Chapter 44: The Situation in Bing Province

Yes, you heard right. After a month of cultivation, Zhang Liao has successfully broken through to the Postnatal Realm, and what's more, the Hou Tian Er Chong Tian realm, placing him in the top tier of the Han Empire.

"Report—"

Just as Zhang Liao and the others wanted to continue speaking, the voice of a guard rang out from outside the tent.

Then, a soldier rushed into the great tent, dropped to one knee before Zhang Liao and the others, cupped his fist and announced loudly: "Reporting, General, word has come from Luoyang—His Majesty's army has set out!"

"Excellent! His Majesty has finally dispatched his troops. But did it say when this General is to march out?" Zhang Liao first cried out in excitement, then asked the guard.

"Reporting, General, this is His Majesty's Imperial Edict sent from Luoyang. His Majesty orders the General not to wait for him, but to march directly into Bing Province upon receiving the message."

Seeing Zhang Liao's inquiry, the guard took out the secret edict given by Liu Bian and opened it to read.

"Hahahaha, excellent! Pass down this General's order: the Army is to make ready to march. We set out in full formation two hours from now."

After Zhang Liao finished reading Liu Bian's secret edict, he said to the others.

"We obey the order!" Upon hearing Zhang Liao issue the marching command, Xi Zhicai and the Deputy Generals replied with solemn faces.

Then Zhang Liao looked again at Zhang He and Gao Lan, his expression grave as he said: "Zhang He, Gao Lan, after this General departs, Sili is entrusted to you two. You must guard the lands of Sili well."

"We receive the order. Please rest assured, General. With the two of us holding Sili, whoever dares to trespass upon our lands of Sili, we shall see that they come but never return!"

At Zhang Liao's charge, Zhang He and Gao Lan both wore grave expressions, then pledged with faces full of resolve.

"Good. As for your abilities in commanding troops, this General still knows them well. So long as you are not careless, with you two there, all will be foolproof!" Zhang Liao fully recognized their talents.

Historically, Zhang He originally served under Yuan Shao as one of the Four Pillars of Hebei. After surrendering to Cao Cao, he was later enfeoffed as one of Cao Wei's Five Elite Generals. His talent is plain to see.

And Gao Lan, historically one of Yuan Shao's four great generals, and likewise one of the Four Pillars of Hebei alongside Zhang He, was no less capable.

Now, both serve Liu Bian, and have cultivated Martial Dao techniques, their cultivation already reaching the Hou Tian Yi Chong Tian realm. Add to that the Twenty-Five Thousand Xiliang Army Soldiers who have likewise cultivated Martial Dao techniques, and in a defensive battle, they fear no one.

Afterwards, the two men went off to make preparations, leaving Zhang Liao alone in the great tent.

Gazing at the map of the Han Empire's Thirteen States hanging on the wall before him, he saw that only the lands of Sili were marked in white; the other Twelve States were all in grey.

This was a map of the entire Han Empire, commissioned by Liu Bian a month ago. White indicated territory held by Liu Bian; grey indicated unoccupied lands—neither known to be hostile nor known to be neutral.

In truth, Liu Bian's System Mall already had maps; he simply felt he had no use for them at the time and did not redeem one, thinking he would redeem one when the day came to fight. But unexpectedly, after going to the Xiliang Army Military Camp, he went straight to the training ground and never saw the maps used by the army, so the matter was shelved.

However, when he had browsed the System Mall back then, he did buy a World Map, which he hung directly in his Imperial Study.

Zhang Liao was now staring at Bing Province's nine commanderies in the northwest of the map. Bing Province had always been a vital frontier region, the key gateway for defending the Central Plains against the Xiongnu pushing south.

However, since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Han Empire's national strength had greatly declined and the Imperial Court had grown weak. The Xiongnu had long coveted the Central Plains. Previously, with Bing Province Inspector Ding Yuan stationed there, and with the era's foremost warrior Lü Bu under his command, the Xiongnu had been beaten into not daring to raid the borders again.

But ever since Ding Yuan, who had been defending Bing Province, was killed by Dong Zhuo, and Lü Bu submitted to Dong Zhuo, Bing Province was taken over by Dong Zhuo. The army originally garrisoning Bing Province also fell under Dong Zhuo's control, and he later sent his son-in-law Niu Fu to lead troops and hold it.

Yet Niu Fu was a man of mediocre martial skill, utterly lacking in the talent to command an army. Moreover, he was ambitious but incompetent, narrow-minded, and many capable men were suppressed and pushed aside for going against his wishes.

The Xiongnu immediately saw hope for attacking Bing Province, so Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Yufuluo led Fifty Thousand Troops to invade Bing Province.

The campaign ended with Bing Province losing Shuofang, Wuyuan, and Yunzhong—the three commanderies.

Now, these three commanderies are all under Xiongnu control. The Han Dynasty's common folk living in the three commanderies have been savagely plundered by the Xiongnu, leaving the lands of the three commanderies with nine out of ten households empty.

"Hmph, damn Xiongnu. If our Han were not presently mired in civil strife, how would that Yufuluo dare to seize our Bing Province San Jun!"

"And that Niu Fu is truly useless. The whole of Bing Province still had Fifty Thousand Troops, yet that fool squandered them down to a mere Two Hundred Thousand men!"

As Zhang Liao looked at the map, the more he looked, the harder it became to contain the fury in his heart. His brows were tightly knit, veins bulging on his forehead, his hands clenched into fists, his body trembling slightly.

"Bang!"

Thinking of the infuriating parts, Zhang Liao could no longer suppress the rage in his heart and slammed his fist down onto the desk before him. The sturdy desk, under Zhang Liao's single punch, instantly shattered into pieces, wood splinters flying in all directions—such was the fury burning in Zhang Liao's heart.

"What's the matter? Who has made our Grand General Zhang so angry?"

At some unknown moment, a figure had quietly walked into the great tent. The newcomer was none other than the Bing Province Army Military Advisor assigned by Liu Bian—Xi Zhicai.

He wore a faint smile, watching Zhang Liao with great interest. The moment he entered, he saw Zhang Liao's furious expression and the desk he had smashed with a palm, and could not help feeling very curious.

From his time with Zhang Liao recently, he had found that Zhang Liao had a very good temper and was easy-going with people. Although he was somewhat strict with his Soldiers, it was all for their better survival on the battlefield in the future.

Moreover, he was not the sort to lose his temper at random. Xi Zhicai was very curious—who on earth had provoked Zhang Liao into such a rage?

"Military Advisor, you've come!" Seeing that the newcomer was Xi Zhicai, Zhang Liao immediately reined in the fury in his heart. He drew a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, then put on a slight smile and greeted Xi Zhicai.

"Who has angered our General Zhang?" Xi Zhicai walked over to Zhang Liao's side and asked with a smile. A glint of cunning and curiosity flickered in his eyes, as if thoroughly intrigued by Zhang Liao's fury.

"Forgive the laughable sight, Military Advisor. I was just thinking that Bing Province's Shuofang, Wuyuan, and Yunzhong—the three commanderies—are now occupied by the Xiongnu, and it made my blood boil a little!"

"What makes one most furious is still that Garrison Commander of Bing Province appointed by Dong Zhuo—his fine son-in-law Niu Fu—Fifty Thousand Troops!"

"Hard as he might, that good-for-nothing got over Twenty Thousand men killed. They were all Soldiers guarding the borders of our Han. They died such a wrongful death!"