When the Western forwards left Hulao, the Eastern scouts got the news. Shen Pei immediately ordered the military envoy to rush 600 miles to Linzi. At the same time, he convened the generals with Jusue and Chunyu Qiong to discuss countermeasures.
Shen Pei said: "The Western bandits have come with an army that overwhelms the country, and they have taken the Emperor with them. It is really a big deal. We should be prepared and wait for the marshal."
Jushu said: "The troops from Linzi arrived in a hurry, but Zhou Gongjin in Xiapi has not been defeated yet. If we break the siege and fight, we may be attacked from both sides."
Shen Pei thought for a while and said, "Then it would be better to retreat into Donghai County immediately, build ditches and fences, and occupy the pass in the middle of the county. This can stop the rebels and guard the passage, waiting for the Linzi army to go south to join up." Most of the people agreed.
But Kaiwu General Yuan Shang disagreed. After the Bohai War, Yuan Shang was named Jizhou Mu, but in fact Jizhou's personnel, financial and taxation powers had been taken away by the Marshal's Office, which was no different than a mere emptiness. In order to appease him, Cao Cao had promised in private that after capturing Xuzhou, he would make him the pastor of Xuzhou and take charge of all affairs in the state. Now that he had secured two counties, he was forced to retreat without any reason. He was deeply disgusted.
Therefore, Yuan Shang objected: "Zhou Yu in Xiapi is no more than a child. The navy can be looked at, but the army is insignificant. Why is there any need to retreat?"
Then he analyzed: "Right now, the bandits have only 20,000 soldiers, which is far inferior to our army. If our army attacks the city, I don't expect it to be able to defend it. Why don't you all attack the infantry with all their strength? I will lead 10,000 cavalry to suddenly advance westward and defeat the west." The thieves took the vanguard, so that they would not dare to advance. When the whole army of the western thieves arrived, the marshal's reinforcements also arrived, and Zhou Yu could only wait to be captured, and the western thieves did not dare to act rashly."
Chun Yuqiong on the side nodded and said: "The plan is good. If we attack him unprepared, we still have a chance of winning. However, if the westward advance is frustrated and Xiapi is not captured, it will be too late to form a formation to meet the enemy."
Shen Pei shook his head and said: "I only have 20,000 cavalry in my hands. The important task lies. I dare not take risks to win."
Yuan Shang stood up after hearing the words, took the riding whip from Cang Tou, and said with emotion: "Young gentlemen are unwilling to take risks and miss the opportunity. I will lead my troops as forward scouts with light cavalry to observe the strength of the Western Army. If there is no danger, you will not make any plans." Too late!"
After saying that he was about to leave, Chunyu Qiong stood up and said to him: "I will go with you to have a look!" After saying that, the two left the tent and led more than a thousand people on horseback from the post road between Wuxian and Shiqiu. Go west.
On the way, Yuan Shang said to Chunyu Qiong: "Of course I sneaked into Wuhuan alone and persuaded Tadun to send the army south. The army crossed two hundred miles and pursued from Yuyang to Yongnu. Veteran generals like Yan Zhi were also scared. , it relies on surprise. When people from the West come from the East, they will not be prepared for my sneak attack. It is the time when I am making great achievements, but who would have thought that this former meritorious dog who has been judged will ride on my head instead. It is really hateful!"
Although Cao Cao had already stated before, before he arrived, all the generals would be led by Shen Pei. But Yuan Shang and Chunyu Qiong are not like this. When Yuan Shao was alive, Yuan Shang was Yuan Shao's legitimate son, and Chun Yuqiong was his right-hand man. Their power and positions were more important than Shen Pei's, and all three of them were Jiuwu generals. It was only after Cao Cao came to power that Shen Pei was reused. But in terms of status in the military, he is lower than the two. So when the two of them went west, Shen Pei could not stop them.
Before dark, they waded across the Suishui River and rested twenty miles south of Xiang County. While I was eating dry food, someone suddenly pointed to the west and said, what is that? People looked along and found that under the gorgeous and confusing sunset on the horizon, little lights gradually rose. After a while, the red light pierced the deep blue-purple evening curtain, revealing the essence of the fire.
The cavalrymen quickly remounted their horses and discussed among themselves whether the Westerners' scouts were coming. Should we fight forward, or retreat immediately? Seeing this, Yuan Shang sent his troops to scold him: "Quiet, we are all light cavalry. If we want to leave, how can they catch up? Let's see the situation first." Then the subordinates became quiet.
After a while, the firelight in front gradually became clearer, but the firelight in the distance was no less visible. To Yuan Shang and others, it was like a fire dragon with half of its body exposed in the clouds, as if it could never see the end. The surrounding land gradually became dusty due to the Western army, and then became entangled in the air, like mist, and nothing else could be seen.
Faced with such a scene, the cavalrymen were also panicked. They started talking again: "With so many people, I'm afraid they are the main force of the Western thieves. If we don't leave now, are we going to wait to be surrounded?" After a while, another person from the opposite side came up. There was the sound of drums and the noisy shouts of sergeants. The sound is getting louder and clearer, making people think of the fine waves of Suishui hitting the pebbles.
The cavalry were panicked. Even though Yuan Shang ordered them to be quiet, no one paid attention. Instead, they scrambled to ride their horses and ran to the river.
