Chapter 498 Accidents Occur Frequently

Guan Yu listened to Zhang Fei's panicked words and looked at the scattered civilians lying dead on the roadside. He began to feel a rare hesitation in his heart.

He knew that he couldn't think about whether Liu Bei was dead or alive now, otherwise, nothing could be done!

We must assume and confirm that Liu Bei is still alive!

What we need to do now is to find Liu Bei. The key is whether to go to Guangling or look for him locally?

The former might be missed, but staying here is not safe either. What if Yuan Shu's army catches up?

Guan Yu thought about it again and again, gritted his teeth and said: "Third brother, you take half of the troops and stay to look for the eldest brother!"

"But you need to be on guard at all times to see if Yuan Shu's army attacks. You must not fight head-on. If you see that the situation is not good, you must immediately flee to Guangling and meet up with me."

"I will follow the trail of these people and go to Guangling to look for my brother. If I find him, I will come back to pick you up."

Zhang Fei heard this and said, "Don't worry, brother. Leave this to me. You better go to Guangling as soon as possible!"

Guan Yu nodded slightly, then led his men and horses and galloped away.

He led his troops on a march for a day and a night, and his men and horses were exhausted. They had only just managed to enter Guangling for more than a hundred miles.

In order to avoid Cao's army, Guan Yu marched day and night. At this moment, it was just dawn. Seeing that his soldiers were tired, he asked them to hide in the woods to rest for a while. The soldiers quickly leaned against the tree trunks and fell asleep instantly.

Guan Yu, however, took a few personal guards to a high place to check the enemy situation. All he saw was lush greenery everywhere, and he could not see clearly whether there were any enemy troops.

He looked for a while and was about to go back when he saw a figure coming from a far distance.

Guan Yu signaled everyone to be quiet, looked carefully, and found that there were only two people on one horse, one riding the horse and the other holding the reins. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He looked for a while and confirmed that there was no one behind him, then he mounted his horse and rushed towards that place. When he was almost there, the sound of horse hooves startled the other person, and the person walking subconsciously started running.

Guan Yu shouted, "Mi Fang, stop!"

The man was shocked, turned around, and said in disbelief: "General Guan?"

The woman on horseback saw him and quickly dismounted and bowed, saying, "I am glad to see you, General!"

The man was Mi Fang, and the one riding the horse was Liu Bei's concubine, Madam Gan.

Guan Yu was full of doubts, "Madam followed my elder brother to escape, and Governor Mi was in Houqiu, how could we meet?"

"Where are my eldest brother's wife and daughter?"

Mi Fang reluctantly explained a few words, Guan Yu was furious, grabbed Mi Fang by the collar and lifted him up, "The city was lost, it's all your fault, but you actually abandoned my brother's wife and daughter?"

Mi Fang had been running around for two days and was on the verge of collapse. He shouted, "What do you mean I abandoned my wife? It was obviously my wife who didn't want to come with me!"

"With only one horse, what else can I do?"

"I didn't even bring my sister out!"

In fact, what Mi Fang said was not wrong, because under the circumstances at that time, one horse could only carry two people at most, and even if Mi Fang gave up the horse, the two women would not be able to protect themselves.

After much deliberation, Mi Fang decided, for various reasons, to take Madam Gan with him and leave Mi Zhen and Liu Bei's wife and daughter behind.

Now when he thinks about this, although he feels a little regretful, he feels that he did the right thing. Who knew at that time that he would encounter the enemy again?

Maybe only by going separately can we save both sides, and maybe Mi Zhen has been rescued by someone?

However, Mi Fang knew vaguely in his heart that the chances of being in danger if he stayed would be much greater.

But he didn't dare to think about it now. At that time, he could only make this choice. Only he could bring Mrs. Gan out.

Guan Yu was still furious. He lifted Mi Fang up a little, so that Mi Fang had to stand on tiptoe to breathe. He asked coldly, "Then why did you bring Madam Gan out alone?"

Mi Fang's face flushed red, and he was as angry as Guan Yu. He shouted, "There must be a reason. Why don't you ask your wife?"

When Madam Gan saw this, she came over and said softly, "General, calm down. This is all my fault."

"This opportunity was given to me by Madam."

Guan Yu glared, "What did you say?"

"Why is Madam like this?"

Madam Gan lowered her head and said, "Because I am pregnant."

