Pu Hu stationed his army at the Mengtouyan Pass, which was the main road in and out of Micang Mountain. The other paths were steep and difficult to travel, so only three to five hundred people were enough.
Du Fu brought Wang Ping into the tent, only to see Pu Hu sitting high on the commander's seat, with three chiefs from the seven tribes on his right. Each tribe had sent disciples to join the battle, totaling more than twenty people.
Pu Hu frowned and said, "The war is imminent, why is the king the only one here?"
Du Fu replied, "Zhao Hei and Zhao Hu are in charge of the troops and horses and are now in the camp."
Gong Xi, the chieftain of the Gong clan, pulled his beard and asked, "How many soldiers and horses does the Gong tribe have?"
Since Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty named Ba King, the seven surnames began to regard themselves as aristocrats and renamed their people the Ba people, while other tribes were still called Qiang people, which was quite contemptuous.
Du Fu frowned slightly and said calmly: "There are three thousand elite soldiers!"
"Haha, three thousand?" Luo's chieftain Luo Tai laughed, "We want to fight Liu Qi and capture Hanzhong, but the Qiang tribe only sent out three thousand people. Do you really think war is a joke? Our ancestors fought bloody battles to win."
Gong Xi chuckled and said, "It seems that the people of the Qiang tribe don't want to make achievements. Then don't blame yourselves for being poor for generations and for not using the opportunities you were given!"
Du Fu said coldly: "Quality is more important than quantity. I have selected warriors from various tribes, not those who are just filling in the numbers and claiming military merits falsely."
The seven young men were furious when they heard this. Luo Tai said in a deep voice, "Du Fu, what do you mean?"
Du Fu's eyes were slightly stern as he glared at Luo Tai. Although the other party had been the King of Ba, he was now only a tribal chief. Calling him by his full name was a result of relying on the superiority of the Seven Clans.
Pu Hu shouted coldly: "There is no need to argue. It doesn't matter whether we have more or fewer soldiers. Our goal is to capture Hanzhong and divide the territory according to merit."
Gong Xi smiled proudly and said, "What the King of Ba said is absolutely right. When we reward you for your merits in the future, you should not complain anymore."
The young men of the seven surnames all nodded, pointing at Du Fu and whispering that the seven surnames tribes had seized the opportunity and won the supreme honor back then, while the timid Qiang tribe did not dare to fight, and after so many generations, they were still like this.
At this moment, a scout suddenly came to report that Liu Qi had sent troops from Hanzhong to attack Micang Mountain, and the vanguard was almost at the foot of the mountain.
Pu Hu slammed the table and sneered, "Liu Qi, he came to my door before I even sent out the troops. I must let him know how powerful I am!"
Wang Ping stepped forward at the right moment, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, we are willing to be the vanguard and go forward to fight the enemy."
Pu Hu frowned and asked, "Who are you?"
Wang Ping replied, "Marquis Xiong is guarding Wang Ping in front of his tent."
Pu Hu said unhappily, "Humph, the kings are discussing matters, how can a small guard like you have the right to speak? Do you understand the rules?"
Du Fu did not expect Wang Ping to volunteer, so he had no choice but to step forward and say, "Since you think we are too few to fight, leave this battle to me!"
Luo Tai laughed and said, "If the Qiang tribe loses the first battle, the Han people will laugh at us. We should protect the honor of the Ba people!"
Pu Hu was secretly delighted and nodded, saying, "In that case, we will ask Luo's army to send out troops first to see how strong the Jingzhou troops are."
Luo Chu gladly accepted the order and sent the tribe's warrior Luo Sheng to fight. Gong Xi smiled and said, "Luo Sheng, you will surely win! We will prepare a celebratory wine for you!"
Everyone laughed. Luo Tai took Luo Sheng out of the tent to inspect the troops. Pu Hu ordered his men to prepare a banquet and wait for the news of victory.
Du Fu silently left the tent, his face gloomy, and he rebuked Wang Ping, "You grew up in Chengdu, so you should know more about etiquette. How dare you interrupt me when I am discussing matters with the other leaders?"
