When the news of Shangqi's loss reached Xiahou Mao's ears, he was both surprised and delighted. What is surprising is that after the loss of Shangtai, the money and food of Tianshui County were lost, and how to feed the tens of thousands of mouths in the city; The joy is that Chen Sheng actually became a traitor. Of course, for a person like Xiahou Mao, who did not care about the country at all, the happy mentality quickly prevailed, and he secretly scolded Chen Sheng in his heart, he originally thought that he would be such a hero, but he didn't expect that it would come to an end, so he still surrendered on his knees. It's better to surrender, Xiahou Mao was still a little worried about how to explain the defeat of the camp robbery to Cao Rui in the future, but now he doesn't have to worry, Chen Sheng has become a traitor, and naturally all the charges are his. Xiahou Mao only wanted to kill him alone, and now he could only fall into the well again, and send Huangquan down with Chen Sheng's family. Thinking of this, Xiahou was extremely excited, and he prepared to play the news to Cao Rui.

Although Xiahou Mao did not have any great talents, when it came to framing people, his mental outlook was completely renewed, and with a stroke of the pen, hundreds of characters were written in one go. Putting down the brush, Xiahou Mao was even more proud, and was about to summon someone to come in and send him to Luoyang, when he saw his henchman Dong Xi hurriedly breaking in, and said in a panic: "Governor, something is wrong." Since leaving Jiang Wei and Xu Yi the day before yesterday, Xiahou Mao has been extremely dissatisfied with Dong Xi, if it weren't for the fact that he had followed him for many years, he would have been punished heavily, and now he is so reckless, he can't help but be slightly stunned, and said in a deep voice: "What's the matter, so panicked?" Dong Xi took two big breaths before he said: "Tan Ma Lai reported, the Shu army all set off this morning and came to Tianshui. ”

"What?" Xiahou Mao was also so shocked that he broke his hand and fell. Although there are still forty or fifty thousand troops in Tianshui City, Han De and Chen Sheng, who can fight, have almost lost all of them, and the rest are just temporary patchwork troops. Although the army of Shu Han Zhao Shu is claimed to be 200,000, it actually has 100,000 people, and it is well-trained and well-armoured. With Xiahou Mao's talent, how could he resist it? Naturally, he was so frightened that his face was like earth, and he said continuously: "If you can't help it, if you can't help it." I don't know if I'm talking to myself, or asking Dong Xi for advice. Dong Xi immediately said to him, "Shu Han will come from time to time, whether to fight or go, and please make a decision quickly." ”

With the word "go", Xiahou Mao found a glimmer of light in the darkness, and suddenly said: "Of course, it's ...... to go" The words just fell, but he remembered that before leaving, Emperor Cao Rui's entrustment must guard the counties of Longxi. But now the two armies have been fighting for less than a month, so they abandoned Tianshui and fled, and when they came to the emperor in the future, they would inevitably be convicted, and they couldn't help but be a little afraid, and asked hesitantly: "In your opinion, can you hold it?" "Dong Xi is not a fool, he understands that Xiahou Mao already has the intention of abandoning the city, but he is just afraid that the emperor will condemn him in the future, besides, with the current situation, who dares to say that he can defend it? can only follow Xiahou Mao's mind and say: "The art of war has clouds, 'if you can fight, you will fight, if you can't fight, you will defend, and if you can't go." 'The Metropolitan Governor does not care about the gains and losses of a city or a place, preserves his strength, and calculates for the future, which is the best policy. ”

Although Xiahou Mao listened to it extremely comfortably and satisfied, he knew that Dong Xi was all nonsense, and the emperor could listen to such an explanation? Intentionally or unintentionally, he asked: "Who is the forward of the Shu army?" Dong Xi replied: "It seems that the word 'Chen' is written on the flag." ”

