Can I get to the other side?

Midnight.

The north gate of Jinyang City slowly opened, and three thousand Jinyang defenders quietly left the city. They did not even raise their torches, but hurriedly evacuated under the dim light of the moon.

On the city wall.

Guo Yuan was looking at the military camp where Han Sui and Ma Chao's troops were stationed in the distance. He felt relieved when the army completely withdrew and there was still no movement from the other side's military camp.

"It seems that their vigilance is not that high. They will evacuate 3,000 people today and more tomorrow. Repeat this a few times and all the defenders in the city will be able to evacuate."

Guo Yuan thought secretly in his heart, feeling slightly lucky.

It was the right choice for him to choose to stick to Jinyang City for so many days and not confront Ma Chao and Han Sui head-on.

As expected, the other party relaxed their vigilance towards him.

However, just when Guo Yuan had this idea of ​​luck, he suddenly heard shouts of death coming from the north, as well as the sound of galloping horse hooves!

Hearing the sound, Guo Yuan hurriedly climbed onto the city gate tower and looked outside the city to the north. He was suddenly shocked!

I saw in the dark sky, flaming arrows falling from the sky, like a rain of fire, falling into the army, causing countless casualties!

In addition, outside the hills on both sides of the army's retreat, a large number of cavalry appeared out of nowhere and charged towards the team!

Because they were retreating and on their way, and there were also arrow rain attacks at night, these three thousand soldiers were killed by many cavalry before they could organize their formation!

"What's going on! Where are the enemy troops coming from!"

Seeing this, Guo Yuan was filled with anger. He grabbed the deputy general by the collar and roared: "Didn't you send scouts to investigate before withdrawing the troops? How could there be an ambush!"

The deputy general looked pale and said: "General, I sent scouts to investigate the situation, but, I really didn't find anything strange."

"I don't know when they ambush there..."

Guo Yuan's face was ashen, but he also knew that now was not the time to hold people responsible, so he immediately ordered: "Shout the drums! Let them retreat immediately!"

Being ambushed by cavalry on the plains has no chance of winning. Only by retreating and getting within the range of Jinyang City's feather arrows can those soldiers have a chance of survival.

Although I know that the casualties will be heavy, I don't care about it now. I can withdraw as much as I can!

Soon, drums sounded on the walls of Jinyang City.

The soldiers retreated after hearing the sound.

But how can a man outrun a horse?

With such a retreat, there was no time to form a military formation, and the army was even more defeated. They were slaughtered wantonly by the Liangzhou cavalry who came from behind, and they had no power to fight back.

In the end, all three thousand troops were lost outside Jinyang City, either killed or captured, and no one could successfully escape.

There was blood and corpses all over the ground.

At the same time, a large number of Liangzhou cavalry came outside Jinyang City holding torches.

The leader is a young general with a heroic appearance, a strong belly, and a mighty appearance - it is Ma Chao!

He held a blood-stained spear in one hand and made a provocative gesture of wiping his neck towards the city gate tower with the other hand. Then he laughed loudly and led thousands of cavalry back to the military camp.

"Ma Chao!!"

Guo Yuan looked at this scene with eyes wide open!

I wish I could lead the troops and fight out of the city right away!

But his reason allowed him to forcibly endure this impulse.

At the same time, he also realized something deeply.

Ma Chao and Han Sui did not relax their vigilance against him at all. There was no chance for him to retreat!

Thinking of this, Guo Yuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh, looked in the direction of Youzhou and murmured to himself: "Lord, for now, I can only stick to the city and cannot go to help you."

…

Liangzhou Army, Chinese Army Camp.

After Ma Chao's victory, he led his army back to the army. His face was full of unconcealable joy and joy. He asked people to bring wine and drink with his generals to celebrate the victory.

"Guo Yuan has been hiding in Jinyang City and not showing up. To destroy his three thousand army in one battle tonight is really a relief!"

Ma Chao held the wine bottle and smiled at the generals.

The emperor's repeated orders told him to keep a close eye on Guo Yuan and prevent him from leaving Bingzhou, so he did not dare to relax for a moment and placed many eyes outside Jinyang City.

News came from the corner of his eye that there were scouts coming out of Jinyang City to inquire about the situation outside the city in the north. He guessed that Guo Yuan was about to take action, so he and Pang De each led 2,000 troops to ambush outside the city. As expected, he let him Squat until Guo Yuan and withdraw his troops!

Tonight's battle can be said to be the biggest victory since the two sides fought, and our side basically suffered no losses.

Pang De said: "General, if Guo Yuan is so anxious to withdraw his troops, it must be because the situation in Jizhou is becoming increasingly unfavorable for Yuan Shao, so he has to take the risk to rush for reinforcements."

