Chapter 97

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The entire Xu Army was plunged into panic and confusion.

According to the captured Yuan army messengers, Yuan Fang was supposed to use fire as a signal to attack their eastern encampment from both inside and outside. Why did he end up raiding the northern camp instead?

"We all fell for Yuan Fang's ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain. He deliberately leaked false information to us about attacking the eastern encampment, luring us to move our entire army here, so he could take advantage of the situation and raid our northern camp," Guan Yu said through gritted teeth, revealing the truth with a heavy heart.

The truth was revealed, and everyone was suddenly enlightened.

It turned out they had all fallen for Yuan Fang's ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain!

"Yuan Fang, that little scoundrel, actually..." Liu Bei clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with anger, his face dark and unpredictable.

Thinking back, he had been so confident, believing he had seen through Yuan Fang's plan, but he never expected that his self-assuredness had led him into a trap set by Yuan Fang.

Being deceived again by that little scoundrel, Liu Bei felt both hatred and shame, so angry he didn't know what to do.

David Cao, who was suddenly enlightened, complained to Liu Bei, "Liu Xuande, you confidently guaranteed that Yuan Fang would attack our eastern camp, causing me to move all my troops here, leaving the northern camp vulnerable. The responsibility for this defeat lies entirely on you!"

In his shock and anger, Cao pushed the blame onto Liu Bei.

Liu Bei sighed, unable to speak, his face awkward.

Zhang Fei, however, was furious and shouted at Cao, "You are the commander of the three armies, and you made the decision to move the troops. Now that we've suffered a defeat, you're trying to shift the blame onto my brother. Are you even a man?"

Zhang Fei, with his fiery temper, seeing Cao speak disrespectfully to his brother, immediately roared in retaliation.

Cao, feeling both embarrassed and angry, pointed at Zhang Fei and shouted, "Who do you think you are, daring to shout at me? Are you trying to defy me?"

Zhang Fei, enraged, impulsively wanted to rush forward and beat up Cao.

"Yi De, don't be disrespectful!" Liu Bei, seeing the situation was getting out of hand, shouted sternly, calming the furious Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei, who would ignore anyone else, dared not ignore Liu Bei. He had no choice but to sulk and step back.

Liu Bei took a deep breath and clasped his hands, saying, "General Cao, please calm down. I admit that I miscalculated in this battle. However, now is not the time to assign blame. We must immediately send troops to the northern camp. If we can defeat Yuan Fang and retake the northern camp, we can still turn the tide of this battle."

Cao's anger subsided somewhat. Realizing Liu Bei was right, he immediately prepared to issue orders to lead the army to retake the northern camp.

Before he could finish speaking, a scout rushed in, screaming, "Bad news, the Yuan army is attacking!"

Cao was greatly alarmed and quickly rode his horse to the northwest camp gate.

Looking into the distance, he saw a large number of his own defeated troops fleeing back to the camp like rats, terrified.

Behind them, thousands of Yuan troops were charging forward with a roar, like tigers and wolves, driving them relentlessly.

The archers and crossbowmen stationed at the camp gate, fearing they might injure their own men, did not dare to fire arrows. The fleeing troops, in their panic, were causing chaos and disrupting the defenses.

The pursuing Yuan troops, taking advantage of this perfect opportunity, followed the defeated troops and easily broke into the camp.

Yan Liang and Taishi Ci, two great generals, led the charge, unstoppable.

Zhu Ling and Guo Huai followed with the rear forces, like a flood breaking through a dam, sweeping into the camp.

Yuan Fang, wielding his skull-crushing club, led a thousand elite troops, crushing through the blood-soaked path, slaughtering any Xu Army soldiers who couldn't escape.

The Yuan army's attack was relentless, impossible to stop.

Faced with the疯狂的进攻，曹豹彻底吓懵了，抵抗的意志瞬间被摧毁。

“撤退，全军撤退，向南面退却～～”曹豹大叫一声，不等军令传达下去，便拨马而退。

主将临阵先逃，这剩下的两万徐州军更是军心瓦解，四散崩溃。

刘备看着逃走的曹豹，再看看狂袭而来的袁方军，脸色阴沉如铁，恨恨咬牙：“袁方小贼，今日一败，我刘备一定会血洗回来，你给我等着。”

