Yangping Pass, the sun is in the sky.

Three thousand elite soldiers have been assembled, winding into a long dragon on the narrow official road, the mountain wind is howling, and the fluttering flags are hunting in front of the formation.

Ma Yue looked up, and the shore walls on both sides of the official road were like knives and axes, and they were full of dangers.

Looking back behind them, Dian Wei and Xu Chu stood tall side by side like two iron towers, the two of them were not wearing armor, they were only wearing a straight jacket, their knotted muscles were exposed and shining with dazzling brilliance, and the two of them carried large bundles of rope on their shoulders, thick and tough hemp rope!

Ma Yue raised his right hand and waved it forward, and said coldly: "Up!" ”

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Xu Chu and Dian Wei suddenly received the order, grabbed the right side of the official road in two steps, and then used their hands and feet together, and climbed straight up the steep cliff like an ape, and in less than a moment, the figures of the two had disappeared on the cliff that stood like a cliff, and then two hemp ropes hung down from the cliff.

Ma Yue turned his gaze to Zhang Xiu, and his tone was calm: "Yuan Jin, I'm waiting for your good news in Yangping Pass!" ”

Ma Yue's weight made Zhang Xiu feel both frightened and honored, Zhang Xiu suddenly advanced into his body, and responded excitedly: "Please rest assured, the lord will never be dishonored!" ”

"Hmm." Ma Yue nodded and waved his hand lightly, "Let's go." ”

Zhang Xiu turned around abruptly and shouted to the three hundred strikers who had been carefully selected to play the front station: "Go!" ”

Zhang Xiu gave an order, and the three hundred forward dead soldiers climbed up in turn along the two hanging hemp ropes, and then hung down more hemp ropes, and the follow-up five thousand elite soldiers climbed up the cliff like a cut along these hanging hemp ropes in turn, this is three thousand elite soldiers, but also three thousand light soldiers, in addition to the weapons they carried, everyone only brought three days of dry food!

It's another gamble, a horse butcher's gamble.

It wasn't until the last soldier disappeared out of sight that Ma Yue let out a long sigh of relief, turned back to Chen Zhi and said, "Shu Zhi, lead two thousand infantry out of the pass to fight!" Remember, the bigger the momentum, the better, and it is best to have the soldiers launch surprise attacks on the Hanzhong camp from time to time, which will surely exhaust the Hanzhong rebels. ”

"The last general commands!"

Chen Zhi, who had been waiting impatiently, was overjoyed when he heard this, and turned around and walked away with a fist at Ma Yue.

……

Outside Yangping Pass, Hanzhong camp.

When Zhang Lu was restless in the tent, he suddenly heard the sound of killing outside the camp shaking the sky, as if there were thousands of troops and horses rushing out of the Yangping Pass, Zhang Lu was about to go out of the tent to inspect the end, his brother Zhang Wei had already led Yang Ren, Yang Ang and other Hanzhong generals to march in, and before saluting Zhang Wei said loudly: "Big brother, the Liang army is out of the pass to fight!" ”

"Oh?" Zhang Lu hurriedly said, "How many people are coming from the Liang army?" ”

"There are only more than 2,000 people."

"Is it cavalry or infantry?"

"Infantry."

"Huh, it's infantry?" Zhang Lu frowned for a moment when he heard this, and said in a low voice, "Didn't the horse butcher bring thousands of Xiliang iron cavalry, why didn't he send cavalry out of the pass to fight?" Could it be that he wanted to take advantage of the time when our army was out of the camp to send cavalry out of the pass to raid? Yes, it must be! ”

Zhang Wei said: "Big brother, the Liang army is too deceitful, and the younger brother asks to lead the army to battle." ”

"No." Zhang Lu shook his head and said, "The Liang army is a trick to lure the enemy, which can make the whole army strengthen its vigilance and not fight easily." ”

Zhang Weidao: "Big brother!? ”

"Second brother!" Zhang Lu's face sank, and he shouted, "Calm down, don't be impatient!" ”

……

Yang Ping closes.

