September 185 A.D.

The Son of Heaven took Sikong Zhang Wen as the general of the chariot and cavalry, and Yuan Peng as the deputy of Jinwu, went west to Chang'an and led the army to exterminate the rebels. At the same time, Zhonglang promoted Dong Zhuo to be the general of the captives, and Zhou Shen, the general of Dangkou, was under the control of Zhang Wen.

The imperial court moved Julu Taishou Guo Dian to Jizhou pastor, commanded the military and political affairs of Jizhou, and killed the remnants of the Yellow Turban in Zhongshan, Changshan, Zhao and Julu. Liu Yu was relocated to the prime minister of Ganling State (later Qinghe County), and led his troops to extinguish the Yellow Turban Army in the Dongwu area.

Zhang Wen, the general of the chariot cavalry, received the holy decree and immediately went to visit Huangfu Song, who was idle at home, to ask for advice on the method of conquering the rebels in Xiliang. Although Huangfu Song was framed by a traitorous villain, he was open-minded by nature and was not too careful. Zhang Wen was one of the three princes of the dynasty, and he was a famous man at that time, his position was high and powerful, and Huangfu Song certainly did not dare to slack off, and he was warmly entertained, and talked about the Xiliang military in detail.

Of course, Huangfu Song hoped that Zhang Wen would win this battle, stabilize the situation in the northwest, and let the people of the northwest border counties live a stable life, so he talked about everything one by one. Huangfu Song repeatedly emphasized that in order to defeat the Xiliang army, which was dominated by cavalry, the Han army could not have troops of 100,000 people, and it could not do without cavalry. After listening to this, Zhang Wen had a lot of experience and understanding, and then he put forward the hope of getting the strong support of the old department of Huangfu Song on the front line of Chang'an, and asked him to work as a Zhonglang from the Zihuang Fu Li for the Che Cavalry General's Mansion, that is, a senior military staff officer, in order to coordinate the old department of Huangfu Song and the Zhou Shen Department and Dong Zhuo Department who stayed in Chang'an, and work together to resist the enemy. Huangfu Song agreed, and assured him that the troops remaining on the front line in Chang'an, under the leadership of his eldest sons, Huangfu Jianshou and Ko Yi, and other generals, would resolutely obey Zhang Wen's command.

Zhang Wen is a civil servant, although he doesn't know anything about leading the army to fight, he has many protégés and former officials who are very good.

The disciples who were taught by the Confucian masters themselves, and the disciples who were then taught were protégés. At that time, a large number of scholars took refuge in the Confucianism as protégés under the Quan Chen, in order to be recommended to enter the office. The protégé should buy money and goods from the teacher, run for him to serve, and serve the master with the courtesy of the monarch and the father and son, so as to form a hereditary vassal relationship. The former subordinates of the ministers and those recommended by them to become officials are called the former officials of the ministers. Therefore, the officials are like retainers, calling the prefect the lord of the house, the lord, serving him, giving gifts, and even life and death, sharing weal and woe. There is a subordinate relationship between them. After the death of the lord of the house or the lord, the official shall serve three years of mourning and continue to serve his descendants or manage his family property. At that time, many gate lords used their protégés and former officials to form a powerful political force, which controlled the political fate of the Han Kingdom at that time.

Tao Qian, who was the speaker at the time, was Zhang Wen's proud disciple. Zhang Wen recruited him to the Cheqi General's Mansion as Sima and went with him on the expedition. Tao Qian was born in a family of small officials in Danyang County, Yangzhou, and his father was just a county magistrate throughout his life. He lost his childhood, has always been a bad child, at the age of fourteen to break the knot to learn, to filial piety was elected to the office, successively served as the county order, Youzhou History, Lang.

The general of the right chariot, Qiantang Hou Zhu Jun is Zhang Wen's close friend. Zhu Jun specially recommended Sun Jian, a disciple of Wu County, who was also a fellow Jiangnan villager.

Sun Jian is a native of Fuchun, Wu County, and his family has been an official in Wu for generations. He was a county official when he was young, and when he was seventeen years old, he singled out the group of thieves, and became famous, successively serving as the Sima of the county, the county and other positions, and his reputation in the local area was quite high. Last year, Zhu Jun was ordered to fight for the Yellow Turban, and Sun Jian served as his assistant army Sima, who accompanied him in the southern and northern wars, made many meritorious contributions, and was promoted to a Sima of another department under the captain of the Northern Army.

Zhang Wen trusted Zhu Jun very much, and knew that he didn't deliberately promote his fellow countrymen for any personal feelings, and the people he recommended must be very capable. So he invited the Son of Heaven to recruit Sun Jian as a military officer in the Cheqi General's Mansion, and he was also a senior staff officer, similar to Zhonglang.

