After all, Xue Ze was not a qualified commander. Even as a general, he was only slightly good at martial arts.
Seeing that the Shu army did not take advantage of the situation to cover up and kill the defeated army, but was eager to snatch property, Xue Ze, after thinking for a while, ordered the gate of the village to be opened and the defeated army to go inside to rest.
Now Cao Wei's troops in Wuzhangyuan were insufficient, and Xue Ze did not want to miss any opportunity to retain his own troops.
Another thing is that the Shu army did not take advantage of the situation to cover up the enemy. If he did not let the defeated army enter the stronghold, the morale of the defenders in his stronghold would also be unstable.
So Xue Ze still put the defeated army into the camp.
As for whether there was any detail in the screening, on the one hand, Xue Ze did not think of it. On the other hand, Xue Ze believed that he did not need to keep this group of defeated soldiers for too long.
The soldiers who returned from the battle basically lost their armor and had low morale. Only a few of them could keep the Huanshou Sword in their hands. Such soldiers could not immediately join the battle.
Generally speaking, when encountering such a defeated army, although the general will gather it up, he will still send it to the rear to rest, restore morale, and replenish ordnance before using it. Xue Ze thought that if the Shu army does not attack in the past two days, he will It was too late to arrange this group of soldiers to the rear.
But Xue Ze did not realize after all that the retreating more than a thousand soldiers were mixed with nearly a hundred elite white soldiers. Zhang Xi and others did not give Xue Ze a chance to adjust again, and directly attacked the mountain road camp the next day.
On the front, Zhang Fei commanded thousands of soldiers to attack the camp, but hundreds of white soldiers inside the camp took the opportunity to cause trouble, burning the tents and food and grass, and at the same time opened the gate of the camp to cover Zhang Fei's soldiers entering the camp.
After all, Xue Ze was not the kind of general who was very good at adapting to battle situations. Faced with such changes, the only move Xue Ze made was to lead his personal guards to the gate of the village in an attempt to block the offensive of Zhang Fei's soldiers.
However, the difference in military strength is too great.
Although Xue Ze himself fought hard, he was ultimately unable to save himself. In the end, he could only escape from the camp under the protection of his personal guards.
There is a saying that being able to escape from such a situation shows that Xue Ze's martial arts skills are not bad. After all, he has to face what he has to face, but Zhang Fei personally directed the attack without any ability. Can he escape under Zhang Fei's men? !
Zhang Xi was still very sorry that Xue Ze ran away like this.
In Zhang Xi's view, Xue Ze should have packed up the remaining troops and went to the camp on Wuzhangyuan Highlands to organize defense. If he wanted to break through the camp so easily, he would not have this chance.
But the current situation is already like this, and there is no point in struggling anymore. Zhang Xi made a suggestion to Zhang Fei, allocating three thousand troops to himself and attacking the mountain road camp on the east side of Wuzhangyuan.
Now the mountain road on the west side of Wuzhangyuan has been occupied by the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Han Dynasty, and the Wuzhangyuan highland is still in the hands of Cao Wei. There is a high probability that Xue Ze has retreated to the highland camp to hold on.
So if we can take advantage of the situation to advance eastward and seize control of the mountain road on the east side of Wuzhangyuan, we can isolate the Cao army camp on the high ground of Wuzhangyuan and cut off all supply channels.
Although it is still very troublesome, and we must always be on guard against Cao's army on the Wuzhangyuan Highlands to attack and open the passage from a high position, it is better than leaving it alone.
Therefore, Zhang Xi wanted to take advantage of the defeat of Cao's army and the demoralization of the army to conquer the mountain road on the east side of Wuzhangyuan in one fell swoop, completely separating the highland of Wuzhangyuan from Cao's camp in the east area under Wuzhangyuan.
However, Zhang Xi's attack was blocked.
The distance from the mountain road on the west side of Wuzhangyuan to the mountain road on the east side of Wuzhangyuan is actually not far, just less than ten miles, and there are only two Cao Jun camps in the middle.
But Zhang Xi unexpectedly discovered that there were nearly a thousand Cao troops stationed here. This was absolutely unreasonable.
A transitional camp connecting grain and grass transportation between the east and west mountain roads would be enough to garrison with two hundred people. How could there be a thousand people? !
Zhang Xi only came here with a total of 3,000 people. It would be difficult to fight with 3,000 people against a camp garrisoned by 2,000 people.
But then, when Zhang Xi saw the generals' flags in the camp, he felt ecstatic.
That is Xue Ze's general flag.
Is this person mentally retarded? !
He actually did not go to the Wuzhangyuan highland camp to hold on, but appeared in this small camp on the middle road. What is going on? !
In fact, at this time, Xue Ze had just retreated from the mountain road on the west side. He retreated while gathering the defeated troops. He gathered seven or eight hundred defeated troops and retreated to the middle camp.
As a result, before he could take a sip of water, the Shu army came after him.
Xue Ze still had some backbone after all. Although he was panicked when facing the pursuers, he did not make any mistakes. He saw that the number of pursuing soldiers was only about 3,000. The general named "Zhang" was not that black-faced man, but It's a white-faced general who looks very weak at first glance. Let's forget it.
Xue Ze ordered his soldiers to open the gate of the village. He led nearly a hundred personal guards as the vanguard and led the soldiers of the village to attack.
Xue Ze's plan was to attack the enemy's center and disrupt the enemy's formation. Even if he could not kill the enemy general, he might be able to repel the enemy and avenge his humiliation.
This trick is no problem when facing ordinary bandits and thieves. It can even be said to be a simple and effective way to break the formation. In the early years, Xue Ze followed Xiahou Dunping to destroy the bandits in Hedong and used this trick frequently.
