Xiahou Yuan was killed in battle, and the sergeants under his tent scattered and fled, and the news could not be hidden. Spread to Zhu Ling's army, Zhu Ling was afraid, Chen Zhi seized the opportunity and led the Bai Yu army to counterattack, Zhu Ling's army was defeated, abandoned the baggage and left, and fled north to Hanshui.

As for Zhang He's cunning, he is as smooth as a loach, abandoning his baggage and escaping at night.

Originally, Zhang He's headquarters was more than 70 miles away from Hanshan, and Chen Zhi defeated Zhu Ling with Huang Zhong on the way, and the soldiers were tired and could not rush to the camp of Micang Mountain. At this time, Zhang He learned the news of the defeat of Xiahou Yuan and Zhu Ling, and decisively fled.

That night, Zhang He pretended to attack Ganning at night, and while Ganning was on guard, he led the elite sergeants to the west, fled to Dingjun Mountain by trail, and then retreated across the Han River.

The next day, Gan Ning raised troops to attack Zhang He, and found that the camp was empty, and there were only a thousand old and weak left, so angry that he wanted to kill the prisoners to vent his anger.

Fortunately, Huang Zhong and Chen Zhi arrived with their troops and stopped Gan Ning's actions. was dissuaded by the two, and Gan Ning had to put down the butcher's knife and spare the lives of the old and weak soldiers.

The three armies joined forces and went straight north to join Huo Jun, who was camped in Hanshan.

"Huo Du, Zhang He abandoned the camp, left the old and weak to guard the camp, and in the name of night attack, he took advantage of the night to find a small way to escape." Gan Ning looked ashamed and said: "Ning is unfortunate in Zhang He's strategy, let him escape, and ask Huo Du to punish him." ”

Huo Jun sat on the couch and said comfortingly: "Zhang He is known for his opportunities, he can often judge the situation and advance if the army is smooth, and retreat if it is unfavorable. It is also normal to leave the camp today, abandon the baggage, and flee at night. ”

said so, but Huo Jun marked Zhang He in his heart. This old boy is as slippery as a loach, and if he is good at change, Xiangfan and Hannan were all fled by him. Next time, look for an opportunity to kill Zhang He.

After a pause, Huo Jun said: "This time, Hanshan killed Xiahou Yuan, and Xingba led the army to contain it. If there is no Xingba, there will be no victory in Hanshan, and Jun must record the merits of the king and report it to the lord. ”

"Thank you, Hodo!"

Hearing Huo Jun's words, Gan Ning showed gratitude. In the battle of Hanshan, everyone ate meat, but he didn't eat meat, how could he not be blushing?

"Huo Du, Hou Yuan died in battle this summer, and the Cao army has no owner. Zhu Ling was defeated, Zhang He was discouraged, the Micang Mountain Road has been dredged, how should our army march now? ”

Huang Zhong straightened his back, arched his hand and said, "If you cross the river, please fight!" ”

"I'd rather fight!"

Huo Jun pressed down with both hands, signaled the second general not to worry, and said: "Xingba has 10,000 generals, seven or eight thousand people under a certain account, and the prisoners are surrendered, and the combined army is only more than 20,000 people. Although Xiahou Yuan died, the Cao army also had wise generals, and the main force of its sergeants still existed, so it was not appropriate to forcibly cross the river. ”

"Now we should turn to Tun Dingjun Mountain, gain the geographical advantage, peep at the enemy in the north of Han, and relieve the siege of Weiyang. Then he marched into Cao's army to solve the difficulties in Hanzhong. It is not possible to defeat the enemy and march into the army, and be attacked by the enemy half-crossing, which will destroy the war in Hanzhong. ”

Huo Jun's mind is still clear. Xiahou Yuan was beheaded, causing chaos in Cao's army only for a while, and it would not last for a long time. After all, Cao Hong and Ma Chao are both in Hanbei, and most of their troops are intact, and Cao Jun will definitely elect a new commander.

Now Huo Jun should take advantage of the disorder of Cao's army in Hannan to send troops to consolidate the advantage of victory and contact Lu Xun in the city of Chuyang, instead of trying to break the enemy in one fell swoop.

"Please command, the governor!" Everyone arched their hands and said.

