In fact, the contradiction between Cai Ji and Cao Cao is far more than just gunpowder. And at the same time that Cao Cao achieved a great victory in Xinye, Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun, who had been slightly rectified in the Yin Pavilion, had already led 6,000 soldiers and horses all the way south to Taiyuan, an important town in Bingzhou. Because the news of the Qi army's previous "artifact" Keping City had already spread all over Heshuo, and Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun were also famous in Youhe and the two states, the Qi army passed through the walled cities along the way all heard the wind and fell, and in a few days they had entered Taiyuan County to govern Jinyang City.

It is said that Jinyang City was originally built by Dong Anyu, a retainer of Zhao Jianzi, the secretary of the Jin State in the late Spring and Autumn Period, on the north bank of Jinshui at the northern end of the Taiyuan Basin, on the east side of the Hanging Urn Mountain. After the three families were divided, Zhao Guoding was the capital of Jinyang, and it prospered for a while. When Qin destroyed the Six Kingdoms and unified the Central Plains, Jinyang was replaced as Taiyuan County, and has continued to this day as the seat of annexation of the state. Therefore, Jinyang City is not only large in scale and large in population, but also has a pivotal position in politics and military.

However, just as Zhang Liao was full of ambition to take over Jinyang City from the remnants of the high-ranking cadres, the scout who went to explore the way brought back a piece of news that made his expression change - "General Yu, the banner of Cao has been erected at the head of Jinyang City!" ”

"Can you see clearly?" Peer Tian Yi didn't wait for Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun to speak, and he couldn't wait to ask.

"The little one has seen it with his own eyes, and he will never dare to deceive the general." The scout swore an oath.

Tian Yi listened to what the scout said, and couldn't help but turn around and muttered to Zhang Liao and the others with a little luck, "Xu is a fox and a fake tiger in the remnants of a high-ranking cadre." ”

Zhang Liao kicked the horse's belly with a pale face and said, "Let's talk about it after watching it." ”

With Zhang Liao's order, the six thousand Qi troops after the half-pillar incense set up a formation under Jinyang City. As the scout said, at this time, dozens of banners with the character "Cao" were waved in the wind at the head of Jinyang City, but the defenders in the city were a little panicked when they saw the Qi army suddenly approaching the city. After looking around, the general led by the colonel simply ran down the castle tower.

Seeing this situation, Tian Yi immediately rushed to the city gate, raised the spear in his hand and pointed directly at the defenders at the head of the city. shouted loudly, "We are here on the orders of the Marquis of Qi, quickly open the city and surrender, Rao Er will not die!" ”

However, just as Tian Yi was showing off his might, he suddenly heard someone in the city say loudly in a hoarse voice, "I didn't know that the friendly army was coming, and I didn't welcome it from afar, so I was disrespectful and disrespectful." ”

Tian Yi raised his head when he heard the sound, and saw an old man in a green robe walking up to the city like a leisurely stroll surrounded by a group of generals. However, Tian Yi is not interested in calling each other "friendly army" with the other party. But when he shook his spear, he raised his head and asked, "Who is coming?" ”

However, the old man in the green robe ignored Tian Yi's provocation, but said aloud calmly, "General Zhang Wenyuan is here?" Please step forward. ”

Zhang Liaoce immediately stepped forward and clasped his fists at the old man in the green robe. "Yu is Zhang Liao. I don't know what to call it? ”

The old man in the green robe looked Zhang Liao up and down, and then politely returned the salute. "The old man is the captain of the school, Zhong Xuan. The general of Jinyang has returned to the imperial court, and from now on, he will ask General Zhang to take care of it. ”

Zhong Xuan's words are reasonable and well-founded, making people indisputable. But Zhang Liao and the others were aggrieved, it must be known that they had been fighting for several months in order to recruit and suppress high-ranking cadres, and then they rushed to Jinyang non-stop, but they never thought that they would be snatched by Cao Cao's men and horses to pick peaches.

