Three Kingdoms King of the North

After everyone had arrived, Lu Bu said to everyone: "Everyone, Tai Shici's reinforcements have arrived, and the Marquis of Anyang's army must be not far away. If we stay here, not only will we not be able to destroy Tai Shici's troops, but we will also be able to fight back." There is a danger of annihilation of the entire army. What should I do next, how do you think about it?"

Gao Shun, who was sitting on the lower right, although his wound had been bandaged, his face was pale due to too much blood loss.Hearing this question from Lu Bu, he took the lead and said, "Marquis Wen, according to my subordinates' opinion, we should withdraw our troops."

"No, we can't withdraw our troops." As soon as Gao Shun finished speaking, Lei Bo couldn't wait to say: "If we withdraw our troops at this time, how can we explain to the master when we go back?"

"You only think about how to explain to the master, have you considered our situation?" Gao Shun has never been used to Lei Bohu's fake tiger's prestige, so he retorted bluntly: "The thousands of troops led by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, However, the vanguard of Jizhou has far surpassed our army. If we continue to stay here, when the tens of thousands of troops from the Marquis of Anyang arrive, we will not be able to leave if we want to leave."

Lei Bo opened his mouth to refute Gao Shun, and his gaze undoubtedly caught sight of Ji Ling who was sitting by the side. He seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw, and hurriedly asked Ji Ling for help: "General Ji, tell me, what should we do?" Should I go or stay?"

Since Ji Ling was dismounted by Zhang Fei and narrowly escaped death, although he has not suffered serious injuries, he has been in a state of fear. When he heard Lei Bo's question, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Jizhou's army is powerful. , If we continue to stay here, the entire army may be wiped out. From Ji’s point of view, it is better to withdraw the army. It is not too late, we will withdraw overnight.”

Lei Bo never dreamed that Ji Ling would agree to retreat. According to his thinking, since Ji Ling was ordered by the lord to supervise the battle, even if reinforcements from Jizhou came, he would fight the opponent again. Who knows But he was so eager to retreat.He couldn't help being anxious: "General Ji, if we withdraw our troops like this, how should we explain to the master when we return to Shouchun?"

Hearing this, Ji Ling stood up abruptly, and shouted at Lei Bo: "What do you know! Nearly ten thousand reinforcements arrived in Jizhou today, maybe tens of thousands of Han's children will follow, we still have to stay What are you doing here, are you waiting to die? As for how to explain to the master, that is a matter for the future, and now we should consider how to get out."

After reprimanding Lei Bo, Ji Ling turned to Lu Bu and said, "Marquis Wen, it's not too late. Let's retreat overnight, otherwise we won't be able to leave even if we want to when the Jizhou army arrives."

Lu Bu was once again defeated by Guan Zhang, and he couldn't help feeling a little disheartened. He was eager to leave this ghostly place as soon as possible, so he naturally nodded in agreement with Ji Ling's proposal: "What General Ji said is very true, then pass on the order, Let the soldiers pack up and return to Shouchun overnight."

"Marquis Wen, don't do it." Unexpectedly, Gao Shun, who insisted on withdrawing the troops, tried to dissuade him when he heard what Lu Bu said, "We must not retreat overnight."

"Why?" Lu Bu couldn't help being taken aback when he heard Gao Shun say this, and thought to himself, didn't you just say you would withdraw the troops first, why did you object when someone said you would withdraw the troops overnight? "Gao Shun, didn't you agree with the withdrawal of troops first, why are you against it now?"

"Report to Marquis Wen," Gao Shun hurriedly stood up, and reported to Lu Bu, "Our army has just been defeated, and people are panicking. If we retreat overnight, we fear that the troops will disperse halfway."

Lu Bu felt that Gao Shun's words were reasonable, so he asked politely, "Then in your opinion, how should we retreat?"

"How about retreating at Tianming?" Gao Shun explained: "After a night's rest, the soldiers have not only weakened their fear, but also recovered their physical strength. If we retreat at this moment, the chances of the whole army returning to Shouchun will be greatly improved."

