After Han Sui asked Cao's army for help, Wei Kang's troops marched into Qishan, and Xiahou Yuan personally led his troops to Chencang, gathering an army of 100,000 to attack Hanzhong.

Encountering obstacles on Baoxie Road twice, the morale of Cao's army was a little low. He was discussing countermeasures with his generals and sent horses to report. Han Sui was beheaded by Liu Qi, and the entire Xiliang army was annihilated.

Xia Houyuan was shocked and angry, and cursed Han Sui for his incompetence. Xiliang was in urgent need, and the gains and losses of Longyou were also related to the safety of Guanzhong. He hurriedly invited General Xun You from Mei County to discuss the matter.

Xun You said: "Han Sui is dead. Ma Chao will revive Xiliang's troops and come back with force. Longyou cannot afford to lose anything and send troops to support immediately."

Xia Houyuan frowned and said: "If we divide our troops to support Longyou, how can we capture Hanzhong?"

Xun You said: "The terrain of Yangping Pass is dangerous and difficult. Today, Yizhou in Hanzhong is the backing and the troops are well-prepared. It is not suitable to advance. The general should use defense as offense."

Xia Houyuan said dissatisfied: "Why use defense as offense?"

Xun You said: "Now that Han Sui is destroyed, Liu Qi will plan to plot in the pass. He will send troops on his own. The roads in the Qinling Mountains are difficult, and it is extremely difficult to move food in and out. The general can guard the key roads, wait for work, and wait for opportunities to counterattack."

Han Hao said: "Although the military advisor's plan is sound, if Ma Chao arrives, Longshang may not be protected. If Liu Qi cannibalize him step by step, wouldn't he just sit back and wait for death?"

Xun You said: "Ma Chao will leave here for as little as half a year and as long as one year. We can mobilize troops and horses from the Central Plains to support him."

Han Sui frowned and said, "All the troops in the Central Plains are standing still. A single move can affect their entire body. Guan Yunchang has already been ready to move. He easily mobilizes his troops, which makes the situation even worse."

Xun You immediately twisted his beard and said nothing. Cao's army seemed to be powerful, but in fact it was like a pool of stagnant water. He could not think of a solution.

Since the rise of Liu Qi, Cao's army has suffered repeated blows. He lost the battles in Nanyang and Huainan, lost troops and generals, and the situation was extremely unfavorable.

Xun Yu's whereabouts were unknown, and Cao Cao's troops left Mobei. He had already seen that the two of them had long lost their ambitions and were seeking their own future.

Cao Cao knew that his time was short, so he marched north to Xianbei just to seek fame, like Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, whose names would go down in history.

The current situation seems to be in a deadlock. To break the situation, Cao Cao must return to Xuchang and reorganize the three armies.

Xia Houyuan laughed and said: "Liu Qi, I only had a small victory over Han Sui. I heard that Zhang Fei was injured and could not lead the army. Han Sui's death was not in vain. Liu Qi defeated a general. This is a God-given opportunity. If we don't send troops at this time, why should we wait?"

hour?"

Xun You said: "Zhao Zilong is as brave as Zhang Fei!"

"Why does the military advisor need to be more prestige than others?" Xia Houyuan said displeasedly: "If Zhao Zilong comes, I will deal with it, and the other generals will not have to worry about it! Now that the prime minister is marching to Mobei, we should share his worries. If we deploy defenses everywhere, there will be no need to worry about it.

If the soldiers have no fighting spirit, how will they conquer the world?"

Xun You advised: "Liu Qi is no longer what he used to be. In the battle of Nanyang, the prime minister dare not underestimate him. General, please think again."

Xia Houyuan sneered and said: "In Nanyang, Liu Qi only relied on the strategy of Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Young. Now Zhuge Liang is in Jingzhou and Pang Tong is in Xiliang. With the strategy of military advisors, why should we fear little Liu Qi?"

Xun You frowned and said: "It's not that I despise Liu Qi, but that this person has always done things unexpectedly. Now I don't need Xu Shu and stay away from Wolong Fengxiao, but I only keep Fa Zheng as a military advisor. This person must be outstanding."

"Who is Fa Zheng?" Xia Houyuan sneered coldly: "They are just exiles who escaped from Guanzhong. If Liu Qi really had the ability to take Yizhou, he should have set up a conspiracy for Liu Zhang to trap him in Xichuan and defect to Liu Qi. With a certain

From the looks of it, he must be a flattering and ingratiating person, so there is nothing to worry about."

