A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 437: Liao Hua takes the lead on the Shu Road and should be on the outside to break the game

March 19

Liu Qi arrived at Danqu and prepared to garrison troops at this important place.

In addition to the 10,000 military rights granted to him by Liu Zhang as the commander-in-chief of Baishui Pass, Liu Qi could mobilize an army of 40,000.

Fortunately, we are on the defensive side and have favorable geographical advantages. Cao Cao's cavalry advantage is lost in the mountains in central Shu, so we can use half the number of troops to guard the passes and resist Cao Cao's army of tigers and wolves.

Liu Qi was promoted to sit high in the tent, and Zhuge Liang lowered his head to sit with him. Liu Zhang handed Liu Qi Fazheng, who was the chief secretary, and then followed by Yan Yan, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Kou Feng, Liao Hua and other generals.

Seeing Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, Liu Qi ordered in a slightly majestic voice: "Since Liu Yizhou has handed over the matter of Cao Cao's thieves in the north to our army, we must make some achievements to repay Liu Yizhou's trust.

This general ordered Huang Zhong and Liao Hua to lead ten thousand troops to garrison Nanjiang to guard against Cao's army coming down from Micang. Yan Yan and Wei Yan were to garrison Wanyuan to guard against the enemy's army coming out of Ziwu.

The rest of the army followed the general to garrison Danqu as a two-way support. "

Because he didn't know the direction of Cao's army's main attack, Zhuge Liang could only defend conservatively. As long as he determined the direction of Cao's army's main attack, he could quickly support from Danqu and along the river to protect the defense line.

Although Baishui was controlled by Liu Qi, he understood that they could not listen to him, only in name. According to the abilities of Zhang Ren and Ma Chao, it is more than enough to protect Baishui Pass.

March 28
After dozens of days of climbing over mountains and ridges, Cao Jun finally walked out of Micang Road. In front of him were no longer mountains, but clouds on the horizon.

Cao Cao said with emotion: "They all say that the road to Shu is difficult. It is true. If I hadn't defeated Hanzhong, it's still unclear whether Yizhou could be captured."

After finishing speaking, he looked at the army behind him and filed out of the mountain road and said: "Give us the order to set up camp fifty miles away from the mountain pass. The whole army will rest for a few days before marching."

After traveling for many days, Cao Cao knew that it was too unrealistic to march at this time.

At a location that Cao Cao didn't notice, on a high tree, while Cao Jun's scouts didn't spread out, someone could clearly see everything about Cao Cao's army.

"Have you seen clearly, is it Cao Cao?"

"General, you are absolutely right. I have always had a bright eye. The man was about six feet tall, wearing brocade clothes, jade fur, and a red cloak. He was standing on the hill.

Holding a riding whip, he commanded many generals in armor and stomach, no less than twenty. There was also a strong man holding a big flag. The flagpole was as thick as my thigh. The word "Cao" was written on it. If he moved with that person, it must be Cao Cao. "

Huang Zhong listened to the scout's report and paced back and forth, thinking about countermeasures. Liao Hua on the side couldn't sit still, stood up and said urgently: "Old General Huang, the Cao thieves' camp is not yet stable, and the scouts have not yet spread out. It would be a pity if we do not take this opportunity to send troops to attack."

"But our order is to guard Nanjiang. If we send troops easily and Nanjiang is lost, and Cao's army enters Shu and enters an uninhabited country, it will be a serious crime."

"General, don't hesitate. The opportunity to fight is fleeting. It's not like you and I have never walked past Micang Road. Just a small team marching is exhausted, what about Cao's army?"

Now that Cao Cao's thieves have first arrived, his army is certainly not complete, probably no more than ten thousand, so if you attack him, you won't be surrounded by heavy troops. If we wait for Danqu's order and Cao's army is fully prepared and the camp is strong, how can we stand a chance? "

After Huang Zhong heard this, he calmed down and said, "Well, since it is a surprise attack, it is not appropriate to bring more soldiers. You and I can only lead three thousand elite soldiers personally, leaving generals to guard the city.

You will go ahead with 1,500 people, and I will lead 1,500 people behind to support them. Even if the war goes against him, he won't fall into the enemy's position. "

"Can!"

While Huang Zhong ordered people to report the news of Cao Cao's personal visit to Nanjiang to Danqu, he also selected elite soldiers and prepared for a night attack.

