In the evening, Zhuge Liang arrived with a large army and set up camp outside the city. Gan Ning was unwilling to give in, so he asked to be the vanguard to attack the city, vowing to kill Lu Qian and avenge the humiliation.
Zhuge Liang did not blame Gan Ning, saying: "Although Lü Qian is not as good as Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan, we should not underestimate the enemy. After this victory, Cao's army is in high spirits. A strong attack will only cause loss of troops."
Gan Ning said anxiously, "Now that we only have Xingyang left, we can go straight to Luoyang. I think we should not give Cao's army a chance to catch their breath. We should break through the city and go straight to Hulao and Guandu. Zhang Liao will have to send troops to rescue them, and General Guan will have time to act."
Zhuge Liang laughed and said, "Although I don't need to attack the city, I can still go straight to Hulao. Why should I bother here?"
Gan Ning was startled: "Military Advisor, are you planning to go straight to Hulao Pass by passing Xingyang?"
"Yes!" Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan. "This time, we are sending troops to attack Luoyang and Hebei. Lü Qian is already at the end of his strength and is only resisting stubbornly. We only need one troop to contain him while the main army can bypass and take Hulao."
"Great plan, military advisor!" Gan Ning's eyes lit up. "Let Lü Qian defend Xingyang to the death. Then he can only go in and out, and wait for death."
Zhuge Liang smiled faintly and said, "The task of attacking Hulao Pass can only be undertaken by General Gan. Tomorrow morning, lead 3,000 troops and head to Hulao Pass first."
"As you command!" Gan Ning laughed and said, "In the past battle at Hulao Pass, I regretted that I was far away in Xichuan and could not fight with Lu Bu. Although things have changed, I still want to see the might of this pass."
All the generals went to prepare. Zhuge Liang left behind two generals, Huo Jun and Yang Ling, and told them, "General Gan will attack Hulao. Lü Qian will surely come to intercept him from Aoshan. The two generals can ambush Cao's army overnight. When you see Cao's army, you don't have to fight. When they retreat, you can attack them and cut off their way back. Then you will capture Lü Qian."
The Jingzhou army camped outside the city. After the two generals had their meal, they quietly left the camp under the cover of night to set up an ambush.
The next day, Zhuge Liang ordered Chen Dao to challenge the enemy at the foot of the city. Lu Qian did not move his troops. Gan Ning led 3,000 troops westward. Soon, Zhuge Liang led a large army to follow.
The defenders on the city wall had already seen this and reported it to the emperor. Lü Qian was shocked and said, "Zhuge Liang is heading west to attack Hulao Pass. We must intercept him."
Xin Pi frowned and said, "Zhuge Liang's army is approaching Hulao Pass and threatening Luoyang. They must have expected you to come to rescue them. If there is an ambush along the way, it will be dangerous. I'm afraid Xingyang will be hard to save."
Lü Qian said anxiously, "If Hulao Pass is lost, what's the point of defending Xingyang? There are still 5,000 defenders in Ao Cang. I will lead the light cavalry to ambush behind the mountain. If we kill Gan Ning's front troops, Zhuge Liang will retreat, which will solve the urgent problem."
"I'm afraid this is another trick of Zhuge Liang." Xin Pi was already a little suspicious at this time.
"Reinforcements are like putting out a fire, it's too late to hesitate!" Xin Pi was still hesitating, but Lu Qian had already put on his armor and was ready. He led his entourage out of the north gate and headed straight for Ao Cang in the northeast direction.
Xin Pi had no choice but to order all the camps to guard the city carefully and went to the city wall to supervise the battle in person, but saw Zhuge Liang leading his troops away. Chen Dao shouted and cursed for a while, leaving only 5,000 soldiers outside the city and also left westward.
"Could it be that Zhuge Liang underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly?" Xin Pi frowned when he saw this scene.
Lu Qian's mission was to guard Henan and protect Luoyang. Now the Luoyang Palace was being rebuilt, and he was secretly preparing for Cao Cao's advancement. As long as he returned victorious from the Northern Expedition, he would be named King of Wei for his merits.
If Luoyang is lost at this time, all plans will be hindered. Now that Chang'an has been lost, Liu Qi must not be allowed to occupy the Eastern Capital, otherwise the situation will be extremely unfavorable to the Wei army.
Lu Qian urged his horse to hurry and arrived at the grain storage area in Ao Cang. He dispatched the garrison troops to ambush at the intersection of Xishan Road and sent people to gather information. Gan Ning was coming down the mountain. He secretly prayed that God was helping Cao Wei.
