Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 530: Enemies on all sides
The defenders of Liyang were illuminated by inexplicable lights flying in the sky. As a result, many of the defenders on the city were shot to death. At the same time, the defenders behind the city gate were frightened by the large circular saw they had never seen before. They had been there for a long time. The meaning of timidity.

While they were waiting in fear, they heard a loud noise, the city gate was rushed open, and rows of enemy soldiers wearing heavy armor, holding ring-headed knives high, rushed in uniformly.

The defenders in front who were slow to react had not even raised their shields before they were stabbed one by one by the trapped camp and hacked to death on the ground.

The remaining defenders were in chaos and reluctantly formed a formation and raised their shields. As a result, the soldiers trapped in the camp stopped and stabbed the gaps in the shields with their swords. Suddenly, screams from the front defenders were heard.

The other defenders trembled when they saw the battle, and barely fought back with their swords. However, they slashed at the armor of the trapped soldier. The opponent did not blink, but still used the sword fiercely and accurately. This was due to the excellent armor and no extra energy was used to dodge. Instead, kill the enemy as quickly as possible!
Liyang's soldiers' formation suddenly became disheartened and they retreated back unconsciously. This retreat was over. The trapped camp took the opportunity to push forward. The formation of Liyang's defenders became more and more scattered, and they gradually gave way to the city gate passage.

Seeing that they could not stop, the general of the garrison simply ordered the soldiers to retreat to both sides of the city gate. He thought very simply. Since he could not resist, it was better to retreat to the passage outside the city gate, besiege the incoming enemies from three sides, and block them with superior force. other side!
As a result, the Liyang defenders had just retreated to the main road at the top of the city, and arrows were raining down from the top of the city. It turned out that Yuan Xijun had taken the opportunity to board the top of the city and fired from the top with archers!
All of a sudden.The Liyang defenders completely collapsed and retreated into the city. However, they heard a loud noise from the north and the north gate was also breached!
Yuan Xi saw the fireworks exploding in the sky to the north and knew that Liu Beijun had succeeded, so he rushed to set off fireworks as well in response.

He thought that in this era, orders were either shouted or watched, otherwise they could only be transmitted through people. Fireworks played a real-time role in communicating messages on the battlefield, which was far more important than previously expected.

After all, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and it may be completely different if it is just a tea time. Whether it is lighting a fire or sending someone to deliver a message, it is much slower. The situation on the battlefield may have changed long ago when the other side receives the message.

Fireworks, which can convey the battlefield situation in real time, allowed Yuan Xi to take advantage of him. He was always ahead of the enemy when issuing orders. Just like when Xuzhou and Cao Cao's army were fighting, Cao Cao's camp counselors were obviously not ordinary people, but just because of sending messages Not in time, Yuan Xi's army successfully used it several times.

When Liu Bei at the north gate saw the fireworks rising from the south, he also let out a sigh of relief and ordered to the soldiers around him: "Come in with me!"

Chen Dao, who was accompanying him, spoke out: "Your injury has not healed yet, so it is best to be careful."

Liu Bei heard this and shouted: "It doesn't matter!"

"Second and third brothers are in front, how can I lag behind!"

"Rush in together!"

After hearing this, Liu Bei's army rushed into the city one after another. Guan Zhang had already taken the lead and took the lead in breaking in. Liu Bei and others rushed into the city without wasting any effort.

Liu Bei's army had fought several battles with Yuan Shu's army before, and they were already red-eyed. They roared and rushed towards the Liyang defenders. The defenders were immediately in chaos and fled in all directions. Some fled into private houses, and Liu Bei's soldiers followed. They went in to chop and kill. At this time, they could no longer tell whether they were soldiers or civilians, and they were screaming everywhere.

When Liu Bei saw him from behind, he was shocked and said, "You are not allowed to break into private houses!"

He said urgently to Chen Dao: "Go quickly and send someone to tell the soldiers in front not to disturb the people in the city, and try to persuade the soldiers who fled into the houses to surrender!"

After hearing this, Chen Dao quickly took the order and sent someone to inform Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's soldiers in the front line.

When Zhang Fei heard the message, he couldn't help feeling depressed. He roared and stabbed to death a Liyang defender who was still resisting. He said to Guan Yu: "Brother is really kind to women. After being beaten like this, you still have to take care of me." The life on the other side!”

