—180 A.D.——

To the south of the road to Chencang, a team of about 20,000 people was heading west through the mountains, and because the sun had set on the top of the mountain, cold winds often blew.

"Miaocai, there seems to be a valley ahead, could it be that we have arrived at 'Chencang Road'?"

"Uh-huh...... Lord, I don't see it, it's still far away from Weishui, and I can't see Chencang County. ”

Cao Cao raised his whip and pointed to the southwest, the entrance of the valley formed by the sudden interruption of a continuous mountain range, and asked Xiahou Yuan, but Xiahou Yuan looked at it again and again, but he couldn't understand it.

"If it is not bad as expected, that place should be the 'Xiegu Road' parallel to the 'Chencang Road', which also leads to Bashu," Xun Chen's voice came from the carriage on the side: "Because it is closer to Fufeng, this trip does not have to control it." ”

"Thank you Youruo," Cao Cao arched his hand, and then raised his voice to order: "Inform the whole army that we will camp at the mouth of this sloping valley today!" ”

The herald near the Chinese army led the light cavalry, and they galloped forward and backward and in the direction of friendly troops under the banner of "Gongsun".

Weishui from west to east, through Chencang, Fufeng, and many tributaries converge, through Chang'an, and finally with Jingshui into the Yellow River, so at this time from Fufeng to Chencang road, can be said to be along the Weishui upstream.

To the north of Weishui, there is a fairly wide plain, there are many villages and towns, and it is also the place where the rebels in Liangzhou are raging, and not a few miles south of Weishui is the lofty mountains and mountains that separate Liangzhou and Yizhou, because there is no value and necessity for passage, there is not even a bridge on this section of Weishui.

Therefore, what Cao Cao and Gongsun Zhan's troops had to do was to attack Chencang with surprise troops through this inaccessible and unguarded narrow area south of Weishui, cutting off the back road of the rebels, as for the question of whether they could hold in the face of the surging counterattack of nearly 100,000 rebels...... I haven't considered it yet.

The road is inaccessible, but also contains the meaning of "this road is not passable", responsible for opening the road between the mountains and forests is Cao Cao's cavalry and the infantry led by Gongsun Zhan, also because of this, after nightfall, it is impossible to continue the march, so it is necessary to trim and wait for dawn, so Zhang Wen's so-called "starry night" is impossible to achieve.

The north of the mountain and the south of the water are all called yin, marching on the bank of this yin mountain and yin water, no matter how strict the generals are, they can't prohibit the soldiers from drinking, otherwise where will the soldiers who are shivering still have combat power at all, and at the same time, this also gives Cao Cao an excuse to feast Guan Yu - of course, Gongsun Zhan and Liu Bei are the nominal guests.

————

"This Liu Bei, it gives me a very strange impression," After camping, Cao Cao arranged a simple banquet in the big tent, and after sending a banquet invitation to Gongsun Zan again, the "stand-in" next to him said to him: "Although I want to win him over, I want to kill him." ”

"Friend or foe," Cao Cao put it in a more elegant way: "Xuande has great talents, but his ambitions are not small, so you will feel this way." ”

"Gongsun Zhan's words are limited, and he will be overstretched if he dispatches these 10,000 soldiers and horses, and he will be able to be a state guard at most in the future." "Stand-in" continued.

"Keeper of the door." Cao Cao summed it up again.

"Hey, he has a dog, you have a monkey, you can't get any better." "Stand-in" scoffed.

"Originally, I was just ......slow to react," Cao Cao sighed.

"Who said I was slow to react!" Yuan Shaoyi lifted the tent door and walked in: "I'm the first to come this time!" ”

Halfway through the march, I realized that after camping every day, the generals of the two sides would have a private banquet and drink to discuss the military, and they said that they were not slow.

"In the end, it's Guan Yu and Guan Yunchang!" The stand-in relied on Yuan Shao to hear and shouted: "I like him!" Be sure to recruit them! ”

If only it were that easy.

Due to Yuan Shao's presence, Cao Cao was inconvenient to speak to the stand-in, so he asked Yuan Shao: "Originally, what did you think of Guan Yu?" ”

"Hmm......" Yuan Shao walked straight to where he usually sat down, and after thinking about it, he said: "He is a very proud person, and he is only willing to talk to people with similar ideas, such as Yuan Rang, and for people who do not match his beliefs, he doesn't look at them at all, such as me." ”

If you don't add that last sentence, you're right...... Cao Cao shook his head secretly.

