After taking the city of Xiabian, Xu Shu led his troops to pursue the victory.

And Cao Ren, who was sent by Cao Cao, also learned the news of the fall of Xia Zhi, although the speed of Xia Zhi's destruction exceeded Cao Ren's expectations, but he did not panic.

Rather, it is to hold a border city.

As long as he can hold here, he will not be able to make Xu Shu and his party unable to go north to Liangzhou. After achieving this goal, he lived up to Cao Cao's trust and completed his due task.

Really.

A few days later, Xu Shu's army was here.

It was learned that Cao Ren had settled in the city.

Xu Shu couldn't help but sigh:

"This Cao Ren is Cao Cao's general, he is the best at defending the city, and now in the city, it is not easy for our army to break the city, it seems that we need to think in the long run."

Zhang Fei didn't care, and said in a deep voice:

"It's just Cao Ren, why should the military advisor worry, watch me lead the troops to take it down and take the city in one fell swoop."

Although Zhang Fei was very confident, Xu Shu did not agree, but shook his head slightly and said:

"Yide, if Cao Ren takes the initiative to fight, our army will naturally not be afraid of him. But now it is not so simple to defend the city, and the best way is to besiege the city.

Now Cao Cao must lead the main force to Hanzhong to fight Liu Jingzhou, and we don't have to be in a hurry. The ownership of Liangzhou can only be decided after the end of the Battle of Hanzhong. ”

As a smart person, Xu Shu has seen the situation clearly.

They have a lot of soldiers and horses in their hands, so they can naturally storm the city, but with Cao Ren's means, even if they can win in the end, it will take time to forcibly break the city.

The purpose of their passage here is to go north to Liangzhou.

But since Cao Cao went south, it was impossible to be unprepared, even if he did not mobilize the soldiers and horses in Huainan and Nanyang, he would also mobilize troops and horses from Zhongyuan Prefecture to support.

If you want to take Liangzhou directly, it is very difficult.

Unless Liu Qi can defeat Cao Cao in one go.

Hearing Xu Shu's words, Ma Chao was a little puzzled, he frowned slightly, and said hesitantly:

"What do you mean, sir, that we're guarding here?"

Now Ma Chao is in command of the Xiliang Army, while Ma Teng is staying in Xia Zhi to recuperate. It's just that judging from the current situation, Ma Teng is afraid that his life will not be long, and there is no way to do it.

If it's just an arrow wound at the beginning, as long as you recuperate completely, of course, there will be no problems. But in order to break through, Ma Teng's wound collapsed, and he traveled a long distance and was physically exhausted.

The body is already at the end of the crossbow.

How long he can live can only depend on Ma Teng's luck.

Originally, Ma Chao also wanted to stay by Ma Teng's side, but Ma Teng refused and asked him to follow Xu Shu. They Jincheng was defeated and retreated, and they came to defect to Liu Qi, and they had to do something.

Hearing Ma Chao's words, Xu Shu shook his head with a smile and said:

"Naturally not, this Cao Ren is just good at guarding, if he comes out to fight, what is he afraid of? As long as we leave some of our soldiers here, we can do other things. ”

Seeing that Xu Shu was so confident, Ma Chao became interested and said curiously:

"I wonder what the gentleman's plan is?"

Xu Shu's eyes swept over the generals and said:

"Actually, it's very simple, now Wudu County has been taken except for the city where Cao Ren is stationed, and our army does not need to go to Hanzhong to participate in the war, but it can invade the rear to block the logistics of Cao's army."

At this moment, the generals suddenly realized.

They understood Xu Shu's plan.

Speaking of this, Zhang Fei asked loudly:

"Who is the division going to leave behind to defend?"

Xu Shu didn't delay any longer, said his own arrangement, and said:

"To deal with this Cao Ren, I will leave 10,000 soldiers and horses for Zilong, don't forcibly attack the city, but trap it to death, it is easy to enter the city, and it is not so simple to get out."

Unexpectedly, Xu Shu wanted to leave him behind.

Zhao Yun was a little surprised, but he still consciously agreed.

This task is still very important.

This is to put the safety of Wudu into his hands, and now that Wudu County has just been taken, the foundation is unstable, and it will take time to rectify.

Therefore, Zhao Yun is the most suitable candidate.

Ma Chao has just arrived, even if he shows enough sincerity now, he can't directly entrust him.

What should I do if I want to go north to Liangzhou?

He felt that Cao Cao must have a backhand.

And Zhang Fei, this one already has a criminal record, if he is allowed to lead troops to garrison, it is not impossible to be attacked by Cao Ren one day, in case he throws Wudu back, wouldn't it be ridiculous?

Speaking of which, there is no more suitable person than the steady Zhao Yun.

As for the rest of the soldiers, there is no need to say more.

Of course, he followed Xu Shu to cut off Cao Cao's back road.

Although this will not make Cao Cao have no way out, if there is a problem in the back road, Cao Cao will not be able to fight Liu Qi wholeheartedly.

