The situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly. No one expected that when Liu Bei's army was already in collapse, Guan Yu suddenly took Yecheng and came north to help, immediately stabilizing the situation.
With the addition of this new force, the situation quickly reversed. Liu Beijun stabilized the situation and began to counterattack.
If Yuan Shao could organize immediately at this moment, he might not be able to retreat calmly with the advantage he had accumulated before. But at this time, he was seriously ill and fainted, and his backbone collapsed, causing the army to collapse instantly and form a great rout.
Liu Huixun, Jiang Yiqu and others reluctantly protected him and fled north. Guan Yu's army gathered up the scattered soldiers and pursued him all night. They fought until dawn and chased Yuan Shao for more than a hundred miles, driving the remaining Yuan Shao to Xiangguo.
In the Battle of Yecheng, Liu Bei finally turned defeat into victory. Overnight in Jizhou, the king's flag at the top of the city began to change again, and the governors and magistrates from all over the country turned their sides and surrendered.
Jushuo's strategy of besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao also worked. Nanlou's troops raided the central Xianbei from Feihuxing. Xiutu's tribes learned the news and no longer dared to help Yuan Shao and fled north in a hurry. In this case, the senior officials could only
He was able to escape into Yanmen and defend Taiyuan.
A few days later, Liu Bei reorganized his troops and marched northward, besieging Xiangguo. There were less than 10,000 soldiers and horses in the city, and there was not much food and grass left. The soldiers were disheartened and squatted lazily at the base of the city wall. No one was there.
Defend the city.
Seeing this situation, Liu Bei was not in a hurry to attack, but continued to surround Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was in a coma for several days, had not eaten a grain of rice, and his face was as pale as a dead man. Liu Huixunchen and others in the city were anxious.
Finally, on the fourth day after the Battle of Yecheng, Yuan Shao woke up. Even the incense was gone in the mansion, and the cold autumn wind filled the house, revealing a sense of sadness.
"Ming Gong..."
"Ming Gong, you finally woke up."
"Ming Gong!"
Seeing Yuan Shao wake up, Liu Hui, who had been by his side for many days, quickly stepped forward to check.
Several generals and Xun Chen also came over.
Yuan Shao opened his eyes blankly, his lips were chapped, and his eyes were darting around. He was so weak that he couldn't even turn his head and couldn't speak.
Xun Chen immediately brought a bowl of gruel, and he and Liu Hui supported each other and fed the porridge, forcing him to eat something.
After eating a bowl of porridge, I finally regained some strength.
"Ming Gong..."
People gathered around the bed, squatting, standing or bending over, looking at him with sad and bitter eyes.
After resting for a while, Yuan Shaocai slowly stood up with the help of Liu Hui, leaned on the bed, and asked everyone softly: "Where is this?"
"Xiangguo."
Liu Hui smiled bitterly and said: "Our army was defeated that day and most of the troops dispersed. We were hunted for hundreds of miles and fled here."
"oh."
Yuan Shao looked neither sad nor happy, nodded slowly, and said softly: "Where is Liu Bei?"
"Liu Bei's army is outside the city."
"No offense?"
"No offense."
"oh."
Yuan Shao closed his eyes: "The Book of Ministers says: If God does evil, you can still disobey it. If you do evil yourself, you can't ignore it. Today's defeat is my fault. My time has come, what are your plans?"
Several generals looked at each other, and Jiang Yiqu was the first to say: "I am willing to fight to the death with Duke Ming."
"I am willing to fight to the death with Duke Ming."
Several other people also quickly assured that although at this time, many people wanted to open the city gate and surrender outside, they still had to put on a show when they were in front of Yuan Shao.
However, Yuan Shao chuckled and said: "Okay, I am already dying, and there is nothing more to say. You can just open the city gate and surrender."
"this......"
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Although they didn't know what they were thinking in their hearts, at least they had to pretend on the surface.
In this era, it is difficult for a person like Lu Bu who always betrays his master to survive. He is easily yelled at and beaten by everyone. Only loyal people, even if you surrender in the end, at least do not surrender before complete defeat.
