Insufficient balance

  Guan Hai fought desperately to break through the heavy encirclement, and Pei Yuanshao protected Liu Yan as they fled in disarray. A group of defeated soldiers followed behind, but it was unclear how many men and horses were left. All they knew was that they had to keep fleeing south.

  Under the cold moonlight, he didn't know how long he had been running, when suddenly he saw a vast desolate riverbank beside him, exuding an eerie silence that made his heart skip a beat. Gan Hui's mind flashed with a shadow, and he stopped his horse to ask the soldier beside him: "That place is so desolate, where is it?"

  "A local-born Yellow Turban rebel plucked up his courage and replied: 'General, that is the Old River Gorge.'"

  Laohegou?

  Guan Hai hesitated for a moment, and suddenly felt a sense of danger.

  "Waaah~~"

  The sound of the horn fell, and suddenly a heavy trumpet sounded in the old river ditch. Then flames shot up to the sky, and an unknown number of government soldiers emerged from the riverbank like ghosts, shouting and killing towards the remaining Yellow Turbans. Under the illumination of the firelight, the blades of the government soldiers' swords flashed with cold light, and the Yellow Turban bandits were terrified out of their wits.

  "Bad! We've fallen into the government army's ambush!" Guan Hai was shocked, shouting loudly, "Quickly, quickly retreat south and shake them off!"

  In the darkness, it was unknown how many government soldiers there were. The Yellow Turbans had already lost their morale and Gan Xi did not dare to fight back. He was the first to flee on horseback. As soon as the commander fled, the remaining Yellow Turban rebels panicked and feared that they would be short of legs, rushing to follow Gan Xi in a frantic escape southward.

  Less than 20 li south of the escape, a lone peak mountain range suddenly appeared to block the way. Guan Hai was about to bypass it when shouts and killings sounded on both sides at the same time. In the distance, two groups of government troops could be seen waving torches, sweeping across the mountains and fields, like two flying fire dragons, trapping Guan Hai and Pei Yuanshao's Yellow Turban remnants in between.

  Guan Hai was shocked and lost his composure, Pei Yuanshao couldn't help but lament: "How many ambushes did those damned government troops lay down? If Bo Qi were here, it would be better... Alas."

  "What's the use of talking nonsense now? There are government troops on the left, right and behind, only the front mountain is empty, hurry up and cross over the front mountain ridge to escape."

  "It's come to this, and there's nothing else we can do."

  At that time, the two men abandoned their mounts and led their remaining troops up the mountain, preparing to flee over the mountain. Just as they were climbing halfway up the mountain, a massive fire suddenly broke out on the summit of another mountain not far away. The flames were fierce, and the terrain was high, making it visible for tens of miles around. As Guan Hai and Pei Yuanshao were bewildered, a loud shout for killing suddenly came from the other side of the mountain ridge, with a momentum that shook the sky.

  In the darkness, Guan Hai and Pei Yuanshao exchanged a glance, both seeing panic and fear in each other's eyes. They scrambled to the top of the mountain ridge, looked down, and were immediately stunned. Below the southern foot of the mountain, the lights were shining brightly like daylight, and amidst the flying flames, a mighty army was surging over from the south, blocking the escape route of the remaining Yellow Turbans.

  Looking back to the north, the government army that had been chasing down from Laohegou had cut off their retreat, and the ambush troops that had flanked them on both sides had also cut off their escape routes to the east and west. At this point, the entire mountain range was already surrounded by the government army, leaving no way out, and the remaining Yellow Turbans had no choice but to hole up and wait for death.

  "Damn it! We've fallen into the government army's trap!" Guan Hai pounded his chest and stamped his feet, regretting bitterly. "If I had known earlier, we might as well have fought to the death with the government army at the foot of the mountain."

  Pei Yuanshao sighed and said helplessly, "The mountain road is difficult to travel in the dark, and I'm sure the government troops won't dare to attack the mountain recklessly. Let's wait until dawn before doing anything."

  ……

  When Cai Mao led 1,500 government troops to kill them, Guan Hai and Pei Yuanshao were standing on the mountain top in a daze. Ma Yue was carrying Zou Yuniang and had just climbed halfway up the south slope. Ma Yue didn't know that this sudden appearance of government troops was aimed at Guan Hai and the others, but thought it was aimed at him, Ma Yue. His heart was shocked, as if he had been splashed with a large bucket of cold water, feeling chilled to the bone.

  "Good grief, isn't it just catching an escaped prisoner? Do we need such a big fuss? Isn't this like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito?"

