Chapter 364: My son is dead? My beloved general is dead? What did I do wrong? The King of Wei knelt down in fear!
Yecheng.

On the top of the city wall, an old and withered figure was leaning against the battlement, looking south towards Wucheng.

The words "eagerly looking forward to it" were written in Yuan Shao's eyes.

Ju Su, who was supporting him, and the Wei army guards along the city line were all looking towards the south.

Everyone was waiting for the news of the 50,000-strong army marching south to attack Wucheng.

The night passed in a flash, and the sun rose in the east and the day was about to dawn.

However, no messenger returned from the direction of the southern highway to bring the victory news.

"Gong Yu, tell me the truth, what are the chances of success of your plan?"

Yuan Shao, who had waited in vain, could not help but look back at Ju Su.

Ju Su's originally confident eyes now revealed a hint of guilt.

By now, everything is ready for the implementation of this plan, except for the final touch. Everything seems to be perfect.

If it were an ordinary situation, Ju Shou would pat his chest and say that he had at least a 70 to 80 percent chance of winning.

But when he thought that the enemy was Liu Bei and that Xiao Fang was under his command, Ju Su began to lose confidence.

There was no way. From Henan to Hebei, he lost too much to Xiao Fang.

No, it should be said that it was a total defeat.

Xiao Fang's existence made it impossible for him to feel confident no matter how perfect his plan was.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty can only say that according to common sense, our army has a great chance of winning."

Ju Shou thought for a long time and finally came up with this answer.

Yuan Shao was stunned, turned around and glared at him:

"What do you mean by following common sense? I don't understand."

Ju Su coughed a few times and sighed:
"If the opponent is someone else, to deduce the success or failure of this plan, you only need to use common sense to deduce it."

"But Liu Bei has Xiao Fang, who has great magical powers. Your Majesty knows this. I dare not use common sense to deduce this."

"So, I can only say that according to common sense, our army has a great chance of winning, but if..."

When Yuan Shao heard this, he suddenly realized that Ju Su was worried about Xiao Fang.

When he heard the word "but if", Yuan Shao shuddered and waved his hand to interrupt:

"No buts! I believe your plan will succeed!"

"I have a feeling that in this battle, our army will not only be able to defeat the Chu army, but we may even be able to kill Liu Bei in one fell swoop!"

"At worst, we can kill Xiao Fang!"

"I believe that I am protected by God, and there will be no more accidents in this battle!"

Yuan Shao's tone was resolute and confident, as if he had already grasped the victory.

But to Ju Shou, these words sounded a bit like self-consolation.

If it were someone like Feng Ji, seeing that Yuan Shao was feeling guilty, he would definitely say something to appease and comfort him in order to win Yuan Shao's favor.

Ju Su was disdainful of observing his expression and continued to speak truthfully:
"The matter of destiny is illusory. I think we should be prepared for today's battle. In case——"

"Nothing unexpected!"

Yuan Shao interrupted Ju Shou, and his tone and expression revealed his dissatisfaction with Ju Shou's repeated discouraging words.

Then he raised his cane, pointed southward in the direction of Wujin, and said sternly:
"I believe that our army will win this battle!"

"The victory report from Yan Liang, Zhang He and the others must be on their way back to Yecheng!"

"You should prepare the rewards for the three armies immediately. I want to reward the soldiers who fought hard and defeated the enemy!"

No matter how upright Ju Su was, he could sense Yuan Shao's dissatisfaction with him at this moment.

Obviously, Yuan Shao at this time would rather paralyze himself than hear any words that might lead to failure.

He prefers to hear happy things but not sad things. Is this the temperament of a wise leader?

Ju Su frowned and wanted to speak again.

"It's our flag, the flag of our army!"

I don’t know which sharp-eyed soldier suddenly shouted this.

Yuan Shao and Ju Shou were shocked for a moment and turned their eyes towards the outside of the city.

By this time the sky was already bright and the situation on the southern avenue could be seen clearly.

At the end of the horizon, there were indeed countless flags rising, followed by thousands of soldiers and horses galloping towards Yecheng.

Looking at the flag, it is indeed the flag of the Wei army.

"Yan Liang, Zhang He and others have returned in triumph!"

"I have already said that our army will win this battle without a doubt!"

"Come on, open the city gates and welcome our soldiers back!"

"Hurry up and prepare a celebration banquet. I want to celebrate their success!"

Yuan Shao was grinning from ear to ear, waving his cane and giving orders.

The morale of the defenders along the city was high, and cheers echoed throughout the city walls.

There was no joy on Ju Su's face. Instead, his brows became more and more furrowed, and suspicion grew in his eyes.

"Gong Yu, I have already said that with God's blessing, your plan will surely succeed!"

"Although Xiao Fang has great magical powers, he is still a human being. How can he really have a plan that is perfect?"

"This time, he finally miscalculated and fell for your scheme, Ju Gongyu."

Yuan Shao turned to Ju Su with a smile, and there was a hint of sarcasm in his words of praise.

It is both a satire on Xiao Fang's "stumble" and a satire on Ju Su's "discouraging words" just now.

"Your Majesty, I feel something is wrong."

Ju Su's face was still full of doubt, and he pointed to the south:
"According to the plan, after Yan Liang and Zhang He captured Wucheng and severely damaged Liu Bei, they should pursue the victory and recapture Dangyin, Liyang and other lost territories, and drive the Chu army back to the south of the Yellow River in one go."

"Even if they win, they can just send a messenger back to report the victory. Why would they personally lead the army back to the city?"

Yuan Shao's smile disappeared, his body stiffened slightly, and his nerves immediately tensed up.

He turned around quickly and looked towards the south again.

