Chapter 201 Get one, give one, use talent and virtue Wei Yan, courtesy name Wenchang, was a native of Yiyang. He initially led his troops to follow Liu Bei into Shu, where he made many military achievements and was promoted to General Yamen. This is the record of Wei Yan in official history. It can be said that Wei Yan was Liu Bei's confidant from the beginning, and there was no plot of him surrendering twice as described in the romance. In fact, when Qin Zhen was short of generals before, he intended to recruit Wei Yan, Huang Zhong and others. However, Huang Zhong was not an unknown person. He was the General of the Central Army under Liu Biao and had been working with Liu Biao's nephew Liu Pan for many years, so it was impossible to poach him. But Wei Yan simply couldn't find where he was. After all, in the original history, there is no record of when Wei Yan surrendered to Liu Bei. He only said that he was from Yiyang, but there were many repeated place names in the late Han Dynasty. Where can I find him? So when Qin Zhen heard that the man in front of him was named Wei Yan, he looked at him carefully. I saw that the man was wearing a single piece of clothing, with a sturdy build, about twenty years old, without a beard, and his face was not red, but yellow. His appearance was not fierce, and he even looked elegant. Seeing this, Qin Zhen narrowed his eyes and asked again: "Where are you from in Pingchun? It is almost autumn now, the harvest season. What disaster has befallen Jingzhou? Why do you say it is difficult to make a living?"

Seeing him asking so carefully, Wei Yan thought he didn't believe it, so he hurriedly said: "Your Excellency may not know that we are from Yiyang Township, Pingchun. Our township has not suffered from natural disasters, but there is rebellion by bandits!" "This Pingchun area is located at the junction of Zhangling, Jiangxia and Runan counties. It is a small area with few people and is often haunted by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans." "There is a stronghold thirty miles west of here. There are more than a thousand Yellow Turban bandits entrenched in the mountains." "When the government troops came, he set up camp to defend himself, and when the government troops left, he let his soldiers plunder." "People like us are all suffering. Even though it is the autumn harvest, the Yellow Turban bandits are coming to plunder again." "I heard that Runan was occupied by Liu Yuzhou, and there was a general named Guan who went around fighting bandits and often helped the victims, so I simply harvested the rice and headed over to join him!" When Qin Zhen heard that he was from Yi Yang, he naturally confirmed the identity of the person before him. But then he became a little confused, because there were many young and strong people among the refugees in front of him. If it really is Wei Yan, even if he cannot wipe out the bandits, he should be able to organize young and strong people to defend themselves! There's no reason to be forced to leave your homeland because of a group of Yellow Turbans! While thinking, he asked his question again, but before Wei Yan could speak, a strong man beside him said: "Your Excellency is really ignorant. If it weren't for the fact that they are truly unable to defeat the enemy, who would be willing to leave their hometown?" "Don't underestimate us, we are mostly young and strong. In fact, we are in this mountain valley. We are exploited by corrupt officials above and bandits below. We can't even get enough food every day. How can we have the energy to fight with you?" "Besides, we have no weapons, how can we be their opponent!" "If you give us a few hundred swords and guns, let alone bandits, we won't be afraid even if government soldiers come!" As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Yan frowned and said: "My dear brother, please don't talk too much. It's useless to talk too much!" As he spoke, he looked at Qin Zhen and asked: "We have said it all. We really don't want to embarrass you. If you have any concerns, just retreat a little and let us go outside the mountain!" "If you have no worries, please don't embarrass us and let us go!" But when Qin Zhen heard this, he looked at the other man with interest and said: "What is your name? How can you speak so arrogantly?"

