Yang Xiu is smart, he has been smart since he was a child. When he first came here, he had suspected that Zhang Xiu and Zhang Han were working together.
In order to let the scholars end, they even speculated on this possibility in front of Cao Cao from the beginning.
However, after arriving here for a few days and conducting many inquiries, he gave up this idea.
Because the intelligence spies laid out by Zhang Han have been secretly slandering Zhang Xiu.
Even Liu Xun, the governor of Lujiang, hated Zhang Xiu deeply and detailed his evil deeds many times.
At this time, Yang Xiu felt that it was not the case again. He thought that Zhang Han and Zhang Xiu might really have a personal grudge.
The reason is very simple. No one will harm his reputation for the sake of a conspiracy that is both inside and outside.
After Zhang Xiu's incident, his reputation will definitely be ruined and he will be disliked by the scholars. From now on, he will no longer have family support. Even if he marries because of his noble title in the future, he will not give him a noble daughter.
It must be that the family's concubine was used to deal with the fate, or it could only be found from a less well-known local family.
Yang Xiu determined one thing, that is, Zhang Xiu's unscrupulous looting must have been driven to a corner by Zhang Han.
You said they were pretending to be like this, so why bother with death?
But the weird thing is that Zhang Hanzhen went to death to get Zhang Xiu, and they were really just acting.
Yang Xiu hated him in his heart. He hated that although he was smart, he was too young. He didn't expect that Zhang Xiu would put himself in such a situation just to lick Cao Ang.
Even the life and death of the 30,000 people under his command were entrusted to Cao Ang. I don't know who gave him such a firm belief.
"What Junhou means is that you and Zhang Xiu have actually been communicating secretly for a long time?" Yang Xiu was unwilling to give in and still wanted to hear the answer personally.
"Correct answer." Zhang Han did not refuse at all, and this answer made Yang Xiu immediately close his eyes and tilt his head slightly towards the sky.
As expected of you, Zhang Bochang.
It seems that the personal feud between You and Zhang Xiu was just used to confuse others over the years.
Everything is like this, it is difficult to predict the truth and falsehood, how inappropriate it is for people.
"Junhou, what a brilliant plan. I still don't understand why Zhang Xiu is willing... No, I understand."
Yang Xiu sighed deeply, "It's better to retreat and return to the eldest son if you strive for success and lose your life. He doesn't care about the immediate interests at all, he only strives for the long term."
In just a moment, Yang Xiu also figured out Zhang Xiu's ambition in his heart, but this tone was not something that young people, such as Yang Xiu himself, could swallow.
After deep thought, he wondered whether he would be willing to suffer this injustice if he were in Zhang Xiu's position. Absolutely not.
If you are not vigorous, how can you be called a young hero?
His forbearance in this breath was so sophisticated that it made people feel a little disillusioned. Someone must have given him guidance or persuaded him in every possible way.
…
Not long after, Zhang Xiu really arrived at the Shucheng camp, and he came secretly in a carriage. Even if he was seen along the way, no one would know who was in the carriage.
During this period, many Lujiang scholars and local celebrities came by car to visit and visit, so the sight of horse-drawn carriages passing by was certainly a common sight, and no one paid too much attention to it.
Zhang Xiu was obviously visiting Zhang Han and Cao Ang for the first time after arriving in Lujiang. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when he entered. Walking here is enough to show that he has been recognized by Cao Ang.
At this moment, Zhang Xiu subconsciously looked at Zhang Han, and their eyes met in mid-air.
In the past, Cao Ang stood behind Zhang Han, but this time it was different. Zhang Han stood on the left, as tall as a pine tree, with a majestic air, as if he was protecting him from behind.
It's like looking over and observing.
Everyone present already understood that Zhang Han was slowly giving up the position and helping Cao Ang make the decision, but he would not let go immediately, so he would observe silently from behind and take over at any time if there was anything wrong. decision.
Zhang Han is about to become a real adviser for two generations of the Cao family.
How enviable.
"My lord, your lord."
"Thank you for your hard work, Youwei. During this time, you have been stationed outside and have not been admitted into Shucheng. Now you have occupied the ferry. Tomorrow, I will discuss with the local tribes and ask them to fund shipbuilding to find a ship that can carry soldiers. With large ships and ships, you can lead your army across the river and enter Huainan."
"As for the troops and horses on land, I would like to entrust Brother Bochang to go with me."
"Uncle Dezu and Wenlie, and Grand Administrator Liu are guarding Lujiang for me."
"My uncle Wen Lie has been homeless since he was a child. He grew up in Wuzhong. He is well aware of the customs and customs of the Yangzhou generation. He has many connections and good geographical access."
"And if Dezu has a distinguished family background, talents, learning and wisdom, and complement each other, he will be as stable as Mount Tai."
"Collecting the Lujiang River will give me confidence, and Huainan will not be afraid of dangers ahead."
"I hope you all will work together to achieve this great success and cut off Yuan Shu's path. It is not only to capture Huainan. We have been recharging our energy until now. Our real ambition is to be able to take care of the people immediately after capturing Huainan." , attracting support from all quarters, holding high the banner of our Han Dynasty, making the disobedient people invincible."
