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Jieting is located at the western end of Longshankou. This area is composed of a fucking low mountain. The mountains are not high. The valley between the two mountains is wide and flat. More than a thousand years ago, this was a passage for the Hehuang Qiang people to enter Guanzhong. However, most business travelers mainly walk through the Weishui River Valley to the south, not this valley path.

Although there are more open routes in the south, an official road has become flat and solid due to long-term business trips. Even military supplies can pass quickly. A river runs side by side with the official road and leads to the depths of the canyon.

Jieting Nanshan is a hill with beautiful scenery, lush forests, gurgling streams, flat and wide tops, and at the foot of the mountain is Jieting Tingyi, which is a must-pass place for the official road. More than a dozen buildings have been built here for merchants and travelers to rest and feed their horses.

There was originally a military fort on the top of the mountain, with soldiers garrisoning mainly to prevent bandits in Longshan. However, since last year, Xun You built a military camp on the top of the mountain, with more than a thousand troops garrisoning, in order to prevent the Han army from entering Guanzhong from Longshankou.

The main general in the military camp was Jiang Ping, who was appointed as the deputy captain. He was born in the prominent family of the Jiang clan of Tianshui County. He was originally the deputy general of the Western Liang warlord Yang Qiu. He was born in a noble family and was a martial arts family. After Xiahou Yuan defeated Yang Qiu, he captured thousands of troops. Jiang Ping also followed the generals to surrender Xiahou Yuan and became his general. He was highly valued by Xiahou Yuan. After Xiahou Yuan died in Qishan Road, Jiang Ping was designated as Xiahou Dun's general. However, Xiahou Dun despised him as a Qiang person and looked down upon him. When Xun You arranged his defense, Xiahou Dun sent him to guard Jieting.

Jieting did not play any role in the Battle of Longxi, but now the Han army is going to attack Guanzhong, and the importance of Jieting is immediately revealed. Once Jieting is lost, the Han army can pass through the canyon and enter the Lishui River Valley, and then reach Longxian to the south. Therefore, defending Jieting and Longxian is of great strategic significance to Guanzhong, and the defenders quickly increased from more than a thousand to five thousand.

Jiang Ping was nervous these days. He received information that an army of about 10,000 people had appeared west of Jieting. It is said that the main general was Zhao Yun. It is obvious that Zhao Yun was trying to seize Jieting and cross the valley and enter Guanzhong.

Jiang Ping had sent someone to inform Zang Ba, hoping to get Zang Ba's help, but although Zang Ba agreed, he had to wait for another two days himself, which made Jiang Ping both angry and helpless.

That morning, Jiang Ping inspected the soldiers' defenses in the military camp as usual. At this time, a personal soldier came to report in a low voice: "General, the Han army sent someone to deliver the letter, saying that it was an old friend of the general."

Jiang Ping was shocked. Who could this be? He quickly calmed down and pretended to be calm and said, "Take people to wait in the camp."

He got off the military camp with great worries and quickly came to the camp. He saw an officer waiting for him in the camp. Jiang Ping recognized this person at a glance. He was also a general of Yang Qiu, named Hou Feng, and had a good relationship with him. He died with Yang Qiu back then, but he didn't expect that he was still alive.

"Why is it you? You are not?" Jiang Ping was very surprised.

Hou Feng clasped his fists and smiled, "Brother Jiang thought I was dead, right? Actually, I was just injured at that time and fled to Longxi to recuperate. Later, I heard that Governor Ma was in Hanzhong, so I also went to Hanzhong and now I am the general of Governor Ma."

Jiang Ping looked unstable and ordered his personal soldiers to say, "You all retreat."

The personal soldiers retreated one after another, and there were only Jiang Ping and Hou Feng in the tent. They sat down. Hou Feng asked with concern again: "Jicheng is flooded, I wonder if there is any loss in the Jiang family."

"Fortunately, the clan members had moved to Linwei County before, and there were only land and houses in Jicheng. Although the land and houses were submerged, the clan members were safe, which was a blessing in disgrace."

Speaking of this, Jiang Ping asked again with a smile: "Governor Ma is okay?"

Hou Feng nodded, "Governor Ma married the sister of the Zhou Mu and was highly valued by Liu Zhou Mu. He has been appointed as the governor of Longxi. This time he sent troops to Jieting with Zhao Yun. I am on the order of Governor Ma to send a letter to Brother Jiang."

After saying that, Hou Feng took out Ma Chao's handwritten letter and handed it to Jiang Ping. Jiang Ping took it and read it. In the letter, Ma Chao advised him to surrender, saying that the overall situation of Cao Cao's withdrawal from Guanlong was decided, and his family, his parents, wife and children were in Longxi, so why did he go to the Central Plains? If he was willing to surrender, Ma Chao agreed to recommend him as the commander of Tianshui County.

Ma Chao has a high prestige in Longxi and Liangzhou. Yang Qiu is also one of the eight warlords under Ma Chao. In a way, Jiang Ping is also Ma Chao's general. Now that the Han army has captured Longxi, the power is at its peak. Although Cao Cao occupied Guanzhong, the power is beginning to be at a disadvantage. Guanzhong is sooner or later Liu Jing's dish on the plate. Jiang Ping understands these situations.

However, Xu Huang treated him well. Not only did he not take away his position as the governor of Jieting, he also added 4,000 troops to him and gave him full trust. If he surrendered, he would be in a loss of conscience. He was ashamed of Xu Huang's trust in him. Jiang Ping pondered for a long time and sighed: "I am very grateful for the concern of the governor. I also hope to stay in Longxi. It is only important to surrender to the Han army. Let me think about it carefully. Moreover, I also have 5,000 Cao troops under my command, most of which are not my army, but General Xu Huang's subordinates. If I surrender, they will not, and there will be a big problem. It is better to give me some more time."

