Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 278 A loyal minister does not serve two masters
Guo Tu's eyes were also filled with tears. He said goodbye to his friend, "Friend, I don't know when we will meet again. I hope you can help Yuan Gong regroup in Xindu, make a fresh start, and rise again."

"You Ruo, you must try your best!"

Xun Chen suppressed his grief and bowed, saying, "I will let you get what you want and fulfill your lifelong wish! I hope you take care of yourself!"

Then he whipped his horse vigorously and followed the cavalry to the north.

Guo Tu stood there and looked out for a moment. After the thousand-plus cavalrymen went farther and farther away, he looked back and saw that the attacking formation of the 1,300 light cavalry and armored cavalry who were meeting the enemy had already shattered the Qingzhou army into pieces with a cone-shaped collision.

The light cavalry were killed in hand-to-hand combat, with their flesh and bones splattered. They were immediately traumatized. Seeing that they could not win the shootout, they became even more afraid and timid. They only dared to shoot arrows sparsely from a distance in an attempt to curb the speed of the enemy's horses.

The performance of the armored cavalry was impressive. They fought back several times without retreating, which was worthy of the money and land that Yuan Gong had given them. Unfortunately, after leaving behind a field of corpses, the remaining 800-odd light cavalry were like frightened birds, and were terrified of the charge of the Huben cavalry, fearing that the enemy would suddenly attack them.

Without the support of the light cavalry, the 300 armored cavalry were quickly outnumbered by the Qingzhou cavalry, who quickly hit them in the head with long hammers and knocked them off their horses.

The clerks who originally wanted to protect the central army's banner, upon seeing such a brutal scene, most of them immediately fled. Some senior officials quickly grabbed pack horses and galloped north, while others ran away with swords drawn.

Some went north, some went west, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

Guo Tu pushed away the arm of his attendant and looked up at the empty platform. Only the Yuan army's banner was left standing alone in the north wind, whirring and swaying.

Only an hour ago, the officials were still talking and discussing the state of affairs, but now the old friends were nowhere to be seen.

Guo Tu walked up to the platform slowly and saw that the Qingzhou cavalry was about to charge down to the platform. The rear army of Yuan's army was defeated and fled, and it was no longer possible to save the situation. He was just about to take a step forward.

But not far away, a blood-stained knight was heard taking off his armor with the support of the crowd and shouting to the platform: "Is that Guo Gongze on the stage?!"

Guo Tu was somewhat surprised. Some cavalrymen from Qingzhou had already dismounted and killed his followers below the stage, trying to get on stage and seize the flag.

Seeing that the other party seemed to be very familiar with him, he couldn't help but ask: "Who are you? How come you know Tu?"

Unexpectedly, the man laughed and said, "I often heard from General Guo that my relative Guo Gongze served Yuan Benchu, and his appearance matches yours, so I made some guesses."

"Liu Shijun has a magnanimous character and the ambition to win over the heroes of the world. Since you are from Yingchuan County, if you surrender to him early, you can return home and drink with your relatives and friends. How can you not be happy?"

While the two were talking, dozens of Qingzhou knights had already reached the top of the platform with sabers in hand. Within a hundred steps, Guo Tu was the only one left among Yuan's soldiers who had survived and had not surrendered.

The rest of Yuan's army had already been killed and blood flowed like a river.

Hearing an extremely familiar voice that seemed to be chatting with Yuan’s army staff, many Huben Cavalry and Ruichong Battalion soldiers could not help but look at each other in surprise.

No one dared to go over and cut the opponent in half with a single blow, including the person and the flag.

"Lord Xuande, there are many wise men in Yingchuan, but Tu is just a mediocre one. Why do you let Lord Xuande personally go to the battlefield to persuade them to surrender?"

Guo Tu instantly realized from the other party's tone that the knight's identity was definitely not ordinary.

Then I thought of the person who had a close relationship with Guo Jia, was good at commanding cavalry attacks, and had such prestige in the army that made the soldiers able to endure the desire to kill the enemy and cut the flag immediately and make achievements. The person could only be Liu Bei Liu Xuande, who personally created the world-famous Qingzhou Army.

Then he thought that the enemy had erected the big flag in the infantry chariot and shield formation, and he hid among the cavalry. He had only 1,700 cavalrymen, changed horses several times and charged back and forth. He successively defeated nearly 10,000 cavalrymen of Yuan's army and Wuhuan cavalry, and defeated Yuan Gong's central army.

There are currently 70,000 to 80,000 infantrymen on the battlefield, and I'm afraid they will find it difficult to escape.

If the army saw Yuan's banner collapse, it would probably collapse immediately.