Xun You didn't know how good Fa Zheng was, but he always felt that Liu Qi would never act hastily if he made such arrangements.

After thinking for a moment, he said: "If the general insists on sending troops, he can set up his camp in Jigu and test Liu Qi. If he is really incompetent and has a false reputation, the army can take advantage of the victory and attack Hanzhong. If the situation is unfavorable, he can retreat calmly."

Xia Houyuan laughed and said: "What the military advisor said makes sense. Nowadays, people from all walks of life are hesitant and urgently need a big victory to boost their morale. It is also the time for someone to avenge the Xiahou family's name. I want to make my son Xiao and Yuan Rang suffer the humiliation."

Liu Qi will repay you twice as much!"

Xun You said again: "It is very convenient to send troops from Hanzhong through Chencang Road. We need to prepare defenses. We also need to ask Luoyang to send more troops to Chang'an to prepare for emergencies."

Xia Houyuan sent a message to Lin Daodao: "I would like to order General Han to lead troops to Longyou for support. Chen Cang needs to be guarded by another person. Do you have any suitable candidates?"

Sima Guo Huai said: "Hao Zhaogang from Taiyuan is brave and steady, and he is qualified for the job."

Xia Houyuan was overjoyed and immediately ordered people to deliver a message to Xuchang. He transferred Hao Zhao to Chencang, and everyone prepared food and grass and marched to Jigu.

Xun You reminded: "Don't forget to increase your troops in Chang'an."

Xia Houyuan said disdainfully: "I am going to deal with Liu Qi here. I will advance without retreating. Baoxie Dao will be flawless. I have Xu Huang to support me at Wuzhangyuan, and there are heavy troops in Chencang. Chang'an will have no worries!"

Xun You wanted to persuade him again, but he also knew that Xia Houyuan had a bad temper, and if he said too much, it would be counterproductive.

This battle is indeed about progress and not retreat. If it advances, the situation will be broken and all troops and horses will be mobilized. If it fails, the pass will be difficult to protect. It doesn't seem to have much to do with the number of troops in Chang'an.

At this time, Cao and Liu were equally powerful and were in an anxious period of confrontation. They urgently needed someone to change the situation and reverse the situation.

As the saying goes, times create heroes, perhaps Xia Houyuan is the one who emerges from nowhere!

Each general went to prepare on his own. Before leaving, Han Hao secretly discussed with Xia Houyuan: "The Yang family in Hanzhong is a wealthy family. Yang Song is extremely greedy for money and forgets justice when he sees profit. The last general has sent someone to contact him. If the general can bribe this person, maybe

It can work wonders.”

Xia Houyuan frowned and said: "This person is in Nanzheng. It is difficult for our army to cross the Qinling Mountains. Every pass is heavily guarded. What use is there for such a villain?"

Han Hao said: "Although Yang Song is useless, we can use his power to send many scouts to sneak into Hanzhong to spy on the military situation. If we make good use of this person, he will be of great use when the generals enter Hanzhong."

Xia Houyuan asked: "We have lost contact with Xizuo in Hanzhong in the past two months. This shows that the interrogation is extremely strict. What can this person do to allow Xizuo to come in and out?"

Han Hao said with a smile: "General, please don't forget that Liu Qi opened a bodyguard bureau to support the caravan in order to win over the wealthy families in Hanzhong. There are more than 500 people under Yang Song, traveling in and out of Nanyang and Jiangdong. Wouldn't it be easy to arrange for a few people to infiltrate them?

?”

"That's it!" Xiahou Ba suddenly said: "Don't worry Yuan Si, I have my own arrangements."

The arrangements for the various parties were made, and when Hao Zhao arrived at Chencang, Liu Qi also returned to Hanzhong, and sure enough, he personally led the troops out and came from Baoxie Road to capture Guanzhong.

General Tanma reported the news and heard that Liu Qi actually sent Zhao Yun to Chencang Road, leaving Wei Yan behind and Zhang Fei to guard Hanzhong. He was surprised and said: "The generals are all out. Who will Liu Qi choose as the vanguard and who will be the general?"

The scout replied: "Huang Zhong is the vanguard general, and Yan Yan is in charge of the central army."

"Oh?" Xia Houyuan was startled, then looked up to the sky and laughed: "Everyone says that Liu Qi is good at using people. From a certain perspective, it is just a false reputation. This battle will be completely won."

Guo Huai asked: "How can we see it?"
Chapter completed!