After making an alliance with Zhuge Ke, Zhao Shu did act in accordance with the covenant, leaving Wei Yan to contain Xu Huang in Hanoi, but he led a large army to attack Shangdang. The military report reached Cao Wei's camp, which caused a lot of controversy, Xu Huangjiu merged the state, knowing that it was the western barrier of Jizhou, and there was no room for failure, so he planned to bring troops back to help. However, Zhu Chen thought that Xu Huang was too selfish, reluctant to merge the state, and insisted on taking advantage of the Han army to divide the troops and send troops to counterattack Hanoi. Such a plan is true, but the Han army claims to be 200,000, and the exact number is 1560,000, even if the troops are divided to attack Shangdang, the strength of Wei Yan and other troops in Hanoi is on par with the Wei army. Moreover, Zhao Shu has been using soldiers for many years, how can he not send heavy troops to protect his grain route? Rather than entangle with the Han army in Hanoi, it is better to return to the reinforcements earlier to protect the Shangdang.

Although Zhu Chen has Cao Zhi's support, Xu Huang has military power in his hands, and the result of the dispute between the two sides is naturally Xu Huang's victory. It's just that when Xu Huang's 30,000 reinforcements arrived at Shangdang, Zhao Shu had already blocked the water around the city, and in desperation, he could only set up camp far away and think about good plans again. Before the camp was stable, there was a Han army envoy who asked to see, Xu Huang ordered someone to invite in, it turned out that Zhao Shu sent someone to write a war letter, and made a date for a decisive battle between the two armies. Xu Huang read it slowly, and replied at the back of the book: "The decisive battle in the coming day." ”

When the Han envoy left, Xu Gai said: "Father, the Han army is several times larger than mine, and I am waiting for work at ease, and the war is unfavorable, how can I reply like this?" Xu Huang shook his head slightly and said: "The Han army was able to break through Fancheng in three days and blow up Tongguan overnight, but it was unwilling to conquer Shangdang, just to lure his father to fight." Saying that, he sighed again and said: "For my father, Emperor Youwu knows the great grace of the Emperor, and the national disaster is like this, so naturally I will not retreat." Tomorrow's battle, victory, everyone will be happy; defeated, his father repaid Emperor Wu's great kindness with this body. ”

"Father......" Xu Gai looked at his father's gray hair, and finally said what was in his heart: "Father, now Cao Zhi has stolen authority, excluded dissidents, and all loyal and upright people in the court have been persecuted by him. Father and Zhao Shu fought a bloody battle, even if he won, can Cao Zhi tolerate his father? Sooner or later, I will have to attack my father, and I will die right and left, in the eyes of a child......"

"Shut up." Without waiting for Xu Gai to finish speaking, Xu Huang shouted: "For my father, I received the kindness of the first emperors of the two dynasties, how can I betray in the battle, if you have such words again, don't blame Ben Shuai for not caring about the love of father and son." Xu Gai had no intention of persuading him to surrender, but when he saw his father angry, he hurriedly knelt down and said, "Father, please calm your anger, the child will never do this." It's just that my father has passed the sixth patrol and has fought for my Great Wei for decades, and he is famous all over the world. Tomorrow's battle is outnumbered, if there is an enemy, not only will my father's reputation be lost, but also ....... In the child's opinion, why should his father hand over all the military power to Zhu Chen, a reckless man, and return to the mountains and forests to support him for a long time. ”

Xu Huang understands his beloved son's filial piety, but as a martial artist, how can he retreat? Dying in battle, the horse leather shroud, is his long-cherished wish for many years. "Get up." Xu Huang stretched out his hand to help Xu Gai up, and said: "What you said is true, our army has few soldiers, and it is not suitable to fight a decisive battle with the Han army." Tomorrow, he will bring 5,000 military horses for his father to attract Zhao Shu's main force, but you will rush into the city with the rest of the men and horses, and refuse to defend the city. ”

Xu Gai understood that his father's sudden change of mind was to protect himself and the lives of most of the soldiers under his command. He replied: "Since the father has made a plan, the child is willing to attract the Han army outside the city, and the father is the commander of the three armies, and leading the troops into the city can boost morale and resist the attack of the Han army." ”

Xu Huang shook his head and said, "For my father, I don't care about life and death." If you can fight your way out of the siege, you will definitely enter the city and join you, and if there is any accident, you can act cheaply, and you don't have to think about the life and death of your father. This is tantamount to explaining what happened to Xu Gai, if he dies on the battlefield himself, Xu Gai can return to Jinyang according to his own wishes and take his family away from the battlefield.

