Fan Cheng was easily taken, Cao Xiu not only released those captives, but Jia Kui was not killed, after all, Jia Kui was also an old minister of the Three Dynasties, and it was Cao Zhen who left the counselor's military plane, Cao Xiu did not look at the face of the monk but also looked at the face of the Buddha. sparing Jia Kui's life can not only win a generous reputation, but also not make Cao Zhen's face ugly, killing two birds with one stone, so Cao Xiu just sarcastically mocked Jia Kui a few words, and still let him be released. As for Jia Kui himself, Cao Xiu spared his life, probably because he was grateful to Dade, but his attitude changed greatly, and when Cao Xiu wanted to raise troops to chase Guo Tong again, Jia Kui not only did not stop him, but also personally asked for orders to accompany him.

Since Cao Xiu's army entered Fancheng, Liao Hua strongly persuaded Cao Xiu to lead troops south and attack Guo Huai. Cao Xiu's coming south this time was not just to capture Fancheng, but to take the opportunity to occupy Xiangyang and other Jingzhou places. Under Liao Hua's persuasion, he had the heart to raise troops to chase Guo Tong. Jia Kui took the initiative to ask for battle, and in Cao Xiu's view, he just thought that he saw that Fancheng had been broken and that the victory of his army was just around the corner, so he wanted to share some credit. Cao Xiu didn't want to do too much for himself, so he agreed to make him accompany the army, but because it really annoyed people some time ago, Cao Xiu just asked Jia Kui to lead the troops far behind to respond. In the future, when I ask for merit, I will casually attach it to the generals, but as for what great merit I want to make, I can't think about it. Jia Kui was still knowledgeable, and he didn't dislike it, so he happily accepted his order.

Cao Xiu still took Wen Xiu as the vanguard, and chased and killed all the way with military horses. As for Xiangshui, Wen Xiu sent someone to report that the thousands of people of the Han army were blocked on the north bank because there were no boats to cross the river, and they were going to go along the river, so Cao Xiu was asked to decide. Cao Xiu expected that Guo Tong's soldiers and horses could not cross the water because they had not prepared ships due to the hasty retreat, so he secretly rejoiced: This day I will also make meritorious contributions. Immediately ordered the three armies to move forward, and to annihilate Guo Tong's headquarters on the north bank of Xiangshui.

As soon as the general order came out, all the generals had the heart to compete for merit, and they each urged their troops to step forward. Zhang Pu had the intention of revenge, and led his troops to chase after him as much as possible, and even bit Guo Tong to fight before Wen Xiu. Then send people to pass the message, and all the departments of the Wei army joined the battle one after another, and more than 60,000 people surrounded Guo Tong's troops and forced them to the river step by step. Guo Tong saw Cao Xiu in the middle of the battle, so he shouted: "Brothers, behind you is the surging river, there is no way to retreat. Only by fighting to the death, or can there be a glimmer of life. "The so-called death and then life, Guo Tong's subordinates are all elite divisions trained by Guo Huai in Jingzhou in recent years, so they can be selected to carry out such an important task as luring the enemy. Now that he is fighting against the water, all of them are fighting to the death, and Guo Tong himself is also the first soldier and does not flinch.

After fighting for half a day, seeing the sunset, the Shu army was killed and wounded nearly half, but the rest was more and more courageous, and the battlefield shrank less and less, but could not give full play to the numerical advantage of the Wei army, and it became more and more difficult to move forward. Cao Xiu watched the battle from afar, and couldn't help but be succumbed by the momentum of the Han army, and turned to Liao Hua and sighed: "Guo Huai is indeed a rare good general when he governs the army like this. Liao Hua nodded and said, "If this is not the case, how can Zhao Shu rest assured that he will be entrusted with Jingxiang?" Fu looked at the sky and said, "Governor, it's too late today, why don't you withdraw your troops for the time being, and fight again in the future?" Cao Xiu shook his head and said, "At this point in the battle, our army is tired, but the enemy army is also struggling to support it. The more time it comes, the more we can't withdraw our troops, and whoever can hold out to the end will be able to achieve victory. ”

