Below, the Han army camp.

Zhang Fei sat on the chair, his face was indignant. Under the tent, Zhao Ang, Wei Yan, and Wang Ping lowered their heads and were silent.

"Smack!"

Zhang Fei's thick palm slapped on the desk, and said angrily: "The small city of Shanglu has blocked our army for several months, and it is angry with me!" ”

Zhang Fei raised 40,000 troops in Bashu and was ordered to go west to the Wudu, with a huge momentum, saying that there were 100,000 soldiers.

Ma Chao, who was ordered to sit in Wudu, only had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, and he had to have more than 20,000 steps to ride with the help of the soldiers of the counties of Longyou. Ma Chao knew that his troops were not Zhang Fei's opponents, so he decided to fortify the wall and clear the wilderness, and take advantage of the rugged and long Shu Road to drag down Zhang Fei's supply line.

Ma Chao migrated to Wudu and Xixian to defend the army and civilians, and let Ma Dai lead 3,000 elite soldiers to guard Xialucheng, while he used the advantage of being familiar with the terrain of Longyou to harass Zhang Fei.

Zhang Feifan divided his troops to besiege Xialu, while Ma Chao hid in the mountains, waiting for the soldiers to be tired, and rode lightly. Under the confrontation for several months, Zhang Fei not only failed to take Xialu, but also lost many soldiers.

Recently, Zhang Fei ordered his subordinates Yao Jing and Zheng He to surround Xialu, and he led his elite soldiers to fight Ma Chao, but Ma Chao did not fight with Zhang Fei, but took Zhang Fei to circle in circles, not only wasting time, but Ma Dai also went out of the city to defeat Yao Jing and Zheng He's second army. This made Zhang Fei, who was already depressed, more and more annoyed.

Zhao Ang stiffened his head and said, "General, Ma Dai is stationed in Xialu, and Ma Chao is echoing outside. Echoing from the outside to the inside, even if there are many soldiers in our army, it is difficult to get down. Now Hanzhong sent a letter, saying that Xiangfan has been defeated, and the general can withdraw the army! ”

"Withdraw what?"

Zhang Fei was in a bad mood and said: "If you don't break the horse, you will never withdraw the army!" ”

Everyone looked at each other, the soldiers and horses of Bashu were not as good as the soldiers of Guanxi, and they were stopped from Lu for several months, and then consumed, and Cao Wei's reinforcements arrived, I am afraid that the army will be in danger.

"Where are Yao Jing and Zheng He?"

Zhang Fei glanced at the generals in the tent and said sternly: "Now that Ma Dai has been defeated, I should ask them for their guilt." ”

"Two generals or on the way!" Wu Lan said: "On the orders of the general, someone has ordered them to return to the camp. ”

"Humph!"

Zhang Fei put the horse whip on his waist on the case, obviously to punish Yao Jing and Zheng He.

A scout hurriedly ran into the big tent and said in fear: "General Yu, Yao Jing and Zheng Ta are afraid that they will be punished by the general, and they have led more than 5,000 of their subordinates to defect to Ma Chao's tent. ”

"What?"

Hearing this, Zhang Fei's eyes were as big as copper bells, and his face showed a look of shame.

"Shaft!"

Zhang Fei kicked the case, the bamboo slips, pen and ink were scattered all over the ground, and even the case flew to Wei Yan's feet, which shocked Wei Yan to subconsciously take a few steps back.

Zhang Fei was so angry that he paced back and forth, and scolded angrily: "Yao Jing and Zheng He, two dog thieves, dare to turn their backs on Jun En and betray the enemy in battle, it is tolerable, which is unbearable!" ”

For more than ten years, under the pressure of Cao Cao, the Southern Han Dynasty expanded its power from Jiangdong to Bashu, with a land of four states, which is really amazing. However, under the rapid expansion, there will inevitably be many drawbacks.

For example, in order to expand his troops, Liu Bei was able to confront Cao Cao and allowed the generals to return to the old department. Before Liu Bei succeeded Jing Chu, Liu Bei allowed generals such as Wenpin, Zhang Wei, and Huang Zhong to reinstate the old soldiers.