Soon the troops passed by the foot of the mountain. Lu Qian gave the order to beat the drums, and suddenly a volley of arrows was fired, shooting down countless Jingzhou soldiers, and Cao's army rushed down from the mountain.
Gan Ning was shocked. Seeing Lü Qian commanding from a high place, he cursed: "You bastards only know how to attack by surprise. Do you dare to fight me?"
"Hahaha, you Jinfan thieves, you have fallen into my trap again!" Lu Qian looked down from above, drew his bow and shot an arrow at Gan Ning.
Cao's army besieged Gan Ning's troops, attacking them from the front and back, determined to destroy them as quickly as possible.
There were deafening cries of killing and endless screams at the foot of Ao Mountain. Su Fei ordered the soldiers to form a defensive formation, and with the elite guards of the Jinfan Army, they managed to hold their ground.
Gan Ning swung his sword and killed more than ten people. He also had to avoid Lu Qian's hidden arrows. He was furious and rode his horse to charge up the slope, but was shot back by Cao's arrows.
Boom—
The two armies were fighting fiercely when a cavalry group rushed up from the foot of the mountain. The white yak tails on their helmet tassels fluttered in the wind. It was the Bai Li soldiers who had arrived.
Chen Dao swung his spear left and right, knocking down several Cao soldiers who were besieging from the east. He instantly cut a bloody path, and the cavalry galloped, and the Cao army on the east was dispersed.
When Lu Qian saw the reinforcements arriving, he realized that he was no match for these two men and his ambush had failed. He was anxious but could only sigh helplessly and ordered his men to retreat.
"You want to escape after attacking me?" Gan Ning was furious and led the Jinfan Army in hot pursuit.
Cao's army fought and retreated into the mountains. Archers shot arrows with all their strength and hurriedly drew their bows and drew arrows. Countless arrows rained down on Gan Ning who was charging in the front, and also forced back the Jingzhou soldiers who were chasing them.
Gan Ning snorted slightly, and his sword flew up and down, dancing so tightly that it was impenetrable. He rushed through the rain of arrows and pressed straight in front of Cao's army.
"All of you die!" Gan Ning urged his horse to gallop over, like a god descending to earth.
The broadsword drew a crescent arc in the air, and the cold light swept through the crowd like a silk thread. There was a burst of dense weapon collision sounds, and countless weapons flew into the sky, and a large number of Cao's army fell down.
"Stop this thief!" Lu Qian was shocked. This momentum even frightened his mount so much that it stood up, and all Cao troops retreated.
Just as they were panicking, they suddenly heard the sound of drums and shouts of killing from the mountains, and a group of soldiers and horses rushed out from behind.
"Great, reinforcements..." Lu Qian was pleasantly surprised, but his face changed drastically when he turned around.
It turned out that those who appeared in the mountain were not Cao's army. Instead, there was a group of Jingzhou soldiers hiding there. Huo Jun and Yang Ling surrounded them from the left and right.
"The only way to survive is to fight to the death. Follow me and kill me!" Lu Qian fought desperately to break out, roared and went forward to meet the enemy.
Huo Jun rode his horse over and fought with Lu Qian. Cao's army was in a desperate situation at this time, and everyone fought hard. The sound of killing shook the sky in the mountains and fields.
At this time, Gan Ning and Chen Dao also led their troops to attack. The Jinfan Army and the Baili Army joined forces. The Cao army was unable to resist and was killed and defeated. They knelt down and begged for mercy.
Seeing that Huo Jun was unable to defeat him after a long fight, Gan Ning urged his horse forward and shouted, "Let me do it!"
As soon as Huo Jun retreated, Gan Ning swung his sword to meet him. In three or five rounds, he knocked the sword of Lü Qian, who was out of strength, away and laughed loudly, "Old man, you overestimate your own abilities. Why don't you surrender quickly?"
"Hahahaha, I have been treated well by Lord Cao, how could I surrender to you traitors?"
Seeing that the soldiers of Jingzhou were surrounding him on all sides and Gan Ning and others were eyeing him covetously, Lu Qian knew that the situation was hopeless, so he let out a loud roar, drew his sword and committed suicide.
A blood arrow flew into the air, the corpse fell to the ground with a bang, and there was deathly silence on the hillside.
All the Cao army was ashamed and bowed their heads. Gan Ning sighed and said, "He was a loyal and brave man. Give him a proper burial!"