"What the Governor said is very true." Liao Hua said again: "But the army of Du Du is tens of thousands, and Guo Tong only has thousands of remnants, the more you press, the more the other party will fight back." It's better to collect the troops for the time being, besiege them in the periphery, and don't let them escape, but our army is recuperating overnight, and when the Ming Dynasty fights again, Guo Tong's soldiers and horses still have the strength to fight again? "What Liao Hua said does have some truth, judging from the current situation, if you want to annihilate the Shu army, the Wei army is afraid that it will have to pay some price, and after a night of siege, the combat strength of the Shu army will inevitably decline, and it will be easier to fight again tomorrow. Anyway, the Wei army has tens of thousands on the periphery, are you still afraid that Guo Tong will not be able to fly with his wings? Thinking of this, Cao Xiu sent an order to Mingjin.

The Wei army fought hard for half a day, and the soldiers had the intention of retreating, and now when they heard the order of the main general, they couldn't ask for it, so they wanted to leave the battlefield as soon as possible, regardless of the scattered formation. Liao Hua saw it really and knew that the time had come, so he pointed to the distance and said, "Governor, please see, what is it?" Cao Xiu didn't know that there was a deception, and turned his head to look, but Liao Hua took the opportunity to draw his sword and stab. Fortunately, Cao Xiu was born in martial arts, has martial arts, reacts quickly, and when he turns his head and doesn't see any movement, he knows that something is wrong, and he hears the wind behind him, and hurriedly dodges. But the two are very close to each other, and Liao Hua has been planning for a long time, so it is naturally not easy to miss, and a sword is right in Cao Xiu's body. Cao Xiu suddenly stumbled and fell off his horse, not knowing whether he was alive or dead.

Cao Xiu was mostly guarded by his own soldiers, and when he saw Liao Hua's sudden killer, although he couldn't rescue him in time, he didn't wait for Liao Hua to come out with a second sword, and several people had already besieged him, and several people dismounted to rescue the main general. Liao Hua took the initiative to invite Ying to come to lure the enemy this time, he already had the intention of death, although he was in a heavy siege, he was not in a hurry, he pulled his horse and rushed into the Wei army's formation, shouting loudly: "Cao Xiu is dead, Cao Xiu is dead!! "The Wei army was retreating from Mingjin, and they didn't know what the main general was, but when they saw Liao Hua rushing down and shouting, they couldn't tell whether it was true or not, and the army was immediately in turmoil. On the battlefield, such bad news soon spread like a plague, and the Wei army retreated even more like a tide, and seriously crowded and trampled on each other, causing chaos.

Although Liao Hua's plan succeeded, after all, he was alone in the midst of tens of thousands of enemy troops, surrounded by Wei troops, and he was injured in several wounds when he rushed back and forth several times. There was a burning pain from the wounds everywhere, almost making Liao Hua faint, but even so, he still crisscrossed the chaos and shouted the news of Cao Xiu's death. Suddenly, in the military formation behind him, a feather arrow was shot, which hit Liao Hua's shoulder blade, and Liao Hua's arrow fell off his horse, and he was taken down by the surrounding sergeants before he could get up. saw a horse galloping over, and said in a loud voice: "The governor has an order, escort Liao Hua to go, and the governor will deal with it personally." ”

But it turned out that although Cao Xiu was hit by the sword, he did not die, and after being rescued by his subordinates, he saw Liao Hua shouting his death in the army, and couldn't help but be angry, and reluctantly got up and pulled his bow and arrows, wanting to kill him quickly. Although Cao Xiu had a magic marksmanship, he was seriously injured, and his strength was not as accurate as usual, so this arrow only hit Liao Hua's shoulder blade and never took his life. But Cao Xiu was unwilling, fearing that Liao Hua would be killed by others, so he hurriedly sent an order that Liao Hua must be killed in person, so as to be satisfied.

