The Cao army retreated one after another, and the Xuzhou soldiers took advantage of the situation to pursue for a long time, but no matter which troops and horses, when they encountered Yu Ban, they were far away.

Zhang Yan did not pursue, but led his subordinates to Pengcheng.

On the wall of Pengcheng, it had already been stained red with blood, Tao Qian stood on the city tower, saw the retreating Cao army outside the city, let out a long breath, and said slowly: "Luck...... What a fluke......"

"Tao Envoy, all this is Zhang Yan's credit, if he hadn't set fire to Cao Jun's camp and attacked Cao Cao from behind, Cao Cao would not have retreated! Moreover, even Dian Wei was driven away by him......" Chen Deng, who had been standing beside Tao Qian, said in due course.

"Zhang Yan has made a lot of contributions, and the government will reward him heavily!" Tao Qian glanced at Zhang Yan, who was slowly approaching with the cavalry team from outside the city, and turned around and went down the city tower, "Come with this mansion to the city gate!" ”

The group quickly went down the city tower and followed Tao Qian to the city gate, where they waited quietly, waiting for the triumphant Zhang Yan.

Zhang Yan led more than 2,000 cavalry, little by little close to Pengcheng, the closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood, under the horse's hooves, there are piles of corpse mountains, patches of blood, he stepped on this corpse mountain and sea of blood, seeing the tragic situation here, it is enough to imagine what kind of battle is experienced here.

He sighed heavily, feeling more and more that the lives of people in the troubled world were like mustard, and a heavy shadow was cast in his heart.

When he was approaching the gate of Pengcheng, Zhang Yan saw Tao Qian leading his soldiers waiting there, and he ordered the cavalry behind him to stop where they were, while he jumped off his horse, took off a bloody package tied to his horse, and walked straight towards the city gate.

Zhang Yan walked to the gate of the city, and when he saw Tao Qian, he immediately held up the package in his hand and said loudly: "The last general, Zhang Yan, fortunately, did not disgrace his life, the battle of Peicheng, not only burned the grain and grass hoarded by Cao Jun, but also killed Cao Cao's son Cao Ang, and specially dedicated Cao Ang's head to the envoy!" ”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Yan opened the bloody package, revealing a human head from inside.

Tao Qian was both surprised and delighted, and did not dislike the blood stains on Zhang Yan's body, grabbed Zhang Yan's hand tightly, and said excitedly: "Mingda, this time I really thank you......"

Zhang Yan said modestly: "The last general did not dare to take credit, the reason why he was able to have this achievement is due to the good command of the envoy, as well as the clever plan of Captain Chen, as well as the bloody battle of many soldiers......"

Tao Qian listened to Zhang Yanju's achievements and was not arrogant, and he liked it more and more in his heart, and said happily: "Mingda is too modest, no matter what, if you can repel Cao Jun this time, your credit is the greatest, and this government will definitely reward you heavily!" ”

Chen Deng had been standing by Tao Qian's side, and when he saw Zhang Yan being humble, he suddenly interjected: "Captain Zhang was ordered to be in danger, not only completed the important task entrusted by Tao Envoy, but also drove away Cao Cao when my Xuzhou was in the most critical situation, and rescued my Xuzhou soldiers and civilians from the dire situation, which is my benefactor of the entire Xuzhou." Since Tao Yuanjun said that he would reward Zhang Xiaowei, Zhang Xiaowei should not shirk again, otherwise he will look down on Tao Yuanjun......"

Zhang Yan glanced at Chen Deng, and saw that Chen Deng's hot eyes flashed with a hint of hope, and glanced at him, so he no longer shirked, and said happily: "Then the general will be respectful rather than obey his fate!" ”

Cao Cao retreated, Xuzhou was equivalent to escaping a catastrophe, Tao Qian was the happiest person, grabbed Zhang Yan's hand with one hand, and patted Chen Deng's back with the other hand, and said loudly: "I have Yuanlong in Xuzhou, Wu has Mingda, and this mansion can sit back and relax......"

