Zhang Ren was furious and turned to fight Zhang Fei again. This time the two men fought with real swords and guns, and they were inseparable.
One fights to the death, and the other wants to capture the other alive. The battle is indistinguishable. The two armies are excited and shouting loudly.
Zhang Fei used his spear to hold down Zhang Ren several times, trying to persuade him to surrender. At first Zhang Ren shouted loudly and tried to fend off Zhang Ren, but later he could no longer answer and fought with all his strength.
After barely holding on until he was sixty or seventy, Zhang Ren felt his arms were sore and numb. However, he saw that Zhang Fei became more and more courageous as he fought, like a bull, with seemingly endless energy. Knowing that he was outmatched, he turned his horse and ran away.
"Brother, don't leave!" Zhang Fei was about to catch him, but he refused to give up and urged his horse to pursue him.
Zhang Fei's horse was running fast, and he was chasing closer and closer. Zhang Ren turned around and shot an arrow, shouting: "Look at the arrow!"
Hearing the warning, Zhang Fei hurriedly lowered his head to dodge, and was hit by his helmet. He hurriedly reined in his horse and cursed: "My Zhang family is upright, but you unexpectedly made a sneak attack without respecting martial ethics, bah!"
Zhang Ren did not answer, returned to the city, led the troops into the pass, and ordered the gates to be closed tightly, guarding them to the death, and no longer fighting with the Jingzhou soldiers.
Zhang Fei returned to the formation, took off his helmet, took off the arrow, put the arrow away, and cursed: "Next time I catch Zhang Ren, I will stab him to death!"
Liu Qi withdrew his troops and returned to the camp, sighing: "Zhang Ren really has some skills, and he actually uses tactics to lure the enemy!"
Pang Tong smiled and said: "This is the same thing as a hero. Zhang Ren is both wise and brave. He is not comparable to other Sichuan generals. He needs to devise other strategies."
Liu Qi said: "If you are afraid of seeing through an ordinary strategy, you must at least use a chain strategy."
Pang Tong said: "Zhang Ren is defending according to the danger. As long as he is lured out of the lock, he can be defeated according to his plan."
Chen Daoyan said: "I think this person is very calm, and I'm afraid he won't be able to get out of seclusion easily."
Pang Tong smiled and said: "Although guarding the pass is a safe way, we cannot retreat from the enemy after all! Now that the troops on the east route are approaching Chengdu, Zhang Ren cannot concentrate on guarding Mianzhu. He will be eager to defeat our army. He cannot be allowed to defend the pass."
Liu Qi laughed and said: "Sir, what you said makes sense. Although the Shu army is on the defensive, they are actually more anxious than us. Being anxious will lead to chaos!"
Then he discussed with Pang Tong and divided the troops into two groups. The army camped along the river. Zhang Fei led an army to camp at the foot of the mountain, forming a cornering situation, and prepared weapons to attack Mianzhu Pass.
For three days in a row, the Jingzhou army did not attack the city. The defenders gradually became slack. In addition, the news of Jianwei's fall spread, and there was a lot of discussion in the army and people were impetuous.
Huang Quan couldn't help but come to see Zhang Ren and said: "Liu Qi divided his troops and set up camp. It looked like he was going to attack, but in fact he was on the defensive. He must have learned the news about the soldiers on the east route. If Wuyang fell, the Jingzhou soldiers could go straight to Chengdu along the river. If the general doesn't If you retreat early, the enemy troops will approach the city, and it will be useless to defend this pass."
Zhang Ren frowned and said, "What is Sima's advice?"
Huang Quan said: "It is better to rob the camp at night and kill Liu Qi. If we can take advantage of the opportunity to recapture Fucheng, we can deal with the enemy on the east route with peace of mind."
Zhang Ren sighed: "Liu Qi has many tricks, and Pang Tong is also scheming. Since he has divided his troops, he must be prepared. Maybe it is a strategy to lure the enemy. I'm afraid he will never come back."
Huang Quan suggested: "Liu Qi is camping along the bank. Why not block the river in the upper reaches of Mianshui River and flood it with water?"
Zhang Ren shook his head and said: "The Jingzhou Army is stationed along the coast. The upper reaches are blocking the water, so the river water will be turbid. When they see the river channel becoming shallow, they will notice it, but it is just in vain."
Huang Quan was stunned, pondered for a moment and then said: "The two enemy camps are at odds with each other. It is better to spread suspicion and attack Liu Qi's camp. Zhang Fei will definitely come to rescue him. Instead, he will sneak attack Zhang Fei's camp with elite troops and then use an ambush to help him." Soldiers can achieve complete victory."
