Xiahou Yuan sneered, "This old villain must be unwilling to accept defeat and wants to save face."
Xiahou Shang said: "I see that among Liu Qi's troops, only Huang Zhong is skilled in martial arts, and the rest are not worth worrying about. If uncle can kill this old villain, it will be easy to repel Liu Qi."
Although Xiahou Yuan despised Huang Zhong's old age, he knew that he was quite powerful after several fights. He frowned and said, "This old villain is quite capable and his swordsmanship is very sophisticated. We need to exhaust his strength before we can defeat him."
Xiahou Shang laughed and said, "The Prime Minister always said: A general should combine hardness and softness. If he only relies on it, he is just a warrior. Why should my uncle fight him head-on?"
"Hiss, you are lecturing me now?" Xiahou Yuan put down his wine glass and said with emotion, "The Prime Minister did give me this instruction before he left. Does my nephew have a good idea?"
Xiahou Shang said: "I dare not talk about brilliant plans, but it can kill Huang Zhong. Even if he escapes, the old villain will never be able to fight in the battlefield again."
Xiahou Yuan's eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, "What's the plan?"
Xun You was also very surprised. Everyone stared at Xiahou Shang with anticipation. Could it be that the Xiahou family was going to produce another good general
Xiahou Shang coughed dryly and said guiltily: "You can select someone who looks like my uncle from the army and send him to fight in the battlefield, while my uncle hides in the army and attacks with hidden arrows..."
Xiahou Yuan was displeased, slammed the table and snorted, "Won't this ruin my reputation?"
All the generals shook their heads, but Xun You nodded and said, "I think this plan is feasible. Since ancient times, victors have been kings and losers have been bandits. On the battlefield, there is only life and death, so why bother talking about superiority or inferiority?"
Xiahou Yuan hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said through gritted teeth, "For the sake of the prime minister's cause, Xiahou Yuan will risk it all."
Xiahou Shang was overjoyed, and immediately went to the army to select those who had a similar body shape to Xiahou Yuan. They were all neatly dressed and had helmets visible. If you were not close to them, you would not be able to tell them apart from a distance.
The troops marched out of the camp with drums beating. Xiahou Yuan mixed in with his personal soldiers and saw Huang Zhong setting up his battle array outside the camp, with flags covering the sky and looking very aggressive.
Huang Zhong rode out and shouted, "Xiahou Yuan, I regard you as a hero, but you are a sneak attacker. Do you dare to fight me?"
Xun You gave the order and beat the drum. The soldiers in front of the battle heard the order and rushed out without saying a word. Xiahou Yuan secretly picked up a bow and arrow and aimed at Huang Zhong.
Huang Zhong brandished his sword and urged his horse to cross. The two horses crossed each other, and with just one sword, he beheaded the man under his horse. Cao's army was in an uproar. Huang Zhong was also stunned and looked down at the man on the ground.
Xiahou Yuan had already been ready to go and shot three arrows in succession. When someone reminded Huang Zhong and he looked up, the three arrows had already flown close to him.
He roared and turned his head to avoid the top bullet. The other two bullets hit his chest and abdomen. He let out a scream and turned his horse and ran away.
"Attack!" Xiahou Yuan was overjoyed. He urged his horse out from among his personal soldiers and chased after them.
The Han army followed Huang Zhong in defeat, and Cao's army pursued them all the way. They did not stop at the front camp and rushed straight into the stronghold. The defenders fled in panic. The morale of Cao's army was greatly boosted, and they continued to move forward following Xiahou Yuan.
The enemy chased them all the way from morning till noon, and all the way to the big camp at the foot of the mountain. Only then did Liu Qi hear the news and hurriedly organized his men to resist and try to hold on to the camp.
Xiahou Yuan decided to stop while he was ahead and withdrew his troops back to the camp. In this battle, they captured four camps in a row and obtained countless military weapons and supplies. The Cao army had not experienced such a great victory for a long time, and the whole camp was filled with jubilation.
Xiahou Shang said, "Now that Huang Zhong is seriously injured, the enemy's morale is low and their army is shaken. Why don't we raid their camp at night and force them to the top of the mountain? Then we can seize the opportunity and kill Liu Qi, and then we can chase them to Hanzhong in one fell swoop."
Xiahou Yuan was about to send a message to celebrate the victory, but when he heard this, he laughed and said, "What a great statement! The victory or defeat of Hanzhong will depend on today."
Xun You felt something was wrong again and advised: "We have won a great victory today, we should stabilize the morale of the army and move forward cautiously. We may overdo it or underdo it."
