Chapter 190 Cai's Orphan
The cavalry commanded by Qian Zhao was huge, with more than 4,000 cavalrymen. The 1,000 men who were forcibly conscripted at the beginning now also had horses.

They were loaned to them by Black Bear, just like the 3,000 cavalrymen from Pingyang, they were all temporarily seconded.

So now Qian Zhao is a bit like Liu Ye, they do not have the authority to command the army to attack and fight.

The three thousand cavalry lent to him would only move according to Black Bear's orders.

The counties of Taiyuan do not welcome black bears very much, but they cannot stop them.

Qian Zhao appeared outside the city with officials from the state, and Qi County had no choice but to open the door and invite Qian Zhao in.

At night, Linghu Chao, one of Qian Zhao's servants, changed into new clothes and came to see Qian Zhao. He bowed to Qian Zhao, who was writing, and said, "Your Excellency, I am the son-in-law of Wang Shi. Wang Shi invited me to a banquet. I don't know what to do."

Qian Zhao put down his pen and covered the silk book on the table. Seeing Linghu Chao dressed in new clothes and with a humble attitude, he asked, "Are you here for Cai Zhaoji's matter?"

"Yes, yesterday in the left court, many people heard Hei Zhenbei's words. Perhaps someone informed the Wang family quickly, and the Wang family was inevitably panicked."

Linghu Chao also smiled bitterly. He was the cousin of Linghu Shao, the prefect of Hongnong County, and married Wang Yun's daughter.

As Wang Yun's son-in-law, he knew very well what happened that year.

We also know the real reason why Wang Yun killed Cai Yong. It was not jealousy as rumored by the outside world, but clearly to silence him.

If Wang Yun killed Cai Yong because he was jealous of Cai Yong's talent and reputation, and the trust and power that Dong Zhuo gave to Cai Yong; then the reason why Wang Yun killed Cai Yong was simply because of his poor personal moral cultivation.

But if it was to silence him, then even if there was a great glory of killing Dong Zhuo and eliminating the traitor, there was no telling what the world would think.

Cai Yong was killed by Wang Yun because of a sigh, and his eldest daughter's life or death was unknown in the chaos; now the young son-in-law is killing many Huns, and he doesn't mind coming to listen to Wang's sigh on the way.

Qian Zhao was also a man of background and foundation. At that time, dozens of his fellow villagers followed Le Yin, who was the chief secretary of General He Miao.

He Miao was attacked and killed, and Le Yin was also attacked.

In other words, if He Miao and Le Yin died early, Qian Zhao's resume would also look good if he had the last laugh.

Qian Zhao frowned, and seeing this, Linghu Chao bowed even more deeply: "I beg you to help me, sir."

"It's not that I don't want to help, but I don't know how to help."

Qian Zhao still frowned, he was very familiar with the divine horse under Black Bear's seat that could travel a thousand miles a day.

If he really wanted to kill Wang, he would have brought Lu Bu here to kill her after dinner today.

How to save the Wang family is a huge problem.

You can't run away from what's happening now. If you really run away, you will disappear from the public eye.

Who knows who might have killed him on the way. Even if everyone knew it was Black Bear who did it, no one would dare to say so.

This is just like pretending to be sick. If you dare to pretend to be sick and meet a tougher opponent, you will die of illness.

Wang couldn't escape, and it was difficult for her to resist the black bear's attack.

Moreover, this matter cannot be simply classified as a family feud, it is more like a public feud between regions.

After killing Wang Yun's family, people in Guanzhong and Liangzhou will all be favorable toward Black Bear.

The people of Guanzhong and Liangzhou will not write history books. The people of this generation are dead and gone, and hatred cannot be passed down for generations.

After a few generations, who will still care about the disaster caused by Wang Yun?
It is impossible for the dead to rise up for revenge or rebellion. After a dozen generations, won’t everyone still say what the history books say?
But at the moment, the blood feud has not yet subsided.

It is understandable that the Wang family is under great pressure.

Even if the Wang family members had ten times the courage, no one would dare to take up a post in Guanlong in the next twenty or thirty years.

Looking at Linghu Chao's appearance, Qian Zhao frowned all the time: "You go to the banquet first, and I will discuss this matter with Hei Zhenbei in a few days. If I can't succeed, I will ask the general to come forward. But your brother-in-law is indeed a hidden danger."

In his early years, Wang Ling was selected as a filial and honest official and served as the county magistrate in Dongjun.

When Cao Cao was the governor of Yanzhou, Wang Ling was punished to sweep the streets for his crimes.

Cao Cao passed by and recognized him, so he exempted Wang Ling from labor and appointed him as the chief clerk of the General of Cavalry.

Later, during the Guandu period, he was appointed as the governor of Zhongshan County in Jizhou. Now Wang Ling is not in the Central Plains, but in Youzhou, following Xianyu Fu to fight against Yuan Xi.

For a scholar with integrity, he should pursue private interests at home and public interests outside.

Wang Ling had already joined the Xudu court camp, and Qian Zhao could not persuade Wang Ling to defect.

If a person dies but his good reputation remains, his descendants will still be treated favorably when they enter officialdom.

