Xiahou De was ordered to guard the front camp. Scouts had already informed him of the Han army's news and were defending in front of the camp.
Seeing that the general only had a thousand troops, he was eager to give it a try and asked the military officer Dai Ling: "Among the Sichuan generals, have you ever heard of Zhang Yi?"
Dai Ling shook his head and said, "Although I have never heard of this person, Liu Qi has always been good at employing people and would never send incompetent people as vanguards. We must not underestimate the enemy."
Xia Houde sneered and said, "I have been ordered to resist the enemy. If I don't kill them, how can I show my military might?"
Dai Ling said anxiously: "Commander-in-Chief Xiahou ordered us to defend the city and not to rush out. When the Han army is trapped in the valley, we will have a plan to defeat the enemy. Don't act rashly."
Just as he was hesitating, he heard Zhang Yi laugh and say, "I heard that the garrison commander Xia Houde was just a spoiled brat. Today I see that he is indeed like that. You dare not even answer me?"
Xiahou De was furious, pointing at the pass and shouting: "Zhang Yi, you are just a nobody, I don't want to talk to you."
Zhang Yi smiled and said, "You clan members are only able to be ranked as generals because Cao Cao's clan is Xiahou. In fact, you don't have much ability."
"Zhang Yi, don't go too far!" Xia Houde was furious and walked towards the door with a knife in hand. "I want to fight you to the death."
Dai Ling hurriedly advised: "This is a method of provoking the general. General, don't fall into the trap."
Xia Houde was furious and said, "How can I tolerate being insulted in front of an unknown person? If we don't fight, how can we bully the Central Plains?"
Dai Ling was unable to dissuade him, so he had to lead his troops to guard the camp and provide cover for Xiahou De.
The drum sounded three times, and Xiahou De came out, pointed at Zhang Yi and said in a deep voice: "Today I will teach you the bravery of the Xiahou clan!"
Zhang Yi laughed and said, "Among the Xiahou clan, Xiahou Dun is the bravest. He lost an eye first and was captured later. I have long heard of your great name, but unfortunately I didn't get to meet you. It's a pity."
"Shut up!" Xiahou De got furious when he heard that and urged his horse to go straight for Zhang Yi.
The two men fought outside the camp. After just ten rounds, Zhang Yi could no longer hold on and rode away.
"Hahaha, you are only good at talking, come and get yourself killed!" Xiahoude was still furious and kept chasing him. Zhang Yi was frightened and walked around the field.
At this moment, a general led his troops to the rear, rode forward, let Zhang Yi pass, and shouted: "Yan Yan is here, who dares to be so presumptuous?"
Xiahou De won a battle and was in high spirits. He looked up and saw that his hair and beard were all white. He laughed and said, "Liu Qi actually sent such old soldiers to fight. It seems that there is no one in Sichuan!"
Yan Yan danced with his sword and fought with Xiahou De, but he could not hold on after a few rounds. Zhang Yi also came to fight, and the two of them surrounded Xiahou De and barely ended up in a draw.
Dai Ling was anxious, fearing that Xiahou De might make a mistake and he would not be able to explain himself when he returned. So he had no choice but to ride out to fight Zhang Yi. If he could kill Yan Yan, it would be a great achievement.
Old General, hurry up! "Zhang Yi saw that Yan Yan could not resist, so he tried his best to force Dai Ling to retreat, and the two of them turned their horses and left.
"Want to leave? Ask someone with the knife in your hand first!" Xiahoude was in the mood for killing. He snorted coldly and led his troops to attack.
Dai Ling urged urgently: "General, don't chase!"
Xia Houde shouted: "We should pursue the enemy while we are victorious to strengthen our army's prestige. If you are so cowardly, how can we defeat the enemy?"
So he ignored Dai Ling's dissuasion and gave an order, and the defending troops marched out together. Along the way, they saw the Han soldiers throwing away their weapons and armor, looking in a mess.
Xiahoude led the way. He knew that in front of the valley was a cliff path that could only accommodate one or two people. The two thousand soldiers would not be able to pass through and would surely die.
Xiahou De was chasing the enemy in front, and Dai Ling did not dare to be negligent. He left 500 soldiers to guard the camp and the rest of the troops followed. Seeing that many infantrymen along the way were scrambling for weapons, he shouted loudly and ordered to pursue the enemy.
