Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 410 Heaven's will lies with Zhang, not Yuan.
Upon receiving Yuan Shao's order, the Yuan camp did react to the attack. However, the attacking troops merely harassed the camp, not raided it, and the commotion outside the camp subsided after a while. But even after the attacking troops stopped moving, the Yuan camp did not calm down; instead, there was still a commotion.

"what happened?"

After the attack on the camp by the Bing army, Yuan Shao's drunkenness had mostly dissipated. After a while, seeing the commotion in the western camp gradually growing louder, he ordered his men, "Quickly go to the western camp to investigate the situation."

"promise!"

Not long after the attendants went to investigate, they saw that the noise from the western camp was getting louder and louder, and even flames were rising.

"My lord, something terrible has happened!"

But Meng Dai arrived, covered in dust and grime, with dozens of his personal guards. He said in a panic, "The main force of the Bing army attacked our camp. Our soldiers rioted, and I couldn't stop them."

"A whistle!"

Yuan Shao's eyes widened as he asked, "How many Bing troops stormed into the camp? And how many rebel soldiers?"

To lessen his punishment, Meng Dai exaggerated the facts, saying, "The army numbered no less than five thousand, and there were also rioting soldiers in the camp, which is why I was unable to hold them off."

Following Zhang Yu's orders, Zhao Yun and Gao Shun led infantry and cavalry to harass Yuan Shao's camp. Unexpectedly, under the heavy drumbeats, the Yuan soldiers, who were under immense pressure, started a mutiny. Some soldiers, dissatisfied with Yuan Shao, took the opportunity to set fire to the camp.

Seeing the chaos in the camp, Meng Dai assumed a large force of Bing troops had stormed in and fled in terror. Only during his escape did he learn of the mutiny, but it was too late. Led by Gao Shun, the Bing army seized the fleeting opportunity and charged into the camp. This caused Meng Dai, who wanted to reorganize his troops, to abandon his plans and instead go directly to Yuan Shao.

Without a leader, the Western Camp, amidst the clashes between the combined forces and the chaotic troops, saw Yuan's soldiers, who had no intention of fighting to begin with, scatter and flee. The desertion of the Western Camp's chaotic troops directly affected the adjacent Southern and Northern Camps.

Seeing the riots spreading in the camp, Yuan Shao was furious. He kicked Meng Dai and cursed, "I entrusted you with important matters, but you deserted in the face of battle! I am truly enraged!"

"My lord, the uprising is beyond my power to stop!" Meng Dai said, feeling aggrieved. "What should we do now?"

"You~"

Seeing that Meng Dai still dared to talk back, Yuan Shao first drew his long sword, but then, remembering Meng Dai's merits, Yuan Shao put the sword back in its sheath and sighed.

"Gongtu, I now summon Qu Yi, the eldest son, and Han Xun to reorganize the troops and see if we can repel the attacking army." Yuan Shao said in a frustrated mood, "I only ask that the enemy's troops not be too numerous!"

While Yuan Shao waited, Zhao Yun, who had previously attacked and retreated from the camp, saw that Yuan Shao's western camp was in chaos and that the chaos was affecting the other camps. He immediately changed his old strategy and decisively chose to lead his troops to attack the area connecting the northern and western camps in order to coordinate with Gao Shun.

"rush!"

Zhao Yun pointed his spear forward and shouted, "The enemy camp has collapsed; now is the time to launch a fierce attack!"

"kill!"

In the darkness, two thousand infantry and cavalry, carrying torches, charged towards the northern camp under Zhao Yun's leadership.

In the darkness, the drums beat in unison, urging them forward. Galloping horses leaped over trenches and ditches, charging into the camp and clashing with the chaotic infantry of Yuan's army. The infantry, armed with torches, burned down the palisades, set the tents ablaze, and slaughtered the Yuan soldiers who dared to resist.

The Northern Camp, already in turmoil due to the rout, saw soldiers with no will to serve Yuan Shao desert in the chaos. Now, with Zhao Yun's troops attacking, Han Xun's Northern Camp was thrown into complete panic. Furthermore, Zhao Yun, in an attempt to create further chaos, ordered his soldiers to set fire to the camp.

