Ji Han Liu Zhang

Changan.

Gan Ning and Lou Fa took the west gate of Chang'an, Wen Pin and Meng Da took the south gate of Chang'an. After experiencing Dong Zhuo's rebellion and the Li-Guo Rebellion, the current Chang'an City finally returned to the rule of the Han Dynasty and was controlled by Liu Zhang, a relative of the Han Dynasty and the governor of Yizhou.

After taking Chang'an City, Liu Zhang did not enter the city immediately. He still stayed in the camp outside the city. This was because Chang'an City had just been taken, and the city was in a mess due to the disputes between Li Jue, Guo Si and the generals from Guanzhong.

It would be inconvenient for Liu Zhang to enter such a Chang'an City.

Secondly, the main culprits Li Jue and Guo Si fled far away, and Liu Zhang was unable to kill them and complete his goal. Liu Zhang felt unsatisfied, so he had no intention of entering the city. He planned to wait until he had chased down and beheaded Li Jue and Guo Si before entering the city.

Moreover, he could also take advantage of the time of hunting down Li Jue and Guo Si to have people clean up and repair Chang'an City. Here Liu Zhang sent Li Xiu and Pu Yuan, who were good at blacksmithing, to make Chang'an City look brand new, thus paving the way for him, the governor of Yizhou, to enter Chang'an City.

The Shu army’s camp outside the city and inside the central army tent.

"Where did Li Jue and Guo Si go?" Liu Zhang asked the military officer Peng Ying, who had gone to collect information and returned, what he was most concerned about.

Peng Ying shook his short mustache and answered, "Li Jue and Guo Si left the east gate of Chang'an and immediately turned north."

"The north?" Liu Zhang half-closed his eyes and thought. After a moment, he looked at Jia Xu. Jia Xu knew people and things, especially he understood the thoughts of Li Jue and Guo Si more thoroughly. It would be wise to consult Jia Xu about the movements of Li Jue and Guo Si.

Jia Xu sensed Liu Zhang's intention to ask, so he said, "Mingsir, Li Jue is from Niyang, Beidi County, and Guo Si is from Zhangye. Now that they have been defeated and are fleeing, they will not flee eastwards to the border, so they will turn northwards, heading towards Beidi County, Li Jue's hometown. As for the future, since Beidi County is close to the Three Auxiliary Prefectures, Li and Guo will not stay in Beidi County for long, and it is possible that they have the idea of ​​fleeing to Liangzhou."

"Beidi County, Liangzhou." Liu Zhang gently waved the jade ruyi in his hand. This crystal clear jade ruyi was a fine product presented by the nobles of southern China. He liked it very much, so he often held it in his hand.

Feeling the coolness brought by the jade ruyi, Liu Zhang asked the military officer Peng Ying, "Who is chasing after the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si right now?"

"It was Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu." Peng Ying answered, "Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu first killed the leaders of the Shaodang and Dangjian tribes who had fled out of the city. After clearing out the scattered Qiang and Hu people, they learned of the whereabouts of Li Jue and Guo Si. Without waiting for a moment to rest, Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu led their troops to pursue Li Jue and Guo Si...but they did not have time to report to you, my Lord, and acted only after receiving your order."

"According to the reply from Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu, the two are not far from Li Jue and Guo Si's troops and are chasing them closely. They will not give Li Jue and Guo Si a chance to escape." Peng Ying answered all the questions without reservation.

Liu Zhang was very pleased with Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu's independent thinking, or more appropriately, their prompt decision. After pondering for a moment or two, he issued an order: "Order Gan Ning, Lou Fa, Wen Pin, and Meng Da to lead their own troops to support Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu, and Gan Ning will be the supervisor. The rest of the people must obey Gan Ning's orders."

"In addition, mobilize the masses to follow, and I will personally lead the troops to pursue them. I will definitely not let Li Jue and Guo Si escape."

The two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si were notorious for their evil deeds throughout the world, and everyone in the world hated them. If Liu Zhang could get rid of such great villains, he was confident that all the people in Guandong would look to the west and regard him as the leader of the world.

Therefore, for Liu Zhang, he would never let Li Jue and Guo Si go, and he had to gain enough prestige from Li Jue and Guo Si.

Furthermore, Li Jue and Guo Si were cruel and murderous towards the people, which was something Liu Zhang could not tolerate. Liu Zhang would never let Li Jue and Guo Si, such evildoers who harmed the people, get away with it, even for one more day.

Liu Zhang's orders carried the force of law. After he gave the order, Bing Cao Peng Ying bowed and took the order and went to convey Liu Zhang's order to Gan Ning, Lou Fa, Wen Pin and Meng Da.

The military advisor Fa Zheng bowed to Liu Zhang and said, "Mingsir, I have nothing to do here. I would like to be the vanguard and rush to General Gan's place to give him some advice."

