Not long after the patch left the house, he entered the room with Chu Ge, who was dressed in casual clothes. Chu Ge came to Han Zhan's face, knelt down on his knees and kowtowed, and said, "See Tinghou for the little one!" ”

"The Marquis of Chu is here," Han Zhan said politely: "None of them are outsiders, there is no need to be so polite, please take a seat!" ”

Seeing Chu Ge, Han Zhan remembered that Zhao Fucheng and Cheng Lian had died in Yuan Shao's hands, so he said: "Marquis of Chu Jun, the more than 10,000 strong crossbow soldiers led by Zhao Fucheng Lian are a strong force in Jizhou in the past. Lu Yi only recruited more than 1,000 people, and defeated Gongsun Zhan's cavalry at the boundary bridge with heavy losses. ”

"Back to Tinghou," Chu Ge heard Han Zhan's question, and hurriedly stood up from the table, and replied respectfully: "Yuan Thief saw that Zhao Cheng and the two adults refused to belong to him, so he sent someone to privately win over the military marquis and Sima below. When they are almost overheaded, they will send troops and horses to encircle and suppress them.

Don't look at the number of military horses and military marquis below who have been bribed, but the soldiers below are still loyal to the two adults. In the face of the army of Yuan thieves, most of the people were on the side of the two adults. Later, the two adults were killed by Yan Liangwenchou, the general under Yuan Thief, and more than 10,000 strong crossbowmen were killed in battle, except for those who returned to Shunyi. ”

Han Zhan silently calculated in his heart that the number of people who were eliminated by Yuan Shao and absorbed by Lu Yi was only 7,000 people, which means that there were still 3,000 strong crossbowmen left. Hurriedly asked: "Marquis of Chu Jun, do you know where the remaining three thousand strong crossbowmen are?" ”

Hearing Han Zhan's question, Chu Ge smiled and replied, "Tinghou, the younger one was ordered by two adults to lead five hundred strong crossbowmen to Sheguo County to defect to Tinghou. After they were surrounded and suppressed by the Yuan thieves, a small number of them were scattered and came to join me. As for the remaining 2,000 people......"

Seeing that Chu Ge was halfway through his words, he suddenly stopped, and Han Zhan asked a little anxiously, "Where are the remaining two thousand people now, do you know?" ”

"The little one is here today for this purpose." Chu Ge said with some embarrassment: "There is a former colleague who disguised himself and sneaked into the city, came to the military camp to find me, and said that he was willing to bring someone to come over. But I was worried that Tinghou would not accept them, so let me talk about Tinghou's tone first. ”

"Former colleagues?!" Hearing this, Han Zhan stood up abruptly and asked with some surprise, "But your colleagues in the crossbow camp?" ”

"That's right, it's a colleague in the crossbow camp at the beginning." Chu Ge nodded and gave Han Zhan an affirmative answer. However, he was worried that Han Zhan would not be willing to accept such an army of unknown origin, so he said euphemistically: "If the Pavilion Marquis refuses to accept them, the little one will immediately return to the camp and send him away." ”

Thinking that Lu Yi only used a thousand strong crossbowmen to beat Gongsun Zhan's cavalry across the north all over the ground, Han Zhan never forgot to find a way to expand the scale of strong crossbowmen. I didn't expect that now there are old people from the crossbow camp, who took the initiative to come to the door, so if you want to fall asleep, someone will send a pillow, how can you easily let it go, he hurriedly ordered Chu Ge: "Chu Junhou, quickly bring this person here, Ben Hou wants to talk to him." ”

"The little one obeys." When Chu Ge heard Han Zhan say this, he understood in his heart that he was planning to take in this strong crossbowman, so he got up happily and left.

After Chu Ge left, Han Zhan walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, thinking in his mind: With Chu Ge's ability, he can completely serve as a military commander or even a captain, but considering that he plans to send his sister into the mansion to be a concubine for himself, if he is promoted, some people will gossip that he is nepotism, so he has always wronged him to serve as Qu Junhou. If he can really recruit two thousand, no, even if there are only one thousand strong crossbowmen, he will have to promote him to military commander.

He stopped and shouted outside, "Patch, patch, are you outside?" ”

"The villain is here!" With the shout, the patch entered the study and asked, "Childe, I don't know what you command?" ”

"Has my eldest brother returned from the barracks?" Since Zhao Yun did not have a mansion in Jizhou City, he either lived in the military camp or in the backyard of the Prefecture Governor's Mansion, "If he has returned, invite him here immediately." ”

"Whoa!" Knowing that Han Zhan was in a hurry to recruit Zhao Yun to come, there must be something important, so he hurriedly agreed, and after exiting the study, he trotted to find Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun originally wanted to talk to Han Zhan about something, but as soon as he walked near the study, he saw Patch running out of it, and hurriedly stopped him and asked, "Patch, where are you going in such a hurry?" ”

