Chapter 70: I found another famous general when I went out [Edit]

In the south of Anyi County, Wang Jing personally brought people to wait, but he met a strange man on the way.

This man was just a young man, about the same age as himself, in his early twenties. The clothes he wore were not shabby and it was obvious that he came from a good family.

But at the age when he was most full of vigor and vitality, he had a face full of grief, dragging a coffin all the way from the pier to the shore alone.

Wang Jing saw this and led his men forward. However, before he could speak, the other party saluted him and said, "Greetings, General Beizhong."

"Oh. You recognize me?"

"My teacher Le Yin was the chief officer of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, so I had the honor of meeting the General of the North."

Wang Jing obviously had no impression of Le Yin, but since they were acquaintances, he should at least greet them to be polite: "Master, are you all right?"

"The one lying in the coffin is none other than my mentor."

"..."

Wang Jing blinked. He understood very well that Le Yin had followed the wrong boss. He himself was implicated in the previous coup and died in battle under the Suzaku Palace together with He Miao.

He Miao was even more miserable than Le Yin. At least someone collected Le Yin's body, but Dong Zhuo ordered He Miao's grave to be dug up, his body dismembered and thrown on the roadside, giving him a "double nothing" meal of neither a complete body nor a burial place.

"Please have your condolences."

Not knowing what to say, Wang Jing could only comfort her with a few words, and then asked in confusion: "Le Yin only has you as a student?"

"Master, you have many disciples. But in order to avoid the eyes and ears of the bandit Dong, you had to take a detour to Hedong. As a result, you encountered bandits on the way, and Shi Lu and other disciples all fled for their lives..."

The more Wang Jing listened, the more he sighed: "It is true that strong winds reveal strong grass, and loyal ministers are revealed in times of national turmoil. The closer one is to life and death, the more one can see a person's character. There are very few people in the world who are as righteous and heroic as you. Would you like to join me and seek a position?"

Wang Jing naturally felt a sense of admiration for such a loyal and righteous person.

Regardless of his abilities, his character and attitude alone make him worthy of being reused.

"Thank you for your kindness, General Beizhong, but my teacher's body has not yet been sent back to his hometown for burial. I have no intention of pursuing fame and fortune for the time being. I hope General Beizhong will forgive me."

Wang Jing admired this man even more and laughed, saying, "How difficult is that? I will personally send someone to accompany you to escort our teacher back to his hometown and give him a grand funeral to show your filial piety. After the funeral, you can come find me. The Northern Army is in need of loyal men like you."

Then Wang Jing remembered that he didn't even know the other person's name: "May I know your name?"

"I am from the Qian family of Anping, and my given name is Zhao."

"Are you Qian Zhao?"

Wang Jing looked surprised, as if he had found a treasure.

Although Qian Zhao's reputation is far inferior to that of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, he is also one of the important officials of the Cao Wei regime.

In the third year of Chuping reign of Emperor Xian of Han, when Yuan Shao had just captured Jizhou, Qian Zhao was appointed by him as an official. Yuan Shao had great trust in Qian Zhao, and even when his close ministers broke the law and were executed by Qian Zhao first and reported to Yuan Shao later, Yuan Shao did not blame them, but continued to entrust them with important tasks.

After Yuan Shao passed away, Qian Zhao followed Yuan Shang to compete with Cao Cao.

It was not until the ninth year of Jian'an in the reign of Emperor Xian that Qian Zhao was framed by high-ranking officials and had to leave Yuan Shang and join Cao Cao, from then on becoming a member of the Cao Wei group.

During the decades of serving Cao Wei, Qian Zhao fought in many battles and made many military achievements. He served as a military adviser, Wuhuan colonel, Central Guard General, Right General of the Central Army, and Yanmen Prefect. He was an all-round general in the Cao Wei camp, like Tian Yu, who was both civil and military. He always stayed in the northern border and pacified the territory.

Moreover, Qian Zhao and Liu Bei were sworn brothers and had a very close relationship. This connection alone was incredible.

After learning about Qian Zhao's identity, Wang Jing's attitude became even more enthusiastic, and he addressed him by his courtesy name affectionately: "Zijing, are you willing to take on the position of doctor?"

Langzhong was an official under the General of the North. Since he was a Langguan directly under the imperial court, his status was not low.

With such sincerity, Qian Zhao naturally did not refuse, and bowed his head and said, "Zhao, I pay my respects to my lord."

"Haha, Zijing, no need to be polite. We are family from now on."

