Chapter 203 Big Harvest, Return [Subscription Request]

At Yuan Mansion, it was dark at night.

Yuan Wei was also asleep when he was suddenly awakened with a palpitation.

That kind of throbbing came from the volumes of the Book of Changes that he had read for decades and which were connected to its divine will.

When Yuan Wei woke up, Cao's army had not arrived yet.

The room was quiet. On that midsummer night, the window frames covered with gauze were half open.

Yuan Wei stood up and picked up the Book of Yi which he always kept beside the couch.

Passed down from generation to generation in the Yuan family and often read, the bamboo slips have become as smooth as jade, and the "Yi" character pattern is glowing with a faint halo.

When you open the Book of Yi Jing, you will feel a force flowing on the slips and a hexagram will emerge on its own.

The "Yi" hexagrams all consist of three lines, namely the yang line (-) or the yin line (——), which express specific meanings and symbols through different combinations.

The hexagram that appears at this time is Wuwang, the 25th hexagram of the Xiantian.

It means that unexpected events and accidents are coming, expressing the crisis of uncertainty.

This kind of hexagram may also mean that the Book of Changes is encountering unknown forces or interference from luck, making it difficult to accurately predict what will happen.

Yuan Wei didn't know that it was Cao Cao's military strategy that was working, hiding his true intentions from the world and secretly marching through Chencang.

But he could feel that Yi Shu was giving him a warning.

This Book of Yi is deeply in harmony with heaven and earth, and contains infinite mysteries.

What kind of power is so unpredictable that Yi Shu cannot foresee it?
Yuan Wei thought deeply.

He is in Yecheng. Could there be an assassin coming?
Yuan Wei thought for a moment and was about to order the guards to be on high alert when he saw the hexagram on the Book of Changes suddenly light up.

Then there was a loud bang, and the ground beneath their feet shook.

Shouts and cries of killing suddenly resounded throughout the city.

Someone is attacking Yecheng? !

Yuan Wei was severely shocked. Holding the Yi Jian in his hand, he walked out of the room, ordered people to set up defenses, and check what had happened.

Yuan Wei put on his outer robe and walked quickly to the next room.

Next door to his residence was where Yuan Shao lived.

When Yuan Wei came over, he saw Yuan Shao's wife, Madam Liu, and all the family members, young and old, were awakened and rushed to the main hall to ask what had happened.

"Taifu, the enemy is attacking the city!" the personal army came to report.

"Who is coming, Yanzhou?"

Yuan Wei first thought of Yanzhou, and only Yanzhou, and said in surprise: "How dare they come to Yecheng? Go and send a message to mobilize the troops outside the city to assist in defense..."

"The enemy has already rushed into the city. It's too late."

"..."

Yuan Wei also became flustered and looked around at the men and women of the Yuan family.

He heard shouts and the deafening sound of horse hooves, coming from afar and rapidly approaching Yuan's mansion.

Soon there was another bang...

The head of the guards in the palace rushed in in panic and said urgently:
"The attacking troops are very strong. The defenders in the city had no time to return to defend and have been broken into the palace. Master, please leave quickly! We will protect you at the risk of our lives!"

Yuan Kui picked up Yuan Shao's youngest son Yuan Shang and said to the others:

"If we go together, the target will be too big, no one can leave, let's go separately!
The enemy's surprise attack on Yecheng will not last long and will retreat soon. Don't panic, find a place to hide to avoid disaster! "

The others were escorted by their guards and dispersed.

However, Yuan Wei felt a chill in his heart, as he knew it would be difficult for the Yuan family to escape.

He controlled a secret passage inside Yuan's mansion, and immediately brought his most trusted people and Yuan Shao's son to the study.

Open a secret compartment in the study and there is a secret path behind it.

Yuan Wei brought Yuan Shao's wife and children into the room and restored the secret compartment to its original state.

He led the way, through a hidden path, into a secret room.

At the critical moment, Yuan Wei was quite calm.

He let the others flee separately, which was actually abandoning those relatively unimportant people in the Yuan family. He used them as bait to attract the incoming enemy troops, while he himself hid in a dark room in the mansion.

Yuan Wei judged that the other party could not stay in the city for long.

If you can avoid the search and the other party is eager to leave, you still have a chance to survive.

The dark room in Yuan Mansion was cleverly designed, with a receiver and a passage to keep air flowing, connected to the side wall of a well.

