For three days, Xiahou Yuan shouted and cursed to no avail. He returned to the camp in anger and ordered the preparation of equipment for a violent attack on Baxiantai.
Xun You said, "Yan Yan is defending the mountain. Attacking the camp will wear down the morale of the army. It is not good for the army. The enemy is coming. We should conserve our energy and prepare for battle. Liu Qi's army will surely attack when it arrives. After marching for days, the soldiers are tired. The general should rest and wait for them to tire. He will be able to defeat them."
Xiahou Yuan said dissatisfiedly: "Now the war has broken out in Xiliang and the Central Plains. If we don't defeat the enemy soon, and allow their army to invade, it may become a big disaster."
Xun You smiled and said, "Victory or defeat is not determined by numbers, success or failure depends on a moment. In the past, Sun Bin was defeated repeatedly, lured the enemy deep into our territory, and defeated Pang Juan in one battle at Malingpo. Now Liu Qi is far away from Hanzhong and deep in the Qinling Mountains. He must be slack at some point. Yang Song has sent us a message, and Hanzhong can be decided in one battle."
Xiahou Yuan hurriedly asked, "What's the situation in Hanzhong?"
Xun You nodded and said, "The spies have successfully entered the city. Zhang Fei and Wei Yan are both in the city. Yang Song has long intended to join the Prime Minister. We are just waiting for the general to counterattack and march to Yangping Pass in one fell swoop. With internal support, it will be easy to take Hanzhong."
Xiahou Yuan laughed and said, "I will leave Liu Qi's head on this Taibai Mountain!"
…
While the two armies were confronting each other in Jigu, Hanzhong was also actively training its troops and horses, ready to provide support at any time.
From Baishui Pass to Yangping Pass, there was an endless stream of carriages and horses, and food and fodder were continuously transported from Yizhou. They were allocated by Li Yan and distributed to the three battlefields of Qishan, Chencang Road, and Jigu.
"Hahaha, I'm alive again!"
Suddenly, there was a thunderous laugh in the government office, followed by the sound of weapons colliding and a loud noise, and a jujube tree in the backyard fell down with a loud bang.
Ma Su, who had come to report intelligence, was shocked and ran in to take a look. He saw Zhang Fei holding a big knife, his clothes torn, standing beside the tree with his eyes wide open, looking at the fallen leaves on the ground, as motionless as a sculpture.
Wang Shuang, who was not far away, was stunned. This knife was exactly Song Long's elephant trunk knife. It weighed more than 60 kilograms and was made of unknown material. It was extremely sharp.
But he thought he could not cut the waist-thick jujube tree in one stroke. Just now, Zhang Fei suddenly shouted, grabbed the knife, and swung it wildly, cutting the tree in half.
Wang Shuang swallowed his saliva, stepped forward and asked, "Master, what is this move?"
Zhang Fei shuddered, came back to his senses, looked up to the sky and laughed, "I understand, I understand too, haha-"
Ma Su was in doubt and asked from a distance, "Has General Zhang gone mad because of his injury?"
"You are crazy!" Zhang Fei threw the knife to Wang Shuang, shaking his sore arm and said, "I have learned a lot from teaching you martial arts over the past two months. I have come up with another move and will teach you in a few days."
Wang Shuang was overjoyed and asked hurriedly, "Master, does this move have a name?"
Zhang Fei thought about it and said, "Let's call it Pojun Style."
Ma Su also understood, stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying: "Congratulations, General, for regaining your might. Our army has gained another powerful general. Why should we worry about the victory of Guanzhong?"
Zhang Fei rolled up his sleeves and said, "Get the troops ready. I'm going to go to war."
Ma Su hurriedly advised, "Wait a minute, General. Cao's army now knows that you are recovering from your injuries and cannot go out to fight. If you use it as a surprise attack, it will be very effective."
Zhang Fei frowned and said, "We have Zhang He and Yu Jin in Qishan, Zilong in Chencang Road, Wei Yan in Ziwu Road, but there are only two veteran generals in Jigu. If I don't lead the troops, who can defeat the enemy?"
