Chapter 25: Pioneer
For Dong Zhuo, these were just minor episodes. The truly shocking news came from Youzhou.
The battle situation in Youzhou was not optimistic. Liu Yu, the governor who was appointed to quell the rebellion in Youzhou, was defeated by the Yellow Turbans. If Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had not appeared out of nowhere to rescue him, he would have lost his life.
Unlike the original history, Zhang Jue was well prepared, and the Yellow Turbans in Bingzhou and Qingzhou won successive victories. Although they failed to occupy all of Bingzhou because of Lu Bu, they still led their troops to advance into Youzhou together.
Liu Yu was unable to resist the sudden appearance of tens of thousands of opponents, and Lu Zhi, who was suppressing Jizhou, was also put in a passive situation and could only stalemate with the Yellow Turbans.
Dong Zhuo couldn't help laughing when he received the news.
"Hahahaha! God help me!"
Li Ru couldn't help but compliment him: "Congratulations, father-in-law, this is a great thing, a great thing!"
Hua Xiong looked at the interaction between his lord and the military advisor with a puzzled look on his face. He didn't understand why .
"Liu Yu was in charge of pacifying Youzhou, and I pacified Liangzhou. Now it is clear who is better. When I pacify Youzhou and join Lu Zhi in Jizhou, this tremendous achievement will be enough for us to be granted titles of nobility and appointed as prime ministers!"
Guo Hao was also sitting in the big tent. Dong Zhuo seemed to admire him very much and wanted to win him over. He would always bring him along to discuss any meetings.
He followed the crowd and celebrated with the generals, but he didn't care about Dong Zhuo's joy. He said, "You may be promoted to Prime Minister in the future, but it's of no use. You'll be dead anyway."
"Pengju doesn't look well. Is he feeling unwell?" Dong Zhuo couldn't help asking when he saw that Guo Hao looked a little unwell. He liked Guo Hao very much. He was a young talent and looked a little like him when he was young. He was full of admiration for Guo Hao.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Dong. Pengju is just worried. Lord Liu Yu was defeated in the battle. I'm afraid something bad will happen to us if we enter Youzhou!"
Li Ru's eyes lit up. Compared to the reckless men in the Xiliang army, Guo Hao was like a lotus emerging from the mud. He couldn't help but ask, "Then how does Pengju think our army should respond?"
Guo Hao slandered in his heart, how could Li Ru, a strategist who is at least in the top ten in the world, not think of these things, he just wants to test me.
"Fei believes that our army should send two vanguards first, one to clear the way and explore the situation, and the other to contact Lord Liu Yu. With a two-pronged approach, we will surely succeed in one fell swoop."
Li Ru pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "Does Pengju have the confidence to serve as the pioneer?"
Dong Zhuo frowned, not knowing what Li Ru meant, but his long-standing trust made him remain silent.
Guo Hao thought about it and decided that being a pioneer was not a bad thing. Even if he encountered a military general, he could move forward and backward freely.
"We should do our best to kill the bandits to repay the country's kindness."
Li Ru thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Since that's the case, my lord, why don't we march according to Peng Ju's instructions?"
"Very good, let's do as Wen You Pengju said."
"All generals, listen up!" Dong Zhuo had great confidence in his external brain. Although he didn't understand the details, he still began to make arrangements according to Li Ru's suggestions.
"exist"
"Guo Fei will lead our team as the pioneers. Zhang Ji, you will lead our team to contact Liu Yu. We will act according to the signal when the time comes."
“Yes!”
After Dong Zhuo gave the order, he hesitated again.
"Hua Xiong, listen to my orders!"
"I'm here!"
"Pengju is not good at martial arts, you should go with him."
"Yes!" Hua Xiong was a little confused, but military orders could not be disobeyed.
Dong Zhuo's order was somewhat unexpected, and even Li Ru was unable to react.
Military orders were as heavy as mountains. Those who received the orders withdrew and began to integrate their troops, while Hua Xiong followed Guo Hao.
