Chen Deng's 10,000 defenders plus Lu Yan's 7,000 soldiers not only defeated Yuan Shu's 40,000-strong army and killed more than 10,000 people, but also killed the other four leading generals Zhang Xun, Lejiu, Li Feng, and Chen Ji!
Coupled with Ji Ling, who was defeated at the beginning, Yuan Shu's five-pronged army collapsed in just one month!
Four generals died, plus Ji Ling was missing,
After the news came back to Yuan Shu in Shouchun, Yuan Shu was so angry that he spat out blood on the spot.
Five of the seven armies that attacked Xuzhou have been destroyed so far, leaving only Qiaorui and Leibo still stuck on the traffic artery between Xiaopei and Xiapi.
Originally, after Ji Ling defeated Xiahou Dun, the situation in Xuzhou was already very good.
As long as Pengcheng is captured, the four-pronged army can join Qiao Rui and then go straight to Pi and then capture Tan County and Guangling. The entire Xuzhou will fall into Yuan Shu's hands.
But Lu Yan...
Everything is because of Lu Yan!
"Lu Yan! I will definitely kill you!!!" Yuan Shu was roaring incompetently in his palace at this moment. The civil and military officials in the hall were silent, watching their mouths, noses and hearts, waiting for Yuan Shu to calm down after venting his anger.
.
After waiting for just over half an hour, after Yuan Shu finally vented his anger and calmed down, an adviser finally dared to stand up and persuade him:
"Your Majesty, half of the army attacking Xuzhou has been lost.
After Sun Ce captured all six counties and eighty-one states, he is also eyeing us... In my opinion, it is better to withdraw!"
This man's name was Yan Xiang. When Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he cited the story of King Wen of Zhou who submitted to Yin even though he owned two-thirds of the world to give his advice, but it was not accepted.
Yuan Shu was displeased and did not give him high officials or generous salaries after becoming emperor, but Yan Xiang remained loyal and made suggestions for Yuan Shu.
It's just that his advice was offensive to his ears, and Yuan Shu didn't want to pay attention to him.
"Your Majesty, Sun Ce has defeated Liu Yao and captured Jiangdong..." At this time, Han Yin also stood up and reported.
Speaking of Sun Ce, he was Yuan Shu's favorite young general.
But now he not only turned against himself, but also seized Yangzhou, which he had coveted for a long time...
After thinking about it, Yuan Shu spat out a mouthful of blood again and finally fainted.
"Someone come to the rescue, Royal Physician, Royal Physician!!"
"Help!"
"Hurry up and announce the imperial doctor!"
There was a panic in the main hall, and all kinds of shouts could be heard!
Several imperial doctors, sweating profusely, diagnosed and treated Yuan Shu. After finally stabilizing Yuan Shu's condition, Yuan Shu slowly woke up.
Xiaopei Pengcheng has now fallen into the hands of Cao Jun, and Guangling County is still in Liu Bei's hands. It is of little significance to capture Xiapi again.
Instead of wasting more time and effort to capture Xiapi City, it is better to withdraw the army and guard Shouchun to prevent Cao Cao and Liu Bei from jointly attacking.
Thinking of this, Yuan Shu sighed deeply and said: "According to my decree, Mingqiao Ruileibo quickly withdraws his troops to guard Shouchun!"
"Here!" There was a messenger outside the door and he quickly left.
Yuan Shu stared into the distance in a daze. After a while, he asked: "Can we still find reinforcements now?"
As Yuan Shu's words came out, the hall once again fell into silence that could hear a needle drop.
Even Yuan Shao angrily denounced Yuan Shu's ambition. In this situation, who the hell dares to form an alliance with us!?
Seeing no one answered, Yuan Shu waved his hands and said: "That's it, retreat!"
...
Shouchun Yuan Shu was hit by a series of failures.
Similarly, Qiao Rui, who was forced to attack Pi City, was shocked and worried after receiving the news of the defeat of the five-pronged army.
At this moment, there was also deathly silence in the Chinese army tent.
"Tell me, what should we do next?" Qiao Rui asked.
At this time, one of the participants walked out and replied:
"General, from what I see below, even if we take Xiapi, Xiapi will eventually become an enclave.
Under the fierce gaze of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, we simply cannot defend Xiapi..."