Being looked down upon by others, such as Zhang Liao and Zhang He.
Therefore, even if some people want to leave the city and surrender, they are afraid of the reputation of betraying their master, because once they have a resume of double-dealing, they will easily be looked down upon by their loyal targets and colleagues, and thus they will not be reused.
For example, Zhu Ling is actually a very talented general, and his military level is not much worse than that of the Five Sons of Good Generals. However, because of his betrayal of Yuan and Cao Cao, Cao Cao has always disliked him. This is an example.
Yuan Shao didn't know what these people were thinking, so he said: "Don't worry, this is my order, not that you betray the Lord and surrender to honor, so go ahead."
"Ming Gong is a great righteous man. I should have gone through fire and water to repay him. However, I still have my mother at home. I am in a dilemma between loyalty and filial piety. Thank you Ming Gong for helping me!"
A general immediately got off the donkey, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and went out to surrender in the name of his mother.
As soon as the first one was there, there was a second one, and soon there were only three people left in the palace.
Liu Huixunchen and Jiang Yiqu.
Yuan Shao looked at the three of them and asked, "You guys can go too."
Liu Hui smiled: "My parents have been dead for many years, so I will stay here to accompany Ming Gong."
"Zi Hui...don't you hate me?"
Yuan Shao said sadly.
He knew that Liu Hui had advised him on many things, but he didn't listen, which led to what happened today.
Liu Hui said: "Although I don't understand many of Ming Gong's actions, I also believe that there may be Ming Gong's deep meaning."
Yuan Shao looked at Xun Chen again: "Youruo, your brother is in Qingzhou. It's up to you to go out of the city and ask for Liu Bei's surrender."
"only."
Xun Chen is not stupid and loyal, so he should be handed over.
He is different from Liu Hui. Historically, Liu Hui was insulted by Han Fu and died in anger. Therefore, Liu Hui is a relatively upright person. Although he does not approve of many things of Yuan Shao, he will not leave Yuan Shao if he is in trouble.
Xun Chen, on the other hand, comes from a noble family. The characteristic of a noble family is that I can help you, but if I see that you are not good enough or you are about to die, I will not accompany you to death.
For example, in history, Guo Jia and Xun Yu both served as counselors under Yuan Shao, but when they saw that Yuan Shao was not good enough, they immediately turned to Cao Cao. This is an example.
"Yiqu, you can go too."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Yuan Shao said to Jiang Yiqu again: "I know you are loyal, but it is my fault that the Yuan family has caused today's disaster. If you are unable to fight, I will not blame you.
You and Liu Bei are my rivals, but I know him well and he is a very kind and righteous man, so he will treat you well. After you go to Qingzhou, help take care of Xianfu Xianyi and the others, and this will be my last military order to you."
"Ming Gong."
Jiang Yiqu cried sadly: "General... obey your orders!"
In the afternoon, the gate of Xiangguo City opened.
Xun Chen and many generals walked out of the city and surrendered to Liu Bei's army.
Liu Bei accepted the surrender and walked slowly into the city with Guan Yu and other generals. He saw soldiers from the Yuan Army kneeling on both sides of the city and on the streets. They put down their weapons one after another and were taken over by the Qingzhou Army.
All the way to the county government mansion, the gate of the county government office opened, and you could vaguely see that there were piles of firewood inside. A thin middle-aged man stood at the door to greet him with a smile.
"Liu Hui, I have met King Qi."
Liu Hui stood on the steps and bowed to Liu Bei at the bottom of the steps.
Liu Bei nodded and said: "Although Mr. Yuan is my enemy, since he has surrendered to me, I will treat him kindly. Sir, please invite Mr. Yuan out. I heard that he is seriously ill, and there is a miracle doctor in Qingzhou who can be sent to him for treatment."
Liu Hui smiled and said: "Don't worry about the King of Qi. Duke Ming knows that it is hard to violate the destiny. He is on his deathbed. So he sent me to tell the King of Qi that the Yuan family surrendered to the King of Qi. I also asked the King of Qi to treat Young Master Tan well.
