The overlapping Taihang Mountains are undulating and dense jungle, and no one has passed by them for a long time. Even if there was a path, it often took a long time to break through the obstacles before a road was opened.

Later generations not only had countless villages and roads in the Taihang Mountains, but also several bustling counties. Many towering mountains have become tourist scenic spots, no longer in danger, and no ferocious wild animals will suddenly emerge and attack humans.

But in this wild era, mountains and forests are as dangerous as the ocean. There are no roads, no directions, and no safety. There are only cliffs, peaks that cover the sky and the sun, as if they are devouring everything.

Especially at night, jackals, tigers and leopards are rampant, and even if the bonfire is lit, it may not be possible to ensure safety. If it weren't for the Black Mountain Army guides living in the mountains and forests along the way, and Guan Hai's military strength is not weak, he might not have to go to Zhang Yan's nest and had already entered the tiger's stomach halfway.

In fact, Lin Wen found that Zhang Yan's nest was not far away, because according to the towns Zhang Yan once attacked, it can be seen that the place he occupied was in the northwest of Handan City, in the Taihang Mountains just west of Xingtai City. From the place where Guan Hai started to the old nest where Zhang Yan was, it was only a 200-road road. It took half a month to see that the mountain road was rugged and the road was difficult to walk.

It took half a month to go until mid-June that Guan Hai had turned out of the mountains. He had already met Zhang Yan's men in the Lufeng Mountains north of Linlu Mountain. Zhang Yan also knew that he was on a mission, so he had been waiting for him in his nest.

After Guan Hai came out of the mountains, he saw that most of the places were hilly basins. There was a small river passing by in the valley. A large number of fields were cultivated on the river banks on both sides. Houses were built on the hillsides, and the banks were densely packed along the river banks, all of which were compact wooden houses. Many people at the foot of the mountain worked in the fields.

Although there is a severe drought in June, the Five Elements Mountains are still cool and there are rivers rushing. As long as the water source is not exhausted, it will be like a paradise.

In fact, this is the same. In the later years, it was directly north of the Qinwang Lake Scenic Area, there were countless hills and valleys, as well as the Dongchuankou Reservoir and Zhuzhuang Reservoir. Of course, there were no reservoirs at this time, but this was the upper reaches of Qili River. At this time, Qili River was named Fengli (si) water, which originated from the depths of Taihang Mountains, and happened to pass through this large number of valleys and irrigate countless fields.

If the agricultural civilization wants to grow and grow, the most important thing is to have a suitable reclamation area. In ancient times when science and technology was underdeveloped, plains like Jizhou and Yuzhou were chosen as the place of choice. Zhang Yan was able to gather more than 300,000 people, and the number of soldiers under his command reached 100,000 was because he found this unique area in the Taihang Mountains.

Guan Hai came down from the hovering hills and was taken to a cliff to the east. There was a vast flat land behind the cliff. A large number of camps and schools were built inside. The hills were densely covered with forests. The cliffs were surrounded by wooden fences. Only a bluestone road at the foot of the mountain could go up.

Following the road and reaching the top of the valley, he officially entered Zhang Yan's military camp. There were soldiers guarding and patrolling near the gate of the camp. Guan Hai did not show any warning when he came over, but just let them in. Zhang Yan was already waiting for the leaders of all sizes near the gate of the camp.

Zhang Yan was about forty years old. His original surname was Chu. When Huang Turban was in an uprising with his brother Zhang Niujiao. After the Yellow Turban failed, he fled into the mountains. When he was attacking the town at the foot of the mountain, Zhang Niujiao was shot and died. Before his death, he handed over his troops to Chu Yan, so Chu Yan changed his surname to Zhang.

Guan Hai walked over, Zhang Yan brought Sun Qing, Wang Dang, Du Chang, Zhang Fang and others to come over, bowed and said loudly: "Ship Guan Qu!"

Coach Qu?

Guan Hai frowned and shook his head and said, "General Zhang, you are now the General of the CPC Central Committee of the CPC Central Committee. I am the General of the CPC Central Committee of the CPC Central Committee. They are all important officials of the court. How can you still be called the Yellow Turban Army? Could it be that General Zhang is still thinking about General God?"

Zhang Yan looked a little embarrassed and waved her hand and said, "I naturally knew that the Yellow Turban Army had become a thing of the past. I just admire General Guan's courage during the Yellow Turbans, so I miss it in my heart. Please come with me."

After saying that, Zhang Yan led him to the hall of the camp front gate.

The group went in, Guan Hai and his deputy general sat under Zhang Yan's right hand, while the rest, Wang Dang, Du Chang, Zhang Fang and others sat opposite them.

