In the third year of Jian'an, in April, in Xiapi City, in the mansion of Zhang Liao.

The night was dim, the candlelight in the study was flickering, and the wind and rain were shaking outside, just like the current situation in Xuzhou.

A few days ago, Cao Cao's vanguard troops Xiahoudun and Cao Chun had led 5,000 tigers and leopards to ride and 10,000 elite infantry to attack Xuzhou.

Lü Bu's army retreated, Cao, Liu Lian's army drove straight in, Xiahoudun, Cao Chun's soldiers bloodlessly broke through Pengcheng, in order to avenge the murder of his father, Cao Cao ordered the slaughter of the city, in the reign of Tao Qian was slaughtered Pengcheng people suffered a catastrophe again, the whole city up and down more than 30,000 unarmed people died tragically under the iron hooves of Cao's army, were thrown corpses in Surabaya, the river was blocked.

Just as Cao Cao's vanguard troops were advancing towards Xuzhou with a strong wind, Liu Bei led Guan Yu and his 6,000 troops to attack Peixian, beheaded the Peixian commander appointed by Lü Bu, and continued to march south, preparing to join Cao's army under Xiapi City.

For a while, Lu Bujun's people were panicked and uneasy. Zhang Liao's two brothers, Zhang Qian and Zhang Mao, brought more than a dozen clansmen into Yecheng in recent days to persuade Zhang Liao to abandon Lu Bu and buy Yuan.

"Third brother, my eldest brother and I have made it so clear, don't be obsessed anymore. Lu Bu is a traitor to seek glory, a slave with three surnames, killed two fathers with his own hands, and is an unfaithful and unfilial person, why do you bother to die for him? Zhang Mao persuaded hard.

The man sitting in front of the bookcase, twenty-seven or eighteen years old. More than eight feet tall, with a clear face, a burly figure, a handsome spirit, and a steady presence in his every move, he is Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan, the cavalry captain under Lu Bu. Listening to his brother's words, Zhang Liao's face was quite embarrassed, and he was silent for a moment.

The two brothers have been in Xiapi for a few days, and they have already made it clear that they want to abandon Lu Bu to vote for Yuan Shao's son. And they brought letters from the elders of the clan. Give it to the brothers who were born and died by Zhang Liao's side. After Cao Cao's army pressed the border. These Zhang Liao's clansmen were also panicked, and after reading the letter, they all agreed that Zhang Liao abandoned Lu Bu and went to seek refuge with Yuan Shao's father and son. followed the strong Yuan family. It must be better than Lu Bu, who fled from east to west.

The meaning of the brothers made Zhang Liao very embarrassed. He was also very disappointed with what Lu Bu had done in recent years, and he also understood that Lu Bu was not a person who had achieved great things. But since they met, Lu Bu has treated him well. It is very important, and Zhang Liao also admires Lu Bu's martial arts and riding skills, and when he is in danger, he really can't bear to leave him.

"Two brothers, what Lu Bu did was certainly ridiculous, if Liao turned his back on him, wouldn't he also be scolded by the world? Forgive me for this matter! After thinking about it, Zhang Liao still decided to refuse Yuan Mai's solicitation.

Zhang Qian was not as anxious as the second brother, stroked his beard and said: "Third brother, your second brother and I, as well as the brothers in your clan, can only give you some advice, and you have to rely on you to get the big ideas." In the opinion of the foolish brother, Lu Bu's defeat was only a matter of time. The people of Xuzhou hated Cao Cao and vowed to slaughter millions of people. As Lu Bu's subordinate, how many eggs are there under the nest? ”

Zhang Liao let out a long sigh: "Since he joined the army, Liao has held the idea of dying on the battlefield and being shrouded in horse leather. If you are unfortunate enough to die, it is also destiny! ”

"But have you ever thought about your old parents at home?" Zhang Qian is not in a hurry, and gradually carries out a psychological offensive, and the level of the pavilion chief and the butcher is different.