Do you want to give up Jinyang to Cao Jun? Just when Zhang Liao, who was unwilling, clenched the lance in his hand. Suddenly, someone behind him tapped him on the shoulder. Zhang Liao looked back and saw that Zhao Yun had already stepped forward behind him at some point, shook his head at him and whispered, "This matter still needs to be decided by the Lord." ”

Zhang Liao was persuaded by Zhao Yun. Immediately regained his composure. Although he didn't take the in-law alliance between Cao Cai and Cai to heart, whether to destroy the alliance or not was ultimately decided by the Lord Cai Ji himself. What's more, 6,000 men and horses alone can't take a big city like Jinyang. After all, he still blamed himself for resting in the Yin Pavilion for two days, so that Cao Junbing Guishen quickly took Jinyang City first.

In fact, where did Zhang Liao know that the reason why Zhong Miao was able to stand at the head of Jinyang City at this moment was not because of the speed of Cao Jun's soldiers, but because of Jia Kuifu, who joined the army. It turned out that half a year ago, Zhong Xuan's army member Jia Kui came to Jinyang to do business, which coincided with the Jinyang guard Zhang Yan secretly contacting Gao Gan to plot a rebellion. Jia Kui, who discovered this conspiracy, wanted to return immediately, but before he could leave, Zhang Yan had already raised troops to respond to Gao Gan. So Jia Kui was in a hurry, pretending to be willing to rebel with Zhang Yan, and took great pains to make plans for Zhang Yan, thus gaining Zhang Yan's trust. According to Jia Kui's original plan, he wanted to escape from the city in the name of building a city wall. Just before he could make an excuse, the Qi army had already taken Pingcheng with the legendary "landslide and ground cracking" technique, and soon after, even Gao Gan and Wei Gu were killed by the Qi army under the Yin Pavilion City.

In the face of such a sudden mutation, Zhang Yan, who was already a martial artist, didn't know what to do for a while. And Jia Kui took the opportunity to show affection to Zhang Yanxiao, moved him to reason, and persuaded him to surrender to Zhong Xuan. Zhang Yan, who was at a loss, finally agreed to join Cao Jun under Jia Kui's clever persuasion. So there is this scene.

However, no matter whether Zhong Miao was clever or robbed, Jinyang City has now fallen into Cao Cao's pocket. Zhang Liao had no choice but to temporarily withdraw his troops, and make a decision after the situation was revealed to the lord Cai Ji.

Zhong Miao stood at the head of the city and watched the Qi army under the city gradually retreat, although his face was silent, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. It must be known that the reason why Zhong Xuan led the troops to occupy Jinyang City this time was because there was Jia Kui in the city as an internal response, and secondly, he also wanted to test the attitude of the Qi army. After all, Cai Anzhen has now killed Gao Gan, but Cao Gong has not yet pacified Jingzhou. If it turns out that Cai Anzhen really has different intentions this time, Zhong Xuan would have prepared to deal with the invading Qi army as soon as possible. Fortunately, Zhang Liao seemed to be unwilling, but in the end he retreated. It can be seen that at least for now, Cai Anzhen also recognizes Cao Cai's alliance.

However, Cai Ji's obedience to the agreement alone is not enough to ensure the safety of Cao Cao's northern border, and there must be corresponding checks and balances. Thinking about this, Zhong Xuan immediately turned around and instructed Fu Gan, the chief bookkeeper behind him, "Yancai, you will leave immediately to visit the Southern Xiongnu Shan Yu Huchuquan in Nanting." ”

When Fu Gan heard this, he immediately clenched his fists in understanding and said, "Oh." ”

The Southern Xiongnu is undoubtedly a "land snake" that can not be ignored by any force that has taken charge of the state. In the twenty-fourth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (48 AD), the once prominent Xiongnu was divided into two parts of the north and the south, and the southern Xiongnu people established the day to chase the king to Hu Han Evil Shan Yu, and built the court Wuyuan Sai (now Baotou, Inner Mongolia), attached to the Eastern Han Dynasty as a minister, and was placed in the Hetao area by Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty. Next year. The court was moved to Meiji County (now northwest of the Jungger Banner in Inner Mongolia), that is, "Nanting". The Han court placed the Xiongnu Zhonglang general to lead troops to protect his safety. In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Southern Xiongnu began to move and annex states on a large scale, and their sphere of influence extended from Shuofang and Wuyuan counties to Fenyang County, Taiyuan County, as if occupying most of the state. Now the power of the Southern Xiongnu has increased to more than 29,000 "falls". The grassland ethnic group is 5~15 people, even if the number of them is counted as 10 people, the population of the Southern Xiongnu is close to 300,000, which is comparable to the local Han population in Bingzhou.