"General Zhao!" Seeing Zhao Yun appear here, Patch couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly said to him: "Childe has something urgent to discuss with you, please hurry up and go in." ”

Not long after Han Zhan saw the patch go out, Zhao Yun walked in from outside, and couldn't help but say in surprise: "Big brother, this patch is really fast enough, I just asked him to invite you, and you came." ”

"Second brother, I happened to have something to look for you, and as soon as I walked near the study, I saw a patch, and he said that you are looking for me in a hurry." After Zhao Yun sat down on the cushion opposite Han Zhan, he asked, "I don't know what the second brother is looking for me, what's the matter?" ”

"Big brother, that's the case," Han Zhan repeated what Chu Ge told him, and repeated it to Zhao Yun, and finally emphasized: "Big brother must be very clear that the reason why Lu Yi was able to defeat Gongsun Zan at the boundary bridge was to rely on his 1,000-strong crossbowmen to suppress the cavalry charge. If we can recruit these 2,000 strong crossbowmen, we can greatly increase the combat strength of our army. ”

"That's right, in the battle of Jieqiao, the reason why Lu Yi was able to defeat Gongsun Chan was because of the geographical advantage, but if there were no 1,000 strong crossbowmen, it would be almost impossible to block Gongsun Zhan's cavalry charge." After Zhao Yun finished talking about his opinions, he suddenly said: "Second brother, I think Chu Ge is a rare talent, and he can be allowed to take on a more important position. ”

Regarding Zhao Yun's proposal, Han Zhan was silent for a moment and said, "Big brother, I also know that Chu Ge is very capable, but he mentioned to me some time ago that he plans to send his sister into my mansion as a concubine. If I promote him to the rank of marquis or lieutenant, will there be people gossiping in the back that I am nepotistic? ”

"The sister-in-law of the Marquis of Chu?" When Zhao Yun heard Han Zhan say this, he suddenly became interested: "As the saying goes: marry a wife and marry a virtuous, take a concubine, I don't know how his sister-in-law looks?" ”

"How did the eldest brother forget, you still saw it at the beginning." Han Zhan reminded Zhao Yun with a smile: "It's the woman you and I rescued from Zhu Zhen's hands!" ”

"It turned out to be her." After Han Zhan's reminder, Zhao Yun immediately remembered the woman he and Han Zhan had saved in the city, and after a little recollection, he nodded and said: "Sure enough, it is the national beauty and Tianxiang, and the second brother accepts her as a concubine, which is not an insult to her." ”

"But the eldest brother should know that I am still in the period of filial piety, how can I marry a wife and take a concubine?" Han Zhan was a little embarrassed and said, "I can't let Chu Ge send his sister into the mansion and then follow me for three years without knowing anything, right?" ”

"It's okay, it's okay," Zhao Yun saw Han Zhan's embarrassed expression, and hurriedly gave him advice: "You can set this family matter first, and after the three-year filial piety period expires, it's not too late to take her as a concubine." ”

…………

At the same time, in the strong crossbow station of the military camp in the city, there were two men in civilian clothes in Chu Ge's tent. A man of medium stature, slightly older, with a beard, was walking back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back. And there was a tall and thin man sitting next to him, he looked up at the man who was walking back and forth, and asked a little anxiously: "Jiang Sima, the Marquis of Chu has been here for a long time, why hasn't he come back?" You say, "Will this Zhangshui Pavilion contain our brothers?" ”

The man known as Jiang Sima stopped and said to the man who was sitting: "Don't be impatient, wait for news here with peace of mind." Chu Ge has a good relationship with you and me, and he must definitely try his best to say good things for us. ”

Jiang Sima's surname is Jiang Mingfan, and he is the most trusted military Sima by Zhao Fucheng, who led more than 2,000 strong crossbow soldiers, and after a bloody battle, he broke out of the siege and fled into the nearby mountains to hide. It wasn't until recently that he learned that Han Zhan had raised an army to attack Yuan Shao and captured Jizhou, that he had the idea of defecting. But because he was worried that Han Zhan would not accept them, he and another Qu Junhou, Chen Man, infiltrated Jizhou City in disguise, found his former colleague Chu Ge, and asked him to talk about Han Zhan's tone.