"This city won't be ours even if we take it down. So what if we kill a few more?"

Guan Yu rode his horse over, with the head of guard Wan Yan hanging on the saddle, and said calmly: "It is precisely because it is not our city that we cannot do whatever we want."

"Suffer a small loss so that you can take advantage of it in the future. Third brother, just do as you please."

Zhang Fei listened and nodded in understanding.

At the south gate, Yuan Xi saw his own soldiers pouring into the city like a tide. He pointed at the west gate and said to Tai Shici: "The enemy should break out over there, so it's a good idea."

After hearing this, Taishi Ci clasped his fists, got on his horse, and galloped away with hundreds of cavalry. Sure enough, before he reached the city gate, the west gate opened wide, and soldiers kept escaping.

When Taishi Ci saw it, he jumped on his horse and rushed in first, leading the Youzhou cavalry into a pack of tigers and wolves. The deserters from Liyang scattered and fled for their lives, only regretting that they had lost two legs.

By dawn, Liyang had been completely defeated, and almost no one could escape.

Yuan Xi and Liu Bei met and learned that guard Wan Yan had been killed by Guan Yu, while city guard Liu Xiang had been captured alive by Taishi Ci while escaping. They each counted the damage to their team, and were surprised to find that their own casualties were very few, and none of them were counted. Out of hundreds, very few people on Yuan Xi's side were killed.

Yuan Xi was a little confused. It was enough that the soldiers in his own camp were well-equipped. Liu Bei's army did not have so many finely armored soldiers. Why did the battle go so smoothly? Is Guan Zhang really so important?
When Yuan Xi saw Liu Xiang and a group of officials being brought before him, they were all in a miserable state. They all looked disheveled and had swollen eyes. He couldn't help but wonder: "What's going on?"

Liu Xiang said weakly: "There was a locust plague in Yuzhou. The food in Liyang City was either transferred to Shouchun or sent to Xuzhou as military ration. Now everyone in the city has not had enough to eat for half a month."

Yuan Xi and Liu Bei couldn't help but look at each other slowly, thinking that no wonder the Liyang defenders collapsed at the first touch yesterday, so it turned out to be such a reason!
The soldiers have been hungry for half a month. It's good that they didn't collapse in the first place. Why do you expect them to fight?

Yuan Xi ordered people to escort Liu Xiang first, and at the same time asked Lu Xun to interrogate the situation in and around the city. Then he and Liu Bei agreed to rest separately and wait for the next morning to immediately set off to Hengjiang in the west.

After Liu Bei left, Yuan Xi and Jushu said: "Although the attack on the city went smoothly beyond expectations, the captured city must ensure the food in the city to survive?" "If we attack a few more cities, wouldn't our military rations be enough?" Want to reduce it significantly?"

Jushou sighed: "Young Master has indeed seen the problem."

"When attacking a city from behind the enemy, casualties are still common. The trouble is how to calm down the situation inside the city after the city is captured."

"If the soldiers don't have enough to eat and the people don't have enough to eat, it will definitely lead to disaster."

"If it were a wealthy city, it would be fine. If we capture it, we can replenish our military supplies. However, Yuan Jiujiu is now sucking blood and sucking up all the food in the surrounding cities. After we capture it, it becomes a burden."

"Even if I see this situation, I will have a headache."

Yuan Xi sighed. The idea of ​​​​supporting war with war has failed. The current plan is to avoid fighting as many cities as possible. As long as the defenses along the Yangtze River are guaranteed, Hengjiang and Ruxu will be captured in the shortest possible time, and then they will immediately enter Chaohu Lake. , approaching Hefei.

These four cities must be captured, otherwise water transportation and grain transportation routes cannot be guaranteed, and the most critical city is Hefei!

After capturing Hefei, Shouchun will be exposed to the plains. Yuan Shu will definitely panic by then. Moreover, Shouchun is adjacent to the Huai River to the north. As long as Yuan Shu wants to attack from the waterway, he will play into Yuan Xi's hands. When the time comes, Yuan Xi and Guan Yu's navy will Then you can show your talents!