Hearing this, Ji Ling couldn't help interjecting and asked, "If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's soldiers and horses came after them, what should we do?"

"General Ji please rest assured," Gao Shun said broadly, "I am willing to lead the camp to cover the retreat of the entire army."

"Okay!" Lu Bu stood up and said loudly after hearing this, "According to what Gao Shun said, the soldiers should rest well tonight. After tomorrow's dawn, after Gao Shun's trapped camp is broken, the whole army will withdraw to Shouchun."

Chapter 462

At dawn, Lü Bu's troops withdrew from the camp and slowly headed southwest.Only Gao Shun and his [-] camp were left in the village. Their task was to try their best to hold them back when Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led their troops to chase them, so that they could not mobilize their troops to pursue them in a short time. Lu Bu.

When Guan Yu entered the city last night, he arranged a lot of scouts near Lu Bu's camp to monitor their movements.As soon as Lu Bu's soldiers and horses left the camp, Tan Ma spotted them. Tan Ma galloped into the city and reported to Guan Yu that Lu Bu had withdrawn his troops.

After learning that Lu Bu withdrew his troops, the three of them disagreed on whether to send troops to pursue them.Tai Shici was trapped in the city by Lu Bu during this period of time, and he felt extremely aggrieved. He finally had a chance to take revenge, so he would not let it go easily.In his heart, now that Lu Bu has become a bereaved dog, if he doesn't take the opportunity to hunt him down, how can he get angry in his heart.

However, as soon as he proposed this plan, it was rejected by Guan Yu.Guan Yu waved his hand at Taishi Ci and said, "General Taishi, you don't know something. Before we came here, we heard from our lord that if Lu Bu wanted to kill you, it would be a matter of effort. He didn't attack because he just wanted to wait for us to rescue him. In this way, it is understandable for him to return to his master Shouchun."

Although Tai Shici hated Lu Bu deeply in his heart, he couldn't help thinking carefully after hearing Guan Yu's words.He thought to himself: If Lu Bu launched a siege two days after he retreated into Licheng, would he be able to hold it?The answer is no. With the fighting power of the recruits under him, without the equipment to defend the city, it is estimated that they can't stand it for an hour, and the city will be occupied by Lu Bu.But the opponent kept besieging and did not attack, as if he was waiting for his reinforcements to arrive, and then he could retreat back to Shouchun with a legitimate reason.

After Guan Yu's explanation, Tai Shici quickly understood the cause and effect, but Zhang Fei was still confused.He wanted to catch up with Lu Bu and compete with him again. He couldn't help but say: "Second brother, no matter what Lu Bu thinks in his heart, since he wants to escape now, we must not let him go, otherwise we will wait for him Slow down, it's time to find ways to deal with us again."

"Yide, you can rest assured about this." Guan Yu said confidently: "Since Lu Bu has been unwilling to attack General Taishi for a long time, it proves that he does not want to attack Licheng at all, so he stationed outside the city and stood still to wait for our attack. Reinforcements are coming."

Zhang Fei said unconvinced: "Since the servants of the three surnames are unwilling to attack General Taishi, why did he pursue him all the way, and even trapped General Taishi in the city?"

"Yide, Lv Bu has just voted for Yuan Shu, and he has not yet gained the trust of Yuan Gonggong. Therefore, after receiving the order to hunt down and kill General Taishi, he had to lead his troops to pursue him as a pretext to prevaricate Yuan Shu." In order to persuade Zhang Fei, Guan Yu He also gave an example: "General Taishi's thousands of soldiers and horses fought against Lu Bu's trapped camp, and they collapsed immediately. If the opponent pursues the victory at this time, do you think General Taishi can lead his troops to escape into Licheng?"

Hearing this, Zhang Fei scratched the back of his head, and said a little embarrassedly: "So that's the case. It seems that Lu Bu is also following orders, and he doesn't really want to be an enemy of General Taishi." After a pause, he remembered Talking about Lu Bu's siege yesterday, "But why did he attack the city yesterday? Looking at the posture at that time, if our army came a little later, he probably has already taken Licheng."

