Chapter 605: Gentle Township Celebrates Great Deeds
The two armies joined together, with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, running through Cao Cao's thousands of defeated troops, and fled all the way to the north to watch the wind.
Cao Cao, who was hit again, did not dare to take any chances at this time and just ran away desperately.
Fortunately among the misfortunes, Cao Cao broke two front teeth and lost many soldiers and horses, but he fled for half a day and finally escaped to Yangping Pass.
Yangping Pass is the most dangerous pass in central Sichuan. There are still 5,000 Cao's troops on the pass, and there is plenty of food and grass.
Yan Liang, who chased to the pass, knew that with more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, it was impossible to capture Yangping Pass in one go, so he called for a battle in front of the pass, showed off his power, and then slowly retreated with his victorious army.
Dragging his injured body and stationed in Guancheng, Cao Cao secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Yan Jun's retreat with his own eyes.
Cao Cao, who was in shock, was afraid that this was Yan Liang's plan again, so he sent several groups of waiters to follow Yan's army for reconnaissance. Only when it was confirmed that Yan Liang had no more tricks and that he had indeed withdrawn his troops and returned south did he heave a sigh of relief.
As soon as the tense nerves were relaxed, the pain of injury replaced the terror. Cao Cao, who had been suffering for a long time, finally couldn't help being frightened and exhausted, and fainted on Guancheng.
…
At night, Cao Cao, who had been sleeping for half a day, finally woke up.
The ministers who were waiting in the tent breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Cao Cao wake up.
After waking up, Cao Cao looked around and saw that his son Cao Zhang was still alive, as well as Guo Jia, Xun You and other counselors, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Cao Cao then stood up with his wounded body and asked the generals and soldiers in each camp how they were doing.
Guo Jia looked gloomy and silently reported the outcome of the battle to Cao Cao.
After Cao Cao retreated to the north first, all the armies also broke up and fled for their lives. The 40,000 soldiers and horses in the camp were killed by Yan's army, and only less than 20,000 remaining soldiers returned.
Fortunately, except for Lu Qian, who was killed in the battle, the other generals such as Xu Chu and Yue Jin were injured, but they all escaped alive.
"I have been using the army for many years, but I didn't expect to be defeated twice by that man Yan Liang. Seriously, alas." Cao Cao felt ashamed and blamed himself, shaking his head and sighing.
All the civil and military officials in front of the tent were silent and looked gloomy.
At this time, Cao Zhang resolutely said: "Father, why should we be downcast? Today is just a lucky victory for Yan Liang. I am willing to lead an army out of the pass and defeat the Yan thief."
"I, Huang Xuer, am brave and unparalleled. With you here, why should my father be afraid of that Yan thief? Now we, father and son, work together to fight to the death with that Yan thief!"
Encouraged by his son, Cao Cao cheered up a bit. When he was about to say a few encouraging words, he was involved in a wound on his mouth. The pain caused his teeth to crack.
Guo Jia and other counselors looked at each other with worries in each other's eyes. They believed that Cao Cao's current physical condition, coupled with his current low morale, was obviously not suitable for forcibly fighting Yan Jun, who had high morale.
One battle.
After exchanging glances with each other, Guo Jia said: "The revenge of this defeat must be avenged. However, the Prime Minister is bound to the country and cannot allow any mistakes. Jia thought that it would be better to wait for the Prime Minister to recover from his injuries and the soldiers to recover.
After you regain your morale, it won’t be too late to fight to the death with the Yan thief.”
As soon as Guo Jia opened his mouth, the other counselors also tried to persuade him. The main reason was of course that Cao Cao was injured.
As a hero, Cao Cao certainly knew that the counselors were giving him face by using his health as an excuse to persuade him to withdraw his troops. The implication of course was that he would lose his troops and his generals, his morale would be low, and he would not be able to fight Yan Liang again.
After calming down, Cao Cao realized that it made sense after thinking about it carefully. In desperation, he had no choice but to follow the advice of his advisers with resentment.
Therefore, Cao Cao ordered Xu Huang and Cao Zhen to retreat with 10,000 troops each and retreat to Hanzhong for defense.
At the same time, he sent people to Longxi and summoned Xia Houyuan to lead his 30,000 troops back to Hanzhong.
Immediately afterwards, Cao Cao led 30,000 soldiers and horses, as well as Guo Jia, Le Jin and other civil and military personnel to Chang'an to recuperate.
Before leaving, Cao Cao appointed Xia Houyuan as the guard for the southern expedition. The commander left 40,000 troops to guard Hanzhong. Yang Fu, Xu Huang, Cao Zhen, Li Dian, Cao Xiu and other civil and military generals were all placed under Xia Houyuan's command.
The reason why Cao Cao dared to return to Chang'an was also very simple. Hanzhong was in danger of Yangping Pass. Although he only had 40,000 troops left, as long as Xia Houyuan could hold Yangping Pass, Yan Liang, even with a hundred thousand troops, could not threaten Hanzhong.
After making arrangements for everything, Cao Cao, with his mouth broken and his teeth broken, hurried back to Chang'an.
…
When Cao Cao sadly returned to Chang'an with pain and the shame of defeat, Yan Liang, who had won the victory, held a banquet at Baishui Pass to celebrate this exciting victory.
Although they had achieved a great victory over Cao Cao, Xia Houyuan's troops had all retreated to support Hanzhong, and Yangping Pass was in front of them. Without adequate preparations, they would not be able to break through the city and seize Hanzhong.
Therefore, after the great victory, Yan Liang was not in a hurry to advance the army. Instead, he withdrew his troops thirty miles south to Baishui Pass to rest and recuperate.
