Xiahou De was ordered to go to the front line to defend the camp. He had already scouted the horse to report the news of the Han army and defended in front of the camp.
Seeing that the incoming general only had a thousand men and horses, he was eager to give it a try and asked Dai Ling, who joined the army: "Among the Sichuan generals, have you ever heard of Zhang Yi?"
Dai Ling shook his head and said: "Although I have never heard of this person, Liu Qi has always been good at using people. He will never send incompetent people as the vanguard. Don't underestimate the enemy."
Xiahou De sneered and said: "A certain person was ordered to resist the enemy. If we don't kill him and retreat, how can we show the power of our army?"
Dai Ling said anxiously: "The Governor of Xiahou ordered us to defend ourselves and not to send troops hastily. When the Han army is trapped in the valley, we will have our own strategies to defeat the enemy, so we must not act rashly."
Just as he was hesitating, he heard Zhang Yi laugh and say: "I heard that the guard general Xiahou De is just a disciple of Gaoliang. When I saw it today, it turned out to be like this, and he didn't even dare to answer?"
Xiahou De was furious, pointed at Guanxia and shouted: "Zhang Yi, you are just an unknown person, I don't even bother to talk to you."
Zhang Yi looked up to the sky and said with a smile: "You, the descendants of the clan, are only able to rank as generals because Cao Cao's clan is the Xiahou clan. In fact, you don't have much ability."
"Zhang Yi, don't go too far!" Xiahou De was furious and walked toward the door with his knife in hand, "I want to fight you to the death."
Dai Ling hurriedly advised: "This is a way to provoke the general. The general must not fall into the trap."
Xiahou De said angrily: "What is unbearable to be insulted by an unknown person in front of your face? If you don't go to war, how can you bully me and no one in the Central Plains?"
Dai Ling could not dissuade him, so he had to lead his troops to guard the camp and plunder the formation for Xiahou De.
The drums sounded and Xiahou De stepped out, pointed at Zhang Yi and said solemnly: "Today I will show you the courage of the Xiahou family's children!"
Zhang Yi laughed and said: "The bravery of the Xiahou family is undoubtedly that of Xiahou Dun. First he lost an eye, and then he was a prisoner. I have admired him for a long time, but it is a pity that I have only one side."
"Noisy!" Xiahou De was furious when he heard this and urged his horse to go straight to Zhang Yi.
The two were fighting outside the camp. Just after the tenth meeting, Zhang Yi couldn't hold on anymore and turned his horse to leave.
"Hahaha, it turns out that you can only show off your words and take your life!" Xiahou De was furious and chased after him. Zhang Yi panicked and walked around the field.
At this moment, a general from behind arrived with his troops, stepped forward on horseback, passed Zhang Yi, and shouted: "Yan Yan is here, who dares to be so presumptuous?"
Xiahou De won for a while and was very high-spirited. He looked up and saw that his beard and hair were all white. He laughed and said: "Liu Qi actually sent such old soldiers into battle. It seems that there is no one in Sichuan!"
Yan Yan wielded his sword and fought with Xiahou De. After a while, he could not resist, Zhang Yi also came to fight. The two surrounded Xiahou De and barely managed to draw.
Dai Ling looked anxiously, worried that Xiahou De had made a mistake and he would not be able to explain it when he returned, so he had to ride out the battle to capture Zhang Yi. If he could kill Yan Yan, it would be a great achievement.
Old general, leave quickly! "Zhang Yi saw that Yan Yan couldn't resist, so he pushed Dai Ling back with all his strength, and the two men turned their horses and left.
"Want to leave? Ask someone for the knife in his palm first!" Xiahou De was excited to kill. He snorted coldly and waved his troops to cover up the killing.
Dai Ling urged: "General, don't pursue me!"
Xiahou De shouted: "Take advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy and strengthen our army. If you are so timid in fighting, when will you be able to defeat the enemy?"
So regardless of Dai Ling's dissuasion, he gave an order and the defenders all marched out. Along the way, they saw Han soldiers abandoning their weapons and armor, and were in a state of panic.
Xiahou De took the lead. He knew that in front of this valley was a cliff path that could only accommodate one or two people. The two thousand soldiers and horses would not be able to pass through for a while and would surely die.
Xiahou De pursued the enemy in front, but Dai Ling did not dare to neglect, leaving 500 troops to guard the camp, while the rest of the troops responded later. When he saw many infantry fighting for weapons along the way, he shouted loudly and gave orders to pursue the enemy.
