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"Gongsun Xu! Is it really him? " asked the kneeling Yuan Fu in shock, his face alternating between red and white. It was one thing for him to suddenly abandon his friend Gongsun Zan, who he had allied with for the past few years, but unfortunately, they had allied themselves to deal with Gongsun Zan. Even with his thick skin like a city wall, hearing Gongsun Xu's name still made him feel a little ashamed.

"It's definitely him!" Once Yuan Fu thought of the two arrows that Gongsun Xu had shot with divine help, a trace of fear could not help but flash past his eyes. He recounted the situation at that time again in a low voice and described Gongsun Xu's appearance.

Liu Bei was standing right beside him, and when he heard his name, his heart shook. Since Gongsun Xu had appeared well, it meant that Guan Yu had failed! Logically speaking, it was impossible for that to happen. Guan Yu had the absolute advantage in numbers, and with the help of his inner force, how could he not take over Xiao Pei? Could it be that Gongsun Xu had led his troops to break out of the encirclement? This was the most likely possibility! Thinking about it, Liu Bei could not help but be extremely disappointed, if he could not capture Gongsun Xu alive, even if Lv Bu was defeated and died, it would not affect him at all!

Yuan Shu's expression suddenly became very disappointed. Clearly, he had also thought about Liu Bei's decision. One of the reasons he agreed to Liu Bei's proposal to form an alliance was because Liu Bei had guaranteed that he would capture Gongsun Xu alive and use him to threaten Gongsun Zan. Now that he knew that his plan had failed, he was disappointed and looked down on Guan Yu. He asked coldly: "How many people does Gongsun Xu have?"

Yuan Fu said with a face of shame, "Reporting to my lord, there are about four to five hundred people here, but all of them seem to be elite cavalry s."

Yuan Shu kicked out, and bellowed: A mere four hundred people, you dare to flee, you are truly disgraceful! Someone come, kill! "

Yuan Fu rolled on the ground, crawled on the ground and begged for forgiveness, "Master, please spare me! Please spare my life! It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that the wooden bridge is too narrow and can't be broken through! "

Liu Bei also advised by the side: "Please calm your anger Gong Luxiong! It seemed like there was a reason, and it was not Yuan Fu's responsibility, even if he was killed, it would be useless, so he decided to chase after him! As long as we catch up to Gongsun Xu before he escapes back to the Xiao Pei City, we will definitely be able to keep him here! "

In truth, Yuan Shu did not want to kill Yuan Fu, he only felt that he had lost face. After hearing Liu Bei's persuasion, he kicked Yuan Fu and shouted angrily: "Why are you still lying on the ground? Get up and lead the way! "

"Thank you, my lord, for not killing me!" Yuan Fu thanked him and quickly crawled back up. He turned and ran back to his horse.

A trace of unhappiness flashed across Liu Bei's eyes, he secretly thought that Yuan Fu really didn't understand etiquette, he had acted on his behalf just now, and yet he didn't say thanks. Yet, this subordinate acting in such a manner, Yuan Shu ignored him.

Yuan Shu did not notice Liu Bei's displeasure. He looked at the river in front of him and asked anxiously, "Xuan Dexiong, do you know if there is a place where an army can cross the river?"

"You'll know when I ask." Liu Bei was also not very clear about the situation around here, and quickly called for a guide to ask.

"My lord, if there is no major change in the river, you only need to walk three or four miles downstream before you can cross the river over a pile of cobblestones."

Liu Bei was overjoyed, and hastily ordered: "Quickly go and have a look, if we can cross the river, report it quickly!"

After the guide left, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu arrived near the wooden bridge. They discovered that Gongsun Xu had long since disappeared, and the wood on the bridge had also disappeared without a trace.

Yuan Fu stood at the side with his head lowered, not daring to even breathe. He was afraid that Yuan Shu would push the responsibility of destroying the bridge onto him.

Yuan Shu shook his head and said in disappointment: "Even if there is a bridge deck on the bridge, if tens of thousands of soldiers want to pass through this bridge, it would be impossible without a few days! "Looks like I can only place my hopes on the cobblestone beach downstream!"

Liu Bei's face was filled with worry, he frowned: It rained a few days ago, the water in the river increased by a lot, I hope the river did not break!

"From the looks of it, the complete destruction of the Bingzhou Army was actually a good thing for Lv Fengxian. If there were too many people, they would not be able to cross the bridge in time!" Yuan Shu looked at the stone bridge and sighed, he asked worriedly: "Xuan Dexiong, if we can't cross the river here, what should we do?"

Liu Bei laughed bitterly: "Then we can only take a detour, I am afraid it will take more than half a day!"

"How can that be!" Yuan Shu panicked, if he really wasted more than half a day, Gongsun Xu would have already escaped without a trace.

The two of them sighed at the same time. They could only patiently wait for the guide's report.

