In the initial capture of Jiangling City, Gao Shun's reconnaissance battalion made great achievements. After Huang Zhongguang informed him, Liu Bei fully promoted it in all armies, and basically expanded the scout team.

Zhang Fei brought out these 5,000 cavalry, thirty of whom were scouts. Each of them was equipped with the best horse, and used the best armor and weapons.

After locking Zhang He's group of 'fat sheep', Zhang Fei released all thirty scouts. Every move of the other party was under Pang Tong's control.

According to Zhang He's marching route, Pang Tong removed seven bridges in the Yishui section, leaving only one small stone bridge suitable for an ambush.

The five thousand troops and horses were divided into eight groups by Pang Tong. In addition to the main general Zhang Fei who led one thousand and five troops, the accompanying generals Yuan Wei, Huo Jun, Fu Wei, Liu Yong, Zhuo Ying, Zhang Cun, and Zhang Nan each received five hundred.

Pang Tong planned to use the intelligence advantage of the scouts to directly kill Cao Cao's 5,000 soldiers at Yishui.

Two days later, Zhang He's troops arrived near Yishui. There was only one small stone bridge for twenty miles along the river, and the rest of the wooden and stone bridges had been destroyed.

After Zhang He received the news, he halted his troops near the small stone bridge. The supervisor Xia Houjie immediately stepped forward and asked in confusion: "Why is General Junyi so hesitant? We should cross the bridge as soon as possible."

"There is only this bridge along the river for twenty miles, and the river here is very fast. I suspect there is a scam..." Zhang He analyzed.

Xia Houjie looked around and saw a flat plain on the south bank of Yishui River, but there were woods not far from the north bank. He frowned and said: "According to General Zixiao's information, Zhang Fei's thousands of suspected soldiers have been returning south for many days. I heard that this man is a reckless man." Husband, do you know any tricks? Let’s cross the river quickly.”

"Xiahou Supervisor, the Prime Minister, and the others should have completed the defense change. Our support task has been completed. Why not turn north and return to Xiangyang to resume our operations." Zhang He suggested.

"We have only been out for a few days, wouldn't we be ridiculed if we go back now? The Prime Minister asked us to go to Dangyangzhi, but you are backing out just after we left Xiangyang? Is it because we were beaten up in Jingzhou last time and lost our courage?" ask.

"How could the Xiahou Supervisory Army know the complexity of the situation on the Chibi battlefield when they were stranded in Xudu that day? A dozen people infected with the plague could spread to the entire camp in an instant, and then spread to thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people. That defeat was similar to The courage of the soldiers has nothing to do with it..." Zhang He shook his head.

"A non-war crime? It has nothing to do with bravery? General Zhang has such a good memory. He passed by this place when he returned to the north. Do you still remember this bridge?" Xia Houjie continued to ask.

Zhang He said coldly: "What's the point of Xia Hou supervising the army and teasing him again and again?"

"Of course I followed the Prime Minister's order to continue going south as a suspected soldier," Xia Houjie said.

"But Zhang Fei's troops have already gone far away. There is no point in chasing them. We might as well return to Xiangyang as soon as possible." Zhang He suggested.

"The Prime Minister asked us to go to Dangyang, how could we return immediately? General Zhang didn't dare to cross the river, so I went alone." Xia Houjie's eyes widened in anger.

"Why did the Xiahou supervisor army have to go to Dangyang?" Zhang He was very puzzled. Dangyang is now Liu Bei's territory, and if he encounters an ambush, he will lose more than he gains.

Xia Houjie suddenly looked gloomy, and then said calmly: "Because my brother En was killed in the sun, and we have been brothers of life and death since childhood, I took the initiative to ask Ying to be the supervisor this time, just to pay homage to my brother's soul. Fan..."

"This...the deceased is gone...the supervisor does not need to be persistent..." Zhang He continued to persuade.

Xia Houjie frowned and shouted angrily: "If you want to go back to Xiangyang, go back first. I will take half of the troops and continue southward."

"This..." Zhang He didn't know what to do, because Cao Cao paid special attention to the clan's children, and a subordinate like him would fall out of favor in front of the prime minister if he was not careful.

"Follow me across the river."

The supervisory authority has considerable power, so Xia Houjie gave the order, and the soldiers moved forward and followed him across the bridge and across the river one after another.

Zhang He could not abandon his clan members, so he was carried across the bridge by Xia Houjie. Because the bridge was narrow and slow to cross, it would take more than an hour for five thousand people to cross the stone bridge.

