People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 325 The world has changed
The army was ready and part of Cao Cao's coalition forces were ready to retreat. This was something Cao Cao had never anticipated before he set out on the expedition. He thought that this war would be intense and long, but it ended so suddenly and simply.

Yuan Shao, who commanded the main force of the coalition army of 200,000, was defeated so simply and suddenly, and his defeat was very complete.

Cao Cao could only accept this helplessly. Even if Yuan Shao had not been defeated so miserably, he felt that if he and Zang Hong fought well on the battlefields, they might be able to make up for the loss. At least there would still be room for fun later.

But now everything is over, and I can only run back in shame. At least I can save this part of my troops.

The army assembled and slowly withdrew from the camp. Cao Cao rode his horse to the middle of the team, looking unhappy. It was obvious that he was in a very depressed mood, so Xun Yu on the side did not go forward to disturb him.

But when he was leaving, Xun Yu couldn't help but look back. In the distance, he saw Xuan Xia's direction.

The decisive battle in the north has decided the winner, and Xuan Xia has truly been promoted to the lord of the north. Looking around the princes in the world, there is no one who can compete with Xuan Xia. What will become of the fate of this Chinese land in the future?

As a true loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, Xun Yu was more worried than anyone else when he saw Xuan Xia growing so powerful.

For no reason, he thought of the "Manifesto to Attack Han" issued by Xuan Xia before the war. At that time, everyone thought that the manifesto was a joke, but who can laugh now?

Xuanxia, ​​which only occupies Youzhou, and Xuanxia, ​​which occupies the entire north, are two completely different concepts.

Does the rising fortune of Xuanxia mean that the Han Dynasty has come to an end? Is it really the destiny of the Han Dynasty to move to Xuanxia?

Xun Yu could not accept this, but he had to start thinking about this possibility.

The result of this war is undoubtedly the best endorsement of Xuan Xia's "Manifesto to Attack Han". No one can ignore Xuan Xia's existence anymore. The entire land of China trembles in fear because of Xuan Xia's existence.

"The Han Dynasty has lost. I hope this is the last time it loses." Xun Yu shook his head, finally retracted his gaze, and then drove his horse to catch up with the army.

"Xuan Xia won. The lord's manifesto is finally no longer a mirage. The demise of the Han Dynasty will begin from this!" Seeing the movements of Cao's army in the distance, Xun Chen became excited unconsciously.

The victory in this battle, from a macro perspective, meant that Xuan Xia had truly begun the process of ruling China, and from a personal perspective, it meant that Xun Chen was right in joining Xu Chen.

For a scholar like him, joining the Yellow Turbans was actually a very unsettling thing. If he had not been forced and could not bear the labor, Xun Chen might not have accepted Ju Su's advice so easily.

Now that the choice has been made, Xun Chen's fate and future are completely tied to Xuan Xia.

He didn't care about whether he was a big man or not. He just wanted to see Xuan Xia getting stronger and stronger and going further and further. This victory was so crucial that he couldn't help but be excited.

Lu Ping, who was standing next to him, looked at Xun Chen meaningfully and said, "I heard that among the talents that Cao Cao relies on now, there is a man named Xun Yu, who is your brother. You two serve your respective masters and are hostile to each other. Isn't this situation embarrassing?"

Xun Chen was stunned when he heard this, then he smiled calmly: "The world is in turmoil right now, it is normal for us brothers to pursue our own careers. Maybe we have opposite positions, but it does not hinder our brotherhood. If there is a chance in the future, I will persuade my brother to give up the dark and join the light."

This kind of thing is too normal for the gentry. The Xun family is a prominent family in Yingchuan and there are countless talented people in the family. It is inevitable that such a situation will occur.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ping just smiled. He didn't understand the way the nobles did things, and he was just speaking casually.

In fact, he had no control over Xun Chen's affairs. After all, he worked for the leader and had no subordinate relationship with him. Now he was only appointed by the leader to assist in military affairs.

"Now that our army has the advantage, we will definitely not let the enemy withdraw so easily. General, you might as well send troops to pursue them. Even if we don't seek to completely destroy the enemy, at least we can gain some results." Xun Chen didn't just talk nonsense, he immediately made suggestions to Lu Ping.

Lu Ping nodded, but was a little worried: "I am worried that the enemy is deliberately showing weakness and intends to ambush us on the way. Although our army successfully attacked the enemy camp last night, this alone may not be enough to make the enemy give up the battle."

Xun Chen laughed and said confidently, "General, you have indeed thought it through. However, showing weakness and setting an ambush is extremely risky. The enemy is already at a disadvantage, so I'm afraid they won't choose to do this. As for why they suddenly retreated, I guess there are other possibilities."

Lu Ping thought it made sense and asked again, "Please elaborate."

Xun Chen said: "This time we are fighting on three battlefields, and any one of them would affect the entire situation. The Cao army is retreating so decisively and quickly, and they must have no intention of fighting again. The only possibility for them to give up so easily is that changes have occurred in the other two battlefields that are enough to affect the overall situation."

