Chapter 278: Overlord of the North
The longer the war lasts, the more the will of the warring parties will be tested. And now the war between Xuan Xia and Yuan Jun has fallen into such a situation of weakening will.

One side persisted in its violent attack, and although it never saw any results, it did not relax at all.

The other side gritted their teeth and persevered, enduring the suffocating high-intensity attacks from the enemy every day, but they still persevered.

The war has reached this point. Whoever can hold on longer will be the final winner.

And now the winner is the Yellow Turbans. The fighting will of the warriors of the Natural Religion is far stronger than that of the conscripted soldiers.

The fact that Yuan's army was able to hold out for half a month under the fierce attack of the Yellow Turbans was the result of the extraordinary performance of his soldiers.

However, this extraordinary performance is not the true combat effectiveness of Yuan’s army. A momentary burst can bring strong enough power, but they cannot maintain stable and strong combat capability for a long time like the Yellow Turbans.

After reaching a certain limit, this extreme burst of combat power cannot be sustained, and defeat on the battlefield follows.

Looking down at the plain, what can be seen with the naked eye on the vast battlefield is a large army with tight formations pursuing an enemy army whose formation has collapsed.

One side still maintains a sufficiently stable order, while the other side is in complete chaos.

After the army fell into a state of defeat, even if Yuan's army had outstanding generals like Zhang He and Gao Lan, it was powerless to turn the tide. No matter what kind of command was given at this time, it could not reverse the decline.

At the Yuan army's position, Yuan Shao slumped down on the general's platform. At this point, he no longer had any spirit left.

This was a crushing victory of pure strength by the Yellow Turbans without any tricks.

After half a month, Yuan's army was finally defeated by the Yellow Turbans. For Yuan Shao, this was not only difficult to accept in reality, but also a huge psychological blow.

Xuan Xia alone could make him so flustered that all his former ambitions seemed to have become a joke.

All the counselors around him were silent at this time. In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks were fleeting. During the entire battle, the Yellow Turbans, from the command above to the soldiers below, were meticulous and did not reveal any flaws that could be exploited.

Compared with the gap in hard power, this impeccable military discipline is even more frightening.

On the battlefield, the Yellow Turbans pursued the victory and continuously encircled and suppressed the fleeing reinforcements. After a period of time, large-scale surrenders began to take place. If nothing unexpected happened, Yuan's army would suffer an absolute defeat here.

"It's over, all over." Yuan Shao stared at the battlefield situation in a daze. The huge blow made him not even think about escaping.

Finally, Tian Feng sighed: "The governor should cheer up. Yuan Shu will not sit idly by and watch Xuan Xia succeed. He will surely provide support later. Although our army has suffered heavy losses, we can still regain the situation after the war and may be able to make a comeback."

Yuan Shao gave a bitter smile: "Even if I managed to escape, what good will it do? It's not that easy to make a comeback."

Tian Feng frowned and said in a deep voice: "When the Yellow Turbans were defeated, Xu Chen could only lead thousands of remnants to flee everywhere, worrying about his survival every day, but he still managed to get to where he is today. In comparison, the minor setbacks of the governor today are nothing. Xu Chen is just a small thief, but he can be so tenacious. How can the governor be worse than him?"

Hearing this, Yuan Shao's body shook violently. Then he looked at Tian Feng and saw a look of hatred in Tian Feng's eyes for his lack of fighting spirit.

Suddenly, a strong feeling of shame came over him, as if all his dignity as a top-level noble family had been thrown away in an instant.

Who am I? I am one of the most noble few people in the world. The Yuan family has three officials in four generations, and their students and former officials are all over the world. I am undoubtedly the head of the family now, and my reputation is rare in the world. How can I, who is so noble, be inferior to a small bandit like Xu Chen?
The dignity of the gentry drove Yuan Shao to slowly calm down. He slowly stood up and his expression gradually returned to calm.

Tian Feng's words really woke him up from the huge blow. Xu Chen was able to rise up from the nearly desperate situation, while he was just slightly frustrated. How could he be depressed like this!
At this moment, in the distant land, a huge army appeared on the horizon at the most critical moment. It was Yuan Shu's army.

Tian Feng's judgment was very accurate. At this critical moment, Yuan Shu would definitely not be able to hold back.

If Yuan Shu did not want to see Xuan Xia dominate the north after this battle, he would definitely send troops to prevent Xuan Xia from expanding his victory. And now Yuan Shu did so. When Yuan Shao was in the most dangerous time, he extended a helping hand.

This kind of assistance was not due to any brotherly friendship, but was simply a cold consideration of interests among the princes.

Today Yuan Shu helps Yuan Shao, just as he once helped Xuan Xia, everything is for the purpose of checks and balances.

Yuan Shu's intervention also made Yuan Shao feel slightly relieved. With the intervention of such a third-party force, even if he was seriously injured in this battle, he would not lose everything.

The Yellow Turbans apparently discovered the movements of Yuan Shu's army at the first moment, but they did not panic at all. They just steadily slowed down the pace of the attack and began to shrink their formation.

The addition of new forces to the battlefield was enough to break the balance. No matter how strong the Yellow Turbans were, they would not be complacent at this time and would immediately put their full attention into dealing with the new enemies.

