Three Kingdoms King of the North

Page 324

"Shang Shulang's words are wrong." Han Zhan waited for Han Bin to finish speaking, and replied with some displeasure: "It is because of the poor harvest in Qingzhou that I sent troops into Qingzhou. Do you know that because too many people eat Without a full stomach, I had no choice but to take risks and follow the Yellow Turbans to rebel with the flag.”

"Jizhou Mu," before Han Zhan finished speaking, Zhong Yao interrupted him: "According to the information I got, there are at least 20 yellow scarf thieves in Qingzhou, and you only have a mere 6. What does it do?"

In order to conquer Qingzhou, Han Zhan made a lot of preparations in advance.Not only had a large amount of food and grass been hoarded in Beihai in advance, but also a station was established every fifty miles.In order to understand Zhao Yun's progress in attacking Qingzhou in a timely manner, and to convey some new orders to the past.

When Han Zhan proposed to his subordinates to build a post station, he was opposed by Xun Yu, Tian Feng, Ju Shou and others.Xun Yu said to Han Zhan: "Master, from Yedu to Qingzhou, there is a post station built by the imperial court every thirty miles. There is no need to build a new post station."

"I don't know about the long history." Han Zhan didn't understand in his heart that when the court had post stations, but who knew how many cronies were placed among the post posts in these post stations, he didn't want all his secrets to be in the court. Therefore, he explained with a high-sounding reason: "We have recruited tens of thousands of yellow scarf thieves, many of whom are young and strong, and they are not qualified to be incorporated into the Jizhou Army. They are afraid of causing trouble if they stay in Tuntian Village. In the newly established inn, it can be regarded as making the best use of people's talents and resources."

Hearing what Han Zhan said, Xun Yu felt that there was some truth to it. Last time, some yellow scarf thieves outside Guantao City couldn't bear to live in the farm village, so they gathered together to rebel, and Han Zhan personally led his troops to wipe out them.Let them work as postmen and have a monthly income of money and food, which is still helpful to stabilize people's hearts.

Through the persuasion of Zhang Ning, Zuo Miao, Zhang Ba and others, Zhao Yun recruited more than 20 troops from Qingniujiao and Huanglong, wiped out the remnants of Liu Shiping and Han, and sent eight messengers back to Yedu to return to the city.At that time, Zhao Yun and Xun You had a quarrel when confirming the number of winners.

Xun You said that according to the usual practice, it is enough to send up to three messengers, but it was Zhao Yun who insisted on using eight.When Xun You asked the reason, Zhao Yun said eloquently, "Military commander, don't forget that the eight messengers happened to be able to represent us in Qingzhou, and wiped out Zuo Miao, Zhang Ba, Liu Shi, Ping Han and other Bafang Qu commanders."

Xun You really couldn't refute Zhao Yun's extremely far-fetched statement.He thought that the opposition to the Eastern Expedition in the imperial court was not small, and if he didn't get some results back as soon as possible, Han Zhan would be under a lot of pressure in the court, so he agreed with Zhao Yun's arrangement.

The postmen at the post stations along the way, except for the post officials, were almost all surrendered Yellow Turban soldiers.When they saw the messenger who came back from Qingzhou, they took advantage of the change of horses to ask questions.The messengers who reported the news, seeing that the postmen were so flattering to themselves, couldn't help bragging a few words, especially the deeds of Tai Shici's 2000 people defeating Zuo Miaozhang's 500 people, and Xun You's military marquis leading 5000 people to defeat [-] people. Brag several times over and over again.

The postmen half believed what the messenger said.But when one courier says so, when two couriers say so, when all the couriers say so, the postmen have to believe it is true.I even wondered in my heart, if I was still in the Yellow Turban Army, would I be able to block the attack of Jizhou soldiers and horses.

The messengers traveled on the road for three days and finally arrived outside the city of Yedu.The eight messengers found a shady place to stop, ate and drank water, and waited until their physical strength and horsepower had almost recovered before remounting and galloping towards the north gate.A Dubo was guarding the north gate. He saw a group of cavalry approaching in the distance, and he didn't know what happened, so he quickly ordered the soldiers guarding the gate to be alert.

