Chapter 794: No mercy
Handan Shang's order to execute Li Dian was not his original intention, but Yuan Shao's tacit approval.
As Auxiliary Yuan Shao, Handan Shang, who arranged the military formation, knew best that Yuan Jun was at the end of his rope at this moment.
At this moment, we can no longer contact the Western Front. Our formation keeps sending cavalry there, but they never come back. I think the Eastern Front is really in danger.
On the middle side, the situation is not optimistic either. Those Taishan troops obviously deployed their most elite troops on the front.
The officers and soldiers of the Central Guards fighting on the front line have been divided into small formations and are suffering under the squeeze and penetration of the Taishan Army.
The enemy's crossbows harvested their lives wantonly, and even those who were lucky enough to survive would fall under the enemy's bright steps in the next round of battle.
These shocking scenes were exposed to Yuan Shao's eyes. He had always mistakenly believed that a narrow military formation like the Taishan Army could not hold on for long.
Therefore, he ordered fierce attacks again and again, constantly throwing the elite troops he brought into the battlefield ahead.
But those Taishan troops withstood it like this. They kept alternating their officers and soldiers in the front and rear formations. For half an hour, they did not retreat even a step in the face of Yuan Jun's desperate counterattack.
Taishan's army is like an iron barrel, it cannot be frightened or dispersed
It was also at that time that Yuan Shao knew that he had to face reality, that is, he could not win this decisive battle.
And just this morning, Yuan Shao was still full of confidence, thinking that he could easily win this decisive battle.
Now that I think about it, I feel a little sad.
Before that, Yuan Shao had always placed his hope on the Eastern Front to make a difference, but in the blink of an eye, Li Dian brought bad news, saying that the Eastern Front also collapsed.
At this point, what hope does Yuan Shao have left? When victory was hopeless, he had to make plans for retreat.
And Li Dianhao refused to die and sent bad news to the Chinese army. In this case, if the news from the eastern front was spread to the front line, how could he persist until Yuan Shao retreated?
So just let Li Dian die. Although I feel sorry for this person, who made you, Li Dian, insignificant?
After "decisively" handling Li Dian's matter, he must immediately make arrangements for retreat.
For Yuan Shao, retreating is a very difficult thing, because they do have a lot of war horses in their own formation, but if there is no one behind them, they will eventually be overtaken by a larger number of enemy cavalry.
So Yuan Shao thought for a while and decided that he still had to send another army to support him. The center line couldn't collapse so early.
And looking at the legions in hand, which one has not suffered heavy losses and suffered heavy casualties? Some of them had just retreated from the front. If they expected these defeated troops to go to the front again, the battle would not end like this.
So it seems that the only ones with complete military strength are his pro-army troops, the Red Heart Corps.
Looking at the elite Red Heart Team, Yuan Shao felt reluctant to part with him, but now he couldn't control the situation. Thinking about this silently, he finally waved his arm downwards, signaling for the Red Heart Team to charge forward.
……
When the time came around Shen hour, the Chixin team of about 2,000 people launched a fierce attack on the Taishan army in front.
What they attacked was Xu Huang's Flying Tiger Army and Zhao Yun's Controlling Crane Army.
The remaining crossbows of Yuan Shao's army also launched a fierce attack, which even blocked the sound of fighting on the battlefield for a while. When the crossbows were fired, the battlefield on the center line became calm for a while.
And it was like the calm before the storm. The next moment, there were waves of roars coming from the slopes of the Chinese Army:
"Long live Mr. Chen!"
"Long live Mr. Chen!"
More than two thousand elite warriors rushed down the slope. Driven by loyalty and kindness, they fearlessly rushed into the Taishan Army's position.
What is surprising is that the person responsible for leading the charge of more than 2,000 Red Heart troops was Handan Shang. Maybe he would regret it now. If he had not killed Li Dian, the one who would lead the charge of the Red Heart troops would be none other than Handan Shang. It's not him anymore.
But no matter what Handan Shang thought in his heart, at this moment, what was left on the battlefield and written in history was that at the last moment of Yuan Jun, it was Handan Shang who bravely rushed forward with the last reserve team.
Handan merchants shouted "charge", took the lead, then mixed in the crowd and rushed towards Taishan's army.
The Red Heart Army is brave and the Taishan Army is fearless, not to mention that at this moment, as the Taishan Army's final general preparation, the Shesheng Army is also coming to support.
Under the order of the school captain Chen Cheng, more than 4,000 crossbowmen stood ready. When the Red Heart Team approached, the crossbows fired in unison and arrows rained down.
In an instant, the charging Red Heart team fell to pieces.
……
When the time came to Shenshi 2:00, Zhang Chong led the armored cavalry and the rushing cavalry who came up to press towards the middle road.
