Chapter 647 Withdrawal From Youzhou

Yuan Shao originally gathered a large army to fight Liu Ye for a decisive battle under Yecheng, but due to the withdrawal of the Wuhuan troops, he was defeated by the Liangzhou army's fierce attack and had no choice but to lead his army to retreat.

Originally, there were 50,000 Yuan troops under Yecheng, but more than 10,000 people were killed and wounded by Liangzhou troops on the spot. After Yuan Shao ordered the withdrawal, more than 10,000 people were killed along the way. In the end, the total number of defeated soldiers who retreated was less than 20,000. people.

On the official road between Jizhou and Youzhou, Yuan's army was marching slowly with low morale. Everyone's clothes and armor were in tatters, and the expressions on their faces were even more gloomy. Even the generals in the army, who were usually the most particular about cleanliness, couldn't care less. There were still some wounded soldiers, their bodies covered with blood, struggling to move forward one by one, groaning in pain from time to time. The Jizhou Army next to them Looking at these wounded soldiers, morale is even more depressed.

Yuan Shao was still wearing golden armor, but the golden helmet on his head had been thrown away when he ran for his life. As the third prince of the fourth generation, Yuan Shao, who comes from a famous family, usually cares about his appearance the most, but now he is so frustrated that he no longer cares about looking for the golden helmet.

"It's over, it's really over." Yuan Shao murmured a few words. He seemed to have aged seven or eight years overnight. His original black hair now had a few strands of white hair, which made people feel sad.

"Lord." Guo Tu, who was standing beside him, forced a smile from his face: "Didn't we just send out sentries to the Second Young Master to ask for help? Later, the Second Young Master will naturally lead his troops to come to rescue us."

"Xianyi?" Yuan Shao's eyes lit up, but soon dimmed again: "How many troops can Xianyi pull out? Alas."

Youzhou has just experienced a great war. Yuyang and Shanggu counties were kidnapped by the Wuhuan people. Gongsun Xu also raised an army. How much energy does Youzhou still have?

How many armies can the dilapidated Youzhou maintain? By then, let alone recapturing Jizhou, even holding Youzhou will be quite difficult.

Although Feng Ji had said it well at the beginning, sticking to Youzhou and forming alliances with Gongsun Du and Cao Cao, was it really that simple to do it?

Feng Ji, Guo Tu, Chen Lin, Xu You and many other Yuan Jun counselors on the side also looked disgraced at this moment. When they looked at Yuan Shao, they no longer had that cool celebrity demeanor. You must know that Yuan Shao is their backbone. Now that even Yuan Shao is so depressed, how can their morale be lifted?

Many people were silent and just moved forward silently, enduring the wind and sand. Fortunately, after withdrawing from Yecheng, they took a lot of food and grass from various counties in Jizhou along the way, so there is no need to worry. Hungry.

"Lord!" Wen Chou suddenly rushed over from the front with dozens of cavalry and shouted: "The second young master has led the troops to meet the lord."

"Xianyi is here?" After hearing the news, Yuan Shao couldn't help but feel happy. He stretched his neck and looked into the distance. He saw smoke and dust on the horizon. A large group of cavalry galloped over the field, shooting a "Yuan" from a distance. The banner with the character "General" is approaching rapidly in the direction of the Jizhou Army.

"I went to greet Xianyi in person."

Yuan Shao was pleasantly surprised and got off the chariot. With the help of the Euphorbia warriors, he climbed onto the horse. Then, surrounded by Wen Chou and hundreds of cavalry, he galloped forward quickly.

The two cavalry continued to approach, and within a hundred steps they finally saw each other's faces clearly. Thousands of horsemen were seen galloping towards the opposite side. The leader was in his early twenties, and his appearance was about 50% similar to Yuan Shao's, but his appearance tended to be weak. He was Yuan Xi, the second son of Yuan Shao.

"Father, father!"

After Yuan Xi saw Yuan Shao from a distance, he opened his mouth excitedly and shouted loudly, galloped away, then jumped off the horse, bowed his head and bowed.

"My child has seen his father. Is his father in good health?" Yuan Xi asked excitedly.

"My son, get up quickly." Yuan Shao also jumped off the horse and helped Yuan Xi up with his own hands. Looking at the familiar face, tears suddenly flowed from his eyes.

The father and son were speechless, hugging each other tightly and crying.

"Father, second brother!"

At this time, Yuan Tan also rushed over on horseback and hugged the two of them.

Yuan Xi raised his head and said, "Brother, are you and your father okay?"

Yuan Tan is the eldest son of Yuan Shao. He has a domineering personality and once bullied Yuan Xi. Therefore, Yuan Xi has always been a little afraid of this eldest brother. But they are compatriots after all. Yuan Xi also hugged Yuan Tan tightly. The father and son hugged each other and cried. The scene was quite touching for a while.

"Fortunately, as long as people are still there, there is hope for everything." Feng Ji watched from a distance as Yuan Shao and his son hugged each other and cried, and couldn't help but sigh. Guo Tu, Xu You, Chen Lin and others also had complicated emotions and didn't know what to say for a while.

"Father." Yuan Xi suddenly said seriously: "My son has brought 10,000 infantry and cavalry this time, and there are 5,000 soldiers and horses in Youzhou. Plus father's army and horses, our army can still have nearly 40,000 troops to defend Youzhou. , waiting for an opportunity to counterattack will not be a problem!”

"Okay!" Yuan Shao said happily: "Xianyi did a good job. As long as our army is calm and counterattacks, and thwarts the Liangzhou Army's offensive, it may not be impossible to turn the defense into an attack."

"Haha, Xianyi did a good job in Youzhou." Yuan Tan showed a complicated smile. Yuan Xi had so many soldiers and horses in Youzhou, but his direct soldiers and horses were lost in the Battle of Yecheng. Disastrous, as a result, my power is not as good as Yuan Xi's.

"However, the second brother's more than 10,000 troops are probably mostly for the people, right?" Yuan Tan suddenly said.

Yuan Xi looked slightly embarrassed and explained: "Our army has suffered heavy losses, so naturally we have to recruit people to supplement our military strength, but now that the situation is urgent, we can't care about that much."

"Xianyi is right." Yuan Shao nodded solemnly and admonished Yuan Tan: "Xianfu, Xianyi is right to recruit soldiers and horses. After all, the Liangzhou Army's offensive is pressing. If our army does not summon a large army, how will we respond? Of?"

"My father taught me a lesson." Yuan Tan cupped his hands and said, "The child has learned a lesson."

"Father, please come with me. Let's go to Youbeiping first and then discuss the big plan." Yuan Xi extended his invitation, and Yuan Shao happily stepped onto the chariot. After nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses gathered together, the low morale finally improved, so they joined forces. Then headed towards Youbeiping.

"Lord, although our army has been newly defeated, the land of Jizhou must not be completely abandoned." Tian Feng said bluntly: "Changshan and Zhending are all three towns in the north. As long as thousands of troops and horses are stationed and support each other, we can Deter the enemy's offensive, so our army must not give up easily."

"My lord, no!" Guo Tu stood up, glanced at Tian Feng, and said coldly: "The Liangzhou army is so sharp that even tens of thousands of troops can't stand in front of it. How can thousands of soldiers defend it? Tian Yuanhao said this To do so means sacrificing the lives of soldiers, which can never be taken in any case!"