Wang Ping said calmly: "If I don't fight for it, the first battle will probably fall on you, my king."
Du Fu was startled for a moment, then suddenly understood Wang Ping's intention, and his anger turned into joy: "Zijun is indeed very smart."
According to past experience, the Seven Surnames would have let him send troops to fight first to test the enemy's strength. But now, after being provoked by Wang Ping, they went into battle on their own.
When Luo Sheng led his troops down the mountain, he saw a troop of soldiers coming from afar, with dust flying, flags fluttering, and orders being given to deploy for battle.
Soon, the soldiers of Jingzhou arrived. Seeing that there were enemy troops blocking their way, they immediately formed a battle array. The first general, wearing a chain mail and holding a spear, urged his horse and shouted, "The Han general Chen Dao is here. Why don't the rebels surrender quickly?"
Luo Sheng had never heard of Chen Dao's name, and thought he must be an unknown person. But when he saw there were only a few hundred people, his confidence suddenly increased. Isn't this a merit that came for free
He ordered his men to prepare to charge, rode forward, and laughed wildly, "Liu Qi attacked Hanzhong by surprise, and we must avenge Master Zhang."
Chen Dao observed the enemy general on horseback and saw that the man was very aggressive, with a knife in one hand and a round shield in the other. There was a carved tiger head on the door with a bloody mouth wide open, and he looked very ferocious.
Before leaving, Yan Pu said that the Ba people warriors held a wooden shield in one hand and a weapon in the other, and they sang and danced while fighting, with a terrifying momentum, so they were also called Bandun Barbarians.
Chen Dao said in a deep voice: "Zhang Lu has sincerely surrendered. Can you see the letter?"
"Hehe, I was forced to do that!" Luo Sheng sneered and shouted, "I'll take your head first to avenge Master Zhang."
Luo Shengchen was thin and frail, so he didn't take it seriously at all. He rode his horse to the front, raised his shield, shouted, and swung his sword to chop at the opponent's face.
Chen Dao didn't move on his horse, as if intimidated by Luo Sheng's momentum. Luo Sheng couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Ooooooh-Hal..."
The Ba soldiers behind him hit the shield with swords and spears, sang war songs, and were about to charge.
As the voice started, Luo Sheng's laughter stopped abruptly, and he fell off the horse. His body fell to the ground with a thud and rolled several times.
The Ba people were shocked and stunned. Their hands were still in the air when Chen Dao urged his horse forward and charged towards them with his spear in hand.
"kill-"
Behind Chen Dao were the Bai Li soldiers who had been through many battles. Each of them was highly skilled in martial arts, but they had rarely charged into battle. Now that they finally had the opportunity to show their abilities, they all fought bravely to be the first.
Before the Ba people could react, Chen Dao had already arrived on his horse, his spear shaking, and the shields shattered like grass leaves. The first few Ba people screamed and fell to the ground.
Yan Pu once said that if the Ba people won at the beginning of a battle, their morale would explode and they would advance singing and dancing, like a flood or a beast, unstoppable.
But if they encounter setbacks in the first battle and cannot cheer, sing and dance, they will fall into a passive position, fighting on their own and relying only on their own fierceness. If they cannot turn defeat into victory, they will completely collapse.
Chen Dao killed Luo Sheng in one move and rushed into the center of the army, followed closely by his cavalry, which disrupted the formation of the Ba army.
The Ba soldiers were indeed fierce. They did not retreat but attempted to counterattack. However, this time they were not facing Yizhou soldiers but fully armed Bai Li soldiers.
They were also ferocious Shanyue people from Danyang, and were well-trained. After the Ba people resisted for a few times, they found that they were no match at all and turned around to flee into the mountains.
Chen Dao led the cavalry to gallop back and forth, clashing in the chaotic army. Wherever he went, people and horses fell to the ground, and he was not able to match his enemy at all.
The Bai Li soldiers rushed forward to chase the defeated Ba soldiers, and they chased them all the way to the middle of the mountain before stopping to confiscate military weapons and supplies.
When Chen arrived to reorganize his troops, Yan Pu arrived with the rear army and exclaimed: "General Chen, you, you are so fast—"