The master bookkeeper sent by Duan Xuan to Luoyang, named Zuo Ling, is only recorded in one sentence in the relevant documents of later generations, saying that when Li Wei took the emperor hostage and fled, he asked Zuo Ling and Jia Xu to accompany him to take care of him.

can be mixed with Jia Xu, even if he is not extremely smart, he will definitely not be stupid, which can be seen from the minds of Duan Xuan, Li Dao and others.

However, it was said that after Zhu Jun asked Zuo Ling and Duan Xuan to send the letters written by Zuo Ling and Duan Xuan to the Taifu Mansion, Zhao Yun and Li Yan were really taken aback.

Zhao Yun and Li Yan were surprised not that Duan Jun finally chose to take refuge in Zhu Jun, they were surprised that Zhu Jun refused Duan Jun's request without hesitation.

Since things have turned out more than they expected, how to respond has become a priority.

Zhao Yun came to see Zuo Ling and asked, "But you suggested that General Duan defect to General Zhu?" ”

At this point, Zuo Ling did not want to deny it, but admitted it truthfully.

"Do you want to know why General Zhu rejected General Duan?" Zhao Yun asked.

Zuo Ling said frankly: "Before coming to Luoyang, I thought I was thoughtful, but I didn't expect that when I first arrived at the general's mansion, I hit a wall. ”

General Wei knew that he was old, so he didn't want to participate in the struggle between the forces, he just tried his best to maintain Luoyang's hard-won stability, and didn't want to see Luoyang suffer another accident before his death. General Duan's thoughts of defecting to General Wei are actually not unpredictable, but from what I have seen, General Zhendong seems to be more suitable for governing the place and developing farming, which is not good at marching and fighting. Zhao Yun said it implicitly, but it was also clear, and there were certain hints in it.

Zuo Ling knew that Zhao Yun had no ill will towards him, so he said truthfully: "Before coming, General Duan asked a few of our subordinates. Which side is more suitable, my answer is Luoyang. He also asked Luoyang that there were two factions now, and which faction was advantageous to vote for, and I truthfully replied that it would be more advantageous to defect to General Wei. Now that General Wei is unwilling to take him in, presumably General Duan will also make a wise choice and turn to the Taifu Mansion. ”

"I'll send someone to escort you back to the Wushan camp, and you just need to tell General Duan what happened in Luoyang truthfully. In addition, I have a sentence for you to give to General Duan. If General Duan is interested in politics, I will recommend him to Taifu to succeed Zhu Gongwei as Henan Yin. ”

Zuo Ling originally suggested that Duan Xuan defect to Zhu Jun, because he valued the vacant position of General Wei by Zhu Jun in the future. However, Zhao Yun found another way, suggesting that Duan Xuan give up military power from now on, and simply become an internal affairs official who governs the state and county, but in fact, he did not lose Duan Xuan. With Duan Xuan's temperament of liking to develop agriculture and building temples everywhere, he may be a good hand when he is an internal affairs official. Henan Yin is equivalent to the number one leader of the capital municipality in later generations, in fact, in terms of position, he is not lower than General Wei.

Zuo Ling knew that this was not the time to bargain with Zhao Yun, so he returned to the Wushan camp in time and told Duan Xuan the truth about the attitude of Luoyang. In case it drags on here for a long time, maybe someone from Chang'an has already gone to woo Duan Xuan. There are still more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under Duan Xuan's command, not too much, not too little. If you can use it for your own use, it will have a significant bonus effect for either party.

Because there were people specially sent by Zhao Yun to escort Zuo Ling back, he didn't have to sneak down the trail. Instead, he directly crossed the Hangu Pass where the Shenxi army was stationed, and then crossed the river from Maojin in Shaanxi County, and rushed back to the Wushan camp where Duan Xuan was located as quickly as possible.