When the man heard this, he puffed out his chest and said: "I am calling you Fu Zhun, not out of exaggeration, but because we have long wanted to get rid of the thieves, but we are powerless!" Hearing this, Qin Zhen smiled slightly, thinking that his luck was indeed not bad. It would have been fine if he had gotten Wei Yan, but he didn't expect to get Fu Rong as well! But think about it, Wei Yan is from Yiyang, and Fu Rong is also from Yiyang. The two are from the same hometown, so it is normal for them to join Liu Bei's army together! Although Fu Zhuo was not as famous as Wei Yan, he was also a good general. He led his troops to cover the battle of Yiling and fought until his death. Before he died, he still shouted angrily: "Wu dog! How could a Han general surrender!" He was a loyal man, and he and his son Fu Qian were both die-hard fans of Shu Han, and were known as the best people in the world. Thinking of this, he smiled at the two of them and said: "You are kind people, so I should give way to you." "Then if you surrender to our army, it's still two or three hundred miles away, and there are many bandits and chaos. How can we get there?" "Since you are determined to get rid of the bandits, why not let me lend you a helping hand? Get rid of the bandits first, take their weapons, and then join the army." "This way, we can keep our hometown safe and secure, and also gain some fame. Isn't that better?" Fu Zhu was surprised when he heard this: "Are you really willing to help us get rid of the thieves?" However, Wei Yan keenly noticed the words "our army" from Qin Zhen's mouth, and immediately clasped his fists and said: "May I ask your name, sir? Are you a member of Liu Yuzhou's army?" Qin Zhen heard this and was about to speak when the bitter rat behind him shouted: "You are so blind. Don't you know that my teacher is a subordinate of Liu Yuzhou, the General of the Five Officials, Qin Zixuan!" Seeing Ku Shu shout like that, Qin Zhen couldn't help but look at Ku Shu, thinking that this kid had some potential to be a lackey. But when Wei Yan heard this, he was so excited that he quickly pulled Fu Rong down and bowed: "I didn't expect that it was Mr. Qin who was in front of us. It's really us who didn't recognize you." As he said this, he knelt down and prostrated himself in front of the carriage. When Zhuge Liang saw this behind Qin Zhen, he couldn't help but frown and was quite displeased. Qin Zhen watched and thought to himself that Wei Yan was quite good at seizing opportunities, no wonder he had a bad relationship with his colleagues. Such a respectful attitude when meeting a noble person can easily make scholars look down on you. However, he admired this attitude. He was capable and knew how to seize opportunities. This kind of person was worth cultivating. He immediately helped Wei Yan up and said: "We are about to go west, would you two brave men be willing to lead the way?" After hearing this, Wei Yan said with a serious face: "Since Lord Qin has given the order, we will do whatever it takes!" Then Qin Zhen asked the two men for their courtesy names, and let them take the young and strong men to lead the way until the evening, when they set up camp. After a detailed conversation with Wei Yan and Fu Zhun at night, I learned that Wei Yan's family was actually quite prominent when he was a child, and was a well-known family in the county.

Unfortunately, his father died early, so his family fell into decline. He had read a lot of books and was not bad in martial arts. Although Fu Rong was not as good as Wei Yan, he also received elementary education. Seeing this, Qin Zhen was quite satisfied and asked the two to have a good rest. But after the two men left, Zhuge Liang quietly came to the tent and asked: "From what I have seen today, it seems that you intend to recruit Wei Yan for use?" When Qin Zhen heard this, he did not hide it and said that this was what he meant. What do you think? Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang hurriedly shook his head and said: "I dare not say anything, but from what I have seen of these two people, Fu Zhun is quite straightforward, while Wei Yan has the intention of seeking personal gain, which shows the appearance of a mean person." "I know that you are a great talent, but I still need to be careful when using people like you!" Qin Zhen was a little surprised when he saw this, and thought to himself that it was strange that Kong Ming both used and guarded against Wei Yan during the Northern Expedition. It seems like these two people just don't get along! We just met for the first time and you're already whispering to each other before you've even gotten to know each other. What will happen in the future? But he also knew that Kong Ming was thinking about himself, so he smiled and explained: "When I employ people, I always use their talents, not their morals!" "Kong Ming thinks Wei Yan is a scheming man, but I think he can be of great use." "As long as the person is loyal, what's the harm if there is a small loss at this time of use?" "If Kong Ming employs people like this, his subordinates will surely be law-abiding people. It may seem beneficial to the country, but it is not beneficial to the people!" "It is important to know that the way to govern a country is to seek development amidst contradictions. If one only knows how to stabilize state affairs and seeks out those dull people, the country will inevitably become rigid." "If this continues, it will inevitably become a habit to only value virtues instead of talents, and the country will decline because of this!" Zhuge Liang felt something was wrong when he heard this. Doesn't governing a country require virtue? But what Qin Zhen said meant that he only valued talent, which was contrary to his traditional ideas. But when he thought carefully about Qin Zhen's dialectics, he felt that this theory was quite consistent with the Taoist theory of the coexistence of yin and yang. He felt that it was very mysterious and nodded: "Teacher, your words make sense, and I will learn from your words!" Having said that, he walked towards the tent with doubts. Qin Zhen watched but did not intervene, for he knew that Zhuge Liang was in the midst of a conflict of ideas. With Zhuge Liang's intelligence and wisdom, he would understand these principles sooner or later. Naturally, he doesn't need to input too much of his own ideas. So it was the next day. As soon as the sun rose, Qin Zhen led Chen Dao and others towards the mountain stronghold. When they reached the foot of the mountain, he called Wei Yan and Fu Rong to challenge them, and he led his troops to ambush behind them. As soon as the two men arrived in front of the mountain stronghold, they started shouting and cursing. The Yellow Turban bandits in the camp were furious when they saw this. As soon as the camp gate was opened, hundreds of men and horses came out, with the leader shouting: "I am Le Ji, the leader of the Yellow Turbans. Who are you? How dare you invade my camp?" Upon seeing this, Wei Yan raised his sword and shouted angrily: "Don't talk nonsense. You have repeatedly invaded my village. Do you dare to fight me?"

