I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 904: Betrayal and separation
"return!"

"They are just some defeated soldiers, what are you afraid of?!"

"Don't run! Come back here!"

In front of the burning camp, Zhang Xun and Yuan Yin shouted at the top of their lungs, but their shouts were soon drowned out by the chaotic noise and the footsteps of the soldiers fleeing in panic.

At first, only a few soldiers saw Yuan Shu retreating and a fire broke out in the camp, so they took advantage of the chaos to quietly slip away.

Then, very quickly, the escape spread like a plague. When the soldiers saw that Yuan Shao dared to open the city gate and attack, they no longer cared about this place and scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing in large groups, and there was no way to stop the decline.

"General, the situation is over!"

The captain of the guards pulled Zhang Xun's reins, his face full of anxiety:
"When the soldiers heard that Shouchun had fallen and their families had all fallen into the hands of the enemy, how could they still have the heart to fight? If we don't withdraw now, when Yuan Benchu ​​reacts, we won't be able to leave!"

Zhang Xun looked around and saw that in the light of the fire, the soldiers had thrown away their armor and weapons and were fleeing southward like a tide.

He gritted his teeth and finally turned his horse's head: "Retreat! Retreat quickly, towards Ruxukou!"

"Mr. Yuan! Great victory! Great victory!"

On the city walls of the six counties, the excited voices of Feng Ji and the soldiers continued to echo.

Feng Ji pointed at the fleeing Yuan Shu army in the distance and spoke incoherently with excitement:

"The bandits collapsed without a fight. Our army has seized countless food and supplies! The soldiers are hunting down the remaining enemies!"

Yuan Shao leaned against the city wall, looking at the enemy troops fleeing in panic in the fire in the distance, and for a moment he was a little dazed.

Just now, he was trapped in this isolated city, out of ammunition and food, and almost in despair.

But who would have thought that the situation would undergo such a dramatic reversal in the blink of an eye?

"Heaven will not destroy me, Yuan Benchu"

Yuan Shao muttered to himself, his eyes slightly moist.

"Mr. Yuan, now is not the time to be sentimental."

Feng Ji stepped forward quickly and lowered his voice:
"According to the prisoners we captured, Yuan Shu was defeated because Su Yao personally led a large army to attack. They captured Shouchun overnight and captured all of Shu's family members, which led to the demoralization of his army and the defeat of the army."

Yuan Shao took a deep breath when he heard this, and was silent for a while, then laughed and cried:
"Well, what a great general, he is truly a god."

Yuan Shao threw his head back and laughed, but there was a hint of bitterness and unwillingness in his laughter.

He originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that Su Yao was in Beijing and had no time to look south to get rid of Yuan Shu and gain more benefits and territory for himself.

Unexpectedly, he was eventually plotted against by Yuan Shu. Not only did his efforts go in vain, he also suffered heavy losses and was even rescued by the boy named Su.

Now, Yuan Shao felt that his road to hegemony was getting further and further away.

"Lord Yuan," Feng Ji looked at Yuan Shao's uncertain expression and said carefully, "Since Su Yao has taken Shouchun, the next step is probably to lead his troops to Jiangdong to pursue Yuan Shu."

"Although we have won a great victory in this battle, our soldiers are hungry and exhausted, the city is severely damaged, and the food and grass are only enough to sustain for a while. In my opinion, the most urgent task is to gather the remaining troops as soon as possible and reorganize the military. At the same time, send people to ask Su Yao for food and grass, and by the way, find out his movements and make countermeasures as soon as possible."

Yuan Shao nodded slightly, looked into the distance, and said in a deep voice: "Send the order, the whole army stops chasing and returns to the city immediately. Give priority to the wounded with the captured food and grass, and send people to comfort the people and repair the city."

"Then, send a fast horse to Shouchun to contact the general and General Huangfu and tell them that our army has defeated Yuan Shu and ask them to quickly join forces in the six counties."

Just when Yuan Shao finally got a chance to breathe and began to plan for the future, another group of people were also planning for their own future. "General, let's go back to see the rear general like this, even if..."

