Cao's army was exhausted after fighting for a day. After eating, they rested early while Dai Ling continued to patrol the camp.
In the middle of the night, the troops suddenly reported that there was a fire in the east camp. Dai Ling immediately led his troops to check, but there was no enemy attack. He ordered people to put out the fire and be on guard.
When we arrived in front of the camp to observe, suddenly a fire broke out all over the camp, especially the wooden posts on the outer fence, forming a sea of fire that spread in the night wind and became out of control.
Dai Ling was shocked. Seeing that the fire could not be extinguished, he hurriedly ordered the soldiers to beat gongs and drums to retreat. Liu Zhu called Xia Houshang to protect him and retreat.
Xia Houshang saw the camp full of fire, which made the cliffs on both sides seem to be shaking, and said angrily: "How can Dai Ling defend the camp and be attacked unexpectedly again?"
Liu Zhuyan said: "There was no sound of killing, it seemed like there was just a fire in the camp."
Xia Houshang was startled and looked carefully. Sure enough, only Cao's army escaped from the camp, but there was no cry for death. He cursed: "Dai Ling is a waste. He fails to accomplish anything but fails more than he does."
Dai Lingzheng arrived with his troops and hurriedly stepped forward to report: "General, the Han army has buried firewood and firewood in the camp. The hollow railings outside the camp were filled with sulfur. Someone was lurking in the army and starting a fire."
"Why didn't you find out beforehand?" Xiahou Shang roared, "This matter is entirely in your hands."
Dai Ling sighed helplessly after hearing this. The Han army was extremely secretive in its work. The wooden piles were tampered with, some bamboo tubes were filled with sulfur, and there were defeated troops mixed in the camp. Who could have expected it in advance?
At this time, the entire camp was soaring into flames, lighting up the canyon red. Although there were no invincible troops coming to kill them, Tiger Leaping Cliff was obviously unable to station troops. Liu Zhu persuaded Xia Houshang, and everyone returned to Qinglongtan.
After all this trouble, when the troops and horses were settled down, it was already dark. Xiahou Shang was furious. He couldn't sleep. He sent an order to raise the troops.
He told Liu Zhu: "Although the old thief Yan Yan is cunning, he just happened to help me achieve my goal. He also used yesterday's plan. You go to lure the enemy. I will ambush him at Hutiao Cliff. I will make sure that he never comes back."
Liu Zhu took the order to fight, while Xia Houshang divided his troops to ambush on two cliffs, waiting for the Han army to catch up, cut them off and kill them, avenging their previous humiliation.
Liu Zhu led his troops to cross Hutiao Cliff again, and saw that the camp had long been reduced to ashes, and black smoke was still rising from time to time. Half of the cliff was blackened by smoke, and the canyon looked a bit scary.
As soon as he led his troops across the camp, suddenly the ambush troops on both sides rushed out, Jufu on the left and Zhangyi on the right, catching Cao's army off guard and causing chaos.
Liu Zhu was shocked and turned pale. When he hurriedly organized his troops to defend, Jufu arrived on horseback and beheaded the panicked Liu Zhu under his horse.
Cao Jun's retreat was blocked by his own camp, and he was defeated. He suffered numerous casualties and casualties. The scattered defeated troops fled and reported back. Xiahou Shang, who was ambushing in the mountains, was furious and personally led his troops to fight.
By the time he came to the hillside of Hutiao Cliff, the Han army had already retreated, leaving only corpses and maimed and wailing soldiers on the ground.
Xiahou Shang ordered the ambush troops to continue waiting, crossed the remaining camp, ordered the soldiers to treat the wounded, and went to Qingsong Plateau to challenge Yan Yan, shouting insults at Yan Yan.
Yan Yan was furious and went out to fight with Xiahou Shang. The two fought for more than ten times.
Yan Yan sent troops to cover up the attack, but he only caught up to the remaining camp and then stopped. Seeing Cao Jun retreating to the slope, he laughed and returned.
Xiahou Shang was so angry that he gritted his teeth and returned to camp to discuss with Dai Ling: "Liu Zhu was ambushed. Yan Yan, the old thief, is afraid of his bravery and does not dare to pursue him. If he joins the army and then lures the enemy, my plan will definitely succeed."
