Liu Bei smiled hoarsely: "It seems that he has forgotten Yide and Meng Qi. Their partial force will give Cao Cao a headache, so he asked the two military advisers to mobilize troops and generals to put the pressure on Yangping Pass as soon as possible. Zhang He could not resist and would definitely attack Cao Cao. Asking for help.”
"Yi De has learned the essence of the martial arts hall. It's natural for Cao Cao to have a headache. If he wins the first battle, let the whole army rest for two days. He will go to pretend to attack Yangping Pass on time the day after tomorrow. If Cao Cao is anxious, he will definitely cause chaos." Pang Tong calmed down and calmed down. .
"By the way, where did Song Chen go?"
When Liu Bei and Pang Tong mentioned Zhang Fei, they suddenly remembered Song Chen who was the messenger. He originally followed the Chinese army, but he had not been seen since yesterday.
Pang Tong explained: "Yesterday, Zhang He was defeated and retreated. I asked him to mix in and follow the defeated troops."
"What? This is too dangerous." Liu Bei was a little surprised.
"This is Colonel Song's request, because those followers are still in Nanzheng, and he wants to go back and bring them back." Pang Tong spread his hands to express his helplessness.
"He is indeed a loyal man." Liu Bei sighed.
"Those followers also came from the army and have a friendship with Captain Song, so I can only help him. Maybe they will help the lord defeat Cao Cao." Pang Tong comforted.
Liu Bei nodded, "Song Chen is very smart and should be able to escape unscathed, but unfortunately he is going to Nanzheng. Wouldn't it be great to follow Zhang He to Yangping Pass?"
"My lord is really..." Pang Tong and Fazheng looked at each other and smiled.
Since it was a feint attack that forced Cao Cao to come, Liu Bei ordered Fazheng, Wu Yi, and Huang Quan to guard the Dingjunshan camp, while he personally led the troops to advance from Zouma Valley to Yangping Pass in the northwest.
After Zhang He and Du Xi led the remaining troops back to Yangping Pass, they learned that Xiahou Yuan had been killed in the battle. The generals at Dingjun Mountain were horrified. They were leaderless and didn't know how to respond. News came back that Liu Bei had led a mighty army.
After discussing with Du Xi, Guo Huai jointly recommended Zhang He, the bandit general, as acting governor, and asked him to lead Cao's army at Yangping Pass to resist Liu Bei.
Although Zhang He suffered many defeats, his cautious personality was able to escape every time, which was in sharp contrast to Xia Houyuan's aggressive personality. Xiahou Yuan's defeat and death served as a foil to Zhang He.
Zhang He bravely accepted the hot potato. He clasped his fists and said to the generals inside the pass: "Thanks to everyone's trust, I will temporarily take over the post of governor. I will wait until King Wei arrives to make further arrangements. Now Liu Bei is taking advantage of the victory. Our army is now And the soldiers have no fighting spirit, can the generals have a strategy to retreat from the enemy?"
As soon as Zhang He finished speaking, the generals in the army whispered, thinking that Liu Bei was powerful and it was better to hold on if he was outnumbered.
Du Xi, the commander-in-chief of the Prince Consort, looked worried: "Although it is safe to stick to Yangping Pass, the grain road in the direction of Nanzheng will be cut off from now on. If Wudu cannot transport grain to us, the grain shortage in the pass will become a dead end. I heard that Zhang Fei and Ma Chao are still General Zilian may not have enough energy to cause chaos..."
Zhang He frowned: "Liu Bei did not cross the river elsewhere, but chose to cross the river close to Yangping. Maybe he was worried that if he crossed the river early, Xu Gongming would intercept the grain road from behind. How about Chen Bing intercept it on the north bank?"
After hearing this, all the generals were silent. At this time, Guo Huai admonished him and said: "Liu Bei came in a hurry without any boats. He must have cut down trees temporarily to build ships. If our army and Chen Bing are showing weakness in the north, it is better to be far away from the river and lure them. Liu Bei's arrogant soldiers crossed the Mian River, and then attacked him halfway across the river, and he was able to defeat it."
Du Xi also affirmed: "In this way, Gongming can transport grain from the north of Mianshui River, thus ensuring the supply problem of Yangping Pass. Even if Liu Bei cannot be defeated directly, as long as it is delayed until the arrival of King Wei, it will still be a victory."
"Bo Ji's words are very kind." Zhang He nodded frequently.
