Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 284 This Night is Too Long
Zhang He was silent for a long time, and finally bowed his head and said: "He is willing to surrender to Lord Xuande, to fight against the princes and restore order in the chaotic world. I hope General Zhang will forgive my sins."

Now that he is a prisoner, Yuan Gong's defeat is inevitable. If he does not surrender to Qingzhou's Liu Shijun, Zhang Junyi is afraid that he will die.

What’s more, Lord Xuande has the legitimate right to help the world.

Now that we have taken control of Hebei, the situation is set and we will surely regain control of the empire.

Unless he has nothing better to do and insists on going against the Liu family of the Han Dynasty, since Zhang Wenyuan has given him a way out and an opportunity to correct his mistakes, he should just take the opportunity to surrender.

Do we have to wait for Lord Xuande to come and persuade us to surrender in person?

What if what he gets is not persuasion to surrender but beheading as a public display? All these years of fighting against Gongsun clan is a way of repaying the kindness of Yuan clan. If he is asked to sacrifice the lives of his entire family and serve Lord Yuan like Zhu Ling did, that is impossible.

"Mr. Yuan, if you have not been defeated yet, Zhang He will definitely not surrender Qingzhou. What can we do?"

Zhang He was filled with emotion.

It's not that I want to surrender to the enemy, it's just that the game is over. Gongsun Zan, who has not yet been reduced to ashes, will surely make a comeback in Youzhou, and Wang Lang's defeat will reappear.

Lord Yuan first carved the seals and ribbons of the Governor of Jizhou and the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and later he used the system to confer official titles and rewards for private purposes, which offended Heaven, so he was defeated by Liu Shijun. This shows that Heaven blesses the Han Dynasty!

……

Just as Zhang Liao led his troops to defeat Zhang He's troops on the outskirts of Ge County, in the same dark night, not only was Zhang Junyi running for his life, but there was also Yuan Shao who galloped for a whole day and night without stopping to rest.

The situation was even more difficult at this moment. They had just stopped to rest many times when scouts came to report that the Qingzhou Tiger Cavalry appeared three or four miles away. Xun Chen hurried over to help Yuan Shao up from his seat, then mounted his horse again and continued on his way to the ferry.

The cold wind in the wilderness whistled at both sides of Yuan Shao's face, which was already disheveled and dishevelled, making him feel extremely tormented.

He had never thought that he would experience such a miserable moment. When he went out of the capital Luoyang to fight against Dong Zhuo, he had never been chased by the Liangzhou bandits.

The ferry, which was only more than 300 miles away, made him feel it was farther away than ever before.

"Youruo, take a rest for a while. Shao can't run any longer. His thigh is bleeding. If you don't stop, I'm afraid you won't be able to continue."

Yuan Shao rode his horse side by side with the reins and sighed to Xun Chen.

It's not that he was not good at riding, but he had never ridden a horse for such a long time without stopping. Not to mention him, countless officials and military officers fell behind during the escape, and they fought with the Qingzhou cavalry several times, and many cavalrymen were killed in the battle.

There are only about 400 people left around him now, and an unknown number of Jizhou officials have been killed.

In order to prepare for the decisive battle in Hebei, many officials were mobilized to follow the army, and some were arranged in the three counties of Julu, Anping and Bohai to transport food, military equipment, cloth and money.

Now that the army was overturned, not only were 100,000 troops lost, but also the Jizhou officials trapped in the camp, such as the deputy driver Tian Feng, would probably be captured by Liu Xuande.

I'm afraid that only a few people could escape from the chaos and return to Hebei.

The loss of these trusted officials undoubtedly made it even more difficult for Yuan Shao to reorganize Jizhou. How could Xun Chen not see that Yuan Gong was being chased all the way and was almost discouraged and unable to recover.

I guess we will soon stray off the road to the north, and it will be difficult for the Qingzhou cavalry to catch up for a while, so I decided to take a rest first.

