Lu Zhi suddenly looked at the other side of the map, paused slightly, and immediately pointed to it, asking,
"When was this place marked, and who commands this army?"
Zong Yuan heard this, looked at the map beside him, thought for a moment, and then replied,
"Reporting to General, this was just marked. I was about to report it to you."
"The commander of this army is Liu Jin, Liu Wenyi. He currently holds the position of Biebu Sima. He was conscripted by the imperial court and led his troops from Zhuo Commandery, marching south to rendezvous with our forces."
Lu Zhi frowned upon hearing this, his tone somewhat displeased, and he asked coldly,
"Since he was conscripted by the imperial court, Zhuo Commandery is not far from here. Logically, he should have arrived within half a month."
"Our army has been in Jizhou for over a month now, so why has he only just arrived?"
"Could it be that this man is slow in his march and utterly undisciplined?"
Zong Yuan paused, then quickly explained,
"General, you are unaware, but when Liu Jin passed through Wuji County in Zhongshan Commandery, he killed a Yellow Turban Qu Shuai and annihilated several thousand enemies."
"This delayed him for a period, which is why his march was a bit slow."
"The battle report was just delivered and I hadn't had time to inform you."
Lu Zhi was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, feeling a bit surprised.
A mere single army was able to wipe out several thousand Yellow Turbans and even kill a Qu Shuai; this achievement is not bad.
One must know that the imperial army he led, marching north, winning battle after battle, only accounted for several thousand enemies annihilated in total.
He muttered, "Zhuo Commandery, Liu Jin?"
He felt that the name was somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, his eyes lit up.
He immediately asked,
"Is this the same Liu Jin who, some time ago, pacified tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans in Zhuo, earned merit, and was subsequently appointed Biebu Sima by the imperial court?"
Zong Yuan quickly nodded upon hearing this, saying,
"Yes, it is him."
"It was this battle that led to the Prefect of Zhuo Commandery being ennobled as a marquis by the imperial court."
Lu Zhi nodded slightly upon hearing this, already knowing a thing or two about Liu Jin.
When he himself was recommended to be a General with Imperial Authority, he had heard of this battle report. It was a unique military achievement since the Yellow Turban Rebellion began, causing quite a stir.
The Emperor was greatly pleased, and officials at all levels in Zhuo Commandery were basically promoted.
His voice slowly emerged,
"In that case, this Liu Wenyi can indeed be called a brave and skilled warrior."
Zong Yuan nodded beside him, praising,
"This man indeed has some ability; otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly defeated the Yellow Turbans."
Lu Zhi frowned, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly said,
"Since this Liu Wenyi is leading his troops in the north, only about a hundred li from here, why not let him lead his troops to intercept Zhang Liang?"
"After I pacify Ye City, I will then lead my army north to rendezvous with him. What do you think?"
Zong Yuan heard this, thought for a moment, and then hesitated,
"It is feasible for this man to intercept Zhang Liang's forces, but I wonder if he can withstand them. If he is defeated, we will be in danger."
Lu Zhi waved his hand upon hearing this, saying loudly,
"He only needs to intercept them for ten days. He doesn't need to lead his army to defeat them."
"If he can't even accomplish this small task, then I think this Liu Wenyi is merely famous in name only."
Zong Yuan, hearing this, could not refute and could only nod in agreement.
After all, Lu Zhi was the General with Imperial Authority in the army; he was merely a deputy, at most able to offer some opinions, but without the authority to make decisions.
Lu Zhi did not hesitate, immediately waved his hand, and said loudly,
"Ride quickly and convey the order. If Liu Jin can intercept Zhang Liang's forces for ten days, General will count it as a merit for him."
"If he fails to hold them and Zhang Liang breaks through to Ye City, I will certainly make an example of him."
Zong Yuan cupped his hands and bowed, saying,
"Understood."
Soon, a messenger quickly galloped towards the north.
Two days later!
Liu Jin, leading three thousand troops, had already arrived in Zhao Commandery, only a hundred li away from Lu Zhi's main army.
Seeing that the sky was already dark, the army set up camp in a mountain hollow.
Soon, they began to build the camp and prepare meals.
By a bonfire, Liu Jin sat, digesting the information the scouts had gathered recently.
Lu Zhi, leading the imperial army, marched north, winning battle after battle, driving the Yellow Turbans back repeatedly, and was now besieging Ye City.
Liu Jin didn't pay much attention after learning these details.
Historically, Lu Zhi's pacification of the Yellow Turbans was indeed relatively smooth, encountering no major obstacles.
It was only when he reached Guangzong City, Zhang Jiao's stronghold, that he encountered some trouble, unable to breach it for a long time. Instead, he was dismissed by the imperial court and ended up being transported to Luoyang in a prison cart.
It seemed he was impeached by eunuchs. As for whether this was truly the case, Liu Jin did not know for now and would only find out when he reached Guangzong City.
Just then, Han Dang, with an anxious expression, quickly came over, cupped his hands, and bowed, saying,
"Ming Gong."
"General Lu Zhi sent someone with an order; it seems to be very urgent."
After saying this, he quickly handed over the secret letter.
Liu Jin, sitting by the fire, was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, not expecting an order to arrive even before he had reached his destination.
He immediately reached out and took the secret letter, opened it, and carefully examined it.
His brows couldn't help but furrow slightly. The letter's contents were very clear.
It ordered him to lead his troops to intercept Zhang Liang's forces, for only ten days.
If he completed the order, it would count as a merit; if he failed, he would be held accountable.
Without any hesitation, he immediately instructed Han Dang beside him,
"Gather all the Generals in the army to discuss matters."
After saying this, Liu Jin stood up and, surrounded by his personal guards, walked towards the temporarily erected military tent.
A moment later, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Wei You, Wu Xing, Han Dang, and others arrived one after another, taking their seats on either side.
After seeing that everyone had arrived, Liu Jin did not waste words and informed the Generals of the letter's contents.
Upon hearing this, everyone frowned, their faces showing some displeasure.
Zhang Fei immediately stood up and grumbled,
"I think this Lu Zhi is nothing special, yet he claims to be a famous scholar and great Confucian."
"He actually issued such a strict military order, telling Big Brother to lead his troops to resist Zhang Liang's thirty thousand strong army. Even if that were all, it would be one thing."
"If we don't hold for ten days, he's going to make an example of Big Brother."
"I think this old fellow, seeing Big Brother win battle after battle and gain so many merits, grew resentful and deliberately used this matter to suppress him."
The surrounding Generals nodded upon hearing this, largely agreeing with the sentiment.
Clearly, he wanted to dampen their spirit somewhat, so that he could better control their army.