“Zhang, Sir, your injuries haven't healed. Why are you here?”
Zhang Chen quickly stepped forward and helped Zhang Fu, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet.
With tears in his eyes, Zhang Fu said, "Lord, you are unparalleled in bravery. With one battle, you wiped out the bandits and saved our people from suffering. I am ashamed that I previously doubted Lord... Now that I think about it, I feel utterly mortified!"
"Zhang, Sir, you exaggerate. The bandits were powerful before and repeatedly bullied our people, so it was inevitable that everyone was worried and fearful. Not to mention you, even I wasn't sure if we could succeed in one battle."
"Lord... I... I am ashamed of Lord, ashamed of the soldiers..." Zhang Fu said, his tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Lord!" As they were speaking, another voice rang out from the crowd, and a hunched old man hobbled out of the crowd.
Zhang Chen looked closely and saw that it was the old man who had led people to surround the County Government that day.
Zhang Chen quickly walked up to him, took the old man's hand, and said, "Old man, you have difficulty moving, why have you come here?"
"This old man heard that Lord had won a triumphant victory and exterminated all the bandits in the four forts outside the city, so I specially came to apologize to Lord."
"Old man, why do you say that? What crime have you committed?"
"That day, this old man gathered people to surround the County Government, which was truly treasonous. Today, Lord has returned in triumph and saved our people. This old man recalls his actions the other day and feels endless regret!"
"Old man, please don't say that. You were also thinking of the people of the entire city. How could this official not know your earnest heart?"
Zhang Chen comforted the old man for a few sentences, then looked around at everyone, cupped his fists, and said loudly, "Fellow villagers, after this battle, everyone has seen that those who bully the weak are merely paper tigers with a false appearance! As long as our army and people are united and work together, no one will dare to invade our Guangping County! No one will dare to bully our people!"
"Army and people united!"
"Work together!"
Zhang Chen paused, then said, "Now that the banditry has been eliminated, from today onwards, everyone can live and work in peace, observe the farming seasons, and work diligently. I believe that before long, our Guangping County will be peaceful, the people will live prosperous lives, and there will be no more suffering from hunger and cold!"
"Lord is wise!"
"Lord is wise!"
All the people bowed and cheered together, and for a time, the noise was deafening.
Zhang Chen knew that at this moment, everyone in Guangping County, from top to bottom, had finally submitted.
At the same time, in Qu Family Village, several dozen li outside the city, the Village Master Qu Yi was listening to a report from a young officer and his face changed involuntarily.
"What did you say? He really used only a mere four hundred men to hold back several thousand bandit troops?"
"Not holding back, to be precise, it was a massacre!" The young officer replied, "This subordinate was only a hundred meters away at the time and saw clearly that those bandit troops were no match for the Guangping County soldiers at all. This subordinate feels that even if Zhang Chen hadn't split his forces to attack the three forts, causing the bandit troops to fall into disarray, victory would have only been a matter of time just by fighting head-on."
Qu Yi pondered, "There were nearly three thousand bandit troops in the four forts, and there were even many remnants of the Yellow Turban in the 'Black Tiger Fort'. How could a mere few hundred men kill them with no ability to fight back? These County soldiers, weren't they just recruited not long ago? How could they have such combat power?"
"This subordinate is also puzzled. Although those bandit troops were just a rabble, there were many of them after all. Only our brothers from the First to Ascend Camp could defeat them with a few hundred men," the young officer said. "However, this subordinate and others have followed the General for many years, from Liang Province to Ji Province, having experienced over a hundred large and small battles, only then gaining our current prestige. But those County soldiers, whether in military appearance or morale, looked no less than us at all."
After hearing this, Qu Yi frowned tightly, stood up, and said, "Quickly go and investigate, what is the name of this unit, and who is the person leading the army?"
The young officer said, "This subordinate has already investigated. The Guangping County soldiers are called the 'Trap Camp'. The person leading the army is the young strong man who came to the village to deliver grain and fodder the other day. His name is Gao Shun, and he is currently serving as the County Commandant of Guangping County."
