Zhang Fei's worries still came true. In order to ensure Zhao Yun's safety, while Lu Meng's army went to the rescue, Zhang Fei ordered Guan Yu, who was far away in Yiyang, to lead his troops to attack a county town southeast of the Three Xiao Mountains, the Lu Clan. At the same time, Zhang Fei sent a letter to Huangfu Song and Ding Yuan, who were taking refuge in Si Province. In order to minimize the losses, Zhang Fei united with the remaining vassals. Yuan Shao's departure had made the remaining vassals uneasy, but Zhang Fei and Cao Cao's successive big moves made them see hope in attacking Dong Zhuo. Therefore, Kong Xiu, Wang Lang, Tao Qian and the others chose to stay and help Zhang Fei. Because Zhang Fei's determination to attack Dong Zhuo was very clear, Zhang Fei seemed to have inadvertently become the leader of the remaining vassals in Luoyang. He was the alliance leader after Yuan Shao.
After receiving Zhang Fei's letter, Huangfu Song dispatched troops from Mount Shouyang overnight and stationed a troop on the opposite bank of the Yellow River. In order to reduce the pressure on Zhang Fei at Hangu Pass and split the forces of the Western Liang Army, Huangfu Song placed his main force in Puzhou. There were signs of crossing the river to attack Tongguan at any time. Dong Zhuo's reaction was as expected. In order to avoid a fire in his backyard, Dong Zhuo ordered Zhang Liao, who was originally a deputy general under Lu Bu, to lead 10,000 troops to guard the north of Tongguan. To prevent Huangfu Song's troops from crossing the Yellow River.
At this moment, if Lu Meng's reinforcements did not arrive at Jia County in time, Cao Cao's main force would have to face the Western Liang army on three sides. Luoyang was, after all, far from Hangu Pass, so this was a rather difficult choice.
In order to ensure that the attack on the western front would proceed smoothly, Zhang Fei had Tao Qian's troops move closer to Hongnong to put pressure on the Western Liang Army, and thus ease the pressure on Cao Cao in Jia County.
The Western Liang army responded to Zhang Fei's deployment. In order to show the advantage of Hangu Pass, Hua Xiong's main force followed Li Su's instructions and withdrew from Hongnong two days after Lu Bu surrounded Jia County. They also gave up Cao Yang. If the Guandong Army came to rescue Cao Cao's troops, Lu Bu's army could choose to retreat into Hangu Pass at any time and use the advantage of the pass to wear out Zhang Fei's allied forces. This was also the earliest strategic goal of the Western Liang army.
In order to respond to Zhang Fei's attack, Ding Yuan, who was in Si Province, recruited 50,000 civilians from Shangdang, Pingyang, Jiang County, and Xie Liang to build fortifications in the south of Mount Shouyang. In fact, there was no need to build any fortifications across the Yellow River. Ding Yuan had done so with the goal of confusing the Western Liang army, although the price seemed to be quite high. On the busy construction site of Mount Shouyang, there seemed to be no regular army. Where were Huangfu Song's troops?
As it turned out, while confusing the Western Liang army, Huangfu Song had bypassed Puzhou and crossed the Yellow River to the west to force his way toward Feng Yi. Huangfu Song's intention was to take down Gaoling and Jingyang before crossing the Jing River and directly entering Chang 'an without Western Liang knowing, dealing a fatal blow to the Western Liang army!
Zhang Fei constantly estimated the possible changes on the battlefield and then repeatedly deduced on the sand table. He did not want any problems to occur at this time. On the third day after Guan Yu took down the Lu family, Lu Bu launched an unprecedented attack on Cao Cao's Jia County. Apart from Li Su's orders, Lu Bu also had his own personal reasons-Zhao Yun!
Perhaps Lu Bu had fought to a draw for the first time in his life because of Zhao Yun! The battle between Lu Bu and Zhao Yun that day was still fresh in Lu Bu's mind. If he wanted to challenge Zhang Fei's strength, Zhao Yun would be his first target. In fact, this sign was not obvious!