Lu Ping's eyes suddenly lit up: "You mean, our army has defeated the enemy in two other battlefields?"

Xun Chen smiled and nodded: "The enemy must have received the news and chose to withdraw immediately. Our messenger will not be too slow and should arrive soon."

Lu Ping pondered for a while, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. Finally, he suddenly said, "If that's the case, you can pursue them without worry!" He immediately called Huang Long to give an order, "Don't let the enemy retreat easily. You quickly lead the 20,000 troops and join forces with Zhang Baiqi's 10,000 troops ambushed in the forest to pursue them. However, you must not be careless during the pursuit. Zhang Baiqi and his men were ambushed by the enemy last time because they pursued them recklessly. This time, we must not repeat the same mistake!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Long immediately obeyed the order and left.

In fact, Huang Long would be very careful even without Lu Ping's reminder.

By now, the Yellow Turbans had fought many battles, and there had been more than one case where they had suffered heavy losses due to greed for merit and recklessness. Even the soldiers under him knew what to do, so he certainly would not make the same mistake again.

After Huang Long left, Lu Ping sighed, "Zhang Baiqi, Guan Hai, and Zhang Rao had been lying in ambush in the forest for half a month before they succeeded in the night attack last night. They can be considered to have made up for their crimes."

Xun Chen also said: "They were defeated because of the fire attack, and now they are making up for their sins by setting fire to the enemy camp. This is probably the will of fate."

The two men had been talking for a while when a soldier came running over and said that an urgent military report had been delivered.

Lu Ping immediately turned his head and looked at Xun Chen, who smiled at him faintly, with a nonchalant reaction.

This made Lu Ping admire in his heart. Although most of the nobles were ugly meat-eaters, the real elites were indeed good enough. The leader's appointment of this guy really helped him a lot.

Afterwards, Lu Ping rushed to meet the messenger, and the battle report brought by the messenger was just as Xun Chen had expected, that is, Zhongshui’s main battlefield had achieved a great victory.

In this way, everything Xun Chen said came true, and Cao's army withdrew decisively only after learning the news.

The reaction of Cao's army was not incorrect, because according to the news report, the main battlefield had already dispatched troops to provide support. If Cao's army did not move fast enough, it would inevitably be trapped in both sides and strangled.

This news was great news for the Yellow Turbans. Even without the great victory at Zhongshui, Lu Ping would still be able to maintain his advantage and have enough confidence to defeat Cao's army, but it would naturally be better to end the war so cleanly and neatly.

"Youruo's wisdom is truly remarkable and I admire you. Everything you said really came true. This great victory is almost equal to our complete victory. It is only natural to achieve the expected goal. The Yellow Turban cause is promising!"

As Lu Ping spoke, his face turned red with excitement. When he heard the exact news, he was completely relieved.

Today, the Yellow Turbans have finally achieved tremendous development in their cause. Previously, they were hiding in Youzhou, a corner of China, and all their struggles were just for their own survival. But today, after defeating the coalition forces, they no longer face a survival crisis, and instead begin the great cause of ruling China.

Xun Chen felt even more relieved. Up to now, people in the world no longer viewed Xuan Xia as a traitor, because Xuan Xia had truly gained control of the country and was a de facto separatist entity in the north. It was no longer an entity that could be easily destroyed.

If they just stayed in Youzhou like before, the place would be too small and have no depth, and they would be likely to die at any time when facing a truly powerful force.

Now the expected goal of the war is within reach. When the four northern counties are in hand, even if the worst-case scenario is that the Han Dynasty suddenly rises and the court integrates all the princes, Xuan Xia will have enough strength to challenge the other side. At most, it will become a situation of confrontation between the north and the south.

Even in the worst situation of confrontation between the North and the South, Xuan Xia does not have to worry about survival at all. When the size of both sides reaches a certain level, it will become very difficult to destroy the other side. It would not be surprising even if this confrontation lasts for dozens or hundreds of years.

Of course, this is only the worst case scenario. In fact, whether the Han Dynasty still has the ability to integrate the princes of the world is still a big question.

Perhaps in the face of their common enemy, Xuan Xia, they would have a chance to unite.

Xun Chen seemed to be able to see how the scholars in the world would tremble when they saw the giant in the north.

"The world is really going to change. I'm afraid that the prophecy of the Lord's destiny moving away will really come true..."

Xun Chen was fortunate. Now it seemed that his decision to join Xuan Xia out of helplessness might have been the most correct choice.

Could it be that in these troubled times, the person that the Xun family bet on correctly was not Xun Yu and Xun You, but me, Xun Chen.

Suddenly, Xun Chen remembered some of the industrial and commercial businesses he ran in Xuanxia. Although he knew that Xuanxia supported industry and commerce, perhaps because of the arrogance of the gentry, he still couldn't let go of himself and had never paid much attention to these industries.

After I go back, I still need to put more thought into it. Maybe the burden of the family will fall on my head in the future...

(End of this chapter)