Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1342 Madman
Zhao Yun pulled out the blood-stained iron spear, shook it casually, shook off Han De's brain and blood on the spear tip, and continued to charge towards Han Sui's army.

As for the name Han De shouted before his death, Zhao Yun didn't even hear it clearly. What he had to do now was to take off Han Sui's head and leave the princes of Xiliang leaderless.

Han Sui saw that Zhao Yun was charging all the way and no Xiliang general could withstand him. He knew that things were not good and immediately ordered the Xiliang cavalry to encircle Zhao Yun's flank.

He himself rode his horse backwards, not only retreating into the central army, but also continuing to retreat to the rear army. He also ordered his personal soldiers to withdraw, ready to escape at any time.

The reason why Han Sui was able to play both sides and protect himself in these years was that he was the leader among the princes of Xiliang both in terms of military formation and leadership, and he had always suppressed Ma Chao, who was only brave in martial arts.

As he expected, soon there were shouts of killing from the rear of Han Dao and Xu Huang's flag appeared on the horizon. Han Sui did not delay and immediately gave the signal to retreat.

He and his personal guards were in the rear and quickly escaped before Xu Huang could cut off the encirclement, but most of the remaining Xiliang troops were not so lucky. As Zhao Yun broke in and Xu Huang cut off their retreat, tens of thousands of Xiliang cavalry were quickly defeated and fled in all directions.

After that, Zhao Yun chased Han Sui for five days and five nights, forcing him to retreat into Wuwei County in embarrassment. Most of the Xiliang soldiers he brought with him were killed, wounded or missing, so they rushed to Wuwei City to take shelter.

Zhao Yun did not pursue the enemy further, but turned back with Xu Huang to wipe out all the towns and cities in Anding County, and then built a line of defense between Anding and Wuwei.

In terms of individual combat power or charging into battle array and capturing camp, the Jin army did not have an overwhelming advantage over the Wei army. However, the only aspect of the construction of fortifications was that the Jin army's experience and speed were enough to defeat the Wei army, not to mention the Western Liang army.

Under the protection of Zhao Yun and Xu Huang, the Jin army engineers quickly built a long three-dimensional defense line on the Anding border. Relying on river water sources, they cut off all the attack and harassment routes of the Xiliang soldiers, making it impossible for Han Sui to organize an effective counterattack.

At this time, Zhuge Liang also led his troops to Luoyang in person along the way from Yecheng. He sent Zhang He, Zhang Xun and others as the vanguard to approach Xu Du. He quickly defeated Xiahou Shang who came out to fight, and forced him to retreat back to Xu Du.

After estimating the strength of both sides and the current battlefield situation, Xiahou Shang concluded that Xu Du might not be able to be defended, so he immediately sent an emergency letter to Chang'an, asking whether Chang'an should send troops to rescue or abandon Luoyang.

This letter and the news of Han Sui's defeat were delivered to the court of Cao Wei almost at the same time. When the news came out, all the officials of Cao Wei became panicked. The Jin army was advancing on two fronts, and it happened to be when winter was about to come. This timing was too troublesome!
What is worrying Wei State now is not that it lacks the manpower and food to send troops, but that if it sends troops, most of the food and grass stored by Wei State this winter will be consumed. This winter, Wei State will have to tighten its belt and live frugally. If it spends the winter like this, the physical strength and morale of the soldiers in the coming year will be greatly affected, and there will even be more troublesome consequences!

Cao Pi threw a memorial on the table and sighed, "I have retreated again and again, and this is the result."

At this time, he was sitting upright, with a woman behind him gently massaging his back. She was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old and quite beautiful. She was Cao Pi's new concubine, Guo, who was extremely favored. There was a legend that she would become the queen sooner or later.

She whispered, "To retreat in order to advance may not be a bad method."

"I believe that Your Majesty will be able to find a way to resist the State of Jin."

Cao Pi glanced at the map and said, "I remember your ancestors were from Anping County?"

"The Jin army just occupied Anping. Do you have any family there?"

After hearing this, Guo said carefully, "I followed my father to Nanjun a long time ago, so there shouldn't be many people there."

Cao Pi pondered and said, "Nanjun, Jingzhou?"

"Half of that place is in the hands of Jin, and the other half is in the hands of Hannan. It's quite different from the north. I'm afraid it will take you a long time to get used to it, right?"

Guo replied: "My father was the governor of Nanjun at that time, so I lived well and there was no inconvenience."

Cao Pi suddenly laughed and said, "I have met your father Guo Yong."

"He is indeed a capable official, but his talent is only mediocre. It is not easy for him to raise a daughter like you. You can say he is an anomaly."

The reason why Guo was favored was not only her appearance, but the most important reason was that she was very intelligent. She could often offer advice to Cao Pi on political affairs. She had unique views and insight, which was no less than that of most of Cao Wei's ministers. That was why Cao Pi valued her.

When Guo heard Cao Pi's question, her heart skipped a beat. This involved a secret in her family. If something went wrong, many people would be implicated. She was thinking quickly, was Cao Pi asking this unintentionally, or was he hinting at something?

Her mind raced, and after only a few moments of hesitation, she made a decision immediately, prostrating herself on the ground and saying, "I am guilty of hiding something from Your Majesty."

Cao Pi smiled, "Oh?"