"Well, that is, if you don't know what he believes in, it's best not to expose your thoughts casually, otherwise a bad one will treat you as an enemy?" "Stand-in" concluded.

"Xiahou Yuanrang, come in response to the call." Xiahoudun lifted the curtain and walked into the big tent, looked around and bowed to Cao Cao: "I have seen the lord." ”

"Lord, if you say that he wants to plan how to attack Chen Cang, he won't come this time." Xiahou Yuan followed and walked in.

"Oh, it's reliable...... You two may be seated. Cao Cao nodded.

"Is it just now?" Yuan Shao's eyes widened: "I heard that those strategists are all 'sitting at home behind closed doors, planning from heaven', can he do it?" ”

"Hah! was despised by Yuan Shao for his IQ, and Xun Chen probably cried when he heard it. The "stand-in" laughed.

"Even a top strategist can't plan properly if he only has the name 'Chen Cang' in his hand," Liu Bei, who was dressed in light black armor, walked into the tent and lifted the curtain for Gongsun Zhan behind him: "Brother Bogui thinks the same way, right?" ”

"Hehe, no matter what kind of plan that Xun Clan talent comes up with, we will fully cooperate." Gongsun Chan laughed and walked into the tent, arching his hand and saying, "I've seen Yuan Gong, Cao Gong." ”

"Hmph......" The "stand-in" said when Cao Cao returned the salute: "I obviously robbed the qualification to be the first to enter the door, but I rolled up the curtain for Gongsun Zan in the back to show humility, it's just-ah!" It's the cloud chief!! ”

"......" Listening to the noise in his ears, Cao Cao's eyelids jumped, and he suddenly envied other people who couldn't hear the sound of the "stand-in".

"Yun Chang, you don't seem to have a good complexion, don't drink today." Cao Cao looked at Guan Yu, who followed Gongsun Zhan into the big tent, and found that his originally white face was now obviously a little red, as if the wine from the last camping banquet had not yet dissipated.

"It's okay," Guan Yu said, "Since repeated emphasis will only be more suspicious, so a certain will only say it once." ”

That seems to be Liu Bei's words? Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly.

Since they do not belong to the same army, it is natural that Liu Bei and Guan Yu have been together for a longer time, and the distance is the biggest obstacle that the "stand-in" wants to recruit.

"Oh? It's okay, then you have to have another drink with me today! Since all the guests had already arrived and taken their seats, Dian Wei also walked in and laughed at Guan Yu.

"Nature." Guan Yu also smiled.

At the same time, several auxiliary soldiers also began to shuttle through the pouring of wine and cloth dishes.

Maybe you have enough personal charm, during the banquet, Cao Cao thought when he toasted Liu Bei: But there are many attractive people on my side.

————

The next day, the allied forces of the two sides set up camp and continued to march towards Chencang.

It is said that Xun Chen heard Yuan Shao's statement, and changed the policy of "gradually reducing drinking as you approach Chen Cang" to "prohibit drinking from today", which made Yuan Shao angrily shout, "Strategists really have clairvoyance and ears".

But the fact that alcohol should not be consumed during the march was only a stopgap measure to ward off the cold, and the soldiers and low-ranking generals were satisfied with the fact that they had more loose food to warm up and take at any time.

Two armies of 10,000 men—Gongsun Zhan and Cao Cao's troops—could be stationed together, but they had to be separated to avoid confusion during the march—and had just left the valley when he saw two groups of thousands of men coming from the west, almost making Cao Cao think that this secret march had been discovered by the rebels and attacked.

"My lord," Xiahou Yuan, who directly resisted the scout on the side, looked at him from a distance and said, "I think it seems that a group of Qiang cavalry is chasing and killing Han people - well, it can't be called chasing, they just cut down and dragged away." ”

"This ......" Cao Cao only thought for a moment, and then made a decision: "Order Yuan Rang to lead the cavalry to attack!" At all costs, be sure to leave that Qiang cavalry behind! Whatever they are after them, our operation must not be discovered. ”

After the order was quickly conveyed, the Turat directly bypassed the fleeing Han people and attacked the Qiang cavalry from the flank, who had hesitated to move forward because they had discovered unexpected "reinforcements".

