At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 324 Tragic

At this juncture, there was a roaring fire in front, but there was a mess behind. The soldiers were even trampling on each other, almost completely blocking the retreat.

The air was filled with sparks, plant ash, and billowing smoke, making it difficult not only to open your eyes, but also to breathe.

You know, fires are not the only ones that are deadly. Heavy smoke and lack of oxygen can also kill people.

Just when Chunyu Qiong closed his eyes and waited to die, his deputy general Zhao Rui ran over and shouted: "General, please give the order to break out to the south!"

"what?"

When Chunyu Qiong heard Zhao Rui's words, she opened her eyes wide in surprise, regardless of the strong wind blowing that was mixed with sparks or plant ash.

In his opinion, the south was already a sea of ​​fire. To break out of the encirclement south now would be to seek death.

Zhao Rui hurriedly explained: "The general doesn't know something. A strong wind is blowing from the south. If the Han soldiers continue to flee north, the fire will catch up with them sooner or later. Even if they are not burned to death, they will die in the thick smoke."

"At this time, if we break out to the south and head towards the fire, due to the strong wind, the grass and trees in the south will burn very quickly. When all the grass and trees are burned, the fire will naturally be contained or even extinguished, which is safer."

"If you break out to the south, you may be burned or even burned to death, but as long as you cross the sea of ​​fire, you will have a glimmer of hope!"

Chunyu Qiong was already at a loss. After listening to Zhao Rui's explanation, it was like the last straw for a drowning man to grasp.

In addition, Zhao Rui was familiar with the art of war and was quite capable, and Chunyu Qiong also trusted him very much.

Since both sides were facing a dead end, he simply chose to trust his general Zhao Rui, and immediately ordered the soldiers around him to shout loudly, telling his troops not to mess up their positions and follow their commander to break out south.

After shouting loudly, Chunyu Qiong did not care whether his soldiers listened to the order or not. Under the protection of Han Juzi, Zhao Rui and his personal guards, Chunyu Qiong broke out towards the south without hesitation in the face of the fire.

Yuan Jun was now in great confusion. Although Chunyu Qiong's personal guards shouted in unison, many people heard the order to break out south.

However, in the face of the fire sweeping from the south, not many people had the courage to break out together.

Even so, after Chunyu Qiong personally led the troops to charge south, Yuan Jun, who still had some clever minds in the army, abandoned the crowded road to the north and followed Chun Yuqiong and others to rush south.

These soldiers may not have read books, but they also have some common sense. Knowing Chunyu Qiong's current choice may be the most likely to escape.

However, it was said that Chunyu Qiong, Han Juzi, and Zhao Rui led their troops to break out of the encirclement south. Faced with the fire coming towards them, the war horses did not dare to move forward, and instead tended to run wild.

Chunyu Qiong had no choice but to abandon his horse and let his soldiers line up with shields in hand and rush toward the sea of ​​fire.

Most of the soldiers at the front fell into the sea of ​​fire.

However, as Zhao Rui analyzed, due to the large intensity of the fire, the fire swept through Bowang Slope very quickly.

Although Chunyu Qiong and others suffered heavy casualties, even the leading generals were burned.

But after breaking out of the oncoming wall of fire, although the front was still a piece of scorched earth and the ground was unbearably hot, those who were lucky enough to survive managed to save their lives.

Those Yuan soldiers who were quick-thinking and rushed out after Chunyu Qiong also numbered three to four thousand people.

Looking at the soldiers who rushed out of the sea of ​​​​fire, almost all suffered burns to varying degrees, and some of them were even on fire.

Chunyu Qiong endured the pain in her body and ordered the soldiers to rescue each other and preserve as much strength as possible.

Most of Zhao Rui's hair was burnt. At this time, he did not feel any joy about surviving the disaster. Instead, he said with a solemn face: "This fire is just the beginning. If the fire is not bad as expected, when the ground temperature drops, it will be destroyed." An ambush from Chu State is coming!"

When Chunyu Qiong heard this, she couldn't help but trembled in her heart and asked, "What can Ruzhi do?"

Zhao Rui looked at the surrounding terrain, then smiled bitterly and said: "If you continue to go south, you will definitely face the Chu army. If you go north, you will be surrounded by fire again."

