Zhang Quan arrived at the border and asked the garrison to transport Zhang Xiu's body back to Xuchang.
He first met Cao Pi and said that Guan Yu could not bear to punish Zhang Xiu any further because Zhang Xiu was dead, and so released him. Cao Pi knew that the Jingzhou army would not kill prisoners, so he comforted him with a few words and did not suspect anything.
Zhang Quan came to visit Jia Xu again, quietly handed over the brocade bag, told him exactly what Zhuge Liang had said, and asked, "What is the meaning of this thing?"
Jia Xu looked at the three items, pinched his beard and was silent for a long time, then slowly said: "As long as Yanhan is not destroyed, father and son will return!"
Zhang Quan was startled and asked in confusion: "What does Zhuge Liang mean by this?"
Jia Xu sighed: "In the past, Wang Yun used a series of strategies to kill Dong Zhuo. The Xiliang army fled, and Wang Yun sent troops to chase them. In order to protect myself, I advised the generals to counterattack Chang'an. Who knew that Li Jue, Guo Si and others were even worse than Dong Zhuo? Although I tried my best to deal with them, it was ultimately difficult to save the situation, which led to the emperor's exile and a big mistake..."
Zhang Quan was surprised and looked at the half piece of charcoal silently. Then he realized what Zhuge Liang meant and asked, "What should we do next?"
Jia Xu only said: "After your father's body is brought back, it should be buried first. After all, we are from Xiliang. Although we cannot return to our hometown, we should be buried in the west. We can transport the coffin to Luoyang for burial. Go and prepare early!"
Zhang Quan thought of his own situation and was overwhelmed with sadness. He had no time to care about Jia Xu's affairs anymore, so he said goodbye and left, then went to discuss with Cao Pi.
Jia Mu walked out from the back hall and asked, "Father, why did you bury General Zhang to the west of Luoyang?"
Jia Xu did not explain, but simply ordered: "Zhang Xiu and I have been through life and death together. After all, we are from the same hometown and work together. I should attend his funeral. When you find out that the coffin has left Xuchang, go and ask the prince for permission to go to the grave to pay your respects."
Jia Mu was slightly startled. Although he didn't understand what his father meant, he knew that if his old father didn't want to say much, he didn't need to ask more questions and bowed and left.
Jia Xu raised his cloudy eyes and looked outside the door, and a sigh echoed in the room for a long time.
…
When Guan Yu's army advanced into the Central Plains, Liu Qi also led his troops to Jigu. Heavy snow had been falling for half a month, making the road in the valley slippery and difficult to travel on, and the march was extremely slow.
Yan Yan had been waiting for a long time, and Huang Zhong heard that the front army had made great achievements, so they were all eager to fight.
Ma Liang said, "Xiahou Yuan is Cao Cao's confidant, well versed in strategy and good at commanding troops. If we leave him in Chang'an to guard against Xiliang, the defenses have been tight for a month. What can we do?"
Liu Qi frowned and said, "Although Xiahou Yuan has an irritable personality, he is indeed difficult to deal with with Xun You as his assistant."
Huang Zhong clasped his fists and said, "My lord, don't worry. I only need 5,000 elite soldiers to break through Cao's camp and present Xiahou Yuan's head to you."
Meng Da also stepped out and said, "I am willing to follow the old general to achieve merit and share the worries of my lord."
Fa Zheng shook his head and said, "Cao's army has been operating in Jigu for half a year. Their camp is strong. With Xiahou Yuan's bravery and Xun You's wisdom, a strong attack is not as good as last time. We need a unique strategy to break it."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "What the military advisor said is very true. This battle is related to the situation in Guanzhong. If we lose soldiers and generals and are unable to advance, all our previous efforts will be wasted."
Fa Zheng smiled and said, "Although Xun You has strategies, I think Xiahou Yuan is eager to fight. He is also deeply annoyed by General Yan's strict defense. This is what we call sympathy for each other!"
Liu Qi's heart moved, and he nodded and said, "Sir, you are right. Cao's army is also eager to find our army's flaws."
Fa Zheng's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he said slowly: "War is like a game of chess. It is better to lose a piece than to lose the initiative. You can take the initiative to seek change and expose a flaw to him."
Liu Qi immediately ordered his troops to go out and appointed Huang Zhong as the vanguard and Meng Da as the deputy general. He sent 5,000 elite soldiers to Cao's camp first to challenge the enemy and observe the reaction of Cao's army. Then he would discuss countermeasures with Fa Zheng.
