The midsummer of the fifth year of Jian'an was destined to be an eventful autumn, and at the same time that Cai Ji and Jiang Yiqu, Liu Xun and others were fighting outside Liyang City, Cao Cao also fought against Yuan Shang's 40,000 troops with 20,000 cavalry 30 miles outside Chaoge City. On the plain that stretched for several miles, there were swords and guns, and there were nearly 60,000 soldiers and horses of the Cao and Yuan families. It is true that Cao Cao's army was only half that of Yuan Shang. But Cao's army was united and morale was high, and he didn't take the enemy army twice as big as himself in his eyes at all. On the other hand, Yuan Shangbu was quite jealous of Cao Jun, a tiger and wolf army, due to the impact of the previous Qinghe fiasco. The dignified 40,000 troops were forced to be suppressed by the 20,000 Cao army.

Cao Cao, who was riding his horse and standing in front of the battle, was very satisfied with the appearance of his soldiers. Three can win the handsome, but the husband can not win the ambition. The impact of morale on victory or defeat is often fatal. Because of this, Cao Cao deliberately sent the tiger and leopard cavalry to annihilate the vanguard of Yuan's army, and then fought a decisive battle with Yuan Shang. Now it seems that those heads and noses did have the intimidating effect that Cao Cao wanted. Yuan Shang also seemed to realize that his morale was low, and at this moment, he personally put on his armor to cheer up the soldiers.

Looking at Yuan Shang, who was straddling a white horse on the opposite side and wearing bright armor, Cao Cao commented in a playful tone, "I never thought that Yuan Shang'er was also a little timid. ”

Xiahou Yuan on the side listened, shook the spear in his hand, and said disapprovingly, "It's just a milky child, wait for Yuan to take the head of his neck, see if he dares to be so ignorant!" ”

"That lonely is here waiting for good news." Cao Cao turned back to Xiahou Yuan and gave him an encouraging smile, but the smile was only fleeting. Immediately after that, Cao Cao ordered in a cold tone full of murderous intent, "Beat the drum!" Sortie! ”

With Cao Cao's order, the earth-shattering drums resounded on the battlefield. Just to the uplifting drum beat. Five thousand cavalry, under the leadership of Xiahou Yuan, formed a conical formation and rushed straight to the ranks of Yuan Shangqian's army. Yuan Shang sent two generals, Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang, to lead troops to block the attack. It's a pity that Erlu is Xiahou Yuan's opponent, and only one of them is Lu Kuang who was beheaded by Xiahou Yuan. And Lu Xiang wanted to flee after fighting with Xiahou Yuan for more than ten rounds. was also shot off the horse by an arrow from Xiahou Yuan.

Seeing that Cao Jun's iron cavalry was under the leadership of Xiahou Yuan, it was like a sharp blade tearing apart Yuan Shang's seemingly thick front army. Cao Cao even gave the order. Yu Ban and Xu Huang each ordered 5,000 infantry to follow closely with a fish-scale formation, pressing and compressing Yuan's defense line step by step. Under the dense and compact attack of Cao's army, Yuan's army, which was already demoralized, soon fell into chaos. In particular, the 5,000 cavalry led by Xiahou Yuan were simply like tigers in the mountains, roaring all the way, opening their bloody mouths, biting the prey that was fleeing with headshots around them, trembling and trembling.

Yuan Shang never thought that the 40,000 army he was so proud of would be so vulnerable. didn't even hold on for half an hour, and collapsed under the siege of Cao's army. And when he reacted. Xiahou Yuan had already led his subordinates to rush into Yuan's army's main formation. Yuan Shang, who was once known as a newborn calf and was not afraid of tigers, had already been swept away by his majesty, and he saw Xiahou Yuan, who had beheaded two generals of Yuan's army, killing him. was so frightened that he dared to fight with a gun, and even if he retreated again and again under the escort of his own family, he wanted to avoid the opponent's edge. But who would have thought that Xiahou Yuan recognized Yuan Tan's piercing white horse early on. But seeing that he took a longbow, he raised his hand and an arrow hit the leg of Yuan Tan's mount. The horse suddenly stood in the air in pain, and flipped Yuan Shang on his back to the ground.

