Yuan Shao was so angry that he vomited blood and could no longer command the army. Duke Shi Ju, the pillar of the Northern Kingdom, felt a sense of responsibility to accept orders in times of danger.
At this critical moment, Yuan Shang did not dare to have the idea of making meritorious deeds to seize the crown prince's position, and Guo Tu obediently shut his mouth. Everything seemed to give Ju Shao a chance to turn the tide.
In fact, he also understood that after suffering the disaster of Wuchao, as long as the army could safely return to the north and take time to rest and reorganize, it would not be difficult to regain the momentum.
The key to the problem is how to return north with as few casualties as possible.
Ju Shou's idea was to select dead soldiers from the army to take charge of the rear, and let Yuan Shao lead the army to retreat. If Cao's army was chasing him, these dead soldiers would be attacked head-on.
This trick cannot be said to be a clever one, it is even very common, but the truly effective methods are rarely dangerous and surprising, but mostly just the right approach.
But even with such a simple idea, it was more difficult to implement than he imagined.
Even with the temptation of huge sums of money, out of an army of nearly 300,000, there were only 6,000 Duanhou dead soldiers, which was still far away from the 30,000 soldiers that Jushou had hoped for.
But if you think about it carefully, all this makes sense. Marching and fighting are nothing more than two things. The first is the morale of the army; the second is the supply of food and grass.
The Wuchao was destroyed, and the food and grass were cut off, directly blocking the second road, and at the same time, it also shook the morale of the army.
After Yan Liang was captured and Wen Chou disappeared, and Zhang He and Gao Lan surrendered to the enemy, all four pillars of the Hebei army were gone, and the morale of the Northern Army fell to the bottom in an instant.
What's more, this is different from attacking a city first and attacking the dead. In this situation, those who stay behind are unlikely to have a chance to return alive. It is obvious that one is exchanging lives for lives, which ordinary people cannot accept.
The bad things didn't stop. A sergeant ran into the Chinese army's tent and said in panic: "Supervisor, it's not good. Just now, Cao's cavalry attacked our army's ferry and all our warships were burned!"
This military report can be said to make the Northern Army even worse. Not to mention the sergeants in the camp, even the counselors in the tent seemed extremely uneasy. Cao Cao was trying to cut off their retreat.
"It doesn't matter. There are lush forests in this area. It won't be too difficult to build a boat to cross the river!" Jushou tried to stay calm.
Of course he knew that the boats built on site were small boats that could only carry a dozen people. They were incomparable to the hundreds or even thousands of people who came across the river in large boats, but this was not what Cao Cao meant. Desired results?
Do you really think that people will force you to burn your boat? They are just making it more difficult for you to escape little by little.
"Supervisor, if Cao Jun is chasing him all the way, how should we deal with it?" Yuan Shang was so frightened that his face turned pale and he was trembling.
"Young master, I have sent a message to Yin Kai from Yecheng to rush to the front line of Liyang for rescue. The most dangerous place right now is at the Yellow River ferry."
Yuan Shang swallowed his saliva and looked panicked, and said uneasily: "It takes a day for an army of 300,000 to cross the river in a small boat. How can these 6,000 dead men stop Cao Cao's army of tens of thousands?"
"To protect the army across the river, we will need no more than 20,000 people."
Jushou sighed, squinted his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Sir, I have my own solution. Please quickly get all the troops ready to prepare to go north to cross the river after nightfall today."
"Okay, okay." Yuan Shang nodded repeatedly and ran out quickly.
"etc!"
Ju Shou stopped Yuan Shang and walked towards him with difficulty. He frowned and said in a deep voice: "Young master, please remember that I have my own arrangements after the dead soldiers are cut off. Another point is that after crossing the river, Cao Jun will still have an ambush. Only by breaking through there can we find an ambush. Ambush, so that the lord can return to Yecheng safely."
"Is there still an ambush?" Yuan Shang was startled and took two steps back in fear. How could this army break through Cao Jun's ambush?
Jushou sighed. These three young masters did not have the lord's domineering spirit at all. He shook his head helplessly and said: "If I were Cao Cao, I would definitely send an army to cross the river from Yanjin Ferry and guard the coast. So in addition to cutting off the queen, the young master must also Find a way to break through the ambush.”
"What can you think of?" In the past, Yuan Shao often tested Yuan Shang, but that was just a test. Now that he was really faced with the choice of life and death, Yuan Shang felt a bit like his heart was broken.
Looking at this young master who was favored by Yuan Shao, I really couldn't imagine why he was so weak.
Of course he didn't know that if history hadn't changed, the third son of the Yuan family would have fled to Liaodong for refuge. When he was kidnapped by Gongsun Kang and prepared to be sacrificed to Cao Cao, he still complained that the floor was too cold and begged him to give him a mat, which was true for the Yuan family. My face was completely lost.
Jushou sighed helplessly, "After extracting the dead soldiers, our army is no longer able to fight anymore. We can only abandon our sons to survive. How many people can return depends on the Lord's luck."
