Sailing into the Bohai Sea with the remnants of the defeated army, Gan Ning looked back in the direction of Jizhou, his fists clenched, and his eyes were full of resentment and remorse.

"General, victory or defeat is a common thing in soldiers, and the general must not blame himself for this, and it is not too late to avenge this revenge in the future." The grizzled adjutant beside him comforted him when he saw this.

"This battle is indeed a certain mistake, the army is almost completely annihilated, and the blame lies with me. It was because I was too careless, underestimated Yuan Benchu, and neglected to prevent this defeat from happening, and it has nothing to do with you. Gan Ning said in a deep voice: "When I return to Jiangdong, I will personally go to ask Your Majesty for my guilt." ”

"General, the blame doesn't lie with you! Who would have thought that Yuan Benchu would be so treacherous, and we are also guilty this time, how can it all be blamed on you, the general. The adjutant said.

"Needless to say, one person does things and one person does things. I am a well-known man, not a person who evades responsibility, this time I admit it! Gan Ning gritted his teeth and said fiercely. He was not an unreasonable person, and when he calmed down, it was already clear in his mind that the other party had clearly set up a plan against his conceited arrogance and adventurous personality. If it weren't for the fact that the other party was caught off guard by the advantage of the ship, I am afraid that this time it would not only be more than 20,000 sailors who were injured, but everyone including him would have been caught in it.

Although he regretted his carelessness, in his heart, his plan this time can be said to be reasonable and expected. The other party felt his character clearly, led the king into the urn, and arranged it very cleverly, I am afraid that he was not dizzy at that time, and the other party's fireboat would also appear on the Zhangshui River and go downstream, although the loss of his army at the time of the fall would not be as heavy as it is now, but it was also embarrassing.

The information was real, the materials were real, and everything he still felt terrified when he thought about it, and there was no flaw at all. At this time, his contempt for Yuan Shao had disappeared, and his heart was half resentful and half admired. is worthy of being the overlord of Hebei, the son of the Yuan family, and the jealous brother of His Majesty, such courage and means are really shocking.

"Perhaps, I also need to find a military advisor with the army." Gan Ning muttered in his heart. It is indeed too much of a loss to march and fight without a military division from the side, even if the other party uses a similar strategy next time, Gan Ning cannot guarantee that he will not be able to fall for it.

Later, Gan Ning led the naval army all the way to the east, directly to the port of Liaodong, preparing to rest for a day or two before retreating to Jiangdong and waiting for Yuan Shu to deal with it. At the same time, Yuan Shu, who was far away in Jiangdong, also learned the news of Gan Ning's defeat, even including many details.

......

The Great Chu is newly established, everything is harmonious, and the imperial capital Jinling City is a peaceful and prosperous image. There was an endless stream of merchants, many of whom looked different from the Han Chinese, mostly from the small countries of southwest Yizhou and the countries of the Western Regions, who spoke strange and unfluent Chinese, and walked between the markets and shops in the city with a kind and respectful attitude. The people are all ruddy-faced, looking positive and full of yearning for the future.

In the grand palace in the middle of Jinling City, the civil and military forces of the Great Chu gathered here to hold a regular meeting once every seven days. At this time, an urgent military intelligence letter from Liaodong arrived.

"What a Yuan Benchu! is worthy of being a certain brother, and he really has courage. There is also Xu Ziyuan, who always thought that he was just a villain who was greedy for money and had no virtue, but now it seems that this is just his disguise, and this person is not an easy person! Being able to grasp Gan Ning's weakness and defeat it is really impressive. Yuan Shu, who learned about the battle of Zhangshui, couldn't help but feel no anger, but said with emotion in a good mood.

Seeing the news of Gan Ning's defeat, Yuan Shu did not show the slightest anger. The loss of more than 20,000 troops was insignificant to him, and he could easily replenish it. But being able to teach Gan Ning, a reckless man, made Yuan Shu a little happy, so he sent a letter of thanks to Yuan Shao, thanking him for educating Gan Ning for himself. Moreover, this battle also exposed some hole cards for Yuan Shao, which can be said to be a lot of gains for Yuan Shu.