Guan Yu was stunned, and then he understood why Mrs. Liu Bei gave the chance of escape to Mrs. Gan.

Liu Bei was almost forty years old, but still had no male heir.

This is fatal to the lord. Even if he lays a foundation in the future, who will be able to inherit it?

Although Liu Bei's wife was a few years younger than Liu Bei, she only gave birth to one daughter, and that was more than ten years ago. It was obviously difficult for her to have another child.

Moreover, Liu Bei had been displaced all the time. Although he had a concubine, Lady Gan, it was difficult for her to get pregnant under such circumstances, let alone have a son.

Now that Madam Gan is pregnant, if she gives birth to a boy, Liu Bei will have a successor!

Thinking of this, Guan Yu suddenly realized that he had wronged Mi Fang. In this situation, taking Madam Gan away was indeed the best choice!

He loosened his hand, let go of Mi Fang's clothes, opened his mouth, but did not say an apology.

Mi Fang sat on the ground gasping for breath, cursing in his heart, "What the hell!"

I worked so hard for you three brothers, even my own sister got involved, and this is what I get in return?

Now that Liu Bei's life or death is unknown, why are you still putting on such a brave face?

I don't want to play anymore!

But Mi Fang changed his mind and realized that if he wanted to save his life, he still needed Guan Yu's protection, so he had to suppress his anger.

Guan Yu asked, "When you came, did you hear the news about the lord?"

Madam Gan and Mi Fang both shook their heads. Madam Gan hesitated and said, "My husband has been missing since the night of the surprise attack."

"I guess that he must have entered Guangling."

Guan Yu pondered for a moment. What Madam Gan said did make some sense, but he had to see it with his own eyes to feel assured. Thinking of this, he said, "I will send some soldiers to take you to meet up with my third brother."

"I will lead the army to Guangling to look for my brother. If there is still no news after two days, I will come back to find you."

After saying this, Guan Yu led his soldiers and headed towards Haixi in the morning light.

But he didn't know that at this moment, a hundred miles ahead of him, a fierce and bloody battle was gradually drawing in everyone on the battlefield.

Yuan Xi led his men to raid Cao Chun's rear and repelled the two armies. He was then able to lead his men into the camp and meet up with Lu Xun. The two men agreed to find a way to retreat after holding out for half an hour.

However, at this time, Cao's central army arrived at the battlefield.

Yuan Xi looked at the Cao army coming from all over the mountains and plains, and saw that most of them had green cloth wrapped on their heads. He couldn't help but feel a little numb on his scalp. These were soldiers from Qingzhou!

The Qingzhou soldiers are extremely unruly. Although their equipment is not very good, their combat effectiveness is very strong. The current reinforcement team is probably at least 10,000 or 20,000 people!

Cao Cao really invested all his capital.

Yuan Xi smiled bitterly. He still underestimated Cao Cao's determination to kill him. He was the bait, and if he was not careful, he would be eaten by the other party.

He smiled at Lu Xun and said, "Bo Yan, I tricked you this time."

Lu Xun replied: "My lord, you have courage. I will risk my life to accompany you."

"But Xun doesn't want to die so easily. If we plan well, we should be able to delay it for half a day. We can only wait and see if things turn around then."

After hearing Lu Xun's plan, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Bo Yan thinks more carefully than I do."

"Although the opponent will definitely have a strategist, we can indeed take advantage of our ability to command faster than the opponent."

"Then let Boyan take over."

Cao Ren led the central army to join Cao Chun and Le Jin. When he learned that Xiahou Yuan had been defeated, he sighed, "A brilliant talent has suffered the loss of this fierce tiger again."

"But the enemy's camp is crude and cannot be defended at all. Assemble the troops immediately and attack the camp from three directions!"

Soon, the war drums of Cao's army sounded. Cao Ren commanded the central army, Cao Chun led the cavalry, and Le Jin led the infantry, and they encircled the camp.

Suddenly, the scout ahead replied, "The enemy has abandoned the camp!"

Cao Ren rode his horse forward quickly and found that the enemy cavalry and infantry had withdrawn from the village and ran towards Haixi City!

He became anxious because Cao Cao's rear army was the main force and it would take at least several hours for them to arrive. His mission was to surround Yuan Xi, delay the enemy and prevent him from escaping.

If the other party escapes back to Haixi now, won't all our previous efforts be wasted?