"The most important thing for us right now is..."

Before Pound finished speaking, a soldier hurriedly entered the camp and reported to Ma Chao: "General, the imperial edict is urgent for five hundred miles from Yecheng!"

Hearing the words "five hundred miles urgent", all the generals were shocked. Even Ma Chao put down the wine bottle in his hand and said, "Bring the people here quickly!"

The soldiers turned and retreated.

After a while, the postman with two flying dragon and yellow flags behind his back walked into the tent. After seeing Ma Chao, he directly opened the imperial edict and read out the edict: "Zhizhao Censor: Yuan is a traitor and he is not a minister. I want to secure Jizhou first, and then send out the imperial edict." Fight with the army."

"However, the battle situation is difficult and dangerous. In order to prevent Guo Yuan from rushing to rescue, Ma Chao is ordered to continue to delay Guo Yuan's army! If he leaves Bingzhou, he will be punished for dereliction of duty!"

The wording of this imperial edict can be described as harsh.

The words between the lines revealed a meaning - no matter what, Guo Yuan's army must be held in Bingzhou, at all costs!

After the imperial edict was read, the postman fell unconscious.

Five hundred miles of express is slightly better than eight hundred miles of express, and it will not kill people, but it is also a huge burden on the body.

After the postman was taken away to rest, the generals in the account started to discuss, and many of them showed dissatisfaction on their faces.

"We have not slackened in attacking Bingzhou, and His Majesty has sent orders again and again. Does this mean that he doubts our ability or does not trust us?"

"That's right, we just killed 700 people of Guo Yuan and captured more than 2,000 troops."

"It seems that in His Majesty's eyes, we are still rebels after all, and he has been on guard, fearing that we will not work hard."

"If I had known this, I might as well be at ease in Liangzhou."

...

Many generals vented their dissatisfaction.

Obviously, they had a lot of opinions about this imperial edict.

Even Ma Chao did not speak. He looked at the imperial edict on the table with a gloomy face.

After hearing the content of the imperial edict, not to mention the generals, even his heart was depressed.

From the beginning, he was very uncomfortable with his father Ma Teng and several brothers going to Yecheng as hostages.

Their Ma family dominated Liangzhou and Guanzhong, with strong troops and horses. Looking at the world, they were also an extremely powerful lord. Even Yuan Shao at his peak had to respect them.

If there was no Han Sui, they could have fought for supremacy in the world. Why should they suffer the anger of a weak emperor?

What's more, it is not known whether this emperor is true or false, let alone whether he is Lu Bu's puppet!

At present, the imperial edict is more directly commanding. To put it nicely, it is an order, to put it bluntly, it is like using him as a dog!

"Just an emperor whose territory is not as big as mine and whose troops are not as many as mine... Humph!"

Ma Chao snorted in his heart and drank the wine in the cup.

After hearing the complaints of his generals, Pang De shouted, "Shut up! Do you think you can discuss the emperor's edict?"

After that, he continued to bow to Ma Chao and said, "General, this edict is so severe, it shows that the emperor will make a big move next, it is right to be cautious."

Ma Chao glanced at him and said lightly, "I will obey the edict and delay Guo Yuan. There is no need to remind me."

"My father and two brothers are in Yecheng. Can I ignore them?"

"Okay, everyone retreat."

After saying this, Ma Chao waved his hand and asked everyone to retreat and rest, ending the celebration banquet.

...

When the battle in Bingzhou was tense, the situation in Youzhou also changed. Although Zhang Yan led the Black Mountain Army to desperately prevent Yuan Shao's army from evacuating, he still failed to stop it.

First, the elite of the Black Mountain Army had suffered heavy losses in the previous battle. The members with some fighting power suffered heavy casualties, and the remaining people were a mob and were no match for Yuan Shao's army.

Second, because Yicheng was located on the border of Youzhou, Yuan Shao's army could quickly return to Hejian County after retreating from Yicheng. The Black Mountain Army could not cross the border to fight Yuan Shao's army, because once they lost the retreat route of Taihang Mountains, they could only wait for death.

Therefore, Yuan Shao finally withdrew to Hejian County.

Lecheng County, Taishou Mansion.

"My lord, the emperor has issued an edict, saying that you have a rebellious heart and are a traitor who rebels against the emperor, and you are dismissed from your position as general and general."

"In addition, all officials and soldiers who follow you will be regarded as traitors if they do not surrender. This edict has already had a great impact in all parts of Jizhou. Many people are discussing this matter, and even the soldiers in the army are a little agitated."

"The situation... is quite unfavorable."

