As soon as Dian Man rushed forward, he shot out a general with a diagonal stab and stopped him. It was Fu Xu, and the two of them fought in front of the tent.
Hu Ji and Wang Shuang mobilized troops and horses to escort Zhang Fei to retreat. After leaving the camp, Wang Shuang came to meet him again and shouted: "Sick cat, come and die quickly!"
The two joined forces to fight Dianman, but Dianman was not afraid at all. At this time, Cao's army was full of morale and had broken through the camp. The two did not dare to fight, so they took turns to cover and retreat, heading towards Lantian Pass.
At this time, it was not bright yet, and Dianman did not dare to pursue him rashly. It was not easy to kill the enemy troops outside the camp. If Zhang Fei sobered up while chasing him, he would lose more than he gained. It was enough to temporarily relieve the crisis in Chang'an!
He sent an order to move the camps and materials outside the city into the city, sent people to report the victory to Chang'an, and asked Xia Houmao to increase his troops to support and transport more equipment and supplies to attack Lantian Pass.
When Xiahou Mao heard the news, he immediately added 10,000 troops, transported more money, food and materials to support Dianman, rewarded the soldiers, and ordered them to take back Lantian Pass as soon as possible and drive Zhang Yu out of the country.
Du Xiyan said: "The elite troops from Chang'an have been transferred out. If the defenders are transferred out again, only new soldiers will be left. If an enemy army suddenly arrives, how will they fight?"
Xia Houmao glanced at Du Xi with disdain and snorted: "Where did the enemy come from? Can they fly across the Qinling Mountains?"
"This...if Dianman is defeated again, all men and horses will be lost, which may be a serious disaster!" Du Xi couldn't explain why, but he always felt that this move was too risky.
"It is declining before the battle. Is it possible that the Ming Dynasty intends to slow down the morale of our army?" It is enough to guard Lantian at Lantian Pass! Xiahouba and the others can return to Chang'an in a few days, so why bother?"
Du Xi advised: "In the past few days, there have been more than 5,000 soldiers recruited in the city. The good and the bad are mixed. If all the defenders are sent out, the hearts of the people in the city will be unstable, which is a real hidden danger."
"The Ming government is overly worried!" Xia Houmao said with a smile: "A certain prince also studied the art of war and has considerable experience in training troops. From now on, I will personally train troops to ensure that they obey me."
Du Xi said worriedly: "Zhongquan had a big headache before when he was training troops. The new recruits this time are different from before. The governor has never led troops before, so he is afraid of causing chaos."
"Do you really think that I am a disciple of Gaoliang?"
Early the next morning, Xia Houmao arrived at the military camp. The general's order had already been passed down. When all the camps learned the news, they all laughed secretly.
Among the many Xiahou descendants, Xiahou Mao has no merit except running a family and amassing money. If not for his status as the prime minister's son-in-law, how could he be qualified to be the governor of Guanzhong?
At this time, all the elites in the city were mobilized, and most of those who stayed behind were old soldiers, and most of the new soldiers were forcibly recruited. They had resentments in their hearts. They were all provoked by these veteran soldiers, and they all felt dissatisfied.
When Xia Houmao arrived at the camp, he saw a mixture of people and horses, a chaotic formation, and soldiers with disheveled armor. They were crowded together in twos and threes. They looked like a defeated army before they started fighting.
Seeing the veterans leaning over with their weapons, a sneer on their lips, the new recruits walked out of the camp intermittently. The one in the front row folded his arms and turned his nose to the sky, as if someone owed him money in his previous life.
Although Xia Houmao did not have much experience in the military, he had been operating in Ye County for several years, and he knew all the three religions and nine streams. He was already well versed in the ways of the world, and he could see everyone's expressions at a glance. He quietly climbed up to the general stage and gave orders to beat the drums and beat the mao.
There was a commotion on the field, and the soldiers were all crowded together like sheep, pushing and shouting, and it was a chaotic situation. I am afraid that Sun Wu could only shake his head and sigh in this situation again.
Xia Houmao slowly raised his hand, the drums stopped, and he passed on the first general order: "From now on, the military salary of all the officers and soldiers in the battalion will be increased by three thousand yuan per month."
