The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 139 Yuan Shao abandons his army and flees; Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang march south to lend their support (4th update)
With Zhang He and Gao Lan defecting to the enemy, the morale of Yuan Shao's army was thrown into turmoil.

Meanwhile, rumors such as "Xu You defected to Cao Cao", "Chunyu Qiong was beheaded", "the army's grain supplies at Wuchao were destroyed", and "General Yuan Shao listened to slander" were also spreading like wildfire.

However, after Xun You heard that Zhang He and Gao Lan had defected in battle, he immediately sent people to spread rumors to disrupt the morale of Yuan Shao's army.

Hearing the battle reports that were causing panic among the troops, and seeing Guo Tu returning wounded, Yuan Shao was even more anxious.

"Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to retreat to Hebei for the time being!"

"Pass on the order to the isolated army: assemble the cavalry immediately."

This perfectly illustrates Cao Cao's saying, "One should be mindful of one's life when undertaking great tasks."

After confirming that Zhang He and Gao Lan had defected, Yuan Shao not only failed to stabilize morale but instead directly assembled eight hundred cavalrymen.

Run away!
When the Guandu army needed Yuan Shao the most, Yuan Shao ran away!
Eight hundred cavalrymen galloped north from the central command tent, covering two hundred li in less than a day, and then crossed the Yellow River at Yanjin to reach Liyang.

Yuan Shen is Yuan Shen after all; even when he's on the run, he can still be called "Horse God".

After Yuan Shao fled, the Yuan troops in the Guandu camp completely lost their command and collapsed like a house of cards.

Those who fled, surrendered, or trampled on each other are too numerous to count.

When the news reached Zhuo County, Yuan Xi was immediately horrified.

"The Great General has been defeated? How is that possible!"

When Yuan Xi saw the intelligence report stating that "Xu You has defected to Cao Cao," he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head in an instant.

"Is it really my fault that the General was defeated? This... this..." Yuan Xi stammered, unable to utter a word.

soon.

Yuan Xi then thought of Liu Bei, who had offered the advice, and his fear turned into anger: "No, that's not right, it wasn't me, it was Liu Bei, it was Liu Bei who did it on purpose!"

Overwhelmed by fear and anger, Yuan Xi rode his horse straight into the Left General's residence, sword in hand, and called out "Liu Bei".

however.

As soon as Yuan Xi finished speaking, he was stared intently at by a pair of phoenix eyes, and the rest of his words were instantly stuck in his throat.

"Yun Chang, how dare you be so rude!"

Liu Bei stopped the enraged Guan Yu, then greeted the shocked and furious Yuan Xi, cupping his hands and saying, "I am aware of the events at Guandu. Governor Yuan, would you mind coming inside for a discussion? If this is publicized, it will not be good for Governor Yuan."

Hearing Liu Bei's calm tone and catching a glimpse of Guan Yu's cold gaze, Yuan Xi gritted his teeth, sheathed his sword, dismounted, and went inside with Liu Bei.

Inside the hall.

Besides Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was also present.

"General Zuo, why did Xu You betray us and defect to Cao Cao?" Yuan Xi went straight to the point, staring intently at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei sighed deeply: "Xu You and Cao Cao were old acquaintances. It must have been Yuan Shang's mistake that he failed to kill Xu You and instead caused Xu You to defect to Cao Cao with resentment. This is indeed unexpected. I never thought Yuan Shang was such a fool! He cannot escape blame for causing the General's defeat!"

Upon hearing the words, "Yuan Shang is to blame for the General's defeat," Yuan Xi's expression shifted from astonishment to delight.

Yup!

The blame for the general's defeat lies with Yuan Shang!
It was Yuan Shang who wanted to kill Xu You, not me.

What am I afraid of!
Having figured out the key point, Yuan Xi felt ashamed and quickly bowed to Liu Bei to apologize: "It was my rudeness that offended General Zuo."

Liu Bei helped Yuan Xi up and comforted him, saying, "Governor Yuan, it's understandable that you're worried about the General's safety and acted rashly. Just now, I was discussing with the strategist whether to send troops to Liyang to bolster the General's prestige." Yuan Xi was taken aback: "The General has already been defeated. What use would sending troops to Liyang now be?"

