"Report~~" The soldiers rushed in, "Your Majesty, please report urgently from the south. The Chu army's light cavalry has come out and is heading towards Jixian. The vanguard has passed Liangxiang.
Liu Bei was shocked when he heard this urgent report.
Liangxiang is located between Zhuoxian County and Jicheng, only a few dozen miles away from Jicheng. The Chu army's light cavalry is dispatched, and it may not take half a day to reach Jicheng.
Liu Bei was very aware of the current situation. Yan Liang sent 10,000 cavalry first, not to surround Jicheng, but to block his way of escaping from the city.
"Prime Minister, I should..." As usual, whenever he encountered difficulties, Liu Bei subconsciously wanted to ask Zhuge Liang for help.
Before he could finish his words, Liu Bei stopped abruptly and remembered with embarrassment that Zhuge Liang had already become a prisoner of the Chu army.
"What should I do? What should I do?"
Liu Bei was so anxious that he had no choice but to summon the remaining civil and military forces to discuss the matter.
After a while, several civil servants and generals came to pay their respects in a deserted manner.
Sun Qian's military skills are inferior to that of Sun Qian, and the only generals are Hao Zhao and Chen Dao. Another military general, Han Meng, has been sent to Dai County to recruit troops.
Thinking about the glory days when talents were at their peak, but now, there are only these three available people left around him, Liu Bei suddenly felt lonely in his heart.
"The Chu army's light cavalry has come out, and they will reach Jixian in less than half a day. Now the Han Dynasty has reached a critical point. How should I deal with it, dear friends, you can tell me freely." Liu Bei looked around the crowd and said with a heavy expression.
"Your Majesty, I think we might as well avoid going to Daijun, which is connected to Bingzhou. We may rely on Sima Yi's troops and fight against the Yan bandits again," Chen Dao added.
Sima Yi?
Only then did Liu Bei remember that Sima Yi still occupied Bingzhou and still had tens of thousands of powerful soldiers under his command. If he had these tens of thousands of soldiers, he could indeed fight against the danger of Bingzhou.
But Liu Bei's gloomy face immediately gritted his teeth, full of hatred.
Sima Yi was named a Hanchen, but in fact he had already dominated one side. He refused to obey Liu Bei's orders. Otherwise, he would not have sat back and watched the tigers fight. Seeing him losing troops and territory, he did not send troops to help.
"Sima Yi's ambition and treasonous self-reliance have become obvious. If Your Majesty avoids Daijun, I am afraid that not only will I not be able to recruit Sima Yi's help, but I will fall into the hands of that Sima Yi, just like Xiandi back then, and become his puppet."
Sun Qian spoke in a deep voice and opposed Chen Dao's plan on the spot.
Liu Bei's heart trembled and he shuddered. As soon as Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, was mentioned, he immediately gave up the idea of attaching himself to Sima Yi.
Thinking about Liu Xie's life as a puppet in the hands of Cao Cao for more than ten years, Liu Bei would rather go to the grasslands outside the Great Wall to pick up horse manure than become a puppet.
There was no need to think too much. Liu Bei rejected Chen Dao's proposal on the spot.
Then Sun Qian took advantage of the situation and said: "In my opinion, Your Majesty would rather lead the existing troops, abandon Jixian, and retreat directly to Changli County. Join forces with the Goguryeo people, attack from the east and west, and defeat Liaodong in one fell swoop, seizing it as a new foundation." "
Sun Qian's words lifted Liu Bei's spirits, as if he suddenly saw hope in despair.
Liaodong is in danger of the Liao River, and the terrain is far and dangerous. If we can capture it and rely on the help of the Goguryeo people, we can indeed accomplish something.
Moreover, the Chu army's foundation in Liaodong is basically unstable, so if he personally conquers it, he may not be able to win it.