It can greatly reduce the pressure on Liu Qi's side.

Within the territory of Hanzhong.

Liu Qi led the soldiers and horses to confront Xu Huang and Zhang He in Dingjun Mountain, it seemed that he had nothing to do, but in fact Liu Qi was not in a hurry, he was waiting for news.

Let's talk about the city of Nanzheng.

This is the county seat of Hanzhong.

Zhang Lu now lives here, waiting for Cao Cao to arrive, and they can hand over the city to them.

However, Zhang Lu did not wait for Cao Cao.

But suddenly someone came in and reported:

"Lord Qiqi, a group of soldiers and horses suddenly came out of the city, and now the city is being attacked."

Zhang Lu's eyes widened and he felt incredulous:

"How is this possible? Liu Qi's soldiers and horses, weren't they blocked by Xu Gongming and them outside Dingjun Mountain and Yangping Pass, how could they kill Nanzheng, this is absolutely impossible! ”

I saw Zhang Lu's tone excited.

But when he said this, he panicked in his heart, because there are not too many soldiers and horses in Nanzheng City now, and the other soldiers and horses have been transferred to fight the enemy.

The person who came was also helpless, and quickly explained:

"The enemy army is outside the city, and the lord will know when he sees it."

In fact, Zhang Lu already believes it, but the problem is that he doesn't have soldiers and horses in his hands, so what's the use of saying more?

Not daring to delay, Zhang Lu hurriedly found Zhang Wei.

The two brothers came to the castle tower.

Sure enough, I saw a large army outside the city, at least tens of thousands of people, and the army was strong and the combat strength was good.

"How the hell did they get here? Could it be that Xu Gongming and they were defeated, and Liu Qi led the troops here? ”

Zhang Lu frowned and let out a sigh.

Or Zhang Wei thought about it and said:

"Brother, Xu Gongming is a fierce general under Cao Gong, how can they be easily defeated, these people are probably swimming from the water, so I don't know it."

Speaking of this, Zhang Lu suddenly understood.

Their troops and horses were all in the southeast, but in the northwest, they were not prepared at all.

Most of the soldiers and horses on this road are taking advantage of this gap.

The soldiers and horses outside the city are the Xiangyang Water Army.

Before Wen Ping's army, they went down the river, and although they made a lot of detours, they finally arrived.

And on this route, the enemy troops were defenseless, they came easily, and there were no accidents at all. Now that they're outside the city, it's time to show their strength.

The Xiangyang Navy has appeared many times.

But not once did he prove his strength.

On the contrary, there are many marginal obs.

Of course, Wen Ping is not reconciled, he is also a famous general in Jingzhou, and now Huang Zhong and Gan Ning are famous all over the world, but he is still unknown, which makes him really uncomfortable.

You must know that when Wen Ping was General Liu Biao, Huang Zhong and Gan Ning were nothing at all. Now there has been a drastic change, and the difference is more than a star and a half?

In short, Liu Qi has already given him the opportunity, and whether he can seize it depends on Wen Ping. If he can win this fight, he will live up to his name.

Now under Liu Qi's command, there are two water armies.

He can't be too different from Gan Ning.

Of course, Wen Ping was not in a hurry to attack the city, he sent people to shout outside the city to persuade the defenders in the city to surrender.

He knew that now Zhang Lu was still in control of Nanzheng.

Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang are mortal enemies, but Liu Qi is not. Since Zhang Lu can surrender to Cao Cao, he can naturally also surrender to Liu Qi, which is not a matter of conflict.

Who said that Cao Cao has not yet arrived on the battlefield?

I heard the words of persuasion from outside the city.

Zhang Lu squinted his eyes, his face a little ugly.

He has already surrendered to Cao Cao, how can he surrender to Liu Qi at this moment, won't he become a two-faced and three-sworded person?

But before Zhang Lu could speak, Zhang Wei had already persuaded him:

"Brother, now there are only a thousand soldiers and horses in the city, it is impossible to stop so many elite divisions, this defeat is decided, if we have to fight to the death, then we have no chance to wait.

Cao Cao said that he wanted to rush to the aid of Hanzhong, but now there is no trace of it, if I wait for death, even if it is meaningful to hold Nanzheng for Cao Cao, it is better to surrender directly.

Moreover, although you and my brother have a blood feud with Liu Zhang, Yizhou is no longer Liu Zhang's, and this Liu Qi has taken away Liu Zhang's inheritance, which can be regarded as revenge for you and me.

Now that he surrenders Liu Qi, he can avoid a fight, why not? ”

After listening to Zhang Wei's words, Zhang Lu was dumbfounded.

If he hadn't been sure that it was his own brother, he would have thought it was a spy sent by the enemy.

But after thinking about it carefully, Zhang Lu also had to admit that what Zhang Wei said was not unreasonable. It now seems that they have only one way to surrender.

Even if Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao, there was no contact between them, let alone any friendship.

What is the need to work hard for Cao Cao?

Liu Qi is not Liu Zhang, and surrender is not a big deal.

