In the sixth year of Guanghe, July passed like this, and in a blink of an eye, the refreshing air of autumn and August arrived.
In the Battle of Yingyang, the Han army was defeated, and the Yellow Turbans of Ru Ying were also severely weakened. The Yellow Turbans of Runan, which had an estimated 150,000 troops before the war, only had more than 60,000 left after this battle. The number of those who died in the battle may not be that many, but most of them were.
Missing in the countryside. But with such a loss rate, Ru Ying Huangjin actually has no intention of making any further progress.
Now Huang Shao from Runan is obsessed with returning south to Runan, and Ma Yuanyi, the divine envoy, also wants to go to Nanyang to join Zhang Mancheng's tribe after annexing Bo Cai's remaining troops.
But a few days ago, the situation of the Yellow Turbans in Nanyang was reported to Yingyang, and Ma Yuanyi hesitated.
It turned out that the Nanyang Yellow Turbans had been stationed in Wancheng for nearly a hundred days, but they were unable to break the city. Instead, because of their laziness, they were attacked at night by the newly appointed Nanyang Governor Qin Jie a few days ago.
This was originally a small accident, but no one expected that Zhang Mancheng, the commander of Nanyang Yellow Turban, would die in this night attack.
Later, the person who succeeded Nanyang Yellow Turban canal commander was Zhao Hong. However, the old brother Ma Yuanyi brought before, Sun Xia, was also the Nanyang Yellow Turban commander second only to Zhao Hong and Han Zhong. When he sent someone to contact Ma Yuanyi, he mentioned it in a vague way.
Doubts about the death of Lao Qushuai.
Then from the narration of Sun Xia's confidant, Ma Yuanyi learned about the situation that night.
The incident happened on July 26, the sixth year of Guanghe reign. At that time, the Nanyang Yellow Turbans had been besieging Wancheng for nearly a hundred days. However, because the Nanyang Yellow Turbans could not cut off the Wei River, supplies from the Jingxiang area could be concentrated in Xiangyang.
Then it is continuously transferred from Xiangyang to Wancheng through the Jishui River.
Jishui River is the main waterway from Xiangyang to Wancheng in Nanyang. The river is wide and the water is big enough for boats.
Therefore, the Yellow Turbans of Nanyang were besieged for only three months and still could not capture Wancheng. But fortunately, Nanyang is rich. It can be said that "cutting the rich land of Zhou and Chu, and crossing Jing and Henan to build a frontier", its wealth is second only to the wealth of Luoyang. At the same time,
Nanyang is also the most populous county in the world, with 520,000 households and 2.5 million people, which is comparable to the entire population of Xuzhou.
It was precisely because of Nanyang's richness and well-populated population that the Nanyang Yellow Turbans were able to establish a long-term siege against the Han army in Wancheng.
On the day of July 26th, the old Qu commander Zhang Mancheng took the Nanyang commanders and selected sharp soldiers to hunt in the wilderness of Wancheng. Although July was hot, it was already autumn, and it was the time for hunting. Because the Han army
Always huddled in the city, the Nanyang Yellow Turbans were slacking off from top to bottom.
Since July, the old commander Zhang Mancheng has been hunting in the fields no less than several times. He has also called all the young commanders who are supposed to guard the camps to hunt. It can be said that he is extremely slack. Not everyone in the army has advised the old commander Zhang Mancheng.
One of the scholars who defected to the Yellow Turban Army in Nanyang once advised:
"Commander Qu, his achievements have not yet been accomplished, and his reputation has not yet been established. But Commander Qu hunts and kills rabbits and foxes every day. Wouldn't it hurt the hearts of heroes in the army?"
At first, Zhang Mancheng smiled and wanted to explain when he heard this, but suddenly another person said:
"Today, Qu Shuai does not hunt fierce enemies but hunts pigs in the field. He does not fight Chinese thieves but hunts rabbits. He plays small entertainment without seeking big trouble. I am afraid that we don't know where we will die and be buried!"