Seeing Liao Hua being escorted by his subordinate sergeants, his body was covered in blood and a little embarrassed, but there was still a resolute and unyielding look between his eyebrows. Cao Xiu was originally supported by two personal soldiers, but at this moment, he couldn't help pushing the two away, stepped forward alone, and shouted: "The governor of Pontus is so trusting, I don't want you to be ambitious, so I actually assassinated the governor of Pontus, if I don't break your body to pieces today, how can I relieve the hatred in my heart?" "The voice is fierce, and the killing intent is heavy.

Liao Hua didn't care at all, but said with a smile: "A certain and the governor are enemies, the so-called soldiers are not tired of cheating, and the governor wants to blame, so he can only blame himself for being credulous." For the country's social service, what is the pity of Liao Hua's death? The governor pleases. After speaking, he turned his body to the southwest and said, "My lord is in the south, and he can't face the north and die, so please make it happen." The words were closed and died, and his face was calm. The surrounding soldiers all secretly admired it, and Cao Xiu was also a little regretful, thinking to himself: Shu Han can have such loyal ministers and good generals, no wonder he can win everywhere. Today's events, of course, are because he is gullible about Liao Hua, but isn't it that Liao Hua can win trust by dying? Shu Han can have such a courtier who is not afraid of death, but how many can Cao Wei have? Cao Xiu couldn't help but hurt himself a little.

Chang'an has been lost, Wancheng can't be tolerated, Liao Hua led his army to battle, is it to sneak attack Wancheng? As soon as he thought of this, Cao Xiu only felt that there was a huge pain on the wound, and he couldn't stand under his feet, but fortunately, the soldiers behind him supported him in time to prevent him from falling to the ground. Seeing Cao Xiu like this, the soldiers on the left and right hated Liao Hua deeply, and said in unison: "Please order the governor to kill this thief." Then some men drew their swords and came forward. Cao Xiu stopped everyone and said, "General Liao is a true hero." Pontus is also a hero, there are many bears in the world, but there are not many heroes. It is enough to die one person in one day, and it would be a pity to die two people. Come and loosen the tie for General Liao. ”

Although the soldiers on the left and right were unwilling, they did not dare to disobey Cao Xiu's military order, so two people stepped forward to loosen the ties for Liao Hua. Unbeknownst to him, as soon as Liao Hua was free, he suddenly attacked, overthrew one person to the ground, grabbed the saber, and said, "Thank you for the good intentions of the governor." Cao Xiu and Liao Hua were only more than ten steps apart, and everyone was afraid that Liao Hua would assassinate him again, and they all guarded in front of Cao Xiu. Another person scolded: "The governor is kind enough to let you go, but you still want to assassinate, how can you be worthy of the word 'hero' as the governor said?" ”

Liao Huanai looked up to the sky and laughed, and said: "The governor has the heart to put a certain person, is it worthy of a certain one?" The arrival of a certain governor is a state affair, and he has to be heard. The governor is high-righteousness, and he can only repay him with a cheap body, waiting for the governor under the nine springs. After saying that, he reversed the blade and strangled it under his neck, and immediately blood splattered five steps, and he fell to the ground.

Seeing Liao Hua like this, Cao Xiu could only shake his head and sigh, only to feel that the wound on his chest became more and more painful, and he suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood. The soldiers on the left and right hurriedly rescued him, stroked his chest, wiped the bloodstains, and frightened the doctors who accompanied the army, knowing that Cao Xiu was seriously injured, if he could recuperate well, or he could save his life, but in the army, he was afraid that it would be more than lucky.

Everyone was busy for Cao Xiu, and suddenly heard a few loud noises that shook the sky, and then shouted and killed. Cao Xiu Naifu broke away from everyone and asked, "What happened?" Hurriedly sent his henchmen to investigate, and reported back in a moment: "When our army was retreating, the Han general Guo Huai led the army to kill from the right, Li Wei from the right, and, there are ......" peeked at Cao Xiu, but did not dare to continue.

