Along the Zhangshui River, the water flows slowly, and the green willow branches and leaves gradually turn yellow. There are more than a thousand people standing beside the river in darkness. At this time, there is silence. Everyone looks at Tao Sheng with horrified eyes. Not long ago, he killed Heishan with his own hands.
Commander Zhang Yan.
Tao Sheng wiped his beloved sword clean and returned it to its sheath. Then he glanced around calmly. Everyone lowered their heads and no one dared to look at him.
Tao Sheng was a yellow man in Wei County. He was both lucky and unfortunate. He was born in a poor family and had no future. However, he was lucky enough to meet a county magistrate who loved talents. He was promoted to a county official by special exception and entered into an official career.
To say he was unlucky is that the county magistrate died of illness soon. The following county magistrates never had a Bole. Although he had outstanding talents, he had to be lost in the county government. Later, because of his own farming, Tao Sheng had a conflict with the powerful people of Wei County and was tragically killed.
He was framed and fled to Montenegro at the age of thirty. It has been six or seven years now.
Tao Sheng was of average height and had an unremarkable face, but because of his knowledge of books, he had an air of elegance about him. Most of the Black Mountain bandits were rough men who couldn't read a single word, so they respected him in particular.
"General Tao..." Colonel Zuo strode up and said. Colonel Zuo was about thirty years old, tall and strong, with a long and narrow face and a beard around his face. He was a famous ranger in Wei County. He was from the same hometown as Tao Sheng and had always been the only one.
The latter followed suit.
"The so-called general will not be mentioned in the future." Tao Sheng shook his head and said, then looked at a young man not far away. The young man was twenty-five or six years old, more than seven feet tall, with big square ears, and bright black eyes.
God. In terms of appearance, Tao Sheng sent him hundreds of thousands of miles, just like a pheasant compared to a crane.
Tao Sheng slowly said: "Brother Liu is a clan member of the Han Dynasty. Are you willing to surrender with us?"
The young man surnamed Liu's eyes flashed, and he replied after a while: "I wish that." His surname was Liu Mingshi, the youngest son of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, a descendant of Liu Shun, the king of Changshan, who had lived in Zhending, Changshan. Like Liu Bei, Liu Shi also lived in a poor family, even worse than Liu Shi.
Liu Bei was even worse. Counting up from him, no one had become an official for four consecutive generations. He and Zhang Yan were from the same hometown. It is said that fellow villagers are usually very close, such as Tao Sheng and Zuo Xiao. However, no matter how bad Liu Shi's family background was, it was still the Han Dynasty clan.
Zhang Yan had always been jealous of his relatives and was suppressed many times.
Tao Sheng smiled happily and said, "With Brother Liu's intervention, our lives are saved."
Gai Jun was in a good mood and chatting with Hu Feng. Suddenly he saw several people walking towards him. He was not surprised that the desperate Black Mountain bandits surrendered, but he was completely surprised when the leaders of the Black Mountains held Zhang Yan's head and asked for surrender.
He expected it. No matter how bad Zhang Yan was, he became a prince of the Three Kingdoms, fought with Yuan Shao for several years, became famous for a while, surrendered to Cao Cao, glorified his descendants, and then died like this?
Without this person to restrain Yuan Shao, how many years could Gongsun Zan last? Can Cao Cao break away from Yuan Shao?
Gai Jun didn't say a word, which immediately caused a misunderstanding among the guards. They pressed their swords or stretched their bows. Just waiting for an order, they killed Tao Sheng, Liu Shi, and Zuo Xiao on the spot. The atmosphere was extremely solemn.
In autumn and winter, Zuo Xiao felt like he was sweating profusely, Liu Shi also had a livid face, but Tao Sheng remained calm.
Gai Jun came back to his senses and saw that his guards were full of murderous intent. He laughed dumbly. He waved his hand to signal the guards to put down their weapons. He looked at the three of them with great interest. Finally, his eyes fell on Tao Sheng and he said: "Everyone abandons the darkness and turns to the light. I am alone."
Very pleased."
"Gu?" Tao Sheng's eyes twitched slightly. As he guessed, Gai Jun should be promoted to the post of Bingzhou Mu. He suppressed his surprise and said, "My surname is Tao Mingsheng, and my courtesy name is Yanzhen. I am Huang from Wei County."
