Chapter 325: A little trick to scare you! Xudu changes hands! The destiny is with Liu, not Yuan!
Fifteen thousand main forces were completely wiped out?

Yuan Tan was actually killed by Guan Yu?

The human head was actually held high in front of them?
The person commanding the army in front of him was actually Xiao Fang?

The Wei soldiers on the top of the city seemed to be struck by thunder at the same time. They were all dizzy and scared to death.

"The eldest son is dead! The eldest son was killed by Guan Yu!"

"Our main force has been wiped out. We are all finished!"

"Then how can we defend Xuchang?"

"Everyone, abandon the city and run for your lives!"

Panic cries came one after another, echoing throughout the city.

The Wei army was in a state of panic.

"Ju Gongyu, what...what is going on?"

"How could we be wiped out with 15,000 soldiers?"

"How could the eldest son be killed by Guan Yu?"

Chunyu Qiong was shocked and confused, and almost cried as he shouted at Ju Shou.

Ju Su shuddered, his body shook violently, and suddenly he came to his senses.

"My guess was right, Xiao Fang is indeed here!"

"We all miscalculated. He was sure that we would misjudge that he was going to attack Luoyang, and he was even more sure that the eldest son would lead his army out of the city to attack Yingyang."

"Guan Yu's 30,000 troops did not attack Luoyang at all, but set up an ambush in Yingyang and killed my 15,000 troops in one fell swoop!"

"I've said it before, with Xiao Fang here, the only wise choice is to stay put."

"My Lord, you refused to listen to my advice and sacrificed your life in vain, and also cost us 15,000 soldiers!"

"You have delayed the king's important event!"

Ju Su's voice was choked with sobs, and he spoke the truth with both grief and helplessness.

Chunyu Qiong suddenly realized what had happened and shuddered again, with an endless look of horror flashing across his old face.

"That country bumpkin could be so cunning?"

"How could there be such a wise person in this world?"

Chunyu Qiong was mumbling to himself, almost to the point of being incoherent.

Suddenly, his face turned grim, and he turned to Ju Su and angrily shouted:
"Ju Shou, you were so self-righteous that you assumed Guan Yu was going to attack Luoyang, and that's why the eldest son led his army to attack Yingyang!"

"It was your miscalculation that killed the eldest son!"

"Are you doing this on purpose, just to use Liu Bei to help the Third Young Master get rid of the thorn in the eye of the First Young Master?"

"You actually put the king's son to death and disregarded the king's legacy for your own selfish gain!"

"Ju Shou, you are truly despicable and shameless!"

Ju Shou was scolded so harshly that he almost vomited blood.

Yes, I made a wrong judgment at the beginning. I thought Guan Yu was going to attack Luoyang and bypass Xuchang to cut off the Yellow River.

The one who suggested to Yuan Tan to launch a surprise attack on Yingyang and cut off Guan Yu's food supply was Xun Chen from your Ruying faction.

I also repeatedly urged Yuan Tan to act prudently and not lead his troops out of the city rashly.

It was your master Yuan Tan who was determined to take a gamble and led his troops out of the city, and ended up losing his life.

In the final analysis, it was Yuan Tan who brought his own death upon himself!

Why do you put the blame on me?
"Chun Yuqiong, you, you..."

Ju Shou was full of grievances, but he was not good at arguing with others, and was confronted to the point where he could not utter a single word in rebuttal.

outside the city.

Xiao Fang looked at the terrified people on the top of the city wall and an expected sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

This was his "little trick".

The eight thousand infantry and cavalry behind him were real, but the "tens of thousands of troops" that continued to flow in from behind were just a bluff.

It was simply the same trick they used during the surprise attack on the Guling granary, ordering the cavalry to hold more flags, tie branches to the horses' tails, and gallop back and forth to create the impression of an incoming army of thousands.

The purpose, of course, was to scare the Wei army in the city and make them mistakenly believe that Guan Yu was leading the entire Jingzhou Legion here.

The head of "Yuan Tan" in Xu Chu's hand was just the head of a Wei soldier.