Duan Xuan learned that Zhu Jun didn't want to do much. However, Zhao Yun deliberately asked him to hand over the military power and govern the place instead, and fell into hesitation for a while.

Changshi suggested that Duan Xuan said: "General, no matter what, this Wushan battalion can't stay any longer, it's important to keep the existing soldiers and horses first." ”

Zuo Ling also echoed and said: "No matter how the general chooses, but the promise of Luoyang to provide us with the garrison of Huangchi and Xin'an counties has not changed, it is better to hurry up and cross south before the Yuan army has not surrounded it!" ”

"That's it, now that the situation is pressing, I don't want to follow my brothers in the army for many years to do senseless bloodshed and sacrifice, so you two should hurry up and prepare for the withdrawal of the army!" Duan Xuan had no choice but to temporarily retreat to the area of Huangchi in Hongnong County.

On the night of the second day, Duan Xuan's army withdrew from the Wushan camp, crossed the Yellow River through Dayang County, and landed in Shaanxi County on the south bank, then turned eastward and entered the area of Huangchi to rest.

Garrisoned in Shaanxi County was Chen Gui, the deputy commander of the Shenxi Army, Zhao Yun allocated 10,000 troops to him, mainly to let him serve as an outpost of Luoyang, once a large army approached in the direction of Chang'an, or Yuan Shao's army forcibly crossed the Yellow River, Chen Gui needed to hold on to Shaanxi County for at least five days, waiting for reinforcements from the direction of Hangu Pass

Huangchi and Xin'an counties are located between Shaanxi County and Hanguguan, close to Gushui, a tributary of Yushui, and belong to the two counties with the most grain production in Hongnong County. Most of the fields here have now been rewarded by Liu He to the soldiers in the Shenxi army, so after Duan Xuan led the army to arrive here, the people he saw were not very panicked, and they seemed to have been used to seeing the back and forth of the soldiers and horses.

The Huangchi County Commander had already received the orders of Hongnongtai's guards in advance, so after Duan Xuan and his army arrived, they had already prepared a house for the troops to live in, and other things such as grain, grass, and clothing were also available.

Duan Xuan's soldiers had been fighting against Yuan Shao's army in Hedong for more than half a year, and they were already exhausted, but now they suddenly arrived in a safe place, and suddenly people were sleepy and tired, and they didn't see the soldiers out of the camp for several days, and they all fell asleep in the camp.

When Luoyang learned that Duan Xuan had been stationed in Huangchi, Zhao Yun immediately decided to go to Hangu Pass in person to further persuade Duan Xuan to hand over his military power as soon as possible, so that he could deploy Hanoi's defensive operations later.

A few days later, Zhao Yun and Jia Kui came to Hangu Pass in person, and the guard general Deng Hai went out of the city to greet them, and the morale of the army was greatly boosted.

Zhao Yun asked Jia Kui to go to Huangchi to visit Duan Xuan first, and prepare the way for the meeting between the two sides. Jia Kui had dealt with Duan Xuan when Liu He had borrowed Hedong earlier, and then traveled back and forth between Hedong and Luoyang many times, so he was very familiar with Duan Xuan.

Because he no longer had to worry about marching and fighting, Duan Xuan was also a lot more relaxed after a few days of rest, and when he saw Jia Kui, he had already roughly guessed the other party's intention. After some negotiation, the meeting place between Duan Xuan and Zhao Yun was placed in Xin'an, which happened to be located in the middle of Hangu Pass and Huangchi, so that both sides could arrive at the same time.

On the day of the meeting, the two sides sent soldiers to carefully clean up the vicinity of Xin'an, and according to the agreement, only Zhao Yun, Duan Xuan, Jia Kui and Zuo Ling were present during the talks, and the entourage brought by both sides retreated outside the county seat, waiting for news.

In one of the most famous restaurants in Xin'an County, Zhao Yun and Duan Xuan finally met. If it weren't for Zhao Yun's intention to let Zuo Ling reveal to Duan Xuan that he had come to Luoyang, Duan Xuan would have thought like most people that Zhao Yun was still sitting in Macheng on the western front of Youzhou.

