Chapter four hundred and sixteenth: Pan Zhang, the halberd bearer
"Pan Zhang of Dongjun, pays homage to General Hussar."
Liu Xiang nodded and returned the courtesy: "You don't have to be polite, what's the point of coming here?"
This man, who called himself the Chief of Cangting Pavilion, came with a few people, driving cattle and sheep, fruits, vegetables, and wine to reward the army. The real purpose was not yet clear, so he gave him a surprise first.
Pan Zhang, one of the twelve tiger ministers of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, was born in Faqian County, Dongjun County. He was from a humble background and was a rogue. He had a reckless and brave temperament. He had strict prohibitions on leading troops, but he was extravagant and extremely greedy for money. He was promoted from the bottom by Sun Quan.
, has repeatedly made meritorious deeds.
Not to mention anything else, Guan Yu and his son were both captured and killed by him.
Liu Xiang once searched for him. Faqian County was on the north bank of the Yellow River and had long been merged into Jizhou. Unfortunately, like Wen Chou whose family was in Anping State, he could not be found.
It turned out that he had gone to Dong'e County on the south coast.
Now it appeared in front of him again.
Pan Zhang looks young and has not yet grown his beard, so he must be less than 20 years old.
Han people usually renew their beards after the crowning ceremony, and some after giving birth to a child. In fact, they are all about the same age, around 20 years old.
"How to fool him back?" Liu Xiang thought while stroking his beard.
He is of low origin, but he runs away to the south, unwilling to become one of his own people?
"I was ordered by the prefect to send cattle and wine to the army." Pan Zhang behaved very respectfully and tried his best to act like a messenger.
Haha, I believe you, Liu Xiang shook his head. It is a typical case of experience limiting thinking. If the governor of Dongjun really wants to reward the army, he must do it himself. It is extremely rude to just send an envoy.
Chen Gong's status was lower than his own. In addition to the messenger, sending other messengers would look down on him and would anger Liu Xiang.
Even if an envoy is sent, it is impossible to send a pavilion chief. Although this is Cangting's territory, there is no reason for the pavilion chief to act as an envoy.
Liu Xiang decided to give some guidance to the child.
"Pan Zhang, have you picked up the characters?"
"Replying to the general's words, the ceremony has not yet been done and the words have not been taken."
No crowning ceremony is another flaw.
"Tell me about your true intentions. Chen Gongtai will not send a pavilion chief to work for me. The status is not equal. This is disrespectful. Only Mengde, the shepherd of Yanzhou, and I can send envoys to each other. Chen Gongtai is not qualified."
Liu Xiang smiled and continued: "This is an oversight on your part. I think you are pleasing to the eye, so I won't punish you. Tell me what your plan is. If you say it well, I will spare your life."
Looking at the guards all around who were staring at him, all of them strong and powerful, Pan Zhang was not sure of rushing out, so he could only explain in despair.
"General Qi, the folks in Cangting are worried about the army plundering them. I have heard the story of the ancients who rewarded the army to retreat the enemy, so I want to try it. I hope you will forgive me for offending the general. If the general is angry, just
Punish me alone, please don't anger the people of Cangting."
Liu Xiang felt that this was not true and guessed: "Is it because the big families in Cangting are afraid of my robbery? There is only a river between this place and Jizhou. Everyone knows that the Anping Army never robs the people."
"Yes, it's Zhang Yu, the chief of Cangting Pavilion. He was afraid of being robbed, so he was too timid to come, so he entrusted me to come." Pan Zhang stopped pretending. Others saw through the trick and simply admitted it.
You want to give gifts in exchange for security, but you are afraid that giving gifts will leak money and make people miss you even more, so you pretend to be a prefect and a laborer?
This is a bad idea.
Even bandits and bandits may not be able to deceive him.
Liu Xiang rolled his eyes and guessed what he was thinking. He was not thinking about robbery and was too lazy to pay attention to the thoughts of the local wealthy.
Looking at Pan Zhang in front of him, there is no benefit. Who would take risks for others? Thinking about the evaluation of this man in the history books, he was ready to confirm: "You came here for that Zhang Yu and made some money to spend on the way? Yes or no?"
Pan Zhang smiled sheepishly: "Hey, the general's eyes are like a torch. How can a villain with such little thoughts escape the general's eyes? Life is hard, earn some money for running errands. General, don't worry, there will be no trace of the wine and meat sent.
Dare to deduct."
"You want to make money?"
"I don't have money to eat, so I have to think of ways to make money!" Pan Zhang let go and returned to his nature. He figured out that if this person wanted to kill him, he wouldn't be able to resist at all, so he might as well say something.