The courier leading the team saw the defenders near the city gate on guard, fearing that there would be a bigger misunderstanding, so he shouted at the top of his voice, "Great victory in Qingzhou, wipe out 40 Yellow Turbans!"

Hearing this shout, Du Bo was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that these cavalry came from the Eastern Expedition. He quickly ordered the soldiers blocking the door to make way, and drove the people entering and leaving the city aside first, so that the cavalry who reported the news could pass.

Eight messengers rode their horses and galloped, shouting loudly as they ran: "Great victory in Qingzhou, wipe out 40 Yellow Turbans!"

After the people standing on the side of the road heard the messenger's shout clearly, they couldn't help being stunned, and began to discuss: "It's been less than a month since the imperial court dispatched troops to Qingzhou, how could they have wiped out 40 people, isn't it fraudulent?"

"No for 40, maybe 10,000+." Someone said in an uncertain tone after listening.

"Couldn't it be killing the good and taking the merits?" Another bolder person said: "Dong Bandit used to do this when he was in the capital." However, before he finished speaking, he was covered by his companions Mouth: "Speak carefully, speak carefully, be careful not to incur the disaster of killing yourself."

The messengers came to the State Shepherd's Mansion, but Han Zhan went to court.Guo Jia, who stayed here, saw that he came from Qingzhou to report victory. After reading Zhao Yun's victory report, he called all the messengers in and asked in detail about the whole process of clearing the Yellow Turbans.After knowing all the truth and rewarding the messengers, he ordered people to take them to rest, and he went to the palace with the report book to announce the good news to Han Zhan.

The general guarding the palace gate knew Guo Jia, and when he saw him coming in a hurry, he guessed that there must be something urgent, so he quickly said to him: "Mr. Guo, please wait here for a while, and the last general will report to him."

Guo Jia nodded after hearing this, and said to the General of the Forbidden Army: "Thank you, General!"

Above the court hall, Yushi Zhongcheng Zhongyou and Shangshulang Han Bin are attacking Han Zhan.Zhong Yao first asked: "Jizhou Mu, I want to ask you, your soldiers and horses have been on the expedition for nearly a month, but is there any battle report?"

Han Zhan shook his head and replied honestly, "No!"

Hearing Han Zhan's answer, Han Bin immediately went on to ask: "Have Jizhou Mu ever thought that Qingzhou has a poor harvest this year, and you dispatched [-] troops and the same number of civilians to enter Qingzhou, and how much it will bring to the people of Qingzhou?" burden?"

Chapter 406 Development of Gunpowder

After hearing Zhu Jun's suggestion, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty did not speak immediately, but stared at Han Zhan in a daze, thinking that Zhao Yun had been granted the title of Marquis of Guannei, so what should Zhao Yun's lord be renamed?

Fortunately, Taiwei Yang Biao discovered the embarrassment of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, and quickly came out to smooth things over: "My lord, Zhao Zilong has made great achievements in Qingzhou, and of course he should be named Marquis. But the reason why he can make such great achievements is because of his cooperation with Jizhou. It is related to Mu. The minister thinks that Jizhou Mu should be granted the title of Hussar General, Marquis of Jin Anyang, and the city of Anyang."

Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, who was in a dilemma, couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard Yang Biao's words, and quickly followed his meaning and said: "Decree, Jizhou Mu and Zhangshuiting Marquis Han Zhan have made great contributions to the court. From now on, he will be named Hussar General." , the Jin Dynasty was the Marquis of Anyang, and the city of Anyang was enfeoffed. Zhao Yun was awarded the Marquis of Guannei for his meritorious service in breaking the Yellow Turban Bandits."

When Han Zhan heard that he was promoted inexplicably, he was also promoted to the title of title. He quickly knelt down and thanked Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Long En!"

Standing aside, Xun Yu and Guo Jia were overjoyed when they heard that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty formally appointed Han Zhan as Hussar General and was promoted to Marquis of Anyang.Han Zhan's promotion to the rank and title is a great thing for them. In this way, their status can also rise.After returning to Zhoumu Mansion, Jizhou Wu, who stayed in Yedu City, learned that Han Zhan was named General Hussars and promoted to Marquis of Anyang, so they came to thank him one after another.

When Han Zhan was receiving congratulations from all the warriors in the mansion, Luo Bu came in from the outside and reported to him: "My lord, Zhang Shiping and Su Yi are here to see you."

