In the fifth month of summer, 80,000 Xinfu troops led by Chen Chong have been running in the mountains of Bingzhou.
They first entered Pingyang from Hedong, and then crossed Huoda Mountain and Jie Mountain one after another. As soon as we entered Taiyuan County, we encountered continuous heavy rain, making the road muddy. But when Chen Chong arrived at Zhaoyu Lake and looked at the ripples on the surface of the lake under the rain, and the people around him looked blankly at Chen Chong's plain military flag, Chen Chong suddenly remembered that he had never entered Chang'an since the last time. After Bingzhou, if you think about it carefully, it has been thirteen years.
Then they went up the Fenshui River. After arriving in Jinyang, they turned around and passed through Longshan Mountain and then entered the sheep intestines. The narrow mountain forest is releasing a refreshing fragrance, and there are constantly flocks of birds circling overhead, like a dark cloud, reminding people of the upcoming battle. In addition, they are walking extremely slowly, and they don't know what the fighters ahead are like. , which made the mood of the soldiers as obscure as the hazy sky.
When they finished walking this nearly 400-mile winding mountain road and finally crossed Leitou Mountain, their eyes suddenly opened up. After the mountains separated at the pass, they quickly extended to the east and west. Looking from a distance, only the faint shadows of the mountains could be seen on both sides, highlighting the dark plains below. A few miles further north, a group of troops bearing the banner of the Western Dynasty came to meet them.
The leader, Chen Chong, was very familiar with him. He was the Cavalry Commander Meng Da who was transferred from Sili Mansion to Jinyang Ba Mansion. After being admitted to the Chinese army by the envoy, he recognized Chen Chong at a glance, and immediately rode over to pay homage and said: "Thank God, envoy, you have finally arrived!"
Chen Chong sensed something was wrong from the words and asked, "What happened? Could it be that Pingcheng was lost?"
Mengda lowered his head and replied: "General Du Liao passed away!"
Chen Chong was shocked when he heard this and immediately asked Meng Da to describe the details. Only then did he learn the cause and effect, which made him sad and relieved at the same time. Before the war, a general in the army died without fighting, which was really frustrating. However, Gongsun Zan's actions before his death did delay the Eastern offensive and gave him time to rest and regroup. For Gongsun Zan, Considering the resolute and reckless command style in the past, this is really commendable.
Now that Chen Chong knew the details of the battlefield, he no longer hesitated and immediately led his troops to the city of Mayi. It was already June Gengchen. When the two armies met, they were like rolling iron waves, with cold light overflowing. The Westerners suddenly felt courageous and shouted loudly. Chen Chong walked through the huge crowd and entered Mayi City directly.
When he met Liu Bei again, Chen Chong found that he was sitting alone in front of the table, holding his sword as if he was thinking, and his eyebrows were lowered, looking depressed. He suddenly knew that Gongsun Zan's death was a big blow to him. When Chen Chong saw this, he asked: "The sick sword still scares thieves, how can the old sword shine?"
When Liu Bei saw Chen Chong arriving, he raised his eyebrows and immediately replied: "How easy is it to kill someone? It's difficult to live alive." His tone was sonorous, his eyes were firm, and he was still the same as he was twenty years ago, except that his hair was now speckled. , revealing a lot of gray hair.
The two then discussed the next military plan. Chen Chong first asked about Liu Bei's treatment of Gongsun Zan's remaining troops. After Gongsun Zan died of illness, Liu Bei sent Zhu Hao to Zicheng to take charge of the overall situation, and left the rest of the army to Wen Ze. At this point, Liu Bei said to Chen Chong: "Wen Ze does not have enough prestige to command everyone. We still have to use some of Bo Gui's The remaining troops. I heard that Zhao Zilong is under the command of Yunchang. It is better to transfer him over now and let him and Wen Ze divide the command." Liu Bei was deeply impressed by Zhao Yun's formation to kill Cao Hong and wanted to entrust him with an important task. Naturally, Chen Chong also greatly approved of it.
