Xiahou Yuan returned to the camp, and Cao Ying was in a mess. Xiahou Yuan ordered to pack up his troops and horses and count the losses.

After Du Xi pacified the soldiers, he came to see Xiahou Yuan, and Xiahou Yuan asked, "How about the damage?" ”

Du Xi said: "More than 5,000 people. We have slain and taken no less than seven thousand prisoners. Our losses mainly come from the defeat of Changdiao's soldiers and horses by Zhao Yun! ”

Xiahou Yuan scolded: "There is a brave and unscrupulous horseman, if it weren't for him, he could completely annihilate Wei Yan." ”

Du Xi said: "The most important thing now is that our batch of grain and grass is burned, Wei Yan disrupts Guanzhong, and the transportation of grain and grass will also be delayed." Now that the state army has also arrived, there are more people, there is not much grain and grass, and according to the number of grain in stock, it can still support half a month! I don't know when the next batch of grain and grass will wait! ”

Xiahou Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "Damn Wei Yan." Now that we have annihilated so many soldiers and horses, it should be all the thieves who have entered the pass, and I immediately urged Zhang Ji to transport grain. Let's save some of the existing food first! ”

Du Xun promised: "It's a general, in fact, we also have gains." In last night's battle, Wei Yan lost so many soldiers and horses, which did not help guarding the street pavilion, and Zhao Yun must also have losses. Zhao Yun can no longer fight alone, and without soldiers in his hands, it is estimated that he will not last long! We'll be able to take down the kiosk soon! ”

Xiahou Yuan said: "Yes, make a little preparation, as soon as the morning dawns, immediately order to continue attacking the street pavilion!" "Du raided the order.

Zhao Yun returned to the camp and passed down the order: abandon the street pavilion, destroy the materials that cannot be taken away, and the whole army retreats!

Wei Yan was surprised and came to see Zhao Yundao: "Why did General Zhao retreat?" ”

Zhao Yun said: "Actually, I will be ready to retreat in two days!" Now, we are running out of arrows, haystacks, and other supplies. In last night's battle, the whole army went to war, and our army was already a tired soldier.

It was almost dawn, and soon Xiahou Yuan would attack. We must leave now, otherwise these thousands of people will die in vain! ”

Wei Yan said: "It's a pity to give up! ”

Zhao Yun said: "There's nothing to be sorry for!" The military advisor sent someone to inform me four days ago that he was ready, and if he couldn't hold it, he could retreat!

Now, we have to march to Liucheng in a hurry and join Li Hui to break through together! Let's go, General Wei, don't delay! Wei Yan agreed, and the Han army walked away slowly.

Li Hui guarded Liucheng, which is a small city with a city wall to rely on, and Guo Huai has been fighting until now.

Guo Huai's troops were twice as strong as Li Hui's, but they did not constitute an overwhelming advantage, and it was not cost-effective to attack strongly. Guo Huai played more of a role in containing Li Hui and preventing reinforcements from the street pavilion.

Guo Huai set up a camp under Liucheng and dug a trench, looking like he was going to trap Liucheng. It is not easy for Guo Huai to attack the city, and it is also difficult for Li Hui to go out.

When Zhao Yun and Wei Yan arrived at Liucheng, it was already dawn, and Zhao Yun already knew the situation under Liucheng, so he brought a lot of wood and prepared to fill in the trench.

Smoke rose from Cao's barracks, apparently cooking. Zhao Yun and Wei Yanbing divided into two ways and entered from the left and right of Cao Ying. Zhang Su led 1,000 people to fill in the trench and pick up Li Hui.

The Han army attacked from outside, Guo Huai guessed after a little thought, and ordered the horse to report to Xiahou Yuan quickly, asking him to come quickly and gather the soldiers and horses together.

Zhao Yun and Wei Yan's main purpose was to pick up Li Hui, and they did not force Guo Huai, so they joined Li Hui and immediately went south.

