"You want to disobey?" For the military marquis who insisted on going to battle, Huang Zhong glared at him and said, "Don't you listen to the orders of the captain?" ”

Seeing that Huang Zhong was angry, the military marquis obediently closed his mouth. He leaned on the battlement, looked at the Xiliang soldiers under the city, and secretly screamed in his heart that it was a pity, and said that if the captain agreed to fight by himself, he would definitely be able to kill these thieves without leaving a piece of armor.

Huang Zhong saw the depressed appearance of the military marquis, so he walked to his side and said to him: "To be honest, the captain of this school also wants to lead the troops out of the city to kill him. However, the lord repeatedly told him that although Li Dao and Guo Yan were mediocre in martial arts, they had a strategist under them, who was really good, and if they rushed into battle, they would fall for his tricks if they were not careful, so we could only hold on. ”

"Captain," the marquis said with a bitter face, "the grain and grass in the city can last for five days at most, if we don't repel Li Guo's thief soldiers, once the food is exhausted, we will have to withdraw from Hangu Pass." Thinking of traveling thousands of miles to come here, but the result was not an inch, so I hurriedly went back, which was really unwilling. ”

In fact, not only the military marquis thought so, but also the group of sergeants around him, and they echoed him: "Captain, we mobilized the army to such a far place, but as a result, we withdrew to Jizhou without fighting. ”

Although Huang Zhong also felt in his heart that if he didn't fight, he would collect his troops and return to Jizhou, if others talked about it, it would indeed be a bit shameless. But he kept in mind what Han Zhan said, in order to ensure that the holy car could reach Jizhou smoothly, he had to stay at Hangu Pass for more than five days. For he did not speak, but simply turned and left.

As soon as he got off the city tower, he couldn't wait to rush to the guard's mansion and said to Han Zhan: "Lord, there are thieves fighting outside the city, I don't know if I can meet the enemy?" ”

Han Zhan looked up at Huang Zhong and said strangely: "Han Sheng, didn't Ben Hou tell you that the thieves are powerful and we must not go out. When the holy car is gone, we will abandon the city and leave. ”

"But my lord, the last general heard that there was not enough food in the city, and he could only support it for about five days." Although Han Zhan said that he didn't plan to fight, Huang Zhong still said unwillingly: "It's better for us to have a fight with Li Guo and the two thieves before abandoning the pass." ”

Regarding Huang Zhong's statement, Han Zhan thought for a moment, and then said, "Han Sheng, we are staying here to ensure that the Prison Army can safely escort the Holy Driver back to Jizhou. If they rush into battle, once they fall for Jia Xu's tricks, then Hangu Pass will fall into the hands of Li Guo's two thieves, and they can send troops to pursue the holy driver......"

Although Han Zhan only stopped halfway through his words, Huang Zhong knew very well in his heart that his lord had no idea of going to war at all, so he could only withdraw from the council hall in a whisper.

Seeing that Huang Zhong was so breathless, Han Zhan's heart suddenly became a little unsteady. He got up and went out of the council chamber, and told Rob to prepare his horse, and to go with him to the west gate.

When Han Zhan ascended the city gate tower, the sergeants guarding here saluted him one after another. It just so happened that the military marquis who instigated Huang Zhong to go to war was also there, and when he saw Han Zhan waving to the sergeants, he walked over and said boldly: "Lord, there are thieves outside the city calling for battle, please let your subordinates fight." Subordinates must be ......"

Before he could finish his words, he was stopped by Han Zhan raising his hand. Han Zhan smiled and said, "This military marquis, do you really think that there are only these dozens of Xiliang soldiers in the city?" ”

When the military marquis heard Han Zhan say this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and asked rhetorically, "Will they still have an ambush?" But no, the subordinates carefully checked the surroundings, and the rest of the thieves stayed in the camp. ”

"If the thieves and soldiers are all staying in the camp, will Li Guo and the others send these dozens of soldiers out to die?" Han Zhan pointed to the hills on both sides and said to everyone: "Behind the hills on both sides, there is a faint murderous aura coming out. If Ben Hou expected it to be good, the thieves must have an ambush behind the hill. ”

Han Zhan's words made all the soldiers suspicious. But thinking that the other party was their own lord, even if they were wrong, everyone made a look of "so it is", but they were thinking in their hearts why this lord suddenly became so timid.

Just as Han Zhan turned around and was about to leave, he suddenly heard a sergeant shouting, "Look, the thieves who called the formation are gone." Han Zhan turned his head and saw that those Xiliang soldiers who were calling for battle outside the city were dragging their blades and walking back leisurely.

