Zhang Liao refused Guan Yu's invitation to fight, which was actually not what Guan Yu expected.
Guan Yu is very clear about Zhang Liao's character and abilities. If he simply agrees to a duel in a hot-headed manner, Guan Yu will be a little worried.
Zhang Liao's refusal was in line with his usual style.
However, Guan Yu didn't expect to get approval after just one invitation.
The main purpose of this gathering is indeed a gathering of old friends. After all, they are so young and live in an enemy country. Such a meeting is really a rare occasion.
Guan Yu's invitation to fight at the banquet was just an introduction, so that what he was going to do next would not appear so abrupt.
On the second day after the banquet between the two, Guan Yu rode a second-generation red rabbit horse and carried the Qinglong Yanyue Sword. He only led his own 500 swordsmen, plus one Deng Ai, and came to challenge Cao Jun's camp.
Guan Yu had no intention of letting anyone follow him, but Deng Ai used the shamelessness he learned from his master and insisted on following him. In addition, Guan Ping, Guan Xing and others were not at ease, so Guan Yu had no choice but to take Deng Ai with him. .
Guan Yu led his troops to a stop within a stone's throw outside Cao Jun's camp, and then signaled the five hundred school swordsmen to shout in unison.
"The Han general Guan Yu is here, does Zhang Liao dare to go out of the stronghold and fight to the death?!"
Five hundred swordsmen from the school shouted in unison. This sound penetrated enough into Cao Jun's camp for Zhang Liao to hear.
And Zhang Liao really wanted to pretend not to hear.
The general who is commanding the army doesn't think about how to organize his troops or how to attack the city, so he has nothing to do but engage in one-on-one combat? !
You Guan Yu made a good calculation, and I was fooled.
But the problem is that you can't let Guan Yu just stand outside and shout not to leave, otherwise Sergeant Cao will be really confused and think that he is afraid of Guan Yu.
Guan Yu's reputation has spread all over the world, and even ordinary soldiers know Guan Yu's reputation for bravery. Now he is fighting outside the camp. If he remains silent and does not fight, his morale will easily drop.
Therefore, facing Guan Yu's behavior, Zhang Liao had no choice but to lead his own bodyguards and form an array in front of the camp.
When Guan Yu saw Zhang Liao coming out, he smiled slightly, stroked his beard, and urged his horse forward.
"Wenyuan, do you dare to fight?!"
When the two armies faced off, it was no longer just old friends reminiscing, so Guan Yu didn't waste any time and asked directly.
Zhang Liao frowned slightly, looked at Guan Yu, and said loudly, "If General Guan wants to attack the city, he can just lead his troops to attack. He will fight to the death in front of the battle. How could it be done by the commander of an army?! Liao was deeply favored by the Emperor of Wei. As a member of the country, you should put national affairs first and your private name second. How can you act like an unwise and reckless person?!"
Zhang Liao spoke loudly on purpose. His purpose was not to speak to Guan Yu, but to speak to Cao's soldiers.
First of all, Zhang Liao had to define Guan Yu's one-on-one challenge as the behavior of an unwise and reckless man. This kind of behavior is not what a coach should do.
Secondly, Zhang Liao had to tell the officers and soldiers of Cao's army that he was the commander-in-chief and had important responsibilities for the country, so he had to put state affairs first. Not accepting a duel was just to put the country first and live up to the emperor's kindness.
To put it bluntly, we still need to stabilize the morale of Cao's army.
Zhang Liao is not an unknown general, and his bravery is recognized by the world. It is impossible not to admit it, otherwise Sun Shiwan will be the first to jump up and scold him.
Others may be looking for excuses to cover up when they say this, but when Zhang Liao says this, everyone is willing to believe it.
After all, it's hard to say who is stronger, Guan Yu or Zhang Liao, in a one-on-one fight.
Of course Guan Yu also understood Zhang Liao's intention, so Guan Yu just said lightly, "Wen Yuan can't do it?! Or can't do it?!"
Well, this time's excitement is somewhat interesting. At least Zhang Liao's blood pressure has risen a bit.
The disdainful attitude, the light tone, and Guan Yu's slightly squinted eyes. If Zhang Liao were ten years younger, he might have rushed forward.
But Zhang Liao was Zhang Liao after all. Among the generals with a surname other than Cao Wei, his reputation as the commander of the first group army was not just bragging.
"If you don't dare, you really can't!"
Zhang Liao slightly cupped his hands and said in a loud tone.
Guan Yu raised his head slightly, looked at Zhang Liao, and continued, "If this happens, I will wait again. When Wen Yuan is "able to fight", we will fight between life and death!"
After saying this, Guan Yu closed his eyes slightly and sat on the second-generation red rabbit horse. It seemed that his attitude of closing his eyes to rest was too arrogant.
Zhang Hu couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to fight, but Zhang Liao held him back.
How much does this kid weigh? Does the father know? !
This is a confrontation between two armies, not just drinking and reminiscing yesterday. If you dare to go up, Guan Yu will chop you off with a knife. As a father, I can't blame Guan Yu.
Another thing. Isn't it just that little thing? Guan Yu'ao is not just a day or two, so this little bit of arrogance is nothing.
Ignore him and withdraw your troops back to camp.
In this way, Guan Yu still led the five hundred swordsmen and stood outside Cao Jun's camp, waiting for Zhang Liao to fight in a duel. From sunrise in the morning to sunset in the evening, Guan Yu only summoned his soldiers and returned to the camp until the sun set in the west.
