Xiahou Yuan was trapped in the inclined valley and rushed to transport grain and grass. When the news reached Chang'an, Xiahou Ba was shocked and hurriedly mobilized troops and horses to prepare to transport grain himself.
Cao Tai advised: "The general has entrusted us with the great responsibility of Chang'an. We should help Zilin guard the capital. To transport food, we only need to send the civilians there. Why should Zhongquan go in person?"
Xiahou Ba said: "Don't you hear that the troops and horses have not moved forward with food and grass? Don't say that my father is on the front line, as are the other generals. If there is a lack of food and grass, they will definitely be defeated. This is related to the battle of the front army and the safety of the country. There is no room for any mistakes. Unless I cannot personally supervise the transportation."
Xia Houmao said with a smile: "You two worthy brothers are too worried. Today's war is all to the west of the Qinling Mountains. Chang'an only needs governors and not many troops. Liu Qi is fighting with his uncle in Jigu. At this time when we are making achievements, Zhong Quan is civil and military. We have both, if we don’t kill the enemy on the battlefield, it would be a waste of our talents to stay in the rear.”
Xiahou Ba said with great joy: "What Zi Lin said is very true. A certain person has been restless recently and his right eye is twitching wildly. His father and brother are both on the front line. I really can't worry about it. I just want to help him."
When Cao Tai heard that the front line could make great achievements, he was moved and said with fists in his hands: "In that case, I will go with Zhong Quan."
Xiahou Ba hesitated and said: "If only Zi Lin is left alone, I'm afraid Liu Xiong will be difficult to deal with."
Xia Houmao laughed and said: "Two worthy brothers can't help but look down upon us as brothers. Liu Xiong is no more than a junior, so what's the point?"
Recently, the war in Guanzhong and the Central Plains has been unfavorable. Many bandits in the territory have taken the opportunity to cause chaos and rob the people. There are also rebels taking advantage of the situation to rise up, either to rebel against Cao Cao or to seek profit.
Many people in the green forests of Luhun Mountain, Funiu Mountain, and Wangwu Mountain in the Central Plains responded to Guan Yu, and the territory was shaken. In Guanzhong, the Qinling and Lantian areas were the main ones.
Among them, Liu Xiong, a hero from Lantian, was the most powerful. He took advantage of Li Jue and Guo Si's rebellion, raised an army, and became a captain in Xianyang. Later, Cao Cao entered the pass and defeated Ma Chao. Liu Xiong served as his guide and promoted him to general.
Now seeing the decline of the Cao family, the morale of the Han army was extremely high, and there was hope for the Han Dynasty to revive, they immediately left Lantian and fled into Zhongnan Mountain, hoping to join Liu Qi in Wuguan.
Liu Xiong took the opportunity to confuse people's hearts and spread rumors in various counties with his prestige, calling on the people of Chang'an not to forget the kindness of their ancestors. The imperial hometown of Nanyang has risen, and the people of Guanzhong can no longer sleep!
Xiahou Ba said: "I am leading 10,000 elite troops to support this time. My brother will strengthen recruitment training and transport grain from Luoyang to be ready to support at any time."
Xia Houmao's chest thumped loudly: "Don't worry, you two. Although I can't go into battle to kill the enemy, how can I make any mistakes in coordinating money and food, and mobilizing troops and horses? What's more, with Du Prefect as his assistant, a certain guard Chang'an is more than enough, don't worry Go."
In the past six months in Chang'an, Xia Houmao was indeed very shrewd in counting money and food without any mistakes. Even Du Xi felt inferior to him, which was impressive.
Seeing that he was confident, and Chang'an was in the rear, there was no need to lead the troops, so the two of them led the troops out immediately.
When Du Xi returned from Lantian to appease the people, he heard that two generals were transporting grain and only Xia Houmao was left to guard the city. He was shocked and said: "Chang'an is the foundation of Guanzhong, how can you be so careless?"
Xia Houmao said displeasedly: "Someone is here to guard Chang'an, so don't worry about the Ming Dynasty!"
Du Xi was ordered to continue to appease people's hearts, and he sent orders to recruit troops nearby, replenish the troops, and handed them over to his clan brother Xia Houye for training, secretly cultivating forces in the army.
…
In Lantian Pass, the defenders were severely reprimanded by Du Xi, and everyone felt depressed.
