Tiger Guards

Chapter 423 Uneasy
In the middle of the night, Zhang Liao led his troops across the river from the south of Chen County to the east bank.

Zhang Liao did not stop and continued northward toward Xinping.

When he arrived at the Xinping Oath Platform, a messenger on horseback caught up with him, shouting: "The General has given an urgent order!"

The cavalry, consisting of a dozen or so riders, carried torches and shouted in turn as they moved quickly close to the marching column.

By the roadside bonfire, a battle flag of the General Who Pacified Bandits was hung on the flag cart.

He reined in his horse and looked around. He saw Zhang Liao standing in front of the campfire drinking soup.

He then leaped off his horse, raised the silk scroll aloft with his right arm, and stepped forward: "General Who Pacifies Bandits, the Great General has an urgent order!"

Zhang Liao sipped his soup without turning around, only glancing sideways at him: "What military order is this?"

The nearby military officers did not get up; they all sat and rested, glancing up at the messenger.

The messenger held up the silk scroll and read: "The General commands that Guan Hai, Sima, and the four commanders are remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, who have long been uneasy and have been in league with the traitor Yuan Shu. Wen Yuan, upon receiving this order, immediately capture the four generals without fail. Order dismissed."

Zhang Liao frowned and reached for the silk scroll, which the messenger handed over with both hands.

Upon receiving the silk scroll, Zhang Liao tossed it into the campfire and said directly to the messenger, "I couldn't see it clearly. Could I please request another document?"

"This... General Wen Yuan, this..."

The messenger was furious but couldn't retaliate. If he went back like that, he wouldn't get away with it either.

The sound of swift hooves came from behind the column. Zhang Liao looked in the direction of the sound and saw his scout officer leap off his horse: "General, the rebel Yuan broke through the siege of Chen County. His soldiers and civilians came out from the east and south gates, many carrying torches, and headed southeast along both banks of the Honggou Canal!"

"How many men are there?"

"No fewer than thirty thousand!"

"Explore again!"

"Here!"

The scout officer bowed, and a friendly military officer handed him hot soup. He immediately took the wooden bowl with both hands, drank the soup, and led the guards to turn around and leave.

Zhang Liao walked to the campfire, put his hands behind his back, and his face was flushed in the firelight: "Now that things have come to this, we have no other choice."

In fact, he didn't want to break up with Lü Bu, but Lü Bu never dared to personally lead the army, which made Zhang Liao very upset.

If Lü Bu had given Gao Shun more command authority and entrusted them with important responsibilities, things wouldn't have come to this.

In terms of seniority, how much less experienced is Zhang Liao than Zhang Yang?
The most crucial conflict occurred during the winter in Nanyang, when Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were the conquerors of Jingzhou. They were confident that they could lead the General's Five Battalions and the Eagle Flying New Army to break through Jingzhou.

Lü Bu, however, was misled by the nobles and officials and abandoned the plan to take all of Jingzhou.

Gao Shun was a pragmatic man who did not trust the authority of the court or Jingzhou; Zhang Liao had experienced the deaths of General He Jin and Commander Ding Yuan, and felt insecure about staying in the central government.

Zhang Liao would have felt safer if he had attacked Liu Biao and captured Jingzhou.

Rather than following the imperial court and wandering to various places, it would be better to seize Jingchu, observe the changes in the world, and act when the opportunity arises.

Compared to Lü Bu, Zhao Ji was much more decisive, handing over the emperor and high-ranking officials to Lü Bu in a flash. Like shackles, they bound Lü Bu tightly, making him believe that he was truly the regent, a great general who could command the world.

Zhao Ji could lure and kill Cao Cao, because if Zhao Ji dared to kill, it would be difficult for him to establish a foothold in the Central Plains. He could then withdraw his troops back to Xizhou and then make a comeback.

As for Lü Bu, given the same chance, Lü Bu was truly reluctant to kill him.

Killing Cao Cao would inevitably break the trust of all the warlords in the land, and who would dare to enter the court in the future?

Having risen to the central position in the imperial court, Lü Bu's actions and thinking were influenced by those around him, and he prioritized comprehensive development.

Wanting both? Where in the world is there such a good deal?

Zhang Liao did not want to be buried with his family, so he could only take his men with him.

He had already addressed the ideological concerns of the officers, and a battalion commander stepped forward and said, "We will obey the general without question."

"Someone, immediately send a letter to the Grand Marshal explaining the situation here."

Zhang Liao turned around and shouted at several scribes, who immediately grabbed pens and began writing rapidly on the assembled table.

As for General Lü Bu's messenger, after looking around, he could only bow and take his leave.

Zhang Liao's decisive departure will make it easier for him to explain himself when he returns.

As dawn broke, Zhao Ji's troops on the west bank of the Honggou Canal began to break camp, with each army covering the rear of the supply train as it set off.

Han Dang also led more than 40,000 young men and women to follow him. These people mingled with Zhao's various armies, helping to push vehicles or carry grain.

Han Dang's troops also participated in the rearguard action, taking turns retreating, leaving only a dozen or so empty camps for Lü Bu.

In order to replace the main army heading north, Zhao Ji led more than 300 cavalrymen to the camp in the middle of the night, where he personally gave orders and directed the various troops. Meanwhile, Guan Hai's four divisions on the east bank officially joined forces with Zhang Liao, forming a flank army that would follow the imperial road through Liang and Shanyang to attack the eastern part of Yanzhou.