"Wonderful." Xiahou Mao slapped his thigh, stood up happily, and said, "It must be Chen Sheng, a traitor." As he spoke, he laughed with a "hehe" smile, and then said: "Chen Sheng surrendered to the enemy, reverted to the guide, and led the Shu army to come." He had been in the army for a long time and was familiar with military affairs everywhere, so the governor of Pontus was naturally invincible, so he had to temporarily retreat to Nan'an County. These words were very reasonable, and Xiahou Mao himself couldn't help laughing. Dong Xi also laughed a few times before saying: "Governor Gao Zhi, the last general will go to give the order." ”

After Dong Xi left, Xiahou Mao was also busy ordering people to pack up, but he added a few more strokes to the notes he had just written. As soon as the ink was blown dry, I heard a commotion outside, and someone shouted: "A certain request to see the Metropolitan Governor ......" Hearing this voice, Xiahou Mao's brows wrinkled involuntarily, knowing that he was joining the army again Cheng Wu, he couldn't help but regret why he didn't let him go to death with Chen Sheng that night.

The entire Governor Xingyuan was busy preparing for the trip, and although there were guards to stop him, he still couldn't stop Cheng Wu as he wished. Since he couldn't dodge, Xiahou Mao got up to greet him, and said with a smile on his face: "Lord Cheng, what do you want to see the governor of Pontus?" Cheng Wu suddenly knelt down and bowed again: "I hope that the governor will take back his life, and he must not abandon Tianshui." Although Xiahou Mao guessed that the other party came because of this matter, when he heard Cheng Wu say it clearly, he was still extremely unhappy in his heart, and he knew that he was at a loss, so he had to stretch out his hand to help him, and said, "Your Excellency, don't do this, and get up to discuss." ”

Cheng Wu turned sideways to avoid it and continued: "Has the Metropolitan Governor forgotten His Majesty's entrustment when he left? He repeatedly instructed us to hold on to the counties of Longxi. The Shu army is coming, but the governor abandons the city and leaves, will he live up to His Majesty's kindness? Xiahou Mao's heart was not very comfortable, but now that he was questioned by Cheng Wu like this, he was suddenly a little annoyed, and he no longer supported the other party, but said coldly: "Chen Sheng has been in our army for a long time, and Yu Tianshui is well aware of the defense, and now the Shu army has him as a guide, and its momentum is unstoppable." I want to preserve my strength, give up Tianshui, and retreat to Nan'an, so why not? Cheng Wu said: "General Chen has always been loyal and patriotic, and he will definitely not surrender to Shu Han, this must be Zhao Shu's plan to divide the world, and the governor must not be gullible." ”

"Hehe, my lord is really Chen Sheng's confidant and friend." Xiahou Mao didn't expect that Cheng Wu was still speaking for Chen Sheng at this moment, and thinking of the past, he was angry in his heart, so he ignored Cheng Wu and said: "The governor of Bendu has made up his mind, needless to say." "Then you have to step out of the account.

Cheng Wu saw Xiahou Mao like this, knowing that the other party was very afraid of Zhao Shu, and was determined to give up Tianshui, but it was useless to persuade him again, so he had to reach out and hug Xiahou Mao's legs, and sobbed: "If the governor of the capital refuses to stay, I hope to leave some soldiers and horses for his subordinates, and his subordinates are willing to defend Tianshui and live and die with the city after the governor is broken." ”

Tianshui soldiers and horses are not as numerous as the Shu army, and Xiahou Mao can't wait to protect them all, how can he still divide his troops to Cheng Wu? And then it reached the ears of Emperor Luoyang in the future, saying that the commander had fled, and a civil official was put to stick to the city, and he should not be offended by adding three ranks? So he refused again and again, but Cheng Wu was iron-hearted, and when he saw that Xiahou Mao did not agree, he refused to let go.

