Chapter 550

Yecheng,

Yuan Shao seemed to have aged ten years all at once, his hair turning gray.

This disastrous defeat in Hedong caused his grand ambitions to instantly dissipate into nothingness, and his health also deteriorated day by day.

"I regret not listening to Tian Feng's words; to actually go to Hedong to stalemate with Liu Bei!"

Xu You thought inwardly.

"It's a pity Tian Feng cannot hear this."

Just as Yuan Shao returned, Feng Ji slandered Tian Feng, who was in prison, reporting to Yuan Shao that Tian Feng clapped and laughed upon hearing of the lord's defeat.

Could Yuan Shao tolerate this? He killed Tian Feng directly.

Guo Tu rushed in.

"My lord, Chunyu Qiong has been killed, and Gao Lan has also been captured by Liu Bei's army; only over forty thousand of our troops escaped back."

Yuan Shao was overcome with grief; a few months ago, his two-hundred-thousand-strong army and hundreds of thousands of laborers, combined with Cao and Sun's forces, were known as an eight-hundred-thousand-strong army, and now they had vanished into thin air!

This battle had directly wiped out all the efforts he had made over the past few years!

Guo Tu cupped his hands.

"My lord, Young Master Yuan Shang covered the army's retreat, but his whereabouts are unknown, and he has not returned yet."

Yuan Tan was overjoyed; if his father's precious son died, no one would compete with him for the position.

"What? My Shang'er hasn't returned?!"

Yuan Shao's vision went black, and he fell backward!

"Six five zero" Xu You hurriedly supported him.

"My lord, do not worry; the young master has his own heavenly protection and should be fine."

Cao Cao had already led his forty-plus thousand men out of Hulao Pass and returned to Xuxian.

This time he had sent out one hundred and fifty thousand troops, and adding Xia Houyuan's losses, he had also lost over one hundred thousand, leaving him severely weakened.

Fortunately, most of the laborers and grain were provided by Yuan Shao.

Le Jin and Xia Hou Dun also ran back.

These forty thousand troops were his most elite, so his foundation remained.

He also took in Military Sima Lang's family.

"The eight talents of Sima; this Military Sima Fang is truly capable of producing offspring, and every one of them has become a talent."

Military Sima Yi, who was in the ranks, was inquiring about Zhang Chunhua.

"Young Master, with the chaos of war, I don't know if the person sent to notify Miss Chunhua met her."

Military Sima Yi frowned; although he had run away first, which was a bit unkind, it was also understandable, as rogue soldiers don't reason.

"I heard that Zhang Chunhua is beautiful and a woman of superior intelligence; she should have been able to escape."

What Military Sima Yi did not expect was,

Zhang Chunhua not only escaped the rogue soldiers but also found herself a partner countless times better than him...

"Brother Sima, what are you thinking about?"

The young Cao Pi drove his horse over; he and Military Sima Yi got along quite well, and the two seemed to have quickly become good friends.

Military Sima Yi cupped his hands.

"Young General, your subordinate is thinking about my wife, who is still in the midst of the rogue soldiers and has not yet crossed the threshold."

Cao Pi sighed.

"Liu Bei's army is brutal; I don't know what happened to her. No matter, when we reach Xuxian, my father can arrange another marriage for you."

Military Sima Yi was naturally grateful.

Liu Bei sat in command in Wenxian, and the troops pursuing the routed army returned one after another.

The first to arrive was Zhang Chunhua's father, Zhang Wang, who had once served as the Magistrate of Suyi.

He was excited; he had originally only intended to marry his daughter to the young and talented Military Sima Zhongda of the commandery.

He didn't expect that by a twist of fate, his daughter would actually latch onto the world-shaking Lord Xuande.

Especially since this time Liu Bei had defeated the siege of the three warlords, he already had the hidden momentum to contend for the world!

"Then my daughter will be an imperial concubine in the future?!"

As for Military Sima Yi, he had long been thrown to the back of Zhang Wang's mind.

After all, the Sima family was only a powerful clan in Henei, far too inferior!

Liu Bei laughed.

"Old Man Zhang is a famous scholar of Henei; I intend to appoint you as the Governor of Henei Commandery; are you willing?"

Zhang Wang was naturally willing.

"Thank you, my lord; I will definitely devote my life to the cause!"

Zhang Wang admonished Zhang Chunhua to be sure to serve Lord Xuande well!

Zhang Chunhua's mouth twitched; she had already tried her best, but her strength was limited...

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, Ma Chao, and others returned with troops, capturing another thirty thousand routed soldiers and fifty thousand laborers.

There was still a lot of grain transported by Yuan Shao on the road in Henei, which just happened to solve Liu Bei's urgent need.

Xun Gongda praised him with admiration.

"My lord truly planned far ahead, taking in Zhang Wang's daughter to win the hearts of the Henei scholar-official families!"

Pang Tong also praised him.

"Now that the rogue soldiers in Henei have been basically cleared out by my lord, and you have taken in a Henei woman, our occupation of Henei is now justified!"

Liu Bei nodded; after the great victory, he indeed had the idea of expanding his defensive line to the east.

"Order Lu Xun to lead troops and civilians to Luoyang for garrison farming, and transfer Huo Jun to be the garrison general of Hulao to guard Hulao Pass."

"Appoint Jia Kui as the Governor of Emperor Hongnong Commandery to build up Emperor Hongnong."

"Understood!"

Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu.

"Yunchang, the future great battle will be in Hebei; I appoint you as General Who Pacifies the East to lead troops to garrison Huaixian, the seat of Henei Commandery, and keep an eye on the changes in Jizhou at all times."

"Yes, Big Brother."

"Xu Shu, Xu Sheng, and Guan Hai will stay behind to assist you."

He did not have Guan Yu garrison Zhaoge, which was closer to Yecheng, because he did not want to provoke Yuan Shao's nerves too much.

Liu Bei also took it upon himself to arrange marriages for Guan Yu and Xu Shu with the concubine daughters of the Wang and Lü families of Henei, causing the Henei scholar-official families to quickly gather under Liu Bei's banner.

Soon, Wenxian was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, bustling with activity, and the Henei scholar-official families gathered in Wenxian.

Liu Bei took in Zhang Chunhua in Wenxian, collected the share money from the Henei Commandery scholar-official families, and drank and chatted happily with everyone.

The Henei scholar-official families also sincerely wanted to seek refuge with Liu Bei; in this chaotic world, without some backing, it was truly too hard to get by!

Yuan Shao had already been defeated by Liu Bei and would likely decline rapidly.

Cao Cao had also suffered a disastrous defeat and was even less likely to be able to care about Henei Commandery.

Zhang Chunhua's skin was flushed red, and like a kitten, she curled up in Liu Bei's arms, acting coquettishly.

"Husband, I feel like I'm in a dream."

"I knew you were a great hero of the world before, but I never expected that I would have the chance to marry you... and you are still my benefactor, hehe."

Liu Bei laughed.

"Then why don't you repay your benefactor?"

Liu Bei whispered something in Zhang Chunhua's ear.

Zhang Chunhua's face flushed red.

"Alright then, if my strength isn't enough, I'll make up for it with effort."