Xiahou De stared at Yan Yan in pursuit and walked through the valley. The Han troops in front were crowded at the mouth of the cliff. Yan Yan had to turn around and fight to break up the rear. The two armies fought in a melee, but the Han troops fought and retreated.
Dai Ling just arrived with his troops. Suddenly, drums were beating loudly on the cliffs on both sides, arrows were fired, huge rocks and trees fell from the sky, and Cao's army suffered numerous casualties.
Xiahou De was shocked and turned pale. When he looked back, he saw ambushes in the dense forest at a high place. He hurriedly shouted: "Retreat, retreat quickly!"
While he was distracted, Yan Yan had already attacked him and sneered: "Young and energetic, this is what will happen."
Xiahou De hurriedly raised his sword to parry and fought with all his strength. Suddenly Yan Yan became energetic and his eyes widened. He was killed after several counts and he was in a hurry. Only then did he know that he had fallen into the trap.
"Damn old man, you..." Xiahou De panicked and was cut off from his horse by Yan Yan.
Dai Ling in the rear saw that the situation was not good, and had already led his troops to rush back under the rain of arrows. He rushed out of the valley entrance risking his life, and Zhang Yi led his troops to pursue him. Cao's army was killed in pieces, and the valley was full of corpses.
Dai Ling fled back to the camp in panic, with Zhang Yi following closely behind. The defenders could not resist at all. Just as the two soldiers were about to close the door, they were stabbed by Zhang Yi with a spear and knocked to the ground.
When the rest of Cao's army saw Dai Ling heading straight for the rear camp, they no longer dared to resist and fled one after another.
In the valley, Yan Yan and Jufu trapped Cao's army in the valley, surrounded them from front to back, and shouted to persuade them to surrender.
Seeing that Xiahou De was beheaded and the reinforcements fled, Cao's army had no way to advance or retreat. Knowing that the Han army would not kill the prisoners, they all put down their weapons and knelt down.
By the time the two men escorted the prisoners to Qingsongyuan, Zhang Yi had already taken the camp and integrated the troops into the camp.
Zhang Yi said happily: "The rear camp has a lot of food, grass and weapons. This is a good place for garrisoning troops."
Yan Yan laughed and said: "We won the first battle, and it was all due to the efforts of the two of us. I am truly formidable."
So he sent someone to persuade Cao's army to surrender and escorted them to the rear to build roads. They won the first battle and celebrated in the camp that night.
According to the surrender report, Xiahou Yuan stationed a large army in Jigu, and ordered brothers Xiahou De and Xiahou Shang to serve as the front camp. They set up camps and defenses in dangerous places, using defense as offense, hoping to use up the Han army's food and grass in the Qinling Mountains.
This Qingsong Plateau is the junction of Baoxiang Road, and ahead is Xigu Road. It is located in the heart of Taibai Mountain. The terrain is steep. The highest point is called Baxiantai, which is guarded by Xiahou Shang.
The next day, when the troops and horses rested, Yan Yan discussed with the two generals how to deal with the enemy. They raised the Immortal Terrace from a high position and faced the water. Although there was no pass built, it was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Yan Yan frowned and said, "We killed Xiahou De in this battle, but his brother Xiahou Shang didn't come to take revenge. I'm afraid he won't send troops easily again."
Ju Fuyan said: "It is better to stay in this camp temporarily and report to the lord to see what countermeasures Cao Jun has and to calm down."
Zhang Yi won the first battle and was full of vigor. He asked the order: "No matter how dangerous the situation is, I will lead three thousand men to defeat it."
Yan Yan said: "This urgent attack on Qingsongyuan was because we came lightly and had no luggage, so we took risks. Now that we have a foothold and have enough money and food, we don't have to take risks and lose people and horses."
Zhang Yiyan said: "Even if reinforcements arrive, we will still send troops. Why not test the reality first, and then make plans if the enemy does not send out?"
"Bo Gong's words make sense!" Yan Yan thought for a moment and then ordered: "Having been traveling for days, the soldiers are tired. We should not go too deep when we are a little far away from the army. After another day's rest, if Cao's army has not seen any movement, you two It’s never too late to send troops.”
The reason why Liu Qi chose Yan Yan as the vanguard was because he was more patient than Huang Zhong and experienced in leading troops. He was both wise and brave.
Yan Yan knew that this trip was a heavy responsibility, so he did not take any risks. He had to work step by step to avoid any danger along the way. Otherwise, he would have been trapped and died by Cao Jun's trap on the way.