If the reputation is ruined, people will doubt the family's style and integrity.

In this way, even if you have many descendants, it is still difficult to become an official.

Therefore, Qian Zhao would never say anything like persuading Wang Ling to defect.

Just thinking about it, Qian Zhao suggested: "Your brother-in-law is away, and it is difficult for me to convince the general. Why don't you take sick leave and go home, so that the general can come forward. Otherwise, this matter will be difficult to turn around."

There is little chance of a turnaround.

Linghu Chao's expression immediately became serious. He was going to gamble on whether Black Bear would give face to Yuan Shang after Wang Ling resigned and returned home.

If we give face, the Wang family will all survive and the matter will be over; if we don't give face, the whole family will be wiped out.

Linghu Chao would not doubt Qian Zhao's judgment, because Qian Zhao knew Hei Zhenbei better than he did.

In fact, after Qian Zhao understood the ridiculous origin of this war yesterday, he saw Black Bear specifically instructing 3,000 servant cavalry to station in Qi County.

Qian Zhao understood that it was time to settle the old accounts.

It depends on when the black bear can get away.

Can the Wang family resist?

Just like Cai Yong back then, he was silenced by his good friend Wang Yun with just a sigh.

Thinking of the subsequent impact of this incident, Qian Zhao couldn't help but sigh, waved his hand to Linghu Chao, and warned him: "Go quickly, don't bring trouble to you and me."

You are from the Linghu family, and your wife is Wang Yun's daughter. It is difficult to implicate your family.

So just go through the motions, the Wang family can't escape. If you take things too far, your family can't escape either.

"Yes, I will retire."

Linghu Chao bowed deeply once more, his energy and spirit were almost exhausted, he took a few steps back and left.

After he left, Qian Zhao lifted the cloth covering the official document, grabbed a pen and dipped it in ink, wanting to write, but his mind was filled with mixed feelings.

There is an orphan of the Zhao family, and now there is an orphan of the Cai family.

I'm afraid that in the future, when the three clans are exterminated, even baby girls will not be spared.

After thinking it over, Qian Zhao took out another piece of silk book, spread it out and wrote to the black bear.

As a person from a border county who was familiar with the various Hu tribes and had witnessed their tactics of plundering and then asking for surrender, Qian Zhao knew very well that the Right Army would never accept Black Bear's conditions.

Now it depends on how Black Bear and the Right Wing will back down in the next round of negotiations.

As the governor of Bingzhou, he is currently just an intermediary.

At this moment, the leaders of the small tribes who had escaped from the left court led their people and drove the beasts to surrender to the court. They also joined the production of air-dried mutton and brought enough food.

The royal court of the left wing had no shortage of food, and neither did any of the Xiongnu tribes, large or small.

They were both farmers and herders, and had no shortage of animal power. No one levied taxes or rents on them, so the three royal courts could store sufficient food, and use the food to feed their children and expand the number of war horses.

As night fell, the black bear had eaten and drunk his fill, and rode his dry horse to patrol the camp.

The newly surrendered tribe lit many bonfires at night, obviously still on alert and taking precautions.

The area around the royal court of the Left is quite crowded now. Almost everyone from the Left has come, and those who couldn’t come have also brought their heads with them.

In vigilance and anxiety, the Huns welcomed the sunrise of a new day.

But today the sun is blocked by layers of white clouds, and a cold north wind is blowing.

There were also small pieces of icicles floating in the sky, but there was no sign of snowfall.

But the production of dried mutton continued. After dawn, about 7,000 young and strong Huns slaughtered sheep and sick cattle, and selected those with superb skills to tan leather or repair the various weapons and armor that had been looted and accumulated.

The women and children were reorganized again, and as usual, a material transport team was formed every day, with 500 armed servants assigned to them, and they left south along the Fen River Road.

They have become accustomed to migration. There is no shortage of stops along the way, and there are cavalry patrolling back and forth between the stops, so it is impossible for them to get lost.

On this day, Black Bear inspected the resting centuries and selected knights from among them to make final preparations for the upcoming expedition.

The current army cannot be called an army at all. Once they have mastered the nomadic tactics, they can only fight in waves.

It's somewhat like the style of Mount and Blade. If one wave can be crushed, they will transform into a pack of wolves and chase together, working together with one mind and great enthusiasm in fighting.

But if you can’t rush the opponent in one wave, then you’ll be in trouble.

This is the shortcoming of a poorly organized army: it lacks resilience and cannot withstand attacks.

The purpose of recruiting elite cavalry now is just to make the attack more powerful!

Just as the black bear was waiting for the snow to fall, Queshu Valley at the exit of Fenshui Road.

Sun Zi rode an old horse to the temporary camp at the Fenshui ferry and saw many women resting there.

But there were also some women who took their half-grown children to the ravine a dozen miles away from the ferry. When they came back, most of them were alone and looked dull.

Some women looked calm, as if they had cut off a bloated and difficult burden and could embrace a new life from now on.

Sun Zi's arrival did not cause any disturbance.

