As Dong Zhuo fled back to Chenggao, the war finally came to an end.
There is no way, even if you want to fight, you can't.
When the jujube was first released, Liu Bei had only 500 men under his command. Later, he fought all the way to recruit surrender, and once expanded to nearly 30,000 troops. Now there are only less than 20,000 men left, and they are all exhausted.
What kind of place is Chenggao? Not to mention it is a unique place in the world, at least it is the first-class majestic pass in the world.
This place actually has another name, called Hulao Pass.
Let’s not mention the Three Heroes’ Battle with Lu Bu in the novel, but in later generations during the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, it was here that Li Shimin blocked Dou Jiande’s 100,000 army with 3,000 cavalry!
So, you want to use the few people you have to attack Cheng Gao?
Stop joking, okay.
What's more, Zhang Heng has follow-up plans, and it is meaningless to waste troops and horses here.
Strictly speaking, the entire Dong Zhuo crusade was actually a group fight to defeat the boss in a dungeon. Zhang Heng had a clear understanding of this already.
Now, although the BOSS has not been completely eliminated, his reputation, status, and troops have all been exposed. This time the Dong Dundungeon can be considered a perfect ending.
After helping Guo Jia relieve his knot, Zhang Heng stood by the official road with his hands folded, looking at the dilapidated mountains and rivers in the distance.
It took five months from the first month of the first lunar month when the Alliance launched its troops to the height of summer in May, but dead branches turned into green shade, and winter clothes faded into spring shirts. Time went by like running water and never returned, which made Zhang Heng sigh with emotion.
In this troubled world, let the princes fight for it. It's time to find a place to live in peace.
"Gongda." Zhang Heng said slowly, "Now the world is about to be in chaos. Last time we crossed Yingchuan, I invited Ciming Gong to move his family to avoid disaster, but I don't know what his wishes are."
Regarding the fact that Xun Shuang asked Xun You to examine Liu Bei's character, Zhang Heng did not know, but he could guess it.
Asking questions now is a hint to Xun You.
However, Zhang Heng spoke casually, but Xun You didn't dare to answer randomly. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Master, I don't dare to speak nonsense about my uncle's wishes. But when I came to Xingyang, my uncle did make an explanation. Let your subordinates observe the Lord Xiangjia."
As the only person related to the Xun family and the Liu Bei Group, Xun You knew that this role was not easy to fill, so he simply told the truth.
Zhang Heng smiled, "Oh, what does Gongda think of Mr. Xuande as a person?"
Hearing this, Xun You was about to speak, but was interrupted by Zhang Heng waving his sleeves.
"I made a mistake, Gongda doesn't need to say anything, just act according to your heart." Zhang Heng sighed, "But even if Duke Ci Ming is unwilling to help Duke Xuande, I still hope that your Xun family can relocate. After all, you, Gongda, have seen the current situation, and if you don’t leave, you may be in trouble.”
A touch of emotion flashed in Xun You's eyes, and he nodded and said: "Xiaoguan understands the good intentions of the chief secretary, and I will definitely try to persuade my uncle when I go there. Whether it will succeed or not, I cannot foresee it."
"That's good." Zhang Heng nodded.
While the two were talking, Liu Bei came on horseback.
"Ziyi!"
After seeing Zhang Heng, Liu Bei dismounted and walked over.
The two quickly bowed their hands.
"What are your orders, Duke Xuande?"
Liu Bei waved his hand, indicating that the two of them would not be polite.
"It's okay, it's just that Cheng Gao..." Liu Bei said with some worry, "I saw you staying at the city for a long time just now. I wonder if there is a way to break the city?"
What, you still want to fight!
Zhang Heng couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Mr. Xuande, with just our few troops, it may be difficult to defeat Cheng Gao."
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to let Thief Dong go back?"
Hearing this, Guo Jia on the side immediately rolled his eyes.
It's your choice, idol!
"This time we have not been able to eliminate all the evil. Perhaps the Heavenly Angel should not have killed the traitor Dong." Zhang Heng shook his head and said, "Now that the soldiers are tired, we should focus on cultivating their morale. I don't think it is appropriate to fight again."
As soon as these words came out, Liu Bei's eyes suddenly widened.
He originally thought that after settling the people, he could turn back and attack Chenggao, but from Zhang Heng's tone, it seemed that he was planning to call a truce.
Zhang Heng had no choice but to continue explaining: "Mr. , it is not easy. Even if it can be broken through, Thief Dong can still escape Luoyang, and we will never be able to catch up."
