In the Cao army camp at Baxiantai, the defending general Xiahou Shang was furious when he heard that his brother was killed, and he was ready to raise an army to take revenge.
Dai Ling, who had escaped back, hurriedly tried to persuade them to stop. Although Yan Yan was old, he was a great martial arts master. Xiahou De was no match for him and was killed. Now they must not underestimate the enemy.
Xiahou Shang said angrily: "This old man has gone too far in bullying others. I swear to kill this villain."
I heard a man shouting, "We were ordered to conquer Hanzhong and pacify Xichuan. Now the army has not yet set out, but has been attacked by the enemy. If we don't send out troops, when will we defeat the enemy and take revenge?"
Xiahou Shang looked and saw that it was his cousin Xiahou Ping, who was a brave man and had been a personal soldier of Xiahou Yuan. He had received Xiahou Yuan's guidance when he was in Xuzhou. This time he was promoted to a general in order to gain experience and make achievements.
"My dear brother, what you said is very true. Baxiantai is in a dangerous place, so only 3,000 soldiers are needed to defend it! Our original intention was to intercept the enemy and prevent them from approaching Jigu. We would deplete their food and grass, and wait for them to tire themselves out. We can then divide our forces to stop them."
Dai Ling frowned and said, "General, what you said makes sense, but Yan Yan is cunning and treacherous, and his two generals are quite powerful. I am afraid that if we divide our troops and send them out, they will defeat us, which will not be worth the loss."
"Why should I be afraid of you, old villain?" Xiahou Shang said angrily, "You are the general of the defeated army, and I have not yet punished you. You do not know how to make meritorious service while guilty, but instead you are here to slow down the morale of our army and boost the enemy's morale. If you dare to speak nonsense again, I will punish you as well."
Dai Ling asked helplessly: "General, what good plan do you have?"
Xiahou Shang sneered, "From Taibai Mountain to Qingsongyuan, there are still several strategic locations, only a few miles apart, with distant responses. I will take down three camps in a row to block the enemy along the way. Even if we are defeated, we can weaken their spirit. When the enemy's horses are exhausted, my elite troops will be fully deployed, and it will be easy to defeat them."
Xiahou Ping praised: "The first attack is powerful, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted. Brother, this plan is in line with the art of war."
Xiahou Shang laughed and said, "I have not wasted my time these years. I have devoted myself to studying military tactics and strategies in order to succeed today."
Dai Ling asked, "Where will the general deploy his troops?"
Xiahou Shang said: "The Tiger Leaping Cliff, the Blue Dragon Pool, and the Seven-Step Cliff ahead are all strategic locations, which are good enough for stationing troops to defend."
Dai Ling saw that Xiahou Shang's deployment was appropriate. These places were all in Taibai Mountain, not far from the main camp, and reinforcements would arrive in half an hour, so he stopped dissuading him.
Xiahou Shang immediately ordered Xiahou Ping, Dai Ling and Liu Zhu to lead their troops to set up camp, and left 3,000 elite soldiers on the mountain, ready to support the front army at any time.
Scouts had already reported Cao's army's movements to Qingsongyuan. Upon hearing the news, Yan Yan smiled and said, "I was just worrying about the strong passes ahead, but Xiahou Shang actually sent troops to fight. God bless the Han Dynasty."
Ju Fuyan said: "We have won the first battle. We have to recuperate in the past two days. If we can defeat another general and break through the pass, the morale of the three armies will be high, and we can take down Baxiantai in one go."
"That's right!" Zhang Yi laughed and said, "We have been in Xichuan for many years, but have not been able to show our strengths. This time we march into the Central Plains, it is the time to make achievements and become famous. We should give it a try."
Yan Yan also sighed with emotion. He had lived in Yizhou all his life and had long wanted to visit this beautiful country. Now he was over 60 years old and although he felt like a hero in his twilight years, he was finally able to lead his troops to fight and fulfill his wish. If he could march into Chang'an, what regrets would he have in this life
He then ordered two generals to be the vanguard and lead their elite troops to Tiger Leaping Cliff. Here, two mountains face each other, and the Baoshui River runs across it with a fast-flowing current. It is said that a tiger once jumped over the cliff, hence the name.
The terrain here is different from Qingsongyuan. It extends forward and is a gentle slope. There is a camp on the road, just below the slope. There are also cavalry on the mountain, ready to swoop down at any time.
