Dianman was shocked. Could it be that Zhang Fei was injured earlier and Liu Qi deliberately deceived him and secretly sent him to attack Lantian?
However, he was not afraid of tigers as a newborn, and he had always been dissatisfied with veterans such as Zhang Fei. Today was a rare encounter, so he urged his horse forward to fight.
The two horses were intertwined. Zhang Fei's snake spear was extremely long. Before his iron halberd could reach the opponent, the spearhead was hooked on the twig of the iron halberd. It was pulled down with huge force and the iron halberd flew out.
This iron halberd can be used to attack and defend. If you hook the opponent's weapon with a twig, you can counterattack with the other hand. However, if the opponent's strength is not as strong as the opponent, it will be self-defeating and you will be restrained.
Although Noriman held on to the iron halberd with all his strength, he was far inferior to Zhang Fei. He knew he was no match after just one look.
At this time, seeing Zhang Fei pretending to be ill and attacking, he did not dare to fight anymore, so he urged his horse to go straight up the side slope, and when he reached the dense forest, he abandoned his horse and went into the mountain.
When the Han army was half way through, they had already disappeared. Zhang Fei ordered them to retreat and surrounded the Cao soldiers to persuade them to surrender.
Liu Xiong wondered: "General, why don't you chase Dianman? Isn't it like letting the tiger return to the mountain?"
Zhang Fei laughed and said: "Tiger? I think he is just a sick cat."
Liu Xiong frowned and said: "Dianman has escaped and must return to Chang'an to report the news. The defenders are on guard. It may not be easy for the general to attack the city."
Zhang Fei said: "I have a great use for keeping this man. If I don't return to Chang'an after the due date, who will lead the defenders out to fight?"
Liu Xiong was ordered to take the prisoners into custody, and Zhang Fei personally led the troops to the interior of Lantian Pass. At this time, the defeated army had fled back, and the pass was shocked.
Zhang Fei came to the pass on horseback and shouted: "Dianman's son has escaped. Please open the door quickly. If I kill you and enter the pass, I won't leave you alone."
The main force in the pass fled with Dianman. Cao's army saw that the general fled, and Lantian Pass was attacked from both sides. The Han army treated the prisoners kindly, and after hesitating for a while, they opened the door and surrendered.
Dianman climbed over the mountains and ridges and escaped from the Qinling Mountains by a small road. He fled to Lantian on foot with only more than a hundred personal guards. He did not dare to stop and changed horses to report the news to Chang'an.
Du Xi was shocked when he heard the report, and discussed with Xia Houmao: "Liu Qi used another trick. Zhang Fei pretended to be ill and came to take Chang'an. Who can stop him?"
Xia Houmao cursed: "If father and son are both reckless people, the Prime Minister ordered you to guard the pass, why do you have to show off and fight? Now that you have lost Lantian Pass and betrayed the Prime Minister's trust, if you still have half of your blood, you should kill yourself to apologize and come see me." What to do?"
Dianman's face turned red, he roared angrily, picked up his short halberd, and slashed his neck. Several soldiers hurriedly held him back and knelt down to beg for mercy.
Du Xi rushed over after hearing the report and hurriedly advised: "Zhang Fei's detour around the mountains was unexpected and not his fault. I hope the general will forgive him temporarily until he can make atonement for his sins."
"Losing Lantian Pass endangers Chang'an. How can we spare him?" Xia Houmao was furious and ordered everyone to behead him.
Du Xi persuaded again: "Since he is loyal to his father and son, the prime minister loves him very much. Please think again, general. Three armies are easy to get, but a general is hard to find. Zhang Fei made a surprise attack on Lantian, aiming at Chang'an. Now that all the troops have been sent out, there is no time to return reinforcements." , there is no general in the city to lead the troops, why not order him to defend the city, if he wins, he will atone for his crime, if he loses, he will be punished for both crimes. It will be easier for him to explain when the prime minister asks him in the future."
Mentioning the situation in Guanzhong, Xia Houmao's heart sank and he said: "I will allocate you another 20,000 elite troops to stop Zhang Fei in Lantian and wait for the support of the army."
Du Xi hurriedly advised: "General, you must not do it. Zhang Fei is brave and has a rival. Chang'an is strong and has enough money and food to defend itself. Why send troops?"
Xiahou Mao said angrily: "If the enemy enters the country and does not meet the enemy, and is allowed to attack the city of Chang'an, the front army will be in chaos and Guanzhong will be in danger! In order to protect Jingzhou, Liu Qi took the initiative to fight against the prime minister in Nanyang. This so-called mourning army must win. !”
