The sun was scorching in June, and although the battle in Guanzhong was coming to an end, it also reached its climax.
Below Tongguan, the Han army formed a square formation of 10,000 people, led by five generals: Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan. There were countless chariots and horses, and flags covering the sun.
Behind the five generals, more than 20 generals including Yan Yan, Zhang Ren, Ma Dai, Fu Zhu, Pang De, Wang Shuang, Ju Fu and Wu Yi stood in silence. In the rear, Zhang He and Yu Jin held the line, and their momentum was overwhelming.
The Cao army held their weapons in a daze. Those who were beating the drums forgot to demonstrate, and those who were shooting arrows silently put down their longbows, with despair in their eyes.
"Do we still need to fight this battle?" Xiahou Mao held on to the city wall and barely managed to stand firm. He swallowed and looked at Dian Man who was standing beside him.
Looking at the black, red, white, yellow and ochre square formations at the pass and the endless army behind them, Xiahou Mao not only lost the will to fight, but even had the idea of joining them.
The despair in Dianman's eyes flashed away, and he said coldly: "Humph, we serve the Prime Minister, and the only fate is death!"
"When a person dies, it's like a light goes out, everything ends!" Xiahou Mao tried to persuade Dian Man, "Zhongyuan is in urgent need of help, and the war is tense. It's time to keep your useful body..."
"If the commander-in-chief wants to leave, then leave. I will never retreat again!" Dian Man was furious. "If we lose Tongguan, Luoyang will also be in danger. If the troops in Guanzhong join forces with Guan Yu, the Central Plains will not be safe. How can you and I face the Prime Minister?"
"What are you talking about?" Xiahou Mao's face darkened. He felt guilty about guarding Chang'an before.
If I leave first at this time and Dian Man dies in the battle of Tongguan, wouldn't it make him look even more incompetent and cowardly
After thinking for a while, he clenched his fist and said, "Okay, General Dian is not afraid of death, and I, a descendant of Xiahou, will fight bravely. General, just fight the enemy, and I will take care of the rear."
Dian Man was nodding to himself when suddenly a rider on a fast horse came galloping into the pass, reporting urgently that the Jingzhou troops had attacked Xingyang, Xin Pi and Zhong Yao had rebelled and surrendered Luoyang, and Henan had been lost.
Dian Man was shocked and asked, "How could this be? If this happens, will the Central Plains be in danger?"
"This letter comes just in time!" Xiahou Mao's eyes were filled with joy, and he advised: "Luoyang has been lost, and it is useless to defend Tongguan. We should withdraw our troops quickly while Zhang Fei is still unaware of the news."
While they were discussing this, Ma Chao rode his horse to the gate and shouted, "You remnant of Cao Cao, Ma Chao from Xiliang has come to seek revenge, open the gate and be killed!"
Xiahou Mao said anxiously: "Ma Chao is a famous general from Xiliang. There is no need to fight him to death. Please take the long view."
Dian Man also felt helpless at this time and sighed: "Now that things have come to this, it all depends on the governor's decision."
Xiahou Mao ordered Dian Man to go and prepare first. When they got to the pass, he shouted, "Ma Chao, your father was murdered because of Sima Yi's conspiracy. It had nothing to do with the Prime Minister. Don't look for the wrong person."
Ma Chao was furious and said, "How could Sima Yi be so bold without Cao's order? You are Cao's son-in-law and Xiahou's son, so I will kill you first."
"No, no, no, there is a perpetrator for every wrong. How can we implicate the innocent?" Xiahou Mao waved his hands and said loudly, seeing Zhang Fei was in the position of commander, "Step back. I have something to say to my brother-in-law Zhang Fei."
Ma Chao returned to the front of the battle and explained the situation. Pang Tong smiled and said under the gate flag: "The plan has been completed! Xiahou Mao will definitely want to retreat, Yide will do him a favor."
Zhang Fei rode his horse to the foot of the pass and laughed, "Uncle, what do you want from me?"
Xiahou Mao poked his head out and answered carefully, "Brother-in-law, for the sake of our friendship, I will give you Tongguan. You are not allowed to chase me. How about that?"
"The marriage was a private matter back then. Now we each serve our own masters. I am here for official business. How can I let you go?"
Zhang Fei shouted with angry eyes. Xiahou Mao's heart tightened when he heard it. He was thinking about what to say, but he heard Zhang Fei said: "Only if you leave the money, food and supplies inside the pass."
"Of course!" Xiahou Mao was delighted and said, "If we destroy the things inside the pass, how can it be considered a gift?"
