Cao Cao launched a troops to fight in Hanzhong west. Although Zhang Lu was not strong, he was still very prepared because he could not afford to lose.

This time Cao Cao went on an expedition, including top strategists such as Jia Xu, Liu Ye, Sima Yi, and martial arts, including famous generals such as Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Xu Huang, and Zhang He. Although the lineup is not as good as his heyday, it is also quite luxurious.

After arriving in Chang'an, Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan, who was guarding Chang'an, joined forces, divided the troops into three groups, and rushed to Hanzhong.

The vanguards in the front were Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He; Cao Cao led the generals to the center; Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun in the back were escorted to food and grass.

Cao Cao led his troops to attack, and he had already reported to Zhang Lu in detail.

Zhang Lu summoned all the generals to discuss strategies to retreat to the enemy.

Zhang Lu has been entrenched in Hanzhong for more than 20 years and has fought with Liu Zhang almost every year. He has fought against Liu Zhang with his inferior forces, with fewer defeats and more defeats.

Especially after Ma Chao and other warlords from various Western Liang were wiped out by Cao Cao, many defeated soldiers came to join Zhang Lu. Zhang Lu's strength increased greatly, and Liu Zhang asked Liu Bei for help.

Therefore, the generals under Zhang Lu were not afraid of fighting. When they heard that Cao Cao led his troops to attack, they were all ready to start a war.

Zhang Lu was very sympathetic to the people of Hanzhong and implemented benevolent government, but he was not vague in controlling military power and was firmly in his own hands.

The commander of the Hanzhong army was his younger brother Zhang Wei. He heard that Cao Cao led hundreds of thousands of troops to invade Hanzhong, but he was not timid. Instead, he was eager to try and wanted to become famous in one battle, so he suggested to Zhang Lu:

"The most steepest place in Hanzhong is like Yangping Pass; you can go around the gate, beside the mountains and forests, and get more than ten villages to welcome the enemy Cao's soldiers. Brother is in Hanning, so as to allocate more food and grass to deal with it."

Although Zhang Lu felt that it was unlikely to defeat Cao Cao, he was unwilling to let him surrender without fighting. So, according to Zhang Wei's suggestion, he sent generals Yang Ang and Yang Ren to Yang Pass with his brother to guard Yangping Pass.

Zhang Weijun arrived at Yangping Pass and settled down the village on the mountain.

Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He led the front army to accompany him. He heard that Yangping Pass was ready and set up a camp to rest 15 miles away from the Pass.

Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He had been through a long battle and had to strengthen their defense, but because of the small area of ​​Hanzhong, they did not think that Zhang Lu's army dared to go out of seclusion to attack him. In addition, the soldiers were tired, so the two did not arrange defense, so that the soldiers could rest.

At the second update, a fire suddenly broke out from behind the village. Yang Ang and Yang Ren led their troops to divide the troops into two groups to kill the village.

Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He hurriedly got on the horse and wanted to raise troops to fight.

But Zhang Lu's army had already broken through the camp and soldiers rushed in from all over the place. Cao's soldiers were unable to prepare in their sleep, and the soldiers were defeated and fled.

Fortunately, the vanguard troops led by the two were all elite soldiers in a hundred battles. Even though they were defeated, they returned to the team one after another after leaving the battlefield, and the loss of troops was not large.

Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He were defeated and retreated to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was defeated before he even got involved. He lost the army's spirit. He felt a little displeased and said furiously:

"You and the other two marched for many years. Don't you know that if the soldiers travel far away, they can prevent the robbery of the village? How can you not prepare?"

Because the two underestimated their opponents, they had nothing to say. Cao Cao pretended to kill the two of them. With the Ming military law and the officials pleaded with each other, they made them commit crimes and made them meritorious.

The next day, Cao Cao got up and went to Yangpingguan to check the terrain in person. He only brought Xu Chu, Xu Huang and three horses, and turned around the hillside. He had already seen Zhang Weizhaizhaizhai.

Cao Cao looked at the villages, with the terrain that was dangerous and echoing each other from afar and difficult to break through, and couldn't help but say to the two generals:

"Zhang Lujun's defense is so strong that it is difficult to get out of urgent situation!"

Before Cao Cao finished speaking, he shouted loudly behind him, and arrows fell like rain.