Xiahou Yuan's confidence increased greatly at this time. If he had listened to Xun You's plan before, there would be no such great victory. So he didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "Huang Zhong is seriously injured. I regard all the generals under Liu Qi as grass. Why should I be afraid?"
That night, after the three armies had their fill, Xiahou Yuan left Xun You to guard the city, while his elite troops marched out of Jigu and charged towards the main camp at the foot of the mountain. The first troops sneaked outside the camp, but the defenders were caught off guard and the camp gate was burned by fire.
The morale of Cao's army was high at this time. With a shout, they rushed into the camp one after another. The Han army could not resist and retreated up the hillside.
Xiahou Yuan urged his horse to charge straight at the central army tent, where he met Yan Yan who was dispatching troops. He rushed forward to fight with him. The two fought for more than ten rounds. Ju Fu and Zhang Yi came to rescue him, forced Xiahou Yuan back, and protected Yan Yan as they escaped.
"Don't run away, you bastard! Give me back my brother's life!" When Xiahou Shang saw his old rival, he was furious and led his troops to kill him.
The uncle and nephew chased halfway up the slope and saw torches lit on the mountain and the enemy pouring down the hillside, so they withdrew their troops back to the camp, achieving another great victory.
Drums sounded on the mountain for a while, and then the troops were called back. It must be that Liu Qi did not dare to rush down the mountain to attack Huang Zhong because he was injured. Although there was an advantage in rushing down the hillside, if he failed, it would be extremely difficult to retreat.
Both sides stopped fighting. At this time, when it was dawn, Xiahou Yuan had no intention of retreating. He ordered his men to stay on the spot and repair the camp. He set up the front camp according to the original big camp, and set up another camp one mile away to support each other.
Xiahou Shang finally raised his eyebrows and breathed a sigh of relief. He clenched his fist and said, "It's a pity that Yan Yan and his men escaped. I can't avenge my brother."
Xiahou Yuan said with a smile: "A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. There is no need to rush. Liu Qi wanted to turn the tables, but he failed to gain anything and ended up losing a lot. I have won back a city. Let's see if he dares to be so arrogant again."
Xiahou Shang praised: "Fortunately, my uncle has his own ideas. If he had listened to Mr. Xun's advice, he would still be defending Jigu, allowing Liu Qi to show off his power."
Xiahou Yuan sneered and said, "Although Xun You has strategies, he is not as good as Guo Jia and Xun Yu. If a general cannot make decisions immediately and only follows the advice of others, he is just a military man and will never achieve great things."
Xiahou Shang clasped his fists and said, "Uncle, your opinion is profound. The Prime Minister is on a long expedition to Liaodong, Zhang Wenyuan is defending the Central Plains in an unfavorable situation, and General Cao is still confronting us in Huainan. Only uncle can lead the troops to advance, which fully demonstrates his talent as a great general and lives up to the Prime Minister's trust."
Xiahou Yuan stroked his beard and smiled, "When I followed the Prime Minister, I fought many battles in the east and west. How could I not know the art of war? A small victory is nothing to be proud of. When we march into Hanzhong and capture Liu Qi alive, Jingzhou will be terrified and Guan Yu will withdraw his troops."
The troops rested for half a day, and in the afternoon Xiahou Yuan went to the hillside to fight again. Liu Qi just held his ground and refused to come out. The morale of the defenders was low, and the situation between the two armies was reversed, which was very satisfying.
In the afternoon, Xun You sent soldiers to transport food, but he also asked someone to bring a message, asking Xiahou Yuan to return to guard the camp for safety reasons to prevent Liu Qi from having any other tricks.
Xiahou Yuan laughed and said, "Military Advisor, you are worrying too much. I have already made preparations. Even if Liu Qi sends his men down the mountain, he will never win again."
Xiahou Shang nodded and said, "Military advisor, you don't know how clever your uncle is in commanding troops. Now that the two camps are supporting each other, whoever dares to raid the camp will never return."
Xiahou Yuan looked quite pleased with himself, and said proudly: "I am not thinking about how to defend the camp, but a strategy to defeat the enemy. Now we are on a narrow road, and if we don't advance, we will retreat. I hope the military advisor can come up with a strategy to defeat the enemy."
He then ordered the messenger to report the truth to Xun You, asking him to guard the camp and the food and supplies, and to come up with strategies to defeat the enemy.
He also ordered Feng Kai to set up traps and trenches in the front camp, and divide the team into three teams to patrol the camp in turns at night to ensure that the camp would be safe.