Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Afterwards, Jiang Wei tentatively launched attacks on the two men, but both attempts ended in failure.

These defeats significantly diminished Jiang Wei's prestige within the army.

However, Jiang Wei didn't care at all. He hadn't planned to win anyway; he just wanted to test the waters and see if there were any openings he could exploit.

However, after testing the waters, Jiang Wei discovered that Zhong Hui and Deng Ai, when combined, were able to execute their defenses perfectly, leaving no loopholes for him to exploit.

Jiang Wei knew that these two men would be his lifelong rivals.

After receiving Gu Rubing's instructions, Deng Ai and Zhong Hui immediately began their operation.

After the previous major battles, Cao Cao, in order to secure his position, amassed all his troops in Wuyang, Jianwei Commandery, bringing his total force to 50,000.

On Zhong Hui and Deng Ai's side, after Zhuge Liang's redeployment, they only had 50,000 troops.

Zhuge Liang's meaning was clear: he wanted them to defend and did not allow them to attack.

But now Gu Rubing's letter is telling them to attack.

Looking at the 50,000 troops under his command, Deng Ai was immediately at a loss.

"what happened?"

Zhong Hui walked into the hall and saw Deng Ai looking troubled, which made him curious.

"My lord, let us make some noise here. Liu Zhang and Cao Cao have attacked Sun Jian's territory. Sun Jian has asked you for help. Liu Zhang's front line is heavily defended, and the Prime Minister will not be able to achieve anything in a short time. Only we have the ability. Although Cao Cao has many famous generals, he only has 50,000 troops. Therefore, my lord, we should be the breakthrough point."

"Isn't this great? After a period of no fighting, I feel like I'm going to rust. And winter is coming soon, and then there will be another big war."

Seeing Zhong Hui's somewhat agitated expression, Deng Ai shrugged.

"Then tell me how to fight. We have 50,000 men, and the enemy also has 50,000 men. Our lord won't give us any more soldiers or generals. It's just the two of us."

"What?"

Both of them had witnessed Jiang Wei's terrifying power firsthand.

With only 50,000 men at their disposal, neither of them had a guaranteed victory against Jiang Wei.

Moreover, the location they were stationed in was of paramount importance.

Once their defenses break down, Jiang Wei can charge straight into their heartland, and then it will be too late to defend.

Therefore, the Ba Commandery they were stationed in could not be lost, and they had to make a big enough commotion to force Cao Cao to retreat.

The two pondered the map for a long time before finally settling their attention on Nan'an City.

Nan'an City is very close to them, which allows them to launch a surprise attack.

Most importantly, they had limited troops and did not want to provoke Jiang Wei and his men. Given their limited forces, they preferred to fight defensive battles.

This city of Nan'an was the first step in their declaration of war.

Soon the two began to mobilize their troops in preparation for action.

Jiang Wei was watching closely every move Deng Ai and Zhong Hui made.

The moment the two mobilized their troops, Jiang Wei immediately deduced that their target was Nan'an City.

Jiang Wei immediately shared his assessment with Cao Ren and the others.

However, Jiang Wei's previous campaigns were not very successful, which led to a significant decrease in his prestige within the army.

When Jiang Wei said that Deng Ai and Zhong Hui's target was Nan'an City, Cao Ren's first reaction was disbelief.

"Boyue, don't joke around. That's impossible. Although we only have 50,000 men, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai also only have 50,000 men. 50,000 against 50,000, would they dare to take the initiative? Don't they know the importance of Ba Commandery?"

"Yes, Boyo, I think you're just too nervous. I suggest you take a rest."

Listening to the surrounding conversation, Jiang Wei couldn't help but frown.

He hadn't cared about prestige in the army before, even though Guo Huai had reminded him of it, he hadn't paid any attention at the time.

But now he does understand a lot more.

Jiang Wei was still unwilling to give up and wanted to persuade Cao Ren to send troops to Nan'an City.

Unfortunately, nobody listened to him.

Just as Jiang Wei was about to speak, he suddenly realized that someone had grabbed his sleeve.

He turned his head and looked to the side, only to find that it was Guo Huai.

Guo Huai shook his head at Jiang Wei.

Seeing Guo Huai's appearance, Jiang Wei ultimately had no choice but to give up.

The two walked out of the military camp.

