It is the spring equinox of the second year of Xingping, the month of mid-spring.
The Qingming Festival is approaching, when birds return south, thunder shakes the sky and earth, dragons and snakes startle, and when the sun first rises, the wind brings a gentle warmth, making the eyes full of brightness.
At this time, a row of stern boats were driving out of the pier one after another, heading east one by one along the wide river, and quickly left the Kaiyang jurisdiction in less than half an hour.
A tender boat was a small cargo ship at that time, with a single sail, heavy weight and easy to manage. The only drawback was that it did not carry many people.
Wang Zheng looked far away and saw that the weeds on both sides of the river bank had faded from green to yellow and were all shiny green. Occasionally, some unknown petals withered and fell into the turbid yellow water.
A few of them were wrapped in the wind as if they were delicate and weak, and floated to the center of the river. They only floated for a moment before being swallowed up by the mighty current.
At dusk, there was a strong gust of wind, and as the speed doubled, the shadow of another city could be faintly seen.
"General." A guard walked up to Wang Zheng, who was standing on the bow of the ship, and said excitedly: "Is that Yangdu County?"
Seeing Wang Zheng nod, the guard couldn't help but sigh: "The waterway is really convenient. If you don't get there in one day, you can travel hundreds of miles."
"This is quite slow." Wang Zheng smiled and said, "God is not helping me today. If there is a favorable wind, I am afraid we will be able to see Dong'an now."
The Han Dynasty is not very developed in shipping, and its ships rely solely on sailing ships. In this case, the speed basically depends on whether there is a tailwind and how strong the wind is. If the weather is good, the fastest can reach an astonishing speed of a hundred miles an hour, but the ship cannot
The wind may be favorable every time, so on average it will probably be 40 to 50 miles per hour.
Kaiyang is located in the far east of Langya County, but Langya County is in the far west. If you take the land route, even running under the stars, it will probably take five or six days. In order to save time, Wang Zheng only took two hundred people with him.
The soldiers of Tianzhu Camp even chose the water route.
In this way, even if we take a detour, we can reach Langya County in two or three days at most.
Langya County, in the future Chinese dynasty, will also have a nice name, Qingdao.
"Historical Records. The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin" records that "there is a mountain on the bank of Gaihai, shaped like a platform, in Langya, so it is called Langya Terrace".
Langya County can be said to be named after Langyatai and Zulong.
It is said that after Qin Shihuang unified China, he made five tours of the world, including three visits to Langyatai. Moreover, although this majestic city a thousand years later is not majestic now, it is one of the birthplaces of sea salt in the Celestial Dynasty and has the "four major
"Ancient Salt Area" is also one of the "Five Ancient Ports". It is more likely that the earliest ocean-going voyage of the Chinese Dynasty took place...
According to legend, Xu Fu's journey to Korea and Japan started from here.
However, when taking a boat, everything feels new when you first get on the sampan, but after a long time, it will only become boring.
Most of Wang Zheng's soldiers were young people. They were quite excited at first. They looked at the green and beautiful scenery along the way. They even shouted when they occasionally glimpsed the villages near the river. But later on, they all stopped and felt weak. They originally felt that
The delicious boiled fish rice has now become tasteless.
Fortunately, this time did not last long. The sail sailed westward along the current, and passed through Ju County and other counties in two days. At this time, the river suddenly became deep and fast, and the tide was raging. When he saw the cliffs on both sides confronting each other, it was steep and steep, and Wang Zheng knew clearly.
, this waterway has come to an end.
If we could take a boat, we could go to the sea along the river and head towards Beihai County. So we took Tianzhuying down from the dock and directly entered Dongwu County.
Wu Niu, who had received the news earlier, was waiting with a group of people for a long time.
...
As the saying goes, the tree wants to be still but the wind doesn't stop.
Because he could not figure out why the Skeleton King Yuan Shu encouraged him to attack Tao Qian, Wang Zheng decided to hold his troops back for the time being. However, he did not think about attacking the East China Sea, but there were people in the East China Sea who always wanted to attack him.
There is no way, after all, for most heroes in the late Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Thief is the most suitable stepping stone to make achievements.
Donghai County, Tancheng, and Pingyuan Army Camp in the west.
The wind was blowing weakly, blowing the loess feebly. Even the big flag pole with the Chinese character "Liu" engraved on it at Yingkou seemed listless. It was huddled on the flagpole. There were noisy sounds all around. A group of soldiers were looking back and forth, looking bored.
Occasionally, someone would look up and look at the faint city on the other side, with longing in their eyes.
There is Jiqiu City in Langya County.
"Brother, what does Tao Qian mean?"
Zhang Fei stared, with streaks of blood protruding from his eyeballs, stretched out two fingers and shouted: "We came here to help him fight the bandits. It's been almost two months since we arrived in Xuzhou!"
"It's been two months, and he hasn't sent out a single soldier. Is he scared out of his wits by the Yellow Turban bandits?"
Zhang Fei spat out thick phlegm, as if full of complaints: "You still can't trust us?"
