Chapter 16 Zhong Yao misses the date and betrays his friend Zhang Miao
On the fourth day of August, Zhong Yao and Chen Chong discussed the strategy of Fudong in detail and immediately set off from Chang'an. He asked Chen Chong for more than ten personal followers, followed by fifty horses, and traveled day and night straight to Hebei. He went straight to Hebei every day.
After passing the inn, I transferred to a good horse in the name of Bafu. During the day, I galloped along the mainland, ringing bells to disperse pedestrians, and at night, I set off with fire. Therefore, I made rapid progress, traveling two hundred miles a day, and soon passed through Hongnong.
Arrived at Hangu Pass.
After arriving in Guandong, he went to Guan Yu to change horses for the last time, then crossed the river bridge to the north, and walked for half a day before entering the territory of Jizhou. There were no orders here, and it was close to Yezhong, so it was inconvenient to change horses, so he could only ride in turns.
By the end, even those handsome, strong and durable horses were foaming at the mouth at the end of the day. The rest fell ill and died, and more than half of them were abandoned midway.
Zhong Yao said to his entourage: "Since the reign of Guanghe, I have ridden hundreds of miles to study in Luoyang, but I have never traveled thousands of miles like this. It seems that all the hard work in this life is today."
Passing through Wei County and Handan, we went all the way north along the edge of the Taihang Mountains, crossing one city after another across the fertile plains, until we reached Puyin. It was still about two hundred miles away from Zhuoxian County. Zhong Yao slightly
He breathed a sigh of relief and rested for two nights. On the third day, when he led people on horseback across Xushui, the river was not deep, and he could see exiled people scattered on the open land beside the forest on the north bank.
The people lived along the river and took water from the river for cooking and washing. Zhong Yao was puzzled and ordered people to ask. The people came from the cavalry to ask questions. They said: "A cavalry army came from the south and has crossed over."
Yishui, they were divided into two teams, one team occupied Fan Yang, and the other team occupied Gu'an, and drove us all out of the city. The four fields were panicked and wanted to go east to join Gongsun Du. Unexpectedly, another cavalry flew in
Quanzhou did not allow people to travel, so they drove us all to the south to live on the Xu River." Zhong Yao heard this and exclaimed: "Who is coming? He actually led people to cut off the way, how can I go north to Zhuoxian County?"<
/p>
After walking less than four miles, he saw a soldier wearing a red iron jacket and a fur coat. Zhong Yao was lucky and ordered people to pass on the imperial edict and the emperor's edict. The soldier said: "
No matter what your majesty is, whether you are overlording the government, whether you are upholding integrity or losing integrity, you must wait until the envoy comes before making a decision."
The group had no choice but to wait in the autumn wind for a reply. It was getting dark, and hundreds of horsemen arrived like clouds. Zhong Yao saw the military flags, which were clearly the flags of Yuan Shao's old army. He couldn't help but be stunned, and thought to himself: "Who is here? How unexpectedly?
Did even Yuan Shao's people listen to him?"
At this time, a man wearing black armor and a mask on his face came first. On both sides, there were burly knights riding horses, holding swords and standing angrily. The man in the middle said: "I am the right commander of the Marshal of Hebei, sir.
Who is he? Dare to represent the people of Duke Yuan?"
When Zhong Yao heard the word "marshal", he couldn't help being surprised and thought: The post of marshal was originally created by the late emperor, and was later given to Jian Shuo, ordering him to command the country's military.
How can you hear about abolition here? Yes, it must be that the various tribes in Hebei are unwilling to surrender and have elected new leaders, hoping to use this to build momentum to fight against the imperial court.
He plucked up the courage and said to the black-armored knight: "I am the servant of the minister on the right side of the chancery, She Zhongyao. Under the orders of the emperor, I recruit Yuan Shao's followers with integrity and supervise the military forces in Hebei." Then he tried to persuade:
"Who is the Duke? Don't you know that you have the power of heaven and the divine weapon of the state? The three assistants of Ying Yang have arrived in Hangu, the elite tiger and beni soldiers of Xihe have reached Tianjing, and the army of Yanmen who has fought hundreds of battles is circling in mediocrity. Although Hebei is strong, how can it resist?
