Wei Taifu, Xincheng County Gong Cao De, led Cao Zhen, Xiahou Shang, Lu Meng and other generals, and two thousand knights, to pay tribute to the temple, farewell to the Son of Heaven Cao Cao, after leaving Chang'an City, and traveled along the road, into the Han Valley, through Xin'an, Huangchi, in a few days to arrive at Shaanxi County - in the later generations of Sanmenxia City on the west side. Cao Qujian usually doesn't move around often, his teeth are getting older, and he gradually starts to start Fulai like his father Cao Song, his face is round, his waist is thick, and he gallops for several days, even if he rides in a car instead of riding a horse, he is almost out of breath and almost can't bear it. So after entering Shaanxi County, he ordered a day of rest and set off the day after tomorrow.

Cao Zhen came to see Cao De, saying that the military situation is urgent, and it cannot be delayed, if Taifu is unbearable to the hardships of the trek, it is better to write a military order and let me go to the front station for you. Cao De said with a smile: "Zidan Xiuwu, how can there be military intelligence?" Cao Zhen said that according to the judgment of Taiwei, I am afraid that the Shu thieves will steal out of the Meridian Valley to attack Chang'an.

Cao De stroked his beard and said with a slight smile: "Although I don't know soldiers, I also try to inquire about the terrain of the Dao. 500 miles from north to south, must cross the Yaling, dangerous and narrow; Fu Luo 480 miles, must pass too white, 84 pans of the valley road, its danger is too oblique; The meridian did not see its danger, but it was very narrow, nearly 700 miles from north to south. In this way, it is difficult for the army to move, and it is to discuss the destruction of Shu, and all the roads go hand in hand, so that it cannot be expected to recover and cannot be controlled. If the thief wants to go to Guanzhong first, he will be fooled to take the old road of the pass to make a roundabout, and then he will praise and slant and Fu Luo'er, and dare to take the meridian road and take my heart directly? The heavy troops are all in Chang'an, and it is difficult for the large army to come, and it is useless for the small troops to come. ”

Cao Zhen said that if Xiahou Zhuguo is still in Chang'an, or Taifu you have already arrived in Chang'an, naturally there is nothing to worry about. But now it is Xiahou Nan who is in charge of the city. That guy is incompetent...... Think again. After all, he is the son-in-law, and it is not easy to speak outright, so he changed his words: "Xiahou Zilin is not familiar with the battle formation, and he is afraid that the enemy will be at a loss." If there is negligence in Chang'an, Guanzhong will be chaotic, and we must not worry. ”

Cao De said I have also heard of many bad deeds of Xiahou Nan, but he is the son of Zhuguo after all, and he has followed him to the battlefield a few times. Besides, there is still Zhang Derong in Chang'an City, let's arrive two days early and two days late, there shouldn't be any big problems-" Hongfu has always been cautious, so he is worried about the meridian, and most of the ministers are not. I don't know the soldiers, does Zidan think what Hongfu said must be true? ”

Cao Zhen said that I had accompanied Shi Taiwei on an expedition to Goguryeo, and from what I had observed, he was not a very cautious person at least militarily - otherwise he would not have listened to Wei Yan's words and was in a hurry. The two attacked at the same time, and almost entered the enemy's realm but couldn't come back - of course. I'm not saying that he commanded indiscriminately, but that he was good at changing tactics in response to the situation. So under this premise, he pointed out that the Shu thieves may highlight the meridian, so they can't take more precautions.

To put it bluntly, if a person is too cautious and shouts "the wolf is coming" when he hears a little wind and grass, then his words cannot be believed; But people who are not so cautious suddenly point out that there is a gap in the defense in a certain direction, there must be a reason, and it is not alarmist - believe it or not, I believe it anyway.

Cao De said that even so, you don't have to be in such a hurry...... Why don't I order Lu Ziming to be sent first to warn Xiahou Nan to pay attention to the direction of Meridian Valley.

Cao Zhen said no—I have to go this time. Why? Although Xiahou Nan's taste is not high, he is the son-in-law after all, and he may not be able to listen to what ordinary people say. What qualifications is Lu Meng? However, the general of Eastern Wu is currently holding the title of a staff officer and military, and his rank is only a thousand stones, how can Zilin believe him? Only if I go can it have the desired effect.

