Zhang Xiu naturally didn't know about the fact that Ju Shu led his troops to confront Ma Teng outside the two counties of Yinping. Since he left the rear to these people, he no longer cared about it.

Instead, he focused on leading the army to Yangping Pass.

On the road between the mountains, flags were flying. Zhang Xiu took Fan Chou as the vanguard and sent troops to Yangping Pass. The flags of the 40,000 troops stretched out like long dragons.

Under the banner of the "Zhang" character, Zhang Xiu rode his horse with a big gun in his hand.

Despite the fierce sunshine and heavy armor, Zhang Xiu was already in a state of heat, but he didn't say a word and never complained about any pain.

"How far is it from Yangping Pass?" Zhang Xiu turned his head and asked the guide in a deep voice.

"Reporting to the Grand Sima, there are more than 80 miles." The middle-aged guide replied respectfully.

Zhang Xiu nodded slightly, then the forward should be only seventy miles away from Yangping Pass. Zhang Xiu then looked at the sky again, it was almost noon.

I will definitely not be able to get to Yangping Pass today.

"Order the soldiers to speed up." Zhang Xiu gritted his teeth and ordered.

"promise."

A personal soldier responded and immediately went down to pass the order. Zhang Xiu's army, who was already leaving quickly, increased its speed by 30%.

Now in the hot summer, there will be problems with ordinary generals governing their soldiers like this. But Zhang Xiu is different. He has a great reputation and treats soldiers very well.

The soldiers did not complain and just rushed forward.

...........

Yangping Pass is located between two mountains, and one man is the only one man who can pass through ten thousand men. The main function of this pass is to prevent enemies from attacking Hanzhong from the west along the Qishan Road.

The ones who were guarding against Ma Teng, Han Sui and Di people

The prefect of Hanzhong, Zhang Lu, originally ordered his younger brother Zhang Wei to lead tens of thousands of troops to guard Yangping Pass.

Even if Zhang Xiu led his troops to Lueyang County this time and confronted Ma Teng and Han Sui, he might have gone south along Qishan Road from the north to attack Hanzhong.

Zhang Lu did not send more soldiers and soldiers, and the defenders were not prepared for this war.

But someone prepared.

On the morning of that day, Gan Ning led his five thousand elite soldiers to the outside of Yangping Pass.

As early as when Zhang Xiu was in Chang'an in the west, he was sent by Liu Yan to guard Hanzhong. Later, Liu Yan and other people from Yizhou all believed that Zhang Xiu wanted to attack Ma Teng and Han Sui, and relaxed his vigilance.

However, Gan Ning did not leave Hanzhong. Later, he learned that Zhang Xiu had arrived in Lueyang County, and Gan Ning even led his troops to Yangping Pass.

Gan Ning was from Bajun and had been powerful in martial arts since childhood. However, he did not follow the right path and gathered young men to serve as the leader. That is, he took the route of a ranger.

He led the young man to wander around or take a boat to rob. Gan Ning was extravagant and often wore brocade clothes, so he was known as the "Brand Sail Thieves" in Bashu.

Gan Ning also has a bad habit. He will treat people who are good to him. On the contrary, if he is a person who despises him, he will kill the other party's whole family.

In short, Gan Ning was a tough and easy-to-kill warrior in his early years.

But later Gan Ning started reading and learning military tactics. Although he was still imposing, he became much more restrained.

Gan Ning is now a captain under Liu Yan, leading 5,000 troops.

However, Gan Ning's life was not easy under Liu Yan's command because he was a "thief" before and was despised by many Yizhou civil servants and generals.

This time Zhang Xiu entered Liangzhou. Although almost everyone in Yizhou thought that Zhang Xiu would not attack Yizhou, Gan Ning felt something was wrong and also looked forward to Zhang Xiu coming.

"If I could stop Zhang Xiu's army from being outside Hanzhong, I would be famous all over the world."

This is Gan Ning’s simple idea as a military general.

Gan Ning waited outside Yangping Pass for a short time before he saw the door open. Zhang Lu's younger brother, the commander of Yangping Pass, rushed out.

"General Gan. The lord sent you to Hanzhong to rescue Hanzhong. Now Zhang Xiu has fought with Ma Teng and Hansui. Not only did you not leave Hanzhong, but you came to my Yangping Pass to do?"

Zhang Wei glanced at Gan Ning and said with a headache.

Gan Ning is a general under Liu Yan. At present, the Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei brothers already have the idea of ​​taking Hanzhong for themselves, so of course they are not very welcome.

Moreover, if there are five thousand more people, it is a big expense to prepare food for 5 thousand people to eat and use.

Gan Ning knew that Zhang Wei didn't like him, but it didn't matter. Anyway, he was used to being despised by others.

"The lord ordered me to come to Hanzhong to support me. This order has not been taken back yet. I will lead the troops to inspect Hanzhong and watch the terrain."

Gan Ning said with a smile.

Zhang Wei really didn't like Gan Ning, but he had no choice but to invite Gan Ning into Yangping Pass.

Gan Ning has been in a row for several days.

Seeing that the money and food flowed out like water, Zhang Wei couldn't help it and invited Gan Ning to the living room in Guan Ling Mansion for wine.

The two people combined two cases into one and bought wine and food.

Zhang Wei frequently poured wine for Gan Ning. After three rounds of wine, Zhang Wei said to Gan Ning with a red face: "General Gan. Hanzhong is poor, how can he compare to Chengdu's prosperity and happiness? Everyone in Yizhou thinks that Zhang Xiu will not come. If you lead the army back to Chengdu, your lord will not say anything, so why should you stay here and endure hardship?"