In Chang 'an, the ministers of the imperial court who saw Yuan Shao leave were already disheartened, but Zhang Fei and Cao Cao's performance rekindled their hope. Great Minister Wang Yun tried his best to create friction between Dong Zhuo's original faction and the new faction! In fact, he was very successful! Dong Zhuo's Western Liang army was divided over the use of Hua Xiong and Lu Bu's generals. It was obvious that the conflict between Guo Si, Li Jue, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji was intensifying. Due to Dong Zhuo's influence, the four generals of Western Liang maintained the restraint of a general and did not fight among themselves in the face of a powerful enemy. Guo Si was a standard supporter of Western Liang's orthodoxy, while Fan Chou welcomed a fierce general like Zhang Liao to join the Western Liang army. Therefore, the appointment of a person like Zhang Liao had to be decided by Dong Zhuo himself. It had to be said that Dong Zhuo had made a mistake in governing the direct line of descent. In order to control the overall situation and win future victories, Li Su had no choice but to make concessions to some generals and let go of his power. Li Ru, who had fallen out of favor, seized this rare opportunity. In order to ascend the throne, he expressed his goodwill to the four generals and expressed that he would make generous promises to the four generals after he regained power. This made the four generals consciously close to Li Ru, which was unimaginable in the past.
Lü Meng's army soon found that Lü Bu's army was not strong enough. However, due to the high morale of Lü Bu's army, Lü Meng's current strength was not enough to suppress the counterattack of Lü Bu's army. Therefore, in order to make Lü Bu feel pressured, Lü Meng set up camp ten miles away from Jia County. Lü Meng's move was quite wise and of high standard. Under the situation where he had no advantage in strength, he took the initiative to disperse the enemy's forces. This was the most correct way. Lu Meng had also taken advantage of a psychological disadvantage of the Western Liang soldiers. The Western Liang army had no record of winning against the Black Armored Army, including the day when Lu Bu's 5,000 men had confronted the two Black Armored Cavalrymen. In the end, after the 2,000 Black Armored Cavalrymen had taken out their miniature triple crossbows, the 5,000 men had become like rabbits and did not dare to move. Zhao Yun had swaggered away from Lu Bu's 5,000 men. Even with Lu Bu's bravery, he could only watch helplessly. He didn't dare to push Zhao Yun too hard, nor did he dare to test Zhao Yun's patience. Thus, he could only watch as Zhao Yun gave Cao Cao enough time to attack before leaving. Moreover, he left arrogantly!
In order to receive Guan Yu's men, Zhang Feng didn't follow Lu Meng's troops. Instead, he went to the Lu Clan to join forces with Guan Yu. On the third day after joining forces, he made a bold attempt. This was also a plan that Zhang Fei had given him. After repeated deductions, Zhang Fei had come up with a feasible plan. This plan was to attack the Green Mud Mountain Pass!
Indeed, Qingni Pass, which was located at the southern foot of Mount Hua, was far more valuable than Hangu Pass and more difficult to attack. However, Zhang Fei knew that Dong Zhuo would not place too many troops at this small pass hundreds of miles away from Chang 'an. Therefore, in order to mobilize the Western Liang army as much as possible and make them exhausted, Zhang Fei made this arrangement on the sand table and handed this plan to Zhang Feng and Guan Yu, the two most stable people. It was an absolutely perfect combination.
Zhang Fei did not want to guard Luoyang, a place that was no different from an empty city. He led the last of his troops to the west and took note of all the officials along the way. In order to obtain the support of the court officials on the ground in Si Province, Zhang Fei tried his best to accommodate them. All the signs showed how wise Zhang Fei's decision was! Because of Zhang Fei, some of the court officials who had been watching from the sidelines had chosen to support Zhang Fei. Most of them had the ability to contribute, and those with money had contributed. The problem of food and fodder for the tens of thousands of troops had been solved in just a month after Luoyang was burned down. It had to be said that there was an invisible gap between Yuan Shao and Zhang Fei. Although some discerning people could see it, they did not say it out loud. They were only observing Zhang Fei's progress. All of this was very beneficial to Zhang Fei!
