Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 431 His Last Battle

Liucheng was a vassal state of Liaodong.

Liucheng was built along the river, which is called Daling River or Bailang River.

Bailang Mountain is located upstream of this river, in the grassland to the west.

Yuan Shao stood on the riverbank outside Liucheng, gazing into the water, coughing occasionally.

The reflection in the river looked haggard, almost like an old man.

The date is April 13th.

This is Yuan Shao's fortieth birthday.

But the congratulatory gifts he received were a series of bad news.

Liu Hui died in Zhongshan, Gao Gan was defeated and went missing, Nan Lou was killed in battle by Guan Yu, Ta Dun was killed in battle by Zhang Liao, and Liu Yi retreated to Linyu...

Liu Bei's army has split into two routes and is advancing into Liaodong.

The situation in Youzhou took a sharp turn for the worse.

Meanwhile, no news has come back from Chang'an, so if nothing unexpected has happened, then something must have happened to them...

I don't know if Yuan Tan is alive or dead, nor do I know what happened to Tang Ji's youngest son, Liu Mai...

Yuan Shao took out a seal from his pocket and glanced at it.

The seal was clearly engraved with "Seal of the Emperor".

But this 'jade seal' is obviously not real, because it is not made of jade, but of silver.

The seals he gave to Tadun, Nanlou, Supuyan, Wuyan, and others were also silver seals.

Even the titles of these 'Wuhuan Kings' and 'Chanyu' were all fabricated by Yuan Shao himself using this thing in his hand.

Yuan Shao also married his cousin to Lou Ban, the son of Qiu Liju.

Lou Ban is currently in Liucheng. Nan Lou, Su Puyan and others actually support Lou Ban, but Lou Ban is only fourteen years old. In recent years, Ta Dun has been in actual power.

The marriage alliance with the Wuhuan was, of course, intended to leverage the Wuhuan's strength to reclaim the Central Plains.

Moreover, Yuan Shao engaged in trade with various ethnic groups.

They provided supplies to Tadun, helped Tadun integrate the Wuhuan, used the Wuhuan's military strength to control the Liaodong vassal states, and marched into Youzhou to coerce the people.

He provided weapons to Kebineng, the leader of a small Xianbei tribe, taught him to write, helped Kebineng gradually erode the eastern Xianbei tribes, and even made Kebineng regard Yuan Shao as his 'father'.

At this time, Kebineng was eighteen years old and greatly admired the culture of the Han Dynasty. His tribe was originally a small tribe located in the north of Shanggu County.

After receiving military aid from Yuan Shao, Kebineng quickly annexed the Xianbei tribes north of Yuyang, amassing several thousand men. It was Kebineng's tribe that invaded Yuyang.

Both Buyeo and Yilou were at odds with Goguryeo. Yuan Shao provided weapons to Buyeo and provisions to Yilou, enabling them to unite and defeat Goguryeo, and to occupy a large part of Goguryeo's territory.

In fact, Yuan Shao's name was very famous in the border regions. To the various nomadic peoples around Liaodong, Yuan Shao almost represented the noble and powerful Han Dynasty.

After all, the Hu people didn't care about "Biographies of Traitorous Officials," and they were indeed easier to fool.

A few hundred steel swords, considered inferior by the Han army, a few hundred crudely made steel-bladed spears, a few promises, a few seals... were enough to make tens of thousands of barbarian cavalry fight to the death—Yuan Shao had that ability.

The not-so-simple scholars in the Central Plains were all fooled by Yuan Shao, and the barbarians beyond the Great Wall were truly deceived by him.

That's truly a skill.

Of course, this is also a case of "what's the use of trying?"

Since they've already been featured in the "Biographies of Traitors" and have lost their reputation, their bottom line no longer exists.

However, even after assembling a powerful alien force, and despite launching attacks simultaneously in Chang'an and Youzhou, they still failed.

Perhaps it was just a little bit off...

It was just a little bit of time difference.

If Yan Liang and Wen Chou could stop Liu Bei...

If Zhang He and Xianyu Yin hadn't been so tenacious, if Zhuojun had been captured sooner...

If the high-ranking officials hadn't acted impulsively and lost...

If Liu Yi could hold out in Ji County...

If it collapses...