Generally speaking, even if someone finds the location of the well, they will leave when they see there is water underneath, thinking there is no possibility of anyone hiding there. It is a natural camouflage.

Even in a dark room, people can still vaguely hear the noise outside.

Dian Wei and his men rushed into the mansion, and because they attacked from the outer wall, they avoided a head-on confrontation with the troops at the main gate.

After they entered the mansion, they took the initiative.

The guards outside the mansion returned to defend and chased after them.

Dian Wei and Xu Chu then led the heavy cavalry as the vanguard to defeat the enemy. They quickly overwhelmed the defense of Yuan Mansion and began to capture people like a whirlwind.

Dian Wei had just used all his strength to push forward his own power and was in harmony with heaven and earth. He was in an unprecedented magical state.

His hearing and diffuse perception enabled him to discern the true and false situation of Yuan Mansion.

Dian Wei walked around the mansion, searching for the enemy's escaped fish like a ferocious tiger hunting its prey.

When he came to the backyard, he followed some mysterious and indescribable perception and came to a well.

Dian Wei suddenly jumped into the well, suspended in the air with his legs spread out, and smashed the side wall with one punch.

The wall broke open.

In the dark room behind the wall, Yuan Wei had a grim look on his face, surrounded by Yuan Shao's family members.

"They are all here. They can be exchanged for many donkeys!"

The entire Yuan family was captured.

Only Yuan Shao was absent.

……

Early in the morning.

Wen Chou went out of the city and joined the troops stationed outside the city. When he led his troops back from outside the city, he heard the report from his own army:

"The governor's family has been captured. The enemy has breached the construction camp, robbed people and looted property, and is evacuating from the west gate!"

Wen Chou gathered the defenders inside and outside the city and chased Cao's army out of the city.

Cao's army attacked from the east, but withdrew from the west gate.

To the west of Yecheng, the land is open.

Wen Chou was furious and led his troops in pursuit.

As dawn approached, the anxious Wen Chou suddenly saw Cao's army!

The Cao army did not retreat, but turned back to fight a battle to stop Wen Chou's troops. Wen Chou's scouts were the first to discover the Cao army.

The two armies galloped towards each other, met on a narrow road, formed up their battle lines on the plain, and started fighting.

What Wen Chou didn't know was that outside Yecheng, in the southwest corner of Jizhou, there was an area bordering Silizhou.

The troops led by Zhang Liao were heading north to attack the border of Jizhou in order to support Cao Cao's withdrawal.

When Cao Cao first attacked Ye City, he had already arranged a retreat route.

Not returning the same way.

Instead, they marched from the west of Yecheng, across the shortest distance, into the border area between Sili, Yanzhou and Jizhou, and joined forces with Zhang Liao's troops on the border.

If Zhang Liao marched to the northeast, he would be able to get relatively close to Cao Cao's withdrawing troops and quickly join forces.

……

Yuan Shao left Yecheng after nightfall for some business and luckily avoided the surprise attack by Cao's army.

The leader of the nomadic tribes north of Jizhou, Tadun Chanyu of Wuhuan, made an appointment to meet with Yuan Shao.

As early as when Tadun defeated Gongsun Zan in Jizhou, he had already established contact with Yuan Shao and was Yuan Shao's earliest ally among the northern nomadic tribes.

This time, Yuan Shao wanted to join forces with the Wuhuan to deal with Yanzhou.

It involves military operations and the itinerary is secret.

He left at night, taking only his eldest son Yuan Tan and a group of his personal troops.

Yuan Shao headed north overnight and settled in Fengyu, a small town north of Yecheng, preparing to rest before continuing his journey.

When he entered Fengyu, he felt something and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

It was a letter used for urgent communication, and it said: "Cao's army attacked Yecheng and has broken into the city..."

This is the last message Yuan Wei conveyed!

Yuan Shao's hands and feet suddenly turned cold.

"Father, what's wrong?" asked Yuan Tan beside him.

Yuan Shao calmed himself down and immediately sent people to gather troops from nearby states and counties.

When he returned to Yecheng, it was already dawn.

The city was in chaos.

A soldier guarding the city saw Yuan Shao and reported the process of Cao's attack:
"Cao's army broke into the city from the east gate and withdrew from the west gate. It took them no more than two hours to enter the city!"

