The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 256 Volume Taking the Blame
Liu Xie had also heard the news of Yuan Shao's arrival at this time.

He immediately climbed up the hillside and observed the formation of Yuan's army on the opposite side.

"With Yuan Shao's army, throwing a whip into the river would be enough to stop its flow."

Too much.

At first glance, there's no end in sight.

The boundless black and yellow armor connects the sky and earth in the north, making people afraid.

"If ordinary people saw this kind of battle, they would probably surrender immediately, right?"

Yang Xiu and Zhong Yao also came here with Liu Xie.

The two of them felt a little breathless when they saw Yuan Shao's overwhelming aura.

This was the first time they saw so many soldiers on the battlefield.

Large troop combat!
Even if you stand on a high place now, you still cannot see the entire battlefield clearly.

This is completely different from leading only thousands or tens of thousands of people.

The battlefield happens in the present, in the future, in places you can see, but more often it happens in places you cannot see.

It can be imagined that once the war begins, the entire battlefield will turn into a colorful picture. The commanders of both sides can do nothing but sit there and wait.

Yang Xiu looked at the battlefield that was as gorgeous as a painting but as deadly as poison, and quietly swallowed his saliva: "But Your Majesty is still able to remain calm, which shows that victory is already in your grasp!"

……

Liu Xie turned sideways and glanced at Yang Xiu strangely.

How come this child is getting better and better at saying auspicious words?
Could it be that Yang Biao pulled Yang Xiu over for secret training and taught him all his "signature skills"?

"How can Dezu see that I am sure to win?"

"Didn't Dezu ever think that when I saw Yuan Shao's army, I wanted to turn around and run away immediately to avoid their attack?"

Yang Xiu was speechless for a moment.

He had often heard others say that Shangshu Ling Jia Xu, who was the closest to the emperor, was always trembling with fear and treading on thin ice.

Sometimes people often say, how can an emperor who doesn't know how to respond to others dare not tread on thin ice?

Different from Yang Xiu.

Zhong Yao has known the emperor for a longer time, and after experiencing all the things in Guanzhong before, he is more familiar with the emperor.

He stared at the emperor's face that was teasing Yang Xiu, and replied calmly: "The emperor often judges others by their deeds rather than their hearts, and I'm afraid it's the same for himself."

"Whether the emperor is afraid or not, as long as he puts the dragon flag here, he has already won."

Yang Xiu looked at Liu Xie in astonishment, but saw that Liu Xie smiled knowingly, obviously agreeing to this matter.

"I am now being forced into a corner by Yuan Shao."

"I can retreat from anyone in the world, except Yuan Shao. Do you know why?"

Yang Xiu: "The emperor has a great grudge against Yuan Shao and wants to avenge the Grand Tutor!"

Liu Xie nodded, but more often he shook his head.

"Can Dezu know a word?"

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"The blue sky is dead, the yellow sky is coming; the year is Jiazi, the world is blessed!"

Yang Xiu's face turned pale again.

He turned to Zhong Yao beside him for help with tears in his eyes. Why did the emperor say something that was so unacceptable?

Yang Xiu’s life is also his life!
Zhong Yao didn't know how to answer the emperor's question. When he saw Yang Xiu looking at him, he turned his head away decisively...

……

After a long silence, Liu Xie muttered to himself, "Zhang Jue, who said this, is essentially a challenger."

"He gathered the strength of the weakest poor families and wanted to challenge the majestic imperial power and the aristocratic families at the same time, so it is not surprising that he failed."

"Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao and others are also challengers, but they want to challenge the great imperial power in my hands by using their aristocratic families."

"Grand Master, the Emperor's uncle, and these Xiliang generals are also challengers, but they are challenging the wealthy and powerful families with humble backgrounds."

"If Yuan Shao and his men win, then everything will go back to square one."

Yang Xiu and Zhong Yao thought that the Son of Heaven referred to the origin when the Later Han Dynasty was established.

Only Liu Xie knew that what he was talking about was the starting point of the decline of China and the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China.

"Only if I win this game can I break something and move the times forward a few inches with my meager strength."

"I will take over the battles that Grand Master has not finished."

"Because the dispute over all this was originally started by the Grand Master and his men."

"So, I must win this battle!"

……

Zhong Yao and Yang Xiu stood behind the emperor, but no one knew how much they understood.

But they had all felt the emperor's determination from his words, and knew that this was the final battlefield.

The Yuan army on the opposite side gradually gathered together and formed a vast ocean in the north.

It was not until Zhang He and Gao Lan's troops finally arrived from Chenguan that Yuan Shao could no longer resist and launched a test.

He ordered Yan Liang and Wen Chou to lead 5,000 soldiers each to rush to the western camp of the Han army, hoping to seize the camp there. The general in charge of guarding the west was Xu Huang.

Xu Huang held a big axe in his hand and still wore the helmet that the emperor had given him in the past. He looked at the approaching troops of Yan Liang and Wen Chou without panic.

In front of the camp, several ditches had already been dug, and many Han soldiers armed with spears were ambushed in them.

