At that time, Yuan Shao was able to defeat Gongsun Zan's cavalry because of the crossbowmen led by Yi. [,ka~ Because Yi's character is a bit arrogant and does not get along well with other civil and military officers. Although he is one of the best generals under Yuan Shao, Yi's status in recent years has been
Instead of improving, he gradually fell behind Gao Lan. But after the defeat, the first thing Yi thought of was to flee back to Yecheng, warn Yuan Shao, and rely on his ability in commanding troops to assist Yuan Shao in defending Yecheng.
Along the way north, Yi did not encounter any danger, and the Han army did not pursue him. Only when he passed the blocking position, the wide and deep trenches and the dark brown land told him that something had happened here.
After an extremely tragic battle, the Han army's 50,000 infantrymen blocked 100,000 Wuhuan cavalry and 100,000 Yuan army cavalry under Yan Liang here for two days and two nights, which eventually led to the annihilation of their entire army and indirectly affected the
Yi's 300,000 infantry troops.
Yi sighed and did not dare to stay. He crossed the trench and continued northward, finally arriving at Wucheng on the evening of the next day.
The sun has not yet set, and it is not time to close the city gates, but the four gates of Wucheng are tightly closed, and there are swords and guns on the city top, as if facing a formidable enemy. However, the originally strong city wall is now indeed riddled with holes.
It is a masterpiece left by the trebuchets of the Han army and has not been repaired to this day.
Yi stood under the city and shouted loudly: "Open the city gate quickly, someone is Yi!"
On the top of the city, Lu Kuang leaned out half of his body and took a closer look. He saw that the ragged man was indeed Yi. He was shocked and asked repeatedly: "General, how did you end up like this?"
Yi sighed and said, "It's hard to say anything. Let me go in first and then talk."
Although Yi has many differences with other civil and military personnel, he is very good to the soldiers at the bottom. Lu Kuang used to work under him when he was a primary school student, so Yi is kind to him. Seeing Yi's appearance
Facing the tragic scene, Lu Kuang hurriedly asked someone to find a new suit of clothes for Yi to put on, and prepared a banquet to welcome him.
Yi was indeed starving and devoured everything, leaving Lu Kuang dumbfounded. After having enough wine and food, Yi stroked his belly and said, "General Lu, please arrange a fast horse. I need to go see my lord immediately!"
Lu Kuang advised: "General, you are looking tired now. Why don't you stay here for a night and set out again at dawn tomorrow? And there will be something you don't know whether to say or not?"
Yi waved his hand and said: "I have something important to report to my lord, and I don't dare to stay here for a long time. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Lu Kuang hesitated for a moment and said: "The general heard rumors yesterday that General Gao Lan has been thrown into prison by the lord. I am afraid that the lord will be angry. It will be inconvenient for the general to go at this time."
Yi Jing asked: "Do you know what crime General Gao committed?"
Lu Kuang shook his head and said: "The last general was guarding Wucheng and didn't dare to leave lightly. I don't know what happened. Even this news was quietly told to me by my younger brother when he escorted the grain and grass here. There shouldn't be any
Fake."
Yi frowned and said: "Is it because we were defeated? But this defeat was all because Yan Liang was stubborn and did not listen to advice. Do you have any news about Yan Liang?"
Lu Kuang shook his head very decisively and said: "I have never heard of this."
The news that Yan Liang died in the rebellion had not spread yet, so Lu Kuang naturally did not know Yan Liang's whereabouts. He thought that Yi was asking whether Yan Liang was in prison.
Yi thought for a while and said: "Forget it, I can't control so much now. I'll figure it out when I meet my lord."
Lu Kuang saw that he could not persuade Yi, so he had to let him leave the city. Wucheng was originally a peripheral city of Ye City, and it was also part of the entire defense system of Ye City. Yi and his personal entourage each got a war horse, so they were naturally faster.
Many of them had already arrived at the gate of Yecheng without moving. Like Wucheng, the gates of Yecheng were also closed. However, Yi was quite prestigious in the Hebei Army. He stood under the city and shouted a few times, and then a sergeant lowered the drawbridge and helped
He opened the city gate.
After entering the city, Yi did not go home. Instead, he rode straight to the largest mansion in Yecheng, Yuan Shao's General's Mansion. The scale of this mansion far exceeded that of the pseudo-imperial palace that Yuan Shao built for Liu Biao.
The decoration inside is even more magnificent.
When they arrived at the General's Mansion, even Yi, who had always been arrogant, could only put down his posture, jump off his horse obediently, explain his identity to the doorman, and then stand outside the gate with his hands lowered.
That disciple actually knew Yi, but as a disciple of General Yuan Shao, his eyes naturally grew to his forehead. What’s more, now that Yi was just a defeated general, he didn’t have a good look towards Yi. The day before yesterday, another defeated general, Gao Lan,
He had just been thrown into prison and was escorted out of the General's Mansion. It was this gatekeeper who was guarding the door at that time. Seeing Yi, the gatekeeper seemed to have seen the second Gao Lan, and couldn't help but gloat about his misfortune. He delayed for a long time.
It was time to report to Yuan Shao.
In the past few days, reports of defeats from the front came one after another. Yuan Shao was in a bad mood and his health was also getting worse. He was lying on a low couch to recuperate. When he heard that Yi had escaped and returned, Yuan Shao sat up from the couch.
