Chapter 282: Break your mentality and your last legion! Liu Bei: Good things come in pairs. Defeat Xia Pi for me!
That’s right, what Yuan Tan saw was indeed Liu’s cavalry.

A few hundred steps away, two cavalry generals, Zhang Liao and Zhang Xiu, were leading more than 2,000 cavalry of Liu's army, attacking along the northern bank of Zushui River.

They used Xiao Fang's strategy and, relying on the speed advantage of their light cavalry, arrived at Zushui first and discovered the whereabouts of Yuan's army.

Zhang Xiu originally advocated an immediate attack, but Zhang Liao was not in a hurry. He secretly monitored Yuan's army for two days and figured out the rules of Yuan's marching and camping.

So they launched a surprise attack at such an early morning time when Yuan's army had landed, was exhausted and busy setting up camp, and was completely unprepared.

Two thousand cavalrymen came rolling in.

The soldiers of Yuan's army who were setting up their tents turned around and saw Liu's cavalry attacking. They were immediately panicked and fell into chaos.

"Why are Liu Bei's cavalry here?"

"Could it be that the big-eared thief noticed that I was moving troops to Haixi, so he sent light cavalry to intercept me?"

"But my 20,000 troops were mixed in with the grain team and left Xia Pi. They should have been hidden from Liu Bei, right?"

Yuan Tan froze in place, with countless questions buzzing in his mind like thunder.

Sui Yuanjin looked frightened and shouted:

"My Lord, we haven't set up a camp wall yet. We must quickly form a battle formation to meet the enemy!"

"If the enemy cavalry rushes over, we're finished!"

Yuan Tan suddenly woke up, and without thinking any more, he quickly jumped on his horse and shouted:

"All troops, listen up! Form a battle array to meet the enemy immediately! Immediately~~"

The sound of the army's assembly gong finally rang out on the north bank of Zushui River.

The more than 20,000 exhausted Yuan troops were ordered by their generals to pick up their weapons and hurriedly line up eastward.

It's too late.

This is why Zhang Liao chose to attack at this time.

There were no walls in Yuan's camp, and the soldiers were so sleepy that they were busy setting up their tents without any vigilance at all.

If the cavalry suddenly appeared at this time, they would be caught off guard.

Just when Yuan's army was in a mess and had not yet completed its formation, the rolling cavalry came like a torrent.

Zhang Liao took the lead, his horse knocked two Yuan soldiers to the ground, and he swung his long sword left and right, beheading several Yuan soldiers.

The cavalry behind him swarmed in, bursting the gap torn open by Zhang Liao in the blink of an eye.

The iron cavalry ruthlessly smashed Yuan's soldiers to pieces, and the swords mercilessly harvested their heads.

In an instant, Yuan's soldiers were killed and their horses were thrown to the ground, with ghosts crying and wolves howling.

The already loose and messy formation collapsed in an instant like a fragile glass wall under this unstoppable impact.

The collapse begins.

The 20,000 troops of Yuan were no match for the reckless charge of the 2,000 iron cavalry of Liu's army, and they scattered like frightened birds.

Watching the collapse of his own army, Yuan Tan clenched his fists and felt heartbroken.

Haixi failed to ambush Liu Bei, but was ambushed by Liu Bei instead. He failed to steal the chicken but ended up losing the rice...

The dream of severely damaging Liu Bei and restoring prestige was shattered!
When the news reached Xuchang, how would Yuan Shao view him?
Yuan Shang just stayed in Ye City, lying there and doing nothing, and this gave him another bargaining chip in the fight for the throne!
The most fatal thing is that if these 20,000 troops were defeated, Gan Ning would be able to land in Haixi smoothly, capture Tancheng and cut off his retreat to Qingzhou.

At that time, the grain supply route to Xia Pi was cut off, and there were only more than 15,000 people left. How could they hold on?
"It seems that Xia Pi can no longer be defended, and these 20,000 troops cannot be saved either. I must retreat to Xia Pi immediately, lead the remaining troops to abandon the city and retreat north to Tancheng, at least I can retreat to the two counties of Langye in Donghai..."