The marquis slammed his fist on the battlement, and said with annoyance: "It's a pity, it's a pity! ”

Han Zhan saw this reaction of the military marquis, but he was not in a hurry to leave, he stopped and said to the military marquis: "This military marquis, Ben Hou made a bet with you, if the Xiliang soldiers who called the formation returned to the camp with a stick of incense, and the ambush soldiers did not come out from behind the hills, Ben Hou would admit defeat." Tomorrow, if there are any more thieves calling for battle, Ben Hou will allow you to fight. ”

"Great, that's great." When the military marquis heard Han Zhan say this, he was immediately overjoyed, and then he lay down on the battlement, staring in the direction of the hill with wide eyes to see if there were any ambushes.

"Wait," Han Zhan saw that the military marquis was a little too happy, so he asked: "Benhou loses, so he agrees that you can fight; But what if you lose? ”

The military marquis scratched the back of his head, and said with some embarrassment: "If the subordinates lose, the subordinates are willing to obey the orders of the lord, and the lord's order is to face east, and I will never face west." ”

As soon as those Xiliang soldiers returned to the camp, a group of men and horses suddenly appeared behind the hill on the north side, and walked along the official road towards the camp in the distance. When the military marquis saw this situation, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and secretly said: "It's dangerous, it's dangerous." Because just now, not only did he want to fight, but he even instigated Huang Zhong to fight as well. If Huang Zhong really ordered his troops out of the city to attack those scolding Xiliang soldiers, he would have fallen into the siege of thieves at this moment.

Coincidentally, at this time, Huang Zhong heard that Han Zhan had come to the West Gate Tower, and he also rushed up to meet him. I happened to see the ambush soldiers coming out from behind the hill, and secretly called it a fluke in my heart, saying that fortunately, the lord resolutely refused to fight, otherwise he would fall into the trick of the thieves.

As soon as Han Zhan turned around and saw Huang Zhong standing not far away, he beckoned to him and said to him, and to everyone on the city wall: "We only need to hold on to the city for a few days, and when the holy car is gone, we can abandon the pass." Since Benhou has brought you out of Jizhou, he will bring them all back. ”

After Fu Zhu and the others left Hangu Pass, every day when they camped, they would send messengers to report to Han Zhan, saying where the car had gone. Han Zhan read the letter of frustration, and his heart became more and more unsteady. According to the original plan, the car driver can walk at least seventy or eighty miles a day, and he blocked Li Guo and the others in Hangu Pass for five days, then the car will be hundreds of miles away, even if Li Guo and the two occupy Hangu Pass and send troops to chase after it, it will be too late. But now they can only walk 50 miles a day, which means that it will take two or three days to wait for them to reach a safe distance.

Thinking of this, he ordered Rob to invite Huang Zhong and discussed with him: "Hansheng, I plan to send troops to rob the camp at night, I wonder if you can take on this important task?" ”

Huang Zhong saw that Han Zhan had made up his mind to hold on, and he had already given up his plan to fight. Hearing Han Zhan say this at this moment, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked rhetorically: "Lord, you have been unwilling to fight for the past two days, why did you attack today, could it be that something happened?" ”

Han Zhan nodded, frowned, and said, "The speed of their march is too slow, and they have only traveled a hundred miles in three days. In other words, we had to stay at Hangu Pass for two more days than originally planned before we could abandon it. I plan to send you to rob the camp tonight, not to kill many enemies, but to plunge Li Guo's army into chaos. In this way, when we abandon the pass, they will not dare to call for war again for at least a day or two. ”

Huang Zhong thought that there were only 3,000 cavalry in the city, and Han Zhan let himself rob the camp, and he would definitely not hand over all the soldiers and horses to his command, so he asked cautiously: "I don't know how many soldiers and horses the lord can give Huang?" ”

Han Zhan stretched out a finger and said, "There are limited soldiers and horses in the pass, I can only give you a thousand cavalry." ”

"A thousand is a thousand," Huang Zhong didn't expect to take all the soldiers and horses away anyway, anyway, tonight was a sneak attack, not a strong attack, there were too many soldiers and horses, but it was easy to expose his whereabouts, so he readily agreed: "The last general will definitely live up to the trust of the lord and will definitely kill Li Guo and the two thieves." ”

That night, Huang Zhong took a thousand cavalry, horses picked up bells, and people ranked, and quietly approached the camp of Li Guo's army. After removing the antlers from the outside of the village, they rushed into the camp with a loud cry. Huang Zhong led a thousand cavalry to rush left and right in the camp, not only killing those Xiliang soldiers who rushed out of the tent, but also setting fire everywhere, causing Li Guo's camp to fall into a panic.

Han Zhan, who was standing on the city tower watching the battle, looked at the fire in the camp in the distance, and couldn't help but feel sorry in his heart, if he still had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, he would definitely be able to defeat Li Guo's army tonight. It's a pity that only Huang Zhong's 1,000 soldiers and horses robbed the camp, even if Li Guo's camp is chaotic, the Xiliang soldiers who can kill and injure are very limited.