When all the troops at the front crossed the river and only the baggage was left behind to cross the bridge, Zhang Fei, who was ambushing in the woods, suddenly came out.

The horses neighed and the soldiers shouted.

The soldiers transporting the baggage were instantly frightened. They did not have much combat effectiveness. At this time, the baggage was lying across the small stone bridge, and the river cut the baggage of the front army from the rear army.

Zhang He was shocked when he saw this. He never expected that Zhang Fei was ambushing him here.

He ordered people to throw the baggage on the bridge into the river, eager to open a crossing channel back to Xiangyang, but the bridge was narrow and the passage was slow. The panicked soldiers scrambled to get through. With less than a hundred infantry passing, Zhang Fei's ambush had already arrived.

Zhang Fei and Huo Jun led two thousand troops, but it was child's play to massacre Zhang He's rear army of several hundred soldiers.

The two of them had a clear division of labor. Huo Jun led his 500 troops to guard the bridge, with shield soldiers in front and spearmen and archers behind them. Zhang Fei's army of 1,500 people intercepted their baggage in front of Zhang He.

The stone bridge could only carry five or six people side by side. Zhang He organized several infantry charges, but they were all suppressed by Huo Jun at the edge of the bridge. It was really a situation where one man was blocking the way and no one could get through.

"What should I do?" Xia Houjie was also panicked at this moment. He originally thought that Zhang Fei didn't have many troops, so even if he encountered Zhang Fei, he would have a chance to fight, but he didn't expect that the other side would use conspiracy and tricks.

"The Yishui River is very long. It is impossible for Zhang Fei to demolish all the bridges. We can only find bridges downstream to cross the river. I think the opponent's military strength is not as good as ours. If they dare to cross the bridge to pursue us, we will kill them and take back the baggage." Zhang He

suggestion.

Xia Houjie was a little unwilling. He walked back to the bridge and shouted to the other side: "Zhang Fei, do you have the guts to cross the bridge and fight to the death?"

Zhang He was stunned when he heard this. Zhang Fei's martial arts skills were rumored to be inferior to Guan Yu's. Is General Xiahou so brave?

Zhang Fei was already collecting the spoils of war at this time. The general on the other side of the bridge was Huo Jun, Liu Biao's former subordinate. It was as if Xia Houjie had not heard what he said.

"General Xiahou, Zhang Yide is a general of bears and tigers..." Zhang He reminded.

"I just want to leave in a dignified manner. Let's go downstream quickly to find a bridge." Xia Houjie said.

Zhang He shook his head, "We can't reveal our intentions in front of them. Let's march south for twenty miles first, and then turn east to find a bridge to cross the river. Otherwise, Zhang Fei will follow us on the other side and we won't be able to cross the river by then."

"Yes, now we have no baggage, and everyone has no food for the night..." Xia Houjie sighed.

Are you still thinking about dinner at this time?

The small stone bridge was controlled by Huo Jun and could not cross the river. The 5,000 men brought by Zhang He did not suffer much loss. Except for the 300 soldiers escorting the baggage and the hundreds of infantry who failed to rush the bridge, the rest of the troops were trapped on the south bank.

Zhang He and Xia Houjie led more than 4,000 men to march south and sent scouts to investigate the movements near Xiaoshiqiao.

Zhang Fei then handed the baggage to Huo Jun and asked him to continue to guard the small stone bridge. Then he led his 1,500 horsemen across the river to pursue Zhang He's troops. All the horses he had chosen were also on the south bank.

After all Zhang Fei's troops crossed the river, Zhang He had already walked five miles south. After the scouts passed back the military information, Xia Houjie's desire to fight was aroused again.

"General Junyi, Zhang Fei is chasing me. He only has one or two thousand soldiers and he still dares to divide his troops. Let's kill him back now?"

"Ahem, now is not the time. Zhang Fei's people are guarding the stone bridge. If they turn back and attack now, they can easily escape back to the other side once the opponent is defeated." Zhang He analyzed.

"What should we do?" Xia Houjie asked.

"First continue south, then outflank and find a way to encircle Zhang Fei and completely wipe out Zhang Fei's more than a thousand people." Zhang He's eyes became solemn.

"Good idea." Xia Houjie complimented.

Zhang He wanted to use the superiority of the cavalry to encircle Zhang Fei's pursuing army, so he deliberately slowed down the march of the infantry. However, they were not as familiar with the terrain here as Zhang Fei and Pang Tong.

