When Chang Qi saw the enemy approaching, he hurriedly summoned his soldiers to form a formation. The men and horses prepared in a hurry, and the cavalry had already arrived.
I saw a young general coming on horseback, pointing his gun and shouting: "The bandits are here, the thieves will die."
"Hmph, what a loud tone for the Huangkou kid!" Chang Qi saw that it was just a young man who was coming, so he didn't take it seriously and raised his sword to greet him.
Hearing a loud noise, his arm shook, and the sword was swung away. The shot stabbed his chest. Chang Qi was shocked and hurriedly turned to dodge.
The two horses crossed each other, and the other side came back with a shot. Chang Qi raised his knife to hold it. When he returned to his horse, Kou Feng had already drawn his gun and entered the rebel army.
Chang Qi was furious, and the horses came to chase him again. At this moment, another ambush force from the shore came from the flank. Before the front army arrived, arrows fell from the sky like locusts.
The Hanzhong soldiers were rushing to fight and had no time to react. They were shot from the side by random arrows and fell to the ground one after another, causing complete chaos in their formation.
It was Liu Xian who was ambushing on the bank. He sent his troops to take advantage of the situation to cover up the attack. He and Kou Feng attacked from two sides and rushed to the river bank, killing the enemy troops and sending them fleeing in all directions.
The Hanzhong soldiers were attacked in two places, and with the Baohe River on their right, they could only escape in both directions. Many people were forced to jump into the river, causing numerous casualties.
Before Chang Qi could catch up with Kou Feng, his men and horses had been scattered. The soldiers around him were killed and wounded numerous times. He was so frightened and angry that he could only grit his teeth and break out.
Kou Feng saw that Liu Xian was approaching and the enemy army was in chaos. He stopped chasing the deserters and turned around to fight Chang Qi again.
At this time, Chang Qi was already in a panic, and since he was no match for Kou Feng, he barely managed to survive the five battles. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, he was shot off his horse.
This was also the first time that Kou Feng beheaded a general. He shouted to the sky, shook the blood on the tip of his spear, and sneered coldly: "A certain person is about to kill you in the first battle, and you still want to beg for mercy?"
At this time, the Hanzhong soldiers had already fled, and Liu Xian came with one person in charge. It was Baozhong offering wine, and he was so frightened that he was shaking like chaff.
Kou Fengyan said: "Although the ambush failed, we still killed the enemy general, but we haven't had enough fun yet."
Liu Xian looked at the corpse on the ground and said with a smile: "How can we be invincible by using troops like this?"
In Xiangyang for more than a year, Liu Xian followed Wolong Fengchu, but he made a lot of progress. He ambushed the reinforcements halfway, and it was he who gave Chen Dao advice.
The two men had just laid an ambush in the forest at the intersection ahead. They did not want the reinforcements to arrive at the river beach, so they dismounted and rested. Then they changed their plan temporarily and fought out in two groups. As expected, they won a great victory.
The two men escorted Baozhong to offer wine to the city, and ordered him to come forward and call the door. When the guard saw the offer of wine, he surrendered, and the reinforcements were killed and retreated, so they had no choice but to open the city and surrender.
In the praise, he offered wine and asked for mercy: "Since I have done a great job in offering the city, can I return the family property?"
Chen Dao sneered and said: "The praise is so valuable that I think it's in my pocket, so why do you need your help? I'm extremely gracious to spare your life."
He was so heartbroken by the praise of Jijiu that he collapsed on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "The villain just wants to save the lives of his family."
Chen Daoyan said: "Don't worry, General Liu is merciful. We have already issued an order not to kill anyone who surrenders, let alone to kill innocent people indiscriminately."
Liu Xian suddenly smiled and said: "If you can really make meritorious deeds, General Liu will definitely reward you greatly. It depends on whether you can seize the opportunity."
Baozhong offered wine and asked hurriedly: "Please tell me, general!"
Liu Xian said: "Do you know the magistrate of Mianyang County? If you can persuade him to surrender, it will be a great achievement, and it will prevent Mianyang from using weapons and hurting innocent people. At the top, you can save the people to respect the gods, and at the bottom, you can make meritorious service. If you reward me, wouldn’t you kill two birds with one stone?”
After hearing this, Baozhong Jijiu nodded repeatedly and said: "General, don't worry, Brother Liu Dao and I have known each other for a long time. As long as we know the pros and cons, I will be able to persuade him to submit."
When Chen arrived, he was overjoyed and immediately asked Baozhong to offer wine and write a letter. He ordered Kou Feng and Liu Xian to lead two thousand troops to capture Mianyang. He also sent someone to report to Liu Qi and divide his troops to garrison the city as soon as possible.