Liu Bei shook his head slightly: "Since I have been appointed as the governor of Zhuojun by the order of the General, how can I not send troops to help the General after hearing of his defeat? Governor Yuan is the General's son, how can I not fulfill my filial duties? Governor Yuan wants to compete with Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, and now is the perfect opportunity."

A word to wake up the dreamer.

Yuan Xi bowed again with delight: "Fortunately, with the guidance of General Zuo, I will go and reorganize the troops immediately."

Liu Bei added, "This time when we go to Ye City, we only need to select light cavalry. Remember, the sooner we go, the more important Governor Yuan will be in the General's mind."

Yuan Xi nodded in understanding.

Although they sent troops to help, they would not actually fight Cao Cao again. Therefore, the number of troops was not important; what mattered was that their intentions were conveyed.

After Yuan Xi left, Liu Bei turned around and laughed loudly: "Yuan Shao is a fool. He led 100,000 infantry and cavalry to overwhelm Guandu, yet ended up abandoning his army and fleeing in defeat. Now Yuan Shao's power has been greatly reduced, and the foundation that my strategist has laid for me is already half-successful!"

Zhuge Liang's bold words at their first meeting still resonate in my ears.

Yuan Shao of Hebei, a man from a family that had held high office for four generations, had disciples and former officials throughout the land. He had also defeated Gongsun Zan and seized control of Youzhou, making him the strongest power in Hebei, poised to sweep across the land unchallenged. However, Yuan Shao was outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious, fond of scheming but indecisive, and allowed his sons to vie for power. This led to dissent among the civil and military officials of Hebei, making his power appear like a surging river, but in reality, it was stagnant and stagnant. I predicted that he would inevitably be defeated by Cao Cao.

Looking back today, Liu Bei admired Zhuge Liang's extraordinary talent even more.

Outside the hall, Guan Yu looked at Zhuge Liang with the same reverence.

A young man not yet twenty years old, yet he could scheme for the entire world!
Guan Yu couldn't help but sigh inwardly: How fortunate my elder brother is to have met a strategist!

Zhuge Liang merely waved his feather fan lightly and smiled calmly, as if the matter he was planning was not worth mentioning.

After the laughter.

Liu Bei then sought Zhuge Liang's opinion: "This time, we will be going to Ye City and may not be able to return to Zhuo County in a short time. Strategist, you may come with me and we can discuss any issues that may arise."

Seeing Zhuge Liang pondering, Liu Bei immediately knew that Zhuge Liang was preoccupied with various matters, so he advised him again: "Now, of the seven commanderies in Youzhou, Yuanzhi is in charge of Zhuo County, Shiyuan is in charge of the four western commanderies of Youzhou, and Zitai is in charge of the two eastern commanderies of Youzhou. In addition, there are Yide, Zizhong and others assisting. Even if the strategist is not in Zhuo County, it is not a big deal. If the strategist is worried about everything, even an iron body cannot withstand it."

From Liu Bei down, everyone knew that Zhuge Liang was meticulous and thorough in his work. Sometimes, when Liu Bei gave Zhuge Liang a break, Zhuge Liang would work day and night without rest.

Liu Bei saw this and was deeply worried.

Since Liu Bei was going to Ye City, he decided to bring Zhuge Liang along. Firstly, so that he could discuss matters with Zhuge Liang, and secondly, so that Zhuge Liang would not have to worry about things day and night in Zhuo County.

Zhuge Liang was also moved by Liu Bei's care.

Zhuge Liang couldn't change his habit of making decisions on everything, big or small, in a short time.

After Baidi City, Zhuge Liang had very few capable people at his disposal.

Zhuge Liang initially thought Ma Su was capable of handling important tasks, but the loss of Jieting nearly caused him to collapse, leading him to develop a habit of personally overseeing everything.

It wasn't that Zhuge Liang didn't want to delegate power; he simply dared not.

now.

Although Liu Bei's forces were not exactly overflowing with talent, they were still complete in their own right, and there were people who could share the heavy responsibilities with Zhuge Liang.

With this in mind, Zhuge Liang no longer hesitated: "I will obey the general's order."

　It was raining so hard in Chengdu today that I went to pick up the kids. I was a little late. Everyone, please be prepared for the rain. Here's the fourth update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)