Hou Feng smiled and stood up and bowed, "Of course I will give Brother Jiang time to think about it. Let's reply in two days, is it OK?"

It was another two days, and Jiang Ping had no choice but to nod, "In two days, whether I will give you a clear reply whether I will give you a clear reply."

Hou Feng said goodbye and left. Jiang Ping paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back, feeling confused. Seeing that Zang Ba’s reinforcements were about to arrive, what should he do if he wanted to surrender at that time, he couldn’t help sighing. If he had known, he wouldn’t have asked Zang Ba for help.

Zang Ba led 4,000 troops to leave Longxian and marched north along the Lishui Valley. The next day he entered Longshan Canyon. The canyon was more than ten miles wide and the terrain was wide. Although the valley also had mountainous areas, it was not steep and relatively flat, and horses carrying food and grass could pass through it.

Four thousand troops walked west along a small river. This river was the source of the pike water, more than ten feet wide. The river water was very shallow, and the deepest part was only knee-high. It was late April. Under the direct sunlight, the weather was a little hot. Most of the soldiers rolled up the corners of their pants and marched in the water, enjoying the cold and coolness. Many soldiers even took off their clothes and lay naked in the water.

Zang Bayi seemed worried and did not stop the soldiers' slightly illegal behavior. He was considering that the Han army sent troops to Guanzhong this time. Since it was divided into two troops, it was obvious that it was not to directly seek Chang'an, but to seize Chencang, Jieting and Longxian and gain a geographical advantage. If the Han army's tactics were successful, Guanzhong would not be able to be saved sooner or later. I wonder why the Prime Minister did not send the tiger and leopard cavalry to Guanzhong. With the tiger and leopard cavalry there, the Han army might not be able to seize Guanzhong.

Zang Ba couldn't help but sigh to the sky. The Prime Minister's strategic deployment in recent years is really a problem. It can be said that he has been making trouble. If this continues, Guan Long will really not be able to save him. Does the Prime Minister really have the idea of ​​giving up Guan Long?

"General"

A scout Junhou ran to Zang Ba in the distance and said, "The forest area is ahead. The five brothers we sent have not returned yet. Should we wait for them to come back before marching?"

There is a forest area of ​​more than ten miles ahead. The woods are dense and it is easy to hide the enemy. Zang Ba is a cautious person. How could he not know? He looked at the sky. It was already afternoon. He would walk through the forest area at night. It was very unsafe. He nodded and ordered: "Tell me the order that the army will camp on the spot and set off tomorrow morning for 5 o'clock."

The army did not bring tents, and the soldiers carried blankets, and they all looked for a dry place to lay the carpets and lay them down, while the fire-headed army buried their pots and made meals. The army was busy.

As time went by, the sky gradually became dark. At this time, a bad news came from the scout camp. The five scouts who went to visit never came back, which made Zang Ba suddenly nervous. This situation only shows one thing. These five scouts encountered the enemy, either encountered the Han army patrol or the main force of the Han army.

Zang Ba jumped on a big rock and looked around. The sky was dim and bright. There were vast mountains in the distance, with forests several steps north and south. Although the terrain was relatively open, he always felt that there was a hidden murderous aura in the woods. Zang Ba felt a strong uneasy. He had a special sensitivity to the battle and could feel the coming of danger.

He immediately jumped off the stone and ordered: "No rest is allowed, everyone will gather."

"Woo" the horn of Cao's gathering sounded.

But at this moment, suddenly, drums sounded loudly in the woods far away, and a passionate drum sound came from the woods in the north. The flames suddenly ignited, and an army of thousands of people came out of the woods to kill the general, White Horse and Silver Spear. It was the fierce general Ma Chao. He shouted, "Ma Chao was waiting here for a long time."

Before the shouting came, his war horse was already rushing towards Zang Ba. His spear flew like pear blossoms, killing dozens of Cao troops. The war horse jumped up and stabbed Zang Ba directly. Zang Ba was frightened. He knew that he was far from Ma Chao's opponent, and if he didn't escape, he would die in Ma Chao's hands.

Zang Ba turned his horse's head and ran to the group of soldiers, shouting: "Archers shoot the enemy generals"

Suddenly, several arrows shot towards Ma Chao. Ma Chao's spear was so dense that it was not airtight. He called the arrows. When he entered the group of archers, Zang Ba had already disappeared. Ma Chao was furious and murderous intent suddenly became. He roared and the long spear rushed towards the dense crossbowmen around him. Do you start killing? Wherever the spear passed, blood light burst out, and the corpse rolled, killing Cao's army cried and shouted, running away without a life, like a wolf running and pig.

Six thousand Han soldiers also entered the Cao army. Zang Ba's subordinates were also considered elite veterans. However, at this time, the Cao army was far from being assembled, and there was no formation arranged. They rushed to fight in a hurry and each formed their own formation. They were no match for the Han army at all. They were killed in all directions, suffered heavy casualties, and rushed to the other side of the river.

But at this moment, there was a loud drum sound in the woods south. A Han army of more than a thousand people came out of the woods and attacked Cao's back. Cao's army was attacked from both sides and finally collapsed. They fled eastward desperately along the river. Those who were chased either resisted and were killed or knelt down and surrendered, and fought for more than twenty miles, and most of the Cao's army was annihilated.

Zang Ba escaped dozens of miles in one breath before he stopped and took a breath. At this time, only twenty personal soldiers riding horses were left behind him. After waiting for more than an hour, soldiers fled one after another. He collected defeated soldiers, but by dawn, he only gathered six or seven people.

Zang Ba sighed in his heart, and it was unrealistic to go to Jieting again, so he had to lead the remaining troops to flee to Longxian in panic.
Chapter completed!