The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 349 Death of Yuan Shao
With Yuan Shao's withdrawal, the Hebei army was in complete chaos. After all, there were shouts of killing from all directions. The soldiers thought they were surrounded and if they didn't escape, they might lose their lives.

Some soldiers even simply knelt down, threw their weapons away, and surrendered to the Cavalry. After all, the Cavalry treated the prisoners very well, and at least there was no need to worry about their lives.

A few days ago, Qin Shou released the prisoners and announced the benefits. These soldiers would not have any thoughts of loyalty. They thought that being a soldier would give them food, money, and they could keep their lives, so everything would be easy.

But now that Yuan Shao's situation is hopeless, anyone would be a fool to continue working for him.

Some people found that as long as they honestly knelt on the ground and surrendered, they could really save their lives. So they no longer had the heart to resist. They threw away their weapons and waited for the end of the war.

Yuan Shao and his men naturally did not know this. They had already led their elite troops to retreat. These people were all die-hard Yuan loyalists and would never surrender to the Cavalry Army.

"My lord, Yuan Shao has been defeated."

Jia Xu looked at the mess in front of him and sighed.

The failure he mentioned meant that Yuan Shao was completely defeated and there was no possibility of recovery. This time was different from the last time, when both sides suffered losses in troops. Therefore, Qin Shou took a short rest after the Battle of Guandu.

But now the army has come to pacify Hebei, and they will not stop until Hebei is recovered.

"I have broken Yuan Shao's spine. How could a proud Yuan Shao allow such a thing to happen? If it were me, I would be so angry that I would vomit blood, let alone Yuan Shao."

Qin Shou shook his head.

Children from aristocratic families usually have noble character, but they cannot be defeated over and over again, and they certainly cannot be defeated by a person of lower status.

Once means unwillingness to accept the result; twice or three times means despair.

Yuan Shao was such a person. He was defeated by Qin Shou several times, and each time he was defeated when his troops were the strongest. How could Yuan Shao tolerate this? This time, his defense was broken instantly.

"Order Dian Wei and other generals to lead the army to pursue. Never give Yuan Shao any chance to breathe." Qin Shou immediately ordered the army to pursue, expand the battlefield, and further destroy Yuan Shao's army.

"Shi Huan is here, where is Yuan Shao going!"

"The joy is here, don't let Yuan Shao go."

When the army fled to a place five miles away, Yuan Shao heard bursts of shouting and killing, which woke him up from his coma. Looking around, he found himself lying on a grain cart, surrounded by Yuan Tan and others who were guarding him, all of them looking anxious.

The guards around him were no longer as mighty and strong as they used to be. They all had sad faces, and even those riding on war horses wished they could escape immediately.

Even his three sons were like this.

They heard the shouts and cries of killing all around them and did not even have the courage to resist. They just whipped their horses desperately, wishing they could grow wings and escape far away.

"Haha, an ambush from all sides, what a good Qin Shou, all of this is your conspiracy."

Lying on the grain cart, Yuan Shao understood the situation very well. The enemy wanted to take advantage of his failure to ambush him from all sides, constantly weakening his troops, and in the end, eat him and his men.

Now with powerful enemies in front and pursuers behind, Yuan Shao was in despair. He knew that this time he had failed completely.

"Retreat, retreat."

Yuan Shao shook his head, closed his eyes tightly, and a tear flowed from the corner of his eye.

He knew that he had completely failed this time, and it was even difficult for him to escape. He heard screams in his ears, which all indicated that another warrior was shot and killed by the enemy.

"Pfft."

Yuan Shao spat out a mouthful of blood again, his face turned as pale as gold paper, he became hazy and fell into a coma.

It was unknown when Yuan Shao woke up from his coma. The shouting and killing sounds around him had disappeared, and only the three Yuan Tan brothers were guarding him. "Xian Si."

Yuan Shao's voice was hoarse.

"Father."

When Yuan Shao and his three brothers Yuan Tan saw that he had woken up, they quickly surrounded him.

"What's the situation now? Have the enemies caught up with us?" Yuan Shao asked in a low voice.

"Father, we have now escaped from the encirclement and are retreating towards Yecheng." Yuan Shang said quickly, "Don't worry, father, we will be able to return to Yecheng soon."

Yuan Shang was not wrong, but the army's withdrawal came at a huge cost. Out of the hundreds of thousands of troops, only 30,000 to 40,000 followed. The rest either surrendered or were defeated, and no one knew where they fled to.

"Gongze! Gongze." Yuan Shao glanced around and found that there was no sign of Guo Tu.

Seeing this, the three Yuan Tan brothers lowered their heads.

"Mr. Guo Tu died in the chaos of war." Yuan Xi said hurriedly.

In fact, when Yuan Shao saw the appearance of the three brothers, he knew what would happen to Guo Tu. He suddenly coughed and tried to sit up, but found that he was weak all over, as if he was pressed down by a thousand-pound rock.

For a moment, I felt despair.

"Xiansi, Xianyi, Xianfu, I'm afraid your father can't do it anymore. After your father dies, you will leave Jizhou and go to Youzhou. Xiansi, you are too impulsive. Xianyi, you are just a mediocre person and are no match for Qin Shou. Only Xianfu is a man of both civil and military talents and can inherit my legacy. You brothers should assist Xianfu together."

"Only in this way can we resist Qin Shou."

Yuan Shao called the three brothers over. A blush appeared on his face and his eyes flashed as he stared at the three brothers.

After hearing this, Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi both felt annoyed. It was already this late, and yet Yuan Shang was still allowed to inherit the family business?
But looking at Yuan Shao's appearance, the two could only suppress the anger and dissatisfaction in their hearts.

"The three of you lead the troops away immediately, and I will cover your retreat."

Yuan Shao struggled for a while and finally sat up. He could even feel a little strength in his body, but his face was as pale as death.

There was no joy on his face because he knew that this was his last breath and he would die soon.

"Father, let my eldest and second brothers escort you as you leave. I will stay behind."

Yuan Shang knelt on the ground and cried bitterly.

"Father, I am willing to be the last one to leave."

Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi also knelt on the ground.

"You should leave immediately. Remember, don't go to Yecheng. Shen Pei is no match for Qin Shou, but he can hold out for a while." Yuan Shao asked his personal guards to help him onto his warhorse. He whipped the horse hard and said, "I would rather die on horseback than on my bed. You three brothers, leave now!"

After hearing this, the three Yuan Tan brothers felt helpless and quickly led the main force to flee northward.

Yuan Shao glanced at the personal guards around him. The faces of the 3,000 personal guards were all determined, which immediately made him feel a little emotional.

Unexpectedly, before he died, there were only three thousand people guarding him.

(End of this chapter)