"Father......" Xu Gai has followed his father for many years, how have he ever seen him defeat before fighting? If it's just a disparity in numbers, it's not a problem, Xu Huang has also won more with less on many occasions, but now Cao Zhi is perverse in the imperial court, the people's will is not attached, and the army's morale is turbulent, and it is really difficult to compete with the Han army, which has won consecutive battles and has high morale. The battle of tomorrow has not yet begun, but the Wei army has already lost most of it. Both father and son knew in their hearts that they had been silent in the tent for a long time, and finally Xu Huang opened his mouth and asked Xu Gai to retire and rest and prepare for tomorrow's battle. Xu Gai couldn't disobey his father's order, so he could only retreat in tears.

When he returned to his tent, he saw that someone was already waiting, it was the messenger sent by the Han army, Yan Peng. When Yan Peng saw the expression on Xu Gai's face, he knew it in his heart, and said with a smile: "Could it be that General Xu is still obsessed?" Xu Gai nodded and sighed: "My father is deeply favored by Cao Wei, and he really can't bear to retreat at this time, so he asks the general to give him some more time, and he should try his best to persuade him." Yan Peng's smile on his face paused, and he said with a little displeasure: "If it weren't for the benevolence of the great general and the admiration of General Xu, our army would have broken through to the party and killed Jinyang at this moment." At that time, the jade will be burned, even if the general has the heart to protect your Xu family, I am afraid that all the soldiers under his command will not agree. ”

Long after Cao Zhi stole the authority of Wei, Xu Gai was worried about the future of his people and his future. Xu Huang certainly wanted to fight to the death to serve the country, but Xu Gai was unwilling to let the Xu family go to ruin. Yan Peng happened to be ordered to go to Bingzhou to lobby, Xu Gai was a little hesitant at first, but waited until Xu Miao returned to Shu Han, was awarded the title of Huaili Marquis, and rode the general, and then made up his mind to return. The two sides agreed that Xu Gai persuaded his father to either surrender or give up his military power and go into hiding, but Zhao Shu promised to make Xu Gai the general of Zhenbei, lead the assassin of the state, and the Marquis of Jinyang.

But now Xu Huang has never given up his last loyalty to Cao Wei, and Zhao Shu is also eager to capture and merge the state, and refuses to wait. Xu Gai was full of wishful thinking, and he didn't know how to fight at the moment. Yan Peng saw that Xu Gai was silent, so he asked again: "Since the old general has approved the decisive battle in Japan, he must discuss tomorrow's battle with the young general." I wonder what the old general is going to do? Although Xu Gai had the heart to join Shu Han, he refused to betray his father, and now let him leak the military deployment, he shook his head and said: "A certain is indeed a sincere surrender, but my father refuses." If the general refuses to give him more time, how can he betray his father in exchange for the life of the official? ”

Yan Peng saw that his tone was resolute, but he was afraid that things would be deadlocked, so he laughed again: "What the young general said is inevitable. As long as the major general is sincere in surrendering, he will guarantee that the old general's life is safe. It's just that now our army has been under Shangdang City for a long time, and it can't be delayed any longer. I also ask the major general to cooperate sincerely and tell the old general about his plan, so that we can get things done as soon as possible, and the major general can feel at ease as soon as possible. ”

Xu Gai also understood that there were 100,000 Han troops under Shangdang City, and if they delayed for one day, they would consume a lot of grain and grass. Once Zhao Shu loses patience and tears up the previous agreement, with only these 30,000 horses, I am afraid that he will not be able to resist the pace of the Han army's advance no matter what, and then the Xu family, which has been in Weizhen and the state for many years, is afraid that it will also disappear from now on. After weighing the two sides, Xu Gai still slowly told the arrangements of the Wei army tomorrow. After listening to it with a smile, Yan Peng said, "Sure enough, it is not what the general expected." The young general does not need to worry, tomorrow he will be able to force the old general to surrender, and he will definitely not let the old general suspect the young general. What Xu Gai was most worried about was that after returning to Shu Han, the matter would be revealed, and he would have no face to face his father, so he hurriedly said: "I wish to hear the general's clever plan." Yan Peng laughed, and whispered the next day's arrangement.

