In the Cao Jun camp outside Chang'an City, there was a lot of joy and laughter, and a celebration banquet was being held to celebrate another victory over the Xiliang army.
"Zhong Quan, today you led your army to charge and killed nearly a thousand Xiliang troops. More importantly, you severely damaged the morale of the Xiliang troops. This is particularly important for our next battle!" Cao Zhang praised loudly. Xiahou Ba.
However, Xiahou Ba did not show much joy. Instead, he said with regret: "That's true, but we couldn't catch up with that Li Shi. This bastard scolded us for a long time. It's a pity to let him run away! It would be a pity if we could kill him Killing him would be a stab in Li Jue's heart, which would relieve his anger!"
Xia Houshang also said regretfully: "Yes, Brother Ziwen's arrow was just a hair away from killing him, but he dodged it! It would be a relief if we shot him to death."
"Yes, it's such a pity!" Xia Houru also echoed.
"After all, Li Shi is the son of Li Jue, and he can be regarded as a strong general of the Xiliang army. It is a pity that he was not killed, but we were able to shoot and wound him and severely injure the enemy. Our victory still achieved the desired effect. Wait until On the day the city is destroyed, I will definitely hand over Li Shi to a few brothers so that you can vent your anger." Cao Zhang, however, did not criticize too much and instead comforted several people.
However, Xiahou Ba did not relax and took the initiative to ask for orders: "Ziwen, I am willing to lead the troops in formation tomorrow and try to defeat them again!"
Cao Zhang nodded happily: "Zhong Quan is commendable for his courage. Okay, you will call the formation from the city tomorrow."
Xiahouba accepted the order excitedly: "Here!"
In the early morning of the next day, when the first ray of the sun shone on the earth, Xiahou Ba had already led thousands of soldiers to form an array in the city. Their morale was high, their drums were beating loudly, and they shouted loudly for formation.
In order to cheer for Xiahou Ba, Cao Zhang also came to watch the battle in person.
After receiving Li Jue's military order, the Xiliang army just closed the city gate tightly and did not dare to go out to meet the enemy.
Xiahou Ba organized messengers who also shouted loudly and cursed. This time they also showed their eloquence and repaid the humiliation they suffered the day before. However, the defenders in the city turned a deaf ear and did not leave the city to meet the enemy.
Xiahou Ba was so angry that he rode back to Cao Zhang and asked for instructions: "Ziwen, the Xiliang army refuses to leave the city to meet the enemy. Please allow me to lead troops to attack the city!"
Cao Zhang frowned, shook his head and said: "Zhong Quan, you have just defeated the Xiliang army, and now your morale is high. I can understand your desire to pursue the victory. However, the city of Chang'an is strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and a strong attack may not be able to win. "
After hearing Cao Zhang's words, Xu Shu hurriedly said: "Master Zhongquan, Chang'an City has a strict defense line, and the number of defenders is five times ours. If we attack rashly, we may pay a huge price but may not win. Let's think about it in the long term. .”
Although Xiahou Ba was unwilling to give in, he also knew that what the two men said was reasonable, so he could only nod angrily and accept the order, and retreated back to the camp with his soldiers.
In the next few days, Xia Houba, Xu Huang, and Cao Zhang took turns calling for battle, but Li Jue just closed the city gate tightly and stopped going out to fight...
…
Under the night, Cao Jun's camp lost the joy and laughter of the previous days.
The calls for formation were rejected one after another, and the time dragged on longer and longer, and everyone's mood became dull.
Xiahou Ba stood up impatiently and came to Cao Zhang to ask for orders again: "Ziwen, don't hesitate any more. I will lead the troops to attack the city tomorrow!"
Cao Zhang shook his head insistently: "Zhong Quan, didn't I say it before? Chang'an is easy to defend but difficult to attack. We have limited troops. If we attack the city now, we will suffer great losses and we may not be able to succeed!"
When Xiahou Ba heard this, his face became gloomy. After thinking carefully, he said with piercing eyes: "Ziwen, I know that Chang'an is difficult to attack, but now our army's morale is strong, while the Xiliang army has been defeated one after another, and its morale is low. Comparing the two, Zheng'an is very difficult to attack. It’s an excellent opportunity to win. If we can take advantage of the situation and attack the city, we should be able to achieve an unexpected victory.”