Chang'an had already fallen, and Fa Zheng felt that there was nothing to do. He might as well follow the second batch of Gan Ning's army to pursue Li Jue and Guo Si. Perhaps he could take advantage of the opportunity to gain some credit.

"That's great. Xiaozhi can seize the opportunity and help Xingba." Liu Zhang had no objection. He agreed to Fa Zheng's request. After all, although Gan Ning was brave, his wisdom was not top-notch. With the strategic Fa Zheng by Gan Ning's side, the two were a good match.

Seeing Liu Zhang nod in agreement, Fa Zheng immediately bowed and took his leave, following closely in Peng Ying's footsteps.

Soon, Bing Cao Peng Ying passed the order to Gan Ning, the assistant general of the Han Dynasty.

Driven by the desire to achieve great things, Gan Ning, who received the order, immediately summoned Lou Fa, Wen Pin, Meng Da and others. Upon hearing the order, Lou Fa, Wen Pin and Meng Da also quickly gathered their soldiers. Like tigers out of the cage, they immediately led their troops northward, following the trail left by Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu.

On the road of pursuit, the military advisor was not by the side of Gan Ning, the assistant general of the Han army. He retreated a few steps to the rear of the central army, came to the side of his good friend Meng Da, and looked at Meng Da with a little disappointment.

Meng Da was a smart man, and he was extremely knowledgeable about the ways of the world. Just by exchanging a glance with Fa Zheng, he knew what Fa Zheng meant.

Meng Da knew that his good friend Fa Zheng was very disappointed. He was disappointed with the result that he was sent by Liu Zhang to spy on the truth of the surrender at the south gate of Chang'an. At that time, Liu Zhang sent him as the vanguard and Wen Pin as the backup, but he failed to fulfill his duties as the vanguard and instead let Wen Pin enter the city first and take the credit for being the first to enter.

"What did the wise lord say?" Meng Da asked about Fa Zheng with a slightly worried look on his face. At this moment, he no longer regretted not being able to enter the city first and giving the credit to Wen Pin. Instead, he was worried about Liu Zhang's opinion on the matter. He was ordered to serve as the vanguard, but he let Wen Pin enter the city first, which violated Liu Zhang's military orders.

Fa Zheng retracted his disappointed gaze, shook his head and said, "Ming Gong didn't say anything, he just praised Wen Pin for his courage and bravery, and the sergeant also recorded Wen Pin's merit in being the first to reach the summit, and your merit in providing support."

"That's it?" Meng Da was a little bit unbelievable.

"Are you wondering why the Lord doesn't blame you?" Fa Zheng's eyes were extremely clear, and they were full of light, as if he had the ability to see through everything. "..." Meng Da was embarrassed and didn't dare to answer.

Fa Zheng looked far away, resting his gaze on the army that was on the march, and said slowly: "Zijing, you are really wrong this time... If you had obeyed orders and suffered some losses, it would have been fine, and Mingshou would not have blamed you, but you retreated in the face of battle and hesitated when faced with difficulties, which is a big taboo. Mingshou may not say it, but he will definitely think in his heart that you are not qualified for the job, and next time there is an important matter, it will not be your turn."

Meng Da hesitated and didn't dare to respond. After a long while, he was about to speak, but Fa Zheng said faster than him, "Zi Jing, don't make excuses. Now that things have come to this, you can only show yourself well and see if you can redeem your weight in Ming Gong's heart."

"Ah." Meng Da sighed softly, shook his head and said, "I regret not listening to you, Xiaozhi, and it has come to this."

Faced with his best friend Fa Zheng, who had fled to Shu with him, Meng Da, who was an excellent debater, no longer had the heart to argue. He gave up the arguments he had already prepared in his mind and just said one word of regret.

"It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost." Fa Zheng saw that Meng Da was in a very positive attitude, so he comforted him: "There are many things happening in the world now, and there are many opportunities to make achievements. Zi Jing, you just need to seize this opportunity."

Fa Zheng's words were very formal, and they comforted Meng Da's current depressed mood. Meng Da bowed to Fa Zheng and said, "Xiaozhi, I will remember your words in my heart."

On the other hand, Gan Ning was leading the crowd to meet Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu. Gan Ning was in a happy and cheerful mood. However, Li Jue and Guo Si, who were being closely pursued by Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu, were in a completely opposite mood. They were panicked, worried, and afraid, with all kinds of negative emotions in their hearts.

Li Jue and Guo Si, who escaped from the east gate of Chang'an City, argued for a while about the direction of escape.

"Zhi Ran, why don't you and I go east, but instead go to the north." Guo Si was puzzled. Now all the counties and prefectures in Guanzhong were cheering for Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, and raising the banner of surrendering to Liu Zhang. They should leave Guanzhong and go to Guandong.

