Chapter 854

Gongsun Zan wished he could eat the flesh of the Wang thief.

Thinking back to when he was first besieged in Lingzhi, the Wang thief kept calling him "my son" and even said in front of him that he would kill his whole family. He had originally thought about sitting and reaping the benefits, but Liu Yu was trash and gave all of Youzhou to the Wang thief, leaving him with twenty thousand troops and nowhere to go.

This meeting was even more hateful. Not a single scout he sent out returned, and then he was blocked at the mountain pass by the Wang thief with five or six hundred people. The moment he opened his mouth, it was "my son" and "your father." Damn it, he looked down on people too much.

His marching speed was very fast, but he didn't expect to be blocked by Wang Yan. However, he had an understanding of the situation in Youzhou and an even better understanding of the situation in Liaodong. He was very clear that the troop strength in Xu Shui, Baxian, and Quanzhou was almost the limit that Wang Yan could mobilize.

It was a simple truth: the grassland barbarians had to be suppressed, the rear in Liaodong had to be guarded, and the direction of Bingzhou had to be careful. Concentrating superior forces to deal with the attack on Jizhou was the correct way to deploy troops. If it were him, he would do the same.

Relatively speaking, Guangchang was a dead end, and there was a dangerous pass to hold. He didn't believe there were more troops here, so he did the opposite, intending to seek life in death.

So now he was not afraid of Wang Yan, especially since Wang Yan didn't even wear armor. What was he pretending for?

Referring to past experiences, he immediately understood the Wang thief's intention. This guy came to use his mouth to recruit surrender. He must not be given a chance to speak; he must be interrupted. He could not let the Wang thief talk too much.

He immediately shouted: "Yellow Turban rebel, how dare you bark wildly. All generals, obey the order: follow me to slaughter the Wang thief, return to Youzhou, and reunite with family and relatives. Kill!"

After speaking, he took the lead in whipping his horse out of the formation, and the generals beside him did not react slowly, directly protecting Gongsun Zan and killing him.

They all knew that Wang Yan could fight. At Hulao Pass, Lü Bu killed the warlords' generals like killing chickens, and it took the combined efforts of Liu, Guan, and Zhang to defeat Lü Bu. And Wang Yan? He beat Liu, Guan, and Zhang by himself. So they gave Wang Yan considerable respect: gang-fighting.

Wang Yan waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to run away quickly. At the same time, he shouted: "Wait!"

His voice was suddenly loud and extremely penetrating, even suppressing the shouting and killing of Gongsun Zan and the others in the valley.

His "wait" had some effect; the small soldiers behind all subconsciously stopped their movements, and even trampling occurred. But it had no effect, because Gongsun Zan and the others didn't stop at all. They were either team leaders or high-level generals. According to the Wang thief's consistent style, if they really surrendered, they would have no chance of survival.

A hundred-meter distance, charging on horseback, arrived in the blink of an eye. Gongsun Zan and more than ten generals came over and fought with Wang Yan. Looking at it, they had all unified their thoughts in advance: if they killed Wang Yan, everyone would be at ease.

Wang Yan didn't even run, because the army behind had stopped charging. This was a valley, and they couldn't come up. And Wang Yan was surrounded and beaten. Everyone was riding horses, and he kept riding and circling, not facing many attacks at once. It could be said that he was handling it with ease.

Reaching out to hold the weapon, first stabbing an unknown general to death with a sword, Wang Yan fought toward Gongsun Zan. Gongsun Zan was not stupid either; when Wang Yan came, he ran, stabbing coldly, and the generals under him naturally filled the vacancy to fight Wang Yan.

Don't say, Wang Yan was really busy for a while. He had to ride and circle, defend and counterattack, and protect the horse. It was really damaging; they couldn't beat Wang Yan, two moves would kill them, so they would stab the horse coldly, which was very annoying.

He was now in the warm-up stage, killing slowly. If he killed fast, he would get hurt himself, which was not worth it. Now he was facing at most two or three people at a time, fighting for a while and stabbing one to death, which was quite good.

Of course, he was not idle either. Amidst the shouting and exerting of the generals, he still opened his mouth to recruit surrender: "All troops, don't panic. Today I lead six hundred troops, all to show you my sincerity. Gongsun, my son, is a rat of the chaotic people, and I will surely kill him. I have heard that he led the army to indulge you in looting the villagers.