Afterwards, Xiahou Ba said seriously: "Ziwen, don't forget, we signed a military order to conquer Chang'an in 100 days and annihilate Li Jue. Now a month has passed. If we include the return time, We don’t have much time left.”
"What's more, our expedition to Chang'an does not bring much supplies and food. We can only support it for about half a month at present. We cannot afford to delay it."
When Xiahou Ba said this, Cao Zhang's expression became serious.
What Xiahou Ba said was true. Now they really need to fight quickly and defeat Li Jue in order to fulfill their original promise to Cao Cao.
Seeing this, Xu Shu quickly stood up again: "General Xiahou, I understand your mood, but Chang'an is easy to defend and difficult to attack. We should be more cautious and not be impulsive."
Xiahou Ba said anxiously: "Mr. Yuan Zhi, you always say you need to be safe, so tell me, now that the Xiliang army has closed the city gates and cannot leave, what can we do to defeat the enemy?!"
Xu Shu couldn't think of a better way for the time being, so he could only look to Xiahou Shang and Xia Houru on the side for help, hoping that as soldiers, they could persuade Xiahou Ba.
Xiahou Shang stood up knowingly and said to Xiahou Ba: "Zhongquan, we don't have enough troops, and we didn't bring many siege equipment in this expedition to Chang'an. It is indeed difficult to succeed in attacking the city by force."
"I think that instead of risking a forceful attack, it is better to ask Ziwen to write a letter to Sikong, stating the current situation and applying for withdrawal!"
"What? Retreat? Boyan, what did you say?" Xiahou Ba became anxious upon hearing this.
"Zhong Quan, don't be anxious, listen to us calmly. After all, we have taken back Luoyang, defeated Li Jue in Chang'an, and made him so tight that he did not dare to fight. This is already a great victory."
"But it is true that our troops are limited and we are short of supplies. It is better to withdraw our troops here, or use Hangu Pass as the boundary and return to our respective territories. I believe that Sikong can accept this situation and will not be too harsh on us." Xiahou Shang explained himself idea.
Xia Houru also hurriedly echoed and said to Cao Zhang: "Brother Ziwen, I think Brother Boyan's suggestion is very reasonable. We really don't have to fight with force. If we apply to withdraw our troops now, Sikong will probably agree."
"Nonsense! If you two dare to deceive the military and talk about withdrawing the troops again, I won't take care of you!"
"What is a military order? Can it be changed at will? Even if there were two previous victories, and even if Ziwen is Sikong's son, he might actually be extrajudicial and agree to our withdrawal."
"But we worked hard for a long time, but in the end we went back in disgrace. Where can we put Ziwen's face!? He will never be able to hold his head up again in his life!" Xiahou Ba became more and more angry, pointing at his nose and scolding the two of them.
Being scolded by Xiahou Ba, Xia Houshang felt a little unjust and lowered his head and stopped talking.
Xia Houru muttered helplessly: "We can't attack the city now, they won't go out to fight, and you don't agree to withdraw. Are we just wasting our time here?"
Cao Zhang fell into deep thought as he listened to the quarrel of several people. He had to admit that Xia Houru's final summary was very reasonable, and it was definitely not the way to waste it here.
"Brothers, don't be anxious." Cao Zhang stopped everyone's quarrel. "We are facing a powerful enemy. We can't mess up our position. Let's go back and rest first. Let me think about it tonight. I will definitely be able to come up with a way to defeat the enemy." Policy!"
As the commander-in-chief, Cao Zhang knew that he was the backbone of everyone, and he had to come up with a practical plan to stabilize the morale of the army.
After hearing what Cao Zhang said, Xiahou Ba calmed down. He had enough confidence in Cao Zhang. He had relied on Cao Zhang's strategies to achieve two victories before. He also firmly believed that Cao Zhang would have a way to solve the problem at hand.
"Yes!" Xia Houba and others saluted together and then exited. Only Cao Zhang was left in the Chinese army tent...