"The Goguryeo people have been coveting Liaodong for a long time, and they may not sincerely cooperate with us. Moreover, Lu Meng is very resourceful. With the current strength of our army, even if we join forces with Goguryeo, we may not be able to win Liaodong. In my opinion, it is better to defend Jixian. Waiting for the times to change.”
Hao Zhao opposed withdrawing eastward and insisted on holding on to Jixian County.
"Liyang, Yecheng, and even Yi Jing cannot be defended. How can a mere Jicheng withstand Chu's siege from all sides? General Hao, don't be ridiculous." Sun Qian said sarcastically.
Hao Zhao said boldly: "The previous cities were lost because of their inability to defend them. If your majesty can make my ministers fully responsible for defending the cities, not to mention the Chu army's more than 200,000 soldiers and horses, even if he has a million troops, I will definitely be able to defend the city." Keep the city intact."
Hao Zhao was extremely confident, patting his chest and boasting about Haikou.
Hao Zhao was young, energetic and courageous, but Liu Bei did not have the courage to put all his wealth and life on this young general.
Regarding Hao Zhao's proposal, Liu Bei was silent and did not express his position for a long time.
After a long time, Liu Bei sighed, "It is too risky to hold on to Jicheng. Once we fail, the Han Dynasty will be destroyed. It is safer to retreat eastward to Changli, seize Liaodong as our home, and make a comeback."
"His Majesty……"
"No need to say more, let's just make it this way. Let's prepare quickly. We will leave the city in an hour. We must leave the city before the Chu army's cavalry arrives." Liu Bei made a decisive decision to abandon the city and retreat eastward.
Hao Zhao had no choice but to sigh secretly.
At this moment, a soldier rushed into the hall and exclaimed: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. A Chu army cavalry appeared in the southeast, only a few miles away from Jicheng."
"What!" Liu Bei was so shocked that he almost fell down from the couch, "Didn't the Chu army just pass through Liangxiang? How could they reach Jicheng so quickly? How is this possible?"
After asking about it, I found out that the Chu army was divided into two groups, one taking the Liangxiang Avenue and the other taking the Northeast Road.
Only then did Liu Bei realize with horror that Yan Liang had already expected that he might abandon Jicheng and flee, so he divided his troops into two groups to intercept him.
The arrival of the Chu army immediately plunged Jicheng into an unprecedented panic.
Liu Bei didn't even have time to issue an edict to abandon the city. He didn't even care about his wife and children. He immediately rode out of the city and ran towards the northeast.
Before leaving, Liu Bei ordered Hao Zhao to lead 20,000 troops to defend Jicheng.
Chen Dao and Sun Qian led 20,000 soldiers and horses, hurriedly left the city, and followed Liu Bei to flee in embarrassment.
Not long after Liu Bei left the city, Wen Chou led 10,000 cavalry and killed the Han army who had just escaped from the city, killing nearly 10,000 people.
Liu Bei didn't look back and ran away. Since there was no family to drag him down, Liu Bei escaped very quickly this time. He ran for more than fifty miles and fled to Yuyang in one breath.
Wen Chou didn't know that Liu Bei had abandoned his wife and children and fled. Because Yan Liang's order was only to cut off Jicheng, he retreated his troops after chasing for more than thirty miles.
Not long after, Zhao Yun's 10,000 light cavalry also arrived at Jicheng and joined forces with Wen Chou.
Although the 20,000 light cavalry regiment failed to completely encircle Jixian, they patrolled around the city and immediately intercepted and killed anyone who wanted to leave Jixian.
After the isolation of Jicheng was completed, Wen Chou ordered the scout Pegasus to go south to report the news to Yan Liang.
At this time, Yan Liang had already marched from Liangxiang to the city. More than 200,000 troops were marching towards Jicheng in a mighty manner. The army stretching from north to south could not be seen to the end.
At dusk that day, Yan Liang's army advanced to the foot of Jicheng, and 200,000 troops marched from all sides. Jicheng was completely surrounded.