The person who said this was none other than Zhao Hong, the number two figure in the Nanyang Yellow Turbans. He was originally a son of a wealthy family and the leader of a powerful faction in the army. As soon as he said this, his entire temperature suddenly dropped.
Zhang Mancheng's smile gradually faded from his face, and he said abruptly:
"Now I am still Qu Shuai of Nanyang Taiping Road, and I have my own reasons for doing what I do. After I die and you take over, you can stop worrying about this matter."
When all the young commanders heard such an exciting conversation, they were shocked in their hearts and bowed their heads in silence. Sure enough, with the Nanyang Yellow Turbans attacking Wancheng, Zhang Mancheng's prestige was greatly damaged, and now those powerful factions have begun to stand up.
As for the scholar who originally advised Zhang Mancheng, his face turned pale at this time, and he secretly regretted why he got involved in the internal fighting of the Yellow Turbans in Nanyang.
After that, the field hunting continued.
Zhang Mancheng seemed to have left all his previous unhappiness behind, and he led Zhao Hong, Han Zhong, Sun Xia and other young marshals to gallop through the wilderness of Wancheng in high spirits. Suddenly, a pair of mother and deer deer fled due to the surrounding Yellow Turban Army.
In front of Zhang Mancheng and others.
Zhang Mancheng was in his prime and very brave. He shot the doe to death with one bow. Then the deer whined and licked the doe. At this time, Zhang Mancheng pointed at Zhao Hong and said:
"Come on, shoot this deer."
But who knows, Zhao Hong lowered his bow and said pitifully:
"Qu Shuai, you have already killed your mother, how can I bear to kill your son?"
Zhang Mancheng's face turned red, and the hand holding the bow and arrow turned white. He looked at the few handsome men who were vaguely protecting Zhao Hong in the middle. After all, he suppressed his anger, and he laughed:
"Okay, Zhao Er is a compassionate person. You speak well and teach better. In this way, I must thank you. Recently I got a good horse. Knowing that you have always loved horses, I gave it to you."
After saying this, he lit a person on fire and selected one of the horses accompanying him. It was a very fat and powerful horse.
Zhao Hong subconsciously wanted to refuse, but he liked the horse after seeing it, so he took it over and switched to this horse directly.
After this interlude, the hunting continues.
But gradually, Zhang Mancheng and his cronies left Zhao Hong and others and went hunting elsewhere. On the way, Zhang Mancheng said to his confidant Han Zhong:
"These measures are so big that I really can't believe any of them."
Han Zhong said fiercely:
"How about I find someone to come over later and teach Zhao Er a lesson?"
Zhang Mancheng’s unpredictable smile:
"No need, his lesson will come in a moment."
Everyone was confused and could only accompany Zhang Mancheng to continue the safari.
And Zhao Hong's lesson over there really came through.
Zhao Hong rode on the horse sent by Zhang Mancheng and was chasing prey with it. Suddenly, he fell down as soon as he sat down. Zhao Hong was not so strong that he jumped off the horse and rolled to the side. The blow just now would have caused his thigh to fall.
Broken.
All the cronies were shocked and hurriedly got off their horses and helped Zhao Hong up. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he was okay. Now they all sided with Zhao Hong and had completely offended Zhang Mancheng. If he died, they would be in misery.
Zhao Hong was also very angry. He looked carefully at the majestic horse. Now it had stood up and was unscathed. Zhao Hong was not sure, so he ordered a guard and asked him to ride the horse.
The guard didn't hesitate. He got on his horse and made a few leaps. But before he had taken dozens of steps, the horse suddenly fell down again. The guard was not as lucky as Zhao Hong, and his head hit the ground.
, the neck is broken.
Only then did Zhao Hong realize that the horse was actually a useless horse, and its steps were unsteady when galloping. He stepped forward with a ring-head knife and cut off the horse's head with one blow, and the blood sprayed from it covered Zhao Hong's body.
Later, when the field hunting was over, Zhao Hong and others returned to camp and were ridiculed by Zhang Mancheng's cronies. This was the end of the field hunting that intensified the conflict on Taiping Road in Nanyang.
