Wei Jun defeated Ma Chao for a while, and his morale improved slightly, but Xu Huang couldn't be happy at all.
These losses were nothing more than scratching the surface for the Xiliang army. They failed to intercept and kill Ma Chao, and reinforcements were delayed. The situation was still not optimistic.
When he was worried, Xu Shu came to retaliate. Because Ma Chao sent troops privately and violated military orders, he should be beheaded according to the law. The generals pleaded for mercy, and then he was taken to Luoyang with a stick to hold him accountable.
Xu Huang was overjoyed when he heard the report and said: "Among the Xiliang army, Ma Chao is the only strong enemy. Xu Yuanzhi cut off his arm because of military discipline. God help me."
But he knew that Xu Shu was scheming and did not dare to be careless. He sent scouts to carefully monitor the enemy camp and make sure that Ma Chao was taken to Luoyang before he could rest assured.
While waiting for reinforcements to prepare for the counterattack, suddenly the governor of Hanoi, Miao Shang, hurriedly came to the camp to report the rumors from the Central Plains. Huainan's army was wiped out, all generals were captured, Cao Cao was killed in battle, and people in the territory were shocked.
"Impossible, this must be someone sent by Xu Shu to spread rumors!" Xu Huang scolded Miao Shang and said coldly: "King Ji of Wei has his own destiny. Even if he is defeated, he is still protected by Xu Chu and Cao Chun, so how can his life be in danger? ?”
At this time, the news had spread in the camp, and the Wei army was in panic. Xu Huang issued an order to strictly prohibit the army from discussing the matter.
Unexpectedly, Miao Shang came again the next day, but he brought the official document sent by Cao Pi. Xu Huang was stunned when he saw the obituary, and his mind went blank.
I remember that because of the corruption in the government, I joined the rebel army. Later, I accompanied Yang Feng on the eastward journey. At the invitation of Man Chong, I regarded Cao Cao as the hero of the world and worshiped him as the master of the Ming Dynasty.
More than ten years of vicissitudes of life, life and death, and seeing that great achievements were about to be achieved, unexpectedly, Cao Cao died in Huainan. This made Xu Huangru fall into darkness and lose his direction.
When he was at a loss, suddenly a sentry horse came to report: "Xu Shu divided his troops and marched to the Taihang Mountains to cross the river to attack the wild king."
Miao Shang was shocked and said: "This must be Xu Shu who heard that the late king was killed and took the opportunity to send troops. If the wild king is lost, Wen County will be in danger, so he must send troops to rescue him immediately."
Xu Huang calmed down and asked: "How many soldiers and horses are crossing the river?"
Tan Ma replied: "There are three thousand cavalry in the front army and 20,000 infantry in the rear army. They are building a bridge to cross the river."
Xu Huang sneered and said: "Hmph, this is a plan to lure the enemy, don't pay attention to it."
Miao Shang said anxiously: "The Wild King only has five thousand defenders, most of whom are civilian servants. If we don't rescue them, we may not be able to defend them for a long time."
Xu Huang said: "Xu Shu has many plans. Now he punishes Ma Chao, but he can't attack me, so he takes a roundabout way to capture the wild king! This is a plan to attack the wild king from the east. He wants to lure me to send troops to rescue. There will be an ambush on the road. If I go to rescue him, I will fall into his plan. !”
Miao Shang said worriedly: "If the Wild King is defeated, the defense line here will be useless. The general must guard against it."
Xu Huang snorted coldly: "There are only three thousand cavalry with no equipment, so what can I do? Although the wild king is close to Wen County, he is far away from the Han army's camp. Even if he takes the city, he will not be able to sustain food and grass, so I only need to send troops He has robbed his army of food and left his army alone, so he will be defeated if he doesn't fight."
"Congratulations, general!" Miao Shang breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the Jishui defense line was defended, it would be difficult for the Han army to penetrate deep alone and succeed.
Xu Huang ordered Miao Shang to stay in the army temporarily to appease people's hearts. Cao Cao was killed in battle, and the army's morale was shaken. It was not a good time to send troops now, so they could only wait for Cao Xiu's troops to arrive before discussing strategies to defeat the enemy.
I personally went out of the camp to see the movements of the Han army. I saw flags fluttering on the opposite river bank, dust was flying, cavalry galloping back and forth, and the sound of horse hooves was like thunder.
Xu Huang observed for a moment and saw that the cavalry formation was scattered, and the men and horses occasionally collided with the crowds. He asked, "Who is leading the troops?"
The scout replied: "This man's name is Pang De, and he is a general of Ma Chao's family."
