Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms podcast.

This is episode 91.

Last time, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were gearing up for a clash over control of the region of Hanzhong.

Liu Bei's general Huang Zhong was camped out in front of Mount Dingjun,

a key location for Cao Cao's defenses in the region.

The commander of Cao Cao's forces on Mount Dingjun was Xia Houyuan,

and he was being assisted by a couple officers who had already

suffered defeat at the hands of Huang Zhong, the general Zhang He and Xia Houyuan's nephew, Xia Houxang.

Once Cao Cao brought his army into the region, he gave Xia Houyuan the go-ahead to engage Huang Zhong,

so Xia Houyuan drew up a scheme.

The first part of the scheme involved his nephew Xia Hou Shang going out to take on Huang Zhong and feigning defeat to lure the enemy in.

As for Huang Zhong, he and his advisor Fa Zheng were camped out at the entrance of the mountain.

He had gone to challenge for battle numerous times, but Xiaohuan refused to come out.

Huang Zhong thought about advancing his army up the mountain to press the issue,

but the roads were treacherous, and he was also worried about enemy ambushes, so he stayed put.

Then one day, word came that the enemy had come down from its mountain base to pick a fight.

Huang Zhong was ready to go meet them, but one of his officers, a man named Chen Shi,

volunteered to go instead, so Huang Zhong gave Chen Shi a thousand men to go answer the challenge.

When the two sides met, Xia Hou Shang and Chen Shi traded blows for a few bouts,

at which point Xia Houxang turned and ran, just like the plan called for.

Chen Shi gave chase, but before long he ran into a little surprise.

Suddenly, logs and boulders rolled down the mountainside and blocked his path forward.

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