Ma Yue and Jia Xu stood against the wall, a faint sly smile solidified at the corner of Jia Xu's mouth, Jia Xu turned back to Ma Yue and said: "Lord, the rebels in Hanzhong really don't dare to go out of the camp to fight. ”

Ma Yue said indifferently: "Zhang Lu is cautious, which is also expected. ”

Jia Xu looked up leisurely, looked up at the lush mountains outside the pass, and said in a low voice: "Now...... Just look at General Zhang Xiu's 3,000 strange soldiers! ”

"The army of Kannai must also prepare!" Ma Yue said this, turned back to Fang Yue and said, "Yuan reward (Fang Yue's words), give the war horse enough essence, and then make the whole army have a full meal and exhaust it early!" Wait for tomorrow, the third watch will make rice, the fourth watch will go out, and prepare for the night attack on the Hanzhong camp! ”

"Yes!"

Fang Yue clenched his fists and took the order.

……

Twilight falls.

The Liang army, which had been disturbed for a whole day in front of the pass, finally retreated to the pass, and the ears of Zhang Lu and the Hanzhong soldiers were finally rare and clean, the men and servants were busy raising the fire and making food, and the soldiers who had been nervous for a whole day returned to the tent in twos and threes, still cursing something in their mouths.

It didn't take long for the smell of rice to waft from the camp in Hanzhong.

The Hanzhong generals who were waiting for the meal did not realize that a strange army of 3,000 people was moving forward from the mountains on the right side like ghosts in the night, this group of strange soldiers was a group of ten people, tied together by a hemp rope to grope forward, occasionally a soldier would be rescued by his companions, and the rugged mountain road could not stop their progress at all.

……

The night was dark and silent.

Just after the fourth watch, the gate of Yangping Pass was quietly opened, and a group of heavily armed Liang army infantry and Xiliang iron cavalry rushed out, entered the open space in front of the pass and began to line up, all the war horses have been put on their mouths, the horses' hooves have also been wrapped in cotton cloth, and all the soldiers have been issued a ban order.

No passwords could be used, and there was no lighting, although the actions of the Liang soldiers were slow but carried out in an orderly manner, and after half an hour, the Liang army finally completed the whole team.

Under the night sky, Ma Yue slammed the seven-star sword in his hand forward, and the more than 10,000 troops behind him suddenly swept towards the Hanzhong camp like a flood that broke the embankment, but the strange thing is that the flood is moving forward silently, and the scouts of the Hanzhong army, who are thousands of steps away, did not notice the abnormality in front of Yangping Pass at all.

It wasn't until the surging Xiliang Iron Cavalry was only dozens of steps away from the Hanzhong camp that the Hanzhong scout guarding the gate discovered the anomaly by the light of the fire, however, before the poor scout could open his mouth to ask, two sharp spears had already been thrown into the air, and the cold pierced his chest.

"Uh~~"

The dying Hanzhong scout screamed bitterly and fell headlong from the gate.

A group of Hanzhong soldiers who were patrolling nearby were shocked, and in an instant, the desolate horn sound accompanied by a terrible howl rushed up from the Hanzhong camp: "Night attack, Liang army night attack......

……

Zhang Lu couldn't sleep tonight, always feeling frightened and sleepy.

When he was tossing and turning, a terrible horn suddenly sounded outside the tent, Zhang Lu was surprised and turned over and sat up, and ran out of the tent without putting on his clothes, and asked in a loud voice: "Where is the horn sound?" What's going on? ”

Under the night sky, the entire Hanzhong battalion had begun to shake, and the Hanzhong soldiers who had just been awakened from their sleep rushed out of their tents in a hurry, putting on armor on their bodies indiscriminately, and at the same time looking for their weapons everywhere, the sounds of cursing, shouting, and the screams of the soldiers falling down were intertwined.

"Division~~ Division." A pro-soldier rushed to Zhang Lu panting, "Liang~~ The Liang army attacked at night. ”

"The Liang Army Night Attack!?" Zhang Lu's face changed, and he said hurriedly, "Is it the left and right wings or the front army camp that is attacking?" ”

"Former military battalion."

"Former military battalion?" Zhang Lu hurriedly said, "Order Yang Song and Yang Bai to defend the front camp, Zhang Wei assembles the army in the Chinese army camp to prepare for a counterattack, and then orders Yang Ren and Yang Ang to lead the army to counterattack from the two wing battalions, preparing to cut off its retreat behind the Liang army!" ”

"Yes."