"Boji, you don't believe what I'm saying either?"

“I believe you, of course I believe you, and I can see that their target is Nan’an, but so what? First of all, no one believes you except me, so what use is that? Our prestige in the army comes from those old generals. We don’t actually have any confidants ourselves. If they don’t want to, no matter how eloquently you speak, it won’t make a difference.”

"Also, Boyue, you are indeed a bit nervous. Their target is indeed Nan'an, but even if we give it to them, so what? Nan'an or Zizhong, aren't they both strategic buffer zones that we set up in the first place? They were originally the battlefields we set up. What difference does it make if we lose one?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei sighed.

“I’m just unwilling to accept it. There are several woods around Nan’an, which are good places for an ambush. They will never expect us to come to their aid when they attack Nan’an. We can ambush them in the woods and they will suffer heavy losses. In that case, we might be able to take back Ba County and the other counties, and launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains.”

Guo Huai smiled helplessly.

Guo Huai knew that Jiang Wei's wish was to break out of Yizhou; he didn't want to stay there any longer and wanted to go to a wider world.

But Cao Cao couldn't give Jiang Wei what he wanted.

Jiang Wei remained there solely to repay Cao Cao's kindness.

"Don't worry, once Nan'an is captured, General Cao Ren and his men will definitely make a move, and then our opportunity will come."

Due to Cao Ren's carelessness, Nan'an was directly captured by Deng Ai and Zhong Hui without any resistance.

However, this did not make either of them happy.

It's important to understand that their goal was to get Jiang Wei and his men out of the station.

But clearly, they did not achieve their goal.

"What do we do next? Should we continue? The next place is Zizhong."

Deng Ai looked at Zhong Hui, unsure of what to do next.

In the current situation, with the enemy stationed and not moving, every step they take is fraught with danger.

"What else can we do but fight? We must complete the mission our lord has given us."

"Oh, my lord, could you please provide some support before giving us a mission?"

Deng Ai looked up at the sky and roared.

Seeing Deng Ai's appearance, Zhong Hui immediately stepped forward.

"Don't worry, I've already contacted the Prime Minister. Let's see if there's anyone on his side who can help us."

Soon, news of the fall of Nan'an reached Wuyang County.

Cao Ren and the others immediately widened their eyes and all looked at Jiang Wei.

Only Jiang Wei told them that Nan'an was dangerous, but they didn't pay attention.

Jiang Wei had assumed that they would apologize to him, and he was prepared to accept the apologies from everyone present.

But to his surprise, after everyone looked at him, they all turned their heads away, completely ignoring him. Jiang Wei was stunned.

Cao Ren looked at the map and said in a deep voice, "Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, take 20,000 troops and immediately garrison Zizhong City. Remember to defend the city and do not attack."

The two nodded immediately, then turned and left.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wei wanted to say something, but seeing Cao Ren's expression, he ultimately chose to give up.

Not only Jiang Wei, but Guo Huai also wanted to say something, but Cao Ren didn't care about them at all, so Guo Huai simply stopped talking.

Soon, the Xiahou brothers led an army of 20,000 and entered Zizhong City.

This really excited Deng Ai and Zhong Hui.

In their view, the opportunity was about to arrive. The enemy had already divided their forces, and if they could swallow up these 20,000 men, it would be much easier to fulfill Gu Rubing's demands.

But soon they discovered a problem: no matter how Zhong Hui and Deng Ai cursed them, the Xiahou brothers showed no intention of attacking. Instead, they just stood on the city wall and watched them.

It's like watching two idiots.

This left the two of them somewhat dumbfounded.

However, just when the two were in a dilemma, good news came.

After learning everything, Zhuge Liang sent Zhang Liao with 50,000 troops to provide support.

However, Zhuge Liang gave them two time limits, namely ten days.

Cao Ren and his men must be driven out of Jianwei County.

Upon hearing this request, the two, who were initially excited, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over their heads.

However, no matter what, we must at least break through the Xiahou brothers' defenses before we can attack Wuyang.

Thinking of this, Deng Ai looked at the map.

Now that they have Zhang Liao's 50,000 troops, they can relax a bit, at least they don't have to worry about a shortage of troops.

"I do have a rather risky idea, would you like to try it?"

Zhong Hui looked at Deng Ai with a cunning smile on his face.