A small official was framed and the enemy was powerful, so he was forced to become a thief." At this point, he paused and continued: "Although I joined the bandits, I have read little scriptures and know good and evil, so I don't dare to harm the people easily.
It teaches the people to farm in the valleys..."
Gai Jun nodded, acknowledging what he said.
Tao Sheng perked up and introduced his companion: "This person's surname is Liu Mingshi, his courtesy name is Zishuo, and he is the queen of Changshan King."
"The queen of Changshan King..." Gai Jun said slightly surprised: "Is this a descendant of the Han Dynasty?"
Liu Shi looked sad, bowed his head and said: "I am ashamed of my ancestors."
Tao Sheng also introduced Zuo Xiao, whose performance just now was the worst. Gai Jun only nodded and asked Tao Sheng: "Since Zhang Yan is dead, he wants to take advantage of victory and sweep down the valleys of Mount Heng (Taihang Mountain). What will he do with his steps?"
Good advice?"
Tao Sheng said: "Bingzhou has a vast territory and is sparsely populated, with many mountains and few acres of land. There are people in Hengshan and millions of acres of land, so it can be used."
Gai Jun smiled half-heartedly and said: "However, the terrain of Hengshan Mountain is complex, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack..."
Tao Sheng immediately bowed and said, "I would like to be a pioneer, I just hope that I can relieve your worries."
Gai Jun put his palms on his hands and smiled and said: "Okay, I will relieve you of your worries. I will bow down to you and surrender to the bandit school captain, and recruit the mountain people...".
Tao Sheng looked at Gai Jun, his eyes full of shock. He was demoted to the rank of captain of the bandit school, and compared with two thousand stone officers. This was not the general that the leaders called themselves. Although it had a single line, what did it matter.
Gai Jun joked: "Does Captain Tao dislike junior officials?"
"I can't repay you for your great kindness, I'm just doing it to the death." Tao Sheng said solemnly, and then bowed again.
When he saw Tao Sheng reaping huge benefits, Liu Shi clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I am also willing..."
Before Liu Shi could say what he said, Gai Jun directly gave him and Zuo Xiao the title of Sima. The latter was satisfied, but Liu Shi was a little disappointed. The Han clan clan members were not as good as a county official. What could he do?
While the whole army was resting on the ground, Gai Jun ordered his men to bring Zhang Baiqi up. Zhang Baiqi was a direct descendant of Zhang Yan. Tao Sheng and others thought that he must have died on the battlefield, but they did not expect that he would be captured by the Han army. The meeting was unavoidable.
For embarrassment.
When Zhang Baiqi saw Zhang Yan's head, he hugged it and cried bitterly. Then he glared at Tao Sheng and others fiercely, wishing he could eat his flesh and drink his blood.
"Bai Qi, Zhang Yan is trapped in a beast and still fights. He has cut off his own way. No wonder we are." Tao Sheng opened his eyes and told lies. Zuo Xiao said in support: "That's right. Who in the world can block Gai Shijun's mighty strike? Zhang Yan can't help himself.
If you try to drag two thousand brothers to die together within your own capabilities, it is God's law not to kill such people."
Zhang Baiqi believed it to be true and sighed.
Gai Jun asked: "Do you want to descend?"
Zhang Baiqi's face changed drastically and he said: "I wish to surrender."
Gai Jun also worshiped him as Sima, and after counting the soldiers, he got more than 4,000 people. To be on the safe side, Gai Jun only asked Tao Sheng, Liu Shi, Zuo Xiao, and Zhang Baiqi to select a thousand confidants, and kept the rest.
Get down to avoid escaping into the mountains.
After resting and recuperating, the Han army turned around and headed east, sleeping in batches in villages at night. They marched quickly the next day and arrived at Hukou Pass before noon.
Zhang Leigong waited impatiently, and suddenly saw tens of thousands of Han troops attacking. Knowing that Zhang Yan was in danger, he did not dare to resist, so he took the five thousand infantry in Hukou Pass and fled over the mountain.
Gai Jun easily took back Hukou Pass, and immediately ordered Guan Yu, Tao Sheng, and Liu Shi to lead eight thousand people into the mountain. He also sent Zuo Xiao to rush to Huguan to guide Huang Zhong's troops to regain Lu County.
