Chapter 329 Useless trash, I'll beat you to death! Even if the sky falls, you have to throw the blame away first! Has the Chu army grown wings?
Zhang He took the order, united 15,000 soldiers and horses, and left Suiyang overnight for Hulao Pass.

Yuan Shao suppressed his emotions, continued to command the main force, and held Suiyang without fighting.

...

Four days later.

Inside the military tent, Yuan Shao was pacing with the help of a cane.

On his paper-pale face, the word "anxiety" was faintly visible, and everyone could see it.

Even though Zhang He had already been dispatched, and even though, as Guo Tu said, Yuan Tan's attack on Yingyang was a brilliant move.

But after calming down for a few days, Yuan Shao still felt that something was wrong. He was restless and fidgety the whole day.

"Your Majesty, please be at ease. Perhaps the eldest son has already conquered Yingyang, and the victory report is on the way."

"Young Master uses his troops like a king. Unless he is facing Liu Bei and Xiao Fang, Guan Yu is no match for him."

Guo Tu saw Yuan Shao's anxiety and comforted him with a smile.

He also took the opportunity to praise Yuan Tan.

Yuan Shao felt relieved and the gloom on his face dissipated a little.

"I hope that as you said, Xiansi will not let me down this time."

Yuan Shao sighed lightly, returned to the throne with his crutches, and was about to sit down.

Before I even sat down, I heard noisy discussions coming from behind the curtains.

Then, the tent curtain was lifted, and three dusty men entered the tent one after another.

Yuan Tan, Ju Su, Chun Yu Qiong!
The tent was in an uproar and the smile on Guo Tu's face froze instantly.

Feng Ji was also surprised, and even Yuan Shang's face changed drastically, with surprise and confusion in his eyes.

Yuan Shao was half squatting, frozen on the throne, looking at the three familiar faces in shock and horror.

"You...you are not in Xuchang, why are you in Suiyang?"

Although Yuan Shao had guessed the reason, he still held a trace of regret and asked tremblingly.

Phew!

Yuan Tan was the first to kneel down.

Chunyu Qiong hesitated for a moment, then quickly knelt down.

Ju Shou froze in place, hesitated for a while, and had to half-kneel down.

"Father, Xun Chen miscalculated, causing me to lose more than 10,000 soldiers in Yingyang, and Xuchang was lost!"

Yuan Tan explained the reason in grief and self-blame, but put the blame on the dead Xun Chen.

There is no way. Someone has to take responsibility for such a huge crime.

Ju Shou is still alive and standing here. If he dares to put the blame on others, they will definitely make excuses.

Then we can only put the blame on the dead Xun Chen.

Besides, it was indeed Xun Chen's strategy that led to the current consequences, so Xun Chen was not wronged.

Yuan Shao was struck by lightning. His body swayed and he fell onto the throne.

There was an uproar in the tent, and everyone was shocked.

Even Yuan Shang and Feng Ji were so stunned that they seemed to think they were having an illusion.

Guo Tu opened his mouth wide, his forehead was soaked with cold sweat, and he was so shocked that his whole body was shaking.

Just a moment ago, he was still endorsing Yuan Tan and praising him in front of Yuan Shao, praising Yuan Tan for his proper response and saying that he would be able to inflict heavy damage on Liu Bei's 30,000-strong army!

In a blink of an eye, the 30,000 Chu troops were not seriously damaged, but Yuan Tan himself lost almost all his soldiers and generals?

Even the city of Xuchang, the capital of the Han Dynasty and an important town in the heart of Henan Province, was lost?
and also.

Didn’t Ju Su clearly come to report in secret that Guan Yu led 30,000 main forces to attack Luoyang?

Why did these 30,000 Chu troops miraculously appear in Xuchang?

Do these 30,000 people have wings and can fly wherever they want?
"You, you..."

Yuan Shao's face was distorted, he covered his chest with his hands, and gradually felt the pain was cramping, but he couldn't even ask a single word.

Guo Tu was so shocked that he broke out in a sweat. He rushed forward and asked in disbelief:
"My Lord, didn't Guan Yu go to attack Luoyang? Didn't you launch a surprise attack on Yingyang to cut off his food supply?"

"Why did you lose Xuchang? This doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense!"

Yuan Tan let out a long sigh, looked up at Yuan Shao, whose face was twisted with anger, but did not dare to say anything else.

"We fell into Xiao Fang's trap. Guan Yu pretended to attack Luoyang, but in reality, he was trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"The eldest son rushed to attack Yingyang, but was attacked by the enemy halfway across the river. Xiao Fang led the main force of the Chu army..."

Yuan Tan didn't dare to say anything, so Ju Shou had to stand up and silently explained the whole thing.

Guo Tu was speechless.

Everyone present gasped, suddenly awakened, and looked at each other in shock.

"Xiao Fang, this is Xiao Fang again?"

"That country bumpkin is not in Suiyang, but in Xuchang?"

"Could it be that from the very beginning, Liu Bei's attack on Suiyang was a strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"

"From the very beginning, the Big Ear Thief's goal was to capture Xuchang?"

"Were we all fooled by him?"

Guo Tu muttered to himself, as if his soul had been pulled out of him, and he stood there in a trance, stunned and stunned.

Feng Ji rolled his eyes a few times, but suppressed his shock and sighed in a playful tone:
"Please forgive me for telling you the truth, Young Master, you really shouldn't have led the army to attack Yingyang."

"We have suffered so much at the hands of Xiao Fang. Hasn't the eldest master learned his lesson?"

"The king's order to you is to guard Xuchang. No matter how the situation changes, you should stay there and not go out. Even if you want to go to war, you have to ask the king for permission."

"Now the eldest son acted on his own and lost not only his troops but also Xuchang, which caused a disaster!"