The two were at a stalemate, but they saw Dong Xi and Ma Zun coming in together. Seeing the appearance of the two people in front of them, Dong and Ma were both taken aback, and they forgot to salute for a while. Xiahou Mao also felt embarrassed, kicked Cheng Wu away with a hard kick, and asked, "How are the generals preparing?" Dong Xicai hurriedly clenched his fists and replied: "The three armies have been prepared, just wait for the governor's order." ”

"Okay." Xiahou Mao didn't look at Cheng Wu, so he wanted to leave with the two. Cheng Wu still didn't give up, and then rushed forward to hug Xiahou Mao's lower body, and said: "For the sake of the two emperors, I hope that the governor will leave some soldiers and horses for his subordinates." The emperor's order did not work, and he brought out the first emperor, only to make Xiahou Mao tremble with anger, and he had the heart to give him some more color, but he heard Dong Xi say: "The governor of the capital, the forward of the Shu army is only ten miles away from the city, and I hope that the governor will make a decision as soon as possible." ”

Xiahou Mao raised his eyes and saw that Dong Xi couldn't help but glance at him, and his heart suddenly became clear that the Shu army was already imminent. There is still some distance to Nan'an, in order to avoid being pursued by the Shu army, it is good to leave some men and horses to stick to Tianshui. Since Cheng Wu has the intention of seeking death, why should he be a wicked person? So Xiahou Mao changed his face again, stretched out his hand to support Cheng Wu again, and said: "If the lord can be so loyal, how can the governor of Pontus not fulfill it, just depend on the lord." Cheng Wu took advantage of the situation and said, "Thank you, Dudu." ”

Although Xiahou Mao promised Cheng Wu in his mouth, he had some difficulties in his heart, there were fewer soldiers and horses, and he was sure that Cheng Wu would make a big fuss again; Leave yourself distressed. And at this juncture, who would be willing to follow Cheng Wu to find death together? When he was in a dilemma, he saw Ma Zun standing beside him without saying a word, so he smiled and said: "Ma Taishou is the parent of the people of this county, and he should stick to the city with Lord Cheng." When the Governor of Pontus went to Nan'an County to arrange all the defenses, the two of them could follow. ”

After getting the news of the arrival of the Shu army, Ma Zun had already packed up his belongings steadily, and wanted to abandon the city and flee with Xiahou Mao, but he never expected that all of a sudden, this timid governor would actually order him to stay behind and break the queen. In my heart, I greeted the eighteen generations of Cheng Wu's ancestors, but I still didn't dare to disobey the general's order and bow my head's orders. In this way, all that is left is the soldiers of Tianshui County, but he can still escape with the army mobilized by other counties.

Xiahou Mao's wishful thinking, how could he hide the process of martial arts? It's just that remembering that his father and son have been favored by the country for two generations, Cheng Wu really can't watch Tianshui fall into the hands of the enemy, and he can always buy some time for Xiahou Mao after he breaks off. The city of Nan'an is strong, with plenty of grain and grass, as long as it can be prepared carefully, or it can withstand the invasion of Zhao Shu's army. Seeing the back of Xiahou Mao about to leave, Cheng Wu had an indescribable disgust, but when the national disaster was at hand, he could only abandon his prejudices and cooperate with each other. "The Governor stays." Cheng Wu shouted out again to stop the other party.

"What else do you command?" Although the wording was polite, Xiahou Mao's tone was obviously a little unhappy and annoyed. Cheng Wu didn't care about it, and said to himself: "The imperial army is all in Wancheng, and there are not enough soldiers and horses in Yongliang. After the governor went to Nan'an, he could make people prepare a heavy salute and go to the Xiqiang leader Cheriji to ask for soldiers and horses to resist the Shu army. When Xiahou Mao heard that he could increase his troops again, he immediately smiled and said happily: "Thank you for mentioning it." ”

Cheng Wu replied: "I also hope that the Metropolitan Governor will guard the territory and never fall into the hands of thieves again." Xiahou Mao had to laugh a few times and said, "This nature, this nature." So he hurried out with Dong Xi. Cheng Wu looked at the other party's escape like a lost dog, and couldn't help but shake his head again and again, sooner or later, the country of Great Wei would be defeated in the hands of such a person. Looking at Ma Zun again, his face was also full of grievances and resentment, and he wanted to say a few words of encouragement, but he didn't know where to start, what could such a greedy courtier who was afraid of death do?