Ju Fu said: "Cao's army set up camp like this, with the front army deployed and the rear army supporting, but they did not think that if the camp was broken, it would hinder the cavalry. I can use my military strength to break it in one fell swoop."
While he was observing the battle formation, suddenly drums sounded in the camp, and a general led his troops out of the camp, riding his horse with sword drawn, to fight. It was Xiahou Ping, who intended to kill the enemy and become famous in the army.
The two men were just in the right place. The man raised his knife and shouted, "You old thief Yan Yan killed my brother, why don't you come and die?"
Ju Fu glanced at the person who came and said to Zhang Yi, "This person is not Xiahou Shang, but he wants to avenge Xiahou De. He must be a member of the Xiahou clan. Most of them are arrogant and incompetent, so they must be vulnerable. We can kill him and then charge into the camp and seize it."
Zhang Yi understood and immediately ordered his men to make secret preparations. Three hundred cavalrymen were in the front and infantrymen were in the back, forming a battle formation to pretend to be Ju Fu's plunder formation.
Ju Fu stepped forward and said in a loud voice: "I am Ju Fu, Yan Yan is my master. If you want to fight him, you have to get past me first."
Seeing that he was an unknown person, Xiahou Ping's confidence increased, and he sneered: "Listen carefully, I am Xiahou Ping. As the saying goes, a son pays for his father's debt. Today I will kill you first as a sacrifice."
Ju Fu squinted at the newcomer and said sarcastically, "Xiahou clan's children are really like this. They are arrogant but have no ability at all. If it weren't for their fathers' glory, they would probably be fugitives on the street."
Xiahou Ping was furious. He shouted and urged his horse to go out into the battle. He raised his sword and slashed at Ju Fu. Ju Fu stepped forward to meet him. Both of them were taught by famous teachers and had outstanding martial arts skills.
Seeing Ju Fu's mediocre martial arts skills, Xiahou Ping sneered, "Chuanzhong is indeed full of mediocre people."
"Shut up!" Ju Fuli shouted, and suddenly swept his sword across, knocking away his weapon, and then slashed with his backhand.
Seeing the terrifying momentum of the knife, Xiahou Ping did not dare to be careless and hurriedly held his knife horizontally to block. However, he did not expect that it was a feint. The blade suddenly turned over and slashed upwards as fast as lightning.
At this time, the two horses were crossing each other at a very fast speed, and he had no time to change his moves. With a flash of cold light, he was cut off from his horse by Ju Fu's sword.
"Charge!" Ju Fu did not stop and rushed straight towards the panicked Cao army.
Although Ju Fu looked weak and thin, most Sichuan people were like this, but they were brave and good at fighting. In addition, Yan Yan's coach was strict, and his talent far exceeded Xiahou Ping, so he deliberately showed weakness and killed him.
The Cao army was cheering, but the situation took a sudden turn for the worse. Xiahou Cun was beheaded, and Ju Fu rode his horse to kill them. The army was immediately in chaos and turned around to flee into the camp.
Zhang Yi in the rear had already been ready for action. He followed closely behind and led his troops to charge. The Han army was in high spirits and rushed into the camp gate. Cao's army was caught off guard and fled to the rear camp.
The cavalry camp on the mountain was lost, and they rushed down to rescue it. Halfway through, they saw the deserters going out. The front army hurriedly reined in their horses, and the rear army could not stop their momentum. The soldiers and horses collided with each other, and the situation became chaotic, with countless casualties.
Ju Fu and Zhang Yi led their troops to the rear camp. Cao's army was knocked dizzy by their own troops. Only about 200 cavalrymen on the hillside fled in panic, and the rest were captured. Countless casualties were reported.
Zhang Yi captured the captives and interrogated them. He learned that there were two more camps ahead, less than four or five miles apart. He immediately sent someone to inform Yan Yan.
In the evening, Yan Yan led his troops to the camp. He was very satisfied with the performance of the two generals and said with a pleased smile: "In this battle, all the young men are fighting. Cao's army is just the sons of the clan. The future of our Han Dynasty is promising."
Ju Fu said, "The front camp of Cao's army is at Qinglongtan, by the water and close to the cliff. The two of us will go and take this place tomorrow."
Yan Yan smiled and said, "As the saying goes, the first blow is the best, the second blow is the worst. Now is the time to advance while you are victorious. We must not slack off or we will miss this golden opportunity!"