Just as Xiahou Ba's forward army was about to arrive at Xingshi Mountain, the Wei army's central camp led by Cao Shuang himself continued to advance south.
On this day, the sergeant hunted wild deer in the Qinling Mountains and specially prepared a pot of braised radish and venison with brassicas for Cao Shuang. Cao Shuang, who had been eating dry food with the army for half a month, naturally had a great appetite when he saw this delicacy. After having a hearty meal with two pot helmets, I suddenly felt much better. After breakfast, Cao Shuang was about to arrange for the army to continue heading south, but at this moment he heard faint shouts coming from the valley to the south.
[Note 1: Brassica is the common rapeseed today. 】
This voice sounded quite abrupt, which made Cao Shuang feel quite uneasy.
"Why is it so noisy in front?" Cao Shuang was full of doubts. He frowned slightly, pointed to the valley in the distance, and asked Ding Mi, a soldier beside him.
"General Qi, about fifty miles ahead is where Xingshi Mountain is. Listening to this sound, it seems that a fierce battle is taking place ahead!"
Ding Mi's face was solemn, and he also had an ominous premonition in his heart:
"General, do you want to send troops immediately to support General Xiahou Ba?"
After listening to Deng Yang's words, Cao Shuang understood that Xiahou Ba must have been blocked by the Shu army at the foot of Xingshi Mountain. The troops under Cao Shuang's command have been climbing over the mountains and ridges in the Tangluo Road for a month. Now they have penetrated deep into the hinterland of Luo Valley. They are in an embarrassing situation where they can neither advance nor retreat. At this moment, retreat is impossible. Yes, the only way is to move forward desperately, and maybe there is still hope of victory. He made a prompt decision and immediately agreed to the suggestion to go south for reinforcements.
Seeing that Cao Shuang had made a decision, Ding Mi and Deng Yang immediately arranged for the various army commanders in the Chinese army camp to quickly mobilize all the elite cavalry in the camp. After a rough inventory, Cao Shuang found that the only elite cavalry that could be gathered immediately at this moment was About three thousand, Cao Shuang did not dare to hesitate and issued an order to the three cavalry corps commanders to attack Xingshi quickly.
After hearing the general's order, the three cavalry units immediately rushed towards Xingshi Mountain in the south, carrying the smoke and dust.
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At the foot of Xingshi Mountain in the south, tens of thousands of forwards under Xiahou Ba's command were ambushed by the enemy in a hurry, and they were caught off guard. Originally, the Yongliang army under Xiahou Ba was a rare elite in the Wei army. If they were to go head-to-head with the elite Shu army, they would not necessarily be at a disadvantage.
However, Xiahouba's entire army did not expect that there was an ambush in the mountains from the beginning, and were not prepared for battle. In addition, many soldiers took off their heavy armors to facilitate the march and stacked them in the convoy of the baggage troops. At this time, the Shu army was waiting for work, taking it by surprise, and with the terrain advantage of Xingshi Mountain, Xiahou Ba commanded the two armies to attack the mountain twice, but they were forced back by arrows like pouring rain from the mountain.
At this time, there were loud gongs and drums on the mountain, and the Shu army was at the peak of its momentum. It was really difficult for the Wei army to gain the upper hand for a while. Xiahou Ba's eyes were venomous and he was naturally well aware of the current situation of the war. Xiahou Ba spat and swore a few curse words, but still reluctantly issued the order to temporarily withdraw twenty miles.
The Wei army quickly turned back from the original route. Liu Min and Du Jie, the generals of the Shu army on Xingshi Mountain, were the left and right generals of Zhenbei General Wang Ping. It was natural to see that although Xiahou Ba's troops were temporarily Although they were defeated, they retreated in an orderly manner and formed a strict formation, so they did not order a pursuit down the mountain.
In this way, Xiahou Ba, who had retreated temporarily, happened to meet up with the three thousand fine cavalry sent by Cao Shuang. The two teams moved in tandem and set up camps five miles apart in a manner of supporting each other.
The two armies of Wei and Shu did not dare to attack the mountain rashly on the one hand, and did not dare to descend the mountain rashly on the other hand, so there was a temporary stalemate.
For three days in a row, the two sides each sent athletes with loud voices to curse and insult the other side in front of the village gate in an attempt to lure the other side to attack first. However, the generals of both sides were obviously able to keep their composure and continued to yell and curse for several days. , each of them failed to lure even a single soldier over.
It was during the stalemate these days that Xiahou Ba discovered something strange. That is, although the commander-in-chief of "Zhenbei General Dutinghou Wang" has always been erected in the Shu camp, Wang Ping has never shown his face in front of the two armies.
