Three Kingdoms

Outside Yuyang City.

The two sides lined up with great momentum, as if a fierce battle was about to break out.

Zhao Yun looked at Zhang He who was arrayed opposite and shook his head slightly, "It's just as Zhongda expected. It can be said that he knows things like a god..."

"The general is overly praised." ” Although Sima Yi said this, there was a trace of pride on his face. After all, Sima Yi is not very old now. Even though he is smart, he has not practiced to the extent that he is cunning enough to be indifferent to favors and humiliations.

Sometimes, the goal is too heavy, but it turns out to be a huge flaw.

Cao Chun's purpose is undoubtedly to protect Yuyang, so when facing the arrival of Zhao Yun and Sima Yi's troops, it becomes increasingly impossible to leave Yuyang and go out of the city to fight. Therefore, the only one who can fight here is Zhang He.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, General..." Sima Yi looked at the "Zhang's" general's flag in the distance, smiled, and said with his hands raised towards Zhao Yun Gong.

Zhao Yun nodded and led a group of soldiers forward. Immediately, a soldier came out and rushed to Zhang He's formation. He shouted loudly: "General Pingbei summoned General Ningguo to ask questions in front of the formation!" 』

As soon as these words came out, the hearts of Cao Chun and Zhang He all jumped up and down the Yuyang City.

General Pingbei was given the title of General Zhao Yun, and General Ning Guo Zhonglang naturally belonged to Zhang He. However, this General Ning Guo Zhonglang was not awarded by Cao Cao, but by Yuan Shao.

After Zhang He surrendered to Cao Cao, Cao Cao awarded Zhang He the position of "Partial General", which was regarded as a fifth-grade permanent general. Compared with Yuan Shao's previous "Ningguo Zhonglang General", he was naturally higher in the book. The Chinese custom of titles is natural It's either high or low, but at the moment, Zhao Yun called Zhang He "Ning Guo Zhonglang General", and the meaning behind this is a bit remarkable.

On the one hand, Zhao Yun can say that he does not know Zhang Hexin's professional title. After all, this was the actual situation of communications in the Han Dynasty. But on the other hand, does Zhao Yun really not know?

Cao Chun clasped Yuyang's wall tightly with his hands, as if he was trying to pull off a piece of blue brick on the wall with his bare hands, and stared at Zhang He at the bottom of the city.

Zhang He's heart also skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but think of all the things he had done under Yuan Shao back then. That period of time could be said to be Zhang He's happiest time. Because at that time, Zhang He was still innocent.

Ningguo Zhonglang General was the position obtained by Yuan Shao after he defeated Gongsun Zan and rewarded his general, Zhang He.

Not long after, the Qu Yi Incident happened...

Zhang He suddenly woke up from his memories, trembled all over, and shouted in a loud voice: "We are in front, why do we need to ask questions!" Just come and fight! "Are you kidding? If you really go out and reply, I'm afraid you're seeking death!"

Zhao Yun raised his eyebrows, then waved his hand, and another soldier came forward and shouted loudly: "Ning Ning Guo Zhonglang has done great service in protecting the country in the past, so let's stop fighting today!" "Then the order was given, the rear army became the front army, the troops were ordered to retreat, and they retreated slowly.

What is this for?

Stop fighting again?

Cao Chun's eyes widened, confused by the sudden change of situation. He stared at Zhao Yun who was gradually retreating, and then lowered his head at Zhang He who was in formation outside the city. For a moment, he didn't know what to say or what to do.

Didn't Zhang He's men gather some Xianbei troops? These Xianbei men were hunted down by Zhao Yun and others before. Now they saw Zhao Yun making a comeback and were forced to form a formation to fight. While they were trembling and panicking, they suddenly saw Zhao Yun. The troops withdrew. Although I didn't understand what happened, I subconsciously felt that on the one hand, I didn't have to fight. I was really happy. On the other hand, the other party took the initiative to withdraw. Doesn't that mean that my side won?

As a result, these Xianbei people raised their swords and guns, and started shouting and shouting with excitement, as if they had really won a victory. Some Xianbei people even expressed their admiration to Zhang He. With his eyes, he thought it was Zhang He's ability that allowed Zhao Yun and others to retreat without a fight.

Zhang He was originally unwilling to fight, so when he saw this, he had no intention of breaking the battlefield rules and pursuing an unethical pursuit. He immediately ordered his troops to withdraw back to camp...