Liu Bei defeated Bashu, and there will be many generals who will surrender to Shu. In addition to stripping off the military power of a small number of generals, Liu Bei ordered most of the Shu generals to reinstate the old soldiers and put them under the command of Gan Ning, Lu Xun, Zhang Fei, Wei Yan and other generals. When Yao Jing and Zheng were in the Shu invasion of Shu, they surrendered to the Southern Han Dynasty, so they were allowed to keep the soldiers and horses.

The two were accustomed to the atmosphere of light law and leniency under Liu Zhang's rule, and they were very unaccustomed to the strict law and strict rule of the Southern Han Dynasty. In the past, there were complaints, but they were appeased by Lu Xun.

Today, Zhang Fei led the troops alone, and due to Gan Ning's death, Zhang Fei's temper became more and more irritable. At that time, Zhang Fei invited the generals to drink wine to celebrate Guan Yu's flooding of the Seventh Army, and Yao Jing did not drink because of illness.

The drunk Zhang Fei saw that Yao Jing didn't drink, so he forced him to drink. Yao Jing felt uncomfortable in her heart, and repeatedly refused to refuse, and Zhang Fei, who was drunk, was angry, whipped Yao Jing, and even beat Zheng He who pleaded for mercy.

Yao Jing and Zheng He then held a grudge, and now they were defeated by Ma Dai, who knew Zhang Fei's character well, and were afraid of being punished by Zhang Fei after returning to the camp, so they directly led their subordinates to join Ma Chao.

Zhang Fei's eyes widened, panting, and said sternly: "Yao Jing and Zheng He will turn their backs on the court and join the horse thieves. If they don't kill them, everyone will follow suit. I want to raise troops tomorrow and fight to the death with that Ma Chao, I don't know what you think? ”

Hearing this, everyone's faces changed suddenly, and the current army not only failed to conquer Xialu, but also forced Yao and Zheng Er to surrender to Ma Chao. It is an unwinnable situation, and if you forcibly fight against Ma Chao, you will inevitably win more and lose less.

Wu Lan's face was solemn, and he persuaded: "General, Ma Chao is well versed in the terrain of Longyou, before our army wanted to fight a decisive battle with it, Ma Chao knew the benefits of our army, so he avoided the battle without fighting, and attacked the army with light cavalry, which made the battle difficult." Now that Ma Chao has gained the benefits of a long war, how can he be willing to fight our army quickly? ”

Ma Chao can fight with Cao Cao back and forth, and was praised by the Longxi scholars as cloth and strategy, how can he be a scheming person. There were many mountains in the former Han Dynasty, and it was not his home field, and he was defeated by Zhang Fei. Today, Zhang Fei took the initiative to attack and came to his home court, so he would naturally entertain Zhang Fei well.

In the battle of Guanzhong, Ma Chao tried to use the strategy of food despair to force Cao Cao to withdraw his troops. Today's strategy is to rely on Zhang Fei, avoid fighting, attack the false and avoid the real, and has achieved a lot of victories. As Wu Lan said, how could Ma Chao give up his advantages and take the initiative to fight Zhang Fei.

"Huh?"

Zhang Fei stared at Wu Lan with those terrifying eyes, and said loudly: "If the horse avoids the battle, he will conquer Xia Lu and force him to fight a decisive battle." ”

"This~"

Wu Lan didn't dare to look at Zhang Fei, he subconsciously avoided it.

Zhao Ang came out to stop Zhang Fei and said, "General, it is not impossible to fight with Ma Er today, but His Majesty has ordered the withdrawal of the army. Our army fought a decisive battle with Ma Chao again, which not only violated His Majesty's order, but also attracted reinforcements from the thief army to save him. ”

"The Jingxiang war subsided, and if Cao Cao learned that the general stayed in Longyou and sent an army to go to the court, Hanzhong would be in danger. The general is entrusted with a heavy responsibility, how can he ruin His Majesty's great cause because of small things. Now the general should obey His Majesty's edict and lead his troops back to the country. The shame of the present will be repaid in the future. ”

Zhao Ang's words were reasonable, and he did not pressure Zhang Fei with the victory or defeat of the battle, but exaggerated Cao Cao's threat, so that Zhang Fei felt that Hanzhong was wrong, so he persuaded him to withdraw his army.

With Zhao Ang's words, and the experience of losing Xuzhou, although Zhang Fei was still angry and angry, he gradually regained his senses.

Holding back half a sound, Zhang Fei kicked the brazier in the tent away, and said in annoyance: "Withdraw the army, and you will take the head of the horse in the future." ”

"No!"