Hearing his brother mention his old parents, Zhang Liao's eyes moistened, and ants are still greedy, let alone people? It is never easy to keep going, knowing that there is a dead end ahead!

"Liao is ashamed of the second elder, if he unfortunately dies in the city gate, please ask the two brothers to do their filial piety on my behalf. The kindness of my parents, let me repay it in the next life! ”

"Fool, stupid!" Zhang Mao slapped the table angrily and scolded, although he is a general, he is still his brother.

Zhang Qian's face was still not angry or angry, and his tone was not hurried: "Your second brother and I can do our filial piety for you, but the third uncle, the second uncle, the fifth uncle and several other elders only have one son under their knees, if the brothers all die with you, who will do their filial piety for them?" ”

Zhang Qian said that these people are the elite of the Zhang clan, and they are the only son in the family, these young people have followed Zhang Liao to gallop on the battlefield for many years, in order to make contributions, but unfortunately Lu Bu has not passed the first day of junior high school, and these people have not made any achievements, which makes Zhang Liao, who is the leading brother, very ashamed.

Listening to his brother talk about them at this moment, Zhang Liao was panicked and didn't know how to choose? In order to protect their reputation for loyalty, is it fair for them to let these brothers accompany them to die?

"In the past, you followed Lu Bu to run around, and I have no objection to the elders in the clan, firstly, because Lu Bu still has hope to achieve a hegemony, we hope that you and your brothers can follow him to hunt for fame and make my Zhang family a famous family. Second, if you leave Lu Bu, you will have nowhere to go, you can only work hard from scratch......" Zhang Qian sat beside Zhang Liao, slowly exerted psychological warfare, and continued to follow Zhang Liao's path.

Seeing that Zhang Liao was silent, as if he was listening carefully, Zhang Qian continued: "But now, Lu Bu's army is panicked, the people are dissatisfied, Cao Cao and Liu Bei's army is pressing the border, internal and external troubles, and it is only a matter of time before the city is broken. It would be unwise to follow Lu Bu again......"

"Besides, with the weight of Yuan Gong and the fourth son, I can't ask for it! The fourth prince promised me that day, if Wenyuan is willing to go to Shun, he will promote you as a lieutenant general in front of the state pastor, and let you guard the border fortress, and at worst, it will be a county guard. Good birds choose trees to perch, virtuous ministers choose the lord to serve, such a good opportunity, if you don't grasp it, Wenyuan, it will not only harm you, but also harm your brothers! ”

Zhang Liao was even more embarrassed when he heard this, and looked up to the sky and sighed: "Since ancient times, loyalty and righteousness have been difficult to achieve, so what can I do?" But in his heart, he was grateful to Yuan Mai, how could he be virtuous, his fame was not established, and he was favored by the four sons of the Yuan family, who were famous and noble, and he was fortunate to have three lives!

Zhang Qian cried and said: "Listen to the words of the foolish brother, for you, for your parents, and for our Zhang clan, you will lead your brothers to leave Lu Bu, an incompetent person, and go to your hometown to buy a son!" ”

Zhang Liao shed tears: "If you abandon Wen Hou and go, I really can't bear it!" ”

"Do you have to bear to see the brothers lose the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, or even all die under Cao Jun's sword?" Zhang Qian's tone became stern, "If that's the case, you're foolish." Although you have kept your loyal name, you are unfilial to your parents, unjust to your brothers, and unkind to your children. How can they live as orphans and widows? It is even possible to die under Cao Jun's knife, you can bear it? ”

Hearing his brother talk about his wife and son Zhang Hu, Zhang Liao was even more sad in his heart, and sighed for a moment and said: "Brother, don't force me, let me think about it for a day!" ”

Seeing Zhang Liao's dilemma, Zhang Qian and Zhang Mao's brothers got up to rest and gave Zhang Liao some time to think about it.

