The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 175 Volume Death Penalty!

Yan Pu was trembling with fear. At this moment, the Qiang and Han troops outside had already rushed in.

"How to deal with it?"

"Kill him, or the news will spread."

"..."

Yan Pu didn't dare to listen to the rest of the conversation, and he knelt down in front of the Han army: "I am Zhang Lu Gongcao! I am Zhang Lu Gongcao!"

When the Qiang people heard that the man seemed to be an important figure with a prominent background, they became a little hesitant and began to report it to higher authorities, which eventually reached Pang De's ears.

Pang De came to the cottage and saw Yan Pu's family. He offered them food and began to ask about the situation in Hanzhong.

"How many troops does Zhang Lu have in Hanzhong now?"

When Yan Pu saw the fish scale armor Pang De was wearing, he knew that this man might be the commander of the Han army this time.

"Not many. Zhang Lu had previously sent most of his troops to the western pass, hoping to block the road and prevent the royal army from entering Hanzhong. After hearing that Liu Biao of Jingzhou had attacked Shangyong, he sent several thousand more soldiers to resist Wen Pin. Now in Nanzheng County, the seat of Hanzhong Prefecture, there should only be a few scattered soldiers, and they are not capable of forming a fighting force."

What Yan Pu said was nine-tenths true and one-tenth false.

Hanzhong does not have many troops now.

But it won't end up with only a few incompetent stragglers left.

Zhang Lu's regime was a combination of politics and religion.

In the Han Dynasty, there were no county magistrates in the Chinese culture, and no generals in the military culture.

Those who learn Taoism are initially called "ghost soldiers". Those who have accepted Taoism and believed in it are called "Jijiu" and each leads a group of people. Those who lead many people are called "Zhitou Dajiu".

Among them, the Chief Administrative Officer has at least one thousand soldiers under his command, and now there are three Chief Administrative Officers in Nanzheng, so it cannot be said that there is no organization.

Pang De narrowed his eyes after hearing Yan Pu's words.

The imperial court also carefully calculated the military strength in Hanzhong.

No matter how many troops Zhang Lu deployed to the east and west sides, the interior could not be completely undefended.

In this light, Yan Pu’s words are really suspicious.

Pang De deliberately leaned forward and said: "Since he is Zhang Lu's military officer, he must be a Han traitor."

"I only give you food because your family is here."

"After we finish this meal, we'll be ready to hit the road."

Yan Pu:?
The dry food that was originally in my hand suddenly lost its flavor!

Yan Pu said in panic: "Although I am Zhang Lu's military officer, I have been abandoned by him and cannot be regarded as a traitor to the Han Dynasty!"

"Who can prove it?"

Pang De turned and left, deliberately telling his soldiers: "Watch them eat the food and then kill them. Let them die of fullness."

"Here!"

Seeing that Pang De, the commander, was about to leave, and the remaining ones were all ferocious Qiang people, Yan Pu hurriedly shouted: "General! General! I can make contributions to the Han Dynasty! General! I have a little reputation in Hanzhong! I can help you easily capture Hanzhong!"

What Yan Pu said is true.

He was a native of Baxi'an, one of the few famous indigenous people in Hanzhong, and indeed had some fame in Hanzhong.

Yan Pu didn't care about anything else: "General! In fact, there are more than 3,000 soldiers in Hanzhong! I see that you have come to Hanzhong over mountains and ridges, so you can't bring siege equipment with you. Why don't you let me go into the city to lobby, maybe we can take the city without bloodshed!"

"..."

Pang De turned back and asked: "Then why did you say before that there were no more soldiers in Hanzhong?"

Yan Pu looked ashamed: "After all, I am a native of Hanzhong, and I don't want the war to spread to my hometown..."

Ah.

Now that they have come to your door, you seem to be considerate of the people?
Haven't you ever thought that the people of Longyou are also human beings! They don't want their homes to be destroyed by war?

Pang De shook his head, feeling that these so-called "famous people" and "aristocratic families" had not changed their petty nature even now.

He only cared about his own little piece of land, but let the outside world cause raging fire and water!

Only when the knife is placed on their necks will they realize they are wrong.

Or maybe he just acted because he knew he was going to die.

But no matter whether it was just a show or not, Pang De always had a way to deal with Yan Pu.

He ordered his men to take Yan Pu's family into custody. Pang De was not very polite to Yan Pu: "If it is true as you said, and you can help us capture the city, then you have certainly made a great contribution."

"But if you deceive us again, your family will be killed in an instant!"

Pang De even threatened: "It doesn't matter if you sell us out and cause our entire army to be wiped out."

"The emperor of today has great ambitions, and the Han Dynasty is already showing signs of rejuvenation! Even if we all die in Hanzhong this year, the emperor will still send a large army to conquer us next year and the year after! By then, even if you escape to the mountains, to Shu, or to Nanzhong, the imperial army will still find you! Skin you and pull out your bones! Do you understand?"