"What else !!" Cao Xiu was so anxious, where could he be allowed to do this, but shouted: "But it doesn't hurt to say it." The sergeant said, "There is also a cavalry of thousands of men rushing here only, with the words "Capture the Governor alive" written on the banner. Cao Xiu looked in the direction of the sergeant's finger, and sure enough, he faintly saw a cavalry coming. Under the rescue of everyone, he originally turned around a little, and when he heard such words, he hated it in his heart, and he couldn't help but spurt out a mouthful of blood. When everyone was about to be rescued, Cao Xiu first wiped the blood stains by himself and said: "The governor of Pontus has been fighting for half his life, how can he be afraid of Guo Huai?" The herald ordered the generals to quickly gather their defenses here, although our army was in the middle of the calculation, but the number was far above Guo Huai's soldiers and horses, so there was nothing to fear. The order was handed down, Cao Xiu Fuqiang got on his horse and said loudly: "Men make contributions, only in today's dynasty." And he slew at the cavalry. Seeing that Cao Xiu was seriously injured, the soldiers were still able to get on the horse to kill the enemy, and they were also in great spirits.

Cao Xiu's personal soldiers were all Cao Wei's elite iron cavalry, and the Shu Han cavalry that rushed to attack was also Guo Huai and Yu Gui's painstaking efforts in Jingzhou for many years. The battle between the two armies was even more tragic than elsewhere, only listening to Zhentian's shouts of killing, flesh and blood flying all over the sky, no matter which country's soldiers were trying to kill, or were killed. Only on the battlefield did I understand that human life is actually very cheap, and it only takes a sword and a sword to have a life disappear forever.

Cao Xiu tried to kill several people, but because of this, his wounds burst and he bled nonstop. But Cao Xiu didn't care, and continued to rush forward, as if he wanted to use the blood of the other party's soldiers to wash away the shame of today's plan, and also to vent his guilt against the first emperor, His Majesty and these tens of thousands of soldiers. Wen Xiu knew that the main general was trapped in front of him, so he hurriedly led his troops to kill back, so he persuaded Cao Xiu to stop and let the military doctor re-wrap the wound for him.

When the bleeding from the wound was stopped again, Cao Xiu only felt that his body was prostration, soreness and weakness, so he had to smile helplessly, and reluctantly said to Wen Xiu: "I am seriously injured like this, and there is only General Lao in the battle ahead." Wen Xiu wiped the blood and sweat on his face and said, "The last general should do his best." It's just that the governor's injuries are not light, so please go back to Fancheng to recuperate first. Cao Xiu shook his head and said, "The general's kindness, I have received it." It's just that this time, it's all my fault, how can I abandon the generals and leave? Wen Xiu wanted to persuade again, but he heard someone crying and shouting "Dadu Governor" coming. Everyone looked at it, but it was Cao Xiu's favorite general Zhang Pu.

It turned out that Zhang Pu wanted to avenge the revenge of being shot by Guo Tongyi that day, so today he relied on the backing of the army, and led his troops to rush to the front. After Cao Xiu Mingjin, he naturally retreated at the end, and when Guo Huai came out of the ambush, he also happened to meet him. The so-called father-son soldiers, Zhang Pu was originally mediocre, how could one person resist the courage of Guo Huai and Guo Tong's father and son? Moreover, the Wei army fought hard for half a day, and they all had the intention of retreating, and after Zhang Pu's department was trapped, the army's heart was turbulent and it was difficult to fight. Although Zhang Pu oversaw the army fighting hard, he was defeated and left, and his subordinates were either dead or scattered, and only a few dozen horsemen escaped.

Zhang Pu reported the defeat, only to make Cao Xiu so angry that he had to open his mouth, and shouted: "Hurt me." "Immediately fainted. When the military doctor rescued him again, he shook his head and said: "The governor is too seriously injured, and he is strong to kill the enemy, if he can't return to the city to recuperate early, I'm afraid that he will ......" Cao Xiu is like this, the three armies have lost their main generals, although Zhang Pu has always been trusted, but he is overwhelmed, Wen Xiu has some ability, but he is a newcomer, how can he summon Cao Xiu's subordinate generals? Moreover, Cao Xiu's injuries could not be delayed any longer, and the army's morale was chaotic, and it was difficult to fight with the elite of the Han army. After the two discussed, it was decided that after Wenxiu led the troops to break off, Zhang Pu and the generals would return to Fancheng with Cao Xiu in order to plan for the future.