Chapter 274 The myth is broken, this battle cured the fear of Yuan! If you are too embarrassed to meet him, then just be cannon fodder!
The 70,000-strong Yuan army collapsed and fled.

Central Army Department.

Liu Bei looked at the fleeing enemy troops and the high morale of his own troops, and a gratified and proud smile appeared on his face.

This battle was won after all.

Liu Bei knew even more clearly how significant this battle was.

Everyone in the world believed that Yuan Shao was the strongest man in the world, and that Yuan's army was like heavenly soldiers, with an aura of invincibility.

Even in the two provinces of Jing and Yang, there were quite a number of civil and military officials under Liu Bei who were "fearful of Yuan."

They were always afraid of the Yuan family like a tiger, and advocated refusing to protect half of Jiangnan. They would not go to war with the Yuan family unless it was absolutely necessary.

In the battle of Xuyi, although Zang Ba was killed and 10,000 Taishan troops were destroyed, it could be considered a great victory.

But after all, it was the surrendered generals and soldiers of the Yuan family who were killed in this battle, and it was not the regular army of the Yuan family that was defeated.

In today's battle, an army of 70,000 men defeated Yuan's army head-on, truly dealing a heavy blow to the Yuan family!
After this battle, the myth of the Yuan family as an invincible god of war was broken.

In the two states of Jing and Yang, those civil and military officials who suffered from "fear of Yuan" will be completely cured.

"Send someone to report the victory to the military advisor immediately and ask him to come north to join us."

"Order the entire army to continue pursuing Yuan's army, march into the heart of Xuzhou, and take Xiapi directly!"

Liu Bei pointed his sword and gave the order boldly.

The soldiers of the three armies were in high spirits and pursued the enemy all the way along the northern bank of the Si River.

Liu's army was in pursuit, while Yuan's army was fleeing.

At sunset.

Surrounded by his personal guards, Yuan Tan finally managed to shake off the pursuers and could vaguely see the outline of Xiaxiang City in front of him.

At this time, Xu You, Chen Gong and others were leading thousands of soldiers to guard Xiaxiang, waiting for news of their battle.

When he thought of Chen Gong, Yuan Tan couldn't help feeling ashamed.

Looking back, Chen Gong had reminded him several times not to rush into a head-on battle with Liu Bei and to be on guard against any tricks Liu Bei might play.

It was he who ignored the advice, was blindly confident, and insisted on fighting Liu Bei.

Now, after returning with such a crushing defeat, how can I face Chen Gong?
Yuan Tan was conflicted and embarrassed, and he involuntarily slowed down his horse.

The sound of horse hooves rang out, and General Jiang Qi caught up from behind.

"My Lord, Liu Bei's pursuers have caught up with us again, less than five miles away from Xiaxiang City."

"We can't enter Xiaxiang City. We have to abandon the city and head north, retreat directly to Xiapi, gather the defeated troops and fight again."

Jiang Qi shouted in panic.

Yuan Tan shuddered and shouted anxiously:

"Pass the order down. All troops are not allowed to enter Xiaxiang. Go around the city and continue to retreat towards Xiapi!"

"Also, quickly send someone into the city to inform Xu You, Chen Gong and the others to abandon the city and retreat northward!"

Jiang Qi received the order and was about to ride away to deliver the message.

Yuan Tan's eyes moved, and he suddenly thought of something, and shouted: "Wait a minute!"

Jiang Qi stopped and looked back at Yuan Tan blankly, wondering if he had anything else to say.

Yuan Tan looked at Xiaxiang City and clenched his fists secretly.

I did not listen to Chen Gong's advice and suffered such a great defeat. Wouldn't I be ashamed when I see Chen Gong again later?
Furthermore, if Xiaxiang City was abandoned, Liu Bei's army would be able to pursue them without any scruples and directly kill them all the way to Xiapi City!
How could he have enough time to gather the defeated troops and plan to hold Xia Pi?

Someone had to hold on to Xiaxiang and delay Liu Bei, buying him enough time to catch his breath.

Yuan Tan rolled his eyes and shouted:
"You must enter the city quickly, order Xu You and Chen Deng to come and join them, and then order Chen Gong and Hao Meng to lead the troops to defend the city!"