Yuan Shang, who was slammed to the ground, only felt that his eyes were black. I almost couldn't breathe in pain. However, at this time, Yuan Shang did not have time to cry out in pain at all. Xiahou Yuan, who saw the prey fall to the ground, had already stepped forward and wanted to shoot it, which resulted in the third prince of Yuan. At this critical moment, three horsemen suddenly burst out of Yuan's army formation. But seeing the first person, he galloped like lightning and rushed to Yuan Shang's body. While leaning on the horse's back, he reached out and grabbed Yuan Shang's collar with one hand, shouted "get up", and lifted the huge body on the horse's back. Such actions of riding horses, leaning over, probing arms, and saving people in one go dazzled Xiahou Yuan and the others, and they couldn't help but cheer for them loudly, and they forgot to fight.

By the time Cao Jun came back to his senses, the three riders had already escorted Yuan Shang out of danger. Seeing this, Xiahou Yuan hurriedly raised his bow and released the arrow, but unfortunately the other party had already run out of range, and the arrow finally shot into the air. provoked Xiahou Yuan to ask unwillingly, "Who was the person who saved Yuan Shang just now?" ”

"Back to the general, I look like the son of a frustrated bird." A lieutenant Cao Jun, who was familiar with Yuan's army, reported to Xiahou Yuan.

"The son of frustration?" Xiahou Yuan didn't expect that the general who saved people just now was actually the son of Fu Zhi. In amazement, he couldn't help but laugh angrily, "Interesting! Yuan will definitely meet this frustrated boy in the future! ”

Indeed, the rider who rescued Yuan Shang was Fu Hu, the eldest son of Fu Zhu. Different from his father, who is good at strategy, he has been martial since he was a child, not only good at using long weapons, but also good at kung fu. Although he was left by Yuan Shao in Guandu and died in the chaos before. But he only said that his father was killed on the battlefield, so he regarded Cao Cao as the enemy who killed his father, and wanted to help Yuan Shang destroy the Cao family. However, judging from the current battle situation, Yuan Shangmo said that he had defeated Cao Cao, and even saving his life was a problem.

However, as the saying goes, stay in the green mountains without worrying about no firewood. Although Yuan Jun has been defeated, as long as Yuan Shang is still alive, the Yuan family will always have a chance to turn around. Therefore, seeing that Yuan Shang had lost his mount, he immediately gave up his mount to the lord who was three years younger than him, and he himself changed to an ordinary war horse to follow. But who knows if Yuan Shang is too nervous, or if his riding skills are not good, he can't control the frustrated horse. No matter how much he shook the rope and shouted, the horse just spun in circles, refusing to run a single step. Seeing that Cao Jun was about to catch up, Yuan Shang couldn't help but sweat profusely, and asked for help from the frustrated Hu in a loud voice, "Zihong, is this Ma Mo not the master?" ”

Seeing Yuan Shang's clumsy appearance, he looked at Cao Jun behind him, who was getting closer and closer to him, and immediately hugged his fists, "Your Majesty, offend too!" ”

"What?" Before Yuan Shang could figure out why he wanted to accuse him, the latter had already whipped the horse under his crotch with his horsewhip. The horse was in pain and immediately galloped with Yuan Shang on his back. Frustrated Hu led his relatives and followed, escorting Yuan Shang all the way to the northeast to escape.

When a group of people fled the battlefield and joined Li Fu and the others in Dangyin, Yuan Shang only felt that the bones in his body were about to be shaken apart, and the roots of his thighs were so sore that he could barely get off the horse on his own. Yuan Shang realized it for the first time. It turns out that running for your life on a horse and hunting on a horse are two different things. At the same time, he also understood that his so-called art of war was equivalent to child's play in front of Cao Cao and other generals. All the rhetoric from before is all a joke in retrospect.

thought of the original 50,000 soldiers and horses under his child's command. Now that only a thousand people are following him, Yuan Shang can't help but feel an indescribable fear of Cao Cao while laughing at himself. After all, the Yuan army was beaten by Cao Cao so wolf when there were more people than Cao Cao's army. How will this battle be fought in the future, and how can Yecheng be able to hold it.