But among the remaining three cities, although Hengjiang Ruxu is not easy to defeat, the most difficult one to defeat is undoubtedly Hefei.

He raised his head and looked to the north, thinking that maybe by the time he arrived at Hefei City, Shouchun would have mobilized a large army for reinforcements.

By then, our troops will definitely be at a disadvantage, and the only thing we can rely on is the sophisticated siege equipment and the performance of Liu, Guan, and Zhang!

With three people standing in front of him, I'm afraid there aren't any generals in Yuan Shu's army who can fight him, right?
The war raged across Jianghuai, and five or six days later, countless urgent military reports were sent to Yuan Shu's palace in Shouchun without interruption.

Yuan Shu saw dozens of military expressions of emergency, and his heart became more and more angry. He stood up and overturned the table in front of him, gradually scattering it to the floor, and roared: "Trash, they are all trash!"

"These little guys actually bullied me at the same time!"

When the surrounding concubines saw this, they were all angry and did not dare to say a word. They could see that Yuan Shu was really furious.

No wonder Yuan Shu reacted like this. Overnight, he suddenly realized that he was surrounded!

Yuan Shu's army led by Changnu on the west route was defeated by Lu Bu and Zhang Liao's army from Sili in Yingchuan County. They were forced to retreat more than [-] miles and asked for more reinforcements.

The main force of Yuan Shu's army in the north faced Chen Guo and Cao Cao several times. To Yuan Shu's surprise, this team led by Zhang Xunqiao, Yang Feng, and Han Siam was defeated steadily. The Baibo army brought by Yang Feng and Han Siam was even more defeated. They died cleanly, and only Yang Feng, Han Xian and a few of his men were spared.

Yuan Shu's face was gloomy. He thought that Yang Feng and Han Siam were more capable, but looking at the battlefield like this, he was not as good as Zhang Xunqiao Rui!
Now Zhang Xunqiaorui was forced to retreat more than a hundred miles and set up a stronghold for defense. At the same time, Yang Feng and Han Siam were asked to come back and ask for reinforcements. After all, once Chen Guo was lost, there would only be Qiaojun between Cao Cao's army and Shouchun!

In fact, if you lose Yingchuan on the west road, Shouchun will be just across the road from Runan. But this is not what worries Yuan Shu the most. The county in Yuzhou is very large and fortified at every step. Lu Bu and It will be difficult to defeat Cao Cao's army within a month or two.

But the other two roads are different!

Tens of thousands of Yuan Shu's troops guarding the city in Xiapi on the east road were already in a state of running out of food. Zhao Yun, who was stationed in Kuangqi City, took turns sending cavalry to harass Yuan Shu's troops, so that Yuan Shu's troops did not dare to leave the city and complained endlessly.

Kuangqi is located to the west of the Han River, so it is extremely convenient to transport supplies, and it is only Zhao Yun's party, there are two other parties!

Yuan Shu's army defended Xiapi, but was threatened by Cao's army in Pengcheng to the north and Yuan Tan's army who had taken the opportunity to capture Tancheng. They were in a dilemma.

If they abandon the city and flee, the three parties will definitely follow Yuan Shu's army in pursuit. It is unknown how many people will be able to escape by then!

But Xiapi was lost, and there were only a few cities that could block the road to Shouchun, so the pressure on Shouchun increased greatly.

In fact, so far, Yuan Shu's army can still support itself with 10,000+ troops, but the key point is that Yuan Xi and Sun Ce have copied Yuan Shu's path at the same time!
The two went up the river. Sun Ce started from Yuzhang County and captured several cities one after another. Now he is operating near Lujiang County. In name, he did not confront Yuan Shu's army. Instead, he used the excuse of having a grudge against Yuzhang's Hua Xin to let Yuan Shu. I was choked and speechless.

And Yuan Xi was even more disgusted. Group fights successively defeated Ruxu in Hengjiang River in Licheng, and now he was preparing to go north from Ruxu River and approach Hefei!
Hefei must not be lost. Once Hefei is lost, Shouchun will be cut off from the main escape route. Then there will really be nowhere to escape!

Thinking of this, Yuan Shu shouted to Yuan Yao in the hall: "Convene the ministers to discuss matters!"

(End of this chapter)