After Yuan Tan read the letter sent by Yuan Shao, he repeated the contents of the letter to several civil and military officials, and then asked everyone with a frown: "Everyone, my father ordered me to give up Ren County and lead the troops to the boundary bridge to join him, what do you think?" ”

"The eldest prince," his henchman Guo Tu was the first to come out to express his opinion, "the lord ordered us to abandon Ren County and go to the boundary bridge to join him, because he was worried that after Jizhou was occupied by the Han family, we would become a lone army here. Among our subordinates, we should set off as soon as possible and head to the boundary bridge. ”

Wen Chou is the most loyal to Yuan Shao one of the generals, after learning that Jizhou was lost, Yuan Shao fell into the situation of being attacked on the back of the enemy at the boundary bridge, and couldn't help but say anxiously: "The eldest prince, the last general is willing to lead the troops to the boundary bridge in the starry night, to relieve the siege of the lord, please give the order of the prince!" ”

"Son, slow down, this county can't be abandoned." Seeing that Guo Tu and Wen Chou both agreed to abandon the city and rush to the boundary bridge as soon as possible, Xin Bi hurriedly stood up and said: "Although our army defeated the Montenegrin army two days ago, beheaded more than 10,000 people and captured nearly 10,000 people. However, the Montenegrin army was not completely defeated by our army, according to the report of the exploration horse, Du Chang and Hu Zhen have gathered more than 15,000 defeated troops in recent days, and once we abandon the city, they are bound to make a comeback. ”

Yuan Tan, who had already made up his mind and was ready to abandon the city immediately and go to the boundary bridge, couldn't help but hesitate again when he heard Xin Bi say this. He looked at Simbi and asked, "George, what about your opinion?" ”

"Leave a team of soldiers and horses to continue to hold on to Rencheng." Xin Bi hurriedly replied: "Gongzi can lead the main force of our army, and rush to the boundary bridge to meet the lord in the starry night. ”

Yuan Tan knew that the people who stayed to defend the city would definitely be more auspicious, and after his eyes swept over everyone one by one, he felt that it was not appropriate to leave anyone behind, except for Wen Chou, Xin Bi and Guo Tu were all his confidants, and any of them would have an adverse impact on him in the future. Therefore, he hesitated for a long time before he asked Simbi, "George, who do you think can stay and defend the city?" ”

Hearing Yuan Tan's question, Xin Bi hurriedly recommended himself: "If the son does not give up, his subordinates are willing to take on this important responsibility." ”

Guo Tu and Xin Bi had a good relationship, and when he heard that he was willing to stay and defend the city, he hurriedly asked, "George, I don't know how many men and horses you need to defend the city?" ”

Xin Bi thought for a moment, stretched out five fingers and said, "Five hundred is enough!" Then he said to Yuan Tan, "Gongzi is going to the boundary bridge, be more careful all the way, and beware of the Han family's children." His subordinates and 500 soldiers defended the city, hoping that Gongzi could come to the rescue as soon as possible. ”

Yuan Tan stepped forward and grabbed Xin Bi's arms, and said with red eyes: "Don't worry, George, when Tan arrives at the boundary bridge to assist his father in defeating Gongsun Zhan, he will immediately lead troops to the rescue." ”

Wen Chou waited for Yuan Tan to finish speaking, and immediately asked: "Childe, I don't know when our army will set off?" ”

"The third watch cooks, and the fourth watch sets off." After determining the candidates for staying in Ren County, Yuan Tan said decisively: "We went to the boundary bridge in the starry night to join my father's army. ”

…………

Han Zhan was bent on eating Yuan Tan's lone army, so he took Guo Jia, Huang Zhong, Dian Wei and others to lead 7,000 soldiers and horses to ambush them on the way to Jieqiao in Ren County.

The ambush he chose was a ravine, flanked by hills full of bushes and low trees, so he ambushed three thousand foot men and a thousand strong crossbowmen; The 3,000 cavalry led by Huang Zhong were ambushed near the exit of the canyon, where the terrain was relatively flat enough for cavalry to charge, and their task was to intercept and kill the enemy who had escaped from the canyon.