"General Duan, it's been a few years since the last time I descended to the city, it's really a waste of time!" Zhao Yun hugged his fists and saluted Duan Xuan first, deliberately mentioning that Duan Xuan allowed Liu He to lead the army to borrow from Hedong, which was a very kind opening.

Duan Xuan said with a smile: "Yes, this time flies, and in an instant, General Zilong has become a general with tens of thousands of troops in his hands!" ”

The two of them then talked about wine and reminisced about the past.

"General Zilong was able to come to Xin'an in person for Duan's matter this time, which made him feel very comforted."

"Although General Duan came from Dong Zhuo's disciples, he did not go with Li and Guo's generation, guarded Hedong for five years, developed agriculture with peace of mind, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, which is admirable."

"Alas, in the troubled times, it is more reliable to hold soldiers and horses, if I had recruited more soldiers in Hedong and practiced diligently, I would not have been forced to come here by Yuan Shao." Duan simmer is still difficult to put down.

"The troubled times will come to an end, and the general with soldiers and horses in his hands looks majestic and prominent at this time, who knows where he will return in the future? The soldier has always been the important weapon of the country, only the person who adheres to the fortune of heaven can control it for a long time, the general chooses to let go at this time, and there is a chance to transfer to politics, if it drags on for a long time, I am afraid that the opportunity will be wasted. Zhao Yun patiently persuaded Duan Xuan.

"Although General Wei is old, he is highly respected in Luoyang and has won the hearts of the people, if he is replaced, my heart will be uneasy, and the people of Luoyang will not agree." Duan Xuan was a little worried.

"General Duan doesn't have to worry about this, although General Zhu will resign from the position of Henan Yin, Lord Taifu is ready to submit to the court and let him take the position of Si Li's captain, which can not only appease people's hearts, but also allow you to ascend to the throne smoothly."

"If I leave, how will Zilong settle those subordinates who have been with me for many years from birth to death?" The conversation went into the second half.

"Before General Duan enters Luoyang, he can choose 500 people from the army as his troops, and he will go in and out to protect him in the future. The remaining men and horses, among whom did not want to continue to stay in the army, were given settling-in allowances and travel expenses by the Taifu Mansion, and let them choose where to settle down. In the end, those who stayed were incorporated into the command of General Xu Rong of the Zhenbei Army, but temporarily under the command of the Shenxi Army. ”

"Well, that's a good place. If Zilong believes me, let me return to Huangchi to say goodbye to the soldiers in the battalion, and at the same time reassure people's hearts, so that they can continue to work in the army with peace of mind in the future. ”

"Then General Lao bothered! My identity is inconvenient to leak out for the time being, so I will not go to Huangchi with General Zhongming, and the rest of everything will be assisted by Jia Caopeng. ”

Zhao Yun then said goodbye to Duan Xuan and quietly returned to Hangu Pass.

After Jia Kui accompanied Duan Xuan and Zuo Ling back to Huangchi, he first checked the roster of all personnel, and then asked Duan Xuan to check the names of middle-level generals with qualifications and potential in the army, and then released the news that they were going to merge with the Zhenbei Army, so that the soldiers in the battalion had a certain amount of mental preparation.

After these foreshadowing things were done, Duan Xuan convened his subordinates to discuss the matter, told everyone the news that he was going to Luoyang to take up his post, and at the same time reassured everyone that if he was willing to go to Luoyang with him, he would find a way to help find a career, and if he was willing to continue to stay in the army and eat the army, then he would rest assured that the new general would come to take over.

These backbones of the army thought of what happened after Xu Rong served Liu He in Chang'an, and they immediately felt a lot more at ease, and the merger did not encounter much resistance, and everything went down according to Zhao Yun's plan. (To be continued......)