Cao Ren was very anxious and shouted, "Chase them!"

He looked at the battlefield, urged his soldiers, bypassed the camp, followed Cao Chun's cavalry, and chased after the Youzhou army.

At this time, at the back of the battlefield, Xun You was riding his horse breathlessly, and just barely arrived at the battlefield.

Cao Hong marched day and night and had no time to take care of those who fell behind. Xun You, as the military advisor, rode a horse, but his riding skills were not as good as those of the generals, so he was also left behind.

Xun You arrived at the battlefield more than an hour later than Cao Ren's main force. At this time, Cao Ren had already led his army to launch a surprise attack. Xun You saw the battlefield situation from afar, his face suddenly changed, and he shouted: "Not good."

"Hurry up and tell Zixiao to be careful of the empty camp!"

However, it was too late. The people sent by Xun You had not arrived yet. With an explosion, the Youzhou military camp, which should have been deserted and everyone had retreated, was crowded with countless people who directly attacked Cao Ren's rear army!

Xun You watched from afar and sighed repeatedly. The speed at which the other side mobilized soldiers and issued orders was much faster than his side, so even if he saw the problem in time, he would not have enough time to pass the orders to the battlefield!

The Youzhou army arrived at night and hid in the city. Because it was dark, Cao Ren could not tell how many soldiers there were in the Youzhou army. He only saw many people running away. In a panic, he made a misjudgment and was caught in the trap!

The rear army was completely unprepared and suffered heavy losses under the all-out attack of the well-armored Youzhou army. Cao Ren was heartbroken and quickly ordered Cao Chunle to come to the rescue.

However, Cao Chun was entangled by the Youzhou cavalry. If Le Jin wanted to go around the camp, he would need to make a big circle and could not do so in a hurry!

Cao Ren looked up and saw that the Youzhou army that had escaped had now all returned and were rushing towards him. He was immediately shocked and quickly ordered his soldiers to fight and retreat. No matter how brave he was, he would not rush forward to die, as the other side was obviously planning to behead their main general!

He ordered his soldiers to form a formation with shields and slowly retreated, blocking several attacks from the Youzhou army. When he was about to meet up with Le Jin, he heard several loud bangs, and several large holes were blown open in Cao's army formation, allowing the Youzhou soldiers to rush in.

Cao Ren didn't understand what was going on, so he had to retreat quickly. As a result, the formation became more and more chaotic. The enemy archers shot arrows at him desperately, and soon Cao Ren's mount was shot to death.

Cao Ren was hit by an arrow on the shoulder. Seeing the enemy approaching to within dozens of steps, he thought to himself that he was really doomed this time!

Just when he was at his wit's end, another horn sounded, and Xun You ordered the thousands of infantrymen he brought with him to charge into the battlefield and attack the rear troops of the Youzhou soldiers who came out of the camp. The two sides immediately engaged in a chaotic fight.

The pressure on Cao Ren's rear army was immediately relieved. He quickly found the weak point in the encirclement and led his troops to break out at the risk of his life to meet up with Xun You.

Yuan Xi and Lu Xun returned to the camp, thinking to themselves what a pity. No one had expected that Cao's army had a reserve army!

In fact, they didn't know that this was just a coincidence. If Xun You hadn't fallen behind, Cao's army would have been surrounded.

But then again, even if Xun You was present, Cao Ren might not have fallen into the trap. There were too many factors on the battlefield, and both sides were scheming against each other. No one could see the outcome behind the fog.

Lu Xun looked through the telescope and saw that the retreating Cao army quickly reorganized its troops and said, "The enemy generals are experienced in military operations and I'm afraid they also have some good counselors."

"This is a bit troublesome."

Xun You was talking to Cao Ren about the situation. Cao Ren listened and ordered someone to remove the arrowhead from his shoulder and bandage the wound. He gritted his teeth and put on his armor. Xun You saw this and said, "General, don't force yourself."

Cao Ren shook his head and said, "The envoy has issued a special order. This is a serious matter and no mistakes can be made. If the ferocious tiger escapes, how can I face the envoy?"

While the two were talking, another spy came to report, "General, the Youzhou army has begun to retreat again!"

The two looked at each other in silence, cursing in their hearts. They thought that the other party might have seen through their intention and was pulling them back and forth!

The key is that we have to chase them, this battle is so disgusting!