After returning from the upper reaches of Yishui River, the atmosphere in the army was somewhat solemn. This was mainly because the mood of the coach Gongsun had obviously reversed. After the victory, he was as happy as taking his children on a spring outing to visit relatives. Even Mohu and Mohu were laughing and joking all the way.

And when he came back, although General Wei did not show any obvious signs of depression, he remained silent and rarely smiled. As a result, even Gongsun Ding, who was riding a pony with his new friend, did not dare to say anything even though he was excited.

Say, let alone others?

Of course, the rest of the journey was not an easy task. Everyone went downstream along the Yishui River, but they left the boundary of Zhuojun and arrived at the river. They saw a large swamp in front of them in the distance... Yishui

, Xushui, Lushui, Koushui, Hengshui, Shuishui and Jumashui gradually merge in front, forming an important part of the Haihe River system in North China.

And past this swamp is Yi County, where Gongsun Zan and Zhang Jia faced off. The county battlefield... Gongsun Bogui was not a fool. He retreated that day and chose to station here, which indeed strangled a place on the North China battlefield.

The crucial position was why Yuan Shao had to hold his nose and let him go temporarily.

In fact, this swamp is not yet famous at this time, but if the changes are allowed to change, just like Liaoze will gradually disappear, this place will further expand the scale of the wetland in the next 1,800 years as the Hutuo River moves north.

Eventually it became the famous Baiyangdian.

Back in front of us, before approaching the swamp, the entire army was already in a state of combat readiness. This was because after the Jieqiao battle, although Gongsun Zan immediately launched a massive counterattack, and Gongsun Fan even took the Bohai Sea with overwhelming force, Zhang Jia took advantage of the dangerous terrain here to fight with him.

My prestige in my hometown is still supported by the county... In addition, Gongsun Zan has few soldiers, so the stalemate in the war here still exists objectively.

However, since Gongsun came here and brought five thousand cavalry with him, then there will be a result here.

This is indeed the case. When the troops crossed the intersection of the rivers and arrived at Katsuragi, the important town to the west of the swamp, they faced General Wei's banner and five thousand cavalry, plus the promise of killing eleven if they couldn't do it with the help of the city.

, the 800 soldiers and horses of a separate unit in the city lost their fighting spirit almost instantly, and directly surrendered the city under the leadership of Sima of the other unit. When they set off again, the entire army circled southward along the periphery of the swamp.

No one thought that from a military point of view, it was indeed a natural solution to go directly behind the county from the south.

After two days of travel, we arrived at Gaoyang, an important town in the south of this large swamp. Perhaps because of the direction of the defense of the troops, as a large county, there are only two regular troops and a few civilians here... Zhang Jiao has limited troops.

The predicament is obvious... But no matter what, the soldiers and the people here were relieved when they saw Gongsun's flag. Without waiting for the two commanders to discuss the results, the local wealthy family and the common people opened the city gate directly, forcing the two soldiers to surrender.

.

In response to this, Gongsun was not polite and directly killed eleven officers as a warning to others.

Immediately, the general Wei stationed himself in Gaoyang City, and sent Gecheng and Gaoyang's troops to deliver a message to the county... It should be noted that it was already late March. Zhang already knew that Jieqiao was defeated, and even knew that Gongsun Fan was coming around the Bohai Sea.

After leaving, Dong Zhao divided his troops and captured Anping, but Xin knew that Katsuragi had fallen a day before, and at this time he was simply sitting alone in the city.

Therefore, after hearing the letter from Gongsun, the local military officers from the county under his command and the bureaucrats in the city went to court one after another to inquire. They opened their jaws and had no choice but to open the letter in public, but they saw only four words written on it, "Come soon in three days"!

When everyone saw these four words, they immediately woke up... Gaoyang is forty or fifty miles away from the city, which is exactly a day's journey of a fast horse. This is obviously General Wei's intention to get away with Zhang's old friendship. If he can open his jaws together this time,

If you make up your mind to go to Gaoyang soon, you can follow the example of Katsuragi and reorganize without killing. If you can't go quickly, then you must follow the example of Gaoyang. Even if you surrender in the future, all the officers will be killed!

As for fighting to the death?

To be fair, if Zhang dared to do this, his group of villagers would first tie him up. And before he followed the orders and continued the stalemate with Gongsun Zan, it was just Gongsun Bogui who was notoriously petty, and the two armies were already here

The stalemate lasted for a year, and there were many casualties. No one dared to surrender easily to this man...otherwise, Zhang would have been dead for two months!

As a result, Zhang Jia was forced to have no choice but not to delay for a moment. He could only order everyone to guard the city and maintain the northern front, and at the same time he hurried southward alone with the visitors.

