The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 228 Chapter 227

A series of bad news came to Shouchun one after another like snowflakes, and the successive battle reports made Yuan Shu, who had just ascended the throne for only a few days, furious.

Ji Ling, Chen Lan, Lei Bo, Li Feng, and Lei Xu were all killed in battle, more than 7000 of the [-] army were annihilated, and the rest all surrendered. However, Zhang Yan's army won the battle at the cost of only one death. .

When the news came, Yuan Shu was shocked, and the whole Shouchun was shocked by it.

The [-]-strong army killed the past in a mighty manner, but only killed one enemy soldier in the end. How incompetent and useless this is!

Once this news gets out, where will Yuan Shu's face be put?
As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly, this sentence is not false at all.

On the way to Runan, Hussar General Zhang Xun heard that He Yi, Liu Pi, and He Man had led an army to join Zhang Yan, so he stopped to go to Cai, but by chance Xu Chu led them to attack and take Cai. Incompetent, Xu Chu captured Xia Cai, and was wounded by Xu Chu himself.Later, Mei Cheng led the army to support, but was defeated by Xu Chu. Zhang Xun and Mei Cheng had to lead the remnant army back to Shouchun, and made another plan.

But the news that Ji Ling's entire army was annihilated surprised Zhang Xun, Mei Cheng and others. Ji Ling's ability to command troops was far superior to Zhang Xun's. Even Ji Ling was defeated, so it can be seen from this The fighting power of Zhang Yan's main force is extraordinary, which inevitably makes Zhang Xun, Mei Cheng and others a little scared.

In addition, Lu Dai attacked Hefei, Chen Deng successively conquered Liyang, Fuling, Quanjiao, Junqiu and other counties, and Liu Xun blatantly broke away from Yuan Shu and led his army towards Shouchun. It all spread to Shouchun City within a day, and the soldiers and civilians in Shouchun City were shocked at once.

In Shouchun's palace, Yuan Shu sat high on the dragon chair in the main hall, dressed in imperial robes and a crown on his head, with a sad face, he looked around at Yang Hong, Yuan Yin, Huang Yi standing in the main hall , Zhang Xun, Mei Cheng, Han Yin and other civil and military ministers asked: "You all have a word! Why are you all dumb? When you persuaded me to become emperor, weren't you all very active?"

Taiwei Yang Hongdao: "Your Majesty, it's only a blame. Zhang Yan's army is really powerful. I didn't expect that General Ji Ling led an army of [-] to resist, but the whole army was wiped out. Now the situation is extremely unfavorable to us. The minister has a plan to protect His Majesty for the time being."

"Oh? Taiwei Yang, do you have any good plans? Tell me quickly!" Yuan Shu suddenly regained his energy and asked.

Yang Hongdao: "According to the latest information from the scouts, the three armies of Zhang Yan, Xu Chu, and Liu Xun are marching towards Shouchun together, and they are likely to encircle Shouchun. However, our army only has more than 3 soldiers and horses in Shouchun City. Get up, the enemy is outnumbered. Although there is a lot of food and fodder in the city, it can still hold on for a year and a half, but once the food and fodder are exhausted, our army will be defeated. At that time, the army will inevitably lose heart and the soldiers will be separated. The city was breached by the enemy. I think that instead of sitting still and waiting for death, it is better to use the only soldiers and horses now, lead the people to take the initiative to attack, and break out from Shouchun..."

Hussar General Zhang Xun asked: "Yang Taiwei's plan is good, but after our army breaks through, what should we do? Shouchun is the foundation of our army. If we can gather people and stick to it, we will not fight behind closed doors. Go down, wait for the opportunity to avoid the enemy's edge, and then wait for the opportunity to send troops to defeat the enemy at the right time, you may not be defeated!"

Yuan Shu listened to the words of the two men, thought for a long time, and finally said: "If our army stays here, once surrounded by the army, Shouchun City will be like an isolated city, and it will be difficult to break through again. It is undoubtedly waiting for death. Taiwei Yang , I think your idea is good. But just as Hussar General wondered, I also have the same doubts, once we break out from Shouchun, what should we do?"

Yang Hong immediately said: "Your Majesty, this minister has already made up his mind. I think that after our army breaks through the siege, we should go to Jizhou."

After hearing this, Yuan Shu's face immediately changed color, and he said in a sullen voice, "Go to Jizhou? Jizhou is Yuan Shao's territory. I have been fighting with Yuan Shao for years, and it's impossible for you to go to Yuan Shao."

Yang Hong shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, you are not going to seek refuge with Yuan Shao, but you are taking the jade seal to surrender the throne to Yuan Shao."

"What did you say!" Yuan Shu said angrily after hearing this, "I have worked so hard to become the emperor, and it only took a few days, and you let me give up the throne to Yuan Shao? What's your intention?"

Yang Hong hurriedly said: "Your Majesty calm down, and let the minister finish speaking!"

"Say it! If you can't explain why, I'll kill you!" Yuan Shu said angrily.

Yang Hong immediately said: "Your Majesty and Yuan Shao are half-brothers. This is an indisputable fact. In the past, although Your Majesty and Yuan Shao were at odds with each other, they had different ideas. Yuan Shao will definitely accept the emperor's throne with pleasure. After all, Yuan Shao is His Majesty's brother, and after being proclaimed emperor, His Majesty will also be a king and marquis. Firstly, our army can escape the current catastrophe, and secondly, we can also reunite with Yuan Shao. Let’s get back together, let’s work together to deal with Zhang Yan, and shame His Majesty Xue!”