The person who spoke was Zhang Xun's deputy general Liu Neng. He looked at Zhang Xun who had a gloomy expression beside him, and his voice unconsciously lowered.

On the way of escape, Zhang Xun pulled the reins and looked at the sparse and disorganized remnants of soldiers behind him, his heart filled with bitterness.

Yuan Shu gave him 5,000 elite soldiers, but they were defeated without even fighting a battle. Now he has only a few hundred loyal old subordinates left around him. This result is really embarrassing.

"What else can we do if we don't go back? Now Shouchun has fallen, the army has been scattered, and the general is hurrying to Jiangdong. If we don't catch up as soon as possible, are we going to die here?"

Liu Neng gritted his teeth and said, "But General Zhonglang, the rear general will surely be furious after this great defeat. In my opinion, it would be better to..."

Liu Neng looked around and lowered his voice: "Why don't we go to Su Yao? I heard that he is strict in disciplining the army and kind to others. Besides, the situation is in his hands now. We may have a chance to survive if we follow him."

"What did you say?!"

Zhang Xun suddenly turned around and glared at the deputy general, but in front of everyone, he did not take any other action.

If it were in the past, Zhang Xun would certainly not let off his subordinates easily for such rebellious words.

but now
Zhang Xun waved his hand, asking the strangers to disperse, and then he sighed and said to the deputy general:

"The general has been very supportive of me, so I shouldn't have second thoughts. But now that things have come to this, I really can't let my brothers die with me."

"However, the general also sent his nephew Yuan Yin to supervise the army this time. If you want to surrender to Su Yao, you must get rid of this person first!"

Liu Neng understood and lowered his voice, "Don't worry, General Zhonglang, I will arrange it right away. It's a dark night with strong winds and the morale of the army is low. It's the perfect time for us to take action."

Soon, Deputy General Liu Neng told dozens of his confidants the news that Zhang Xun had decided to surrender to Su Yao. Then they went to the front army to invite Yuan Yin, who was in a hurry, on the pretext of discussing military affairs.

Yuan Yin had no idea that there was something fishy going on and thought that Zhang Xun was trying to bribe him into pleading with his uncle on his behalf, so he put on a lot of airs as soon as he came.

He rode a tall horse and brought a dozen personal soldiers with him. As soon as he arrived, he began to scold Zhang Xun for his incompetence, which led to the army's disintegration. He planned to suppress him first and then gain some benefits.

As a result, he never expected that Zhang Xun, accompanied by his deputy general Liu Neng, approached him quietly with a respectful and apologetic look, asked him to dismount from his horse, and then suddenly roared and turned hostile, and the surrounding personal soldiers rushed forward.

Before Yuan Yin's personal soldiers could react, they were attacked by swords and hacked to death.

Yuan Yin didn't even have time to utter a curse word before he was stabbed in the heart by the deputy general Liu Neng who was helping him off his horse.

The warm blood splattered on Zhang Xun's armor, emitting a dark red luster in the night.

Yuan Yin stared at Zhang Xun with his eyes wide open, making a few gurgling sounds in his throat, and finally fell to the ground limply.

"Quick, cut off his head, recruit his subordinates, and quickly turn to Shouchun to follow me!"

At Zhang Xun's command, Liu Neng and others burst into thunderous cheers. Soon, upon hearing the news, the troops, who had been dejected because of the bleak future, suddenly became excited.

They shouted, "We are surrendering to the general, surrendering to the court, and surrendering to the rebellion." They followed Zhang Xun and betrayed Yuan Shu, disappeared into the night, and went to Su Yao.

Such scenes were by no means isolated cases during Yuan Shu's escape.

General Zhang Xun fled in order to find a way out, and few other middle and low-level generals were willing to follow him into the end.

As a result, because of Yuan Shu's decision to abandon Shouchun and flee to Jiangdong, organized and unorganized escapes continued unabated along the way.

It can be said that before Su Yao's pursuers arrived, Yuan Gonglu had already been deserted by everyone.
(End of this chapter)