The meaning behind the words is the same - stop it, Big Er, it's all Dong Zhuo outside.
Although Liu Bei was still a little unwilling, he also understood that Zhang Heng was telling the truth, and in the end he could only sigh.
"This time I raised an army to fight against the thieves, but I didn't achieve all the results. I am really unwilling to do so. But now that the matter has come to this, we can only retreat temporarily." Liu Bei said quietly, "It's just... Ziyi, what should we do next?"
When it was time to retreat, Liu Bei discovered that he seemed to only have the position of General Fenwei, but he did not have his own territory.
Then how to arrange the 20,000 troops under his command? We can't all bring them back to Gaotang.
Zhang Heng said with a smile: "Why should Duke Xuande be anxious? Staying or leaving is a big deal, and you have to think twice. What's more, although the Dong thief could not be killed this time, Duke Xuande also made great achievements and must ask for some rewards from the court. "
"It's difficult, Ziyi." Liu Bei said with a bitter smile, "Luoyang is still under the control of Dong Thief. It would be nice if we are not classified as rebels. How can we be rewarded?"
Zhang Heng shook his head and said with a serious face: "No, rewards are necessary. Even if the court does not reward them, Duke Xuande has to reward his soldiers on his own. Otherwise, how can he convince the public?"
Why do soldiers join the army? It's not just for fame and fortune. If you don't get rewarded for your merits and don't show mercy when you die in battle, if things go on like this, who will be willing to hang out with you?
"This is natural, but...where do the rewards come from?" Liu Bei's face was full of confusion.
The team was raised temporarily, and Liu Bei had no base, so he naturally had no financial resources. How could he reward the generals?
"Don't be anxious, Mr. Xuande. This matter has been prepared beforehand, but the specific implementation requires some planning. The most urgent task now is to lead the army back to Xingyang first and then make plans."
Liu Bei nodded, "Okay, let's go back first."
Zhang Heng thought for a while and then quickly reminded: "Xuan De Gong, when we meet Sun Wentai and Cao Mengde later, we must not say that we let the Dong thief go because we care for the people, otherwise... something might happen."
As a time traveler, Zhang Heng's understanding of the version is indeed too advanced, and the world will definitely not be able to resonate with it.
In the original history, Liu Bei, as a prince who had never massacred a city, was somewhat unsociable.
There were some things that he and Zhang Heng could just tacitly agree on, but it would be inconvenient to explain them to others.
"It's natural, but it's just in front of everyone. Thousands of soldiers are watching. I'm afraid I can't hide it."
Zhang Heng said with a nonchalant smile: "Let's just say this, believe it or not, it's all up to them."
If you ask me, this is the answer. I don’t care whether you believe it or not. Furthermore, there is no need to explain to Liu Bei's group how they act.
"That's all we have to do." Liu Bei nodded.
The army continued to rush back, and soon ran into the armies of Sun Jian and Cao Cao.
Dong Zhuo emptied Luoyang's arsenal and spent huge sums of money to build the ace Flying Bear Army, but it was eventually wiped out.
Li Jue, the leader of the Flying Bear Army, refused to surrender and was finally beheaded by Sun Jian.
The coach is dead and the team is leaderless. No matter how elite the Flying Bear Army was, they all showed fear, and many soldiers turned around and ran away on the spot.
In the end, out of the nearly 10,000 flying bear troops, only less than 5,000 of them raised their hands and surrendered under the joint strangulation of the army.
At this point, this war that lasted for several months has finally come to an end.
When Sun Jian and Cao Cao saw Liu Bei returning with his army, they rushed to greet him.
"Brother Xuande, where is Dong Zhuo?" Sun Jian asked loudly.
"Alas!" Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, "I led the army to pursue Chenggao City, but unexpectedly Dong Thief actually released the people from the city to stop him, and he took the opportunity to escape. Although I tried hard to catch up, there were no people in front of me to stop him. , in the chaos, Thief Dong finally escaped."
Sun Jian suddenly said angrily, "Thief Dong is really hateful!"
Cao Cao also shook his head and sighed, his expression downcast.
Both of them understood that under the current situation, it was impossible to attack Cheng Gao.
"Then what should we do now?" Sun Jian asked again.
Liu Bei said to the two of them: "After several days of fighting, all the soldiers are exhausted. I want to lead the army back to Xingyang to rest and recuperate. What do you think?"
"That's all we have to do." Cao Cao nodded and said the same thing as Liu Bei.
Now the three of them joined forces, and the whole army set off on their way home, leading the people towards Xingyang.