On the other side, Cao Cao looked at the soldiers who were constantly cutting down trees and ordered: "When our army arrives tonight, we must be careful to prevent the enemy from attacking the camp. The trees and shrubs hundreds of steps around the camp must be cleared to prevent them from being attacked by the enemy." take."

It was night, the moon was dark and the wind was high. The sky in Sichuan was like this. It was often obscured by clouds and mist, and the bright moon could not be seen. If it were not for the light of torches, I would not be able to see my fingers.

Fortunately, the tall trees and bushes surrounding Cao's camp for more than a hundred steps have been removed, otherwise the patrolling soldiers would have to be on guard against hidden arrows in the trees.

On the other side, the fifteen hundred Shu army led by Liao Hua had already extinguished their torches and fell into darkness when they were still more than ten miles away from Cao's camp.

However, the Shu army were all locals and were used to this kind of darkness. With the dozens of night vision soldiers leading the front slowly groping, and holding the shoulders and arms in front of them from behind, they were able to march just fine, but at a very fast pace. Slow as a snail.

By the time Liao Hua reached Cao Jun's camp, several hours had passed. He looked at the sky and estimated that it would be dawn soon, so he knew that there was no need to delay.

Under the leadership of the previous scout, they arrived outside Cao Cao's commander's camp.

"General, this camp is Cao Cao's commander's camp. I saw with my own eyes that the commander's flag with the word Cao Cao was inserted into this camp."

Liao Hua nodded and saw that almost all the sergeants had gathered behind him. There was nothing he could do if there were fewer people. He waved his hand and dozens or hundreds of archers came forward, lit their rockets, and shot towards the camp with their bows.

"Enemy attack!!!"

Liao Hua suddenly raised the sword in his hand, shouted and led hundreds of troops towards Cao's camp.

Rockets shot down on the tents of Cao's camp and gradually began to ignite. Cao's troops either ran for fire or were shot by arrows that made them run away with their heads covered.

Because the Shu people were good at shooting and they recruited barbarians who were good at shooting from the mountains, Liao Hua had hundreds of archers under his command.

Cao Cao was awakened by the sound of fighting. With the help of Xu Chu, he gathered some of his troops and ordered them to beat drums and have the troops behead all the runners.

Then he led the gathered more than a thousand people towards Liao Hua.

Liao Hua saw a group of people approaching, surrounded by a disheveled middle-aged man. His appearance and height were exactly the same as those of the legendary Cao Cao.

At that moment, he shouted excitedly: "General Liao Hua under General Zhenbei is here to demand Cao Cao's head!"

Then he came towards Cao Cao, but was blocked by Xu Chu. After a blow, he took a few steps back before stopping. With a look of disbelief on his face, he stepped forward to fight again, but was still knocked back several meters away. If Xu Chu didn't dare to stay away from Cao Cao because he was also a guard, Liao Hua would have been killed by him long ago.

Seeing that Cao Cao's army was gathering more and more, Cao Cao was right in front of him, but there was nothing he could do. Liao Hua was unwilling to do so, but he had to lead his army and retreat.

Cao Cao led his army in pursuit and after leaving the camp gate, he was left behind by hundreds of archers who shot down from a high position and were unable to move forward.

He was run away by Liao Hua.

Cao Cao looked angry: "Any mountain bandit dares to bark in front of me. Xu Chu, I order you to lead three thousand cavalry to kill this bandit for me to eliminate the hatred in my heart."

"Your Majesty, what about your side?"

"Go, I will wait for you in the stronghold to report your success."

Seeing that the camp had been reorganized and soldiers and horses from other villages were arriving one after another, Xu Chu followed the orders with confidence.

Then he led three thousand cavalry and headed towards the place where Liao Hua disappeared.

As Liao Hua ran, he secretly cursed himself for being useless. Cao Cao actually had such a fierce general by his side. It's a pity that I, Liao Hua, wasted my time for decades. I had merit and wealth right in front of me, but I missed it because of my lack of martial arts.

"General, Cao's cavalry is chasing us."

"What?" Liao Hua heard that his soul was almost gone, he forced himself to stabilize, looked around and then shouted: "Go and ask General Huang for help, the rest of the people, go up the slope with me!"

Liao Hua found a small hillside, only a dozen meters high, and formed a formation on the top of the mountain.