Then Fu'er told the plan, and Yuan Shang nodded calmly and agreed repeatedly, no longer as majestic as he used to be when he was the heir.
After everything was arranged, Jushou let out a breath and headed towards the camp. He was going to gather the dead soldiers and do his best to fight.
If there is still one of the four pillars of Hebei, and if Qu Yi does not die, it will not be too easy to select 20,000 to 30,000 dead soldiers from among the hundreds of thousands.
However, the three armies are completely defeated, and it is now difficult to select 20,000 dead soldiers from this frightened army.
As a last resort, Jushou could only risk his own life and decided to stay in person to stabilize the morale of the army.
Fortunately, Jushou had been a military supervisor for several years. He was the person who controlled the military. During his time in power, he treated the sergeants fairly. He still had some prestige in the camp, but he was not as good as the Four Court Pillars. However, he decided to leave behind the news. After word spread, many people were still willing to follow.
After convening in various ministries for a long time, they finally managed to collect the number of 20,000. At the same time, Yueqi Colonel Wang Mo, Shesheng Colonel Lu Kuang and Pojun Colonel Lu Xiang were also called out to command the troops.
After nightfall, the army began to slowly withdraw towards the Yellow River ferry. Jushou led 20,000 troops to personally guard the road that Cao Jun must pass through in pursuit. Unfortunately, the surrounding terrain was open and it was impossible to form an ambush.
However, as long as it can protect the army from escaping, it is enough.
Jushou stayed in person. Yuan Shao knew about this, but he could not stop him, because in the entire military camp, he was the only one except Jushou who could stabilize the morale of the army. Even Yuan Shang did not have this ability.
Therefore, he could only tell Jushou with tears that he would wait for him in Yecheng.
However, everyone knows that after this break, it is impossible to go back. It is absolutely impossible for Cao Cao to let the Northern Army leave like this.
Jushou was riding a horse, holding a sword and closing his eyes without saying a word.
Behind them, 20,000 troops took up their positions and prepared to fight.
"Report, supervisor, Cao Jun is coming soon!" the scout reported quickly.
Jushou nodded slightly and slowly opened his eyes. He clamped the horse's belly, stepped forward slowly, then turned the horse's head to face the 20,000 dead soldiers.
"Brothers, are you afraid?"
Death warriors are not necessarily brave and fearless. In fact, many people are just lucky. If they can survive and have their legs broken, they will not have to worry about food and drink for the rest of their lives. Even if they are unlucky enough to die, the pension will be enough for their families. The old snacks and drinks were spent.
"I am willing to fight to the death with the prison army!" After the silence, Lu Kuang took the lead and shouted.
Then, there was a sporadic movement, and finally the shouts finally became one.
not enough.
This momentum is far from enough.
Jushou hoped that they would be able to show the momentum of having enemies but not themselves, so that they could truly block Cao Jun's pursuit and even have a chance to survive.
However, this in itself is a bit overwhelming. Even Zhang He can take the Euphorbia soldiers to surrender to the enemy, what more can be asked of them.
He looked up at the sky and recalled how majestic the army was when they marched south half a year ago. It stretched for hundreds of miles and covered the sky with flags. How majestic it was. It only lasted half a year, but it ended up in such a field.
What he didn't expect was that since ancient times, scholars had been admonishing warriors to fight, but he, a Confucian scholar, would end up dying on the battlefield. His talents had not had time to be used, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness in his heart.
"The wind is rustling and the water is cold, and a strong man will never come back." Jushou murmured and repeated this sentence, and suddenly he seemed to understand that Jing Ke's pride and fearlessness when he knew he was going to die was actually a different kind of sadness.
"The wind is rustling and the water is cold, and the strong men will never return." Someone was singing along with Jushou.
Such a night, such a scene.
The same mood and the same tragedy.
In the end, 20,000 people sang this Yi Shui song in unison.
Who said that there are no heroes in the Northern Kingdom who dare to stop thousands of armies with their cruelty?
There was a rapid sound of horse hoofbeats coming from far away, and Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, Chen Dao and others led the troops to fight.
There is no surprise that someone from the Northern Army will break up the army. This is all expected.
They didn't have too many troops here, only 30,000, but this number already accounted for three-quarters of Cao's camp's available troops.
When the two armies met, there were no rhetoric or probing attacks. The battle entered the most brutal state of fighting as soon as it began.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu were like two tigers rushing into the Northern Army camp, chopping up melons and vegetables. Behind them, the tigers and leopards were charging at them unscrupulously.
Jushou was brave and not afraid of death. He slashed left and right in the crowd with his sword, inspiring the Northern Army to fight to the death.
This battle was not as one-sided as Dian Wei and the others thought.
I thought that with the four pillars of the courtyard gone and all their food and grass destroyed, the Northern Army would be vulnerable even if they selected dead soldiers. But I never expected that these people were so desperate. Many of them were stabbed several times and still flew forward to fight with clenched teeth. Cao Jun on horseback was rolling in blood.
