Zhang Quan came to the border and asked the defenders to transport Zhang Xiu's body back to Xuchang.
He first paid a visit to Cao Pi and said that Guan Yu could not bear to punish Zhang Xiu anymore because he was dead, so he released him. Cao Pi had known that the Jingzhou army would not kill prisoners, so he comforted him and was not suspicious.
Zhang Quan came to visit Jia Xu again, quietly handed over the brocade bag, truthfully told Zhuge Liang what he said, and asked: "What is the profound meaning of this thing?"
Jia Xu looked at the three items, pinched his beard and was silent for a long time, then said slowly: "The Yan Han is not extinct, father and son are angels!"
Zhang Quan was startled and asked in confusion: "What does Zhuge Liang mean by this?"
Jia Xu sighed: "In the past, Wang Yun used a series of tactics to kill Dong Zhuo. The Xiliang army fled on its own, and Wang Yun sent troops to pursue him. In order to protect myself, I advised the generals to counterattack Chang'an. Who knows that Li Jue, Guo Si and others went even further? Dong Zhuo, although I tried my best to deal with it, in the end it was difficult to restore the situation, causing the emperor to be exiled and making a big mistake..."
Zhang Quan was surprised and looked at the half of charcoal silently. Then he realized what Zhuge Liang meant here and asked: "What should we do next?"
Jia Xu only said: "Your body should be buried first when it is brought back. We are from Xiliang after all. Although we cannot return to our hometown, we should be buried in the west. We can transport the coffin to the west of Luoyang for burial. Let's get ready early!"
Zhang Quan thought about his situation and felt sad. He had no time to care about Jia Xu's affairs anymore, so he left and came to discuss with Cao Pi.
Jia Mu walked out of the back hall and asked, "What is the deep meaning of my father burying General Zhang in the west of Luoyang?"
Jia Xu did not explain, but just ordered: "Zhang Xiu and I are in danger of life and death. After all, my colleagues from the same hometown should bury him. When you find out that the coffin has left Xuchang, go to the prince to ask for orders to mourn at the grave."
Jia Mu was slightly startled. Although he didn't know what he meant, he knew that if his old father didn't say anything, there would be no need to ask more questions, so he bowed and stepped back.
Jia Xu raised his cloudy eyes and looked out the door, a sigh echoing in the room for a long time.
…
When Guan Yu's army advanced into the Central Plains, Liu Qi also led his troops to Ji Valley. It snowed continuously for half a month, making the sloping valley roads slippery and difficult to travel, and the march was extremely slow.
Yan Yan had been waiting for a long time, and Huang Zhong heard about the achievements of the former army, and he was eager to fight.
Ma Liangyan said: "Xia Houyuan is Cao Cao's confidant. He is well versed in strategy and is good at commanding troops. He is left to garrison Chang'an to defend Xiliang. He has been heavily guarded for a month. What can he do?"
Liu Qi frowned and said, "Although Xia Houyuan has a hot temper, he is really difficult to deal with with Xun You as his assistant."
Huang Zhong cupped his fists and said, "My lord, don't worry. Huang Zhong only needs five thousand elite soldiers to break Cao's camp and sacrifice Xia Houyuan's head under his tent."
Meng Da also came out and said: "The last general is willing to follow the old general to make achievements and share the Lord's worries."
Fazheng shook his head and said: "Cao's army has been operating in Jigu for half a year, and the fortress is strong. With Xiahou Yuan's courage and Xun You's wisdom, it is not the last time that he attacked by force. He needs to use clever strategies to break it."
Liu Qi nodded and said: "What the military advisor said is absolutely true. This battle is related to the situation in Guanzhong. If we lose troops and generals and are unable to advance, all our previous efforts will be in vain."
Fazheng smiled and said: "Although Xun You has a strategy, I expect Xiahou Yuan to be eager to fight. He is also deeply annoyed by General Yan's tight defense. This is the so-called sympathy for each other!"
Liu Qi's heart moved and he nodded: "What you said is absolutely true. Cao Jun is also eager to find flaws in our army."
A flash of light flashed in Fazheng's eyes, and he said slowly: "War is like a chess game. It is better to lose a piece than to lose the opportunity. You can take the initiative to seek changes and give him a flaw."
Liu Qi immediately ordered his generals to send out troops. He ordered Huang Zhong to be the vanguard and Meng Da to be the deputy general. He sent five thousand elite troops to Cao's camp to call for battle first to see Cao's army's reaction, and then discussed countermeasures with Fa Zheng.