"I was forced into such a miserable state by the big-eared thief. Damn it..."

Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart.

Sui Yuanjin retreated from the front and shouted:

"My Lord, the enemy is coming too fast. Our formation has been disrupted. We can no longer resist."

"If this continues, we will be wiped out!"

Yuan Tan's heart trembled and his thoughts returned to the present. He looked up and saw that the 20,000-strong army had scattered like ants in a defeated nest.

It is impossible to stop them. The only chance is to board the boat and escape to Zushui immediately. As many people as possible will escape.

But in this wilderness, Liu Jun's cavalry galloped like the wind, and he was afraid that he would not have time to get on the boat and would be caught up by Liu Jun's cavalry.

He, the eldest son of the Yuan family, is about to die by the bank of this ancestral water!
"I am the future heir of the Yuan family. How can I die here?"

"My father is old and Yuan Shang is just a useless person who can only flatter my father. How can I let the foundation of my Yuan family fall into his hands?"

"Only I can shoulder the responsibility of the Yuan family. I cannot die here—"

Yuan Tan's thoughts raced, he gritted his teeth secretly, and his eyes revealed a cold and resolute look.

Then he drew his sword and shouted:

"How can we escape the pursuit of the cavalry with our two legs? Running away will only lead to death. Only fighting to the death will give us a glimmer of hope!"

"Sui Yuanjin, I order you to reorganize the soldiers and fight to the death to stop the enemy cavalry!"

Sui Yuanjin's heart was shocked and a look of surprise flashed across his face. It was obvious that he had not expected that this young master would be so courageous.

Not afraid of danger, and willing to fight to the death with Liu Jun?
Besides, what Yuan Tan said makes sense. With the cavalry's pursuit speed, can you escape just because you want to?

"Young Master, what you said makes sense. Only a fight to the death will give us a chance of survival!"

Sui Yuanjin was aroused to fight, and he turned his horse back, shouting at the defeated soldiers to re-form their formation in an attempt to stop Liu's cavalry.

The moment he turned and left, Yuan Tan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, sheathed his sword, turned his horse around and ran towards the shore.

In front.

Relying on his appeal in the army, Sui Yuanjin managed to reorganize the front line and slightly delayed the pursuit of Liu Jun's cavalry.

Just a little bit.

In a blink of an eye, Yuan's army's front line was broken into pieces and they fled in disarray again.

"My Lord, the enemy's charge is too fierce. We can't resist it. We have to..."

Sui Yuanjin turned around and shouted, wanting to look for Yuan Tan, but found that his eldest son had disappeared.

In the distance, on the Zu River, several boats and rafts had left the shore, and Yuan Tan's figure seemed to be vaguely seen among them.

"My Lord, you actually——"

Sui Yuanjin woke up instantly.

The talk of fighting side by side and being extremely brave was all lies. It turned out that this young master Yuan was trying to trick him into blocking Liu Jun's cavalry so that he could buy time to escape to the ship.

After realizing this, Sui Yuanjin's face immediately twisted into one of endless grief and anger.

"Yuan family thief general!"

"Zhang Xiu is here, look at the gun!"

A loud shout was heard from behind.

Sui Yuanjin's body was shocked, and when he looked back, he saw a general as strong as a tiger standing in front of him like an iron tower.

A silver spear in his hand stirred up a blood mist in the air and stabbed towards him like a lightning movie.

"Zhang...Zhang Xiu?"

When Sui Yuanjin heard Zhang Xiu's order, he was so frightened that his heart trembled and he even forgot to raise his sword to resist.

"puff!"

A gun shot out and smashed Sui Yuanjin's head into pieces.

Zhang Xiu broke through the blood mist, waving the silver spear in his hand wildly, and continued to harvest the heads of Yuan soldiers like crazy.

When the sky brightens.

Zhang Liao and Zhang Xiu met on the river bank.

The field was stained with blood behind them. Twenty thousand Yuan troops were killed and the blood flowed like a river. Thousands of them died, and countless of them surrendered.