丢下一句愤愤的狠话，刘备只得带着张飞，还有受伤的关羽，随着曹豹一并退去。

数万徐州军不战而溃，纷纷逃离围营，一路向着南面徐州腹地狼狈而逃。

袁方率军一直追了二十余里，方才收兵回营。

天明时分，这场夜中破袭战，以袁方酣畅淋漓的大胜宣告结束。

被围困月余的东武城，就此解围。

计点战损，袁方损兵近有七百余众，而徐州军被斩竟达四千，死伤更是不计其数，余下都溃不成军的逃往南面。

此外，近有三千余徐州兵为袁方所俘，缴获敌军军械旗鼓，粮草物资，更是不计其数。

这是一场名副其实的大胜。

一个月以来，袁方不但顶住了来自公孙瓒和陶谦，天下两大诸侯的南北夹击，更先后以两场大胜，杀得幽州军和徐州军狼狈而逃。

袁方用一月的苦战，用他的胆色和智谋，生生地扭转了这场危机。

而且，收获还不仅如此。

自袁方杀孔融后，青州就有不少人对袁方暗中不满，等敌军来袭时，这些人纷纷跳出来反叛袁方，投靠公孙瓒和陶谦。

而这场危机，也让袁方看出，谁心怀不臣，谁明附实反。

袁方正好借此机会，将这些主动跳出来的不臣者，统统都斩草除根，除掉藏在青州内部的隐患。

可以说，经历了这场危机后，袁方才真正坐稳了青州。

坐稳青州，当然还不够。

公孙瓒就不说了，尽管战争的开端是以刘备先进犯自己为开始，但说到底袁方还是从公孙瓒手中夺下了青州。

陶谦这厮就不一样了，袁方此前从未招惹过他，这条老狗却两次趁虚来攻，想要收取渔人之利，实在是卑鄙可恨。

有仇必报，乃是袁方的风格，岂能就这么轻易地饶他。

解除东武城之围，三军休整一日，袁方就率领近两万得胜之军，从东武城南下，浩浩荡荡地向着徐州腹地杀奔而去。

面对士气高昂的袁军，曹豹和刘备不敢抵挡，只能率领着败兵，一路向南撤退。

袁方沿着沐水一路南下，诸、莒数县，兵锋直指琅邪国治所开阳城所在。

开阳一失，琅邪国就将为袁方所夺，而琅邪国南面的东海郡，正是目前徐州州治所在之郡。

琅邪一失，袁方的大军就可以深入徐州腹地，直接杀到州治郯城城下。

曹豹和刘备二人，退至开阳城后，便不敢再退，一面聚拢败兵死守，一面派人飞马往郯城，向陶谦求救。

郯城，州牧府。

大堂之中，陶谦正饮着小酒，听着小曲，欣赏着堂前美姬起舞，兴致大好。

堂下陪坐的陈珪等宾幕们，也一个个表情轻松，神情闲然。

陶谦和他的属下们，心情都很好。

因为就在几天前，曹豹才刚刚发回消息，声称臧霸已是穷困之极，再给他几天时间，就可以拿下东武城。

东武一下，臧霸一除，他的徐州大军就可以长驱北上，攻入青州，为他“开疆拓土”。

陶谦兴致不高才怪。

正兴致勃勃时，堂外亲军匆匆而入，拱手道：“禀州牧，北面曹将军传来十万火急文书。”

陶谦精神一振，笑道：“莫非是曹将军已攻下东武，杀了臧霸那厮，给本府送回捷报了吗？”

“不是，曹将军不日前在东武城外，被袁方杀得大败，一直被袁方追至开阳城，袁方声势浩大，曹将军难以抵挡，请州牧速派援兵增防开阳。”

大堂之中，瞬间一片哗然，所有人顷刻间陷入惊恐之中。

陶谦身形剧震，刚刚举到嘴边的酒杯，脱手惊落，酒水竟溅了一身。

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Facing the Yuan army's fierce attack, Cao Bao was completely terrified, and his will to resist was instantly shattered.

"Retreat, the entire army retreats, fall back to the south!" Cao Bao shouted, not waiting for the orders to be passed down, and immediately turned his horse to retreat.

With the commander fleeing first, the remaining 20,000 Xu Army soldiers were completely demoralized and scattered in chaos.

Liu Bei watched Cao Bao flee, then looked at the advancing Yuan Fang's army, his face as dark as iron, and he clenched his teeth in hatred: "Yuan Fang, you little scoundrel, today's defeat, I, Liu Bei, will surely come back to wash away this humiliation. Just wait for me."

