Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 743 The truth is different

Yuan Xi actually knew that he was not well prepared this time. After all, a sneak attack was inherently risky.

But Cao Cao's weakness was really difficult to grasp, and he couldn't miss this golden opportunity. Therefore, in order to increase the success rate as much as possible, he mobilized his two back-up moves in advance.

One was Liu Bei of Xinye to contain Cao Jun and Zhang Xiu, and the other was Lu Xun of Shouchun and Tai Shici marched westward from the upper reaches of the Huai River to Nanyang.

However, Liu Bei failed to prevent Cao's army from returning to defense. Lu Xun and Tai Shici's marching route had to cross the swamps in the northern part of the Dabie Mountains. Although he was supposed to arrive earlier than Yuan Xi according to the plan, he has not arrived yet, which obviously delayed his departure.

If either of these two parties appears in Wancheng, Yuan Xi will not be as stressed as he is now. He even wonders if the fight against Yuan Shu went too smoothly and he used up all his luck.

He turned to Lu Lingqi and said: "Xiashu, Xu Huang should encounter Yu Jin soon. All our troops here must be invested, otherwise it will be difficult to say whether we will win or lose this time."

The two of them descended the tree along the rope. Guo Jia had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Yuan Xi coming, he came in and whispered a few words. Yuan Xi listened, nodded slightly, called Zhang Xun over, and said: "You lead the troops Block Dian Wei."

Zhang Xun first accepted the order, then hesitated and said, "What if the general is incompetent and his soldiers cannot stop him..."

He naturally had concerns. Yuan Xi's Youzhou soldiers were much stronger than Yuan Shu's surrendered troops, and they could still suppress Cao Cao's army. However, Yuan Shu's army on his side was in bad military discipline. They had just surrendered a few days ago. How could they defeat Cao Cao's army?

Yuan Xi said flatly: "If you can't stop me, you have to stop me. I will go into battle myself. If you can't stop me, I will be cut off and no one will survive."

Zhang Xun was sweating profusely, and quickly raised his hands and said: "I will finally understand!"

Not long after, Zhang Xun led thousands of soldiers to the north gate where Dian Wei was.

Although these people were all broken up and reorganized, with soldiers from the Youzhou Army serving as corps commanders, their morale was still low during the night battle. Zhang Xun shouted for command, and the soldiers reluctantly formed a formation, but there was no trace of panic or uneasiness on their faces. Showed on the face.

As they approached the north gate, they saw nearly a thousand Youzhou troops trying their best to block Cao's attack at the north gate. Under the leadership of Dian Wei, although the Youzhou troops responded in an orderly manner, they were still suffering casualties.

When the soldiers of Yuan Shu's army saw Dian Wei fighting left and right in the crowd, showing extraordinary bravery, they all murmured in their hearts, weren't they going to die?

When they saw the leader of the Youzhou Army mingling in the ranks behind them, they felt more and more that the leader had sent them and others to die. They immediately wanted to retreat and hesitated to move forward. Zhang Xun shouted harshly, and the soldiers were reluctant to move forward. But many people have begun to think about it.

When Zhang Xun saw this, he immediately felt that something was wrong, but he had no choice but to let his previous men try their best to calm down the commotion that might break out at any time. But the more this happened, the more restless the soldiers became.

At this time, a Youzhou Army general walked up to Zhang Xun and said, "General, this cannot continue."

"I'm afraid our morale will be gone before the war starts."

Zhang Xun looked up and saw that the other party was one of Yuan Xi's personal guards. His name was Zhang Fang. He was said to be highly trusted by Yuan Xi, but for some reason he had always been in charge. This time, he needed to control Yuan Shu's surrender of troops, so he temporarily came to take charge. Centurion.

Zhang Xun heard what the other party said and had to say: "What can you do?"

Zhang Fang opened his mouth and said so and so. Zhang Xun listened and said hesitantly: "It's true, but in this case, wouldn't it be very dangerous for you..."

"But this is the only way," Zhang Fang said lightly, "otherwise we might all die here tonight."

After hearing this, Zhang Xun said helplessly: "That's up to you."

Zhang Fang cupped his hands, walked to the front of the formation, and shouted: "Youzhou soldiers come out!"

Immediately, a hundred or so people came out, all of them were Youzhou soldiers who had served as commanders in the surrendered troops. When the surrendered soldiers were confused, Zhang Fang shouted to them: "We Youzhou soldiers have become leaders, and the battle is You must be able to rush ahead!"

"I think you don't know how to deal with Cao Bing, so let us Youzhou soldiers teach you a lesson first!"

"You can fight how we fight. It doesn't matter if you can't fight. You can retreat and rest. We will cover you!"

After listening to the surrender, there was a commotion. Zhang Fang ignored them. After a few shouts, he asked the Youzhou soldiers to prepare their formation. After giving the order, the Youzhou soldiers skillfully joined the battle group and assisted the friendly forces to block it. Cao Jun’s offensive!

Zhang Xun was secretly stunned when he saw it. A mere commander has such a general, and his soldiers are so united. Otherwise, even if Han Xin came in person, he would not be able to make a group of disobedient soldiers act in such a uniform manner. Obviously, Youzhou soldiers have no regard for others. They all have a high degree of trust. This is the essential difference between him and Yuan Shujun!

He turned around and shouted: "Everyone, see clearly!"

"If others can do it, why can't you?"

"Now is the best opportunity to make a contribution and start a new life. If you retreat now, where can you retreat to in the future?"

"If you still have the guts, follow me and charge!"

There was a faint commotion among the surrendered soldiers. They knew that Zhang Xun's words were right. Even if they escaped today, they would be recaptured and used as cannon fodder in the future.