He studied at the Imperial Academy when he was young. When Dong Zhuo was killed, he was appreciated by Wang Yun from the neighboring county and was appointed as a county magistrate.

When the emperor moved east and Cao Cao was appointed as the Minister of Works, Cao Cao recruited Sun Zi at the recommendation of Wang Ling. It happened that Sun Zi's brother was killed by his fellow villagers. Sun Zi resigned from his post and returned to his hometown to organize people for revenge, then took his family to Hedong for refuge.

Therefore, Sun Zi was not only a fellow villager of the Wang family, but also a student and former official of the Wang family, and the relationship between them was extremely solid.

He is now in mixed emotions. Originally, Jia Kui wrote to him to persuade him to serve in the Zhenbei Shogunate.

Only then did he say goodbye to his family and ride his old horse back home.

As a result, he met an official from Taiyuan County on the Fen River Road and learned the true origin of the war.

Whether or not to go see the black bear has changed from an initial multiple-choice question to a fill-in-the-blank question that requires you to go.

Successfully entering the officialdom is the first step to preserving the Wang family.

He was determined. This was not just a matter of repaying a favor, but also a matter of principle for a scholar to conduct himself in the world.

After figuring this out, he went to find the person in charge of the camp.

There are more than a dozen Guanzhong soldiers in charge of this camp. They also take turns to rest. The Guanzhong soldiers on duty command some armed servants and women to slaughter sheep, and also exchange food with nearby caravans. They each perform their duties and keep the camp running.

After all, Sun Zi was a man of extraordinary bearing. He stepped forward to greet them, and the Guanzhong soldiers who stayed behind in the camp almost instinctively respected the man in front of them.

Taking the initiative to invite Sun Zi to sit by the campfire to keep warm, Sun Zi asked: "How many men and women did Hei Zhenbei rescue this time?"

"No less than 200,000, including the children."

The Guanzhong soldier pointed at the women outside and said, "This is the first batch from the Zuobu Wang Court. There will be a second batch tomorrow. I heard from them that Zuo Xian Wang escaped at night. All the surviving people in Zuobu will be relocated to Guanzhong."

The Guanzhong soldier smiled and said, "There is also the right wing. If we can break through the right wing, we can rescue 300,000 boys and girls this time."

Sun Zi was extremely surprised and felt an instinctive joy after hearing this, but this joy was suppressed by his complex values.

He frowned and thought, then said with emotion: "There are so many of them? Hei Zhenbei saved countless people from Taiyuan and Hedong. If it weren't for Hei Zhenbei, the Xiongnu would have become stronger and our ethnic group would have had difficulty continuing."

"Now they are the Xiongnu, and in the future there will be the Qiang and Hu in the north!"

The Guanzhong soldier smiled and handed the hot skewers to Sun Zi, saying in high spirits: "My general is so good at fighting. This year he will help you fight the Xiongnu, and next year he will fight the Qiang and Hu!"

Sun Zi smiled brightly after hearing this. Thinking of the Wang family's crisis, he asked, "I heard that the General Zhenbei sent troops this time to rescue the eldest daughter of Lord Cai of Chenliu?"

"That's right. We heard about it too."

The Guanzhong soldier motioned Sun Zi to eat the meat, blinking his eyes and analyzing: "I heard from others that the general's family and Lord Cai are old friends and there is an engagement."

Upon hearing about this old friendship, Sun Zi wondered whether Hei Xiong's father and grandfather would be purged by Wang Yun.

In Chang'an at that time, Wang Yun basically killed anyone he wanted to kill, and there were few innocent people.

If this vengeance involves the black bear itself, then...

Sun Zi chewed the meat and prepared to lower his target. Although he couldn't save Wang Yun's three clans, saving Wang Yun's descendants would not be a problem.

Find a descendant of the Wang family, and after a dozen years when the limelight has passed, adopt him as Wang Yun in the family tree.

As for more things, Sun Zi can only take it one step at a time.

I just hope that they won’t be so cruel and only kill three tribes.

Don’t be like the various tribes of the Chanyu royal court in Pingyang, they are basically being killed off.

The black bear pointed at the spine of the Wei family in Hedong and cursed, "The Huns have all come to the Wei family's tombs to graze their horses, and they even stole your Wei family's daughter-in-law, and you, the Wei family, are just standing there staring?"

It’s okay to want to bask in Wei Qing’s legacy, but this thing must be done well.

If all the Huns in Pingyang cannot be killed, not only will the Wei family lose face, but the powerful people in Hedong will also feel embarrassed.

The hardest bones have been knocked down by the black bear. If they continue to shrink their heads, their reputation will be completely ruined.

After Hedong was cleared up, the coalition of Hedong warlords would be free to come to Taiyuan to cause trouble.

This is also the reason why Sun Zi gave up his seclusion and returned home immediately. If this matter was not handled properly, it would explode from the Wang family, causing heavy losses to the people of Taiyuan.

There were not only Sun Zi but also others who gathered and approached Black Bear.

If we get people over here quickly, there will be room for maneuver in many things.

Otherwise, if we fail to take this step, we will be at the mercy of others and can only let it go.

(End of this chapter)