Chapter 73 After the beginning of spring, the troops are dispatched to Huaihe River and you will see heroes!

As the day passed, Xu Zhen almost stayed in the military camp, practicing with Dian Wei day and night to forge weapons.

In addition to the stirrups, craftsmen were ordered to cast a more than four-meter-long Shuo, as well as a two-handed single halberd with a hooked sickle on the halberd head, which are actually similar to Fang Tian's painted halberd.

In addition, there are short bows and arrows for training the leopard riders.

It took ten days just to prepare the armaments.

Patrolling the camp day and night, improving military discipline, and sending tiger and leopard cavalry into Yuzhou to inquire about the military situation, gradually formed the habit of working day and night.

Every day when the shift changes, Xu Zhen will go to the martial arts field and personally lead the sergeants to practice military martial arts with Dian Wei in order to improve their physical strength and boost the morale of the army.

At noon, I studied armaments with Pu Feng and other close craftsmen, waiting for the arrival of spring.

And Xi Zhicai and Guo Fengxiao.

Guo Jia drank like crazy for six hours that day, after which Guo Jia rested for three days.

Xi Zhicai rested for ten days. During this period, he always came in drunk and depressed when discussing important matters.

In this way, the new year is over.

Xu Zhen immediately arrived at Chenliu. The ice and snow melted and the road was no longer muddy and difficult to walk. So he and Cao Chun immediately led the troops forward. Based on their previous inquiries, they gradually defeated the thieves.

Aim directly at Runan and take the lead in dealing with the remaining troops and horses left behind by Yuan Shu.

Among the Yellow Turban thieves at that time, Gepi Yellow Turban occupied them and later disappeared as thieves. The place where they first started was in Runan. Yuan Shu had no one to recruit the remaining thieves, so he may have already become thieves here.

Moreover, if Xu Zhen remembers correctly, there is a fierce man comparable to Dian Wei in this area of ​​Runan.

…

Another place.

Dayang County, Hedong, in the homes of ordinary people.

The emperor lives here.

Living here made him fearful, and he would tremble when he thought about it along the way.

Because in the middle of this year, Li and Guo began to move into the inner capital. Li Jue's subordinate Yang Feng plotted to assassinate Li Jue, but it was leaked and he fled with his troops, causing Li Jue to gradually decline.

So the emperor knew that he could not stay in Chang'an for a long time, so he discussed with the ministers and pleaded many times to let him return eastward.

After Guo and Li made peace, Li Jue withdrew from Chang'an.

Later, Guo Si led the army on the side, and Dong Cheng, Yang Feng and others escorted him. Zhang Ji came to rescue him and sent food, grass and baggage so that all the officers and soldiers could be fed, so that Li Jue could be forced away and he led his ministers to escape from Chang'an. The process had already begun.

The journey back east.

After arriving at Baling.

Emperor Xian worshiped Zhang Ji as a hussar general and returned to Shaanxi to garrison. At this time, an old counselor who once assisted Niu Fu and later became a trusted advisor of Li Jue and Guo Si quietly disappeared from everyone's sight and followed Zhang Ji away...

Before this, all the generals and princes in Chang'an were involved in most of the plans, but no one could really think of his role.

This man had earned a position as a hussar for Zhang Ji, had made great contributions to the emperor, and was so highly regarded by Zhang Ji that he even entrusted his nephew to him.

He was promoted to Guo Si as Chariot and Cavalry General, Yang Ding as Rear General, Yang Feng as Xingyi General, and Niu Fu's former subordinate Dong Cheng as Anji General.

Guo Si and others escorted Emperor Xian together. Guo Si wanted Emperor Xian to go to Gaoling. The ministers all thought that he should go to Hongnong, so they held a meeting to discuss, but still could not decide.

After that, the generals continued to fight and scheming with each other. In August, Guo Bang regretted it and wanted to force the emperor to return to the west. However, it was too late. Yang Feng and others exposed the conspiracy, so he had to escape.

At this time, Li Jue and Guo Si regretted letting the emperor go. They simply believed someone's lies.

In December, the two sides fought a battle at Hongnong Dongjian. Dong Cheng, Yang Feng and others were defeated. Hundreds of officers and soldiers were killed or injured. They all left behind their female relatives and baggage, and all the royal utensils, talismans, deeds, simple policies, laws, books, and books were lost.

After that, he fled to Dayang County and settled down. He will set off tomorrow to follow Zhang Yang, the governor of Hanoi, and make his capital Anyi.

Only in this way can we truly escape from the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si, and we no longer have to be afraid of being chased by tigers and wolves.

But the emperor still felt that no one could trust the generals around him.

"I feel like I'm a tool, being chased and controlled by the general, all for the sake of fame..."

Under the candlelight, although the sixteen-year-old Emperor Xian had just lost his childishness, he had already looked old.

