"If you are still angry, stop descending from heaven." [Warring States Policy·Wei Policy Four]
Who should temporarily replace Huangfu Song to lead the army? This kind of important matter can be easily decided by people like Shejian and Wei. However, there is no doubt that among the candidates, Zhong Yao, the governor of Yongzhou, has the greatest advantage.
First of all, the opponent has been located in Yongliang for a long time and is fighting on the front line. Secondly, Zhong Yao's current position is closest to the rebels. If Pei Mao is ordered to be in danger, it will take a lot of time to get from Guanzhong to Yongliang.
The only disadvantage is that Zhong Yao suffered a new defeat not long ago, which exposed his military shortcomings. Fortunately, with the participation of Cao Cao, the general of the Western Expedition, the situation in Yongliang is as stable as Mount Tai, and Zhong Yao only needs to take control.
.
After Shejian and others formed an informal tacit understanding, they each went back to release the bombshell news of Huangfu Song's death. This was nothing less than a thunderous explosion. Zhong Yao, Pei Mao, Cao Cao, and even the court officials learned the news.
Afterwards, I was horrified in my heart. All this had a political impact. But militarily, the trend of completely annihilating Han Sui and other Qiang and Hu rebels had taken shape. Although Huangfu Song's death would damage a lot of morale, it did not
This will interrupt this hard-won momentum.
Hanyang County, Warrior County.
A messy team was marching hard in the rainy day. The leader of them kept his eyes open, trying to see how far away the county seat was ahead through the continuous rain. Warrior County is the northwestmost county in Hanyang County.
Not far from the city to the west is Yuzhong, the gateway to Jincheng County. This area is rich in water and grass. It was once used as a horse herding land for the Qiang people. Later, it was acquired by the Han Dynasty and a pastoral garden was established nearby. Until the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the Qiang plague continued, the imperial court
Withdrawn from Guanzhong and unable to make progress to quell the chaos, Yingshi County was gradually occupied by the Qiang and Hu and ceased to exist.
"There are many Qiang and Hu tribes near Yongyang County. They all respect me all the time. Even if there are difficulties, they will not give up. As long as I wait until Yongyang County, I can go home." This is Han Sui leading a group.
When remnant soldiers escaped from Anding, they often used words of encouragement on their lips.
The raindrops that originally fell straight to the ground suddenly tilted up, and the cold wind whistled between the sky and the earth. Jiang Shi, Qu Yan and others' faces were covered with rain, and their bodies were soaked. They couldn't help but rest.
People moved forward to inquire about the situation. The road was in disrepair, and the soldiers had to get off their horses, lead their horses, and walk with difficulty in the wetland.
"This weather is so weird!" Jiang Shi stretched out his hand to wipe his face, and his palms were filled with rainwater. He waved his hands to his side and said, "When did it rain like this in Liangzhou in the past?"
Qu Yan held the reins tightly. His mount was originally a fat and strong horse. Now it has followed him everywhere, sharing meals and sleeping in the open air. It has become skinny and depressed. He feels sorry for this good horse that has been with him for a long time, and even even
He is not willing to let things like armor carry him, and would rather wear them himself. He is fully armed and wet with rain, which makes it even more difficult for him to move in the rain: "Xiliang is experiencing drought and locusts, and there are also
There have been many Qiang thieves and robbers for many years, and now that the sky has eyes, it is time for rain to fall on this place."
"The sky has eyes?" Jiang Shi had a sarcastic smile on his lips. Seeing that the dilapidated county town he remembered was still missing in front of him, his steps gradually slowed down and he said quietly: "Ten years ago, didn't the Central Plains still say, 'The sky is gone?'"
Are you dead? Now you are alive again?"
"The way of heaven is far away and cannot be discovered by you or me. This is a matter for the alchemists." Qu Yan said in a refined manner.
"Just say what you say." Jiang Shi asked impatiently.
Qu Yan quickly frowned, without looking at the other person: "What does it have to do with you whether you live or not?"
"That's it!" Jiang Shi looked at Qu Yan, then looked back at the few soldiers who were following him. Upon seeing this, those soldiers took the initiative to lead the following troops to move a distance. Jiang Shi saw
Like this, he smiled maliciously, and then lowered his voice: "So, what does it have to do with us whether others live or not?"
"What do you want to do?" Qu Yan didn't seem surprised by the other person's thoughts, but instead looked at him with some interest.
Jiang Shi knew that the other party would react like this. The warlords in various places in Yongliang were like this. When they were strong, they would unite and divide the spoils. When they were weak, they would naturally scatter like birds and beasts and try their best to protect themselves. With Jiang
Compared with Shi, the Qu family in Xiping has a great cause, and no one will just follow others to death, so it takes almost no effort to convince Qu Yan: "We followed Han Gong all the way back from Guanzhong, not so much for
He tried his best to be loyal and never gave up. It would be better to say that... everyone was just afraid of the pursuing troops and just temporarily formed a group to go west. Now that Sangzi is not far away, it is time for this group to break up. "
Qu Yan sneered in the cold wind and drizzle and said, "I heard you were so mysterious, I thought you were going to rebel."