This was also the route Sun Ce took to withdraw and advance. Zhang Liao's army of more than 20,000 men pressed in from the rear, forcing Sun Ce to go only to Qingzhou and preventing him from seizing territory in Yanzhou.

Therefore, the strategic significance of Zhang Liao's detachment was to politely squeeze Sun Ce's plundering of eastern Yanzhou, prevent Sun Ce from recruiting and accepting defectors, and also block the route for Cao Cao's remnants to go down the Si River to join Liu Bei.

On the west bank of the Honggou Canal were Zhao Ji's 20,000 troops, Han Dang's 3,000 troops, and more than 60,000 laborers and prisoners from both sides.

Upstream, there were still 10,000 men under Zhao Ji's command; on the west bank alone, there was a marching force of 100,000.

When Yuan Shu withdrew from Chen County, he also took more than 60,000 people from the city with him. In just one day, the 200,000 people gathered near Chen County were thus dispersed, one going south and the other north.

How could Lü Bu be content with this?

But Zhang Liao had already left, and it was too late to send Wei Yue from the front lines to pursue Yuan Shu or Zhang Liao.

He dared not let Wei Yue take any risks, so he could only lead a thousand cavalrymen to chase after Zhao Ji.

Bringing up the rear was Han Dang's troops, with a thousand crossbows and bows standing in the way.

Seeing the pursuing troops approaching from the south, Han Dang gritted his teeth and shouted, "Archers, fire!"

With a volley of powerful arrows, a layer of fluffy arrows fell from the bows at a distance of about an arrow's length. The white fluff of the arrows was very conspicuously embedded in the road.

Han Dang shouted the order again, and three volleys were fired in succession.

When Lü Bu arrived at the front of the column, he saw that the road in front of him was covered with a relatively dense layer of white-feathered arrows.

Lu Bu reined in his horse and looked at Han Dang's formation opposite him. A scout beside him replied, "General, this is Han Dang, a colonel under the General Who Subdues Barbarians."

"So it was him. I thought it was Han Shu, one of Zhao Yuansi's subordinates."

Lu Bu stopped his horse to wait, and soon the scouts who had been scouting along the roadside returned. He jumped off his horse and reported: "Reporting, there is another group of about two thousand men three miles north of the General; there is another group to the north, each group about two or three thousand men, separated by two or three miles. Judging from the distance, there are at least ten groups."

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu lightly tapped the armor plate on his thigh with his riding whip, then turned to Qin Yilu: "Yilu, go and see Yuan Si off for me. Tell him that there are many misunderstandings involved. I will speak to him in court, and no one will impeach him. Let him withdraw his troops with peace of mind."

Qin Yilu remained calm and cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir!"

He immediately led a dozen or so guards, carrying an apricot-yellow flag, northward. This time, no arrows were fired from Han Dang's army.

Han Dang also forbade Qin Yilu and his group to approach, only allowing them to pass through the sides of the formation.

Upon seeing this, Lü Bu led his cavalry in retreat, and Han Dang also began to retreat.

The rearguard troops retreated in this alternating manner, each retreat covering five or six li (approximately 2.5-3 kilometers).

This is a tedious and arduous job, especially marching in armor, but fortunately the weather is cool.

Around 11 a.m., with the sun high in the sky, all the troops except the three rearguard units that were still taking turns retreating had removed their armor, which was either loaded onto carts for transport or handed over to laborers to carry.

Xu Du, inside the imperial palace.

Upon receiving Zhao Ji's memorial, Liu Xie couldn't help but sigh deeply, filled with regret.

He lamented to those around him, "With Cao Cao's death, Yan Province has undergone tremendous changes. I never imagined that Zhang Yang and Chen Gong, greedy for merit, would anger Minister Zhao. I hope that you gentlemen will immediately send a letter to persuade Minister Zhao."

Zhao Wen, Fu Wan, and Kong Rong bowed deeply with their hands clasped, saying, "Yes, sir."

The Grand Minister of Agriculture, Xun You, also mingled among the lowly officials, bowing with his hands clasped in greeting.

Zhao Ji is currently very powerful and his army is highly motivated, so naturally he will say all sorts of nice things to him.

If Zhao Ji had some misunderstanding and suddenly turned his troops to attack Lü Bu, very few of the officials accompanying him in Xuchang would have survived.

The officials and nobles of Luoyang and Chang'an serve as a cautionary tale, suffering two and a half complete annihilations, while Xun You always managed to escape beforehand.

Xun You naturally did not want to get involved in the current dispute.

The thought of seeking a governorship in a foreign prefecture resurfaced in his mind. Lü Bu had messed up this time, and if things went wrong next time, the flames of war would spread to Xuchang. By then, it would be too late to escape.

The current situation has changed because Zhao Ji lured and killed Cao Cao.

Zhao Ji probably didn't expect that a state without a ruler like Yanzhou could cause Chen Gong and Zhang Yang to turn against him.

Zhang Yang leaving troops to guard the borders of the prefecture is a matter that can be considered a big or small matter, but in any case, it can help Zhang Yang gain the support of all parties in Yanzhou.

However, this also severely damaged Zhao Ji's prestige. Zhang Yang was the governor of Yanzhou, but Zhao Ji was the Grand Marshal of all the armies in the land.

If the governor of Yanzhou can station troops to guard the border of the prefecture today, then will the governor of Yuzhou be able to send people to drive Zhao Ji out of Yuzhou tomorrow?

(End of this chapter)