On March 24, the third morning after Gongsun sent the letter, Zhang finally arrived in Gaoyang and met his former boss, General Wei Gongsun, in the backyard of the official temple.

At that time, the newly minted Lord of Jiuzhou in Hebei Province was sitting on the porch in the backyard, watching his eldest son Gongsun Ding teach the younger Lu Yu how to draw a small bow and shoot willows by the pond in the backyard, while Zhang Sheng and Mo Hu accompanied him.

beside.

"Why are you crying?" Gongsun heard the noise and turned around, only to see Zhang Jia, who was leaning forward and bowing, with tears streaming down his face. He was also puzzled for a moment. "Did you cry all the way?"

"That's not the case." Zhang took off his helmet and put it on the ground, then continued to kneel down and cry. "Just when I arrived at the front hall, I heard the county officials talking a lot, saying that Yuan Cheqi had died at the mouth of the river.

I heard that the old master died..."

At this point, he opened his jaw and almost burst into tears, so he could only kowtow in response.

"Is Yuan Benchu ​​dead?" Gongsun was confused for a moment.

"The news just came from the south!" Zhang Ji, who had led Zhang Jiao in, did not dare to neglect and replied immediately. "They arrived almost at the same time as General Zhang. And the lord has an order, but General Zhang doesn't come, so there is no need to repay..."

"Congratulations, sir!" Mohu was the first to jump up and congratulate.

Gongsun, who was sitting cross-legged on the corridor, quickly nodded perfunctorily, but continued to ask the people on the ground: "Did you and Yuan Benchu ​​know each other well? Why are you so sad when you heard about his death?"

"I don't dare to claim that we know each other." He opened his jaw and tried to raise his head and replied with tears. "It's just that the title of king and minister is there, but he is a king and has never betrayed his ministers. As for the general who is a minister and is entrusted by others but is so poor, it is already considered

Negative Lord... Now that I hear that my old master is dead, as long as it is not a tree or a tree, how can I be indifferent?"

"So that's it." Gongsun thought thoughtfully. "That's right... Yuan Benchu ​​didn't let you down. Not only did he not let you down, he also allowed you to take responsibility for your side. He has great trust. In this case, it doesn't hurt to cry. It's just...

"

"exist!"

"Then have I betrayed you?" Gongsun asked seriously.

He lowered his jaw to the ground and answered: "You have not betrayed me, it's just..."

"It's just that when you were under my command, you were appointed by the imperial court. You were barely called an official, but you were not a monarch or a minister, right?"

Zhang kowtowed and did not dare to answer.

"It's not your fault, but it's a pity." Gongsun stretched out his hand to touch the other party's shoulder. "I have always lacked generals here. If you were to be used by me at the beginning, holding a halberd as my vanguard, you and I should have been kings and ministers.

We get along with each other and achieve mutual success! It will be much easier when I conquer Dong Zhuo in the west, and you will not be like a famous general in Hebei who is lying on the ground crying like a child... But why did you become a surrendered general again? You again

It’s not that you don’t know that seniority is valued in the military. You have the qualifications, but you lack too much experience. You have not suffered the hardships of the Western Expedition and have not contributed to the pacification of Hebei. How can I reuse you in the future?"

Opening his jaw, he quickly fell to the ground and answered: "The last general is stupid and does not understand the destiny... Now that the entire township and Zijiu tribe are safe, I am satisfied and don't dare to ask for fame anymore!"

"It's still what I asked for." Gongsun pressed the other person's shoulders with a little force and raised his head to look at the sky. "Otherwise, wouldn't it be a pity for you to be like this? I still remember your majestic appearance by the Hutuo River... When I finish crying, help me.

How about I do something?”

Zhang Sheng was okay, but Zhang Ji and Mo Hu both felt secretly moved in their hearts.

"I am willing to listen to your command!" He opened his jaw and immediately kowtowed in the corridor with tears in his eyes.

I didn't mention it for a few days, but on March 27th, Gongsun Zan, who had already learned that Gongsun was taking a detour to Gaoyang, suddenly heard the news by the Yishui River. He said that all the counties were changing their flags, and there were even white horse cavalry coming and going from the city, but he could only look livid.

Nothing can be done.

On the twenty-eighth day, they rode north to Yishui on white horses and brought a letter from Gongsun, who was said to be still in Gaoyang. This letter was just as short as the previous one to Zhang Zha, with only the four words "brother, come quickly".

It just has the seal of General Wei.

Gongsun Zan was so angry that he simply kept his temper, but he encountered the same predicament as he had before opening his jaw... People in the army who had some ideas, from Tian Kai to a group of officers from Youzhou, took the initiative to ask General Wei for his military orders.