The soldiers agreed and took the order.

Zhang Lu's reaction is not unpleasant, and the decision he made cannot be said to be wrong, but unfortunately this time Zhang Lu's opponent is not an ordinary warlord, but a murderous horse butcher and a cunning Jia Poisoner, Zhang Lu's every step of the reaction is almost in the calculation of the horse butcher and Jia Poison!

Zhang Lu soon paid the price for his "decision", a heavy price!

The Xiliang Iron Cavalry's raid on the Hanzhong Army's camp was actually just a feint, after throwing a few rounds of throwing guns and bluffing, the three thousand Iron Cavalry immediately attacked the Hanzhong military camp on the left and right flanks in two ways, and at this time, Yang Ren and Yang Ang were ordered by Zhang Lu to lead the Hanzhong Army of the two wings of the battalion to attack, preparing to cut off the back of the Liang army.

The Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Hanzhong Army collided head-on in the dark night, after a fierce melee, the two Hanzhong armies led by Yang Ren and Yang Ang were quickly defeated, and the follow-up Liang Army infantry took advantage of the situation to attack and occupy the left and right flanks of the Hanzhong Army, and the three thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry assembled again in the middle road, and then launched an assault from the front with open fire.

When the frontal battle of the Hanzhong battalion was blazing, Zhang Xiu's 3,000 elite soldiers had already climbed down from the cliff and began to assemble in the open valley.

……

Zhang Lu's military account.

Yang Ren and Yang Ang rushed in with their heads scattered and stumbled, Zhang Lu jumped up in shock, and said in a lost voice: "Why are the two generals like this? ”

"Hit the mark!" Yang Ren said miserably, "Shijun, our army has a plan!" ”

Yang Ang said: "The last general and others were ordered by the division and the army, and led the army out of the camp to cut off the retreat of the Liang army, but unexpectedly collided with the Xiliang Iron Cavalry halfway, and when the two armies were fighting fiercely, a large group of Liang army infantry suddenly killed from the oblique back, and took advantage of the situation to attack the left and right camps, and the last general had no choice but to lead the remnants to retreat into the front army camp. ”

Zhang Lu said blankly: "How can this be? ”

Yang Song hurriedly said: "Shijun, the Liang army is attacking from the left and right flanks and the middle road, our army is already surrounded by the Liang army on three sides, the situation is critical, what should I do now?" ”

"Don't panic, everyone, the situation has not deteriorated to the point of no return, although the left and right battalions have been lost, but the entire official road is still under the control of our army, as long as the Chinese army camp and rear camp are not lost, the Liang army will still not be able to step into Hanzhong half a step!" Zhang Lu let out a cold sweat, and finally made a correct decision, "Order, immediately abandon the front camp, the whole army shrinks and guards the middle camp and the rear camp, and everything will be said after dawn." ”

Due to the loss of the left and right camps, the advantage of the concave moon robbery has disappeared, and the front army camp that was originally shrunk behind the left and right wings has been placed in the siege of the Liang army on three sides, and it is of course unwise to blindly defend it, so Zhang Lu immediately decided to shrink his forces to defend the middle army camp and the rear army camp is very correct.

If there is no Zhang Xiu's 3,000 strange soldiers, although Zhang Lu has lost some troops and the left and right wing battalions, he can still resist the enemy outside the country, but unfortunately Zhang Xiu's 3,000 strange soldiers have appeared behind the Hanzhong army, almost as soon as the Hanzhong army withdrew from the front camp, a Hanzhong colonel broke into Zhang Lu's big tent in a panic.

"Master, something is wrong!"

Zhang Lu frowned and shouted, "What's the matter? ”

The colonel said in a panic: "An elite soldier of the Liang army suddenly came out from behind, and our army was caught off guard, and the rear army camp has been lost!" ”

"What!?" Zhang Lu was taken aback and said sharply, "What did you say?" The rear army camp has been lost!? ”

The Colonel nodded weakly.

