Under Zhang Zhao's cold eyes, all the changes that took place here today were not missed.
The former prison officer has been replaced by a young man, and many new faces have appeared among the prison guards. Most importantly, even the "residents" have basically changed.
At dawn today, he witnessed a large number of felons who had been detained for many days without being dealt with, but were pulled out in groups one after another.
These changes also fell into the eyes of other prisoners, but they thought that the officials in Pengcheng were finally going to deal with them.
Under the shadow of death, many crazy prisoners immediately began to torture themselves with all their strength.
Some were yelling, some were shouting, and some were shaking the bars violently. For a moment, it was like a group of demons dancing around. It was not until they were beaten one by one by the guards that the prisoners became honest again.
At this moment, among the prisoners in Ruolu Prison, Zhang Zhao is probably the only one who is clear-headed.
Is this... to make room?
Soon after, Zhang Zhao's conjecture was verified.
At noon, as the wooden fence continued to open and close, he and other prisoners saw countless new faces emerging.
Some of them looked familiar, because they had dealt with each other before, and were even considered familiar with each other.
Even if they are strangers, they are so unfamiliar that they don’t know their names and origins, but they have basically had a one-sided relationship.
But no matter what kind of people they are, Zhang Zhao can be sure that these people are officials, officials of Pengcheng State.
Although there are high and low official positions, there is no doubt that these people are the former rulers of Pengcheng Kingdom.
They are in charge of taxes, people's livelihood, prisons, money and food, etc.
These high-ranking officials who used to have feather fans and silk scarves and high crowns and fine attire are now in a miserable state and have even become prisoners...
It seems...
Duke Yuan's army has completely taken control of Pengcheng.
Thinking of this section, Zhang Zhao was so determined that he couldn't help stroking his beard and smiling proudly.
He looked at the poop carefully and discovered something else.
They were basically all civil servants and Confucian officials, but there were no military generals, which made me think a lot.
"Master, spare my life! I am willing to surrender and serve General Wang as a dog and a horse!"
"Kill if you want, I will never surrender to a thief!"
Ever since these people entered the prison, a variety of screams have been heard, and now they are even more resounding in the corridors of the prison, showing all kinds of things in the world.
There are always a few who remain silent, and most of them are either begging for life or shouting angrily.
But these shouts made Zhang Zhao, who had a calm expression on his face, frown slightly.
Perhaps to be more precise, it was a harsh word in the shout.
Cast...thieves?
absurd!
Mr. Yuan was born in the Yuan family in Runan and had a prominent status. Now he was awarded the title of General Zuo by the emperor. During the holidays, he was personally granted the title of Marquis of Yangzhai!
Even if you have fought against him before, you should not talk nonsense like this and use this contemptuous name!
While shaking his head, Zhang Zhao composed himself, straightened his clothes, picked up a bronze mirror, looked at himself in the mirror, and examined his manners.
Well, we can still see the guests.
Gazing at the middle-aged man in the territory, he was still in high spirits and well-dressed. He seemed to have not been affected by this hell on earth. Zhang Rao nodded with satisfaction.
He looked around again, staring at the losers, feeling proud beyond words.
If nothing unexpected happens...
The contribution I made to Mr. Yuan by taking down important towns like Pengcheng and Xiongguan is not small, right?
It is very likely that the general will personally come to welcome him out of prison.
This general was able to lead an army on his own to raid Pengcheng. He was obviously entrusted with an important task by Duke Yuan and must be his close confidant. He had to first leave a good impression and build friendship.
After all, he and I will be under the same roof in the future.
...
While Zhang Zhao was daydreaming about his thoughts, something happened again in the prison which had just returned to peace.
The iron door was opened again, and a middle-aged man with a rough and heroic appearance was escorted in by two unfamiliar-looking jailers.
It was probably because the cells in front were all full, so as I walked in, I was actually assigned to a vacant cell opposite Zhang Zhao.
"Cao Bao?"
When he saw that face, Zhang Zhao was immediately startled and let out a cry of surprise.
It shouldn't be...
Why is this person still alive?