It turned out that it was Yang Ang. Yang Ren saw someone visiting the village from afar and led his troops to fight in two groups.

Cao Cao was old and could not fight on the battlefield. He was shocked. As a personal bodyguard, Xu Chu naturally could not neglect his duties and said loudly:

"I'll fight against the enemy, and Xu Gongming Shanbao's lord retreated."

Xu Zhu took a sword and rode his horse forward, and fought against the two generals.

Yang Ang and Yang Ren cannot be the courage of Xu Chu, but he can still hold Xu Zhu back.

There were many soldiers chasing Cao Cao. Xu Huang protected Cao Cao across the hillside. He was about to be blocked by the soldiers. The two generals Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He were just shouting and led their troops to respond.

The four men retreated Yang Ang and Yang Ren, and saved Cao Cao and returned to the village. Cao Cao rewarded the four generals highly.

Knowing that Cao Cao's generals were brave enough to compete, Zhang Wei confronted Cao Cao at Yangping Pass for more than 50 days, but he didn't leave the pass to fight.

When Cao Cao saw that there was no good opportunity to defeat the enemy, he ordered his troops to retreat.

Since Xun You died of illness and Cheng Yu recuperated at home, Jia Xu has become the number one leader in Cao Cao's army. He believes that disaster comes from the mouth and does not usually make many plans, but whenever he speaks at a critical moment, he can tell Cao Cao's heart, so he is deeply trusted by Cao Cao.

Jia Xu was originally planning to use tricks to defeat the enemy, but he was not in a hurry to offer his plans, but wanted to leave the opportunity to Cao Cao himself.

When he saw Cao Cao's order to withdraw his troops and coincide with his plan, he pretended not to understand why and asked:

"The thief has not seen any strength and weakness. Why did the lord retreat?"

Cao Cao wanted to use tricks to defeat the enemy, so he naturally needed someone to cheer, so he said to Jia Xu:

"I expect the enemy to prepare for preparations every day. The terrain here is steep, easy to defend but difficult to attack, and difficult to win. In the name of retreating, I lure the enemy to pursue him. At least I will be slackened and unprepared. Then I will copy the light cavalry and will definitely defeat the enemy."

When Jia Xu heard that he was close to what he had planned, he immediately praised him:

"The Prime Minister's magical machine is unpredictable."

So, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He to divide his troops into two groups, each leading three thousand light cavalry, and took a small path to chase the back of Yangping Pass. Cao Cao led the army to set up the camp and retreated.

The Yang clan has the largest number of generals under Zhang Lu. Originally, Yang Bai was the largest general under Zhang Lu.

Yang Bai was defeated and killed at Jiameng Pass. Yang Ang, who was ranked behind Yang Bai, had little thoughts and wanted to replace Yang Bai's position, but lacked military merits and never did what he wanted.

When Yang Ang heard Cao Bing retreat, he felt that it was his opportunity to make contributions, so he asked Yang Ren to discuss it and wanted to take advantage of the situation to pursue him.

Although Yang Ren and Yang Ang are of the same clan, they are not of the same branch. There is also a competitive relationship between the two. They are afraid that Yang Ang will make contributions, so they dissuaded:

"Cao Cao has many tricks, the truth is unknown, and he cannot be chased."

Yang Ang discussed with Yang Ren that he wanted to find someone who shared the responsibility for defeat. In fact, he did not want him to share his contributions, but wanted Yang Ren to stay. His position was above Yang Ren, so he decided:

"The general doesn't want to go, so he stays to guard the camp and I will go." Yang Ren had no choice but to stay to guard the camp.

So, Yang Ang brought all his five-zhai army and followed Cao Cao's withdrawal road to pursue, leaving only a few soldiers to watch the camp.

That morning, the climate suddenly changed and the fog was overwhelmed. We didn't meet each other.

Yang Ang’s army pursued Cao Cao halfway and was unable to move forward, so he could only stop.

After Xiahou Yuan led his troops to cross the mountain, he saw heavy fog hanging in the air, and happened to pass by Yang Ang's pursuers. He heard people whispering and neighing not far away. He was afraid of an ambush, so he rushed to move forward and wanted to avoid the ambush. He accidentally walked to Yang Ang's village in the heavy fog.
Chapter completed!