Ji Han Liu Zhang

Surrounded by more than a hundred mounted guards, Master Zhang Lu rode his horse to the foot of Dingjun Mountain. He raised his eyes and glanced at Dingjun Mountain. It was still the forest he was familiar with. In the past, he would occasionally He came to the foothills of Dingjun Mountain, but at that time he came here to fly eagles and dogs, play and hunt, and he was in a happy mood.

At the moment, Zhang Lu looked at the Han army flag flying in the wind on the top of Dingjun Mountain. The outer circle of the flag was black, with white characters on a red background in the middle. There was a big word "gan" written on it. When the flag came into view, he felt it was extremely dazzling. His complexion It was very calm, without any fluctuations, but a feeling of despair flashed through his heart.

In the southwest corner of Hanzhong, there is a series of hills at the northern foot of Micang Mountain. The most core hill is Dingjun Mountain. Dingjun Mountain is about two hundred feet high and ten miles wide from east to west. The mountain as a whole shows an east-north trend, with its eastern end connected to the Han River and its western end integrated with Micang Mountain. This mountain is called Xingshi Mountain.

Now the Shu army who sneaked into Mianshui is stationed between Xingshi Mountain and Dingjun Mountain. They have set up camps along the mountain. They are lined up in a row with flags stretching to the sky. It has the imposing momentum of Mount Tai, which makes Zhang Lu feel like he is being strangled by Liu Zhang. My throat was tight, making it difficult to breathe.

Yan Pu, the meritorious officer beside Zhang Lu, looked solemn. He looked at the Shu army camp on Dingjun Mountain. He saw that although the Shu army had only arrived at Dingjun Mountain for a day or two, the Shu army was extremely familiar with the terrain. The camp was condescending and occupied all the advantageous terrain, not to mention that the Shu army's camp was very tight, with fences, trenches, and antlers all in place. He could not see any flaws after a thorough inspection.

When Zhang Lu and Yan Pu were observing the Shu army camp, there were also people on Dingjun Mountain looking at them.

After the first batch of more than 2,000 Gan and Ning troops arrived at Dingjun Mountain, Liu Zhang and the second batch of more than 2,000 Wudang flying troops arrived at Dingjun Mountain today, and happened to have a fight with Zhang Lu who came to investigate the situation in Dingjun Mountain. Face to face.

Liu Zhang looked at the more than a hundred Hanzhong knights at the foot of Dingjun Mountain. They were fully armored and well-organized. They were first-class elite cavalry. He expected that Master Zhang was here in person. Even if he wasn't, he should be an extremely important figure in Hanzhong.

Fazheng also saw it: "Hey, it's a pity that our front army only has 4,000 infantry, and the horses we bring are short-footed horses from Nanzhong that are good at mountaineering, not tall war horses sold from Liangzhou. Otherwise, if there are More than a hundred elite cavalry can descend from a high position and use the speed of going down the mountain to try to kill this important Hanzhong minister who is investigating the situation."

"Ming Gong, why don't I lead the infantry to charge forward? It's a bit inappropriate to let this person observe our camp." Gan Ning did not have any fear of leading the infantry to fight with the cavalry. He said boldly road.

"No rush, let's play with this guy first." Liu Zhang shook his head. He was very patient after occupying Dingjun Mountain and put stability first in everything. He now has four thousand people arriving at Dingjun Mountain, and Gan Ning's troops Two thousand people and two thousand Wudang flying troops, followed by 6,000 Wudang flying troops, were on the way under the leadership of Shen Mi. He planned to wait for the large army to arrive, and then the whole army would attack Zhang Lu in one wave.

Furthermore, when Liu Zhang felt that his advantage was so obvious, the wealthy families in Hanzhong would not follow Zhang Lu all the way to the dark side, and would more or less stir up some trouble behind Zhang Lu. Time is now in his hands, and as time goes by, As time goes by, his advantage will become greater and greater. If you be patient at this time, your win will look better.

"However, you can bang the gongs and drums to test the courage of this important minister in Hanzhong." Liu Zhang issued a joking order.