Early the next morning, Xu Gai first led his troops out of the camp, ambushed outside the city, and rushed into the city after waiting for the two armies to fight. Xu Huang took 5,000 soldiers and came to fight Zhao Shu with great fanfare. After the two formations were round, Xu Huang had the intention to fight, creating opportunities for his son, and did not send generals to fight, so he personally supervised the army to tear it up, and suddenly the sound of killing under the party city shook the sky.

In this battle, Xu Huang was holding the heart of death, in order to repay Cao Wei's great kindness, and the soldiers under his command were all elites who had fought with him for many years. Although the Han army was several times outnumbered, it was also eager to win. From the morning to noon, although more than half of the Wei army was killed and wounded, and the number of dead and wounded of the Han army was not below it, but one person died, and someone took his place, unlike the Wei army, which died one less than one. Although Xu Huang tried his best to command the battle, he suffered from the disparity in strength and was surrounded by the Han army, so he pinned all his hopes on his son Xu Gai, looked at the party from afar, and silently prayed that his son could lead the troops into the city smoothly. But when Xu Huang's eyes moved to the head of Shangdang City, his body suddenly shook, and he said that after his own battle, his old eyes were dizzy, and he said to the soldiers next to him: "Look at the head of that city, which flag is it?" ”

The soldiers on the left and right are all following Xu Huang to fight to the death, where can they take care of the four looks, at this moment when they heard the main general ask, they looked at it and said in shock: "General, the city is the banner of the Han army." When Xu Huang heard this, he almost fell off his horse and scolded: "This rebel is not enough to achieve, and there is more than enough failure." "The soldiers of the Wei army on the left and right are still forgetting to die in the bloody battle, but the news of the loss of the Shangdang has spread ten, and after the spread of ten and hundred, in the midst of the siege, they rely on this blood and blood to support the defense line with difficulty, and now the Shangdang has been lost, and the morale is greatly lost, and it is even more impossible to resist the fierce offensive of the Han army.

Seeing that the defeat was decided, the soldiers on the left and right persuaded Xu Huang to retreat temporarily, and Xu Huang said in a loud voice: "Today's battle, only death, and if there is anyone who retreats, behead." After speaking, he took the lead and continued to lead the troops forward to kill. It didn't take long for someone to shout in the midst of the chaos: "Father." Xu Huang raised his eyes and saw that it was Xu Gai who came in embarrassment, hurriedly stepped forward, and asked, "How did the party fail?" Xu Gai rolled the saddle and dismounted, bowed to the ground, and said: "The child was originally ordered to lead troops into the city, but he didn't want Zhao Shu to understand his father's plan early, so he laid an ambush and took the opportunity to attack and occupy the city. The boy was able to fight to the death, and came to see his father alone. ”

Xu Huang would not suspect that his son would collude with Zhao Shu no matter what, so he had to sigh: "My father should have thought that Zhao Shu was scheming, and this little trick couldn't be hidden from him." You will get on the horse, fight to the death for your father, and let the Han army know the prestige of my Xu father and son today. "Where is Xu Gai willing to fight again? Kneeling two more steps, blocking in front of his father's horse, and said: "Father, the general trend has gone, it is better to ......" Before the words were finished, the big axe in Xu Huang's hand had already crossed in front of his eyes, and he said angrily: "You want to persuade your father to surrender again?" ”

"Not a surrender." Xu Gai bowed again: "Father, as long as your old man agrees to abandon his official position and go into hiding, General Zhao promises not ......to blame everything in the past" It wasn't until this sentence was said that Xu Huang suddenly realized in his heart, and shouted: "You have already had a relationship with Zhao Shu?" "My heart was already full of anger, and I had to stand upside down. Xu Gai didn't dare to look up to his father's authority, but said: "Father Mingjian." The Great Wei Emperor was young, Cao Zhi lived in the imperial court, and Wu Shu united to the north, and the situation was already in danger. Although my father is loyal and famous in the world, how can he go against the sky? ”

Xu Huang was so angry that he was trembling all over, and the giant axe was about to be chopped off on the head. Xu Gai knelt on the ground, not knowing that his father was so angry that he suddenly attacked the killer, and he didn't make any dodge moves at all. Seeing that Xu Gai was about to die under his father's battle axe, the two personal soldiers behind him snatched it out together, and the two steel whips together held Xu Huang's big axe, so as to save Xu Gai's life.