The firewood was very dry in winter, and the wind was even more biting. With the help of the strong wind, the fire in the North Camp soared into the sky, echoing the flames of the West Camp.

Gazing at the flames of the northern and western camps, Yuan Shao's eyes were filled with despair. He couldn't understand when his army had become so vulnerable, unable to withstand the surprise attack from the Bing army.

Seeing the flames soaring into the sky above the northern camp, Meng Dai panicked and shouted, "My lord, it must be Zhang Yu leading a large army to launch a surprise attack. The camp can no longer be defended. Please retreat immediately!"

In the darkness, it was difficult to discern the number of troops, which put considerable psychological pressure on people like Meng Dai, especially considering that Zhang Yu's army was not far away.

Yuan Shao kicked Meng Dai and cursed, "I still have two battalions of troops. If you shake the morale of the army again, I will kill you!"

Feng Ji reached out to stop Yuan Shao, saying nervously, "My lord, it is late at night and we cannot know the number of enemy troops. Even if only a small force is harassing us, Zhang Yu and Zhang Yang's armies are not far from here. In my opinion, the situation is hopeless. My lord should lead the army to retreat quickly to avoid being surrounded and attacked by Zhang Yang's forces."

As they were talking, Yuan Tan arrived in full armor with his troops, and was overjoyed to see Yuan Shao.

"Father, the western camp is in chaos and is attacking the southern and northern camps. I just drove back the chaotic troops in the southern camp, but now the northern camp is engulfed in flames and the fire is spreading to the central and eastern camps. The fire is difficult to control. Please follow me to the southern camp to fight our way out."

Yuan Tan ordered his men to bring over warhorses and said, “The situation is in complete chaos. Even though Father is reluctant to leave these troops behind, we must withdraw from this place and reorganize the troops later.”

Yuan Shao, holding the reins, was wavering in his resolve to hold out. He was about to follow Yuan Tan's advice and mount his horse to retreat when he realized that his third son, Yuan Shang, was nowhere to be seen. So he called out loudly, "Shang'er!"

"Father, I am here!"

Yuan Shang emerged from the crowd brought by Yuan Tan and said, "When the enemy attacked the camp, my brother sent someone to escort me out."

Although Yuan Tan was unhappy that Yuan Shang had usurped his position as crown prince, Yuan Shang was still his younger brother, so he didn't forget Yuan Shang in this time of crisis. Seeing Yuan Tan bring out Yuan Shang, Yuan Shao was overjoyed, grasped Yuan Tan's hand, and said, "Xiansi is truly my fine eldest son!"

"The situation is critical, Father, please mount your horse!"

Yuan Tan helped Yuan Shao mount his horse, and then Yuan Shao led the Qingzhou troops to escort him. They passed through the southern camp where Yuan Tan was stationed and led several thousand Qingzhou infantry and cavalry to escape south under cover of night.

Zhang Yu never expected that Zhao Yun and Gao Shun, leading only four thousand infantry and cavalry, would be able to defeat Yuan's army. When Zhang Yu received the news late at night, he was overjoyed and hurriedly led his cavalry to Yuan's camp.

Upon arrival, they found most of Yuan's camp engulfed in flames, with scattered and disorganized Yuan soldiers visible everywhere. Due to the chaotic situation, Zhang Yu was unable to locate generals Zhao Yun and Gao Shun, so he simply led his troops to join the battle.

Shortly after Zhang Yu arrived with his troops, Zhang Yang, who had learned of the chaos in Yuan Shao's forces, also arrived at the battlefield and, in a daze, led his army into battle.

After a night of fierce fighting, the battle was over, and the open fields were filled with the captured Yuan soldiers brought by the combined infantry and cavalry. Inside Yuan's camp, black smoke billowed from the ground, and scattered supplies, books, weapons, and other items were being cleared away by the arriving infantry.

Surrounded by the crowd, Zhang Yu inspected Yuan's camp. Seeing that Yuan's camp was in ruins, he smiled at the generals on his left and right and said, "Last night, I only wanted Zilong and Zixun to harass Yuan's army, but unexpectedly, the enemy army rioted. The two generals seized the opportunity and defeated Yuan's army, which saved you and me the trouble of forming a battle formation to defeat the enemy."