Liu Beibing arrived at the south bank of Mianshui River. Since he did not prepare a boat to cross the river, he sent people into the mountains to cut down trees and then made rafts on the riverside.
Zhang He heard this and sent Guo Huai to lead his troops in a small boat to lure him. Unfortunately, Guo Huai's plan had long been seen through by Pang Tong and Fazheng. Liu Bei's army was actually just pretending to be on the south bank.
Guo Huai's attempts to seduce him failed, so he returned to camp to report the situation to Zhang He, saying that Liu Bei was focused on building ships and was not fooled.
Zhang He frowned after hearing this: "What exactly does Liu Bei mean? It's just a battle across the river. There's no need to build large warships, right? He regards Mianshui as the Yangtze River?"
"Liu Bei's subordinates, Pang Tong and Fazheng, were both scheming. Perhaps they saw through Bo Ji and attacked him halfway across the river. Perhaps they wanted to build a warship and land together?" Du Xi guessed.
"It doesn't matter whether Liu Bei saw it through or not. As long as he doesn't cross the river, it will be beneficial to our army. Maybe the King of Wei has received the news and sent troops. As long as we can delay the arrival of reinforcements, Pang Tong and Fazheng are not worth mentioning. "Guo Huai snorted coldly.
Zhang He couldn't understand Liu Bei's intention, so he could only tell Guo Huai: "Hard work Boji is watching on the Mianshui River. Once Liu Bei's army is ready to cross the river, he will immediately notify the north bank with an order flag. He must not be allowed to land easily."
"Wei." Guo Huai nodded.
Liu Bei's army spent all day logging and building ships. Although there was a lot of fanfare, the actual shipbuilding progress was very slow. Zhang He mistakenly thought that Liu Bei was up to some conspiracy, so he asked Guo Huai to monitor him day and night. His strange behavior made Cao Jun in Yangping energetic. The pressure is huge.
At the end of December in the 23rd year of Jian'an, the news of Xia Houyuan's death in battle reached Chang'an. Cao Cao, who was warming himself in the gentle countryside, turned over after hearing the news and cursed Xia Houyuan as "General Baidi".
Sima Yi stayed in Yecheng to assist the crown prince Cao Pi, and the middle doctor Jia Xu was in the rear due to illness. Only the marching commander Shi Liu Ye followed Cao Cao to Chang'an.
Cao Cao summoned Liu Ye and told him: "Miaocai died in the battle at Dingjun Mountain. Now it is very urgent for Liu Bei to attack Yangping Pass. I must send troops to reinforce immediately. Ziyang goes to make preparations as soon as possible. We can set off soon."
Liu Ye said with a troubled look on his face: "It's cold and freezing at this time, the slopes are slippery and difficult to navigate, and the food and grass deployment in the rear is not in place. There are already places that are working hard and rebelling. It may be detrimental to rush the troops at this time..."
Cao Cao frowned and said in a deep voice: "How could I not know that the timing is wrong? However, if we don't reinforce Hanzhong, Liu Bei will gain it. How can we let this man who weaves mats and sells shoes and sells shoes succeed? Nanyang Houyin rebelled and had his son Xiao to put him down." "
"Uh... Hanzhong is short of military rations. If the army and the ration team walk along the Baoxie Road, the march may be slowed down..." Liu Ye said worriedly.
Cao Cao hammered his forehead, then said with empty eyes: "Then give up Baoxie Road to the grain team, and we will lead the army to bypass Chencang Road. I will write to Yuan Chang in a while and ask him to prepare all the military supplies. You need to keep someone in Chang'an to take care of him."
"Wei." Liu Ye nodded in response.
Liu Ye still had no confidence whether Zhong Yao could collect the food and military supplies. After all, after the deaths of Xun Yu and Xun You, Cao's army's supply lines in various theaters had been tight.
"In addition, I sent an order to Zi Lian and Zi Dan to send troops from Wudu to Yangping quickly. Zhang He and Guo Huai were so anxious in the letter that it was already precarious to reach Yangping Pass," Cao Cao continued.
"Zhang Fei and Ma Chao often cause trouble in Wudu. If the Wudu garrison leaves..."
"What are you afraid of? Zi Lian and the others have just left, and we can reach Wudu with our back legs. If Zhang Fei and Ma Chao really dare to invade, I will leave them in Wudu forever." Cao Cao replied coldly.
