AD 198, May 12th.
The news of Liu Bei and Sun Ce's coalition attacking Xuzhou soon reached Cao Cao's ears.
At this time, the heavy rain stopped, and Cao Cao had just broken out from Huo Jun's siege. He suffered heavy losses. The army retreated thirty miles and was ready to withdraw. However, the battle failed and he was afraid of being killed. The princes of the world laughed at him, so he delayed in withdrawing.
The news from Xuzhou shocked Cao Cao.
"Liu Bei is so brave!" Cao Cao was lying on the couch, wearing his coat. "He actually dared to join forces with Sun Ce from Jiangdong to attack and kill Lu Bu and seize Xuzhou. Fengxiao, what do you think we should do now?"
Guo Jia: "Ming Gong, Lu Bu is no better than a common man. If he occupies Xuzhou, he will be captured by our army sooner or later. But Liu Bei is a powerful hero in the world and has a reputation of benevolence and righteousness. If he occupies Xuzhou and has the land of Qingzhou, he may be It is a serious harm and must be eliminated as soon as possible.”
"Well," Cao Cao nodded, "Liu Bei is now quite wealthy, and with the support of the Xuzhou nobles, he will be a serious problem in the long run."
Chen Qun immediately said: "Ming Gong, now that Hangu Pass cannot be captured for a long time, and Liu Bei is causing trouble in the rear and disrupting our army, why not withdraw the army, and after a brief reorganization, wipe out Liu Bei to avoid future troubles, and then go north to seize Jizhou and Bingzhou. Earth, when our army becomes stronger, how can Zhang Xiu resist?"
Cao Cao: "But our army is at odds with Zhang Xiu. If I send troops to destroy Liu Bei, how can Zhang Xiu stand by and watch?"
"This is easy to hear!"
Guo Jia laughed and said: "Han Sui of Xiliang has a bloody feud with Ma Chao under Zhang Xiu's tent. We can declare Zhang Xiu as the shepherd of Liangzhou and let him march into Xiliang and be unable to go west. The Xiliang area is bitterly cold and the grain output is low. , on the contrary, it lowered Zhang Xiu’s economic conditions. Although he had a horse farm, he could not afford a hundred thousand cavalry.”
"Okay, just follow the words of filial piety."
Cao Cao stood up and said, "Send the order, the army will set off tomorrow and withdraw!"
…
Hangu Pass.
After receiving the exact information about Cao Cao's withdrawal, Zhang Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.
This battle is his most difficult battle. If he persists, his food supply may be cut off. In fact, as early as half a month ago, Chang'an had exhausted the grain and grass looted from Dingxi City. The reason why it could persist now was entirely due to the grain and grass exchanged by Cai Mao from various places in Jiangdong.
Without the support of these provisions, I might have been defeated long ago.
The heavy rain has washed away the blood on the city head, and the corpses have been cleaned up. The Hangu Pass city head is still in tatters, reminding people of the cruel battles they experienced before.
Zhang Xiu, Liu Bao, Huo Jun, Gan Ning, Fazheng and others stood on the top of the city.
Huo Jun felt guilty because of his previous decision. He lowered his head and said, "My lord, in the battle the night before, I failed your lord's high expectations. Please punish me severely!" As he said that, he knelt down on the ground.
Gan Ning immediately followed him and said, "Master, I am also responsible for this battle. Please punish me."
Liu Bao also knelt down.
Zhang Xiu turned around, looked at the three generals who were kneeling, smiled gently, knelt down and helped the three of them up, and said, "The battlefield is changing rapidly. You can master the key changes on the battlefield, turn disadvantages into advantages, and successfully Cutting off Cao Cao's escape route, making him worry about his future and not daring to completely let go, is already an indispensable contribution. Being able to assess the situation and act according to the trend shows that I am not wrong about you, get up."
"Thank you, Lord!"
The three of them stood up.
"After this battle, I'm afraid Cao Cao won't be able to advance eastward in a short time. We can also take a good rest and then plan for Xiliang and Han Sui to avenge Maqiying and the others."
"Here!"
Everyone said in unison.
"Report!"
At this time, Tan Ma galloped over and climbed to the top of the city. "Reporting to my lord, I have received a letter from Chang'an. My mistress will give birth at Mao today and your son will be born."
Zhang Xiu's eyes lit up with surprise: "Yueying is pregnant?!"
"He's still a young man!"
Fazheng was so excited that he almost jumped up, his face full of excitement.
Then everyone immediately knelt on the ground and shouted: "Congratulations, lord, our army finally has a young master."
Zhang Xiu was so excited that he almost lost control. His hands were shaking with excitement. The indescribable joy was so overwhelming that it almost burst out of his chest.
"Quick! Quick! Let's rush to Chang'an."
With that said, he walked quickly down the city and asked people to prepare quickly. He couldn't wait to see his son.
At the same time, Chang'an has fallen into a carnival.
The news of the victory at Hangu Pass, the news that Han Sui's troops had withdrawn from Hetao and returned to Xiliang, and the news that his mistress had given birth to an eldest son made Chang'an excited.
A rosy color appeared on Jia Xu's face. The end of this battle meant that Zhang Xiu had completely established a foothold in Guanzhong.
Liu Ye's face was full of excitement, "Now that the battle at Hangu Pass has come to an end, the entire northwest will become the territory of our army. In a few years of development, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will no longer pose a threat to our army. After recuperating, they can leave Luoyang eastward and conquer the world." It can be determined.”
Li Ru sat on the couch next to him, drinking wine with his face flushed.
The battle was won, and the young master came to the world.
Good things come in pairs indeed.
"In two days, the lord can rush back to Chang'an. Let's prepare to welcome him. Wei Yan, Zhuge Liang, and Li Tong will also return in triumph soon. Let's prepare early." Jia Xu stood up and felt refreshed. , the voice is also louder.
"No hurry! No rush!"
Li Ru drank the wine and said, "My lord has come and has no time to pay attention to us good guys. Wait a minute. We just need to be ready to welcome Wei Yan and Zhuge Liang. As for your lord, the three of us can lead the officials to greet him. His My heart has already flown into the harem." As he said this, he burst into laughter.
"Speaking of the harem, what do you two think?" Jia Xu suddenly became serious.
Today, Zhang Xiu's women include Huang Yueying, Bu Lianshi, Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao, Liu Rui, Cai Yan who came from Hetao not long ago, Sun Shangxiang who is employed by the city, and Zou, who is unknown to outsiders.
At present, only Huang Yueying is legitimate, and no one else is.
This is not good for Zhang Xiu's reputation. He must have a status so that his descendants can have the distinction of respecting their elders.
"After this battle, let the lord marry several other ladies. This way, staying in the harem can be regarded as legitimate and will not be criticized by outsiders." Liu Ye suggested.
"What should we do about Cai Yan and Zou?" Li Ru said.
Cai Yan is remarried. In their opinion, she is not worthy of Zhang Xiu, and even being a child is a compliment to her.
The Zou family is even more difficult to deal with. She is an elder and Zhang Xiu's aunt.
"It's okay for Cai Yan, but Zou's words are too detrimental to the lord's reputation." Li Ru put down his wine glass and stood up, glancing at Liu Ye and Jia Xu. "We will wait for the lord to discuss this matter and see what can be done. Others Just wait until the lord comes and prepare to get married, the two ladies, Xiao Qiao and Liu Rui, can't hide their bellies anymore."
Jia Xu and Liu Ye laughed.