"promise."

Gan Ning accepted the order with his hands raised. He pressed his sword with one hand and walked to the command flag. He stretched out his hand and picked up a red flag. He waved the flag twice towards Gan Jiu who was halfway up Dingjun Mountain and looked towards the top of the mountain, conveying Liu Zhang's message. mean.

Halfway up the mountain, Gan Jiu followed the agreed flag order and stretched out his hand to signal the next group of drummers. The drummers picked up the drumsticks knowingly, raised them high, and swung the drumsticks down hard.

‘Bang, bang. ’

The thunderous drums suddenly resounded halfway up the mountainside of Dingjun Mountain. The echo of the drums pushing back from the mountain wall, together with the drums traveling down the mountain, exploded among Zhang Lu and his party.

The sudden sound of drums inevitably made Zhang Lu's horses panic a little, but after a few hooves, Zhang Lu's horses stopped panicking. After all, this horse could become Zhang Lu's mount. His physical appearance and character are both excellent, so he won't make a fuss just because of the sound of war drums.

However, Zhang Lu's horse calmed down. The horses accompanying Zhang Lu were making a lot of noise, with their hooves flying and trampling. They stopped slightly under the constant caress of the knights. Confused.

At this time, it stands to reason that when he heard the drums of the enemy's advance, he should have immediately retreated and returned, but Zhang Lu just stood there and did not give any instructions to retreat.

"Master Shijun, the Shu army is about to move out. It is not suitable to stay here for a long time." Yan Pu moved out a step in time, hoping to let Zhang Lu go back home. He knew that Zhang Lu did not want to retreat before the battle, not to mention that the enemy troops had not yet moved out, so that's it. It would be too cowardly to retreat when you hear the sound of drums.

"Master." Seeing that Zhang Lu did not move, Yan Pu called out again. In fact, he did not agree with Zhang Lu personally coming to the foot of Dingjun Mountain to investigate. After all, Zhang Lu was the core of Hanzhong and could not make any mistakes, but Zhang Lu insisted Coming here in person, he had no choice but to arrange fine cavalry and accompany Zhang Lu here.

After a while, Zhang Lu finally nodded in the expectant eyes of Yan Pu and the knights. Without much explanation, they returned.

When Zhang Lu returned to the camp, he ran into Yang Ang who came to report the news. He asked without waiting for Yang Ang to finish his salute: "How is Zhang Wei?"

"Zhang Da Jijiu (Guard) is currently reorganizing his troops and will arrive this evening." Yang Ang, the personal guard, handed over the news to Zhang Wei. This morning he was ordered to go to Jiuyang Ping Pass and sent Zhang Wei a message asking for help. , asked Zhang Wei to hand over the command of the old Yangping Pass to Jijiu Yang Ren, and lead the two thousand troops in the pass to return for reinforcements, and together they prepared to attack Dingjun Mountain and take back Dingjun Mountain from the Shu army.

Dingjun Mountain and Yangping Pass are only ten miles away, so Zhang Wei promised to lead his troops to join forces with Zhang Lu in the evening.

"Where's Pu Hu?" Zhang Lu nodded slightly and asked about Pu Hu who went to assist Du Yi to guard the north entrance of Micang Road.

Yang Ang responded: "The herald has handed the news to Pu Qushuai, and now Pu Qushuai has turned around and is coming to my camp."

Zhang Lu breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down his chaotic mind. He only had more than 10,000 troops in his hands. It was not easy to block the Shu army on Dingjun Mountain and launch an offensive against the Shu army on Dingjun Mountain. Therefore, he asked Zhang Wei to lead Two thousand soldiers who were stationed at Jiu Yangping Pass came back to support him. Likewise, Pu Hu, who went to assist Du Yi at the north entrance of Micang Road, was also called back by him.

At the moment when the Shu army is occupying Dingjun Mountain, the priority of getting back Dingjun Mountain is the highest. Yangping Pass and Micang Road only need to be guaranteed not to be lost. Moreover, most of the Shu army will definitely pile up at Dingjun Mountain and Yangping Pass. It is expected that the pressure on Hemicang Road will be less, so there will be no need for so many soldiers to guard it.