Jiang Shi's face changed. He had indeed thought about this idea. These defeats had made him deeply aware of the strength of the imperial court, and the seeds of surrender had already taken root deep in his heart. However, he was afraid of Han Sui's power for many years and could not bear it.
Seeing that he was about to return to Han Sui's lair, Jiang Shi did not dare to have the idea of rebellion, and was only willing to think about escaping.
Qu Yan did not express his attitude, which made Jiang Shi feel nervous.
"Have you ever thought about it?" Jiang Shi responded by joining his army.
"Han Gong is as old as a lion and is not to be feared." Qu Yan said very calmly. His eyes seemed to be looking through the wind and rain. Under the gloomy sky in the distance, it seemed that a group of sent scouts were returning on horseback.
. He composed himself and then said: "The one worth watching out for is Yan Xing."
Jiang Shi was a little proud: "So you don't dare to..."
"The war will not end here. After returning to Jincheng, it does not mean that Mr. Han will have nothing to worry about." Qu Yan suddenly whispered, his words almost covered by the sound of wind and rain: "Maybe that is what I am waiting for.
Chance……"
"What?" Jiang Shi didn't hear the last sentence clearly.
Just when he was about to ask further questions, there was suddenly a rush of horse hooves ahead, but five scouts turned back to report: "Report! There are more than a hundred people driving cattle and sheep in front of you, blocking the road. They say they are mighty heroes. I heard
Mr. Han is in trouble, so I came here to help him."
"Sheep?" Jiang Shi was surprised and happy. He was so happy that he couldn't even wipe the rain off his face: "I haven't eaten mutton for a long time. It seems that I have a lot of righteous people in Xiliang!"
"Have they always been here? Why does something sound wrong?" Qu Yan stroked the handle of the knife uneasily.
"Whoever he is, there are only about a hundred people here. If anything goes wrong, just kill them all." Jiang Shi looked excited. He had already sent an order to report to Han Sui in the rear. Thinking that there would be meat to eat soon, Jiang Shi also
In the mood to joke: "Unless these cows and sheep are pretended to be humans."
Qu Yan frowned and said nothing.
Soon Han Sui's order came from the rear. It was his confidant Yan Xing who personally delivered the order. The general idea of the words was the same as that of Jiang Shi. He went to contact this sudden appearance with the idea of preferring to kill rather than lose.
It's like a long-awaited team.
"I am Yan Qian, a native of Dunhuang County. I usually do business in Suli, and I often hear about the reputation of Duke Han. It is precisely because of this that our business journey has been smooth. Today, I heard that I am in trouble, so I have given hundreds of cattle and sheep to reward the three armies."
The speaker was a young man with a round face and a gentle appearance, with a flashy jade sword hanging diagonally on his waist.
Next to Yan Qian is a young man with a simple temperament. He is dressed like a follower following Yan Qian. He wears an unadorned sword on his waist. It does not look like a sword worn by scholars for decoration.
, but it is a real murder weapon.
Yan Xing couldn't help but look at him a few more times as he spoke. The man remained silent and raised his eyelids towards Yan Xing as a response.
Yan Gan introduced awkwardly: "This man's name is Zhang Ren. He was originally a swordsman in Shu. He fled here because he committed a crime. My father-in-law had a relationship with his family in the early years, so he took him in..."
Under Yan Qian's urging, Zhang Ren said hello impatiently. Yan Xing and others heard that it was indeed a Bashu accent.
Yan Xing asked a few more questions and saw that he was surrounded by hundreds of famous servants and hundreds of noisy cattle and sheep. The doubts in his heart were relieved a little. Finally, he couldn't help but look at Zhang Ren again.
Invite them to see Han Sui.
Jiang Shi volunteered to stay and count the cattle and sheep. Judging from his posture, it seemed that he was going to kill a few sheep on the spot and roast them for a taste. Qu Yan was not interested in picking through the sheep, and he and Yan Xing stood on the left and right, sandwiching the sheep.
Yan Qian and Zhang Ren left.
He originally wanted to say that Zhang Ren's accent was from Shu, but Yan Qian's accent was not like Liangzhou dialect and was similar to the accent in Guanzhong. But Qu Yan did not clarify this question.
When he met Yan Qian and Zhang Ren, he suddenly realized that the 'opportunity' he thought about might have arrived before he returned to Jincheng.
