One hundred and thirtieth chapters retreat to advance
The deal between Liu Xiang and Dong Zhuo was concluded.
Fatty Dong also gave an additional 500 war horses, 100 horse slaves, and 200 crossbow craftsmen in exchange for his subordinates. As for the cavalry, he didn't mention them at all.
Dong Zhuo's generals, the captain Niu Fu and Dong Yue, one was his son-in-law and the other was a relative of his clan, so it was impossible for them to follow Liu Xiang.
As for Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou, they were all born in Liangzhou and are now Sima and Marquis in the army. Liu Xiang despises them and they will not follow Liu Xiang. They might as well buy more horses.
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Among Dong Zhuo's troops, the one Liu Xiang wanted most was Jia Xu.
Jia Xu, Jia Wenhe, one of the most resourceful people in the Three Kingdoms period at the end of Han Dynasty, should be thirty-six or seven years old this year, which is the golden age when the mind is mature and the body is full of energy. Unfortunately, I searched through the prisoners and couldn't find them. He hasn't followed him yet.
Dong Zhuo? You can't ask about this matter. Even if Liu Xiang is blind, he won't be able to tell Dong Zhuo about Jia Xu. It will never attract Dong Zhuo's attention.
Jia Xu was promoted to Xiaolian when he was young, and he started out as a Langguan. His ancestor was Jia Yi, the king of Changsha in the Western Han Dynasty. He was the Jia Yi who wrote "On the Passage of Qin" and was as famous as Qu Yuan. The Jia family has lived in Wuwei County for a long time.
It is an orthodox Confucian wealthy family.
With his background and his resourcefulness, why did he join Dong Zhuo's army? He was not reused yet. Just because he was from Liangzhou, he was looked down upon by the Guandong people? Liu Xiang was really confused. He didn't find it this time.
I can only make plans later.
In the spirit of plucking the goose's feathers, Xu Rong was detained. As a fellow from Youzhou, it was pleasing to the eye.
He did not dare to object, but Dong Zhuo readily accepted it, so the Anping Army gained another general.
Although Xu Rong is not well-known, his ability is not weak. He defeated Cao Cao in Xingyang in 190 and Sun Jian in Liang County in 191. Both of them were annihilated and fled alone.
But he died too early. After Dong Zhuo died, he surrendered to Wang Yun. In 192, he fought with Li Jue and Guo Si in Xinfeng. Because Hu Zhen surrendered, he was outnumbered and died in the chaos.
As for whether Xu Rong will return to his heart? It should be enough to bring his family from Xuantu County. It is not difficult to convince him that he is a rough and tumble man who is risking his life for military glory. He is not a child of aristocratic family.
Anyway, the thief will not escape empty-handed, so he should hold it in his hand first.
When the deal was concluded, Liu Xiang was very happy and comforted Dong Zhuo: "Mr. Zhong Ying, please be at ease. I have always kept my word. As long as the horse reaches Youzhou, I will definitely let you go back."
"Thank you, Mr. Liu."
Niu Fu went back to Liangzhou overnight to report that the ransom would be sent directly from Bingzhou to Youzhou through the territory of the Huns. If it was quick, it could arrive in ten and a half months, without delaying Dong Zhuo's return to Luoyang to serve as official official.
Liu Xiang would not publicize the capture of them, and just pretended that the Anping Army never showed up, and that they were just defeated by the Yellow Turban Army, scattered everywhere, and delayed for a period of time.
One thousand, two hundred prisoners were escorted back to Youzhou, and Liu Xiang and Dong Zhuo continued to wander around Jizhou.
It is impossible for Guangzong to go back.
The Anping Army and the Yellow Turban Army are at odds with each other. On the surface, they are allies. They fight against the Han army together. In fact, they want to take advantage of each other. This is not in line with expectations, but the actual situation is like this. People's hearts are unpredictable, and there is no way to do it.
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Dong Zhuo was defeated, and the Northern Army could only defend itself. Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao felt that the crisis was over, and the two brothers also fell out. Zhang Bao mobilized most of his troops and fled eastward, preparing to collect the bandits scattered everywhere and reunite them.
Raise a large army and continue wandering as before.
This is what he did during the Red Eyebrow Uprising two hundred years ago. He wanted to follow the old path of the Red Eyebrow Army and looked forward to the day when it would sweep the world.
