Xu You was very worried when he saw Yuan Shao unconscious. He quickly helped Yuan Shao up, handed Yuan Shao to Yuan Shang, and said: "Third Young Master, quickly retreat with the king. Don't worry about anything now, just retreat."
During this war, Yuan Shang was always by Yuan Shao's side.
Yuan Shao wanted to make Yuan Shang the heir apparent of Jin, but Yuan Tan was still alive. Even though Yuan Tan was adopted, Yuan Tan was the eldest son, and there were people who supported Yuan Tan, which made Yuan Shao very difficult to handle.
Yuan Tan died in Qingzhou. There was no stumbling block in front of Yuan Shang, but Yuan Shao had not had time to make arrangements.
Yuan Shang is not the legal heir for the time being.
Even so, Yuan Shao also treated Yuan Shang as his heir, and took Yuan Shang with him whether he was discussing matters or leading troops to fight. It's a pity that Yuan Shang has average abilities, is aggressive and aggressive, is weak in strategy, and has no vision.
So much so that Yuan Shang was not a suitable heir in everyone's mind.
Yuan Shang was also extremely anxious.
His father is the god of Jin, the backbone of Jin, and the guarantee of his future. Yuan Shang could not carry Yuan Shao alone, so after helping him, he asked the soldiers to put Yuan Shao on the horse and evacuate quickly with his men.
Yuan Shao's army retreated hastily.
With this retreat, Yuan's army was even more defeated and disintegrated.
Fortunately, Zhang He commanded the Euphorbia soldiers at the rear, and Gao Lan mobilized cavalry to support them. Under the joint arrangements of Zhang He and Gao Lan, Yuan Shang broke through from the rear camp.
Although there were burning fires everywhere in the rear camp, the only flammable areas were granaries, equipment and supplies, and the fire did not spread widely, so the army's evacuation went very smoothly.
Yuan Shang retreated with his main force, but Yuan's army was entangled in a large area under his command.
The soldiers led by Zhang Liao and Guan Yu were trying to cover up and kill these new troops and also took the opportunity to recruit them to surrender. Large-scale fierce attacks and cover-ups, even though Yuan Shao's soldiers were elite, they retreated and fled again and again.
The army was defeated again and again, and its morale was completely lost.
There were countless people who surrendered.
People who fled were all over the mountains and plains.
On the battlefield, the Youzhou Army was invincible, sweeping and killing more and more Yuan's troops step by step. Under the continuous cover-up and killing by the army, Yuan Shang, Ju Shou and Xu You approached Yi County.
Yuan Shao had woken up. He was physically exhausted, but fortunately he was able to ride on horseback.
Yuan Shao looked at Yixian County not far ahead with lingering fear. He looked at Jushou, Tian Feng and others and said loudly: "We are about to return to Yixian County. Should we withdraw to the county seat? I am worried that there is an ambush by Tianchou in the county seat."
Jushou glanced at the rear. There were still cavalrymen from Youzhou soldiers covering them up. They couldn't stop.
Jushou thought for a while and said loudly: "Your Majesty, we have no time to linger, and we have no chance to reorganize the army and prepare for war. Zhang Liao's cavalry is pursuing fiercely and cannot gain a foothold in the county. Regardless of whether there is an ambush in Yi County, we can only retreat."
Tian Feng added: "Our top priority is to avoid the pursuing troops first, otherwise we will retreat into the county. Once we are surrounded, we will be a turtle in the urn."
Xu You was also worried about being ambushed, so he advised: "Please, Your Majesty, withdraw your troops immediately."
Guo Tu remained silent for the time being.
What if he says he will retreat to Yixian County and is ambushed again?
"Retreat, retreat south."
Yuan Shao weakly ordered.
After the order was issued, the army did not go to the county seat, but bypassed the direction of Yi County and continued to retreat toward Mo County in the south.
There are many swamps and lakes near Muxian County and the water system is developed, so it is not easy for the cavalry to cover up and kill them. Yuan Shao led his men and continued southward, gradually getting rid of the pursuing troops in the rear. At least when he looked back, he could no longer see the pursuing troops.
Yuan Shao did not dare to stop and continued southward.
On the other side, the army led by Zhang Liao arrived at Yixian County. Because Yuan Shao fled far away, Zhang Liao ordered not to pursue him and led his troops to Yixian County.