The ordering soldier was startled and immediately showed a look of joy, but there was no such flag in the army. He waved the red flag upwards and ordered the people to get off the field and loudly conveyed the order.
In the blink of an eye, the commotion in the field turned into noise. Everyone was whispering and discussing. Everyone looked at Xia Houmao. Even the veterans felt that this person was more trustworthy than Xia Houba or even Xia Houyuan.
Xia Houmao raised his hand again, and everyone turned around in silence, wanting to hear what other orders he had.
"A certain general's order is passed down. During training, if those who can carry out the order are selected, one hundred people will be selected every day and an additional five hundred coins will be awarded. Those who complete the training within one month will be awarded ten thousand coins. Those who think they are unqualified will quit immediately, otherwise they will be suspended. Blame my military law for being ruthless.”
The ordering soldiers were shocked and hurriedly asked the soldiers to run down the field to pass the order in batches. In an instant, the field was filled with joy. Even the veterans were eager to try. Instead of being lazy and resentful, they stood up straight with their chests and heads raised.
Then Xia Houmao passed on the third general order: "If you do not act according to the order and make a mistake once, you will be fined one hundred for the second time and five hundred for the third time. If you make more than five mistakes, the military salary reward will be cancelled, and you will go on patrol with the officers." Law and order.”
As this order was passed down, the crowd was in an uproar again. There must be brave men under the heavy reward, but no one took the initiative to withdraw.
Xia Houmao had a panoramic view of everyone's expressions, sat on the commander's seat and ordered: "Beat the drums and form an array!"
Dong dong dong——
With the sound of a drum, those usually lazy veterans with strong bodies were the first to rush to the front row and stand upright with their heads held high, and the new recruits followed suit.
There were several people in the back row who had not yet found the queue and were pushing each other. Xia Houmao raised his finger and pointed at those people and said: "Fifty deductions."
The military governor immediately recorded it. Someone was dissatisfied and shouted: "The general just gave me the first warning, why did you deduct my money?"
Xia Houmao sneered and said: "You can't even form a formation, so how can you talk about training? If you don't get the general order to question the general, add fifty more."
All the soldiers were shocked. Some of them were waiting for the opportunity to threaten them. After hearing this, they quietly hid in the ranks and stood obediently. No one dared to question them anymore.
Xia Houmao selected ten veterans, each of whom received 500 troops for training. After three days, they conducted a drill and competed. The best performer was awarded 5,000 coins.
The field was full of jubilation, and the drums started to sound. The veterans took the people to choose a piece of land to start training. The morale of the whole army was high, and the shouts were loud.
Du Xi hurried to the military camp after finishing the food and grass business in the morning. He was really worried that Xia Houmao didn't know how to train soldiers. If he blamed the soldiers at every turn, it would lead to a mutiny with disastrous consequences.
Approaching the camp, he heard loud shouts from a distance. Du Xi was startled and looked up at the scorching sun. At noon, he was secretly shocked. Xia Houmao actually refused to let the soldiers eat, drink and rest, and was still training. How could this happen?
He quickened his pace and ran to the gate of the camp, only to see that the general's platform was empty. He ordered it to be placed on the archway. The orderly soldiers and supervisors had gone to rest early. Only the new recruits on the field were practicing in full swing.
"Why is this?" Du Xi was stunned at the gate of the camp, looking at this scene in disbelief. In the past, even Xia Houyuan had never seen such a grand scene during his military training.
Could it be that Xia Houmao really got the true biography of the Prime Minister and deliberately hid his clumsiness to confuse Liu Qi? Otherwise, how could he order him to run an industry in Ye County and secretly obtain a large amount of information?
It turned out that he had always been puzzled. Xiahou Ba and Cao Tai were obviously more talented generals. Why did Cao Pi appoint Xiahou Mao as the commander-in-chief of the rear army to supervise the town of Guanzhong? It turned out that he had deep intentions.
Thinking of this, Du Xi suddenly became enlightened, shook his head and laughed. This was really out of his position and not pursuing his own affairs. He left with peace of mind with his hands behind his back.
