Chapter 286: Am I the world's greatest loser? We can't do such a stupid thing as helping the Yuan family to hold together!
Fifty miles north of Xia Pi is Liangcheng County.

In the county government office, Yuan Tan was eating voraciously, eating meat and drinking wine in big mouthfuls, completely oblivious to his manners.

After the disastrous defeat at Zushui, in which an army of 20,000 was annihilated, Yuan Tan fled back to Liangcheng County day and night with less than a thousand remaining soldiers.

Having not eaten for two days and two nights, the first thing Yuan Tan did when he entered the city was to have a hearty meal.

After finishing several bowls of rice, Yuan Tan burped and finally felt satisfied.

"Hurry up and prepare your horses. I want to rush back to Xia Pi immediately!"

After eating his fill, Yuan Tan did not even bother to rest. He wiped the oil from his mouth and set off to continue on his journey.

As soon as he stepped out of the threshold, his personal guards came hurriedly and reported that Lu Xiang had arrived in Liangcheng with 8,000 soldiers and horses, and the army was rushing into the city.

"Lü Xiang? Why did he come to Liangcheng instead of guarding Xiapi?"

Yuan Shao's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition immediately came to his mind.

Without thinking too much, he immediately jumped on his horse and headed straight for the South Gate.

When they arrived at the South Gate, they saw thousands of Yuan soldiers entering the city dejectedly.

It looked like they were fleeing in defeat.

"Young Master, Young Master~~"

A general stumbled forward, with a sad face, and half-knelt in front of Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan recognized Lu Xiang, grabbed him and asked:

"Lü Xiang, why did you come to Liangcheng when you were not guarding Xiapi?"

"Is there something wrong in Xia Pi? Tell me quickly!"

Lu Xiang sighed and said with anger:
"My Lord, on the fourth day after you led your army out of the city, Liu Bei suddenly led his army to attack the city. At the same time, Chen Deng started a riot in the city, seized the South Gate and let Liu Bei's army in!"

"Jiang Qi was beheaded, Xu You's life or death is unknown, and the 7,000 defenders in the city were completely wiped out."

"I am unable to retake Xia Pi. In order to preserve my strength, I can only lead the northern soldiers in the camp outside the city to abandon the city and flee north to Liangcheng."

"My Lord, Xia Pi has been lost~~"

Lu Xiang recounted the events of the fall of Xia Pi with grief and indignation.

Yuan Tan felt as if he was hit on the head with a stick. Everything in front of his eyes went blank and he staggered backwards.

"Master!"

Lu Xiang was startled and quickly jumped up to support Yuan Tan.

"Chen Deng, how dare Chen Deng, that traitor, betray my Yuan family?"

"Is he really that bold?"

"Is he crazy?"

Yuan Tan, who had just recovered from the dizziness, gnashed his teeth and his face was twisted with endless anger and astonishment.

He couldn't understand where Chen Deng got the courage to stab the Yuan family in the back at this critical moment?
You know, Yuan Shao had already captured Xuchang and defeated Cao Cao!
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Yuan family controlled the two rivers and eight states, and it was a foregone conclusion that they would wipe out Liu Bei and unify the world.

Why did Chen Deng, the local tyrant in Xuzhou who always followed the principle of following whoever wins, suddenly get so hot-headed and inexplicably defect to Liu Bei?

Where is his sanity?

Isn’t he afraid that the Yuan family will take revenge on him later?
Isn't he afraid that the Chen family will lose their lives because of his foolish betrayal?
"My Lord, I cannot understand why the Chen family dared to rebel against the Yuan family!"

"It's just that Xia Pi has indeed been lost. Fortunately, I have brought out 8,000 soldiers, and together with the eldest son's 20,000 troops, we can retreat to Tancheng and still keep the two counties of Langye and Donghai."

"When Zhang He captures Xiaxiang and cuts off Liu Bei's retreat, we will have a chance to make a comeback and recover the lost territory."

Lu Xiang was talking about something irrelevant. It was obvious that he didn't know that Yuan Tan had suffered a crushing defeat and was left without any troops.

Yuan Tan felt a pain in his heart, and said helplessly:

"How can I still have 20,000 soldiers? I was attacked by the cavalry of the big-eared thief at Zushui, and all 20,000 soldiers... were wiped out!"