Zhang Lu's thin body shook twice, and he sat back on the seat in a dejected manner, Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, and Yang Ang generals in the tent were also pale, if the rear army camp was lost, the connection between the Hanzhong army and Nanzheng would be completely cut off, and now not to mention that the camp was guarded and the Liang army was outside Hanzhong, even the survival of the 30,000 army had become a great difficulty!

The current Liang army only needs to hold the front, rear, left and right four camps, and can trap Zhang Lu and 30,000 Hanzhong troops in this valley, especially suffocating is that all the military rations and baggage of the Hanzhong army are all stored in the rear army camp, once the rear camp is lost, the Hanzhong army will not be able to survive for two days!

Zhang Lu and the generals of Hanzhong never thought that the Liang army would suddenly appear from behind!

"It can't be!" Zhang Lu shook his head and said dreamily, "This is absolutely impossible!" The Chencang Ancient Road and the Meridian Valley Road have been defended by troops, how did the Liang army get around behind our army? Could it be that these cool soldiers can turn into birds and leap over from the lofty mountains? ”

Yang Song took a breath, tried his best to calm his mind, and persuaded: "Master, the top priority is to quickly find a way to recapture the rear camp, if there is no grain and grass in the rear camp, our army may be defeated, but I am afraid that we will not even be able to survive tomorrow!" ”

"It's over, it's all over......," Zhang Lu sighed gloomily, "At present, our army has fallen into a dead land, if we attack the rear camp with all our might, then the Liang army of the front camp and the left and right battalions will send troops to rescue, our army is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there is nothing else to do, and there is no other way to do it, alas, ......"

Yang Song said in horror: "What does Shijun mean? ”

Zhang Lu said weakly: "Surrender." ”

"No! This must not be done! Generals Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, and Yang Ang hurriedly objected, "Shijun has already been lowered once, how can he be lowered twice?" And the horse butcher has no reason to surrender, if our army surrenders, then 30,000 sons will not be able to escape the poisonous hand of the horse butcher, the master thinks twice, thinks twice! ”

"War, it is death, not fighting is death, why do you do the struggle to the death?" Zhang Lu shook his head gloomily and said, "This master has made up his mind, and he will go to the camp of the Liang army alone to beg for the horse butcher, if he can exchange the life of his master for the surname of 30,000 soldiers, then it is very fortunate, if it is not good, it is also the will of heaven, so what can I do?" ”

……

The next day, Zhang Lu, Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, Yang Ang, Yang Song, Yang Bai and other Han and Chinese officials and military generals all tied their hands and came to the Liangjun camp to beg.

The Great Tent of the Chinese Army.

After Ma Yue stood tall in the case, the military advisor Jia Xu stood behind him, and Fang Yue and Chen Zhizhu were on both sides.

Thousands of Liang army officers and soldiers, all fully armed and armed with golden blades, lined up in the open space on both sides of the big tent, leaving only a passage for a few people in the center, and amid the tsunami-like demonstrations of the Liang army soldiers, Zhang Lu led the Han Chinese military force to walk through the passage in despair and go straight to the big tent of the Chinese army in Ma Yue.

As for the tent, Zhang Lu knelt on his knees, held the official seal of Hanzhong Taishou high above the top and said to Ma Yue: "Hanzhong Taishou Zhang Lu, willing to exchange his life for the survival of 200,000 people in Hanzhong. ”

Ma Yue stared at Zhang Lu for half a pillar of incense, and the silence in the tent could be heard.

When Zhang Lu and the generals of Hanzhong were nervous, Ma Yue let out a long sigh, and then looked around at the generals on the left and right: "Those who can sacrifice themselves to save others, how can they destroy the people?" Yue Yuezhong has heard for a long time that Zhang Tianshi is strict with himself and lenient with others, and the people of Hanzhong do not raise their hands and praise the heavenly master. ”

"Heavenly Master, please get up." Ma Yue stepped forward to help Zhang Lu solemnly, and said sincerely, "The reason why Yue raised an army to attack Hanzhong is not to covet the fertile land of Hanzhong, nor to covet the wealth of the people of Hanzhong, but not to want the rich land of Hanzhong to fall into the hands of thieves and help him to abuse his ears." ”

Zhang Lu's brain was obviously unable to keep up with the rhythm of Ma Yue, and he said loudly: "Thief? ”