But have you ever thought carefully? You are all humble people like me, and the villagers you looted are also humble people. Looting them is the same as looting your own relatives. How can you follow the evil thief to do evil things?

You are all people of Youzhou, and your relatives are now under my rule, all having land, ten-percent tax. You must know the name of White Glazed Glass. Now, half of the families of Youzhou people have White Glazed Glass bright windows, and there are blue brick heated *kang* beds in the house, burning wood and coal in winter, warm as spring. There are even families with blue brick and tile houses. After this autumn, chicken, duck, and goose seedlings will be distributed, and pig seedlings will also be distributed next spring. Feed them for a year and kill them in winter to get meat and refine oil.

There are even mountain fruits and fish catches to transport, and the people can all eat. There are doctors to treat diseases, teachers to preach and teach, civil officials who love the people and run for the people, and soldiers to protect the homeland and build a better life together. Such a life, isn't it beautiful?

Why do you follow the thief to attack and destroy your own land? Gongsun, my son, has thousands of acres of fertile land, full granaries, and countless treasures. What does this have to do with you? Even if you kill me today and return to Youzhou, how will you stand? Can Gongsun, my son, share a lot of fertile land with you and teach you to eat a few full meals? Can he teach your children to read and write and become officials in the future?

Although you have followed the thief to do evil in the past, considering human greed, Gongsun, my son, indulged and ignored it. Therefore, after you return home, no one will report to the officials, and that will be written off, and no further investigation will be made.

I am not a villain, and I will keep my word. It is the time of spring plowing, and you all have dozens or hundreds of acres of fertile land at home. Grain is a big matter, and you dare not miss the farming season. You should return home to farm and wait for the autumn harvest to fill the granaries. Under my rule, work hard, and you will surely gain something.

If you obey my orders, kill any officer beside you who bullies our brothers!"

"Who..." Gongsun Zan shouted angrily, but he only shouted one word before Wang Yan stabbed over with a spear.

Then he shouted: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The six hundred soldiers watching the fun from afar had more experience, waving their weapons one by one and shouting "Kill, kill, kill" in unison.

Of course, this was not enough. After all, their boss, Wang Yan, was still surrounded and attacked by more than ten people, and no one knew if he could survive. So Grand General Wang showed his power. Directly picking up the incoming weapon with a spear, he turned the spear in a circle, and the whole person used this strength to stand on the horse. The whole person actually abandoned the horse and jumped into the air onto Gongsun Zan's head. In his horrified eyes, in his panicked defense with a spear, he stabbed him through with a spear.

Gongsun Zan screamed in pain, subconsciously clenching the spear shaft tightly.

At the same time, kicking away a martial general, he sat steadily on the horse, reaching out and exerting strength, carrying vast power, and actually lifted Gongsun Zan up. Then he turned in a circle, and with a shake of his strength, he threw Gongsun Zan toward the front of the buzzing army formation behind.

Gongsun Zan had never suffered such great humiliation, and of course, there would be no greater humiliation in the future, because he could no longer live.

Grand General Wang's spear had pierced through Gongsun Zan's abdominal cavity. If Hua Tuo were pulled over to perform a surgery from two thousand years ago, he might survive, but now it was certainly impossible.

Gongsun Zan lay on his back on the ground, his hands still tightly hugging the long spear that pierced his body. The surging blood gushed out of the corners of his mouth, blocking his trachea. He looked at the blue sky and white clouds, his mouth making an unclear *he-he-he* sound, his body twitching uncontrollably. At the time of death, he lost control of his body, his bladder and sphincter relaxed. No matter what, he did not die like a hero.

The soldiers in the front row of the army formation were startled and subconsciously retreated, but people were squeezing people behind, and they couldn't retreat at all, and they were scolded twice. Immediately after, they swallowed their saliva and carefully stepped forward, looking at Gongsun Zan, who used to be majestic.

And the generals who surrounded Wang Yan, now only seven were left alive. They stopped fighting for a while, retreated cautiously, surrounded Wang Yan and his horse, Treading Snow, in the center, and turned their heads to look at the last minute before Gongsun Zan's death.

At this time, it couldn't be considered silent in the valley, but those who could see the front were relatively silent. Only those further back, unaware of the situation, were still buzzing and talking, silence and noise coexisting.

They watched Gongsun Zan kick his legs and die, and then they turned their heads in unison, staring at Wang Yan, who had changed horses, and killed him without saying a word.

