Han Zhan and Guo Jia came down from the hill, and when they returned to the camp, they saw Zhao Yun talking to the knights who had returned. Han Zhan urged him to step forward, and in front of many subordinates, he asked Zhao Yun in an official tone: "General Zilong, where did they come from?" ”

"See the lord!" The knights who were talking to Zhao Yun saw Han Zhan appear, and they all knelt down on one knee and saluted.

Han Zhan recognized these knights as the tiger and leopard riders he sent to deliver urgent letters to Wang Hun and Zhou Cang, and he vaguely remembered that the commander of the team was called Wu Qi, so he asked bluntly: "Wu Qi, aren't you the messenger sent by Benhou to send letters to Wang Hun and Zhou Cang?" ”

Wu Chang couldn't help but be extremely excited when he saw that Han Zhan actually called out his name in one mouthful. But he did not forget the purpose of his trip, and hurriedly reported to Han Zhanyu: "Lord Qiqi, the little one is Wu Qi, who came to deliver a letter to the lord on the order of Wang Hun Taishou. ”

Hearing that it was a letter, Han Zhan knew that it must have something to do with lobbying Zang Ba, and hurriedly asked, "Where is the letter?" ”

Wu Qi took off the bamboo tube on his back, took out the letter rolled up in a ball, held it in both hands and handed it to Han Zhan: "The letter is here, please take a look at it." ”

Han Zhan was anxious to find out what the situation was like for Wang Hun, so he hurriedly unfolded the letter and quickly skimmed through the contents on it. As soon as he saw half of it, Han Zhan's face showed a look of joy. Seeing this, Guo Jia, who was standing on the side, guessed that what was written on it must be good news, and hurriedly asked, "Lord, could it be that Wang Hun has already persuaded Zang Ba?" ”

"Exactly." While continuing to read the letter, Han Zhan nodded and replied to Guo Jia: "I really didn't expect that Wang Xuanchong was quite effective in handling things, and he really persuaded Zang Ba." ”

Guo Jia saw that the big tent not far away had been set up, so he took the initiative to greet Han Zhan: "Lord, this is not the place to speak, let's go back to the big tent first." ”

Han Zhan came to the tent, read Wang Hun's letter, and then handed it to Guo Jia and others to circulate, and said with emotion: "Zang Ba can return to obedience, exempt our army from a big battle, and enable countless soldiers to survive, which can be regarded as a great achievement." ”

After Guo Jia read the letter, he confirmed that Zang Ba had indeed decided to return to Jizhou, put down the boulder in his heart, raised his head and said to Han Zhan with relief: "Lord, don't see Zang Ba has tens of thousands of soldiers, but he was not born in any family, and he has no foundation, even if he barely occupies the two places, but after a long time, I am afraid that his position will be in jeopardy." But as long as he submits to the lord, he can be named the Marquis of Kaiyang and occupy the name of righteousness, and then his foundation will become more and more solid. ”

Now that Zang Ba has been submitted, he needs to be pacified as soon as possible. Han Zhan stood up and said to everyone: "Early tomorrow morning, Fengxiao, Ziyi, and Shuzhi will lead three thousand cavalry and rush to Kaiyang in advance. Zilong led the army to march slowly behind. ”

As soon as Han Zhan's words were finished, everyone stood up and replied respectfully, "Command!" ”

In the early morning of the next day, Han Zhan, Guo Jia, Tai Shici, Chen Zhi and others led 3,000 cavalry and galloped away in the direction of Kaiyang. Two hours later, seeing that Kaiyang City was in sight, Chen Zhi urged the horse to come to Han Zhan's side, pointed to the front, and said loudly: "Lord, there are soldiers and horses on the official road ahead, but I don't know if they are Zang Ba's soldiers and horses." ”

"Soldiers and horses stop!" Han Zhan saw that there were indeed a lot of soldiers and horses on the official road ahead, and he didn't know what the other party's intention was, so he vigilantly ordered the cavalry to slow down, and at the same time ordered Chen Zhi: "Uncle Zhi, send someone over to see who the other party is." Without much effort, the two cavalrymen rushed out of the formation and galloped towards the soldiers and horses in front.