Not long ago, Li Zheng's desperate arrival did bring a lot of trouble to Zhang Chong and the others, but the final result was that the heads of the Li family were hung under the necks of these armored horses.
Li Zheng and the others did what they said, they really did it. They live in the same robe and die in the same hole.
Behind Zhang Chong, the five armies on the eastern front and the remnants of Wei Bo's army were launching a general offensive. They no longer maintained their line and ran towards the battlefield.
Some of them spread out to capture the broken soldiers left on the battlefield, while others, led by military officials, pursued towards the central battlefield.
After half a day of bloody battle, we finally came to the most delicious part.
Chasing death and chasing north!
If we put our vision higher, the situation on the western front is roughly the same at this time. 80% of Yuan's army is fleeing, and the attack targets on the eastern front are all focused on Yuan Shao's main formation in the middle.
After they defeated the enemies on the western front, they still felt that they were not enough and wanted to compete with the friendly forces in the middle.
Will the Taishan Army in the middle give up this credit? They finally defeated Yuan Jun's most elite Shangwu Army. Can you pick peaches?
Therefore, when they saw that the flags of the friendly forces on the western front had appeared on the sky and earth line, the generals of the armies in the middle were anxious. They roared and ordered all the ministries to launch a general offensive.
Vow to capture Yuan Shao alive!
In this way, more and more Taishan soldiers stepped on the corpses of Team Chixin and rushed up the gentle slope.
……
In this formation, the soldiers and staff were busy cleaning up. Yuan Shao also changed from the chariot to the war horse. At this moment, he was still looking at the battlefield and muttered to Xu You beside him:
“I don’t understand, how could it happen like this?”
He felt that fate was playing tricks on him. Whenever he felt that victory was within reach, it would give him an embarrassment. But when he had despaired of the outcome, the development of the situation brought him hope.
Then everything was turned upside down. Look at the battlefield now. The flags of Linghu Jian, Liang Sheng, Li Guan, and Chunyu Dao have all disappeared. All the flags rolling and fluttering down the slope are the flags of the Taishan Army. It's all over.
Thinking of this, Yuan Shao said to Xu You:
"It seems we are going to lose, Ziyuan, what should we do next?"
Xu You's eyes were already a bit narrow, and now they were even narrower in order to see the battlefield ahead.
He is worthy of being the first prime minister of Duke Chen. Even though he has reached this stage, his voice is still very calm. Except for his complexion being a little pale, he is no different from ordinary people.
Just listen to Xu Youdao:
"The situation is over, but we still have tens of thousands of elite troops in Yuzhou. When the time comes, we will concentrate all the troops in Xuanhu. With the favorable location of Xuanhu, we can defend it for three years."
Yuan Shao fell silent and said:
"What about three years from now?"
What can Xu You say? Could it be that telling Yuan Shao directly would lead to death in three years? The body of Li Dian, who had complained last time, was lying beside him.
So Xu You said vaguely:
"If the Taishan army besieges Hu for three years, the world will surely change. At that time, the lord can take advantage of the situation and reorganize the Central Plains."
Yuan Shao shook his head. Now he was sober and spoke his true words:
"In this battle, I united 130,000 troops to fight against the thieves, and they were all defeated in one battle. Even when I returned to Runan, I was still struggling to survive. Those powerful people in Runan and Yingchuan will never give in to a loser again."
Xu You was open-minded and persuaded Yuan Shao:
"My lord, the young man is here in Xuanhu. If there is no lord to support him, how can the young man survive in these troubled times?"
Yuan Shao was stunned for a moment, his original thoughts were suddenly diluted, and he hummed:
"Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings."
But even though he said this, Yuan Shao also had some fighting spirit ignited in his heart, not for himself, but for his son.
Sure enough, Yuan Shao's next sentence was:
"But now that all the soldiers have been lost, what can I do even if I return to the rear? If I just barely survive a few years by running away like a defeated dog, it would be better to die fighting for righteousness here."
Xu You felt a little tired and felt that Yuan Shao was always like this. Yuan Shao was undoubtedly a very smart person, but he always wanted others and his subordinates to take responsibility for him.
Doesn't Yuan Shao know? Power and responsibility always go hand in hand. If there is always no responsibility, where does the power come from?
Just like now, you, Yuan Shao, look at the staff and close people behind who are busy cleaning up. What are they busy with? Aren't you busy running for your life?
You, Yuan Shao, are already thinking about escaping, but now you want me to give you a reason to escape. It's really funny.
But Xu You's long-term sincerity still allowed Xu You to give Yuan Shao a reason:
"Lord, great achievements have always been achieved through hundreds of battles, and temporary difficulties are inevitable. In the past, Emperor Gaozu was defeated in Pengcheng, lost his troops and generals, and almost escaped alone. And what happens next? From the confrontation between Chu and Han to the ambush on all sides, the princes of the world Gathered under the banner of Emperor Gaozu, they finally defeated Xiang Yu. This is the current example."