At night, Zhang Mancheng, who had enjoyed himself a lot, distributed the day's prey to the guards and went into the tent. He sat down next to the six-section war pole that represented his status in the sect.
Just when he was about to drink the honey water, someone sent a secret letter from outside, saying it was from Wancheng. Zhang Mancheng accepted the letter without paying attention and threw it on the table casually.
The city's detailed internal response team would send out a letter every once in a while. Zhang Mancheng took it attentively at first, but later it was filled with information that was of little use, and Zhang Mancheng gradually became uneasy.
Of course, one of the most important reasons why Zhang Mancheng didn't read the letter was that he didn't know how to read. To read these, he needed a military Chinese book to read to him.
Zhang Mancheng pinched the letter and thought for a moment before asking the guards outside the account to call Mr. Zong.
Mr. Zong is the scholar who advised him not to play wildly. He comes from the Anzhong clan, but he is only the last descendant of the clan. There are thirty-four officials in the Zong family, and they have such meritorious service in Nanyang.
There are not many hometowns.
Previously, Taiping Road in Hebei gave Zhang Mancheng a letter to strangle the members of the Zong clan, just because the auxiliary general Lu Zhi of Bei Zhonglang, Wu Huanzhong Lang, and the Zong members were from this family. The Zong members led Youzhou sudden cavalry in Hebei
I don’t know how many people have been killed in Taiping Road, Hebei Province, and now they want Zhang Mancheng to take revenge.
Zhang Mancheng still listened to the orders of his master Zhang Jiao. So he personally sent troops to massacre the clan members of the clan, but unfortunately the success failed. In the end, most of the clan members were rescued by powerful relatives nearby. And this man
Because Mr. Zong had served as an internal agent for the Yellow Turban Army, he had no choice but to follow Zhang Mancheng.
This Mr. Zong had a separate tent, and it was right next to Zhang Mancheng's big tent. He came immediately after being summoned. When he heard that he was asked to read a letter, he took it and read it, but when he saw the content, his heart was overturned. Suddenly he thought of
I thought about something, so I remained calm on the face. I just made some corrections in some places as I thought.
Zhang Mancheng had no doubts and asked Mr. Zong to stay and eat together.
The main dish for dinner was the day's prey, which had been grilled by the chef and turned golden and attractive. After the two of them had eaten, Zhang Mancheng sent Mr. Zong away.
After leaving Zhang Mancheng's tent, Mr. Zong returned to his own tent. Then seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he slipped out of the tent and went to Zhao Hong's location.
At this time, Zhang Mancheng, who had finished eating the meat, was enjoying the massage from two handsome disciples, one loosening his bones and the other rubbing his shoulders. And patrolling outside Zhang Mancheng's tent was his most trusted tooth guard Deng Xiu, who was meticulously leading
Three hundred soldiers guarded Zhang Mancheng's military gate and were heavily guarded.
The night gradually deepened, and suddenly the silence of the night was broken by boiling sounds, fire, fighting, and angry shouts outside the Yellow Turban camp in Nanyang.
Then the Yellow Turban soldiers who were still sleeping in the camp woke up amidst the scoldings of their respective Taoist envoys, and quickly organized their troops to support the front village that was attacked by the Han army.
At this time, Zhao Hong, Zheng Qiu, Han Xian, Wu Pei and other powerful young commanders in the army all came over wearing helmets, but they were all stopped outside the tent by the Yamen general Deng Xiu.
Zhao Hong shouted loudly outside the tent:
"Commander Qu, the front camp was attacked by Han troops at night. Please convene a military meeting as soon as possible."
Behind him, Zheng Qiu, Han Xian, Wu Pei and others all echoed Zhao Hong's words and started making noises.
Deng Xiutingge angrily rebuked:
"Those who make noise outside the Thorny Gate will die!"
Seeing Deng Xiu's posture, Zhao Hong softened and said warmly:
"Go in and talk to Commander Qu. Just tell him that we want to see him. The military situation is urgent and there is no room for delay."
Deng Xiu knew it was serious, so he asked his men to continue to protect the tent, and then entered the tent.
