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Volume 4 The Battle of Chibi Chapter 552 The Army Withdraws to the North

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    Chapter 552 The army retreats north

    It is the tenth day of the seventh month in the first year of Han Tianyou.

    This day is one that Yuan Shao will never forget.  On this day, the Hebei army withdrew and returned north. The myth of its ever-victorious army was shattered. More than 100,000 soldiers will embark on the road back to their hometown with the humiliation of failure.

    Yuan Shao is not mediocre, and his ministers and generals are also full of talents. The failure of the Guandu battle was because their opponents were too powerful!  Just on the line from Baima to Guandu, the Hebei Army lost tens of thousands of horses. Coupled with the large and small battles near Guandu, the Hebei Army lost more than half of its elite troops, and the total number of troops and horses dropped to about 150,000.

    Yuan Shao's mistake was also to listen to slander and alienate his superiors and subordinates.  Due to Yuan Shao's own partiality, he wanted to replace Yuan Tan with Yuan Shang to inherit the family business, which complicated the originally simple situation in Hebei. The officials under his account were divided into several camps, forming cliques for personal gain.  Throw yourself under Yuan Shangmi, or watch the fire from across the bank, secretly leading the winding path with Yuan Xi of the second company.  As a result, conflicts suddenly arose, and mixed with the differences in origin, personality, and ability of these civil servants and military generals, Hebei's political landscape suddenly became confusing.

    Guo Tu's advice allowed Yuan Shao to force Zhang He to rebel, and he also lost nearly 10,000 of his men.  Zhang He's defection to Zhou Yu also shook the generals in the Hebei army who were originally loyal to Yuan Shao.  Unexpectedly, even Zhang Junyi, whom the lord relied heavily on, joined Zhou Yu's account. Tian Feng and Jushu, known as the top counselors in Hebei, were also imprisoned by Yuan Shao. In the long run, what future does the Hebei army have?

    The glory of the military comes from the battlefield. Killing generals, capturing flags, and attacking cities and lands are all exciting things.  The generals of the Hebei Army had no intention of competing for power. They only wanted to continuously achieve military success to prove their abilities in an upright manner. However, the chaotic and complex situation made it difficult for them to stay alone.

    Many generals of the Hebei Army are faced with a difficult choice, either to fall into the arms of a certain camp or to leave the Hebei Army completely.

    It can be said that Zhang He's actions greatly shocked the Hebei Army, especially those generals who, like him, had an upright personality and had fought for Yuan Shao all year round and made great contributions. "A good bird chooses a tree to rest, and a good minister chooses his master."  , in the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's command, mind, and magnanimity were unconvincing, and he was no longer the same as before.  Although it is difficult for them to make the decision to leave immediately, strange seeds have been planted in their hearts, and maybe they will break out of the ground and flourish.

    More than 100,000 troops retreated north. The scale was staggering. Not to mention the tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers and handymen who followed the retreat, there was also the countless baggage and supplies in the military camp. It originally took many days to settle down. Now that the troops have withdrawn,  In order to speed up the march, most of the baggage had to be abandoned.

    Yuan Shao was not willing to give Zhou Yu an advantage over these baggage supplies. He gave strict orders to the generals at the rear. When they exited Guandu, they must burn all the baggage supplies and the camps that stretched for more than ten miles.

    Originally, Zhang He, Jiao Hu, and Jiang Qi were encamped in the south of Jishui. Zhang He defected to Zhou Yu. As the troops closest to Jiangdong's army, Jiao Hu and Jiang Qi naturally assumed the task of rearguard.  Among the two troops, Yuan Shao was close and distant, so he ordered Jiao Chu's Youzhou soldiers to defend the pontoon bridge in Jishui. He first covered Jiang Qi's Jizhou soldiers and retreated to the north bank of Jishui before retreating.