If even one of those troops could have held off Liu Bei's main force for just half a month, the outcome would have been very different.

But there aren't that many "what ifs" in this world.

Tian Feng, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou held Liu Bei back for a long time, which was already quite good.

Gao Gan and Liu Hui both just wanted to seize the opportunity to kill Liu Bei in one fell swoop, and they did their best.

In his attempt to quickly reinforce Ji County, Tadun was killed by Zhang Liao on the way... Tadun didn't actually make any mistakes.

It's quite normal for Liu Yi and Yang Yi to retreat after Gao Gan's crushing defeat, since their lord was Gongsun Du.

But what should we do now?

How to do it?

Yuan Shao was agitated and frustrated. He took one last look at the seal in his hand and threw the silver seal into the calm water.

The seal fell into the middle of the river, and the ripples it created were quickly calmed by the current.

In the rolling river, this ripple cannot cause any waves.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and several people arrived at the riverbank.

"My lord, our son is still young; we cannot leave him in this bitterly cold place any longer..."

The speaker was Liu, Yuan Shao's wife.

"...Where do you want to take him?"

Yuan Shao did not turn around, his tone indifferent.

"If my husband's cause cannot be accomplished, how will my son survive? Why not go to Liaodong instead of staying in this barbarian land?"

Liu did not answer, but asked another question.

Clearly, Liu knew that her family's lives were in grave danger.

Yuan Shao stared silently at the river.

After a long silence, Yuan Shao shook his head and whispered, "Where do you think I can go now? Liu Bei is powerful now. If I go to Liaodong, I will surely be killed by Gongsun Du!"

"Gongsun Shengji has always been very courteous, why would he kill you?"

Mrs. Liu was getting a little anxious.

"If he doesn't want to die, he has no choice but to kill me..."

Yuan Shao stared at the river, his voice seemingly floating on the water: "If he can take my head, he can be said to have seen the error of his ways and abandoned darkness for light... As long as he can expand the territory of the Han Dynasty and subdue the borderlands, Liu Bei will not pursue him too much..."

"Could it be that the dignified Yuan Shao would be afraid of Gongsun Du?"

Liu did not understand: "If he wants to kill you, why don't you kill him first? Taking Liaodong as your base is better than living in the land of the barbarians!"

“My troops were all recruited from Liaodong. Although the various Donghu tribes are friendly with me, they are equally friendly with Gongsun Du… I have formed a marriage alliance with Louban, but Gongsun Du has also formed a marriage alliance with the King of Fuyu, Weichoutai…”

Yuan Shao truly understood people's hearts and human nature: "Right now, Liu Bei's army is about to arrive, and Liu Bei's desire to kill the Hu is extremely strong. None of the Donghu tribes will be enemies with Gongsun Du at this time... If I order them to attack Gongsun Du, they will probably kill me instead!"

Upon hearing this, Liu burst into tears: "Benchu, what are we to do? You must find a way for your child to survive..."

Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were both by Liu's side, one was fifteen years old and the other was twelve years old.

"...Taking my head and surrendering to Liu Bei might be a way out."

Yuan Shao still had his back to Liu Shi and his two sons.

"How could it have come to this!"

Yuan Xi knelt on the ground: "Father, why not fight to the death?"

"The tide has turned against us... Tadun is dead, most of the Wuhuan have scattered, and the remaining people have no will to fight. Gongsun Du, in order to escape punishment, will surely hunt down and kill the Wuhuan, and he will surely hunt down and kill me as well..."

Yuan Shao sat down on the riverbank and plucked a blade of grass from the ground: "When you gain power, ten thousand people will support you; when you lose power, the whole world will be your enemy. That's just how things are... Now, you can only survive if you are in Liu Bei's hands."

The young Yuan Xi could not yet understand Yuan Shao's words.

Liu, tears streaming down her face, shook her head. "...Let my son change his surname, let him take your surname, Liu..."

Yuan Shao exhaled a breath of stale air and said to his wife, "Give Xi'er and Shang'er to your cousin for adoption, and let them take the surname Liu... Take my head and Lou Ban's head to Liu Bei. Liu Bei is not a bloodthirsty person; he will surely spare you..."

Liu was stunned.