Huang Zhong led the cavalry to rush and kill in the camp for more than half an hour, and as Li Guo and others relieved themselves and gathered troops and horses to meet the attack, he turned around and returned to Hangu Pass. After Huang Zhong's soldiers and horses left, Li Dao and Guo Yan sent people to count the soldiers and horses, and found that about 5,000 people were killed and wounded.

Han Zhan saw Huang Zhong leading his troops back, and hurriedly ordered someone to open the city gate and put the suspension bridge, and welcomed Huang Zhong and others into Hangu Pass. Huang Zhong saw Han Zhan greet him at the gate of the city, hurriedly turned over and dismounted, and saluted with his fists: "The last general will see the lord!" The last general was fortunate not to be dishonored, and the camp of Li Guo's two thieves was in chaos. ”

Han Zhan looked at the soldiers and horses behind Huang Zhong and asked, "I don't know how the casualties of the soldiers were?" Huang Zhong hurriedly ordered people to count the men and horses who robbed the camp, and found that dozens of people were broken and more than 100 people were injured.

After Li Guo and the others were robbed by Han Zhan, they were afraid that the other party would come again, so they hurriedly retreated ten miles to the village. As a result, the front of Hangu Pass became deserted, and for five days in a row, no more troops were sent to challenge.

Although Li Guo and the others did not send troops to harass them again, something that caused Han Zhan's headache happened again, and the grain and grass in the pass were almost exhausted. The 3,000 defenders in the pass are all cavalry, and they can still hold out without eating for a day or two; But the war horse has no forage, how to charge?

Therefore, after Han Zhan and Huang Zhong discussed, they decided to withdraw from Hangu Pass overnight to chase after Emperor Han Xian's car.

That night, they quietly opened the east gate, and 3,000 cavalry rushed out and pursued the brigade led by Fu Zhi along the official road.

Jia Xu, who had returned from escorting grain and grass, couldn't help but be surprised when he saw the camp of Li Dao, Guo Yan and others, who had retreated ten miles from the residence. After asking about the situation, he couldn't help but stomp his feet again and again and said, "Oops, the Han family wants to escape." ”

"Want to escape?" When Li Wei heard Jia Xu say this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and asked in confusion: "Now that the holy car is in Hangu Pass, where is he fleeing?" ”

At this time, Guo Yan also came back to his senses and said to Li Dao: "Childish, we have been tricked. The soldiers and horses who robbed the camp that day were no more than a thousand. The defenders of Hangu Pass had 5,000 troops, and if the soldiers and horses were still in the city, they would have gone out of the city to meet the battle. You must know that with Lu Bu's courage and frustration's strategy, even if we have the help of Jia Junshi, we don't want to be pleased. ”

"That's right, that's right," Li Wei can get mixed up to the point where he is now, and he is not a stupid person, after being reminded by Jia Xu and Guo Yan, he immediately realized that he had fallen for Han Zhan's scheme, and hurriedly ordered people: "Come on, beat the drum and raise the account." ”

An hour later, Li Guo's army came to the outside of Hangu Pass. Jia Xu pointed to the head of the city and said to the two: "Two generals, please look, although there are flags like clouds at the head of the city, there is not a single defender in sight, it is clearly an empty pass. ”

After hearing this, Li Wei was immediately furious, and hurriedly ordered his soldiers and horses to carry bamboo ladders to the city. The soldiers came to the city wall tremblingly, set up a bamboo ladder, and climbed up step by step, fearing that a few boulders would fall. But until they climbed into the battlement, they did not see anyone throwing arrows or rolling stones.

The soldiers who went up to the city wall searched everywhere, and when they saw that they did not find the defenders, they hurriedly lowered the drawbridge and opened the city gate to let Li Guo's army enter the city.

Soon after seeing his soldiers climb the city wall, they opened the gate and lowered the drawbridge. Even if Li Wei was a fool, he knew that Hangu Pass was empty now, so he yelled: "I'm angry." Then he rode his horse towards the open gate.

The army entered the pass, and after searching everywhere, they found no one. Jia Xu said to the two: "If the two generals rescue the holy car, it is better to immediately send a cavalry to pursue, if Jia's expectation is good, day and night, it only takes one or two days to catch up with the holy car." The Han family is alone, and it will definitely not be able to stop our Xiliang Iron Horse. ”

Li Wei looked at Guo Yan and said, "I will lead 20,000 cavalry to chase after the holy driver, and you and Jia Junshi will stay in the pass." When the matter here is settled, lead the troops to join me. ”

"Lu Bu is brave," although there are many soldiers in Xiliang, Guo Yan still shuddered a little when he thought of Lu Bu, and he hurriedly told Li Dao, "You should be more careful." ”