After Xu You received Cao Cao's money, he really did it, which made Yuan Shao's relationship with Zhang Chao start to be tense with Da Qiao.

After this matter reached Xudu, Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard it, and at the suggestion of Xi Zhicai, he issued a holy decree through the mouth of the Son of Heaven, that is, he ordered Yuan Shao to be the general of Pingbei, and at the same time supervised the affairs of Mergezhou, Youzhou, Jizhou and Sili.

As soon as the holy decree arrived in Yecheng, Yuan Shao was overjoyed, which meant that he had a legitimate reason to restrain Zhang Chao.

The news also quickly spread all over the world, and then spread to the mansion of the general of Jinyang City in Bingzhou. Zhang Chaozheng was discussing with Guo Jia and Lu Su how to deal with the issue of Yuan Shao's special envoy trial. As soon as they heard the news, the two senior strategists fell silent.

It was Zhang Chao, after hearing this, he was silent for a moment and then laughed: "It seems that Cao Cao has also begun to pay attention to me, hahaha." ”

At this time, Zhang Chao can still laugh out loud, I have to say, his mind is so broad. Of course, what he said was not bad, and the development of Bingzhou finally attracted Cao Cao's attention, which not only proves that Bingzhou is so strong that it will keep others awake, but also proves that there will be more troubles in the future.

Zhang Chao's smile also caused the two strategists to laugh together, and Lu Su also said: "The lord can laugh out loud, and the optimism of his attitude really makes me sigh to myself." ”

"Hey, Zijing exalted me by saying this, but I saw life more thoroughly. Happiness is also a day, worry is also a day, life is short, so why not live every day happily? Zhang Chao sighed to himself, he also had the experience of death, so he saw life so thoroughly. He was already self-made, and now he has such a scale, it is a big deal that there is nothing. Moreover, although Yuan Shao's strength is strong, Zhang Chao is not without the strength to fight, but he plans properly, and the probability of winning is still very high.

"Yes, the lord's open-mindedness really makes me feel ashamed. Even if the lord has this confidence, we will definitely assist and give Yuan Shao a head-on blow. Chief strategist Guo Jia also lamented Zhang Chao's actions and said later.

"Okay." Zhang Chao was also overjoyed when he heard Guo Jia's words, and then stood up and said: "I am determined, for Yuan Shao, I will lead the battle line to the other party's territory as when I fought Youzhou, so that we can have no scruples, so I want to take the soldiers of the Second Army and the 50,000 vanguard troops guarding in Bingzhou from Yanmen into Changshan, enter Jizhou to stir up, and when the time is ripe, I hope that Fengxiao can echo me in Hanoi, I believe that Yuan Hao will not disgrace the mission, and at that time I will turn passive into active, Yuan Benchu didn't dare to watch in Bingzhou and Youzhou. ”

Zhang Chao had already prepared, so he told the plan in his heart to the two military divisions, and after saying this, he also said to Lu Su: "Zijing, when the time comes, I will leave the 50,000 soldiers of the First Army in Bingzhou, and when the time comes, you will need to use up the stability of your homeland." ”

"The lord just has to rest assured that I have everything in the house." Lu Su hurriedly said.

"Don't worry, the lord will go to Hanoi immediately, and I will unite with the first Li Ru of Hedong and the first part of Huguan Xu Shu to take Hanoi, echoing the southward march of the lord." Guo Jia also said with his fists clenched and firm confidence in his eyes.

The two military advisors both expressed their attitudes, and Zhang Chao nodded reassuringly, "Okay, this battle depends on the princes." ”

At the beginning of July 196, that is, soon after Cao Cao appointed Yuan Shao as the general of the expedition to the north in the name of the Son of Heaven and supervised the affairs of the annexation of the state and Youzhou, Zhang Chao took 5,000 Zhangjia troops and 50,000 cavalry of the vanguard army from Jinyang City to Yanmen County.

Before that, there was a flying eagle in Jinyang City who had already sent a message to Yanmen to guard Huang Zhong, so that he could lead the 50,000 soldiers of the Second Army to prepare to go south to Changshan at any time.

Zhang Chao quietly left Jinyang City with the cavalry, in order to prevent the news from being exposed, Zhang Chao left the city after the disguise was changed, and the 50,000 vanguard army to which Lu Bu belonged was outside the city, and his departure also reached the point of being unaware. Except for Guo Jia and Lu Su, the two military advisors knew, only a few ladies in the General's Mansion knew.

After Cai Yan knew that Zhang Chao was leaving, he comforted Da Qiao, who was a little worried, and said: "Don't worry, the general is busy with your affairs, and if you believe him, there will definitely be a good result." ”

No one knew about Zhang Chao's departure, and he didn't even know about the trial of Yuan Shao's envoy in the post house in the city. In fact, he didn't even dare to go up the street now, for fear that the people would do something to him, let alone send back any useful news in Jinyang City.

There is no danger in the trial, which is also Zhang Chao's intention.

Someone in history once said that judging in front of Yuan Shao was a sycophant, but Zhang Chao did know that this person still had some ability, especially for the management of money and grain, and even more unique. He had already done a good job of keeping this person by his side, and he would cooperate with the logistics and financial affairs of Chief Lu Su in the future.

