Several black smoke together, whether it was the Cao army marching in the mud or the soldiers of the camp, they were all clearly visible.

Huang Zhong couldn't help but wonder: "Zhongzheng, could it be that you have laid out some ambush army?" ”

Fang Shao shook his head and smiled: "There are only so many military horses, where do I still have soldiers to ambush the army." ”

Huang Zhongqi said: "Then what does this black smoke signal mean, isn't it trying to deliberately confuse the enemy army and make it dare not enter?" ”

Fang Shao said lightly: "Don't worry, old general, you'll find out later." ”

Huang Zhong had no choice but to ask no more, just watched the changes with suspicion.

In less than half an hour, Cao's array had approached more than a hundred paces before the high ground, and was almost close to the range of the crossbowmen.

"Pass the order, the crossbowman will ......"

Before Huang Zhong's words fell, he suddenly heard that the soldiers on the southeast side were agitated, Huang Zhong didn't know why, and hurriedly drove away, standing on the high ground and looking at the southeast direction, he couldn't help but show surprise on his face.

It turned out that a water tent more than 100 zhang long was rapidly convoluting from the south, quickly submerging the west side of the riverbank.

Huang Zhong rode his horse and rushed over, pointed to the wild water, and shouted excitedly: "Zhongzheng, you are really a clever ghost, didn't you dig the embankment of the upper reaches of the martial arts water, and you can't use the water to flood the enemy soldiers?" ”

Fang Shao's face was filled with a confident smile, and only then did he share his strategy with Huang Zhong.

It turned out that last night, Fang Shao secretly transferred 300 people to ambush in the south of Wuzhang Plain, on the west bank of Wugong Water, and first loosened the river embankment, and now the signal is together, 300 people started to dig the river embankment in a few clicks, and the water of Wugong first overflowed the west bank, and then looked at the low land downstream.

Originally, this water would wash down and flood all the places downstream, but the Wuzhang Plain, where the Han army was camped, happened to be a few meters above the ground and was a few meters above the ground, so it would not be flooded.

However, Huang Zhong's initial excitement was quickly eliminated as the flood approached, and the color of worry was written on his face again, "Zhongzheng, I'm afraid your flooding strategy will not work." ”

What Huang Zhong was worried about was obviously the momentum and depth of the flood, because the water of this martial arts was originally shallow, and after digging it, it could not compare to the monstrous momentum when the Han water was dug back then, only covering the ground like a thin layer of green veil, and the flooded place was only equal to the depth of the river at most, and the deepest part was only knee-deep, obviously, such a weak water potential could not break the enemy army at all.

Sure enough, after a lag at the beginning, Cao Jun calmed down and began to continue to advance towards Wuzhangyuan.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight it hard." Huang Zhong was a little disappointed with Fang Shao's strategy, raised his knife, and prepared for a fierce battle.

Fang Shao stopped Huang Zhong and said with great confidence: "General Huang is in a hurry, I said it a long time ago, we just need to watch the excitement." ”

Huang Zhongzhong couldn't figure out where Fang Shao's confidence came from, and when he was about to say something to complain, suddenly, his eyes lit up.

Because, just under the high slope not far away, Cao Jun's formation began to change.

The enemy, who had been moving steadily, suddenly began to sink into the mud pits one after another, and this situation became more and more prominent as the flood passed, starting with ten or eight, and then dozens or hundreds of people falling into the mud pits. In order to rescue these trapped soldiers who could not move, the advance of the military formation had to slow down, and the entire formation also stagnated, and then became even more chaotic.

As a result, the enemy, who thought that he was about to be pushed to the high ground, was stuck in the mud and could not retreat.

Huang Zhong suddenly realized, and couldn't help but give Fang Shao a thumbs up, "Zhongzheng, the old man is clumsy, I really didn't expect that your plan would be so deep." ”

In fact, Fang Shao's strategy was also very simple, he didn't expect to be like the battle of Xiangfan in Dadang, a big flood to solve the five thousand enemies, what Fang Shao wanted to do was just to block the enemy's attack.

Although the flood is very shallow, if it only covers the flat ground, Cao Jun's actions will naturally not be affected much, but fortunately, Cao Jun's position is that mud, after the flood has passed, Cao Jun will not be able to distinguish those mud pits, only 'crossing the river by feeling the stones', and walking with a deep foot and a shallow foot with his head covered, then in this way, there will inevitably be people who will be trapped in the mud pit and unable to walk.

As a result, the No. 50 Cao Army was trapped in this mud, standing in place one by one and not daring to move, for fear of accidentally following in the footsteps of those unlucky comrades-in-arms, let alone continuing to attack.

The Han army on the high ground was originally nervous and ready to deal with a flesh-and-blood battle, but at this time, they were all amused by the embarrassment of the Cao army in the mud, and they put down their weapons one by one, and "gloated" to see the excitement.

Fang Shao was so proud and interested in his heart that he shouted: "Ah Shan, go and get a pot of good wine, I want to drink with General Huang and watch a monkey show at the same time." ”

Ah Shan hurriedly brought the case and good wine, and Fang Shao drank on the hillside, he was so leisurely that the soldiers under him saw it, and the military spirit became more stable.

Although the Cao army was trapped in the mud and the army formation was in chaos, the Han army could not take advantage of the chaos from the high ground, so Huang Zhong had nothing to do, so the surname Suo also got off the horse and drank happily with Fang Shao.

Lu Zhao, who fell into the mud, faced with such a predicament, had no choice but to retreat, so more than 5,000 people had to pass through the mud of the flood, covered in mud, and retreated to the east bank of the martial arts water............ Changan.

In the middle of the house, Zhong Xuan, the lieutenant of Si Li, was splashing ink, and in a moment, a few timeless and handsome big characters were written.