It looked like a fierce battle was about to begin, and then it ended in such an anticlimactic manner?

When Cao Chun was at the gate tower of Yuyang City, it was as if a pot of paste had been poured into his mind. Even if Cao Chun desperately wanted to fish out of it, he couldn't get any clues at all.

What exactly happened?

Is there something that I have overlooked?

Cao Chun stared at Zhang He, and then saw that Zhang He seemed to have noticed something, and turned around to meet his gaze. The two people seemed to be frozen for a moment, and then they turned their heads to the side in unison.

"Pass the order!" Take strict precautions! No one is allowed to open the city without a certain order! ” Cao Chun ordered. Their own reinforcements are about to arrive, and Zhao Yun and others can delay them as long as they like. Even if Zhang He has a rebellious intention, he will not be able to overturn the situation!

Cao Chun's unusually "calm" way of handling things surprised Sima Yi.

Sima Yi originally expected that Zhang He and Cao Chun should start falling in love and killing each other by now. At least for the sake of safety, Cao Chun would first confiscate Zhang He's military power, or directly put him under house arrest...

As a result, the conflict between the Cao family and the old officials of the Yuan family in Jizhou became more acute, which was also conducive to the follow-up of Sima Yi's next plan. However, he did not expect that Cao Chun did not take any action, which made Sima Yi I was somewhat worried, wondering if there was any loophole in my plan, so I started to deduce it again.

Through the things that happened in Yecheng reported by Wen County before, Sima Yi was keenly aware of the turbulent undercurrent in Jizhou that started to stir up under the seemingly calm situation since Cao Cao settled in Yecheng. If Cao Cao had not been in charge of Yecheng himself, The city is probably already rising and spreading in all directions.

Among them, Sima Yi felt that if General Hussar did not put some hands and feet to interfere, Sima Yi would not believe it. What is more important is that if Jizhou is uneasy, Youzhou will be difficult to pacify, and if Youzhou is lost, Jizhou will also be difficult to stabilize. Therefore, if the Hussar General wanted to attack Jizhou in the future, he would start from the corners of Youzhou first, in line with the habit of the Hussar General.

So when Sima Yi learned that Zhang He boldly went out to recruit Xianbei troops in an attempt to strengthen Youzhou's power, he immediately revised the plan and included Zhang He's new move into the plan to see if he could catch some Big fish…

Just as Yecheng was uneasy, these veterans of the Yuan family were also uneasy. Normally, in order to appease the old ministers of the Yuan family, Cao Cao must give these old and young people in Jizhou some sweet treats and show their appreciation. But the problem is that Cao Cao now has almost nothing on hand and can't give anything.

Therefore, when Yuan Shao was alive and now, there was almost no difference between the Jizhou gentry, or even worse. This problem is naturally the root cause.

If Cao Cao can rest for two years and then be exempted from taxes or something to appease the place, it is unlikely that these Jizhou nobles will gradually turn to Cao Cao. Therefore, Sima Yi's revised goal of attacking Youzhou also spread to the entire Jizhou. Before the military operation , first disrupting Cao Cao's entire rhythm, making the originally bad situation in Jizhou continue to worsen.

With such a high-level goal, Sima Yi only needs to induce Cao Chun to do any unfair behavior towards Zhang He, because in that case, it will no longer be Cao Chun and Zhang He's business, and they will inevitably be implicated. Finally, new waves rolled.

So why didn't Cao Chun take any action?

Is it because Cao Chun saw through it?

Or is it that Ju Shou risked his life to remonstrate with him?

Or is it because he has gone too far and is self-defeating?

What Sima Yi never expected was that his guess was completely wrong, just because Cao Chun knew that Xia Houyuan was coming.

Cao Chun is obviously not smart enough, and from a certain point of view, he is not the kind of person who has the courage to take on tasks and dare to stand up and turn the tide when the storm is at its peak. Otherwise, he would not have marched into Yuzhou when General Fei Qiang At that time, seeing that the situation was not good, he led the army to retreat...

The key is that Cao Chun's retreat at that time, on the one hand, did preserve his strength, giving Cao Cao more leverage when meeting Fei Qian, but on the other hand, the retreat would be praised, so naturally in Cao Chun's heart Then he won't feel that he must resist to the death to prove Cao's bravery.

So now, Cao Chun showed that he didn't dare to fight, and also showed that he didn't dare to take responsibility. He didn't even dare to confront Zhang He directly, uh, confront him to determine the authenticity of the incident. He only wanted to take responsibility. I pushed it to Xia Houyuan, because Cao Chun knew that Xia Houyuan would definitely not be able to bear his bad temper...

