Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1423 Zhuo County
General Zhendong understood Zhang Bao's intention and smiled meaningfully when he heard Zhang Bao's question:
"Brother, do you want to stop Sima Yi?"

Zhang Bao chuckled and rubbed his hands again:
"It would be best if we can stop him, but if we can't, scaring him is also good!"

What he meant was that he wanted to go to Changshan.

After all, if we could really block Sima Yi in Jingxing, it would be a great achievement.

It was no less than Sanniang's taking of Youzhou through a dangerous route.

As a general, how could he not be jealous and excited when seeing such a great achievement just around the corner?
Unexpectedly, General Zhendong smiled and shook his head:

"I advise you to go to Yecheng."

Zhang Bao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he heard this: "Why?"

"Because Sima Yi is different from others. Among all the thieves, this old thief is the most cunning."

General Zhendong paused for a moment, as if thinking about how to put it more tactfully:
"During the battle in Guanzhong, Sima Yi confronted the Prime Minister at Wugongshui. After the Grand Sima Yi conquered Hedong, he also had opportunities like this one."

"However, the Grand Marshal was reluctant to cross the river to the west and join the Prime Minister in encircling Sima Yi."

"At that time, not to mention others, even I couldn't understand why the Grand Marshal would go against his usual behavior and let go of the great achievement that was so close to him."

"But in hindsight, if it weren't for the great Sima's determination, we would have fallen into the trap set by the old thief Sima."

After taking Hedong that year, although there were bandits guarding the ferry on the west bank, with Sima Feng's ability, it was not difficult for him to lead the army to cross the river and outflank Sima Yi's retreat.

But he chose to fish on the east coast.

As it turned out, Feng Guiwang's foresight was well deserved.

Not only did Sima Yi get rid of the prime minister beyond everyone's expectations, he even laid an ambush in the Wei River area, waiting for the Liangzhou army led by Feng to rush in.

As the vanguard of the Liangzhou Army at the time, General Zhendong was still frightened whenever he thought of the danger at that time.

To this day, General Zhendong still cannot figure out how Sima Yi and Sima Feng could guess each other's existence even though they couldn't see each other.

One person is quietly gathering strength, ready to turn the tide at any time.

A man was fishing on the other side of the river, trying to force his opponent to retreat without a fight and give up Guanzhong on his own initiative.

Although there was no direct confrontation, the silent fight in the air left a deep impression on General Zhendong who witnessed it.

The thought of himself leading his troops into battle and even using the Thundergod's fire to force a crossing of the river seemed too clumsy.

Even with General Zhendong's high aspirations, his confidence was inevitably hit by this incident.

At a certain moment, General Zhendong had a feeling that he thought he had gotten a glimpse of the secret and boasted that he had made it to the top, but suddenly he saw that the other party was standing in the sky with his hands behind his back.

It is like you are staggering on a green stone mossy path, your straw sandals still stained with morning dew, while the other person is already stepping on the clouds and reaching out to pick the stars.

However, what made General Zhendong feel fortunate and comforted was that the person who stood in the sky, walked on the clouds and reached out to pick the stars was the one beside him.

Stimulated by this incident, General Zhendong did not say anything on the surface in the past few years, but secretly he was studying hard, embracing the fine arts and enriching himself.

This is also why Zhang Bao felt that General Zhendong had become very knowledgeable.

Just like what she was thinking at this moment, it was quite detailed:
"After I leave Ji County, the spies in the city will definitely go to report to Sima Yi as quickly as possible. Even if you set out immediately, it will be two days late."

From the moment we started preparing to break through the ancient pass, we relied on information gaps and speed all the way.

After taking Ji County, it was no longer possible to keep news from Youzhou secret.

After all, the distance between Ji County and Changshan or Yecheng has exceeded the limit of confidentiality.

In addition, no matter how fast a large number of cavalry marched, they could never outpace spies or messengers.

If we travel at a normal speed, we will probably encounter the ambush set by Sima Yi before we get there.

If they forced their way through, by the time they reached Changshan County, their men and horses would be exhausted and before they could catch their breath, they would most likely have to immediately face Sima Yi's army returning from Jingxing.

No matter which situation it is, it is no different from giving away your life.

It would be better to go directly to Yecheng and threaten the enemy's retreat. Regardless of whether it was too late or not, it would force Sima Yi to retreat hastily from Jingxing to Yecheng.

Then, using the advantage of cavalry, they continued to harass and delay Sima Yi's main army.

As long as we can wait until General Feng leads his army into Hebei from the west of Taihang, the overall situation will be decided.

Hearing that General Zhendong attached so much importance to Sima Yi, Zhang Bao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and was about to ask if he was too cautious.

After all, over the years, every time Sima Yi met his brother-in-law, he never got a good result.

Moreover, he had met Sima Yi before at Wuzhangyuan, and he didn't think that this person was that powerful.

Even with superior military strength, aren't they still suppressed by the Prime Minister and forced to rely on martial arts to hide in the water?
Even the women's makeup sent by the prime minister failed to motivate this man to fight.