Zhong Xuan put down the pen, holding the character that had just been written, complacently admiring it, and after a while, he couldn't help but sigh: "This Fang Zhongzheng is so good, he invented this bamboo paper, which really opened up a vast world for the way of calligraphy, but it's a pity that such talents are actually obtained by Liu Bei." ”

Zhong Xuan was sighing with emotion, and suddenly, Yushi Gaorou hurriedly walked inside, and exclaimed: "Zhong Shizhong, you are still in the mood to write a book here, do you know that there have been traces of thieves in the south of Chang'an." ”

Zhong Xuan was taken aback, and the book in his hand couldn't help but take off his hand, and asked in surprise: "Didn't the thief army confront General Xiahou on the front line of Chencang and Xiegu, how could they suddenly appear near Chang'an?" ”

Gao Rou said: "According to the report of the post near the Meridian Valley, these thieves came out of the Meridian Valley, and there are about more than 10,000 people, and they should be thieves who stole in from Xicheng County. ”

Zhong Xuan's expression quickly returned to normal, and he frowned and said: "This is most likely Liu Bei's trick, wanting to take advantage of General Xiahou's presence in the west to raid Chang'an from the Meridian Valley." Well, the person who offered this plan is really powerful, and he can think of the strange strategy of today's adventure. ”

Gao Rou said in a hurry: "Zhong Shizhong, now is not the time to sigh, now there are less than 3,000 soldiers in Chang'an City, but there are nearly 10,000 thieves, but what should I do." If Chang'an is lost, the entire Guanzhong will be shaken. ”

Zhong Xuan was calm and relaxed, and stroked his beard and said: "Chang'an is a strong city in the world, how can it be easily captured by more than 10,000 lightly armed thief troops." You quickly gather the soldiers, hold the city, and then urgently recruit the family members of the powerful clan of Chang'an, and go to defend the city together, and those who dare not listen to the order will be killed. ”

Gao Rou was about to go, but Zhong Xuan stopped him again, and instructed: "Also, quickly mobilize the people to transport the grain from several granaries outside the city to the city, if it is really too late, burn it with fire, and do not leave a grain of rice for the thief army." This gang of thieves came from afar, they must have brought not much food, we only need to hold on for a few days, and when their food is exhausted, they don't need General Xiahou to come back to help, and this gang of thieves should collapse without a fight. ”

Zhong Xuan's calm and moderate arrangement made Gao Rou feel a lot more at ease, so he also calmed down and calmly organized the defense of Chang'an.

After hearing the news that the Han army suddenly appeared in the south of Chang'an, the entire Chang'an City was naturally shaken, but Zhong Xuan had calmed Chang'an for many years, so he naturally had its prestige, and under his arrangement, the morale of the people in the city quickly regained its calmness.

As a result, in just one day, nearly 5,000 families and tribes of the wealthy clan were recruited, and more than 8,000 soldiers defending the city were quickly deployed at the gates of Chang'an. At the same time, the 20,000 people who were in a hurry to levy the goods moved several granaries near the south of Chang'an to the empty building, and the farthest granaries in the south were burned clean because they had no time to transport.

Zhong Xuan's purpose is very simple, clear the wilderness, guard the city, and leave the rest to Xiahou Yuan or the Han army's own belly.

A day later, the banner of the Han army appeared in the south of Chang'an. However, at the same time, a group of about 2,000 cavalry was also galloping on the path to Tongguan.

The two thousand cavalrymen, all dressed in Cao's armor and clothing, marched day and night from the trail, and appeared at Tongguan, less than 100 miles east of Chang'an, in the early morning of the next day.

Although Tongguan is a dangerous pass of Xiongguan, when Ma Chao and other Xiliang warlords confronted Cao Ying, the tun army of Tongguan had reached more than 100,000 people, but now Guanzhong and Guandong are Cao Ying's territory, Tongguan in the hinterland will not be threatened in theory, so it is only stationed under the place of less than 2,000 soldiers and horses, by the tooth general Huang Ji led the early morning, the soldiers on duty found the billowing smoke and dust from the west of the city, so they rushed to the peak to report, after a while, Huang Ji with a sleepy face, led hundreds of soldiers to the city.

Through the rising Xu, Huang saw clearly that the comers were his own cavalry, so he relaxed his guard in his heart, and shouted to the friendly troops who rushed to the pass: "Which army is coming, whose general are you ordered, and what is the so-called matter of coming to Tongguan?" ”

One of the cavalry under the city rode up, and shouted loudly on his back: "The thief army broke into the vicinity of Chang'an from the Meridian Valley, and Zhong Shizhong was afraid that it would seize Tongguan, so he specially ordered me to come and reinforce it." ”

The news that the Han army appeared near Chang'an, of course, quickly spread to Tongguan, but without determining the exact news of the enemy, they only thought that it was a small group of Han troops harassing troops, even if it was really a strange army, it would be ridiculous enough to surprise attack Chang'an, let alone attack Tongguan.

Na Huang was full of disdain, and was about to interrogate the matter of customs clearance documents and tokens, when he suddenly saw a large cloud of smoke and dust on the avenue, as if thousands of soldiers and horses were killing here.

Guan Nalai's expression changed, and he shouted urgently: "The thief army is coming so fast, why don't you quickly switch and let me and others enter, and jointly guard the city, if Tongguan is a little bad, can you afford such a big crime." ”

Seeing this situation, Na Huang was also a little panicked, seeing the unknown situation on the avenue, he hesitated slightly, and then ordered to open the city gate and let this group of friendly troops enter the city.

When the drawbridge was lowered and the city gate opened, a strange smile flashed on the corner of the mouth of the horseman under the city.

(To be continued)