At this moment, it was not a multiple-choice question. If they killed Wang Yan, these soldiers would not be a problem; with long-standing prestige, a few words could suppress them. But if they didn't kill Wang Yan, they would all die, and there would be absolutely no way to live.

Wang Yan also went crazy at this time, carrying the eight-sided Han sword, riding his horse and rushing out, killing three in a short while.

The soldiers in front of the army formation looked at each other, and one of them, without saying a word, first stabbed an officer-like person beside him to death, and then killed toward the few generals who were struggling to survive while fighting with Wang Yan, and then, as expected, was slapped away by a spear.

They were not Wang Yan's match, but killing small soldiers was one spear per person. The generals at this time were all fought out. To be able to get to the top, their personal combat effectiveness must be far superior to small miscellaneous soldiers.

But it didn't matter. The first person's choice sounded the horn of the charge, and the rest naturally followed. They rushed over like crazy, stepping on Gongsun Zan's corpse, and surrounded the few remaining generals.

In the blink of an eye, the battle ended, leaving only Wang Yan, dressed in a dark blue long gown, sitting on his horse, surrounded by soldiers, with pairs of hopeful eyes looking at him.

The Grand General stood on the horse's back and shouted loudly: "Collect the corpses of the brothers who died in battle, burn and collect them, and bring them back to their hometowns. Skin and remove the flesh of Gongsun Zan's corpse, keep the skeleton and send it to medicine for doctors to study and learn. After these two things are done, go home!"

"Go home! Go home! Go home!"

A group of soldiers waved their weapons and shouted exceptionally loudly...

Settling more than ten thousand people was not a difficult task. After all, they were not without homes. After burning the corpses and collecting the ashes, and making a skeleton for Gongsun Zan, who died before his ambition was achieved, Wang Yan led the team across Zijing Pass and returned to the land of Youzhou. From then on, they dispersed and returned to their hometowns, which had already changed their appearance.

This time, Wang Yan did not brainwash them again, just showing his closeness along the way. After all, the changes in Youzhou were obvious, and their land at home was also there. As long as they went home, they would know that the Grand General who laughed and scolded with them along the way was such a good person, and they would become loyal supporters.

Although some people might not know the way halfway and made some jokes that were not jokes, the result was very good.

Killing Gongsun Zan and recruiting more than ten thousand strong laborers, these people returned home and reunited with their families, not to mention improving productivity, but also being able to create little people. Wang Yan's greatest pleasure, besides collecting famous people of the Three Kingdoms, lay in population growth. Every year-end, looking at the population data summarized from various places, it was a happy event; the Han nation had grown stronger.

Of course, with his status, using the term "Han nation" was certainly wrong. He was a rebel of the Great Han, and on a political basis, he could not acknowledge the code name "Han." After all, although he was a humble person, he was not a barbarian, and he was also a legitimate successor of China. A regime that was about to be overthrown by him and was currently on an equal footing could certainly not acknowledge "Han."

It was just because he came from two thousand years later, and what was written on his ID card was clear and understandable, so it was different.

If the world still operated normally after he left, then when it developed to two thousand years later again, what was written on the ID card would absolutely not be Han, but "Hua"...

The construction of Youzhou continued, and Yuan Shao and Han Fu also received the news of Gongsun Zan's death. This was naturally told to them by Wang Yan having Guo Jia write a letter, and he also emphasized Gongsun Zan's outstanding contribution to medicine.

Both sides were silent, because Wang Yan was too ruthless. Not only did the person die, but he also had to be skinned and de-fleshed to be made into a skeleton and sent to medicine for people to learn. I'm afraid it wouldn't take two years before the skeleton was covered in patina.

Of course, they were not afraid, just having a deeper understanding of the Wang thief's ruthlessness and wolfish ambition. The most important thing was the ten-percent tax, which was a bit unreasonable; this was a class enemy.

It was just that out of helplessness, they had to follow the ten-percent tax. Of course, there were still many methods to study. In this regard, this group of big landlords was professional. After all, it used to be a thirty-percent tax, and no one had seen anyone enjoy it. Anyway, as long as the people were stabilized, their lives were slightly better, they were not allowed to move around, and they were not allowed to know the real situation under the Wang thief's rule, then the people who kept thinking about running to Youzhou in their territory could be eliminated.

