People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 264 The Hateful Xu Guangtou
When the sky was slightly bright, the scattered and fleeing Jizhou soldiers gathered together one after another. However, at this time, both the soldiers below and the generals above had gloomy expressions on their faces, and the atmosphere was so depressing that it was suffocating.

The negative emotions after a major defeat directly affect everyone's state.

Yan Liang sat on a big rock in the wilderness, staring blankly at the demoralized army in front of him. He was unable to recover from his loss for a while. He could not accept that he had suffered such a heavy defeat at the hands of the Yellow Turbans so easily.

He could imagine how furious Yuan Shao would be when he returned.

Wen Chou, who was standing next to him, was not in a much better mental state and kept sighing.

The two men were defeated and fled, their hair disheveled and their clothes torn, but at this time they were in no mood to maintain the dignity of the gentry. Occasionally they looked at each other, but they were silent and didn't know what to say.

The Yellow Turbans were almost becoming a shadow in their hearts. An opponent that was almost invincible in a frontal attack and adept at using all kinds of tactics was too scary.

They were immersed in the atmosphere of failure and couldn't extricate themselves until Shen Pei came over after a long time, and then the two of them turned their attention away.

Shen Pei's face was visibly ugly. He was frightened by the sudden attack last night and fled in panic. He could be said to have escaped death. This kind of mental ups and downs was very stimulating, making him look particularly haggard and depressed.

"After a recent inventory, our army has gathered more than 20,000 remaining soldiers. We may be able to recover some more troops later, but not too many." Shen Pei sighed after he finished speaking.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou's mouths twitched. This answer was really hard for them to accept.

Just with this one attack, more than 10,000 soldiers were lost. If there were a few more attacks, all the soldiers he had would be wiped out.

However, the bad news did not end there. Shen Pei hesitated for a moment and said, "After gathering the army, I did not find Xun Chen. I am afraid that he has fallen into the hands of the Yellow Turbans."

Yan Liang did not have any special reaction to this news. He just said "Oh" and then said perfunctorily: "If I have the chance in the future, I will try to save him."

Wen Ming just curled his lips when he heard the rumor, looking a little disapproving.

How could Shen Pei not understand that this was just Yan Liang's polite remark? For Xun Chen, the opponent of the Yingchuan School, it didn't matter whether he died or lived in the hands of the enemy. To some extent, this was even a good thing.

Although the factions were in conflict, Shen Pei couldn't help but feel some sympathy. After all, they had worked under Yuan for so long. Now that Xun Chen was in trouble, he felt a sense of sympathy.

I don't know how the Yellow Turban bandits will treat me. I can only wish them good luck.
Thinking of this, Shen Pei bowed to the two men and said, "Our army's combat power is slightly inferior to that of the Yellow Turbans. Now we have suffered a great defeat and suffered heavy losses. It will be even more difficult to deal with them in the future. It is hopeless to repel the enemy. We can only choose to retreat and defend the city. We have to give up Bohai."

Yan Liang and Wen Chou looked at each other, sighed, and then nodded.

Now it is not a question of whether they are willing or not, but that they have no choice at all. Their 40,000 troops were already struggling against the Yellow Turbans, and now they only have more than 20,000 troops left. Moreover, they have suffered a great defeat and their morale is low. This is even more fatal.

Not to mention defending Bohai, they should be thankful if the Yellow Turbans don't come to pursue their victory.

"Retreat to Hejian and wait for the governor to come back to help before planning the rest!"

Yan Liang stood up, looked in the direction of the Yellow Turbans, shook his head and walked away, seemingly unwilling to continue these unpleasant topics.

After the order was given, the soldiers began to pack up and prepare to march to Hejian.

Although morale was low, many people felt fortunate at this time, at least they no longer had to fight those brutal Yellow Turbans head-on.
Unless you have been on the battlefield yourself, it is hard to imagine how suffocating the pressure was facing the Yellow Turbans' iron-clad defense and closely coordinated battle formations.

Of course, the two brothers Liu Bei and Guan Yu also packed up their things and headed west with the army.

