Liu Qi did not expect that Liang Xing would arrive first before Zhang Heng surrendered. This was truly an unexpected gain.
After meeting the visitor, he ordered him to report to Liang Xing that as long as he turned from evil to good, his past would be forgiven, and asked him to come to his tent after dawn, and hand over his men and horses to Zhao Yun for command.
The messenger returned to the camp and informed Zhang Fei of Liu Qi's words, and said that Zhang Fei was waiting for Wang Shuang, and had obviously contacted Zhang Heng long ago.
Liang Xing secretly felt lucky. After dawn, he summoned all his generals and was just ordering the handover of military power when Zhao Yun had already led his troops outside the tent and handed over the troops.
When he was about to go to the tent to meet Liu Qi, Zhao Yun told him that Liu Qi had already prepared a banquet for him in the city.
He arrived at the foot of the city alone. The garrison had been replaced by Han troops. He entered the city and came to the government office. Liu Qi came out in person to greet him. When he saw Zhang Heng, the two of them glared at each other and did not greet each other politely.
Liu Qi laughed and said, "Since Dong Zhuo, the Xiliang army has always been arrogant and domineering, each seeking its own interests, resulting in constant internal strife and attacks on each other. The two generals can be considered to have stood out from the mud without being stained, which is quite righteous."
The two men snorted at each other and turned away. If Liu Qi hadn't been there, they would have drawn their swords to fight.
Liu Qi invited the two men in, drank his wine and said with a smile: "I invited the two generals here today for no other reason than to resolve our grievances."
Liang Xing snorted coldly: "I am willing to serve the general, but I don't want to be with this villain."
Zhang Heng said angrily: "Liang Xing, you were sincere in plotting against me, and you dared to bite back?"
Zhang Fei stopped the two men and laughed, "The two generals don't know General Liu's brilliant plan. There are many misunderstandings. Let me explain it slowly."
He then told them about Liu Qi's plan to sow discord. After listening to it, the two of them were silent for a long while, shook their heads and smiled bitterly, clasped their fists and said, "General, you have a brilliant plan. We admire you."
Liu Qi sighed, "This is also due to the long-standing evil of the Xiliang army, internal strife, and mutual distrust. It can be seen that Han Sui's troops are just a pile of scattered sand. How can they not be defeated?"
The two men agreed with this and toasted each other with embarrassed looks. After the estrangement was eliminated, they felt guilty about each other and their friendship deepened.
Liu Qi said: "Generals, you two should have given up the dark and joined the light and served the court long ago. Now there is still a great merit. Do you dare to take it?"
Liang Xing and the other man looked at each other and realized that Liu Qi was going to make another move on the candidate. Now was the time to show their loyalty. Without hesitation, they clasped their fists and said, "I am willing to go through fire and water for you, even if I die."
Liu Qi asked, "Hou Xuan has led his troops to the north bank, but I have divided my troops to stop him. The two armies are now facing each other. I wonder if this man can persuade them to surrender?"
Zhang Heng frowned and said, "Hou Xuan is Han Sui's former subordinate, I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade him to surrender."
Liu Qi said: "Hou Xuan has not sent out troops yet. He must be waiting to see the situation in Lintao, or even sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. It can be seen that he is also on guard against the two generals!"
Liang Xing said angrily: "This must be Han Sui's plan. He ordered Hou Xuan to come to support us, but in fact he wanted us to fight and take the opportunity to swallow up his subordinates."
Zhang Heng sighed: "The various divisions of the Xiliang army have already been harming each other. How can they not be defeated?"
Liu Qi smiled and said, "I suggest that we first lure Hou Xuan to the city to discuss matters and persuade him to surrender. If he refuses to change his ways, we will take his head. What do you two think?"
Liang Xing clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to personally invite the candidates."
Liu Qi then ordered Liang Xing to invite Hou Xuan to Lintao for discussions. The garrison was replaced by Zhang Heng's troops, and someone was sent to inform Zhang Ren that if a fire was seen on the city wall, they should attack Hou Xuan's camp directly.
After eating and drinking, Liang Xing sailed across the Tao River to meet Hou Xuan on the other side, saying that they wanted to join forces to attack Liu Qi's headquarters. However, Zhang Heng had been defeated for a while and was hesitant, so he asked him to persuade them together. If the three of them joined forces to fight, if Liu Qi was defeated, the Han army that blocked the road would have to retreat, and they could take advantage of the situation to kill him.
