Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 387 The True Loyal Officials Are Dead
Li Jue was awakened by a splitting headache. He looked at the Liang Province generals who were drunk and staggering in the military camp, and then at the empty tables of Guo Si and Zhang Meng, and felt a little surprised.

A soldier nearby immediately bowed and explained, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, the Cavalry General was drunk, so the soldiers helped him back to the camp."

"It's just..." The soldier paused for a moment and said carefully, "Grandmaster Zhang was called away by his wife in a hurry."

Li Jue instinctively felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell why, because this kind of thing had been going on for two or three days. Ever since Fan Chou was killed by his cavalry commander Hu Feng with a hammer at a banquet, Guo Si no longer dared to get drunk alone and stay in his military camp.

The prefect of Wuwei, Zhang Meng, had been drinking excessively these days and was often called away by his wife. But why were all the generals drunk tonight and completely unguarded?

What should I do if a thief comes to kill me? !
"Hurry up and wake them up. As generals in the army, they dared to get drunk and fall asleep in their seats."

When Li Jue heard the loud snoring of the crowd, he could not help but raise his eyebrows and said angrily.

"By the way, have the three dukes, nine ministers and other ministers in the camp fallen asleep?"

Li Jue asked with a frown.

He and Guo Si agreed that the emperor and ministers would be rotated every ten days. Today happened to be the day of the rotation. The emperor, empress, and noble ladies in his camp were sent to Guo Si's camp, and the three dukes and nine ministers in the other camp were sent to him, so he asked this question.

However, at this moment, hurried footsteps were heard in the camp, and a soldier with a panicked look on his face clasped his hands and said in a hurry: "Grand Marshal, the scouts reported that a large number of Han troops appeared near Guzang County. The right general Li Xian's army has been defeated and is fleeing here."

"What? Liu Xuande came so quickly?!"

Li Jue was so shocked that he lost all his drunkenness in an instant. He suddenly jumped up and couldn't help feeling surprised and stunned. How could Liu Bei come so quickly?

He doesn't need to rectify Guanzhong, restore the administration, or deal with Ma Teng, Han Sui and other Han rebels, so why is he only coming for me...

"Has the scout leader found out whether the flag is really engraved with the word 'Liu'?"

Li Jue looked outside the pitch-black tent, and a feeling of fear came over him, making his back inexplicably cold.

If it was really Liu Bei who came in person, he would have no choice but to give up the emperor and the queen, otherwise he would definitely not be able to escape.

Until now he still couldn't believe that the Han army could reach the Liangzhou army with such a lightning-fast force.

"Kill them! Don't let Li Jue and Guo Si escape!"

As soon as Li Jue finished speaking, there were shouts outside the military camp. The sound came from all directions, resounding through the mountains and forests, and even causing the wild beasts in the mountains to roar.

"kill!"

The murderous shouts coming from outside made Li Jue unable to judge for a moment how many troops the enemy had. In addition, the drunk generals in the army stumbled when they walked, and could not tell the directions even after waking up.

Li Jue turned around and looked, and his heart sank immediately.

What a ridiculous enemy we are facing! Let's quickly take the three dukes and nine ministers in the army and run away, no matter how many you can.

Moreover, the Han army's shouting was so loud that Guo Si must have been able to hear it. By the time he reacted, he would have brought the emperor and the queen to catch up. Even if he had to abandon these people, he could not let them all go at once.

They had to be released in batches to stop the Han army from pursuing them and prevent them from easily shooting arrows in pursuit.

When Li Jue thought of this, he immediately ordered his auxiliary soldiers to go forward to meet the enemy. The old soldiers led the three dukes and nine ministers to take a small road, first to Xiu Tu County, and then turned to Xianmei County. This place was not far from Zhangye County. As long as they entered Zhangye, they would enter the mountainous area here, and then they would be able to easily get rid of the Han army pursuing them.

Many ministers, including Grand Marshal Yang Biao, Auxiliary General Fu Wan, Guard General Dong Cheng, and Imperial Clan Minister Liu Ai, were awakened by the sound of fighting shortly after they had rested.

