Yang Huai was also very worried at Fu Shui Pass. The soldiers from Jingzhou were invading from all sides, and Chengdu only sent 3,000 reinforcements. The general Liu Jun was also a mediocre person and was not capable of fighting against Zhang Fei at all.
Although spies reported in the evening that Zhang Fei was drunk and punished his troops for their unsuccessful siege, this was not enough to resolve the crisis, especially as Liu Qi's army had not yet arrived.
By the middle of the night, he was tossing and turning, feeling depressed, when suddenly Liu Jun came to report happily that Deng Xian was punished by Zhang Fei for being drunk, and he was angry and came to surrender.
Yang Huai was startled, he stood up and rushed to the government office, only to see Deng Xian lying on the table, his face pale, his clothes soaked in blood and sweat dripping down his back.
Thinking of how Gao Pei was harmed by him, he stepped forward and sneered, "General Deng, you have come to this day too?"
"General Yang!" Deng Xian grimaced in pain, shook his head and sighed, "I was besieged by the Jingzhou army that day, and was forced to surrender due to the situation. Now I regret it so much, I hope the general can save me."
Yang Huai said coldly: "You betrayed your master and joined the enemy, and also harmed General Gao. How can you return home with dignity? I will escort you to Chengdu tomorrow and hand you over to the lord for punishment."
"Wait a minute!" Deng Xian stood up and said, enduring the pain in his back, "Zhang Fei is going to attack Guancheng tonight, and I have a great achievement to offer. Please think twice, General."
"Oh?" Yang Huai's eyes were slightly stern, and he smiled and said, "Fushui Pass is heavily guarded. Even if Zhang Fei comes in person, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Deng Xian said: "General, if you just defend and wait for Liu Qi's troops to arrive, you will be defeated sooner or later. Why not use their own tactics against you? If you can kill Zhang Fei, not only will you break Liu Qi's arm, but you will also be famous throughout the world. The lord will surely reward you handsomely. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"
Yang Huai frowned slightly: "What's your plan?"
Deng Xian suggested: "After the third watch, Zhang Fei will send his men to attack the city. The general can first ambush outside the city and let the enemy go. When they come to attack, you can rob the camp. The camp will be burned, and the soldiers of Jingzhou will be in chaos, and they will be in a dilemma. At this time, we can attack from two directions and block Zhang Fei outside Fushui Pass. He will not be able to escape even if he has wings."
"Hiss—" Yang Huai's heart was moved. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is the news you said accurate?"
Deng Xian nodded and said, "Zhang Fei signed a military order before he left, and ordered me to take Fushui Pass within ten days, so he ordered me to attack the city by force, and then he got drunk and punished the soldiers at random. Now he only has one day left, so I have to take the risk."
Yang Huai stared at Deng Xian and said in a deep voice, "You killed Gao Pei, aren't you afraid that I will avenge him?"
Deng Xian gritted his teeth and said, "General Gao was originally killed by Zhang Fei. I was just following orders. I wanted to take advantage of his mobilization tonight to escape, but I hate Zhang Fei for being reckless and unclear about rewards and punishments. A man who does not take revenge is living in vain. Therefore, I took the risk to make plans with the general, both for revenge and to atone for my sins."
Liu Jun had just arrived at the battlefront and was eager to make a contribution, so he hurriedly advised: "General, it will be past midnight soon. If you don't make a decision, you will miss the opportunity."
Yang Huai paced back and forth, and finally said: "General Deng, rest assured to recover here, and I will deploy troops and horses. It will make sense."
Deng Xian urged, "General, you must make a decision as soon as possible. If you can avenge this, I, Deng Xian, will be willing to serve you in the future."
Yang Huai said a few words of comfort, ordered people to help Deng Xian go down to rest, and sent a military doctor to treat his injuries.
Afterwards, he called all the people who were traveling with him and found that seven or eight of them were Gao Pei's subordinates. After careful questioning, they found that they were all as Deng Xian had said.
Soon the military doctor came to report that Deng Xian's spinal injury was real, with his skin torn and flesh exposed, and it would take at least two months to heal.
Yang Huai sneered, "Deng Xian is a traitor. This is called retribution. He deserves it!"
Liu Jun said: "Zhang Fei has a hot temper. This is a blessing from heaven for the general to achieve success. We must not miss this good opportunity."