Yuan Xi was also dumbfounded.

“Father…we are not beasts, we cannot commit patricide.”

Yuan Xi's expression turned extremely sorrowful.

“I originally wanted to do great things, but fate was not on my side… I have implicated my family and relatives, all because of my greed.”

Yuan Shao's voice was calm: "My son, remember this: do not be greedy, and never again call yourself a descendant of the Yuan family... I am willing to give my life for your safety."

“Benchu, let’s not talk about risking our lives… Liu Bei has never met my son. Since he wants my son to change his surname, I will take them to seek refuge with Gonglu myself.”

Liu shook her head, sobbing, "You are Yuan Shao! You still have the strength to fight! How can you just give up like this?!"

"...Yes...I am Yuan Benchu!"

Yuan Shao crushed the grass in his hand, stood up, turned to look at his wife, and said, "Since that's the case, you should leave now... but don't go to the highway."

"Gonglu thinks too highly of himself, but he lacks the talent to govern. He only knows how to associate with bandits and is unaware of the changing hearts of the people. Sooner or later, he will also be doomed."

"Go to a place where no one knows you, preferably to live in Shu... Leave now, without your relatives or servants, take a boat to Donglai. There are many outsiders in Qingzhou, and no one knows you. As long as you don't stay in Qingzhou for long, you will be fine."

Yuan Xi looked at Yuan Shao with concern: "Father, what about you?"

“My father has already been featured in a picture album, known to the whole world, and has nowhere else to go.”

Yuan Shao closed his eyes and turned around: "You may leave... I, your father, am going to have one last battle with Liu Bei."

Yuan Xi hesitated for a moment, then pulled the bewildered Yuan Shang down and kowtowed three times to Yuan Shao.

Liu reached out her hand to Yuan Shao, but ultimately withdrew it, and left with her two sons, turning back to look at him every step of the way.

……

The following day, Yuan Shao ordered Lou Ban to convene the Wuhuan elders to discuss the matter of Ta Dun's death in battle.

After the elders of the Wuhuan tribes arrived, Yuan Shao took all the elders hostage during the meeting and forcibly controlled the remaining Wuhuan tribes in the name of Louban.

Most of the remaining Wuhuan troops were old and weak. The remnants of Tadun were unable to escape, but they managed to organize a force of six thousand men.

In addition, there were also 5,000 troops from various non-Han ethnic groups, including Fuyu and Yilou.

Yuan Shao himself still had four thousand troops under his command.

But Yuan Shao dared not trust any of these people.

Yuan Shao no longer had the loyal followers he once had. These retainers were all from Youzhou, and it was hard to say whether any of them would take Yuan Shao's head and offer it to Liu Bei.

For example, Jiang Yiqu... Yuan Shao always felt that there was something else in the way this man looked at him.

But Yuan Shao could understand.

Just as Yuan Shao had told his wife and children, if they took Yuan Shao's head now and surrendered to Liu Bei, they could not only be absolved of their past crimes, but also be granted titles and honors...

It was precisely because he dared not trust the troops under his command that Yuan Shao used the Youzhou troops to monitor the Wuhuan, used the Wuhuan to monitor the Fuyu Yilou and other miscellaneous Hu tribes, and used the miscellaneous Hu tribes to monitor the Youzhou troops.

This is very similar to what Liu Hong did back then...

But in any case, it had an effect.

Having resolved to die, Yuan Shao no longer attempted to defend but instead launched an offensive, heading upstream along the Daling River—the upper reaches of which lie to the south in the eastern Yanshan Mountains.

Not long after leaving Liucheng, Yuan Shao encountered Liu Yi, who had retreated from Linyu in Liaoxi.

……

Yuan Shao's predictions were all correct.

After Tadun's death, Liu Yi and Yang Yi immediately withdrew their troops from Linyu.

Although these two did not take sides immediately, they were well aware that the roles of offense and defense had now reversed, and that fighting against Liu Bei was tantamount to fighting against the entire world, with a slim chance of winning.

There are ways to get away with it: either kill Yuan Shao or kill Tadun.

But Taton had already been killed, leaving them no chance...

Then we'll have no choice but to go to Yuan Shao.

Yang Yi quickly went to Liaodong to report back to Gongsun Du.