"General Taishi," Guan Yu waited for Zhang Fei to finish speaking, looked at Taishi Ci and said with a smile on his face, "You should explain this matter to Yide."

"According to reports from the scouts," Tai Shici said to Zhang Fei, "A troop entered Lu Bu's camp the day before yesterday. It is said that it was Yuan Shu's confidant general Ji Ling who came, and Yuan Shu must have urged Lu Bu to fight. In this way, Regardless of whether Lu Bu is willing to attack us or not, he has no choice but to send troops to attack the city."

Guan Yu stood up and said to the two: "General Taishi, you stay in the city to defend the city, and Yide and I can lead the troops to chase Lu Bu."

"What, led troops to chase after Lu Bu?" Tai Shici was confused by Guan Yu's words, he asked in bewilderment: "Didn't you just say that Lu Bu didn't want to be an enemy of our army at all, so there is no need to send troops to chase and kill them?"

"That's right, Guan has indeed said that." Regarding Tai Shici's questioning, Guan Yu did not deny it, he continued: "If Lu Bu retreats, but we stay in the city, I am afraid that even if Lu Bu returns to Shouchun, we will not be able to return." It will arouse Yuan Shu's suspicion. Therefore, it is necessary for us to lead our troops to follow Lu Bu, and after they leave Licheng, it will not be too late for us to return."

When Guan Yu said this, Tai Shici immediately understood and said: "I understand. Guan Xianfeng led his troops to follow Lv Bu's soldiers and horses, creating a false impression for Ji Ling and other Yuan Shu's cronies, making them think that our army is constantly behind. In pursuit, Lü Bu had no choice but to retreat with his troops."

Guan Yu turned to Zhang Fei and said, "Yide, you and I each lead 3000 troops to chase after Lu Bu. We must keep a distance of two miles from him. If he is fast, we will be fast. If he stops, we will rest. Try not to confront them."

…………

Gao Shun, who was staying in the camp, had already seen Tan Ma cruising outside the camp, and knew that as soon as Lu Bu left, Tan Ma would report the news to the city, and then the army in the city would flock to him.Unexpectedly, after waiting for an hour, I saw the city gate open from a distance, and the Jizhou army came out of the city slowly, and formed an array outside the city in a leisurely manner.

Seeing the Jizhou army slowly forming into formation, the soldiers trapped in the camp couldn't help shaking their heads secretly, thinking that such soldiers and horses, if they meet themselves on the battlefield, even if they have an advantage in numbers, they may not be able to defeat themselves.Not long ago, these soldiers trapped in the camp thought that there was almost no possibility of surviving this time.But seeing the performance of the Jizhou Army at this time, hope suddenly ignited in my heart.They felt that if they took the initiative to fight, it would be enough to completely disrupt the opponent.With this in mind, many people turned their heads to look at Gao Shun at the back of the team, hoping that he would give the order to fight.However, Gao Shun, who was riding on the horse, just stared into the distance blankly, without giving any orders at all.

It took the Jizhou army two sticks of incense to barely complete their formation, and then walked towards the camp where the trapped camp was located.Gao Shun saw the Jizhou army getting closer and closer, and was wondering whether to stick to the camp, or take the trapped camp out to fight the Jizhou army to the death, but at this moment, the Jizhou army stopped again.

Seeing the Jizhou Army stop two arrows away from the camp, and then stand there motionless, Gao Shun was particularly puzzled. He thought to himself: What is the Jizhou Army going to do? Why is it so far away from the camp? place to stop?

The two sides were like this, one inside the village and the other outside the village. They were in a stalemate for more than half an hour, and neither of them moved.Upon seeing this, Gao Shun knew that the Jizhou Army would not take the initiative to attack him, so he issued an order to retreat.

There were few people trapped in the camp. Following the order, the soldiers in the phalanx turned around and walked towards the south gate of the village with neat steps.The Jizhou army in the distance noticed the movement in the village, but there was still no movement at all.It was not until all the trapped camps left the camp and marched southward that the Jizhou army continued to advance and quickly occupied the camp that Gao Shun had abandoned.

