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Chapter 891: The Fall of Yuan Shao
🕑 Added 2024-10-24 07:01:10 +0000 UTC"Don’t harm my lord!" Jiang Yiqu and Gao Gan shouted.
After Fa Zheng left Ye City, Jiang Yiqu became concerned about Yuan Shao, so he followed Fa Zheng, leading five hundred cavalry toward Yanzhou.
It wasn’t that Ye City lacked soldiers, but Jiang Yiqu didn’t want to slow down the marching speed. The five hundred cavalry rushed through various places like Guantao, Wei County, and Yuancheng, preparing along the way. Jiang Yiqu coordinated with local forces, saving much time, and finally arrived at the border between Jizhou and Yanzhou just in time.
However, it wasn’t just Jiang Yiqu's arrival that caused Yuan Shao’s emotional outburst. What truly reassured Yuan Shao was the presence of his kin.
Xun Chen had secretly mobilized the northern Bingzhou wolf cavalry, and if only Gao Gan were stationed in Bingzhou, it might have gone unnoticed. However, Gao Gan’s younger cousin, Gao Rou, had recently come to join him!
Though Xun Chen's plan was secretive, the large number of troops being moved made it easy for Gao Rou, who would later become a high-ranking official in Wei, to detect the flaws. Despite his youth and inexperience compared to Xun Chen, Gao Rou quickly saw through the scheme.
Since Gao Rou had come to join Gao Gan, he wanted to demonstrate his abilities and promptly exposed the situation.
Upon learning this, Gao Gan’s first reaction wasn’t to suspect a rebellion from Xun Chen, but to realize that Yuan Shao was in trouble. He immediately gathered the Bingzhou border troops, entrusted the border defenses to Zang Hong, and rushed toward Yanzhou.
Years ago, Gao Gan had interacted with Zang Hong in Chenliu. Zang Hong was known for being firm and unwavering in his decisions, which made his words highly trustworthy.
Gao Gan led his troops out of Bingzhou, and while passing through Wei Commandery, he encountered Jiang Yiqu. After both shared their concerns, they were shocked and immediately gathered their forces to rush to Yanzhou for rescue.
Though Gao Gan’s abilities were average, Jiang Yiqu was exceptionally skilled. Historically, after Yuan Shao’s defeat at Guandu, it was Jiang Yiqu who safely escorted Yuan Shao to Liyang amidst chaos. After arriving in Liyang, Yuan Shao’s army scattered, and with no troops to command, Yuan Shao nearly collapsed. It was Jiang Yiqu who, after learning the truth about the battle, managed to regroup tens of thousands of Yuan Shao's defeated soldiers.
This gave Yuan Shao enough forces to continue the fight against Cao Cao. Although Yuan Shao was ultimately defeated, it's undeniable that without Jiang Yiqu, Yuan Shao’s situation would have been far worse after Guandu.
In other words, while Jiang Yiqu may not have been a great warrior, he was an excellent commander capable of earning the loyalty and trust of his soldiers.
Guan Yu, Hua Xiong, and Zhao Yun exchanged glances, each showing a fierce determination. Though they had been fighting for hours and their forces were dwindling, with the arrival of Yuan Shao’s reinforcements, the three knew retreat was not an option. They resolved to hold on long enough for Liu Bei's scouts to discover their situation.
"Charge!" Guan Yu roared, his figure becoming a blur of blue and red light as he charged toward Yuan Shao.
Hua Xiong and Zhao Yun spurred their horses forward, rushing toward Yuan Shao's forces. At this point, words were useless—if they couldn’t take down Yuan Shao, all would be lost!
Even with the deaths of Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Yan Liang, and Ju Yi, as long as Yuan Shao lived, he could still regroup and resist, making things difficult for Liu Bei in the long run. This was something neither Liu Bei nor Chen Xi wanted.
Standing on the border between Jizhou and Yanzhou, Li You had been preparing for this moment for a long time. When Ju Shou had sent him a message, Li You had known that the time for the final showdown was approaching. Since then, he had been preparing to construct a final defensive line.
Li You was absolutely confident in Liu Bei’s victory. His task now was to ensure that Yuan Shao’s last breath was snuffed out.
There were many escape routes from Yanzhou to Jizhou, but Li You had carefully chosen Yuan Shao's most likely retreat path and made extensive preparations.
"It’s time for Yuan Shao’s downfall. This is your opportunity to integrate into our forces and earn your merit," Li You said, turning to a middle-aged man with graying hair, who carried a large bow and a simple broadsword.
"As you wish," the man replied confidently. Though his hair was streaked with gray, his complexion was ruddy, and he no longer hesitated—he had found his path and was no longer lost.
He slowly drew a short spear made of fine iron from his back and notched it onto his bowstring. He poured internal energy into the spear, but no aura leaked out—a display of skill that surpassed even archers like Lü Bu, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci.
"Can you achieve what I’ve asked?" Li You asked without even glancing toward Yuan Shao. He knew that once this arrow was loosed, only someone like Lü Bu could block it, or Zhao Yun could dodge it. Otherwise, any other internal energy experts caught off guard would likely die—this was an ambush from a top-tier warrior!
"I can!" the man replied confidently. With that, he released the bowstring, and Li You watched as Yuan Shao's chest was pierced by a spear, leaving a wound the size of a bowl. Yuan Shao's body seemed to be dragged forward by some unseen force, hurtling toward Guan Yu and the others.
"Unless the divine healer Hua Tuo is here, there’s no saving him. An arrow with sixty percent of my internal energy, even through the suppression of the clouds, is more than enough to kill most internal energy experts," the man said as he slowly put away his bow.
In the past, this man might have claimed that no one could save his target, but after witnessing Hua Tuo’s miraculous healing methods, he had become more cautious.
Li You raised an eyebrow, unconcerned. By his estimation, Yuan Shao was already dead. The unconventional archery technique used was more than enough to kill most rare talents, including top civil officials. The arrow was guaranteed to hit its target within the opponent’s line of sight.
"Let’s go. It wouldn’t be good if we got blocked in here," Li You said casually, preparing to leave. While he held no grudge against this level of archery skill, he knew such actions could only be done once. Using an elite warrior for near-assassination tasks like this was beneath their dignity.
With a casual flick of his sleeve, Li You left with an air of indifference, like a figure leaving behind their name after completing a deed. But back at Yuan Shao’s camp, chaos erupted. A single arrow had come out of nowhere and killed Yuan Shao, and the force behind it even carried his body toward Guan Yu's forces.
As Guan Yu prepared to charge, he saw Yuan Shao’s body hurtling toward him and instinctively reached out to catch it. Feeling the tremendous force, he realized Yuan Shao was dead and let out a shocked cry: "Retreat!"
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