The Qingzhou cavalry would then attack from behind and join forces with thousands of infantry, and they would be able to defeat the 100,000-strong Hebei army in one battle.

When Guo Tu thought of this, he could not help but sigh inwardly: "Liu Xuande really has the spirit of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu. He dared to brave the arrows and stones and led his troops to attack. The enemy collapsed immediately and more than 100,000 people in Hebei surrendered. His ambition to become a hegemon has been accomplished."

"Lord Yuan, your defeat is not unfair." Liu Bei looked up from a distance and saw Guo Tu lost in thought. While patiently waiting for his reply, he asked his knights to dismount and rest, took out water bags to drink water, and fed the horses with beans, cautiously preparing for battle.

Let's see if Yuan Shao thought that the Huben Cavalry were exhausted, and seeing that Yuan's army's banner had not fallen yet, he would order the cavalry to strike back and turn defeat into victory.

In order to capture all of Yuan's cavalry and Wuhuan cavalry in one fell swoop and facilitate the subsequent pursuit, Liu Bei deliberately delayed beheading Yuan's banner, waiting to see whether Yuan Shao dared to take the risk.

On the surface, he was talking with Guo Tu, but in fact he was resting secretly, recovering the strength of the horse and the knight, and quietly replacing the weapons.

Guo Tu was standing on the high platform, so he could see the action clearly. He could not help but shout in praise: "Mr. Xuande uses both regular and unconventional tactics in his military operations. He always has a strategy to achieve victory by surprise. I admire you."

Liu Bei heard this and said with a smile: "Whether Yuan Benchu ​​will come back or not, I must be cautious in dealing with the enemy. I am now a general in the army and the safety of the soldiers depends on me. I must not be careless."

"Gongze, a man should take up his sword and ride his horse to gain the nobility, how can he be involved in treason? It is not too late to stop now. Yuan Shao is not a hero, but just a Gongsun Shu. Moreover, his downfall is imminent. You may wish to think carefully about where the Guo family should go."

Liu Bei raised his hand and pointed to the north, his face solemn.

If possible, he really wanted to persuade Guo Tu to surrender. As a scholar from Yingchuan who had served under Yuan Shao for many years, he was very familiar with the dirty deeds of the Hebei gentry.

It is said that stones from other mountains can attack jade.

Yuan Shao had many trusted aides who were not from Hebei. Unfortunately, since the Battle of Hebei, Feng Ji and Xu You, who had fought against them, had died tragically, and Xin Ping's whereabouts were unknown. Only Xun Chen and Guo Tu were left in the army who were from Yingchuan.

If Guo Tu was willing to surrender, it would be a sharp weapon against the Hebei gentry...

When Guo Tu heard what Lord Xuande said, he bowed and said with a smile: "Thank you Lord Xuande for your kindness. Since I have served the Yuan family, I should be loyal to them. How can I betray my master for the sake of profit?"

"The situation is irreversible at this moment. All I want is to die quickly."

After saying this, he turned and bowed to the north.

I thought to myself, "Ziyuan, wait for me. I have come to look for you. Please walk slowly on the road to the underworld."

Guo Tu closed his eyes and leaped down from the high platform, landing on the ground with a dull thud.

The Huben soldiers who could not hold back immediately stepped forward to cut off the Yuan army's banner. Not long after the banner fell, the Yuan army's infantry who were attacking the Qingzhou army's formation and shield discovered that the central army's banner was no longer flying, and they immediately fell into disarray.

Immediately, the army was in chaos and defeated, and they all abandoned their weapons and fled for their lives.

Drums were immediately beaten in the chariot formation, and the Xiandeng Camp, the Armored Camp, and the Sound Shooting Camp rushed out from the gap and took advantage of the situation to chase and kill the fleeing soldiers of Yuan's army.

Liu Bei waited for a long time, but did not see Yuan Shao order the cavalry to turn back and kill him by surprise.

He shook his head and sent out 500 cavalrymen to attack Yuan's army from the front and back, and then sent the knights to notify the main camp to attack the enemy immediately.

He then led more than a thousand well-rested Tiger and Guard Cavalry to pursue Yuan Shao.

He then ordered the soldiers to move Guo Tu's body to the horses and bury it together with the dead soldiers of Yuan's army after the battle. Unexpectedly, as soon as the soldiers lifted up the man's hands and feet, they heard Guo Tu, who had fallen silent, scream in agony.

"Kill me if it hurts, kill me if it hurts!"

"Why does it hurt so much?! Are my hands and feet broken into pieces? Why am I not dead yet?!"

"It hurts!"

(End of this chapter)