But after waiting for a long time, Deng Xiu still didn't come out. Just when the handsome men outside were getting impatient, he came out biting his lips and looking pale.
Deng Xiu came out and kept staring at Zhao Hong, but didn't speak.
Just when the atmosphere was getting worse and worse, Han Zhong, Sun Xia and a group of Zhang Mancheng's cronies also rushed to the Chinese army's tent, and then Deng Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.
When Han Zhong came, he also wanted to see Commander Qu and said he wanted to report the military situation. This time, Deng Xiu, who had no doubts about this man, hesitated.
Finally, Deng Xiu led Zhao Hong and Han Zhong into the tent alone.
But as soon as the two people came in, they were so frightened that they pulled out their knives. They saw that their commander Zhang Mancheng was stabbed in the throat with a dagger. What was even more tragic was that his two eyes were also gouged out. The bloody hole was aimed at the two of them, full of resentment.
Zhao Hong took the knife and was about to rush out of the tent, because he had already seen Han Zhong walking towards him with the knife drawn. Han Zhong's martial prowess was among the best in the army, and Zhao Hong was no match for him.
He had to go out and call for help, otherwise he would really die here.
But he didn't expect that Deng Xiu, the Yamen general, would save him. He cut off Han Zhong's ring-headed sword with one blow, and then persuaded Han Zhong to calm down.
Han Zhong held a broken blade and looked at Yamen General Deng Xiu gloomily, feeling horrified in his heart.
Looking at the death state of his commander Zhang Mancheng and the corpses of the two disciples who were serving him, he guessed that the murderer must have been lurking in the tent for a long time. The guards outside were so tight that the murderer could not get in at all.
But here comes the question, why did the guards not check the tent, and how did the murderer escape? Originally, he saw that Zhao Hong was the first to lead people to block the Thorny Gate, so he subconsciously doubted him. But now he saw that the Yamen general Deng Hugh, Han Zhong realized that the biggest suspect was this person.
With the help of General Yamen, the murderer could of course sneak into the tent without anyone noticing and then come out again.
Thinking of this, Han Zhong was sweating on his forehead. If Deng Xiu and Zhao Hong joined forces in this big tent, he would be dead.
As his expression changed, Han Zhong knelt down to Zhao Hong. He recognized Zhao Hong as his new leader.
The next day, dozens of yellow turban commanders gathered in the Chinese army's tent. Some of them had four to five thousand men, while some had as few as two or three thousand men. They were all leaders of Taiping Road in Nanyang counties.
When they were shocked to know that during the Han army's night attack last night, Qu commander Zhang Mancheng was assassinated by Han army assassins. Then Zhao Hong appointed himself as Nanyang's new Qu commander in the big tent.
This shocked the young marshals even more, especially those who came from the capital of Guizhou. They all looked at Han Zhong, but he lowered his head and said nothing. Everyone was even more confused.
But what can he do? When Zhao Hong himself came out and said this, those who agreed naturally applauded, and those who were uncommitted naturally didn't say much. As for those who deliberately objected, looking at Han Zhong's performance and seeing that no one else objected, it was just
I thought the situation was over.
Few people who can lead thousands of people are really stupid. Now that he came out to oppose it, wouldn't he directly become the object of Zhao Hong's authority?
But precisely because everyone thinks this way, there really is no one to object. The situation of no one objecting intensifies the opposition's judgment that the situation is over.
But in fact, when Zhao Hong said these words with certainty in front of everyone, he was also uneasy. However, seeing that no one below him objected, they actually encouraged him.
So, he cut his finger, drew three lines on his forehead with blood, and swore to the young commanders:
"I will swear to the death to avenge Qu Shuai to comfort the old Qu Shuai's soul in the yellow sky."
After that, Zhao Hong mobilized all his troops to attack Wancheng. In this battle, Han Zhong died in the battle, but Wancheng was still in the hands of the Han army.
…
After Sun Xia's messenger said this, he once again advised Ma Yuanyi, the divine envoy, to go to Nanyang to rectify people's hearts.
But Ma Yuanyi hesitated, and his original confidence became somewhat weaker due to this story.