Chapter 87 Blocked Again

Cao Song fell heavily to the ground, scrambling and trembling. Miraculously, he avoided the hooves of the warhorses behind him. With a sudden burst of strength, he rolled into a ditch by the roadside.

At this moment, Zhang Kai's soldiers couldn't care less about Cao Song. They had taken advantage of the chaos to snatch wealth from the carts. Seeing Zhang Kai trying to break through, they even more vigorously tore the valuables from the carts. Cao Song couldn't help but cry out in distress at the sight.

Zhang Kai's eyes were bloodshot. He snapped the arrow shaft under his arm, drew another long saber from his waist, and rode his horse around Zhang He, heading straight for Yuan Xi.

Zhang He wanted to stop him, but in the chaos of the army, the soldiers of both sides were engaged in a mixed battle, making it impossible to get close to Zhang Kai. He had no choice but to turn back and shout at Yuan Xi, "Young Master, be careful!"

Zhang Kai was overjoyed to hear this. Zhang He valued him so much, it seemed that even if the person in front of him wasn't Yuan Shao's son, his identity was very important!

Capture him as a hostage!

He spurred his horse and charged forward with his saber raised. Zhang He shot three arrows in succession, but they were all blocked by his armor.

Seeing Zhang Kai approaching, Yuan Xi didn't hesitate to turn his horse around and run.

After all, this man dared to openly assassinate Chen Wang Liu Chong and Chancellor Luo Jun at a banquet in later generations, and escape unscathed. He was by no means a mediocre close combat fighter!

While fleeing on horseback towards Zhang He, he continuously drew his bow and shot at Zhang Kai.

Seeing that the other party's arrows were crooked and far away from his body, Zhang Kai couldn't help but sneer in his heart, 'A playboy dares to go into battle!'

He pulled on the reins, and the distance between him and Yuan Xi grew closer and closer, but suddenly, the warhorse beneath him suddenly pitched forward.

Zhang Kai was caught off guard and fell off his horse. A sharp pain shot through his armpit. When he looked back, he saw an arrow stuck in the knee of his warhorse, and he immediately understood how insidious the other party was!

The front of his warhorse was armored, but only the horse's legs were unprotected, and the other party had actually managed to hit it!

Yuan Xi galloped away, thinking he was lucky. Five or six arrows hit the horse's legs, which was a bit of luck.

Zhang Kai staggered to his feet, realizing he was helpless, and roared in frustration.

At this moment, Zhang He had already ridden over and thrust his spear into Zhang Kai's shoulder. Zhang Kai cried out, his helmet fell off, and he turned to run.

Seeing this, Zhang He wanted to chase after him, but suddenly heard the sound of a bowstring, and an arrow pierced through the back of Zhang Kai's head, emerging from his forehead.

Yuan Xi retrieved the longbow in his hand, feeling somewhat smug. He had snatched another head!

It's a pity he didn't bring a system with him when he was reborn, otherwise, he would have leveled up, right?

With Zhang Kai's death, his soldiers scattered and fled in panic. Zhang He and Yuan Xi took the opportunity to call on their own soldiers to cover and kill, and in a short time, corpses littered the ground.

Zhuge Xuan slumped in the carriage and sighed to Zhuge Liang, "The soldiers of Xuzhou are killing the people of Xuzhou, and the ones who saved us are the opposing Yuan Shao army. It's truly laughable."

Zhuge Liang stared at Zhang He and Yuan Xi, wondering what he was thinking. His two older sisters finally breathed a sigh of relief at this moment. The elder one whispered, "Is that Yuan Zhoumu's son? He's quite skilled at archery."

The younger one said, "What? Is elder sister taking a fancy to him?"

The elder one said in embarrassment, "How can you say such things?"

They had just escaped from death, and suddenly relaxed, and couldn't help but speak more boldly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, more than half of Zhang Kai's soldiers were killed or wounded, and the rest desperately fled in all directions. Seeing this, Yuan Xi was about to call out to Zhang He when he heard a loud shout in the distance: "You thief! You actually killed my Xuzhou soldiers!"

"Come and fight your Grandpa Zhang Fei!"

This shout almost scared Yuan Xi's soul out of him. He turned his head and saw someone in the distance charging on horseback with an eighteen-foot spear!

Behind him were hundreds of soldiers, led by one carrying a broadsword and another carrying twin swords.

Although he couldn't see their faces clearly, Yuan Xi had already guessed who the newcomers were, and secretly lamented in his heart, 'Why is it so coincidental?'

His spare piece, that he had prepared, had cut off his retreat. The worst thing had happened!

He rode his horse and ran, all the way to Zhang He's side. He heard Zhang He coldly snort, "This is Liu Bei, the governor of Yu Province who confronted the eldest son in Pingyuan more than a year ago. At that time, he was still the prefect of Pingyuan. This Zhang Fei should be a guard beside him. He's just an unknown nobody."