What? I was ordered to come here to solve your disaster, so why should I control it?"
The black-armored knight smiled and said: "Who am I? Duke Zhong doesn't have to worry too much. Since my lord is highly respected by the public, he will naturally not be afraid of the so-called imperial army. If Duke Zhong doesn't worry about it, in a few days, not only Duke Zhong,
The whole world will know his name, and Mr. Zhong can go back and report to His Majesty."
After saying this, he raised his hands to see off the guests. When the knights behind him saw this, they all held their bows and bows, and made ferocious looks as if they were about to attack. Seeing this, Zhong Yao had no choice but to laugh and said: "Strong men don't have to be like this. We live in the same country and we are all ministers."
, they are all just their own masters. Then we will see you on the battlefield in the future!"
So Zhong Yao turned his horse around sadly and walked away slowly south.
On the way, the eldest son Zhong Yu who was accompanying him asked: "Sir, are we going to go back and recover like this?"
Zhong Yao shook his head and said: "Since we can't go to Zhuo County to subdue everyone, we can also follow Liu Jingsheng's old wisdom. Now most of the Taihang Mountain passes are occupied by Yuan's army. We should take advantage of the overall situation to secure roads for the imperial court first. The mountain danger is in hand, and the king's division can communicate with each other.
It’s okay, let’s consider our trip worthwhile.”
Everyone applauded this plan, but Zhong Yao, thinking about the situation in Hebei, still had doubts in his heart, wondering who could subdue Yuan Shao's old troops under such circumstances. He never thought that the person who stopped him was actually Cao Hong, the leader of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and
Marshal Cao Cao, whom everyone recommended, arrived at Zhuoxian only two days before him. If he did not rest in Puyin, he would arrive on the same day as Cao Cao, and where Hebei will go is still uncertain.
But Zhong Yao didn't know any of this. He thought it was man's destiny. He couldn't force it. When he passed by Julu Ze again, he saw the waves surging in the lake, and he was filled with melancholy. He couldn't help but behave like a Confucian scholar, and casually chanted a few sentences: "Shen Sui"
The waves were passing by, and the wind and waves couldn't bear to be heard." In the end, all I could do was whip the horse to gallop again and howl a few times.
Let’s talk about the situation in Yanzhou. When Cao Cao went north this time, in addition to taking away the most elite tiger and leopard cavalry in the army, he also took away a large number of troops such as Xia Houyuan, Bao Xin, Dian Wei, Xu Zhu, Shi Huan, Lu Zhao, and Li Qian.
The direct lineage was used to demonstrate to the generals in Hebei. But as a result, Yanzhou was empty. Although there were only 30,000 soldiers, there was no general to command. Therefore, before leaving, Xiahou Dun specifically asked Cao Cao who in the state could serve as his commander.
Assist.
There were only a few wise men in Yanzhou, among whom Xun Yu was transferred to Qingzhou, Guo Jia wanted to go north with the army, and Chen Gong could not be trusted. Therefore, before leaving, Cao Cao repeatedly told Xiahou Dun to go find Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, who could
If I trust him with life and death, he will never come to me.
Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, was named Meng Zhuo and was born in Shouzhang, Dongping. When he was young, he was famous for his chivalry, helping the poor and helping others. Even if he lost his family and property, he didn't care about it. Therefore, many strong men in Yanzhou attached themselves to him. Party members also took advantage of their virtues.
Listing him as one of the "Eight Chefs", Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were both Zhang Miao's friends.
When he defeated Dong Dajun in the Suanzao Hui Alliance, Zhang Miao ranked among the top five. Cao Cao supported him in the north and appointed him as the shepherd of Yanzhou, and his signature was Zhang Miao. Even when the Black Mountain Army made a surprise attack on Yanzhou, he and his younger brother Zhang Chao fought hard to resist the enemy.
Zhang Chao was killed in battle and Zhang Miao was seriously injured. He had to return west to Luoyang with Cao Cao. At that time, the two hugged each other and cried bitterly. The soldiers couldn't help but be moved when they heard this. They all thought that the two were brothers with different surnames and could not distinguish each other. Their love was so strong that
Therefore, Cao Cao relied on it.