At this moment, seeing that Chu Ge had not returned for a long time, his heart was more anxious than anyone else, but on the surface, he still tried his best to remain calm: "If the Marquis of Zhangshui Pavilion refuses to accept me and others, when he returns to the mountain, let the brothers disperse." ”

"Jiang Sima," hearing Jiang Fan say this, Chen Man couldn't help but be anxious, "Nearly two thousand brothers, once they are allowed to disperse, it is estimated that many people will be left with no food and clothing." We are officers and soldiers, how can we be thieves who rob homes and houses? ”

Jiang Fan smiled bitterly and asked, "Chen Junhou, do you have a better way to settle the brothers?" ”

Chen Man thought for a while and said cautiously: "Otherwise, let's go to Gongsun Zhan, although he is strong and strong, but seeing a team like us, he will definitely be contained." ”

"No, resolutely not." Jiang Fan righteously rejected Chen Man's proposal, "If Gongsun Zan didn't send troops to attack Jizhou at the same time as Yuan Shao, how could Han Fujun be deceived and let Jizhou go?" ”

When the two were worried about their future prospects, they suddenly heard a rush of footsteps outside the tent, and then the curtain was lifted from outside, Chu Ge leaned in, and said to the two of them with some excitement: "Two brothers, good news, the Pavilion Marquis wants to see you two." ”

"Tinghou wants to see us?!" Hearing Chu Ge say this, Jiang Fan was stunned for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "I wonder if the Pavilion Marquis is willing to take me in?" ”

"Needless to say," Chu Ge said with a smile on his face, "If he refuses to take him in, he will let me invite you two." Hurry up and pack up, and quickly follow me to see the pavilion. ”

……

Jiang Fan and Chen Man followed Chu Ge to the Prefecture Pastoral Mansion and entered Han Zhan's study. After the two saw Han Zhan, they immediately knelt down and said: "Sima Jiang Fan of the strong crossbow battalion, Chen Man, the military marquis, see the Zhangshui Pavilion Marquis!" ”

Han Zhan couldn't help but pause for a moment when he saw that Chu Ge had brought two people, but he quickly came back to his senses, stepped forward and picked up the two of them and said, "Jiang Sima and Chen Junhou don't need to be polite!" Then he introduced to the two: "This is General Pi Zhao Yun and Zhao Zilong!" ”

The two hurriedly bowed to Zhao Yun: "The little one is General Zhao!" ”

After everyone re-seated, Han Zhan looked at Jiang Fan and asked, "Jiang Sima, I heard that there are nearly two thousand brothers under your command, I don't know where they are now?" If it's cold today, will they have a winter of clothing, and will they have enough food? ”

Han Zhan's series of questions made the worry in Jiang Fan's heart come to naught, he quickly got up, and said gratefully: "Tinghou, you didn't ask the little one when he would bring the troops to surrender, but he was concerned about whether we had winter clothes and food, and the little one was really grateful." ”

"Jiang Sima is serious." Han Zhan looked at him and said with a smile: "When you led a group of brothers to fight out of the encirclement, you would rather hide in the mountains than bow to the Yuan thief, which is worthy of Han's admiration. Even if you refuse to lead people to me, I will provide you with enough winter clothing and food. ”

When Chu Ge heard this, he hurriedly coughed heavily, reminding Jiang Fan that Han Zhan had agreed to accept them, and let him push the boat along the river and agree to return to Shun. Jiang Fan understood Chu Ge's intentions, and hurriedly pulled Chen Man, who was still sitting on the side, with his hand, and then knelt down in front of Han Zhan again: "Little one begs the Pavilion Marquis to take in the brothers of the strong crossbow camp!" Seeing Jiang Fan kneeling, Chen Man hurriedly knelt aside.

After Han Zhan and Zhao Yun glanced at each other, they helped Jiang Fan up and said to him with a smile: "Jiang Sima Ken brought people to defect, but Han couldn't ask for it." If Jiang Sima doesn't dislike it, please continue to serve as the military Sima, and the strong crossbowmen under Chu Ge's department will also be placed under your control, I don't know what you think? ”

When Jiang Fan heard Han Zhan say this, he couldn't help but glance at Chu Ge, and when he saw the other party smiling and bowing slightly, he hurriedly bent down and bowed his hand towards Han Zhan: "The lord will not give up, Jiang Fan is willing to serve you as a dog and horse." ”

Thinking that he suddenly had a strong crossbow army of nearly three thousand people in his hands, Han Zhan was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, and he hurriedly ordered Zhao Yun: "General Zilong, you need to arrange the area where Jiang Sima and them are stationed as soon as possible, and prepare enough clothes and food for them." Do you understand? ”

In front of everyone, Zhao Yun did not call Han Zhan a brother, but replied respectfully as a subordinate: "The last general takes the order!" At the end, he will arrange a garrison for Jiang Sima and them as soon as possible, and prepare the clothes and food needed for the soldiers and horses. ”

Seeing that Han Zhan had already arranged everything, Jiang Fan arched his hand at him again and said, "Since the lord has prepared everything for the little one, the little one will return to the mountains and rush to Jizhou with the brothers in the starry night." ”

"Jiang Sima," Seeing that Jiang Fan and Chen Man were leaving, Zhao Yun asked behind him: "I don't know when your soldiers and horses will be able to rush to Jizhou?" ”

"Within two days," Jiang Fan stretched out two fingers: "Within two days, we will definitely be able to rush to Jizhou!" ”