"What crime has made you so panicked? Aren't you afraid that I will punish you for deceiving the emperor?"

Guo gritted her teeth and said, "Guo Yong is not my biological father. My biological father is someone else."

"Before I was ten years old, my biological father taught me, so I know a lot about strategy."

Cao Pi sneered, "Oh?"

"Who is your biological father?"

Guo spoke with difficulty, "I am from the Yingchuan Guo family, and my father's name is... Tu."

Cao Pi laughed, "Guo Tu?"

"This name sounds familiar. Isn't this one of Yuan Shao's eight counselors?"

"I remember that he died in the battle between the two Yuans. How could he have thought of sending his daughter to Guo Yong for adoption?"

Guo lowered her head and said, "I... don't know."

Cao Pi suddenly turned around and asked sinisterly, "Then do you know how your biological father died?"

After hearing this, Guo was silent for a moment, then raised her head and said, "I presume that he should have been executed by the late emperor."

Cao Pi was startled. He reached out his hand and held Guo's chin. "Why do you think so?" Guo was also desperate at this time. She said, "Yuan Tan's actions in the later period were obviously beneficial to the late emperor. He must have been guided by someone around him. This shows that the person was probably the late emperor's accomplice."

"My father is the most likely person, and he died in Cao's camp. It is very likely that he knew too many secrets, so he was silenced by the late emperor."

Cao Pi sneered, "You are really brave!"

"Do you know that you are guilty of making irresponsible assumptions about the late emperor and that you are punishable by death?"

Guo calmed down and said, "Your Majesty asked me to tell the truth just now, so I will tell the truth."

"My father was devoted to the Kingdom of Wei, but he ended up like this. I am unwilling to accept this."

"I have said everything I need to say. How to deal with it is entirely up to your majesty."

Cao Pi shook his hand, turned away Guo's chin, stood up suddenly, and put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

Guo was not afraid at all. She looked up and stared straight at Cao Pi. Her neck was very long, like a swan, and she was ready for the butcher's knife to fall at any time.

Cao Pi suddenly laughed, "What courage!"

"Only a woman like you is worthy of being my queen!"

Guo was stunned. She couldn't believe it and said, "Your Majesty won't kill me?"

Cao Pi sneered and said, "You have helped me a lot, why should I kill you?"

Guo said in a hoarse voice: "The late emperor killed my father, aren't you afraid of my revenge?"

Cao Pi laughed wildly, "The only person I, Cao Pi, am afraid of in my life is my father. He is dead now. There is nothing in this world that I am afraid of anymore!"

"It's very exciting to have you by my side. Besides, a smart person like you wouldn't do it easily, right?"

"Not to mention that I also contributed to your father's death. Do you still want to thank me?"

Guo was stunned. Cao Pi bent down and lifted Guo's chin again. "Neither you nor I are good people. The Wei Kingdom was not established by right. The world is crazy and chaotic. In this case, why not do something interesting while you are still alive?"

"What bullshit etiquette, what ridiculous grudges, with the butcher knife of Jin hanging over my head, living in this world is tiring enough. Every time I think about it, I will go crazy. Why should I care about these trivial matters?"

"You now have two choices. One is to leave the palace, and the other is to go crazy with me, dragging the world into a whirlpool of madness, and watch a good show unfold!"

"How do you choose?"

After hearing this, Guo's eyes flashed with excitement and danger, "Your Majesty is indeed... someone worthy of my entrusting my life to!"

"Your Majesty, please follow me, even if it means my death!"

After hearing this, Cao Pi suddenly pulled Guo up and held her in his arms, "Okay!"

"This is my queen!"

"Let's see what fun this Wei Kingdom and this world can bring me!"

The next morning, Cao Pi went to court. The ministers discussed the advancing momentum of the Jin army. Everyone was discussing how to deal with it, but most were pessimistic, and some even suggested moving the capital.

Upon hearing this, someone immediately asked angrily: "Moving the capital?"

"How long has it been since the capital was moved to Chang'an?"

"Is Dawei going to keep moving like this?"

"What you said is no different from asking the king to surrender."

The people from the previous group were also unwilling to be outdone, "The country is unstable, so the safety of the emperor is naturally the first priority."

"If the emperor makes a mistake like in Yecheng, can you afford it?"

The two sides started arguing for a while, but Cao Pi suddenly said, "Stop arguing!"

After hearing this, all the officials fell silent. Cao Pi said, "Since I ascended the throne, I have been diligent in government affairs, but I have made no achievements in military affairs. I was even forced to move the capital. Every time I think of this, I feel ashamed."

"When the late emperor was alive, his military might was unparalleled and his reputation spread far and wide, but I am unworthy. I should learn from my mistakes and follow the example of the late emperor, lead the army in person and stop the Jin State!"

When the ministers heard this, they were all shocked and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you absolutely cannot do this."

"If your majesty makes a mistake, what will happen to Wei?"

Cao Pi snorted coldly, "I have made up my mind. In the next two days, I will recruit soldiers and generals and go to Xudu to fight a decisive battle with the Jin army!"

When the officials of Cao Wei saw that Cao Pi was actually serious about it, they were all confused. Cao Pi didn't even have any children yet, yet he wanted to lead the army in person. What exactly did he want to do?
(End of this chapter)