A great victory, the morale of the three armies was greatly boosted, and the entire Guancheng was immersed in jubilation.
Yan Liang himself was not stingy, he took all the wealth in Shu, rewarded the meritorious soldiers, and rewarded the soldiers by killing chickens and sheep.
Meritorious generals such as Huang Zhong, Gan Ning, and Yan Liang were all granted additional fiefdoms for them.
As for his adopted son Deng Ai, who had just entered the battlefield for the first time, because of his ability to sneak into Yinping, and because he shot Cao Cao this time, Yan Liang also "never avoid relatives when promoting talents", so he immediately promoted Deng Ai to be a partial general.
In the past, people called Deng Ai "Young General", which was a respectful title for him. Now, at the age of ten, Deng Ai has become a partial general. This time, he is truly a "young general".
But Deng Ai showed his talent and made great achievements. Naturally, all the generals were convinced by Yan Liang's reward, and no one had any objections.
At the banquet, everyone was drinking to their heart's content. At this moment, a scout came and reported the latest information from Hanzhong.
"Cao Cao took an arrow and left Xiahou Yuan to guard Hanzhong while he retreated to Chang'an to recuperate. Okay, once Cao Cao leaves, I will definitely take Hanzhong."
After learning the news, Yan Liang became even more energetic.
Pang Tong stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Young General, this arrow is well shot. If Cao Cao were in Hanzhong, with his cunning and cunning, it would be much more difficult for us to capture Hanzhong. Now Cao Cao returns to Chang'an to recuperate, leaving behind a brave and foolhardy man."
Xia Houyuan defended Hanzhong, which was a clear sign that Hanzhong was surrendered."
Fazheng also raised his hands and smiled and said: "Cao Cao relied on the danger of Yangping Pass, so he dared to leave Xia Houyuan to guard Hanzhong and retreat to Chang'an. This is the opportunity given by God. I am asking my lord to send troops north to take Hanzhong in one go."
The two counselors had the same idea, and the drunken generals were all enthusiastic and generous in asking for battle.
Yan Liang was in high spirits, and the fire in his chest was ignited, so he slapped the table and shouted: "What you said is absolutely true. Chuan Gu ordered the entire army to rest at Baishui Pass for three days. After three days, the army will go north to capture Hanzhong!"
"Capture Hanzhong"
"Capture Hanzhong"
The excited generals roared loudly, and in the big tent, the hunting spirit burned like fire.
…
In another tent, Zhu Rong and Hua Wan, mother and daughter, were sitting there, silent to each other.
When her mother and daughter heard the joyous sounds outside the tent, their hearts trembled slightly.
They had already learned that Prime Minister Cao, who was roaming the Central Plains, had been defeated by Yan Liang, the Great Sima. Yan Liang's power once again made her mother and daughter feel afraid.
Speaking of which, this was actually the first time that her mother and daughter were alone together since Meng Huo was executed.
Flower garlands are quite natural, but there is always a knot in Zhu Rong's heart.
Although she has become Yan Liang's woman, she willingly serves Yan Liang, and even serves Yan Liang with wine and smiles in front of her daughter with all her charm.
But there was always a sense of shame in Zhu Rong's heart. It was this remaining shame that made her feel very embarrassed to be alone with her daughter.
Therefore, in front of Yan Liang, she could only endure the humiliation and make fun of her. But in private, she tried her best to avoid her daughter and did not want to meet her alone to avoid embarrassment.
Today, she had no choice but to escape because Yan Liang specially sent someone to fetch her mother and daughter so that they could live in the same tent.
Zhu Rong seemed to have a vague premonition in his heart.
Amid anxiety and suspicion, the curtains were raised, and Yan Liang stepped into the incense tent, smelling of wine and murderous intent.
The mother and daughter hurriedly stood up and greeted them with Han gifts. In an instant, charming smiles appeared on their pretty faces.
Yan Liang, whose face smelled of alcohol and whose body was covered in wine-sweat, took off all his clothes without saying a word after entering the tent.
The criss-crossed muscles and the solid chest were all clearly visible in the blink of an eye.
Zhu Rong, mother and daughter, suddenly blushed, and a deep shame came to their brows.
At this moment, they finally understood that the reason why Yan Liang summoned them here was to use her body to vent the excitement of victory.
Hua Wan was only shy for a moment, but she quickly raised her arms and gently untied her shirt.
Zhu Rong was embarrassed, squirming and didn't move for a long time.
What Zhu Rong has been worried about for a long time now seems to be inevitable.
Although Zhu Rong had thought about it many times in advance and warned himself repeatedly that the matter was now over, as long as he could save his life, as long as he could keep food and clothing, there was no need to care about other things like dignity and shame.
But now, when the thing that had made her anxious for a long time was finally going to happen, the difficulty in Zhu Rong's heart was still insurmountable.
When the squirming Zhu Rong raised her head, she met Yan Liang's displeased eyes. The blade-like gaze made her delicate body tremble slightly, and a chill filled her heart.
That chill instantly shattered Zhu Rong's so-called psychological difficulties.
She took a deep breath, tried her best to put aside the embarrassing thoughts, endured the shame, lightly untied her shirt, and slowly stepped forward...
Dignity, shame, embarrassment...
All this pretentiousness means nothing in the face of survival.
After experiencing the bloody storm and witnessing Yan Liang's cruel methods, Zhu Rong is no longer the number one heroine in Nanzhong back then. At this time, she is just a trophy who knows how to understand current affairs.
Yan Liang, with his blood running high, is like a fierce lion, flexing his muscles and enjoying his prey to the fullest.
In the big tent, spring thunder bursts, clouds and rain rise, and for a moment, the autumn mood disappears, and the intoxicating spring scenery quietly emerges.