At this time, Liu Bei had just finished inspecting the military camp and was leaning on the couch to catch his breath. When he heard this, he did not say anything, but poured a ladle of water from the jar, drank half of it, and poured half of it on his head.
The coolness hit his head, causing Liu Da'er to groan in comfort. He immediately looked at the second brother on the left who looked proud, and asked:
"Has this month's baggage arrived?"
"Here they come." Guan Yu said solemnly: "They allocated another hundred grains, and this time they also sent some meat animals."
"As expected of a state pastor." Hearing this, Liu Bei was startled, and then sighed with emotion: "It's a generous move."
When he was in Beihai, Liu Beigu was so arrogant that he dismissed Pingyuan Country as not worth mentioning. However, that place was in a small area and was the only place where his three brothers lived. How could he really abandon it?
In the end, the troops were divided into two, and some returned to the plains. The remaining more than a thousand people were brought to Xuzhou by Liu Bei.
One hundred dendrobiums of grain, if eaten sparingly, would be enough for the thousand men and horses for two months. This was the second time Tao Qian distributed grain to them.
If you only look at the food and grass, it is indeed a preferential treatment, but neither Liu Bei nor his two sworn brothers came to Xuzhou for this small amount of food and grass.
Sure enough, when he heard this, Guan Yu snorted coldly: "Brother, if you really think you are rich, we have offered you arrows and war horses several times, but we have never given them to you."
"What a fool." Liu Bei hadn't responded yet, but he saw Zhang Fei was already yelling: "We only give food and grass, but no soldiers, horses, or equipment, so how can we kill the thieves? If we don't kill the thieves, we will still stay in Xuzhou.
Ganniao? Just go back to the plains."
“I’m so full after eating Fengsha here every day, I’m so suffocated!”
"Third brother!" After hearing this, Liu Bei immediately scolded: "You are also a scholar, how can you be so disrespectful to your elders?"
Although he said this, if he looked at himself in the mirror at this time, Liu Bei could also see his own face, which was actually as black as the bottom of a pot.
To be honest, Liu Bei's heart was full of disappointment at this time.
Not only was he unwilling to pay for his passion, but he was also angry at Tao Qian for not fighting.
As a person who rose from a humble family to a high position as a state shepherd, Liu Bei admired this senior in his heart and regarded him as a hero.
Tao Qian's father died young. He lacked discipline when he was a child and was uninhibited. His reputation in the local area was not very good. At the age of fourteen, he still played with the children, pulling cloth flags and riding bamboo horses. However, after talking to him, Duke Gan, who had been a prefect, discovered that he
Being different, he will definitely become a great person in the future, and despite his wife's strong opposition and the eyes of his neighbors, he insisted on marrying his daughter to him, and gave him a famous evaluation:
He has a wonderful appearance, and he will surely achieve greatness if he grows up.
Duke Gan is an old official, and he can make the decision to marry a daughter. He can see that Tao Qian must be outstanding. This should be compared with Lu Gong's evaluation of Liu Bang. Tao Qian did not let Lu Gong get it wrong. First, he examined
Zhusheng was promoted to scholar, worshiped as Shangshulang, served as magistrate of Shu County, and magistrate of Lu County. Later, he moved to Youzhou Governor and was worshiped as Yilang.
If Tao Qian had a smooth journey up to this point, perhaps with the help of his father-in-law Gan Gong, then his subsequent performance in martial arts could really only be attributed to his ability.
In the second year of Zhongping, when the Western Qiang invaded, Huangfu Song led his army to quell the rebellion. He went to the court to ask for someone to go with him. The man sent by the court at that time was Tao Qian, and they won a great victory;
Later, when Han Sui rebelled in Bianzhang, Zhang Wen went to quell the rebellion, and even asked Tao Qian to go with him. As a result, Han Sui was defeated in Bianzhang and retreated to Yuzhong;
Later, when the Yellow Turban Army rebelled in Xuzhou, the imperial court again named Tao Qian to quell the rebellion, and the outcome was determined by a battle.
The first time was that the imperial court randomly selected generals. It was said to be random, but in fact they were selected from the talent pool of outstanding generals. As a result, Tao Qian, a civilian official, was selected, which actually showed that his military capabilities within the Han court had been recognized to a certain extent, and even
I was favored, so the Han court sent him out. It was called practice, but it was actually gold plating;
But for the second time, the coach who was already on the expedition specifically called for him, indicating that after the last training, his ability has been recognized by many senior generals;
As for the third time, the imperial court solemnly asked him to lead troops to quell the rebellion. This was a transition from general to commander. Being able to take on the responsibility of saving the country from fire and water meant that he had become one of the important officials of the imperial court.
In addition to his literary and military skills, Tao Qian's governance ability is also remarkable.
After forming the Danyang Army to put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Xuzhou, the imperial court appointed Tao Qian as the governor of Xuzhou and allowed him to continue to manage Xuzhou. During this period, Tao Qian showed a superb level of governance.
First of all, he recruited talents from local wealthy families. These people were both capable and powerful, and they helped Tao Qian quickly stabilize the situation. In particular, he let Chen Deng take charge of agriculture and carry out farming, and agricultural production recovered quickly.