Xiahou Ba has been marching and fighting all year round. He has been on the battlefield for most of his life, so he is naturally sensitive to certain things. In the past two days, he used his keen intuition to guess one thing, that is, Wang Ping, the general of the Shu Army in the north. , it is very likely that it is not in Xingshi Mountain! As for where Wang Ping went, no one knows yet.
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But it is said that Xia Houxuan led Xia Houxian, Li Sheng, Fan Can, He Kui, Le Fang, Deng Ai, Xia Houfeng, and Sima Zhao and other generals and 10,000 elite soldiers who conquered the West Prefecture. They traveled through mountains and rivers for eight days and finally arrived. Near the peak where Golden Water and Han River meet.
According to the scout information, there was actually a Shu army stationed above the Golden Guard. Xia Houxuan was surprised and immediately realized that these must be the defenders specially arranged by Zhuge Liang, who was very careful.
Xia Houxuan was not discouraged because the scouts reported that the size of this Shu army did not exceed two thousand at most, and most of them were heavy troops without armor.
According to Xiahou Xuan's speculation, Zhuge Liang should have arranged for an elite team to stay here. However, since there were no enemy troops in the Golden Guard all year round, and Shu Han had a sparse population and few soldiers, this elite team was naturally transferred to another place. The place was garrisoned.
But Xia Houxuan did not dare to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. After all, the enemy coach was Wang Ping and Wang Zijun, who was well-known, brave and resourceful. With Wang Ping's resourcefulness, he might have anticipated his plan to attack the Golden Guards. Ping was prepared in advance, but he was afraid that he would be trapped and die in the Golden Gorge, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
At this time, the Shu Han, such as Wei Yan, Wu Yi and other veteran generals who were outstanding and capable of taking charge of one side, had passed away one after another. Wang Ping, who performed mediocrely at that time, after years of hard work, his ability and prestige were increasing day by day, and he was basically second only to Jiang Wei. Not only that, I heard that the five rising stars, Wang Ping, Ma Dai, Liao Hua, Zhang Yi, and Zhang Yi, are known as the Little Five Tiger Generals, and their strength cannot be underestimated.
After Xia Houxuan thought about it again and again, he planned to quietly set up camp in a dense forest eighty miles north of Golden Guard. Of course, Xiahou Xuanba came across the mountains and rivers without any plan for a long-term confrontation. He camped here and just went down to find out the specific situation of the enemy.
Xiahou Xuan planned to leave this task to Xiahou Xianhe and Kui to carry out personally.
That night, He Guixian led a dozen Xuanjia guards and sneaked quietly to find out that there were no other enemy troops within a radius of 20 miles of Huangjin Gorge. Immediately afterwards, Xia Houxian, a brave and skilled man, quietly explored the enemy camp alone and found that the enemy army really only had a thousand light infantry and a thousand heavy baggage troops here, and the one guarding Huangjin Gorge was an unknown soldier. A lieutenant named Bian Zhong.
After Xia Houxuan heard the news, he could no longer contain his excitement. He immediately issued a general order, ordering Xia Houxian, Xia Houfeng, Sima Zhao and Deng Ai to each lead a thousand elite troops to set off immediately and take advantage of the opportunity. Sneaking quietly under the cover of night, they attacked the East and North villages of Golden Guard respectively. Xia Houxuan himself led two thousand elite troops to attack the most dangerous West village.
As for the Nanzhai, Xiahou Xuan did not arrange an attack with troops and horses, because Xiahou Xuan knew that besieging troops must be lacking. If he surrounded the Golden Garrison, the Shu army with no retreat on the mountain would definitely fight to the death and become a trapped beast. fight. But if a road is left for the soldiers on the mountain, they will have the idea of escape, and their combat effectiveness will naturally decrease.
Xia Houxuan also specially arranged for Sima Fan Can of the Zhengxi Prefecture to lead a thousand elites quietly along the mountain wall into the Grand Canyon to the west and lie in wait. This was to prevent the Golden Garrison from sending messages to Wang Ping's main force in the west.
Chief Shi Li Sheng and Joining the Army Le Fang led the remaining 3,000 Chinese troops to wait where they were, ready to respond to all parties at any time.
In this way, the seven thousand Wei troops, led by their generals, quietly moved along their respective routes. Not long after, various troops arrived at the Golden Guard. There had not been an enemy in Golden Guard for many years, and the soldiers guarding the gate had always only focused on arranging food and fodder. Therefore, Xiahou Xuan gave an order, and all troops shouted to attack the key point. At that moment, the school captain Bian Zhong and the two thousand soldiers under his command were frightened.
The Wei army, which was unprepared to attack the enemy, was now fighting like a tiger, and like a tide, it surged towards the east, west, north and west gates of the Golden Guard from all directions.