To the east of Hukou Pass, there are high mountains and dense forests. Guan Yu only ordered 3,000 of the 8,000 men to be equipped with horses, and the remaining 5,000 were on foot. The Han army wore black armor, together with weapons and dry food, weighing six thousand
Seventy kilograms, climbing the cliff every day was miserable. After a few days, I descended the mountain and reached the Xiao* plain in Lu County. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Joining Huang Zhong's troops, the army marched north along the Zhang River and Qingshui River, over the mountains and ridges, and searched out all the forces hidden in the valley. At first, the defenders who occupied the valley were extremely stubborn. Guan Yu was so angry that he ordered the army to attack fiercely and massacred five or six people in a row.
Although the method was somewhat bloody, it was extremely effective. The surrounding forces either surrendered or fled, and no one dared to resist. Tens of thousands of people were successfully collected. The Han army marched northward and reached Shangai and Jingxing counties in Changshan State, Jizhou.
In the plain area, the bandits were collected and camped in the wall, and a total of tens of thousands of people were captured. The army turned around and headed west to fight back to the Yangqu Mountain District of Taiyuan County, Bingzhou. They attacked repeatedly and captured tens of thousands more people. Then they went north to the Yanmen area...
…
The Han army's Hengshan offensive did not stop until the end of mid-winter. Of course, Gai Jun could not wait at Hukou Pass for that long. In fact, he got up and returned to Jinyang a few days later, accompanied by Wang Zhou, the governor of Shangdang.
Facing the cold wind greeted by the prefects of the eight counties of Bingzhou, Gai Jun felt slightly apologetic. He had just taken over as the governor of Bingzhou and went south to fight against the enemy. He had been away for more than half a month. Fortunately, Wang Xin was there to support the state capital, and everything was safe.
The governors of the counties in Bingzhou waited for a long time, not just to show their loyalty, but also to ask for some money and food. Gai Jun couldn't help but be startled. Bingzhou used to have a governor's department. The so-called governor was just a supervisor. Although
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, it has become increasingly powerful, but the money and food in the state have always been in the hands of each prefect. Do you want money and food for me? I still want to ask for it for you.
Seeing that the Bingzhou pastoralists were losing money, the governors of the counties began to complain. The northern counties and Shangjun, Xihe said that they had only regained their territory last year, and they urgently needed a large amount of money and food to restore the vitality of the county. Shangdang, Taiyuan, Yanmen, and Dingxiang complained.
The money, food, troops and horses provided by the four counties in the successive battles in Bingzhou in the past two years have all been used up, and the winter is about to be unbearable.
Gai Jun was so dizzy from the noise that he shouted several times and the governors still kept nagging him. He said angrily: "Whoever thinks you can't do it should hurry up and vacate your seat. People who want to be governors are lined up from the capital to Jinyang. I am alone."
Are you afraid of being evil?"
When Gai Jun was angry, the governors immediately did not dare to argue any more and dispersed. Gai Jun knelt down on the throne and pressed his fingers gently on the hall. He could say harsh words but could not do harsh things. Besides, the governors were not unreasonable.
There are indeed difficulties in itself.
The chief of Zhizhong, Cai Gu Bo Shu, called Zhizhong Guo Xun to ask how Bingzhou had survived in previous years. Guo Xun replied that the main reason was the imperial government's support. Jizhou and Yanzhou each gave money and grain after the autumn harvest every year. The money was 150,000,000 yuan.
Ten thousand, the two add up to 300 million, and the number of grain is not fixed, it all depends on the harvest situation of Bingzhou that year. In addition, Hanoi and Hedong also occasionally send money and grain.
How could it be so difficult to provide food from four places? Gai Jun asked: "Have Jizhou and Yanzhou given money this year?"
"No..." Guo Xun shook his head and said, "The state has urged me several times, but there has been no reply. I don't know why."
Gai Jun blinked. He knew the reason. Han Fu, the shepherd of Jizhou, and Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, were going to launch an army to attack Dong next year. It is estimated that all the money and food given to Bingzhou in previous years were used to recruit troops.
But you can't starve Bingzhou to death by asking for Dong?
Gai Jun said: "I wrote it in my own hand. You send someone to deliver it. I think the two envoys will give you some face..."