Xiahou Dun also agreed with this. Before he set off, he said to Cheng Yu who was staying behind: "Zhang Mengzhuo has many connections in Yanzhou. As long as he has his support, it will be a piece of cake to hold on until Meng De returns to the army."
Cheng Yu was worried. He thought to himself: "People's hearts cannot be judged. Zhang Mengzhuo has been stationed in Chenliu for a long time and has not been in contact with his lord for a long time. I am afraid that he will have second thoughts." However, this was Cao Cao's identification. He did not dare to refute it publicly. He only told Xiahou Dun,
After all, this trip is confidential, so don’t make a big deal about it along the way.
Two days later, Xiahou Dun took Cao Cao's letter and went to see Zhang Miao at Chenliu County Mansion. However, it was not a coincidence that he came. Cangtou in the mansion said that Zhang Miao and his friends went out of the city to go fishing in the autumn, and he would not be able to come back until evening.
Xiahou Dun didn't take it seriously, thinking that it was not an urgent matter. He just happened to be tired from riding his horse, so he rested in the side room of the county mansion.
It was dusk after this break. When Xiahou Dun woke up, Cangtou was still knocking on the door, saying that Zhang Shijun was back and asking if he would have dinner with him. Xiahou Dun opened his eyes and found that it was already two o'clock in the morning.
The sunlight on his face had turned into a thick orange color. He quickly stood up, reluctantly washed his face with cold water, and then went to see Zhang Miao.
Zhang Miao had just changed into new clothes at this time and was planning to entertain guests in the hall. Unexpectedly, as soon as they met Xiahou Dun, he whispered to him and said that he had something secret to discuss. Zhang Miao looked at him for a moment, with a strange look on his face.
, Xiahou Dun had no choice but to say that this was Cao Cao's arrangement. Zhang Miao then dismissed everyone and led him into the study room in the backyard.
Seeing that there was no one around, Xiahou Dun breathed a sigh of relief, and sat on the couch opposite Zhang Miao. While eating and drinking, he told the whole story about the current situation in Hebei and Cao Cao's plans. At the end, he asked Zhang Miao: "Mr. Meng Zhuo is the
I am a close friend of Yanzhou Mu, so before he left, he specially asked me to come and discuss my interests with you. Yanzhou Mu said: "The Duke and Ah Man have been friends for thirty years, how can they forget each other?" As long as there is Meng Zhuo Gong's pillar tripod,
When the country is founded in the future, public wealth and honor will be indispensable!"
After speaking, he looked up at Zhang Miao and saw that he was sitting up straight, supporting his head with one hand, leaning on the desk and lost in thought. After a while, Zhang Miao remembered that he had finished speaking and was right.
Xiahou Dun apologized and said: "This is a serious matter, and Yuan Rang's words just now have left me at a loss for words."
Seeing that Xiahou Dun was about to speak, he smiled and said: "Mengde trusts me, which is naturally a good thing. But now Yanzhou is no longer the Yanzhou of the past. Bian Shijun often stops in Chenliu. I have just been thinking carefully. If I want to start,
I'm afraid this problem will not be a big one." The implication is that it is already agreed.
Xiahou Dun was overjoyed. He held Zhang Miao's hand and talked a lot more intimately. He said: "What Meng Zhuo said is true! I came here today and was about to get rid of this ugly person with Meng Zhuo. I gave in and jumped off the beam. I have been resented for a long time.
, how long will it last?”
The two talked for a while, and after making an appointment to continue the discussion tomorrow, Xiahou Dun continued to go back to his room to rest.
After Zhang Miao sent him back to his room, his expression changed slightly and he immediately walked to another wing. It turned out that the perpetrator of the case, Bian Rang, was resting here. Besides Cao Cao, Bian Rang was also Zhang Miao's best friend. During the day today,
It was he and Zhang Miao who went fishing together.
Zhang Miao and Bian Rang whispered in the house for half an hour, and then they immediately called in the county officials and rushed into Xiahou Dun's room. While he was sleeping, they tied up Xiahou Dun and drove him to Luoyang in a carriage.
And the news that Cao Cao went north to Hebei spread to Xijing.