"Their target is Yuan Mansion and the Industrial Camp!"

"All the people in the governor's mansion were captured, and almost all the craftsmen in the construction camp were also captured!"

Yuan Shao's face turned pale.

Among the craftsmen in Jizhou, there are more than 2,000 who can be called "skilled craftsmen" who are able to expertly make weapons of war and bows and crossbows.

This number already accounts for half of the world's craftsmanship.

To any force, these works of art are treasures that are priceless!
Yuan Shao ordered the Engineering Battalion to work day and night to prepare war equipment in preparation for the war.

These craftsmen took turns working in the construction camp.

They worked non-stop even at night, so even the craftsmen who were taking a break mostly lived in the construction camp or in nearby courtyards.

Cao Cao led his men over, raided the construction camp by surprise, and captured the craftsmen.

For Jizhou, the loss cannot be described as heavy, but the foundation was almost cut off!
"How many people were captured?" Yuan Shao asked in a trembling voice.

"We have counted at least 800 people, including 17 major craftsmen, of whom nine were captured."

Yuan Shao felt dizzy.

He took a few deep breaths and led his men to the construction camp outside the city.

The place is full of messy hoof prints, crisscrossing each other.

In addition to the troops entering the city, Cao's army also attacked the construction camp outside the city.

Judging from the hoof prints, the troops of Cao's army who did not enter the city made full use of the flexibility of the cavalry to mobilize and attract the defenders in the suburbs to disperse the defense force of Yecheng.

After Yuan Shao led his men into the city, they returned all the way to Yuan Mansion.

There were traces of fierce fighting everywhere on the road.

Arrows, corpses, and the collapsed outer wall of Yuan’s mansion.

Almost all the Yuan family members in the mansion were kidnapped.

There was only one person that Cao Cao kept, the famous Tutor Yuan.

Cao Cao was reluctant to kidnap him, so he left Yuan Wei behind to meddle with Yuan Shao, which was good.

There was blood on the corners of Yuan Wei's mouth and chest, and his gray hair was disheveled.

Seeing Yuan Shao coming back, Yuan Wei said sadly:

"Cao Cao personally brought people here and kidnapped my entire Yuan family, leaving me behind. He also said that he was very grateful for my help over the years. Every time I came up with a plan, he made a step forward in Yanzhou."

Yuan Shao remained silent.

Yuan Kui burst into tears: "Benchu, I hate Cao Cao so much. He is too much of a bully and humiliates me like this!"

"The scroll of Yi Shu that was passed down by my Yuan family was also snatched away by him... Your entire family, young and old, has fallen into Cao Cao's hands!"

“He also listed the things I had done in the past few years… He said that I gave him the position of governor of Chenliu and persuaded him to attack Yanzhou, which enabled him to pursue the enemy for thousands of miles and seize Yuzhou.

Also, in Runan, I gathered all the noble families and asked him to get rid of the noble family threat... He remembered it all in his heart, so he let me go this time to express his gratitude."

Yuan Wei stroked his chest with one hand.

As he spoke, he couldn't help sobbing.

He has been in a high position of power all his life, but now he suffers such an insult in his old age. The pain in his heart is beyond words!
"Benchu, am I getting old and confused?"

"In addition to your family members being robbed, many Yecheng civil and military officials were also captured by Cao's army. You should go and have a look."

The next morning, Yuan Shao led his troops to the place where Cao's army was blocking Wen Chou.

Wen Chou was also covered in blood, with a scar on his chest that was almost fatal. It was the injury caused by Dian Wei's short flying halberd.

"It was my incompetence that prevented me from rescuing the governor's relatives, and I lost more than a thousand soldiers and horses, allowing Cao Cao to escape." Wen Chou had a face covered with thick, dark short beard and a gloomy look in his eyes.

Yuan Shao had regained his composure by this time and ordered his men to stop the pursuit.

He had received news that the border area between Jizhou and Sili was being attacked by troops led by Zhang Liao.

Cao Cao will escape from the direction where Zhang Liao will come to support him.

It's impossible to catch up.

In the wilderness, grass grows and birds sing.

Yuan Shao stood there for a long time, then suddenly choked on a mouthful of blood and fainted on the ground.

The news that Jizhou was attacked by Cao's army, Yecheng was broken, and the entire Yuan family was captured spread like wildfire, causing shock on all sides.

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(End of this chapter)