The canyon was no longer quiet, the rustling sounds became more and more intense, the sky was illuminated red by fire, and balls of fireballs fell from the sky.

Xiahou Yuan's tribe was in chaos, and he had no intention of pursuing Zhuge Liang. In this situation, it would be good if he was not pursued by Zhuge Liang.

However, the road was narrow and there were fires everywhere, so it was not easy to turn around and withdraw the troops.

In an instant, crossbows fired from both sides, arrows were like locusts, and the canyon was filled with the sound of burning withered vines and the screams of Wei soldiers.

Several rounds of crossbows hit Xiahou Yuan. Thanks to Xiahou Yuan's thick and tough armor, the arrows were barely engulfed and did not cause serious injuries. Some crossbow arrows even failed to penetrate the armor.

Therefore, Xia Houyuan looks like a hedgehog now. He looks heroic, but his injuries are not serious. This is also the reason why the general's survival probability among the rebel army is much higher than that of ordinary soldiers.

However, Xinpi was not so lucky. He was hit in the head by a random arrow and died instantly.

Xia Houyuan only glanced at Xinpi from the corner of his eye and saw Xinpi hit by an arrow. The moment he turned over and fell from his horse, he stretched out his ape arms to catch him and said: "I regret not listening to the words of Zuo Zhi (characterized by Xin Pi), which led to today's defeat. Zuo Zhi? Zuo Zhi...

…Ge!”

Xinpi was an important figure in Cao Cao's efforts to pacify Yuan Shao's remaining forces. For this reason, Xinpi's family was beheaded by the judge.

It can be said that Xinpi shed blood and tears for the cause of Cao Wei and made significant contributions.

With great difficulty, Xia Houyuan managed to escape from the canyon. Looking back, he saw only more than a hundred people following him.

After walking for four or five miles, Xiahou Yuan saw the deep woods and the branches with claws and teeth showing shadows in the moonlight, so he said with lingering fear: "Everyone, be careful around you, beware of an ambush by the enemy."

After walking through the woods and seeing no ambush attack, Xia Houyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Zhuge Liang can't do this with his troops. If I use my troops and ambush a group of soldiers and horses in the forest, won't we be captured without mercy?"

The soldiers around him: "..."

Long-lived veterans who have experienced the Battle of Chibi can't help but think of the late emperor's classic quotes.

Fortunately, Xia Houyuan said it after passing through the woods, not before entering the woods.

With the camp in front of him, Xia Houyuan gradually relaxed.

He decided to have a good sleep and consider defensive strategies in the future. In addition, since Simpi was dead, he lacked someone to give advice - although the advice given may not be listened to.

Just when Xia Houyuan was thinking about how to report to the court, he suddenly saw torches held high in the camp and a group of people beating drums and charging out.

The leading young man pointed his spear at Xia Houyuan and said, "I am Wang Ping, the vanguard under the command of Sili Xiaowei. I have captured the camp for a long time."

After saying this, Wang Ping marched out with his army.

Xia Houyuan was already trapped and out of horses, so he still dared to fight, so he had no choice but to pull out his horse and head towards the Chichi. When Xiahou Yuan fled back to the Chichi at noon the next day, he found that the Chichi had been captured by Zhang Ren.

These two days were like life and death. Thanks to Xia Houyuan's bravery and unwillingness to fight, he was able to escape.

Zhuge Liang ordered Wei Yan to be the vanguard, and he and Zhang Ren led the central army to approach Hangu Pass.

Xiahou Yuan had few troops and had no choice but to ask Luoyang for reinforcements.

At the same time, Cao Ren of Wancheng was also asking for reinforcements from Luoyang. Cao Zhen, who was stationed in Luoyang, was preparing to raise troops to support Wancheng, and when he heard that Xia Houyuan came to ask for reinforcements, he suddenly seemed to be overwhelmed.

Cao Zhen's real surname was Qin, and he was the adopted son of Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao and Cao Pi treated Cao Zhen well and were able to entrust him with military power, so there was nothing wrong with Cao Zhen completely regarding himself as a member of the Cao family.