Then the soldiers from Liangzhou rushed in and forced them to put on their clothes and evacuate with the army.

"Where is the emperor? Where is the empress? The Grand Marshal must not abandon the emperor and run away. This is not a minister!" Yang Biao shouted anxiously.

"What the commander said is absolutely right. Even if the enemy attacks, we must first go to the cavalry general's camp to protect the emperor. What's the point of bringing us along?"

Fu Wan also hurriedly spoke to the Liangzhou soldiers.

"The Grand Marshal has ordered that all the ministers must evacuate with the army at this moment. As for the affairs of the emperor, it is not your turn to intervene for the time being. Those who refuse to do so will be killed on the spot."

The leading captain smiled coldly, drew his sword and spoke with a murderous look in his eyes.

Talking nicely to these court ministers will only make them become more aggressive. Only when the swords are stained with blood will they be more understanding.

When the captain said this, many ministers couldn't help but shrink their necks, shut up quickly, and dared not interrupt.

The Liangzhou bandits often killed people without any reason, and then issued an edict in the name of the emperor, fabricating charges to kill all the male members of the family, while the wives and daughters were sent to the military camp.

Over the years, the truly tough ministers of the Han Dynasty have all died, either at the hands of Dong Zhuo or indirectly at the hands of Wang Yun, Li, and Guo. The rest are people who know how to be flexible and assess the situation.

Sure enough, after hearing these words, Yang Biao and Fu Wan, who were arguing just now, fell silent and just sighed.

What else can I do if I don't sigh? I have said everything I need to say. Besides, even if I draw my sword and fight, I can only kill a few crude warriors, but I will be torn into pieces immediately by the enemy army that rushes over.

Aren't Li Jue and Guo Si still alive and well? We should still tolerate each other for the sake of the country. How can it be useful if we tolerate our generals but not our soldiers?
Seeing that the ministers had no more objections, the leading captain immediately ordered their men to evacuate them all, and told the soldiers to take the ministers' families with them, otherwise this group of people would be in danger of death again.

"Kill!!"

"Thief Li has fled to the north. Hurry and chase him to the north."

In the wilderness in the dark night, the "Han Army" shouted in unison and the cavalry pursued quickly, making the Liangzhou Army pale with fear. They also found that the other side was more familiar with the terrain here than they were, and they would be chased wherever they hid.

Some of the Liangzhou bandits were aroused to ferocity and wanted to fight the Han army fiercely, but their comrades were always running and screaming beside them, so if they dared to look back, they would surely die.

In this situation, he could only be forced to flee for his life, secretly cursing his comrades for being cowards who did not even dare to fight back against the Han army.

Li Jue, who fled on horseback in a panic, was separated from many soldiers. His horse's hooves sank into the swamp mud and he could not get out for a long time.

He had no choice but to abandon his horse and lead dozens of people, using spears and horse lances as sticks, to try to cross the swamp.

"Swoosh! Whoosh!" The dense array of arrows shot out caused the fleeing soldiers of Liangzhou in the swamp to scream miserably.

When Li Jue looked back, he was immediately frightened and his face turned pale. He saw more than a hundred cavalrymen chasing him and drawing their bows and arrows.

His calves were stuck in the mud and he couldn't pull them out. He cried out in fear, "God has doomed me!"

It was these familiar words that made Zhang Meng, who was leading his troops to pursue the Liangzhou bandits, hear something. He immediately ordered everyone to stop, rode his horse forward and looked forward. He immediately saw the person he had been thinking about day and night and wanted to kill.

The surprise came so suddenly that Zhang Meng could no longer hold back his laughter. He wiped his tears and said through gritted teeth, "Kill him, and then display his head to the public. Hang it on the city gate for three days to relieve my hatred."

"After I kill Guo the thief, I will pickle their heads and send them to the King of Han on horseback."

As for the emperor and the many ministers, what to do with them if they were rescued gave Zhang Meng a headache. Fortunately, there was no news of the successful rescue of the emperor.

For now, we can only take one step at a time.

(End of this chapter)