After reading the letter, Xun You felt mixed emotions. What he was happy about was that Xun Yu was not dead and was rescued by Liu Qi.
What is worrying is that Xun Yu persuaded Cao Cao in his letter that the situation of Cao's army was over. Cao Cao's expedition to Mobei was actually to protect his own safety. If he wanted to be famous for future generations, he should no longer serve the Cao family.
Looking at the mud granaries on the ground, Xun You became more and more desperate. He steeled himself and returned to the village. He opened the letter alone and read it again. He was in a dilemma for a while.
That night, Xun You couldn't sleep, until he fell asleep in the middle of the night when he was awakened by a rapid knock on the door.
The soldiers reported urgently outside the door: "The military division is in trouble. The enemy sneaked into the valley and burned down the plank road..."
"What?" Xun You's hand that lit the lamp trembled, and he said urgently: "Send someone to put out the fire quickly!"
At this time, the camp was in chaos. When Xun You dressed and went out, the defenders lit torches and went down the mountain to the mouth of the valley.
Looking from the top of the mountain, the sky is red in the distance. It seems that the fire is not small. The plank roads are connected for nearly a hundred miles and are all connected by wooden piles. They have been exposed to wind and sun for many years and have long since dried out. Once burned, it will be difficult to repair. Like ascending to heaven.
Xun You's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. The food and grass had not yet arrived, but his retreat was cut off. Liu Qi's plan was extremely ruthless.
At dawn, the soldiers returned without success. They had been hungry for days and worked all night. They were already exhausted. They all sat on the hillside and wailed.
Xun You ordered people to report the news to Xiahou Yuan, while selecting elite troops, preparing to break out from Taibai Road to Chencang. As soon as he arrived at the place where Xia Houwei had previously ambush, he was intercepted by the Han army.
Not only are the roads in the valley blocked, but there are also archers guarding the cliffs. Once someone enters, rocks and trees will be thrown down.
Fa Zheng led two generals, Wu Lan and Deng Xian, to guard here and ordered the soldiers to pass on the message that as long as they surrendered, they would survive. There was only a stone crevice in front for one person to pass through, and there would be hot meals as soon as he walked over.
Smelling the scent of mutton wafting down the wind from the valley, hundreds of Cao's troops defected on the spot, while the rest fled to report back.
At this time, Xun You suddenly realized that he had come from Xiahou Yuan to attack the mountain stronghold. When Liu Qi deliberately showed weakness, he might have already set up this plan, and Huang Zhong might even have deceived him.
He and Xia Houyuan thought they had a plan, but they didn't know that Liu Qi had already planned it. The sloping valley road was completely cut off, there was a large army in front of them, and they were completely in a desperate situation.
At this time, Xun You was no longer willing to force the soldiers. The fault was his own. If he was too strong, it might even cause a mutiny.
After thinking about it again and again, he ordered someone to pass down an order to the general, asking those who wanted to follow Xia Houyuan to take only the remaining food and grass and move forward, while the rest of the men and horses could stay and fend for themselves.
At noon, Xun You led more than a thousand soldiers to Hanzhong, while the rest of Cao's soldiers stayed in the camp. After the troops left, they immediately went down the mountain to Taibaidao to surrender to the Han army.
…
Qingsongyuan once again became a battlefield between the two armies. The Han army slaughtered sheep and chickens and had enough food and grass, while the Cao army killed horses and dug wild vegetables and had insufficient food.
Every day, they looked at each other on the top of the mountain and shouted, wishing those who surrendered to forget the blame and have no worries about eating and drinking. They even had a brawl on the top of the mountain and roasted a whole sheep.
Xia Houyuan was ready to fight to the death. After several calls for battle to no avail, he used Liu Qi's strategy of turning against the enemy and moved the camp forward, only three miles away from the enemy camp. However, the Han army remained unmoved. The morale of Cao's army was gradually declining, and some deserters even appeared.
In the Han army's camp, Huang Zhong and other generals were impatient and requested to fight. At this time, Cao's soldiers were already vulnerable. If all the generals fought together, they would win a complete victory.
Liu Qi said: "Don't you hear that the trapped beasts still fight, and the sad soldiers will win? Xiahou Yuan is determined to fight to the death, and it is not the best way to fight with him."
Huang Zhong said anxiously: "A certain person did not hesitate to pretend to be injured and retreated. The lord promised to let a certain person capture Xia Houyuan alive. If we wait any longer, I am afraid that Cao's army will collapse and escape through a remote mountain road."
