Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 285 The End of the Road

That night, Liu Bei was still leading his army to chase Yuan Shao. During the journey, Yuan's army repeatedly split up and fled, forcing the Huben Cavalry to split up and chase after Yuan Shao to prevent him from escaping with dozens of men on a remote road.

"Shut up!"

Liu Bei reined in his horse and gave the order: "The pursuit has taken too long, let's rest for a while. When the night sentry brings news, it won't be too late for us to set out again."

When the Huben Cavalry heard the call and order, they dismounted from their horses and took a temporary rest. Some knights went out for patrol on their own to prevent any sudden attack by the enemy.

"Sir, do you still want to chase him? Yuan Shao is too good at running. He keeps going in circles and detours. Now I don't know where he is."

Dian Wei looked around and could vaguely see some fields and thatched huts, which were hazy in the wilderness.

Liu Bei couldn't help rubbing his thighs, glancing around, and couldn't help sighing: "Yuan Benchu's will to escape is really tenacious. I chased him for a day and a night, but I still haven't captured him."

"We have captured many Jizhou officials along the way. Even if Yuan Shao manages to escape and cross the river back to Hebei, he will be unable to dispatch troops to Jizhou and Youzhou."

"Next spring, I will lead my army to conquer more than ten counties in Hebei. It will be easy to defeat them. In less than a month, we can directly attack Xindu. Why bother with this useless effort?"

The Yuan family was not a vassal of the Liu family. Wang Lang, who occupied Handan at the beginning, also claimed to be Liu Ziyu, the son of Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao. Only then was he able to plan big things, gain the support of the Han royal family and wealthy families, and dominate Hebei.

In the eyes of many clans in Hebei, the fight between Wang Lang and Xiu'er for Hebei was actually a fight among the Liu family.

No matter how prestigious the Yuan family was, with three generations of officials in four generations, they could not compare to the Liu family of the Han Dynasty, who rose up and shocked the people.

Moreover, most of the students and former officials recruited by Yuan were concentrated in Yecheng of Wei County, Handan of Zhao State, and Xindu of Anping County.

As long as we capture the four counties and states of Bohai, Hejian, Ganling and Anping in Jizhou, we will be able to border Zhuo, Guangyang and Yuyang counties in Youzhou.

After the disastrous defeat in which his entire army was annihilated, Yuan Shao no longer had the energy to keep so many counties and prefectures from serving him. It was obvious that all places would surrender.

Liu Bei thought for a while, then said to Dian Wei and Xu Chu: "We will pursue Yuan Shao until dawn. If we still haven't captured Yuan Shao, we will turn back to the camp, deal with the tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers first, and then attack the four counties of Ganling on the south bank of the Huan River."

"It is almost November now. After this battle, each state will rest for two months. In the second year of Jian'an, we will send troops to the north to wipe out the Yuan family in one fell swoop."

Regardless of whether the enemy planned to station troops in Xindu or disperse to defend various counties, they successively defeated Gao Gan and Yuan Shao, with a total of 140,000 troops in Hebei. Yuan Shao's army, which had been tempered by years of battles, lost at least 70% to 80% in this battle, if not 90%.

This loss was even more devastating than the one suffered by Yuan Benchu ​​in the Battle of Guandu in history.

After Cao Mengde raided Wuchao, he did not lead his cavalry to pursue him so closely.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei couldn't help laughing.

"Hey..."

The sound of horse hooves sounded, and the scouts came quickly to report: traces of Yuan's army were found in the northwest. The scouts were quite elite, but because the night scouts covered the horses' hooves and mouths, the noise was smaller, and the distance was hundreds of steps away, so there was no battle. However, judging from the traces on the ground, there were a lot of Yuan's troops ahead.

Liu Bei was overjoyed and laughed, "Benchu, I finally caught you this time."

……

"Mr. Yuan! Mr. Yuan, retreat quickly!!"

"The Qingzhou cavalry wrapped their horses' hooves and quickly attacked. The cavalry in the front army can't hold on any longer."

A knight waved and shouted from afar, which made Yuan Shao, who was sitting, and Xun Chen beside him, suddenly frightened.

Nearly a hundred clerks who were lying on the ground resting due to overwork immediately became panic-stricken and riotous when they heard this.

"How come the Qingzhou cavalry arrived so quickly? Don't they need to rest?"