Just as Fa Zheng had expected, Xiahou Yuan was restless in the camp. He wanted to send out his troops but had no opportunity to do so, and the narrow valley also made it impossible for him to use any strategy.
At this time, the war in Xiliang was not going well. The troops from Hanzhong had already crossed Qishan. Ren Yang and other Tianshui nobles responded and led their people to welcome the enemy into Shanggui. Wei Kang, the governor of Liangzhou, could not resist and retreated to Jicheng. The war situation was critical.
Xiahou Yuan even planned to withdraw his troops, lead the enemy out of the Qinling Mountains, cut off their food supplies in the Qinling Mountains, and fight them in the Weishui area, but he was persuaded by Xun You and could only wait for another opportunity to fight.
Just when they were feeling helpless, suddenly there was a loud drumbeat outside the camp. The defenders came to report that Liu Qi had sent troops to attack the camp. They immediately put on their armor and went to fight the enemy.
The first general urged his horse and shouted: "The Han general Meng Da is here, the traitorous Cao clan, come and die."
"How dare an unknown person shout so loudly?" Xiahou Shang was furious and rode his horse to fight Meng Da.
Ever since his last camp was attacked and he escaped from the water, Xiahou Shang has been laughed at whenever he returned to the camp. He wanted to avenge his previous humiliation, and after finally waiting for the enemy to come and attack him, he could no longer hold back.
Xiahou Yuan was watching the battle from the sidelines. Seeing another veteran coming from the rear, he frowned and said, "Is it true that Liu Qi has no one available?"
Huang Zhong was also stroking his beard while looking at Xiahou Yuan on his horse, thinking that if he could kill the general in front of the battle, Cao's army would be defeated without a fight, and he could capture Jigu in one fell swoop, then advance into Guanzhong and seize Chang'an.
The two men watched from each other while Meng Da and Xiahou Shang fought. The two generals were also eager to make a contribution, and they fought for more than twenty rounds without a clear winner.
Xiahou Yuan could not hold back, so he rode forward and laughed, "Liu Qi has no one to use, but he keeps sending old soldiers to fight. Hurry up and get Guan Yu."
Huang Zhong raised his sword and shouted angrily: "Although I am old, my sword is still sharp. This sword is just right to chop off your head."
"My sword is not blunt!" Xiahou Yuan was furious and rode his horse straight towards Huang Zhong.
Huang Zhong hated being told that he was old the most. When he saw Xiahou Yuan slashing at him with a sword, he did not dodge at all. Instead, he raised his sword to block and took the sword head-on, catching it steadily.
"You old thief still has some strength!" Xiahou Yuan was secretly surprised and laughed, "Let's see how long you can hold out."
"Try to take my sword!" Huang Zhong pulled himself together and chopped it down fiercely with his backhand.
Xiahou Yuan was not willing to be outdone, he raised his sword and blocked it with all his strength, the two men each raised their weapons, and their horses kept circling.
While they were wrestling, there was a sizzling sound, and Huang Zhong's blade suddenly came over, bringing a string of sparks, and the tip of the blade passed in front of Xiahou Yuan.
Xiahou Yuan didn't expect Huang Zhong to suddenly increase his strength at this moment. He hurriedly tilted his head back to avoid it. A cool breeze blew across his neck, giving him goose bumps.
"You despicable old thief, how dare you cheat me!" Xiahou Yuan was extremely angry and roared, changing his tactics and fighting, wanting to kill Huang Zhong off his horse.
The two sides fought on horseback again. Huang Zhong changed his moves, and his sword flew up and down like a dragon in the sea. No matter how fiercely Xiahou Yuan attacked, he could not do anything to him.
Xiahou Yuan was of hot temper to begin with. After more than ten rounds of failure in defeating an old general, he felt that he had lost face and became even more annoyed. He roared incessantly, launched deadly moves one after another, and used a wide range of moves, wishing he could split Huang Zhong in half.
Huang Zhong was not willing to be outdone. The two men fought with their swords like fierce tigers, neither giving in, and the fight was fierce.
Before he knew it, thirty rounds had passed. Xiahou Yuan had vented his anger, but still could not do anything to the opponent. He was secretly shocked, realizing that Huang Zhong was quite strong.
When preparing to compete with him in physical strength, Huang Zhong saw that Meng Da was somewhat inferior to Xiahou Shang, so he ordered to retreat. Xiahou Yuan was about to chase him, but the sound of a horn was heard in the camp, so he had to stop.