Just as Dian Man rushed forward, a general rushed out from the side and stopped him. It was Fu Rong. The two of them fought in front of the tent.
Hu Ji and Wang Shuang mobilized their troops to escort Zhang Fei to retreat. After Zhang Fei left the camp, Wang Shuang came to meet him again and shouted, "Sick cat, come and die!"
The two men joined forces to fight Dian Man, but Dian Man was not afraid at all. At this time, Cao's army was in high spirits and had already broken through the camp. The two men did not dare to fight and took turns to cover their retreat and headed towards Lantian Pass.
It was still dark at this time, and Dian Man did not dare to pursue and kill them rashly. It was already difficult to kill the enemy troops outside the camp. If Zhang Fei sobered up halfway through the pursuit, it would be more trouble than gain. It was enough to temporarily resolve the crisis in Chang'an!
He ordered the camps and supplies outside the city to be moved into the city, and sent people to report the victory to Chang'an, asking Xiahou Mi to send more troops and support, and transport more equipment and supplies to attack Lantian Pass.
Xiahou Mao was overjoyed when he heard the news. He immediately sent another 10,000 soldiers, transported more money and food supplies to support Dian Man, rewarded the soldiers, and ordered them to retake Lantian Pass as soon as possible and drive Zhang Ju out of the country.
Du Xiyan said: "The elite troops in Chang'an have been transferred out. If the garrison is transferred out, only new soldiers will be left. If the enemy suddenly arrives, how can we fight?"
Xiahou Mao glanced at Du Xi with disdain and snorted, "Where did the enemy come from? Can they fly over the Qinling Mountains?"
"This... If Dian Man is defeated again, all his men and horses will be lost, which will be a big disaster!" Du Xi couldn't explain why, but he always felt that this move was too risky.
"We are already weak before the battle. Are you trying to slow down our army's morale?" Xiahou Mao said unhappily, "Dian Man's great victory boosted our morale. We should give him our full support now. Otherwise, wouldn't it discourage the soldiers? Even if we can't take back Lantian Pass, defending Lantian is enough! Xiahou Ba and his men will be able to retreat to Chang'an in a few days. What's the problem?"
Du Xi advised: "In recent days, the city has recruited more than 5,000 soldiers, and they are of mixed quality. If all the defenders go out, the people in the city will be unstable, which is a hidden danger."
"You are worrying too much!" Xiahou Mao said with a smile, "I have also studied military tactics with the Crown Prince, and I have quite a bit of experience in training soldiers. From today on, I will personally train the soldiers and ensure that they will obey my orders."
Du Xi said worriedly, "Zhong Quan had a headache training his troops before. The new recruits this time are different from the past. The governor has never led troops before, so I'm afraid there will be chaos."
"Do you really think I'm a rich kid?" Xiahou Mao hated being judged by others. He stood up and left. "It will be effective tomorrow afternoon. If you don't believe me, come to the military camp and check it out."
The next morning, Xiahou Mi arrived at the military camp in full armor. The order had already been passed down, and when the various camps heard the news, they all laughed inwardly.
Among all the Xiahou descendants, Xiahou Mao is good for nothing except managing the household and amassing wealth. If he had not relied on his status as the prime minister's son-in-law, how could he be qualified to be the governor of Guanzhong
At this time, all the elite troops in the city had been transferred out, and most of those left behind were old soldiers. Most of the new soldiers were forcibly recruited, and they were resentful and were provoked by these old soldiers. They were all dissatisfied.
When Xiahou Mao arrived at the camp, he saw a mixture of men and horses, the ranks in disarray, the soldiers' armor in disarray, and huddled together in groups of three or four. Before the battle even began, they looked like a defeated army.
Look at those old soldiers leaning on their weapons and looking sideways with a sneer on their lips. New recruits are walking out of the camp one after another. The one in the front row is folding his arms with his nose in the air, as if someone owed him money in the previous life.
Although Xiahou Mao did not have much experience in the army, he had been managing Ye County for several years and had made friends with all kinds of people. He was well versed in the ways of the world. He took in everyone's expressions, stepped onto the platform without making a sound, and ordered the drums to be beaten.
There was a commotion on the field. The soldiers were all crowded together like a flock of sheep, pushing, shoving and shouting at each other. It was an absolute mess. Given this situation, even if Sun Wu were alive again, he would only be able to shake his head and sigh.