Guo Hao kept looking at Hua Xiong beside him out of the corner of his eye. As the battle that made Guan Erye famous, killing Hua Xiong with warm wine is deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Although the official history says it is Sun Jian, this does not affect Hua Xiong's existence as a general who is beyond a second-rate general.
If Guo Hao and Hua Xiong fight now, Hua Xiong can send Guo Hao to death in just one move.
"I am not good at martial arts, and this battle is entirely thanks to General Hua's efforts!" Guo Hao's words were sincere and heartfelt.
The colorful sedan was carried by everyone. Seeing Guo Hao like this, and coupled with Dong Zhuo's ambiguous attitude, Hua Xiong was also full of goodwill.
For a while, the two of them got along very well.
Guo Hao quickly reorganized the troops and set out on the march.
There were countless refugees along the way. They were unwilling to join the Yellow Turbans, and were not accepted by major cities, so they had to migrate to Bingzhou.
Guo Hao witnessed with his own eyes the scene of refugees eating grass. Even Hua Xiong, a veteran on the battlefield, could not bear to see such tragic scenes.
Guo Hao had no choice but to speed up his advance. Out of sight, out of mind. He hated this feeling of powerlessness.
[System prompt: You have entered Youzhou]
"Let's go, I want to see what the legendary Yellow Turban looks like!"
Guo Hao and his troops had been traveling in Youzhou for only one day when they encountered the Yellow Turbans.
Looking at the densely packed, overwhelming yellow scarves, Guo Hao couldn't help but feel veins bulging on his hands holding the reins.
Even though the people in front of him were just a mob, the huge number still made Guo Hao feel pressured.
Guo Hao put away his sympathy and kindness, and shook his head: "If you are poor, you should take care of yourself. If you are rich, you should help the world. I just want to do things with a clear conscience!"
"kill!"
Guo Hao's face became expressionless. When two armies are facing each other, they must avoid letting their emotions get in the way. Since they have become enemies, they must be killed!
"put!"
At Guo Hao's command, the troops behind him drew their bows together.
A total of 1,300 people were able to fire at the same time, which was not too many, but not too few either. When they landed on the Yellow Turban Army, the effect was outstanding.
The Yellow Turbans without armor were as fragile as a piece of paper in the face of the rain of arrows.
"Change formation, goose formation, release!"
Guo Hao couldn't help but cover his face as he watched the troops struggling to change their formation and then to line up.
His command attribute is too low, and he has no way of using his arms and legs as he wishes. If he encounters a tough opponent, he will probably be shattered at the first touch.
“Swish, swish, swish…swish, swish, swish…”
The sound of arrows breaking through the air drowned out the screams in the distance. The rain of arrows like locusts once again caused considerable casualties.
The morale of the Yellow Turbans, who were once as numerous as clouds, collapsed and they scattered in all directions. They were just refugees who were forced to flee. They could fight when the wind was favorable, but their true colors would be revealed once they suffered heavy casualties.
Guo Hao sneered and said that the real Yellow Turbans were surrounding the cities of Youzhou. How could it be possible to encounter such a large number of Yellow Turbans as soon as entering Youzhou? They were just a group of thugs under the banner of the Yellow Turbans.
In just seven or eight days, Guo Hao defeated dozens of Yellow Turban troops, but all of them were rebelling under the Yellow Turban banner.
Guo Hao even encountered a group of Yellow Turbans disguised as private soldiers from aristocratic families in a county town, who were burning, killing and looting.
Guo Hao was furious. After forcing out the mastermind behind the incident, he executed all these worse-than-pigs-and-dogs guys.
Afterwards they attacked the county town, and after massacring the aristocratic families, they left behind a bunch of Yellow Turban symbols.
Times of chaos are already difficult to endure, and Guo Hao simply cannot tolerate people who take advantage of others' misfortunes.
After venting their anger, they could only use the banner of the Yellow Turbans to cover themselves up. After all, they still had to stay in the Han Dynasty, so necessary cover-up was still necessary.
Guo Hao killed his way through the ranks, his level climbing quietly, even though in most cases it was only the troops behind him who took action. Guo Hao also received a huge amount of experience.