Lu Xiang was stunned and froze in place.

Are Yuan Tan’s 20,000 troops also doomed?
Doesn't that mean that the Yuan family's only mobile force in the entire Xuzhou is the 8,000 soldiers they have?

This amount of troops is not even enough to fill Liu Bei's teeth, let alone defend him.

"Master, it seems that Xuzhou cannot be defended. We can only go north to withdraw from Xuzhou and retreat back to Qingzhou."

"Ah~~"

After recovering from his shock, Lu Xiang let out a long sigh of helplessness.

Yuan Tan's body trembled and his heart ached again.

Yuan Shao gave him 50,000 troops!

I remember that he first went south from Qingzhou, was invincible all the way, captured Xuzhou within a few months, and became famous all over the world. What a glorious time he was.

Who would have thought that it would only take a few months to fall from the clouds to the earth.

Not only did he lose Xuzhou again, but even the 50,000 troops given to him by Yuan Shao were completely defeated by him.

If he escaped back to Qingzhou, he would save his life, but he would lose the last bit of his dignity.

He will have no chance of becoming the heir to the Yuan family!
"I'm not willing to accept this, I'm not willing to accept this~~"

Yuan Tan shouted with gritted teeth.

Lu Xiang sighed again and said:
"My Lord, as long as you can save your life, there is still a glimmer of hope."

"If we live and die with Xuzhou, everything will be gone. The eldest son can only watch the third son firmly take the position of the heir to the Yuan family on his way to the underworld."

Yuan Tan's heart shuddered, and the unwillingness on his face was instantly replaced by the fear of death.

After hesitating for a moment, Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and said:

"You are right. How can I die in Xuzhou and let my third brother get away with it?"

"Pass the order down, the entire army will immediately march north through Tan——"

Before Yuan Tan finished giving his order, the scout came running over shouting and dismounted from his horse.

"My Lord, urgent news from the East China Sea."

"Yesterday, the enemy general Gan Ning led his army to raid Tancheng. Our defenders fled without a fight. Tancheng has been occupied by the enemy!"

a bolt from the blue!

It was like a bolt from the blue, hitting the top of my head.

Yuan Tan's face turned pale with horror, and he staggered back half a step. He hurriedly grabbed Lu Xiang and managed to stand firm.

"Tancheng? Liu Bei has captured Tancheng?" "Master, this, this..."

Lu Xiang, who was unaware of the inside story, was so frightened that his face turned pale and he didn't know what to do.

Yuan Tan took a few deep breaths, trying his best to calm his mind. Suddenly, his heart was shaken and he understood the reason.

Gan Ning and the 10,000 Liu troops were not a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Liu Bei actually sent Gan Ning to lead his army to launch a surprise attack on Haixi at sea, and then rushed to attack Tancheng, cutting off his way to escape to Qingzhou in the north!
The cavalry defeated his 20,000-man army, the main force took advantage of the opportunity to capture Xiapi, and the navy attacked from the sea to capture Tancheng...

Kill three birds with one stone!
This is the full picture of Liu Bei's layout.

"You can wipe out all my troops in one go, not only taking Tancheng, but also the entire Xuzhou?"

"The big-eared thief has such a big appetite and such a sinister and treacherous scheme!"

"Xiao Fang, this must be the work of Xiao Fang!"

"Xu You, oh Xu You, you were played around by him, you killed me—"

Yuan Tan suddenly realized his mistake, gnashed his teeth, and started cursing again in deep regret.

"My Lord, now that Tancheng has been lost, we can't go back to Qingzhou."

"The only way to survive now is to head west to Pengcheng as quickly as possible and then retreat to Yanzhou via Pengcheng."

Lu Xiang hurriedly persuaded again.

Yuan Tan took a few deep breaths, trying his best to suppress his turbulent emotions, and finally calmed down.

"The big-eared thief probably doesn't know about the change of hands of Tancheng yet. Even if he wants to chase me, he will definitely chase me northward."

"Pengcheng should be safe now. Yes, we should retreat from Pengcheng to Yanzhou!"

After Yuan Tan weighed the pros and cons, he immediately shouted:

"Pass on my order. The entire army will set out immediately and head west to Pengcheng!"

