Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 59 Xi Zhicai: Now we shall request an imperial edict!

"Lord Yuan! Xi Zhicai has mobilized troops from the entire Yuzhou region for this battle. Now we can divide our forces and take it easily."

Seeing that Jiang Gan's face was growing paler, Yuan Shu smiled and said to him:

"Don't worry, sir. I was just joking with you."

The battle was not over yet, and it was not convenient to delay any longer. Yuan Shu dismissed Jiang Gan and then ordered Yang Hong to handle the results of the battle.

Shortly after, Yang Hong reported, "Reporting to the lord, the Cao army that attacked this time has been killed or surrendered, and the fighting in all parts of the camp has been quelled."

Our army lost one camp, defeated 30,000 Cao troops, killed and wounded countless soldiers, and captured nearly 10,000 surrendered soldiers.

Only the enemy general, named Le Jin, led a small group of remaining enemy soldiers to break through the encirclement and escape.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu nodded slightly. Most of these surrendered soldiers were county troops drawn from various parts of Yu Province, and they were newly surrendered.

He dared not send them directly to the battlefield, so he simply sent them back to Runan to be trained by Taishi Ci.

As for Le Jin who broke through the encirclement and escaped...
His gaze turned cold as he climbed back onto the chariot, drew his sword, and headed north!
"Gentlemen, let us seize the opportunity and conquer Yangdi. How about we celebrate our victory in the city tonight?"

"I dare not disobey even unto death!"

After a bloody battle, breaking through the encirclement, only three hundred of the eight hundred veterans beside Le Jin remained.

"General Xiahou!"

Looking back at Yuan's camp one last time, he knew that the one-eyed general would never come out again, and would never have the chance to drink and chat with him again.

Now that things have come to this, it is not time to be sad. He led his men back to Yangdi immediately to inform the strategist of the news of the battle as soon as possible, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

On the way back, they gathered two or three thousand more fleeing soldiers who had escaped from Yuan's camp, and they could barely be considered to have some fighting strength.

On the walls of Yangdi, a sudden gust of wind whipped up snowflakes as a force of two to three thousand men slowly approached from the horizon.

From the moment Xiahou Dun led his troops out to war, Xi Zhicai stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance. Upon seeing this army, he seemed to have a premonition, and his face suddenly turned pale.

When Yue entered the city to apologize, he heard that the entire army of 30,000 had been wiped out, and even Xiahou Dun had fallen into enemy territory.

How could that be?

Xi Zhicai felt a sudden dizziness, as if something was stuck in his throat, causing him great discomfort.

The lord's trust, his entrustment before departure, and his boastful words that he was better than all the wise men in the world all seemed increasingly ridiculous at this moment.

He coughed violently, more violently than ever before, as if he were coughing up his lungs. Crimson blood mixed with a fishy smell filled his mouth and nose, and his thin body swayed precariously in the wind and snow.

Yingchuan, Yuzhou, 30,000 troops, Xiahou Yuanrang.
Even if I die today, how will I have the face to see my lord again!

His withered, bony hands suddenly burst forth with strength, gripping Le Jin's supporting arm tightly. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his voice carried a chilling madness.

"The morale of the army has collapsed, and this place cannot be defended. There are still 5,000 troops defending Xuxian. We can withdraw our troops and defend Xuxian to the death to protect the gateway to Yanzhou."

Now we shall set fire to Yangdi to cut off Yuan's army's pursuit, leaving nothing behind: weapons, provisions, and civilians!
Send a letter to the lord, saying there's no time to wait for the emperor to cross the river, go directly to rob and seize him, and once you've seized the emperor, immediately request an imperial edict to be sent back to me urgently.

A genuine imperial edict!

Like the flickering flame of a candle before it burns out, he was emaciated and his voice was hoarse, but his burning gaze sent chills down one's spine.

"I want to appoint Liu Bei as the Governor of Yu Province and order him to act on behalf of the Emperor to quell the rebellion!"

Meanwhile, at the Yellow River ferry crossing.