"Tell Chen Gong to defend Xiaxiang to the death. After I have regrouped, I will march south and attack him from both inside and outside to defeat the big-eared thief!"

Jiang Qi's body started and he was surprised.

In order to have a decisive battle with Liu Bei, Yuan Tan mobilized almost all of his troops, leaving only more than 3,000 defenders in Xiaxiang City.

There are nearly 70,000 pursuers behind him.

Three thousand against seventy thousand, staying in Xiaxiang is a dead end!

Letting Chen Gong and Hao Meng guard Xiaxiang, to put it nicely, was to cover the rear and stay behind, to put it bluntly, was to use them as cannon fodder to delay Liu Bei's pursuit.

"My Lord, we only have over 3,000 men. I'm afraid Chen Gong and Hao Meng can't hold on."

Jiang Qi reminded him without thinking too much about it.

Yuan Tan glared back at him and asked:
"If they are not allowed to stay, do you want to stay?"

Jiang Qi was stunned at first, but then he understood Yuan Tan's intention.

After all, Chen Gong and Hao Meng were Lu Bu's old subordinates, and like Zang Ba, they were surrendered ministers. They were not direct descendants of the Yuan family and were considered "expendable".

Yuan Tan asked these two to stay behind to guard Xiaxiang, intending to abandon them.

As for Chen Deng, although he was not a direct descendant of the Yuan family, he was born into a prominent family in Xuzhou and had great influence. He would be of great use if he was kept around, so he naturally could not be left alone to be abandoned like Chen Gong.

"I understand. I will pass the message right away!"

Jiang Qi ran away.

Yuan Tan's expression improved, and he looked towards the direction of Xiaxiang City and sighed:
"Chen Gongtai, if you are really capable and can defend with 3,000 soldiers until I gather the defeated troops and make a comeback, then it will prove that you are indeed a talent to assist the king."

"When the time comes, I, Yuan Tan, will use you as my confidant and obey your orders."

"If not, don't blame me for abandoning you."

After muttering to himself, Yuan Tan no longer hesitated, whipped his horse, and continued to flee.

...

From the top of Xiaxiang City.

Chen Gong, Hao Meng, Chen Deng and others were gathered on the top of the city wall, looking south.

These people are called ministers of Yuan family, but in fact they all have their own ulterior motives.

"Five thousand cavalrymen, their fighting power is extraordinary. Lord Xuande has never fought against such a large number of cavalrymen before. I wonder what the outcome of this battle will be?"

"Since Lord Xuande dares to issue a declaration of war to Yuan Tan, could it be that Xiao Jinglue is really so powerful that he has a brilliant plan to defeat Yuan's cavalry?" There was a flicker of speculation and anxiety between Chen Deng's brows, but deep down, he was hoping that Liu Bei would win.

Chen Gong's eyes were filled with the same anxiety, but what he was thinking was completely opposite to Chen Deng's.

"Maybe I'm overthinking it. Even if Xiao Fang is a very smart man, he will be helpless against 5,000 cavalrymen."

"This time, I hope God will bless the Yuan family and let Mr. Yuan win..."

Chen Gong sighed softly, looked up at the sky, and prayed silently in his heart.

Sudden.

The defenders on the city wall were in a commotion and started pointing to the south and shouting.

"Mr. Gongtai, this is our banner, the eldest son is back!"

Hao Meng pointed to the south and shouted excitedly.

Chen Gong and Chen Deng's nerves tensed up at the same time. They opened their eyes wide and looked towards the south.

really.

I saw countless flags and tens of thousands of soldiers rushing towards Xiaxiang City along the north-bound road.

When he saw the full picture of the incoming army, Chen Deng's eyes suddenly showed surprise, but Chen Gong's body trembled and his face stiffened in an instant.

Armour and weapons were thrown away, flags were in disarray, and the formation was in disarray...

This is clearly a sign of a crushing defeat!
"Mr. Gongtai, what's going on? Did the eldest son lose?"

Hao Meng also noticed something, and his voice was filled with panic.

Chen Gong came back to his senses from his shock and sighed helplessly:

"As I expected, my lord, you didn't listen to my advice and finally lost to Liu Bei."