"Brother Wenyuan, Military Advisor Xiao is truly a master of foresight. This battle was a great pleasure!"

"It's a pity that Yuan Tan seems to have escaped, otherwise we would have accomplished a great feat!"

Although Zhang Xiu was excited, there was also a hint of regret on his face.

"Brother Wenjin, one should be content. Inflicting heavy damage to 20,000 Yuan troops is already a great achievement. Don't be too greedy."

"As for Yuan Tan, he can escape the first day but not the fifteenth day. Sooner or later he will fall into the hands of the lord!"

Zhang Liao smiled coldly and pointed his blade towards Xia Pi:
"Send a messenger as fast as possible to return to Xia Pi and report the victory to the lord."

He rode away on a galloping horse, heading straight for Xia Pi.

The two thousand Liu army knights on the shore waved their weapons and their cheers resounded through the heaven and earth.

Above the ancestral water.

Yuan Tan, however, looked lonely and haggard, with a bitter and helpless look as he watched his 20,000-strong army being buried on the north bank of the Zu River.

Bitterness gradually turned into anger. Yuan Tan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying:

"Xu You, ah Xu You, how can you say you are the most brilliant strategist in the Yuan family!"

"Last time, you miscalculated your plan and killed Zang Ba and 10,000 soldiers. Now you miscalculated your plan again and killed another 20,000 of my soldiers!"

"If I, Yuan Tan, lose Xuzhou, you will be the culprit. When I return to Xiapi this time, I will never let you off easily..."

...

South of Xia Pi City, Liu’s army camp.

Inside the central military tent, Liu Bei was standing with his hands behind his back, staring at the sand table in front of him, deep in thought.

It has been four days since the two thousand cavalry were sent out, and there is still no news.

There has been no movement from Chen Deng in Xia Pi City until now.

The atmosphere suddenly became eerily quiet, which made him feel a little worried.

"Yuan Tan has an army of 20,000 after all. Although we are cavalry, we only have more than 2,000 cavalry. If we want to defeat these 20,000 enemy troops, we still need to find a good opportunity."

"Wenyuan has always had a plan, my lord, you can rest assured."

"As for Yuan Long, he needs to wait for the right time to seize the city and win in one fell swoop."

"My Lord, please don't be impatient. Let's wait patiently."

Xiao Fang saw Lao Liu's worry and comforted him with a smile.

Liu Bei's frown relaxed and the worry in his eyes faded a lot.

So he nodded slightly and said, "Military Advisor, what you said makes sense. It's time to prepare..."

The words have not yet fallen.

Chen Dao rushed in excitedly, holding up the silk book and shouting:

"My lord, Zhang Wenyuan and his men have sent back a victory message!"

"Yesterday they successfully intercepted Yuan's army on the north bank of Zushui River and wiped out 20,000 of them!"

Liu Bei was greatly encouraged and hurriedly brought the victory news closer, unable to wait to read it carefully.

Then he felt relieved and laughed:

"Wenyuan is just as you expected, Jinglue. He found the weakness of Yuan's army and defeated the enemy in one fell swoop!"

"Good, good, good. We'll wipe out 20,000 Yuan troops in this battle. How can Yuan Tan still have the confidence to defend Xuzhou?"

Xiao Fang smiled and was about to speak when Xu Chu rushed in again, also with an excited look on his face.

"My lord, there are three smoke signals in Xia Pi City!"

Liu Bei's spirits were boosted again. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Fang, and the two of them hurriedly walked out of the tent and looked towards the north.

really.

Three smoke signals have risen above Xia Pi City.

That was the signal sent by Chen Deng, indicating that he would immediately launch a mutiny and seize the city gate.

"Good things either don't come at all, or they come in pairs."

"My lord, gather the troops and prepare to attack Xia Pi!"

Xiao Fang pointed at Xia Pi City with his feather fan and smiled.

Liu Bei laughed heartily, waved his hand and shouted happily:
"Pass the order down, all the troops in the camps must assemble immediately."

"Recapture Xia Pi today!"

(End of this chapter)