Xu Huang was angry and didn't think about it at all, but after all, the father and son were connected, and after cutting it out, he clearly knew that his son Xu Gai's life could not be saved, and he was feeling a little remorseful in his heart. I didn't want to be behind, but I grabbed two young sergeants and blocked the thunderous blow. Xu Gai's personal soldiers, Xu Huang is also familiar with most of them, but at this moment, he saw that the two people were very angry, and immediately understood that it must be the spies who came from the Han army, and couldn't help but turn his anger towards his son Xu Gai to these two people, and swept his backhand to the waists of the two.

Xu Huang expected that these two people were the two young generals of the Shu Han Army, Wen Yang and Fu Jian. Zhao Shu was afraid that Xu Gai would come alone to persuade his father and be inconvenient, so he ordered the two to disguise themselves and follow Xu Gai to guard left and right, and sure enough, he saved his life at this critical moment. Xu Huang is a fierce general in the world, and he is hateful, and the giant axe in his hands makes the tiger and tiger majestic, and the left and right henchmen saw that he was besieged by the two, and they also rushed to help. Although the Han army had an absolute advantage in the periphery, within this small area, there was no doubt that the Wei army surrounded the two.

Fortunately, Nawen and Fu are both young heroes, and the so-called newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, although they are surrounded by the Wei army, they still fight with steel whips. Xu Gai first knelt on the ground and persuaded each other bitterly, but seeing that the two sides were fighting, he was worried that his father would be lost again, and he was worried that he would hurt the two celebrities in front of Zhao Shu, so he had to get up and say, "Father, if you don't stop." After a while, General Zhao attacked in a big way. ”

"Okay." Xu Huang was originally fighting with Wen Yang, and when he heard Xu Gai speak, he abandoned his opponent again, rode over, and said loudly: "Then I will kill your evil obstacle first." "Where is Wen Yang willing to give up? Riding on Xu Huang's unpreparedness, a whip swept on his mount leg. How powerful is Wen Yang's whip? The horse's leg was broken by the steel whip on the spot, and Xu Huang also fell off the horse, Xu Gai was afraid that his father would be injured, so he hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, and asked, "Are you okay?" "The true concern is undoubtedly revealed.

Xu Huang pushed him away with a palm and scolded, "Get out of the way." Xu Gai was still about to speak, and suddenly heard the sound of killing outside, knowing that the appointed time had come, Zhao Shu didn't see everyone go back, so he ordered to attack. The number of the Han army was more than ten times that of the Wei army, and the newly occupied party was like a rainbow of morale, and the Wei army was difficult to resist, and it was not long before it broke through the defense line and killed around Xu Huang. Xu Huang still ordered his subordinates to fight to the death, but where could he stop the Han army that was surging like a tide.

Seeing that the general trend had gone, Xu Gai stepped forward and said, "Father, why bother to let the brothers make this senseless sacrifice? Xu Huang looked at him, then looked at the soldiers who were in a desperate situation around him, and said angrily: "The dignified Wei Erlang, how can you be as greedy for life and afraid of death as you?" Xu Gai knelt and hugged his father's legs, and said, "Even if my father doesn't think about these brothers, how can he not think about Jinyang's young grandson who is waiting to be fed?" Which of these soldiers has no parents, wives and children? How can a father ...... for his own name?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Xu Huang prides himself on loyalty in his life, only one heart of loyalty, and when he turned his head, his son not only defected to the enemy, but also said such words, he was already angry and rushed to the crown, kicked Xu Gai away, and scolded: "How can I be a person who sells fame and reputation?" Although he said this, the screams of the surrounding henchmen and soldiers pierced Xu Huang's heart like steel needles. Suddenly, Xu Huang felt that everything around him was quiet, and only the big banner with the word "Zhao" on the city wall in the distance was still fluttering in the wind, as if he was predicting the future of the imminent defeat of Great Wei......