This time, Bai Xiaowen did not intend to fly his own banner or openly command the army in person. Instead, he used Ma Chao's name as a cover to attack Jiameng Pass.
Meanwhile, in Hefei, Jia Xu openly unfurled the grand banner of the Duke of Yan. The flags fluttered in the wind, leaving Sun Ce's army suspicious and unwilling to act rashly.
Moreover, seeing that the Yuan Army had sent only the great general Ma Chao into battle, Liu Bei's Army would lower its guard as well.
The commander defending Jiameng Pass was named Huo Jun.
Ma Chao challenged the pass, but Huo Jun held firm and refused to come out. When the army was urged to batter the gates and assault the city, Huo Jun's defenses were meticulous and his troops orderly, leaving the Yuan Army no opening to exploit.
On the first day of the siege, they failed to take the pass and instead left behind many Yuan Army corpses beneath its walls.
Li Shuyi had once attempted to assassinate Huo Jun, but his personal guards stopped her. Had it not been for the Cloud-Climbing Shoes, she would have nearly been surrounded to death.
"This Huo Jun is clearly only an ordinary boss. Why is he so troublesome?" Li Shuyi said.
Bai Xiaowen frowned. "Huo Jun was not particularly famous in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but in the official histories, he truly was an excellent general skilled in City Defense, no worse than Cao Ren. The Three Kingdoms Plane merely weakened his template somewhat, but it did not weaken abilities beyond the attribute panel, such as command ability and defensive strategy. It seems Liu Bei truly knew how to recognize and employ talent."
"How do we take this pass?" Li Shuyi had always been good at