At this time, by capturing enemy soldiers, Yan Liang learned that Liu Bei had abandoned his wife and children and left the city in a hurry. Before leaving, he left a message, ordering Hao Zhao to lead 10,000 troops to defend Jicheng.
"We were still a step too slow and let Liu Bei escape again." Fazheng sighed.
Yan Liang snorted coldly: "Liu Bei's escape skills are unmatched by anyone in the world. It was expected that he could not be caught this time."
"However, being able to capture Liu Bei's wife and children is a big gain." Yan Liang changed the topic, and a sinister sneer quietly passed through the corner of his mouth.
I heard that Liu Bei's queen, Liu Shi, was born with a beautiful face. Yuan Shao was fascinated by her, and even Liu Bei was fascinated by him.
Yan Liang wanted to see what kind of seductive skills this Liu had.
"Liu Bei left Hao Zhao to guard the city. He was obviously afraid of being pursued by our army, so he used Hao Zhao as an abandoned son to delay our army." Pang Tongyi saw through Liu Bei's intention.
Everyone nodded, feeling ashamed of Liu Bei's insidious methods.
At this time, Wen Chou said with emotion: "Your Majesty, Hao Zhao is just a yellow-haired boy with no reputation. I ask your Majesty to order the city to be surrounded on all sides. I will capture Jicheng in three days."
All the generals looked down on Hao Zhao and asked for a fight one after another.
Yan Liang was not in a hurry to order an attack on the city, and he did not despise Hao Zhao at all.
In history, Hao Zhao once defended Chencang with more than a thousand soldiers and horses, and withstood the attack of Zhuge Liang's 60,000 troops. This man's ability to defend the city is really extraordinary.
Yan Liang admired Hao Zhao's ability to defend the city, but this did not mean that he was jealous of Hao Zhao, but that he admired such a good general and wanted to take him under his command.
Therefore, Yan Liang was not in a hurry to attack the city, but wrote a letter and sent people to Jicheng to recruit Hao Zhao.
At this time, there was panic in Ji City.
When the Han people in the city heard that the Chu army was approaching, they were so frightened that they closed their doors and everyone was terrified. They were afraid that if the Chu army besieged the city for a long time, they would pass through Yecheng and suffer the tragic fate of the Li people.
There was even more chaos in the palace.
It was not until the Chu army completed the siege that the Liu family and the Chen family realized that Liu Bei had abandoned them and escaped alone.
The two girls were frightened, in pain, and in a state of confusion. The other concubines and maids in the palace were also so frightened that they hugged each other and cried, fearing that after the city was broken, they would be ravaged by the Chu army.
Faced with such a panic, Hao Zhao sent troops to defend the city, and at the same time panicked that the emperor was not abandoning Jixian, but was going to Wuhuan to mobilize reinforcements.
At the same time, Hao Zhao also used thunderous means to kill many people in a row to suppress the chaotic situation in the city.
Hao Zhao relied on his outstanding abilities to finally control the situation reluctantly.
At this time, Queen Liu and Concubine Chen in the palace kept sending people to ask where Liu Bei had gone, and asked him to send troops to the palace to strengthen the defense.
"It's not enough to defend the city, how can we divide our troops to protect you women?" Hao Zhao snorted coldly and turned a blind eye to the two empresses' wishes.
Arriving at the south gate, Hao Zhaoyuan looked at the dark Chu camp, frowning deeply, and the confidence in his heart had quietly been compromised.
"If the emperor doesn't leave and holds on with 40,000 soldiers and horses, I still have full confidence. It's a pity that the emperor is so panicked. Now he only leaves me with 10,000 soldiers and horses. I'm afraid this battle will be difficult to fight." Hao Zhao secretly said.
He clenched his fists and sighed.
Just when Hao Zhao was in a heavy mood, he saw a horse from the Chu camp galloping towards him. He arrived in front of the city moat and shouted loudly: "Hao Zhao, the Han general in the city, listen, I am under the orders of the Emperor of Chu. This is unique."