As he shouted, a man rushed out from the village and shouted: "Stop barking, you little brat! I'll kill you!" This man rushed out with a spear and fought with Wei Yan. The two men exchanged swords and spears, but after two rounds, the other was killed. Seeing Wei Yan's bravery, the Yellow Turban leader thought he was no match for him and shouted: "My children, how dare this man bully our army? Come with me and surround him and capture him!" When his men heard this, they shouted in surprise and rushed towards Wei Yan and others. Upon seeing this, Wei Yan hurriedly ordered a retreat and took Fu Rong with him down the mountain. When they reached a dense forest, Chen Dao gave a loud shout and led his troops to charge out, causing great chaos among the Yellow Turban bandits. When Le Ji saw this, he thought he had fallen into a trap and hurriedly led his horse to retreat. Unexpectedly, Wei Yan had already chased him with a knife in hand, and before he caught up with him, he chopped Le Ji's horse's leg with one knife. The horse fell down and Le Ji fell to the ground. Before he could beg for mercy, Wei Yan came with his sword and cut off his head with one stroke. With Le Ji's death, his subordinates fled in all directions. Chen Dao led his troops towards the mountain stronghold and killed more than a hundred people in one go. He also seized gold, silk, food, and weapons from the camp, and then led his troops back. When the common people saw this, they all clapped their hands in celebration and praised the virtue of Liu Bei's army. Upon seeing this, Qin Zhen ordered his men to burn down the stronghold, and summoned Wei Yan and Fu Rong to come and say: "Now that this stronghold has been destroyed, you can take your food and weapons and go straight to Runan to join Yunchang." "However, I have no one to accompany me on this mission. I see that you are brave and capable. I wonder if you are willing to go with me?" After hearing this, the two discussed it for a while, and finally Wei Yan said: "Although you have done us a great favor, the journey is long and we need someone to protect us." "Brother Fu Zhuo wants to take his family to Runan first. I have nothing to worry about and would like to go with Lord Qin!" Qin Zhen was naturally very satisfied with this result, so he wrote another letter of recommendation to Fu Rong and asked him to take it to Runan. The two sides parted ways completely. Qin Zhen took Wei Yan in and continued his journey westward. When we reached Pingchun, we crossed the Tongbai Mountains and finally entered Zhangling County. When later generations talk about Jingzhou, they are always accustomed to saying the eight counties of Jingzhou. In fact, Jingzhou only has seven counties, namely Nanyang County, Nan County, Jiangxia, Changsha, Wuling, Guiyang and Lingling. However, after Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, in order to guard against Cao and Yuan, he separated Nanyang into a separate county and created Zhangling County, so it was called the Eight Counties. The prefect of Zhangling County at that time was Huang She, the son of Huang Zu. After Qin Zhen arrived here, he headed south because the northwest was the place where Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu fought. He also sent a messenger to pass the news to Huang She. When Huang She heard that Liu Bei's military envoy was coming, he did not dare to delay and sent the message to Xiangyang City. (End of this chapter)