The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

The army was defeated like a mountain, and this rout did not stop.

Li Jue and Guo Si's tens of thousands of cavalry, like a swarm of bees, fled in the direction of Ba Ling in the west.

The cavalry trampled on the infantry; the infantry threw away their armor, and thought that they were running too slowly. There is even the fierce one, who simply stabs at those who block the road. The self-confessions were already slaughtered, and together with the chasing and annihilation of the cavalry led by Xu Rong, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Sun Ce, etc., I don't know how many corpses were left along the way.

If Li Jue and Guo Si escaped into Baling County, although Xun Zhen could still take down the city, he would have to work harder, so after nightfall, Xun Zhen ordered the generals to continue their pursuit.

Starry night sky.

At this time, if you look down from the sky, you can see the northwest side of Mount Li, standing silently, and the south side of the rushing Wei River. On this vast land, there are scattered fields and fields in front of you, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Feet, the 40,000 to 50,000 enemies who fled in the dark were followed by a group of chasing troops holding torches like fire snakes. Anyone caught up by fire snakes would be swallowed by fire snakes.

Inspired by Xunzhen's military order "those who captured Li Jue and Guo Si reward thousands of gold, and petition for the title of the emperor and the marquis", such as Liu Bei and other generals who are desperate for fame, they are very interested in Li Jue and Guo Si's generals and generals. Ordinary soldiers have no regard for them at all, and even if they catch up, they don't care at all.

A burst of shouts echoed in the night: Capture the thief alive! Catch the thief alive!

Another burst of smaller shouts sounded: Li Jue is there! Guo Si is there!

Thousands of armies compete, like thousands of geese, dazzling fire snakes cut through the thick night.

The little fire on the ground is mirroring the starry sky.

Xun Zhen and Sun Ce were relentlessly pursuing them. Li Jue and Guo Si took their subordinates and their own soldiers and were caught in the chaos. One was in the north and the other was in the south. Resting his horsepower, the sound of the chasing soldiers behind him was approaching, so he could only get up and then run away.

After fleeing all night, I thought that the chasing soldiers should rest, but the chasing soldiers continued.

Li Jue scolded: "Have you never seen a human head? You don't want to die like this!"

The city of Baling was not far away. The officers Li Jue sent to deliver orders in advance came back in a hurry and reported to Li Jue: the soldiers left behind in Baling heard that Li Jue and Guo Si were defeated, and had already abandoned the city and fled across the Ba River. .

Li Jue was furious and scolded, "Coward."

Although he had the intention to flee into Baling City first and gather the remnants, but the defenders had already fled, and the chasing did not stop, but there was no chance.

After escaping all night, the sky was already bright, Li Jue carried a horsewhip, turned around a few times in panic, and made a decision: I will go over Bashui first!

When we arrived at the bank of Bashui, the bridge was already crowded with broken soldiers, vying to cross the river.

Li Jue's personal soldiers stepped forward, slashed with swords, and dispersed the defeated soldiers on the bridge.

Li Jue was crossing the bridge.

These soldiers are his capital. After crossing the river, Li Jue did not leave immediately, but ordered the flags that had been put away long ago to be unfolded, erected on the bank, and asked Li Ru and others to collect them by the river. remnants.

About half an hour later, a military official shouted in panic: "General! The pursuers are coming, hurry up and leave."

Li Jue looked over and saw the flag of Xun Zhen's army on the other side of the river. He took a closer look and said, "It's only a small army that is chasing the other side, not the main force of the Xun thieves. What's the hurry!"

After all, Li Jue was a veteran general, and he was still able to hold on, but the troops on the other side were in a hurry. Although the number of the enemy troops that chased first was indeed not many, they had no intention of fighting, and either fell to their knees and waited in dejection. To be a prisoner; or they can't wait to escape from the crowded bridge, they can't take care that it is summer, the river is full, the water is rushing, and they can't take care of whether they will swim or not, they jump into the river, and the whole river is full. The water splashed everywhere, and there were countless ducks -- only Li Jue saw the soldiers who were soon drowned.