"At least until the vegetation here is burned down, I'm afraid we won't be able to escape."

Chunyu Qiong's face was ashen and she said, "Aren't we just going to sit back and wait for death?"

At this time, he remembered Gao Lan's advice not long ago, and couldn't help but show an annoyed look on his face, saying, "I regret not listening to Gao Lan's words!"

Seeing Chun Yuqiong's lack of fighting spirit, Zhao Rui immediately gritted his teeth and said: "The soldiers suffered from this fire. Although thousands of them were lucky enough to survive, most of them were injured and had no fighting spirit at all."

"If the Chu army comes to attack, either surrender or fight to the death to serve the country. There is no other choice!"

After hearing Zhao Rui's words, the other generals also set their sights on Chunyu Qiong.

No one is afraid of death, but no one dares to be the first to say the word "surrender".

Even if they wanted to surrender, the general Chunyu Qiong should have spoken first. At that time, they, the middle and low-level generals, could also be said to be the Chu State who was forced to surrender because of the order of the general.

In this way, at least with an excuse, the family may be able to be saved.

Therefore, when they looked at Chun Yuqiong, they all looked forward to it, hoping to hear those two words from each other.

Chunyu Qiong's expression also changed, and it took a long time before she finally made up her mind.

Why doesn't he want to live?

It's just that Chunyu Qiong, as the first person to follow Yuan Shao, not only won Yuan Shao's favor, but also represented the face of the Yingchuan faction.

If Chun Yuqiong died here, even if he was defeated in the first battle, with the support of his family and the Yingchuan faction, plus his friendship with Yuan Shao for so many years, he would at least be able to gain a good reputation.

With Yuan Shao's character, he would not blame the general who died in battle, but would treat Chunyu Qiong's family favorably.

in contrast.

If Chunyu Qiong chooses to surrender, he will undoubtedly slap Yuan Shao hard on the ear, and will also make the Yingchuan faction unable to hold its head high in the future.

An angry Yuan Shao would not only take it out on his own family, but even his family might be implicated.

After weighing the pros and cons, Chunyu Qiong still made up his mind that even if he died in this battle, he would never surrender to Chu.

Now that Chunyu Qiong had made up his mind, he immediately looked around at the generals and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is in Hebei, and he will surely unify the world sooner or later."

"We are all greatly favored by Your Majesty. Even if we die in battle today, with Your Majesty's kindness, at least our family will be able to remain rich and secure."

"I want to lead my army to fight to the death, what do you think?"

When all the generals heard this, they looked at each other in shock and said nothing. It was obvious that many of them were greedy for life and afraid of death.

Seeing everyone's pusy behavior, one general was offended. Han Juzi stood out from the crowd, then drew his sword in his hand and shouted sternly: "General Chunyu has a distinguished life, and he is not afraid of death even if he is a general. We are cheap." You only have one life, so why fear death?"

"Confucius said Chengren, Mencius said righteousness. As generals, it is a great honor for us to die on the battlefield. Why should we be afraid of death?"

"As long as I, Han Juzi, are here, I will kill anyone who wants to surrender to the Chu army!"

Zhao Rui also stepped forward and shouted: "A man is born in heaven and earth, why should he fear death? A good man gallops on the battlefield, makes great achievements, and is wrapped in horse leather. Isn't it beautiful?"

Chunyu Qiong also drew his sword in his hand and said: "I don't expect you all to fight to the death. I only hope that you brothers can fight hard before someone falls."

"I promise you that if the Chu army arrives, I will be at the forefront."

"I will die in battle. It won't be too late for you to surrender again!"

Seeing that the three generals were so brave, the generals were also very inspired. Their eyes met in the air, and then they all worshiped: "We are all willing to fight to the death with the general!"

Chunyu Qiong was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately ordered Han Juzi and Zhao Rui to arrange their troops while rescuing the soldiers who were still trapped in the sea of ​​fire.

The result was not what Zhao Rui expected.

Not long after, I saw banners fluttering and dust rising in front of me. It was Huang Zhong, Wenpin, and Yan Yan who were leading their troops to kill.

