I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 498 Retreat
Everyone in Yuan Jun realized that something was wrong with the Han army today! Something was very wrong!
Yesterday marked the first encounter between the two sides. Although the Han army was also fierce, their confidence stemmed more from the seemingly invincible defensive fortifications that gave them an edge.

But today.

On several occasions, the Han army even broke through the city walls and fortified villages built on the mountain, suppressing the Yuan army that had finally managed to break through.

"Could it be that Liu Miao has come to the front lines?"

At first, Yuan's soldiers were quite excited!
If Liu Miao were to actually come to the front lines, it would greatly boost the morale of the Han army, but it would also give the Yuan army a goal, which would also boost their morale.

But looking up, although the peaks of Jiuli, Yunlong, and Quanshan were lined with banners, none of them bore Liu Miao's imperial dragon banner...

What's going on with the Han army?

"who knows!"

"Could it be that the Han cavalry has been mobilized?"

Zhang He and Gao Lan were in charge of Yuan's army's offensive at the front lines.

As renowned generals from Hebei, the two men clearly understood that at this point in the Yuan army's campaign, dwelling on casualties was utterly pointless.

The premise that casualties are not important is that progress is made on the battlefield.

These three gates to the west of Pengcheng have now claimed far too many lives of Yuan's troops, yet they still cannot get close.

Moreover, the two discovered a fact that devastated them.

It was one thing for the Han army to openly construct defensive fortifications.

I don't know which bastard hollowed out half of the mountainside and dug out several tunnels inside the mountain.

This meant that even if Yuan's army spent countless resources to capture a camp at the foot of the mountain, the Han army could still take it back by silently attacking Yuan's army through those tunnels!
The various arrangements made Zhang He and Gao Lan feel their scalps tingle.

The Han army is really going to turn this place into their burial ground!
What worried Zhang He and Gao Lan the most was not the main battlefield.

After the battles of Mangdang Mountain and Jiaodong, although Yuan's army was unwilling to admit it, they had to bow to the facts: the Han army's cavalry was actually superior to Yuan's army.

So these past two days, what Zhang He and Gao Lan feared most was that the Han army's cavalry would suddenly appear out of nowhere and attack them.

The most likely location for Han cavalry to appear was the Weishan Lake area in the north, which connects to the Dan River.

Therefore, Zhang He had ordered his men to break the ice on the lake and water surface before the battle began to prevent the Han cavalry from launching a surprise attack.

Seeing the high morale of the Han army and not noticing Liu Miao's absence from the front lines, Zhang He immediately began to suspect the Han cavalry.

"Go and take a look to the north, and be careful."

Zhang He helplessly glanced back at his own tent.

There, Yuan Shao's imperial banner always fluttered in mid-air.

"Your Majesty, if Liu Miao truly has a way to get the Han cavalry, and even the Han heavy cavalry, to cross the river and appear on our flank, then this battle will be completely unwinnable..."

Good luck!

After Gao Lan's inspection, the Han cavalry did not appear on the east side of the Dan River.

But Gao Lan also brought another message in a dejected state.

"Scouts at the front have gathered intelligence that Liu Miao himself admitted that Lü Bu and Zhang Liao are leading the heavy cavalry that defeated our cavalry at Mangdang Mountain through Lu and heading towards Shouzhang, seemingly to cut off our retreat."

Zhang He took a deep breath, already feeling unsteady on his feet.

"Junyi doesn't believe me?"

"I believe it! Of course I believe it!"

Zhang He's body swayed precariously.

At this moment, Zhang He almost bit his back molars to pieces.

"Has His Majesty been informed?"

"This matter is of great importance, and since it has not yet been verified, I have not yet discussed it with His Majesty."

Gao Lan touched his forehead: "He took the initiative to fight the battle of Mangdang Mountain, and then suddenly turned to fight in Qingzhou... This was clearly all done on Liu Miao's part."

"He is now slowly driving us into a dead end!"

Zhang He helped Gao Lan up, forcing him to stand firm.

"still have a chance."

Zhang He seemed to be comforting Gao Lan, but also seemed to be comforting himself.

"If we can capture Pengcheng within three days, even if Liu Miao sends cavalry to outflank our army from behind, they will be helpless!"

However, Zhang He himself found these words somewhat laughable.

Take Pengcheng within three days?

But so far, Yuan Jun hasn't even touched or seen the city walls of Pengcheng. From beginning to end, he's been circling around the gates outside Pengcheng.

Moreover, based on the sturdiness of these three outer mountains, Zhang He had every reason to suspect that Liu Miao must have reinforced Pengcheng, or even rebuilt Pengcheng entirely, thickening and raising the city walls to the same level as Luoyang in the past!

Imagine that scenario.

After the deaths of tens of thousands of people, and after finally capturing the three outer gates, what we will likely see is another magnificent city...

Just thinking about it makes me feel powerless and terrified.

Gradually, even the two main generals, Zhang He and Gao Lan, began to lose confidence.

"Come with me to meet His Majesty!"

Upon hearing Zhang He's words, Gao Lan frowned.

"Who in the entire Yuan camp doesn't know what His Majesty is thinking?"

"Even if all the soldiers in Yuan's camp were sent away, His Majesty wouldn't even blink an eye!"