Gao Shun thought that after the Jizhou army occupied his camp, they would catch up and fight, so he ordered the troops to stop and line up in place.Unexpectedly, when they stopped, the Jizhou army who entered the camp did not move, and they had no intention of going forward to fight.

After waiting for another two sticks of incense, Gao Shun saw that the Jizhou army in the camp was still silent, so he gave the order to retreat again.This time they walked a full two miles, and the Jizhou army in the camp followed closely.

Seeing the actions of the Jizhou army, Gao Shun finally understood the opponent's intentions. It turned out that others did not want to confront him at all, but only wanted to force his soldiers to leave this place early.After trying to understand this truth, Gao Shun no longer stopped the trapped camp, but marched southward along the official road without looking back, chasing after Lu Bu and others who had withdrawn early in the morning.

Chapter 463 Han Zhan's Thoughts

Watching Gao Shun's soldiers retreating southward along the post road, Zhang Fei led his soldiers and horses out of the camp, and followed leisurely.If the opponent is fast, they are also fast; if the opponent is slow, they are also slow.Even at noon, Gao Shun stopped in the camp to drink water and eat dry food by a small stream, and Zhang Fei's soldiers and horses followed suit, stopping at the upper stream of the stream to drink water and eat dry food.

For Zhang Fei's actions, Gao Shun was furious. Every time he turned around to attack, Zhang Fei's troops immediately retreated and did not have any contact with the trapped camp.But as long as the trapped camp continues to retreat southward, they will catch up.In desperation, Gao Shun could only give the trapped camp an order to continue marching, as long as Zhang Fei's soldiers and horses did not approach, he could completely ignore them.

In the evening, Zhang Fei's soldiers and horses suddenly stopped advancing.Seeing that the distance between the two armies was getting farther and farther, Gao Shun's heart became uneasy, and he thought to himself: What's going on, why didn't the Jizhou army follow up?Could it be that they have some conspiracy?

In fact, Gao Shun's worries were unnecessary. The reason why Zhang Fei's troops stopped advancing was because Han Zhan had ordered him to stop chasing Gao Shun and return to Licheng as soon as possible.

Gao Shun didn't know the real reason for Zhang Fei's retreat, so he quickly sent two cronies to follow him to find out if the Jizhou army was up to something.And he led the soldiers and horses to stay on the post road and wait.

After two incense sticks, the two henchmen sent came back panting, and reported to Gao Shun out of breath: "General Qi, I have seen clearly, the Jizhou army is going along The post road goes in the direction of Licheng."

"Are you sure you're going back to Licheng instead of ambushing somewhere?"

The confidant shook his head and continued: "The little one is also worried that the Jizhou army is retreating openly, but hiding somewhere in the dark, so that they can come and attack us after dark. So the little one walked two or three miles forward and saw Another army came to meet him, fearing that they would find out, so they turned around and reported to the general."

Knowing that the Jizhou Army had really returned to Licheng, Gao Shun felt a little more at ease in his heart.Only to hear the cronies ask again: "General, what should we do next?"

"Since the Jizhou army has returned to Licheng, we will continue on our way." In order to catch up with Lu Bu and the others, Gao decided to take a risk and ordered: "Disband the combat formation and change to a marching formation. We must catch up as soon as possible." Wenhou them."

The army led by Han Zhan arrived in Licheng at noon.Seeing that Guan Yu and Tai Shici were the only ones coming to greet him, he asked Guan Yu specifically, "Brother Yun, where is Brother Yide?"

Hearing Han Zhan's question, Guan Yu quickly replied respectfully, "I would like to report to the Marquis of Anyang that Lu Bu is retreating today, and at last he will let his third younger brother lead the troops to follow behind, forcing them to leave this place as soon as possible."

After waiting for Guan Yu to finish speaking, Han Zhan asked him about yesterday's battle, pondered for a moment, then turned to ask Guo Jia next to him, "Feng Xiao, what do you think?"