After that, Tao Qian ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, bury the fallen soldiers, and count the lists, register them, and erect a monument for future generations to pay respects.

Subsequently, Tao Qian had Cao Ang's head hung on the head of Pengcheng and held a celebration banquet in Pengcheng.

Zhang Yan became famous in the first battle, his name and deeds spread all over the streets and alleys, but it was just a meal, and everyone in Pengcheng knew that Zhang Yan drove away Cao Cao, defeated Dian Wei, and rescued Xuzhou.

Many of them are false, and the more Zhang Yan is said, the more powerful he becomes, and it spreads to zuihou, and there are all kinds of versions.

Zhang Yan was in Pengcheng, and naturally heard rumors about himself, some of which were barely in line with the facts, but some of them were exaggerated and outrageous, and he actually said that when he was fighting with Dian Wei, he didn't use a knife or a shot, but just shouted, which scared Dian Wei out of his heart, turned his horse's head and ran away.

But in fact, when Zhang Yan was fighting with Dian Wei, he was almost killed by Dian Wei with a move. If it weren't for the Danyang soldier who appeared in time and blocked it for him, I am afraid that he would have died by now.

For this reason, Zhang Yan deliberately found the body of this Danyang soldier after the war and buried this Danyang soldier with his own hands. In addition, he also inquired about the family situation of this Danyang soldier, and when he had time, he was going to go to this Danyang soldier's house in person.

In Pengcheng's Taishou Mansion, there were no empty seats in the hall, and there were some sumptuous food and wine in front of everyone, and Zhang Yan also moved from the original last seat to the first position on Tao Qian's right hand.

In the Han Dynasty, the right was respected, and Zhang Yan was the first seat, which shows how much Tao Qian attached importance to it.

Zhang Yan sat there, feeling a little uncomfortable, after all, he was not an ancient, and he was not very used to this kneeling posture.

He sat there quietly, looked around the circle of civil and military people in the hall, and found that there were more people present this time than last time, and several of them were still fresh.

Among these faces, the one who caught his attention the most was a scribe next to Chen Deng.

This person is about thirty-five or sixteen years old, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes, fair complexion, long hair, and elegant appearance, and politeness, especially the navy blue robe on his body, which highlights his grace and luxury, which is unforgettable at a glance.

The scribe seemed to feel Zhang Yan's gaze, and inadvertently glanced at Zhang Yan, seeing that Zhang Yan was looking at him, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and nodded to Zhang Yan.

In the center of the hall, Tao Qian first cleared his throat, then raised his wine glass, and said loudly: "Everyone, please quickly raise the wine lord and drink with this mansion to celebrate this hard-won victory!" Dry! ”

As soon as the words fell, Tao Qian raised his neck, and drank not a drop of the wine in the wine jue, he did it first as a respect, and others naturally had nothing to say, and they drank it all one after another.

After a glass of wine, Tao Qian poured another glass of wine, he took the wine, suddenly got up and left his seat, and walked straight towards Zhang Yan, with a smile on his face.

He walked in front of Zhang Yan, Zhang Yan immediately stood up, Tao Qian stretched out his hand, grabbed Zhang Yan, and said with a little excitement: "Mingda, if it weren't for you this time, I would be difficult to protect Xuzhou, and the millions of people in the territory would be devastated by Cao Cao. For this reason, this government wants to replace the people of Xuzhou to toast you! ”

Tao Qian's words came from the bottom of his heart, and as soon as he finished speaking, he immediately toasted Zhang Yan respectfully.

