When Liu Dai saw Qiao Mao returning safely, he was beyond words to express his excitement.
"Quick, get Yuan Wei up quickly!"
While he was talking, he actually put down the hanging basket himself and pulled Qiao Mao up.
"Yuan Wei, are you okay?"
"Fortunately, General Wenyuan rescued us and there was no harm." After saying that, Qiao Mao bowed to Liu Bei and said, "Thank you Xuande for sending troops to support us!"
"It's just a matter of a finger, so you don't have to be polite."
Liu Bei waved his hand and asked about the whereabouts of other princes.
At this time, everyone's expressions dropped again.
Zhang Chao was beheaded by Li Jue, and Bao Xin was beheaded by Lu Bu. Their deaths had a huge impact on the princes.
If you lose, you lose. If you run out of soldiers and horses, just recruit again. But the death of the two people made everyone feel sad.
They are the ones who die today, and maybe they are the ones who die tomorrow.
They all carry one head on two shoulders, no one is special than the other.
At the thought of death, the previous ambitions of the princes disappeared, and the heroic words they had spoken also disappeared.
Seeing everyone's silence, Liu Bei was wise and stopped asking, and just looked at Zhang Heng.
"Ziyi, Dong Zhuo's pursuit is not far away, what should we do?"
As soon as Liu Bei said this, the eyes of all the princes also came over.
Although we have entered the city now, it does not mean that we are completely safe.
Dong Zhuo came with victory, and the Xiliang army under his command must be as powerful as a rainbow. Can Liu Bei hold on with just the few troops he has?
"How about... let's return the jujubes."
Zhang Miao said hesitantly.
Liu Dai and Kong Ni also nodded. After all, Guandong is their base camp.
But Zhang Heng shook his head.
"Mr. Xuande, please be patient. We might as well wait a little longer."
"What are you waiting for?" Liu Dai asked confused.
"No matter whether the battle ahead is victory or defeat, there will always be news. You might as well make a decision later." Zhang Heng said with a smile.
The best result is naturally that Guan Yu and others repel Dong Zhuo's pursuers, giving the princes time to breathe and gather the remaining troops.
The worst outcome is that Guan Yu and others are defeated, and Dong Zhuo takes the opportunity to surround Xingyang.
However, since we have decided to take this gamble, there is no result yet, so we naturally cannot give up.
Liu Bei raised his head and looked at the sky. There was already a glimmer of light in the east.
After a night of fierce fighting, it was almost dawn.
"Okay, as Ziyi said, let's wait for the results."
When all the princes heard this, their expressions became gloomier, but they couldn't say much.
Now that he has no soldiers or generals, and there are broken troops everywhere outside the city, if he rashly retreats to Suanzao, he may die on the road. Most of Liu Bei's troops were fighting fiercely with Dong Zhuo outside the city, so it was naturally impossible to send someone to escort them.
Furthermore, Liu Bei had just rescued them, and now it was difficult for them to retreat alone.
Forget it, let's see the outcome of this battle. If Liu Xuande can defeat the Dong thieves, he can also take the opportunity to gather some defeated soldiers to avoid becoming a mere commander.
While everyone was waiting anxiously, the sound of horse hooves sounded again outside the city.
Zhang Heng laughed again and quickly ordered his soldiers to pick up the hanging basket.
Let me see which prince has arrived.
Oh, it turns out to be Cao, a married woman. Come on, there’s a invitation in the hanging basket!
The person who came was none other than Cao Cao, but he did not shout in a panic or ask to enter the city. Instead, he reported a piece of news to Liu Bei.
"Brother Xuande, Dong's pursuers have retreated!"
Hearing this, Liu Bei was overjoyed, and all the princes also had expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Can the Xiliang army be driven back with just such a small number of people?
How can this be!
In yesterday's battle, the fear brought to them by the Xiliang Army had penetrated deep into their bones.
At this point, they finally understood a fact.
It’s not that Dong Zhuo is too powerful, it’s that he is too weak!
An army of 150,000 people faced Dong Zhuo head-on, but ended up being defeated miserably.
Looking at Liu Bei again, he repelled his pursuers with less than 20,000 men.
The gap between people is too big!
"Quick, open the city gate!"
Knowing that Dong Zhuo's pursuers had retreated, Liu Bei no longer had any scruples and immediately ordered the city gates to be opened.
The princes on the side twitched their mouths again.
You bet we came early, right? Then we enjoyed the privilege of entering the city in a hanging basket.
Only Zhang Heng looked at the hanging basket on the side with regret on his face, feeling that it was a pity not to use it to pretend to be Cao Cao.
The soldiers pulled the hanging rope hard, the city gate slowly opened, and Liu Bei led the people and strode out.
Just as he was about to exchange greetings with Cao Cao, Zhang Heng took the lead and asked, "Mr. Cao, where are the troops and horses now?"
It's enough to repel Dong Zhuo, but you can't pursue him head-on.
