Zhang He stared at Guo Tu for a long time, and then said angrily,
"I will obey your orders!"
"very good!"
Guo Tu nodded with satisfaction and said to the senior officer beside him,
"Gao Jishi, let's take the first step, shall we?"
Although Gao Gan couldn't bear it, he didn't want to stay behind the scenes, so he nodded in agreement.
The two men took their own troops and horses, quickly withdrew from the battlefield and retreated towards the rear.
As they left the battlefield, Zhang He felt the pressure doubled!
Yuan Jun, who was already panicked and had no fighting spirit, was even more defeated!
Before long, Zhang He and his men were driven into a small mountain col, unable to move!
"Sir, the rest of Yuan's army has been trapped. Do you think you should persuade them to surrender, or continue their fierce attack?"
Huang Zhong rode over and asked for instructions.
"Let's go and persuade him to surrender first."
Through the observation just now, Yang Ling also knew that Guo Tu and Gao Gan had fled, and only Zhang He stayed to die.
Among Cao Cao's generals, in terms of power, Zhang He was far inferior to the clan's Eight Tiger Cavalry.
When it comes to following Cao Cao, Zhang He is the latest.
However, Zhang Liao's reputation as one of the five good generals far surpassed that of the other four.
But Zhang He is a typical example of someone whose strength outweighs his fame.
Although his career was relatively dull in the early stage, in the later stage, his performance was extremely dazzling, which even Zhuge Liang was afraid of.
It's a pity that he was framed and died because he offended Sima Yi!
Yang Ling shook his feather fan and rode forward slowly.
Although the war has come to an end at this time, the fires in the mountains and forests are still raging.
Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao were organizing firefighting under Yang Ling's instructions.
Looking at the mountain fire that had spread, Yang Ling couldn't help but feel a little lucky.
What a sin, sin.
Fortunately, it was in ancient times, otherwise in future generations, if you dare to set fire to the mountain, you will not be able to sit in jail?
Soon Yang Ling waited for people to arrive in front of the two armies.
Looking at Yuan Jun who was trapped in the valley not far away and looked panicked, he said loudly,
"General Junyi, please come forward and answer!"
Zhang He was originally wondering why Cao Jun didn't continue the attack.
Hearing Yang Ling's words, he hesitated for a moment before riding forward.
"I am Zhang He. Who is here?"
"As expected of General Junyi, he is so famous that it would be better to meet him."
Yang Ling smiled slightly,
"I am Yang Ling, the imperial commander-in-chief."
"It turns out that your Excellency is the Commander-in-Chief with five senses? That's disrespectful!"
Zhang He was shocked and spoke with great respect.
"Today the general is a caged beast. If we continue to fight to the death, it will only increase casualties."
"As long as the general is willing to give up resistance, I promise the general that not only will he not embarrass the general, but he will be released."
Yang Ling shook the feather fan in his hand with a smile on his lips.
Hearing this, Zhang He couldn't believe his ears.
Yang Ling would actually let him go?
"Sir, are you joking?"
"a man of his words!"
Seeing Yang Ling's sincere attitude, Zhang He pondered for a long time and finally nodded and said,
"Okay, then we'll catch you without mercy!"
It didn't take long for the soldiers of Yuan's army in the valley to take off their armor, throw down their weapons, and come out one after another.
Zhang He even tied his arms and knelt down on one knee in front of Yang Ling's horse.
"General, what do you mean?"
Yang Ling quickly got off the horse and helped him up.
"How can a defeated general see you sir?"
Zhang He smiled bitterly.
"As the saying goes, victory or defeat is a matter of military strategism. Moreover, today's defeat does not lie with the general, but with Guo Tu's incompetence."
Yang Ling smiled and untied the rope from Zhang He's body, then changed the subject,
"I wonder what the general's next plans are?"
Zhang He was stunned.
"Sir, don't you plan to let the general go?"
"I am a person who keeps my promises, how can I force the general?"
Yang Ling smiled and said with concern,
"If the general goes back like this, I'm afraid Yuan Shao won't let you go!"
Zhang He was speechless.
This time when Guo Tu goes back, he will definitely shirk all the blame on himself.
He only has one good friend, Gao Lan. How can the two of them compare to Guo Tu's group of literati?
With Yuan Shao's character, I'm afraid he will be angry with himself when the time comes!
Looking at Zhang He who was silent, a flash of pride flashed in Yang Ling's eyes, and he chuckled and said,
"Today's prime minister is very thirsty for talents and values talents. He is definitely not a short-sighted person like Yuan Shao."
"If you are willing to come and seek refuge, I will definitely speak kindly to you in front of the Prime Minister!"
Being able to be called the Four Court Pillars of Hebei along with Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Gao Lan, and winning Yuan Shao's trust, Zhang He is certainly not a fool.
After today's battle, he can already feel that if Yuan Shao continues to trust Guo Tu, Shen Pei and others, and allows them to suppress others, then Yuan Shao will undoubtedly lose!
In this case, why should I be loyal to Yuan Shao?
Thinking of this, Zhang He immediately bowed his head without any hesitation.
"The general is willing to surrender! I hope that sir, on behalf of the general, can say a few kind words in front of the prime minister!"
"This is easy to say, please don't worry, General!"
Yang Ling helped Zhang He up again and walked towards the military camp!
After cleaning up the battlefield after the war, most of Yuan's 30,000 troops were killed, and some of them surrendered with Zhang He. It can be said to be a complete victory.
That night Yang Ling held a banquet in the camp to celebrate the victory and Zhang He's surrender.
Early the next morning, he led his troops and continued northward, heading straight for Yecheng!
But while Yang Ling was elated, Guo Tu was dejected.
They did not dare to delay and fled along the Yellow River overnight.
After confirming that Cao Jun was not pursuing him, Guo Tu breathed a sigh of relief and rested on the spot with Gao Gan for the time being.
After some counting, they found that there were less than 5,000 people left in their hands!
Looking at the dejected soldiers, Guo Tu almost cried!
Of course, he would not blame himself for being incompetent, but would put all the blame on Yang Ling.
Well, Yang Ling is too cunning!
But if we just go back like this, how should we explain to Yuan Shao?
Guo Tu sat in the tent with a sad face.
This is a disastrous defeat. If Yuan Shao goes back, won't Yuan Shao peel off his own skin?
At this moment, the camp curtain was suddenly opened, and a senior official walked in quietly.
"Supervisory Army! I just received information that Zhang He's bastard... surrendered Cao's army!"
"What? Great, this is really..."
Before Guo Tu finished speaking, he noticed Gao Gan looking at him strangely.
He coughed quickly and said with a straight face,
"My lord is very fond of Zhang He, but this guy would turn his back on me and ask for glory. It's really hateful!"
"Speaking of which, if Zhang He hadn't surrendered to the enemy, how could we have been defeated?"
"Gao Jishi, what do you think?"
Guo Tu cast a meaningful look at Gao Gan.
"What the supervisor said is absolutely true! It is because of Zhang He that we were defeated!"
The senior official nodded knowingly.
He was able to climb to the position of governor of Bingzhou, so he was naturally a good person.
Someone must take responsibility for this huge defeat.