Anyway, his hair was disheveled and his face was stained with blood. Even Yuan Shao, his biological father, couldn't tell the real thing from such a distance.

This play is performed for one purpose:
The Wei army was frightened.

The main force has been destroyed, the eldest son has been killed, and the main force of the Chu army is at the gates of the city. How can Xuchang be defended?
The five thousand Wei soldiers whose spirits were broken naturally had only one choice:

They were defeated without a fight and fled the city!
This was Xiao Fang’s strategy to quickly capture Xuchang.

Looking at the terrified look of the Wei army on the city wall, it was obvious that they had been deceived by his strategy. They were frightened to the point of morale collapse.

Xiao Fang then signaled to Xu Chu again.

Xu Chu understood, raised Yuan Tan's head high, and roared fiercely:

"Listen up, Wei soldiers in the city. Our Prime Minister Xiao says that if you open the city and surrender, you will be forgiven!"

"If you dare to resist, our 30,000-strong army will conquer Xuchang and send all of you to follow Yuan Tan!"

Xu Chu roared like thunder, issuing an ultimatum to the Wei soldiers on the city wall.

The roar was so loud that all the Wei soldiers' scalps numbed and their hearts and livers were about to burst.

The little bit of will that the Wei soldiers had left was crushed by this ultimatum.

Soon, some soldiers began to quietly retreat from the top of the city wall and flee towards the north gate without any orders from their superiors.

Chunyu Qiong was also awakened from his grief and anger, and the anger in his eyes turned into panic.

"The situation is hopeless. We can no longer defend Xuchang City. If we continue to defend it, we will all die here."

"Abandon the city and retreat north, quickly retreat north~~"

Chunyu Qiong, whose will had collapsed, screamed hoarsely, jumped on his horse and tried to flee north.

Ju Su was surprised, and rushed forward to grab him, and urged:
"The king ordered us to defend Xuchang. Chunyu Qiong, how dare you abandon the city and flee?"

"If you escape, Xuchang City will be easily captured by the Chu army, our army will collapse and the entire Henan area will be lost!"

Chun Yuqiong hesitated for only a moment, but then shouted:
"So what? Our main force has been destroyed, the eldest son is dead, and the morale of the army has collapsed!"

"Even if I hold on, I won't be able to hold on. It would just be a waste of my life."

"Since we can't defend it, why not save these five thousand soldiers for the king!"

Ju Su was speechless.

As his eyes darted around, he suddenly thought of something and said anxiously:

"We haven't received any news about the destruction of the main force yet, and the head under the city can't prove that it's the eldest son's. Maybe all this is Xiao Fang's trick!" "General Chunyu, you must not abandon the city and flee. What if you fall into Xiao Fang's trick?"

"Even if we have to abandon the city, we must at least get accurate information before doing so!"

Chunyu Qiong raised his whip and it hung in the air.

He hesitated.

What Ju Su said made sense. The news that the 15,000 main forces had been destroyed was indeed not received.

It is impossible to confirm that the head of Yuan Tan is Yuan Tan's.

All of these are Xiao Fang's one-sided words.

It seems a little unreliable that they gave up Xuchang and fled just because of Xiao Fang's words and a head.

Chunyu Qiong changed his mind and hesitated whether he should hold on a little longer.

Xiao Fang, who was under the city, did not give him a chance to hesitate.

He raised his feather fan lightly and shouted:

"Order the whole army to attack the city and take Xuchang!"

Xu Chu immediately raised a signal flag.

Wei Yan, who was in the rear formation, saw the signal flag raised and immediately gave the order to attack.

"Uuuuuu——"

The solemn sound of the horn suddenly sounded.

Eight thousand Chu army infantry and cavalry broke through the formation and rushed towards Xuchang like a tide.

The sky collapsed and the earth split, with a tremendous force.

On top of the city.

Chunyu Qiong, who was hesitating, had just had some fighting spirit awakened by Ju Shou, but it was instantly shattered by the deafening roar of the Chu army.

"The eldest master must be dead, otherwise how could the entire Guan Yu army be here?"

"Ju Shou, it was you who miscalculated and killed the eldest son. You should die for the king and live and die with Xuchang."

