares to fight to the death with the Guandong bandits as he said. If we lose again, kill It’s not too late.”
Dong Huang suddenly understood and nodded, "My nephew understands that Zhang Wencheng is a defeated general. Even for his own life, he will definitely fight to the death."
"That's right, my son has grown up!"
Dong Zhuo was greatly relieved to see that his nephew's brain had improved.
"Go and send an order to the entire army to march tomorrow and send troops to Xingyang! I want to see how big these Guandong bandits are."
By the end of his words, Dong Zhuo's face was full of murderous intent.
After thirty years of military service, could I be no match for a bunch of rotten scholars who only know how to talk?
"As you command!"
Dong Huang immediately answered with cupped fists, then turned and left the lobby.
…
Sour dates.
Chen Gong did not come back, but it did not prevent the princes from fully and intuitively knowing the battle situation on the front line. After all, there were still two parties involved.
After hearing the whole battle, all the princes looked excited and sighed.
If we had known that there would be a flood, we would have thought nothing of it and went straight to kill them.
God is helping us, but we are hesitant to move forward, allowing Liu Bei and Zhang Heng to take such a huge advantage.
That's an army of thirty thousand. With this kind of contribution, it won't be a problem to become a marquis!
Fortunately, it's not too late now. Dong Zhuo's army will arrive soon. If we send troops now, we should be able to catch up with the next wave of battle.
Whether it was a small group of three people headed by Liu Dai or the princes of Yuan Shao's faction, they were all gearing up to attack Dong Zhuo, who was seeking death.
Fortunately, the troops, horses, food and grass were all ready beforehand, and they could leave at any time if they wanted to go to war.
Inside Liu Dai's residence.
"Your Majesty, the situation is now clear. Xiliang's army is vulnerable, and Dong's thieves are like bones in a grave. Why should we hesitate? Let's send troops!"
Qiao Mao shouted excitedly, as if he could capture Dong Zhuo alive as long as he killed him.
"Yes, what Yuan Wei said makes sense. If we continue to break up, we will suffer chaos. Send troops as early as possible. If it is too late, you will gain nothing."
Kong Niao, who always likes to play the role of a bridgehead, became firm this time and offered Liu Dai advice.
"Okay, that's exactly what I meant." Liu Dai nodded and smiled, "I was too worried before, which caused us to miss a good opportunity. I hope you can forgive me."
Kong Niao waved his hand and said: "What are you talking about? Since we are allies, we should help each other and live and die together. Furthermore, when you act steadily, you are also considering the overall situation."
"What Gongxugong said makes sense, so you don't have to blame yourself." Qiao Mao also smiled.
Liu Dai continued to speak: "Since we are going to send troops, our three families must join forces. It's not that I have any concerns about you two, but there is something that needs to be explained clearly in advance."
"What's the matter? Please tell me." Qiao Mao asked.
"How many soldiers and horses do you have under your command now?" Liu Dai asked with a smile.
When the key issue of military strength was mentioned, both Kong Niao and Qiao Mao were silent.
They say they are allies, but how much wealth they have, how can they easily show it to others.
After a while, it was Qiao Mao who was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I have only a few officers and soldiers. Although I am actively recruiting troops, I only have fifteen thousand people under my command."
Although Dongjun is an important town in Yanzhou, it was not long after Qiao Mao took office. It was not easy to recruit 15,000 people.
Kong Min also clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I only have more than 20,000 people under my command."
He was in a similar situation to Qiao Mao. Although he was named the governor of Yuzhou, few places in Yuzhou listened to him. Not to mention that Yingchuan is the private territory of aristocratic families, and Runan, the richest, is also the headquarters of the Yuan family. Kong Niao, the governor of Yuzhou, is only in name.
After hearing the number of soldiers and horses of the two men, Liu Dai nodded and said: "I have 30,000 people under my command. Adding the soldiers and horses in the hands of you, we have 60,000 troops. It is enough if you think about it. But I don't know those people... "
At this point, both Kong Niao and Qiao Mao frowned.
The people Liu Dai mentioned naturally refer to the princes of Yuan Shao's clan.
They were outnumbered and had nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses in their hands, which was much more powerful than the three of them combined.
Hearing this, Qiao Mao sneered and said, "You are worrying too much. We are all fighting against Dong Alliance. How could those people have other thoughts?"
"Yes, the most important thing now is to challenge Dong, and those people should know the importance." Kong Min also agreed.
"Okay!" Liu Dai slapped the table and said, "In that case, you two go back to organize the army. We will march tomorrow!"
The three of them put their heads together and finally decided on a strategy for dispatching troops.
As for the other side, the situation is similar to Liu Dai's.
After Zhang Miao and others gathered together, they decided to send troops the next day, even without Yuan Shao's instructions.
Both sides unanimously chose to send troops immediately, and they also had a tacit understanding and did not notify the other party, which shows that the rift is getting deeper and deeper.