In Zhong Xuan's view, if the Southern Xiongnu could be drawn into the camp of the Cao army, it could effectively contain the development of the Qi army in Bingzhou and buy time for Cao Cao to pacify Jingzhou. It is said that the Southern Xiongnu sent troops to invade Guanzhong together with Yuan Shang's general Guo Yuan. As a result, he was attacked back and forth by Zhong Xuan and Ma Teng. Guo Yuan beheaded Pang De for Ma Chao's department, and Hu Chuquan declared himself a vassal to the Han court from then on. Therefore, Zhong Xuan believed that with the aftermath of the Battle of Guanzhong in the past, he should be able to coerce and lure the Southern Xiongnu into submission.

In fact, it was not only Zhong Xuan's idea to fight the Southern Xiongnu, but Cai Ji, who was far away in Pingcheng at the moment, was also closely following the movements of the Southern Xiongnu. Especially after Budu Genliu entered Wuyuan County controlled by the Southern Xiongnu, Cai Ji even recruited his subordinates into the mansion to discuss countermeasures.

In the conference hall, Cai Ji looked around at the civil and military forces present, and got straight to the point. "According to the spies. The thief chieftain Budugen has entered the Five Plains, I don't know what the princes have planned? ”

"I am willing to raise troops to pursue. If you don't take the step degree, you will not pay it back! Without saying a word, Koji Yan asked Cai Ji for battle. In his opinion, this kind of thing is not negotiable at all. Just summon the soldiers and horses to chase them all the way.

However, Pang Tong on the side shook his head and said, "The Southern Xiongnu and the Xianbei people collude from time to time, and it may be inappropriate to rashly send troops deep into the Five Plains. ”

Pang Tongxi's speech won the unanimous approval of Tian Yu and others present. Due to the complex composition of the Southern Xiongnu tribes, it was difficult to control and control the Zhanì, so even if the Southern Xiongnu only submitted to the Han court, some local Xiongnu tribes would still often enter the Eastern Han Dynasty to kill officials. He even joined forces with the Xianbei people many times to attack and plunder in the interior. Although the Southern Xiongnu did not respond to Gao Gan's rebellion against Cao this time, it does not mean that Hu Chuquan did not collude with the Xianbei people. When the Southern Xiongnu pursued Budugen with the Qi army, they shielded Budugen, and even joined forces with the Xianbei people to ambush the Qi army. That's a problem.

So Tian Yu, who was familiar with the situation in Bingzhou, pondered for a moment and said to Cai Jiti, "The Lord can first show favor to Hu Chuquan, and then invite Hu Chuquan to chase down Budugen together." ”

"Chief Hu, why do you need the Lord to show grace." Koji Yan interrupted Tian Yu's words disapplausively, "If that Hu Chuquan doesn't respect the order, even he will fight together." ”

Faced with two completely different Tiyì, Cai Ji fell silent for a while. Tian Yu's enwei and Shi Tiyì was a common means used by Han Dynasty officials to deal with nomadic tribes. The so-called "grace" is either to bestow on the other party's high-ranking officials, or to give the other party a good fortune, or simply marry their daughters to each other like Yuan Shao and Gongsun Du. Hu Chuquan is already a Southern Hun Shan Yu, so he will not look at ordinary titles. And Cai Jimo said that he didn't have a daughter, and even if he did, he wouldn't send it out to marry a different race. So the only way Cai Ji could show favor to Hu Chuquan was to give money. Therefore, in comparison, the momentum of the newborn calf who is not afraid of the tiger is more in line with Cai Ji's appetite. It's just that sometimes momentum alone can't make it.