It turned out that the last time Huang Zhong went out, he had already worn a cotton robe under his armor and a pair of fine armor close to his body. He was planning to fake defeat and let Xia Houyuan chase him, and pretended to be injured when he used the arrow.
Unexpectedly, Xia Houyuan also used a trick, and actually used a substitute to fight, hiding in the army and shooting hidden arrows, which was exactly what he wanted. At this time, he was eager to avenge his previous humiliation.
Liu Qi smiled and said: "Don't worry, old general. I've been observing Cao Jun's camp in the past few days and I have countermeasures in place to ensure that Xia Houyuan can be captured easily."
Huang Zhong hurriedly asked: "My lord, what good plan do you have?"
Liu Qi took Huang Zhong to the mountain. Several defenders were gnawing on the leg of lamb in the thatch. Their mouths were full of oil and they hurriedly wiped their hands to greet him.
Liu Qi signaled that they should eat and drink. It was still cold and it was not easy to stand guard on the top of the mountain in the wind and sun.
The two came to the cliff and had a clear view of Cao's army's camp. They said to Huang Zhong: "Xia Houyuan is setting up camp step by step. It seems that he is forcing me to fight, but in fact he is moving the camp forward to prevent our army from sneak attack and counterattack. This is a strategy of advancing in order to retreat. "
Huang Zhong suddenly said: "I didn't expect Xia Houyuan to be so scheming."
Liu Qi pointed down the mountain: "Old general, can you see the row of antlers in front of the camp?"
Huang Zhong stroked his beard and said: "The antlers of Cao's army are all connected by old trees. It is difficult for the cavalry to pass through. It is not easy to make a surprise attack."
But Liu Qi shook his head and said: "I didn't want to capture Xia Houyuan just to watch Cao Jun's defense, so I landed on that row of antlers."
Huang Zhong said in astonishment: "But why?"
Liu Qi also pretended to be mysterious and laughed: "We will find out in a few days."
Early the next morning, Liu Qi ordered Yan Yan to send troops, and led the infantry to suddenly dispatch, destroying the antlers in front, and immediately retreated when Cao's army came after them.
Xia Houyuan heard the news and came to fight, but Yan Yan had already retreated, so he ordered people to repair the antlers, and went out again in the afternoon to destroy the antlers.
Xia Houyuan was furious and personally guarded the front camp, but there was no movement from the Han army. They came out to fight, but no one responded. He was furious and furious.
That night, Zhang Yi and Ju Fu left the camp and went to destroy the antlers, preparing to attack Cao Jun's camp. The drums kept beating all night and many fires broke out.
Cao's army was already hungry, thirsty and sleepy. After being harassed repeatedly, it became increasingly tired and demoralized.
Xia Houshang advised: "Liu Qi must know that our army has no food. This is a strategy to exhaust the army. Why not withdraw the front camp and stick to the Qingsong Plateau until the food and grass arrive, and then fight again."
Xia Houyuan's face was ashen and he said in a deep voice: "Liu Qi has many tricks and the enemy's troops are at their peak. If the front camp is withdrawn, they will definitely take the opportunity to attack the stronghold. If this place is not protected, won't all the previous efforts be wasted?"
While they were discussing, Xun You sent someone to report that Liu Qi had left an ambush on Taibai Road and burned down the plank road. The food and grass had not arrived, and the way back was cut off.
Xia Houyuan was shocked and turned pale. He first ordered the people who came to keep it strictly confidential to prevent the soldiers from losing their morale. He sat in the stronghold with his face sinking like water, unable to do anything.
Xia Houwei said: "Liu Qi actually used this vicious trick. He has no way to retreat and can only move forward. Why doesn't my father send out his entire army and fight to the death?"
"That's what I mean!" Xia Houyuan stood up slowly and ordered: "Give me the order. Only five hundred horses will be left in the army. The rest will be slaughtered. The whole army will be well fed and ready. Hou tomorrow's military advisor will arrive and fight to the death."
Xia Houwei went to deliver the order and scout the horses to report. Yan Yan led his troops to destroy the antlers and kill many defenders with random arrows. The generals were afraid of his bravery and did not dare to fight.
Xia Houyuan was furious and urged his horse to go straight to the front camp. The Han army on the mountain had already seen it, waved the flag, and Yan Yan led the troops to retreat.
"Little Liu Qi, I swear to kill you!" Xia Houyuan looked up to the sky and roared.
Seeing that many of the soldiers were injured and disabled, and all of them looked pale and miserable, he dismounted and went forward, personally leading people to repair the antlers.