Wherever Li Jue and Guo Si went, the people suffered terribly. The old and weak were killed, and the strong were conscripted into the army. In battle, they drove the people to the front, calling them the "Dare-to-Die Army"!
As a result, the bandits spread and their power was unparalleled for a time. Li Le, Han Xian, Hu Cai, and other former Yellow Turban leaders, now leaders of the White Wave Bandits, led their troops to cooperate with the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu, Qu Bei, and fought against them several times, blocking Li and Guo.

Unexpectedly, Li Jue and Guo Si were thwarted by them time and time again. After much planning, they came up with a plan!
They ordered their men to throw the looted money and silk on the ground. Li Le, Qu Bei, and their men were either bandits or Huns; they had no military discipline whatsoever.

Seeing them scrambling to seize it, Li and Guo led their troops out across the mountains and fields, and Li Le and his men were utterly defeated.

Dong Cheng and Yang Feng hurriedly escorted the emperor to safety again, but Li and Guo pursued them closely. Li Le advised against it, saying:

"The situation is urgent. Please, Your Majesty, mount your horse and proceed first."

The emperor refused, saying:
"As the Son of Heaven, how can I abandon my officials and flee?"

The officials were deeply moved upon hearing this, and they burst into tears again, vowing to cry Li and Guo to death!

Looking back, he saw that the so-called "General Who Conquers the West," Hu Cai, had been beheaded by Li Jue, and the enemy army was about to catch up, while the officials were still weeping.

Liu Yao was both angry and anxious. "My Emperor! If you don't ride away first, how can we officials follow you?"

However, he couldn't say these words outright. Seeing that he was about to be buried with these weeping officials, he was secretly annoyed. Yuan Gonglu, didn't you claim to be a loyal and virtuous man of the Han Dynasty?

You should hurry up and come to the rescue! The delay has led to this critical situation!
Knowing that Yuan Shu's distant water could not quench the immediate thirst, and that Li Jue and Guo Si's rebel troops would arrive in an instant, Liu Yao looked at the river rushing into the sea not far away, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward to offer his advice.

"Your Majesty, things have come to this point. The only option is to force our way across the river to escape the pursuing troops of Li and Guo."

The emperor granted his request.

When everyone reached the shore, Li Le had already led his troops to the ferry crossing on a fast horse and brought a boat to ferry them across.

However, the weather was freezing cold, and the riverbank was several feet high. The emperor and his ministers looked at each other, unable to disembark.

Fortunately, the emperor's brother-in-law, Fu De, arrived with a group of men carrying more than ten bolts of white silk, and advised:

“I found this silk amidst the chaos of battle; it can be dragged down one after another.”

Everyone was speechless for a long time as he said this in such a serious manner.

Where did you find it?
You were one of those who scrambled for the gold, silver, and silk that Li Jue and Guo Si just threw down, weren't you?
At this critical moment of life and death, no one investigated the matter, so they hurriedly ordered people to wrap the emperor in silk cloth and put him down first, while Li Le led his men to pick him up on a boat.

Poor emperor, how could he possibly have any experience in doing such a thing?

A fifteen-year-old boy was bound to white silk by officials and placed on a small boat in the turbulent Yellow River from a riverbank several meters high.
In other words, although the emperor was young, he had experienced a lot in the world and had seen many dangerous and terrifying situations. He had also witnessed many dangerous and terrifying situations at the hands of several traitors. That's why he was able to keep his face taut and not lose his imperial dignity.

Empress Fu was carried off the boat by her brother Fu De, and the rest of the civil and military officials were released in order of their official rank.

Liu Yao was fortunate that he was both a member of the Han imperial family and the governor of Yangzhou, holding a high position, and was soon demoted.

But there was only one white silk horse, and the emperor was fleeing with tens of thousands of followers. How could they possibly win in the struggle?
Some were tied up with horse reins, others were dragged by tearing off their clothes; all sorts of people were in a state of panic, crying and wailing, scrambling for a way to survive.

What shocked Liu Yao the most was seeing his bodyguard, wrapped in a cotton quilt, roll down the shore.

Liu Yao thought he was dead, but when he went to check, he saw that he was covered in blood and had been injured all over his body. He stood up.

He asked in surprise.

Why would a brave man go to such lengths?

A strange smile appeared on Yuan Yi's blood-covered, ferocious face.

"Just trying to survive."

(End of this chapter)