Zhang Liao just breathed a sigh of relief, but early the next morning, Guan Yu came again.
It's still the same person and horse, still followed by Deng Ai and the five hundred swordsmen, still standing a stone's throw away from Cao Jun's camp.
It was still the same routine, letting the soldiers shout for battle, while he closed his eyes and rested, waiting for Zhang Liao to respond.
Zhang Liao continued to close the stronghold and strengthen internal defense.
The third day, the fourth day of this routine, Guan Yu was still fighting outside the stronghold. The fifth day.
Well, Zhang Liao is also a little out of sorts.
Of course, on the first day of Guan Yu's challenge, Zhang Liao had already made it clear at the gate of the camp that as the coach, he could not challenge Guan Yu in a duel. At that time, it was considered a good way to calm down the morale of the army.
But Guan Yu comes every day, and as time goes by, the hearts of the soldiers will also change.
Guan Yu comes here every day, which shows that he is very confident.
Although our coach said he was doing it for the country and to live up to the emperor’s trust, but he hasn’t played for such a long time, so he’s really giving in, right? !
Really, the more people think they are smart, the more they will have this thought, and the more people think they are smart, the more willing they will be to tell others about their conjecture to show their difference and share it with future generations. Those who concoct various conspiracy theories are extremely similar.
There is no way to stop this kind of thing. The more you explain it, the easier it is for people to believe in conspiracy theories. But you can't do it without explaining it.
If this continues, the whole army thinks that Zhang Liao is afraid of Guan Yu, so he does not go out to fight in a duel. This also has a great impact on the morale of the army.
The only way to refute the rumors is for Zhang Liao to agree to Guan Yu's single-on-one challenge and decide the outcome happily.
But Zhang Liao knew that he absolutely could not do this. If he did this, the happiest person would be Guan Yu.
The martial arts between the two is only between the two. Although Zhang Liao is younger, he is already over 50 years old, so even if he has an advantage, it will not be too big.
Guan Yu's battle is not a simple martial arts competition. According to the aristocratic battle standards of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, life and death must be determined on the battlefield.
This matter seems to have pros and cons. As long as Zhang Liao can win the duel in front of the battle and kill Guan Yu, it will also be a very big blow to the morale of the Shu army.
Of course, it is impossible to expect the Shu army to retreat. After all, the current battlefield rules are no longer the same as those in the Spring and Autumn Period.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, when a general challenged a battle, the losing side had to withdraw its troops unconditionally. But now, it is no longer possible to pin the outcome of a war on the victory or defeat of a single battle between generals.
In other words, even if Zhang Liao captures and kills Guan Yu on the battlefield, it can only damage the morale of the Shu army, but cannot force the Shu army to retreat. And the troops in Zhang Liao's hands are not enough to support Zhang Liao's attack on the Shu army while the morale of the Shu army is low. counterattack.
Therefore, as long as he thinks about it carefully, Zhang Liao can find that things that seem to have pros and cons are actually not good for him at all.
Even if he kills Guan Yu, he will not be able to make the Shu army retreat. At most, it will only weaken the morale and combat power of the Shu army.
And if he loses to Guan Yu and dies on the battlefield, then the few crooked melons and dates left in Cao's army will not be able to stop the Shu army's attack.
Furthermore, no matter whether he wins or loses in a duel, Zhang Liao will never lose anything at all.
Even if Zhang Liao can defeat Guan Yu, it is impossible for him not to pay the price. Once the price he pays prevents him from commanding the defense line personally, it is impossible for the generals in his own army to be the opposite Xu Shu, Deng Ai, and Guan Ping. opponent.
Similarly, if you lose, you are no longer an opponent.
No matter how you think about it, this one-on-one challenge is very uneconomical. Why should you agree? !
To sum up, Zhang Liao made up his mind not to agree to Guan Yu's duel, but he couldn't stand Guan Yu coming every day.
Zhang Hu even made a very unkind suggestion - Guan Yu didn't lead many people anyway, and if his father didn't like it, it would be better to send out thousands of soldiers to swarm Guan Yu and kill him.
Then Zhang Hu was caught and beaten by Zhang Liao.
"Beast, are you trying to trap me into injustice?!"
While beating him, Zhang Liao angrily scolded him.
You are so stupid, how could you give birth to such an idiot son? !
Look at Guan Yu's son across from him. Even his daughter dares to disguise herself as a man and go into battle to kill the enemy. Why does his own son come up with all these shameless tricks? !
Let's not talk about Guan Yu riding a red rabbit horse. Can you surround him? Even if you can surround him, if we do this, your father's reputation will be ruined.
They come to fight in front of the battle. According to ancient etiquette, even if we don't agree, we still have to send gifts and express our apologies. Even if Guan Yu is really standing at the gate of your camp, you can't hurt him in the slightest.
This is the rule.
Although the battlefield rules of this era are completely different from those of the Spring and Autumn Period, they emphasize strategy and tact, conspiracies, and the pursuit of victory first, but there are some rules that cannot be broken.
Once a breakthrough is made, the war will become increasingly bottomless, and those who will suffer in the end will not be the nobles, but ordinary soldiers and common people.
Therefore, not only for his own heroic reputation, but also for the sake of adhering to the morality in his heart, and for the inheritance of his family. Zhang Hu must endure this slap.
He shouldn't have such thoughts in his mind. Even if he does, there should be a bottom line, that is, he can't really do it!
(End of chapter)