"I, Chun Yuqiong, have done nothing wrong. Why should I die with you?"

Chunyu Qiong no longer hesitated, whipped his horse and tried to escape.

Ju Shou got anxious, grabbed his reins and shouted:

"Chun Yuqiong, Xuchang must not be abandoned. I won't let you escape!"

Chunyu Qiong was so angry that he raised his horsewhip and hit Ju Shou hard in the face.

"Snapped!"

There was a crisp sound of a whip.

Ju Shou groaned in pain, and there was a whip mark on his face. He instinctively loosened the reins.

Chunyu Qiong took advantage of the situation, whipped his horse, and fled down the city wall like a frightened bird.

The respected old generals all fled, and the Wei army soldiers along the city line collapsed and the entire line was dispersed.

When Ju Shou covered his burning face and recovered from the pain, Chunyu Qiong had already disappeared without a trace.

The Wei army soldiers on both sides scattered in panic like ants whose nest had been destroyed.

Countless Wei troops outside the city rushed towards Xuchang like tigers and wolves.

Ju Su's face couldn't help but twist into a look of sadness, and he looked up to the sky and let out a long, helpless sigh.

"The situation is over. The situation is over."

"If Xuchang falls, Henan will be lost. How can we defend Hebei in the future?"

"Is it true that destiny is with Liu and not with Yuan?"

The personal guards on both sides did not give Ju Shou time to mourn and ask questions to the heavens. They rushed forward and forcibly carried Ju Shou away from the city.

"I won't leave. I will live and die with Xuchang!"

"If Xuchang is lost, the Wei Dynasty will perish sooner or later, sooner or later it will perish——"

...

When the last rays of sunlight set, the royal flag with the word "Chu" was raised on the gate of Xuchang City.

Xiao Fang climbed up to the east gate and looked down. This former imperial capital was in full view.

"The Prime Minister took Xuchang in a snap of a finger without a single soldier. He truly deserves the title of a sage of strategy. I am convinced!"

Wei Yan, who climbed up to the top of the city wall to report the results of the battle, bowed deeply to Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang smiled faintly and waved his feather fan:

"Quickly send someone to Suiyang to report the victory to the king, saying that Xudu has been conquered to boost the morale of our army!"

"As for General Guan..."

Xiao Fang turned his gaze towards Yingyang and smiled meaningfully:
"At this time, Yuan Tan should have arrived in Yingyang, and General Guan should have had some results..."

...

Early morning, east of Yingyang City.

One after another, boats and rafts were rapidly crossing the Yingshui River to the west under the cover of the dawning light.

The rafts reached the shore, and more than 15,000 Wei soldiers rushed to land.

Yuan Tan leaped off the bow and stepped onto the land on the west bank.

Looking west, I saw the outline of Yingyang City coming into view, quietly bathing in the morning light.

"It seems that Yingyang City is poorly guarded, with no more than a thousand soldiers at most."

"Guan Yu would never have expected that we had seen through his intention to attack Luoyang, and he certainly would not have expected that the eldest son would dare to lead his army out of Xuchang to launch a surprise attack on Yingyang and cut off his food supply!"

Xun Chen pointed in the direction of Yingyang City and sneered sarcastically.

A sneer appeared on Yuan Tan's lips, and the image of Guan Yu's furious look after he learned that Yingyang had been captured seemed to appear before his eyes.

It was even more as if he could see that after their food supply was cut off, the morale of the 30,000 Chu troops collapsed and they were in disarray without even fighting.

"Pass the order down, the entire army will attack the city immediately. Before noon, I want to drink a celebratory wine in Yingyang City!"

Yuan Tan put away his fantasies, jumped on his horse, and pointed his silver spear towards the direction of Yingyang City.

The words trailed off.

The sound of war drums suddenly rang out, shattering the dim morning light.

Immediately afterwards, there was a sudden sound of breaking air, and countless sharp arrows rose into the sky from all directions and poured down like a net.

Yuan Tan's eyes suddenly widened, and the confidence on his face instantly turned into horror.

(End of this chapter)