Chapter 374

Ma Chao was quite proud; in his first battle in the Central Plains, he had made Cao Cao flee in defeat!

He suddenly remembered being defeated by Liu Bei in three moves last time, and the pride in his heart was suppressed again,

"No matter what, I cannot compare to the lord!"

Liu Bei encouraged him a few more times.

Taishi Ci said enviously,

"My lord, when did you practice such good archery? The parabolic shot was actually able to hit the target accurately!"

Liu Bei smiled,

"It was still thanks to Ziyi attracting Cao Ren's attention; otherwise, my arrow wouldn't have been able to achieve merit. Next time there's an opportunity, we can exchange pointers."

Taishi Ci cupped his hands,

"Understood!"

"Husband! Are you okay? I heard Cao Ren fired poisoned arrows at you."

Lu Lingqi rode over, the worry still on her face.

Liu Bei smiled,

"I'm fine. Ziyi and I returned two arrows to him; he won't have a chance to fire cold arrows again."

Lu Lingqi snorted,

"Serves him right!"

Guo Jia rode over,

"My lord, fifteen thousand people from Shouchun have run out."

He lowered his voice,

"My lord, adding the little food they brought, our army's grain is only enough for six days..."

Liu Bei nodded,

"No matter. Notify the people: those willing to go to Guanzhong with me, I will ensure their safety along the way, and once there, I will distribute land to them."

"Understood!"

"My lord, there are still over thirty thousand of Yuan Shu's defeated troops from Shouchun who have also run out. Li Feng and Liang Gang left with over ten thousand troops, while Yue Jiu and Qiao Rui want to defect to you with over thirteen thousand troops."

Liu Bei nodded,

"Good, lead me to see the two of them."

"Yue Jiu, Qiao Rui, join my army. Merit will be rewarded, and faults will be punished. Are you willing?"

The two had heard of Liu Bei's deeds, and this time they had their eyes opened wide. Cao Cao broke into Shouchun City,

Yet Liu Bei was able to crush Cao Cao's sixty thousand army with ten thousand outside the city, which simply stunned them.

Yuan Shu didn't need to be mentioned; he abandoned the city and fled, not caring about their lives or the lives of the people in the city at all.

The two looked at each other and knelt on one knee,

"My lord, your subordinates are willing to give their all until their dying day!"

Liu Bei nodded and accepted the two.

Liu Bei soon integrated these routed troops,

Removing four thousand miscellaneous soldiers and letting them return to the ranks of the people, responsible for daily vigilance and maintaining order.

The remaining nine thousand were considered decent, and he had Yue Jiu, Qiao Rui, and Wu Anguo each lead three thousand.

The team traveled south, and the people, knowing that if they were caught by the Cao Army they would surely be slaughtered, gritted their teeth and persisted.

The team walked until nightfall before stopping to bury pots and cook food.

In the Cao Army camp,

Cao Cao was in a very bad mood; Cao Ren, whom he valued highly, had been shot and killed by Liu Bei!

His sixty thousand army had actually lost to Liu Bei's ten thousand cavalry!

"Disgraceful, hateful!"

"The Eared Thief is shameless! Ma Chao has only the courage of a brute!"

Cheng Yu reported the losses,

"My lord, our army suffered over twenty-three thousand casualties, and of the five thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, only over fifteen hundred remain."

Cao Cao felt his head was about to explode!

He had only suffered such casualties after attacking the city for a month; he hadn't expected such heavy losses in less than a day of fighting Liu Bei outside the city!

This was very embarrassing and very damaging to military morale!

Xun Yu cupped his hands,

"My lord, there are over thirty thousand old and weak left in Shouchun, and the other sixteen thousand have all fled south with Liu Bei."

"Fled south?"

Cao Cao looked at the map,

"Liu Bei intends to go through Lujiang Commandery, pass through Jingzhou, and return to Guanzhong?!"

"No, we must not let Liu Bei take away all the people of Jiujiang Commandery!"

Cao Cao felt terrible; he had lost troops and generals, yet Liu Bei wanted to take away all the people of Jiujiang!

"Xia Hou Dun, Xia Houyuan, Yue Jin, you take sixty thousand troops to pursue and kill Liu Bei!"

Xun Yu cupped his hands,

"My lord, our army's grain is running out..."

Cao Cao waved his hand,

"No matter, there will always be some food in Jiujiang; you must snatch the people back!"

"Report~!"

"My lord, Yanzhou is in an emergency! Lu Bu is attacking Rencheng! Guan Yu is attacking Chen Liu!"

"What?!"

Cao Cao's vision went black, and he almost fainted. He couldn't pursue Liu Bei anymore; he had to rush back to save Yanzhou.

Cheng Yu cupped his hands,

"My lord, our army doesn't need to take too many troops to pursue; ten thousand is enough."

"Ten thousand?"

Cao Cao was somewhat puzzled.

"My lord, Sun Ce's twenty thousand troops have already arrived in Hefei. The people walk slowly, and Liu Bei doesn't have much grain. Our army only needs to constantly harass Liu Bei, making the people walk slower. Without grain, he naturally won't be able to support these people."

Cao Cao nodded,

"Not bad. If Sun Ce pursues as well, perhaps he can keep Liu Bei here."

Cao Cao rose to his full height,

"Xia Hou Dun, Li Dian, you lead ten thousand infantry and cavalry to pursue the people; do not engage in a head-on decisive battle with Liu Bei, just harass them."

"Wenruo, send another letter to Sun Ce, saying that as long as he can kill Liu Bei, I will nominate him as Governor of Yangzhou and General Who Pacifies the East!"

"Understood!"

"Additionally, Liu Xun, the Governor of Lujiang Commandery, is an old acquaintance of mine; have him also besiege Liu Bei, and I will nominate him as Governor of Yangzhou!"

"Understood!"

"The rest of the generals follow me back to Yanzhou!"

That night, Cao Cao called for Xia Houyuan again.

"Miaocai, I heard that the Two Qiaos in Wancheng have long had a reputation for beauty; send men to bring the two of them here."

"Understood!"

(Li Wang Zhao) North of Hefei,

In the camp of Sun Ce's army,

Sun Ce was discussing military affairs with Zhou Yu,

"My lord, this time Yuan Shu abandoned the city and fled; he will surely be deserted by his followers. As long as we control the four commanderies of Jiangdong, we can cross the river to control Jiujiang and Lujiang!"

Sun Ce laughed loudly,

"Having Gongjin to assist me is like having divine help!"

"This time, not only will I defeat Yuan Shu, but I will also keep Liu Bei here!" ===== CHAPTER 375 =====