"Great!" Liu Qi nodded and said with a smile: "First, you will be promoted to a general, select 3,000 elite soldiers from the army, investigate the surrounding terrain, bypass Cao's camp and enter the mountains. Follow my advice and you will be rewarded after the success."
"Yes, sir!" Zhang Yi was overjoyed and left.
Fa Zheng nodded and praised: "There are many heroes in Sichuan. I think this man has the talent of a great general. I wonder how many talented people are hidden under General Yan's command."
Yan Yan stroked his beard and sighed, "If Liu Jiyu hadn't been incapable of employing people, there would have been countless young talents like Zhang Yi who could have made a name for themselves. It's a pity that they have all become old and faded away, like withered trees!"
Huang Zhong was just entering the tent to say goodbye. Hearing this, he said in displeasure, "What are you talking about, General Yan? We are at the point of making achievements. We will not stop until we capture Xiahou Yuan."
Yan Yan was stunned and asked, "General Huang wanted to kill Xiahou Yuan earlier, why did he change his mind to capture him?"
General Huang stroked his beard and said, "If I go alone, I can only kill this reckless man. If there is a general to help, it will not be difficult to capture him! After all, Xiahou Yuan is Yide's father-in-law. Since he has come to Xiangyang to recognize his relatives and get married, it will be difficult to explain if I kill him."
Yan Yan smiled and said, "It's a pity that the three generals were unable to join the army, otherwise the father-in-law and son-in-law could be captured in a battle."
Everyone laughed, and the previous haze of unfavorable war situation was swept away.
The next day, Liu Qi personally led 20,000 troops down the mountain and approached Cao's camp, with flags flying and filling the valley, ready to fight a decisive battle with Xiahou Yuan.
A scout had already informed the camp, and Xun You said with a smile: "Liu Qi has come to fight in person, I expect he will secretly divide his troops and launch a surprise attack."
Xiahou Yuan laughed and said, "The military advisor has indeed anticipated the enemy's moves. Not even a bird can fly through Xiegu. If he goes to Taibai Road, he will be ambushed."
Xun You nodded and said, "If the general does not go to war, Liu Qi will certainly become suspicious. We can deal with him and let him think he has a good plan and wait for news from my nephew."
The drum was beaten three times, and Xiahou Yuan led two generals, Feng Kai and Lu Zhao, out of the camp. Xiahou Shang was at the camp gate, sweeping the troops and horses into battle formation.
Yan Yan stepped forward and said with a smile: "Xiahou Yuan, your son-in-law is waiting for you in Hanzhong with a banquet. The family is enjoying themselves. There is no need to start a war. Why don't you follow my lord to Hanzhong for a gathering?"
Speaking of his niece, Xiahou Yuan became furious. Previously, Xiahou Dun was captured, and he had to grit his teeth and acknowledge the marriage between the two families. As a result, Xiahou Ba and others who came to send the bride were fooled by Liu Qi and became a laughing stock in Cao's camp.
Seeing that Huang Zhong had not come out, he relied on his status and shouted in a deep voice: "The old thief is talking nonsense, who will help me kill him?"
"I am willing to go!" Lu Zhao urged his horse to charge out.
Yan Yan pulled himself together and rode his horse to meet the enemy. The two men fought in front of the battle formation. Before ten rounds had passed, Yan Yan chopped Lu Zhao off his horse with a single blow. He stroked his beard and laughed, saying, "All the generals in Cao's camp are no match for this old man. What can they do?"
"Don't go too far, you old villain!" Feng Kai was furious. He rushed out of the formation with his spear and stabbed straight at Yan Yan.
Yan Yan was still strong despite his old age. He fought with Feng Kai again, but they were still tied after twenty rounds. Xiahou Yuan was afraid of losing, so he had no more men to use and called off the battle.
After Feng Kai retreated, he personally drew his sword and mounted his horse, pointed at Liu Qi and shouted: "I will not bully the old or the young, call Huang Hansheng to come and fight me to the death?"
Yan Yan laughed and said, "It was just a warm-up. Come on."
Xiahou Yuan was furious and urged his horses to fight. The fight between the two famous generals became more intense. The horses galloped back and forth and the fight was hard to tell who would be the winner. The valley was filled with the sound of drums and the two armies shouted.
The two fought for more than thirty rounds, and Liu Qi also called off the battle. After all, Xiahou Yuan was a good martial artist, and without Huang Zhong to restrain him, Yan Yan might not have enough strength.
Xiahou Yuan was also deliberately delaying time, and because of his status, he was unwilling to take advantage of the situation to hunt down a veteran general. Both sides tacitly withdrew their troops.
Liu Qi sent Zhang Yi to fight again. Xiahou Yuan had no one available, so he had to order Xiahou Shang to fight. The battle between the two armies was more like a performance, and the battle ended at noon when both sides withdrew their troops.
