Pingyuan County, Gaotang County.

Zang Ba led Wu Dun, Sun Guan, Chang Feng and others to line up at the gate of the city to warmly welcome the arrival of Zhang Yan and others.

Zhang Yan led Zhang Hong, Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, and Xu Sheng, four generals, with iron cavalry and iron armor two battalions, from the south, and when they arrived at Gaotang County, they saw the gate of Gaotang County open, and Zang Ba led the generals to wait there.

Seeing each other twice, Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Sun Guan, and Chang Feng hugged their fists and said: "See the lord!" ”

Zhang Yan reined in the horse, hurriedly jumped off the horse, and said happily: "Hurry up and excuse yourself!" ”

"Thank you, lord!" Zang Ba once called Zhang Yan a brother and brother, since Zhang Yan became a pastor in Xuzhou, he also seemed to have a special respect for Zhang Yan, changed his unruly personality in the past, and was very strict with his subordinates, for fear that something would happen.

Zhang Yan grabbed Zang Ba's hand, looked very kind, and said to Zang Ba in front of everyone: "Xuan Gao, this time you drove away Yuan Tan for me and made a great contribution, I am ready to show you as General Yangwei......"

Without waiting for Zhang Yan to finish speaking, Zang Ba interrupted Zhang Yan's words, hugged his fists and said: "Thank you for the lord's love, it's just that this is not my credit alone, but the result of the whole army fighting together to kill the enemy, and I hope that the lord can reward these bloody soldiers together!" ”

Zhang Yan said: "Don't worry, I will never treat these soldiers badly, you will write a book of military merits in a while, and I will reward you for your meritorious deeds." ”

"Whoa!" Zang Ba said respectfully.

Zhang Yan took Zang Ba's hand and walked towards the city, and said as he walked: "Last time we said goodbye to Tancheng, our brothers haven't seen each other for several months. ”

Zang Ba saw that Zhang Yan did not put on the shelf of the state pastor, and did not give people a feeling of superiority, but he was still the same as before, so approachable and bold. And Zang Ba also liked this feeling, so he walked straight to the city with Zhang Yan.

The soldiers and horses brought by Zhang Yan all entered the city, Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, Xu Sheng and others, when they passed by Zang Ba's subordinates, they were all arrogant, and the armor they wore also made Wu Dun, Sun Guan, Chang Feng and others envious.

"The lord's descendants are different, even the weapons and armor are so good," Wu Dun said with a sigh......

After Sun Guan and Chang Xuan saw it, they were all sad, if they could have such armor when they were attacking the city, at least they could reduce many casualties.

Everyone entered the city one after another, Wu Dun, Sun Guan, and Chang Xuan arranged the army on the school field, and then came to the hall of the county government with Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, and Xu Sheng.

In the hall, Zhang Yan sat on the top seat, Zang Ba, Zhang Hong and others sat on both sides, Tai Shici, Xu Chu, Niu Jin, and Xu Sheng entered the hall and walked to Zhang Hong's side and sat down in turn, and Wu Dun. Sun Guan and Chang Feng walked to Zang Ba's side and sat down in turn.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers served wine and food respectively, and Zang Ba opened a jar of wine, and then bowed his hand to Zhang Yan and said: "The lord has come from afar, it must be hard, I salute the lord with a glass, which can be regarded as the lord to catch the wind and wash the dust." ”

As soon as the words fell, Zang Ba drank it all.

Zhang Yan was not polite at all, and he picked up the wine glass with a smile and drank it all.

After that, Zhang Yan and Zang Ba talked happily and complained to each other, and the whole hall was happy.

During this period, the scouts sent by Zhang Yan came back and inquired about Yuan Tan's situation, and Zhang Yan knew that Yuan Tan crossed north from the ferry port in Ande County to Hebei, and then blocked all the ferries along the river.