What.
"How much can I earn from this trip?"
"A hundred big bucks."
Liu Xiang knew that this was Ping'an Tongbao. Ping'an Tongbao was half a tael, which was several times larger than a five-baht coin. Folks called it "big money". A hundred coins was a lot. If you cross the river secretly to buy grain, you can buy nearly
For three stones, you can buy ten catties of meat. If you buy wine, you can buy two or three buckets of bad wine.
Prices in Yanzhou will be more expensive.
Although he forbids grain from being shown on camera, he really couldn't resist the small-scale private business. You have one bucket, I have two liters. Fortunately, the quantity is not large, so you don't need to worry too much.
"Are you from Fagan County?"
"The general is a true god, he knows all this." Pan Zhang nodded repeatedly with a playful smile on his face.
"Fagan is under my rule. I can get fifteen acres of land. Why did you come to the south bank?"
"Hehe." Pan Zhang rubbed his hands and said in a low voice, a little shy: "A certain person also divided his land, but when he was happy, he drank it all and owed money, so he hid here on the south bank to make a living."
Drinking and drinking up fifteen acres of land? It must be drinking and gambling, right? Is it really good to recruit such a good drinker, gambler and greedy for money and life to be around?
Liu Xiang hesitated for a moment, but still could not resist his love for talents. Pan Zhang had many shortcomings, but they could not stop him from fighting bravely and having the talent to lead troops.
"Pan Zhang, I think you are pleasing to the eye. Let's do this. Stop wandering around and be a halberd-bearing man by my side. Change your habit of drinking and gambling, and you will be useful in the future. A good man will be buried in the grass.
Time, what a pity.”
"Thank you for your appreciation, general. No, no, thank you for your appreciation, my lord." Pan Zhang bowed repeatedly, feeling extremely excited and wishing he could kneel down and kowtow to the hussar general.
Because of Han Xin in the early Han Dynasty, most people knew what the halberd man did.
Follow the lord and guard the gate.
Don't underestimate the doorman, he is an official no matter how big or small he is.
A prodigal like me, who can't even be considered a ranger, can now become a military attache, and his ancestral graves are filled with smoke.
"Leave the fruits, vegetables and meat. Take the wine back with you. You can go back and tidy up and return to camp before midnight tomorrow." Liu Xiang ordered, but he was not worried about being drugged.
How to administer medicine to live cattle, sheep, fruits, and vegetables? This is not a martial arts novel. There are no colorless, odorless poisons that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Su Wei is not a fool. Don't they know how to check?
After a meal and a drink, Pan Zhang returned to camp on time, and Liu Xiang continued to march along the river embankment with his five hundred guards.
Stopping and walking, day after day, with the guards around us, the navy in the river, safety, and no shortage of supplies. After more than ten days, we passed through Baima County, entered Sili, and arrived at Yin's area in Henan.
Continuing to travel westward, the road becomes more and more desolate, and the population gradually becomes sparse.
After passing the ruins of Xingyang, I couldn't even see a single house even after walking for a whole day.
The situation here is better than he imagined. Two years ago, the Yellow River burst and floods rushed through Xingyang and spread to Chenliu and Yingchuan.
He originally thought this place would be a vast land.
But this place is full of green grass, thick bushes, and only a few river bubbles.
I think the scope of the breach will not be too large, and the embankment has not completely collapsed, which is good news.
It's a pity that there are no human settlements. It used to be the most prosperous place in the Han Dynasty, but now it is almost turning into a wasteland.
The river embankments and avenues are covered with weeds, and the houses in the wild have been burned down, leaving only gray-black ruins hidden in the grass that is half a person tall. In a few years, they will probably be even less visible.
The abandoned city wall still stands out, but it is covered with weeds and vines, and is green and has a post-modern apocalyptic style.
"It's a pity that the good farmland has been laid waste and has to be cultivated again." Zhao Yun frowned, feeling distressed.
No one comes here to farm, it's not safe.
Without order, passing bandits and local wild animals can kill people at any time.
The rich people don't want to come, and the small people don't dare to come.
Two hundred miles around Luoyang, the most beautiful land of the Han Dynasty in the past, originally had a population of more than two million. The city was prosperous, the transportation was convenient, the roads were full of cars and horses, and the plains were covered with mountains and hills.
Mulberry trees and fruit trees are planted everywhere.
A fire broke out and this place became a no man's land.
It takes a hundred years to build, but it can be destroyed in just a few days.