Liu Bei led his family through the mountain roads. Although he repeatedly urged the team to speed up, the mountain roads were rugged and difficult, and there were many women and children in the team, so it was difficult to move faster.
Liu Bei was extremely anxious. At this speed, he might not be able to block the water even if it got dark. Guan Yu only had more than 300 men at full strength. How long could he hold on with this small number of men?
Whether he can escape or not depends entirely on Guan Yu. When Liu Bei was marching, his attention was always on the rear. After he and Guan Yu parted ways, before they had gone far, fierce fighting sounds rang out from behind, echoing in the valley for a long time.
The pursuers arrived sooner than he expected. Such a short time was simply not enough for Guan Yu to build a solid line of defense.
Liu Bei could only hope that Guan Yu could stabilize the situation with his personal bravery, delay the enemy as much as possible, and buy them time.
Unfortunately, the development of the situation did not go as Liu Bei expected. As time went by, the sound of fighting was slowly weakening. Just now, the sound of fighting had completely subsided.
"Could it be that Yun Chang has already repelled his pursuers? Or..." Liu Bei felt uneasy and did not dare to continue thinking about it.
Zhao Yun obviously had the same worries as him, and decisively said: "General, as the ancients said: 'A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.' The current situation is unclear, and it is not appropriate for the general to take risks with his own body, and it is better to lead his cavalry first."
Liu Bei shook his head without thinking and said: "The soldiers are fighting bloody battles and entrusting their families to me. How can I abandon them and escape alone?"
Zhao Yun said solemnly: "To take care of our family, there is no need for a general. One general is enough. Yun is willing to leave a guard behind. The general can just go ahead with peace of mind."
Liu Bei knew clearly that Zhao Yun's suggestion was the right choice, allowing him to abandon the crowd and run away, but he couldn't bear it, so he was unable to make a decision.
In fact, when Liu Bei was competing with Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Yuan Shu and other heroes in the Central Plains, he abandoned his wife and children more than once, but these were decisions he had to make out of desperation.
Although the current situation is very serious, but the enemy has not yet appeared, he is so impatient that he abandons everyone and flees first. Wouldn't it make people laugh?
Just as Liu Bei was hesitating, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the valley behind.
Liu Bei's face changed greatly, and he sighed: "Did Liu Jing show all his elite skills to chase me? Otherwise, how could Yun Chang be defeated so quickly?" Liu Bei thought that the sound of horse hoofbeats was Guan Yu's return. After all, with Guan Yu's bravery, if he wanted to leave,
, there really is no one in the world who can keep him.
However, the sound of horse hooves became louder and louder, and the huge roar spread throughout the mountains and valleys. This kind of momentum was beyond the reach of just a few hundred horses.
Zhao Yun was the first to respond and returned. At this time, he didn't care whether Liu Bei agreed or not. He greeted Zhang Fei, hugged Liu Bei from left to right and left.
Most of the people on horseback and those with horses left with Liu Bei, but the family members of the soldiers and soldiers who were riding in ox carts and on foot saw the pursuers coming, but were abandoned by Liu Bei. There was a chaos and shouting.
The resonance of the rocks in the valley amplified the sound of horse hooves, and the winding mountain road made it seem like they were close at hand, but in fact they were far away. It was not until two quarters of an hour later that Liu Jingjun's cavalry caught up with the chaotic team of Liu Beijun's family members.
"Rumble...Rumble..."
Liu Jingjun's mounts were all equipped with horseshoes. When he was running, he made a sound like wind and thunder. With the bonus of the valley, it was almost as if the heaven and earth were shattering.
Liu Beijun's family members, all women and children, knelt in front of the road, their bodies pressed tightly to the ground, helplessly waiting for the other party's "judgment".
"Where is Liu Bei?" Liu Liang stood high on his horse and asked looking forward. When he learned that Liu Bei had abandoned the crowd and left, he couldn't help but curled his lips. He immediately left a team of cavalry to guard the prisoners, and then continued to pursue Liu Bei with Cai Sheng and Huang Zhong.
Without the burden of his family, Liu Bei's traveling speed more than doubled. The water blockage more than ten miles away was no longer out of reach. Before sunset, Liu Bei successfully reached the shore of the water blockage.
At this time, there were less than a hundred people around Liu Bei, most of whom were Liu Bei's subordinates, tribesmen, and family members. Only a few people, including Liu Bei's wife and Guan Yu's wife, were riding in carriages and could barely keep up with Liu Bei.
Worried about Guan Yu's safety, Liu Bei was reluctant to cross the river at first and wanted to stay on the east bank to wait for Guan Yu.
Zhao Yun knew that he was far from out of danger and could only get rid of the enemy completely by crossing the water blockage, so he dragged Liu Bei across the river by force.
At the same time, Zhang Fei led his men to sink the ferry in Jindu, collected grease and firewood from the homes of many people on both sides of the strait, and buried them under the ferry bridge, preparing to burn the bridge at any time to cut off the pursuing troops.
Liu Bei stood on the west bank of the blocked water and looked at the other side, his face full of sorrow. Guan Yu has not returned yet. He has realized that Guan Yu may not come back, but he still holds on to the hope of just in case.
However, Liu Jingjun's cavalry came with a crash in the sunset, and the last trace of luck in Liu Bei's heart was shattered, and he was extremely sad for a while.
Zhao Yun was also in a very heavy mood, but now was not the time to be sad. He found that Zhang Fei was holding a torch and had not taken any action. He couldn't help but said anxiously: "Yide, what are you doing in a daze? The enemy is chasing me and is about to burn the bridge..."
"
Zhang Fei came to his senses after hearing this, suppressed his grief, and threw the torch into the firewood under the bridge. The grease helped burn it, but in an instant, a raging fire ignited and spread to the bridge.
Looking at the flames soaring into the sky, the thick smoke billowing, and the difficult-to-pass bridge, Liu Liang gritted his teeth in anger. After all, it was still a step too late.
Now that the ferry bridge has been burned down and the ferry boat has been scuttled, if we want to cross the blocked water, we can only make bamboo rafts or build simple pontoons. By then, Liu Bei and others will have disappeared.
No matter how unwilling he was, Liu Liang had to admit that Liu Bei escaped from under their noses, and the good mood brought by killing Guan Yu was wiped out. Although Guan Yu is one of the best generals in the world, ten Guan Yus,
Not as important as Liu Bei.
The more Liu Liang thought about it, the angrier he became, and he had Guan Yu's head hung on a spear to show off.
The blocked water was a small river, no more than forty or fifty feet wide. Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and others on the west bank could see it clearly, and their eyes suddenly burst into tears.
"Yun Chang, we once swore to live and die together, but our achievements have not yet been accomplished. Why did Yun Chang abandon me?" Liu Bei couldn't accept the blow of Guan Yu's death in battle for a while, and looked up to the sky and cried sadly.
Guan Yu followed him across the Central Plains, and had never experienced any strong winds or waves. Unexpectedly, the boat capsized in the ditch today. He was so anxious that he could not stand steadily and was about to fall. Fortunately, Zhao Yun had quick eyes and quick hands and caught him in time.
"Brother...!" Zhang Fei wanted to put on a pair of wings, fly up to the river bank, kill all the enemies, and take back the head of his eldest brother. But he could do nothing now. He could only watch the enemy enjoy Guan Yu's head.
This situation made him miserable.
Zhang Fei knelt on the ground, hammering the ground with his fists wildly to vent his emotions. His fists were smashed until blood dripped. Liu Bei stepped forward and hugged Zhang Fei, crying.