You must know that in order to show the strength of the Qi army in front of the various tribes of Youji, Cai Ji paid a lot of price this time. In particular, Zhao Yun's troops, who attacked as bait, lost almost seventy percent of their troops, and even Zhao Yun himself almost collapsed in the Yin Pavilion. Everyone in the world said that Cai Ji played a hand this time, and took Pingcheng lightly with the technique of "landslide and ground cracking". But who knew that Cai Ji would be afraid and even regret it every time he thought about the whole process. What Cai Ji was afraid of was that if Zhang Liao didn't arrive at the Yin Pavilion in time, then Zhao Yun and thousands of soldiers and horses in the vanguard would be destroyed and killed; regrets that because of her momentary recklessness, she almost lost one of her generals. After all, if Cai Ji hadn't insisted on refusing to recruit Wuhuan people to help in the war, his strategists wouldn't have to take this risky strategy. More importantly, the battle with Gao Gan made Cai Ji realize that there is no perfect plan in this world, and even a mediocre person like Gao Gan may make some decisions that deviate from the prediction, thus destroying the overall plan.

And just when Cai Ji bowed his head and was silent, Pang Tong cleared his throat and said, "Tong thinks that the Lord can first order Chuquan to send troops to recruit Budugen." If he destroys the root of step, the Lord will give him riches. If its yang is contrary to the yin, let go of the step, the lord can also send troops to ask for the guilt! ”

Cai Ji listened to what Pang Tong said, and suddenly his eyes lit up. That's right, this plan can not only raze the raze, but also test Hu Chuquan's attitude towards the Qi army. The point is that the Qi army now needs time to rest and recuperate, and if it is weak, it will inevitably make the Huns feel that there is an opportunity. And once the rest is over, Cai Ji will be very happy to teach the Southern Xiongnu a good lesson. You must know that the Xiongnu is one of the main forces of the Wuhu Chaohua, and Liu Yuan, the son of Liu Bao, the current Zuoxian King of the Southern Xiongnu, is the founding monarch of the Han Zhao of the Wuhu and Sixteen Kingdoms. Therefore, like Xianbei, the Southern Xiongnu are also a major force that Cai Ji intends to weaken. However, thinking of the Huns' "Zuo Xian King", Cai Ji had a little more scheming in his heart, and saw her stroking her palm and saying quickly, "Good!" Act according to Shiyuan's plan. Lone not only wants to call Chuquan to chase down Budugen, but also to return Cai Zhaoji. ”

"Cai Zhaoji? But the daughter of Cai Bojiao? Jia Xu, who had not spoken, suddenly raised his head and stared at Cai Ji and asked.

"Exactly. It is reported that he has married the Xiongnu Zuoxian King. Cai Ji slowly bowed his head. Cai Zhaoji is the well-known Cai Wenji in later generations. Whether it was out of respect for this talented woman in the late Han Dynasty, or out of a tough gesture to the Southern Xiongnu, Cai Ji had a reason to come forward to welcome Cai Wenji back.

Jia Xu saw that Cai Ji confirmed Cai Zhaoji's identity, and couldn't help but sigh and said, "I never thought that the daughter of Bo Jiao would be exiled in the Xiongnu royal court. ”

However, Hu Zhao'er, the chief historian next to him, heard that Cai Zhaoji was actually the concubine of King Zuoxian of the Huns, and hurriedly said to Cai Ji, "Lord, among the princes and princes of the Huns, King Zuoxian is the highest, and the prince is often regarded as it." The Lord's move was fearful of angering the Huns. ”

"Cai's family is a lonely family, how can a lonely person sit back and watch it wander to Hudi." Cai Jiyi solemnly emphasized his position again, and then said solemnly at the civil and military forces present, "Hu people have always been afraid of power and morality. The first battle of Pingcheng made the Wuhuan tribes worship Gu as Wuhuan Shan Yu. If the Southern Xiongnu do not obey the order, Lone is not afraid of a war, so please prepare as soon as possible. (To be continued......)