After an unknown amount of time, it may be very long, or it may be very short, and there are traces of Xun Zhen and Sun Ce's brigade on the other side.

The military officials, who were constantly watching the situation on the other side, reported: "General! Liu Bei's general flag! And Huang Gai's general flag!"

Li Jue knew that it was time to continue running away.

During this period of time, he had gathered about three or two thousand rout soldiers, and he ordered to organize these thousands of rout soldiers, and at the same time, he sent his own soldiers to the bridge to burn the bridge. There were still soldiers from Li Jue and Guo Si's troops on the bridge. The fire broke out, not only the bridge was burned, but the soldiers on the bridge were also burned. Dozens or hundreds of people on fire screamed and fell into the water from the bridge. The tragedy was beyond words.

Leaving the east bank of Bashui and walking into the evening, passing by a dilapidated pavilion.

After fleeing for a night and a day, he didn't eat much dry food, and he didn't drink a few sips of water. Li Jue was hungry and thirsty.

Li Jueyin ordered to rest on the spot.

The defeated soldiers scattered, looking for food.

Several scouts were ordered by Li Jue to go east, northeast, southeast and other directions to investigate the location of Xun Zhen and Sun Ce's chasing troops. Li Jue also sent military officials to Chang'an to pass on Li Jue's order, and asked Li Ying, who was left behind, to send troops to come and respond.

But not long after several scouts set off, one scout turned back.

Li Jue was drinking water when he suddenly saw the scouts coming back all the way. He was shocked. He swallowed the water so fast that he almost choked. He spit it out and jumped up in a hurry.

The scout said, "General, it's not Xun thief chasing the troops. The villain was waiting a few miles to the southeast and saw General Guo's flag."

It turned out that Guo Si was discovered.

When Li Jue hated the decisive battle, Guo Si's position collapsed first, and when he heard his name, he became enraged, pouted, and said, "The horse thief didn't die, but he has a great fate!" Put your mind at ease, sit down again, hold the water bag and drink water.

A weak voice said beside him: "Duke Ming, yesterday's battle was unfavorable, our army was defeated, and now that Duke Ming has gathered few soldiers and horses, even if they return to Chang'an, if the Xun thief pursues him, I am afraid it will not be easy. Resist. For the ignorant of Confucianism, why not call General Guo to see him? Look at how many soldiers and horses he has around him, make a team with his troops, and return to Chang'an."

The speaker fell to the ground, his face was pale, the corners of his mouth were foaming, and he was gasping for breath as he spoke. It was Li Ru.

Li Ru is a native of Liangzhou. He is imbued with the local martial arts atmosphere. He is less fond of light chivalrous men. Moreover, he has been in the army of Dong Zhuo and Li Jue for many years. Although he is a literati, he has some physical strength and can ride horses. He escaped with Li Jue.

Li Jue said, "This gentleman has only gathered so many remaining soldiers, how many soldiers can he have?"

Li Ru said: "Ming Gong, the Confucian ignorance, more or less, is always a help."

Li Jue ordered the clerk to summon Guo Si to see him.

The master clerk agreed, and under the guidance of the scout, he left the pavilion and headed southeast.

Li Ru staggered out from behind, caught up with the master, grabbed him, and said in a low voice: "When I saw General Guo, I couldn't say 'call', and said the big Sima invited him to meet."

The master book understood and answered yes.

When Li Ru returned to the pavilion, Li Jue asked him, "What are you doing?"

Li Ru said: "Ru will explain, after seeing General Guo, be sure to urge General Guo to come over quickly, so as not to make Duke Ming wait for a long time."

Li Jue said, "You know things."

Li Ru peeped at Li Jue's expression, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Ming Gong, Confucianism is stupid, after seeing General Guo later, for the sake of the overall situation, Ming Gong had better tolerate him three points. As the Duke said, he was a thief. Ma Lu, a rude person, why does Duke Ming have the same knowledge as him?"

Li Jue glanced at Li Ru and said, "I'll give you an opinion too."

"Ming Gong asks for instructions."