Obviously, Dong Zhuo had put most of his energy on his biggest enemy, Zhang Fei. Therefore, Huangfu Song's actions were almost done under Dong Zhuo's eyes. However, even if Huangfu Song's troops entered Chang 'an, the possibility of him taking Dong Zhuo down was very small. Perhaps it was God's will or Dong Zhuo's good luck. God knew why he suddenly wanted Guo Si to enter Chang' an. After Guo Si's 50,000-strong army entered Chang 'an, this news was definitely kept quiet. Of course, Huangfu Song, who was preparing to cross the river, did not know what was happening. If his men had reached Chang 'an, perhaps these 50,000 men would have killed him!
The situation in Jia County was far worse than Zhang Fei had expected. Due to the lack of maintenance, it was somewhat old. On the fourth day of Lu Bu's attack on Jia County, there was already a large gap. In order to close this gap, Cao Cao had spent a lot of money. In total, at least 3,000 men had died. However, Zhao Yun had suggested that the Black Armored Cavalry guard the gap, but Cao Cao had flatly rejected this request. He knew that if the Black Armored Cavalry were to be used up too early, he would definitely be finished. No matter how bad the situation was, the Black Armored Cavalry would not be able to protect him. This was their last line of defense. If even the black armored cavalry could not stop Lu Bu's attacks, then they would definitely die.
Of course, Lu Meng knew how bad Jia County was. However, he could only wait until the morale of Lu Bu's army was almost worn down. Only then could he attack. Only when Lu Bu's army was reduced in numbers would he have a chance of winning. Now, he could only wait. He hoped that Zhao Yun in the city would wait patiently like him!
Lu Bu was constantly worried about Lu Meng, who was ten miles away. However, he couldn't split his forces to meet up with Lu Meng's troops at this time. Although he had an obvious advantage now, the soldiers 'patience had almost been exhausted after not taking down Jia County for a long time. If he were to meet up with Lu Meng at this time, only God knew the outcome. In such a delicate situation, there was only one factor that could change the outcome of this battle. That was the bravery of the soldiers inside and outside Jia County!
It had to be said that Lu Bu had the potential to become a formidable person. At the moment when the casualties exceeded 6,000, he did not even raise his eyelids. When his subordinates saw Wei Xu remind him of this situation, he only said indifferently,"How is it possible that no one died when attacking the city?" After he finished speaking, he continued to look coldly at the white-armored general on the city gate tower-Zhao Yun! At this moment, he could no longer be called a white-armored general, because at this moment, Zhao Yun's white armor had already been dyed red by blood. Other than a pair of deep eyes, the rest was just a beast-like madness and the desire to survive!
Zhang Fei led Zang Ba and Zang Hong to the east of Lu Meng's camp. They were observing the situation. The reason why they did not advance too far was because they were afraid that Lu Bu would discover Zhang Fei's tracks. Once Lu Bu discovered Zhang Fei's tracks, he would either abandon Jia County's garrison and retreat to Hangu Pass, or attack Jiaxia and take down Jia County to exhaust Zhang Fei! No matter what the result was, it was not what Zhang Fei wanted to see. Zhang Fei's objective was to ensure the survival of Cao Cao's troops while wiping out all of Lu Bu's troops at Jia County!
To achieve this goal, everything would depend on the performance of Zhao Yun and Cao Cao in Jia County. Of course, Zhang Fei had a purpose for Zhao Yun to take the risk. In the current situation, Lu Meng's troops already had the ability to fight against Lu Bu's army. What they lacked was the final opportunity.
The situation seemed to be developing according to Zhang Fei's original script...
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