Yang Huai frowned and said, "But Zhang Fei is so brave, how easy is it to kill him? If we leave the city rashly, we might end up making things worse."
Liu Jun said: "A general should make decisions when necessary. Even if this plan cannot get rid of Zhang Fei, defeating him is still a great achievement. If we wait for Liu Qi's army to arrive, Fushui Pass will be lost, and we will not achieve any success. On the contrary, General Gao will be defeated. How can we report to the lord then?"
Yang Huai suddenly came to his senses and laughed, "Zhang Fei, this reckless man, has made mistakes many times due to drunkenness. I have finally met him this time. I will definitely make him fall into my trap."
Regardless of whether Zhang Fei can be killed or not, the important thing is to make merit first. Even if Fu Shui Pass is lost at that time, he will still have made contributions first. Otherwise, if Liu Zhang knows that Deng Xian offered advice and he misses the opportunity, he will be in big trouble.
Having made up his mind, he ordered Liu Jun: "You will guard the pass tonight. I will personally avenge Gao Pei."
"Thanks to the general's reminder, I almost missed the opportunity,"
"Yes, sir!" Liu Jun bowed and accepted the order, but he was secretly unhappy in his heart.
It was clearly he who brought Deng Xian into the city and advised Yang Huaicai several times before he made up his mind. However, he did not mention Deng Xian at all and took all the credit for himself.
It has always been like this in Yizhou. The merits that were easily obtained were all taken away by people close to Liu Zhang, and their official positions became higher and higher. These people will never have a chance to succeed.
Yang Huai rushed to the military camp, selected his elite soldiers and marched out of the city first, then scattered and ambushed in the woods, waiting for Zhang Fei to lead his troops over, and then he would raid the camp.
Around four o'clock in the morning, Zhang Fei was seen leading the troops in person, and the Jingzhou army followed cautiously and quietly towards the pass.
Yang Huai laughed in his heart: "Zhang Fei thought he had a good plan, but he didn't know he was trapped in a jar. I'll burn down the camp and see how arrogant you are."
After the people and horses passed, Yang Huai hurriedly led the ambush troops out of the forest and headed towards the Jingzhou army camp, only to see that the lights here had been extinguished long ago and it was pitch black. As expected, there was no defense at all.
Yang Huai was secretly delighted and immediately ordered his soldiers to rush into the camp and set fire to it. Except for Zhang Fei, he didn't care about the other generals at all.
In a blink of an eye, flames shot up into the sky. Yang Huai rushed straight to the central army tent, but heard loud drums outside the camp and shouts of killing coming from all directions. Knowing that something was wrong, he hurriedly ordered a retreat.
But by this time the soldiers were already in chaos, and were ambushed by troops outside, so they fled in all directions and had to call on the soldiers around them to escape along the way.
As soon as he arrived at the camp gate, he saw a general blocking his way. It was Kou Feng. He laughed and said, "This coward has finally come out!"
Yang Huai was anxious and angry, so he rode his horse and charged forward. The two fought for more than ten rounds. Then Liu Xian and Lei Tong led their troops to attack, and the Shu army was in complete chaos.
Yang Huai was entangled by Kou Feng. Seeing that the surrounding soldiers surrendered one after another, he knew that Zhang Fei was just ahead and did not dare to go back to Guanzhong. He tried his best to force Kou Feng back and escaped to a small road.
"Yang Huai, don't run!" Kou Feng chased him relentlessly and ordered his soldiers to shoot arrows.
Yang Huai was in such a panic that he didn't know where to go. His horse was walking on a small path by the river, and was shot by arrows. The horse jumped in pain and fell into the river with him.
At Fushui Pass, Liu Jun saw the hooks and chains thrown onto the top of the city wall, but he was not in a hurry. He waited until the fire in the camp in the distance shot up into the sky before he ordered the ropes to be cut. Then he heard countless people falling down the pass, with screams one after another.
Liu Jun was afraid that Yang Huai would take all the credit, so he immediately led his troops out of the pass to kill the enemy. Just now, under the firelight, he clearly saw a sturdy figure falling, which should be Zhang Fei.
Liu Jun rushed out of the gate and went to the left to look for Zhang Fei, laughing: "Hahaha, Zhang Fei, you're dead now..."
But a man was seen hugging a snake spear, leaning against the wall, blending into the shadows. Suddenly, a row of white teeth were revealed. He froze all over, and his heroic words turned into a murmur: "Dead—"