In the early morning of the next day, two troops from the southeast of the siege Chencang set up camp, and Ximen's army also weakened its offensive.
Liu Bei's army's unusual behavior suddenly made Chencang's defenders suspicious. Zhang He climbed up the tower to wait and saw Liu Bei's army leaving.
"Could this be a plan for justice?" Zhang He said to himself, stroking his beard.
General Wang Sheng answered and said: "It is rumored that Chang'an has been captured by Wei Yan. Yesterday evening I patrolled the east city wall and found reinforcements coming from the east. The banners bear the name Wei, which should be Wei Yan's army."
Zhang He raised his eyes and said, "Liu Bei has surrounded the city on three sides. Could it be that Fazheng sent troops back and forth on purpose?"
"That shouldn't be right? Liu Bei's army can be seen outside the city. Yesterday's troops and horses must not be the same. It's just that Chang'an was captured. It's unbelievable." Wang Sheng shook his head.
On the contrary, Zhang He felt that there was nothing impossible. If Wei Yan really appeared behind him, it would be normal for Xia Houmao to be unable to defend him. However, Liu Beijun's current actions were too suspicious. He had not seen him in decades of military campaigns.
"Withdrawing the troops from the two southeastern armies, leaving only more than 10,000 people at the west gate, Liu Bei wants to lure me to attack behind them and seize the city with the troops outside the west gate?" Zhang He fell into deep thought.
"General, what should we do?" Wang Sheng asked.
"We can only wait a moment." Zhang He waved his sleeves and left.
Liu Bei's troops had just withdrawn, and Chencang's city defense pressure dropped sharply. Zhang He walked down the city wall with doubts. On his way back to the government office, he received a secret report from the scouts. Xia Houru, who had passed by the north bank of the Wei River, was defeated in Chang'an at the end of last month.
Did Xiahou Mao really lose his city? Zhang He was so shocked that his scalp was numb. Shanggui in the west was controlled by Zhang Fei, and Chang'an in the east fell into the hands of Liu Bei. Now Chencang has become an isolated city. The food, grass, bows and arrows in the city are consumed less and less, and it will be impossible to transport them again in the future. Got to come in, no wonder Liu Bei didn't continue to attack the city, because it was really not necessary.
Zhang He urgently summoned the city's garrison to discuss matters, informed everyone about the problems faced by Chen Cang, and planned to cross the river from the north dock of the city as soon as possible, and then meet Cao Zhen from Longshan Road.
Zhang He's proposal was approved by everyone, but the only problem was that there were limited ships on the dock. The evacuation of Chencang's remaining tens of thousands of defenders would require at least ten trips. It was difficult to ensure that Liu Bei's men would not intercept when crossing the river, so it became Something that must be faced.
"Wu Yi and Yan Yan are stationed in the west of Chencang. Although Liu Bei leads his army to Chang'an, I'm worried that Fazheng has also left an ambush to monitor us. Once we start to cross the river in the north of the city, the troops from the east and west will attack together. If we want to To successfully cross the Wei River, people need to be restrained on both sides of the river."
Although Zhang He's voice was not loud, General Chencang heard him clearly, but no one was willing to shoulder the heavy burden.
When Wang Sheng saw Zhang He looking at him, the look in his eyes seemed to represent the general. Instead of being deliberately arranged by Zhang He, Wang Sheng took the initiative to clasp his fists and ask for help: "The last general is willing to lead people to the east to fortify, resist Liu Bei's main force before returning, and cover the main force in the city. Cross the river.”
"Although there are many soldiers and horses in the west of the city, they are all in the open. The east of the city may not be without danger." Zhang He saw that Wang Sheng deliberately chose the east, so he pointed out the dangers in the east to him. He knew that Fazheng would definitely have a backup plan. .
"General, don't worry, I won't be afraid of you." Wang Sheng said loudly, clasping his fists.
"Forget it, then I'll go to the west of the city to contain them and arrange to cross the river early tomorrow morning." Zhang He shook his head and sighed, then dispersed the tent with a wave of his hand.
At dawn the next day, the three gates of Chencang, east, west, north and west were opened, and the three groups of soldiers and horses each had their own tasks.