Xu Huang frowned slightly and said thoughtfully: "Ma Chao was taken away, Ma Dai went to attack Ye Wang again, and Xu Shu led the Xiliang army as a partial general. Could it be that he deliberately deceived him?"
After observing for a while, I saw that although Pang De was strong and strong, he could not restrain the Xiliang troops, and even quarreled with several generals, so he ignored it and returned to the camp.
Miao Shang also watched for a while in front of the camp and sighed: "Since Dong Zhuo, Xiliang's army has been a nuisance to the country! Its soldiers are strong and powerful, and they are brave and good at fighting. Now they are patrolling along the river, showing off their power, and they are taking the opportunity to disturb the morale of our army!"
Xu Huang said with a smile: "The Ming Dynasty doesn't know about soldiers, how can they understand the secret? Xu Shu sent Pang De to send troops, seemingly to show off his power, but in fact it was to train troops. However, the training of soldiers and horses, the formation of the army, and the formation of the army require years and months, how can it be accomplished overnight?"
"It turns out they are training troops!" Miao Shang suddenly realized and said: "Since Ma Chao and Ma Dai are not in the army, and no one in the enemy camp is a match for the general, why not take this opportunity to cross the river, break through the enemy camp, and recapture Heyang?"
But Xu Huang shook his head and said: "Xu Shu sent Ma Dai to pretend to attack the wild king. The camp must be on guard and cannot be left lightly. It is better to wait for General Cao to arrive and then discuss it."
Miao Shang shook his head secretly. Although Xu Huang was capable of using soldiers, he was too striving for stability, hesitated and missed good opportunities. Isn't this the material to be a general?
If it had been Zhang Liao and Xia Houyuan, they would have gathered their troops and killed them across the other side. When Ma Dai turned back, they would have broken through the enemy camp and won a complete victory.
He must have suffered several losses in front of the Han army and was fearful. In addition, Zhang Liao, Le Jin, Xia Houyuan, etc. were captured successively. All the generals in the Wei camp were in danger. Xu Huang was also sad that the rabbit died, so he prioritized self-preservation.
People in the Wei camp were divided and their morale was low. Xu Huang was also deeply saddened by Cao Cao's death. He tossed and turned all night and did not fall asleep until dawn.
In his sleep, he suddenly heard the call of his own soldiers, and hurriedly put on his clothes and got up. It was already three o'clock in the morning, and he scouted the horse to report. Li Yan crossed Jishui overnight and led an army of 20,000 to attack the wild king. The guard asked for help urgently.
Xu Huang was shocked and said: "Yesterday we were still building a pontoon bridge, how could we cross the river overnight?"
The soldier replied: "They have already prepared the ferry. Building a bridge is a bluff."
Xu Huang's face changed drastically, and he frowned and said: "The false one is the real one, and Xu Shu took another step."
After hearing the news, Miao Shang hurried over and said urgently: "Twenty thousand troops are besieging the wild king. It may be difficult to hold on. The general will send troops to support quickly."
Xu Huang's face was as dark as water, and he paced back and forth in the tent, but finally shook his head and said: "Xu Shu sent 20,000 elite troops to attack the city, and Ma Dai also had 3,000 Xiliang cavalry. If we divide our troops to rescue them, they will be defeated by them with so few troops." , unless someone is close to you, you cannot be an enemy. If someone leaves the camp, Xu Shu will definitely send troops to attack the camp, and you will fall into his plan!"
"Alas, with such foresight and hesitation, when will we be able to retreat from the enemy?" Miao Shang's family members were all in the wild. Seeing that Xu Huang was still hesitant, regardless of his identity, he loudly said: "Yesterday I didn't strike first, but now I am being controlled by him. I care about one thing but not the other. General Xu is digging his own grave."
"Presumptuous!" Xu Huang was furious and said in a deep voice: "A certain person has been in the military for many years, but he doesn't know the art of war? Xu Shu is a wise man, how can you, the Confucian scholars, know what is true and what is false?"
Miao Shang was so anxious that he stamped his feet and had no choice but to plead again: "General Xu, this is not the time to argue. Reinforcement is like putting out a fire. General, please send troops quickly."
Xu Huang also knew that the situation was critical, so he took a deep breath and said slowly: "For the current plan, we have to break the boat, surround Wei and rescue Zhao, and then we can save the situation."
Miao Shang was surprised and said: "General, you want to cross the river to attack the camp?"
Xu Huang nodded and said: "Otherwise, we can't turn the tide. There are no generals in the enemy camp now. I think the Xiliang army is very disorganized. Xu Shuruo thought that because of the new death of the King of Wei, our army was too disorganized to send troops, so we were unprepared to attack him."