Hou Xuan was intending to weaken the two generals. Seeing that they were unwilling to send troops, he was worried that they would become passive and lazy, so he ordered his deputy general to guard the camp and went to Lintao city together.
When they arrived at the government office, Zhang Heng met them. Hou Xuan did not discuss the matter, but started by questioning Zhang Heng why he was passively avoiding fighting and why he did not send troops to fight Liu Qi earlier.
Zhang Heng's face darkened, and he suppressed his anger and replied, "I fought with Liu Qi a few days ago, and I know that his soldiers are well-trained and his generals are brave, so I am afraid it will be difficult to win. Liu Qi is a relative of the Han Dynasty, why don't you abandon the dark and join the light and support the Han Dynasty together?"
"How dare you!" The candidate flew into a rage, slamming the table and shouting, "Zhang Heng, how dare you talk about surrendering in front of me? Could it be that you have second thoughts?"
Liang Xing stood beside Hou Xuan and asked, "How should we deal with such an unrepentant person?"
Hou Xuan said coldly: "Catch him immediately and behead him in public."
Liang Xing nodded and said, "General, you are right. I have long disliked Han Sui, the old villain!"
"What did you say?" The candidate turned around in surprise.
He saw a flash of cold light before his eyes, and before he could react, Liang Xing beheaded him with a single blow.
The candidate's head fell to the ground. The guards at the door were shocked. Before they could react, Wang Shuang had already led his troops forward and hacked the followers to death with their swords.
Liu Qi walked out from behind the corridor and sighed, "This thief has committed many evil deeds and deserves to be put to death."
That night, Zhang Heng led his troops across the Tao River and met with Zhang Ren. At four o'clock in the morning, they arrived at Houxuan's camp from the north.
When the deputy general saw Zhang Heng coming, he was a little confused. Hou Xuan had gone to Lintao and had not returned yet, so why did Zhang Heng come to the camp
Just as he was about to step forward to ask questions, Zhang Heng rode up to him, stabbed him off his horse without saying a word, and led his troops into the camp.
At this time, Zhang Ren also attacked from the front. Although Hou Xuan's troops were prepared, they did not expect Zhang Heng to counterattack and were attacked from two directions. The main general was killed and the whole camp was in complete chaos.
Zhang Heng rushed into the camp, shouting that Hou Xuan was dead and those who surrendered would not be killed. The Xiliang army was confused and had no idea how many soldiers there were in the dark night, and they all knelt on the ground.
Zhang Ren and Zhang Heng led their troops to surround the camp, subdued Hou Xuan's troops, and escorted the captives to Liu Qi's camp for custody. The two men advanced westward along the river overnight and headed straight for Mati Bay. By taking this place, they could cut off Han Sui's way back.
After daybreak, the Han army officially entered Lintao, changed their flags, issued notices to reassure the people, and the food and supplies they obtained were enough for the entire army.
In this battle, almost no manpower was spent, and 20,000 Xiliang troops were wiped out. More than 10,000 troops surrendered, which greatly increased the manpower and boosted the morale of the entire army.
The generals were celebrating their success in the city. Liang Xing saw Zhang Heng going to take Ma Ti Wan again, and he was also eager to make a contribution, so he asked for orders, "The city ahead is Long Sang, which I was originally guarding. Now the city is empty, we can take it."
Liu Qi slapped his thigh and said, "If you had told me earlier, I would have taken the city by now!"
Liang Xing knew that Liu Qi wanted him to take over the city, so he sighed and said, "General, you don't know that Han Sui sent troops to the city the day before yesterday when I left. He said he was going to transport food and grass, but now I think he may have intended to harm me."
"Oh?" Liu Qi sneered, "Han Sui is fickle and has killed his companions repeatedly. He must be guilty and treats others as he would treat himself, so he is taking extra precautions against you."
Liang Xing clasped his fists and said, "Han Sui is unkind, so don't blame us for being unjust. I am willing to go and take the city."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "General, you are so righteous and heroic. I order you to take 5,000 elite soldiers to take Longsang City."
"Yes, sir!" Seeing that Liu Qi trusted him so much, Liang Xing gladly accepted the order and left.
Zhang Fei said worriedly, "My lord, the Xiliang army has been doing evil for many years and telling lies all the time. Could it be that this guy has escaped back to his old nest?"
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Liang Xing and Zhang Heng are still loyal to each other and still have a trace of conscience. He has killed Hou Xuan to make his intention clear and has no other choice."