The Wei army gradually became clear, with only about 10,000 men in number.

Moreover, the flags were in disarray and tilted here and there, and the soldiers were running in panic with no order at all.

This doesn't look like a great victory at all, it's more like...

"Return in defeat!"

"Your Majesty, our army is not returning in triumph, it is returning in defeat!" Ju Su's face changed drastically, and his trembling voice revealed the truth.

Yuan Shaoru was hit on the head with a stick, his eyes popped open instantly, his face suddenly twisted and deformed, and he lost control of the crutch in his hand and fell to the ground.

Ju Su was right.

Even a blind man could see that the Wei army that appeared outside the city were defeated soldiers returning in defeat!
"Yan Liang and his men were defeated?"

"With Xiansi as their accomplice, how could they possibly fail?"

"This doesn't make sense, this doesn't make sense!"

Yuan Shao grasped the battlements tightly, using all his strength to support his exhausted and limp body, shouting incoherently with disbelief in his eyes.

Ju Su also had a grim look on his face.

Even though he had been mentally prepared, he was still shocked and found it difficult to accept the outcome of his army's disastrous defeat.

"The one who can break my plan must be Xiao Fang."

"But, what method did he use to break my plan..."

Ju Su muttered to himself, falling into a state of disorientation and trance.

Both his master and his minister were in great confusion.

The Wei army guards along the city line went from jubilation to fear and panic, and there was chaos on the city walls.

When the city was in chaos, the defeated army had already fled in panic.

"Your Majesty, I am Zhang He. Please let me into the city immediately!"

Zhang He, his battle robe stained with blood, shouted hoarsely at the top of the city wall.

The city gates opened and the drawbridge was lowered.

The moment Zhang He hurriedly stepped into Yecheng, his heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down.

He reined in his horse and looked back, only to see tens of thousands of Wei army's defeated soldiers, like a flock of frightened sheep, rushing into the city one after another.

Of the 50,000 troops that left, only 10,000 or so escaped.

Even Yan Liang, Hebei's most powerful general, died in Wucheng.

At this moment, Zhang He felt indescribable feelings in his heart, and he didn't know whether he was relieved or sad.

Fortunately, when he and Yan Liang broke out separately, Guan Yu chose to intercept Yan Liang, so he was able to escape and flee back to Yecheng alive.

The sad thing is that the four pillars of Hebei died in battle one by one, and now even the strongest Yan Liang died under Guan Yu's sword.

The next person to die would probably be Zhang He.

"Is it true that the Yuan family is doomed to fail? Will I, Zhang He, really be buried with the Yuan family?"

"Ugh……"

Zhang He shook his head and sighed, then dismounted from his horse and, dragging his tired body, silently climbed up the city wall.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty."

After a moment, he was half-kneeling in front of Yuan Shao, with his head down and not daring to look Yuan Shao in the eye.

Yuan Shao woke up from his trance, staggered forward, grabbed Zhang He and shouted:
"Tell me, what happened in Wucheng?"

"Did you lose?"

Zhang He sighed bitterly and said helplessly:

"Reporting to the king, we have indeed been defeated."

"Liu Bei had already seen through Lord Ju's plan. The North Camp of Wucheng was just an empty camp. We easily broke through the enemy camp and reached the North Gate."

"Who would have thought that the eldest son... the eldest son..."

Zhang He wanted to say something but hesitated, not knowing how to start.

"What happened to Xiansi?"

Yuan Shao became more anxious and asked again.

Zhang He did not dare to hide it, so he swallowed his saliva and continued:
"The eldest master's head has been hung on the city gate!"

"Liu Bei immediately launched an ambush, catching us off guard and inflicting heavy casualties on us."

"I had no choice but to lead the army to break out, and I risked my life to break out."

"Yan Liang was intercepted by Guan Yu and failed to make it out alive. He died in Wucheng!"

"My lord, we are defeated!"

By the end of his speech, Zhang He's voice was already filled with tears, and he fell to his knees at Yuan Shao's feet.

Yuan Shao's body was frozen.

His face was dull and his body was stiff, as if his soul had been drained out, and he stood there blankly.

The last bit of fantasy in his mind was torn to pieces bit by bit by the cruel truth told by Zhang He.

Just a moment ago, he was still fantasizing about defeating the 170,000-strong Chu army in this battle.

He was even fantasizing about killing Liu Bei in one fell swoop and completing his mission in one fell swoop!
Then the Chu Kingdom collapsed, and he led his troops south to recover the lost territory, taking advantage of the situation to destroy the leaderless Chu Kingdom, seize the Central Plains, and seize the south of the Yangtze River...

He never dreamed that this beautiful fantasy would be replaced by such a cruel defeat.

The eldest son Yuan Tan, the beloved general Yan Liang, and countless soldiers all died under Liu Bei's butcher knife!

"why?"

"Why was this sure-fire strategy still discovered by Liu Bei?"

"What did I do wrong? Oh God, why do you treat me like this?"

Yuan Shao murmured to himself, grief, anger and despair enveloping his whole body.

"General Zhang, how many soldiers have we lost?"

Ju Su supported Zhang He and asked in a trembling voice.

Zhang He sighed again and said with a bitter face:

"In this battle, we lost about 40,000 soldiers out of our 50,000-man army, and I only brought back more than 10,000 people!"

Fifty thousand troops!

This is their last available mobile force!

There were 40,000 casualties, and only less than 10,000 people escaped?

How to defend Yecheng?
How can we continue this war?

Yuan Shao, who was filled with grief and anger, suddenly felt as if he had collapsed. His legs went limp and he fell to his knees on the ground.

(End of this chapter)