After receiving the order from General Cao Hong, Xu Huang couldn't wait to lead his troops, preparing to avenge his previous humiliation.
The Jingzhou soldiers only relied on the geographical advantage of Wuguan to win. When it came to arranging troops, he was confident in facing the enemy.
Even though Zhang Fei was brave, he beat his three brothers many times in the Central Plains, causing them to flee in confusion.
When he came to Shangluo with Generals Xu Shang and Lu Jian, he saw the enemy camp and started fighting. Xu Huang personally stepped forward and challenged Zhang Fei and Wei Yan to fight.
After a while, there was only a sound of drums, and the camp gate opened. Zhang Fei came out with a eight-foot-long snake spear and laughed: "Xu Gongming, last time I asked you to leave, you fled and now you are here to die again? "
Xu Huang said in a deep voice: "Zhang Fei, if it weren't for a sneak attack, how could you have succeeded? Have you forgotten that when you were in the Central Plains, you were as panicked as a lost dog?"
Zhang Fei was furious and thrust his snake spear at him. Xu Huang raised his ax to meet him. The two of them fought in front of the camp. For more than thirty people, no one could win.
Liu Qi was watching the battle at Yuanmen. Xu Huang was indeed brave. His military strength should be second only to Zhang Liao among the five good generals. However, among Cao's army, only Xu Chu was the only one who could fight with the five tiger generals.
Sure enough, after forty years, Xu Huang gradually lost his battle. Zhang Fei's physical strength was astonishing. He fought naked with Xu Chu and fought with Ma Chao at night. He was as tireless as a bull.
This kind of innate talent cannot be matched by others no matter how hard they work!
After barely holding on for four or five more times, Zhang Fei's snake spear became more and more fierce, like a strange python, attacking with seven or eight moves in a row, forcing Xu Huang to scramble, turn his horse and run away.
"Still want to leave?" Zhang Fei was furious and chased him.
Xu Shang and Lu Jian rushed forward to respond. Zhang Fei thrust his spear and knocked Lu Jian off his horse. Xu Shang was shocked and fled with Xu Huang.
"Blast the drum!" Liu Qi immediately ordered the troops to advance, followed by Fu Wei who led the troops to charge.
Xu Huang was defeated and retreated from the formation. Before he could recover, Zhang Fei had already attacked him. No one in Cao's army dared to stop him. The Chinese army was in chaos and scattered in all directions.
Zhang Fei chased Xu Huang and ran away in embarrassment. The people and horses behind him were in chaos. Fu Wei took advantage of the situation and led his troops to kill him. Cao's army was cornered and fled into the forest, abandoning its helmet and armor.
When he was in a panic, Cao Hong arrived with his troops. Seeing the people and horses running around in front, he couldn't help being furious and led his troops to guard the intersection.
When Zhang Fei saw Cao's army approaching, he stopped his horse and had no choice but to let Xu Huang take the remaining defeated soldiers and flee back to the main formation.
Cao Hong's face was ashen and he didn't bother to deal with Xu Huang. He stepped forward on his horse and shouted: "Zhang Fei, the Prime Minister has treated Liu Bei well and protected his family. How come your brother repays his kindness with vengeance?"
Zhang Fei said angrily: "If Cao Cao didn't bring trouble to the world, why would my brothers fight? My eldest brother's hatred is all on Cao Cao."
When Liu Bei was mentioned, Zhang Fei was filled with grief and anger. If there was no persecution by Cao's thieves, why would they run around and eventually end up living in Jingzhou and be killed by the villain Cai Mao?
"The ring-eyed thief doesn't know right from wrong!" Cao Hong was furious and came to fight Zhang Fei with his horse.
Zhang Fei and Cao Hong fought for more than twenty times, then pretended to be defeated, got back on their horses and left.
Cao Hong led his troops to pursue him, but Fu Xu was already there to help him. The Jingzhou soldiers held the key road and gave way to Zhang Fei. They fired random arrows and forced Cao Jun back.
Cao Hong camped his men and horses at the foot of the mountain. In the central tent, Xu Huang knelt on the ground in embarrassment, lowering his head and saying nothing. This time he lost to Zhang Fei, and he had nothing to say.
Cao Hong did not blame Xu Huang this time. He chuckled and said, "Zhang Fei's bravery is no less than Guan Yu's. Since General Xu knew he was outmatched, he shouldn't have challenged the battle and left his troops to deal with him later."
Xu Huang's face was full of shame, he cupped his fists and said: "Although Zhang Fei is brave, he is very reckless and invincible. We should use tricks to defeat him."