Zhang Fei stepped forward and whispered, "Ma Chao has a bad temper and is eager to seek revenge. I will go and hold him back, but it will only take an hour at most. You can do whatever you want."
Xiahou Mao was startled for a moment, then he said happily: "Thank you, brother-in-law!"
Seeing Zhang Fei retreat, he immediately ordered his soldiers to retreat. When he arrived at the gate, he saw Dian Man waiting for him. He said proudly, "If it weren't for my friendship with Zhang Fei, we would all die at the hands of Ma Chao."
Upon hearing this, all the Cao army nodded and thanked General Xiahou, praising him for not being afraid in the face of danger and for bearing humiliation. For the sake of the entire army, they had to bow to a reckless man like Zhang Fei.
Sima Yi killed Ma Teng and his son and 100,000 Xiliang troops. If he had broken through the pass, they would all have died.
Ma Chao and others in Guanzhong shook their heads and cursed. They had rushed all the way from Xiliang to Guanzhong just to catch up with the battle with Cao's army and take revenge, but they didn't expect that Xiahou Mao would abandon the pass and run away.
Xu Shu laughed and said, "If it weren't for Shi Yuan's clever plan to scare off Xiahou Mi, a lot of lives would have been lost in the battle."
Pang Tong said: "Xiahou Mao is a coward. He was frightened by the Wei general's bluffing and retreated from Chang'an. I don't think he is a good general! Now tens of thousands of troops are threatening Tongguan. This is the same as when King Fuchai of Wu used his military might to force the Jin army to retreat and achieve hegemony. The best way to deal with the enemy is to attack their hearts!"
Ma Chao sighed, "Phoenix Cub is indeed worthy of its reputation. It's a pity that I let Cao Jun go. I will never be able to avenge myself!"
Xu Shu said: "The Cao thief has fled far to the north of the desert, Sima Yi is in the south of the Huai River, when General Ma arrives in the Central Plains, he will seek revenge on the enemy."
Ma Chao's eyes were slightly stern, and he said in a deep voice: "When I step into the Central Plains, I will definitely fight back and exterminate the Sima clan. When Cao Cao returns from outside the Great Wall, I will take his head."
By the evening, the troops had rested and recuperated. Cao's army had already withdrawn from Tongguan. Pang De led his troops into the pass first, and only then did he learn of the news from Luoyang, and hurriedly informed Zhang Fei.
Ma Chao was shocked and said, "It turned out to be Crouching Dragon's brilliant plan. He conquered Huainan before us. Crouching Dragon and Phoenix can really bring peace to the world."
Pang Tong pulled his beard and laughed, "Kong Ming took Henan without a single soldier. After all, he is more skilled than us!"
Xu Shu said: "Now that the two capitals of the East and the West have been captured, the revival of the Han Dynasty is just around the corner. We should gather our troops in the old capital as soon as possible to meet the expectations of the world, recover the Central Plains, and conquer Hebei."
Zhang Fei couldn't help laughing and said, "Hahaha, I'm finally going to see my second brother!"
All the generals were delighted. After some discussion, they decided to leave Wei Yan to guard Chang'an temporarily, and the rest of the generals would follow Zhang Fei to select elite troops and go straight to Luoyang to join Zhuge Liang's army.
At this time, Liu Qi was still in Dan Shui planning to take Luoyang from Hongnong, and was selecting elite soldiers with Guo Huai and others. Suddenly, the news of Luoyang spread, and everyone was amazed at the ability of Wulong, who had actually captured and recovered the old capital single-handedly.
When they were celebrating their victory, a general from Xiangyang suddenly rushed to the army overnight and reported that Liu Biao had passed away.
It turned out that Liu Biao had just completed "The Five Classics" and held a banquet in Xiangyang for the famous scholars of Jingzhou to celebrate with everyone. Having such a great work passed down to the world would be enough to make it famous for thousands of years.
There have been endless banquets of all sizes over the past month. First, the news arrived from Chang'an, and all the guests praised Liu Qi's ability. Liu Biao felt like he was basking in the spring breeze. For a time, he was in the limelight and his reputation far surpassed that of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.
Just when I was waking up from my dream with a smile, news came from Luoyang again. People in the city heard that purple air appeared in Xiangyang and a yellow dragon appeared in Tanxi. All these auspicious signs were clearly the signs of an emperor.
With so many happy events reported one after another, his life's work coming to an end, and his son becoming a successful man, Liu Biao actually died of laughter at the banquet.
Liu Qi had no choice but to hand over Guanzhong to Xu Shu and the Central Plains to Zhuge Liang, and he rushed back to Xiangyang overnight to mourn.