early morning.
As soon as Zhang Heng woke up from his sleep, Tai Shici came up next to him.
"Master Chief, shall we leave now?"
"Ziyi didn't sleep all night?" Zhang Heng asked.
Taishi Ci smiled heartily and said, "I slept for a while. Last night, I took turns keeping vigil with General Xu."
Zhang Heng nodded and slowly stood up, but immediately felt a soreness in his back and a general feeling of discomfort.
Living in the open air these past few days, everyone was tortured.
Fortunately, we can reach Liang County today.
Zhang Heng rubbed his eyes, looked at the sun in the east where half of his head was just exposed, and said: "Get everyone up, let's set off."
"only!"
Taishi Ci clasped his fists and left.
In a place like the wild, it is impossible for people to sleep deeply. After being called by Tai Shici, everyone woke up soon, rubbed their sleepy eyes, and set off on their journey again.
After walking for two hours, when the sun was in the middle of the day, Zhang Heng saw a city towering in front of him from a distance.
"Captain, we are facing Liang County!"
Xun You also noticed it, with a smile on his tired face and joy in his voice.
"Not bad, we're finally here!"
Zhang Heng nodded and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Arriving in Liang County not only meant that the hard work of the past few days was over, but also meant that he and others were completely safe.
"Send the order, everyone speed up. After entering Liang County, I will treat everyone to wine and meat!"
When everyone heard this, they all became energetic, and the fatigue of the past few days was swept away.
After walking for half an hour, everyone finally arrived outside Liang County.
But he immediately encountered an obstacle.
"He who comes is stopped!"
Under the city gate, a soldier rushed up to stop him.
But it was just to stop, but there was not much vigilance. This is the city closest to Guangcheng Pass. Dong Zhuo's army is stationed dozens of miles ahead, so it is natural to be on tight guard.
However, after these few days of running around, Zhang Heng and his party were already in rags and were regarded as refugees. Although the soldiers under the city gate came to stop them, they did not draw their swords.
Zhang Heng tidied up his appearance a little, and even asked Xun You to pour water from the water bag to wash his face. Then he slowly walked out of the crowd, cupped his hands to the soldier and said, "Excuse me, please inform me, and tell me that Qidu Lieutenant Zhang Ziyi is passing by here and is planning to use the road to pass by, hoping it will be convenient."
"Captain Lieutenant!"
This kind of high-ranking official who is worth two thousand stones only exists in the imagination of the soldiers, and he was immediately shocked.
But looking at Zhang Heng's miserable appearance, he couldn't believe it.
"Do you have proof?" the soldier asked.
Zhang Heng untied the seal ribbon around his waist and handed it over. The soldier took it and looked at it for a long time. He couldn't tell whether it was true or false, but he didn't dare to neglect it. He immediately confessed to Zhang Heng and went back to the city to report it.
"I don't know who is stationed in the city at this time..."
Looking at the soldiers' backs, Zhang Heng whispered to himself.
Sun Jian led his army to Xingyang, so the current defenders of Liang County may be his subordinates, or they may be Yuan Shu's subordinates.
Everyone waited at the foot of the city for about two-quarters of an hour when they suddenly heard the sound of rapid horse hoofbeats in the city, and then a bearded man in his thirties and wearing armor rushed out on horseback.
After this man saw Zhang Heng, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he hurriedly dismounted and walked over.
"I've met Captain Zhang!"
The big man gave Zhang Heng a heavy fist and handed him the seal ribbon.
Zhang Heng returned the greeting with a smile: "General Zu, you are well and welcome!"
This person was Sun Jian's general Zu Mao. When Lu Yang met, Sun Jian had introduced Zhang Heng. Because of his rough appearance, Zhang Heng remembered him very well.
"Thank you Captain for your concern. Everything will be fine in the end. Please take back the seal and ribbon." Zu Mao said with a smile.
Zhang Heng took back his seal ribbon and hung it back on his waist.
Zu Mao looked at Zhang Heng's miserable appearance, and then at the more than two hundred refugees-like people behind him, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Captain, what are you..."
"It's too long to say, let alone this." Zhang Heng smiled bitterly and led the topic elsewhere, "General Zu, I don't know if there is anything to eat in the city. I have been hungry all the way."
Zu Mao immediately nodded, "Of course, Lieutenant, wait a moment, the general will arrange wine and meat immediately!"
"In that case, thank you General."
"Captain, why are you so polite? If you need anything, just ask!" Zu Mao patted his thick chest and laughed.
Such a rough and honest style is somewhat similar to Zhang Fei's, which makes Zhang Heng's favorable impression double.
"Then can we go to the city first..."
Hearing this, Zu Mao finally reacted, patted his head and said: "This is natural, Lieutenant Commander, please, please!"
Under the leadership of Zu Mao, everyone entered Liang County.
Zhang Heng did not say the purpose of his trip, and Zu Mao, as a kind person, did not ask any more questions and was just busy settling Zhang Heng and the others.
As the war approaches, Liang County has long been turned into a military-controlled area, and the people in the city have been moved to the rear. Now the city can be said to be empty out of ten. Zhang Heng deservedly received the highest standard of treatment and was assigned to a huge courtyard.