Ma Yue said: "The thief is not for others, but for today's Prime Minister Cao Ying!" Cao Ying's name is Han Xiang, in fact, he is a thief, since he held the Son of Heaven hostage and was fortunate to have a lot of difficulties, poor His Majesty with the respect of the Son of Heaven did not eat his belly, although the cold winter wax moon and no cold clothes, although the wind and rain were sad and lacked shelter, the thief deceived the king and recklessly, even as far as Si! ”

"Lonely under the secret edict of the Son of Heaven, raise troops to fight thieves, if the princes of the world do not obey, they will be regarded as thieves and fellow thieves." Ma Yue said this, and said to Zhang Lu without yin or yang, "Zhang Tianshi, there have been many adventures before, and there are many seas, but I believe that Heavenly Master is a wise person, and he should be able to distinguish the general trend of the world, but right?" ”

Speaking of which, if Zhang Lu still doesn't understand what Ma Yue means, then Zhang Lu is not worthy of being a warlord on one side! Zhang Lu said at that time: "Annihilation is unkind, unfilial, disloyal and unjust, abusing the Son of Heaven, ravaging the common people, everyone will be punished, the lower officials are not talented, and they are willing to fight with Lianghou!" ”

Ma Yue stroked his palms and laughed: "With the help of the Heavenly Master, things are harmonious, hahaha......"

Zhang Lu reluctantly laughed, but there was a lot of bitterness in the laughter.

Yang Ren and Yang Ang were stunned at first, stunned and then relieved, although this result was somewhat unexpected, but it was undoubtedly the best ending, the horse butcher can have such a tolerant amount, at least it shows that he is a person who does great things. It is naturally the dream of every military general to follow people who can do great things.

Yang Ren and Yang Ang knelt down and said with shame on their faces: "The last general, Yang Ren (Ang), is willing to surrender." ”

Although Zhang Wei was unwilling, surrender was the trend of the times, so he had to kneel down and echo: "The last general Zhang Wei is willing to surrender." ”

Only Yang Song and Yang Bai were pale, and they didn't dare to kneel and beg to surrender, Zhang Lu's surrender to the Liang Army was facilitated by Yang Song and Yang Bai brothers, and the brothers were also the closest and closest to the Liang Army, but in the end, it was Yang Song and Yang Bai who gave Liang Jun a fatal blow.

Yang Song thought that the horse butcher could spare everyone in Hanzhong, but he couldn't spare the two brothers, Yang Song brothers wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape, but they were defeated and captured by Zhang Lu, and this time they did not come out of their original intentions, but were forced to come. In fact, Zhang Lu forced the brothers Yang Song and Yang Bai to come and beg for surrender, but he did not save his selfish desire to sacrifice the two of them.

But once again, things were beyond everyone's expectations.

Without waiting for Yang Song and Yang Bai brothers to kneel on the ground and beg to surrender, Ma Yue had already taken the initiative to untie the brothers, and then said with a pleasant face: "These two must be Mr. Yang Song and Mr. Yang Bai. Now that I have been orphaned in Hanzhong, I have two lives, and I will have to rely on the two gentlemen to help me in the future. ”

The brothers Yang Song and Yang Bai were shocked, and it took a long time to come back to their senses, straighten their clothes, and respond excitedly: "Song (Bai) is willing to serve the work of dogs and horses." ”

On the side of the big tent, the corners of Zhang Lu's mouth twitched slightly, and from this moment on, Yang Song and Yang Bai were desperately thrown into the command of the horse butcher.

……

In October of the ninth year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (196), Hanzhong was pacified.

Ma Yue still took Zhang Lu as the Taishou of Hanzhong, Yang Song as the long history, Yang Bai as the Gong Cao Tong in charge of the political affairs, and Zhang Xiu as the general of Annan to lead 5,000 to guard Hanzhong.

In the first month of the tenth year of Emperor Jian'an of the Han Dynasty (197 years), Ma Yue led the army back to Guanzhong, and the Hanzhong generals Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, Yang Ang, etc., led 20,000 Hanzhong troops to accompany them to the north, and these 20,000 troops were not only the help of the future crusade against Cao Ying, but also the 20,000 hostages who wanted to blackmail Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.

(To be continued)