Everyone was deeply glad and retreated.

and everyone retreated, Zhang Fei always held his breath in his heart and shouted: "Bring the wine!" ”

"No~"

Not to mention that Zhang Fei was drinking in the big tent to cool off, Zhao Ang found Wang Ping to talk about Yao and Zheng's defection.

Inside the tent, Zhao Ang sighed and said: "Huo Du is thousands of miles away, and he can predict the changes of our army, and he can really be a god!" ”

Wang Pinghu showed admiration, and said happily: "Fortunately, Yao and Zheng Er rebelled before the battle, if they return to the camp and send a letter to Ma Chao, then our army is in danger." ”

When the Bashu army set out, Huo Jun had repaired the book with Zhao and Wang, and asked them to be careful of changes in the army, especially after Zhang Fei drunk and whipped the soldiers, he was worried that there would be chaos because of this.

As for Huo Jun's reason, he said in the letter that the Shu generals were frivolous and casual, and it was difficult for the army to rely on. Now that the army is on the march, if Zhang Fei loves to whip the soldiers, those Shu generals and generals may be resentful because of this, so let the two be more careful.

Of course, Huo Jun also wrote similar letters to Liu and Zhang, hoping to make Zhang Fei take precautions. Zhang Fei probably heard these words too much, received the letter, and remembered it when he was sober, but once he was drunk, he forgot about these things.

The rebellion of Yao and Zheng was expected by Huo Jun's letter, which inevitably made Zhao and Wang feel emotional.

Zhao Ang looked sad and said: "In the past, when the soldiers were used, they had to be persuaded by Lu and Gan, and General Zhang might be able to restrain his temperament. Today, there is no Lu and Gan Erjun, General Zhang often drinks alcohol when he goes out on this expedition, and he abuses the left and right, and whips the soldiers at the worst, which is not the behavior of a general. ”

"This expedition to the west, the battle situation is unfavorable, frustrated by Ma Chao, and the colonel defected. There are both Ma Chao and General Zhang who were defeated because of his own shortcomings. Now that he is returning to China, he wants to impeach General Zhang with His Majesty, and asks His Majesty to warn General Zhang. ”

Although Zhao Ang is a general, he is a rare person from Longyou. Liu Bei appointed Zhao Ang as the Taishou of Wudu, and then received Lu Xun's recommendation, and Zhao Ang was then promoted to overseer, responsible for coordinating the relationship between Zhang Fei and the generals. Therefore, with Zhao Angjinxia's identity, he is indeed qualified to impeach Zhang Fei.

Wang Ping was not very good at words, and said worriedly: "Your Majesty and General Zhang are brothers and sisters, and the overseers want to impeach General Zhang with this, I am afraid that it may be inappropriate!" ”

Zhao Ang poured warm water into his mouth and said, "Although Your Majesty and General Zhang are brothers and sisters, they are not the lord of mediocrity. If I blame Aung for this, I should mistake Your Majesty for being a human being. ”

As he spoke, Zhao Ang heard the wailing of the soldiers being whipped through the tent, and motioned for Wang Ping to go out and have a look.

Wang Ping got up and went out of the tent to take a look, and returned to the tent and said: "General Zhang is drunk and angry, and is whipping Fan Jiang. Can the Overseers go out of camp to persuade General Zhang? ”

Wang Ping, as a benevolent person with a humble status, dissuaded Zhang Fei before, but was almost whipped. Zhao Ang's status is higher, and Zhang Fei may have scruples and dare not lash out.

"Fan Jiang?"

Zhao Ang raised his eyebrows and said, "Fan Jiang has a lot to do with Yao Jing and Zheng He?" ”

"Hmm!"

Wang Ping nodded and said, "Fan Jiang often works with Yao Jing, Zheng He, Zhang Da and others, and his skills are exquisite, and he often wins a lot of money. ”

The army that goes out to fight all the year round and lacks entertainment activities often gambles, and the cattail is similar to a kind of flying chess in later generations. Although Wang Ping is not good at gambling, in order to integrate into the collective, he occasionally bets a few times.

