Chapter 89

"Mr. Guo, what are you talking about? Who likes him?" Mi Huan said with a slightly red face, her voice soft and complaining.

"Oh, I must have had too much to drink. I don't even know what I'm saying." Guo Jia pretended to be drunk, refusing to admit what he had said, and then raised the gourd again, taking several more swigs.

Mi Huan knew he was being deliberate, and she glared at him with her almond eyes, looking annoyed.

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Guo Jia quickly turned and left.

Seeing him about to leave, Mi Huan asked curiously, "What, you're not staying to see if your young master wins?"

"An inevitable victory, what's the point of waiting? I might as well go home and sleep. Oh, the wine is gone again..." Guo Jia feigned surprise, shaking the empty gourd, and stumbled down the city wall.

Though his words were nonsensical, he was full of confidence in Yuan Fang, not at all worried that Yuan Fang would lose.

Watching the somewhat crazy Guo Jia leave, Mi Huan pouted and muttered, "This Yuan Fang always does unexpected things. He's a strange person, and the people under him are all oddballs. They really do match each other..."

Though she complained, Mi Huan did not leave like Guo Jia. She returned to the parapet, her almond eyes gazing into the night, where the enemy camp was faintly lit, her clear eyes sparkling with anticipation.

In the darkness, Yuan Fang was already leading two thousand elite soldiers towards the enemy camp.

As he led his troops out of the city, other forces also set out from the other gates and the outlying camps.

Yan Liang, Taishi Ci, Guo Huai, and Hao Zhao, each leading two thousand troops, attacked from different directions, surrounding the northern camp of Gongsun Zan.

With over ten thousand soldiers, Yuan Fang was launching a decisive counterattack, going all out.

Guo Jia's strategy of attacking from multiple directions was not particularly sophisticated, just a night raid.

Moreover, the troops Yuan Fang mobilized were less than a third of Gongsun Zan's army.

Yuan Fang dared to use this strategy because he knew that Gongsun Zan's army was already in disarray. An army that had lost its fighting spirit, no matter how large, would be easily defeated.

Under the cover of the moonlight, Yuan Fang moved swiftly. Half an hour later, his troops approached the southern side of the enemy camp.

Yuan Fang ordered his troops to halt, not to attack yet, but to wait for the other forces to reach their designated positions.

After a short while, the southeastern direction of the enemy camp erupted with shouts of battle. Yuan Fang looked up and knew that Taishi Ci's force had launched the first attack as planned.

Soon after, the western direction also erupted with shouts, indicating that Hao Zhao's force had also attacked the enemy camp.

In the next fifteen minutes, the southwestern and eastern directions also erupted with shouts, as Yan Liang and Guo Huai launched their attacks.

The entire Youzhou camp, except for the north, was engulfed in flames and the sound of battle, as if thousands of troops were attacking from all sides.

The time had come, and there was no more waiting.

Yuan Fang, who had been observing the enemy, furrowed his brows and drew his skull-crushing club, shouting fiercely, "Soldiers of Yuan Fang, follow me into the enemy camp to avenge our honor—"

The high-pitched sound of the horn tore through the night, and two thousand enraged Yuan troops, like a flood breaking through a dam, rushed towards the enemy camp.

From all directions, the various forces launched a comprehensive counterattack against the Youzhou camp.

In the enemy camp, Gongsun Zan was still sound asleep.

Having decided to retreat during the day, Gongsun Zan had put aside his worries and wanted to rest well before leading his troops away from Pingyuan the next day.

Suddenly, the shouts of battle woke him up. He opened his eyes groggily, still not understanding what was happening.

At this moment, Guan Jing rushed in without announcement, shouting, "Lord, something is wrong! Yuan Fang's little bandit is attacking us from all sides, and the soldiers are in chaos."

"What!" Gongsun Zan was shocked, jumping up from his bed, all his sleepiness instantly gone.

Gongsun Zan hastily put on his armor, grabbed his spear, and rushed out of the tent. Looking around, he was instantly stunned.

In the camp, his thirty thousand troops were in complete disarray, facing the overwhelming attack from all sides. These already demoralized soldiers were immediately thrown into panic.

Gongsun Zan never expected that Yuan Fang would launch a major attack on the eve of his retreat, and the timing was so precise.

Moreover, listening to the shouts of battle from all around, it sounded like there were at least fifty to sixty thousand enemy troops, but according to his knowledge, Yuan Fang had at most ten thousand troops.

"Where did that little bandit Yuan Fang get so many troops?" Gongsun Zan shouted in disbelief.

Guan Jing, with a bitter face, said, "This must be a bluff by the Yuan army. But our troops are already demoralized, and they think there are tens of thousands of enemy troops attacking the camp, causing the army to collapse."

Gongsun Zan suddenly realized and was even more shocked.

"Lord, the southeastern camp has been breached, and thousands of enemy troops have entered."

"Lord, the western camp wall has been broken, and our troops are retreating in disarray."

"Lord, it's bad news. Hundreds of enemy cavalry have broken through the southwestern camp, and our troops can't resist."

...

The bad news from all directions hit Gongsun Zan like thunder, shattering his confidence and composure.

Gongsun Zan's face turned pale, his anger and shock filling his chest, and he swayed, almost losing his balance.

"Lord—" Guan Jing was startled and hurried to support him.

"Get away!"

Gongsun Zan roared, pushing Guan Jing away, his teeth gritted, and shouted, "How can I, Gongsun Zan, be defeated by a lowly Yuan scum? Hold your ground and counterattack!"

His dignity wounded, Gongsun Zan roared, trying to suppress his panic and make a last stand.

As he spoke, the southern gate erupted with a deafening roar of battle.

Gongsun Zan looked up and was shocked to see his own soldiers at the southern gate retreating like ants fleeing a collapsing nest.

A force of Yuan troops, unstoppable, broke through the camp, slaughtering all in their path.

These were the two thousand elite troops personally led by Yuan Fang, fueled by the flames of revenge, breaking through the enemy's front line and tearing the camp apart from the center.

Under the "Yuan" banner, Yuan Fang rode a white horse, his red cloak fluttering like fire, his skull-crushing club swinging like a wheel, sweeping all around.

Wherever the club struck, the cries of the wounded were惨烈至极，无数幽州士兵不是头颅开花，就是胸骨碎裂。

在疯狂的屠杀下，昔日嚣张残忍的幽州军如今如土鸡瓦狗，不堪一击，四散奔逃。

见此情景，关靖惊道：“主公，南门辕门已失，大营恐怕守不住了，赶紧撤吧，此时弃守而退还来得及。”

到了生死存亡的时刻，关靖也顾不上体面，直接急呼劝退。

这句话深深激怒了公孙瓒。

堂堂白马公孙，即便是与大名鼎鼎的袁绍交手，也是互有胜负。

此次，他以绝对的实力优势，气势汹汹而来，号称要碾平青州，为爱子报仇。

没想到，不仅未能实现豪言，反而被半年前还一文不名的私生子袁方大败。

今日若就此逃去，公孙瓒的威名将扫地。

越想越气，越想越怒，公孙瓒猛然横枪，咆哮道：“我公孙瓒何等威名，岂能败给袁家一个小贼，我不会输，我绝不会输！”

在狂怒的吼声中，发狂的公孙瓒拍马而出，直奔袁方杀去。