But now the people asking for help are one named Cao and the other Xiahou. The palms and backs of their hands are full of flesh.

He also heard that Xiahou Yuan's side Xin Pi had died in battle, and thought that Xia Houyuan might not be able to make decisions on many matters alone, and that Hangu Pass was easy to defend and difficult to attack, so he personally led a small group of troops to Hangu Pass to assist Xiahou Yuan, and ordered his deputy general Guo Huai

He led Luoyang soldiers and horses to Wancheng.

Cao Pi, who knew this situation, was very confused.

Zhuge Liang, Fazheng, and Pang Tong were all top strategists on Li Qi's side, while the top strategists on Cao Wei's side, Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and the mastermind Xun You all died too early, leaving Jia Xu to surrender to the enemy, and Sima Yi was good at shrinking.

My head is really hard to deal with.

When I was depressed, a scout came to report: "Sun Quan sent Wei Wen out to sea and headed towards Yizhou."

Cao Pi: "???"

Are you looking for a way out for yourself?

Cao Pi said: "What does Sun Quan want to do? He wants to go to Yizhou to establish himself on his own? You must know that Yizhou has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. How dare he go to Yizhou and establish himself on his own? If I leave Li Qi alone, I will not fight him."

We have to chase them along the coast."

The scout said: "Your Majesty, according to our reliable information in Jiangdong, it was after Sun Quan sent Zhuge Jin as envoy to Li Qi that he suddenly decided to go to Yizhou, and Li Qi continued to transport supplies from Jingnan to Wu County. It seems that

…seems to be supporting Sun Quan’s march south to Yizhou.”

Cao Pi: "..."

It seems that these two guys have started wearing the same pair of pants.

Sima Yi said: "Your Majesty, it is actually a good thing for Sun Quan to go south to Yizhou."

Cao Pi asked: "What do Zhongda think?"

Sima Yi said: "Sun Quan has never admitted that he does not have the ability to compete with the world. To this end, he has made many attempts. How can he be willing to be Li Qi's pioneer? Now it is just that the situation is forcing him to do it as a last resort.

.In the next few years, Sun Quan will expand Yizhou to the south and ally with Gongsun in the north. When he recovers his strength, he can become our backup again. Li Qi is now worried about his in-law relationship and does not get rid of Sun Quan, which is actually raising a tiger.

It’s also a source of trouble.”

Cao Pi sighed: "That being said, since we, the mighty Wei Dynasty, have inherited the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, since when have we pinned our hopes on Sun Quan? Don't you, my beloved ministers, have any strategies to defeat the enemy?"

Sima Yi thought to himself, don't you have any idea whether you are inheriting the orthodoxy in an upright and upright manner?

Although we can't all rely on Sun Quan's power, if we can unite with Sun Quan, it will definitely be the way to maximize our interests.

However, Cao Pi's worries are not unreasonable. Even though he has obvious military superiority locally, he still has no way to defeat Li Qi. So once the battle on the Western Front is defeated, is there any hope of victory?

Dong Zhonglang general Jiang Ji suddenly said: "Your Majesty, we hope to occupy Wuhu to force Sun Quan but failed. Ji Jing thought about it for a long time and thought it would be better to change his mind."

Cao Pi asked, "If Zi Tong has any ideas, you might as well speak out."

Jiang Jidao: "We can make Sun Quan stab Li Qi in the back under two circumstances: temporarily stationing in Wuhu and using force to coerce him. But to be honest, if we really want to successfully enter Wuhu, we can make Li Qi suffer from enemies from both sides, so why should we expect it?

Sun Quan?"

Sima Yi said coldly: "Isn't Zitong just trying to excuse his failure?"

The strategy of entering Wuhu was thought up by Sima Yi. Your statement means that my method was unreliable, so you failed?

Jiang Ji did not answer Sima Yi directly. He always only needed to explain directly to Cao Pi, and said: "The second situation is to let Sun Quan see hope by himself instead of being coerced by force." He likes to travel through the Three Kingdoms and turn a fallen grass into a bandit.
Chapter completed!