Zhang Lu stepped into the camp, gathered the civil and military forces, and began to discuss how to take back Dingjun Mountain from the hands of the Shu army.

But when the Shu army made a surprise attack and captured Dingjun Mountain, some of the civil and military personnel under Zhang Lu couldn't help but feel panicked, and this mood spread. A slightly dejected tone set the tone.

"Master Shijun, the Shu army has occupied Dingjun Mountain, and according to reports from scouts, most of the Shu army is on the way to Dingjun Mountain... The Shu army has a large number of people, and they live on Dingjun Mountain. The art of war says: 'Every The army likes to be high and hates to be low. On the one hand, the Shu army has better military strength than our army, and on the other hand, it occupies a favorable geographical location, so it may be difficult to compete..."

Someone made a bad start. Zhang Lu's civil and military officials saw that Zhang Lu did not refute it, but just remained silent. Some people could not help but have a speculative mentality, thinking that Zhang Lu had lost courage, so they continued to add.

"What Wang Jijiu said is true. The Shu army is strong and our army is weak. The former has a natural barrier at Yangpingguan, and our army can compete with the Shu army... Now the Shu army is occupying Dingjun Mountain, and the soldiers are pointing at it. Hanzhong is all within the attack range of the Shu army. Our army is small, how can we defend everywhere, and how can we defend it?"

After analyzing the situation, the civil and military personnel looked at each other, nodded their heads, and made sounds of agreement.

"Well said."

"That's the reason. There's no need to fight."

Wang Jijiu, who opened his mouth at first, became more and more courageous under the echoes of all the civil and military officials. Without noticing that Zhang Lu's face was getting darker, he calmly attended and advised: "Master. Sir, our army's chance of victory is really slim, and it is unwise to use Hanzhong to fight Bashu. The current plan is to surrender."

"Mo Ruo surrender?" Zhang Lu finally spoke. His tone was indifferent, and there was no hint of any displeasure. It could only be regarded as a simple question.

When Wang Jijiu saw Zhang Lu's response and heard Zhang Lu's tone of voice, he was not very resistant to surrender. His interest couldn't help but become high. If he could be the first to persuade Zhang Lu to surrender to Liu Zhang, then this story would be spread to Liu Zhang in the future. In Liu Zhang's ears, he was naturally a man of great success, wealth and honor.

Wang Jijiu took a step forward. He cupped his hands and said, "Exactly, Master. Your wife is in Chengdu now. Although Master is at odds with Liu Yizhou, Liu Yizhou did not blame your wife for this. This shows that Liu Yizhou is a magnanimous man." , Master, I will send you down now, I believe that mother and son can be reunited, and the filial piety of mother and son can be fulfilled."

"Okay, what you said is good, what about the second thing?" Zhang Lu narrowed his eyes and asked with a narrow smile.

Wang Jijiu said: "In the past, Sheng Dao, the magistrate of Liangping County, and Meng Yi, a wealthy family in Nanzhong, both committed great treason. But after they abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side, Liu Yizhou did not forget the old grudges and continued to treat them. The entrustment of important tasks shows that Liu Yizhou is a man of great caliber and his benevolence is spread in Bashu... If Master Shijun returns from Hanzhong now, he will be able to maintain his glory and enjoy wealth, and he will still be a rich man at his lower level, and he can continue to sit in command at the upper level."

Zhang Lu put his palms together and sighed: "I didn't expect Wang Jijiu to speak so highly. It really touched my heart."

"There, there, it's just some superficial remarks, but it's up to the master to make the decision." Wang Jijiu said modestly with a smile on his face.

"Hey." Yan Pu, the meritorious officer who stood at the head of the table, looked at Wang Jijiu, who looked delighted, and then looked at Zhang Lu, who looked extremely kind, and sighed carelessly.

Yan Pu served under Zhang Lu for a long time and got along with Zhang Lu for a long time. He had some understanding of Zhang Lu's temperament, or he knew it very well. Although Zhang Lu praised Wang Jijiu, and Zhang Lu His words and expression looked good, but Yan Pu knew that this was just a moment of peace before the thunderstorm.

