C92

On the afternoon of the first day of the third month, Gongsun Xu rode his horse across the pontoon bridge on the Hu Tuo River. He turned his head and looked at the long queue behind him — — Under the escort of five thousand elite cavalry s, over ten thousand citizens were pushing a thousand large carts filled with sacks as they stepped onto the pontoon bridge while shouting their numbers.

Gongsun Xu ran up a small hill in front of him and looked ahead. He saw that within a few dozen kilometers, it was completely deserted and the entire field was filled with all sorts of weeds. By the roadside in the fields, there were white bones everywhere. In the decadent village, all sorts of wild beasts could be seen.

Gongsun Xu said coldly: "In the future, after defeating Yuan Shao, you must use the farmlands here again! Now that the Youzhou is overcrowded, and has moved several hundreds of thousands of people, it should not cause any trouble for Wang Zhongxuan (Wang Chao). "

"How could it possibly be troublesome?" Zhao Yun laughed: "If Guardian Wang knew Master's thoughts, he would definitely clap and cheer for you. It is said that ever since Guardian Wang took over the Youzhou, his hair had turned a little white!"

Two months ago, Wang Yu, who was recommended by Liu He, came to Ji County and after a long conversation with Gongsun Zanfuzi, he successfully took over Youzhou's affairs from the dispirited Liu Yu. However, in name, Liu Yu was still Youzhou. Wang Chao [1] was indeed a capable person. After handing over such a huge piece of rotten work to him, Liu Yu had actually handled it methodically, treating the commoners the best. In just two months, his name had spread far and wide, becoming the favorite of the citizens of Youzhou.

Gongsun Xu said that the Youzhou was packed with people, and the fact was that it was so. The news of the War of Tanhan Mount had already spread across the world, and countless people had flocked to the Youzhou, seeking for the protection of powerful force. After Gongsun Zan heard Gongsun Xu's suggestion, he did not reject any of the refugees.

After that, more and more refugees came, and Gongsun Xu had settled down two to three hundred thousand in Tianjin. From among them, he had picked fifty thousand strong young men to join the White Horse Camp, and the number of his men had increased to sixty-four thousand. However, the new disciples did not undergo strict drills. Even though they were about to fight with Yuan Shao, he did not have any intentions of letting them enter the battlefield for the time being.

"Wang Zhongxuan has always been swift and decisive in his actions. It suits me well." Gongsun Xu laughed and praised Wang Chao, he waved his hand: "Let's continue on our journey, we will reach Boiling City in half an hour."

The Hejian County was originally called the River Country, but after the River Nation was abolished, they changed their name to the County. The Hejian County was located in the northern part of the Jizhou and had its headquarters in Bo Ling. Other than the Hejian County, all of the other counties and counties of the Jizhou were under Yuan Shao's control. Right now, the one who was occupying the Hejian County was none other than the Great Marshal of Army of Heishan, Magistrate of Ji Zhang Yan.

Last year, Gongsun Zan spent a lot of money to buy the prefectural governor s from Li Que. Coincidentally, Tao Sheng and Yang Feng went to the Ji County to seek help under Zhang Yan's orders, Gongsun Zan told them about this matter, and later on, he exchanged the imperial edict for three times the amount of copper coins. At that time, Gongsun Zan was still in control of the Hejian County and the few surrounding small towns, so he gave all of them to Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan who had nowhere to run, knew that it was a trap, but he still jumped down willingly. He left a portion of his men to continue to guard the Yanshan, and brought a few hundred thousand Army of Heishan s and their families to the Hejian County.

After the start of spring, Yuan Shao led his troops to the north and fought a few battles with Zhang Yan, and most of the battles ended with Yuan Shao winning. Zhang Yan had lost a few small cities, and he didn't have enough food, so he sent more messengers to Gongsun Zan for help. This time, Gongsun Xu led the vanguard army to the Hejian County. Other than escorting a few grains and grass, he also had to scout the surrounding information about Yuan Shao's army in detail, preparing for the arrival of his successor's large army.

Along the way, they met a few groups of nomads under Zhang Yan's command, as well as a few groups of refugees who were preparing to head north to the Youzhou. Nothing unexpected happened. After Gongsun Xu walked for less than an hour, the Boiling City appeared in the distance.

Zhang Yan had already received the news and personally led the people to wait outside the city. When he saw the banner of the White Horse Camp appear in the distance, he immediately brought several thousand of the elite cavalry s with him and hurried over. From afar, he called out to Gongsun Xu, "This son has worked hard on this journey.

Gongsun Xu looked carefully, and saw that Zhang Yan was tall and sturdy, with a round face, beard on the upper lips, and beard on both cheeks. The long hair hanging down from both temples was fluttering in the wind, making his look extremely wild and crude. He was riding a large black horse that didn't have a single strand of mixed hair, and he was carrying a long spear made of steel. The shaft of the spear was as thick as a teacup, and it looked to be around 70 to 80 jin.

Zhang Yan was also carefully sizing up Gongsun Xu. Three years ago, he had met this son of the Marquis Jin once, but at that time, this son wasn't very eloquent, so he didn't attract too much attention. He did not expect that in a short few months, Gongsun Xu's name would shake the Northern Territories, causing him to be shocked. Upon seeing that Gongsun Xu's appearance had not changed much, his skin color was still very dark, but his physique had become much stronger, and his eyes were shining with energy.

Gongsun Xu cupped his hands and replied: "Uncle Zhang actually personally came to receive me, this nephew is truly terrified!"