Gan Ning glanced at Zhang Wei and knew what this person was thinking.

Gan Ning's intuition told himself that Zhang Xiu might walk down the Qishan Mountains, but there was no evidence.

He could only say, "General Zhang is modest. Hanzhong is fertile. Nanzheng City is also prosperous. I feel comfortable staying here."

Seeing Gan Ning like this, Zhang Wei said angrily: "Nan Zheng City is indeed quite prosperous. But Yangping Pass is a place with only soldiers. It is always a remote place? Why should General Gan suffer from my hardships?"

Gan Ning still pretends to be stupid. Anyway, Gan Ning wants to be in a stubborn place here, just don’t leave.

Zhang Wei was helpless. The food was very tasteless. Soon after, the food was finished. Zhang Wei did not keep guests, and he sent Gan Ning away with a little cold look.

But at this moment, a soldier walked in panting and led a nobleman dressed in Di.

"Are you?" Zhang Wei did not recognize this person and couldn't help but feel a little confused. Gan Ning immediately stood aside, thought of a possibility, and couldn't help but breathe, showing an excitement.

If Zhang Xiu went south along Qishan Road, he would have passed by Wudu and Yinping.

The Di people must have been trembling.

Could it be that Zhang Xiu is really here?

"General Zhang, the big thing is wrong. Zhang Xiu led 50,000 horse and infantry troops south along Qishan Road. The vanguard Yan Xing and Xu Shu were already close. My king ordered the eldest son Dou Mao to lead troops to defend the mountain and send me to ask for help from Liu Gong."

The Di nobles exhaled and bent down and walked in a low voice.

Zhang Wei was shocked and said in a lost voice: "What did you say?"

After repeated confirmation, Zhang Wei was convinced that what the other party said was true. While sending someone to notify Nan Zheng’s brother Zhang Lu, he also sent someone to Chengdu to inform Liu Yan.

Then, Zhang Wei fell into the lord of the six gods. Because he was sure that Zhang Xiu was going to attack Ma Teng, Bashu was not prepared.

The road from Bashu to Hanzhong is also winding mountain roads that are very difficult to walk.

The news is passed on, and reinforcements may not be able to arrive in Hanzhong for a month, and the daylily will be cold by then.

Now they can only rely on the only army in Hanzhong to resist Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Wei had no confidence and was frightened. Although his Yangping Pass was dangerous, there were only 10,000 troops in the pass, and his quality was ordinary. How could he resist the 50,000 infantry army led by Zhang Xiu?

Fortunately, there is Gan Ning.

"General Zhang. The situation is urgent now. The Di people will definitely not be able to stop Zhang Xiu's army. If we rescue Di soldiers now, we may lose our troops and lose our generals. It is better to defend Yangping Pass and wait for reinforcements from Nanzheng and Bashu."

Gan Ning made a suggestion on the side, saying "Sold out the Di teammates."

The key to defending Yangping Pass was the key. Gan Ning immediately said sincerely: "Please give orders to the general, and all the soldiers in the pass should take action. Prepare, transport the materials to defend the city, and actively prepare for defense. If I think it is good, Zhang Xiu should be at the city in a few days."

Zhang Weiben was so ruthless that after hearing Gan Ning's words, he immediately felt aroused. Only then did he remember that there were still five thousand elite soldiers from Gan Ning in Yangping Pass.

The two sides work together to a total of 15,000 soldiers. Don’t underestimate these 5,000 soldiers. With the Xiongguan Yangpingguan in hand, 5,000 soldiers can be of great use.

Zhang Wei looked up at Gan Ning, and only felt that the other party's face, which had looked abominable these days, became handsome and cute at this moment.

Good man.

"Okay. I will immediately order the soldiers to prepare to guard the pass. I also ask General Gan to lead the troops to help me guard the pass." Zhang Wei took a deep breath and bowed to Gan Ning and said.

"Don't worry, General Zhang, I, Gan Ning, will do my best." Gan Ning also restrained her face and returned the salute solemnly.

People in the world say that Zhang Xiu is a bear and tiger, and he is a person who knows that there is a tiger in the mountain but tends to travel to Tiger Mountain.

The two were the only two generals in the pass. Since they made the decision, the soldiers in the Yangping Pass naturally started to operate with all their strength and actively prepare to guard the pass.

And on that morning, the spy came to report that Zhang Xiu's vanguard Fan Chou was already close to Yangping Pass.

After hearing the news, Gan Ning and Zhang Wei couldn't help but put on their armor and stood in front of the gatehouse with their swords, looking out to the east.

First, a flag with the word "Fan" appeared, and then a large army with strict troops and extremely powerful momentum slowly came.

Experts could tell if there was any at a glance. When Gan Ning saw this army, he showed a serious look and said, "It is worthy of being the army under the command of Sima Zhang, which is unique."

Zhang Wei nodded repeatedly, feeling very scared.

The army opposite was firmly established, and a fast horse rushed out of it. The person on the horse was a middle-aged man dressed as a civil servant.

This man shouted to Yangping Pass: "Our general is Fan Chou, the general, was ordered to attack Yangping Pass. If the people in the city know the tact and open the door, the Grand Sima will definitely be rewarded."

"If we restrain our generals and resist, our general will kill you all after breaking through Yangping Pass."
Chapter completed!