At the same time, according to Huangfu Song's opinion, Zhang Wen prepared to transfer elite cavalry from various border counties in Youzhou in northern Xinjiang to participate in the battle on the Xiliang battlefield. His original intention was to recruit Li Hong, a leopard who had recently gained fame, but this news was somehow known by Zhonglang General Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi is Gongsun Zhan's teacher, and this opportunity to make a name for himself must be fought for by his students. Lu Zhi immediately came to visit. Compared with Gongsun Zhan, Li Hong is too far behind in terms of seniority, reputation, and military rank. Lu Zhi's face, Zhang Wen naturally wants to give it. He immediately asked the Son of Heaven to ride up Youzhou for a campaign with a speed of 800 miles, and ordered Gongsun Zan to mobilize 10,000 cavalry to rush to Chang'an in mid-October, that is, less than a month.

As soon as Gongsun Chan left, Liaodong and Liaodong's vassal states, as well as the three counties of western Liao, lacked a strong man to sit on the border to deter the Karasuma people and the Xianbei people. Li Hong is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate, and if he is used, he will be promoted to an official with a rank of two thousand stones. So there was another quarrel in the court. With the general He Jin, the clan relatives of the Han family, and the Zhongchang servant as one side, the Taiwei Zhang Yan, Sikong Yang Ci and other famous ministers as one side, each insisted on its own words and made a lot of noise. The Son of Heaven watched with great interest the performances of the ministers.

It stands to reason that it is simply impossible for a military officer like Li Hong, who is from a low background and has been promoted by military merits, no matter how great his merits are, to be promoted to an official position with a rank of 2,000 stone in this era.

In the Han Dynasty, the school captain and the capital captain were all officials who were more than 2,000 stones, and in the county and the army, they were all big officials.

Generals in charge of the army were rarely set up in the Han Dynasty. The noble status of generals is related to the fact that there are few generals and they are not often placed, but it is mainly related to the strong martial spirit of the society since the Qin and Han dynasties. The generals were in charge of conquest and betrayal, and they were very noble, and the powerful and noble ministers such as the Three Princes were often rewarded by the Son of Heaven, and they were often called generals and auxiliary ministers with heavy titles such as generals, hussars, chariot riders, guard generals, and generals before and after. In the early period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Du Liao and other miscellaneous generals were all 2,000 stones, which were equal to the status of the county taishou. Except for Du Liao, the other miscellaneous generals generally withdrew immediately. General Duliao was set up by the imperial court on the frontier to deal with the Huns. The position of general is valued by the world, and the status of both heavy and miscellaneous generals is very high. Many civilian bureaucrats also often give the rank of general, not in charge of the army, but only as a special honor. The same is true for military positions such as lieutenants and lieutenants. During the war, many bureaucrats were led by captains and lieutenants. Of course, the captains and captains cannot be generalized. The status of the five lieutenants of the Central Military Attache is higher than that of the Captain of the border army, and the status of the Central Military Attache is also higher than that of the Commander of the county.

The general He Jin was also born poorly, he was a butcher before his sister entered the palace. So he still has a sympathetic attitude towards people like Li Hong. He publicly recommended it to the Son of Heaven above the court, in fact, he also wanted to see everyone's reaction. It turns out that it is a very terrible thing to come from a humble background. The common people of this status, the untouchables, are the lowest level of the country, doing the hardest and most tiring things, enjoying the most unfair treatment, and there will never be a day to turn over, and their children and grandchildren will never turn over.

The generals and eunuchs got angry and joined forces to fight back against the bureaucrats who were born from the great Confucian scholars.

Finally, please ask the Son of Heaven to decide. The Son of Heaven was very interested in this person, and after listening to the two quarrels in the court, he probably knew the ins and outs of Li Hong. Since he has military merits, and his military achievements are prominent, he should be promoted, but because his time in the army is too short and his age is too young, although he is recommended by a general, he should not make an exception. In this way, let's be a captain of the border army. Your Majesty Shengming. All the ministers shouted, and they all rejoiced.

"Xing" means acting, and the acting lieutenant is naturally temporary and can be revoked at any time, and the rank is also the rank of the original officer. To put it bluntly, nothing, the same as in the past. But at best, it's also a school captain, and if you do a good job, you can turn it into a formal one at any time, and that's an opportunity.

After receiving the holy order, Gongsun Zhan immediately reorganized the army and horses, but where he had 10,000 cavalry, there were only about 5,000 people. The bureaucrats in Luoyang did not understand the current situation in Youzhou at all, and the lion opened his mouth and gave orders indiscriminately. Gongsun Chan had no choice but to forcibly recruit Karasuma cavalry in the subject country of Liaodong. The Karasuma people were afraid of him, and hundreds of tribes immediately gathered five thousand cavalry and rushed to the Central Plains with him.