Zhang Yan hurriedly got up and took the wine from Tao Qian, and hurriedly said: "Tao Envoy Jun is serious, the reason why I can do this is because of the envoy's trust in me, if it weren't for the envoy Jun allocating three thousand elite Danyang soldiers to me, I would not be able to complete the important task, let alone force Cao Cao to retreat." In addition, it is also inextricably linked with the desperate resistance of the Xuzhou soldiers, if it were not for their bloody battle with Cao Bing and sworn to defend Xuzhou, I would not be able to cooperate with it, and fight inside and outside. I drank this glass of wine for all those who fought against Cao Jun! ”

Tao Qian saw that Zhang Yan drank the glass of wine, and Zhang Yan was also very modest and sincere, not arrogant at all, and he was also comforted in his heart, thinking that Zhang Yan was a person who could be entrusted with great responsibilities.

He took Zhang Yan's hand, turned around and walked to the scribe who was sitting next to Chen Deng, and said to Zhang Yan: "Come on, come on, let me introduce you to you, this is our Xuzhou don't drive to engage in Mi Zhu Mi Zizhong, this government can make the people of Xuzhou live and work in peace and contentment, half of it is the credit of Zizhong, this time he is transporting a large number of grain and grass to help the war, how close you are!" ”

"It turned out to be a don't drive adult, Zhang Yan is polite!" Zhang Yan hugged his fists.

Mi Zhu slowly stood up and said to Zhang Yan: "Captain Zhang became famous in the first battle, and the streets and alleys have already been spread, and now I have seen a real person, and he really has the demeanor of a general, which makes Mi admire and admire!" ”

Zhang Yan and Mi Zhu exchanged a few words, and they can be regarded as acquaintances. Tao Qian then introduced several new faces to Zhang Yan one by one, and both of them were celebrities in Xuzhou.

At the celebration banquet, after three rounds of wine, Tao Qian began to reward meritorious people, and Zhang Yan bore the brunt of it, and was rewarded with 500 gold and 2,000 silver, as well as 500 pieces of cloth. These gold, silver and cloth are all the belongings of the labor army that Mi Zhu has just transported from Tancheng, and this is just the right place to come in handy.

Zhang Yan did not refuse again, but calmly accepted Tao Qian's reward.

This night is destined to be a carnival night, and the entire Pengcheng, from the state to Tao Qian, to the people of Limin, are immersed in joy.

But Zhang Yan didn't have much joy, but was worried. Because he knew that Cao Cao was only temporarily retreating, and after he recuperated, he would once again set off a bloody storm in Xuzhou.

Zhang Yan sullenly picked up a glass of wine and drank it all, and at the same time his sharp eyes scanned everyone present, and he suddenly found that Chen Deng, who was sitting opposite him, was also looking at him with the same gaze.

Suddenly, Chen Deng squirmed his lips a few times, as if he was saying something to him. Looking at the mouth shape, it seems to be saying "see you in the land temple in the west of the city tonight".

The four eyes met, fleeting, Zhang Yan looked at Chen Dengis again, he had already picked up a glass of wine, twisted his face and drank with Mi Zhu who was sitting next to him.

After the celebration banquet was dispersed, Zhang Yan went directly to the barracks with the reward he received from Tao Qian, and divided the vast majority of the reward equally among the soldiers in the barracks, and the remaining small part was taken out as a pension, and the family members of the fallen soldiers were entrusted to give it to the families of the fallen soldiers, and he did not even keep a little for himself.

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and his approach made the Danyang soldiers who followed him for the first time from birth to death very moved. Moreover, Zhang Yan himself is brave and good at fighting, often taking the lead, in several battles with Cao Jun, Danyang soldiers have already been convinced of him, and the previous arrogance is gone, in exchange for meek and well-behaved.

This time, Zhang Yan gave all the rewards he received to the Danyang soldiers, and the hearts of the Danyang soldiers were touched, and they suddenly felt that the distance between them and Zhang Yan had suddenly shortened a lot.

The Danyang soldiers could not suppress their joy, so they publicized this matter, and soon all the military camps in Pengcheng learned of it, and Zhang Yan soon won the unanimous respect of the whole army.

Zhang Yan sat quietly in his camp tent, without resting, he kept thinking, what was Chen Deng and himself meeting late at night?