Li Jue said: "Can you stop saying a 'foolish view' in the future? I wonder, is this defeat because of your always 'foolish view'? How can you not be defeated?"

Li Ru was speechless, he had nothing to say, he could only make excuses.

Li Jue ignored Li Ru, sat cross-legged on the ground, took the hu cake handed over by the soldiers, and ate the cake and gulps the water while drinking the clear water from the stream not far away. Li Ru's throat wriggled and asked him, "Are you hungry?"

How could Li Ru not be hungry? He smiled and said, "Don't dare to hide Duke Ming, Confucianism is a little hungry."

Li Jue threw the half-laden cake left in his hand to him, and asked the servant for another.

Li Ru hurriedly devoured it, and ate half of the biscuits, slightly comforting his hunger.

After waiting for a while, the sound of galloping horses came from outside the pavilion.

Immediately, Guo Si's voice sounded: "Tell him to come out and see me!"

Li Jue heard the sound and said angrily, "How dare you be so rude!"

Li Ru tried hard to persuade: "Ming Gong, Confucianism..., Ming Gong, the overall situation is the most important! The overall situation is the most important!"

Li Jue held back his anger, left the pavilion, and came to the courtyard.

Guo Si is already in the hospital.

Two people, you look at me, I look at you, they are all disgraced and embarrassed.

Li Jue stared at Guo Si, sneered, and didn't speak for a while.

Guo Si snorted angrily, and said, "What do you think I'm doing? Please come here, and I won't make a sound!"

"Yesterday, during the war, I ordered you to send troops to help, why didn't you help me?"

Guo Si said angrily, "When you asked me to help you, the thief Sun attacked me right now, how can I help you?"

"The battle is in full swing, this justice wants to break the thief, why did your formation collapse first?"

Guo Si said angrily: "Even if my formation does not collapse, can you hold it? Are you trying to break the thief? My formation collapsed because your formation moved first!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Li Ru hurriedly persuaded them, saying: "Second Lord, calm down, yesterday's battle has already been defeated, and it's useless to say it again. From Confucianism..., from Confucianism's point of view, there is no more quarrel now, and it is advisable to hurry up. Discuss how to deal with the aftermath.”

Guo Si turned his face away and heard Li Jue say again: "Xun Thief said that you and I are Wolongfengchu, just you? It's also worthy!"

Guo Si became angry again, turned his face back, and was about to slap his lips against each other, when he heard a "dang clang", he jumped back, drew his sword, looked around in horror, and shouted: "What? What? "

But a nearby soldier's saber fell to the ground.

Seeing Guo Si's reaction, Li Jue didn't know what he was thinking. He covered his chest and said sadly, "Guo Duo! Guo Duo! You still don't believe me at this time!"

Guo Si saw that it was a soldier's saber falling to the ground, not because he thought Li Jue wanted to kill him, so he was relieved and put the sword back into the sheath. The surprised eyes of the people around him couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and said: "I don't believe you what?"

"If it wasn't for you to poison me and fight with me, how could you and I be today?"

Guo Si said angrily, "If you didn't kill Fan Chou, how could it be today?"

"Don't you get the benefit?"

Guo Si said: "Give me some old and weak, also called benefits?"

Weak and lean are synonymous. The four characters of old, weak, and dead sounded very awkward. Li Ru was a scholar after all. His lips moved, and he subconsciously wanted to make corrections.

Guo Si asked him and said, "What do you want to say?"

Li Ruqiang swallowed the awkwardness and said with a smile, "It's nothing."

Li Jue said: "Isn't the old and weak soldiers not soldiers? Naigong entertains you with delicious food and drink, and asks Naigong's favorite Hu maid, Zhuzhu and Cuicui to sleep with you. It's the public harming you! You are an unfamiliar..."

Feed unfamiliar wolves, or unfamiliar dogs? Guo Si was furious, glared at each other, and said, "Who do you think is unfamiliar?"