Young Master Xi and Young Master Shang are both unforgettable in the underworld, so let the matter between him and the King of Qi be settled today."
After saying that, Liu Hui bowed again, turned around and entered the mansion, slowly closing the door.
Liu Bei stood at the door of the mansion, watching silently.
A moment later, thick black smoke rose from the mansion, flames burned, and an autumn fire seemed to devour everything in the world.
Liu Bei sighed deeply and ordered his surroundings: "When the fire is extinguished, you can go find the ashes of Yuan Gong and Liu Zihui and find a good place to bury them. Although Yuan Shao said that he rebelled against the court and was against the principles of a minister, the four ancestors
The third prince of the world has been willing to serve as a cow and a horse for the great man for generations, so we must not insult the integrity of the Yuan family."
"only."
On the left and right, the fire that reached the sky was still burning. At the end of the third year of Yonghan, Yuan Shao, a great prince who once occupied Hebei and had more than 200,000 troops, completely disappeared in the long river of history.
.......
.......
In early October, just when Liu Bei had just defeated Yuan Shao and captured Hebei, Qingzhou's large ship stopped at the port of Laizhou Bay.
The fleet that went to Japan to verify the authenticity of what Chen Mu said came back. After getting off the ship, under the protection of tens of thousands of troops, the fleet headed west again, heading to Luoyang, Guandong.
It is very fast to go south to Qingzhou from Luoyang by boat, but it is very slow to go back by boat. It is better to take the land route. For example, when the Qingzhou Navy goes north, it often requires human trackers to pull it, plus the constant trampling of water dragons on the boat, in order to move forward at a snail's pace.
OK.
Therefore, it was so troublesome, and the Queen's Taiwei Lu Changshi and others could not bear the bumps of the ship, so it was more comfortable to take the land route, all the way along the north bank of the Yellow River, from Jizhou to Hanoi.
At this time, in addition to what they thought, there was another army that had completed its rest and reorganization in Hanoi not long ago. After replenishing some food and grass, it entered Bingzhou from Baixing in a mighty manner.
Lu Bu was riding on his horse. When he passed through Tianjing Pass and could already see Gaodu County, Shangdang County in the distance on the hillside, he didn't know why, but a feeling of familiarity arose deep in his heart.
Feeling and comfort.
Bingzhou is my hometown!
Although Shangdang was still thousands of miles away from Wuyuan County, returning to Bingzhou gave him a sense of new life, a taste of home and freedom.
"From today on, I am the pastor of Bingzhou!"
Lu Bu glanced around, saw Zhang Yang, and laughed and said: "Uncle Zhi, you are still the governor of Shangdang. Let's fight all the way back north. I want to go back to Wuyuan for a visit. Will you accompany me?"
Zhang Yang returned to the familiar Shangdang, and he was so proud that he laughed and said: "Okay, Fengxian, let's fight all the way back!"
"Hahahahaha."
The two of them looked up to the sky and smiled, and the mighty army behind them came down the mountain and headed towards Gaodu.
After crossing the Yellow River at Mengjin Ferry in Hanoi, it was not until mid-October that the team finally approached Luoyang. The carriages swayed one after another and arrived outside the city of Luoyang.
Someone had already gone to report that Wang Zhi had been waiting outside the gate of the North Palace in Luoyang. The army stayed outside the palace and the convoy slowly entered the palace gate.
Wang Zhi came to the carriage where Chen Mu was sitting, bent down, and strolled close to the carriage as it moved forward.
The carriage Chen Mu was riding in was a box carriage with a window. He did not look at Wang Zhi, lowered his head and continued to read the book, but asked: "How is your Majesty's health?"
"I am afraid......"
Wang Zhi shook his head: "I'm afraid I won't be able to survive this winter."
"Um."
Chen Mu nodded, closed the book in his hand, and breathed a long sigh of relief: "Ninety percent of the work has been done, and the rest depends on God's will."