Zhang Liang, however, wanted to occupy states and counties, and claim territory as king. He felt that the previous path was not working, and he had to change his approach.
When it comes to interests and ideas, neither of them can convince the other, and in the end they can only part ways.
On the Guangzong battlefield, only the 80,000 Yellow Turban Army commanded by Zhang Liang were left entangled and confronting the Anping Army and the Northern Army.
The Yellow Turbans were numerous, the Anping Army was nimble, and the Northern Army was elite. No one among the three groups dared to start the war lightly, for fear of being exploited by a third party.
Liu Xiang wanted to destroy the Northern Army, Zhang Liang not only wanted to destroy the Northern Army, but also wanted to annex the Anping Army. The Northern Army just wanted to retreat to Yanzhou.
Huangfu Song destroyed the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou and was marching to Jizhou, hoping to wipe out the main force of the Yellow Turbans.
Time passed in the confrontation, and it was already the third day of October. Liu Xiang looked at the few supplies and wanted to make one last effort. He made an appointment with Zhang Liang for an interview.
The two met a hundred miles north of Qingyuan County, Wei County, because the Northern Army wanted to retreat to Qingyuan City, but was blocked by the Anping Army and was in a stalemate here.
Zhang Liang arrived with more than 30,000 people, looking aggressive. Liu Xiang frowned, thinking that this matter would be difficult to handle.
"General Zhang knows that Huangfu Song's army is about to arrive, and there is not much time to destroy the Northern Army. If the two enemy armies merge, the general's life will not be saved."
Zhang Liang smiled boldly: "Hahaha, Mr. Liu is deceiving me. If you want anything, you might as well just say it."
Liu Xiang was irritated in his heart. I hate you, an immortal. You are about to die but don't know it. At worst, I will return to Youzhou.
But now is not the time to act impulsively. It is the most beneficial thing for you to use the power of the Yellow Turban Army to weaken the Han Army.
He suppressed his emotions and said calmly: "Our army is about to return to the north. Seeing that the Yellow Turban Army is about to be wiped out, it is inevitable that some rabbits will die and foxes will be sad. General Zhang does not need to believe it. I have no plans. I just want to inform the alliance.
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"Why is Mr. Liu so anxious to leave, but someone doesn't treat him well?"
Liu Xiang rolled his eyes, you want to annex our army. This way of treating guests is really too thoughtful, I can't bear it.
"The supplies are exhausted and we have to retreat. General Zhang takes care and takes his leave."
There is no need to discuss Zhang Liang's attitude. Liu Xiang can only give up the idea of jointly sending troops. The two armies cannot trust each other and both have their own agendas. This matter cannot be forced.
He originally had no intention of begging the Yellow Turbans to send troops. If he begged, he would not get it. If you lower your stance, the other party will only push forward.
Liu Xiang returned to the camp, packed his gear that day, and withdrew his troops westward.
The Anping Army left happily, and Zhang Liang was dumbfounded. With 30,000 men under his command, he might not be able to defeat the elite Northern Army in a frontal battle.
Originally, he brought troops here just to show off his power and force Liu Xiang to bow his head. Who would have thought that he would just give up and quit. Now that he has cut off the Northern Army's return route, should we still fight this battle?
Zhang Liang hesitated for two days and never made up his mind. Faced with the increasingly tough attitude of the Northern Army, he finally had to withdraw his troops and leave.
The two groups of soldiers and horses withdrew one after another, and the five captains of each battalion of the Northern Army finally breathed a sigh of relief. From the end of September to the present, they had been on tenterhooks for a few days, fearing that the two groups of thieves and bandits would join forces to attack.
All the officers and men in the army are in uniform, ready to fight at any time.
Fortunately, fortunately, thieves are thieves. They had plans for each other and each had their own agenda. Neither wanted to waste their troops. In the end, they broke up unhappily. Our army finally found a way out.
On the fifth day of October, 8,900 people from the Northern Army set off in the afternoon, traveled 40 miles, and set up camp 60 miles away from Qingyuan County.
You can enter the city tomorrow and rely on the city to resist the bandits.
The whole army breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Liu Xiang was twenty miles away, listening to the scout's report.