Xu You is undoubtedly very good at persuading people, and Yuan Shao easily found a kind of strength in Gaozu. Since Gaozu, who was only the head of the pavilion, could do it, why couldn't he, the nobles of the fourth generation and the three princes, not do it?
Isn’t it just victory in a hundred battles? Isn’t it just perseverance? He, Yuan Shao, can do it too.
Just when Yuan Shao was excited, the men behind him had also packed up. They had prepared thirty war horses. In addition to carrying weapons and dry food, they also brought Yuan Shao's seals, ribbons and flags.
The general who escorted Yuan Shao's retreat was Lu Zhao. He was steady, courageous and powerful, and had always been relied upon by Yuan Shao.
But Lu Zhao's mood didn't seem to be high. He just reported to Yuan Shao:
"Lord, the team is ready, we have to leave now."
Yuan Shao didn't know that today's decisive battle was the first battle between Lu Zhao's son Lu Fan.
Lu Fan, who was only seventeen years old, had already won the first level three in this decisive battle, but just now, he was sent to the front line by his father Lu Zhao to resist the Taishan Army's attack.
Both father and son knew that this farewell would be an eternal farewell.
But Lu Fan was not afraid. In his opinion, dying in battle for his lord was an honorable thing. He was just worried that if he could not kill a well-known general before his death, his military name would not be able to remain in the world.
It was with this thought in mind that Lu Fan galloped to the front line, looking for the gorgeously dressed warriors.
Soon, he found a majestic knight wearing black armor, wearing a robe and a crimson tassel on his head. Without any hesitation, Lu Fan rushed forward with the Huanshou knife, shouting:
"I am Chen Liulufan, and I am here to take your life."
This slope was originally very narrow, and with the entanglement of people and horses on both sides, the black-armored warrior didn't even see Lu Fan, and he was thrown to the ground from behind.
The ground was very slippery and there was too much blood. After the two rolled to the ground, Lu Fan firmly pressed the black-armored warrior's neck, face to face.
It was also at this time that Lu Fan saw clearly that the black-armored warrior under him was also a young man, perhaps about the same age as himself.
But when this thought flashed through his mind, Lu Fan didn't stop at all. When he landed on the ground, he used his free left hand to touch his waist, and soon touched a short knife.
Then Lu Fan roared angrily, drew out his short sword and pierced it into the fine cracks of the black-armored warrior's armor.
But just when he stabbed down hard, the short knife obviously hit a hard object, and then couldn't poke it anymore.
Lu Fan's thoughts changed quickly, and he was about to put all his body weight on the dagger. But at this moment, the black-armored warrior under Lu Fan roared and suddenly pushed Lu Fan away.
Then, four horse spears were pierced from both sides. Due to Lu Fan's declining physical strength, after barely dodging the horse spear on one side, he was pierced in the ribs by the other two horse spears.
The severe pain made Lu Fan scream, then raised his head and took his last breath.
After several armored knights killed Lu Fan, everyone pulled the black armored knight up with all their might.
The frightened black-armored warrior subconsciously took out a gold medal from the lining of his armor. This was given to him by his second brother Ma Dai as a reward for his first flag-capturing achievement in his life.
The black-armored knight was Ma Tie. He looked at the dented scratches on the gold medal and became angry with shame. He took his bag and smashed Lu Fan's head. He hit it more than a dozen times before venting his hatred.
But after doing this, Ma Tie cut off the mangled head, wrapped it with a captured flag, and put it in his horse pocket.
After doing this, Ma Tie led his men to continue the charge.
……
At the moment Lu Fan died, Lu Zhao, who was retreating with Yuan Shao, suddenly felt a pain in his heart and was about to slide off his horse.
At this time, Yuan Shao was speaking to the warriors who were about to follow him. The content was nothing more than that the failure was only temporary. Duke Chen still had enough strength. As long as everyone persisted, he himself would not forget the contributions of these people.
In short, at the last moment, Yuan Shao tried his best to help everyone.
When Yuan Shao made the promise, he saw Lu Zhao's performance and his brows knitted together unconsciously, but he still didn't say anything.
After everything was ready, he called Xu You over alone and said to him:
"I asked you how Ju Yi was doing before, but you didn't reply to me, so I just wanted to ask, why is he still here?"
After saying that, Yuan Shao drew out his riding whip and led his men on horseback to gallop towards the south bank of Yishui River.
Behind them, Xu You immediately understood what Yuan Shao meant. He hurriedly called out to the two tooth soldiers, gave an order, and rode on his horse to catch up.
Accompanying Xu You in retreating were a large number of staff from Yingchuan. As for Cheng Yu, these inconspicuous clerks and staff had long since disappeared.