After receiving Xiahou Yuan's request for help, Cao Cao divided his troops into three groups and advanced. The samurai held a red and gold umbrella cover in their hands. The weapons used by the soldiers on the left and right were gold melons, silver axes, stirrups, sticks, spears, and flags of the sun, moon, dragon and phoenix. There were more than 25,000 troops dedicated to guarding Cao Cao's safety. There are five teams, each with its own flag according to the five colors of green, yellow, red, white and black, which are brilliant and majestic. When the soldiers and horses left Tongguan, Cao Cao saw a very lush forest on his horse, so he asked the soldiers around him: "Where is this place?"
He replied: "It's Lantian, in the middle of the woods, it's Cai Yong Village. Now Cai Yan, the Yong girl, and her husband Dong Si live here."
Cao Cao and Cai Yong had a very good personal relationship. At that time, his daughter Cai Yan was the wife of Wei Zhongdao. She was later kidnapped by the northerners and gave birth to two sons in the north. She also wrote "Eighteen Beats of Hujia". Rumors spread to the Central Plains. Cao Cao felt that this woman's fate was very tragic, so he sent people to the north with a lot of money to redeem her. King Zuo Xian was afraid of Cao Cao's power in the Central Plains, so he returned Cai Yan, and Cao Cao betrothed her to Dong Si as his wife. He happened to be marching here for a war, and remembered what happened to Cai Yong, so he let most of his troops go first, and he With more than a hundred soldiers, he dismounted in front of the manor and called the door.
Dong Si was not at home, only Cai Yan was at home. When she heard that Cao Cao was coming, she was very surprised and hurriedly came out to greet him. When Cao Cao arrived in the hall, Cai Yan was serving tea and water. Cao Cao suddenly saw an inscription hanging on the wall. I asked Cai Yan about the pictures.
He replied: "This is the monument of Cao E. During the reign of Emperor He, there was a wizard named Cao E on it. On May 5th, he was drunk and dancing on a boat. He accidentally fell into the river and died. At that time, his daughter only had At the age of fourteen, she wept around the river for seven days and nights, and then jumped into the river. Five days later, she emerged from the river carrying her father's body on her back, and was buried by the river. This incident was widely spread. At that time, Shangyu ordered Du Shang reported to the court as a filial daughter. Du Shang ordered HD Chun to write a monument to record this incident. HD Chun was only in his thirties at the time. He did not stop and completed the work in one go. , many people thought it was strange at that time. After hearing about it, my father Cai Yong also went to see it. It was already very late at that time. Then he touched the inscription in a dark place to read it. He picked up a pen and wrote eight big characters on the back. Later, After people got the stone, they carved these eight characters."
Cao Cao then read the eight characters, which were about the young woman Huang Juan and her grandson Junjiu. After reading it, I was a little confused, so I asked, "Do you know what this means?"
He replied: "It's a legacy written by an ancestor. I really don't know what it means?"
Cao Cao looked back at the counselors around him and asked, "Does any of you know what this means?"
No one could untie it. Not long after, one person came out and said, "I already know what it means."
Cao Cao took a look and saw that the person was Yang Xiu, the chief secretary. Cao Cao said: "Don't say it yet, let me think about it." So he said goodbye to Cai Yan, led everyone out of the village, got on his horse and walked three miles. He suddenly woke up and said to Yang Xiu: "Try to say it. .”
Yang Xiudao: "Actually, it's a cryptic code. Yellow silk is colored silk. Adding silk next to the color means the word Jue. Young woman. There is a young woman next to a woman, which is a word for seconds. A grandson is a woman's son. A son is next to a woman. , is a good word, in short, it is a wonderful word."
Cao Cao laughed and said: "That's right!" Then everyone was very envious of Yang Xiu's intelligence and quick thinking.
Soon the army arrived in Nanzheng. Cao Hong greeted them and told them about Zhang He. Cao Cao knew that he was making a complaint, so he said: "It's not Zhang He's fault. Victory or defeat is a matter of military strategists."
Cao Hong continued: "Now Liu Bei sent Huang Zhong to attack Dingjun Mountain. Xiahou Yuan knew that the king had arrived, so he held on and did not fight."
Cao Cao said: "If we don't go to war, it means we are weak." So he sent people to Dingjun Mountain to notify Xiahou Yuan to march.
Liu Ye advised: "Xia Houyuan is too strong-tempered. I'm afraid he fell into a trap."
So Cao Cao personally wrote a letter and had it sent to Xia Houyuan's camp. When the envoy arrived, he handed the letter to Xia Houyuan. The content was: As the commander-in-chief, generals must pay attention to the balance between hardness and softness, and cannot rely on bravery. , it is the strength of one person to fight against the enemy. I am stationing the army in Nanzheng now just to see your talents and not to insult your name.
Xia Houyuan was very happy after reading it. He asked the envoy to go back and discuss with Zhang He: "Now that your Majesty has arrived in Nanzheng, he is preparing to attack Liu Bei. You and I have been guarding this place for a long time. How can we build our achievements? I will do it someday." We must capture Huang Zhong alive when we go into battle."
Zhang He said: "Huang Zhong is brave and resourceful, and he has Fa Zheng to help him. We cannot underestimate the enemy. The mountain road here is steep, so we can only hold on."
Xia Houyuan said: "If others have established merits, how can I go to see the King of Wei? You just guard here, and I will go out to fight." So he ordered: "Who dares to go out to lure the enemy."
Xia Houshang said: "Let me go!"
Xia Houyuan said: "When you go out to fight and fight Huang Zhong, you can only lose but not win. I naturally have a plan behind me. You can follow it."
So Xiahou Shang received the order and left Dingjun Mountain with three thousand soldiers and horses towards Dazhai.
Huang Zhong and Fazheng stationed their troops at the gate of Dingjun Mountain and challenged them many times. Xia Houyuan refused to come out and prepared to attack. He was also afraid of the dangers of the mountain road. It was difficult to predict the enemy's situation, so he could only stand still.
On this day, it was reported that Cao's army was coming down the mountain to fight. Huang Zhong led his troops to greet him. General Chen Shi said: "General, don't go in person. I will do it."
Huang Zhong was very happy and asked Chen Shi to take a thousand soldiers and horses to the mountain pass to set up a formation. They were hit with wood, artillery and stones, and they were unable to advance. When they were about to return, Xia Houyuan came out with soldiers and horses from behind. Chen Shi could not resist and was captured alive in the camp. Some of the defeated soldiers went back and reported to Huang Zhong that Chen Shi had been captured.
Huang Zhong and Fa Zheng held a discussion, and Fa Zheng said: "Xia Houyuan is very impatient. He thinks he is brave and has few strategies. You can persuade the soldiers to move forward from the stronghold, camp step by step, and lure Xia Houyuan to fight and capture him. This is a way to turn against the enemy. .”
Huang Zhong adopted this strategy and rewarded all the three armies with everything. The whole country was filled with joy and prepared to fight to the death.
Huang Zhong then moved forward, setting up camps step by step. He stayed in each camp for a few days and only had to move forward. After Xia Houyuan learned about it, he prepared to fight again.