Zhang He's army advanced another three miles to the south and garrisoned there. There was a hill on the left and a bush on the right.

"We will wait here for a while, and let the cavalry hide behind the hill on the left. When Zhang Fei's pursuers arrive, we will instantly cut off his retreat. Together, we will be able to capture this man." Zhang He stroked his beard with confidence.

"Okay, it's just a revenge for breaking the bridge and cutting off the baggage." Xia Houjie clenched his fists.

"Zhang Fei is a general under Liu Bei. Capturing this man must be a great achievement." Zhang He nodded.

"I'll come and meet him later." Xia Houjie's heart ignited with fire and he was already gearing up.

"A general should not take risks at will. Fighting a general in front of the battle line is a reckless act. What should we do if we lose the troops behind us?" Zhang He said.

"Well... that's a disadvantageous situation. Now our strength is several times that of the enemy, so it's just a matter of pleasure." Xia Houjie smiled slightly.

Zhang He was speechless for this clan boy. He immediately ordered the entire army to line up and prepare to eliminate Zhang Fei's pursuing army right here.

Half an hour later, Zhang Fei's pursuers were hundreds of meters away, and Zhang He's soldiers were seen blocking the way with flags fluttering.

Zhang Fei's subordinate general Jin Yan said: "General, this seems to be a place where military advisors set up an ambush. Zhang He actually chose this place to fight you..."

"Pang Shiyuan is indeed quite capable. I'll go back and have a few more drinks with him." Zhang Fei said to himself, then rode up to meet him.

When he was a hundred meters away, Zhang Fei reined in his horse, pointed his spear at the opponent and shouted: "Where is Zhang He? Hurry up and die."

The two generals had never met each other before, and only learned their names from the scouts' information. This was the first time the two armies met.

I only hear his name, but don't see his person.

Xia Houjie turned around and asked Zhang He: "Didn't General Zhang say that the general fighting in front of the battle is a reckless man? Could it be that this reckless man is the enemy's general Zhang Fei?"

Zhang He shook his head slightly, "I don't know, maybe..."

When Xia Houjie saw this man with a leopard head and ringed eyes, a swallow's chin and a tiger's beard, and holding a snake spear eight feet long, he frowned and urged his horse to take two steps forward, shouting: "Who are you?"

When Xia Houjie walked to the front of the formation, Zhang Fei mistakenly thought he was Zhang He and thought to himself that the famous Hebei general was such a child? He shouted excitedly: "I am Zhang Yide from Yan. Do you dare to go out to fight with Zhang He?"

Zhang Fei's eyes widened in anger, his voice was like a huge thunder, and his power was like a galloping horse.

Xia Houjie suddenly felt a chill. He sat down and took a step back unconsciously.

At this time, Zhang He came up, which made Xia Houjie feel more at ease. Zhang He sneered and said: "Zhang Fei, you are about to die, but you still dare to utter arrogant words here, and the whole army will attack."

Zhang He waved his hand, and the troops behind him swarmed out like locusts.

"Cowardly trash, sons and gentlemen, meet the enemy."

The soldiers from both sides immediately rushed into battle and the sound of weapons clashing resounded throughout the world.

Due to terrain restrictions, Zhang He's troops could not fully deploy. He used his command flag to command the troops behind him and changed from a square formation to a flying geese formation, trying to make room to encircle Zhang Fei. On the other hand, he secretly sent cavalry to surround him.

The hidden cavalry received the order from the flag and began to assemble behind Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei fought bravely at the front and didn't pay attention to the cavalry behind him.

Before the cavalry launched the offensive, Liu Yong, Zhuo Ying, Zhang Cun, and Zhang Nan were hiding in the bushes. Four groups of soldiers and horses rushed out together. Because the distance was too close and there were more troops, Zhang He's cavalry was instantly lost.

Advantages of impact.

This group of ambush troops was personally commanded by Pang Tong. He originally planned to lure Zhang He over to surround and annihilate Zhang Fei when his pursuers arrived, but as a result, the cavalry accidentally entered the cage.

Zhang He saw smoke and dust rising from a distance, and thought the cavalry was charging into the formation. However, he soon saw scattered horses, and the cavalry he was using to circle back was ambushed.

"What's happening?" Xia Houjie was surprised.

"We have fallen into a trap. Zhang Fei has set up an ambush here. Quickly turn east and find a bridge to cross the river..." Zhang He reminded loudly.
To be continued...