Han Zhan thought that he had sent two people to buy horses outside the Great Wall some time ago, and if they appeared now, they must have completed their mission and returned, so he quickly told Rob: "Please invite the two of them inside."

A moment later, Zhang Shiping and Su Yi followed Rob into the meeting hall.In front of many Jizhou Wu, the two reported to Han Zhan with joy on their faces: "Qi Tinghou, the young one was selling horses outside the Great Wall. When he returned, he found a strange stone on a mountain. It must be Tinghou. The so-called saltpeter."

"What, you found saltpeter?" The purpose of Han Zhan asking Zhang Shiping to help him find saltpeter was to prepare himself to develop gunpowder, which could be used in future wars.Now that Zhang Shiping had found the saltpeter, he couldn't help being surprised for a while, and asked quickly, "Where is the saltpeter?"

Zhang Shiping took out a small cloth bag from his sleeve, and unwrapped it layer by layer. Han Zhan saw a white crystal in the middle of the cloth, and his pupils shrank violently. Could this be the legendary saltpeter?However, Han Zhan didn't know how to distinguish saltpeter, so Han Zhan handed over the work of finding such stones and distinguishing them to the people below.So he saw the stone Zhang Shiping held in his hand, and asked tentatively, "Is this saltpeter?"

"That's right." Zhang Shiping nodded, and said in an affirmative tone, "I asked the locals about it, and they called it fire nitrate, so it should be what Tinghou is looking for."

"How much did you bring back?" Looking at the saltpeter, which was not much bigger than a fist, Han Zhan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He then asked, "Are all stones this big?"

"If you go back to Tinghou," Zhang Shiping and Su Yi looked at each other and replied with a smile: "The saltpeter I brought back this time is about two hundred catties. If the lord has used up all the saltpeter, I will just go get it later." .”

"Gong Yu," Han Zhan thanked Zhang Shiping, his eyes swept over the subordinates present one by one, and then stayed on Ju Shou: "You take this piece of saltpeter first."

Jushou stepped forward to take the saltpeter from Han Zhan's hand, and asked puzzledly, "Please tell me the use of this stone."

Before explaining the use of saltpeter, Han Zhan first asked: "Gongyu, do you know gunpowder?"

"Gunpowder?" Hearing what Han Zhan said, Ju Shou showed a confused expression on his face. He shook his head and replied, "I don't know. Dare I ask my lord, what is this gunpowder?"

Han Zhan didn't answer, but looked around and asked, "Everyone, does any of you know what gunpowder is?"

Han Zhan's words caught everyone's attention. Even the knowledgeable Guo Jia frowned and thought about it for a while before tentatively saying, "My lord, could it be an alchemy thing?"

"Gunpowder was indeed discovered by alchemists first." Han Zhan thought to himself. Although alchemists discovered gunpowder as early as the Qin Dynasty, there was no clear record. It was not until Tang Dynasty that Sun Simiao discovered it and officially named it Gunpowder.It can be said that gunpowder originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and came from alchemy by Sun Simiao.Thinking that people in this dynasty didn't know anything about gunpowder, so he introduced it in a simple way: "This is a kind of combustion-supporting thing, which can make the fire burn bigger."

After Guo Jia heard Han Zhan's narration, he nodded half-understanding, and said, "My lord, Jia somewhat understands. For example, if we go to burn the enemy's food and grass, if we use this kind of gunpowder, we can use it The fire got stronger."

For Guo Jia's explanation, Han Zhan didn't know whether he was right or wrong.But after a moment of silence, he decisively chose to support Guo Jia: "It is reasonable to follow Xiao Xiao's words, and using gunpowder to burn the enemy's food and grass can indeed achieve twice the result with half the effort. But"

Seeing that Han Fu agreed with his statement, Guo Jia was complacent when he suddenly heard Han Zhan say "but", his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked, "but what?"

"The role of gunpowder is far more than this kind of use." Han Zhan said cautiously: "This thing is made of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. If it is synthesized properly, it can play a role in destroying the dead when sacking cities and plundering land. "

"My lord," Ju Shou hurriedly asked without waiting for Han Zhan to finish, "What is the ratio of more than sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal?"