"Your Majesty, according to the report from the hidden son in Hebei, this battle of Zhangshui was handed over by Yuan Shao to Xu You's command, Xun Chen assisted from the side, and Chun Yuqiong and others will carry it out." Guo Jiadao: "Although the general of the town army is mainly responsible for this defeat, he is also excusable. After all, the enemy is in the dark and I am fighting alone in the light, and the defeat is reasonable because of such a targeted calculation by the other party, and I ask Your Majesty to take it lightly. ”

"Hehe, it's rare for this guy Xingba to make a mistake, how can I be willing to punish him if I don't punish him well?" Yuan Shu said viciously with a smile, then his tone turned serious, and he said in a deep voice: "What's more, the state has national laws and the army has military regulations, this time due to his rash decision, the 30,000 troops under his command were almost wiped out, and this kind of crime cannot be shaken off." Even if I don't blame him for his crimes, I will punish him heavily for the more than 20,000 soldiers who died in battle. ”

Yuan Shu understood what Guo Jia meant by asking him to be light, but he didn't go down the steps. Although he loves Gan Ning very much, he will never abandon his public because of personal gain. Moreover, he also knew Gan Ning's temperament, and he could make him feel better at this time. Shame and courage, punishment is heavier, this defeat can make him remember for a long time.

After speaking, Yuan Shu issued an edict in a deep voice: "Gan Xingba, the general of the town army, was impatient and reckless, and relied on his courage in the battle of Zhangshui, resulting in the defeat of the army and more than 20,000 soldiers buried in other places. Now he was dismissed from the post of general of the town army, demoted to the general of the town guard, and fined for half a year. ”

The chamberlain on the side had already prepared pen and ink and wrote what Yuan Shu said on the edict.

After speaking, Yuan Shu said in a deep voice: "In addition, the more than 20,000 soldiers who died this time are buried in other places, and the comfort of their families, that is, the follow-up work, must be done well, and the bereavement pensions will be distributed according to the system, without the slightest deduction and disgust, and their names will be engraved into the military soul hall." ”

"No!" Tian Feng, who was in charge of this matter, said in a deep voice.

"Well, what do you think of Yuan Shao's strength this time?" Yuan Shu then asked.

"Your Majesty, in this war, Yuan Shao completely delegated power to Xu You, showing great courage, and his heroic posture is almost comparable to Your Majesty. It can be seen that he will be the lord of Hebei in the future, is the great enemy of our army, Gongsun Chan is afraid that there is no chance of victory, and he should quickly prepare for the arrangement after the battle between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan Jieqiao, so as not to be caught off guard, so as not to establish an advantage for us to pacify the north and seize the opportunity later. Tian Feng said in a deep voice.

"What Yuan Hao said is good, he originally planned to use Gan Ning to contain part of Yuan Shao's troops. But now the Ganning army is almost completely lost, and it has no combat power. It will take a lot of time to reorganize and run-in, and I am afraid that it will not be in time for the Battle of the Boundary Bridge. Now we must focus on Liaodong, send troops to Liaoxi as soon as the battle breaks out, and try to seize the population and materials of Youzhou after eliminating Wuhuan. Guo Jiamu said with a light dew.

"But if you attack Liaoxi before Gongsun Chan is defeated, I am afraid that it will arouse the disgust of the other party. What should I do with Hakuba Yicong? Zhang Zhao said.

"It's okay, Gongsun Chan has a strong temperament and does what he says, even if he is dissatisfied in his heart, as long as we don't attack Youzhou, but just take Liaoxi occupied by Wuhuan, I guess he won't break the contract." Yuan Shu said lightly. Yuan Shu is still very familiar with Gongsun Zhan's character, although the attitudes of the two sides towards foreign races are different, but they cherish each other.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Guo Jia and Zhang Zhao said in unison.