He never expected that his precious son would be defeated by Yuan Fang just after sending back the battle report, asking him to rest assured.
"Moreover, he was killed by Yuan Fang.
Just when Yuan Shu was in agony, the second piece of bad news was delivered immediately.
Yan Xiang was captured and surrendered to Yuan Fang. He also persuaded General Qiao Rui to rebel and surrender to the enemy. Zhongli surrendered without a fight, and all the 30,000-strong army followed him and surrendered to Yuan Fang.
This second piece of information, like thunder, struck on the top of Yuan Shu's head, making him dizzy and almost vomiting blood.
"Yan Xiang, Qiao Rui, you two traitors! I treat you badly, how dare you betray me, how dare you surrender to that shameless little bitch!"
Yuan Shu beat his chest, fell down, and cursed loudly.
Extremely angry, Yuan Shu was so angry that he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of old blood, passing out on the spot.
The magnificent palace immediately fell into panic.
The bad news soon spread from the imperial city to the streets and alleys of Shouchun.
The whole city was in an uproar.
Prince Yuan Yao was killed, the first civil servant Yan Xiang and the general Qiao Rui surrendered to the enemy, and an army of more than 30,000 surrendered without a fight. This series of shocking bad news was enough to plunge the entire Shouchun City into panic.
Those civil servants, military officers, and dignitaries were naturally extremely afraid of Yuan Fang's military power.
On the contrary, the common people were secretly happy, and the hope in front of them was even greater. They all wished that Yuan Fang could kill Yuan Shu as soon as possible and destroy this cruel and faint king.
When Yuan Fang made a surprise attack on Shouchun and freed 30,000 slaves, he spread his image as a liberator to the land of Huainan.
Yuan Shu was extravagant and lustful, and oppressed the people endlessly. The people had been miserable for a long time, and they were looking forward to Yuan Fang, the wise master, to rescue them day and night.
Now Yuan Fang has won a great victory, and his fame has shocked Huainan. How can the people not be secretly happy?
Under a heavy blow. Yuan Shu was unconscious for half a day, and then he faintly woke up and went to the Golden Palace to convene ministers to discuss matters.
"The prince was killed by the traitor. The two traitors in Yanqiao surrendered to the enemy. The army of the thieves is approaching Shouchun. Who among you is willing to step forward and avenge me?" Yuan Shu looked around the ministers feebly.
All the ministers bowed their heads and remained silent. Everyone looked sad, and no one dared to stand up and challenge Yuan Fang.
Yuan Shu was greatly disappointed. He never expected that his ministers would be so cowardly. When the country was in crisis, no one could share his worries.
Just when he was about to get angry, the black-faced general at the bottom of the stairs came out. He raised his hands and said with emotion: "Your Majesty, Fei is willing to lead an army to garrison Xia Cai. I will ask that boy to learn from Laocheng and return without success."
Yuan Shu was overjoyed and looked down, only to see that the person asking for a fight was Zhang Fei, who had been rejected by him the previous time.
Seeing Zhang Fei asking for a fight. Yuan Shu was so ashamed that he thought to himself that if he had known what happened, he would have sent Zhang Fei to lead the expedition, and he would not have ended up in this disastrous defeat.
Yuan Shu had no one to rely on, so he had no choice but to pin all his hopes on Zhang Fei, the newly surrendered general. He immediately issued an order, ordering Zhang Fei to lead 10,000 troops. Go and defend Xia Cai.
Xia Cai is the last city leading to Shouchun. Once Xia Cai is broken, Shouchun will face Yuan Fang's army.
Yuan Shu had only 20,000 soldiers and horses left, and Zhang Fei had already taken half of his troops to defend Xia Cai.
Zhang Fei was full of murderous intent. After receiving the order, he bowed and left with emotion.
Yuan Shufang dispatched Zhang Fei himself. He thought to himself again: "Zhang Fei is brave and brave, and he may be able to resist that little thief, but he is a new general after all, and now he has taken away half of my troops. If he has a different intention, wouldn't it lead to a big disaster"
The more Yuan Shu thought about it, the more he felt uneasy. After hesitating again and again, he hurriedly sent his general Lei Bo to act as Zhang Fei's deputy to monitor Zhang Fei.