    Yuan Shao¡¯s order made Yuan Xi very unhappy. As the commander-in-chief of the army, he had the power to coordinate various ministries, but using his own Youzhou soldiers to protect his third brother¡¯s Jizhou soldiers was not partiality!  Yuan Xi hid his dissatisfaction and took the initiative to lead his troops from Youzhou to meet on the north bank of Jishui. He did not want to worry about contacting his more than 10,000 soldiers from Youzhou.  When Yuan Xi thought about it, since he had brought them all the way to Guandu, he would do his best to bring them back to his hometown!

    Yuan Shao was rarely confused, so he thought it was Yuan Xi's initiative to ask for war. He agreed on the spot, and at the same time dispatched various troops to start the process of withdrawing the Hebei army northward.

    Liyang, as an important town on the way of the army's northward retreat, is currently occupied by Jiangdong's army. If it is not recaptured, more than 100,000 people will have to take a detour to return to Hebei.  For this reason, Yuan Shao had sent two generals Xia Zhao and Deng Sheng from Bingzhou to attack with 30,000 Bingzhou light cavalry two days ago. With the speed of cavalry march, they could reach Liyang City today.

    Yuan Shao knew that they would not fight to the death for the Hebei army with 20,000 Xianbei and Wuhuan cavalry. In the past few days, they had not exerted much strength in big battles and small battles. They asked for a lot of food and grass on the pretext of eating people and horses chewing.  Yuan Shao was well aware of the ambitions of the foreign tribes, so he simply ignored the withdrawal this time and ordered Sa Kun, the right virtuous king of Xianbei, Nanlou, the king of Wuhuan in Shanggu, and Su Puyan, the king of Wuhuan in Liaodong, to take charge of their cavalry.  He could rob, kill, or set fire to the south bank of the Yellow River, but he would never interfere.

    Yuan Shao¡¯s move was naturally intended to disrupt Jiangdong Army¡¯s pursuit.  Zhou Yu is known for loving his people like a son. How could he stand idly by when the people under his rule suffered bloody plunder from foreign races?  If this is the case, Zhou Yu will inevitably divide his troopsTo intercept the Hu cavalry, how could the Hu cavalry give up so easily for the sake of a wealthy woman?  While the two armies were fighting, the Hebei army could easily evacuate.

    Yuan Shao unified the rest of the troops into the central army, led by Han Meng, Meng Dai, Cen Bi, Wu Dun, and Sun Guan, and Gao Lan commanded Yuan Shao's personal guards, meandering all the way north.

    Once the decision was made, the Hebei Army did not move slowly. They packed up the belongings, carried the necessary food and grass, discarded clumsy utensils they did everything with ease. Obviously, the call of their hometown had a huge attraction in their hearts.

    When the leaves fall, they want to return to their roots; when people get old, they want to return to their hometown; athletes who compete in foreign countries will always miss the mountains and water of their hometown the most, and the people standing beside the house waiting for them.

    It¡¯s a pity that these are troubled times, and human life is as cheap as an ant. Even Zhou Yu, who loves his people like his own son, treats his enemies without mercy!  In the Battle of Guandu, if Yuan Shao's power is not completely crippled and his main force is sent back to defend Jizhou, it will be much more difficult to conquer the world in one fell swoop in the future.

    The officers and soldiers of the Hebei Army will pay a heavy price. Many of them will be buried in foreign lands, and only their souls can return to their hometowns.

    On the tenth day of July, the Hebei military withdrew, and Jiao Chu's troops stationed on the south bank of Jishui were fully attacked by the Jiangdong Army!

    The feathered arrows are like locusts, and the flying arrows are like rain. There are dozens of waves of crossbow arrow attacks regardless of cost!  In order to cover the retreat of Jiang Qi's troops, Jiao Chu's entire army gathered south of the floating bridge. There was no time for them to prepare defensive equipment. He could only rely on shields and guns to resist these deadly weapons falling from the sky!

    Immediately afterwards, the shouts gradually sounded, and Jiao Huzhan looked around. Behind Jiangdong's soldiers, two big flags were raised high. One was embroidered with the word "Yellow" and the other was embroidered with the word "Cheng". It was none other than Jiangdong's military commander.  The Yuzhou camp is brave and good at fighting. Who are the two generals riding under the banner if they are not Cheng Pu and Huang Gai?

    !#

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