Yuan Tan did not dare to hesitate any longer and led 8,000 remnants of Yuan's army, abandoned Liangcheng County, and headed westward to Pengcheng.

...

Three days later, at the east gate of Pengcheng.

Liu Bei and Xiao Fang stood side by side, looking far towards the east.

I saw a cloud of dust sweeping along the eastern road, indicating that a group of people were approaching quickly.

"My lord, the scouts just reported back that 8,000 Yuan troops are heading towards Pengcheng!"

Chen Dao came closer and reported.

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he looked at Xiao Fang with a smile:
"Eight thousand soldiers and horses is exactly the number of Yuan troops under Lu Xiang."

"Jinglue, it seems that Xingba must have taken Tancheng. This young master Yuan is indeed leading the remnants of his defeated army and trying to escape from Pengcheng."

Xiao Fang smiled faintly and pointed his feather fan towards the outside of the city:
"The fish got into the net by itself. My lord, tell the generals to prepare to close the net."

Liu Bei laughed loudly and immediately ordered his generals to act according to the fire signal on the city wall.

"Also, my lord, please instruct the generals to capture Yuan Tan alive."

Xiao Fang suddenly added a sentence.

A hint of surprise flashed across Liu Bei's eyes.

With Xiao Fang's decisive attitude towards killing, he always advocated eradicating the enemies completely in the past, including Sun Ce, Yuan Shu, Lu Bu and the like, whom he insisted on killing.

However, today, he was acting contrary to his usual behavior and specifically instructed to "let Yuan Tan off the hook", which surprised Liu Bei.

"Yuan Shao is indeed strong now, this is undeniable."

"If we kill Yuan Tan, Yuan Shao will be furious and will lead all 150,000 troops eastwards and attack Xia Pi directly."

"With our current military strength, it is still a bit difficult for us to fight against Yuan Shao. Even if we defeat Yuan Shao in the end, it will be a miserable victory."

"Besides, once Yuan Tan dies, Yuan Shang's succession to the throne will be a foregone conclusion, and the internal strife in the Yuan family will be eliminated. From the original numerous contradictions, they will become a united front overnight."

"A Yuan family with no internal strife and unity will be stronger than you can imagine!"

"So we must capture Yuan Tan alive. This will make Yuan Shao worried and he will not mobilize all his troops to fight. This will give us time to pacify Xuzhou and the newly acquired counties in the southern part of Yanzhou and Yuzhou."

"After we have calmed down the people of Xindezhou County and integrated them, you can then lead your troops to attack Yuan Shao and compete for the Central Plains, only then will you have a chance of winning!"

Xiao Fang took his time and pointed out the interests involved one by one.

Liu Bei suddenly understood and nodded heavily:

"Military advisor's words make sense. We should follow his advice and capture Yuan Tan alive!"

The order was passed down.

Liu Bei and Xiao Fang continued to stand on the top of the city wall, looking at the dust and fog rolling closer from afar.

Half an hour later, an army of 8,000 Yuan soldiers hurriedly and panic-strickenly arrived at the east gate of Pengcheng.

At this time, the Yuan flag on the top of the city wall had not been lowered. Yuan's army was rushing all the way and had no time to send scouts out to investigate. They were unaware that Pengcheng had already changed hands.

When Yuan Tan saw that there was still the flag with the word "Yuan" on it on the top of the city wall, he breathed a sigh of relief and felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"God bless me, Yuan Tan. I finally got to Pengcheng first."

"Big-eared thief, do you think you can trap me?"

Yuan Tan snorted coldly, immediately reined in his horse in front of the city, and shouted loudly:

"I am Yuan Tan. Where is the city garrison? Why don't you open the city gates quickly and welcome me into the city!"

Eight thousand exhausted Yuan soldiers crowded in front of the city, eagerly hoping that the city gate would open quickly so that they could enter the city to eat and drink.

On top of the city.

Hearing Yuan Tan's order, Liu Bei and Xiao Fang looked at each other and sneered at each other.

Then Old Liu took a step forward, looked down at Yuan Tan, and said loudly:

"Master Yuan, you are a step too late. I have already taken Pengcheng!"

Under the city.

Yuan Tan's body was stiff on his horse, his face frozen in shock, his eyes filled with horror and despair as if he had seen a ghost.

"Liu...Liu...Liu Bei?"

(End of this chapter)