After listening to Yang Hong's words, Yuan Shu pondered for a long time, but never expressed anything, and asked, "What do you think Taiwei Yang wants?"

Wei Wei Han Yin immediately echoed and said: "Your Majesty, I think what the Taiwei Lord said is very reasonable, and I deeply agree with it."

Yuan Shu looked at Yuan Yin and Huang Yi again, and asked, "What's your opinion?"

Yuan Yin and Huang Yi are people who are greedy for life and afraid of death. Naturally, they don't want to guard Gucheng alone and sit and wait for death. For them, it doesn't matter whether the official position is big or small, the most important thing is to save their lives!

Therefore, Yuan Yin and Huang Yi clasped their fists in unison and said: "I think Yang Taiwei's words are reasonable!"

Zhang Xun hurriedly stood up and immediately objected: "Your Majesty, don't believe their slander. It's a long way to go to Jizhou, not to mention passing through Zhang Yan's sphere of influence. The soldiers of our army are all from Huainan. The family is all in Huainan. If you go far away to Jizhou, you will not only encounter layers of resistance from Zhang Yan on the way, but also guard against the lack of morale of the army. I am afraid that our army will be defeated before reaching Jizhou! It is better to gather the crowd and hold on. If the city avoids its edge, and rewards the generals with gold and silver, the soldiers will definitely be united and united against the enemy. As long as they find that the enemy is a little slack, they can go out of the city to attack and harass the enemy continuously. Enemy repelled!"

"Okay, don't talk about it! I have made up my mind, so I will act according to Yang Taiwei's will, and start to act now, lest Zhang Yan's army encircle me and our army cannot break through!" Yuan Shu said.

After hearing this, Zhang Xun sighed heavily, and his expression darkened immediately. He glanced at Yang Hong, Han Yin, Yuan Yin, Huang Yi and others, his heart was filled with endless anger, but he couldn't vent it.

"Zhang Xun, I ordered you to be the great general, gather all the soldiers and horses before noon, and be at your disposal at any time!" Yuan Shu ordered.

Zhang Xun had no choice but to cup his hands and said: "I obey the order!"

Yuan Shu then asked Yuan Yin and Huang Yi to inform the clan to make preparations as soon as possible, take away valuables, and be ready to break out with the army at any time.

After noon, Zhang Xun had ordered the only 5000 soldiers and horses. He distributed 5000 troops to Meicheng, let Mei become the vanguard, first marched in the direction of Shaopi, then went north, crossed the Huaihe River, and entered Runan In the territory, from Runan all the way to the north, through Chenliu, Dongjun, and then cross the Yellow River to Jizhou.

Runan is an area where Zhang Yan's sphere of influence is relatively weak, and Chen Liu's soldiers and horses are not many, and when he arrives in Dongjun, he can only rush to cross the Yellow River.

The route has been established, and it is extremely safe to take this route, at least there will not be too many losses.

Although Zhang Xun's military strength is not as high as Ji Ling's, his ability to command troops is far superior to Ji Ling's, and he is well versed in the art of war. Together with Ji Ling, he has become Yuan Shu's right-hand man, and they often fight together. Zhang Xun was the deputy, and the cooperation between the two complemented each other perfectly. The reason why Yuan Shu was able to occupy Huainan was due to Zhang Xun's contribution.

At this time, Ji Ling was dead, and Yuan Shu could only put all his eggs in one basket, handing over all the troops to Zhang Xun's command, trying to rely on Zhang Xun to successfully break out of the encirclement.

Mei Cheng received the order, and with [-] troops, left Shouchun quickly and went directly to Shaopi.

Zhang Xun led an army of [-] to guard Yuan Shu and his clan, and left Shouchun together, and followed Mei Cheng to Shaopi.

In order not to cause unnecessary trouble, Zhang Xun asked Yuan Shu and his clan to dress up in disguise, and only said to the outside world that they were going to fight Liu Xun.

After the army left, there was no garrison in Shouchun City, but just to be on the safe side, Zhang Xun specially left the Shouchun Order to close the city gates and not allow anyone to enter or leave.

The magistrate of Shouchun only thought it was true that Zhang Xun was going to fight Liu Xun, so he followed what Zhang Xun said, but he didn't know that Shouchun City at this time had become an empty city.

At this moment, Zhang Yanzheng led a large army to Chaoshouchun. He took Xu Huang, Zhang Liao, and three thousand cavalry to set off first, but let Gao Shun, Chen Ying, Li Dian and others lead the army behind. .

Thirty miles away from Shouchun City, scouts suddenly came to report that Zhang Xun was heading southeast with an army of [-]. I don't know what his intention is. Today's Shouchun City should be like an empty city.

Zhang Yan frowned when he heard the news, and said to himself: "Yuan Jun didn't stick to the city, but ran around with his army, what is his intention?"

Xu Huang said casually: "My lord, Liu Xun led the army from the Lujiang River and is in the southeast of Shouchun. Could it be that Zhang Xun led the army to attack Liu Xun?"

Zhang Yandao: "Even if he is going to attack Liu Xun, Zhang Xun will not be so stupid as to take away all the soldiers and horses and make Shouchun like an empty city. Wouldn't it be cheaper for our army?"

"What did Zhang Xun do that way?" Xu Huang asked suspiciously.

Zhang Yan thought for a while, then suddenly frowned, and shouted loudly: "No! Yuan Shu wants to escape!"

(End of this chapter)