Insufficient balance

  The night color is like a curtain, and the darkness envelops the entire sky.

  After clearing all the resistance forces in Fuyang City, the 800 Liukou had been "on holiday", except for a small number of Liukou responsible for guarding and warning, the vast majority of people were like locusts rampaging in Fuyang City, the poor civilians were not affected, but those rich families hiding in deep mansions suffered greatly. Under Ma Chao's deliberate indulgence and instigation, these originally kind-hearted farmers were undergoing an unprecedented transformation, their pure simplicity was disappearing, and their fierce fangs were becoming increasingly sharp.

  Guan Hai, Pei Yuanshao and two other leaders rarely lost interest in "enjoying their vacation" and rushed to report the good news to Ma Chao. This time it was really issued, He Fu's grain piles were like mountains, and the warehouse stored enough hemp cloth for 800 bandits to make a winter coat each. What surprised Guan Hai and others even more was that He Fu actually raised 300 fine horses, which was an extremely valuable strategic resource for a bandit group.

  Inside the county government office, Ma Yue's expression was deep and solemn, staring blankly at the silk map in front of him. Guan Hai, Pei Yuanshao, and two other high-ranking officials had just entered the room when they saw Ma Yue like this, and immediately became as still as frost-covered eggplants, standing silently on either side, quiet as cicadas in winter. The study was so silent it was suffocating, with only the sound of the lamp wick burning softly.

  Looking at the map, Ma Yue's eyebrows gradually furrowed.

  Qin Lie's Nanyang army is now where? What makes Ma Jue most anxious is, Zhu Yun's elite official army is now where? If it's Qin Lie's Nanyang army, there might still be a chance to break through again. But if they're caught up by Zhu Yun's official army, it's likely to be a disaster. Especially the Western Liang demon Dong Zhuo's iron cavalry, once they catch up, it's like a maggot attached to bone, relentless until death.

  From Jing Mountain, they went east to Biyang, then turned south from Biyang and rushed to Fuyang. The 800 bandits fled for three hundred miles in four days. Neither Qin's troops from Nanyang nor Zhu's government army could catch up with them in such a short time. At least until tomorrow night, the 800 bandits were still safe in Fuyang.

  The news of the lost recapture has definitely reached Qin and Zhu's ears, Zhu is good at fighting, Qin is cunning and treacherous, they can't just sit back and watch 800 bandits roaming around, they must think of a way to eliminate themselves. What will the government army do? Will they set up an ambush or continue to surround and intercept? It's hard to say.

  Although Fu Yang has been taken down, Ma Yue has never considered defending the city. With just 800 bandits, he dares to confront the entire Great Han Empire, which is undoubtedly a futile attempt that will lead to his own downfall.

  Continuing to drift is not a problem, the problem is where to drift next?

  Going north is a dead end, the northern counties of Nanyang suffered the most severe damage from the Yellow Turbans, and the situation in Yingchuan to the north was even more severe. The common people were displaced and homeless, with nine out of ten houses empty. The wealthy families either fled or were killed, leaving no trace behind. If they went in this direction, who could they still plunder? Without plundering, what would the 800 bandits eat or drink?

  Moreover, what made Ma Jue even more worried was that fleeing in this direction would likely result in a head-on collision with Zhu Yan's elite government troops, which would be a dead end.

  To the west is Yuyang County, after Qin Yong lost Wan City, he relied on Yuyang County to hold off the fierce attack of hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans from Nanyang. Qin Yong had been operating here for a long time and had a deep foundation. Although the soldiers of Nanyang were not as good as the elite northern army, they were still much stronger than the eight hundred bandits. Now it's still far from the time to clash head-on with the government army, so the road to the west is also impassable.

  Although there were no rumors of any powerful government troops in the east, Ru Nan was also deeply affected by the Yellow Turbans' poison, and the common people suffered greatly, with limited oil and water.

  Ma Yue's gaze passed over Fuyang, to the south was Suixian County, and from Suixian County to the south was Jiangxia Prefecture. Jiangxia had not been ravaged by the Yellow Turbans, and its gentry were wealthy, making it an ideal place to flee to. However, Qin Bian and Zhu Huan were not easy to deal with, would they set up traps on the road south?

  ……

  Ping's clan, Qin Yu's large camp.

  "Cough...cough...cough..."

  In the swaying candlelight of the tent, a sudden, ear-piercing coughing sound rang out, as if it was going to tear his throat apart. Zou Jing hurried into the tent with a worried look, only to see Qin Bing's pale face, struggling to sit up from the soft couch, covering his mouth with his hand and arching his back, looking like he was on the verge of collapse.