Then came the treatment of the Juyang Quyi Department. Although the Quyi tribe has less than 30,000 people, it cannot be used as a large army in a field battle. However, he now occupies a dangerous position and launches a strong frontal attack. It is difficult to achieve results in a short period of time. He may have allowed Cao Cao to obtain the fighter opportunity in vain. If he ignores it, Qu Yi will endanger the flanks of the Western Army. It will be unavoidable to join forces with Cao Cao's main force in the future. Many variables arise. Liu Bei was hesitant and waited for Chen Chong to meet up, just to ask for advice on this matter.
Chen Chong laughed when he heard this and said: "If we want to fight against the evil tiger, how can we not get rid of the lackeys first?" Then he changed his expression and said solemnly: "Go, you must go! If you don't get rid of repeat thieves like Qu Yi, how can you calm people's hearts?" "The guards on the side could hear a bit of anger from it. They couldn't help but think that people like Chen Shijun were indignant towards Qu Yi, and they were afraid that this person would definitely die.
Let's go back to Qu Yi, who was stationed in front of Wangtao City. After Chen Chong arrived in Mayi, he also got the news quickly. Xia Houyuan came to discuss with him and asked him what his plans were. He didn't take it seriously at first and replied to Xia Houyuan: "Zang Hong has no food and no help. He is trapped on the plain and can still hold on for several months. Am I not as good as Zang Hong?" Obviously he plans to continue to hold on in Juyang.
But in fact, both of them knew that this was just a statement. According to Cao Cao's tactical arrangement, although it is clearly intended to win through a joint battle, Juyang is the eye on the overall situation. The existence of Qu Yi's troops determines whether the Eastern Dynasty can gain a strategic advantage, and there is absolutely no room for error. . Therefore, as soon as they received the news of Chen Chong's arrival, the two men immediately returned to Crouching Mountain and set up four ambushes in hidden areas on the side of Liuling Mountain, intending to block attacks along the way to buy themselves time.
On the way back to the army, another news came from the scouts, saying that after Chen Chong arrived in Mayi, he publicly announced to the army that he would behead Qu Yi and that he would attack the whole army soon. Qu Yi and Xia Houyuan's men were frightened, but Qu Yi remained calm and smiled at everyone: "This is just Chen Chong tricking me into withdrawing my troops. If he really wanted to attack, he would have come directly. Why did he lie? Don't you know?" Isn’t it true that the key to victory is to keep silent and to take things by surprise?”
If you think about it carefully, it is indeed true. Nowadays, it is difficult for the Western Dynasty to take care of the beginning and the end. With the layout of Crouching Tiger Mountain, even if the Western Dynasty sends 80,000 people to attack, it will be difficult to achieve results. The only thing that can be considered is to send out the entire army of the Western Dynasty, but this is too risky. If you are not careful, you will be in a dilemma and the morale of the army will be shattered. I think they came to the Western Dynasty just hoping to scare people with deception and make them retreat without a fight.
However, two days later, the scouts came again with news, claiming that after the Western Army took a short rest, they actually numbered 300,000 and lined up ten miles away to approach Juyang. Looking at its vanguard, densely covered with armor and flying cavalry, it has entered Longtan Lake at Liuling Mountain Pass. The momentum was so terrifying that only a few thousand people were left to garrison outside, while all the other tribes had already mobilized.
When Qu Yi heard this, he couldn't believe it. He guessed in his heart: "Maybe we should put up more torches and flags to scare people!" But his previous guess was wrong and he couldn't say it clearly. He could only urge the scouts to explore again and report again, and ordered Qu Guang led an ambush army to defeat his forward.
It was already late at night when the order was sent down. Qu Yi was thinking about the military situation and the war, so he watched the map in the tent and waited for news. He originally thought that the news would not arrive until dawn, but only more than two hours later, Qu Guang came back first. When Qu Yi saw that his armor was covered in dirt and dirt, his body was in a mess, and his waist was still wrapped with a piece of wound cloth, his heart suddenly sank. He immediately stood up to support him, and asked in a low voice: "How is the encounter with the enemy?"