Something unexpected happened, leaving Zhang Zhao filled with doubts.
None of the people who had been imprisoned before were military attachés. He could see that this general under Yuan Gong wanted to thoroughly clean up all the hidden dangers in Pengcheng, which was reasonable.
After all, the Pengcheng Kingdom has been conquered, and the entire territory of Pengcheng behind, including Langya and the East China Sea, must be based on Pengcheng.
There shouldn't be any hidden dangers in such an important place.
But why was it that Cao Bao was left alone after all the others were killed?
and....
This guy is Lu Fengxian's father-in-law.
Zhang Zhao had heard of the old grudge between Lu Bu and Duke Yuan.
In the third year of Chuping (192), Lu Bu first defected to Yuan Shu, then fled, crossed Hanoi, and soon after staying in public, defected to Yuan Shao again.
In Zhang Zhao's view, the lord he chose, the current Yangzhou Mu Yuan Shu, could not bear grudges due to such behavior.
And how could his close confidants not know this?
Full of doubts, Zhang Zhao couldn't help but ask:
"Mr. Cao, why are you here?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Bao glanced at him coldly, but said nothing.
"How dare you, a prisoner and a thief, speak so loudly?" On the contrary, the jailer who was holding him scolded him: "Shut up!"
this...
Are you scolding me?
Since Zhang Zhao became famous at a young age, this was the first time that Zhang Zhao had been scolded so harshly by a recruiter, and this was in his hometown of Pengcheng, and he was just a jailer.
This made him unable to react for a moment, and he opened his mouth and pointed at the jailer, his face full of disbelief.
It took a while before he came back to his senses: "How dare you insult me with words?"
It was in this prison before that any of the jailors who met him were polite, respectful and addressed him as sir?
"Insult you?" The jailer rolled his eyes strangely and raised his fist: "If you dare to speak more, I will give you a beating!"
"You!" Zhang Zhao's face suddenly turned red with anger, and he was about to shout harshly when he suddenly woke up.
I'm confused too.
This jailer's accent is obviously not from Pengcheng...or even from Xuzhou!
This must be one of Yuan Gong's soldiers. Naturally, he doesn't know who Zhang Zibu is in front of him.
And these humble soldiers don't know that their army can successfully become the master of Pengcheng because of their own help.
That's all, why should I be as knowledgeable as a common man!
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhao said nothing more, just stared at the two jailers who put Cao Bao into the cell, and then walked away.
When they were about to walk out of the corridor, the jailer turned back and pointed at Zhang Zhao with a smile, as if to threaten him to be careful.
Ah!
Zhang Zhao was finally completely angered by this guy. Although he didn't get angry immediately, he secretly remembered the jailer in his heart.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
Soon, with a heavy buzzing sound, the iron door of Ruolu Prison was closed again, and the corridors and cells fell into silence again.
After a while, Zhang Zhao gently knocked on the wooden fence.
Amidst the thumping sound, he called softly: "Mr. Cao? Gong Cao?"
"Captain Cao?"
Even after calling several times, no sound was heard, and the neighborhood seemed to have fallen into dead silence.
Zhang Zhao sighed, looked around, then bent down and picked up a clay pot, then poured it over with a strong force.
The cold water poured out, turning into a chilly sky, and immediately there was a shiver amidst the rushing sound.
Immediately, a rough voice full of anger shouted: "Zhang Zibu, what are you doing to criticize Confucianism!"
Although it was already mid-spring and the weather was not too cold, it was damp and cold inside the prison. It was uncomfortable to have such cold water hitting your face and body.
"Captain Cao, I called you but there was no response for a long time, so I came to this conclusion."
Seeing that the other party was angry, Zhang Zhao had no intention and just said it lightly.
Even when this guy held Pengcheng's five thousand troops and was the country's highest military attache, Zhang Zhao was not afraid of him, let alone now that he was a prisoner.
What's more, he joined the winner's side early?
However, this test also revealed some things.
For example, I am afraid that Cao Bao still does not know that Pengcheng fell so quickly and he also had his own contribution.
If that's the case, then it's time to cross-examine him.