Before dark, the reinforcements were defeated and fled back to the city. Yang Ren heard the report and hurriedly reported to Zhang Lu.
Zhang Lu suddenly panicked and asked urgently: "Where are the reinforcements?"
Yang Ren shook his head and said, "There has been no reply since Tanma was dispatched the day before yesterday."
Yan Pu looked solemn: "Baozhong is lost. If Liu Qi divides his troops to capture Mianyang, General Zhang will be unable to support him, and Nanzheng will fall into isolation."
"Now that things have happened, is there any good strategy left?" Zhang Lu's heart sank to the bottom of his heart. Reinforcements were not arriving for a long time. The defenders were no match for the enemy and there was no hope at all.
Yan Pu said: "Currently there are only three strategies: the upper, middle and lower strategies. The best strategy is to get away in time and retreat to Bazhong. General Zhang still has 30,000 elite troops. If he can get help from the barbarians and is surrounded by dangerous mountains and favorable terrain, he can deal with Liu Qi."
Zhang Lu frowned and said: "I have been preaching in Hanzhong for decades, and tens of thousands of disciples are here. How can I abandon my only son? What's more, this is the place where we have our foundation. Once it is lost, it will be like a rootless tree. It’s hard to find a place to stay!”
Yan Pu added: "Zhongce can order Zhang Song to go out of the city and meet with Liu Qi to see if there is room for peace talks. If Liu Qi is willing to make peace, my lord will use his money, food, troops and horses to seize Xichuan. If Liu Qi wins Yizhou, Hanzhong may be spared." "
Zhang Lu sighed loudly, "Liu Qi is determined to win Hanzhong when he sends troops this time, but the current situation may not allow him to make peace!"
Yang Ren asked: "What's the next step?"
"Surrender!" Yan Pu said helplessly: "Save your family and the people in the city."
The three of them were silent. After a while, Zhang Lu said: "First order Yang Song to go out of the city to see Liu Qi and see how he responds before making a decision."
"That's fine!" Yan Pu nodded and reminded: "Mianyang is crucial. Master should send an army to support us."
Zhang Luyan said: "If we send reinforcements again, I might be ambushed again! Liu Jijiu is my confidant, don't worry."
Yang Ren was ordered to continue to defend the city, while Yan Pu appeased the people in the city. Zhang Lu went to see Yang Song in person and asked him to go out of the city for peace talks with Liu Qi. Even if it was delayed for a day or two, he could wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Although Yang Song was injured, the plan to befriend Liu Qi was his after all. At this time, troops were approaching the city, and Nanzheng was in a hurry. Whether it was for Hanzhong or to protect himself, he had to go out of the city to see Liu Qi.
When he arrived at the main tent of the Chinese army, he tied one arm and bowed, saying, "I'm injured, so forgive me for not being able to give a full salute."
Liu Qi ordered someone to look at the seats and said with a smile: "Sir, you are not on the battlefield, why are you injured?"
"Ashamed!" Yang Song smiled awkwardly and asked bravely: "I went to Xiangyang earlier, made friends with the general, and agreed to take Xichuan together. Since the two families have formed an alliance, why are they fighting each other to kill my lord?"
"Sir, why did you say this?" Liu Qi said with a smile: "I came here to capture Yizhou, but I was blocked by Zhang Lu. You were the first to use force. Yang Bai led the army to attack. How could you not resist? ?”
"Ah this?" Yang Song said in astonishment: "Hanzhong belongs to my lord. The general invaded the territory. We are just on defense. Why did we use weapons first?"
Liu Qi sneered and said: "Isn't this Hanzhong land owned by the imperial court? As far as I know, the prefect of Hanzhong was originally Su Gu. Zhang Lu attacked and occupied it. He also secretly changed Hanning County, destroyed the official offices, pretended to be ghosts, and separated himself from that. What's the difference between the yellow turban thief and his Zhang Jiao? I was ordered to combat rebellion, eliminate violence, and support the imperial court. I don't care about your crimes. I'm showing mercy outside the law. How dare I send troops to intercept you? How is it different from treason?"
Yang Song's expression changed greatly, and he hurriedly waved his hands and said: "Master, you love the people like a son. You have protected Hanzhong for decades and are praised by the people. You have no intention of rebellion. You are definitely not like Zhang Jiao. Please be careful, General!"
Liu Qi smiled lightly and said, "Even so, as a clan member of the Han clan, it is reasonable for me to walk around on my own territory, right?"
