"kill!!"
With young generals like Qin Yilu in charge, Zhao Hao was happy to have some free time and didn't have to take charge of the defense of the wall today.
However, Zhao Hao did not slack off because of this. He temporarily acted as a guard, standing beside Zhang Yi who was supervising the battle from the city wall.
In reality, no matter who is in charge of defense, they cannot actually gain control over the soldiers.
Over the past few days of rotation, the original border guards have been continuously replaced due to injuries.
At this moment, 99% of the soldiers on the city wall were Zhao Hao's elite Qin warriors!
"Soldiers, defend against the enemy!"
Many of the officers under Zhang Yi or Qin Yilu noticed that many of the soldiers on the wall were unfamiliar faces, but they did not suspect anything because of this.
In their minds, these people were just ordinary citizens who admired Zhao Hao's selfless charge against the Xiongnu and were willing to fight for their country.
The battle resumed, but compared to the first siege, the Huns' offensive was much weaker now.
"Hahaha, these people are like dogs!"
"Yes, they came in a sorry state and left in a sorry state! They even wanted to attack our Yanmen Pass!"
"Victory is certain! Victory is certain!"
The cheers of the soldiers and officers lasted all day.
After three consecutive unsuccessful sieges, the Xiongnu chose to sound the retreat and return to their camp to rest.
"Young friend Zhao, isn't my deputy general quite good?" Zhang Yi looked at Qin Yilu, whom he had personally promoted, and finally saw that he had regained some face. A rare smile appeared on his face.
"Yes, he is indeed a good general." Qin Yilu's abilities are stronger than the stats shown in later games, but he is only above average, not a particularly outstanding general or minister.
If Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Hao Zhao, or Guo Huai were present, Zhao Hao might still have considered recruiting them.
But if it weren't for Zhang Yi's sake, Zhao Hao probably wouldn't have even given Qin Yilu this compliment.
Zhang Yi, 49 years old, was the governor of Bingzhou at the end of the Han Dynasty.
Command: 60 Strength: 57 Intelligence: 83 Politics: 87 Charisma: 82
Personality traits: 1. Unyielding 2. Enraged
3. Reputation (born into a prominent family, making it easier to increase the population and public support within their territory; if captured, a greater ransom is required)
Resume: ...
You wouldn't know unless you looked, but it turns out that Zhang Yi in this timeline comes from the Zhang family of Nanyang. He is related to Zhang Wen, who was once the Grand Commandant and Minister of Agriculture, and was later transferred to the position of Commandant of the Capital Region after his defeat in the campaign against the rebellion in Xiliang.
So Zhang Yi is still somewhat useful. After resolving things here, we might need him to work in Luoyang.
This is the biggest reason why Zhao Hao is giving him face now.
"Haha... I'm getting old. If I survive this trip, I might return to Luoyang to serve for two years, and then go back to my hometown of Nanyang to retire. Young friend Zhao... at that time, can I entrust these old subordinates from Bingzhou to you?"
Zhao Hao's expression shifted slightly; Zhang Yi's intelligence of 80+ was indeed not made of paper.
Judging from this, is he preparing to entrust me with an important task... no, to dump this mess of Bingzhou on me?
"Rest assured, Governor, if I were to govern a prefecture, I would certainly treat every colleague fairly, rewarding them according to their abilities and accomplishments!"
Although Zhao Hao's words were very straightforward, they were exactly what Zhang Yi wanted.
Since assuming his post as governor of Bingzhou, he has overseen the removal of Shangdang and Taiyuan prefectures. He knows better than anyone how miserable the people of Bingzhou are.
Originally, he thought he could bring blessings to the people of Bingzhou, just like Liu Yu became a wise king of Youzhou.
But when he actually took office, he realized that the situation in Bingzhou was more complicated than he had imagined.
The powerful families of Taiyuan and Shangdang completely disregarded the lives of the people in the other counties.
The remaining counties of Bingzhou were not only threatened by the Xianbei in the northern desert.
Over the years, Liu Hong has repeatedly called upon the Xiongnu cavalry to fight, but the Xiongnu army has a terrible discipline, and wherever they go, it is the people who suffer.
Therefore, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Shangjun, Xihejun, Shuofangjun, Yunzhongjun, and Wuyuanjun in Bingzhou almost broke away from the control of the imperial court and fell into the struggle between the Xiongnu and Xianbei.
Even with the Zhang family's reputation, he could only exchange it for some soldiers and provisions from the powerful clans of the two prefectures. He could barely raise an army in Yanmen Prefecture, which was only half a prefecture left, to guard Yanmen Pass and guard against the Xiongnu and Xianbei.
However... without Zhao Hao's valiant fight and the united will of the people of Yanmen in his eyes.
He had already paid the price with his life for his foolish ideals.
Therefore, he now feels that he is not suitable to stay in this place. To put it nicely, he is making a graceful exit; to put it bluntly, he is just leaving the mess to Zhao Hao.
But these civil and military officials he had personally promoted couldn't possibly return to Nanyang to retire with him. The remaining integrity of a scholar compelled him to use what Zhao Hao had told him that day to exchange for a better future for his old comrades.
"Heh...you're quite direct, kid. Fine, since you know the governorship system has been reinstated, you should also know the selection criteria, right?"
Zhao Hao was taken aback. Conditions?
Upon carefully recalling the first few governors appointed in history, he discovered the conditions Zhang Yi had mentioned.
"Hmm...the three dukes and nine ministers, relatives of the imperial family and nobles, and loyal and virtuous officials of the country will be selected as governors."
"Hehe, you're actually smarter than I thought. Not bad, not bad, that's definitely the situation right now."
Zhang Yi sighed. He probably couldn't help Zhao Hao win the position of governor.
But other things...
"Young man, I may not be able to secure the position of governor for you. But the position of general, perhaps, is within my reach..."
Zhao Hao chuckled softly. This old man has quite a long-term vision.
But he was unaware that the emperor of Luoyang was nearing his end.
Little did he know that a certain man who led troops and roamed between Hedong, Henan and Hongnong would become the beginning of the overthrow of the Eastern Han Dynasty!
"Haha, why does the governor need to explain so much to me? The officials and ministers of the court will have their own opinions on what rank he holds. What I said before was just a joke. As long as the governor remembers that there is a young man on the border who is still protecting the people with his body, that young man's life is enough."
"You little rascal, when did you learn all this hypocrisy?"
"Haha, that's because I humbly learned from the governor, and that's how I came to know."
Seeing that Zhao Hao didn't seem to care much about whether he could hold a high official position, but instead cared more about the people, Zhang Yi's evaluation of Zhao Hao rose to the highest level.
"That's about it for today. I didn't expect these Xiongnu people to be so much like you said... I thought they were a desperate army coming out to fight us to the death."
The three scholars from Qingzhou you recruited are quite good. With them assisting you in governing Bingzhou, I can finally rest easy.
"Yeah, you better remember to be moderate, and don't be irresponsible after you've eaten."
"Um... Thank you for your guidance, Governor. I will remember it forever and never forget it!"
...
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