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Dangtu is to the west.
The battle flags cover the sky, the soldiers are densely armored, and the big flag with the word "Yuan" is flying in the wind.
Yuan Fang led an army of 60,000 men and marched along the Huai River toward Shouchun.
Forty miles to the west is Xiacaicheng, which is the last obstacle on the road to Shouchun.
While the army was marching, Yuan Fang had sent Xu Huang with 5,000 elite troops to march lightly towards Xia Cai.
Yuan Fang estimated that Yuan Shu's main force was exhausted and he was afraid that he would no longer be able to defend Xia Cai, so he wanted to send a light army to capture Xia Cai first.
"The Hebei Army has assembled 100,000 troops. This battle cannot drag on for too long. Yuan Shu must be destroyed as soon as possible and retreat northward"
When Yuan Fang was deep in thought, Zhuge Liang rushed from the front and interrupted his thoughts.
"Master, there is an urgent report from the west. Xu Huang was ambushed by the enemy more than ten miles east of Xiacai and returned defeated." Zhuge Liangsaid in a deep voice.
Xu Huang was ambushed and returned defeated?
Yuan Fang¡¯s eyebrows narrowed and he was slightly surprised.
Who is Xu Huang? He is a good general in the world, a strong man at the martial arts and bone-forging level. He is one of the best under his command, and he is a general worthy of great responsibility.
After Yuan Shu suffered such a defeat, Yuan Fang was surprised that there were still people under his command who were able to set up an ambush and defeat Xu Huang.
Zhuge Liang said: "That's the third brother of the big-eared thief, Zhang Fei."
Zhang Fei?
The thunderous name rang in Yuan Fang's ears, which made him wonder again.
Since the Battle of Xiapi, Yuan Fang has learned that Zhang Fei turned against Liu Bei and turned his back on Liu Bei, but he never knew where Zhang Fei was.
Today, when he was attacking Yuan Shu, unexpectedly, Zhang Fei defected to Yuan Shu.
Yuan Fang immediately called Yan Xiang, and from his mouth, he learned the reasons why Zhang Fei became a bandit in Runan, and was later recruited by Yuan Shu.
"Zhang Fei, I didn't expect to see you here. No wonder Xu Huang was defeated by you." Yuan Fang murmured.
Zhang Fei's martial arts skills were far superior to Xu Huang's, and his ability to command troops was also extremely strong. It was reasonable for Yuan Shu to send him to take action and defeat Xu Huang by surprise.
"Master, this Fei is the remnant of the big-eared thief. Now he has brought it to the door. He is seeking his own death. Let's immediately send troops to kill Cai and kill this thief!" Zhuge Liang shouted with murderous intent.
Yuan Fang's eyes flashed with a strange color.
If Yuan Fang really wanted to kill Zhang Fei a few years ago, it was because he knew that the three brothers Liu Guan and Zhang Taoyuan were monolithic. If he wanted to kill Liu Bei, he had to kill Guan and Zhang together.
But after Zhang Fei and Liu Bei cut their ties and turned against each other, Yuan Fang changed his mind.
Since Zhang Fei and Liu Bei have severed their brotherhood, if such a general can be used for his own purposes, it will be even more powerful for Yuan Fang.
You must know that Zhang Fei in history was a pillar figure who held up half the sky for the Shu Han Empire.
Such a person's ability and importance are better than those of a general of Xu Huang's level.
With his mind racing, Yuan Fang couldn't help but have the idea of ??surrendering Zhang Fei.
After pondering for a moment, Yuan Fang immediately ordered that the 60,000-strong army continue to advance and kill all the way to Xiacai.
At dawn the next day, Yuan Fang's army advanced to the east of Xiacai City and forced the city to enter the stronghold, forming an oppressive and advancing force.
Although Zhang Fei set up an ambush and defeated Xu Huang in the previous battle, he also knew that there was a huge gap in strength between him and Yuan Fang, so he decisively led his troops to retreat to Cai Cai before Yuan Fang's army arrived, pretending to hold on. trend.
After the army had set up camp, Yuan Fang wrote a letter and sent people to Cai and Zhang Fei to invite them to gather in front of the city.
Zhang Fei was very happy and immediately replied to Yuan Fang without saying a word, saying that he would like to spend a while with him.
At noon, Yuan Fang led five hundred elite cavalry out of the camp and looked straight down Cai Dongmen.
More than five hundred cavalrymen were stationed two hundred steps away from the city gate.
Yuan Fang stationed his horse with a halberd and stood in front of the formation with his head held high, waiting for Zhang Fei to come.
Not long after, the city gate opened wide, and Zhang Fei, one man and one rider, slowly walked out of the city gate, dragging a snake spear worth eight feet.
With a quick glance at Yuanwang, it turned out to be Zhang Fei.
After Zhang Chengtou's first line, Yuan Fang did not find a crossbowman or the like, intending to calculate his soldiers and horses.
Yuan Fang then rode his horse forward, dragging Fang Tian's painted halberd diagonally towards Zhang Liao.
The two riders were seven steps apart, stopped each other, and faced each other proudly.
"Zhang Yide, long time no see." Yuan Fang said lightly, without any hostility in his tone.
Zhang Fei stared at him with wide eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Yuan Fang, what else can we say between you and me? If you have the ability, just come and attack the city. I, Zhang Fei, am here to see what you can do." We can¡¯t break through Xia Cai!¡±
Yuan Fang smiled slightly and said disapprovingly: "Zhang Fei, there is no sworn hatred between you and me. Why do you feel sorry for me?"
"Joke!" Zhang Fei snorted coldly, "Back in Xuzhou, you and I fought countless times, and you still dare to say that I have no grudge against you?"
Zhang Fei still remembered the shame of his defeat at the hands of Yuan Fang.
Yuan Fang said: "The reason why you and I fought back then was because you mistrusted Liu Bei, a hypocrite. Now that you have clearly seen Liu Bei's face and cut off your ties with him, the grudge between you and me should also be wiped out." That's right. You, Zhang Fei, are an upright man. Don't you think it's boring to be entangled in these so-called hatreds for no reason? "
Yuan Fang exposed Liu Guan¡¯s betrayal?? matter, in order to resolve Zhang Fei's grievances.
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Fei was shaken, and a trace of thoughtfulness flashed between his brows.
After cutting off his robe and leaving Liu Bei, Zhang Fei once regretted it and felt a little sorry for Liu Bei.
But when he heard that after Liu Bei was captured in the Battle of Puyang, he openly declared himself the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Fei's little apology for Liu Bei disappeared.
It¡¯s not that Zhang Fei is a staunch supporter of the Han, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t defect to Yuan Shu, who proclaimed himself emperor, but because Zhang Fei saw the corner of Liu Bei¡¯s mouth thoroughly.
When they became sworn brothers from Taoyuan, Liu Bei kept saying that he wanted to help the Han Dynasty, but in the end, Liu Bei's true ambition and face were revealed before he died.
This made Zhang Fei completely realize how hypocritical Liu Bei was and how he was not worthy of being his brother.
The reason why he opposed Yuan Shu actually had nothing to do with Liu Bei. It was just because he was holding a breath in his heart when he was defeated by Yuan Fang, so he wanted to use Yuan Shu's hand to vent his bad breath.
Yuan Fang has an insight into people's hearts and can clearly see Zhang Fei's thoughts.
Seeing Zhang Fei's expression was different, Yuan Fang immediately said: "Zhang Yide, you should be able to see that Yuan Shu is a faint master. Such a person is not worthy of your loyalty to Zhang Fei. Submit to me, Yuan Fang. With your help, there is no need to worry. If my great cause fails, I will make you Zhang Fei and leave your name in history!"