Xiahou Mao slowly raised his hand, the drumbeats stopped, and he issued the first order: "From now on, the monthly salary of all soldiers in the camp will increase by 3,000 coins."
The messenger was startled for a moment, then showed a look of joy, but there was no such flag in the army. He waved the red flag upwards repeatedly and ordered his men to go down and pass on the order loudly.
In a blink of an eye, the commotion in the audience turned into noise, everyone was whispering and talking, all eyes were on Xiahou Mao, even the old soldiers felt that this man was more trustworthy than Xiahou Ba or even Xiahou Yuan.
Xiahou Meng raised his hand again, and everyone fell silent and looked over, wanting to hear what other orders he had.
"Pass on the order of a certain general. During the training, if those who can execute the order can be selected every day, an additional reward of 500 coins will be given. If you complete the training within a month, you will be rewarded with 10,000 coins. Those who think they are unqualified should withdraw immediately, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless in military law."
The messenger was stunned, and hurriedly ordered other soldiers to run down the field to pass the order in batches. Suddenly the field was filled with joy, even the old soldiers were eager to try, and they changed their lazy and resentful attitudes, standing up straight with their chests and heads held high.
Then Xiahou Mao issued a third order: "If you do not follow the order, you will be warned if you make a mistake once, fined 100 yuan if you make a mistake twice, and fined 500 yuan if you make a mistake three times. If you make a mistake five times or more, your military salary will be cancelled and you will be sent to patrol the public security with the police."
As the order was passed down, there was an uproar in the field again. Given a huge reward, there would always be brave men, and no one took the initiative to withdraw.
Xiahou Mao took in everyone's expressions, sat down on the commander's seat and ordered, "Beat the drums, form the battle line!"
Boom boom boom—
As the drum sounded, the old soldiers who were usually lazy became agile and rushed to the front row first, standing with their heads held high and chests puffed out, and the new recruits followed and lined up.
There were a few people in the back row who hadn't found their way to the queue yet and were pushing each other. Xiahou Mao pointed at them and said, "Deduct fifty points."
The warlord immediately recorded it. Someone was dissatisfied and shouted, "The general just said it was the first warning, why did you deduct my money?"
Xiahou Mao sneered, "If you can't even line up, how can you talk about training? If you question me without my orders, I'll add another fifty points."
The soldiers were shocked. Some of them were about to take the opportunity to threaten him, but after hearing what was said, they quietly hid in the line and stood still obediently. No one dared to question him anymore.
Xiahou Meng selected ten veteran soldiers, each of whom led 500 soldiers for training. Three days later, they held a drill and competition. The one with the best performance would be rewarded with 5,000 coins.
There was jubilation on the field. As soon as the drums sounded, the veterans led their men to choose a piece of land and start training. The morale of the entire army was high and the shouts shook the sky.
After Du Xi finished his work on food and fodder in the morning, he hurried to the military camp. He was really worried that Xiahou Mi did not know how to train soldiers. If he punished and beat the soldiers at will, it would surely cause a mutiny, with disastrous consequences.
As they approached the camp, they heard deafening shouts from afar. Du Xi was startled and looked up at the scorching sun. It was noon. He was secretly shocked that Xiahou Mi did not allow the soldiers to eat, drink or rest and continued to train. How could this be possible
He quickened his pace and ran to the camp gate, but saw that the reviewing platform was empty. He ordered it to be placed on the archway. The messenger and the general had gone to rest early, and only the new recruits on the field were training vigorously.
"Why is this happening?" Du Xi stood in a daze at the camp gate, looking at the scene in disbelief. Even when Xiahou Yuan was training his troops in the past, he had never seen such a grand occasion.
Could it be that Xiahou Mao really inherited the prime minister's true teachings and deliberately concealed his incompetence in order to confuse Liu Qi? Otherwise, why would he order him to run businesses in Ye County and secretly obtain a large amount of intelligence
It turned out that he had always been puzzled as to why Cao Pi appointed Xiahou Mao as the commander of the rear army and in charge of Guanzhong when Xiahou Ba and Cao Tai were obviously more talented generals. It turned out that there was a deeper meaning behind this.
Thinking of this, Du Xi suddenly understood, shook his head and laughed, this was really not the place for one to interfere, he left with his hands behind his back with peace of mind.