He's doing this on purpose to annoy me!
Yuan Shao thought about it again and his anger surged.
Looking at the wooden sign in front of him, and the two characters "Liu Wei" on it, both old and new grudges surged into his heart.
He drew his sword, spurred his horse forward, and prepared to cut down the wooden sign.
To everyone's surprise, the soil beneath the wooden sign was not difficult to work with at all; with his chop, the entire soil was turned upside down.
Then a golden substance gushed out, and Yuan Shao's beloved sword was covered in it!
The stench spread rapidly, making people nauseous.
Xu You, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Zhu Ling, who were standing beside Yuan Shao, hurriedly covered their mouths and noses, their faces turning pale.
Yuan Shao immediately understood what was going on!
It turned out that the mound contained the excrement produced by Liu Wei and his group last night, which had been covered with a layer of fresh soil and a wooden sign was placed on top.
Liu Wei had predicted that Yuan Shao would come in person to cut down the wooden sign, and he would use some kind of trick to annoy Yuan Shao.
Kill his beloved general, capture his beloved son, take away the Zhen family, harass them at night, and throw themselves into the ground during the day!
Yuan Shao came from a family of scholars and officials, spanning four generations of high-ranking officials. How could he have suffered such an insult?
Helpless, he threw away his beloved sword and shouted angrily, "Liu Wei, you scoundrel, you're disgusting and shameless!"
"A prince of such high status resorts to such despicable means! I swear I will tear him to pieces!"
"Chase him! Chase him! Even if you have to chase him all the way to Youzhou, you must capture him!"
Yuan Shao hadn't slept well last night and was in a bad mood. Today, he encountered a bunch of shit, which made him even angrier.
At a command, three cavalry units, totaling over five thousand riders, swept across the plain, raising clouds of dust like three black dragons rolling away.
......
"Keep up, keep up! Don't fall behind!"
Three miles south of the vast Baiyangdian Lake, Liu Wei and Wang Fangyi led a hundred guards to bring up the rear.
Five miles away, military flags fluttered and horses' hooves thundered.
Yuan Shao's three cavalry units sped along at lightning speed and caught up with them!
Early this morning, Liu Wei instructed Lu Jianxing to lead the Zhen family ahead and enter Zhuojun territory as soon as possible.
Ditch all those carriages and such, and travel light.
Liu Wei, holding Yuan Xi bound hand and foot, waited for Wang Fangyi's return.
Although the guards had managed to catch up on their afternoon nap, they were exhausted after a night of constant harassment and raids on the main camp.
About half an hour later, the guards withdrew from the Yuan family camp before Yan Liang and Wen Chou arrived and returned to Liu Wei's side.
When Liu Wei learned that Yuan Shao still had Yan Liang and Wen Chou under his command, he specifically instructed Wang Fangyi not to linger in battle.
If we get entangled with Yan Liang and Wen Chou, we will suffer heavy losses.
These two are exceptionally strong, each one like Pan Feng's personal guard, and they would be no match for each other in a one-on-one fight.
However, after being provoked several times, Liu Wei was convinced that Yuan Shao would definitely come after them.
What we need to do now is to run away as quickly as possible and lure Yuan Shao into the reed marshes of Baiyangdian.
So, after Liu Wei and Wang Fangyi arrived, he hurriedly escorted Yuan Xi on his way.
At this moment, Yuan Xi realized that the man in front of him, who was even more handsome than himself, was none other than Liu Wei, the current prince of the Han Dynasty, the King of Yunzhong, and the General Who Guards the North. He fell silent, filled with fear.
He knew that falling into Liu Wei's hands would likely not end well.
He had no chance of taking the Zhen family's daughter.
Although the Yuan family was very powerful and had many protégés and former subordinates.
But they were facing the current imperial family.
Even now that Yuan Shao has become the governor of Ji Province.
However, compared to Liu Wei, who controlled the Hetao and Hexi regions and had just taken over as governor of Youzhou, the Yuan family seemed to be much weaker.
Moreover, it cannot be done openly, as that would be treason!
Therefore, when Yuan Xiyi learned that it was Liu Wei, he had already shrunk considerably.
He saw Liu Wei's men constantly provoking Yuan Shao, and Yuan Xi became even more worried about his father's safety, but he didn't know what to do.
However, Yuan Xi saw the approaching iron cavalry of Ji Province, and his hope was rekindled.
The newly established cavalry unit under Yuan Shao consisted of elite soldiers from Yan and Zhao, and was commanded by renowned Hebei generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou.
Even if Liu Wei had three heads and six arms, how could he possibly defeat them with only a hundred guards and forty or fifty burdens from the Zhen family?
It seems like I have a chance to get out of this predicament!
"Report!"
Just as Liu Wei and his group were hurrying along and about to enter the vast reed marshes, a member of the Imperial Guard came galloping towards them.
"My lord, Lieutenant Li Su's archers are in position, and Commandant Zhao Yun's cavalry have arrived on the battlefield. All incendiary materials have been prepared, and we are just waiting for the enemy to arrive!"
The Imperial Guards reported loudly.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi's expression changed drastically.
Liu Wei really did set up an ambush here!
Looking at the vast expanse of dry, white reeds, Yuan Xi seemed to see his father and his cavalrymen struggling in the flames, turning into charred remains.
Yuan Xi wanted to escape to report the news.
"Heh, you heard everything? Are you thinking of going to report it?"
Liu Wei waved for the Imperial Guards to leave, then turned and saw Yuan Xi's terrified eyes, and said with a half-smile.
"King of the Clouds, my father was a high-ranking official in charge of a region and an important minister of the court. How could you kill him so casually?"
Knowing he couldn't escape, Yuan Xi could only retort angrily when Liu Wei questioned him, "Besides, I'm just going to the Zhen family to ask for a marriage proposal, you don't have to kill me!"
“I never said I was going to kill you. I sent Xu You to deliver a message to your father, asking him to come and negotiate.”
"He's brought so many troops with him; where's the sincerity in negotiating?"
"Therefore, I intend to fight until he is willing to negotiate in good faith."
After Liu Wei finished speaking, he ignored Yuan Xi.
The journey of three miles was over in the blink of an eye. Liu Wei had Wang Fangyi escort Yuan Xi, and the entire guard battalion stood with their backs to the reeds.
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