The news brought by the scout ruined Zhang Yan's mood, and Zhang Yan drank a little too much today, and when he saw that all the generals were there, he said: "Yuan Tan's kid ran very fast, now he has few soldiers and horses left, our army is now strong and strong, tomorrow morning, you can cross the river by boat, go to attack Pingyuan City, you must catch Yuan Tan's kid, let Yuan Shao know that Lao Tzu is not easy to mess with!" ”

After hearing this, Zhang Hong hurriedly said: "Lord, Pingyuan City is next to Jizhou, and Yuan Shao is in Jizhou, and there are many soldiers and generals, so it must not be taken lightly. At present, our army has controlled most of Qingzhou, and as long as we take the river as the boundary, hold the crossing of the Yellow River, and prevent Yuan's army from crossing the Yellow River, it will not pose a threat to Qingzhou. After this defeat, Yuan's army will definitely not set foot in Qingzhou easily, and will inevitably form a confrontation with our army, facing each other across the river. If our army pursues the victory and crosses the river to the north, then Yuan Shao will think that our army is going to invade Jizhou, and he will inevitably lead a large army to attack the lord. With the current situation of our army, it is not enough to confront Yuan Shao, so I hope the lord will think twice. ”

Zang Ba said: "Lord, Zhang Junshi's words are reasonable, and the last general also deeply agrees. ”

Zhang Yan thought for a moment, and then said: "I just said casually, I don't really want to cross the river to attack the plain." Under the rule of Pingyuan County, only Gaotang, Zhu'a, and Luoyin counties are south of the Yellow River, and the rest of the counties are in Hebei, so let's just let Yuan Shao forget it. As long as our army holds the crossing of the Yellow River tightly and does not let Yuan's army cross the river. ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Yan suddenly shouted: "Zang Ba! ”

"The last general!" Zang Ba immediately hugged his fists.

Zhang Yanlang said: "From now on, you will be General Yangwei, and you will be the assassin of Qingzhou, and you will be fully responsible for Qingzhou affairs." ”

Zang Ba was suddenly shocked when he heard this appointment, he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly hugged his fists and said: "The lord of Qiqi, the last general is just a martial artist, and the Qingzhou assassin has a great responsibility, I am afraid that the last general will not be able to do it, and please take back the lord's life!" ”

Zhang Yan said: "If you say it, it is equivalent to spilling water, how can you take it back?" How much skill you have, I know in my heart, you can be fully qualified for the position of Qingzhou Thorn History. Besides, I have already found you a group of talents to assist you, as long as you are humble and think twice about everything. ”

"But ......"

"Don't do it, that's it." Zhang Yan was very clear about the decision he made, because in history, after Zang Ba defected to Cao Cao, Cao Cao appointed Qingzhou and Xuzhou to Zang Ba. Later, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao refused to go to Guandu, and Zang Ba led elite troops to attack Qingzhou occupied by Yuan Shao several times, so that Cao Cao no longer had to worry about the affairs of the East and could concentrate on dealing with Yuan Shao.

It is precisely because Zang Ba once held this important task in history that Zhang Yan dared to entrust Qingzhou with full authority to Zang Ba, so that he could deal with Cao Cao wholeheartedly and no longer have to worry about Qingzhou's affairs.

Zhang Yan then appointed Wu Dun as the minister of Jinan, Yin Li as the minister of Le'an, Sun Guan, Sun Kang, and Chang Feng as captains, and the five were still subordinate to Zang Ba's subordinates, and each of them was rewarded with 500 gold, and Zang Ba was rewarded with 1,000 gold.

Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Sun Guan, and Chang Feng were all moved when they received the reward, and they all came to the center of the hall and knelt in front of Zhang Yan together to express their gratitude.

After the banquet was dispersed, Zhang Yan left Zang Ba alone, and whispered to Zang Ba for a while, telling him that Qingzhou is rich in salt and iron, and the fishery is also very developed, and asked Zang Ba to take Kong Rong as a different driver, Wang Xiu as the ruler, hoping that Zang Ba can govern Qingzhou well.

Zang Ba was so reused, he was grateful to Zhang Yan, and swore eternal allegiance to Zhang Yan, asking Zhang Yan not to think of Qingzhou.

Zhang Yan trusted Zang Ba and was also very optimistic about his ability, and the two chatted late again, and then they went back to their rooms to rest.

Early the next morning, Zhang Yan gathered the army and led the army to return to Xuzhou, and Zang Ba personally sent Zhang Yan for more than ten miles, and then reluctantly left.

When Zhang Yan passed through Linzi, he informed Kong Rong of the news of appointing Zang Ba as the assassin of Qingzhou, and asked Kong Rong to assist Zang Ba, and also met with Wang Xiu, a famous scholar recommended by Kong Rong, and praised Wang Xiu, and immediately let Wang Xiu do the governance of Qingzhou.

