Chapter 180: Parting ways

In March of the seventh year of Jian'an, the spring in Liangzhou was unexpectedly staggering, and in Ma Chao's heart, the ambition that had just risen was shattered by the ruthless reality in a blink of an eye. Ma Teng is old and he hopes to seek a comfortable and peaceful life. This is nothing wrong, but this is not what the young Ma Chao wants.

Is it possible that the great situation that I finally created is just given to others like this? Ma Chao was extremely unwilling to accept it.

"Major General, now there are no leaders in Jicheng. If Han Sui's remnants of power rebelled, or if Chen Cang's Wei Duan changes something, our situation will be quite dangerous." Pang Tong said.

Ma Xiu, who stayed in Jicheng, was not enough to convince the public in terms of qualifications and ability. The only one who could replace Ma Teng to take over the army was Jin Ma Chao, who was invincible on the battlefield.

The north wind was howling, and a cavalry ran rapidly. The sand was swept into the air, and a line of dust was raised. After the two troops of Pang De and Ma Dai were left to guard the newly occupied Stability, Ma Chao rushed back with his members. He had already seen Pang Tong's ability this time and took the initiative to invite Pang Tong to accompany the army.

"Third brother, what are you doing?" Before Ma Chao arrived in the city, he met Ma Xiu and led a group of people out of the city.

"Brother, you are here just in time. Dad has written a letter. He told us to lead troops to gather at Chen Cang!" Ma Xiu raised his childish face and replied excitedly.

The hills near Chencang are scattered, which is not conducive to cavalry fighting. Moreover, the city is deep and deep, and it is the old nest of Wei Duan, the Muslim in Liangzhou. If there is any abnormal change, Ma Chao dared not think about it anymore. He swept his inquiring gaze to Pang Tong behind him, but he saw that Pang Tong also had a solemn look on his face.

"What else did my dad say in his letter?" Ma Chao let out a long sigh and tried to calm himself down.

Ma Xiu took out a letter with red lacquer from his arms, and handed it to Ma Chao, and said, "Bad said that he has been appointed as the guard of the imperial court as the nine ministers. He will enter the court soon. At that time, we can leave Xiliang together!"

Ma Chao took the letter and looked at it while furious. He shouted: "You all go and enjoy your happiness. I won't go. I want to stay here. My brothers will add blood to their heads and fight side by side."

Ma Xiu said anxiously: "But brother, Dad said in the letter that we asked us to hand over the military power as soon as possible. If we don't do this, Dad will not agree."

Ma Chao closed his eyes tightly, and a trace of pain passed through his eyes. Should he be an obedient and incompetent filial son, or a traitor who may be regarded as rebellious and unfilial, these two thoughts were entangled in his heart, as if he wanted to tear him in half.

"This matter is serious, and the major general must be very cautious. In Tong's opinion, the situation of veteran General Ma is in a very dangerous place in Chen Cang. If we do not do what we said in the letter, we may be the life of the veteran general-in-!" Pang Tong hesitated and did not continue.

"Sir, is it Jia Xu, how dare Zhong Yao kill my dad?" Ma Chao opened his eyes and suddenly felt a sudden killing intention.

Pang Tong said helplessly: "What are they afraid of? Cao Cao dares to hold the emperor and order the princes, and his subordinates will of course follow the example. For Cao Cao, Liangzhou is not under his control. It is best to use General Ma as a qualifier to force the Ma family army to surrender. If not, killing the hostages and causing civil strife in Xiliang is also a good choice."

"Aren't they afraid that I will lead my troops into Guanzhong?" Ma Chao shouted loudly, and the silver gun in his hand trembled slightly.

"That would be the case for Jia Xu's trick. They would first kill the old general and others, and then declare the world in the name of the so-called court to denounce you, the unfilial person who killed his father." Pang Tong said incisively, pointing to the most powerful part of Jia Xu's plan.

"Military advisor, what should we do?" Faced with such a dilemma, even Zhao Yun was helpless. He turned his hopeful eyes to Pang Tong. If the Ma family army accepted the court's comfort, then their relationship with the Jing Yang soldiers who entered Liang could only end here, because they would inevitably be divided into two camps, Cao Cao and Gao Chong.

"Has the Major General decided?" Pang Tong did not answer Zhao Yun's question, and he turned his attention to Ma Chao.

This decision is so difficult for Ma Chao. It not only concerns Ma Teng's life and death, but also the fate of the entire clan. In fact, life is so capricious. When giving you a chance, it will inevitably make him lose something.