’, Tian Kai even persuaded Gongsun Zan in private to go to Gongsun Zan early to pay homage to Gongsun to determine the relationship between the emperor and his ministers.

It should be noted that Gongsun Bogui was not a fool. In other words, he had been mentally prepared after the Liang Dynasty War, but he never expected that the matter would be carried out in this way... He thought that after

After the city is captured, Gongsun will enter the city with an edict from Yingzhou Mu and a general's seal. Then both parties will vaguely erase the things they did alone. Wouldn't everyone be happy?

However, Gongsun, despite his hard work for a year fighting against Zhang Jia, actually went around and surrendered Zhang Jia, and then summoned him alone to his original location behind enemy lines with a letter stamped with the seal of General Wei... Such a move

, to put it bluntly, it’s okay not to leave Gongsun Zan with any military exploits to get down the stairs. The key is that this is a completely defensive posture!

He just plainly told Gongsun Zan that he, the lord of Jiuzhou in Hebei Province, trusted Zhang Jia, a surrendered general, more than he trusted you, the eldest brother on the bank of Yishui!

Gongsun Zan was famous for his stubborn character, so he felt awkward for a while, and no one could persuade him. Gongsun Zan was not in a hurry, and just waited quietly in Gaoyang... But within two or three days, Gongsun Bogui became extremely stressed.

Increasingly, the discussion in the army developed into a tense situation. Later, some people even asked Gongsun Zan face to face whether he was "up to something evil"?!

For these sergeants from Youzhou, they dare not imagine being enemies with Gongsun in such a situation. What's more important is that now that the people on the opposite side have lowered their jaws, they themselves are not clear about this.

Whose fault is it?!

Of course Gongsun Zan was dissatisfied, but the only thing he relied on was these soldiers and horses. Even now, it was difficult to suppress the voices of the army, and he could only become more and more depressed.

On the last day of March, as Gongsun Zan's closest confidant, Guan Jing, who was in charge of logistics in Yi County in the rear, could no longer sit still. Guan Shiqi rode up alone and directly entered the camp to persuade his lord to go south to visit Gongsun.

"What the hell are you doing, my lord?!" Guan Jingfu burst into tears as soon as he entered the tent. "Is this the time to have trouble? In terms of the overall situation, Yuan Shao is dead, and General Wei has at least taken all the land in Hebei. At that time, Shizu

After Emperor Guangwu took Hebei, he directly proclaimed himself emperor without having any three assistants. What qualifications does the lord have to fight against General Wei? From a small perspective, the morale of the army is not stable at this time, but the morale of the military here is still there.

Zhang Zha led thousands of soldiers and horses in the county and has always been on par with us, not to mention General Wei led 5,000 infantry and rode in Gaoyang to support him!"

"I'm just angry that he bullied others too much!" In front of Guan Shiqi, Gongsun Zan did not hide anything. He sat sideways on the back tent couch and turned his face away, indignant. "After all, I am the eldest brother.

He has been his eldest brother since he was born. He has been a brother for thirty or forty years, so he must save some face with me, right? Calling me in such a posture will be witnessed by thousands of knights here. How can I still lead troops in the future? "

"As I expected, this should be what General Wei meant." Guan Jing hurriedly stepped forward to confront him. "Please don't make any mistakes, my lord."

Gongsun Zan suddenly came to his senses and turned around to face him: "You mean, he was going to take away my military power?"

"My lord is confused!" Guan Jing was really helpless when he saw this and could only continue to walk to the couch and said. "After all, my lord has separatist rule before, how can he let my lord really have so many cavalry again?"

"But if I lose my military power, what can I do?" Gongsun Zan came back to his senses, but felt a little sad. "In the end, I am just a general... and I can't go into battle, so what else can I do?"

"There is also the Yingzhou Shepherd!" Guan Jing quickly wiped his tear-stained face and looked at him sternly. "Previously, General Wei divided the prefectures to set up pastoralists, and the Yingzhou Shepherd was left vacant. Everyone thought it was reserved for the lord.

I thought that was the case...but my lord, have you ever thought about why it is Yingzhou Mu?"

"Isn't this a matter of course?" Gongsun Zan said as he spread his hands on the couch. "I have been fighting in the rivers, and I have been in the Bohai Sea for many years..." At this point, Gongsun Zan frowned again. "Sir, please forgive me.

, now that he is so afraid of me, how can he let me stay in a good place like Yingzhou? I’m afraid there won’t be the seal of the state pastor waiting for me!"

"My lord...it is precisely because of fear that General Wei left my lord in Yingzhou." Guan Jing stepped forward to get close to him again. "As I expected, this appointment will definitely come to Gaoyang."

"how do I say this?"
To be continued...