Sima Yi said: "You are impatient, so you can't go!" He replied: "When the governor came out of seclusion, he appointed me as the vanguard. Now is the time for me to make meritorious deeds, but you don't use me. Why?"
Sima Yi said: "Although the Shu soldiers have retreated, Kong Ming will definitely arrange an ambush in a dangerous place. You have to be very careful. Only in this way will the pursuit be meaningful."
Zhang He said: "I already know, don't worry."
Sima Yi was still worried and finally reminded: "If you must go, I hope you won't regret it."
After hearing this, Zhang He laughed and said: "A man can sacrifice his life to serve the country. Even if he dies in battle, there is nothing to regret."
Sima Yi said: "Since you insist on going, then go forward with 5,000 troops and horses. Wei Ping will follow with 20,000 troops and horses to prevent the enemy from ambushing me. I will take 3,000 troops and horses. I’ll pick you up from behind.”
Zhang He received the order and quickly pursued with his troops and horses, hoping to fight a famous battle before getting too old. After less than thirty miles of pursuit, suddenly there was the sound of cannons behind him, and a group of men and horses came out of the woods, led by the leader. The general, standing on horseback with a horizontal sword, shouted: "Where are the thieves going with their troops and horses?"
Zhang He quickly turned around to see that the man was Shu general Wei Yan. Zhang He was very angry and turned around to charge. The two exchanged horses and fought for less than ten rounds. Wei Yan pretended to fail and retreated. Zhang He chased for more than thirty miles and then turned back. Look, I found that there were no ambushing soldiers and horses. I relaxed my vigilance and continued to chase with my soldiers and horses. They turned to a hillside. Suddenly, there was a loud shout and a group of people came out again. The general at the head was just about to It was Guan Xing. Hengdao stood up and held Guan Yu's Qinglong Yanyue Sword in his hand. He shouted: "Zhang He, stop chasing me, I'm right here!"
Zhang He looked very excited and turned around to fight him. After less than ten rounds, Guan Xing turned around and left. Zhang He continued to chase and came to a dense forest. Zhang He felt something was wrong and doubts arose in his heart. He stopped and sent detective horses to check around. After exploring, he found that there were no ambushing soldiers and horses. He put down his worries and chased again. Unexpectedly, Wei Yan came to the front again and fought with Wei Yan for more than ten rounds. Wei Yan pretended to be defeated again. Zhang He tried hard to catch up, but was defeated by Guan Xing. Copying in front, blocking the way, Zhang He came to fight Guanxing again, fighting for ten rounds. The Shu army threw clothes and salutes everywhere, blocking the road. When the Wei army saw this, they quickly dismounted and fought for it.
Wei Yan and Guan Xing started a wheel battle. Zhang He chased after him bravely and fought several rounds alone. At night, when they came to the wooden gate crossing, Wei Yan turned his horse's head and shouted: "Zhang He, old thief! I didn't look for you. , but you have been chasing me for so long, I will fight you to the death today!"
Zhang He became even more angry after hearing this. He rode forward and attacked Wei Yan directly. Wei Yan fought with his sword. The two fought for less than ten rounds. Wei Yan was defeated. He threw away his helmet and armor and took only a few followers with him. The wooden doorway rushed away.
Zhang He was eager to kill, and when he saw that Wei Yan had been killed and abandoned his armor, he wanted to take his life and become famous in the world, so he accelerated his pursuit.
At this time, the sky was starting to get dark. A cannon was fired, and the mountain was lit up with fire. Many stones and firewood rolled down, closing the road and cutting off Zhang He's way.
Only when he got here did Zhang He realize that he had fallen into a trap. When he was about to retreat, the road back had already been filled with debris, with only an empty space in the middle. There were cliffs on both sides. Zhang He had no way to advance or retreat, and was thinking about how to escape. Suddenly, a cannon sounded, and thousands of arrows were fired from both sides. The high-density bows and arrows shot at the Wei army, killing them and the Wei army around them. The famous general Zhang He fell.