But if you use this method to face the regular army, it will be very risky.
But Xue Ze still chose to do this. On the one hand, he was newly defeated and his military morale was unstable. Even if he escaped again, he would just be chased and killed.
On the other hand, Xue Ze knew from one look at Zhang Xi's figure that this was not a general skilled in martial arts, but maybe just a gilded son of aristocratic family.
Maybe it can work.
Then Zhang Xi told Xue Ze that you are thinking too much.
Who is Zhang Xi! ! !
He was a man who even Zhuge Liang lamented was too cautious, and after so many years of fighting, he had extremely rich experience in leading troops. Does he still know the importance of the Chinese army's defense? !
Although Zhang Xi is related to Sun Quan, Sun Quan's passive buff and Zhang Xi's lack of the Chinese army have always been Zhang Xi's most important thing. After all, it is related to his own life.
Xue Ze and his personal guards killed some of the front army troops, but when Zhang Xi saw this posture, he immediately understood Xue Ze's intention and directly sent half of the Chinese army forward to support the front army and stabilize the rear of the front army's defense line. , began to encircle and suppress Xue Ze.
Xue Ze felt uncomfortable immediately.
If you attack, you can't attack; if you retreat, you can't retreat.
In the end, Xue Ze made a mistake in his bet. He misestimated Zhang Xi's ability and overestimated his own ability to lead troops. He led the soldiers in the camp to fight out, but when Xue Ze and his guards arrived in front of Zhang Xi's army, At that time, out of the eight hundred soldiers of Cao Cao who had left the camp to fight, only three hundred of them were still with him.
The army was originally defeated, and its morale was very low. Seeing that the general had to fight to the death instead of running away quickly. Who will die with you?
Xue Ze thought that he was somewhat confident that he had brought 800 people to the formation, but when he actually rushed to Zhang Xi's formation, there were only two to three hundred people left. Wasn't it easy for Zhang Xi to surround them? .
When Xue Ze saw the situation behind him clearly, he also sighed.
You’ve already been beaten to this point, what else can you do? !
Surrender.
These days, surrender is not a shameful thing, and Xue Ze has no intention of fighting to the death for the Wei Dynasty.
Anyway, Xue Ze is a member of the Xue family in Hedong, and the family status is there. Even if Xue Ze surrenders, Cao Wei will not make things too difficult for Xue Ze's family. The so-called strict military discipline of the Wei Dynasty is effective for the soldiers. But for the aristocratic family, that's another story.
Zhang Xi was also surprised. He didn't expect to get such an unexpected harvest in this small place.
When he attacked the mountain road on the west side of Wuzhangyuan, he failed to capture Xue Ze, but he captured the Wuzhangyuan guard general during a less important raid.
Moreover, Zhang Xi was also wondering, why did Xue Ze come to this place if he didn't obediently retreat to the Wuzhangyuan highland camp and rely on the food stored in the camp to wait for help? !
After asking Xue Ze, Zhang Xi understood what was going on.
It can only be said that God is helping. After Xue Ze retreated from the west mountain road, he never thought about returning to the Wuzhangyuan highland camp to hold on.
Because in Xue Ze's view, the Shu army occupied the mountain road on the west side and had a channel to attack the highland camp. If he continued to return to the highland camp and defended it, he would very likely become a turtle in the urn and be surrounded by the Shu army.
The location of the Wuzhangyuan highland camp was doomed. Once the army was defeated, Xue Ze would have no place to escape.
Therefore, Xue Ze decided to gather the remaining soldiers and retreat to the mountain road east of Wuzhangyuan, relying on the eastern camp behind him to continue the defense.
On the one hand, it would not be possible to retreat and be captured and killed by the Shu army. On the other hand, it would not be considered a complete loss of Wuzhangyuan. At least there would be an explanation from Guo Huai's side.
After listening to Xue Ze's explanation, Zhang Xi suddenly felt ecstatic.
Xue Ze, really, fortunately he is from Cao Wei, and he is still guarding such an important place as Wuzhangyuan. He must be in his own army. Even Zhang Xi, a captain, would not be able to trust him.
Xue Ze is indeed quite brave, but in his heart, he always prefers himself.
If the situation is advantageous, it is not a big deal to use such people, but once the situation is dangerous, Xue Ze's first thought is how to save himself.
Doesn't this person know that as long as he holds on to the high ground of Wuzhangyuan for a few days, when Guo Huai's army arrives, the Han army will never be able to attack Wuzhangyuan with just a mountain road? !
No, in fact, he knew, but he did not dare to put his life in the siege of the army.
God knows when Guo Huai will lead his troops to rescue him. What if he fails to hold on and dies in the rebel army? !
It would be safer to retreat to the mountain road on the east side.
Anyway, he has a family background behind him. As long as he doesn't make a big mistake, even if Guo Huai is convicted afterwards, it will only be a downgrade and a salary penalty, and there is still a chance for a comeback.
But if my life is gone, then there is nothing.
As for the life and death of thousands of Cao's troops in the Wuzhangyuan Highland camp, and what kind of difficult strategic situation Guo Huai would face after losing the Wuzhangyuan Highlands, these were simply not within the scope of Xue Ze's consideration.
To be honest, Xue Ze's behavior is not a big problem if you look at it from the perspective of a son of an aristocratic family seeking to marry his wife. But from the perspective of national strategy, Zhang Xi can only say that fortunately The one he cheated was Wei.
But this is fine now.
With Xue Ze in hand, Zhang Xi no longer has to attack the mountain road east of Wuzhangyuan. The top priority is to take Xue Ze to Cao Jun's Wuzhangyuan highland camp and persuade Cao Jun who is still holding on there to surrender.
Now, the battle situation became much more favorable to the big man.
(End of chapter)