Sure enough, the day after Xia Houyuan arrived in Yuyang, he rushed straight to Zhang He's camp. The guard at the gate of Zhang He's camp tried to stop him, but was overthrown by Xia Houyuan with a shot. He then rode his horse straight into the Chinese army and broke into Zhang He's tent.

Zhang He slowly stood up and reached out to stop the movements of his guards.

"Zhang's son, you know your sin!" Xia Houyuan pointed his halberd at Zhang He and said, "You have collaborated with foreign enemies and want to plot rebellion. You should be punished for your crime!" 』

Zhang He stared at Xia Houyuan coldly: "If you want to accuse me, why bother!" 』

"Bold!" "Three sentences and two sentences couldn't come together, and Xia Houyuan was too lazy to continue arguing with Zhang He. He didn't know if Zhang He was using this time to set up some conspiracy, so he simply pointed his finger and said, "A certain lord ordered to arrest the rebels. Thief Zhang He! Get them left and right! 』

"Wait a minute!" Zhang He shouted and asked, "Since there is an order from Sikong, why not make it public?" ! 』

Xia Houyuan didn't have any orders from Cao Cao, but he just felt that Cao Chun was doing something rude and tactless, so he wanted to give Zhang He a try. Seeing that Zhang He dared to question him, he became furious. Let his men capture Zhang He immediately, and push Zhang He out of the camp gate to behead him.

Cao Chun, who had been paying attention here, was shocked when he heard the news of Xia Houyuan's move. He quickly sent someone down to express that Zhang He was a general in the army and could not execute Yunyun without authorization. However, he did not say that he would protect Zhang He. When it came to reinstating Zhang He, Xia Houyuan ended up playing the bad side, while Cao Chun played the red side and removed Zhang He from his post and temporarily imprisoned him in the rear army's supply camp until after the war.

Xia Houyuan went to reorganize Zhang He's troops outside the city, but Cao Chun in the city couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. On the one hand, what happened against Zhang He was not done by Cao Chun but by Xia Houyuan. If Zhang He was really wronged, he wouldn't be hit with a slap on his body. On the other hand, Yuyang is now under control. With Cao Chun himself in the city and Xia Houyuan outside the city, plus the Yuyang city defense, the internal and external stability was stable, so a battle was naturally possible.

Xia Houyuan arrived too quickly. After all, there were some bonuses from generals, so Zhang He was dealt with before Sima Yi could react.

"It's really... tsk tsk..." Sima Yi showed some pity, "It's a pity that he couldn't disrupt his army..." But this is okay. Sima Yi has even thought about how to add fuel to the fire and publicize Xia Houyuan's evil deeds. I’m in Jizhou, to add some bricks and fire to Cao Cao’s great cause...

Zhao Yun didn't think there was anything too regrettable, and said calmly: "The intention of hunting is just incidental." The top priority is still Yuyang... Since Liaodong has sent troops, they will come here sooner or later..."

Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "Counting the time, the people from Fuyu must have arrived in Liaodong. News will come soon..."

Fuyu State was located to the north of Goguryeo, and like Goguryeo, it was the target of oppression by Gongsundu of the Liaodong regime. During the previous trade with Liaodong, Zhao Yun and Sima Yi had secretly sent many soldiers disguised as merchants to protect civilians, etc., sneaking in, waiting for Gongsun Du to leave his nest, and then making trouble with the people of Fuyu...

Therefore, although Yuyang received reinforcements, it was also expected by Zhao Yun and Sima Yi, and what is very important is that until now, Cao Chun's party has unknowingly played all the cards on the table. The case was over, but Zhao Yun and Sima Yi still had a few cards hidden under their butts.

However, whether it was Zhao Yun or Sima Yi, or Cao Chun or Xia Houyuan, no one expected that Yuyang's new changes would happen to a small soldier...

Money is honest.

Qian Laoshi is an honest person, and honest people often accept death.

Qian Laoshi has been following Zhang He for a long time. When he came with Zhang He to transport food, he was hit by an arrow due to reconnaissance. He was seriously injured. It looked like there was more danger than danger, but he didn't expect that maybe it was because of the cold weather that he was wearing more clothes. The arrow was stuck, or maybe Qian Lao's life should not have been cut off. After arriving in Yuyang, he recuperated in the supply camp and survived.