In the bedroom, Zhang Liao's eight-year-old son Zhang Hu had already slept, and only his virtuous and beautiful wife Yang was waiting for him to rest.

"Husband is back? The concubine is waiting for you to sleep. Yang stepped forward with a smile like a flower to untie Zhang Liao's clothes.

Zhang Liao's face was as pale as water, and he said for a long time: "Madam, the army of Cao thieves is pressing, Wen Hou is flustered, the army is panicked, and the people are dissatisfied. You take Hu'er back to Mayi tomorrow with the eldest brother and the second brother, if you die for your husband, you can take the child to marry someone else, but you need to pull the child well. ”

Listening to Zhang Liao's words, Yang's tears rained down and cried: "I have heard the conversation between the husband and the eldest uncle and the second uncle, why didn't the husband take advantage of the Cao army's arrival to lead the clansmen and brothers out of the city to the north and join the Yuan family?" ”

Zhang Liao shook his head and said: "In life, loyalty comes first. I can only be burdened by others, but how can I be burdened by others? Wen Hou is not dead, how can Liao abandon him? If Wen Hou does not die, Liao will not choose another lord. It's just that I can't affect the brothers, tomorrow I will dismiss all the brothers and let them follow the two brothers back to Yanmen. I stayed with Wen to fight to the death, and the city of Xiapi was broken, only death! ”

"The concubine knows the heart of her husband, and when she is the meaning of the husband, she will not say more, and she will return to her hometown with her uncle tomorrow." Yang sobbed and threw herself into her husband's arms, and the husband and wife hugged each other and fell asleep.

The next day, Zhang Liao summoned more than 30 henchmen to the mansion, told them Zhang Qian's words, and instructed everyone to follow Zhang Qian back to Mayi, and he could stay alone to help Lu Bu defend the city. Zhang Qian saw that Zhang Liao's intention had been decided, and it was useless to say more, so he could only shake his head and sigh.

Zhang Liao's brother Zhang Kuo stood up and said, "Third brother, what are these words? How can I leave my brother alone and escape, just let the brothers go back, and I will live and die with you! ”

Zhang Liao persuaded hard, Zhang Kuo had the same character as him, and he didn't listen to him no matter what. Zhang Liao had no choice but to let these brothers make their own choices, half of them were willing to follow Zhang Liao to stay, and the other half planned to follow Zhang Qian back to their hometown.

When Zhang Liao went out to patrol the defense, he quietly left the team with his wife and two brothers, as well as the brothers in the clan, and only sent them to the post road in Qingzhou in the north, and then waved goodbye.

"From this north, going north to Qingzhou is Yuan Tan's sphere of influence, you Qiao pretend to be a common man, and you can return to your homeland safely." With tears in his eyes, Zhang Liao said goodbye to his wife, children and brothers, I don't know if he can say goodbye again?

Yang led his son Zhang Hu, crying tears to say goodbye to his husband, and when he left, Zhang Hu cried and threw himself into his father's arms: "Dad, I don't want you to die, I want you to follow me home!" ”

Zhang Liao forced a smile and coaxed his son: "Hu'er, you go back with your uncle first, and your father will come later!" ”

Zhang Qian shook his head and sighed: "Leave your wife, children and mother, you are such a stupid person!" How do you ask me to go back and explain to the buyer? I was counting on you to make a fortune for the Zhang family, but who knew that you were so pedantic! ”

Zhang Liao raised his head and said: "Brother, don't worry, if you buy a son, you are a benevolent and righteous person." Naturally refuse to be difficult for you, you talk to the son, the city is broken, if Zhang Liao is lucky not to die, to break out of the encirclement, he will not care about the mountains and rivers, go to find the son, saddle the horse before and after the horse, lead the horse for him, no complaints! ”

Zhang Qian let out a long sigh, and took more than a dozen of the clans who absconded from Lu Bu's army, plus the entourage when they came, a group of more than 20 people, protecting the Yang family's mother and son, and returning to the north. (To be continued......)