"These bastards are finally coming out?" The man stepped forward, pointed his spear and shouted, "Raise the fire!"
At the command, there was a sound of gongs and torches under the city, and then the general was seen, with a leopard head, round eyes, a swallow chin and a tiger beard, it was Zhang Fei.
Liu Jun was horrified and turned around and ran towards the city. He collided with the defenders who were on their way out, and blocked the city gate. He roared loudly and struggled to squeeze in.
"Follow me!" Zhang Fei thrust his spear forward and rushed into the doorway while the chaos was going on.
The Shu army was in chaos. No one cared about status. They crowded and trampled on each other. Liu Jun was knocked down in the chaos and couldn't get up. He was trampled to death by the chaotic army.
Before the defenders at the pass could react, Zhang Fei had already led his troops into the pass. Some defenders tried to stop them but were killed by Zhang Fei. The Yanyun cavalry went straight to the pass. Seeing that the situation was not good, the defenders either fled or surrendered, and the gate was under control in a blink of an eye.
Zhang Fei came to the top of the city wall, looked at the fire rising from the direction of the main camp, and laughed: "Yang Huaigui's son actually wanted to steal my old camp. I have taken Fushui Pass, what do I need a main camp for?"
Soldiers were assigned to guard the gate and take in the prisoners. Zhang Fei came to the government office and ordered people to look for Deng Xian's whereabouts. When he heard that Deng Xian was recuperating in the inn, he came to see him in person.
At this time, the sky was just getting light. Zhang Fei arrived at his residence. Without waiting for Deng Xian to get up, he stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying, "Thanks to the general's endurance, we were able to successfully capture the pass. I don't want the credit, I'll give it all to you!"
Deng Xian hurriedly said, "General, you can't do such a big thing. Even Cao Cao might not be able to use such a brilliant plan. Merely a flesh wound is nothing to warriors like us."
It turned out that Zhang Fei had lured his troops away from the battlefield, and as the deadline was approaching, he thought quickly and came up with this self-torture tactic, and discussed it with Deng Xian overnight.
Deng Xian had just surrendered and felt uneasy because he felt he had not gained Liu Qi's trust. When he heard Zhang Fei's plan, he thought it was a good opportunity to show his loyalty. The two of them hit it off and acted according to the plan, which was a great success.
Zhang Fei praised Deng Xian a few words, told him to rest and recuperate, then took Liu Xian, Kou Feng and others into the pass, and sent someone to report the news to Liu Qi.
When Kou Feng arrived at the gate, he saw countless wooden stakes lying at the foot of the city wall. They were tied with hemp ropes and passed through wooden rings hung on hooks. He wondered, "How can these wooden stakes help you break into the city?"
It was he who asked for permission to climb the city wall last night. Zhang Fei agreed in the tent, but changed the plan when he was about to leave. He asked him to ambush outside the camp and said he had his own way to break through the city wall.
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "I ordered people to throw hooks and chains over the top of the city walls and pull these wooden stakes up, pretending that someone is climbing up the city walls. When the defenders cut the ropes, it will make a noise and lure them out of the city."
Kou Feng suddenly realized and sighed, "General, it is incredible that you use wooden rings to hang wooden stakes."
Zhang Fei waved his hand and smiled, "What's so strange about this? When I was a butcher, I used this wooden circle to hang up the animals for slaughter. It saves effort and is convenient."
Everyone was amused by Zhang Fei, and Liu Xian sighed repeatedly. They all said that Zhang Fei was reckless, but they didn't know that he could also be very meticulous at times. Even the Dragon and the Phoenix could not have thought of such a thorough plan this time.
The next day, Liu Qi's troops arrived and Zhang Fei led his generals out of the camp. Liu Qi laughed and said, "I didn't expect that my uncle would have such a plan. This self-torture trick is really brilliant."
Pang Tong said: "If you don't use provocation, how can Yide use tricks?"
"In the past, with the eldest son and several military advisors here, why should I worry so much?" Zhang Fei laughed, "This time I am just repeating the old trick, but the situation in Shu is blocked. They only know that I, Zhang, failed to do the job because of alcohol, but they don't know that I also captured Liu Dai and Wang Zhong while drunk."
Pang Tong laughed and said, "This is what they call good news never goes out, but bad news travels a thousand miles."