Wang Jing cheerfully took Qian Zhao aside to chat for a few more words, and finally specially arranged for ten soldiers to personally escort Qian Zhao and Le Yin's coffins back to their hometown in Anping State, Jizhou for burial.

Qian Zhao was filled with gratitude and tearfully said that he would come back to report after Le Yin was buried.

Just as Wang Jing was seeing Qian Zhao off, a merchant ship from Luoyang also successfully docked at the port.

The person in charge of personally escorting the goods was naturally Wang Jing’s butler Lu Fang: “Master!”

Wang Jing asked, "Have all the things been delivered?"

Lu Fang quickly replied: "They are all on board and can be unloaded at any time."

"Well, well, you've done a great job this time!"

When Lu Fang transported dozens of carts of winter clothes to the military camp, Xu Huang, who came to receive them, was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the winter clothes in the carts and asked, "What are these?"

The gray-white winter coat in Xu Huang's hand was naturally made of wool. It was not only strong and durable, but also had first-class warmth retention performance. He could feel it as soon as he picked it up.

Before this, Xu Huang could not imagine that there was such a good thing in the world that could keep out the cold. At that time, because cotton had not yet been introduced to the Central Plains, the people of the imperial dynasty had extremely limited means of keeping out the cold. This was one of the important reasons why the population in bitter and cold places was always difficult to grow.

When winter comes, it can really freeze people to death.

Facing Xu Huang, Lu Fang introduced it as if showing off: "This thing is called wool material, woven with wool. It was invented by the lord himself, and he ordered the weavers in Luoyang to produce it in large quantities."

When in Luoyang, Wang Jing did not just focus on training troops, he also did not neglect production and construction work.

In addition to the distilled liquors sold as luxury goods in Zuiyue Tower, Wang Jing also used Moshi's knowledge of mechanical engineering to build a wool textile production line, recruiting a large number of refugees to serve as weavers and mass-producing winter clothes to keep warm.

For this purpose, he squandered a lot of the inheritance left by Emperor Ling, but it was worth the price. At least Mo Shi was very satisfied with Wang Jing.

Just because Wang Jing contributed money and effort to help spread Mohism, although the part spread so far is only the art of mechanical engineering, Mo Shi is already very satisfied with it.

Since the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Mohism has been silent for four hundred years, and even its mechanical techniques have been denounced by Confucianism as "strange and lewd skills."

If it doesn't revive, I'm afraid it will completely disappear.

Therefore, seeing that Wang Jing was so interested in mechanical engineering, Mo Shi also worked very hard. Otherwise, the textile machine capable of weaving wool would not have been developed so quickly.

Now that the Northern Army had warm clothing, Xu Huang was overjoyed and flattered Wang Jing: "My lord is truly a god!"

With this batch of winter clothes, he suddenly became full of confidence in winter combat, and his original worries were mostly eliminated.

Then Lu Fang took out some wool gloves and wool socks and said, "My lord specifically told me that these two items should be distributed together with the winter clothes."

Gloves protect the soldiers' hands, while socks protect their feet, which are the two places most susceptible to frostbite.

After Xu Huang received it, he tried it on without saying a word and found it to be very practical. He could not help but exclaim again: "My lord, you are thoughtful. With this winter clothing, even if we fight in the snow, our army can maintain a considerable level of combat effectiveness, which is enough to widen the gap with the rebels."

Soon, the winter clothes were distributed by Xu Huang and his men, and the soldiers who received the woolen coats, socks and gloves cheered in the camp. For a while, the camp was bustling and lively.

"The heads of each garrison should go to the quartermaster to receive winter clothes. Each person should receive a woolen coat, a pair of gloves, and three pairs of socks!"

The messenger went around the camp and announced loudly, and the soldiers below were all wondering: "Are there any winter clothes left?"

"That's great. This damn place called Hedong is covered in ice and snow in winter. It's really freezing to death!"

A hundred people in a camp, led by the camp leader, lined up to go to the warehouse to collect supplies to keep warm. The soldiers went from suspicion to surprise, and finally they were all overjoyed.

They had never worn anything so warm!
The soldiers who received the woolen coats were all delighted, as if it was Chinese New Year: "This is our winter coat? The general is really our second parent!"

"With these winter clothes, I don't have to be afraid of the coldest weather."

The gray-white coat made of imported materials may not be as festive in color as the red uniforms of the Han army, but it is well-made. Just by looking at its appearance, you can tell that it is definitely of high quality. Under normal circumstances, how could these worthless soldiers get the chance to play?

Once you put on the wool coat, its warmth-retaining properties become immediately apparent, as if it could keep out the howling cold wind.