The Wei army followed behind and found that the road in front was blocked. Knowing that Zhang He had fallen into the trap, he ordered everyone to retreat. Suddenly, they heard a shout from the top of the mountain: "Prime Minister Zhuge is here!"
Everyone looked up and saw Kong Ming standing in the light of the fire, pointing at everyone and saying: "I originally planned to kill a horse in this hunt today, but I ended up killing a deer. It was really an unexpected surprise. , you all go back with peace of mind and tell Sima Yi that he will be captured by me sooner or later."
Everyone in the Wei army went back to Sima Yi and reported the situation. Sima Yi was very sad. Yang Tianchang sighed: "I am responsible for Zhang He's death!" So he took the troops back to Luoyang and sent someone to report the news of Zhang He's death. When the court heard about Zhang He's death, Cao Rui, the lord of Wei, burst into tears and sent someone to collect his body and give him a grand burial.
At this time, Yu Yi also arrived in Xiangyang. Huang Shumin and others helped Yu Yi to wash away the dust. At the same time, they told Yu Yi about the corpse soldiers. It turned out that the corpse soldiers this time were even more terrifying and could not be killed with swords. At the same time, this kind of corpse soldiers It can also spread a virus that turns ordinary people into corpse soldiers. They are not afraid of pain and only know how to bite people.
Li Yan was in Yong'an. He had spies in the imperial court and Xiangyang. When he knew that Yu Yi had arrived in Xiangyang, he immediately rode to Xiangyang. When he met Yu Yi, he reported to Yu Yi and said, "I have prepared food and fodder according to your Majesty's request. At the same time, Transport it to the front line, I heard that the Prime Minister suddenly dispatched troops, your Majesty can ask the reason."
Yu Yi felt strange after hearing this. While he was amazed at Li Yan's well-informed information, he also had doubts. He naturally knew the news of Kong Ming's withdrawal in advance. He only thought it was because of the attack on Soochow, but Li Yan suddenly showed up to report. What was the reason for this, so he still pretended to be surprised, and sent someone to find Kong Ming to ask about the reason, while conducting an investigation of the corpse soldiers.
The envoy went to Hanzhong to meet Kong Ming and asked him about the reason. Kong Mingming was very surprised and thought to himself, Your Majesty should know that I have returned. Why did you send someone to ask? Seeing Kong Ming's silence, the envoy continued: "Your Majesty has just arrived. In Xiangyang, Li Yan went to report to your majesty that you suddenly came to class, and suggested that your majesty ask for the reason."
Only then did Kong Ming understand and explained: "Li Yan sent me a letter, telling me that Soochow was about to raise troops to attack Xiangyang. I was afraid of being attacked on both sides, so I withdrew the Northern Expedition troops in advance."
The envoy bowed and said, "There have indeed been some troops from Soochow breaking into Xiangyang recently."
Kong Ming thought for a moment and said: "Since His Majesty sent you here, he must also want to find out the reason." After that, he sent someone to find out the reason, and quickly came to the conclusion that it turned out that Li Yan was afraid of new food because he didn't have much food. The emperor and the prime minister blamed him and sent letters to the front line, asking the Northern Expeditionary Army to return. The evildoers complained first, hoping to cover up their sins.
The envoy obtained the detailed process of Kong Ming's investigation, returned to Xiangyang, and reported it to Yu Yi.
Yu Yi was furious, summoned Li Yan to him, threw the information on the ground, and said, "You actually neglected important national affairs for your own benefit!"
Li Yan picked up the information and looked at it. His face turned green. Yu Yi waved his hand and was about to behead him.
Li Yan knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, saying: "The food issue is my fault, but the soldiers and horses of Soochow are really going to attack Xiangyang!"
The envoy also came out to persuade: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Li Yan was an important minister during the late emperor's period and had a high reputation in Western Shu. Please forgive me!"