Whenever enemy soldiers came here, they would use their spears to tangle with them, using the ravines as a support, and gather all the forces of Yan Liang and Wen Chou in a line, making them unable to move.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves often came from the flanks, which turned out to be the galloping cavalry!
When Yan Liang and Wen Chou saw that the cavalry's flag seemed to be the word "Lü", they dared not to fight with Xu Huang anymore and quickly withdrew their troops.

Yuan Shao then ordered Zhang He to head east to test the camp.

The battles were exactly the same.

The Han soldiers used the ditches to first hold back the Yuan soldiers, and then the cavalry attacked hastily.

The person in charge of leading the cavalry in the east was Zhang Liao.

When Zhang He saw that the person coming was not Lu Bu, he still wanted to fight with him, but he broke through despite the cavalry's attack.

But when Zhang Liao led his troops to charge, Zhang He immediately realized what a serious mistake he had made.

In Zhang He's eyes, there is no essential difference between Zhang Liao and Lu Bu!

Because he can't beat them!
After Zhang Liao broke into his formation, Zhang He immediately retreated in a hurry, leaving behind hundreds of heads as Zhang Liao's trophies.

Yuan Shao was speechless after seeing two consecutive defeats.

Although Yuan Shao could see that it was because the Han army relied on the advantage of cavalry that the two attempts failed, Yuan Shao was still a little annoyed.

Guo Tu saw what Yuan Shao was thinking and also attacked Zhang He.

"Why did General Zhang suffer heavy casualties when facing an unknown general? Is this General Zhang's true level?"

Zhang He stared at Guo Tu and asked, "What do you mean?"

What else could it mean?

"General Zhang just recently displayed his prowess and killed two famous Xiliang generals, Li Jue and Guo Si. How come he suffered a miserable defeat facing Zhang Liao?"

Zhang He snorted coldly, obviously thinking that Guo Tu knew nothing about military affairs.

Anyone on the battlefield today can see that the Han army's combat strategy is to use infantry to hold back Yuan's army in the front, and then use cavalry to surround and cut off from the flank.

As for whether it is Lu Bu or Zhang Liao who leads the troops...what difference does it make?
Zhang He ignored Guo Tu and turned to look at Yuan Shao, thinking that Yuan Shao could say something fair for him.

But Yuan Shao never looked at Zhang He from beginning to end. Instead, he stared at the map on the table, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

Seeing Yuan Shao like this, Zhang He's heart was immediately filled with alarm!
Only then did Zhang He realize that what Guo Tu meant was actually what Yuan Shao meant.

After two consecutive defeats today, Yuan Shao must need someone to take the blame.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou were Yuan Shao's direct generals, and they were facing a well-known and powerful general like Lu Bu, so Yuan Shao naturally would not target them.

Let’s look at Zhang He.

Before Yuan Shao entered Jizhou, he had already held the position of General of the Central Army and was a guest general.

In addition, Zhang He's previous "beheading of Li Jue and Guo Si" had itself added to his prestige, which might have made Yuan Shao feel a little wary of Zhang He, so he wanted to warn him.

Zhang He felt aggrieved when he saw that Yuan Shao was once again being lenient on the outside but cautious on the inside and was trying to impose checks and balances on him.

The local military generals in Hebei have been oppressed by Yuan Shao for a long time!

He turned his attention to the military supervisor Ju Shou, the spokesperson for the Hebei forces, hoping that Ju Shou could speak a fair word for him.

But Ju Shou hesitated for a while, then shook his head slightly at Zhang He.

“The overall situation comes first.”

When Ju Shou lip-synced these four words, Zhang He's heart immediately sank.

Let Zhang He become the scapegoat for the first defeat, so as to stabilize the morale of the army.

and……

Ju Su could already feel it.

After the court announced that "Zhang He killed Li Jue and Guo Si", the generals in Yuan's camp began to distance themselves from Zhang He intentionally or unintentionally.

Even Yan Liang and Wen Chou, who were also among the Four Pillars of Hebei, began to become less close to Zhang He.

Without him!

Jealousy~
Especially since Yuan Shao has been attacking from the north, but has not achieved any success so far, and the city of Jinyang has not been taken down yet. But you, Zhang He, have made tremendous contributions in Chenguan?
What should Yuan Shao and the generals in Yuan’s camp think about this?
Could it be that all the other generals in Yuan’s camp combined are not as good as you, Zhang He?

You know, the last general in Yuan’s camp who received such treatment was Ju Yi, who defeated Gongsun Zan at Jie Bridge!

Therefore, Ju Su also intended to let Zhang He take the blame to ease the relationship between him and Yuan Shao and other generals, and at the same time ease the relationship between the Hebei faction and Yuan Shao's direct lineage.

Zhang He was not a reckless man.

He could also read something from Ju Su's eyes and the atmosphere of the generals.

but……

Zhang He gritted his teeth and reluctantly saluted Yuan Shao: "Mr. Yuan, I rushed all the way from Chenguan Pass and fought without rest, which led to my defeat to Zhang Liao. I beg you to punish me!"

Yuan Shao then pretended to look away from the map and said, "You don't have to be like this, Junyi. We lost, so it doesn't matter! You should just take a good rest first!"

"Here!"

Zhang He clenched his fists and finally turned around and left the tent.

Xu Rong in the tent looked at Zhang He's back and slowly began to think...

(End of this chapter)