Yuan Tan's army arrived at the entrance of the canyon at dawn, Guo Tu looked at the steep cliffs on both sides of the canyon, and suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart, he strangled the war horse under his crotch, and said to Yuan Tan next to him: "The eldest prince, the terrain here is dangerous, I am afraid that there are ambushes on the cliffs on both sides, let's send someone to investigate first, right?" ”

"The public is too worried." Yuan Tan was anxious at the moment, and he couldn't wait to rush to the boundary bridge to see Yuan Shao immediately, where was there any leisure to send someone to the cliff to check, he waved his hand at Guo Tu and said: "We also temporarily decided to withdraw to the boundary bridge, even if the Han family child has installed a fine work in Ren County, it is impossible to get the news of our opening in such a short period of time, and the public does not need to make a fuss." After speaking, he waved his hand at Wen Chou and ordered: "The army continues to advance!" ”

Seeing that Yuan Tan's army had entered the valley one after another, a smile appeared on Han Zhan's face, and he nodded to Luo Bu who was lying on the side, signaling that he could start. After Rob received the order, he crawled to the other side with his hands and feet to convey Han Zhan's order.

With the terrible sound of the horn, the soldiers who were lying in ambush on both sides hurriedly got up and pushed the stones piled in front of them into the canyon; The strong crossbowmen half-crouched and shot rows of crossbow arrows at the chaotic Yuan army in the canyon.

"Not good, there is an ambush!" Guo Tu, who had always been vigilant, knew that he had been ambushed by the enemy when he heard the howl on the cliff, and he desperately whipped his mount, trying to rush out of the valley quickly.

Seeing that the soldiers around him were smashed into a blur of flesh and blood by the boulders falling from the sky, Guo Tu hurriedly jumped down, his body clinging to the rock wall, carefully dodging the stones falling from the air and the crossbow arrows shot, and moved towards the exit of the canyon step by step. At this moment, he was bent on saving his life, and as for the eldest prince Yuan Tan, it was not in his scope of consideration at all.

Wen Chou, who opened the road in front, had the heart to go back to rescue Yuan Tan who was in the back after discovering the ambush, but the rebels were crowded in the canyon and couldn't rush through at all. A hundred generals said to Wen Chou: "General, let's rush out of the canyon first, stabilize our position outside, and then send someone in to save Gongzi." ”

Wen Chou felt that what the hundred generals said was extremely true, so he waved the weapon in his hand, knocked the crossbow arrows that fell from the air, and rode his horse out of the canyon. Just as he was about to gather the rout, he suddenly heard a cannon sound, and a group of men and horses were killed from the oblique stab, and a general in the lead, the flag held by the standard-bearer behind him had a big "yellow" character written on it. It was none other than Huang Zhong, who was in ambush here, and when he saw a military general escaping from the canyon, he rushed forward with a big sword.

Wen Chou shouted: "It's a good time!" He clenched his hands and went up to meet the steel gun. The two soon fought in one place, Wen Chou had hardly encountered any opponents except for Yan Liang since he followed Yuan Shao, but he and Huang Zhong fought for more than a dozen rounds, but they still did not win or lose.

Wen Chou stabbed Huang Zhong a few times, and while Huang Zhong was dodging, he turned his horse and left. He knew that in order to split the victory with the opponent, he had to go at least a hundred rounds, and if he wanted to win quickly, he had to use other methods. Seeing Huang Zhong following after him, he put his spear on the saddle, took out the iron-tired bow, opened his bow and turned his head to shoot an arrow at Huang Zhong.

Fortunately, Huang Zhong reacted quickly, and hurriedly leaned towards the horse, and the arrow flew over his head. "If you know how to shoot an arrow, can't I shoot an arrow?" Huang Zhong almost fell for Wen Chou's plot, and he was angry in his heart, so he hurriedly took out his bow and arrow from the saddle, and shot an arrow at Wen Chou without aiming.

Wen Chou had just picked up the steel gun, but he didn't expect Huang Zhong's arrow to arrive in front of him. He quickly shrank his neck, and the arrow shot the red tassels off his helmet. Seeing that Huang Zhong's archery skills were so exquisite, Wen Chou sighed to himself, so he could only hold a steel gun and compete with Huang Zhong again.