Guo Huai led his troops to follow, wanting to follow Zhao Yun, delay Zhao Yun's marching speed, and let Xiahou Yuan come to see if he could eat this army of soldiers and horses. Zhao Yun ignored it and led his troops and horses to run. Guo Huai attacked several times, and Zhao Yun ordered him to rush forward, and he led his troops and horses to stop Cao's army. Guo Huai caught up several times, but was delayed by Zhao Yun and couldn't completely bite most of the Han army.

The two armies fought and walked, and after traveling for more than 50 miles, four fortresses appeared in front of them. Zhao Yun caught up with Wei Yan and said: "This fortress is our second line of defense, General Wei, you lead people to find the military division, where is the military division!" You go and explain the situation, and I will continue to hold on here. ”

Wei Yan agreed, and led dozens of horsemen to look for opportunities. Zhao Yun entered the fortresses, these fortresses are three feet high, divided into three layers, the lower two layers have arrow holes, and the top layer has arrow stacks. There are four around it, each of which can accommodate 17,800 people. Between every two forts, the bow and arrow can be completely covered.

The four forts were stuck right on the road leading to Tianshui, covering almost the entire road. If Cao Jun wants to bypass it, he will enter the firing range, let alone the vehicle.

When Guo Huai saw this situation, he had no choice but to set up camp first. When Xiahou Yuan attacked the Street Pavilion camp at dawn, he noticed that it was already a person who had gone to the village, and Xiahou Yuan scolded: "What a Zhao Yun, let him bluff!" He actually ran away! Hateful! Hateful. ”

Looking back on the nearly fifty days of offensive and defensive battles, Xiahou Yuan had to admit that this was the hardest he had fought so far. Guo Huai sent a messenger to arrive. Xiahou Yuan led 5,000 soldiers and horses to rush to the advanced army, but it was a little late, and Zhao Yun had already entered the fortress.

Xiahou Yuan, Du Xian, and Guo Huai watched the Han army fortress together. Xiahou Yuan looked at it for a moment and said, "This cantonment is completely different from the cantonment that Zhao Yun set up in the street pavilion!" ”

Du Xian said: "Zhao Yun wants to delay time, so he has to set up a fortress for consumption. And time is pressing, it is impossible to stand so tall and strong. Now the one in front of me is more similar to Qishan Fort, and the two are completely different.

To put it bluntly, it is to stand for perseverance, and it seems that it will take at least a month or more to build. ”

Xiahou Yuan took the whip and pointed out: "It is unlikely that this is completely set up by the soldiers and horses of the Han army, otherwise it would not be possible to be so fast."

If the Han army has a large number of soldiers and horses and has already supported the street pavilion, as I expected, there will definitely be people collaborating with the enemy. Come, send out cavalry, and bring me some people. Also, go to the path leading to Tianshui and see if there are any soldiers and horses to fortify! "The men are commanded.

After Xiahou Yuan finished instructing, he continued: "The reason why the thieves are holding on to the street pavilion is just to delay time, and now these fortresses are too. But I'm afraid they forgot a little. The street pavilion is not attacked. These forts, hmph, I can get around. ”

Du Xi said: "What the general said is that I am afraid that the grain and grass will not be able to be transported." ”

Xiahou Yuan said: "It's okay, feed the war with war, and take food on the spot." I once conscripted the traitor Ma Chao to attack all parts of Longyou, and I am very familiar with it! ”

That night, Cao Jun escorted two civilians. Xiahou Yuan asked unceremoniously, "Do you know how these fortresses in front of you came from?" ”

The people cowered and said: "It was an official who used the Great Seal to requisition the people to build it, saying that it was to complete the conscription." Take care of the food and pay the wages. ”

Xiahou Yuan said angrily: "That's the thief army, there are officials building fortresses on the avenue, and there will be no aisles in the future, you don't want to think about it, how can there be a court blocking the road from ancient times to the present?" ”

The people hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, "General, we don't know, we all went according to the notices issued." They went, I didn't go, really general, I didn't go to repair! ”

Xiahou Yuan scolded: "It's not easy to take the street pavilion, now it's hard to attack these, delay it for a few more days, and surrender if you can defend the county!" ”

Du Xun hugged his fists and said: "The general is angry, and the question is important!" ”

Xiahou Yuan said: "You ask!" ”

Du Xun turned his head and said: "If you tell the truth, I naturally won't blame you, if you dare to deceive, you are a thief!" The two agreed.