This great defeat did not have much impact on Guan Yu. As a top military general, he had strong enough psychological qualities, and failure did not make him too frustrated.

What's more, now I am just working for Yuan Shao, so it's not my turn to feel sorry for him.

But just before he was about to mount his horse and march with the army, he saw his elder brother Liu Bei looking at the sky with a melancholy face, which immediately stopped him. "Brother, victory and defeat are common in the military, and there is no need to be upset about a small defeat. Besides, you and I are just following orders to fight, and the responsibility is not yours or mine, so why do this?" Guan Yu walked over and whispered to him.

He thought Liu Bei was shocked by the defeat, but Liu Bei just shook his head and said, "Brother, you misunderstood me. I am not worried about the defeat, I just suddenly felt sad."

"Brother, what are you sighing about?" Guan Yu asked out of curiosity.

Liu Bei looked at the army of Yan Liang and Wen Chou who were retreating to Hejian, his eyes full of disappointment. "I suddenly realized that if I continue to rely on others, I will never be able to achieve my ideal. In the end, you and I can only be a powerless pawn."

Guan Yu was slightly shocked when he heard this: "Brother, are you planning to start your own business?"

Liu Bei sighed, "It doesn't matter whether I want to or not. What matters is whether we want to defeat the Yellow Turbans or support the Han Dynasty. We can only rely on ourselves. Now we are living under Yuan Shao's command. You and I can't control anything at all."

Guan Yu frowned, and finally said in a deep voice: "Brother, if you want to leave, I will never leave you. The world is so big that we can go anywhere. Then we won't be bullied by Yuan Shao."

Liu Bei smiled bitterly: "That being said, there is no place for you and me in this vast world. If we want to settle down, we must wait for the right time."

Guan Yu nodded and said, "I have long seen that Yuan Shao is not a hero. Since you also want to make a living, that's great. Just treat this place as a temporary shelter. When the time comes, you will surely become a hero."

Liu Bei looked into the distance, finally got on his horse, and silently followed the team.

He didn't know whether there would be such good fortune in the future, he could only look forward to it in his heart.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou retreated to Hejian with an army of more than 20,000, and from then on they could only watch the Yellow Turbans invade Bohai County.

Lu Ping led the Yellow Turbans to advance unimpeded. After defeating Yan Liang and Wen Chou, his progress was no longer hindered.

In just over a month, the Yellow Turbans successfully captured all the counties and towns in Bohai. After the capture, they naturally began to fight against the powerful and divide the land.

The efficiency of the Yellow Turbans was very high. After occupying Bohai, they had achieved their war goal.

Lu Ping had no intention of expanding again. He immediately divided his army into small groups and entered various places in Bohai to start establishing organizations, in preparation for the subsequent dispatch of officials from Xuanxia to govern.

Bohai is close to Youzhou, and many local people have heard of the name of Xuanxia. In recent years, people have been rushing to Xuanxia in waves. Although these people who value their hometown stay in their native land, they have been looking forward to Xuanxia's arrival for a long time.

Lu Ping advanced all the way, and wherever he passed, the people would offer food and drink to welcome the royal army.

In contrast, those powerful people who were reluctant to leave their property and stayed in their homeland were in a state of constant fear, so much so that when the Yellow Turbans cruelly kicked open their doors, it was too late for them to regret and want to escape.

In just half a month, the entire Bohai County was thoroughly cleaned up by Xuan Xia, and the traditional old interest groups were completely wiped out.

As the Yellow Turbans entered the grassroots level of villages and counties, a new order began to be established rapidly.

The Han Dynasty's authority in Bohai County was quickly replaced by Xuan Xia.

At this time, Yuan Shao, who had finally subdued Yu Furuo and Zhang Yang after a conquest in Bingzhou, was about to return home when he received the news that a fire had broken out in Jizhou's backyard. This news immediately gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.

"The damned Xu Guangtou is using his old tricks again to take advantage of me when I'm busy with important matters. This time I have the cavalry, let's see who will have the last laugh!"

Yuan Shao crumpled the letter into a ball and said in hatred: "Return to Jizhou immediately. This time, I want Xu Chen to die!"

(End of this chapter)