Huo Jun looked around at everyone and said, "Gan Ning is the vanguard, seize Dingjun Mountain and camp; Huang Zhong's headquarters troops and horses seized Liangshan and defended Hanshui. The rest of the armies followed me into the southern part of Tunhan and relieved the siege of Weiyang. ”

"Cao's army traveled a long distance to Hanzhong, hundreds of miles to Shu, and the supply of grain and grass was difficult. Unexpectedly, after a long time, Cao's army will withdraw, and I hope that the army will defend the camp with peace of mind. ”

"No!" The people answered.

The generals asked for orders to retreat, but Huo Jun left Gan Ning behind.

"Huo Du!"

Huo Jun's face was gentle, and he said: "I heard the words of the group, Xingba wants to kill prisoners to vent his anger, but is there such a thing? ”

Gan Ning hesitated a little and said, "Don't dare to deceive Huo Du, there is indeed such a thing." ”

Seeing that Gan Ning was so unfamiliar, Huo Jun smiled and said: "In private matters, Xingba can be called a word, and there is no need to be commensurate with an official position." ”

"Yes!"

Huo Jun said: "Xingba, in this battle of Hanzhong, our army can force Cao Cao back if he holds it." If Bashu is down, the lord will open the foundation of the country and reward the generals. If you do tyrannical things, be subject to the hands of others, and report to the lord, it will not be good for you! ”

"No!"

Gan Ning tilted his head and sighed in response: "Thank you Zhong Miao for your kind words!" ”

After fighting for such a long time, who is not waiting for the day when he will be knighted, it is naturally impossible for him to spoil his own affairs.

Needless to say, Huo Jun took advantage of the leaderless Cao army to order all departments to rob Hannan and the precipitous. Zhang He, Guo Huai, Zhu Ling and other Cao army generals led the defeated army to withdraw across the Han River and took refuge in Ma Chao and Cao Hong in northern Hanbei.

Hanbei, Cao military camp village.

In the big tent, Cao Hong and Ma Chao were discussing military affairs.

"There are many newly built places in the city of Chuyang, such as the northwest corner of the city wall, where our army can pile up earth platforms to approach the city, deploy vehicles on the earth platform, and slam the northwest corner to destroy the city wall. When the time is to send heavy troops to the city, or the city can be broken! ”

Ma Chao pointed to the map of the city defense and said: "If General Xiahou can break the enemy and abandon the enemy's banner under the city, it is enough to terrify the enemy in the city." ”

"Good!"

Cao Hong nodded, he agreed with Ma Chao's plan.

Since entering Hanzhong, Ma Chao has made many contributions, and has sabotaged Lu Xun's attacks several times, allowing Cao's army to tightly surround the city of Canyang. Based on the current progress, it is only a matter of time before the city is breached.

Just as Cao Hong was about to reply, hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent.

"General, it's not good!"

The attendant broke into the big tent in a panic and said, "It's a big deal! ”

"Why are you so flustered?"

Cao Hong frowned and asked dishappily.

The attendant gasped and said: "The Hannan army was defeated, and the generals such as Zhu Ling, Zhang He, and Guo Huai withdrew from the Han River, and the routed army said that General Xiahou was killed in battle. ”

"What!"

Cao Hong changed his face violently and said, "The general of Zhengxi is brave and strategic, how can he be beheaded?" This must be a rumor in the army, and it cannot be trusted. ”

Ma Chao's face changed slightly, and he said: "General Zilian, now we should gather the rout and judge the situation in Hannan." ”

Before Ma Chao's voice fell, another attendant ran into the account and said, "General, General Zhu Ling led the remnants outside the village, and he suffered several wounds, so he asked to see the general." ”

"Please!"

"No!"

After a while, Zhu Ling's arm was injured, the blood stained the linen red, his face was sad, and he hurriedly walked into the tent.

Seeing Cao Hong, Zhu Ling showed a sad look on his face and said: "General, the enemy army in Hannan is not commanded by Huang Zhong and Chen Zhi, but by Huo Jun. In his hidden army, he lured General Miaocai to attack the mountains and set up an ambush in the mountains. When the battle was fierce, Huo Jun burst into a big tree and threatened the general, when Huang Zhong led the elite cavalry to kill, the general was blocked by the antlers and died tragically under Huang Zhong's spear. ”

"Ahh

Cao Hong exclaimed, his face full of incredulity!