Yuan Shao was pushed by the crowd again and hurriedly helped to mount his horse. He couldn't help but ask in surprise.

The pursuit was too urgent. Xiang Ji didn't end up in such a hesitant and embarrassing situation at the beginning.

"Mr. Yuan, there is a small river about seven or eight miles ahead. Let's cross the river first and then we will work together to dismantle the bridge."

The Yuan army scout pointed to the west and said anxiously.

"You Ruo, hurry up and mount the horse! We will return to Hebei to regroup and fight Liu Xuande again next year." Yuan Shao said anxiously. He could not afford to lose any more trusted aides.

"It's too late. Mr. Yuan left first, and Chen will follow soon."

Xun Chen saw that the Qingzhou cavalry had already charged to within two hundred steps, and that Yuan Shao was still hesitating, so he swung his whip and hit the horse's hind legs. The horse felt the pain and immediately galloped forward.

Then he took over Yuan Shao's command of the remaining cavalry to stop the Huben cavalry, and ordered the elite scouts to follow Yuan Gong. After crossing the river, he immediately tried his best to dismantle the pontoon bridge.

No matter who has not crossed the river, don’t worry about it. The most important thing is Yuan’s safety.

Xun Chen turned around and said to the many clerks: "Chen is here to supervise the battle, you guys should mount your horses and cross the river quickly, otherwise it will be too late."

The current scene is just like when Guo Tu was the last one to leave. Without a high-ranking official to command and supervise the battle, the already exhausted cavalry will collapse even faster.

If they fail to stop the enemy from fighting, the Qingzhou army will be able to catch up quickly. Given the enemy's horse configuration, no one will be able to escape at that time.

At this time, only Xun Chen could tie his tassels and throw himself on his sword, fighting the enemy to the death.

A real man should risk his life to help his lord in times of need.

"kill!"

Dian Wei and Xu Chu attacked Yuan's cavalry from the left and right wings. After several charges, the light cavalry in the front army that was engaged in the enemy was almost completely wiped out.

Liu Bei led 300 cavalrymen to break through Xun Chen's arrangement, jumped on his horse and drew his bow to chase Yuan Shao, while riding he shot arrows to kill Yuan's officials who were ready to fight to the death.

"Capture and kill Yuan Shao! Capture and kill Yuan Shao!"

Seeing that great success was just around the corner, the soldiers of the Huben Cavalry could not help but shout loudly, their cheers shaking the heavens and the earth.

When Yuan Shao, who was fleeing in the front, heard the shouting from behind, his face instantly turned pale, and even his hands that were holding the reins turned slightly pale.

He quickly lowered his head and spurred his horse forward, fearing that a stray arrow would pierce his body. He could not help but squeeze the horse's belly hard and ran faster and faster.

I didn't even care about the severe pain in my legs.

At this moment, Yuan Shao had only one thought in his mind, which was to run as quickly as possible, the farther the better.

The instinct for survival made him forget all the unfavorable situations.

But suddenly the horse neighed, its hooves stepped on empty air and it fell forward, throwing him out in an instant. Yuan Shao felt his vision suddenly rolling and vaguely heard a "crack" sound from his neck. His neck seemed to be tightened by an invisible hand and he couldn't even breathe.

I could no longer open my eyes, my head became dizzy and groggy, and I had trouble standing up despite many attempts.

At this moment, Yuan Shao heard the sound of dense horse hooves nearby, as well as the screams of his followers being killed.

He struggled to turn over with the last of his strength, gasping weakly towards the sky. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his pursuers rein in their horses and dismount.

He wanted to open his mouth to speak, but a feeling of suffocation came over him, making his throat choke and his vision go black.

When he was dying, he seemed to hear a familiar voice calling him.

"Mr. Yuan!" "Mr. Yuan!" "Benchu!"

Xun Chen, with his hair disheveled, ignored his tangled clothes and the swords of the Qingzhou army. He knelt on the ground and helped Yuan Shao up, crying and screaming. In an instant, tears and snot flowed all over his cheeks, and he cried in grief.

"Mr. Yuan! Mr. Yuan!"

Yuan Shao swallowed a mouthful of blood and grabbed Xun Chen's sleeve with trembling fingers. Seeing this, Xun Chen immediately leaned over to listen.

All that could be heard was Lord Yuan's last gasps, and he said intermittently: "Surrender... Surrender... Don't..."

Before he could finish his words, he was already dead.

(End of this chapter)