"So? What are your thoughts?" Qiao Rui continued to ask.
Joining the army gritted his teeth and said: "Withdraw the troops!"
Qiao Rui suddenly changed his face and shouted angrily: "Here comes this person. If he dares to disturb the morale of our army, drag him out and kill him!"
"General! Everything the villain said was from the bottom of his heart! General, please spare your life!"
Just when the guards were about to drag the soldiers out and kill them on the spot, a messenger suddenly broke in, saying that Shouchun had sent an oracle.
Qiao Rui suddenly shouted: "Stop!"
The guards then let go of the unlucky soldier and left him lying limply on the ground.
Qiao Rui glanced at Joining the Army, then opened the envelope, which clearly read: "Quickly withdraw the troops and guard Shouchun."
"Huh..." To be honest, Qiao Rui was quietly relieved.
How could he not know that joining the army was the best option?
It's just that without orders from above, withdrawing troops privately is a capital crime!
Qiao Rui glanced at the soldiers and said calmly: "Your Majesty ordered us to withdraw the troops. Everyone, hurry up and prepare!"
"Here!"
When everyone was about to leave, Qiao Rui suddenly stopped the soldier and said, "You're good. When you get back, go to the Military Supplies Department to get a hundred gold coins as a reward."
When he joined the army, he didn't expect that he would get a reward after escaping from death. So his legs were no longer weak and his waist was no longer sore. He turned over and climbed up. He bowed deeply to Qiao Rui and said, "Thank you, General, for the reward!"
"
Qiaorui didn't say anything, waved his hand and turned around to look at the map.
After joining the army and leaving, Qiao Rui shook his head and smiled bitterly: "How majestic was the Seven Route Army at the beginning? Now, only Lei Bo and I are left.
I don’t know how much longer my lord can hold on... That’s all, let’s do our best to obey fate!”
...
In Pengcheng, the county governor's mansion is holding a celebration banquet enthusiastically.
In this battle, the two sides cooperated tacitly, and defeated Yuan Shu's army of more than 40,000 with more than 10,000 morale, and also killed four of Yuan Shu's generals. The victory was heart-wrenching.
Everyone was so excited that their smiling eyes almost disappeared.
But there is one person who is an exception. He is sitting in a corner by himself at the moment, drinking bowl after bowl of boring wine.
Yes, he is the Xia Houlan who looked at the fat meat wandering around, but in the end didn't even take a bite...
Wei Yan snatched Xia Houlan's head, and he still felt a little guilty in his heart.
But General Yuan was heading straight to his hiding place. If he didn't chop him, it would be a disgrace to God's gift!
Holding the wine bowl, Wei Yan came to Xia Houlan and said: "Zi Heng, I stole your credit, I am here to apologize to you!"
After saying that, without waiting for Xia Houlan's reply, Wei Yan drank the wine in one gulp.
Xia Houlan raised his head, glanced at Wei Yan, and said hoarsely: "Do you think you are angry about this thing? You must be looking down on me, Xiahou Ziheng!"
"Huh?" Lu Yan, who happened to be walking over, heard Xia Houlan's words and asked curiously: "Then why are you doing this?"
Seeing Lu Yan coming, Xia Houlan quickly stood up and said, "I'm still a little uncomfortable...but I'm really not that narrow-minded."
After telling Wei Yan and Lu Yan to stay silent, Xia Houlan said with some embarrassment: "Actually, what makes me feel uncomfortable is that my qualifications are not very good. Will I have to stop at this level for the rest of my life?"
Is this what it was for?
Then Wei Yan couldn't help him, so he and Xia Houlan looked at Lu Yan, as if waiting for the only innate master in the world to answer this question.
After Lu Yan thought for a moment, he suddenly said: "No matter how brave a person is, he can only be defeated by a hundred people or a thousand people. Why are you abandoning the good and chasing the weak and not imitating the enemy of ten thousand people?"
"Ah!?"
"Zi Heng, I hope that you will become a handsome man who can control his own side, not just a fierce general who charges into battle. Do you understand?"
Xia Houlan gradually put away his expression. After a while, he finally clasped his fists and said: "Lan understands. I will study the military books carefully after I go back!"
"Well... go ahead and have a drink with everyone."