I couldn't stand up straight with my waist hunched over, and my shoulders felt extremely heavy.

"At my age, there are people in the world who are worse off than me."

The emperor Liu Xie sighed deeply. At this time, a man came in outside the door. He was Zhang Yang. He came in alone. His figure was so powerful that he could almost block the light.

It made Liu Xie tremble in his heart.

"Emperor, please set out overnight to avoid a long night with too many dreams."

"My dear," Liu Xie asked hurriedly, "I sent a letter before, asking for carriages and riders to greet you. Do you have a reply now?"

The chariot and cavalry he mentioned was Yuan Shao, the chariot and cavalry general named by the emperor's imperial edict.

That is to say, the edict of Jizhou Mu, who is currently at war with Gongsun Zan in Jizhou, may not be so easy to deliver.

"Your Majesty," Zhang Yang patiently changed the title again, and his tone gradually slowed down, and said: "The emperor is the supreme king. If you ask for help, how can you not help me? Yuan Cheqi will naturally come, but he is already involved in war.

The situation must be stabilized.”

"Your Majesty set out overnight. He first arrived at Anyi to reassure the princes, and then came to welcome him later."

"Furthermore, Your Majesty can only order people to repair the old palace if he goes to the old capital of Luoyang first, and then he can restore the glory of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Xie was slightly startled, but he thought it made sense. Once he arrived at the old capital of Luoyang, he could let the generals garrison around him and gradually find a stable place.

"In addition to Yuan Shao, do we also need to issue an edict to invite other princes to come and welcome him?"

Liu Xie asked immediately, but Zhang Yang remained silent and only lowered his head in greeting.

Liu Xie didn't dare to ask any more questions, and Yuan Shao didn't come to greet him immediately. In fact, Liu Xie could probably guess why.

But apart from Yuan Shao, he remembered that among the princes outside, Cao Cao had become famous in this year. What would happen if he came?

…

In spring, when the ice and snow melt.

In a small town in Runan, many local heroes gathered together.

The city gate wall is not very high, but fortunately it has a high slope so that thieves outside can't get close.

At this moment, the thieves surrounded the city.

There are several ways out of the city, and bandits are ambushing them in the distance. Once people in the city come out, they will be intercepted and killed.

So they gathered in the city to resist the Yellow Turbans of Gepi.

These remnants of the Yellow Turbans have long been gathered by mountain bandits and have been in Runan for many years. At that time, Yuan Shu's soldiers and horses did not dare to cause trouble here, but now Yuan Shu has abandoned his troops and gathered many people to plunder food.

Fortunately for the people in the city and the local warriors, although these thieves were brutal, they did not have siege equipment. In addition, the heroes of the Xu family who shocked Huairu were in the city.

Invisibly, these thieves were frightened and they did not dare to attack.

After being besieged for a whole winter, they invaded again in the spring.

The purpose is to conquer this city and get the oxen in hand, so that we can have a place to live in the future and cultivate the land for food, otherwise it will be difficult to survive.

Several thieves leaders looked at the city warily.

There was no movement in the city.

"Xu Chu won't lie to us, right?"

One of them said in a deep voice.

"Probably not. He is also a local hero, a man who promised a lot of money. He said he would exchange cattle for food, so he will definitely come."

"There is no food in the city. After one winter day, almost everything is eaten. He gathered thousands of people to resist us and protect tens of thousands of people. There is absolutely not enough food."

"Take the cattle and leave. Don't fight to the death with Xu Chu!"

"That's right. Wait a little longer. If not, we'll attack and intimidate you."

These thieves had discussed long ago that as long as they took the cattle, they would leave immediately without staying any longer. Anyway, they could live in other cities and use the seeds to cultivate the land for a year.

It will be good to get food for next winter.

These methods were still what the deserters who joined later thought. If they were originally bandits, they would only know to continue robbing people, but they also understood that it was definitely not a good idea to continue robbing people.

It will only make the people within the territory more united to fight against the thieves. The most important thing is to have Xu Chu as the backbone.

They also tried to fight, but Xu Chu was able to defeat them every time he fought. If it were not for the small number of people under his command and the lack of weapons and equipment, he would have been wiped out long ago.

Therefore, now these bandit leaders only want to plow cattle and turn to other places to pursue other goals.

During the discussion, the city gate opened wide, and a strong man walked out. His long hair was tied behind his head, his beard was thick, and his face was cold and serious.

The shoulders are extremely broad, giving people a sense of majesty at first glance. After striding out, he ordered people to send the cattle out of the city, and stood on the high slope, waiting silently.

This person is Xu Chu, whose courtesy name is Zhongkang.

He should be the leader of all his peers in the city behind him. The elders, except for his brother Xu Ding, would not dare to be disrespectful at all.

Just standing alone at the city gate, he was like an insurmountable mountain, which could even make some bandits below hold their breath.
To be continued...