Xu Huang used a trick to deceive the defenders into leaving the pass. He wanted to take advantage of the chaos and rush into the pass. Unexpectedly, Wei Yan and Fu Wei fought hard and fell short.
After suffering a loss, Wei Yan could not hold on, so he had no choice but to attack by force. However, Wuguan was tall and strong, and limited by the terrain, the effect was very little, and he was very depressed.
The snow has been flying heavily in the past few days, reaching up to the feet, the sky is gloomy, and there is no sign of clearing up. The soldiers are shivering from the cold in their tents. Many of them have swollen hands and feet and are miserable.
Xu Huang retreated early to let the soldiers have a good rest. He sent people to report to Chang'an and sent more meat and wine to reward the soldiers to maintain their morale.
In the dead of night, the northwest wind roared through the canyon like a roaring beast.
Suddenly, there was a loud drumbeat in the direction of Wuguan, which could be heard far away in the wind.
Cao Jun, who was hiding in a corner to take shelter from the wind, suddenly woke up and came to the camp gate to watch. The soldiers in the camp were also awakened and stood up to be on guard.
Xu Huang sat up in shock in the tent and shouted: "Wear clothes and serve!"
The soldiers entered the tent, lit the lamps, hurriedly put on their armor, and carried the cold axes out of the tent. The generals of each battalion were waiting at the camp gate.
The torches were whirring, snowflakes were still falling, and the cold wind blew through the valley, blowing on the face like a knife and freezing to the bone.
Xu Huang's nose hurt from the cold. He stood in the wind for a long time. The sound of the drums had long since disappeared, but there was no movement.
Xu Shangyan said: "Wei Yan suffered a defeat and may not dare to come again. Is it a bluff?"
Xu Huang stood for a moment and ordered Xu Shang and Lu Jian to take turns patrolling the camp and ordered them to be careful.
When I returned to my tent, I didn't dare to sleep anymore, so I lay on my side next to him and dozed off. Just as I was falling asleep, suddenly there was another drum beat hundreds of steps away, torches were burning, and the shouts of killing were approaching.
Cao Jun was shocked. Xu Shang ordered the front camp to defend against the enemy and beat drums to warn. When Xu Huang came in the wind, there was no movement. The torch disappeared in the darkness in an instant, leaving only the cold wind.
Xu Shang was furious and asked for an order: "Wei Yan has deceived people too much. The men and horses must not have gone far, and the general will deal with them in the end."
"No!" Xu Huang frowned, looked at the dark night sky, and said slowly: "The night is deep, and we don't know the true strength of the enemy's army, so we can't act rashly. I think it's a bluff. If it's not a plan to exhaust the troops, they will definitely come to rob the camp tonight. You can set up an ambush at the gate of the camp and wait for the enemy to arrive. Then the defenders will retreat into the camp and ambush them in two directions."
"If Wei Yan dares to come again, he will leave no trace of his armor behind." Xu Shang accepted the order with clasped fists, and dispatched two thousand soldiers to ambush around the camp gate.
Xu Huang went back to the tent and sat for a while. He was no longer sleepy and saw no movement outside the camp. He patrolled the camp personally and saw that most of the soldiers were frozen and there were sounds of air-conditioning pumping everywhere.
Near the fifth watch, a thin layer of snow accumulated on Cao Jun's body, and his hands and feet were numb. He heard the sound of drums and the sound of horse hooves. He stood up in a hurry, staggering one by one, and the queue was in chaos.
Xu Shang was so anxious that he stamped his feet and roared: "Get in formation!"
Cao Jun was busy for a while, but he never saw the enemy attack. The night was so dark that he had no idea what the situation was like outside the camp.
The third time they didn't come to rob the camp, Xu Huang became more and more vigilant in the tent. Repeated attacks by the enemy must have made them relax their vigilance. After several trials, they would launch a thunderous strike.
The cold wind roared all night, and Cao Jun was on full alert. When the east turned white, the heavy snow stopped unknown when, the wind became louder and louder, the armor was solidified by the ice and snow, and everyone was like ice sculptures, unable to move.
Apart from the sound of the wind, there was no movement. After struggling for most of the night, it was actually a false alarm.