"Although I haven't fought them, they didn't seem that powerful at the time."

"Young Master, wait a moment, I will go and take those people's heads."

In the end, Zhang He didn't expect Yuan Xi to look terrified, "Quick, call the soldiers, retreat into the city, and set up barricades to block the city gate. Don't let them rush in!"

Zhang He muttered to himself, 'Is it necessary?'

Although his own soldiers had been through a battle, they were not yet tired. Taking advantage of the enemy's long-distance attack and exhaustion, counter-attacking them would be the best strategy, right?

Although he muttered to himself, he couldn't openly contradict Yuan Xi, so he had to call the soldiers to retreat into the city.

When Zhang Fei saw that the other party had actually retreated, he immediately shouted again, ready to lead his troops to rush in.

At this moment, Liu Bei spoke, "Third brother, don't be anxious, let's take a look first."

He sent out soldiers, captured a few of Zhang Kai's defeated soldiers, brought them before his horse, and asked them about the situation, only then did he understand that Zhang Kai had been killed.

Liu Bei pondered, 'The other party is Yuan Shao's son, how could he appear in this kind of place? Could it be that Yuan Shao's army is also attacking Xuzhou?'

Not only Cao Song's family, but also the people of Xuzhou were in the city?

He raised his head and said, "Second brother, third brother, what do you think?"

Zhang Fei snorted coldly, "To charge or to kill, just listen to big brother."

Guan Yu, carrying the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, stroked his beard and said, "There are still nearly a thousand Langya people in the city. The other party must be using them as a threat to make us hesitate."

Liu Bei slowly rode forward, silent.

Zhang Fei said anxiously, "Brother, Cao Cao's army could arrive here at any time, plus Yuan Shao's army. If we don't make a decision early, we won't be able to leave!"

Guan Yu said, "But the soldiers on both sides are about the same. If the other party uses the people as a threat, once the battle starts, the people will inevitably suffer heavy casualties."

Zhang Fei snorted, "Then what should we do? Death and injury are always normal on the battlefield. Second brother and I will rush in and kill the other party's generals, and the other party will definitely be defeated!"

Liu Bei called the others to approach the city gate, and saw that the soldiers on the opposite side were moving the rubble and broken walls in the city, blocking the city gate and the gap in front of the city, obviously wanting to defend.

Seeing this, Zhang Fei became somewhat anxious and said, "Brother, why not retreat? Since Cao Song has already been rescued by Yuan Shao's army, then it's useless for us to stay here."

"Or we can simply rush in and kill all of Yuan Shao's army, snatch Cao Song back, and threaten Cao Cao in return!"

Liu Bei slowly opened his mouth, "What about the people in the city?"

"How many people will die in this battle?"

Yuan Xi had already entered the city at this time, and only felt a stench coming from time to time, and charred corpses were everywhere on the ground.

His face was a little unsightly. This was obviously a city that had just been massacred.

The purpose of the massacre was very complicated, not simply to kill people.

The massacre could be used to plunder military supplies, to sustain the war with war. According to the cost of a soldier's salary, dozens of people were needed to bear the burden, so almost no army had enough food, and in the end, they could only plunder the people.

It could also boost one's own morale and reduce the other party's will to defend the city.

But the negative impact was also very great. If the defenders had nowhere to escape, they would instead defend the city to the death, and the result would be counterproductive, so Cao Cao later massacred fewer and fewer cities.

Yuan Xi arrived in the city and saw that carts were parked in a mess, the goods on the carts were mostly broken, silk and jewelry were scattered around the carts, and the bodies of guards and servants were everywhere.

He shouted loudly, "Where is Cao Taigong?"

The door of a carriage opened, revealing Cao Song's smiling face: "May I ask what the general wants with this old man?"

Yuan Xi thought to himself that this Cao Song was quite nimble, escaping from Zhang Kai's hands, and was able to safely slip back in the chaos.

He jumped off his horse and saluted, "My father is Yuan Benchu. I heard that Cao Gong was in danger, and I came to rescue you in the name of my father."

When Cao Song heard that it was Yuan Shao's son, the smile on his face became even brighter, "Yuan Zhoumu's great kindness, this old man will not forget. I hope that the general will save us from the water and fire and return to Yan Province."

Yuan Xi nodded, "Cao Gong, please stay in the carriage first. There is still an army outside. After I defeat them, I will escort Cao Gong back."

When Cao Song heard that there was still an enemy army, his face immediately changed, and he jumped back into the carriage to hide.

Yuan Xi shook his head, turned his horse's head and returned to the city gate, and saw that the passage had been piled up with bricks and planks, blocking it tightly.

Zhang He came over and said, "The other side may be attacking."

Seeing Guan Yu and Zhang Fei approaching on horseback, Yuan Xi's head grew bigger. Even if Zhang He could block one of Guan and Zhang, could he block the other?

Wasn't this a dream?