Ma Chao's eyes flickered, pondering the changes in the situation.

"This~"

Du Xun was surprised, but seeing that Zhu Ling's arm was injured, he took the initiative to go over to help him and said, "General Zhu!" ”

"The general's arm is injured, it is advisable to retire to recuperate, and the sergeant under the general's tent will be taken care of by the attack!"

Zhu Ling was sad, tears couldn't stop flowing, and said, "I'm tired of the guards!" ”

Zhu Ling was supported by his attendants, Cao Hong sighed, and said: "Huo Jun suddenly went to Hannan, General Miaocai was unfortunately killed, and now the army has no owner, what should I do now?" ”

Seeing that Cao Hong's morale was low, Du Zhan said: "Although the expedition to the west is dead, the main force of the army is still there, and the generals also have many strategies. The general is a confidant of the Duke of Wei, and it is appropriate to preside over the overall situation. ”

"Exactly!"

Ma Chao bowed slightly, and said in a loud voice: "Huo Jun was able to win the west, but he was surprised and did the old things in vain. Now that the strange strategy has come out, Huo Jun has no backhand, so there is no need to be afraid! ”

Cao Hong realized that he was out of shape and said: "What the two of you said is reasonable, now we should gather the Hannan rout army and gather the people to discuss the main general!" ”

"This~"

Du Xun was quite puzzled and said: "The general is the Wei Gongzong family, and General She is afraid that no one can take charge of the overall situation." ”

Cao Hong shook his head and said: "Before Hong set out on the expedition, Duke Wei told me to be more subordinate to his subordinates. ”

Cao Hong is greedy for money and lustful, and is mostly known for his bravery. But Cao Hong is better than being self-aware and able to listen to people's words. In history, Cao Cao asked Cao Hong to listen to Cao Xiu's words, and Cao Hong listened to Cao Xiu's words; Yang Fu advised, and Cao Hong could also accept it.

Now Cao Hong did not expect that he was Huo Jun's opponent, so he naturally wanted to humbly retire from the post of chief general and promote a virtuous general.

"General Gaojie!" Du Xun praised.

Under Cao Hong's orders, Ma Chao took the initiative to ask Ying, led the Xiliang infantry to meet Guo Huai and Zhang He, and gathered 10,000 troops from all parts of Hannan.

That night, Cao Hong convened a military meeting, and Du Xi, Ma Chao, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and others would be seated in the tent.

Cao Hong saw that the generals on the left and right had arrived, coughed a few times, said in a low tone, and said: "Huo Jun, the general of Zhengxi, was treacherous, but unfortunately he did not survive in Hanshan. Now the Micang Mountain Road is lost, Gan Ning has joined forces with Huo Jun, our army has no owner, it is appropriate to elect the main general, acting as the governor; Set a strategy to defend against the enemy in preparation for Huo Jun. ”

Saying that, Cao Hong said: "Hong has a shallow view, lest Huo Jun want to attack me while our army has no owner, and he will want to line up along the water to wait for Huo Jun." ”

"No!"

Guo Huai coughed a few times and arched his hand and said, "General, forgive Huai for being blunt." If Lu Xun's selected soldiers go out to fight, Huo Jun will attack me across the water, our army will lose ground in advance and retreat, and I am afraid that the generals will be defeated! ”

"This~"

Cao Hong pondered for a while and said: "The strategy of arraying along the water is indispensable, I don't know if the generals have a good plan to offer?" ”

Ma Chao straightened his back and arched his hand and said: "General, Chao thinks that our army should stay away from the riverside and retreat to camp and set up camp." Ordered the general to command the cavalry, when Huo Jun led the army to cross the river, our army fell with cavalry, and it will be able to break it. Huo Jun saw that our army was so arranged, and he was afraid of our army's elite cavalry, so he would not dare to cross the river. ”

Guo Huai quite agreed, and said: "What Ma Yizhou said is actually the best policy, the cavalry is fast, Huo Jun crosses the river from the upstream or the downstream, with the speed of the cavalry, it is enough to attack half-crossing." ”

Zhang He stroked his beard and said: "It is really the best policy to retreat as advance." It is difficult to break through the sun, Lu Xun raised troops to defend it inside, and Huo Jun peeked outside, if he does not move the village now, he will be taken advantage of by thieves. ”

Xu Huang Yinghe said: "Camping along the water, Huo Jun can be a feasible strategy; If he retreats to the village, Huo Jun will have nothing to do. The confrontation across the Han River will not take long for the Duke of Wei to arrive! ”

"Good!"