Xiahou De stared at Yan Yan and chased him as they walked through the valley. In front of them, the Han army was crowded at the mouth of the cliff. Yan Yan had to turn around and fight to cover their retreat. The two armies engaged in a melee, and the Han army fought and retreated.
Dai Ling had just arrived with his troops when suddenly there was a deafening sound of drums from the cliffs on both sides, arrows were fired indiscriminately, huge rocks and trees fell from the sky, and Cao's army suffered countless casualties.
Xiahoude was horrified. When he looked back, he saw that there were ambushes in the dense forest on the high ground. He shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
Before he knew it, Yan Yan had already galloped over and sneered, "This is what happens when you are young and impetuous."
Xiahou De hurriedly raised his sword to block and fought hard. Suddenly, Yan Yan became energetic, his eyes wide open, and he killed him in a few moves, making him panic. Then he realized that he had fallen into a trap.
"You old man, you..." Xia Houde was so frightened that he was killed by Yan Yan with a single blow.
Dai Ling in the rear saw that the situation was not good, so he led his troops to charge back under a hail of arrows and risked his life to rush out of the valley. Zhang Yi led his troops to chase them, and Cao's army was killed in pieces, and the valley was filled with corpses.
Dai Ling fled back to the camp in panic, and Zhang Yi followed closely behind him. The defenders could not resist at all. Two soldiers were about to close the gate when Zhang Yi stabbed them with his spear and knocked them to the ground.
When the rest of Cao's army saw Dai Ling heading straight for the rear camp, they dared not resist anymore and fled one after another.
In the valley, Yan Yan and Ju Fu trapped Cao's army in the valley, surrounded them from the front and back, and shouted for them to surrender.
When Cao's army saw Xiahoude being beheaded and the reinforcements fleeing, they were left with no way to advance or retreat. Knowing that the Han army would not kill prisoners, they all dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground.
By the time the two men escorted the prisoners to Qingsongyuan, Zhang Yi had already captured the camp and was bringing his men into the camp.
Zhang Yi said happily: "There are a lot of food and weapons stored in the rear camp, and this is a good place to station troops."
Yan Yan laughed and said, "The victory in the first battle is all due to the efforts of the two of you. You are really the young people to be feared."
He then sent people to persuade Cao's army to surrender and escorted them to the rear to build roads. The first battle was a victory, and they celebrated the victory in the camp that night.
According to the surrendered soldiers, Xiahou Yuan stationed a large army in Jigu and ordered the brothers Xiahou De and Xiahou Shang to be the vanguard. They set up camps in various dangerous places and deployed defenses, using defense as offense, in an attempt to exhaust the Han army's food and grass in the Qinling Mountains.
This Qingsongyuan is exactly where the Baoxiade Road meets. Further ahead is the Xiagu Road, which is located in the belly of Taibai Mountain. The terrain is steep, and the highest point is called Baxiantai, which is guarded by Xiahou Shang.
The next day, the troops rested and Yan Yan discussed with the two generals how to deal with the enemy. Baxiantai was high up and faced the water on one side. Although there was no pass, it was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Yan Yan frowned and said, "We killed Xiahou De in this battle, but his brother Xiahou Shang did not come to avenge him. I'm afraid he will not easily send troops again."
Ju Fu said: "Why not hold this camp for now and report to the lord to see what countermeasures Cao's army has, so as to use the current to counter the enemy."
Zhang Yi won the first battle and was full of vigor. He asked for orders: "No matter how dangerous the terrain is, I am willing to lead 3,000 troops to conquer it."
Yan Yan said, "We rushed to attack Qingsongyuan this time because we came here lightly and without baggage, so we took risks. Now that we have a foothold and sufficient money and food, there is no need to take risks and waste our men and horses."
Zhang Yiyan said: "Even if reinforcements arrive, we still have to send troops. Why not test the enemy's strength first? If the enemy doesn't come out, then make plans."
"What Bo Gong said makes sense!" Yan Yan thought for a moment and ordered: "The soldiers are tired after traveling for days. We are a little far away from the main army, and we should not go too deep. Let's rest for another day. If Cao's army still doesn't make any moves, it won't be too late for you two to send troops again."
The reason why Liu Qi chose Yan Yan as the vanguard was because he was more patient than Huang Zhong, and was experienced in leading troops, so he could be considered both wise and brave.
Yan Yan knew that this trip was a heavy responsibility, so he did not take any risks. He took every step carefully and was able to travel safely along the way. Otherwise, he would have been trapped and killed by Cao's traps along the way.