The soldiers who originally had complaints about winter warfare were now grateful to Wang Jing and expressed their willingness to serve him. After Xu Huang secretly observed for a while, he found Wang Jing and reported: "My lord, the army is ready!"

"Then continue to advance and wipe out Han Xian's troops first!"

"As ordered!"

Xu Huang led 800 surrendered soldiers of the Baibo Army as the vanguard and advanced into Jie County.

These surrendered soldiers of the Baibo Army were previously under the command of Yang Feng. Now that they have surrendered to Wang Jing, they have witnessed the generous treatment of the Northern Army, so they are all jealous and itchy.

Especially after hearing that their winter clothes were only issued once a year and that old clothes were not compulsorily recycled and could be disposed of at their own discretion, these surrendered soldiers from Hedong seemed to be fully energized and vied with each other to express their willingness to work for Wang Jing.

Now that chaos is approaching, there are refugees everywhere in all the states and counties in the country, and human life is so cheap.

For many people, just having enough food and clothing is already a luxury that they desire but cannot reach. Therefore, if Wang Jing treats them a little better, they will be willing to serve him.

Now that the army's morale is high, Wang Jing naturally plans to strike while the iron is hot and resolve the chaos in Hedong County as soon as possible.

Xu Huang and the 1,000 surrendered soldiers were all natives of Hedong, so they were not only familiar with the terrain, but also had the advantage of connections. They quickly found out about Han Xian's situation.

Han Xian led 8,000 soldiers and was currently besieging Jie County because the surrounding villages and towns had been looted by the rebels and there was nothing left to rob.

That's why Han Xian set his sights on Jie County, which was closest to him. However, Jie County was protected by city walls and formations, and it was not something that a ragtag force like the Baibo Army could easily take over.

Han Xian had been attacking for a long time but failed. Now it was early winter and the weather was cold, which was not conducive to fighting, so he had to change the siege to encirclement.

The defenders of Jie County had only 700 militiamen, who could barely hold the city, let alone fight outside the city. As a result, the situation between the two sides was at a stalemate.

In the Baibo Army camp, Han Xian was sleeping soundly with the two rich daughters he had robbed.

His subordinates came to report: "General Qu, someone outside the camp wants to see you!"

Han Xian stood up impatiently: "Who is it? Don't you know I'm sleeping?"

It was already noon when Han Xian yawned and walked out of the tent. He met Xu Huang and the 1,000 surrendered soldiers he led outside the camp.

Han Xian recognized Xu Huang and asked, "It's you? What is Yang Feng trying to do?"

He did not know that Yang Feng's troops had been destroyed, and he did not know that Xu Huang had defected to Wang Jing, so he did not doubt Xu Huang's intentions.

Xu Huang took the opportunity to approach within five steps of Han Xian, and then he shouted in a deep voice, "Yang the thief has surrendered. I came here today to persuade you to submit to the court."

Han Xian's face turned pale when he heard this. He drew his sword and shouted angrily at Xu Huang, "I didn't expect that a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes like you would actually become a traitor! Someone, capture him for me!"

"The royal army has arrived, and you are still so stubborn and unyielding. You are really courting death."

After saying that, Xu Huang rushed to Han Xian in one step, although he was unarmed while Han Xian had a knife in his hand.

But the gap in martial arts strength between the two sides is too big. Xu Huang was born with supernatural powers, and he has entered the fourth realm of martial arts and learned his own skills. Even though he is young, he is no match for Han Xian.

Therefore, within five steps, Han Xian's weapon was taken away by Xu Huang and he was captured.

Han Xian's personal soldiers arrived a step too late, and could only surround Xu Huang, threatening him: "Let go of you, General, or I will kill you with my swords!"

Xu Huang held his sword horizontally in his hand, pressing it against Han Xian's throat: "Everyone retreat, or he will die now!"

Han Xian was so frightened that cold sweats broke out as he saw his life and property in the hands of someone else. He quickly shouted, "Everyone get out of my way!"

Then he said to Xu Huang: "Gongming, you and I have known each other for a long time, why do you have to do it so drastically? Why don't you put down the knife first? If you have anything to say, we can talk slowly."

Xu Huang obviously would not be fooled, but sneered at Han Xian and said, "Put down the knife, will you still talk to me?"

Upon learning that their commander was being held hostage, Han Xian's men kept swarming in. They all wanted to rescue Han Xian, and thousands of them surrounded Xu Huang, making it impossible for him to get out.