Xu Shang looked dejected and came to the tent to report: "The soldiers haven't rested all night, and their hands and feet are numb. I'm afraid they won't be able to attack the city today."
It was very cold and freezing. Camping outside was already very painful. We had to go in and out several times in the coldest night in the middle of the night. Everyone was in low spirits and the morale in the camp was low.
Xu Huang held up two black circles and sighed: "This is Wei Yan's plan to exhaust his troops. He will come to steal the camp tonight and order each camp to rest. Today Lu Jian will lead the rear army to attack the city. Someone will kill Wei Yan tonight."
On this day, Cao's army came to attack the city again, but the offensive was obviously not as good as before, and Xu Huang did not come to supervise the army.
Wei Yan made a tour and ordered his soldiers to patrol and defend step by step, but Pang Tong hid in the attic drinking. This was Liu Qi's special permission, and he had nothing to do.
When night fell, the night wind became stronger, and the atmosphere in Cao's camp became solemn. Xu Huang, Xu Shang and others were fully armed, and their men and horses were hidden in the tents. They turned off the lights and waited for the enemy to rob the camp.
There was no movement that night, and Cao's army became increasingly demoralized. There were no more men to rotate the next day, so they had to suspend the siege and prepare to rest for a day before attacking again.
Unexpectedly, that night, drums sounded again, fire approached outside the camp, or people shouted horses neighing, but no one came to charge the camp. Cao's army became anxious and morale became increasingly low.
Xu Huang also became a little irritable, not only afraid that Wei Yan would come, but also afraid that he would not come!
It's so fictitious and real, maybe the next time he really kills them, they will be caught off guard.
Unconsciously, another night passed and it was dawn. Cao's army was on the verge of collapse. Xu Shang and Lu Jian even cursed Wei Yan for being despicable.
Xu Huang's expression was solemn. He always felt that a crisis was coming, so he couldn't sweat every night and lie in wait. If things continued like this, even if Wei Yan attacked in the daytime, he would be unable to fight the enemy.
Xu Shangyan said: "The soldiers are tired and the army has no fighting spirit. It is better to retreat to Shang County temporarily and rest for a few days before coming back. Prepare more weapons and food and attack day and night. If the defenders are not given a chance to breathe, Wei Yan will be unable to do anything."
Xu Huang was at his wits' end at this time and ordered his troops to retreat to Shang County temporarily, waiting for the food, grass and baggage to arrive before he could advance again.
Seeing Cao's army leaving camp, Wei Yan couldn't help but be happy and immediately came to Pang Tong: "The military advisor really had a clever plan. After only three days, Cao's army retreated without fighting."
Pang Tong poured a glass of wine and said, "The general has been guarding the city alone for the past few days and has been working hard. He might as well have some wine to relieve his fatigue first."
"I have military orders and I don't dare to drink!" Wei Yan cupped his fists and said, "Cao's army has retreated, what should we do next?"
Pang Tong drank a drink by himself and said with a smile: "Cao's army was demoralized because of my disrupted plan. Xu Huang had to retreat temporarily. Three days later, General Wu Bao was sitting back and relax in the pass, drinking and having fun!"
Wei Yan asked doubtfully: "The military advisor said that a three-foot-high wall can be built in three days. Is it really feasible?"
"General, please come with me!" Pang Tong laughed, took Wei Yan out, pointed to the courtyard and said, "This is my masterpiece for several days, how about it?".
In the open space behind the building, I don't know when an ice wall was built with sand, gravel and earth, which was as high as a person.
"This..." Wei Yan couldn't believe that Pang Tong was able to build a wall by himself with his thin body. He suddenly realized it, slapped his forehead with his hand, and shouted: "Ice wall?!"
"Of course!" Pang Tong nodded and smiled: "In fact, the general has already used this method, pouring water to close the door, but he has never been so bold."
Wei Yan rubbed his hands in excitement, nodded and said: "The military advisor has a wonderful idea, he is a true god!"
Pang Tong shook his head and said, "This is the eldest son's plan!"
"The eldest master really planned the strategy and won the victory thousands of miles away!"
Wei Yan was greatly impressed, bid farewell to Pang Tong, and ran happily to the military camp. He ordered the entire army to take their tools and go out of the pass, and went to the cliff mouth to build a wall overnight.