Chunyu Qiong looked up and was horrified to find that there were more than 8,000 Chu soldiers.

"How come there are so many soldiers and horses?"

After the shock, Chunyu Qiong finally realized that the other party in his relationship had hidden his troops before, just to plot against him.

"Tap Tap!"

Huang Zhong patted his horse and stepped forward. Looking at Yuan's army who was still in a state of embarrassment and was still waiting for them, he couldn't help but secretly praise: "They are indeed the elite of the north. If it weren't for the clever strategy of the military adviser, it would not be easy to defeat them."

Although he was thinking this in his mind, Huang Zhong still shouted like a victor: "Chun Yu Qiong, you and other Chinese military advisors have a clever plan. Now we are at the end of the road. If we don't surrender now, how long will it take?"

However, Chunyu Qiong shouted sternly: "Chu is a barbarian country and can only use petty tactics."

"Although I fell into your trap by mistake, the soldiers of Zhao State are all loyal, brave and righteous. Even if they die in battle, they will not surrender!"

Huang Zhong was furious when he heard this. He immediately rushed back to his own formation and started to attack in three groups. On the battlefield, if you can't reach an agreement, then fight until the other party collapses and until the other party kneels down and begs for mercy.

Talking nonsense makes no sense.

Facing the attack of Huang Zhong, Wenpin, and Yan Yan, although Yuan Jun had already prepared his battle array, thousands of wounded soldiers, some of whom had even abandoned their armor, were no match for these tiger generals.

The two sides fought for nearly two hours, and Yuan Jun retreated steadily.

If Chun Yuqiong hadn't gritted his teeth and stayed at the front even though he was wearing five injuries, which greatly inspired the morale of the army, I am afraid that Yuan Jun would have completely collapsed.

"kill!"

Huang Zhong was eager to fight. After fighting for a long time, he finally broke through Yuan Jun's defense line and rushed to Chunyu Qiong's side.

At this time, almost all of Chunyu Qiong's personal guards were killed in the battle, but there was still no need to prepare to retreat.

Seeing Huang Zhong approaching on horseback, Chunyu Qiong resisted the pain in her body and actually advanced instead of retreating with a gun. She was obviously determined to die.

"If someone is alive, which general can come first?"

At this moment, a loud shout was heard coming from the side.

Chunyu Qiong stopped and happened to see Han Juzi striding forward to greet Huang Zhong.

"Hahahaha, how can General Han be allowed to be more beautiful than before?"

At this moment, Zhao Rui, who was covered in blood, also rushed forward and killed Huang Zhong without fear.

How could Han Juzi and Zhao Rui not know Huang Zhong was brave?

They were now fighting on foot again, and the horses had long since fled to nowhere. It was obvious that they could not be Huang Zhong's opponent.

Even so, they did not want their general Chunyu Qiong to die in front of them.

Chunyu Qiong looked at the two loyal and brave people and couldn't bear it anymore, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.

He regretted it.

He really regretted it.

If he had listened to Gao Lan's advice and not rushed forward to pursue Huang Zhong with light troops, such a defeat would not have happened.

However, there is no regret in taking medicine!

He clenched his fists and allowed tears to blur his vision. After all, he still did not call out to the two people who were willing to die.

"kill!"

Han Juzi and Zhao Rui shouted loudly almost at the same time and rushed towards Huang Zhong without fear of death.

When Huang Zhong saw this, he couldn't help but respect him.

However, when the two armies are fighting, one is a hero and the other is an enemy. The more loyal, courageous and unafraid the other party is, the more they must eradicate the enemy.

As a battle-hardened general, Huang Zhong would naturally not be soft-hearted at this time.

The greatest respect that can be given to these two people is to use all one's strength to make them die on the battlefield in a majestic manner.

"kill!"

Huang Zhong stopped the deputy general who wanted to help, and rushed towards the two men with a sword in hand.

Seeing Huang Zhong come forward to fight in person, Han Juzi and Zhao Rui also had a bright light in their eyes. If they could risk their lives to kill Huang Zhong here, they might be able to save this defeat.

The two have known each other for a long time and have already cooperated very well. Just by looking at each other, they can already understand each other's thoughts.