Finally, Ma Chao's eyes turned from violent to clear. He gently clenched his fists and replied firmly: "Life has been gone for a hundred years. It is a good man who should draw his sword with his will. How can he rely on others to rely on his will? Even if he dies in a foreign land, he will not let down this kind of passion. Therefore, even if he is a traitor who is unrighteous and filial to the future, I, Ma Chao, will accept it!"

"Brother, if you do this, you will kill my dad." Ma Xiu advised in a crying voice.

"Third brother, you don't need to say more. I have decided on this matter. No matter what happens in the future, I will never regret it. As for other people, they are willing to follow me and if they don't want to, they can bring their families to find their father." Ma Chao said loudly.

That night, the General's Mansion in Jicheng's West Conquest was deserted and there was no trace of light. After thinking about it for a while, Ma Xiu decided to go east to Chen Cang to find Ma Teng. Now, in the Ruoda mansion, only two people named Ma Chao and Ma Yunlu were left.

"Brother, do you regret it?" In the yard, a lonely figure stood silently in front of the bright moonlight.

Ma Chao turned around slowly, hugged Ma Yunlu who was standing timidly behind him, and said, "No, these days with Zilong and Mr. Pang have made me understand what a man should do, so I don't regret it."

"Well, so do I." Hearing the words Zilong, a burst of happiness surged in Ma Yunlu's heart.

Most of the people in the entire Ma family chose to follow Ma Teng. It is no wonder that Ma Teng's orders, as the leader of the clan, cannot be violated. Whoever dares to violate them will be equivalent to the rebel clan. In just twenty days after that, Jia Xu fully utilized his ability to create momentum with public opinion. In the eyes of the Han and Qiang people who did not know the truth, Ma Chao suddenly changed from a great hero that everyone admired to a rebel clan's rebel clan.

Without the support of the people, Ma Chao's army had difficulties in logistics supply. In desperation, Ma Chao adopted Pang Tong's suggestion and reduced his troops to retreat to Baohan, Xicheng, which was further west, where the continuous snow-capped mountains were closely attached. The sizzling snow water melted in spring and summer, which was a natural pasture for grazing horses.

"Meng Qi, don't be discouraged. In the past, my favorite coach once said the bold statement on the shore of Poyang Lake, "The poorer ambition is stronger, and the ambition is not lost." Now we have just encountered temporary difficulties. After this difficulty, our cavalry who are raising energy can rush their troops eastward in the autumn, and then we will kill him well!" On the way to retreat, Zhao Yun smiled and urged the horse to move forward optimistically.

Faced with the sudden change, Ma Chao, Pang Tong and Zhao Yun wisely chose the strategy of retreating and accumulating strength, while Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, was just the opposite. In March of the seventh year of Jian'an, Liu Bei adopted Zhuge Liang's strategy and led 10,000 soldiers to advance west from Jiangzhou, threatening to go north to attack Liu Zhang's old enemy Zhang. When he arrived at Baishui, he lured Liu Zhang to set up Baishui Army commanders Yang Huai and Gao Pei, and then suddenly broke his troops from the small path and marched south to Fucheng. If Liu Bei's vanguard crossed the Fushui again and occupied Luocheng, there would be a plain river in front and there would be no danger to defend.

In Chengdu City, Liu Zhang looked sad and misty. Faced with the dilemma of attracting wolves into the house, he had no good idea for the moment.

"Lord, Liu Bei came from afar, and the army must have little food. Why don't we burn wild grains and granaries everywhere, move the people of Brazil to avoid the west of the Fu River, and then build deep ditches and high bases to defend it. Even if Liu Bei had thousands of troops, he could not cross the line." Zheng Du, an employed person in Yizhou, advised him.

Zheng Du was from Guanghan and was quite familiar with the terrain of that area. The mountains, mountains, rivers and waters of Bashu were very different from those of the Central Plains. There may be one or two hills passing by in sporadic small flat dams. If the gap is guarded, no matter how many enemies have, it will be useless.

Liu Zhang sighed and said, "Oh, I have only heard of resisting the enemy to appease the people, but I have never heard of disturbing the people to guard against the enemy. My father and son have been in the state for more than 20 years and have not given any kindness to the people here. On the contrary, there have been more than three years of wars, and the former fertile land was covered with weeds. This is all my fault. If I attacked again, how could I feel at ease!"

Compared to his father Liu Yanlai, Liu Zhang lacked the ability to govern the party and was more tolerant of his subordinates than scolded him, which led to the rebellion of officials such as Zhao Wei. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang also saw this and turned their last hope to Yizhou.