After about half an incense's time, the guide dashed down the river and shouted happily from afar, "My lord! My lord! You can cross the river there, and the water won't even reach your chest! "

Liu Bei clapped his hands and shouted, "The heavens are aiding us! Gong Luxiong, please send your cavalrymen to cross the river to chase after him, we will catch up shortly! "

Yuan Shu was slightly unhappy, but he knew that Liu Bei only had a few hundred riders with him, so he was not able to complete the mission. Thus, he quickly brought a thousand riders to follow up, and after thinking for a while, he felt that it was not safe, so he sent an additional thousand elite cavalry s to Yuan Fu.

With two thousand riders in his hands, Yuan Fu could not help but become braver. No matter how strong Gongsun Xu was, he was still only worth four or five hundred people, and he still had to protect the remnants of Bingzhou Army's army. No matter how he looked at it, he would definitely win. He guaranteed Yuan Shu in high spirits as he led the team and quickly ran downstream.

Seeing Yuan Fu's group speed away, Liu Bei extended a hand to invite them: "Gong Luxiong, I will also go over! "Please!"

"Xuan Dexiong, after you!" Yuan Shu and Liu Bei walked a few steps side by side, and suddenly said: "Since Gongsun Xu is here, General Guan Yunchang probably did not succeed! What does brother think? "

Liu Bei's face darkened. He had promised Yuan Shu that he would capture Gongsun Xu alive and take over Xiao Pei's county. He pretended to be angry and said, "I also find this unbelievable! This matter was definitely caused by Yun Chang underestimating his enemy, and when the truth is confirmed, Gong Luxiong will definitely receive an explanation! "

Yuan Shu waved his hand: "Xuan Dexiong is being too serious! I have no other intentions but some doubts, is Gongsun Xu really able to rely on that small number of men to rush out of General Guan Yunchang's encirclement? "

Liu Bei immediately understood what Yuan Shu meant and asked in shock: "What Gong Luxiong means is, he did not just bring a thousand people?"

"I think it's very possible!" Yuan Shu said solemnly: "It is not that I want to extinguish my own prestige, it is just that Youzhou Army is very strong. If Gongsun Xu were to bring another horse, there is no need for too many of them, as long as there are five to six thousand cavalrymen, he would definitely be able to defeat General Guan."

"That's impossible." Liu Bei muttered: "We sent people to carefully search the surrounding hundred kilometers around Xiao Pei, but we did not find any traces of other Youzhou Army!"

Yuan Shu said in a low voice: "Xuan Dexiong, don't forget, Youzhou Army is mostly cavalry and Gongsun Xu's White Horse Camp is mainly cavalry. Even if your men searched every nook and cranny of the place, elite cavalry only needs two to three hours to sprint a hundred miles!"

Liu Bei's words made a lot of sense. If it was really like that, not only would Guan Yu be unable to successfully seize the Xiao Pei, he would even suffer a huge loss! After all, Guan Yu was leading the light armored walking soldier, who was powerless to stop a large group of cavalrymen!

Yuan Shu and Liu Bei had undoubtedly scared themselves, but that was also because Gongsun Xu's name was too well-known and he was Gongsun Zan's only son. They thought that it was impossible for Gongsun Zan to let his son bring only a thousand people to go south of the Xuzhou, and he would definitely be escorted by a large group of people.

Yuan Shu hastened his steps and walked towards the warhorse, speaking anxiously: "We must follow suit and cross the river, if my guess is correct, Yuan Fu's two thousand cavalrymen are definitely not Gongsun Xu's match!"

Liu Bei nodded in agreement and walked towards his warhorse.

Yuan Fu had already brought two thousand cavalrymen to the cobblestone beach mentioned by the guide. Looking ahead, the river bank was filled with pebbles, which divided the river into several small rivers. In order to ensure safety, he personally went up to inspect the former horse. Indeed, the deepest part went up to the chest area, but the water was a bit hurried. As long as he was careful, he would be able to cross it smoothly. When he reached the opposite bank, he waved for the others to hurry across.

A moment later, the two thousand riders successfully crossed the river and followed Yuan Fu upstream.

When Yuan Shu and Liu Bei arrived, they just so happened to see Yuan Fu's group disappear behind the trees on the other side of the river. They immediately ordered the army to cross the river.

The riverbank that Yuan Fu and his group were walking on was uneven. Other than a small pathway that was rarely seen, there was no other way to go. His heart was burning with anxiety. If they didn't catch up with Gongsun Xu, when they returned, they might be reprimanded multiple times by him. It was just that due to the circumstances, they couldn't increase their speed at all.

The group walked forward with difficulty for about three to four kilometers until they arrived near the wooden bridge. The road finally widened, and Yuan Fu immediately issued the order to speed up, following the footprints of the horses on the ground the whole way.

After chasing for more than an hour, the scouts ahead reported that four to five miles ahead, they had discovered the enemy's presence. The enemy had also discovered them and was speeding up their escape.

Yuan Fu was so happy that he immediately brought his men to chase after him.