Dai Ling advised: "If Yan Yan doesn't pursue him, he must have seen through the general's plan. We are only ordered to guard Ba Xiantai, why bother sending troops?"
Xiahou Shang was furious and said: "You raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a while. You eat the king's salary and the bandit army enters the country, but you don't meet the enemy. What's your intention? If you dare to disobey orders again, you will be punished by military law."
Dai Ling had no choice but to report: "Yan Yan captured the camp earlier and transported the grain and grass away. Now the camp has run out of grain and grass. Please ask the general to allocate grain and grass."
"I have my own reasons!" Xiahou Shang was impatient and forced Dai Ling to fight.
In the afternoon, Dai Ling led his troops to lure the enemy again. Liu Zhu died in an ambush. Dai Ling was very cautious and ordered his soldiers to carefully investigate and not miss any vegetation in the canyon.
They stopped and walked along the way, not like marching into an army, but like searching. They even went through the camp that was reduced to ashes. After seeing that it was getting late, they gave the order to retreat.
Xiahou Shang lay in ambush on the cliff. When evening came, he saw Dai Ling carefully retreating, but no pursuers came.
Xiahou Shang asked: "How can you avoid chasing the enemy?"
Dai Ling replied: "Yan Yan is cautious and does not move."
Xiahou Shang snorted coldly and called a soldier to question, but he said that Dai Ling was only wandering around the front camp, worried about an ambush ahead, and did not advance.
Xia Houshang was furious and said: "It turns out that the former army was defeated many times because you, a thief, passively avoided the war and became a traitor!"
Dai Ling hurriedly waved his hand and said: "General, calm down and listen to my explanation..."
Before he finished speaking, Xia Houshang rushed forward angrily, stabbed him to death with a sword, and told the three armies that anyone who dared to slack off again would be killed without mercy.
It was already dark at this time, and Xia Houshang returned to the camp angrily, only to find that the camp was deserted. Soldiers from the rear camp were gathering around Qinglong Pond to fish, and some people were cleaning wild vegetables and fruits. Then he remembered that he had forgotten to allocate food and grass, and hurriedly sent people to the camp. Go for luck.
Cao's troops were defeated one after another and their morale was low. They ate wild vegetable porridge at night and were full of resentment. However, when Xia Houshang beheaded Dai Ling, no one dared to persuade him to retreat and have a hasty rest.
By the time the food and fodder arrived in the camp, it was already the third watch, and the soldiers in the rear camp had to unload the food and take inventory. There was a lot of noise in the camp, and some people were woken up. They couldn't bear it anymore and shouted curses.
Those who transported and collected grain were also full of resentment and retorted one after another, so the soldiers from the front and rear battalions exchanged curses across the Qinglong Pond, and spittle fell into the pond like raindrops.
Cao's soldiers couldn't scold enough, but they didn't dare to take action. They spit at first, then picked up stones and poured water on each other. The water splashed everywhere, and the waves of Qinglong Pool rolled for a while.
Unexpectedly, the water got bigger and bigger and reached the top of his feet. Cao Jun didn't realize it. Some people upstream were washed into the pool by the turbid waves, and some people downstream were clapping and cheering.
Rumble——
Suddenly, the water rose sharply and swept a row of people into the pool. Cao Jun realized that the situation was not good. The crowd in front was washed away, and he saw the flood rushing into the sky under the moonlight, sweeping over the valley.
In the blink of an eye, Qinglongtan disappeared, and a flash flood broke out in the entire canyon. Cao's army's grain carts, war horses, and tents were instantly washed away, and they followed the torrent and rolled downstream.
Xia Houshang was in a daze, feeling that the world was spinning. He shook him awake. Suddenly he felt damp under his body. He wiped a handful of water stains all over his body. He sat up suddenly and cursed in a low voice: "Grandma, you wet the bed again!"
Before he finished speaking, a huge force suddenly hit him, knocking him out of the tent. Only then did he realize that he was floating in the flood, with screams and turbid waves rolling around him.
Xia Houshang was in an inexplicable panic, as if he was trapped in a nightmare. He couldn't wake up or escape. He hugged the bed board tightly and yelled: "Is this a dream?"