Du Xun asked, "Do you know how many such forts have been built?" ”

The people said: "I don't know the specifics, anyway, there is more than one place!" ”

Du Xun said: "What else did the thief let you do?" ”

The people said: "Fill up the surplus wells, bring all the food, and move them all to the Tianshui Governance Center." A notice was issued and all losses were compensated. I heard that Jicheng is like this to the north. Even the county seat heard that it had to be moved. ”

When Xiahou Yuan heard this, he said: "What, there is no water, no food, and no one north of Jicheng?" ”

Xiahou Yuan glared, raised his eyebrows and said, "Why are you so obedient, he will move you if he asks you to move!" ”

The people were horrified and said, "No, we didn't move." Only half of the people moved away, and the rest didn't leave! “

Xiahou Yuan's tone softened and said, "This is still decent!" ”

The people said again: "However, the high price of grain that does not move is five times higher than the usual price." We made a lot of money, except for the necessary rations, the rest ....... ”

The people looked at Xiahou Yuan's gloomy face, and they didn't dare to say anything as if they were about to crush someone to death.

Du Xi said: "You guys go down!" ”

The people thanked them again and again, but they didn't dare to leave without looking back.

Xiahou Yuan scolded: "This group of thieves has done a good thing, using our money and grain to build fortresses, collect grain, and fill wells. It's clear that it's going to trap us! Where do we go to collect food? The people who robbed the people were opposed, and those who did not rob the people could only retreat and watch Longyou fall. ”

Guo Huai said: "General, according to my opinion." The thieves didn't know that our grain and grass had been cut off by Wei Yan, and he did so to force us to attack these fortifications.

The thieves cleared the wall, and we could not bypass the fortress, so we advanced steadily by taking food on the spot. Transporting grain along the main road, stuck by these forts. If you want to continue to advance, you must take the fortress and ensure that the food and grass accompany the army. At best, these forts were a distraction and prevented us from transporting food along the main roads. We can use the cavalry to go around and still get food, and it is impossible for all the five counties of Longyou to fall. The current shortage of food and grass is just an accident! ”

Du Xi said: "That's true! If it weren't for Wei Yan burning the grain and grass, even if there was no grain north of Ji County, we could go deep into the counties and still be able to get grain from the people. Now we are trapped in food and grass, and if we advance, the thieves and soldiers will be slightly entangled, and we will be in a dilemma. ”

Xiahou Yuan said: "It seems that everywhere must be blocked!" ”

Sure enough, the scouts reported that there were fortifications in all paths. Xiahou Yuan sat down boredly, Du Xi and Guo Huai had no good way, their situation was even worse, there was only half a month of grain and grass left, if everything went well, the grain and grass could be transported, and once delayed, it would be fatal. Continuing to attack the fortification now will not change the situation at all.

After a long time, Guo Huai said: "General, why don't I lead the troops and horses to make a detour to support Jincheng County first!" ”

Du Xi hurriedly said: "No, not to mention the shortage of grain and grass. It is said that the distance is too long, and the soldiers are tired. Once the thieves are waiting for work, we will be at a disadvantage, and we will lose our troops in vain, and it will not help! ”

Xiahou Yuan said: "Zixu, you go and mobilize all the cavalry and prepare ten days' worth of food and grass." Back then, I was a tiger in Longyou, Ma Chao, Han Sui, and Song Jian were beaten by me and fled, and they died. Now, me

It is necessary to lead troops again and take the Tianshui Tun Grain Office! ”

Du Xi said: "General, I'm just afraid that the thieves are prepared!" Don't be careful! ”

Xiahou Yuan said: "I'll go back quickly, and if I can't take it, I'll withdraw, besides, I'm a cavalryman, you just have to rest assured!" Bo Ji will come with me, and you are here to contain Zhao Yun and see if you can destroy these fortresses!" If I don't do this, I'm afraid I'll regret it for the rest of my life! ”

Du Xian saw that Xiahou Yuan said this, it was hard to say anything, so he went to prepare grain and grass!