Seeing that everyone unanimously agreed, Cao Hong said: "Since this is the case, you can use Meng Qi's words." Hong Cai is shallow in learning, and it is difficult to serve as the main general, and he is willing to assist the main general. Today, the status and official positions in the army, only Du Hujun, Ma Yizhou, and Zhang Dangkou are the secretaries, I don't know who can be the commander? ”

Du Xi, Ma Chao, and Zhang He belong to the three highest official positions in Cao Jun. Du Xi, the servant of the Wei State, the chief of the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the guardian of the army; Ma Chao, General Zhenwu, Yizhou Thorn History, Chen Canghou; Zhang He, General Dangkou.

Since the death of Zhang Liao, Cao Cao conferred on Zhang He the post. Although General Dangkou is a miscellaneous general, he is a relatively high-level miscellaneous general.

"Although the attack is a prime minister's long history, he is a literati, and it is difficult to become the main general!" Du Xi withdrew from the election.

Zhang He looked around at everyone, bowed his head and said: "He is a defeated general, it is difficult to be the boss!" ”

Zhengxi Sima Guo Huai endured his cough and said: "Ma Yizhou, the famous general of the country, is known as Longyou, and the southerners are afraid; Today's matter is urgent, or it is better to let Ma Yizhou act as the military. ”

Cao Hong looked at Ma Chao and asked, "I wonder if the general is willing to take on a big responsibility?" ”

Ma Chao was overjoyed in his heart and said with a smile: "If the generals don't give up, they are willing to act as military agents." General Zilian supervises the foot soldiers, super-unified cavalry pawns, and sits in Hanbei, which is enough to resist Huo Junye! ”

"Good!"

Cao Hong looked at Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen, and ordered: "Wen Lie and Zidan led the cavalry to temporarily enter the Yizhou tent to listen to the order. ”

Ma Chao also commanded: "Bo Zhan led the foot soldiers into General Cao's tent to listen to it. ”

Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, and Ma Dai gave up their orders.

Ma Chao looked at Cao Hong and said: "Now that he is a thief in the south, he thinks that the seven Qiang people of Wudu can be used by our army, why does the general think so?" ”

Cao Hong hesitated a little, remembered that Huo Jun's soldiers were terrifying, and agreed: "Meng Qi is famous in Wudu, and this general is tired of the general." ”

"Don't dare!"

Ma Chao's face was solemn, and he arched his hand and said: "This is all for the service of Wei Gong, how dare you say the word 'tired'." ”

After the military council, the generals left and withdrew from the camp.

Cao Xiu stayed alone, found Cao Hong, and asked: "Ma Chao, not long after the first arrival, he is a general with a foreign surname." Wei Gong saw that he had a previous incident in the Han Dynasty, so he used it. Now that the military situation is critical, how can he be entrusted with the post of commander-in-chief? ”

Cao Hong smiled and said, "Wen Lie is too late to see something! ”

"Ma Chao is in charge of 10,000 foot horses, most of them are brave and elite, and the war is critical, if Ma Chao does not fight to protect himself, our army is not defeated by Huo Jun, and Hanzhong is in danger. Wouldn't it be beautiful if you give up the position of the commander today, the heart of Anma Chao, and lure the horse beyond the soldiers to fight! ”

By Cao Hong's point, Cao Xiu suddenly realized, and said: "The general is wise!" ”

"Haha!"

Cao Hong stroked his beard and smiled proudly.

If he is the commander-in-chief, he is afraid that Ma Chao will not listen to his orders and will be afraid of fighting to protect himself; But Ma Chao will be different as the commander, Ma Chao will fight hard, he listens to Ma Chao's military orders, and works together.

As for whether Ma Chao will make a moth, Cao Hong is really not worried. If he doesn't cooperate with Ma Chao, how many generals can really listen to Ma Chao's command? Zhang He, Xu Huang, Zhu Ling, Yang Fu and other generals still obey his military orders.

(End of chapter)