Wang Zhi said in a low voice: "King Qi killed Yuan Shao some time ago. Although the young master has not come back yet, your majesty coughed up blood in the middle of the night and left a legacy. I secretly read it and it was to pass the throne to King Qi."
edict."
"oh?"
Chen Mu said in surprise: "Are you sure it's one portion and not two?"
"One serving."
Wang Zhi replied affirmatively: "Perhaps your Majesty thought that the end was approaching, and King Qi had the credit for pacifying Yuan Shao. He was afraid that he would not be able to wait until the Queen and the Taiwei came back, so he made preparations in advance."
Chen Mu laughed: "It seems that the remaining 10% has been completed. Even if God allows His Majesty to live for another two years, that's probably it."
The motorcade rumbled into the palace, first crossing the moat bridge through the Zhuque Gate of the North Palace, then entering through the Xuanwu Gate of the South Palace, and finally stopped at the Jiade Gate. The Queen's Taiwei Chen Mu and others got off the carriage.
After the queen got off the carriage, she stared at Chen Mu with a stern look of hatred. Chen Mu smiled slightly and didn't care.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In the final analysis, she did take away the throne and the future of her son. Although at this time, the queen could only choose to save her son and abandon the throne, but
To say that he doesn’t hate Chen Mu would be a lie.
Everyone arrived at the West Palace. The palace was still the same as before. The most people were palace guards standing guard, and there were very few eunuchs and maids. They all gathered in the West Palace to serve the seriously ill emperor.
When they arrived at the entrance of the West Palace, the Queen rushed in first. The room was still filled with the fragrance of medicine. Liu Yu had already learned the news, and barely supported his body. With the support of the eunuchs and maidens, he sat on the main banquet of the West Palace.
It's not like lying inside on the collapse of the palace.
"Ayu."
Liu Yu called the queen's nickname affectionately, with a bright smile on his face.
It was not that I was happy to see the Queen again, but that the Queen, Yang Biao and others returned safely, which proved that Chen Mu was telling the truth. Liu Bian, Liu Xie and his son Liu He were still alive and well.
"His Majesty."
Yang Biao, Chen Mu, Tai Shici, Huang Zhong, Wang Zhi and others followed closely behind them and knelt down after entering the main hall.
The queen threw herself down beside Liu Yu's banquet and said to him excitedly: "Your Majesty, He'er is still alive. He is really alive."
This is the best news for the couple.
Liu Yu nodded, patted her hand gently and said comfortingly: "It's good to be alive, it's good to be alive."
Then he turned his eyes downward and said to everyone: "Wang Zhi, go and get the things that the young master wants for him. Everyone else should go out. The Taiwei and the Queen stay. You can tell me carefully. He'er spent time with the Japanese slaves.
How's it going?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chen Mu knew that Liu Yu probably didn't want to see him, so he wisely stepped back.
Anyway, the letters written by Liu Bian and Liu and them are all with Yang Biao. When the time comes, they will be given to Liu Yu to read and comfort him in missing his son.
Wang Zhi went to the side hall to get the edict and the imperial seal. The four of them left the West Palace and went to the Mingguang Hall to wait.
It doesn't just take the edict, there will be a court meeting later, at which Liu Yu will personally announce the matter, and then Chen Mu can take the edict and go to Hebei with the imperial seal.
Chen Mu waited in the Mingguang Hall. After a long time, a eunuch came and said that the emperor had ordered a court meeting and asked the three princes and nine ministers to go to the Chongde Hall.
It was already evening, and the ministers walked slowly into the palace with small steps.
Everyone sat down one by one, with Liu Yu taking the main seat.
He looked towards the east with affectionate eyes. After all, the wind from Wonu Island could not blow to Luoyang. His body knew that he wanted to live for another two years, because Chen Mu promised that as long as Liu Yu did not die of illness after passing the throne,
Let Liu He come back.
After everyone sat down, Liu Yu slowly opened his mouth and said: "The world is in chaos, and only those who are incompetent can fix it. I am old and want to pass on the throne to Liu Bei, the king of Qi. What do you think?"