Guard Bian Zhong was only in his twenties and had just gotten married last year. He was once a young man who dreamed of winning a general and becoming a lord on the battlefield. Two years ago, because of his heroic performance in the army's crusade against the barbarians in the southwest, he was first promoted to centurion, and then he was promoted step by step, and then he climbed to the position of captain.
What he didn't expect was that the first tough battle in his life since he independently led the army would start without warning.
Bian Zhong was too young, too young to really learn how to command an army. He never developed the habit of exploring the surroundings at any time. He also had no way to learn the art of war, so when Xiahou Xuan's troops started flying birds eighty miles away, he did not even realize that the Wei army had arrived. Otherwise, he would have abandoned the pass and fled from the beginning, and gone to Lecheng to ask for help, at least he could have saved these two thousand soldiers.
But then again, with Bian Zhong's character, he would not choose to escape. He has been stationed on this mountain peak for three full years. Three years is enough for him to develop feelings for this golden garrison. He is very attached to this land, because only in Golden Guard can he experience the feeling of being respected by others.
When Xia Houxuan's 6,000-strong army attacked in three directions, fear was not the only thing in Bian Zhong's heart. Behind this fear is actually the desire hidden deep in his heart. That was his desire to become a general and a marquis when he was young. When he saw the young general in the distance who was wearing majestic and solid armor and holding a long sword like rotten silver, the desire in his heart was stimulated to the greatest extent. come out.
He longs to be that guy, and he longs to beat that guy. At this moment, what he knew more clearly was that maybe only if he defeated that person could he hope to become that person.
No one knows whether Bian Zhong hopes to become Xia Houxuan.
At this moment, the Han army, which was as red as fire, and the Wei army, which was as black as ink, were stuck together. An extremely fierce but actually no suspense battle began almost in an instant.
A series of painful roars roared past Xia Houxuan's ears, and streaks of bright red blood flowed through Bian Zhong's blade. The two of them became more and more courageous as they fought, and not long after, they met in front of the two armies.
The Shu Han's two thousand light infantry and baggage teams, which had never fought all year round, were naturally no match for the well-equipped Wei imperial guards who trained day and night. After a while, Bian Zhong's soldiers were almost slaughtered, and some of them escaped from Nanzhai. The defeated troops who turned to the west and tried to go to the Lecheng Camp for help were also intercepted and killed by a thousand elite troops under Fan Can who were ambushing in the Grand Gorge to the west.
The two young men, covered in blood and looking like Shura, stared at each other with their swords in hand.
Xia Houxuan looked at the stubborn and brave young man in front of him and the dozens of remnant soldiers behind him, and suddenly felt a trace of pity and appreciation in his heart. He finally spoke first:
"If you lose, why not surrender to me, the Wei Dynasty? You and your brothers may still have a chance of survival."
As soon as Xia Houxuan said this, about thirty people behind Bian Zhong immediately put down their long swords one after another.
Facing Xia Houxuan's surrender, Bian Zhong did not answer. He just turned his head and looked at the mountains of corpses behind him and the surrendered soldiers kneeling on the ground, feeling sick in his heart. The eyes of Bian Zhong and the three soldiers under his command who had not surrendered became more determined at this moment. He turned around and spat at Xia Houxuan:
"I am a general of the Han Dynasty, how can I sell my land for glory?"
After saying this, he waved the incomplete Huanshou knife in his hand and slashed his neck with it.
Xia Houxuan originally wanted to stop him, but it was a step too late. The three soldiers behind Bian Zhong had their eyes red at this moment. They raised their Huanshou swords and rushed towards Xia Houxuan. But as soon as they took two steps, they were stopped by Xia Houxuan. The hard crossbow of Xuan Jiawei behind Xia Houxuan shot through the throat.
Xia Houxuan stood blankly like this for half an hour.
"I report to the Commander-in-Chief that in this battle, our army killed fifty-eight people and wounded two hundred and thirty-one, beheaded a total of one thousand three hundred and twenty-four enemies, captured more than six hundred, captured three hundred rifles, and two rifles. Two hundred collars for armor, one thousand hu of rice and grain, and sixty-three sheep..."
At this moment, Xia Houxuan felt no joy at all about winning the battle. Deep in his heart, he even wanted to find a place to get drunk and cry.
Just before Xia Houxuan's soldiers had time to set up camp and rest, a scout suddenly staggered up to Xia Houxuan:
"To report to the Grand Governor, something bad has happened. Fan Sima just came to report that smoke and dust are billowing thirty miles west of the Grand Gorge, and it seems that a large group of Shu captives are invading!"