Tao Qian also had a strategic vision. During the period of Dong Zhuo's chaos, when Yuan Shao led the eighteen princes in Guandong to attack, Tao Qian, as the leader of the important town of Xuzhou, saw that this group of people was a mob and did not participate. The result was as he expected. Not only did he attack
If Dong failed, the princes would be in civil strife, scattering like birds and beasts.
On the contrary, when Emperor Chang'an of the Han Dynasty was trapped and cut off from all directions, Tao Qian was one of the few separatist princes who took the initiative to pay tribute. Therefore, he obtained General Andong and the title of Marquis of Liyang. With all the famous weapons and weapons, he once again strengthened his rule over Xuzhou.
.
In the past two years, Tao Qian twice responded to and organized the alliance headed by Zhu Jun to challenge Dong. It can be seen that Tao Qian did not not want to challenge Dong, but who he supported. Judging from the results, the eighteenth princes
During the crusade against Dong Zhuo, the princes fought among themselves, but Tao Qian did not suffer. Paying tribute to the besieged Han Emperor was a small cost but a huge gain. Although the strategy may have been provided by the counselors around him, being able to adopt it shows that he has the skills.
Quite a strategic vision.
By this time, both Tao Qian's political status in the Han Dynasty and his prestige among the people in Xuzhou had reached their peak at the same time.
It's a pity that this scenery came to an abrupt end after meeting Cao Cao.
What Liu Bei didn't expect was that after a tragic defeat, Tao Qian seemed to have completely lost his ambition and all his bloody courage.
"If we continue to waste time like this..." Thinking of this, Liu Bei was also furious: "Then it is really better to return to the plains as soon as possible."
If he felt aggrieved, he would be more prosperous than Zhang Fei.
These days, it is impossible for Liu Bei and others to just stay in the military camp and do everything.
Since they came here as bandits, they had to get to know their future enemy Liu Bei first. Now they already knew that the Yellow Turban bandits that were ravaging Xuzhou this year were the same ones that destroyed Linzi last year.
Liu Bei knew better that it was precisely because the prince named Wang Zheng rebelled at the critical moment that he and Qingzhou Governor Tian Kai surrendered at the same time and did not participate in the second battle between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao after the Battle of Jieqiao.
Of course, in the original history, Liu Bei actually chose to rescue Xuzhou in the end instead of helping Gongsun Zan.
Although there is some emotion about the entanglement between them, Wang Zheng has not actually been paid too much attention by Liu Bei until now.
You must know that the first battle when the three brothers became famous was to kill the Yellow Turban general Cheng Yuanzhi in Zhuo County. He was the strongest first-generation Yellow Turban bandit. Even Zhang Jiao's personal soldiers and other powerful troops, Liu Guan and Zhang also fought in Yingchuan.
Have fought in person.
But no matter what, the record of Zhuzi is not bad after all. It is not as easy to deal with ordinary bandits. Now he has occupied the land of two counties. If Liu Bei is allowed to deal with it with only a thousand men, let alone the chance of winning.
, even if victory is certain, Liu Bei is reluctant.
This is most of my family's wealth.
One thousand versus tens of thousands, no matter how bad the Yellow Turban thief is, it is impossible for him to be completely unscathed, and as long as a few hundred people die, it is still a loss-making business in Liu Bei's opinion.
Of course, the most important thing is Tao Qian's current ambiguous attitude, which makes Liu Bei wonder whether the damage is worth it.
But returning to Pingyuan is just a talk.
No matter what, although Tao Qian never asked them to quell the chaos, and even when Liu Bei took the initiative to ask for help several times, he always used the excuse that the time had not come yet, but at least for now, he was still treating his brother with courtesy.
If you say goodbye without saying goodbye, not only will you give up halfway, but the original goodwill may also turn into a grudge.
"I don't know what Tao Zhoumu was thinking..."
When he walked to the entrance of the tent and looked at the soldiers in front of him, Liu Bei felt helpless.
If when he first came to Xuzhou, with the power of the great victory in Beihai, the morale of the army was high, as long as Xuzhou's cooperation was in place, Liu Bei would have had absolute confidence that he could not only defeat the bandits, but also win completely, win quickly, and quickly recover the fallen troops.
of the two counties.
But now...
In two months, the morale and fighting spirit of his subordinates have been completely exhausted.
"Speaking of which, Xuzhou's great rivers and mountains." He said with a wry smile and a dull tone: "Now half of them belong to rebellious officials and traitors."
"As for me, a member of the Han clan, I have been following others for almost half my life, and my current place of residence is even more of a place to stand, under the roof of others."
"Brother..." Upon hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's eyes turned red and they were speechless.
"Hey, second brother, three places..." Liu Bei lamented: "If my brother can one day have a state... no, even half a state..."
"There is no need to look at other people's faces anymore."
While he was feeling melancholy, he saw a group of cavalry galloping in the distance. The person in front of them shouted loudly before they even reached the entrance of the camp: