I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 553 The battle that affects the situation
During this period of time, Zhou Yu had been fighting and losing again and again. In the end, he really couldn't fight anymore, so he refused to defend the dangerous place, relying on the dangerous terrain to hold on, no matter how much the opponent yelled and scolded him.

In short, no matter how Tao Qian and Yuan Shu cursed or used provoking methods, Zhou Yu's headquarters remained unmoved.

Finally, it was midsummer, and Tao Qian and Yuan Shu's troops were declining, both in terms of edge and morale.

The two armies were at a stalemate. In order to quickly fight a decisive battle with Zhou Yu's headquarters, Tao Qian asked Yuan Shu to be the commander-in-chief, Zhang Xun was the front force, and Qiao Rui, Li Feng, Lejiu, Lei Bo and others were the separate commanders. Cao Bao was sent to lead thousands of Danyang troops in advance. The soldiers set up camp on the ground, insulted and challenged Zhou Yu in front of the formation, continued to insult him, and even gave Zhou Yu women's clothes.

But Zhou Yujun calmed down and ignored him.

Zhou Yu's insistence on not fighting destroyed Tao Qian's strategic intention of relying on his advantage to seek a quick victory.

Xuzhou soldiers gradually lost their fighting spirit and lost their active advantage.

In the scorching summer season, the heat is overwhelming and the soldiers are suffering terribly.

The initial enthusiasm of the soldiers disappeared, and they were all extremely hot. Even the generals Tao Qian and Yuan Shu were upset because of the scorching summer heat.

Zhou Yu was as tight as a tortoise and could not hold it for a while, so Tao Qian and Yuan Shu discussed it and both sides decided to temporarily move the troops and horses to a place with lush woods and ample water to escape the scorching heat.

They set up military camps in deep mountains and dense forests, close to streams, where they stationed troops to rest and prepare to wait until autumn before launching an attack.

Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that Zhou Yu was waiting for just such an opportunity.

He just wanted to take advantage of his youth and unknownness to make Tao Qian and Yuan Shu agitated and expose their flaws in their actions.

The flaw finally appeared.

In midsummer, all the sergeants lived in densely forested areas, and the military camps were surrounded by combustibles.

Under this situation, once a fire attack is used, the consequences can be imagined.

Therefore, under Zhou Yu's intensive arrangements, Jiangdong Army formulated a plan to counterattack the coalition forces of Tao Qian, Cao Bao, Yuan Shu and others.

Zhou Yu saw that the morale of the coalition forces was depressed and believed that the time was ripe for a strategic counterattack.

He wrote to Cao Cao saying: At the beginning of the war, what he was worried about was that Tao Qian would unite with Liu Bei and divide his troops to attack directly.

At present, Liu Bei and Sun Jian are confronting each other, and the Xuzhou Army has set up camps in the mountains and forests to escape the scorching heat. Judging from its deployment, there should be no changes in a short time, so there is an opportunity to take advantage of it.

There should be no obstacles in defeating Tao Qian and Yuan Shu!
Please allow me to go to war!
Cao Cao, who was feigning illness in Shouchun, immediately approved Zhou Yu's battle plan to shift from defense to counterattack.

In the hot summer, the climate is sultry, and the Xuzhou Army's camps in the mountains and forests are all built of wooden fences, and are surrounded by woods and thatch. Once a fire breaks out, they will be burned to pieces.

After the decisive battle began, Zhou Yu ordered the Jiangdong soldiers to each hold a handful of thatch, raid the Xuzhou camp at night, and set fire to the wind.

Just in an instant, the fire was fierce and the Xuzhou coalition forces were in chaos.

Zhou Yu took advantage of the situation and launched a counterattack, forcing Tao Qian's army to move north.

Wu Yujin led [-] suicide troops, broke through the forward camp of the coalition forces, thrust into the rear of the coalition forces, and surrounded Lei Bo's troops at Tongshan with Dong Xi's troops, cutting off his army's retreat.

Cao Chun's troops attacked Cao Bao's troops in Danyang and defeated them. Cao Bao fled in panic.

Xia Houyuan, Xu Chu, and Ling Cao's tribes cooperated with Cao Ren's main force to launch a general attack on the enemy.

The Lejin tribe guarding the Jiujiang border also took the initiative and joined the battle.

The Yangzhou Army made good progress and soon broke through more than [-] Yuan and Tao camps, and the navy cut off the connection between the two sides of the Surabaya River.

Yang Hong, Zhang Xun and others under Yuan Shu were killed in battle.

Lejiu, Lei Bo, Li Feng and others led the troops to surrender.

After Yan Xiang was captured alive, he kept cursing Cao Cao and was beheaded by Xu Chu.

Seeing that the entire front line collapsed, Yuan Shu fled to the west, and his remaining soldiers surrounded the mountains to defend themselves.

Cao Ren concentrated his superior troops and besieged Yuan Shu on all sides, and annihilated Yuan Shu's nearly [-] men.

At this point, Yuan Shu's army was defeated, most of the dead and wounded fled, and all his chariots, horses and other military supplies were lost.

At this point, Yuan Shu completely lost his qualifications to dominate the world and became a lost dog.

As for Tao Qian, he was completely defeated and all the elites he had accumulated in Xuzhou over the years were lost.

There were only a few dozen people left around Tao Qian. He was as panic-stricken as a bereaved dog. He escaped for more than a hundred miles in three days, hiding in the mountains and forests, eating grass and trees. During this period, he encountered several pursuers. Tao Qian was Nearly got caught.

After finally escaping from the border of Xiapi, Tao Qian wandered into the border of the East China Sea.

After arriving at the East China Sea, Tao Qian carefully looked at the entourage around him and found that there were only less than ten left.

I remember that when I led my troops from Tancheng and went south to conquer Zhou Yu, I was very motivated. I thought I could eliminate Cao's army in one fell swoop. However, I never thought that Cao's army was not wiped out, but my own team was wiped out.

There were already many people in Xuzhou who were dissatisfied with Tao Qian's governance, and its military strength was relatively strong.

But this time in the battle with Xia Pi State, it can be said that Tao Qian's pants were taken off.Not only Tao Qian, but also Yuan Shu's underwear was gone.

Standing on the edge of the Sishui River, Tao Qian looked at the rolling water and felt a sense of sadness in his heart.

He even had the urge to plunge into the flowing Sishui River.

"Oh my god, why do you treat me like this?"

Tao Qian finally couldn't control the grief and anger in his heart, and looked up to the sky and cried bitterly.

"God, what did I do wrong? Why do you treat me like this?"

Now Tao Qian can be said to be in agony.

His military strength has been greatly weakened. Even if Cao Cao doesn't come back, it is a matter of two opinions whether he can continue to sit in Xuzhou.

After all, there were too many forces in Xuzhou that did not obey his management.

Moreover, the aristocratic families and powerful heroes under him are not fuel-efficient lamps.

He is already over sixty, and his two sons are not as strong as he is, and they are both incompetent.

Now I can't even leave any troops or horses for my sons. How can my sons take charge of Xuzhou in the future?
Maybe even the roots of his Tao family will have to be cut off.

Now Tao Qian is really at a loss.

When he thought of this, Tao Qian couldn't help but feel sad in his heart.

He suddenly bent his knees and was about to jump into the Sishui River.

Fortunately, his soldiers had quick eyesight and quick hands. They rushed forward and hugged Tao Qian tightly to prevent him from jumping into the river.

"Let me go, all of you, let me go. I don't want to live anymore! What's the point of me living? Let me go."

But these soldiers didn't dare to let go. They just allowed Tao Qian to yell and comfort him.

In the end, Tao Qian's mood finally stabilized and he no longer looked for life and death.

And it was at this time that the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded from behind.

Tao Qian and his soldiers were shocked.

Tao Qian turned his head in horror and looked towards the place where the sound came from.

Vaguely, it seemed that a group of cavalry was rushing in his direction.

At this time, there were only about a dozen people left around Tao Qian, and all of them were exhausted and at the end of their game. Let alone fighting with the opponent, if they were to run away now, they might not even have the strength to escape. .

If these soldiers and horses are really Zhou Yu's soldiers and horses, then Tao Qian and others will have no choice but to sit back and wait for death.

"Could it be that God has killed me?"

Tao Qian turned his head and looked at the turbulent Sishui River, and then said to the soldiers around him.

"My sons, I can't help you."

"I originally wanted to lead you to achieve great success and achieve fame, but I never thought that I would lead you to such a desperate situation!"

"Now the enemy is coming. If you are willing to surrender, then go and surrender. You can chop off my head as a merit, and it will not be in vain for us as masters and slaves!"

The soldiers who have accompanied Tao Qian to this day are also brave men in the Danyang army.

Then he saw the leader of the team handing over his hand and saying:
"Your envoy's words are wrong. We are your envoy's soldiers. How can we chop off your envoy's head and offer surrender to the enemy chief to claim merit?"

"This time, we are willing to advance and retreat together with the envoy. We will share life and death together. We will fight against these pursuers."

"Even if you end up with your body and head missing, it's still better than being captured alive and taken as a prisoner by them!"

"That's right, Tao Shijun, please give the order. Our brothers will fight with them."

"Not bad, not bad. If you kill one, you will be enough. If you kill two, you will make a profit."

"The worst I can do is hold them in my arms and jump into the Sishui River together."

Seeing that all his subordinates were so loyal and brave, Tao Qian's heart suddenly became fierce.

After all, when Tao Qian was young, he had a fiery nature and a bad temper. Although he is a little gentler now that he is older, his true nature is still there.

"Okay! Since you guys are so determined, I will advance and retreat together with you. We will fight with them together."

Then, Tao Qian pulled out the Huanshou Sword from his waist, and looked coldly at the dusty direction with a group of Danyang soldiers, just waiting for the other party to rush over, and then fight to the death with them.

(End of this chapter)