After a short silence, Zhang Lu said:

"What the second brother said is extremely true, we have done our best to Cao Gong, and we had no intention of rebelling before, but now the enemy army has come to the city, and there are no soldiers and horses in the city to defend it.

For the sake of the people of Nanzheng, you and I are also helpless, I hope Cao Gong can understand! ”

Sure enough, the eldest brother is the eldest brother, and Zhang Lu's words were righteous and awe-inspiring.

Soon the two brothers reached a tacit understanding.

They resolutely sent an envoy to the Wenpin army to report it.

The decision to surrender was made clear.

The next morning, Zhang Lu led people to lead the treasury documents to surrender, which were originally intended for Cao Cao.

But who told Cao Cao to come too slowly?

If Cao Cao was hired one step ahead, Zhang Lu would not have any hesitation, he had already chosen Cao Cao after all.

And now, following Liu Qi is also a good choice.

Today, there is no other suspense, whether it is Cao Cao or Liu Qi, these two are the only ones in the world.

And Liu Qi also has the background of the Han family, compared to Cao Cao, it is much more open.

Successfully won Nanzheng, Wenpin's mood was very good.

His mission has been accomplished.

Although he did not directly capture the city, as long as Nanzheng's ownership was established, the credit would still be his.

And the battle is not over.

On the side of Dingjun Mountain, there is no need for Wen Ping to pay attention to it.

According to the task given to him by Liu Qi before.

After taking Nanzheng, it was necessary to build a defensive line north of Hanzhong as soon as possible to block Cao Cao's army.

As for Xu Huang and other generals.

When they learned that the rear had fallen, it was already a dead end, and Liu Qi would solve it as soon as possible, and then come to support.

The main battlefield of this battle was in the north of Hanzhong.

Because what Liu Qi wants is not only the land in Hanzhong, but also the hundreds of thousands of households in Hanzhong.

In this day and age, population is the most important resource.

In the disputes at the end of the Han Dynasty, many people died, and if Hanzhong was robbed, but the population was taken away by Cao Cao, it would be a blood loss.

This has been the case historically.

Although Liu Bei won the final victory in the Battle of Hanzhong, it was also his most glorious moment, defeating Cao Cao head-on.

In any case, Cao Cao was the most powerful force at that time.

However, in this battle, Liu Bei lost his troops and generals, but he did not capture the population of Hanzhong, and in general he still lost.

Wenpin acted quickly, and at the same time sent someone to inform Liu Qi.

Dingjun Mountain Battlefield.

When Liu Qi got the news from Wen Ping, he didn't feel too surprised, but thought it was reasonable.

Before Cao Cao took over Nanzheng, Wen Ping led the Xiangyang Navy to raid and capture the city. Although the Xiangyang Navy has not performed prominently during this period of time, it does not mean that their combat strength is weak.

Yes, Liu Qi recruited Pang Tong,

Huang Quan Discussion:

"Now that Nan Zheng has been taken, Wen Zhongye is arranging the defense line according to the previous plan, and we should solve this problem as soon as possible. I wonder what you two are suggesting now? ”

Pang Tong reacted quickly and said in a deep voice:

"Now that the overall situation in Hanzhong has been controlled by the lord, although Cao Cao is only one step slower, he is slow.

Now Xu Huang and Zhang He, stubbornly defending Dingjun Mountain, they will not fight easily, and it is impossible for them to surrender. The second general was loyal to Cao Cao, so that our army did not have to attack them first.

It was because of his humble position that the lord could send someone to send Zhang Lu's letter to Yangping Pass, so that Yang Ren and Yang Ang would succumb, and when Yangping Pass was resolved, Xu Huang and Zhang He would be completely isolated.

When the time comes, the army's morale is turbulent, and it is a good opportunity to break the enemy. ”

Huang Quan nodded and agreed:

"Humblely seconded."

The two strategists said this, and after Liu Qi weighed the pros and cons, he nodded slowly and said:

"Then start with Yangping Pass first, and now Xu Huang and Zhang He are defending Dingjun Mountain, that is, they feel that the logistics and Yangping Pass defenders should respond to see how they deal with it in the future."

Without further delay, Liu Qi sent someone to send Zhang Lu's letter to Yangping Pass, and at the same time asked Wei Yan to take all the soldiers and horses from Dingjun Mountain to bypass Yangping Pass, and prepare to attack from both sides.

In such a situation, I believe that Yangping Guanshou will be self-aware.

The second general is now Cao Cao's people, but they have not received Cao Cao's favor, even if they surrender, it is nothing.

If you want to blame, you can only blame Cao Cao for being too slow.

thought that Xu Huang and Zhang He would be able to block Liu Qi.

In fact, the defense of the second general was indeed effective, but no one expected that Liu Qi would make a dangerous move.

I took Nan Zheng first. qδ.o

Directly cut off the defenders' rear road, and the victory or defeat is clear at a glance.

Next, it's time for Cao Cao to have a headache.