Cao De took three staff officers this time, and Cao Zhen was naturally the highest in terms of rank, and more importantly, Cao Zidan was Cao Bao's adopted son, the same generation as Cao Cao, and a lifetime older than Xiahou Nan, so even if Xiahou Mao was the emperor's son-in-law and the son of Zhuguo, he didn't dare to ignore what Cao Zhen said. Lu Meng naturally lacked sufficient qualifications, and Xiahou Shang was Xiahou Nan's cousin, so it was impossible to convince the other party.

In fact, Cao Zhenxin said that with my identity, as soon as I arrived in Chang'an, I could seize Xiahou Nan's military power, control the soldiers and horses of the whole city, and then inspect the mouth of the Meridian Valley, and point out the way to recruit the camp to defend - this is the safest plan.

After repeated urgings, Cao De finally agreed, so he wrote down the military order, awarded the military talisman, allocated 500 horsemen to Cao Zhen, galloped out of Shaanxi County overnight, and went straight to Guanzhong.

However, Cao Zidan had just run to Huaxian, and he was going to continue westward without entering the city, when he suddenly saw a car covering the road in front of him. Cao Zhen's subordinates went to inquire, and came back to report: "The Zheng County Order is the messenger sent by Jun, and Yun Chang'an is alarming!" Cao Zhen's surprise was not trivial, and he hurriedly called the messenger to inquire.

It turned out that after the Shu army highlighted the Meridian Valley, killed Lu Zhao, and captured Ju County, Pang Tong left Fu Wei to defend the city, and went straight to Chang'an with the main force. When Xiahou Nan heard the warning, he hurriedly arranged his defense, and then went to the city to look-ah, dare to be such a little person, is this here to give me credit?

At the moment, he wanted to open the city to kill, Zhang Ji hurriedly stopped, saying that although the enemy was outnumbered, he dared to highlight the Meridian Valley, and defeated the general Lu in another battle. I know that the Meridian Valley is a very difficult road, and even if the enemy army still has a large brigade behind, it is estimated that it will take several days to follow, and it is impossible to carry too much grain and grass. So as long as we hold Chang'an, the other party can only plunder the four townships, and the autumn grain is not ripe, it is estimated that we can't grab too much, and wait for its grain to be divided as much as possible, and then it is not too late to fight, but we can guarantee victory.

When Xiahou Nan heard this, he shook his head again and again: "This is a fallacy for the king." "There are many hukou near Chang'an, and there are many towns, if the enemy army comes and goes, wantonly looting, I am afraid it will affect the plan of cutting down Shu after the autumn. Besides, as you said, the other side may still have a large team, if we don't quickly destroy its front team, and wait until their main force arrives, it will be even more difficult to fight.

Although Xiahou Nan is squirming, he is not stupid, and what he said is quite reasonable. But although it is reasonable, Zhang Ji still insists on defending the city - I don't worry about you, Master Ma, if your brother is here, although he is not a famous general, he can still go out of the city to fight, just your ability, we have worked together for many days, don't I know?

Xiahou Nan did not listen to Zhang Ji's persuasion, and insisted on leading his troops out of the city to welcome Pang Tong. As a result, as soon as the two armies made a slight contact, Pang Shiyuan was defeated and left. After exiting the Ten Miles, turn back and kill back. At this time, Cao's army had already moved away from the city defense of Chang'an. and in pursuit. The queue was not neat, so Zhao Zilong took the lead in shooting in, stabbed three generals in a row, dismounted, cut over two sides, and rushed to the front of Xiahou Nan.

Xiahou Zilin looked up and saw a burly general, as if the gods had descended to earth, and the big lance in his hand was stained with blood. Everywhere is like a wave splitting, and there is no one in front of the horse! He was immediately frightened to the point that his legs were weak, and he hurriedly turned his horse's head and abandoned the army. Cao's army was defeated and suffered many losses, and the rest fled back to Chang'an City in disarray.

Zhao Yunqi came to see Pang Tong with three heads, and said: "I dare to kill Xiahou Mao today, and I don't dare to go out of the city again." We can go around the city to the east, plugging the road and the long gate, so as to block the eastern army of Cao thieves. Or go north, according to the Weiqiao to echo General Guan and so on. Pang Tong groaned for a while. Shook his head: "Chang'an is not down, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Le Jin and others may not be rescued by the whole division, then General Guan and others will be difficult to praise and Fu Luo, if they can capture Chang'an, this bureau can be described as alive." ”

Zhao Yun was shocked when he heard this: "Although we have won today, there are no less than tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Chang'an City. If Zhang, Xu, and Le send a brigade to come, we will have nothing to rely on, and we will be destroyed! Think twice! ”