Xu Chu raised his horse and commanded the cavalry to charge upwards. However, due to the slope, the speed was not half as fast as on flat ground.

In addition, Liao Hua had many archers under his command, supplemented by stones, so Xu Chu was unable to charge forward many times, so he had to turn around at the bottom of the slope and ask people to return to camp to mobilize infantry.

He didn't want his elite cavalry to be wasted in an infantry battle.

While Xu Chu was waiting for reinforcements, a group of people came out from the south. The leader was Huang Zhong, riding a yellow gelding horse and charging towards Xu Chu.

The two fought against each other without distinction. Huang Zhong's troops and Liao Hua's troops became horns and shot each other at Cao's army. Seeing that this was not possible, Xu Chu abandoned Huang Zhong and led his troops to retreat.

Only then did Liao Hua save his life.

It goes without saying how Liao Hua thanked Huang Zhong. On the other hand, Xu Chu led the defeated army to retreat and told him everything about his encounter with an old general who became stronger as he grew older and was as incorruptible as ever.

Cao Cao sighed: "It seems that there are no generals in Shu. It's a pity that they were buried in the hands of Liu Jiyu."

April nd
Cao Cao's follow-up troops all arrived, and the army broke out of camp, stretching for dozens of miles, and marched southward along the diving line until they reached the gate of Nanjiang City.

Liu Qi, who received the report from Huang Zhong's army, also led an army of 20,000, and joined Huang Zhong's troops with a total of 30,000 people. Because Nanjiang City was small, he refused to fight against Cao Cao at the gate of Nanjiang City.

Although Liu Qi had a small number of fighting generals in the two armies, the generals under his command were not vegetarians. Under the hard work of Huang Zhong, Liao Hua, Kou Feng and others, they finally did not lose their military morale.

Due to the terrain, although Cao's army numbered 60,000, they could not move away at all. Only 20,000 troops could fight at one time, and they fell into a long and fierce battle with Liu Qi's army.

On this day, Cao's army had just retreated. Liu Qi raised the tent to discuss matters. He believed that such a fierce battle was not a long-term solution after all, and asked the generals about strategies to retreat from the enemy.

Zhuge Liang said slowly: "Sir, I think the key to this battle is not in Shu, but outside Shu."

"Father Zhong, please elaborate."

"Today, the people Cao Cao fears the most are none other than Wu Gong and King Zhao. Since Wu Gong was defeated by Cao Cao, he must be too afraid to send troops, so this plan should be directed to King Zhao.

I heard that the Zhao army had newly occupied the east of Hedong last year, and they were already determined to enter Guanzhong. It would be better to write a letter and send a general to the north to present it.

King Zhao is not moving now because he does not know the situation in Shuzhong. As a hero, King Zhao will definitely see this opportunity and raise troops to attack Guanzhong if he knows the situation in Shuzhong.

Cao Cao is afraid that his retreat will be cut off, so he will rush to withdraw his troops. When the time comes, it will be our opportunity. "

"But now the road out of Shu is still occupied by Cao's army, and it is unrealistic to go eastward. The Wu navy is roaming outside Wu County and has to pass through the entire South Korea. There is a fear that the letter will be intercepted by Cao's army and used by Cao Cao."

Fazheng expressed his doubts in words.

Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan and explained: "I don't know about filial piety. There are more than three ways to enter Shu from Hanzhong. When I was in Bajun, I checked the county annals in detail, asked the old people, and talked with the hermit Gao De in Shu. After intersecting, I finally learned that there is another Yinping Road from northern Shu.

From Fucheng, go north along the Fushui River and cross the Gangdi Road. Further north is the Yinping Road. You can enter Wudu County in Liangzhou from the vassal state of Guanghan. However, this road is a small road and cannot pass troops. It can only accommodate a few people. In addition, It passes through the Di settlement, so it is not obvious. "

"In that case, who dares to come with me?"

"General, I'd like to go there!" Kou Feng never had the chance to make any achievements, so he hurried out to take over the task.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "General Kou is willing to go. There is no need to worry about it. Liang has a friend who holds an important position in the King of Zhao. The general may go with my handwritten letter to ensure that the King of Zhao sends troops."

"Order!"

Kou Feng kept Zhuge Liang's letters close to his body and galloped towards Guanghan with only a few horses.

(End of this chapter)