Everyone burst into laughter. They had all been taken aback when they learned of the chaos in Yuan's army the previous night, but given the situation, they had no choice but to fight blindly. The unexpected victory they achieved after a night of fighting was truly astonishing.

Xu Huang suppressed his smile and said, "The chaos and commotion in Yuan Shao's camp is a sign that Heaven intends to destroy Yuan Shao and bring prosperity to Your Excellency!"

"It wasn't actually fate!"

Zhao Yun accompanied Zhang Yu and said in a serious tone, "Your Excellency has occupied Xindu and pacified the people and soldiers in the city. Your soldiers do not plunder wealth and your generals do not plunder people. Therefore, the people and soldiers of Xindu are convinced of your loyalty. Yuan Shao, on the other hand, is indecisive and his people have abandoned him. If there had been no mutiny in the camp last night, I would have been able to defeat Yuan's army today."

"Ok!"

Zhao Yun's words pleased Zhang Yu greatly. He disliked relying on fate or luck in warfare; to fight purely by fate meant certain defeat. While various accidental factors might have aided his victory over Yuan Shao, his key to success lay in possessing the necessary elements.

As he spoke, Zhao Yun added, "However, all of this is thanks to your excellent command and coordination, my lord!"

"Ha ha!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Zilong rarely speaks flattering words, but I am fortunate enough to hear it today!"

Seeing Zhang Yu tease Zhao Yun, the generals laughed good-naturedly, which made Zhao Yun feel embarrassed.

Zhang Yu composed himself and asked, "Where has Yuan Shao fled to now? Do you know how many troops he has?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Yuan Shao fled south with no fewer than several thousand soldiers. According to those who surrendered, these are the Qingzhou troops under Yuan Tan's command," Gao Shun said.

"southward?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Yuan Shao still has two generals, Ju Shou and Chunyu Qiong, who command ten thousand men and are holding Handan and Ye City. Now that Lü Fan has led a large army to besiege Handan, Yuan Shao will probably flee to Ye City."

"Where is Zhang Yang?" Zhang Yu suddenly called out.

"The general is here!"

Zhang Yu instructed, "Yuan Shao has fled to Ye City. To prevent him from attracting the armies of Yan and Qing, your troops should head south to the Yellow River, occupy Baima Ferry, and spread the word along the way that I have led a large army south to surround and kill Yuan Shao in Ye City."

Seeing Zhang Yu's arrangement, Zhang Yang said with doubt, "Yuan Shao is a great enemy of you, my lord. Now that we want to capture and kill Yuan Shao, how can we let the news leak out? If we do it this way, Yuan Shao will be frightened and flee south to Yanzhou."

"My intention is to let Yuan Shao escape to Henan!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, “Our army has been on campaign for nearly a year, and the soldiers are exhausted. Although Xindu has fallen, Hebei is not yet at peace. Gongsun Zan is in Hejian, Ju Shou is in Zhao, and the coastal areas are not yet pacified. There are many enemy forces, and our forces are limited. Therefore, we are unable to besiege Yuan Shao again in Ye City. Why not let Yuan Shao cross the river?”

Although Zhang Yu has captured Xindu, the territory of Ji Province he controls now is mostly limited to the northwest. The key for Zhang Yu now is to digest and absorb Ji Province, rather than ignoring Gongsun Zan and Ju Shou and leading a large army to chase after Yuan Shao.

Of course, even if Zhang Yu wanted to completely eliminate Yuan Shao, it wouldn't be easy to do so given the current situation. Therefore, it would be better to scare Yuan Shao so that he could take Ye City, and then divide his forces to besiege Handan and Yijing, and then send generals to conquer the counties of Ji Province.

"Your Excellency is wise!" Zhang Yang said admiringly.

After Zhang Yang accepted the order and withdrew, Zhang Yu said, "Gongming, Yuan Shao has a large army. We should gather as many rebel troops as possible. If we want to pacify Ji Province, we cannot do without the help of the troops from Ji Province."

"As ordered!"

Ji Province is vast and has a large population. In order to better prepare for subsequent military campaigns, Zhang Yu planned to expand his army, and the surrendered Yuan army soldiers were the best candidates for recruitment.

"Reporting to our lord, we have captured Qu Yi!"

(End of this chapter)