Zhang Ren thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "Don't fall into the trap. It's winter now and the weather is extremely cold. The guards everywhere only need to be on guard and wait for the enemy to run out of food. He will retreat and then wait for an opportunity to pursue the enemy. This will be safe." count."
Huang Quan was helpless. Just when he was sighing, he heard the drums beating loudly, and the defenders came to report: "That black-faced Zhang Fei is here again!"
Zhang Ren said impatiently: "Just stick to it and ignore it!"
The defender replied: "He said he had an agreement with the general, and he was chattering!"
Zhang Ren frowned and dressed neatly. At the critical moment, he saw Zhang Fei dressed in brocade clothes, a Confucian scarf and a brocade robe. He looked completely different from the previous one. He couldn't help but be startled.
Zhang Fei cupped his fists and said, "General Zhang, how have you thought about it in three days?"
Zhang Ren said in astonishment: "What are you considering?"
Zhang Fei winked, his eyes as big as copper bells looked quite funny, why: "I'm afraid it's better to say this in front of the three armies, right?"
Zhang Ren was furious, drew his bow and cursed: "Zhang Heizi, you and I are incompatible with each other, how can we make an agreement? Don't confuse people's hearts here."
"Okay, okay, I'll give you two more days!" Zhang Fei hurriedly moved his horse to retreat. Before leaving, he cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, General, for showing mercy last time."
"This is Liu Qi's plan to drive a wedge between each other, it can't be trusted!" Zhang Ren put down his bow and arrow in despair, snorted coldly, and went down to the city.
Huang Quan and Zhuo Ying looked at each other, unsure of the situation for a moment. During the fight that day, they did have several conversations, but on the battlefield, their ears were filled with the sound of drums and shouts. Who knows what was said?
Fei Guan saw that the situation here was complicated and confusing, and thought that if Zhang Ren presented the pass, he would not get any credit at that time. He might as well go back to Mianzhu first and wait and see what happens, so he said goodbye to Zhang Ren in the name of allocating grain and grass.
Two days later, Zhang Fei came again. This time Zhang Ren simply refused to meet him. Zhang Fei yelled for a while and had no choice but to return to the camp.
Liu Qi sighed: "This Ren can really keep his composure!"
Pang Tong said with a smile: "Yide has made the defenders suspicious of each other. The young master cherishes this man's talents, so he needs to light a fire in the rear to make him completely disappointed with Liu Zhang, so that he can return to his heart."
Liu Qi suddenly remembered something and laughed and said: "Last time I had a plan that was stillborn, but this time I just carried it out."
In the past few days, he had been waiting for Zhang Ren to rob the camp, but the other party did not move his troops. The more this happened, the more Liu Qi cherished Zhang Ren's talents. He was able to remain calm at such a critical moment, which shows his tenacity.
At this time, Liu Zhang was like an ant on a hot pot in Chengdu, restless. Lingbao's entire army was wiped out in Guanghan. Liu Huang was defeated and retreated to Guangdu. The enemy's army was only a hundred miles away from Chengdu, hanging like a knife from the top.
I was relieved that Zhang Ren blocked Liu Qi, but recently there were rumors in the city that Zhang Ren was passive and lazy in fighting. He had many conversations with Zhang Fei at Mianzhu Pass, and seemed to intend to surrender to the enemy, but the conditions had not been negotiated yet.
Liu Zhang was frightened and hurriedly gathered a crowd to discuss. If Zhang Ren surrendered and Mianzhu fell, entering Chengdu would be a smooth process.
Wang Leiyan said: "General Zhang is a loyal man and will never betray his master. My lord, please do not believe in rumors."
But Zhang Song sneered and said: "As the saying goes: you know people but don't know their hearts. Today Liu Qi is powerful and treats prisoners well. There are many rebels in the prefectures and counties, especially Pang Xi who surrendered to the enemy, which shocked people's hearts. Now Zhang Ren is reluctant to go to war. , how do you know what he is thinking?"
Wang Lei said angrily: "Zhang Biejia, since ancient times, the fall of a country has always been caused by the discord between the king and his ministers. What is your intention in provoking this?"
Zhang Song tugged at his beard and chuckled: "Although Deng Xian surrendered, he fell into Liu Qi's plan and had to do it as a last resort. Lingbao was beheaded because he underestimated the enemy. Liu Guang was defeated because he was killed by villains. But all the generals Although they were defeated, they were all able to fight to meet the enemy and do their best to be loyal to their lord. Zhang Ren, who is known as the best general in Shu, did not dare to meet the enemy. Is he timid or self-protective? Or did he have second thoughts? I'm afraid only he knows for sure. .”