Leaving this angry threat, Liu Bei had no choice but to retreat with Zhang Fei and the injured Guan Yu, following Cao Bao.

Tens of thousands of Xu Army soldiers fled without a fight, escaping from the encampment and heading south into the heart of Xu Province, in a disorganized and miserable retreat.

Yuan Fang led his army in pursuit for over twenty miles before finally withdrawing to camp.

At dawn, this night raid ended with a resounding victory for Yuan Fang.

The siege of Dongwu City, which had lasted for over a month, was finally lifted.

Counting the casualties, Yuan Fang lost nearly 700 men, while the Xu Army suffered over 4,000 deaths, with countless more injured. The remaining troops fled in disarray to the south.

In addition, nearly 3,000 Xu Army soldiers were captured by Yuan Fang, and the enemy's weapons, flags, and supplies were seized in large quantities.

This was a truly decisive victory.

Over the past month, Yuan Fang not only withstood the combined attacks from the two major warlords, Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian, but also achieved two major victories, driving the Youzhou and Xu armies into disarray.

Yuan Fang's month of hard fighting, his courage, and his wisdom, had turned the tide of this crisis.

And the gains were not just limited to this.

Since Yuan Fang killed Kong Rong, many people in Qingzhou had secretly harbored resentment. When the enemy attacked, these people openly rebelled against Yuan Fang, joining Gongsun Zan and Tao Qian.

This crisis allowed Yuan Fang to see who harbored disloyal intentions and who pretended to be loyal but was actually rebellious.

Yuan Fang took this opportunity to root out these disloyal elements, eliminating the hidden threats within Qingzhou.

It can be said that after this crisis, Yuan Fang truly consolidated his control over Qingzhou.

Consolidating control over Qingzhou was not enough.

Gongsun Zan aside, although the war began with Liu Bei's initial invasion, in the end, Yuan Fang had taken Qingzhou from Gongsun Zan.

Tao Qian, on the other hand, was different. Yuan Fang had never provoked him, yet this old dog had attacked twice, trying to gain an advantage, which was despicable and hateful.

Revenge was Yuan Fang's style, and he would not let this go easily.

After lifting the siege on Dongwu City, the army rested for a day, and then Yuan Fang led nearly 20,000 victorious troops south from Dongwu City, marching in grand procession towards the heart of Xu Province.

Faced with the high morale of the Yuan army, Cao Bao and Liu Bei did not dare to resist and could only lead their defeated troops in a southern retreat.

Yuan Fang followed the Mu River south, targeting the counties of Zhu and Ju, with his forces aiming directly at the administrative center of Langya, Kaiyang City.

If Kaiyang fell, Langya would be taken by Yuan Fang, and the southern Donghai Commandery, where the current administrative center of Xu Province was located, would be at risk.

Once Langya fell, Yuan Fang's army could penetrate deep into the heart of Xu Province, directly threatening the administrative center of Tan City.

Cao Bao and Liu Bei, after retreating to Kaiyang City, did not dare to retreat further. They gathered their defeated troops to defend the city and sent messengers on horseback to Tan City to seek help from Tao Qian.

In Tan City, at the State Governor's Residence.

In the main hall, Tao Qian was drinking wine, listening to music, and watching the beautiful dancers, in high spirits.

The guests and advisors, including Chen Gui, were also relaxed and at ease.

Tao Qian and his subordinates were in good spirits.

Just a few days ago, Cao Bao had sent a message claiming that Zang Ba was in dire straits and that with a few more days, he could capture Dongwu City.

Once Dongwu was taken and Zang Ba eliminated, Tao Qian's Xu Army could advance north and invade Qingzhou, expanding his territory.

It was no wonder Tao Qian was in high spirits.

Just as he was enjoying himself, a guard rushed in and bowed, saying, "Report to the State Governor, General Cao from the north has sent an urgent message."

Tao Qian's spirits lifted, and he smiled, "Could it be that General Cao has captured Dongwu and killed Zang Ba, sending a victory report to this office?"

"It's not that. A few days ago, General Cao was defeated by Yuan Fang outside Dongwu City and has been pursued all the way to Kaiyang City. Yuan Fang's forces are overwhelming, and General Cao cannot resist. He requests that the State Governor send reinforcements to defend Kaiyang."

The main hall was instantly in an uproar, and everyone was plunged into shock and fear.

Tao Qian's body trembled, and the wine cup he had just raised to his lips fell from his hand, spilling wine all over him.