"All troops attack!" In Yuan Shu's army, the main general Ji Ling shouted and led his troops to rush towards the Yellow Turbans.

On the way forward, whenever Yuan Shao's defeated soldiers rushed towards him, Ji Ling would kill them on the spot without mercy. Not to mention that they were not friendly forces to Yuan Shao, even if Yuan Shao himself was facing these defeated soldiers, he would make the same decision.

The defeated soldiers will only attack the stable military formation in the rear. Killing them on the spot is the best way to control them, otherwise it will only bring greater trouble to themselves.

Pushing forward like this, Yuan Shu's army began a head-on battle with Xuan Xia. The battlefield, which had just been a little peaceful, was once again filled with the sound of fighting.

Yuan Shu in the rear was nervously observing the battle situation.

Although this attack was only to block Xuan Xia, if Xuan Xia could not withstand his new offensive after a long battle, Yuan Shu would not mind continuing to fight. If he could really wear down the Yellow Turbans, then he would win.

If this was true, he could completely eliminate both the Yellow Turbans and Yuan Shao at the same time. Just thinking about the possible benefits made him tremble with excitement.

He was extremely looking forward to seeing Ji Ling defeat the Yellow Turbans, who had been fighting for a long time.

Our side has been gathering strength for more than half a month, while the Yellow Turbans have been fighting for more than half a month. Now the war is not over yet. Even though our army is greatly behind in equipment and combat effectiveness, we dare to think about the possibility of defeating the Yellow Turbans.

But this was destined to be just Yuan Shu's extravagant wish.

As the battle continued, Yan Xiang beside him soon sighed: "The Yellow Turbans are too strong. In this situation, they can still suppress our army. It's unimaginable, unimaginable."

Yuan Shu's face was visibly ugly. He was a little annoyed at Ji Ling's incompetence, but more of a helplessness towards the Yellow Turbans: "Humph, even so, it's enough to successfully force the Yellow Turbans to retreat!"

Yan Xiang nodded: "This war will not be easy for both sides. Even if Xuan Xia seizes Bohai and Hejian, it will only be the index of repeated battles with Yuan Shao in the future. The more chaotic they are, the more beneficial it will be for us."

Yuan Shu curled the corners of his mouth. Although he couldn't become rich in one bite, he was happy to see this result.

The current situation in the world is deteriorating, the emperor's prestige is gone, and all the princes are concentrating on developing their strength. Although he did not gain any advantage this time, being able to disgust Yuan Shao and Xuan Xia is itself a very valuable thing.

After the new round of fighting lasted for a while, Yuan Shu was no longer willing to get entangled in it any longer. He thought that forcing the Yellow Turbans to retreat had already achieved his goal, so there was no need to sacrifice his own soldiers.

Soon he issued an order to retreat, and the army retreated one after another, and the Yellow Turbans did not forcefully pursue them.

After Yuan Shu's interference, Xuan Xia no longer had the possibility to completely annihilate Yuan's army.

Up to now, the Yellow Turbans have used all their strength. It was not easy to deal with Yuan Shao, and adding Yuan Shu was even more fatal. This was enough to cut off all the thoughts of the Yellow Turbans.

Yuan Shao was still gathering his defeated troops, while Yuan Shu was retreating to the rear. The Yellow Turbans weighed the pros and cons and called back their troops. The battlefield, littered with corpses, fell into a brief calm.

Although the three parties did not have direct and clear communication, they all seemed to have a tacit understanding and they could all feel the atmosphere of the war subsiding.

"Prepare your troops and prepare to retreat."

In the Yellow Turban camp, Xu Chen looked at the positions of Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao and gave orders calmly.

The war of half a month was actually not easy. The Yellow Turbans were also struggling to keep fighting. As of today, the army's casualties have reached nearly 10,000, and they really do not have any more energy to fight.

From the moment Yuan Shu's army entered the battlefield, the war was doomed to end.

Although Yuan Shu's disruption ruined the Yellow Turbans' victory, Xu Chen was not too angry. This was something he had anticipated before Xuan Xia decided to have a decisive battle with Yuan Shao here.

Wang Danglu Ping Huanglong each led his army back to report to Xu Chen.

Upon learning that Xu Chen had already issued the order to retreat, the three of them sighed helplessly.

It can only be said that this battle took a turn for the better because of Yuan Shu's disruption, allowing Xuan Xia to escape the crisis relatively calmly, but it was also because of Yuan Shu's disruption that the results of the battle cannot be expanded now.

Ju Su stood up to persuade them: "Generals, there is no need to feel regretful. After this battle, although Yuan Shao survived, he was also seriously injured. He has no power to look north in the short term. Xuan Xia can safely occupy Bohai and Hejian. This is a rich harvest. What else is there to be dissatisfied about?"

Xun Chen also smiled and stepped forward: "Yuan Shao's prestige has been greatly damaged after his defeat, and he is no longer a formidable enemy of Xuan Xia. This battle is enough to establish Xuan Xia's position as the overlord of the northern border. You should congratulate Xuan Xia."

(End of this chapter)