Yuan Tan was startled. Feng Ji's words seemed fair, but in fact he was clearly trying to put the blame for the defeat on his own actions, in order to provoke Yuan Shao's anger towards him.

really.

Yuan Shao, who was originally holding his chest in excruciating pain, was instantly ignited with anger.

"You smart-assed bastard, you've lost my capital, Xudu, and ruined my great cause!"

"I'm going to beat you to death, I'm going to beat you to death—"

Yuan Shao was furious, roaring and cursing, raising his cane and smashing it on Yuan Tan's head.

No one expected that Yuan Shao would be so angry that he lost his composure and wanted to beat his own son with his own hands, and no one stopped him.

Yuan Tan did not expect that Yuan Shao would actually hit him with a stick, and he was stunned where he stood.

"boom!"

There was a muffled sound.

Yuan Tan's head was hit hard, and a bloody wound was instantly made, and blood gushed out.

He screamed, covered his bleeding head, and fell to the ground.

Everyone was stunned.

Even Feng Ji, who fanned the flames, was shocked and opened his mouth wide. He never expected that Yuan Shao would be so cruel to his own son.

There was dead silence in the hall.

Only Yuan Shang had an imperceptible sneer on his face.

But then, the gloating expression on his face turned into shock and distress, and he rushed forward to support Yuan Tan.

"Father, even if my elder brother has made many mistakes, he is still my elder brother after all."

"Please calm down, father, and spare my brother~~"

Yuan Shang knelt in front of Yuan Shao and pleaded for Yuan Tan with tears in his eyes, looking like a brother who valued friendship and loyalty.

Yuan Shao raised his cane high, intending to hit Yuan Tan again, but after Yuan Shang's persuasion, he could not continue.

"If Shang'er hadn't cared about our brotherly love, and if your brother hadn't pleaded for you, I would have beaten you to death today!"

"What are you still standing here for? Get out of here!"

Yuan Shao put away his cane and shouted at Yuan Tan in disgust.

Yuan Tan was furious.

Not only was he beaten on the head by his own father until he bled, but Yuan Shang also took the opportunity to hypocritically plead for mercy, and he played the role of a loyal and righteous brother in front of Yuan Shao.

Looking at his father who was cursing at him with disgust, and then looking at his hypocritical brother, Yuan Tan suddenly clenched his fists, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

At this moment, he was filled with grief and anger, and he even had the urge to draw his sword and kill the old man and the son on the spot.

"Young Master, it is important to treat your injuries first."

"What are you still standing there for? Help the young master back off~~"

Guo Tu noticed that Yuan Tan was losing control of his emotions, so he shouted at his guards to forcibly help Yuan Tan up and carry him away.

Yuan Tan then calmed down a bit. He could only grit his teeth, and with a look of grief and anger on his face, he was supported by Guo Tu and others and staggered away.

"Ahem, Your Majesty, the fall of Xuchang cannot be blamed entirely on the eldest son."

"First, Ju Gongyu miscalculated and mistakenly thought that Guan Yu was going to attack Luoyang. Then, Xun Youruo proposed a surprise attack on Yingyang to cut off Guan Yu's food supply."

"The eldest son also made the decision to lead the army out of the city based on the calculations of the two of them, in order to prevent Guan Yu from seizing Luoyang and cutting off the Yellow River, which would have disastrous consequences."

"I dare to say a few fair words on behalf of the eldest son. I hope the king will forgive me."

Seeing that Yuan Shao's anger had subsided a little, Chunyu Qiong dared to excuse Yuan Tan, and in a few words put the blame back on Ju Su.

Yuan Shao's face darkened and he glared at Ju Shou:

"Ju Gongyu, you have fought against Xiao Fang so many times and suffered so many losses from him. Why don't you learn your lesson?"

"Why did you fall for his tricks and make Xiansi make the wrong decision?"

After Yuan Shao calmed down after beating his son, he felt a little sad and regretful.

Now that there was a new person to take the blame, Yuan Shao naturally transferred his anger to Ju Shou and started questioning him.

Ju Su's face showed both guilt and grievance, but he was poor at speaking and was not sure how to defend himself after being confronted by Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shang frowned and glanced at Feng Ji.

Chunyu Qiong directed Yuan Shao's anger from Yuan Tan to Ju Su, a member of the Hebei faction, which obviously made him unhappy.

Although Feng Ji disliked Ju Shou, both of them were from the Hebei faction after all. He naturally could not sit idly by and watch Ju Shou take the blame for Yuan Tan and become angry with Yuan Shao.

After rolling his eyes, Feng Ji said:

"The capture of Xuchang by the eldest son is a foregone conclusion. What we should do most now is to make up for the loss."

"Now that Guan Yu's main forces are in Xuchang, at least the Luoyang line is safe."

"Your Majesty, you should order Zhang He to take back Luoyang from Cao Cao as soon as possible after capturing Hulao Pass. At the same time, Your Majesty can send reinforcements to Chenliu to make up for the loss of Xuchang."

"In this way, we can at least stabilize our defense line in Luoyang, Chenliu, and Suiyang, and we still have a chance to hold on to Henan."

Yuan Shao's anger gradually subsided and his expression softened.

After a brief pause, he exhaled lightly, waved his hand and said:

"Well, let's do as Yuan Tu said and order Zhang He——"

The words remained unspoken.

The personal guards held up the battle report and ran into the hall.

"Your Majesty, General Zhang has an urgent report!"

"Guan Yu has led his army into Luoyang, Yu Jin fled without a fight, Luoyang has been captured by Guan Yu!"

Yuan Shao's face turned pale with horror, his body shook violently, and the crutch he had just grasped slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground again.

(End of this chapter)