Qu Guang replied with a hoarse voice: "The thieves opened the way with three hundred elite cavalry. When no one came to meet them, I led the crowd to attack them. However, they were unmoved and counterattacked our army. They were defeated in one attack! Our three thousand troops were defeated in one fell swoop." Of the remaining people, only a thousand or so people were able to escape.”
When Qu Yi heard about the battle, he couldn't help but be horrified. Although the people he arranged for Qu Guang were not his first veterans, they were all elite soldiers who had fought for a long time. But now they were compared to ten, and he couldn't help asking: "Who is this?"
Qu Guang replied: "Looking at the flag, it should be the 1st Light Vehicle Division of the Chinese Army, led by Ma Dai himself." Before Qu Yi could continue to think carefully, he reminded him repeatedly: "Sir, the Western Army is advancing so fast. I'm afraid we have to reach the mountain this morning!" Qu Yi was stunned when he heard this, sat back in front of the eucalyptus and looked at the map, and was silent for a long time.
Early the next morning, before Mao hour, Ma Dai's army arrived in front of Crouching Tiger Mountain. They were not in a hurry to attack. Instead, they formed formations and ate around them, treating the early troops as if they were nothing. Soon afterwards, the front troops of the Western Army were converging like a stream. In order to show their amazing power, the divisions of the Chinese Army also wore five-color flags. At noon, the sun emerged from the clouds, and the flags were displayed with the soldiers. The armors reflected each other, instantly reflecting a large dazzling array of colorful lights, making it impossible to distinguish where the person was.
Everyone under Qu Yi's command couldn't help but feel fear when they saw the great appearance of the Western Army, and they all came to ask Qu Yi about his arrangements. Qu Yi did not expect that the Western Dynasty would be so determined. He was filled with hatred and fear in his heart, so he had to go to Xia Houyuan again and said: "If there are 100,000 people, this place can still be defended, but now that the Western bandits are using all their strength, we cannot do it." I can’t resist.”
Xia Houyuan naturally heard the cowardice in it, but he was burdened with Cao Cao's heavy responsibility and felt that he could not give up easily, so he said: "You wait until I send a message to the marshal. After the marshal's handwriting arrives, it will not be too late for us to withdraw."
However, the next day, the Western Army began to spread its flanks, making a gesture of encircling Crouching Mountain. At the same time, it detached a separate army, seemingly intending to cross the Hun River and cut off the Eastern Army's retreat.
Seeing this situation, Qu Yi went to Xia Houyuan to argue, but Xia Houyuan still refused to withdraw. Qu Yi couldn't help but think to himself: I'm not seeking death by surrendering to the Eastern Dynasty. How can I sit here and wait for destruction? If he doesn't withdraw, I will withdraw. Could it be that Cao Man wants my head?
Once he made up his mind, Qu Yi no longer hesitated, and immediately ordered his subordinates to pack up their belongings and go down to Crouching Tiger Mountain that same day. By the time Xia Houyuan received the news, Qu Yi's troops had already gone five miles down the mountain. Xia Houyuan was shocked, but now that it had happened, he could no longer hold on to the mountain, so he had to set a fire in the mountain and retreat down the mountain under cover of the smoke and fire.
Seeing this situation, the Western Dynasty did not pursue them deeply, but followed them and watched the Eastern Army withdraw from Juyang, Fanzhi and Guoxian. After the Eastern Army completely entered Dai County from the Sanyin Mountain Trail, Liu Bei left 3,000 people here, led by Guo Xiu, to build Wubao to prevent the Eastern Army from entering again.
Although this battle did not involve a battle with Qu Yiyi, it could be regarded as achieving the original goal of removing the threat from the flanks. Since there was no major battle, the Western Army did not rest and reorganize, and immediately returned to Mayi to aid Pingcheng.