There were no defenders in the county. After the army entered the city, they easily took over the city. As the city supporting the camp area in front of Yuan Shao, Yixian County had a large amount of supplies. Zhang Liao was pleasantly surprised after entering the city to take inventory.
The food and grass in the city is enough to support his army for three months without any problem.
Yuan Shao is indeed a good person.
Knowing that Youzhou is a bitter cold place with insufficient food and grass, they specially transport a large amount of materials to supply.
Zhang Liao finished counting the supplies and then sent an order to count the losses. It was near evening when everything was counted.
At this time, Tian Chou arrived in Yixian County.
Zhang Liao saw Tian Chou in the Chinese army's tent and said quickly: "Tian Changshi, this time we fought with Yuan Shao. General Yunchang killed Yan Liang and Wen Chou in succession. We even covered them up and won a complete victory."
"Our casualties are not big, only about 800 soldiers. After all, we were covered by the wind."
"The number of soldiers of Yuan's army killed by our side, including the number of elite soldiers killed by Gongsun Zan's command, totaled more than 9,600 killed, and more than 23,000 soldiers were captured. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao escaped with his men."
Zhang Liao looked excited and said: "Although this battle has been delayed for a long time, overall it is worth it."
Tian Chou's eyes were also filled with joy.
After winning this battle, the situation in Youzhou and Jizhou changed drastically.
Tian Chou continued: "We were able to defeat Yuan Shao this time, thanks to Guan Jing's perseverance and decisiveness. I met with Guan Jing and understood the situation. When General Yunchang came with his cavalry, Guan Jing asked Gongsun Zan to order the attack."
"However, Gongsun Zan refused and was unwilling to cooperate with our army to cover up the attack."
"Guan Jing had no choice but to ignore Gongsun Zan and ordered an attack, so Gongsun Zan's army went to fight. If Guan Jing hadn't seized the opportunity to launch a general attack, this battle would not have been so easy."
Tian Chou looked solemn and said: "Guan Jing made a decision at the last moment, which is very good. Gongsun Zan's approach is disappointing."
Zhang Liao snorted and said with some annoyance: "Gongsun Zan is stubborn and self-righteous. It is indeed difficult for him to achieve greatness."
"Report!"
At this moment, a soldier entered and saluted respectfully: "General Zhang, Gongsun Zan has arrived outside the camp and is clamoring to see you."
Zhang Liao laughed and said, "I really can't explain it. As soon as I said it, I came here and brought people in."
The soldier turned to inform.
Tian Chou said seriously: "I estimate that Gongsun Zan is here to cause trouble, and he may want to raise an army to investigate the crime."
Zhang Liao said without hesitation: "I will follow Chang Shi's arrangements for Gongsun Zan."
Tian Chou saw Zhang Liao's cooperation and praised Zhang Liao's sense of proportion. Zhang Liao is a military commander and is responsible for the arrangements on the battlefield. As for Youzhou's government affairs, personnel, and even the general strategy for governing Youzhou, Tian Chou is responsible for it.
Although Tian Chou is the chief historian, he acts on behalf of the governor of Youzhou and may be promoted to be the governor at any time.
Tian Chou smiled and said: "Thank you, General Wenyuan, for holding the battle for me."
Zhang Liao said: "It's a matter of personal responsibility."
After a while, Gongsun Zan, wearing armor, strode into the camp. He looked at Tian Chou and Zhang Liao, especially Tian Chou. The two had met many years ago and their relationship was not harmonious.
Gongsun Zan looked cold and mocked: "Tian Changshi is really smart. He hooked up with Guan Jing and others and secretly poached my people. When Yuan Shao came to kill me, you hid them with your men and avoided fighting."
"Yuan Shao attacked Yijing City fiercely. You used your sword to kill people, and used Yuan Shao to weaken my army and consume my power. Finally, you saw that Yuan Shao's army was about to break the city, so you led the people to fight out."
"Tian Changshi, a man who has exhausted all his agencies."
Gongsun Zan flicked his sleeves and said forcefully: "I will report this matter to Lu Xuan and ask Lu Xuan to give me an explanation. Otherwise, people will think that I, Gongsun Zan, is easy to bully."
Tian Chou's eyes were sharp and he said calmly: "You, Gongsun Zan, are indeed easy to bully."