After this decision, Zhang Chao arranged to protect the trial in secret. Of course, before he completely turned his face with Yuan Shao, there were some things that he would not expose, and he also needed this person to send back some fake news for him now, even if he could stabilize Yuan Shao's heart.

In this way, without knowing it, the trial only sent back a letter to Yuan Shao, saying that Zhang Chao had gone to inspect the army and had not returned, and once he returned to Jinyang City, he would definitely meet him and convey the meaning of the lord.

After Yuan Shao received the news of the trial, he was relieved. In fact, he never thought that one day Zhang Chao would attack him, in his opinion, his strength should be stronger than many people on the other side, even Cao Cao, the son of Fengtian, would be afraid of himself, what ability does Zhang Chao have?

No one knows what kind of ability Zhang Chao has, but it is a fact that he does not have too many available soldiers in his hands now.

Although after continuous development and victories, Zhang Chao's group now has 300,000 soldiers, but with the expansion of the territory, the troops must not be dispersed. Especially in Youzhou, which has just been obtained, there is a perennial war and has been harassed by foreign tribes on the border, which makes it very poor. Many people are underclothed and hungry. Despite the abundance of fields, it will take a long time for things to be truly developed and everything will return to normal.

And because of poverty, many people there were forced to go up the mountain to become bandits, even arranging or exterminating them was also a big project, and the 50,000 Dragon and Tiger Army and the 50,000 people of the Third Army Corps who stayed there did not have much advantage, and it was very difficult to divide the troops from there. For this reason, the only people who can really be mobilized are the 50,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry in their hands now.

Just with 100,000 troops, it is necessary to take action against Yuan Shao, a family member who has been in Hebei for many years, and it is naturally not a small difficulty. It's just that the current situation is like this, Zhang Chao is even going to be robbed of his wife, if he doesn't give an effective counterattack, how can he establish the world?

For this reason, this time Zhang Chao also led the troops to take risks. Of course, this is also forced to do so.

Half a month later, 50,000 cavalry arrived in Yanmen County and reported to Huang Zhongsuo's headquarters of the Second Legion, which had already prepared here.

As soon as he saw Zhang Chao, Huang Zhong immediately knelt down on one knee and said, "Huang Zhong, the commander of the Second Legion, pays a visit to the lord. ”

"General Hansheng has worked hard. What is the situation in Yanmen? Zhang Chao stretched out his hand and motioned for Huang Zhong to get up, and then began to care about the problem of Yanmen.

To say that in the past, Yanmen has always been a headache for the Han court. Because of its geographical location, it often became the first line of foreign attacks. And because of the corruption and incompetence of the imperial court, often something happens and money and food, which makes for a long time, the people here have no confidence in the imperial court, and some people simply move out of here and go to other places.

Without anyone's intention, the situation in Yanmen became even worse. It wasn't until Zhang Chao became the pastor of the state and defeated the Xiongnu and killed Zhang Quan that the situation here gradually improved. With more provisions to encourage farming, the people here began to live a stable life, and their lives improved day by day.

After Huang Zhong became the county guard of Yanmen after Jia Xu, the situation here is even more different every day. After seeing Zhang Chao ask about the question here, General Huang Zhong said confidently: "The lord is at ease, the world in Yanmen is peaceful, the people are diligent and hardworking, and more military rations will be contributed here by the end of this year." ”

"Good." Listening to Huang Zhong's confident answer, Zhang Chao was also very happy, "By the way, is there any news from General Zhang Liao?" ”

"Yes, I just received the news the day before yesterday, saying that General Zhang Liao and General Gui Ni have recovered two tribes with the Hun cavalry, maybe it won't take a year or two for the situation there to completely improve, and at that time, within a thousand miles, there will be no army in the northwest that can threaten our security." When Huang Zhong said this, he was both excited and yearning.

As a general, the place where you can make great achievements is on the battlefield. Zhang Liao won Zhang Chao's trust, and galloped in the Hulian Mountains with the elite 100,000 Hun cavalry, constantly coming all kinds of good news, which is really enviable, this is what a general should do in his life.

"Well, that's good." Listening to Huang Zhong's report, Zhang Chao also nodded with satisfaction. Then he also saw Huang Zhong's yearning on his face, so he smiled and said: "General Hansheng doesn't need to worry, I know your heart, this time I will allow you to take the Second Army with me." But for the safety of Yanmen, you still need to leave 20,000 people, and you can only bring 30,000 people to follow at that time. ”

Hearing that there was no need to stay in Yanmen, but to follow Zhang Chao to Jizhou to make trouble, Huang Zhong immediately said with a happy face: "There is no problem." Please rest assured that the soldiers of the Second Legion have always responded to the call of the lord, coming as soon as they are called, they can fight, and they will win the battle. ”

"It's a sure victory, so I'll give you two days to prepare, and you can go." Zhang Chao was naturally very happy to see Huang Zhong so confident. With so many fierce generals under his command, why is he afraid of Yuan Benchu, who is scheming and decisive?