This was the importance of the right to speak and propaganda. After a long time, no one would take Liaodong seriously, just thinking it was fake, and no one would miss it again. They would continue to be content with the status quo, work diligently, and not be able to eat a full meal all year round.

On the other hand, Wang Yan also opened up trade, agreeing that as long as the merchant caravan did not spy on intelligence and did not talk nonsense, they could not kill people at will.

Everyone knew that there was going to be a war, and everyone knew that they couldn't fight now, so whether it was Yuan Shao or Han Fu, after scolding the Wang thief, they tacitly chose to leave a portion of their troops to guard the border, and all the rest were withdrawn to organize production.

At the same time, Yuan Shao also began to plot for Jizhou...

In the General's Mansion of Jixian, Wang Yan looked at the letter sent by Guo Jia. This was sent by Yuan Shao, for the sake of the feigned attack on Han Fu mentioned in the letter Guo Jia sent earlier, to put pressure on Han Fu and help Yuan Shao enter and take over Jizhou.

Originally, this was the process, but it was Yuan Shao inciting Gongsun Zan, and the two families attacking Han Fu together. Gongsun Zan was honest and really wanted to make progress, so he did attack. But Yuan Shao had arrangements. As soon as Gongsun Zan attacked, the strategists under Han Fu advised him that he couldn't beat Gongsun Zan, and that Yuan Shao had the ability, so he could invite Yuan Shao to resolve the crisis. Then it was Han Fu running to take refuge with Zhang Miao, because Yuan Shao sent an envoy, and Han Fu suspected Zhang Miao wanted to kill him, so he committed suicide in the toilet.

"What does Fengxiao think I should do?" Wang Yan asked Guo Jia with a smile.

His subordinates were still too thin, unlike others who, when something happened, would pull out a row of strategists. However, strategists mostly came from powerful families, and wild ones like Guo Jia were rare. For him, Wang Mou, to come here, to put it bluntly, was to do one thing. It was unrealistic to want many strategists; many people would rather die than work for him. Martial generals were a bit worse; this depended on physique and talent, and had little to do with powerful families.

Of course, he was not without people. Bing Yuan and Guan Ning were both outstanding people, but they were governing in local areas, all as Commandery Governors. Relatively speaking, planning was not very important; he himself was enough. The main thing was still in the development of people's livelihood. Those with ability had to be given a bigger stage. It was a waste to spend all day making plans beside him. Guo Jia was also like this; it was impossible to be a clerk here all the time, and he still had to be sent to local areas.

"This move is inappropriate; it's better for the two families to fight." Guo Jia shook his head, simple and clear, "Or you can send this letter to Han Fu."

"Just arrange it like that." Wang Yan nodded and threw the letter to Guo Jia.

How could he work for Yuan Shao for free? If he wanted to cheat some grain, he would be scraping the common people, and he was not too short of it. And on the other hand, it would also destroy his credibility.

His credibility was still good now, otherwise, when he besieged Jixian City before, Liu Yu would not have come out of the city to talk to him. This was the importance of reputation. Although people didn't care and came to kill him, that was another matter.

So if he took the money and didn't do the work this time, and played Yuan Shao, no one would believe him when he told the truth in the future, which would still have some impact on the future.

As for who would dominate Jizhou, it was still that sentence: he didn't care.

Now he had more important things. Spring plowing was over, and many things had to be unfolded. Tuhe was remote after all, and the political and economic center had shifted to Jixian, so the Medical Academy and Wenchang Pavilion, etc., certainly had to be moved to Jixian, for the sake of convenient communication, and it was also convenient for him to control the progress at any time.

But he couldn't cut off the foundation of Liaodong, so some people would be left there to develop independently and make a split. It was the same principle as modern universities; every place had to have a university to facilitate the cultivation of local talents. Besides, there was the distance relationship now. If students from Liaodong ran to Youzhou to study, the cost would be too high, but they could come for advanced studies.

So the main force was moved to Jixian, and later, it would move south step by step, all the way to Luoyang. This was a long process that required a massive amount of talent to realize.

Besides this, there was one more important thing. Two years ago, the first ocean-going warship was launched. After continuous testing and adjustment, the model for this stage was finally determined. In the following time, manpower and material resources were dispatched, and four new ships were built in more than a year.

It was these four newly built ships that, catching the warm late spring, were going to set sail for the ocean to find the good seeds that the Grand General had dreamed of...