At Zhang Heng's request, Zhang Wen, Xun Shuang, Cai Yong and others were arranged to live here.
As for Xu Rong and his family, they were arranged in the nearby courtyard.
After settling in, the first thing Zhang Heng did was to order boiling water and take a bath himself.
Not to mention the fatigue from the long journey over the past few days, I was really getting rotten.
Although the current conditions are not very good, Zhang Heng has not forgotten his stinky habit of bathing.
Just after hearing Zhang Heng's words, the eyes of the accompanying female family members suddenly lit up.
Seeing this, Zhang Heng shook his head, smiled, and ordered to boil more hot water.
But when it came to taking a bath, Zhang Heng was not a gentleman at all. After the hot water was boiled, he didn't care about the girls and took a good bath first.
After everyone had finished bathing, the banquet was almost ready. At Zu Mao's invitation, Zhang Heng led everyone to the table.
With the support of the great benefactor Yuan Shu, the food in Sun Jian's army was quite good, including wine and meat.
After seeing the meat, everyone who had been struggling to cope with it for several days had a great appetite, and many people started gobbling it up. Even the two great scholars Cai Yong and Xun Shuang had their mouths watering after eating.
It is worth mentioning that although Zu Mao did not know Cai Yong and Xun Shuang, he had met Zhang Wen.
"Captain, may I ask if this... is Captain Zhang?"
Zu Mao looked at Zhang Wen and asked Zhang Heng with some uncertainty.
Hearing this, Zhang Wen put down the pig's trotters in his hands, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Oh, the general also recognizes me?"
Upon hearing this, Zu Mao couldn't sit still. He was so frightened that he stood up on the spot, paid homage to Zhang Wen and said, "At last, I will meet the Taiwei!"
"General, there is no need to be polite."
Zhang Wen was still stroking his beard slowly, but he waved his other hand casually. Although there were still oily flowers on his hand, his eyes were full of pride.
Zu Mao then dared to straighten up and said with a smile on his face: "When I conquered the Liangzhou bandits in the past, the last general was also in the army. I had the honor to witness the heroic appearance of the Taiwei. I don't want to see him again for several years. The Taiwei's style is still the same. I am really gratified. !”
In the second year of Zhongping, Zhang Wen was ordered to suppress the rebellion in Pingliang Prefecture. At that time, Sun Jian was just a military commander. Zu Mao, on the other hand, was a low-ranking village commander. The status gap between him and the commander-in-chief Zhang Wen was almost as big as clouds and mud, so he was naturally in awe.
It was during this expedition that Sun Jian saw Dong Zhuo's disloyalty and proposed to kill Dong Zhuo with military law. However, Zhang Wen was concerned about Dong Zhuo's reputation in Liangzhou and was unwilling to do such a thing.
"General, you are too polite. I am very old now. The future of this world belongs to you young people." Zhang Wen shook his head and said with a smile.
"Your Majesty's words are wrong. You are the pillar of the imperial court and the pillar of my great Han Dynasty..."
Zhang Heng was listening to the conversation between the two, and couldn't help but smile on his face.
In front of Zhang Wen, Zu Mao, who was rough and straightforward by nature, looked like a docile little sheep, and didn't even dare to breathe. Such a contrast makes people laugh.
And this is exactly what Zhang Heng wants, and it is also the effect of these old guys.
At all times in this world, favors and qualifications matter. These old guys may be out of date, but their status and prestige are real. Especially Zhang Wen, who has been in a high position for many years. Do you know how many people he has been grateful to in his life?
How many people had served under him back then?
Not to mention, even Zu Mao in front of him, Sun Jian in Xingyang, and even Dong Zhuo who was causing trouble in the world at the moment were all Zhang Wen's subordinates.
Let's talk about Cai Yong and Xun Shuang. One of them is the world-famous Wenzong, and the other is the head of the Ruying family.
Wherever Cai Yong goes, scholars who are thirsty for knowledge will turn their hearts to this place.
Wherever Xun Shuang goes, the entire Yingchuan clan may fall to that direction.
The saying goes that if a family has an elder, it is like having a treasure. This is probably what it means.
After the end of this discussion, the world will officially enter an era of fragmentation and separatism, and the Liu Bei Group is bound to get a piece of its own territory in order to develop and grow in this troubled world.
But to create a force, it is not enough to rely solely on strong soldiers and horses.
Wen Zhi and martial arts are always ranked first in martial arts.
The so-called cultural governance is not just about making the people under the rule read and write, it also includes diverse things such as people's livelihood, economy, and politics.
Only when people can fill their bellies and have a surplus of wealth can they pay taxes. Only then can he still think about climbing up the ladder after having enough food and clothing, and only then can he feel free to join the army to strive for fame and find a wife.
Only when the stability of a regime is satisfied will it glow with endless vitality.
Only after you understand these things can you be qualified to talk about martial arts, expand outward, and dominate the world!
And these old guys and their reputations are an indispensable part of civilized governance.