As for why they didn't go west, to Guo Si's hometown, Wuwei in Liangzhou. Although Guo Si wanted to flee west, he thought that Liu Zhang was coming from the west. If they went west, they would be blocked by Liu Zhang on the way, which was not a good way to seek survival.

Therefore, in Guo Si's opinion, only by rushing to Guandong can he and Guo Si escape and survive for a while.

"Aduo, have you forgotten where I am from?" Li Jue asked Guo Si with a smile.

Guo Si suddenly realized that Li Jue was from Beidi County, so Li Jue led him to the north, to Li Jue's hometown. But after this realization, Guo Si became even more confused.

Guo Si was puzzled and said, "Zhi Ran, although Beidi County is your hometown, you and I going to Beidi County is like a fish entering the sea... But Beidi County is not far away, and Liu Zhang's army is nearby. Although you and I can escape for a while, Liu Zhang will definitely not let you and me go, and will definitely send a large army to Beidi County. What will you and I do then?"

Li Jue smiled calmly and said, "Of course I know this. Beidi County is close to the Three Auxiliary Prefectures. It is not a place where you and I can stay for a long time. Liu Zhang will not let you and me stay in Beidi County."

"However, Beidi County borders Rongdi in the north, Liangzhou in the west, and Bingzhou in the east. Right now, you and I are going to Beidi County just to take a short break and then make other plans. We are not going to stay in Beidi County for a long time."

Li Jue's words made sense. Guo Si nodded repeatedly. He responded, "It's not Zhiran. I was killed by Liu Zhang's kid a long time ago... Zhiran's plan is feasible. You and I should rush to Beidi County."

After saying this, Guo Si looked back at the people behind him. After the fight with the generals in Guanzhong in Chang'an City, the strength of him and Li Jue had been greatly weakened. In addition, it was easy for the infantry to separate from the team on the way of escape and could not keep up with the pace of the team. Therefore, the soldiers who were still following him and Li Jue were only more than a thousand cavalry and two thousand infantry.

Such a small number of people made Guo Si, who once led tens of thousands of people and dominated Guanzhong, sad.

Needless to say, when Guo Si saw the dejected and exhausted looks of his soldiers, he knew that they had lost all their fighting spirit and morale. The only reason they could still follow him at this moment was because this group of soldiers were his relatives and they had a close relationship with him.

The soldiers were scattered and the army was demoralized. Guo Si no longer had the idea of ​​competing for the hegemony of Guanzhong. He only wanted to get away from Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, as soon as possible, recuperate in a quiet place for some time, and restore his strength.

Actually, ever since the Yizhou governor Liu Zhang arrived at Guanzhong with his army, he had suffered a series of defeats, and was at a disadvantage in every fight. He was no longer as heroic as before. Therefore, Guo Si wished that he would never fight against the Yizhou governor Liu Zhang again in his life, as he was really afraid of Liu Zhang.

Li Jue and Guo Si intended to stay away from Sanfu and rush to Beidi County to recuperate for a while. This idea was very good, but the reality did not make Li Jue and Guo Si's wish come true. Li Jue and Guo Si learned a piece of bad news from the message sent by the cavalry scouts in the rear.

"Are the Shu cavalry chasing us?" Guo Si asked the scout.

Guo Si then exclaimed in surprise: "How could it be so fast? We clearly left from the east gate of Chang'an and then turned north without anyone noticing. How could the Shu army detect it so quickly? How could Liu Zhang send out the pursuit cavalry so quickly?"

Li Jue looked solemn, and said in a bad tone: "It must be that the Shu army general acted on his own and chased us first, and then reported it to Liu Zhang."

Li Jue said this with certainty. He concluded that the Shu cavalry commander who was chasing them must have known about their escape and led his troops to chase after them without reporting it, otherwise he would not have been so quick.

"Zhi Ran, what should we do?" Guo Si was like a drowning man, clinging tightly to Li Jue as a life-saving straw.

Li Jue frowned and thought for a moment or two, then he made a plan: "Our army's morale is low, and the soldiers have just fought a great battle and are exhausted. We should not fight again. There is Huangbaicheng in front of us. We should attack Huangbaicheng and use it as a city to defend. We will make a decision after we have rested."

"This is the only way." Guo Si nodded. At the moment, it was indeed not appropriate for his soldiers to resist the pursuing Shu cavalry. The best strategy was to occupy a city and make repairs.

The plan was decided, and Li Jue and Guo Si quickly discussed the specific implementation measures. Guo Si led more than 500 cavalrymen who were still capable of fighting to attack and capture Huangbai City, while Li Jue led the remaining soldiers to march quickly, following Guo Si's footsteps. (End of this chapter)