Kong Rong sent people under the fence, and getting Zhang Yan was so important, so naturally he had nothing to say. and promised Zhang Yan and Wang Xiu to work together to assist Zang Ba and govern Qingzhou.

After returning to Pengcheng, because Zang Ba was transferred by Zhang Yan to Qingzhou as a assassin, then Taishan County was no longer guarded. For this reason, Zhang Yan appointed Zhuge Jin as the Taishou of Mount Tai, and asked Niu Jin to serve as the chief historian of Mount Tai, specifically responsible for mining iron ore and smelting weapons in Ying County. After that, he asked Yan Jian to be the Taishou of Donglai, and Bu Qi to be the prime minister of Qi, and assisted Zang Ba with Kong Rong, Wang Xiu and others, so that Qingzhou could be stabilized as soon as possible.

After everything was arranged, Zhang Yan on the one hand carried out a large-scale tuntian in the Shili area he occupied, and on the other hand, he actively trained soldiers and built weapons.

In addition, Zhang Yan also specially asked Zhang Zhao to write a letter and send someone to Youzhou by sea, forming an alliance with Gongsun Zhan.

Then, Zhang Yan asked Zhang Zhao to write three letters in a row, and sent people to Liu Biao, Liu Xuan, and Wang Lang respectively, expressing the sincerity of friends and making a covenant with each other.

In this way, Zhang Yan can successfully contain Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, and temporarily prevent them from posing a threat to him, and he can also free up time to concentrate on development.

……

Huainan, Shouchun.

Since Yuan Shu returned to Huainan from Xuzhou in embarrassment a few months ago, he not only repelled Liu Xuan, who came to attack, but also recruited tens of thousands of soldiers.

When Yan Xiang, the chief bookkeeper, heard that Yuan Shu was going to raise troops to attack Xuzhou, he immediately ran to Yuan Shu and persuaded Yuan Shu not to send troops on the grounds of a great drought in the world and a poor grain harvest.

But Yuan Shu didn't listen, in order to repay the hatred in Xuzhou last time, he insisted on going his own way, and even asked people to go to Lujiang and find Lujiang Taishou Lu Kang to borrow 30,000 stones.

Unexpectedly, Lu Kang did not buy Yuan Shu's account, and directly rejected Yuan Shu's request for grain borrowing.

Yuan Shu was furious, and he wanted to send troops to attack Lu Kang, but Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Liu Xun and other generals were all stationed outside, so he remembered Sun Ce, who lived under the tent. So, he asked people to find Sun Ce.

When Sun Ce heard that Yuan Shu was invited, he went straight to the hall, and when he saw Yuan Shu, he immediately hugged his fists and said, "The last general will see your lord!" ”

"Bo Fu, you came just in time, please take a seat!" Yuan Shu said with a message on his face.

After Sun Ce sat down, he arched his hand and asked, "My lord, I don't know why such an urgent summons is here?" ”

Yuan Shu said: "That's the case, I'm going to lead the army to attack Xuzhou again, to be ashamed of the snow, but the grain and grass in the army are not enough, so I asked people to go to Lujiang Taishou Lu Kang to borrow grain, then Lu Kang not only didn't lend it to me, but also humiliated me, which is really angry." So, I want to send troops to attack Lujiang, but after thinking about it, I still think that you are the best candidate. If you can capture Lujiang for me, I will appoint you as the Taishou of Lujiang, how about it? ”

"Is what you say true?" After hearing this, Sun Ce was immediately excited and hurriedly asked.

"The eldest husband is full of words, so naturally he won't joke." Yuan Shudao.

Sun Ce immediately stood up, hugged his fists and said, "My lord, I am willing to lead the army to attack Lujiang!" ”

"Okay, good......" Yuan Shu said very happily, "I'll give you five thousand soldiers and horses......"

"My lord, it doesn't take that much, only five hundred cavalry is enough." Sun Ce said confidently.

"Five hundred cavalry? Isn't Bo Fu Mo joking with me? Yuan Shu said in surprise.

Sun Ce said confidently: "My lord, I only need five hundred cavalry, if I don't win, Bo Fu will come to see me!" ”

Yuan Shu said: "Strong! Then I'll give you five hundred cavalry! ”

Subsequently, Yuan Shu ordered five hundred cavalry and handed them to Sun Ce, who got on his horse with a spear, took five hundred cavalry, and five days of dry food, and left Shouchun directly and headed towards the Lujiang River.