Li Fu on the side seemed to see Yuan Shang's uneasiness. But he saw him stepping forward and persuading Yuan Shang, "Your Majesty, don't be impatient." Although our army was defeated by Cao Cao this time, as long as His Majesty rushed back to Yecheng and shouted, he could gather his soldiers and horses. What's more, the high walls of Yecheng City are thick, which can reach 100,000 troops. Even Cao Cao was difficult to start in the face of Yecheng for a while. ”

Yuan Shang listened to Li Fu's words. I finally felt a little relieved. After all, Yecheng is a fortress that the Yuan family has operated for many years, and the grain and grass in the city are enough for the soldiers and civilians to eat for three years. Even Yuan Shang could drive some old, weak, sick and disabled people out of Yecheng. In this way, the grain can be eaten for a longer period of time. Thinking of this, Yuan Shang no longer cared about whether he would be ridiculed after his fiasco, but breathed a deep sigh of relief, nodded at Li Fu and said, "Li Qing's family is reasonable. I'm going to set off back to Yecheng. ”

However, as soon as Yuan Shang's words fell, there was a rapid sound of horses' hooves from behind him. Yuan Shang, who had just been driven away by Cao Jun, heard the sound of horses' hooves, and his eyelids couldn't help jumping, thinking that Cao Jun was chasing him? But before Yuan Shang got up and asked. The owner of the horse's hoofs had already turned over and dismounted. He crawled to Yuan Shang and knelt down. "陛xià! Anguo ...... King Ann takes Ye City! ”

"What!" Yuan Shang couldn't believe his ears and asked, "What did you say?" ”

The messenger gasped and added. "Yu Guoshi opened the city gate and let King An enter Yecheng, and now Yecheng has fallen into the hands of King An Yuan Shu!"

When the messenger reported the changes in Yecheng to Yuan Shang, Yuan Shu, who was the victor, was standing on the tower of the imperial city of Yecheng wearing golden armor. Thinking that this magnificent giant city under his feet once belonged to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu's heart would swell with an inexplicable sense of pride. Yuan Shu has always been pressed under his feet by his brother Yuan Shao and can't turn over. And now Yuan Shao's city and Yuan Shao's country have all belonged to him Yuan Shu, which has greatly satisfied Yuan Shu's body and mind. However, the reason why Yuan Shu was able to get this qiē was not because of his outstanding ability, but because he was helped by a person. That man was Yu Ji.

At this moment, Yu Ji was standing behind Yuan Shu with a whisk in his hand, still looking like a fairy wind bone. No one expected that it was such an old way that would make the impregnable Yecheng change hands overnight. But as the messenger said, it was Yuan Shaoqin's national teacher Yu Ji who opened the gate of Yecheng for Yuan Shu this time. Because he was afraid that Yuan Shang and Empress Dowager Liu would get rid of him, Yu Ji first made a strong move and secretly colluded with Yuan Shu. And on the occasion of Yuan Shang's personal expedition, Yuan Shu was introduced into Yecheng under the banner of the so-called "pacification of chaos". Of course, the so-called "thieves" are naturally the ones who have always been at odds with Yu Ji.

No matter what Yu Ji's purpose was to let Yuan Shu enter the city, at least his actions fulfilled Yuan Shu's desire to occupy Yecheng. Therefore, after taking a glimpse of the beautiful scenery of Yecheng, Yuan Shu did not hesitate to turn around and promise to Yu Ji, "This time, thanks to the help of the national teacher, I can enter Yecheng to quell the chaos." The national teacher has made this great achievement, and he will definitely be rewarded. ”

"The king has also won awards. The minister is just following the trend. Yu Ji responded in a low-key manner. The reason why he expressed his position like this was that he learned the lesson of Jun Yayun's unscrupulous words before; Second, he also knew that Yuan Shu had always been stingy. Instead of dwelling on the so-called heavy rewards, it is better to pretend to be generous.

"The national teacher should not refuse. After the lone man captures the treasury, the national teacher can choose one or two treasures in the treasury. Yuan Shu generously said to others.

