Chương 381: Eastern Expedition, Yanzhou

After Dong Zhuo died, the people of Luoyang lived better lives and were more inclined to come out and watch the excitement.

An old man, pulling his grandson along, pointed at the imposing soldiers and muttered:

"See those? Those are the Prince of Yan's soldiers! How spirited they are! A million times better than Dong Zhuo's bandits!"

The little grandson's eyes widened in admiration.

Xue Rengui spoke first, his voice booming:

"Brothers! Our lord has entrusted us with the four provinces of Guandong, which shows his trust in us! Within three months, we must return the seals of Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou to our lord! Do you have confidence?"

The 80, 000-strong army roared in unison, "Yes!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire room:

"The people of these four states have been tormented by the warlords for years, their lives filled with unbearable suffering. We're not going there to fight, we're going to rescue them! Anyone who dares to resist, we'll show them what the mighty Youzhou steel torrent is all about!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the soldiers of the three armies shouted in unison:

"Victory is certain! Victory is certain! Victory is certain!"

The sound of shouting came in waves.

Su Lie also stepped forward and said:

"Brothers, our lord has said that after we recover the four prefectures, rewards will be distributed according to merit! Whoever performs the most merits will receive the greatest reward! But there is one condition: you are forbidden to harass the people or oppress the innocent! Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed!"

Another round of cheers erupted.

Cheng Yaojin leaned close to Yuwen Chengdu's ear and whispered:

"Old Yu, do you think it's a bit of a waste to send our 80, 000 troops to deal with those states?"

Yuwen Chengdu glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Cheng Yaojin said to himself:

"But it's all good, better to use a lot of talent than not enough. Let's treat this as a trip and take over the territory while we're at it."

Yuwen Chengdu finally spoke, his tone indifferent:

"War is war, don't overthink it."

Cheng Yaojin chuckled and said nothing more.

Su Lie continued:

"Persuade those who can surrender to do so; those who refuse to yield will be subdued by force! We, the Youzhou army, do not fight battles we are not confident of winning, nor do we fight battles without justification! Set out!"

At the command, the army set off.

Eighty thousand troops, like a giant black dragon, marched out of Luoyang and headed east.

A few days later, the army emerged from Hulao Pass.

Xue Rengui reined in his horse, looked at the fork in the road ahead, and began to divide his troops:

"Zhang He, Yuwen Chengdu!"

The two men stepped forward and said, "Your subordinates are here!"

"You two will lead 20, 000 troops to Yanzhou. Yanzhou is closest to Hulao Pass and is the easiest place to attack. Defeat it quickly, and after you take it, reorganize the surrendered troops on the spot and await our news."

"This subordinate obeys!"

Zhang He and Yuwen Chengdu led 20, 000 troops eastward.

Xue Rengui continued calling out names:

"Su Lie, Cheng Yaojin, Huang Zhong!"

The three stepped forward.

"You three will lead 20, 000 troops to Yuzhou. In Yuzhou, Prince Chen, Liu Chong, is a member of the Han imperial family, so just bypass his territory. As for the other prefects, try to persuade them to surrender if possible, and just attack those who don't know what's good for them."

Su Lie clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This subordinate obeys!"

Cheng Yaojin chuckled and said, "Chen Wang is one of us, so we'll just avoid him. Leave the rest to me, Old Cheng!"

Huang Zhong didn't speak, he just nodded.

The three men led 20, 000 troops and headed southeast.

Xue Rengui then looked at Yu Jin and Xu Huang and said:

"Yu Jin, Xu Huang! You two will lead 20, 000 troops to Xuzhou. As for Xuzhou..."

Yu Jin clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys!"

Xu Huang clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys!"

The two men led 20, 000 troops and headed southeast.

Finally, Xue Rengui looked at Gongsun Zan and Qu Yi and said:

"The three of us will take the remaining 20, 000 men to Qingzhou."

He paused, then said in a somewhat serious tone:

"The situation in Qingzhou is the most complicated. More than half of the province has been occupied by the Yellow Turban Army. Although those Yellow Turbans have some connection with our lord, not all of them acknowledge their loyalty. We need to be prepared for a battle."

Gongsun Zan stroked his beard and laughed:

"Let's fight then. Our iron cavalry has nothing to fear from those rabble!"

Qu Yi nodded and said, "It's a good opportunity to practice."

Xue Rengui smiled and waved his hand, saying:

"Walk!"

The 20, 000 troops headed due east.

.........

The first to arrive were Zhang He and Yuwen Chengdu.

Yanzhou is closest to Hulao Pass; it only takes a few days to reach it after passing through the pass.

Zhang He and Yuwen Chengdu, leading 20, 000 troops, had just entered Yanzhou territory when they discovered that the situation was not quite what they had expected.

No one resisted.

not a single one.

The remaining prefects and magistrates of Yanzhou had long heard of the Prince of Yan's formidable reputation.

Dong Zhuo was so arrogant, yet he was cut down with a single halberd.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were so arrogant, yet they were surrounded and forced to surrender.

What can these small fry do to resist?

In the first prefecture, the governor personally led officials out of the city to welcome them.

"General Zhang! General Yuwen! We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Prince of Yan's army! This is the official seal, this is the household register, this is the granary ledger—it's all here! Please accept these, General!"

Zhang He was stunned for a moment, then took the seal, looked at it, and confirmed that it was genuine.

He asked, "You... you just surrendered like that? Without even putting up a fight?"

The prefect waved his hands repeatedly, his smile more like a grimace, and said:

"General, you jest! His Highness the Prince of Yan is awe-inspiring, even beheading Dong Zhuo with a single halberd... How dare we resist? Besides, you have already subdued the allied lords, what is there for us to resist? Wouldn't that be courting death?"

Zhang He nodded and said nothing more.

So, whenever Zhang He and Yuwen Chengdu arrived at a county town, a row of officials would stand at the city gate, holding up their official seals and bowing and scraping to greet them.

"General, you've had a long day! Please come in!"

"We've been waiting for the Prince of Yan's entourage! They've finally arrived!"

"We surrender! We surrender! We firmly support the Prince of Yan!"

Looking at the behavior of this group of people, Zhang He couldn't help but mutter to Yuwen Chengdu:

"Chengdu, this went too smoothly! I thought we'd have to fight several battles."

Yuwen Chengdu smiled proudly and said:

"Fight? Do they dare to fight? The moment our flag is raised, their legs go weak. What can they possibly use to fight?"

In less than half a month, the entire territory of Yanzhou was recovered.

Zhang He sent a fast horse back to Luoyang to report: Yanzhou has been pacified, and there were no casualties.

...

Su Lie, Cheng Yaojin, and Huang Zhong arrived in Yuzhou.

The situation is similar to that in Yanzhou.

The governors of Yuzhou were quite nervous when they first heard that a large army was coming.

Some closed the city gates, while others deployed troops to defend, preparing to put up a stubborn resistance.

But upon inquiring, they learned that the men who had come were none other than soldiers of Liu Ce, the Prince of Yan, and their attitude immediately changed.

The Prince of Yan's troops? That's alright then! Open the city gates, open the city gates immediately!

...

In the first prefecture, the city gates were closed, and the prefect stood on the city wall looking down.

Seeing the massive, dark army below, their armor gleaming and their menacing aura palpable, my legs began to tremble.

The military advisor beside him asked, "Prefect, should we fire the arrows?"