Cao Jun carefully turned around the mountain col, and the scouts stepped forward to investigate, only to find that there were flags tied in the woods, but no one was there.
Xiahou Dun said angrily: "This is a tactic used by suspicious soldiers. They deliberately make us dare not pursue and move forward immediately."
Li Tong and others gave a false alarm, scolded Liu Qi for being treacherous, and continued to lead his troops to pursue him. After walking for more than ten miles, suddenly dust started flying in front of him, so he hurriedly formed a formation to wait.
Xiahou Dun stood up with his sword drawn and looked at the enemy troops coming from a distance. He saw that there were only more than a thousand soldiers and horses, and the troops and horses were in disarray and not in formation.
He couldn't help laughing and said: "Such soldiers and horses dare to fight against me. How can dogs and sheep fight against tigers and leopards?"
Xia Houlan was once in Ye County. He came forward and said, "This man is the water thief Gan Ning. He was the one who killed Xia Houjie and captured Ye County before."
Xiahou Dun said in a deep voice: "If you dare to kill my nephew, you will be avenged!"
Gan Ning stepped forward on horseback and cursed: "One-eyed dragon, I let you live in Bowang last time, how dare you come again?"
Xiahou Dun was furious and sent his horses to fight. The two horses crossed each other, and Gan Ning was defeated after more than ten battles.
"Bandits, stop leaving!" Xiahou Dun was eager for revenge and led his troops to pursue him.
After escaping for several miles, Gan Ning returned to his horse and fought again. He resisted for several miles and then fled.
Xia Houlan stepped forward and advised: "Gan Ning was very skilled in martial arts when he robbed the camp and captured Xia Houjie. This time he deliberately faked defeat and was careful to lure the enemy."
Xiahou Dun sneered and said: "These bandits only rely on their strength to bully the weak. When they encounter strong men like us, they will naturally run away. Liu Qi has already retreated to Wancheng and sent some miscellaneous soldiers to delay time. What is there to fear with such a force?"
He was bent on revenge and sent his troops to continue the pursuit. Gan Ning retreated to a fork in the road and fought with Xiahou Dun again. During the confrontation, an ambush force came out of the valley.
One person raised a gun and shouted: "Changshan Zhao Yun is here, who dares to be so presumptuous?"
Cao Jun was immediately shocked. Zhao Yun had fought with Xu Chu a few days ago, and his name had already spread throughout the army. It was said that his martial arts skills were no less than those of Guan and Zhang, and no one dared to challenge him.
Xia Houlan heard the sound in the rear army and hurriedly stretched his neck to look around. When he saw the man with white armor and white robes, he was surprised and said: "It is indeed Zilong!"
Xiahou Dun shouted: "There are only three thousand people, what can these ambushes do to me?"
Then he sent an order for the whole army to charge and kill, and ordered Li Tong to fight Gan Ning, and personally led the troops to charge towards Zhao Yun.
Twenty thousand Cao troops joined forces to attack again. Zhao Yun and Gan Ning could not resist, so they forced Xiahou Dun back and led the remaining troops to retreat.
It was already noon, the scorching sun was in the sky, and since there was no rest last night, the men and horses were exhausted, but Xiahou Dun was tireless and urged his troops to continue the pursuit.
Unconsciously, we came to the narrow part of the mountain road, and saw dense woods on both sides of the mountain. The dry grass and rotten leaves left in the winter could be seen everywhere, and the new leaves of the vegetation had not yet grown.
Li Tongyan said: "The road ahead is dangerous and the men and horses are tired. It is better to rest here and wait for the rear army to catch up. It will not be too late to pursue us."
"Don't you hear that soldiers need speed?" Xiahou Dun said: "Our soldiers and horses are exhausted, and the Jingzhou army has fled all the way here, and it is at the end of its crossbow. The ambush troops have been killed by me, and I took advantage of the strong energy to attack Wancheng in one go. The best strategy is to give Liu Qi a chance to breathe."
Xia Houlan also said: "What the general said is absolutely true. Although the terrain ahead is complicated, if Liu Qi reorganizes his troops and horses to defend the dangerous position, all previous efforts will be in vain."
Li Tong thought it made sense, clasped his fists and said: "The general is willing to go forward and be the vanguard, and the general will take over later."
Xiahou Dun immediately urged his troops to set off, and ordered Xiahou Lan to follow him. If there was another ambush ahead, he could respond calmly.