Pang Tongyi raised his eyebrows: "Chang'an is not down, Zhang, Xu, and Le can't come, so they will temporarily plug the road, occupy the Weiqiao, and disturb the Feng and pickaxe, what is the benefit?" If General Guan and others can serve His Majesty to Guanzhong, I will die without regrets, if I can't come, what good will I live? On this day of fighting to serve the country, how can Zilong be afraid of death? ”

Zhao Yun opened his eyes angrily and said in a loud voice: "Taiwei is an important minister of the country, he is not afraid of death, how can he be like a person, how dare he be afraid?" Now it is also possible to die with the captain! ”

So the soldiers came to Chang'an City again. Zhang Ji personally went to the city, strictly guarded the four gates, and Pang Tong rode his horse around the city for half a week, only to feel that there was no gap to take advantage of. Returning to the camp to discuss with the generals, the deputy general Liao Chun said: "Chang'an City is strong, it is difficult to get down five times the strength, and I am tired of thousands now?" Dare to retreat. Since Zhao Yun had already patted his chest and said that he was going to die with Pang Tong, he immediately made a list: "Yun please lead the daring ant to ascend, and wait for the middle of the night, or you can attack it." ”

The Shu army came from afar, and did not carry any siege equipment, even if it was temporarily rebuilt, it would not be rushed, so the only siege method was "ant attached". Zhao Yun was not completely carried away by the blood, so he proposed that we attack at night, maybe there is a 1/20,000 chance of winning......

Pang Tong nodded, and said that he could only attack at night, but not tonight - the soldiers traveled hard for more than ten days before they came out of the Meridian Valley Pass to fight on the road, and then took Ju County, and then faced Xiahou Nan during the day today, and he was really tired - "If Xiahou Mao is not bold, and then wave his army out of the city and fight against the city, we will definitely be defeated." "So let's rest under the city for a day and a night, and then it's too late to sneak attack tomorrow night. Besides, I'm going to set it up first......

Besides, Xiahou Nan fled into Chang'an City, claiming to be injured, and shrank directly in the mansion and refused to come out. Zhang Ji had no choice but to take over the defense of the whole city, but he was a civil servant, he had no prestige in the army, and his morale had fallen due to defeat, so he really had little confidence in holding this magnificent city - it was no problem to stop the five or six thousand people under the city, but he didn't know when a large number of enemy troops would arrive.

According to Zhang Derong's judgment, the Shu people are likely to steal out of the meridian and attack Chang'an, in order to mobilize the soldiers and horses of the western passes and valleys. However, the Shu people may also make a big move out of the meridian, although the road is narrow and difficult to travel, and the baggage is more difficult to transport, if the army really wants to come, and it has to be embellished far behind the front army, and it may not be able to reach it in three or five days, or even ten days. However, now that Xiahou is in a hurry, he has suffered such a big defeat, which has led to demoralization, and that guy has retreated back to the mansion to do nothing...... How can I defend Chang'an City alone?

That's it, that's it, I can't manage so much in the west, it's important to keep Chang'an first. So he hurriedly sent fast horses to the east and west to call the police.

Immediately, Zhang Derong personally went to the city to supervise the four gates - especially the south gate opposite the Shu army. He watched the Shu people set up camp under the city, but he didn't dare to go out of the city to fight, and then he watched the night fall low, and at about the second watch, he saw a piece of fire coming out of the enemy camp like a swimming dragon, and went straight to the east of the city.

Zhang Ji understood that this was to block the first line of the Blazing Road and the Changmen, and even attack Baling to block the reinforcements from the east. But if you want to turn east, why do you set up camp under the city first? There must be trickery in this! I was about to return to the government office first, check the map carefully, and guess the intentions of the enemy army, when suddenly the little colonel next to him pointed at me from afar: "Please take a look!" ”

Zhang Ji held the city wall with his hand, and when he raised his eyes, he saw another fire dragon coming out of the enemy camp, this time going around to the west of the city. There is no need to ask, I must want to occupy the Weiqiao Bridge and block the reinforcements of Zhang He, Xu Huang and other generals - I hope that my messenger has already passed through the Weiqiao, and will not be blocked by the other party......

But, wait! Zhang Derong was suddenly taken aback - the other party was only a few thousand foot soldiers, how could it be possible to divide troops to block the east and west directions? Isn't the enemy general crazy?! Looking further away, I saw another fire dragon coming from afar, straight into the camp under the city - could it be that the thieves have a large share, and they have come out of the meridian?! (To be continued.) )