Han Zhan stood on top of the cliff and saw that the Yuan family below was completely out of order. He then ordered Dian Wei: "Dian Wei, immediately lead people to rush down, those who abandon their weapons and surrender will not be killed, and those who resist stubbornly will be killed!" ”

"The last general commands!" After Dian Wei finished speaking, he raised his double halberd and shouted loudly: "Brothers, kill me!" ”

The corpses of the Yuan army killed by the crossbow arrows boulder in the canyon were full of bones, and the remaining soldiers were like headless flies. When they heard the loud shouts of killing and rushed deafeningly, and when they saw a group of enemy troops coming from all sides with weapons in the dark, most of the officers and soldiers of Yuan were frightened.

And Yuan Tan was being pressed under the two corpses at the moment, and he felt that his body was dead and heavy, and he was a little out of breath. He heard the sound of stonethrows and crossbow arrows breaking through the air as if to stop, so he laboriously freed one hand and pressed his corpse with his elbow.

When the corpse was opened, he suddenly felt that his breathing was much easier, and he turned his head sideways to wipe the greasy things from his face, and was immediately startled to see a soldier with half of his head smashed off lying opposite him, and the only remaining eye was staring at him, and he was sick to his stomach. He quickly closed his eyes, and waited until he felt better before opening them again.

He half-raised his head and looked around, the distance from the canyon to the mouth of the valley was more than 100 zhang, and the ground was full of layers of smashed corpses, and his heart was bleeding when he saw that so many of his subordinates had died at once. On the battlefield, he took it for granted that he would fight with the enemy knife to gun, and no matter how many people died. But this time, he didn't know who he was plotting against, and thousands of his subordinates became unjustly killed.

At this time, his intestines were full of regret, why did Guo Tu persuade himself when he saw such a dangerous terrain, but he didn't send someone to explore the way? Is it because you are in a hurry to rush to the boundary bridge, can you be so careless? Seeing this, his heart ached, and he was dripping blood. He slammed his clenched fist into the ground, again and again, sharp gravel piercing his fingers, but he still slammed hard. He was even thinking that if he regrouped and captured the other party, he would definitely chop him alive with his own hands, dig out his heart and liver, and pay tribute to these unjustly killed subordinates!

Outside the canyon, Wen Chou fought with Huang Zhong for a hundred rounds, but he never decided the winner. When he saw that almost all the people who escaped from the canyon had been lost in the repeated charging and killing of the cavalry outside the canyon, he knew that if he continued to fight, he could only throw his life here in vain, so he shook his gun and fled.

The soldiers of the Yuan army in the canyon saw that the general trend had gone, and there were very few people who continued to resist, and most of them took the initiative to abandon their weapons and surrender. Seeing this situation, Yuan Tan knew that it was impossible for him to escape, so he took out a relatively complete piece of armor from the pile of dead people next to him, hurriedly put it on his body, and smeared two handfuls of blood from the dead corpse on his face, planning to follow the soldiers out to be a prisoner, and find another opportunity to be a prisoner in the future.

He never dreamed that his wishful thinking would soon come to naught. When the thousands of surviving soldiers of the Yuan army were escorted out of the canyon by the Han family army and lined up in the open space outside the valley, although Yuan Tan changed his clothes and wiped the company with blood, the soldiers standing beside him still recognized him. Out of instinct, the soldiers consciously stepped aside, and suddenly Yuan Tan became the target of everyone.

Yuan Tan knew that he couldn't hide his identity, so he walked up to a cavalryman and said loudly: "I am Yuan Tan, the eldest son of Yuan Cheqi, take me to meet your main general!" ”

Hearing that Yuan Tan had been captured, Han Zhan, who was talking to Huang Zhong not far away, immediately rushed over with more than a dozen personal soldiers. Seeing Yuan Tan's face covered with blood, he first shook his head, but when he saw the other party's lively appearance, he knew that the other party was not injured at all, and the blood iron on his face must have been used to make up for escape.

He walked quickly in front of Yuan Tan, arched his hand towards the other party, and said politely: "Yuan Gongzi, we meet again!" ”