However, just when they were being held back by Xu Huang alone, loud shouts of killing were heard outside the camp.

"Kill!"

"Who are you? Ah!"

"Enemy attack!"

The Han Xian army was caught off guard and was attacked in the camp by a thousand surrendered soldiers led by Xu Huang.

It was freezing cold, and they were sure that the defenders of Jie County would not dare to leave the city, so they did not arrange many guards.

However, they did not expect to be caught off guard. The thousand surrendered soldiers were wearing cold iron armor lined with woolen coats, and the weapons in their hands were made by skilled craftsmen. How could the Baibo rebels resist?

Suddenly the whole camp was in chaos, and the sounds of shouting and killing reached the sky and drifted far away in the snow.

The thousand surrendered soldiers fought bravely, but the Baibo rebels were so cold that their hands and feet turned red and they were shivering all over. They had no fighting spirit at all.

The weather is freezing cold. Not only does people's breath turn into frost, but even the Yellow River is almost frozen. Who would be willing to fight a war in such temperatures?
Therefore, the Baibo Army camp was quickly breached, and Han Xian and his men were all taken prisoner.

When Zhang Liao led the soldiers of the Hu Cavalry Camp to support them, he learned from Wang Jing the explosive news that Han Xian's troops had been completely defeated. He was shocked and exclaimed: "Gongming destroyed Bai Bo's 7,000 troops with only 1,000 surrendered soldiers. He is really brave and resourceful, and he is a great general."

Xu Huang also had a good impression of Zhang Liao, a young and brave general from Bingzhou. The two were of similar age and had similar interests, so they got along very well.

Xu Huang said modestly with a simple and honest look: "If it weren't for the advantage of weapons and armor, I wouldn't dare to take such a risk. It's all thanks to the master's strategic planning."

Zhang Liao couldn't help but tease: "The lord is not here, he can't hear you flattering him like this."

Afterwards, Zhang Liao led his troops into the main camp and sent out cavalry to sweep the villages around Jie County, further pursuing and eliminating the remnants of Han Xian's army to prevent them from turning into bandits, causing trouble in the countryside, and causing trouble for the Northern Army.

On the second day, Wang Jing led the main force to Jie County.

The flags of the Northern Army flew over the city, and the morale was soaring into the sky. At the same time, the news of the defeat of Yang Feng and Han Xian spread quickly, shocking the whole county. Many counties were eagerly waiting for the Northern Army, hoping that Wang Jing could quickly lead his men to quell the rebellion. For this reason, the local people were even ready to "bring food and drink to welcome the king's army."

"Gongming, you did a good job this time."

Wang Jing was generous in his praise for Xu Huang and praised him repeatedly.

Being able to defeat the enemy with a surprise attack using only one thousand surrendered soldiers, and wiping out Han Xian's rebel forces with almost no casualties, and even capturing the enemy leader, this was a great achievement in any case, and was enough to prove how brave and resourceful Xu Huang was.

Han Xian was brought before Wang Jing. He had average strength and a bad character, so he naturally did not receive the same preferential treatment as Xu Huang. He was tied up and forced to kneel in front of Wang Jing.

Wang Jing held the horse whip in his hand, his eyes indifferent: "Why did you rebel?"

Han Xian, who was full of resentment, defended himself with an angry expression: "If the people in Hedong were not living in poverty, how could we start a rebellion in the name of Baibo?"

The leaders of the Baibo Army were basically all remnants of the Yellow Turban Army. Although their main force had been wiped out by He Jin, they were like a centipede that was dead but still alive. If there was even a little spark, they would come back to life.

Han Xian was right. If the people were not living in poverty, why would they rise up in rebellion?

But Wang Jing disagreed with the Yellow Turban Army's ideology, and he even disagreed with the actions of Han Xian and others: "You keep saying that the heaven is unfair, but who died under your swords, the rich and powerful, or the common people? Have you not committed enough evil deeds of burning, killing and looting? In my opinion, the noble families are guilty, but you, the rebels who have stirred up local unrest, deserve to die!"

"Someone, take him out for public trial! Even if he has killed someone, I will punish him according to the law!"

"Yes!"

"No, I would like to submit a petition for surrender. Killing prisoners is unlucky. General Beizhong, please don't mess around!"

Han Xian originally thought that Wang Jing wanted to persuade him to surrender, so he was ready to submit. But now Wang Jing wanted to kill him, and Han Xian immediately panicked.

　I would like to recommend "Winner Takes All, Resurrection 2009" again. Half of it is the author's autobiography, and the other half is too pornographic to upload.

(End of this chapter)