"Moreover, Junyi, you just took over most of the military power from Ju Shou. You know what the consequences would be if you disobeyed him at this time!"

As they were talking, a Yuan army scout came over and handed Zhang He a document written in red ink. Then, without saying anything or reporting anything, he walked away.

Zhang He and Gao Lan showed no surprise whatsoever.

They all knew it was just another casualty report brought by a scout.

Moreover, the casualties that could be delivered to Zhang He, the main general, would be at least around a thousand.

What's frightening is that this is the second one Zhang He has received.

"You saw it." Zhang He tucked the official document into his pocket.

"We are all generals, so naturally we should be fearless in the face of death."

"But I won't fight such a war, nor can I afford to."

"If this fighting continues, will there be any men left in Hebei?"

Looking at Zhang He's resolute expression, Gao Lan finally sighed and went with Zhang He to Yuan Shao's imperial camp.

Ever since Liu Miao spread the "rumor" that Yuan Shao was about to die, Yuan Shao seemed to have completely stopped pretending.

Even before we got close to the center of the tent, from a distance of forty or fifty paces, we could already smell a strong herbal aroma.

Zhang He and Gao Lan approached and bowed towards the tent.

"Your Majesty! Intelligence indicates that Liu Miao has dispatched cavalry to outflank our army from the state of Lu, cutting off our retreat! We urge Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible!"

The tent was completely silent.

The silence was quite unsettling.

When Zhang He and Gao Lan looked at each other, their hearts skipped a beat.

Could it be that His Majesty has already...

"What does Liu Miao's military campaign in Lu have to do with Pengcheng, which you are in charge of?"

Fortunately, sounds eventually came from inside the tent.

The two breathed a sigh of relief, but their hearts were in their throats.

Even though he had made ample preparations, he was still filled with trepidation when he actually faced Yuan Shao's imposing presence.

"This humble general believes that Liu Miao's move is definitely intended to cut off our army's retreat, completely trapping our troops in the Central Plains, preventing even a single horse from crossing the river and returning to Hebei!"

Zhang He took a deep breath and spoke the words of countless Yuan soldiers in this area—

"Your Majesty, let's retreat!"

Let's retreat!

This war is truly unwinnable!
Before the battle even began, Liu Miao had already eliminated all possibilities of victory for Yuan's army.

Do it knowing you can't do it.

For an individual, and for one's principles, this is a matter of righteousness! It's heroic!
But in the face of the entire nation and the entire army, this is foolish! This is recklessness!

If Yuan Shao continues fighting, the newly established Northern Zhao might really perish immediately!
Even Zhang He could see this clearly, so he didn't believe Yuan Shao couldn't.

Yuan Shao needs to be sacrificed.

He needs to give up his grand ambitions and then die honestly and dutifully.

Instead of dragging the entire Northern Zhao and the entire Hebei into an abyss of utter destruction!
"Withdraw the troops..."

The sounds from inside the tent were filled with a sense of vicissitude and despair.

His words revealed a constant stream of disappointment.

Zhang He, who had just been arguing his case, suddenly felt guilty.

The emperor is, in fact, a sovereign and a father.

For the Han people, who value filial piety, disappointing their ruler and father is ultimately an unacceptable thing.

Zhang He immediately began to waver.

He didn't know what to do or say if Yuan Shao still ordered an attack...

Just as Zhang He was carefully considering his words, he suddenly heard a voice coming from inside the tent—

"In that case, let's retreat."

"Your Majesty, no... um?"

Caught off guard, Zhang He was about to say what he was about to say to Yuan Shao... but Yuan Shao's answer was clearly beyond Zhang He's expectations.

"His Majesty is ordering a retreat?"

Silence fell again inside the tent.

After a long while, the sound came again—

"withdraw."

After receiving a positive reply, Zhang He and Gao Lan exchanged a glance, but they could not see any joy in each other. Instead, they were filled with incredulous doubt.

Yuan Shao actually agreed to withdraw his troops?
Did Yuan Shao not know what his withdrawal meant?

How could the former leader of the feudal lords, now the emperor of the Great Zhao, really choose to withdraw his troops like this?

The two of them felt like their heads were about to explode!

Surprising!

Too bizarre!

Although their purpose in coming here was to persuade Yuan Shao to withdraw his troops, the fact that Yuan Shao actually withdrew now is unbelievable to them, and even incomprehensible!

However, this was exactly what they wanted, so Zhang He and Gao Lan immediately sounded the retreat and summoned the soldiers who were still fighting on the mountain back to their camp.

With Yuan Jun's withdrawal, the Han army also found themselves in a strange situation.

"That's not right. It's only past noon. How come Yuan's army has already withdrawn?"

Zhu Huan and Sun Ce were both greatly surprised and frequently sent out scouts to investigate.

Upon learning that Yuan Shao had chosen to break camp and retreat, the expressions on their faces became quite interesting.

"Haunted?"

If it weren't for the ghost, how could Yuan Shao, who had been fighting so fiercely, suddenly retreat and become a coward?
"Or……"

Zhu Huan suddenly thought of a possibility!
Sun Ce clearly realized something, and his whole body couldn't help but tremble with excitement!

"Could it be that Yuan Shao is really dead?"

(End of this chapter)