Yan Pu was frightened by Pang De's ferocity and was trembling with fear, and was a little unsteady on his feet.

"No, no."

In order to gain Pound's trust, Yan Pu quickly laid out his plan:

"The only remaining troops in Hanzhong are now in Nanzheng. Nanzheng City has high walls and cannot be easily taken. It is better to capture Chenggu first, and then cut off the communication between the east and west sides of Hanzhong, so that Zhang Lu will think that Shangyong has been lost and the imperial army is at the gates of the city. In this way, Hanzhong will inevitably be in a panic, and then we can unite the two armies to seize Hanzhong in one fell swoop!"

Pang De was immediately grateful for Yan Pu's proposal.

Because his and Zhang Xiu's original plan was to go directly to Nanzheng after crossing the Ziwu Road, capture the core of Hanzhong in one fell swoop, and thus lay the foundation for victory in the war.

After all, we had to cross mountains and rivers from Ziwu Road to reach Hanzhong, and we didn't have much food and grass on us, so we had to strike the enemy at its weakest point and win in one fell swoop!
But according to Yan Pu, Nanzheng might not be so easy to capture. It would be better to take Chenggu on the east side of Nanzheng first.

In this way, on the one hand, they had a foothold, and on the other hand, they obtained supplies from the city, allowing the Han army that came from afar to be invincible, so that they could plan for other things!

After Pang De discussed with Zhang Xiu, Zhang Xiu also agreed to temporarily change the plan, first taking Chenggu and then seizing Nanzheng!
Yan Pu was taken along with them. As he was walking, he watched the Qiang people walking through the mountains as if they were walking on flat ground and could not help but sigh: "Having the Qiang people cross the Ziwu Road is truly a brilliant idea!"

But Yan Pu was also puzzled. Wasn't it said that the imperial court and the Qiang people were going to have a big battle in Liangzhou? How come this group of Qiang people became subordinates of the imperial court?
Yan Pu pulled over a Qiang man next to him and asked him in his unskilled Qiang language: "Where are you from? Which tribe are you from? Who is the leader?"

Unexpectedly, the Qiang man was obviously a little angry. He did not reply in Qiang language, but stammered in Chinese: "I am not from the tribe, I don't have a leader! My name is Ma Aihan! I am from Lintao County!"

Yan Pu:?
After some gestures and laborious communication for a while, Yan Pu finally realized that the Qiang people had been defeated by the imperial court in Jincheng and had been relocated. They were all given Chinese names and surnames and used as soldiers.

Yan Pu was undoubtedly shocked by the courage of the court.

In the past, the proud Han court would never give Han surnames to every Qiang person, but only gave Han surnames to the leaders as a token of their kindness. Giving names only to the leaders was just to show the bravery of the Han people.

But giving each Qiang people a name clearly showed that they were intended to absorb these Qiang people into the embrace of the Xia people.

Although the court's move was slightly contrary to the ancestral system, Yan Pu did not think that this was a sign of the Han Dynasty's weakness and loss of face. Instead, he felt that the momentum of the Han Dynasty's revival was truly unstoppable!
Such a Han Dynasty was neither like the hatred towards foreigners in the early Han Dynasty nor like the arrogance towards foreigners in the late Han Dynasty. Instead, it adopted a newer and more gentle approach to accept foreigners.

Yan Pu prefers to call this method - tolerance.

It is hard to imagine that the Han people today are obviously drifting in the wind and rain, but they can still face crises from all sides with a "tolerant" attitude.

It is like a person who is obviously ragged and hungry, but his temperament is completely different from others. He is neither humble nor overbearing, neither arrogant nor impatient.

When other people see this kind of person, they tend to think that this person has a promising future and is definitely not an ordinary person.

If a country has such a temperament, then naturally people who see it will believe that such a country must have a bright future.

Although the imperial court now only occupies Yongliang and Liang, and there are only a few princes in the world who are willing to obey the emperor's orders, Yan Pu still feels that the imperial court, which seems to have been reborn, will surely revive again and bring new life to the Han Dynasty.

"Dong Zhuo still has such ability?"

But Yan Pu quickly shook his head.

Although Dong Zhuo's recent actions were indeed shocking, and he would take the initiative to promulgate benevolent policies, Yan Pu had grown up in Hanzhong since he was a child, and he often heard about Dong Zhuo's deeds. He did not think that Dong Zhuo could transform the Han Dynasty into what it is now.

"Then it can only be the divinely-born Emperor of Han!"

Yan Pu suddenly became curious about the Han emperor.

Let’s not talk about the Qiang people.

Now seeing Pang De and Zhang Xiu leading their troops from Ziwu Road, Yan Pu immediately realized that the so-called "Emperor's personal expedition" in Shanggui was just a smoke screen.