Come and try it quickly. 】
It was completely dark at this time, and the cavalry could not find the way they came. When they ran to the Suishui River, they could not tell the depth of the water. The people in front reined in their horses and hesitated, but the people behind didn't know it and were still rushing forward. As a result, the knights in front were pushed into the river. The people behind thought that the people in front were leading the way across the river, so they also rushed to the river with their horses. Unexpectedly, the river was so fast that the person who entered the river lost his footing. He fell down and was swept away by the current in an instant.
At this time, the Eastern Army was running east and west and had completely lost control. Yuan Shang was surrounded by more than ten cavalry and headed towards the river. Chunyu Qiong disappeared in the panic. At this time, he saw the Western cavalry approaching from the shore, and while shooting arrows, he drove the Eastern cavalry toward the river.
Congqi said: "It's too dark and it's too dangerous to wade across the river. It's better to go north along the river! So the group of people rode horses all the way north along the river."
That day, Yuan Shang wore a golden robe with snow-white feathers on his head. The body is wearing shining golden armor, which radiates light even in the dim night. The Western cavalry saw him from a distance and rushed to chase him.
After running like this for more than ten miles, the pursuers behind him appeared and disappeared like ghosts, but they could never get rid of them.
One of the cavalrymen said: "Please take off your golden armor quickly and put it on for me. Let's run separately to lead the pursuers away." So the group stopped to change armor. At this time, a group of Western cavalry had already caught up. . Immediately, random arrows came out. The Congqi used their war horses as cover and fought back with their bows. The horses in front of the Westerners were all shot to death, and there were only a few people left around Yuan Shang.
There happened to be a forest nearby, and they all retreated into the woods to shoot arrows.
Yuan Shang held a three-stone strong bow in his right hand, and with his left hand he drew out three armor-piercing arrows with withered feathers from the quiver at a time. The three arrows were fired in a row, and all the knights who rushed forward fell off their horses.
After a stalemate like this for a while, he ran out of arrows in his quiver. Looking around, the riders around him were all lying on the ground injured by arrows. Three of the Westerners rushed over, risking their lives, and the one at the front had already galloped into the woods. In panic, he picked up the knife and ran deep into the woods. Unexpectedly, an arrow came from behind and pierced his right leg. Yuan Shang screamed miserably and fell to the ground.
The knight who pursued him first was Hedong Pei Hui. He rode over, threw away his bow, dismounted from his horse, and shouted to the people behind him: "This man in golden armor must be of great status, and he belongs to me. Don't fight with me!" After that, he took out the knife from the saddle, Entering Yuan Shang, who was lying on the ground moaning.
He said to the people on the ground: "We just light more torches, throw firewood and raise dust, and make noises and shouts to scare you into hiding. It's really useless!" He laughed while stepping on the backs of the people on the ground with his riding boots. , squatting down and preparing to cut off his head.
Unexpectedly, the man on the ground suddenly turned around, like a nimble tiger, hugged him and pushed him to the ground, quickly opened his two armors, and stabbed him seven or eight times in the chest crazily.
Yuan Shang saw Pei Hui's eyes turning white, his mouth drooling, and he gradually lost consciousness. He stopped, threw away his dagger, turned around to lead his mount, picked up his bow and put it in the bow bag next to the saddle, and said with a smile: "I think you are useless. I am Yuan Shao's legitimate son, Kaiwu University General, when I defeated Liu Xuande's cavalry in the Bohai Sea, I'm afraid you haven't joined the army yet!"
After saying that, he put his feet in the stirrups and got on the horse. But at this moment, Pei Hui, who was lying on the ground, suddenly used the last strength of his life, rushed over, hugged Yuan Shang's waist, and threw him to the ground.
Yuan Shang was shocked and struggled hard. Unexpectedly, although the other party fainted, his hands tied his waist like iron buckets and refused to let go.
He had already been injured by an arrow, and he had just shot dozens of arrows, and his wrists were numb. He couldn't use much strength, and after struggling for a long time, the bag on his head was crooked, and his neck fell apart. Can't break free.
At this time, the two knights behind him had already caught up. The current knight, Jia Kui, rode his horse around to the front and shot an arrow. The arrow shot through the untied collar of Yuan Shang's neck and pierced his chest diagonally. Yuan Shang's breath tightened, and he felt cold all over his body, and his body suddenly became soft. But he still remained in a half-kneeling position, looking sideways at the starry sky with his head raised, not knowing what he was thinking.
Jia Kui drew out his knife and caught up with him, held his shoulders, first took off the bag on his head and threw it aside, and then chopped off his head with a knife. At this time, he had time to take a good look at the deceased, and found that the face of the knight in golden armor was so young and so beautiful, making him think of a jade mountain and the cold plum blossoms in winter.
Jia Kui did not dare to neglect, and immediately took the head and reported it to his superiors. The head was delivered to the general's tent the next day, and Yuan Tan exclaimed and recognized it. This was his second brother and one of the nine martial arts in Hebei.
When Yuan Tan saw his younger brother's head, he was happy and sad at the same time. He was happy that his old enemy had died, but he was sad that he was now running around and his blood relatives died tragically. The Yuan family, which was once glorious in the past, had fallen to the situation it is today. . This made him unable to control himself and he burst into tears. So he asked Liu Bei to give him Yuan Shang's head and bury him in the ancestral grave in Runan.
How much love, hate, and hatred in the world often disappear so easily the moment a person dies.
