In Dengfeng County, southwest of Luoyang, two days have passed and Cao Zhang's army has arrived and set up camp here.
On a summer morning, the breeze blew gently through the military camp with a hint of coolness.
The sun shone through the thin tent cloth into the military camp of Cao Zhang's army, and the overwhelming golden light illuminated the entire camp like a dreamlike beauty.
Nearby by the river, soldiers were busy preparing breakfast. The morning smoke fills the air, emitting bursts of fragrance.
The cold river water flows slowly from the mountain stream, crystal clear. The soldiers dipped their faces into the river one after another, taking a refreshing bath to wash away the fatigue of the night. They played in the water and laughed loudly, like beautiful music floating in the military camp.
Because this place is close to Luoyang, the vanguard troops of Cao Zhang and Xiahou Ba have also joined forces.
In the Chinese army tent in the center of the camp, Cao Zhang sat in the middle, holding a bowl of vegetable porridge in his hand and drinking it slowly.
Xiahou Ba, Xiahou Shang and Xia Houru were sitting on both sides. Although they all had porridge bowls in their hands, they were all too preoccupied to eat.
"Ziwen, are we marching towards Dagu Pass or Yique Pass?" Xiahou Shang couldn't hold himself back and asked Cao Zhang.
"What's the rush? Let's talk about it after dinner. Let me think about it again." Cao Zhang responded calmly.
In fact, although he appeared very calm on the surface, his heart was already turbulent, thinking about the results of Xu Huang's sneak attack on Luoyang.
"What's there to think about? Our army has been sluggish these days. If this continues, it will be difficult for us to recapture Chang'an in a hundred days, let alone recapture Luoyang!" Xia Houshang said anxiously.
"Yes, Ziwen, we can't just waste our time like this!" Xia Houru also echoed.
Although Xiahou Ba knew that Cao Zhang was standing still, he must have deep meaning. But he didn't know that Xu Huang had already led his troops to launch a surprise attack. Seeing Cao Zhang's calm appearance, he felt very anxious.
It's just that Xia Houshang and Xia Houru were already urging Cao Zhang, and he didn't want to put any more pressure on Cao Zhang, so he held back and said nothing.
At this moment, Xu Shu walked in quickly from outside, holding a battle report in his hand, with unconcealable joy on his face, and said loudly: "Master, battle report! Xu Huang's battle report!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard Xu Shu tell Xu Huang's battle report.
In their understanding, Xu Huang should be in the rear army with grain, grass and supplies. How could there be a battle report? Could it be that the grain and grass were robbed?
Looking at Xu Shu's expression, Cao Zhang had already guessed the result. He did not reach out to take it, but continued to drink the porridge from the porridge bowl. He said to Xia Houshang: "Bo Yan, help me take a look."
Xiahou Shang stepped forward in confusion and took the battle report from Xu Shu and looked at it. Xiahou Ba and Xia Houru couldn't help but come over and watch together.
"What? Xu Huang won the night attack, killed thousands of Li Jue's troops, and recovered Luoyang!" Xia Houshang exclaimed after reading the battle report, obviously he couldn't believe the result.
Xia Houru and Xia Houba were also shocked. They took the battle report from him and confirmed it carefully.
After hearing this, Cao Zhang acted very calmly. He raised the porridge bowl and drank the last mouthful of porridge: "Gongming really lived up to my expectations. He did a good job! Send an order to commend Gongming and his soldiers!"
"Yes!" Xu Shu responded to Cao Zhang's order.
"Ziwen, what is going on? Why did Xu Huang attack Luoyang at night?" Xia Houshang couldn't hide his excitement and walked up to Cao Zhang to ask.
"Bo Yan, haven't you been urging me to march as soon as possible? I think what you said makes sense and reminded me. I arranged for Xu Huang to go around Hulao Pass to attack Luoyang."
"When Li Jue captured Chang'an, didn't he use Peng Yue's trick to attack Chu and defeat Lu Bu? This can be regarded as a way of treating him in his own way. Let him also give him a sneak attack!" Cao Zhang He explained to Xiahou Shang calmly.
Then, he pointed at the porridge bowl in Xia Houshang's hand and said, "You haven't drank it yet, it's already cold!"
Xia Houshang was so happy that he raised the bowl of porridge in his hand and drank it all in one gulp. He said excitedly: "Ziwen, you are really amazing. No wonder you are so calm. It turns out that you have already made arrangements and won the battle!"
"It's just that you hid it from the rest of us and made us worry for several days!" Xia Houru said with excitement and a bit of complaint.
"I told you in advance, if the news leaks and Li Jue is on guard, the plan will not be realized, but will put Gong Ming into crisis!" Cao Zhang explained lightly.
"It makes sense, it makes sense. The trick of a soldier is to catch him by surprise and attack him unprepared! Ziwen, I really obey you this time!" Xia Houshang couldn't help but admired him.
Cao Zhang didn't pay attention to Xia Houshang's compliment, and turned to look at Xia Houba: "Zhong Quan, are you full?"
"I'm full!" Xiahou Ba quickly drank up the porridge in his hand in response to Cao Zhang's question.
"Send troops when you're full. You pick one, Dagong Pass or Yique Pass, and I'll take the remaining one. Before Li Jue can react, rush over and join Gongming at Luoyang!" Cao Zhang said calmly to Li Jue! As Xiahou Ba said, he had actually made the decision to divide his forces to capture the two fortresses.
"I can go anywhere! You must be the one. Anyway, I promise to take down the pass and let the army pass smoothly and enter Luoyang!" Xiahou Ba responded confidently.
"You are so confident, do you dare to make a bet with me?" Cao Zhang asked Xiahou Ba with a smile.
"What are you betting on?" Xiahou Ba also became interested.
"You and Boyan lead 3,000 soldiers to capture Dagu Pass, and Junlin and I lead 3,000 soldiers to capture Yique Pass. How about who of us can enter Luoyang first? Whoever wins?" Cao Zhang asked Xiahou Ba enthusiastically. The conditions for gambling.
"Okay, if I enter Luoyang first, defeat Li Jue and capture Chang'an, you have to give me ten good horses from Xiliang!" Xiahou Ba agreed and made a bet.
"It's a deal! Yuan Zhi, come and bear witness for us." Cao Zhang greeted Xu Shu.
Xu Shu picked up the pen and wrote down the bet for the two of them.
Xiahou Ba happily greeted Xiahou Shang to leave the tent quickly and prepared to send troops to attack Dagong Pass.
After Xiahou Ba left, Cao Zhang looked at Xu Shu: "Yuan Zhi, is there any way for me to quickly defeat Li Li who is guarding Yique Pass?"
"I am doing this not only to win the bet with Zhong Quan, but also to minimize the consumption of our army and have more energy for the hard battle ahead!" Cao Zhang explained to Xu Shu.
"Understand, the terrain of Yique Pass is dangerous. If Li Ligu cannot retreat, it will definitely be detrimental to our army's advance. We still have to use tricks to win against him and win with one blow."
"Don't worry, young master, let me take a look at the terrain and arrange a clever plan to help you win." Xu Shu walked to the desk, unfolded the topographic map of Yique Pass, and looked at it carefully.
Cao Zhang looked at Xu Shu expectantly, expecting him to come up with a corresponding strategy so that he could win the first battle.
After a while, Xu Shu raised his head and said: "We have a plan. As long as you follow it, you will be able to easily kill Li Li and seize Yique Pass according to your plan!"
Xu Shu approached Cao Zhang and whispered his strategy.
After hearing this, Cao Zhang nodded repeatedly, and then ordered his troops to set off, preparing to go to Yique Pass to challenge Li Li...