Yan Liang reported the news he had learned during this period to Yuan Shao one by one, and even used more euphemistic words.

The situation is more than unfavorable?

The impact of this edict is really too great. The authority of the imperial edict issued by the emperor is self-evident. The word "traitor" alone is enough to make the soldiers in the army restless.

They joined the army just to make a living, at most to earn military merits and fight for wealth, but suddenly they became traitors and wanted to fight against the court.

How can this be justified?

After listening to Yan Liang's report, Yuan Shao's face was not good, because the situation was worse than he had imagined.

His reputation as a minister for four generations and a role model for the world was not as good as the influence of an imperial edict from the emperor.

In addition, there was the rebellious son Yuan Xi who was causing trouble!

But he also knew in his heart that the root of the problem was that his control over Jizhou was not as good as before. If Jizhou was still in his hands, even if the court said he was a traitor, the impact would not be so great.

Holding back his annoyance, Yuan Shao said to Yan Liang with a gloomy face: "Spread the news, this is a fake imperial edict forged by Lu Bu and Yuan Xi. The emperor is held hostage by them, and the edict cannot be taken seriously."

"In addition, quickly replenish the troops and horses. We will send troops to attack Yangping and Guangping counties tomorrow, and then attack Wei County to recapture Yecheng!"

Yuan Shao knew in his heart that what he had to do now was not to make excuses to the outside world, but to stabilize the morale of the army, and then take Wei County with thunder and lightning to recapture Yecheng.

As long as we can recapture Yecheng, everything will be fine!

"Yes!"

Yan Liang accepted the order and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Lv Xiang hurried into the hall and said anxiously: "My lord, it's bad! The emperor has sent tens of thousands of troops, divided into four armies, heading straight for the four counties of Anping, Julu, Pingyuan, and Qinghe!"

"The county governors have sent letters asking the lord to lead troops to rescue!"

This news caught Yuan Shao off guard.

He stood up and said in disbelief: "After just experiencing the battle of Qingzhou, how could the villains Lv Bu and Yuan Xi reorganize their troops and launch an attack so quickly?"

"Have you confirmed it? Is the news correct?"

Lv Xiang took out four letters from his arms, presented them with both hands and said: "My lord, these are letters of help from the county governors of the four counties. They all arrived today. Please take a look."

Yuan Shao grabbed them and read them one by one.

His face became more and more ugly.

Zhang Liao, Lu Bu, Yuan Xi, and Zhang He are the main generals, with a total of 35,000 troops. It is clear that they want to take down the four counties in one go, and the ultimate goal must be Hejian County!

This offensive... is too fast.

"My lord, even after the reinforcement, our army is only 30,000. Now that the four armies are attacking together, which county should we rush to help first?"

Jiang Qi asked worriedly.

The four counties are in danger, and any army is difficult to deal with. If the troops are divided, it may be difficult to defend the four counties. We must choose one county to rush to help first.

Yuan Shao was also hesitant, suppressing his anger and asked: "Didn't I send an order for Guo Yuan to lead his troops back to Jizhou? Why hasn't he come back yet!"

Guo Yuan's troops are crucial to him now.

Bingzhou can be lost, but Jizhou cannot be lost.

Because once Jizhou is lost, it means a complete loss, and it is almost impossible to reverse the defeat!

Yan Liang shook his head and said, "General Guo has not received any news yet, but... According to my guess, he must have been tied up by Ma Chao and Han Sui's Liangzhou army and could not retreat."

"This rubbish! How can he be so useless!"

Yuan Shao was so angry that he cursed loudly, and while cursing, the figure of Tian Feng flashed through his mind.

At this time, he regretted locking up Tian Feng, because if Tian Feng was here, he would definitely be able to help him think of a way out.

But Tian Feng is now imprisoned in Yicheng, and he is in Hejian County. Even if he wants to find Tian Feng for advice, he won't be able to see him for a while.

He can only find a way to deal with the problem himself.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time in his mind, Yuan Shao raised his head and said decisively: "First send troops to help the nearest Anping County! At the same time, send a message to the governors of other counties, let them resist with all their strength!"

Anping County is closest to Hejian County. First save this one that is close, and then solve the difficulties of other counties.

This is the only way now.

"Yes!"

...

Qinghe County.

The three thousand Tiger Guards and two thousand Yulin Guards led by Cui Yan and Zhang He have arrived outside Qinghe County, but they are only stationed outside the city and have not launched a direct attack.

Because Cui Lin had secretly returned to Qinghe County before the arrival of the army and instigated the major nobles and powerful people in the county to rebel.

They only need to wait for Cui Lin's signal.