Xia Houyuan was new to the country, and he captured Zhang He with thunder and lightning that day. He felt proud that he had slapped Cao Chun hard in the face, but he didn't expect that his own actions had long been in Cao Chun's calculations. In order to deal with Zhang He, Xia Houyuan immediately Cao Chun couldn't stop arguing, and finally Cao Chun ordered Zhang He to be taken into custody, and naturally he was imprisoned in the supply camp.

If Zhang He had arrived in the city, Cao Chun would have had some connections, but since he was still outside the city, naturally everything was Xia Houyuan's business...

The baggage camp is not only responsible for managing grain, livestock and caring for the wounded, but is also responsible for temporarily detaining some military academies who made mistakes. When Yuan Shao imprisoned Tian Feng, he was also detained in the baggage camp in the army.

At the time of the handover between the old and the new, people's hearts were floating, and it was inevitable that they were not careful enough. All the guards around Zhang He were arrested at the same time, except for one Qian Laoshang who was among the wounded to recuperate.

When Qian Laoshi saw Zhang He being tied up and detained by Wu Hua Da, he was shocked. Then he secretly asked someone to inquire, and he felt that Zhang He was in danger...

When the general dies, the guards also go to hell together. This is a common thing. Originally, the relationship between the two was one of mutual loss and prosperity. If Zhang He was eventually killed, then Zhang He's guards would also have a bad end.

Unless Mr. Qian sneaks out of the camp and escapes before anyone remembers his arrival. But Yuyang was in the middle of a battlefield, surrounded by scouts from both sides. Even if Qian Laoshi could really escape from the camp, how could he escape from these scouts?

So, in the end, there was no one to discuss with Qian LaoShi and he made a decision. He felt that since Zhang He did not leave him directly on the battlefield when he was injured and brought him back for medical treatment, there was no reason for him to leave Zhang He and escape alone now.

He wants to save Zhang He.

As for whether they should escape together after rescuing Zhang He, or voluntarily surrender to the law, Qian Laoshi couldn't think about that much. He just felt that this life must be returned to Zhang He.

But Qian Laoshi was alone and his injuries were not fully healed, so there was no way to accomplish this. Therefore, Qian Laoshi took advantage of his late breasts, when the soldiers were coming and going in confusion, to find the Xianbei people...

Because in the entire camp, Qian Laoshi has no other options.

The Xianbei people recruited by Zhang He were actually in chaos and uneasiness at this time.

The Xianbei people do not have any concept of a "Tanshihuai Co-Prosperity Sphere", nor do they have any vision of a "Greater Xianbei Emirate". In the hearts of ordinary Xianbei people, the tribe comes first. Since Bu Dugen is finished, then Relying on another strong person so that one's own tribe can survive is also the principle on the grassland.

From another perspective, the Han people are relatively strong now, and the Han people on the other side are obviously enemies. So using the Han people here to fight against the Han people in the west and protect themselves is the only effective way that the heads of Xianbei and other small leaders can think of. It's a ploy.

Then in the blink of an eye, Zhang He, whom these Xianbei people relied on and expected, was arrested and replaced by some Xia Houyuan whom they had never heard of before?

Can this guy do it?

What if it doesn’t work?

At least when Zhang He faced Zhao Yun a few days ago, he successfully pushed back the Han people in the west without sending a single soldier, right? Can this newcomer Xia Houyuan be as capable as Zhang He? The Xianbei people didn't know what a divorce tactic was, and they didn't know why Zhao Yun retreated. They only saw that Zhao Yun retreated as soon as Zhang He came out of the battle. No matter what the reason was, they saw it with their own eyes. How could it be false?

Therefore, the Xianbei people came to a vague conclusion that Zhang He was stronger than Zhao Yun. If anyone has a better chance of defeating the Han people in the west, they are naturally more willing to vote for Zhang He than the new Xia Houyuan. Of course, this is just the feeling in the hearts of these Xianbei people. As they themselves are very confused about the future, even if Xia Houyuan is replaced as the commander-in-chief, these Xianbei people may not immediately make any drastic moves, but will Xia Houyuan will only explode when his performance on the battlefield is really unsatisfactory.

So normally, even if Qian Laozhen goes to find them, these Xianbei people won't react too violently. It's like two inert compounds, even if they are fused together and twisted and pressed hard, there won't necessarily be any reaction. Sparks will immediately fly out and explode.

Unless there is some catalyst...