"Gao Shun? Trap Camp?" Qu Yi couldn't help but exclaim, "What a great talent! I didn't expect this Zhang Family boy to have such a person under his command. Quickly prepare a generous gift. Tomorrow, you will personally deliver it to Zhang Chen's residence to thank him for the grain and express my intention to befriend him."
The young officer was surprised to hear this and said, "Does the General appreciate this person so much just because he is good at training soldiers?"
Qu Yi sighed, "Someone who can train such armored soldiers is definitely not an ordinary person. Such a person is willing to humbly obey his command, which shows that this person also has extraordinary qualities. He has been in office for less than a month, yet he has taken in refugees, opened up barren land, trained armored soldiers, and pacified banditry. All his actions are aimed at uniting the people's hearts. This person's ambition is definitely not limited to one county!"
Zhang Zifan, will you be the person I am looking for?
Qu Yi secretly pondered in his heart.
...
Ye, the commandery seat of Wei Commandery.
Prefect Li Wen was sitting in the government office, and on the desk in front of him was an appointment letter that had not yet been stamped.
Two people stood below, dressed in coarse cloth clothes, dressed as ordinary people, who had just returned from Guangping County.
Li Wen's expression was calm, and he slowly asked the two people, "You two have been to Guangping County for many days, how is the new County Magistrate Zhang Chen? Report truthfully."
One of them cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Reporting to Lord, this humble subordinate went to Guangping County, passing through various counties. Along the way, I encountered many refugees, but the officials in the various counties did not deal with them. Only Guangping County organized the refugees to reclaim land, opening up over eight hundred mu of land in a month and settling thousands of refugees."
Upon hearing this, Li Wen couldn't help but nod and say, "Not bad, encouraging agriculture and sericulture, this is the foundation of being an official."
The other person then said, "Since the County Magistrate of Guangping County took office, he has recruited refugees, organized County soldiers, and recently there were bandits causing trouble and harming the people. The County Magistrate of Guangping County posted a public notice, intending to send troops to suppress the bandits."
Upon hearing this, Li Wen frowned slightly and said, "Commendable courage, but the County soldiers have been organized for less than a month, so this is too hasty."
That person quickly said, "Lord, this morning, the County Magistrate of Guangping County personally led four hundred County soldiers to directly confront the bandits, and also dispatched three hundred-man detachments to launch a surprise attack on three bandit forts. In less than half a day, the bandits were completely wiped out!"
"There is such a thing!" Upon hearing this, Li Wen was a little surprised in his heart: "The County soldiers have been organized for a short time, how can they have such combat power?"
"I dare not deceive Lord. Before returning, this humble subordinate personally saw many people kneeling at the city gate to welcome him. The County Magistrate of Guangping County was covered in blood, which was clearly caused by personally entering the enemy lines and fighting with the bandits!"
"Hahaha, good! Good!" Li Wen was overjoyed and said, "Divine Doctor Hua did not deceive me, what a Zhang Zifan! If our Great Han had a few more officials like this, why would we worry about not being able to achieve national peace and prosperity!"
After saying this, Li Wen immediately took out the Prefect's seal on the desk and solemnly stamped it on the appointment letter.
"Issue this Prefect's order, immediately appoint Zhang Chen as the County Magistrate of Guangping County. Send this appointment letter to Guangping County by express horse!"
"Lord, but he arbitrarily killed an official appointed by the court..."
"Hmph! Zhao Xiong and Guo Dayong were corrupt officials who harmed many people. Zhang Chen killed them under this Prefect's personal order, is that not allowed?"
"Yes, Lord is absolutely right." That person quickly said, "County Magistrate Zhang indeed followed Lord's order and publicly executed Zhao and Guo."
"Go quickly and do it. Tell Zifan, if he can manage Guangping County in an orderly manner, this Prefect will recommend him to the Provincial Governor and grant him another reward!"
"Understood." The two responded and left after receiving the order.