Zhang Yan sat in the main seat.

After everyone sat down, Guan Hai did not go around the circle with him and said straightforwardly: "General Zhang, I will not tell you that he is empty. In my early years, I was loyal to General Tiangong and followed the general to fight south and north. However, after General Tiangong was defeated, I was abandoned by my clan and captured by General Guan. Fortunately, the Qingzhou army was benevolent and righteous, so I did not execute me and saved my life."

"The grace of recreation is unforgettable, so I am now only in General Guan's leadership and the Luoyang court is the main focus. We revolt back then to resist the harsh government of the court. But today, Duke, General Duke, General Duke, General, and General of Ren, have all passed away. It is difficult to raise the Yellow Turban Flag again. Moreover, the world of the Han Dynasty has long changed. What's the point of thinking about destroying the court?"

Of course, Guan Hai's mind couldn't say this. In addition to Guan Hai, Chen Mu also sent a lobbyist. This person was the deputy general brought by Guan Hai. He thought that Guan Hai should first explore Zhang Yan's words to see if he was really willing to surrender to the court and obey the emperor of Luoyang. Only then did he teach Guan Hai's speech.

After hearing this, Zhang Yan sighed and said, "Yes, I remember that we followed General of Heaven and God for many years. Even the emperor died a few times. The world of the Han Dynasty had already changed. There were princes who were dissatisfied with the king's transformation everywhere. When would it be our turn to subvert the court?"

Guan Hai said again: "Today, Zibo An Gong is a famous sage in the country and has always been known for his benevolence and righteousness. He is the emperor, which is what everyone wants. We are all born into a poor family and were originally guilty of rebellion and rebellion. Now that the court has forgiven him, it is already a kindness. As the saying goes, repaying grievances with kindness is a kindness. Since the court has exempted us from sins, we must not repay our kindness with grievances."

From Guan Hai's entry to the present, the content of the words is summarized. In fact, Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turban Rebellion has failed, and the court has changed its emperors, and they are exempted from harsh policies. They should not continue to rebel. Moreover, they are still guilty and should be grateful for the court's mercy and cannot repay the grudges.

Zhang Yan understood what he meant. Under normal circumstances, he should have agreed to be loyal to the court immediately, but for some reason, his face was very hesitant. He hesitated for a moment, which made the lobbyist beside Guan Hai see the clues, so he suddenly said, "Is there anything difficult to describe General Zhang?"

"Forehead......"

Zhang Yan was asked for a moment, choked for a while, then looked left and said to the lobbyist, "What is this?"

"In the lower Xu Shuo, who is Guanglu Cheng, the imperial court sent me to the army to inspect food, weapons, and armor. This time General Guan came here and I will accompany him."

Xu Shuo responded with a smile.

Xu Shuo was a member of a small clan in Qingzhou in his early years. Because he had studied, he was conquered the Guan Yu army as the chief clan. Later, when Guan Yu attacked the Qingzhou clan bandits, the Yellow Turbans, he made many efforts and persuaded many Yellow Turbans to surrender and made contributions.

Therefore, he was promoted step by step and became an official under Guangluxun.

As mentioned before, Guangluxun actually manages the weapons and equipment of the army when going to war, so Zhao Lin, the first friend of Liu, Guan, Zhang and Chen, was the subordinate of Guangluxun, who was sent to the Northern Army to manage these equipment. Chen Mu made friends with Zhao Lin in order to allow his army to replace with the best weapons and equipment.

Xu Shuo has always made a lot of contributions in Guan Yu's army, so the court appointed him as Guanglu Cheng. One advantage of this is that Guan Yu covered the sky with all the weapons, equipment, and food and grass in the army. It is also a reflection of the court's trust in Guan Yu.

Zhang Yan said: "It turns out that it is Guanglu Cheng. I don't have any hidden secrets. Yuan Shao has been using troops to me all year round, causing me to suffer heavy losses. I have a deep hatred for him. However, Yuan Shao is powerful and has a strict defense against me, so he may not be able to make any difference."

Xu Shuo said, "I know what the general is worried about. Are you afraid that the result of this war will be Yuan Shao win, right?"

Zhang Yan's face became even more awkward.

In history, he dared to send 100,000 troops to help Gongsun Zan because Yuan Shao was not strong at that time, and Yuan Shao and Lu Bu had attacked him, resulting in heavy casualties, so he had to avenge him.

But when Yuan Shao eliminated Gongsun Zan and completely gained a foothold in Jizhou and developed its strength, it was no longer something that Zhang Yan could offend.

Therefore, during this period, Zhang Yan could only retreat and did not dare to go out and provoke Yuan Shao again.