  Seeing Qin Hui in this state, Zou Jing shook his head gloomily. After hearing about the loss of Fu Yang, Qin Hui's anger turned to grief and, combined with the fatigue of the journey, he suddenly fell ill with a cold.

  "Cough...cough..."

  Qin Hong coughed twice, finally stopping the choking cough. He slowly moved the handkerchief covering his mouth away, and under the flickering candlelight, a bright red drop was seen on the white handkerchief. Qin Hong's eyes dimmed instantly, and he quietly put away the handkerchief, beckoning to Zou Jing with a weak gesture, saying: "Zi Yu, you've come just in time, I was just looking for you."

  Zou Jing's eyes showed concern and he advised: "Sir, you should rest more, it is really not suitable for you to continue with military affairs."

  Qin Hui waved his hand, a serious expression on his pale face, and unfolded a silk map on his knees. Zou Jing let out a soft sigh and walked to the front of the couch, kneeling down on one knee.

  Qin Mi's worried gaze fell on the map of Fuyang County, and he said in a low voice: "Fuyang has already fallen, Zi Yu, judging from this, what will the 800 bandits do next? Will they continue to roam around like before, one hundred miles a day, or will they have a steady mind, want to settle down in Fuyang, and defend the city?"

  "Sir, if Ma Jue were a narrow-minded and short-sighted person, he might have defended the city. But you and I both know that Ma Jue is cunning like a fox and will not take the path of certain death. Therefore, it's likely that he'll abandon the city and continue to flee."

  Qin Hui sighed and nodded slightly, saying: "I also think so. If Ma Chao really abandons the city and guards it, things will be easier to handle. But if the 800 bandits really abandon the city and scatter in all directions, where do you think they will go?"

  Zou Jing's expression changed, and he said in a condensed voice: "Sir, are you thinking of changing the pursuit to an interception?"

  Qin Hui nodded slightly and sighed, "This is also an unavoidable move. Since ancient times, the best strategy for eliminating bandits has been to pursue them relentlessly. However, these 800 fleeing bandits are unlike the traditional robbers of old. They travel lightly and quickly, plundering for a living, without needing supplies or heavy loads. They swarm in and swoop out, able to cover hundreds of miles in a single day. If we continue to use conventional methods to eliminate them, our soldiers will be exhausted from chasing after them, and it will be impossible to guard against their attacks."

  Zou Jing nodded and said: "Your Excellency is wise, I deeply agree with that."

  Qin Hui shook his head and said, "This official is a dying man, so there's no need for these empty words and courtesy. Zi Yu, this official has always respected your talent, you'd better say something, after abandoning Fuchun, where will the 800 remnants go?"

  Zou Jing furrowed his brow and sank into thought for a moment, then said in a condensed voice: "This official thinks that eight or nine out of ten bandits will head south to Suizhou, and rush straight to Jiangxia."

  Qin Hui coughed lightly and asked, "What is the reason for this?"

  Zou Jingdao said: "Going north is a dead end, Ma Chao doesn't know that Zhu Ling has already gone north to Ji Zhou, thinking that the main army is still in Wan Cheng, so he dare not go north and take his own life. Going west is Yu Yang county, sir has been operating here for a long time, and also because Ma Chao doesn't know that sir has already led troops far away to Ping Shi, with his 800 men, it's absolutely impossible for him to lightly offend. Except for this, there are only two paths: going east and going south. Going east is Ru Nan, Ru Nan has also suffered from the Yellow Turbans' disaster, the people are suffering, the 800 bandits make a living by looting, going to Ru Nan would be jumping into an abyss. From all of this, I dare to conclude that the 800 bandits will certainly go south and follow the county, rushing to Jiang Xia."

  Qin Ming's eyes showed a look of intense appreciation, and his originally chaotic thoughts suddenly became clear after Zou Jing's analysis.

  "Ziyu, help me up."

  Zou Jing gently helped Qin Wei up.

  "Bring pen and ink." Qin Hui said, "I will write a letter, you send it to Jiangxia overnight, and ask Governor Wang Min of Jiangxia to dispatch troops to cooperate with us in defeating the bandits."

  ……

  Fu Yang County government office, Ma Yue gradually made up his mind to go south to Jiangxia, which was the only way out. However, how to do it was worth considering. Looking back on history, a certain great person also played a trick of "Four Crossings of the Red Water" with 20,000 exhausted soldiers in a desperate situation, and toyed with someone's hundreds of thousands of troops between his fingers.

  Ma Chao would never dare to compare himself to a great hero, but taking the countless classic examples from two thousand years of history and making some slight modifications before applying them in the chaotic world at the end of the Han dynasty is not that difficult.