"Congratulations, young master!" Zhang Xiu immediately clasped his fists, and the others had no objections.
After the discussion was over, Zhang Xiu waited outside the hospital for Zhang Han to come out. He didn't even wave, but the two men knew each other as soon as they looked at each other.
"Bo Chang, I already know your difficulties about what happened before. How about you and I put an end to our past feud and put an end to our grudges. From now on, we can assist Mr. Ang together and gain fame for the Han Dynasty?"
What you said makes it sound like you won't do anything to me if you don't let go of the past. Zhang Han complained in his heart, but he didn't intend to choke Zhang Xiu like this.
He was also afraid that Xiu'er would be unwilling to accept it, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she would become, and eventually she would become sluggish after screaming.
"Okay, of course," Zhang Han nodded easily with his hands behind his back and gave Zhang Xiu a step up.
"In this case, the ferry does not have to go back and forth several times to pick up the horses. This method is not safe. Once something happens on the river, the horses will definitely suffer heavy losses. I have entrusted the 2,364 horses among my generals to the prince. , how about the king and the army leaving by land together?"
Zhang Han and Dian Wei's eyes lit up: Is there such a good thing? !
Well, I now have nearly six thousand horses in total... About a thousand of them are cargo horses, and the rest are war horses.
I don’t know how much fodder is consumed every day, and cleaning up horse manure can make the soldiers miserable. However, what follows is an unprecedented increase in field combat capabilities.
Fighting outside the city, war horses are already scarce in the south. From north to south, the price of horses varies from place to place. When they come to Yangzhou, they are already many times higher than those in the north.
Therefore, there are not many military horses in the south, and cavalry are so precious that as long as they can ride, they can be regarded as elites. Even if they are not experienced knights, their status is not low.
However, how can ordinary cavalry compare with Zhang Han's black-robed cavalry?
Thinking of this, Zhang Han suddenly laughed heartily: "I think back when I was attacking Yudu, it was extremely difficult for me to get ten horses in my camp."
"Later, when we arrived in Yanzhou, my father-in-law only had two thousand in his hands. He loved me like a treasure. He trained day and night and allowed the cavalry to claim their merits with an easy victory."
"I have never fought such a rich battle, six thousand cavalry! Fifty thousand soldiers!!"
"With such elites, why worry about not going down to Huainan!?"
…
In July of that year, the hottest time, Lujiang, at Yang Xiu's suggestion, appointed more than a dozen officials based on virtue, virtue, policy theory, and reputation.
These officials who were able to take up their posts and make meritorious deeds basically came from the families that Cao Ang had befriended.
Of course, the talents of these people are enough to govern a county or a township. They are just benevolent and caring for the people, focusing on benefiting the government. They follow most of the policies of Xu Du with slight changes to suit local conditions.
Zhang Xiu set off by water and Zhang Han set out by land. During this period, the black-robed armored cavalry spent almost all of their time exploring the way forward.
With the help of many scholars and hermits, many little-known trails have been discovered.
Zhang Han rode a red rabbit and marched in the middle of the army, with Dian Wei, Gao Shun and Jia Xu following him on his left and right.
Dian Wei was quite dull along the way, as if he had something he had been holding back in his heart, so he seemed absent-minded.
The march was boring and boring, so I finally couldn't help but ask: "Jun Hou, we have stayed in Lujiang for so long. Is the support we received just for the convenience of marching?"
"And why can't we use weapons to force them to help?"
Zhang Han said with a smile: "It's still the same thing I taught you before about the sub-sage. If you are in good ways, you will get many help, but if you are in bad ways, there will be little help. During the time we have been here, we have become two completely different forces."
"In the eyes of outsiders, this is a personal grudge between me and Zhang Xiu. This is the news I deliberately released to guide their judgment."
"However, over time, they will understand that this confrontation is not just for Zhang Xiu and me, but for the whole of Lujiang."
"These are two choices. One is the current orthodoxy, and the other is the barbarian's butcher's knife. So winning in the confrontation represents two completely different results."
"So, subtly, these scholars who want to preserve their families naturally choose to support Cao Ang as a last resort. Moreover, it is not just as simple as supporting and uniting, they must fully support him."
"This is the reason why Zhang Xiu is constantly threatening and harassing people outside. Instead of being robbed by Zhang Xiu, it is better to send the family's possessions to Shucheng in exchange for merit. They will definitely have such an idea."
Jia Xu chuckled lightly, bowed slightly to Dian Wei, who was looking at him, and said, "I am very pleased that Captain Dian is so eager to learn."
"In addition to the family property that can be used to spread grain to win over the people and reward the soldiers, after the officials are appointed, because there are scholars to support them, the people will support the officials and government orders, and the farming orders will be better implemented."
"In the past, wherever Mr. Cao went, he would bring tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people with him. Naturally, he did not need to reassure the people to consolidate the territory he conquered. But it is different now. This is the south, where the Lujiang River has experienced wars for a long time. After Sun Ce broke through, there were countless casualties, and the Lu family was almost wiped out here. Only the clan lineage took the lead to take back their hometown of Wuzhong."