The guard general Cao Yong was even more angry. Although Liu Xiong was his general, his heart was alienated from his heart. If someone wanted to rebel, what did it have to do with him?
While they were discussing, they suddenly came to report that an enemy army was coming from the direction of Wuguan and had arrived at Wohu Ridge. The defenders did not dare to fight and came to ask for help urgently.
Cao Yong said angrily: "The generals rebelled and the county guards complained. Now even the Wuguan defenders dare to send out troops. How can you deceive me into not using troops?"
The Wuguan garrison had not seen any movement for more than a year. They sent troops at this time. They clearly heard the news about Liu Xiong and came to test the truth.
All the generals were angry and requested to go to war. One person said: "In the past, General Cao and Xu Gongming were frustrated in taking Wuguan. If the general could kill the enemy and take back Wuguan, wouldn't he become famous in one battle?"
Cao Yong's eyes lit up and he asked, "Who will lead the army?"
The scout replied: "It is Fu Xu, the guard general of Wuguan."
"What a courage!" Cao Yong looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "Fu Tong was as timid as a mouse before and couldn't hide. Now that he has come to die on his own initiative, let him know how powerful we are."
The county magistrate hurriedly said: "The Han army has not seen any movement for a long time. If we send troops now, there may be some conspiracy. The general should not go into battle easily. He should ask for help from Chang'an."
Cao Yong sneered and said: "What's the point of Fu Shu, a nameless person? Prefect Du just scolded us. If we can't even deal with a mere general, how can we guard this pass?"
The county magistrate advised: "Liu Qi is very good at recognizing people. If this person is left to guard the pass, he will definitely be superior to others. The general must not underestimate the enemy."
"Shut up!" Cao Yong said angrily: "This boy came to pass alone. He is clearly trying to deceive no one in our army. A descendant of a certain Cao family is just taking the lead and sharing the worries of the prime minister. A man who is indecisive in the face of trouble misses a good opportunity." also!"
The rest of the generals are also clamoring to go to war, eager to vent their anger at being scolded. If they can kill Fu Shu and take advantage of the empty Wuguan pass, they will definitely increase the reward.
Cao Yong was full of confidence, went into battle, and said to the county magistrate and other officials: "Don't worry, please wait for my news."
The two places were only fifty miles apart. Cao Yong arrived with his troops and saw that there were only 3,000 troops outside the city. He rushed out without rest and set up a battle formation.
When Fu Xu heard the report, he immediately sent out the order to send out troops. The drums in the army were loudly beating. He was the first to ride out and shouted: "Who is coming?"
Cao Yong cursed loudly: "This is Cao Yong, who is under the command of Wei Gong. You dare not leave the seclusion because you don't know your own strength. Come and die quickly."
Fu Wei sneered and said: "Cao is a traitor, especially Dong Zhuo. The Cao family has exhausted its strength and is about to be defeated. How can this kid talk so shamelessly?"
Cao Yong was furious and raised his sword to urge his horse to fight out. Fu Xu raised his spear to meet him. The two horses crossed each other and they fought in front of the pass. Their swords and spears were raised together. For more than ten times, there was no winner.
Cao Yong thought that Fu Xu was an unknown general and would be able to capture him. As soon as he accepted the attack, he was killed by Fu Xu in a hurry. Only then did he know that this man was highly skilled in martial arts.
After barely fighting until twenty, he made a feint and hit the horse to escape. Fu Wei was in hot pursuit. Fortunately, Cao Jun defended him in time and shot back his random arrows.
Cao Yong narrowly escaped death, sweating profusely, and returned to Guanzhong in embarrassment. Thinking of his heroic words just now, he felt ashamed to face the defenders, and stationed a part of his troops on the short hill nearby.
The lieutenant general said: "The enemy may be well prepared. How can we go out to camp if Fu Shurui is so powerful?"
Cao Yong became angry and cursed: "How do you know the art of war? I stationed troops outside the pass to contain the enemy's army. If he comes to attack the pass and kill him from the mountain, he will be like a broken bamboo and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop." "
The deputy general could not dissuade him, so he had to camp together on the mountain, prepare more wood for bows and arrows, and light torches at night to illuminate the surrounding area to prevent the enemy from attacking.