Just like two cockfights, Li Jue and Guo Si refused to give in to each other, Li Ru spoke again, and tried to persuade each other, saying: "Second Duke calm down his anger, Er Gong calm down! At the moment, the overall situation is also the most important thing. Even if Er Gong has resentment again, but Isn't the Xun thief the same enemy of the two masters? If the two masters are still so unwilling to get along, when the Xun thief is killed, how can they deal with it?"

Guo Si and Li Jue stared at each other for a while, Guo Si knew that his strategy was not as good as Li Jue's, turned his face away, and asked, "What do you think now?"

Li Jue had already discussed with Li Ru, and since Guo Si no longer quarreled with himself and opened his mouth to ask for advice, he explained the solution he had negotiated and said, "You and I will go back to Chang'an camp first, I will bring the Son of Heaven, and you will bring Yang Biao, let's go to Huangbaicheng!"

Guo Si said, "Go to Huangbai City?"

Li Jue said: "With the rest of you and me, plus the soldiers and horses you and me in the camp left behind, there can still be 12,000 or 20,000 troops. If the Xun thief still dares to attack Huangbai City, you and I will fight against him again! At that time, we will With a fortified city to defend, and the Son of Heaven in the army, I don’t believe that I can’t defeat his Xun thief! Wait for him to withdraw, you and I will chase him, and he will definitely be defeated, and I will avenge this defeat!”

Li Jue's strategy sounded like it was impossible. Guo Bi thought about it for a while, then raised his doubts and said: "If you want to go to Huangbai City, you must first cross the Wei River. According to the military report, Cao Cao is now on the north bank of the Wei River, and on the south bank of the Wei River. With Yang Feng, the ferry crossings on both sides of the north and south are in the enemy's hands, how can I get across?"

Li Jue said: "Yang Feng betrayed me and wanted to assassinate me. If Xun thief had come, I would have killed him! If he didn't escape, how dare he block you and me, I would kill him like a dog!"

Guo Si said, "What about Cao Cao in Weibei?"

Li Jue dismissed it and said, "What kind of thing is Cao Cao? When you and I were ordered by Duke Dong to crusade against the so-called princes of Guandong, this Cao Cao was killed by you and me to the point of being turned on his back and running around. He was released that time, this time If he dares to stop you and me from crossing Wei, he will kill him, like killing a chicken."

...

On the north bank of the Wei River, Cao Cao's army.

It had been a night and a day since Xun Zhen defeated Li Jue and Guo Si.

Cao Cao had already sent officers to investigate the battle area, but on that night, he got the news of Xun Zhen's great victory and Li Juguo's escape to the west.

Come out of the tent and board the watchtower.

Cao Cao put his hands behind his back and looked at the mighty Wei River at night in the south.

It can be said that his rescue of King Qin this time was a series of setbacks. First, Yuan Shao refused to join forces with him, and then because of insufficient troops, he was blocked outside the city of Xiagui and could not enter for several days. Bypassing Xiagui, he wanted to take advantage of the decisive battle between Xunzhen and Li Jue and Guo Si to enter Chang'an first, but was blocked by Xu Rong on the north bank of the Weishui River and could not cross.

——Xu Rong was not subject to his surrender~www.wuxiamtl.com~ Later, he refused to obey Liu Xie's order. At first Cao Cao thought he was inexplicable, but now he has guessed the reason, and he must have surrendered to Xunzhen.

Since Xun Zhen had already won a great victory, it would only take three or two days for him to arrive at Chang'an.

In such a short period of time, let alone the fact that he would not be able to cross the Wei River, even if he could, Cao Cao was no match for Xun Zhen, and his purpose of persuading the emperor to temporarily move to Ye County would definitely not be achieved.

So, what's the next step?

Should we continue to stay on the north bank of the Weishui River, wait for Xunzhen to enter Chang'an, and then wait and see the situation, or should we withdraw our troops and return to Taiyuan?

This is a difficult choice to make.

This time, Cao Cao did not wait for Cheng Li to go out to the army, but for a while, he was not asked for advice.

——

Many thanks to Jiang Xuanjing, the leader of the alliance, a little more in the past two days! Ask for a monthly pass, ask for a recommendation!