Liu Yi then led his army to attack Liucheng, and he also sent an envoy to Guan Yu's army, expressing his willingness to kill the barbarians for the Han Dynasty and atone for his sins by performing meritorious service...

Yes, that's what a fence-sitter is.

But this is also the rule of survival in chaotic times.

Liu Yi was extremely familiar with the area and left Linyu very quickly, leaving most of the valuables he had seized from Jixian behind in Linyu.

Guan Yu did not reply to the messenger sent by Liu Yi, which was Liu Bei's instruction not to give him any response.

Not replying is also a form of reply.

Liu Yi understood that this was all about performance.

Either go and fight against Guan Yu and Zhao Yun... Oh, and Xu Huang—Xu Huang has already arrived on the battlefield after Guan Yu.

Either go and kill Yuan Shao.

Clearly, the latter seems easier, and Liu Yi knows that the various Donghu tribes will remain neutral at present.

However, when Liu Yi encountered Yuan Shao's troops on the banks of the Daling River, he did not realize that this ragtag army was led by Yuan Shao himself.

After all, Yuan Shao currently has no official banner; he is using the name of Louban.

However, Yuan Shao was able to guess Liu Yi's thoughts... If it were Yuan Shao himself, he would have made the same choice as Liu Yi in this situation.

Thus, Liu Yi, caught off guard, encountered Yuan Shao's swift attack.

Liu Yi was unprepared and could only barely organize his troops to fire arrows to intercept them.

Yuan Shao braved a hail of arrows and personally commanded the attack from the front lines, charging with extreme ferocity.

Liu Yi did not hesitate for a moment. He immediately abandoned the vanguard, allowing half of his troops to be broken through by Yuan Shao. He led his personal guard downstream to escape the battlefield and immediately crossed the river to counterattack Yuan Shao from behind.

Liu Yi's military skills were actually quite high. Most people really couldn't abandon half of their troops without batting an eye and only take those they could currently command.

Similarly, it's impossible for an average person to still be able to command other troops normally when abandoning half of their forces.

If this happened in other units, the soldiers would be resentful, and many would think – will I be the one abandoned next?
However, Liu Yi's troops had a different structure.

His vanguard consisted of slave soldiers, that is, slaves.

Liu Yi's personal guards didn't care whether the slave soldiers died or not, and Liu Yi himself didn't care either... just consider it as giving up some money.

These slave soldiers came from the Three Han and Goguryeo. Gongsun Du was indeed a slave trader, and Liu Yi also did sales on the side... Gongsun Du's relative by marriage, King Yuchitai of Buyeo, was the captain of the slave-catching team.

These days, the slave trade isn't illegal as long as the slaves aren't Han Chinese...

However, slaves from Goguryeo and the Three Han were not easy to sell in the Central Plains, so most of them were sold to other tribes that lacked manpower and were often used as slave soldiers.

That is, forcing people to rush forward and promising them freedom if they take someone's head.

Of course, in reality only a very small number of slaves could truly regain their freedom; it was just a show to entice the other slaves to follow suit.

After discovering that Liu Yi's central army had quickly left, Yuan Shao immediately crossed the river with his entire army and launched an attack on Liu Yi's vanguard. He also deliberately misled his various miscellaneous troops, saying that everyone was now planning to kill them.

Yuan Shao never intended to have any rear defenses... As a result, Liu Yi's flanking attack failed, essentially resulting in a positional swap with Yuan Shao's troops.

Yuan Shao, on the other hand, achieved the desired result: Liu Yi's vanguard was surrounded by Yuan Shao's army, suffering more than half its casualties, and the remaining slave soldiers all surrendered to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao then ordered these slave soldiers to clean up the battlefield and used them as his personal guard—which gave Yuan Shao nearly two thousand troops that he could barely trust.

These slaves from Goguryeo and the Three Hans were not interested in taking Yuan Shao's head.

Moreover, this battle also led to some consolidation of Yuan Shao's ragtag army.

However, Yuan Shao did lack time.

Perhaps this was Yuan Shao's fate—he always seemed to be defeated by time.

Before the battle with Liu Yi was over and before the troops were fully integrated, Yuan Shao saw the banners of Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Xu Huang and others.

(End of this chapter)