Zhao Rui charged slightly forward, and when he saw Huang Zhong charging towards him with a sword, he hurriedly turned sideways to avoid the collision of the horse, then waved his weapon and stabbed directly at Huang Zhong's crotch on the horse.

"Little tricks!"

Huang Zhong has been on the battlefield for a long time and naturally knows that he must protect his horses when the two armies are fighting. When he saw Zhao Rui's actions, disdain flashed in his eyes.

Without any hesitation, he directly attacked the person he needed to save and slashed towards Zhao Rui's head.

In Huang Zhong's view, if Zhao Rui wanted to survive his own fatal blow, he would definitely stop the offensive. Otherwise, Huang Zhong would not be at a loss if he exchanged a war horse for the life of a general.

Unexpectedly, facing Huang Zhong's killing blow, Zhao Rui's eyes flashed with determination, and he only turned his body slightly, and still stabbed towards the horse with a sudden shot.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

The sound of the spear piercing the body of the war horse sounded almost at the same time as the sound of the broadsword slashing at Zhao Rui's body.

With Huang Zhong's strength, he could have cut Zhao Rui in two with one sword, but he didn't expect that the other party would stab his own horse to death, regardless of his own life.

Huang Zhong was worried that after the horse was injured, he would use too much force and fall to the ground, so he regained some strength.

"Lulu!"

At this moment, the war horse began to jump wildly under the pain. Huang Zhong wanted to draw his knife to calm the war horse, but if he couldn't do it, he could jump on the horse and fight on foot.

But he drew the sword once, only to find that he couldn't draw it out at all.

He looked up and saw that Zhao Rui, who was constantly vomiting blood, was holding on to the big knife that had been cut into his body. Even if his flesh and blood were flying and his face was twisted in pain, he still refused to let go.

"die!"

At this moment, Han Juzi also rushed over and pointed his gun directly at Huang Zhong's throat.

If he was stabbed by it, Huang Zhong would definitely die on the spot.

"Too careless!"

This thought flashed through Huang Zhong's mind, but while feeling the war horse beating constantly due to pain, and having to deal with Han Juzi's fatal shot, he couldn't care less about regrets.

Huang Zhong immediately let go of the handle of the knife, then suddenly jumped off his horse, and used clever movement to avoid what Han Juzi thought was a fatal blow.

"Pfft!"

Just when Huang Zhong landed, he saw an arrow stuck in Han Juzi's throat, and the wound was bleeding crazily.

But when Huang Zhong was vaulting, he took an arrow from the quiver, and then directly used the arrow as a weapon and inserted it into Han Juzi's throat.

Huang Zhong stabbed Han Juzi to death with an arrow, and then looked at the war horse that fell to the ground and kept wailing, and couldn't help but look gloomy.

He strode forward and looked at Zhao Rui, who was still hugging his sword even though his eyes had lost their luster, and finally sighed deeply.

Although these two people were not very capable, they were very brave and came with the intention of dying. Even Huang Zhong almost fell over.

He stepped forward, struggled to pull out his sword, and finally looked at Chun Yuqiong in front of him.

When Chunyu Qiong saw Han Juzi and Zhao Rui, even if they were fighting with their lives and their cooperation was flawless, they could not hurt Huang Zhong in the slightest, and she couldn't help but feel despair.

He turned his head and looked at the few soldiers around him. He couldn't help but close his eyes in pain, and tears fell from the corners of his eyes involuntarily.

He slowly put the long sword across his neck and whispered to the general beside him: "The failure of this battle is all attributed to a certain person. After my death, you surrender."

"General!"

"General!"

Seeing Chunyu Qiong's appearance, all the generals and commanders exclaimed in surprise, and many couldn't help crying.

Chunyu Qiong indeed cannot shirk his responsibility for the defeat in this battle.

However, since breaking out of the sea of ​​fire, everything Chunyu Qiong did was remarkable, and he was at the forefront in the battle with the Chu army.

Even Yuan Jun's officers and soldiers couldn't hate such a general.

Some people with a strong temper also put their swords across their necks and shouted: "General, he would rather die than harm us, let alone surrender to the thieves. How can we be greedy for life and afraid of death?"

"General, go ahead, we are willing to go together!"

(End of this chapter)