"Haha, that's how it should be!" It's only right! " Zhang Yan laughed as he jumped down from his horse. As he sprinted over, he shouted, "My dear nephew, I would be willing to help even if I had to travel a hundred kilometers!"

Gongsun Xu was shocked, he was still 30 to 40 steps away, and quickly dismounted and walked up to greet him.

When they were four or five steps away, Zhang Yan stopped in his tracks, carefully examined Gongsun Xu, and sighed: "It's been three years since we last met, and your good nephew's name has already spread throughout the entire northern lands;

Gongsun Xu cupped his hands and said: "Uncle Zhang is praising me too much, I am just putting my life on the line. It's just that this nephew's luck is not bad, I just happened at the right time."

"Nephew is too dishonest!" Zhang Yan glared: Slaying Qiu Liju, Broken Liucheng, Extinguishing Kebineng's pile one after another, can it be explained by luck? Could it be that nephew is deceiving this old man? "

Gongsun Xu laughed and praised: "Uncle Zhang is at the prime of his life, how can you talk about deaf and blind people?"

"I can still fight for a few more years, but there's no one else!" Zhang Yan sighed and shook his head: "Ah, let's not bring this up! Is Marquis Jin safe? "

Gongsun Xu's heart moved, there was a deeper meaning behind Zhang Yan's words, but this was not the time to ask, he pointed to the carriage behind him and laughed: "My father is fine! This nephew has brought over twenty thousand stones of grain this time. My father will also lead a large army to bring the grain here in the future. Uncle Zhang need not worry about the lack of grain. "

"Great!" Although twenty thousand stones is not much, it is more than enough to solve this old man's urgent problem. " Zhang Yan clapped his hands and praised. Then, a little embarrassedly, he asked: "I wonder if there are any more grains in Youzhou? Seeing that it was almost spring, this old man wanted to send some people back to Yanshan to farm. This old one is extremely ashamed of always asking Marquis Jin for help! "

Gongsun Xu shook his head, and said apologetically: "This nephew really doesn't know, I have to ask Wang Zhong Xuan."

Gongsun Xu's strategy to the Army of Heishan was to lure them into the chariot of the Youzhou, and then swallow them after the time is ripe. Since they had this thought, they would support the Army of Heishan from time to time so that she wouldn't die from starvation and hunger.

"Wang Zhong Xuan." Zhang Yan recited this name, and suddenly asked: "Could it be the new Guardian of the Youzhou?"

"Exactly! That day, when my nephew was in the court, he made three promises to Liu Yu. From then on, the Hou Mansion no longer interfered with the civil affairs, and it was the same for Wang Zhongxuan after he took over. "

"This old man has also heard of this matter. Is Nephew really going to shock the world from that day onwards?" Haha, this old man asked the wrong person! " Zhang Yan laughed self-deprecatingly a few times, looked at Zhao Yun and Shan Meng who had just rushed over and asked: "Nephew, who are these two?"

"These are the personal guards of Academy Officer Zhao Yun and this nephew, Shan Meng." Gongsun Xu introduced the two of them, then added, "Shan Meng is the son of the Single General."

"Oh? So it's Academy Officer Zhao and Single Gongzi. " Zhang Yan nodded indifferently to Zhao Yun, then smiled to Shan Meng: "Has your father been well?"

The warriors of the White Horse Camp all knew that Zhao Yun was the number one general of the Youzhou, but outsiders rarely heard of his name, however, Zhao Yun did not perform outstandingly in the few major matters that Gongsun Xu did. Zhang Yan had only heard of Zhao Yun, so his attitude was cold, but to him, it was natural to be warm.

Shan Meng looked a little emotional as he cupped his fists and bowed, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Prefecture Overseer. My father has made sure that everything is well, and he also wants me to pass on his greetings to the Lord Prefecture Overseer. This time when the marquis' army descends to the south, my father will also be here with them. "

"Good!" This old man is waiting to get drunk with them! "Come, let's enter the city!" Zhang Yan waved his hand, and got on his horse to personally lead the way.

Arriving at the city gate, Zhang Yan's subordinates all welcomed them outside. Gongsun Xu looked carefully, the people he recognized were Tao Sheng and Yang Feng, and he also saw Tao Dayong standing in the middle of the group. His body was covered with bright armor, and his face was flushed red, it seemed like he did quite well after returning to Tao Sheng's side. When Tao Dayong saw Gongsun Xu looking at him, he quickly lowered his head, afraid that the people beside him would see through his fear.

Zhang Yan pointed at the crowd and introduced them one by one, "Young Nephew, you have already met Uncle Tao Sheng and Yang Feng, this old man will not make any more introductions. This is the Great Qu General Bai Rao and Gui Gu, this is the Captain Du Chang."

Gongsun Xu cupped his hands and replied, Bai Rao's body was skinny and his face was gloomy and cold, when he returned the greetings he did not have a smile on his face. Gui Gu and Du Chang were both big and tall brawny men, the former had a square face and looked extremely mighty. The latter had a round face and looked like a friendly business man who was making money. After the incident, Gongsun Xu found out that Gui Gu had once been a County Constable, and that Du Chang was born into a merchant family.

After the farewell ceremony, Gongsun Xu walked into the city with half a horse's head behind him. As he passed by Tao Dayong, he looked at him indifferently, with a warning look in his eyes. Tao Dayong's heart jumped, he forced himself not to shout out, but his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.