Xu Chu eagerly wanted to break through them and rushed to the ferry to intercept them, but he was entangled by the Northern Army. He wanted to kill them and defeat the enemy. However, tens of thousands of people were entangled together. It was not easy to find the iconic landmarks by the moonlight. The powerful Northern Military Academy Lieutenant.
Finally, his eyes fell on Jushou who had seven or eight cuts with his sword. At this time, he had been hit by two swords and was still fighting to the death.
Regardless of whether you were the pillar of the Northern Kingdom, Xu Chuke stepped forward and launched a powerful Luoyue Slash. Jushu didn't even have a chance to block with his sword. A bloody gash went straight from his shoulder to his abdomen, and he simply fell off his horse.
Jushou, who fell to the ground, used his last strength to look towards the north and murmured, "Lord, take care."
On the other side, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Cao Hong, and Cao Ren, with 10,000 people, had already taken a boat from Yanjin Ferry to the other side and were waiting on the north bank in advance.
They were not in a hurry to take action. They deliberately waited for the Northern Army to accumulate numbers on the ferry, and also deliberately wanted to kill Yuan Shao.
When the Northern Army crossed no less than 30,000 to 40,000 people from the other side, Xia Houyuan shouted: "Kill Yuan Shao!"
Ten thousand Cao's troops swooped in from five directions.
Hearing this commotion and having not yet made contact with Cao's army, the Northern Army was immediately frightened and fled in all directions without even putting up a symbolic resistance.
Among the rebels, some were trampled to death, some were forced to fall directly into the rolling Yellow River and were washed away by the rapids, and some died tragically under the sword of Cao's army. For a time, the whole land was wailing.
However, more people rushed to the shore and fled in different directions.
While Xia Houyuan and others were killing the deserters from the Northern Kingdom, they were searching for Yuan Shao's figure. They never forgot to shout about the reward, "Sikong has an order, whoever kills Yuan Shao will be rewarded with thousands of gold and be granted the title of Marquis of ten thousand households!"
A reward for being a nobleman with thousands of dollars and being a favored person for generations. Of course, he, Yuan Shao, is worthy of this reward.
"Yuan Shao is there, hunt Yuan Shao!" A cavalry captain finally saw the large banner with the word 'Yuan', and immediately locked onto the man wearing a red robe and being supported by the soldiers in the middle.
With this shout, Cao Jun all around swarmed in. Is that Yuan Shao? No, it is the guarantee of wealth and honor for life.
Hundreds of horsemen protected the man in red robes and ran all the way north. The Cao army chasing behind him started with a few hundred people, but later gathered three to four thousand people. Many people had to pursue them on foot. This can be regarded as the disadvantage of the reward.
I don’t know how far they pursued, but all the cavalry protecting them were shot over and killed. The man in red robe was also pierced by a long spear thrown from a distance by the pursuers behind him and rolled off his horse. Cao Jun pounced like a vicious wolf. passed.
"Father, thanks to Mr. Ju's clever methods, Cao Jun really went after the dead soldiers we arranged." On a trail, Yuan Shang led hundreds of cavalry to protect Yuan Shao, who was wearing cavalry armor, all the way east, and did not go directly to North, the advantage of doing this is that you can avoid most of Cao's army.
According to Ju Shou's plan, the group of people who gave priority to crossing the river discarded the baggage, armor, weapons and even war horses in the camp in order to attract Cao's army. In addition, a fake Yuan Shao was added to truly share the great pressure. .
Although the casualties were very serious, Yuan Shao was still protected.
"Mr. Gong. Gong. He can't come back. He can't come back. I lost my arm in pain. God won't help me!" Yuan Shao's nose was sore and his heart ached.
He could not be as grateful as Yuan Shang for Ju Shou's clever plan and was glad that he had escaped from the tiger's mouth.
For Yuan Shang, what the Northern Kingdom lost was just a counselor, but for Yuan Shao, what he lost was a national scholar who was willing to trade his life for the future of the Yuan family at the critical moment of life and death.
Unfortunately, people always learn to cherish something after losing it.
There is no longer Ju Gongyu in the Northern Kingdom. The Ju Gongyu who was always willing to fight against him to the end for the Yuan family will never come back.
In the distance, you can still vaguely hear wailing and begging for mercy, and from time to time there is the sound of falling water.
Yuan Shao knew very well that it was all the despair expressed by the soldiers of the Northern Kingdom.
This is the result of this earth-shattering battle. The Four Court Pillars of Hebei are gone, Tian Feng is gone, Jushou is gone, the food and grass are gone, and it also affects the three armies.
These sad memories marked Yuan Shao's downfall.
There are often only two types of people who can leave their names in the history and are still familiar to later generations. The famous generals who have achieved dazzling results by defeating the many with less and the weak defeating the strong; and the other type who defeat the small with more and defeat the weak with the strong. A mediocre person on the pillar of shame of history.
Yuan Shao knew in his heart that whether he wanted to admit it or not, he himself belonged to the second type.
He has reached the pillar of shame and is the first person in history, right?
Yuan Shao laughed at himself in his heart and laughed loudly, until the corners of his mouth turned bright red and his throat was fishy, he couldn't stop laughing.
(End of chapter)