As Fazheng expected, Xia Houyuan was restless in the camp. He wanted to send troops but had no chance to take advantage of it, and there was no way to use the narrow valley.
At this time, the war in Xiliang was unfavorable. Hanzhong soldiers and horses had already killed Qishan. Ren Yang and other Tianshui nobles responded by crowding in to welcome Shanggui. Wei Kang, the governor of Liangzhou, could not resist and retreated to Jicheng. The war was critical.
Xia Houyuan even planned to retreat, lead the enemy out of the Qinling Mountains, cut off food in the Qinling Mountains, and fight with them near the Wei River, but Xun You persuaded him to stop and could only wait for a chance to fight.
When he was helpless, suddenly drums sounded loudly outside the camp, and the defenders came to report. Liu Qi sent troops to attack the camp, and immediately went into battle to meet the enemy.
The first general urged his horse and shouted: "General Meng Da of the Han Dynasty is here. The traitors to the Cao family are here to die quickly."
"How dare an unknown person make such a noise?" Xiahou Shang was furious and slapped his horse to fight Mengda.
Ever since the camp was attacked last time and he escaped from the water, Xia Houshang has been laughed at when he returned to the camp. Thinking of avenging his shame, he finally waited until the enemy troops came to kill him, and then made such a noise that he could no longer hold back.
Xia Houyuan was watching the battle from the side. When he saw another veteran coming from behind, he frowned and said, "Liu Qi really has no one available to him?"
Huang Zhong also immediately stroked his beard and looked at Xia Houyuan, thinking that if he could kill the general in front of the formation, Cao's army would be defeated without a fight, and he could capture Jigu in one fell swoop, advance into Guanzhong, and seize Chang'an.
The two of them waited and watched. Meng Da and Xia Houshang clashed. The two generals were also eager to make contributions. They fought for more than 20 times without deciding the winner.
Xia Houyuan couldn't hold himself back, so he stepped forward on his horse and laughed loudly: "Liu Qi has no one to use, so he has repeatedly sent old soldiers into the battle. Go and move Guan Yu quickly."
Huang Zhong raised his sword and shouted angrily: "Although I am old, my sword is still sharp. This sword is just right to behead you."
"My sword is not bad at all!" Xia Houyuan was furious and slapped his horse to attack Huang Zhong.
Huang Zhong hated people saying he was old. When he saw Xia Houyuan's sword slashing at him, he didn't give way. He raised his sword to parry and caught the sword forcefully, but he caught it steadily.
"How much strength does the old thief still have!" Xia Houyuan was secretly shocked and laughed: "Let's see how long you can hold on?"
"Try a certain knife!" Huang Zhong cheered up and struck hard with his backhand knife.
Not to be outdone, Xia Houyuan raised his sword and held it with all his strength. The two men each raised their weapons, and their horses kept spinning in circles.
While they were wrestling, there was just a hissing sound, and Huang Zhong's blade suddenly slashed across, carrying a string of sparks, and the tip of the blade passed in front of Xia Houyuan.
Xia Houyuan didn't expect that Huang Zhong would suddenly increase his strength at this time, and hurriedly tilted his head back to avoid it. A gust of cool wind blew through his neck, causing goosebumps all over his body.
"Despicable old thief, how dare you cheat!" Xia Houyuan was shocked and angry. He yelled and started fighting, trying to kill Huang Zhong off his horse.
The two sides fought again, Huang Zhong changed his moves, a knife flew up and down like a dragon making waves in the sea, no matter how hard Xia Houyuan attacked, he was still unable to do anything to the opponent.
Xia Houyuan was already grumpy. Seeing that he could not defeat a veteran, he felt that he had lost face and became more and more angry. He roared angrily and frequently used killing moves. His moves were wide open and closed, and he wanted to split Huang Zhong in half.
Huang Zhong was not to be outdone. The two swords faced each other like fierce tigers, refusing to give in to each other, and they were indistinguishable from each other.
Before he knew it, thirty years passed, and Xia Houyuan vented his anger, but still couldn't help but feel helpless. He couldn't help but feel secretly shocked, only to realize that Huang Zhongshi was very powerful.
When he was about to compete with him in physical strength, Huang Zhong saw that Meng Da was somewhat inferior to Xia Houshang, so he ordered to retreat.