As the emperor, he was able to come to the front line himself to confuse the enemy. This kind of courage alone was not something that ordinary people could possess.

"God bless the man!"

At this moment, Yan Pu's original little thoughts disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Just as Pound had just said to him.

With such a court and such an emperor, what difference would it make even if Pang De and Zhang Xiu were killed here?
If Pang De and Zhang Xiu were killed here, would the emperor give up Hanzhong?
Don’t forget where the character “汉” in “大汉” comes from.

Even if the emperor and the court gave up any other places, they would never give up Hanzhong, the birthplace of the dragon.

Not to mention, Yan Pu had already found out that the soldiers under Pang De and Zhang Xiu were all Qiang soldiers...

Even if all these Qiang soldiers died in Hanzhong, it would not cause any serious damage to the imperial court. At most, it would lose young generals like Pang De and Zhang Xiu.

But is the court short of generals now?

The younger generation of Zhang Liao and Gao Shun...

The successful Lu Bu, Li Jue, Guo Si...

Not to mention that Grand Tutor Dong is also a famous general with a great reputation.

This time it was Pang De and Zhang Xiu who came, next time it might be Zhang Liao, Lu Bu, or even Dong Zhuo!

No matter how he thought about it, Yan Pu felt that Zhang Lu had little chance of winning...

In this case, why should Zhang Lu continue to destroy his hometown and lead the people of Hanzhong into the abyss of stubborn resistance?

When Yan Pu figured this out, he immediately became active.

Not only did he lead Pang De and Zhang Xiu to take inconspicuous paths, he also secretly wrote letters to some old friends to inform them of the arrival of the royal army.

This resulted in the city gates being wide open when Pang De and Zhang Xiu led their troops to Chenggu.

The scholars who had prepared early not only lined the streets to welcome them, but also beat drums and gongs, fearing that Pang De and Zhang Xiu would not be aware of their intention to surrender.

Not only that, these people also prepared rich meals, giving a feeling of "preparing food and drink to welcome the royal army."

The other party's actions soon aroused the vigilance of Zhang Lu in Nanzheng City.

When Zhang Lu learned that the imperial army suddenly appeared behind him, he immediately felt dizzy.

"Is Shangyong still lost? Has Hanzhong been lost?"

When Zhang Lu heard that a large army appeared in the east, he immediately thought that this enemy army was coming all the way from Shangyong.

This speculation made Zhang Lu's hands and feet go cold!
Yangping Pass is indeed important and can resist the endless army from the north.

But once Shangyong is lost, it means that the armies of Jingzhou and Central Plains can go directly up the Han River and easily capture Hanzhong!
Especially now it is not a question of Shangyong's fall.

But the imperial army had already arrived right under his nose!
Even Chenggu has been lost!
Doesn’t that mean that almost all of Hanzhong has been lost, with only Nanzheng left?
The failure came so suddenly that Zhang Lu's faith was instantly shattered!

Someone around him suggested that Zhang Lu quickly mobilize the army in the west to quell the rebellion, but Zhang Lu was indifferent.

"The emperor is personally leading the army in the west, and the troops in the east are already at the gates of the city. Even if we mobilize the soldiers here, what will happen?"

After being at a loss and helpless for a moment, Zhang Lu put on his Taoist robe, prostrated himself in front of the statue of his grandfather, and wrote another letter to the emperor.

This time, Zhang Lu finally stopped quibbling.

In the letter, he directly admitted his crimes and asked the emperor to spare his life.

Zhang Lu had only one request in the letter.

That is to preserve the inheritance of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect and request the emperor not to exterminate it.

"Although I am guilty, the Five Bushels of Rice Sect is innocent."

"The Five Pecks of Rice Sect has always adhered to its teachings and helped the people. It is a benevolent religion!"

Moreover, Zhang Lu also listed a large number of Taoist classics that Liu Xie could understand and could not understand, distinguishing the Five Pecks of Rice Sect from Zhang Jiao's Taiping Daoism, and trying to belittle the Taiping Dao as nothing more than wild fox Zen, not the orthodox Taoism...

After receiving the letter, Liu Xie's expression was distorted, as if he was disgusted by something.

"Although Zhang Jue eventually went astray, and although most of the Taiping Daoists eventually became bandits, at least they were brave enough to take responsibility for their actions."

"Zhang Lu tried to save his own life and preserve his own lineage, but he slandered others... Even if his grandfather Zhang Ling were resurrected, he would not be able to stand such behavior, right?"

As for the survival of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, Liu Xie sentenced it to death early on.

Just as the land of China does not support idle gods.

The Chinese people would never give God absolute authority over humans!

If there really was a god who dared to jump around in front of him, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Xie would not mind letting Emperor Gaozu's snake-slaying sword show its sharpness once again!
(End of this chapter)