"I was just about to say this. Generals Yun Chang and Wenyuan are now leading their troops on the south bank of Bian River. Only General Yide has gone to pursue the enemy."
Cao Cao told Zhang Ji about breaking the bridge. After Zhang Liao repaired the bridge, there was no sign of Zhang Fei on the other side, so he quickly sent someone to ask Liu Bei for instructions on what to do next.
"What, Yide went after the bandit army alone!" Liu Bei said in shock.
"Not bad." Cao Cao nodded.
"Ziyi, lead all the troops out of the city, let's go to meet Yide!"
Liu Bei didn't have time to think too much and immediately shouted to Tai Shici behind him.
It would be terrible if Zhang Fei was surrounded by Dong Zhuo's army.
"only!"
Taishi Ci responded with a fist in his arms.
Liu Dai and others nearby hurriedly stopped him and said: "My dear brother, please don't act recklessly. The bandits' army is powerful. Although they are temporarily defeated, they are still outmatched. It is better for us to defend the city safely."
Political creatures like them naturally cannot understand the brotherhood of Liu Guan and Zhang.
"Ziyi?"
Liu Bei set his sights on Zhang Heng and wanted to hear his opinion.
But Zhang Heng was also in trouble. He clearly ordered not to pursue the enemy before sending troops. Why did Zhang Fei not respect the military order?
Although Zhang Fei usually does some mischief, he is by no means a ignorant person.
But no matter what, Zhang Fei cannot be left alone.
"Mr. Xuande, how about leaving all the princes to guard the city while we go to meet Yide?"
Zhang Heng glanced at the princes and smiled lightly.
"Okay, let's do it!"
Liu Bei waved his sleeves and nodded without asking the princes for their opinions.
When Liu Dai and others heard this, their faces suddenly fell.
What's the difference?
You, Liu Xuande, have taken away the soldiers and horses. We have no soldiers or generals in our hands. How can we defend the city?
Is it worth it for a general under his command?
Liu Dai thought for a moment and made a decision in his heart.
"In that case, Kong Shijun and I will go with our worthy brother."
Now, he finally understands that only by following Liu Bei can he ensure his safety to the greatest extent.
Zhang Miao and Yuan Yi were not stupid, and they also agreed.
Liu Bei ignored their little thoughts and said directly to Zhang Heng: "Ziyi, please go first and rush to the south bank of Bian River. Lead Yunchang and Wenyuan to meet Yide first. I will arrive soon."
"As you command!"
Zhang Heng raised his hand and immediately rode away.
…
A place ten miles away on the north bank of Bian River.
Zhang Fei's troops were now in a bitter fight.
When Fan Chou was defeated and fled at night, Zhang Fei chased after him without thinking.
Of course he remembered Zhang Heng's military order. He just wanted to make more contributions and had no intention of pursuing it to the end.
It's just that God's calculations are not as good as those of humans. Zhang Fei pursued them for less than a few miles before he encountered an army.
A real ace army - Flying Bear!
The Flying Bear Army is a pure heavy cavalry. It is invincible when charging into battle, but when it comes to chasing... it seems a little powerless.
Because he is slow!
Although Li Jue was also trying hard to catch up, even if the Flying Bear Army's mounts were all tall horses, it was impossible for them to run at high speeds with cavalry in full armor, so they had no choice but to lag behind.
By the time the forwards chased past Bianshui River, Li Jue's Flying Bear Army was barely halfway there.
However, being slow also has its advantages. Since the configurations are similar, there are basically not many people left behind in the Flying Bear Army, and they even maintain a complete array.
After chasing him until he was still several miles away from Bianshui, Li Jue suddenly saw a group of cavalry rushing in front of him. It was Fan Chou's troops.
After some questioning, Li Jue learned what happened, and quickly set up his array, preparing to fight Zhang Fei's troops who were following closely behind.
Therefore, Zhang Fei and the Feixiong Army charged head-on without any preparation.
At this moment, Zhang Fei finally knew what heavy armored cavalry was.
The Zhangba Snake Spear, which has always been invincible, lost its sharpness when facing the Flying Bear Army.
What a monster army this is!
At this moment, Zhang Fei had the same doubts as the princes of Guandong.
No, I can't beat him, so it's better to leave early.
The clever Mr. Zhang realized that the momentum was not right and wanted to retreat.
But at this time, another army of soldiers and horses suddenly came out from behind and blocked Zhang Fei's way. It was Zhang Ji's troops who had retreated.
After Zhang Ji broke off the bridge and walked away, he finally got rid of Zhang Liao's attack, but before running a few miles, he suddenly discovered that a battle was taking place ahead.
After learning the identities of the two warring parties, Zhang Ji quickly led his troops to surround him and made dumplings for Zhang Fei.
The most excited person was Zhang Xiu, who rushed directly in front of Zhang Fei on horseback.
Ring-eyed thief, we have met again, now let’s see how arrogant you are!
It was really the building outside the Qingshan Tower outside the mountains, and there were heads on the way to escape.