"That's right!" Zhang Fei nodded repeatedly and took the initiative to apologize, saying, "I drank alcohol in the army again and beat the soldiers. I violated military orders. Please punish me, General."
Liu Qi hurriedly supported Zhang Fei's arm and said, "Uncle San came here to capture the city. He did this on purpose. It is not covered by military law."
Pang Tong also said: "No one is a saint, so who can be without mistakes? The difficulty lies in not knowing one's mistakes. Now that the general has realized this mistake, there is no greater good than this!"
In order to prevent Zhang Fei from causing trouble after drinking and whipping soldiers, Liu Qi took great pains to reiterate military orders many times and asked Pang Tong and others to remind and advise him frequently. Finally, he became somewhat aware of the situation.
Liu Qi was very pleased and said, "Although this was a trick, the soldiers were punished for no reason. Third Uncle should apologize to them in time."
"I have already given the credit to Deng Xian!" Zhang Fei nodded slightly and said indifferently: "But those soldiers... they were beaten, so just give them more rewards. Why should we apologize?"
"No!" Liu Qi said hurriedly: "Although gold and silver can inspire morale, they are not enough to win people's hearts. Only by putting yourself in others' shoes can the army fight for your life."
"I'll remember it!" Zhang Fei frowned slightly, obviously not taking it to heart.
Pang Tong said, "Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear. I hope Yide can understand your earnest intentions. If you can be as considerate of your soldiers as Yunchang, you will surely have loyal and brave guards like Zhou Cang following you."
Zhang Fei paused for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "I'll go and apologize to them right away."
Watching Zhang Fei striding away, Liu Qi shook his head secretly. Although Zhang Fei was able to listen to Pang Tong's advice, it did not seem to be from the heart.
Guan and Zhang had completely opposite attitudes towards outsiders. One was proud of his superiors but did not bully his subordinates, while the other respected the virtuous but did not care about the villains. In the end, both suffered great losses.
This is probably also related to their origins. Guan Yu was persecuted by the aristocratic officials and finally fled to the rivers and lakes. He has a chivalrous spirit and despises the hypocritical and arrogant aristocratic families, but is full of sympathy for ordinary people.
Although Zhang Fei was a butcher, he was also a landlord with considerable land. He was not as good as others but better than most. He was in awe and envy of great Confucian scholars and celebrities, but looked down on ordinary people. In his eyes, those soldiers were just servants and it was natural for him to beat and scold them.
In the past two years, Guan Yu has become much more humble under the influence of famous Jingzhou scholars such as Li Dian and Zhuge Liang, but he still looks down on those children from aristocratic families.
The same was true for Zhang Fei. Although he realized his mistakes after everyone's persuasion, deep down in his heart, he still could not reflect on himself.
It is easy to change the country but difficult to change one's nature, especially in the feudal era. This kind of class consciousness is basically difficult to change. Even Liu Bei could not persuade him, so Liu Qi could only do his best!
When everyone arrived in Guanzhong, Zhang Fei had already ordered Liu Xian to issue a notice to reassure the people, and everything in the city was in order. Liu Qi also rewarded Deng Xian extra, which completely calmed the hearts of the surrendered soldiers.
When the magistrate of Fucheng heard that Fushui Pass had been lost and Yang Huai and Gao Pei had both been killed in battle, he knew he was no match for Liu Qi and took the initiative to send someone to deliver a letter of surrender.
Liu Qi was overjoyed and ordered Liu Xian to guard the pass and lead the army to Fucheng. The county magistrate led the people to surrender. When they entered the city, the people lined the streets to welcome them. The three armies were rewarded in the city that day, and the morale of the Jingzhou army was high.
At this time, there was no news about Zhao Yun who had sent troops from Nanchong. Liu Qi ordered Kou Feng to lead 3,000 troops south along the Fu River to Guanghan to meet Zhao Yun.
Further ahead is Mianzhu, which was once the capital of Yizhou. Liu Yan managed it for several years. Although there was a major fire, the city walls were intact and its strength was second only to Chengdu.
Everyone was discussing the matter of taking Mianzhu, when they saw a man clasping his fists and saying, "General, don't worry about this. I only need a letter to ask Mianzhu to open the gates and surrender."