At the same time, Gongsun Zhan's handsome banner also moved, and he personally led his subordinate Three Rivers Knights to encircle the Qiang cavalry from the other side.

As if there was a tacit understanding, both teams left their infantry to guide the fleeing Han people to the rear of the formation, and at the same time set up a position to resist the cavalry that did not slow down and killed directly.

At this time, Liu Bei's arrangements for this battle also reached Cao Cao's side: "In order to protect the innocent people who fled and ensure that they will not be retaliated against afterwards, we must completely destroy this cavalry, and do whatever it takes to do so!" ”

"This is really-" Cao Cao shook his head again and again, and showed the information that recorded these words to Xiahou Yuan and Dian Wei, and finally passed it on to Xun Chen in the car.

"Wow...... If you had talked to me like this, my lord, I would never have gone with you. Dian Wei touched his bald head and said.

"Your writing needs to be improved." "Stand-in" scoffed.

"His ambition is not small." Xun Chen did not make any further comments.

"Oooh! Brother Dian kills more! On the contrary, Xiahou Yuan didn't care what Liu Bei said.

Cavalry assault, what is needed is a steady stream of impact and the momentum of ten thousand horses galloping, as the Qiang light cavalry was horizontally chiseled through by Xiahoudun and Gongsun Zhan, the follow-up offensive was interrupted, and the cavalry of the Qiang people's front army, which was still chasing Han people, completely lost its mobility after knocking over the infantry array, and was defeated by Guan Yu, Dian Wei, Yuan Shao (?) led a large number of infantry to be easily slaughtered, and not a single one of them escaped from the rear surrounded by cavalry.

At all costs, the loss is ...... When tidying up the battlefield, Cao Cao found that of his 20,000 troops, only nearly 14,000 were still intact.

After all, it was a hastily prepared encounter, the Knights of the Three Rivers failed to form a formation, and most of the Turquoise cavalry were not armoured, so it was already good to have this result, but even if all the talisman water and golden sore medicine they carried were used, they could at most recover another two thousand combat power - the long-distance attack did not carry too many healing supplies, and was originally prepared to be replenished near Chencang.

Do you want to let them recuperate in the valley for a while? Cao Cao was thinking about it, but he saw that some of the people who had been spared and fled towards the valley had turned back and began to draw their own talismans to boil water to treat the wounded soldiers, which made him a little surprised, so he ordered Dian Wei to call the leader.

"Thank you General Cao for the rescue, under the name Zhang Jue, and the great sage and good teacher have some distant relatives, was appointed as the altar master of the Taiping Road Fufeng near the altar, because the Qiang people want to force to seize the Fu Shui, I have to take all the Taoist friends to escape, I don't want to be hunted down." The leader was a simple-looking young man of about twenty-five or sixteen, dressed in a pale yellow robe with no obvious signs, and held several talismans in his hands.

Because of Zuo Ci, Cao Cao didn't have a very good impression of Taoists, and said directly: "You go and return, but do you have a request for this general?" ”

"I dare to guess that the general led his troops to capture Chencang, and if there were too many soldiers, it would be inconvenient, so he led his fellow Daoists to return to assist the general," Zhang Jue said: "As long as the general occupies that place, presumably the rebels around Fufeng will be like turtles in the urn, and many of my Taoist friends can also take revenge." ”

"Since you have guessed the movement of our army, you can't leave even if you want to," Cao Cao said: "You need to go with many Taiping Daoists with the army, and you can only leave after capturing Chencang." ”

"I think so, but I came to see the general in the next place, but it was not just for this matter," Zhang Jue said: "Please give the general a cup of tea." ”

Cao Cao bowed slightly to Dian Wei, Dian Wei grabbed his bald head, reflexively grabbed a teapot from Xun Chen's car, and at the same time Xun Chen's "vertical son" laughed and scolded.

Zhang Jue pretended not to see it, poured the water in the pot on the talisman in his hand, and then shook it slightly, the rune paper flew away, and what remained on his fingertips was a crystal clear, small talisman composed entirely of water, he looked at Cao Cao and Dian Wei's expressions, and said with a smile:

"I think that this effect is like rune water, but the [Life and Death Talisman] that can be used remotely under Xia can help the general one or two."