, asked: "How do you think he looks?"
Facing Yuan Shao's question, the man didn't dare to talk nonsense. After thinking about it carefully, he bowed and said, "I see that he is neatly dressed, has a rosy complexion, and has a loud voice. He must be living a good life."
Only then did Yuan Shao have a smile on his face, he nodded and said: "That's good, that's good. Quick, please bring in the general."
Only then did the disciple recall the scene where Gao Lan came to see him the day before yesterday. He was startled and ran away crawling on the ground. On that day, Yuan Shao also asked him how Gao Lan looked, and he answered Gao Lan at that time.
Gao Lan was covered in blood and was in a state of embarrassment. As a result, Gao Lan was taken to the prison without much effort. But now Yi came in neatly dressed. He was also a defeated general, but the treatment was not necessarily the same. He did not dare to offend him.
A general whom Yuan Shao valued.
Yi was already waiting outside the door a little impatiently, and then he saw the doorman coming out with a smile on his face. He was arrogant at the front and respectful at the back. He was completely different, which made Yi very surprised. However, Yi had no time to think about this now.
question, and hurriedly entered the General's Mansion.
As soon as he saw his righteousness, Yuan Shao said with a smile on his face: "General, you are finally back. How is it? Yuan's army is safe and sound, right? Where is Yan Liang?"
Yi suddenly lowered his head, with a look of shame on his face, and said: "Come back to my lord, I am incompetent and my three hundred thousand troops have been wiped out. Please punish me. As for General Yan, I don't know his whereabouts either."
Yuan Shao lost his voice and said: "What did you say! The three hundred thousand army was wiped out?"
Yi didn't dare to raise his head, so he could only say humbly: "It's all the fault of the general's incompetence. It's just that the Jingzhou army is really powerful, and our army has no chance of winning in a field battle with it. The general thinks that for the current plan, the lord should have a deep trench and a high fort on one side, and rely on the city
Hold on and send envoys to make peace with Liu Xin as a way to slow down the attack and plan for it later."
Yuan Shao was furious and said: "How can a defeated general have the dignity to make plans here! Come on, put Yi in prison!"
It turned out that when Yuan Shao first listened to the report from that sect, he had high hopes that Yi would be able to escape unharmed. When he saw Yi himself, he was indeed in high spirits and expected that Yi would defeat the Han army. Unexpectedly, he heard three
The ten armies were wiped out, and it was like falling straight from heaven to hell. My mood was extremely bad, how could I still argue with justice?
Several soldiers who looked like wolves and tigers rushed forward and dragged Yi out of the general's mansion, who was screaming for injustice. The disciple was dumbfounded, and then he realized that it turns out that as long as he is a defeated general, no matter how brightly he is dressed, it will not matter.
Insurance, his expression just now was in vain.
Probably to intimidate criminals, all the prisons are almost the same, small, dark, and damp. It was the first time for Yi to be put into a prison, and he was obviously not used to it. He just wanted to discuss with the jailer about changing to a larger cell.
I heard the jailer say viciously: "Yi, when you come in here, don't be too picky. I'll give you a single room to live in. If you piss me off, I'll give you a big shop!"
I have never seen what kind of people these jailers are. Even though those officials are usually aloof, they may fall into their hands one day. Especially these generals who have lost battles. After entering the prison, few can get out.
, they are not afraid anymore.
"Is that a general outside?" Yi still wanted to argue with them, but someone in the cell next door said: "It is a great blessing for you and me to be alive, so why should we care about these villains?"
Yi heard that the person speaking was Gao Lan. Although he didn't have much contact with Gao Lan in normal times, and they even had some dissatisfaction with each other. Now that they were both fallen people, he couldn't help but feel some sympathy for each other. He couldn't help but said loudly: "General Gao Lan said
To be honest, I will not care about these villains. I dare to ask General Gao, why are you put in prison?"
The jailers snorted, locked the cell door, and sneered: "Generals, don't worry. If you have anything to say, please speak slowly. You will have a long time here."
Yi was about to get angry, but he heard Gao Lan sigh and say: "When a tiger falls in Pingyang and is bullied by a dog, there is no need for the general to get angry. To be honest, Gao deserves to be in this situation! Gao has something to ask the general, please."
General, tell the truth."
After listening to Gao Lan's words, Yi Qiang suppressed his anger, cupped his hands and said: "We have already reached this place, so I naturally know everything and say everything."
In fact, there is a wall between the two of them. No matter what actions they make, the other party cannot see them. It is just a matter of habit. Before speaking, they will always make some actions subconsciously.
Gao Lan nodded and said: "General, you have now fought against the Jingzhou Army. In your opinion, if our army and the Jingzhou Army fight openly, who has a greater chance of winning?"
To be honest, Yi was quite dissatisfied with this defeat. He always felt that firstly, Yan Liang made a mistake in his command and fell into the enemy's plan to surround Wei and save Zhao, and secondly, the army ran out of food. Otherwise, given his ability, the Jingzhou army would not have been so easy.
Break the camp he set up. Now after listening to Gao Lan's question, he lowered his head and started thinking seriously. If the two sides really fought openly and honestly, who would have a greater chance of winning?