Zhang He brought hundreds of personal guards to Wu Yi's camp at the west gate of Chencang to challenge him. This move greatly puzzled the generals in the camp. After all, this was the first time that Zhang He took such initiative.
"The king's main force has already marched to Chang'an. The military advisor asked us to stick to this place. Zhang He actually took the initiative to attack. Is there any conspiracy? There should be quite a few defenders in the city." Wu Yi frowned and stroked his beard.
"I don't care if he has a conspiracy or not. When the soldiers come, they will block the water and use the earth to cover them up. All we need to do is mobilize our troops and horses to repel them." Yan Yan said, patting her chest.
"That's fine, even if Zhang He has a conspiracy, as long as he doesn't pursue it, he won't fall into the trap. I'll order all the battalions not to act rashly until I leave the camp to check the situation." Wu Yi ordered Zhang Yi, the general in charge.
"The last general will go and pass the message immediately." Zhang Yi cupped his fists and left the tent.
"Report, Zhang He has formed a formation in front of the camp and wants to invite us to fight." The guard outside the tent reported hurriedly.
Wu Yi snorted coldly: "Hmph, we have a large number of people now, who will fight with that coward?"
Yan Yan clasped his fists and asked for a tassel: "The invitation to fight should not be accepted. It will hinder morale. In the end, the general will ask for a fight."
"Zhang He is a famous general in Wei. The general is very old now. How can I explain to the king if there is any mistake? If we really want to fight, I will personally go to meet the enemy." Wu Yi shook his head and refused.
"Ziyuan is the general, how can we move lightly? General Huang is three years older than me, and he is still charging in front of the king. If I am really invincible, I will definitely lead the horse back to the battle." Yan Yan was not too confident.
"Okay then, remember not to force it." Wu Yi warned.
"Don't worry, Ziyuan." Yan Yan arranged her clothes and left the tent.
The two armies lined up solemnly. Wu Yifang was as majestic as a mountain because of his large number of people. On the other hand, Zhang He only had a few hundred riders, so he looked shabby in the battle, and his shouts and shouts were completely drowned out.
Zhang He dared to go out to fight because he had done his homework in advance. If Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong were here, he would never be so reckless.
After seeing Yan Yan's appearance, Zhang He couldn't help but sigh: "Old guy, I see you are almost half buried. Why are you pretending to be Huang Zhong for me here? Go and find someone else to fight."
"You guys, you dare to mention the General of the West (Huang Zhong)? I remember that you were also in Dingjun Mountain at the time. Have you forgotten Xia Houyuan?" Yan Yan replied sharply.
Zhang He's purpose today was to delay time. He had fought against Yan Yan in Danqu before, and he probably knew the level of his opponent's martial arts. He thought to himself, are you afraid of taking advantage of a leopard's courage today?
"Old Yan Yan, since you want to die, I will give you a ride." Seeing that the opponent was determined, Zhang He mounted his horse and drew his gun to fight.
"Zhang He, you man, accept death." Yan Yan held the horse's belly between his legs, raised his knife and faced it.
Zhang He didn't try his best from the beginning, so he fought back and forth with Yan Yan, thinking that he could use this old guy to delay time.
Although Yan Yan's martial arts is not weak, there is still a gap between him and Zhang He. He lost two battles in Danqu back then. Today, he discovered that Zhang He's martial arts has "declined". I think that Zhang He is almost sixty years old. It is normal for martial arts to decline in old age. , not everyone is Huang Zhong, Yan Yan is very competitive at this moment.
Zhang He saw Yan Yan "falling into the trap" and fought fiercely with the opponent, which aroused the morale of Wu Yijun's lieutenant generals. They very much hoped that there would be a Huang Zhong figure in Shu. If they could kill General Zhang He in Chencang, Liu Bei might also give him one. Heavy general?
After fighting for more than fifty years, both sides were sweating profusely. Zhang He retained some of his strength, while Yan Yan was on the verge of exhaustion.
"Our horses are already tired. Do you dare to wait for me to return to the city to change horses before fighting again?" Zhang He saw that the time was almost up, and it was a good time to take the opportunity to slip away.
Yan Yan waved her hand: "Hurry up and change your horse, I'll be waiting for you."
(End of chapter)