Seeing Zhong Hui's expression, Deng Ai knew that nothing good was coming.

However, he doesn't have any good ideas at the moment, so no matter what, he still has to listen to Zhong Hui's suggestions.

"Tell me about it."

"You're my solution!"

"I?"

Deng Ai looked at Zhong Hui with a puzzled expression.

“That’s right, it’s you. Everyone in the Wei army knows that you are in charge of Yizhou. If they capture you, Yizhou will be within their grasp. So, no one can compare to you in terms of attraction to them.”

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai paused for a moment, realizing that Zhong Hui's words made a lot of sense.

"Go on."

"So I need you to lure the Xiahou brothers out. The method is simple: you take 20,000 men, bypass Nan'an, and head towards Wuyang, creating the illusion that you are going to attack Wuyang. When the main force bypasses Nan'an, the Xiahou brothers will definitely attack you. I just need to attack them from behind. Our forces are twice their size, so dealing with them shouldn't be a problem. And judging by the time, General Zhang Liao should be able to arrive in time."

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai mentally considered all of Zhong Hui's plans.

He suddenly realized that Zhong Hui's plan was indeed quite good.

"Okay, then let's do as you say."

Early the next morning.

As agreed, Deng Ai led an army of 20,000 men and began to bypass Nan'an City, heading towards Wuyang.

The Xiahou brothers were quite excited to see that Zhong Hui was leading the team.

Both of them were renowned generals, and even among renowned generals, their combat prowess was outstanding.

Neither Deng Ai nor Zhong Hui were skilled in combat.

The reason they didn't leave the station earlier was simply because they didn't know how many people Deng Ai had brought, while they only had 20,000.

Now, Deng Ai only brought 20,000 men.

With 20,000 against 20,000, plus their two renowned generals, annihilating Deng Ai's 20,000 men would be no problem at all.

The two quickly made up their minds and led 20,000 men out of the city to attack Deng Ai's central army.

The moment Deng Ai saw the two leave the city, he became excited.

Once those two guys get out, everything will be much easier.

Soon the two sides officially clashed.

Because the Xiahou brothers launched a surprise attack, coupled with their terrifying fighting power, Deng Ai suffered a series of defeats from the very beginning.

Seeing this, Deng Ai couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

"Zhong Hui, where the hell have you been? Shouldn't you have come to my aid?"

While fighting the enemy, Deng Ai kept cursing Zhong Hui.

However, after seeing that the Xiahou brothers had already clashed with Deng Ai, Zhong Hui waited a while to make sure that the two of them were unable to leave their posts. Then, he led the remaining 20,000 troops to attack Zizhong City.

The Xiahou brothers had taken all the troops from the city, leaving only a few hundred men on guard duty on the city walls.

These men were no match for the 20,000-strong siege.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zizhong City was taken down.

After all that happened last night, Zhong Hui left 5,000 men to guard the city before leading 15,000 men to begin encircling the Xiahou brothers.

When Deng Ai saw Zhong Hui finally appear, he almost went up and beat him up, but he was blocked by a lot of Wei soldiers, which allowed Zhong Hui to escape.

The Xiahou brothers never expected that the city would be stolen as soon as they left, and now they were being attacked from both inside and outside. They immediately went to Deng Ai and Zhong Hui.

If you want to rely on your own strength, you must first capture the leader.

However, just as they were about to take action...

A voice came from far away.

"Gentlemen, Wen Yuan has arrived."

Upon hearing Zhang Liao's voice, the Xiahou brothers knew that it was impossible to capture Deng Ai and Zhong Hui in a short time.

After much hesitation, Xiahou Dun finally gave the order to retreat.

With the two withdrawing, the battle quickly came to an end.

While everyone was cleaning up the battlefield, Deng Ai went directly to Zhong Hui.

"You're really something, aren't you? You even kept it from me, using me as bait to attack the city."

"Haha, General, you're too kind. I learned this from you. Only by taking Zizhong City will our operation have any meaning. Otherwise, if Brother Xiahou returns to the city, wouldn't we have wasted our time?"

Zhong Hui burst into laughter.

However, before he could finish laughing, he saw Deng Ai carrying a knife and walking towards him.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing? You're a general, you can't execute a meritorious official." (End of Chapter)