Xun Chen dismounted his horse despite his trembling legs, stepped forward to support Yuan Gong, found a stone to help him sit down, took out the water bag and handed it to him, subconsciously licked the corners of his dry lips, straightened his clothes and bowed, saying: "Yuan Gong, if God wants to give you something, you must first suffer. If you want to enjoy the blessings of the world, you must first work for the world. Only by sharpening your will, suffering your heart, and working hard can you accomplish your goal."

Yuan Shao raised his head and drank a mouthful of water, then handed the water bag to Xun Chen. He didn't want the other party to wave his hand to refuse. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Life is like morning dew. How can a friend suffer like this for so long? Today you share the hardship with me, and I will never forget your kindness in giving me water."

Looking around, seeing that everyone was far away, Yuan Shao sighed and said, "I don't know that you want to gather people and inspire them, so that I can be motivated and inspire the soldiers, and then use this to boost their morale."

"But since the battle between Hebei and Liu Xuande, we have suffered repeated defeats and lost many soldiers and generals. Yan Liang, Qu Yi, Gao Gan, Zhu Ling, Jiang Qi, and Xu You were successively defeated by Liu Bei. Guo Tu and Tian Feng are unknown whether they are alive or dead. Feng Ji attacked without authorization and was defeated, so I executed him."

"Thinking back to the time when we defeated Gongsun Zan, Hebei was so powerful, with so many brave generals, so many strategists, and millions of brave men. I never thought that in just a few years, Jizhou would become desolate. Could it be that the Yuan family of Runan has no destiny?"

Yuan Shao has been thinking about this problem since his defeat.

If Liu Xuande really fits the prophecy of the golden sword, what use would it be even if he raised his army?

Now that the army has suffered heavy losses, will the nobles and wealthy families in Hebei, as well as the Wuhuan, Xianbei and other Hu peoples that Xu Li has recruited, still be willing to lend their all?
Yuan Shao thought that in order to have a decisive battle with Liu Bei, he had visited many powerful families and noble clans and recruited nearly 50,000 troops. Now that they were all destroyed in one battle, he didn't know how many powerful family leaders would hate him to the core and want to take his head to redeem himself and surrender to Liu Bei.

Thinking in this way, even if he replied to Xindu, he would be waiting for death. It is better not to reply to Xindu to avoid the same fate as Wang Lang. Xindu is the place where Guangwu turned the tide, so he must not let it be tarnished in his hands.

Only two or three months after the war in Hebei started, Liu Xuande had already defeated Jizhou. It was only a matter of time before he would sweep across Hebei. What's more, he was from Zhuo County, Youzhou. By then, all the counties in Youzhou would have risen up and marched south to attack Yuan.

How could Jizhou and Bingzhou alone resist the siege of Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou and Youzhou?

Thinking of facing such a scene soon, Yuan Shao held back his tears and said to Xun Chen: "Youruo, the situation is over. Hebei is in ruins and it is impossible to recover. It may be like a cloud of death."

"Years of planning have all come to nothing. If He Jin had not been as stupid as a pig and dog, and had not ignored my advice and allowed the eunuchs to commit murder and kidnap the young emperor, and if Dong Zhuo had not entered the capital and deposed the emperor and killed the empress, and had forgotten the kindness of his former master, how could the Yuan family have ended up like this?"

Yuan Shao couldn't help but feel hatred when he thought of this.

The whole country was in turmoil, and people were gathering here like ants. Liu Bei, who came from a family of mat weavers and shoe sellers, unexpectedly took advantage of the situation and was able to occupy Hebei, accomplish what Emperor Guangwu did, consolidate his foundation, and then sweep across the other princes.

How could he not have expected that he would be defeated so quickly? He had not even received the letters from Yuan Gonglu in Huainan and Cao Mengde in Jiangdong, but he had already suffered a crushing defeat.

Isn't this God's will to destroy the Yuan family? !

Now the pursuers were relentless in their pursuit, regardless of the fatigue from riding and saddle-riding, and seemed determined to capture and kill him south of the Huan River.

"Youruo, this night is too long. I am afraid I will never see the sun again..."

(End of this chapter)