Zhao Ang pondered and said: "Fan Jiang is narrow and cunning, not a good person. Now that Yao Jing and Zheng and his two generals have rebelled, I am afraid that Fan Jiang will hold a grudge because of General Zhang's whipping, or he may contact Yao and Zheng and deliberately rebel. ”

Wang Ping frowned and said, "Fan Jiang has been following General Zhang for a long time, and now he is a close confidant of General Zhang, how can he rebel because of this?" ”

As he spoke, Wang Ping hesitated a few times and retorted to himself: "However, as the Overseer said, you should be vigilant against Fan Jiang, so as not to contact Ma Chao and cause trouble. ”

"Good!"

Zhao Ang nodded and said, "Tonight is for Zijun to lead his troops to patrol the camp, so keep an eye on Fan Jiang." If there is no obstacle in the near future, it should be a lot of worries! ”

"No!"

It was night, the starry sky was brilliant, and the moon was hanging in the sky.

Wang Ping assigned the tasks of the sergeants under his tent, and he personally led a few people to patrol around the Chinese army.

"Huh?"

In the dim light, Wang Ping saw that Fan Jiang and Zhang Da were coming to the camp, and his expression was nervous.

"Fan Jun and Zhang Jun entered the camp late at night, but there is something important?"

Wang Ping immediately led people forward, stopped Fan and Zhang, and asked gently.

Fan Jiang was a little nervous and said with a smile: "I was whipped by General Yide today, and my skin pain is unbearable, and it is difficult to sleep. There are unfinished drinks around the big tent, so I came to take a few sips so that I could rest. ”

Zhang Da seemed to be afraid that people would know, so he lowered his voice and said, "I feel thirsty, so I'm here to steal a few sips of wine." ”

Wang Ping saw that the two of them were the same, and said with a smile: "The two of you should keep some for a certain person, and you must not drink alone." ”

"Well said!"

"I'll leave some for Zijun!"

Fan and Zhang stood side by side, smiling and parting from Wang Ping. Wang Ping looked back to see off the two, and then led people to continue to inspect the camp.

When the two came to Zhang Fei's tent, Fan Jiang took advantage of being Zhang Fei's cronies and easily entered the Chinese army's tent on the grounds of reporting emergency military affairs.

The big tent was dark and dim, only an oil lamp was lit there, and Zhang Fei was lying on the couch, snoring and sleeping there.

Fan and Zhang glanced at each other, slowed down, and lowered their voices, for fear of waking Zhang Fei.

Fan Jiang pulled out the dagger on his waist, and the dagger blade flickered in the light of the candlelight.

By the faint candlelight, Fan Jiang could see Zhang Fei sleeping with his eyes open a few steps away. Although Fan Jiang was mentally prepared, his heart began to beat wildly, and his legs couldn't help but weaken.

"You cover your mouth, I'll cut off your head!" Fan Jiang swallowed and said.

"Good!"

"Fan Jiang, Zhang Da!"

Just when the two of them were about to step forward, the curtain was suddenly lifted, but it was Wang Ping who entered the tent with a soldier and scolded loudly.

Wang Ping, who suddenly appeared, made the panicked two people directly paralyzed to the ground with fright.

Zhang Fei, who was sleeping soundly, was directly woken up, looking at the scene in front of him, he was first stunned for a while, and then saw the dagger in Fan Jiang's hand, he seemed to react, pulled out the long sword on the side of the couch, and pointed at Fan and Zhang.

Under the gaze of everyone, Fan Jiang had a flash of inspiration, hurriedly knelt on the ground, and said: "General, Jiang has found a sharp blade, and it is specially dedicated to the general." ”

Zhang Fei kicked the dagger in Fan Jiang's hand and scolded: "Little thief, I know that you have contact with Yao Jing and Zheng He. I whipped you today, and it seems that I have hit you right, and I dare to assassinate me. ”

"Come on, take the two of them down!"

"No!"

The first soldier took the two of them down, and Zhang Fei asked Wang Ping about what happened.

Wang Ping stopped Fan and Zhang before, and felt a little strange during the questioning, he had no evidence and couldn't guess, so he asked the attendant to follow behind the two.

Knowing that the two of them walked straight to the big tent where Zhang Fei was, Wang Ping immediately rushed over and caught Fan and Zhang who wanted to misbehave.

Knowing what happened, Zhang Fei touched his cold neck, suddenly felt the rest of his life, and said with emotion: "Now I know that good medicine is bitter, and my words are contrary to my ears. If you had listened to your brother's words, there would have been nothing to do now. ”

(End of chapter)