So he ignored Du Xi's hard advice and ordered Dian Man to lead 20,000 elite troops to Lantian to meet the enemy. Du Xi recruited troops from near Chang'an and captured all the young and strong men into the city to set up defenses.
At the same time, he sent fast horses to report to Xiahou Ba and Xu Huang, asking them to return to Chang'an quickly for support. Chang'an was the foundation of Guanzhong. Once the city was lost, even if Xiahou Yuan won, it would be difficult to continue to advance.
Dianman took the order and left the city, led his troops to Lantian, discussed with the county magistrate to defend the city, mobilized the city's officers and civilians to repair the city, prepared ash bottles, rolling logs, etc., vowing to live and die with the city.
Zhang Fei led his troops to Lantian and ordered Fu Xu and Hu Ji to lead an army each to surround the city on three sides, while Liu Xiong led his troops to cut off its food and grass.
This time, Dianman realized his shame and became brave. He allowed Zhang Fei, Wang Shuang, and Fu Shu to take turns yelling and shouting, but they just couldn't get out, waiting for the army to rush back to support Chang'an.
Zhang Fei did not send troops to attack the city. He sent soldiers to shout every day to persuade the defenders to surrender and weaken the morale of the troops. He only left the north gate to allow them to escape.
Seeing that Dianman was determined to defend, he simply changed into a soft scarf and a Confucian shirt, and went to the city every day to drink and paint. Sometimes he drank until he was very drunk, sometimes he painted the scenery of the Qinling Mountains in the distance, and returned home happily.
When the defenders in the city saw Zhang Fei being so arrogant and acting as if no one was around, some of them couldn't help but ask for a fight. Dianman looked gloomy and tried his best to comfort him. He must not make a big mistake out of impulse again at this time.
Two days later, there was still no movement from Cao's army, so Zhang Fei simply called Wang Shuang, Fu Wei, and Hu Ji over. The four of them set up a table under the city, played wine, guessing, and martial arts, as if they were in their own house.
"It's too much bullying. Which one is intolerable?" Noriman finally couldn't hold himself back anymore and was ready to fight.
Being blocked in front of the house to eat and drink like this, even if Zhang Fei was blocked, he would be ridiculed by everyone in the world. Not only would it damage Dian Wei's reputation, how could he have the dignity to lead the army?
The county magistrate hurriedly advised: "General, don't be impulsive. This is Zhang Fei's plan! When he was in the Central Plains, this thief pretended to be drunk and defeated Liu Dai. Now he is repeating the same trick, so don't pay attention."
Dianman sneered and said: "Liu Dai and his like are nothing but mediocre people. When I was in Xuchang, I studied the art of war and strategy with the prince many times, and I also had quite a lot of experience. How could I not know that Zhang Fei was drunk and seduced the enemy? Now I am about to make him suffer the consequences. I regret it so much.”
When they came to the top of the city to watch, they saw Zhang Fei drinking another seven or eight measures of wine and lying drunk in front of the tent. Wang Shuang also got drunk soon. Although Fu Wei and Hu Ji were still sober, they were tipsy after being persuaded to drink by Zhang Fei one after another. Unsteady on my feet.
Watching the Han army return to the camp, Dianman called several lieutenants and ordered the camp to be robbed at the third watch. Zhang Fei's camp was burned first. When the other two gates were rescued, the ambush troops rushed out, making it difficult to take care of the head and tail.
After dark, Dianman personally led his troops out of the city and went straight to the Han army camp. Sure enough, he saw that the defense was lax. A thousand people surrounded the camp and set fire to it. With the spring breeze, it spread instantly.
The fire shot straight into the sky and illuminated Lantian County. Dianman was not in a hurry to enter the camp. He only ordered people to shoot arrows and beat drums and shout in the distance.
Sure enough, soon we saw Han troops from both the east and west coming to support us. The camp was in chaos. They lit torches to give signals, the defenders on the city beat drums to cheer, and all the ambush troops in the city came out.
Dian Man shouted first and led his troops into Zhang Fei's stronghold through the gap and went straight to the Chinese army's tent.
The camp tent was lit by fire, and figures were moving around. As soon as they got closer, several soldiers carried a huge body and hurried out. The people above were sleeping like dead pigs, snoring like thunder.
"Zhang Heizi, where are you going?" Noriman couldn't help but be overjoyed when he saw it was Zhang Fei. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become famous. He urged his horse forward with all his strength, and swept his iron halberd at the guard.