"How did I get rid of him?" Cao Hong snorted coldly and waved his hand: "Gongming will go to the rear camp to rest and see how I defeat the enemy."
Xu Huang sighed and retreated to reorganize his troops, while Cao Hong summoned generals Ma Yan and Zhang Wei to discuss matters and prepare to recapture Shangluo tomorrow.
The next day, Cao Hong led his troops to fight in front of the camp. Pang Tong first ordered Fu Shu to fight, but he was defeated by Cao Hong after more than ten battles.
Zhang Fei went out to meet the enemy again, and the two fought forty or fifty times. Zhang Fei was defeated and retreated, and the morale of Cao's army greatly increased.
Cao Hong directly called Liu Qi to fight, showed off his power outside the camp, and ordered the soldiers to take turns shouting and cursing, but the Jingzhou army just closed the camp gate tightly and defended.
Cao Hong had no choice but to order Ma Yan and Zhang Wei to rush to the camp, but they were shot back by random arrows. Seeing that it was getting late, he led his troops back to the camp.
After dinner, Cao Hong thought that if Liu Qi could not leave the camp, he would not know when to get back to Wuguan. Chang'an's men and horses were all gone, so he could not stay outside for a long time, so he summoned the generals to discuss and prepare to rob the camp overnight.
Ma Yan immediately agreed: "Liu Qi's men and horses were killed by the general today and they dare not leave the camp. Their morale is low. If we go to rob the camp now, we will definitely win."
Zhang Wei also asked for the order: "The last general is willing to be a pioneer."
Xu Huang said, "Liu Qi has many tricks and plots, and Pang Tong is also plotting. Now I only see Zhang Fei, but not Wei Yan. I'm afraid he has other plans. We need to be careful and don't attack rashly."
Cao Hong sneered: "Gongming has suffered several defeats, so he is afraid of the enemy? Wei Yan is not in the army, so he must have been transferred back to guard Wuguan, just in time to rob the camp."
Xu Huang bitterly advised: "The general must mobilize the troops and horses of Chang'an. He should first establish himself in an invincible position, and then think about a strategy to retreat from the enemy. If we send troops hastily, if the troops and horses are lost, Chang'an may be lost."
"Bold!" Cao Hong was furious: "You have lost the power of our army without even fighting. What is your intention? Are you afraid that I will defeat Liu Qi and look bad in front of the prime minister?"
Xu Huang said hurriedly: "The general is devoted to the public good, so what does personal honor and disgrace matter? I have absolutely no intention of doing so. I just ask the general to put the overall situation first."
Cao Hong said coldly: "You were defeated today and lost troops and generals. You have not been punished. Now you have neglected the morale of our army. If you don't think about attacking with a large army, you will definitely be beheaded. At this time, I don't expect you to be convinced. When I return after the victory, I’ll argue with you again.”
At that time, Xu Huang was transferred to the main camp of the rear army, and he led his own troops and horses, and together with generals Ma Yan and Zhang Wei, they robbed the camp overnight.
After the third watch, Cao Hong led his troops out, but Xu Huang did not dare to be careless. He was worried that Liu Qi would make a surprise attack, so he personally led the troops on patrol, thinking that if Wei Yan dared to come, arresting him would be enough to make him guilty.
When Cao Hong came to Shangluo Camp, he saw torches lit at the entrance of the camp. Although there were soldiers patrolling, they were very lazy and careless and did not take much precautions.
After observing for a moment, I was secretly happy. It was the turn of spring and summer, and the east wind was blowing hard in the canyon. I ordered five hundred elite soldiers to set fire to both sides of the camp gate.
When the torches burned the fence and the flames shot into the sky, the defenders screamed in panic. Some people beat drums to warn others, while others shouted to put out the fire. The defenders at the camp gate were in chaos.
"The time has come!" Cao Hong shouted and led his troops straight to the camp gate.
Ma Yan and Zhang Wei then responded. The soldiers guarding the camp were in chaos and could not resist. Cao's army swarmed in.
Suddenly, there were shouts of killing in the camp, and the Jingzhou army ran in all directions. Cao Hong went straight to the Chinese army, but was stopped by Zhang Fei in a hurry. Fu Wei protected Liu Qi and fled in embarrassment.
Zhang Fei resisted for a while, but when he saw that the fire was soaring into the sky and Cao's army was getting larger and larger, he had no intention of fighting and led the remaining soldiers to escape.
Cao Hong chased him out of the camp, laughing in the night wind and saying: "Hand-eyed thief, you followed Liu Qi, you are also a lost dog, hahaha——"
