Looking at the boy in front of him, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, Liu Wei was in a daze!
The ancients were truly amazing; they could join the army and fight at the age of fifteen.
Come to think of it, the highest achievements of ancient military generals were sealing the wolf's lair, drinking from the vast sea, abdicating at Guyan, and inscribing the Yanran Mountain.
Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty completed three of these tasks at the age of 19, setting a new benchmark for the highest achievements of military generals throughout history.
Since then, only five people in history have achieved this feat.
Besides Huo Qubing, the General of the Cavalry, there was also Dou Xian, the General of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Li Jing, the Duke of Wei of the Tang Dynasty, Lan Yu, the Duke of Liang of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Di, the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
Then look at Zhang Liao, who at this moment joined the army on the border, fought on the battlefield, and followed Ding Yuan, Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu and Cao Cao.
Later, he killed the Wuhuan chieftain Tadun at Bailang Mountain, defeated the Eastern Wu with 800 men at Hefei, and was enshrined as one of the 64 generals in the Temple of Martial Arts.
In the Cao Wei camp of the Three Kingdoms period, only Zhang Liao and Deng Ai were selected.
We must intercept it! We absolutely must intercept it!
Such a general would be at least a four-star general and ranked high in the system shop.
It's important to know that Xue Rengui, a second-generation war god, was not enshrined in the Temple of Martial Arts!
"My lord, we beg you to send troops to rescue Lord Ding and his party!"
"Lord Ding is holding out for reinforcements, but he won't be able to hold out for more than a few days."
"He still has tens of thousands of catties of armor and a thousand sets of armor, which must not fall into the hands of the Xiongnu!"
Zhang Liao knelt before Liu Wei, gazing expectantly at the handsome prince at the head of the table.
The rumor was indeed true.
This Han prince, now known as the Marquis of Yinshan, not only recaptured Shanwu City in Dingxiang, but also has nearly 20,000 elite troops under his command.
With strong troops and excellent equipment, they were clearly veterans of many battles.
In addition, the cavalry of the Xianbei tribes were also serving them.
Keep in mind that the entire standing army of Bingzhou numbered only 20,000!
The prince in Shanwu City had 20,000 soldiers.
If we ask him to send one or two thousand soldiers, Lord Ding will be saved!
Ding Yuan had shown Zhang Liao great kindness, promoting him from a minor official guarding a city in Yanmen County to the governor's office in Bingzhou and appointing him as the Marquis of Qu.
Qu Hou, only fifteen or sixteen years old, led a hundred soldiers to their deaths!
On the one hand, Zhang Liao was capable, and on the other hand, Ding Yuan overruled objections and promoted him exceptionally!
However, Zhang Liao's elder brother, Zhang Xun, the garrison commander of Yanmen Pass, could not do that.
In short, Ding Yuan is now in dire straits, and Zhang Liao and Lü Bu are facing a dire situation: one comes to Shanwu, and the other goes to Yanmen to seek help.
Zhang Liao arrived in Shanwu and entered the city before the city gates were closed and martial law was imposed.
The soldiers guarding the city saw that he was covered in blood but was still dressed in Han army uniform, so they questioned him about his origins.
He remained silent, but insisted on seeing the Marquis.
This led to the incident where Liu Wei was about to take the two women to bathe when Zhang Liao requested an audience at the entrance of the Marquis's residence.
Being disturbed at a crucial moment, if it weren't for the fact that he was Zhang Liao, Liu Wei would definitely have had him kicked out of Shanwu City!
"You were secretly transporting salt, iron, and armor to sell to the Xiongnu, and you were double-crossed by them?"
Upon hearing Zhang Liao's words, Liu Wei couldn't help but sneer.
How could the Han army in Bingzhou do something like aiding the enemy?
Was selling strategic materials like salt, iron, and armor to the Xiongnu simply to make it easier for them to plunder?
"My lord, you've misunderstood!"
"Two envoys from Luoyang went to Meiji on a diplomatic mission, and soon after, an imperial edict arrived in Bingzhou!"
Zhang Liao hurriedly explained, "We were just following orders; how could we dare to give such supplies as salt, iron, and armor to foreign tribes!"
"However, our Lord Ding discovered the Xiongnu's wolfish ambitions and did not hand over the salt and iron resources!"
Seeing that Liu Wei remained unmoved by his pleas, Zhang Liao gritted his teeth:
"We heard that the Marquis has come to reclaim the four prefectures of Yunzhong and drive out the Xiongnu!"
"If these supplies fall into the hands of the Xiongnu, surely the Marquis wouldn't want that to happen, would he?"
Liu Wei was taken aback.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Liao, a young man and a mere Marquis of Fuqu in Bingzhou, dared to speak to him like that. He was truly a fearless young man!
Do you know who you're talking to?
Upon hearing Zhang Liao's disrespectful tone, Guo Luo immediately shouted, "Threatening our lord? You're courting death!"
Liu Wei waved for Guo Luo to leave, then stared coldly at Zhang Liao:
"Zhang Wenyuan, is it? What benefit would I gain from sending troops to rescue Ding Yuan?"
"My lord! Our Han army is besieged by the Xiongnu outside the pass. You command a large army. As a prince of the Han Dynasty, don't you have a responsibility to save them?"
When Zhang Liao heard that Liu Wei actually wanted to talk about benefits, he was immediately incredulous.
Where among the Han army doesn't belong to your Liu family?
"Haha! You're so young, yet you're already trying to morally blackmail me! You have no idea what this is all about!"
After laughing, Liu Wei changed the subject, "Do you know that 50,000 Xiongnu troops have arrived outside Shanwu City!"
"And from the direction you came from, there are seven or eight thousand Xiongnu cavalry coming, and from Yunzhong, there are also tens of thousands of Xiongnu cavalry attacking."
"They're here to kill me, Liu Wei!"
"Compared to Ding Yuanlai, this place is even more dangerous for me. Who will come to my rescue then?"
"The governor of Bingzhou must be terrified by the sheer number of Xiongnu troops!"
When Zhang Liao entered the city, the Xiongnu army was still in the Qingshui River Valley.
He was even less aware that Shanwu City was already surrounded by the Xiongnu on three sides.
No wonder Ding Yuan and his group heard rumors of a large number of Xiongnu cavalry marching along the way after they broke through the encirclement in Luo County.
The Xiongnu cavalry that pursued and surrounded them numbered only three or four thousand.
The rest headed towards the main road connecting Shanwu to the south and Yanmen.
Zhang Liao and Lü Bu also avoided each other on the road.
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