Gongsun Zhan's hatred of the Hu people did not change when he desperately needed their help. When they arrived near Jicheng, the Karasuma people wondered, what were they doing after running so far? The little marshal who led the army asked Gongsun Zhan where the troops were going to go. It is also appropriate to tell people, and it is not a big military secret. Gongsun Chan didn't think so, he thought that the Karasuma people had bad intentions and came to spy on the military, and killed people without saying a word. This is a big disaster. The Karasuma cavalry made a fuss. Gongsun Chan was not afraid, his eyes widened, and he immediately gathered an army to surround the camp of the Karasuma people, grabbed dozens of leaders of the Karasuma people together, and slaughtered them one by one in front of all the Karasuma cavalry. This completely angered the Karasuma people. That night, they hacked to death the Han soldiers who were monitoring the barracks and ran away.

Gongsun Chan was stupid. Now it is too late to go back and chase and kill, and whether he pursues or not, he will not be able to gather more than 10,000 cavalry. If you can't complete the task assigned by the holy decree, you can be dismissed from your post and join the army, but if you don't rush to Chang'an in time according to the military order, it is a crime of killing your head. So he couldn't take care of the Karasuma people anymore, and led the remaining 5,000 cavalry to continue on the road.

The news reached the ears of Yang Huang, the assassin of Youzhou. Yang Huang, the assassin of the history, had just arrived in northern Xinjiang, and the situation in Youzhou was unstable, and in this case, he was unwilling to make a big deal out of it. Immediately sent a letter to the minister of Liaodong, deal with it lightly, punish and punish it, and do not intensify the contradiction and cause chaos.

Before Gongsun Chan crossed the Yellow River, Jizhou was in chaos.

Zhang Niujiao led the Yellow Turban Army to loot grain and plunder, seeing that the Han army had no ability to resist at all, he immediately exerted his strength and began to attack the main cities of the counties, and in less than half a month, the armies successively captured Changshan County Zhizhending, Zhongshan County Zhinulu, and Zhao County Zhifu. The three counties were basically occupied by the Yellow Turban Army.

Jizhou Mu Guodian led the Jizhou troops and Chu Feiyan, and Yang Fengbu fought fiercely on the front line of Gaoyi and Gall Tao. Seeing that the attack was blocked, the Yellow Turban Army immediately withdrew its troops and held the border of Zhao. Guo Dian's troops were unable to counterattack, so they could only defend Gaoyi and Gauntao City, and at the same time quickly reported to the imperial court and asked for reinforcements.

At the end of September, Zhang Niujiao, the commander of the Yellow Turban Army, suddenly launched an attack on Youzhou. Zhuo County, the largest county in Youzhou, bore the brunt, and Beixincheng was captured.

Yang Chun, the assassin of Youzhou, heard that Zhang Niujiao of the Yellow Turban Army led an army of 200,000 to attack Youzhou, and was shocked, and asked for rescue troops from various states and counties overnight to rush to the aid of Zhuo County.

The night on the steppe is very charming. The bright moon, the twinkling stars, the rich scent of grass, the faint smell of earth, and the melodious insects hiding in the grass and singing unscrupulously.

Li Hong lay on a shabby cowhide curtain, looking at the moon in the night sky, thinking about his thoughts.

More than 20 days ago, Tian Zhong suddenly proposed to return to Xu Wucheng.

Li Hong was surprised and said in surprise: "The troops are practicing crossing the river with the cavalry of the Wuye tribe near Qiushui, the task is heavy, and there are many things, why do you want to leave suddenly?" Is there anything urgent? ”

"Everyone is so busy that I don't have time to violate discipline, and now I am the most idle in the army. So I wanted to go back and see a few friends. Tian Zhong said with a smile.

Li Hong looked at him and laughed, "Okay." People are old and always homesick. By the way, help me bring something for Xiaoyu. ”

Tian Zhong shook his head, touched his gray little goatee and said, "You can run with me." ”

Li Hong was stunned.

He looked at Tian Chong's smiling face, looked at his gray hair, and suddenly a warm current welled up in his heart. He was like his grandfather, old and in need of care.

Then he remembered a pair of big, beautiful eyes.

Li Hong's heart suddenly swelled up with thoughts about her, strong and uncontrollable thoughts. At this time, he never noticed and never felt.

Li Hong immediately ordered the troops to stop training, and all soldiers were paid one month's salary in advance, and they took turns to go home for vacation in three batches, including the Karasuma soldiers in Hakusan. There was a thunderous roar of joy in the barracks.

Li Hong, Tian Chong, Zheng Xin, Yan Wuxing, Lei Zi, Xiao Lazy, Arc Ding, and Qi Shen and a group of more than 20 people immediately rushed to Xu Wucheng day and night.

When Gu Yu saw Li Hong standing at the door, he was surprised and delighted, and tears flowed down involuntarily.

"We're home." Lei Zi shouted.