"The two martyrs came here and worked hard. I didn't expect that I was in such a state of poverty that I could still get help from martyrs." Han Sui had already ordered a simple tent to be set up on the spot, which barely covered most of the wind and rain. Although rainwater dripped from the holes at the top of the tent from time to time, Han Sui
Then he was still full of energy. He watched Yan Qian and others come in, stood beside the main seat, stretched out his hand and pointed to both sides: "Please take a seat!"
Yan Qian sat on the right hand seat without hesitation, Zhang Ren also sat down next to him, and Yan Xingbian, Qu Yan and others sat down on the left side in turn.
It was difficult to light a fire on a rainy day. It took a long time before someone brought a few bowls of salted vegetables and black beans outside. The wine was just a very muddy bowl of yellow soup. Yan Qian lowered his head and glanced down. He poured the muddy wine away and said loudly: "
Mr. Han is a hero of Xiliang, how can he drink such turbid wine! I have brought several buckets of wine with me on this trip, fill it up, and we will have a toast together."
Yan Xing's expression changed, and when he was about to speak, Han Sui stopped him with his eyes. He saw Han Sui sitting on the couch but smiling silently. He watched Yan Qian generously greet Jiang Shi, who was keen on wine and food.
He brought the wine in, and when Yan Qian was about to open it, Han Sui suddenly reached out and stopped him: "Wait a minute!"
Yan Qian's movements immediately froze, and he looked at Han Sui calmly, as if he didn't know what was going on.
I saw Han Sui slowly getting up from the couch and walking over. He reached out and took a pot of wine from Jiang Shi's hand with an expressionless face, and patted the pot with his palm.
Yan Xing thought there was something wrong and immediately stood up. Unknowingly, Qu Yan subconsciously thought this was a signal of agreement, and it seemed as if personal soldiers would rush out from behind at any time and kill Yan Qian and the two to the ground.
"What?" Yan Qian paused, put away the last trace of hesitation in his words, and forced out a smile again: "Does Mr. Han disdain my wine?"
Han Sui stared at Yan Qian closely. His weathered eyes had seen all kinds of people. How could someone with high rank get in? Those with low status were like Qiang slaves. As long as he took a look, he could roughly see what the other person was like.
Character. He looked at Yan Qian critically, as if he was also trying to see possible clues in Yan Qian's eyes.
Yan Qian looked at him calmly. No one in the tent dared to say anything for a moment. Yan Xing had already touched the hilt of the sword, loosening his hand again and again, ready to pull out the sword at any time. On the other hand, Zhang Ren on the other side,
The other party still sat motionless at the table, with a relaxed expression on his face, as if the tense atmosphere around him had nothing to do with him.
When Yan Xing saw this, he suddenly felt a little nervous and moved his hand slightly away from the hilt of the sword. When Qu Yan compared the two, he marveled at Han Sui's sophistication and acumen, and at Yan Qian's composure. This veteran
Young man, I don’t know which side to admire.
After a while, Han Sui chuckled and immediately resolved the deadlock: "Although there are many swordsmen and warriors in Xiliang, brave merchants and heroes like you are rare."
"I am a scholar." Yan Qian couldn't help but talk about his mantra. He smiled and said: "How can Mr. Han compare me with ordinary swordsmen?"
"What you are saying is that my favorite scholar is also a scholar." Han Sui smiled and agreed, extending his hand to invite Yan Qian to sit down. He opened the wine bottle, smelled it carefully, and praised it: "It is indeed a good wine. Since you are a guest,
, I should be the one to pour you this first glass of wine."
So Han Sui personally poured a glass of wine for Yan Qian. After such an episode, the atmosphere in the tent immediately disappeared with the wine, salt and vegetables. Jiang Shi drank happily on the side, but Han Sui drank a bowl first, and then
He put down the empty wine bowl on the pretext that he could not drink more because the arrow wound had not healed yet.
"I heard that the four counties in Hexi are in chaos. Guanqiu Xing and Yang Aruo are attacking cities everywhere. What is the current situation in Hexi? Are the rebels approaching Jincheng? Can Jun Yan teach me?" After drinking for three rounds, Han Sui asked.
Yan Qian shook his head and said: "I originally planned to take the cattle and sheep to Yizhou, but as soon as I got here, I heard that there was a chaos in Hexi and that Han Gong came from afar. I really don't know what the inside story is, but as far as I know, from Warriors to
You can travel smoothly all the way to the west, Yuzhong and Jincheng."
"What about the situation in Hanyang County?" As soon as Han Sui came out of peace, he sent people to contact Cheng Gongying. However, many of the people he sent came to nothing. This made Han Sui secretly frightened. He concluded that Cheng Gongying had encountered something unexpected, so he did not dare to stay for a long time.
, abandoning the baggage along the way, leaving behind the disabled and weak, and then arrived with more than 2,000 men and horses.
"Mr. Han, please don't embarrass me." Yan Qian said with a bitter smile: "I am just a scholar, and I only sell livestock. How can I know what is happening thousands of miles away?"