"Father, don't be ambitious and destroy your own prestige. There are still 30,000 soldiers in Chengdu. The grain can be used for a year. The officials and people all demand to fight to the death. They are willing to lead troops to fight to fight against Liu Bei." The person who spoke was Liu Zhang's eldest son Liu Xun. He was young and energetic, and naturally he was unwilling to hand over the great mountains and rivers to others.

Liu Xun's identity is quite special. His passionate words made the military generals who advocated fighting with force excited. The General Huang Quan of the Central Army said: "There is a Luo City that blocks the throats of the north and south as long as we guard it, even if Liu Bei has elite soldiers and generals, he cannot pass."

Seeing that the generals were eager to fight, Liu Zhangqiang cheered up and encouraged him: "Okay, my son is very grateful, and I feel very relieved!"

Faced with Liu Bei's aggressive attack, Liu Zhang obviously lacked confidence. Among the officials in Yizhou, they were divided into two factions: the main war and the surrender. The main war factions were Liu Xun, Zhang Ren, Deng Xian, Leng Bao, Huang Quan and other military generals, and the civil officials advocated surrender. Xu Jing, the prefect of Shu County, and Qiao Zhou, the priest of Jiujiu, were the two most active.

Outside Luocheng, at night, Liu Bei, with a tired face, was patrolling the camp in armor. He was over fifty years old and his temples were frosted. His years of habit of fighting on the battlefield gave him a special alert.

The importance of this counterattack against Chengdu is self-evident for Liu Bei, and this is his last chance to realize his long-cherished wish.

Success or failure is here-!

"It turns out that the military advisor can't sleep like me?" A melodious sound of piano brought Liu Bei to a military tent, where the military advisor Zhuge Liang lived.

"I will attack Luocheng tomorrow morning. How should our army's few soldiers resist the enemy?" Liu Bei raised his tent and said to himself.

Zhuge Liang was wearing an ordinary cloth robe. He leaned his head and listened carefully to the sounds made on the strings. After the song ended, he looked up at Liu Bei.

He said: "The key to soldiers is the essence, not the number of them. Although the enemy has 30,000, they are just some mobs. How can we compare with my elite soldiers who have been through a long battle formation? Tomorrow morning, the lord can select elite soldiers and strong generals to ambush the troops here, and then order Zhang Fei to lead an army to challenge the enemy. After the enemy in the city is out, they can only be defeated and unbeatable. In this way, the lord can tempt the enemy into the encirclement. At that time, the lord can fight out and defeat it."

"Although the military advisor's plan is good, what if the enemy is not tempted and stays in the city without fighting?" Liu Bei sighed.

Since the time of the Yellow Turbans, Liu Bei has experienced countless battles, including the glorious victory and the great defeat of escaping alone. It can be said that no one has richer experience in the battle than him. Often, Liu Bei can feel the danger when others do not notice it.

Zhuge Liang said: "Yesterday I had a conversation with Fa Xiao. He once said that the Luocheng garrison Zhang Ren was very brave and very brave. He once claimed to be the number one general in Shu. Now I asked Ji De to go and call him, Zhang Ren must be dissatisfied. As long as he can't stand it and leave the city, I will have a way to make him come and go."

"Since the military advisor is so confident, he is worry-free! I will only listen to the military advisor's orders!" Liu Bei was confident when he heard Zhuge Liang's heart was slightly relieved.

On the morning, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhang Fei to lead a thousand soldiers to the city to challenge the battle, and sent Wei Yan and Liu Feng to lead two thousand ambush troops to hide on the Jinyan Bridge in the east of the city. At the same time, Liu Bei personally led three thousand elite troops to trap the north of the bridge. After Zhang Fei lured the enemy in the city to cross the bridge, he would destroy the bridge and block the enemy's way back. A net of heaven and earth was laid under Zhuge Liang's planning, waiting for its prey to appear.

By noon, Zhang Ren could not bear Zhang Fei's continuous scolding and led his army out of the city. Because Zhang Ren had a very deep qualification in the army, Leng Bao, Deng Xian and other generals all had a fateful friendship with Zhang Ren, Liu Xun could not stop it and had to give up.

When Zhang Fei saw the enemy leaving the city, he followed the plan and then fled in a panic. Seeing that Zhang Fei was just like this, Zhang Ren led his army to chase him. When he was hesitating at the Jinyan Bridge, Zhang Fei turned around and fought again. The back and forth made Zhang Ren very angry, and then crossed the Jinyan Bridge to pursue him without regard for the consequences.
Chapter completed!