Not to mention that when Zhang Bao, Guan Xing and others joined forces to annihilate the elite central army of Wei led by Qin Lang, Sima Yi not only did not come to rescue, but even took the opportunity to escape...

It was precisely because of this incident that Zhang Bao despised Sima Yi.

In addition, Sima Yi has long been known for being afraid of Shu like a tiger. In the eyes of many people, he is just a coward.

Moreover, over the years, the Han Dynasty rarely suffered defeat against the Pseudo-Wei Army, so it was understandable that everyone looked down on the Wei Army.

Oh, that’s not right. There have been defeats.

Wei Yan’s failure at Shangdang!
When Zhang Bao thought of this, his heated mind finally calmed down a little.

Wasn’t the Battle of Shangdang due to Sima Yi’s surprise attack?

This person... should have some skills.

Seeing Zhang Bao's changing expression, General Zhendong knew that he was still a little hesitant, so he emphasized his tone and said:

"Brother, don't forget that Sima Yi has no less than 100,000 elite soldiers under his command, and not long ago he also recruited 50,000 Xianbei Hu cavalry."

"Changshan County must be heavily guarded by troops at this time. With the Southern Army led by my brother and these assorted barbarians, if we cannot catch them off guard, what chances do we have of winning?"

After General Zhendong's reminder, Zhang Bao, who was eager to make a contribution, suddenly woke up and couldn't help sweating on his back:
"The general is right. I didn't think it through."

Since it was impossible to stop Sima Yi, and the news from Youzhou was likely already halfway to Changshan, there was no need for Zhang Bao to worry.

At least there is no need to rush to organize the army and set out today.

After resting for a day, he led the Southern Army and the mixed Hu coalition forces towards Zhuo County.

The hometown of Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty is Zhuo County, the county seat of Zhuo County, and Zhang Fei, one of the Five Tiger Generals, is also from Zhuo County.

After Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, for some purpose, he deliberately changed Zhuo County into Fanyang County.

Therefore, Zhuo County and Fanyang County basically refer to the same place - in fact, the area under the jurisdiction of Zhuo County is larger than that of Fanyang County, which was changed by the Pseudo-Wei Dynasty.

The morning mist was as thick as milk, soaking the rammed earth walls of the ancient city of Zhuojun.

When the tip of Zhang Bao's 10-foot-long snake spear pried open the red lacquered door covered with cobwebs, the rotten door hinges let out a dying groan.

Looking at the ruins of the Zhang family's ancestral home, his expression was complicated, and his eyes seemed to contain nostalgia, sadness, and longing, and so on.

The cypress beams and columns of the main hall had long since collapsed, half of the brackets were soaked in a water-stained depression, and moss covered the remaining lacquer paintings on the east wall.

The entire west wall collapsed, revealing the charred tree stumps in the back garden.

The place was overgrown with weeds. There was no ancient pear tree that his father had mentioned to him more than once. There was only a huge stump, and the annual rings of the roots glowed coldly in the morning sun.

The moment he passed through the moon gate, the iron wrist guard on Zhang Bao suddenly tightened.

The imagined peach forest was cut down at the roots by someone, and a colony of ants kept going in and out of the cracks deep in the ground between the tree roots.

Although it is very old, it can still be seen that this place has been burned. Perhaps someone deliberately set fire to it and turned it into a scorched earth.

But the fire that year did not destroy all the peach trees.

In the cracks of many charred peach roots, there are clusters of peach branches with tender buds. Morning dew condenses between the leaf veins, reflecting rainbow light under the setting sun.

"General, there's a situation!"

The scout's cry startled the crows.

"General!" The scout came on horseback, dew condensing on the armor, "The governor of Zhuo County has led the soldiers and officials in the city to surrender!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bao immediately turned around and walked out of the ancestral home, got on his horse again, and came to the official road.

Not long after, the first thing seen was two large flags erected on the official road - the left one read "The Liu Family of Zhuo County Returns to the Han Dynasty", and the right one read "The Lu Family of Fanyang Respectfully Welcomes the Royal Army".

The governor of Zhuo County was dressed in white, holding a seal and walking in front.

The old man on the left behind him is Liu Qi, an elder of the Liu clan. He is wearing a linen robe and barefoot, with tears streaming down his face. He is holding a faded flag of the Han Dynasty. The originally vermilion embroidered words "King Jing of Zhongshan" on the flag have now turned black.

On the right is Lu Gui, the head of the Lu family, who is wearing a dark black robe, a Jinxian crown on his head, and a nine-inch jade sceptre held in front of his forehead.

Behind the two men, the right row was wearing black robes and tall crowns, and the left row was wearing linen robes and plain clothes, the distinction was clear like yin and yang dividing the dawn.

After the Fanyang governor knelt down and presented the seal, an old woman in the left line of hemp-clothed soldiers suddenly stumbled out and grabbed Zhang Bao's stirrup with her withered hands, "Are you the descendant of Marquis Huan?"