This situation continued until Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, and after Yuan Shao died of illness, he determined who the overlord of the Central Plains was, and then he decisively defected to Cao Cao.

A series of actions obviously prove that Zhang Yan is indeed a fence-bearer.

But he had no choice. After all, he hid next to Yuan Shao with hundreds of thousands of people. Even if he didn't think about himself, he had to consider the hundreds of thousands of people who followed him. Once Yuan Shao won, it would be a devastating disaster for Zhang Yan and his tribes.

Taihang Mountain is not a real paradise. With the military strength of Jizhou, it is easy to flatten his clique. It is just that Yuan Shao could not treat him as his main enemy, so he did not take serious measures.

If he completely turned to the court before the victory or defeat was decided, and when Yuan Shao won, there would be no room for recovery. This is something Zhang Yan didn't want to see.

Therefore, he would definitely be respectful to the envoy of the court. But if the court asked him to completely turn to the court now and send troops to attack Yuan Shao, it would be difficult for him to obey.

Simply put, whoever wins will help him. This is an eternal truth and it applies at any time.

Seeing that he didn't reply, Xu Shuo knew what he was thinking with an awkward expression.

Fortunately, Chen Mu had already expected the ideas of these Black Mountain troops, so before Xu Shuo came, he had already had a solution to the situation.

Seeing that Xu Shuo was not panicked at all, he said with a smile: "What the general thinks is already clear. So please rest assured that the general will not force the general to attack Yuan Shao. This time, the young mansion wanted to invite the general and many leaders in the Five Elements Mountain to go to Lin Lu to discuss major events."

Go to Lin Lu?

Zhang Yan and several of his subordinates looked at each other without saying a word.

Everyone was nervous and began to hesitate. When they ran to other people's territory, could their safety be guaranteed?

Seeing that a few people were silent, Guan Hai shouted impatiently: "You are afraid of a bird egg. The Shaofu did not put the location in the city. It was on the outside of the city and could see more than ten miles at a glance. Just lead the troops here. If you think we have too many people, you will leave. Are you still afraid that the Shaofu will eat you?"

When Zhang Yan was squeezed by him, he couldn't hold on his face, but he still didn't dare to offend the court envoy, so he said, "I don't know who this young mansion is?"

Xu Shuo bowed to the south and smiled slightly and said, "This is Chen Zigui, who is famous all over the world!"

Chen Zigui?

"This Chen Zigui has always been rumored to be loyal and righteous. He once angrily denounced Dong Zhuo, and later led troops to rescue all the ministers and ministers in the court, which was praised by the world."

"I also heard that Chen Zigui loves the people as much as his son, and is very popular with the people in Qingzhou. His eldest brother Liu Xuande is a kind and righteous gentleman, and even the people of Jizhou are grateful to him. I think Chen Zigui is not a dismissive person."

"If it were him, with his reputation, he should not dare to harm us."

Several people were talking.

The name of a person, the shadow of a tree.

Chen Mu is so famous that he is both famous, and he can't help but feel good about him.

The main reason is that the evil things he did were hidden too deeply, the truth was drowned in the soil, and there were few people familiar with the matter, only Yan Zhong, Taishi Ci, Wang Jun and others knew about his evil deeds.

Even Xun and these party members were kept in the dark. Chen Mu had such a good reputation, which was basically caused by their help in the publicity in Shilin.

In addition, Zheng Xuan, Cai Yong and others who were famous all over the world helped to endorse the letter, his reputation was now a famous top star in the Han Dynasty. He was much better than those ordinary famous scholars who were only famous in prefectures and counties, and local people knew it.

With such a reputation, Zhang Yan and others felt much more at ease. They thought that since Chen Mu had fame, he would not betray them and suddenly attacked them.

What's more, Zhang Yan was also a general enthroned by the court. In name, he was also appointed by the court. If he was killed for no reason, the court would hold him accountable.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yan was less worried and asked curiously: "Since it was Chen Zigui, who was famous all over the world, we naturally could not refuse each other. But I didn't know why the Shaofu invited me to do it for?"

Xu Shuo said: "This matter is of great importance. Inviting many leaders is also to defeat Yuan Shao. However, I have said before that the Shaofu will not force you to send troops, but we also hope that you will not help each other and provide some convenience when necessary. The Shaofu is willing to exchange things for it. As for the specific matter, we will know when the general arrives."

Zhang Yan and his subordinates looked at each other, and finally nodded vigorously and said, "Okay, since that's the case, I can't be timid. Please rest in the camp today and allow me to prepare. We will set off to Linlu tomorrow to meet the Shaofu."

"Okay, then I'll have a hard time."

Xu Shuo nodded.
Chapter completed!