Guo Jia, who was originally lagging behind, saw that the front team suddenly stopped, and hurriedly rode his horse to Han Zhan's side, and asked curiously, "Lord, why did you stop here?" ”

Han Zhan pointed forward with his hand and said, "There are soldiers and horses of unknown origin on the official road ahead, for the sake of safety, Ben Hou has already sent someone to check it." ”

After Guo Jia heard what Han Zhan said, he put his hand on the pergola and looked into the distance for a while, then turned his head to Han Zhan and said, "Lord, according to Jia, it seems that this group of soldiers and horses in front of him is preparing to welcome someone." ”

Although Han Zhan had long guessed in his heart that it might be a team that welcomed him, but when such a team suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar place, he had to be vigilant before seeing a familiar person. Therefore, he replied to Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, although it is close to Kaiyang here, it cannot be taken lightly, if Wang Hun and Zhou Cang do not appear today, wait for the arrival of the Zilong army before continuing to advance, so as not to fall into the ambush of the thieves." ”

"The Lord is right." Guo Jia agreed with Han Zhan's statement, although Wang Hun's letter said that Zang Ba was willing to return to Jizhou, and this place was already the boundary of Kaiyang, but it still could not be taken lightly. ”

After waiting for about a stick of incense, the two saw that the scout horse they had just sent out came back from the soldiers and horses in front, and there were two more people. Han Zhan's eyesight was good, and when he saw that the figure of one of them was more familiar, he said to Guo Jia: "Fengxiao, do you see if the person who returned with Tanma is Yuanfu?" ”

Guo Jia hurriedly looked intently, and saw that among the two people who came back with Tanma, sure enough, one of them was Zhou Cang, who was sent to Kaiyang, so he nodded twice and said, "That's right, it's indeed Yuanfu." ”

Now that Zhou Cang has appeared, it proves that the soldiers and horses on the official road in front of him will definitely not be unfavorable to him. Han Zhan turned his head and instructed Chen Zhi: "Uncle Zhi, order the soldiers and horses to continue to advance!" ”

"Lord!" When Chen Zhi heard Han Zhan say this, he hurriedly dissuaded: "The origin of the soldiers and horses in front is unknown, and it may be inappropriate to pass like this." ”

"There's nothing wrong with that." Han Zhan waved his hand at Chen Zhi and said, "You didn't see Yuan Fu coming back with the two scouts you sent, presumably the soldiers and horses in front of us were greeting us on the official road." ”

It didn't take long for Zhou Cang and his party to come to Han Zhan, and after he gave a salute on the horse, he said to Han Zhan: "Lord Qiqi, Leader Zang personally led people to greet you in front. This is the subordinate he sent, the leader of Wu Dun Wu! ”

"Yuanfu, since General Zang is ready to submit to my Jizhou, why do you still call him Leader Zang?" After Han Zhan waited for Zhou Cang to finish speaking, he corrected him and said, "You should call him Kaiyang Hou!" ”

Although Wu Dun said that he agreed with Zang Ba's return to Jizhou, he saw that the Jizhou army was strong, and if he resisted, it would be tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, so he chose an expedient measure to return to Jizhou first to resolve the immediate crisis. Zang Ba sent him to accompany Zhou Cang to welcome Han Zhan, he was still a little reluctant in his heart, but when he heard what Han Zhan said, he couldn't help but light up, you must know that sponsoring Zang Ba as the Marquis of Kaiyang is just one of the other party's solicitation conditions, and now saying it in front of the public is tantamount to announcing that Zang Ba has become the Marquis of Kaiyang, which is already a sure thing.

Thinking of this, Wu Dun's attitude towards Han Zhan suddenly became enthusiastic, and after he clasped his fists and saluted, he said respectfully: "Little Wu Dun sees the Marquis of Anyang, the big leader of my family leads people to wait on the official road in front, and I ask you to move there." ”

Han Zhan, accompanied by Wu Dun, came to the crowd that greeted him. Sitting on horseback, he saw Wang Hun at a glance, and the military general with a beard and armor next to him, Han Zhan guessed that the person was probably Zang Ba, so he turned over and dismounted, and walked over quickly.

Wang Hun and the military general walked side by side, and when they saw Han Zhan coming over, they hurriedly stopped and bowed: "Subordinate Wang Hun, see the lord!" ”

As soon as his words fell, the military generals beside him also hugged their fists and saluted Han Zhan: "Taishan Zangba, meet Anyang Hou!" ”

Knowing that the person in front of him was indeed Zang Ba, Han Zhan hurriedly reached out and grabbed the other party's arm: "Han doesn't know that he is the Marquis of Kaiyang, he is so negligent, please forgive me." ”

Hearing Han Zhan call himself Kaiyang Hou, Zang Ba hesitated for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face, he laughed dryly a few times, and then said to Han Zhan: "Anyang Hou, Zang has already arranged a banquet in the city to catch the wind and wash the dust for you, please!" ”

Han Zhan hurriedly grabbed Zang Ba's arm and said enthusiastically: "Thank you Kaiyang Hou for your kindness, then let's enter the city together!" ”