Having lost face on the battlefield today, Xiahou Yuan returned to the camp with a gloomy face. He thought that when Cao Cao pacified Hebei, he had over a hundred generals, but today none of them are left. He felt depressed.
Xiahou Shang advised: "Uncle, don't do this. Let Liu Qi be proud for a while. In a few days, he will be too late to cry."
While they were discussing, a scout came to report that Liu Qi had led his troops back to the mountain stronghold, but left Huang Zhong camped at the foot of the mountain, and his whereabouts were unknown.
Xiahou Yuan asked in confusion: "What is the meaning of Liu Qi's action?"
Xun You said: "No matter how he uses his troops, it is only to support the surprise attack. General, you should carefully defend the camp and wait for news."
A day later, scouts came to report that Huang Zhong had moved out of the camp and advanced five miles. Behind them, there was another army stationed at the foot of the mountain. They advanced five miles every two days and approached the main camp step by step.
"Liu Qi is advancing step by step and encroaching on our borders. Is he taking advantage of the fact that there is no one in our army?" Xiahou Yuan was furious and was about to lead his troops to fight.
Xun You advised: "This is a strategy of turning the tables. Liu Qi is trying to attract the general's attention, so he doesn't need to go to battle."
Xiahou Yuan said angrily: "Although I am trying to lure the enemy, but if you force me like this, won't people laugh at me? Since we want to fight, why should I be afraid?"
He ignored Xun You's advice, issued orders to go to the tent, and led 5,000 soldiers to fight, until he reached Huang Zhong's camp and shouted and cursed.
Huang Zhong mounted his horse and fought with his sword in hand. The two fought for fifty rounds with no clear winner. They then shot arrows at each other. Huang Zhong actually pierced the center of one of Xiahou Yuan's arrows. Xiahou Yuan was shocked and withdrew his troops back to the camp.
Upon hearing that Huang Zhong had taken advantage of his victory and advanced another five miles, Xiahou Yuan was furious and decided to raid the camp overnight to curb the enemy's strength.
Xun You advised again: "Huang Zhong is taking every step carefully, he must be on guard, be careful not to fall into a trap."
Xiahou Yuan said angrily: "The old villain is pushing us too far, like a wolf walking through the door. If we don't strike him head on, how can we have peace?"
Xiahou Shang also said: "Huang Zhong has advanced many times, but we ignored him. He must have thought that we dared not fight. This time we will surely succeed."
At three o'clock in the night, Xiahou Yuan led two generals out of the camp and personally broke through the central camp. Xiahou Shang and Feng Kai attacked from the left and right. As expected, the enemy camp was not well prepared and a fire broke out. Huang Zhong did not dare to fight and led his troops to retreat.
Xiahou Yuan led his troops in pursuit and killed all the way to the rear camp. Seeing that the enemy had already responded, he led his troops to retreat. In this battle, they recovered many weapons and avenged their previous humiliation. The Cao army cheered and their morale was greatly boosted.
At dawn, a banquet was held to celebrate the victory. The generals praised Xiahou Yuan for his decisiveness in killing, but Xun You, on the other hand, twirled his beard and pondered with a serious expression.
Xiahou Yuan was full of energy and laughed loudly, saying, "Although military advisors are very smart, they are also very suspicious. You must know that opportunities for war are fleeting. If a general is indecisive when faced with a situation, can he just sit there and wait for death?"
"I'm not worried about the battle last night!" Xun You pulled his beard and frowned, "Liu Qi started such a big war, but there is no news from Taibai Road. Is there another hidden meaning?"
Xiahou Yuan sneered, "Perhaps the military advisor is worrying too much. Doesn't Liu Qi know that it is difficult to march on a small road? He did not divide his troops for a surprise attack. He wanted to use this strategy to erode our army and directly capture the Jigu camp."
Xiahou Shang nodded and said, "Now the governor of Liangzhou is trapped in Jicheng. I am afraid that the situation in Xiliang is critical. Zhao Yun is attacking Sanguan. If Liu Qi is not driven back early, his troops will break through Chencang. It will be useless for us to confront him again. We will be attacked from both sides again."
Xiahou Yuan's confidence increased greatly at this time, and he nodded and said, "My dear nephew, what you said is very true. Now the war is urgent everywhere, and Liangzhou is in urgent need of rescue. It is not appropriate to tangle with Liu Qi here. In the battle last night, I saw that Huang Zhong was no more than this. If we can take advantage of the victory and attack and kill Liu Qi's central army, no matter how many special forces he has, they will be powerless!"
While they were discussing, drums sounded outside the camp and the defenders came to report that Huang Zhong had gone outside the camp again to challenge the enemy.