Cao Jun continued to pursue the enemy, and when they reached the mouth of a canyon, they suddenly saw an army blocking the way. At the head was a veteran general with white beard and hair, standing on a horse with a horizontal sword, and archers guarding the intersection.
Li Tongzheng was on guard, and laughed when he saw this: "Liu Qi really has no one to use, so he actually used this old soldier to guard him. The time has come for us to make a contribution."
Without waiting for Xiahou Dun's troops to arrive, he urged his horse forward and shouted: "This old guy can't rest at home and care for his old age, so he has sacrificed his life for Liu Qi. I miss you, so I will retreat immediately and I will let you live."
But he saw the veteran urging his horse forward and said in a deep voice: "Nanyang Huang Hansheng, do you dare to fight?"
"Hahaha, you really don't know whether to live or die!" Li Tong looked up to the sky and laughed: "Since I think you have a long life, I will give you a ride."
Li Tong was also a man of heroic origin, and was famous in the Jiangru area as a knight-errant. He gathered people to cause trouble, and he was never merciful in killing people. He rushed his horse to kill Huang Zhong.
When the two horses met, Li Tong raised his spear and stabbed Huang Zhong, fully expecting that he could stab Huang Zhong under the horse with one move. Unexpectedly, the opponent struck with a horizontal sword and knocked his weapon away.
Li Tong underestimated the enemy and did not use his full strength. He could not block Huang Zhong's full blow. He screamed and tried to escape, but it was too late. Huang Zhong backhand slashed him and killed him off his horse.
When Cao Jun saw this, he was shocked and fled back. At this time, Xiahou Dun led his army and rushed over. Hearing that Li Tong had been beheaded, he gathered his troops and came forward.
Seeing that he was a veteran, Xiahou Dun snorted coldly: "To be killed by an old soldier is really a great shame and humiliation!"
Just as he was about to step forward to call for battle, suddenly drums sounded behind him, and then thick smoke rose from the hillside. On the hillside, countless large fireballs rolled down, and the flames flew in the dense forest and spread along with the mountain wind.
"No, retreat quickly!" Xiahou Dun's eyes widened and he knew something was wrong. He did not bother to fight Huang Zhong and returned to his horse to send a message for his troops to retreat.
Facing the mountain wind, he smelled the pungent smell of sulfur and kerosene, and knew that he had been prepared on the hillside. The terrain here was narrow, and if a fire broke out, the consequences would be disastrous.
But at this time, more than 10,000 Cao Cao's troops entered the valley. The men and horses were in chaos. It was not easy to retreat. The front and rear troops were crowded together, and the men and horses trampled on each other, unable to move at all.
Xiahou Dun was blocked by the rebel army in the valley and could not move forward. He looked up and saw thick smoke and fire everywhere, spreading in this direction. In the blink of an eye, he could no longer see what was going on in the valley.
When Xiahou Dun saw that the road ahead was impassable and the thick smoke choked the soldiers, they screamed. Many of them covered their mouths and noses, suffocated and fell. Knowing that the road ahead was impassable, he gritted his teeth and turned around to fight Huang Zhong.
The way back is cut off. As long as we kill this veteran and lead the troops out of the valley in front, there is still a way to survive.
Xiahou Dun returned to fight to the death, but Cao's army came after him with fireworks. Huang Zhong did not fight to the death and retreated to the mouth of the valley, firing random arrows.
Cao's army suffered numerous casualties, but the fire behind them became more intense. At this time, they were trapped in a desperate situation, and everyone fought hard.
Huang Zhong saw that Cao's army was about to rush over, and thick smoke had filled the valley entrance, so he led his troops to retreat. Xiahou Dun held his breath and led the remaining troops to rush out of the valley.
Suddenly, the vision suddenly opened up, and they had already broken out of Bowang Slope. In front of them, a large river flowed out of the mountain and meandered southward. It was Baihe.
Huang Zhong led his troops back to the river and ordered the soldiers to guard the bridge. Many soldiers in the valley followed him in embarrassment, sitting on the ground and gasping for air.
Xiahou Dun, however, didn't take Huang Zhong seriously. He looked up to the sky and said with a smile: "We're done. This is called putting yourself to death and living again!"
The laughter didn't stop, but suddenly someone behind me laughed and said: "Xiahou Dun, if I let you escape this time, I will write the characters upside down!"
Xiahou Dun was shocked. When he turned around in a hurry, he saw an army appearing from behind the hillside. The leading general was Zhang Fei.