‘The king’s sacrifice of wine is in danger! ’ Yan Pu observed a moment of silence for the king’s offering of wine.

"Where is Yang Ang?" Zhang Lu shouted sharply in front of Wang Jijiu's somewhat complacent expression.

After the personal guard Yang Ang who was guarding outside the tent heard Zhang Lu's call, he opened the tent curtain, strode in, raised his hands and said in response: "The villain is here."

Anger rose on Zhang Lu's face, and he roared like thunder. He pointed at Wang Jijiu, who was a little confused because of the sharp shout in front of him, and said: "Wang Jijiu confuses the crowd with his evil words and defeats the morale of our army. Drag him down and kill him." , hang his head on the camp gate..."

Zhang Lu glanced around the tent with eyes like a hungry eagle, and looked at each civil and military officer. After making the ministers who had just expressed their intention to surrender to Liu Zhang lower their heads, he said viciously: "I would rather be killed by the sword." You ghosts are not guests of the Liu family... If you want to surrender again, you can stand up now and go on the road with Wang Jijiu."

"Master, Master, please forgive me, please forgive me!" After Wang Jijiu heard Zhang Lu's words, he was stunned for a moment. After a moment, he regained consciousness and knelt down with his legs, looking towards Zhang Lu. Kowtow and beg for mercy.

However, Zhang Lu looked indifferent and turned a deaf ear to Wang Jijiu's begging for mercy. Yang Ang, Zhang Lu's hardcore bodyguard, walked up to Wang Jijiu and first slapped Wang Jijiu hard on the face. With one sound, Wang Jijiu beat three souls out of their bodies and seven souls ascended to heaven. Wang Jijiu was so dazed that he could no longer speak and beg for mercy. The noise in the Chinese army's tent suddenly stopped, and then Yang Ang seemed to be dragging a dead dog. In general, Wang Jijiu, who was so frightened that his body was shaking, was dragged out of the camp.

As Wang Jijiu was dragged out of the tent, the atmosphere in the tent became weird. Some civil and military officials who wanted to surrender to Liu Zhang firmly shut their mouths. With Wang Jijiu's lesson learned, how could they not know Zhang Lu's intentions? , Zhang Lu's attitude was determined to confront Liu Zhang, and there was no room for retreat.

"I would rather be a ghost killed by the sword than a guest of the Liu family." ’ Gongcao Yanpu murmured Zhang Lu’s words in his heart. He knew why Zhang Lu was so tough and would rather die than surrender to Liu Zhang.

At first, Zhang Lu's mother, Lu, was good at the art of beauty, and she kept her girlish appearance all the year round. However, Liu Yan, who was the shepherd of Yizhou at that time, fell in love with Lu, and summoned her to the state shepherd's office every few days to discuss Taoism. , of course, it is said that they are talking about Tao, but in fact they are mixed together.

Taking advantage of the Lu family's pillow style, Zhang Lu got Liu Yan's important position and took up the post of governor Sima at a young age. Later, he was sent by Liu Yan to attack and kill Su Gu, the then prefect of Hanzhong. Later, Zhang Lu took advantage of Liu Yan died of illness and separatized Hanzhong.

Yan Pu said to himself, Zhang Lu probably felt that Hanzhong was compensation for Liu Yan's insult to his mother Lu, and he was very angry about the rumors that Liu Yan was Zhang Lu's fake father, so Zhang Lu would not surrender to Liu Zhang even if he died. And we will not give up Hanzhong easily.

Yan Pu has seen this situation many times. Usually when someone marries a widow with a son, even if the stepfather treats the widow's son with all his heart and soul, the widow's son will think of the benefits that the stepfather has given him. , in exchange for his mother's body. Not only will the widow's son not be grateful, but he will hold a grudge against his stepfather. Even if the widow's son cannot stand up to his stepfather in his prime when he was young, when the widow's son grows up and becomes independent, life will be difficult for his stepfather. (End of chapter)