Facing the old woman coming out of Liu's team, Zhang Bao did not dare to be arrogant. He quickly dismounted, helped the old woman up, and said in a gentle voice:

"Exactly."

"Great, great! They're finally here, the Han army is finally here... Liu Xuande really hasn't forgotten us! We've been looking forward to this day day and night..."

The old woman shed tears and trembled: "I am Liu Deran's wife..."

Who is Liu Deran?
Zhang Bao felt the name was familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it.

Liu Qi, the elder of the Liu clan, saw Zhang Bao's awkward confusion and hurried forward to explain softly:

"He was a fellow kin of Emperor Zhaolie who studied under Lu Shangshu (Lu Zhi) in the past. He was Liu Deran's father Liu Yuanqi..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Bao said "Oh" to indicate that he had remembered.

He may not know Liu Deran, but he will know Liu Yuanqi.

On the southeast corner of the fence of Emperor Zhaolie's former residence, there is a mulberry tree more than five meters high. From a distance, it looks like a small carriage cover.

When he was young, he was playing with other children in his clan under a tree and said, "I must ride in this carriage with feathered canopy.

His uncle Liu Yuanqi was surprised by his words and said, "This child is an extraordinary person!"

Because he saw that Xuande's family was poor, he often provided financial support to him and treated him like De Ran.

It can be said that given Emperor Zhaolie’s family circumstances when he was young, he was able to go out to study and become a disciple of Lu Zhi, and Liu Deran’s father made a great contribution.

Zhang Bao looked at the Liu clan members, and saw that they were all wearing coarse linen clothes, and many of them were even barefoot.

Although they knew that the cavalry in distinctive armor before them was under the command of the Han Emperor, most of them still looked timid. Although there was desire in their eyes, they did not dare to look Zhang Bao in the eye.

You can tell at first glance that they are lower-class people.

Zhang Bao was moved and suddenly asked:

"Is the mulberry tree in the imperial village still there?"

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell into silence.

Then, the crowd in sackcloth clothes burst into the weeping that had been suppressed for decades.

During the 400 years of the Han Dynasty, the Liu clan was spread all over the world. After Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, he did not deliberately do anything to the Liu family in order to show his tolerance.

Just like Liu Ye, although he was a relative of the Liu clan, he was promoted to the position of Shizhong in the pseudo-Wei Dynasty and was highly valued.

The only exception is the Liu family of Zhuo County.

But there is nothing else, it is just because Zhuo County is the imperial hometown.

The Liu family of Zhuo County had long since fallen apart, with many of them even changing their names, giving away all their wealth, and leaving their homes.

It was a hot July day with a cool breeze blowing from time to time, but the prefect of Fanyang was already sweating through his clothes.

Liu Deran's wife burst into tears, as if she wanted to vent the grievances she had suffered over the years:

"It's gone, it's gone! The mulberry tree in Emperor Zhaolie's old residence was cut down by that Cao family villain a long time ago, and even the roots were dug away..."

Zhang Bao helped the old woman up and comforted her:

"Don't be sad, old lady. Those Cao thieves dared to cut down the mulberry trees in Emperor Zhaolie's former residence. They will surely regret what they did in the past."

The old woman wiped her tears tremblingly, with a gleam of hope in her eyes:

"The Emperor of the Han Dynasty sent a general to Hebei. Does this mean that the Han Dynasty is going to be revived?"

Zhang Bao nodded:

"That's right. I am leading the army here this time to go south to wipe out the bandits and recover Hebei. Don't worry, old lady. There will no longer be any fake Wei in the future. There will only be one great Han."

After hearing these words, some of the Liu clan members who were still crying started crying even harder, while others started crying and cheering...

After pacifying the Liu clan members, Zhang Bao looked at Lu who had been standing quietly beside him without saying a word.

"Ever since the traitor Huangchu usurped the throne, the elders of Zhuo County have been looking south to the royal army day and night!"

Lu Gui's white beard trembled in the wind, and he presented the jade sceptre with both hands:
"My nephew Lu Yu, who once served under the pseudo-Wei Grand Tutor, was sent to the east to meet with Grand Marshal Feng a few days ago."

"Grand Marshal Feng asked my nephew to bring back a message, saying that the emperor of the Han Dynasty was kind and caring about our old friendship. Everyone in the Lu family was delighted to hear this."

"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it. The general had already led his army here before the Grand Marshal's words were still ringing in my ears! The heavenly army is so fast, and Lu was unable to meet them in time. He will die, die!"

When Zhang Bao heard this, he couldn't help but show a little surprise.

Unexpectedly, while his brother-in-law was still confronting Sima Yi in Jingxing, he had already quietly extended his tentacles here.

However, thinking of Mr. Feng's nickname, he felt that this was reasonable.

"Oh, so your Lu family had contact with that, ahem, Da Sima in advance. Um, what about your nephew?"

Hearing Zhang Bao's question, Lu Yu looked embarrassed and stammered:
"General, please forgive me. My nephew took the words of the Grand Marshal back to the clan. I didn't know that the Grand Marshal had other plans, so he went back to Jingxing."