  But this way, Ma Yue became even more reluctant to abandon Zou Yuniang. As the saying goes, "rare goods can be inhabited", this little girl can pull so many officials and soldiers to chase and kill him, obviously her identity is not ordinary, could she be the concubine or daughter of some big official in Jingzhou? Anyway, no matter what, whether he can survive or not, it all depends on her now.

  She must not be released until she has thoroughly gotten rid of the government troops and escaped to a safe place.

  Ma Yue glanced at Zou Yuniang, and under the dim night light, he found that her slender eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if she was enduring something with great difficulty. However, her delicate and shy appearance was very lovely, especially since her hands and feet were tied together, and she was now lying sideways on the snowy ground in a shameful posture, her high and plump buttocks curved and provocative.

  It seemed that she had felt Ma Fei's fiery gaze, and the tired expression on Zou Yuniang's powdered face became even more pronounced.

  Poor Zou Yuna, was desperately enduring the increasingly strong urge to urinate, her lower abdomen swelling unbearably, yet she didn't dare ask for help from the "thug" in front of her.

  Let him release her from his grasp, which is obviously impossible.

  Let him help her untie her clothes? Zou Yumao was neither willing nor dared, she didn't want her icy and pure body to be seen by this "thug" in front of her, and if this guy had evil intentions again, her chastity would be hard to keep. Although the Han Dynasty's social atmosphere was open-minded, the concept of chastity had not yet formed, but Zou Yumao did not want to become a withered flower and remarry.

  After a brief pause, Ma Jue's physical strength recovered somewhat, and he was about to carry Zou Yumao again to continue climbing the mountain. Suddenly, a faint sound entered his ears. Ma Jue suddenly turned his head, with the steel knife already in hand, staring coldly at a pile of rocks in the nearby weeds, and asked in a low voice: "Who? Come out!"

  The grass behind the pile of rocks swayed slightly, and a tall man stood up like a ghost, asking cautiously: "Is that Ma Chao ahead?"

  This big fellow was none other than Pei Yuanshao, who had come down to the mountain waist to probe into the military situation of the government army.

  Ma Yu's heart skipped a beat, and suddenly he felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Under the dim light of night, he carefully took another look, and only then did he discover that the big man who had walked out from among the rocks was actually Pei Yuan Shao. He couldn't help but exclaim in delight: "Yuan Shao is you!?"

  "Bo Qi, is that really you?!" Upon hearing Ma Yue's response, Pei Yuanshao hastily walked up to him in three strides, staring at him for several seconds before bursting into tears of joy, "It's really you! That's great, we're saved, my brothers are finally saved, hahahaha..."

  The Battle of Baidi, not only did the government troops have a deep impression of Ma Chao, but also the surviving Yellow Turbans had an even greater reverence for Ma Chao. Adding to this was the aura of "famous general" that surrounded him, and someone like Pei Yuan Shao naturally admired him with utmost respect, regarding him as the savior of the Yellow Turban Army.

  "What's wrong, Yuan Shao?" Ma Chao asked.

  "We're done for, completely done for! The Yellow Turbans of Nanyang, tens of thousands of brothers, all gone! That traitor Han Zhong sold us out, the Grand Commander and his men were killed in battle, only less than 1,000 of us managed to escape, and now we're surrounded by government troops in this desolate mountain pass... Woe is me..."

  Ma Chao's heart skipped a beat and he felt a pang of sadness. Although the failure of the Yellow Turban Rebellion was within his expectations, hearing the news suddenly still made him feel somewhat melancholic. After all, he had spent more than a month among the Yellow Turbans, and how could one not have some feelings for them?

  Seeing Pei Yuanshao, this eight-foot-tall man, crying like a child, Ma Chao could only pat his shoulder, unable to say a word of comfort.

  Pei Yuanshao quickly stopped his sorrowful voice and asked Ma Yue: "Bo Qi, how did you end up here? Where are Chen Gan and Chen Le?"

  Ma Yue waved his hand and sighed, "Don't mention it, the Chen brothers are trapped in Yuyang County, I'm afraid they're in a precarious situation. I almost lost my life there too."

  "Are you being recognized by the government troops?"

  Ma Yue bitterly smiled and said: "It's not just that I've been exposed, now I'm a fugitive wanted by the whole country, and all the counties of the thirteen states of Da Han probably have my wanted posters plastered everywhere."

  "Hmm...this." Pei Yuanshao was stunned for a long time, suddenly blinked his eyes, and carefully said, "Since that's the case, Boqi, you might as well stay here. The brothers all need you."