The style of Youzhou soldiers was something they had never experienced before, and many people immediately felt a sense of trust in their hearts.

With a companion like this, who would be afraid of being betrayed by one of his own in battle?

To be fair, these selected Yuan Shu soldiers were not bad. Although time was short, Guo Jia still followed Yuan Xi's wishes and eliminated as many of the soldiers as possible who were sneaky and evil. Most of the remaining soldiers were from farmers. Relatively honest civilians. They saw that the Youzhou Army had also charged forward, and Zhang Xun had already led his men to charge forward. Someone immediately shouted, "Let's go up too, don't let others see us!"

"Even our Jianghuai Army will not lose to the Northern Army. Come on!"

"Yuan Shijun is also from Jianghuai. He is not afraid even if he is not on the front line. What are we afraid of?"

The shouts were actually made by Zhang Xun's confidants, who were usually prestigious. The surrender soldiers were infected by this instigation, started shouting one after another, and rushed forward.

Yuan Xi saw it from a distance and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It was only a short time before Yuan Shubing surrendered, but the combat effectiveness of this group of soldiers from Jianghuai was not bad, otherwise they would not have been in a stalemate with Cao Cao and other forces for so many years.

What they lack is discipline and spirit, which cannot be established in a short period of time. Zhang Fang's behavior today actually served as a role model, stimulating their competitive spirit.

Of course, this is just one of several factors. Zhang Xun's prestige among the surrendered troops, as well as the Yuan family's Jianghuai origins, gave Jianghuai soldiers a sense of security and identity. It was only by chance that they were able to raise their morale to a higher level. .

Yuan Xi saw Jianghuai soldiers joining the battle group and blocking Cao Jun's breakthrough again. Although he was slightly relieved, he was still sober because the current crisis had not been resolved, because Xu Huang, who was mainly cavalry, might not be able to stop Cao Jun. The infantry living in the forbidden formation formed an attack!

Yuan Xi sighed in his heart, it would be great if Zhao Yun was here!

But he knew that in a real war, everyone would be ill-prepared in hindsight. They had to be fully prepared before going to war. Maybe the opponent would be more prepared.

Although there are too many variables in the current situation, at least it is not the worst situation. Yuan Xi glanced in the direction of Wancheng and said to Guo Jia: "Mr. trouble, please supervise the formation on my behalf."

Then he turned to Lu Lingqi and said, "Let's go help Gong Ming!"

Guo Jia watched Yuan Xi and Lu Lingqi rush away with the remaining thousands of soldiers. He coughed a few times and felt depressed. Why hadn't his two back-up men shown up on the battlefield yet?

Dozens of miles south of Wancheng, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were in a stalemate with Zhang Xiu; they asked, "General, why are you so stubborn?"

Zhang Xiu spoke up and said: "Each one is his own master, and Xiu has his own difficulties. Now the whole family, young and old, is in Wancheng, hoping that you will understand."

Zhang Fei shouted: "Since you are seeking death, I will help you!"

Liu Bei stopped Zhang Fei and said to Zhang Xiu: "The general took refuge with Liu Jingsheng when he was in despair, but now he has betrayed Cao Cao. The so-called difficulty is just that he is afraid that his family will be controlled by others."

"The thief Cao betrayed the Han Dynasty and poisoned the world. Everyone got it and killed him. In the face of justice, are family members so important?"

Zhang Xiu couldn't help but vomit in his heart. Everyone knows that you abandon your family as soon as you lose the war. Do you think everyone is the same as you?

He sighed aloud: "Liu Shijun, no matter what, you are already too late. Cao Jun's reinforcements have returned to Wancheng now. What's the use of having you on your back?"

Zhang Xiu must have guessed that Liu Bei was so eager to pursue him, but Cao Chunyu ignored Liu Bei and quickly returned his troops. Something must have happened in Wancheng.

But this way, my situation now becomes very troublesome. Who knows what Wancheng's final outcome will be!

Zhang Xiu naturally knew that Cao Cao had secretly accepted his aunt, and it was impossible to say that he was not angry, but what could he do now?

He also hoped that the unknown force would kill Cao Cao, but what if the opponent failed and Cao Cao won?

Zhang Xiu knew Cao Cao's intentions very well. If he let Liu Bei off now, he would not be able to hide his little thoughts from Cao Cao afterwards. It would be fine if Cao Cao lost, but if he won, he would definitely deal with himself afterwards!

Zhang Xiu didn't want to lose the bet. If he made the wrong choice, he was afraid that all his wealth would be burned down, so he didn't dare to take risks.

And someone with similar thoughts was Jia Xu in the Wancheng official residence.

He sneered at Zhuge Liang, who had been admonishing him for a long time, "Why, you still don't give up?"

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "Liang just doesn't understand. This is the best opportunity to defeat Cao Cao. Why is the prince sitting idly by and even preparing to send troops to assist Cao Cao?"

Jia Xu sneered and said: "It's very simple, because Cao Cao is difficult to kill, and he has a strong desire for revenge at this time. If he doesn't die, there is no guarantee of revenge in the future."

"But the other party attacking the city is Xuzhou Mu Yuanshijun, right?"

"Whether he wins or loses, it will not threaten my life. Since there is no risk, why should I help him?"

After Zhuge Liang heard this, he became angry and said, "Master Fu said this because he thinks villains are harder to guard against than gentlemen?"

"Then what's the point of having justice and morality?"

Jia Xu sneered: "How could such a thing ever exist in the world?"

"In my eyes, all I see is struggling to survive."

(End of this chapter)