"I warned you long ago not to fight Liu Bei, but you refused to listen!"

Chen Gong slammed his fist on the battlement, and deep resentment welled up in his helpless face.

It was a kind of resentment towards Yuan Tan for not fighting back and for not listening to his advice.

Hao Meng was shocked.

Along the city line, thousands of Yuan family defenders were all in an uproar.

Only Chen Deng breathed a sigh of relief, and there was a hint of curiosity in his relieved eyes.

"My choice was indeed correct. Although the Yuan family is strong, they are destined to be no match for Lord Xuande. Sooner or later, Lord Xuande will gain the world."

"But I wonder what means Lord Xuande used to defeat Yuan Tan's 5,000 Youyan cavalry?"

Chen Deng twirled his chin with his fingertips, his eyes revealing deep curiosity.

While everyone was shocked and at a loss, a large group of Yuan's defeated troops were already swarming northward.

But they did not enter the city, but went around it and continued to flee.

"Mr. Gongtai, what should we do now?"

Hao Meng, who had recovered, asked Chen Gong anxiously.

Chen Gong took a few deep breaths, suppressed his turbulent emotions, and sighed helplessly:
"What else can we do? The eldest master is obviously afraid to stay in Xiapi any longer and wants to retreat to Xiapi in one go."

"Let's also prepare to abandon the city and retreat to Xia Pi."

Hao Meng was totally at a loss and had to obey Chen Gong.

Just as they were in a panic, preparing to abandon the city and retreat north, a rider rushed into the city and brought Yuan Tan's order:
"The eldest master has ordered that Chen Deng quickly leave the city and head north to join the eldest master and retreat to Xia Pi."

"Chen Gong and Hao Meng led their troops to hold Xiaxiang, waiting for the eldest son to regroup, and then marched south to defeat Liu Bei from both inside and outside!"

When this military order came out, Chen Gong's face suddenly changed.

Hao Meng's face changed drastically, and he shouted excitedly:

"There are only 3,000 people in the city, and Liu Bei has 70,000 troops. How can we possibly defend it?"

"Young Master asked us to defend the city. Isn't this asking us to die?"

The messenger had no expression on his face, and said coldly:

"This is the eldest son's military order. You just need to follow it. Anyone who dares to disobey will be punished by military law!"

Hao Meng was startled. His doubts were immediately rebutted. He froze in place, not knowing what to do.

Chen Deng rolled his eyes and saw through Yuan Tan's thoughts, but pretended not to know. He just coughed a few times and bowed to Chen Gong and the others to say goodbye.

"Gongtai, General Hao, Nadeng will leave first."

"You two should take good care of yourselves. We will see you later."

After saying this, Chen Deng turned around without hesitation and hurried down the city.

The rest of the Yuan family's direct generals also abandoned the city one after another, leaving only Chen Gong and Hao Meng, as well as thousands of "sacrificed" soldiers, frozen on the top of the city in panic.

"Mr. Gongtai, this young master is clearly using us as his pawns to help him cover his retreat and delay Liu Bei's pursuit!"

"What do you think we should do? Are we just going to foolishly defend Xiaxiang and wait to be surrounded and killed by Liu Bei?"

Hao Meng recovered and shouted at Chen Gong in grief and anger.

Chen Gongzhang let out a breath, sighed helplessly, and asked:
"So what? Do you still dare to disobey orders, abandon the city and flee, waiting to be punished by military law by Master Yuan?"

Hao Meng was speechless.

"We are Lu Bu's former subordinates, not the direct descendants of the Yuan family. It is reasonable for us to be treated as abandoned children."

After Chen Gong sighed bitterly, his eyes suddenly turned into determination:
"Instead of complaining about the world, we should cheer up and think about how to hold on to our position."

"If we can hold on to Xiaxiang and wait for Master Yuan to come back, we will have accomplished a great feat."

"With this extraordinary achievement, you and I will be regarded as confidants by the Yuan family, and we will truly have a foothold in the Yuan family!"

After saying this, Chen Gong cheered up, began to encourage the soldiers and calm their hearts.

Hao Meng looked at Chen Gong's back, then at the "Yuan" flag on the top of the city wall, but his fists clenched quietly, and a subtle look flashed in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)