And when Yu Ji secretly slandered Yuan Shu and did not have Yuan Shao's generosity, Yuan Shu's henchman Le had already carried a human head to the pavilion to report, "The trial has been ambushed, please take a look at it." ”

Yuan Shu looked at the first level of trial and matching, and his eyes widened with an unwilling look. Thinking about the fact that these people were willing to assist Yuan Shao, who was from a humble background, rather than serving himself, the concubine of the Yuan family, Yuan Shu couldn't help but laugh triumphantly at the head, "Judge Nan'er also has today!" ”

Compared with the bad luck of looking for a head, Yu Ji is more concerned about the situation in the inner city. It must be known that the inner city is under the jurisdiction of Empress Dowager Liu, not only is there a heavy army, but Yu Ji has not been able to get the key to the palace gate. This made Yuan Shu's men unable to drive straight into the inner city for the time being. Therefore, Yu Ji hurriedly said to Yuan Shu, "Your Majesty, the remnants of the city will be leaderless when you judge the remnants of the city. Without hesitation, he also asked Wang Shang to quickly interrogate and assign the first rank to the inner city to recruit the defenders. ”

"Hmm. The national teacher is reasonable. Yuan Shufu nodded, and turned to Xiang Le and ordered, "Drive the inner city." ”

"Whoa." Le had to give the order, and then turned around and went downstairs to order all the soldiers and horses. And Yu Ji naturally followed Yuan Shu and rushed to the inner city together. In fact, the reason why Yu Ji was so eager to capture the inner city was that the main purpose was to put the Empress Dowager Liu in the inner city to death. In Yu Ji's opinion, if it weren't for Empress Dowager Liu's mind about Jun Yayun's previous gaffes, Yuan Shang would not have alienated himself at all, let alone have the idea of assassinating himself. It was the old woman who repeatedly made obstacles from it, so that she had to abandon Yuan Shang, who was easy to control, and instead cooperate with the infamous Yuan Shu. It can be said that Empress Dowager Liu is the woman Yu Ji wants to kill the most besides Cai Ji.

With this thought in mind, Yu Ji followed Yuan Shu all the way to the gate of the inner city palace. However, to everyone's surprise, it was not the cold arrows of the inner city guards that greeted them at this moment. It was the Empress Dowager Liu who was waiting in front of the palace gate with the beauties of the harem in a gorgeous dress. Such a battle made Yuan Shu and the others, who were originally holding their heads in their hands and imposing, freeze on the spot, and for a while they didn't know if they rushed in directly? Or do you want to say hello to these warblers and swallows first?

And just when Yuan Shu was stunned, Empress Dowager Liu ignored the trial head in Le Shu's hand, and gently moved the lotus step to Yuan Shu and happily saluted, "The concubine has seen the regent." ”

Yuan Shu, who came back to his senses, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Regent? Is my sister-in-law calling Lonely? ”

"Uncle, of course." Empress Dowager Liu raised her head and smiled at Yuan Shuyanran and said, "The emperor is on an expedition now, Yecheng needs an auxiliary government like an uncle, if an uncle is not a regent, who would dare to be a regent?" ”

Empress Dowager Liu's words made Yuan Shu a little fluttering. But Yu Ji behind him refused to give up and said, "The Queen Mother is talking nonsense." King An is the younger brother of the first king, and he should inherit his brother's throne as the emperor, how can he say that the regent said? ”

Empress Dowager Liu glanced at Yu Ji with a roll of her eyes, and said with a smile, "The national teacher has forgotten." The first king had clearly left an edict to be located in Shang'er. If my uncle ascends the throne, won't he compete with my nephew for the throne? How does this make the emperor who is leading the troops outside? How to deal with the second highness of Zhongshan? ”

Empress Dowager Liu's prickly words were undoubtedly a reminder of Yuan Shu's current situation. Indeed, relying on Yu Ji, the internal Ying Yuan Shu, he easily took Yecheng. But outside Yecheng, there are still soldiers and horses of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi on the side. Once Yuan Shu becomes emperor or harms Empress Dowager Liu, it will inevitably attract the siege of the Yuan brothers. After figuring out this relationship, not only Yuan Shu, but even Yu Ji began to be a little jealous.

So the next moment, Yuan Shu immediately changed his smiling face, and swore to Empress Dowager Liu, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, as the regent alone, I will protect my sister-in-law and sister-in-law, so that my nephews can fight with peace of mind outside." (To be continued)