"Therefore, we use gentle policies to calm the people, establish our authority by pacifying Major General Zhang Xiu, and then use the officials we appoint to implement the farming order to establish trust."
"While establishing these three items, we can gain the support of talented people, the hearts of ethnic groups, and the support of the people. Then word spreads that this year's autumn harvest will be tax exempted and exempted based on merit. It seems to be just a small step, but in fact it is compared with the war and unrest in previous years. , which is already a huge merit."
"Furthermore," Jia Xu suddenly lowered his voice and approached Dian Wei and said: "The prince planned to reduce the military power of the young general before he came, but I persuaded the young general in advance to take the initiative to give the military power. What happened in this matter, The sequence relationship is very important. I have worked hard to achieve this result, otherwise..."
If it weren't for Jia Xu, how could Zhang Xiu have willingly attached himself to Cao Ang's subordinates, knowing that Zhang Han had been secretly doing things before he came, almost ruining his reputation for him.
"Oh, so this is the problem."
"You're the one with the problem."
Zhang Han rolled his eyes at Dian Wei, "Isn't the current result better?"
Jia Xu chuckled: "Indeed, we have won the support of more than 400 households across the territory and gained an additional 100,000 bushels of grain. It is indeed much better than the previous results."
"The prince, I am afraid he is a person with great blessings, a blessed general."
Jia Xu had already felt this way. Zhang Han was greedy for money and did many things, but his luck was never bad.
If you follow him, maybe your luck will change for the better.
…
The water march was about three days faster than the land march. Zhang Han arrived in Huainan and when he came out of the mountain trail, the news from Tanma was that Zhang Xiu had breached the Huainan ferry and firmly occupied it.
When Zhang Han arrived, he led his troops and horses to the southeast, heading straight for Hefei.
After a quick march overnight, they took a break in the old city of Hefei and only explored it for half a day. After finding out everything about the situation, Zhang Han led 5,000 cavalry to attack the Hefei military camp.
Big break.
Immediately afterwards, he used the defeated army to go ahead and widely publicized that Yuan Shu had been defeated in Shouchun.
Now that the pseudo-imperial palace of the Shouchun bandit leader has been breached, people are in panic and do not dare to hold on for long.
After tricking the city gates of Hefei into opening, five thousand horsemen rushed out of the city, seized control, and established the small city as a base, each occupying one side with Zhang Xiu.
Yuan Shu sent Zhang Xun to guard Huainan. He had just dispatched troops and horses to seize the ferry to prevent Zhang Xiu from transporting any more supplies, when news came from behind that Hefei had been captured.
For a moment, I thought that magic soldiers had descended from heaven and that the territory had been invaded by enemies from all sides, so I could only send a letter to Shouchun asking for help.
At this time, the morale of the entire Huainan was terribly low, and the people naturally ran to Hefei to request that the troops following Cao's family be preserved in the name of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty.
After winning the first battle, Zhang Han did not rush to pursue the victory. Instead, he went to the Linjiang area of Hefei and set up many patrols and camps. He also abandoned two ferries and moved them to the vicinity of important roads for easy army support.
Then the soldiers were ordered to carry boulders, sharp reefs, abandoned ship keels, etc. and throw them into the nearby shoals to block incoming ships.
Jia Xu didn't even understand what he meant. He urged Zhang Han several times to march forward and gain merit, not to miss the opportunity.
Even when the words were heated, he even said that Zhang Han was too "suspicious". There was no enemy ambush in the rear, and it was impossible for Yuan Shu's troops and horses to be hidden behind the latter. Sun Ce in Jiangdong was said to be busy consolidating his own power after breaking with Yuan Shu. territory.
He also left Yuan Shu's command independently. Although they parted ways, he couldn't ignore the peace of his family and win over the people. He had to fight for the territory in Huainan, right?
Therefore, Jia Xu was punished for three days of training because of his excessive words. When he was exhausted, he still felt that Zhang Han was stalling and didn't know what he was waiting for.
Then...the sixth day.
The ship-blocking defenses deployed on the river blocked the boats from Jiangdong in the middle of the night, and blocked three thousand soldiers from landing on the river.
They also lit fires and shot them with flying arrows. The dense flames ignited two warships, killing and injuring thousands of people. The remaining enemy forces were intimidated and had to retreat in panic.
At dawn in the military camp, Zhang Han was still sleeping on the couch in the main tent when he was awakened by Jia Xu's footsteps.
"Junhou! How did Junhou calculate it!? How did he calculate that Jiangdong would take advantage of the chaos to cross over from Xiaoyaojin and attack my Hefei camp at night?!"
"Shh," Cao Ang knelt down behind the desk and read a book. When he saw Jia Xu coming in, he extinguished the already weak light and said calmly, "Sir, don't be surprised. My brother is still awake."
"If you wake him up..."
Jia Xu took a deep breath, knelt down obediently in front of Cao Ang, and waited quietly with him.
After a long time, Jia Xu couldn't help but whispered: "Master, a few days ago, it was me - I lost my foresight."
"I want to apologize to you."
(End of chapter)