Ma Su smiled and said, "My lord never makes mistakes in choosing people. Since you have appointed two veteran generals to lead the army, you must be sure of victory. In my humble opinion, the general should continue to recover from his injuries and not let Cao's army find out. Send someone to report to my lord first, and take this time to stretch your muscles and bones. When my lord's order arrives, it will not be too late to send troops."
"Well, that makes sense!" Zhang Fei nodded slightly and asked, "How is Wei Yan?"
In order to keep Wei Yan's surprise attack on Ziwu Valley secret, Liu Qi asked him to find a man with a similar body shape from the army to replace him, and to train and patrol all day to avoid being seen.
Otherwise, the prefect of Hanzhong, who neither went with the army nor was in the city, would surely arouse suspicion from Cao's army.
Ma Su replied, "General Wei is training his troops in the camp, wearing a helmet and mask. Unless he is guarding his personal confidants, no one can see his flaws from a distance. Recently, several Cao's spies have sneaked into the city with Yang Song's caravan. I have asked them to spread the news."
Zhang Fei angrily cursed: "Yang Song is such a treacherous villain, I will tear his head off sooner or later."
Ma Su said, "My lord has already explained before he left that although Yang Song is a villain, he is the head of the Yang family in Hanzhong after all, and he helped us conquer Hanzhong before. If we kill him openly, it will definitely shock the people, so he needs to be dealt with secretly."
Zhang Fei frowned and said, "Although there are many surveillance cameras in the city, there are bound to be omissions. You Chang should not be complacent. If there is such a hidden danger, it must be eliminated as soon as possible."
Ma Su smiled and said, "I have a plan to eliminate this hidden danger within one or two days. I am here today to discuss this matter with the general."
Zhang Fei said in dissatisfaction: "Since this thief is collaborating with the enemy, we can catch the spy and find evidence to arrest him, which will convince the people. Why go to so much trouble?"
Ma Su sighed, "This man is extremely clever. He never shows up in person to contact Cao's army. All the messages are only delivered verbally. General Wei has been secretly investigating for several months, but he is afraid to act rashly due to insufficient evidence. Now we can use the general's recovery to lure him into the trap."
Zhang Fei asked, "What's the plan?"
Ma Su invited Zhang Fei into the house, and the two discussed the matter alone. Wang Shuang walked to the tree stump with a knife in his hand, and saw that the broken end was flat and smooth like a mirror, and he was secretly amazed.
The next day, Zhang Fei suddenly issued a notice in the city. As he was recovering from his injuries and could not go out to fight, he was bored at home every day. He set up an arena on East Street and invited all the masters of Hanzhong to compete in martial arts to kill time. The winner would receive a huge reward.
When the news came out, there was a sensation in the city. The winner on the first day would receive a reward of 5,000 yuan. Although the amount was not much, he would get an extremely rare toy, a ebony Buddha head from the Kushan Empire.
Although this item is not valuable, it is said that it was consecrated by a high Kushan monk and can protect the family's safety and bring in a lot of wealth, which arouses the envy of many people.
The next day, he was also rewarded with a South China Sea whale tooth, which was as smooth as jade, cool and moist. It is said that wearing it for a long time can relax the meridians and have the effect of nourishing the skin and prolonging life.
For a time, the rare goods in Zhang Fei's hands attracted the attention of the people. Yang Song loved hunting for curiosities. His family had countless money and gold, but he lacked these rare treasures. He secretly asked someone to buy them at a high price, but Yang Song was unwilling to sell them.
Yang Song saw it and was anxious, so he sent escorts from the escort agency to compete on stage. As a result, several masters were defeated and had to watch the treasure being taken away by others.
He remembered that the Cao army spy who had contacted him before said that all the scouts in Cao's camp were very skilled. As long as they followed the caravan into the city, they could spy on military intelligence and would have nothing to do with him anymore.
Yang Song could not hold back any longer, so he found the contact person overnight and asked him to send a scout to take action, and promised to reward him handsomely as long as the treasure was obtained.
The man hesitated for a long time, and finally agreed. He sent someone to fight the next day. The man was indeed very skilled and defeated several people in succession. He won applause from Zhang Fei and was rewarded with a string of Bodhi Buddha beads.
Yang Song saw the treasure in his hand and clenched his fist in excitement. When he was about to hand over the item, someone suddenly shouted, "He is not a member of the Yang family, but a spy of Cao's army."