Ma Teng looked at Ma Chao anxiously and waved his hands: "Meng Qi, what else do you want to do?"
Cao Zhang looked at Ma Chao's unruly expression and knew that he was still not convinced. If he couldn't really make him accept the recruitment from his heart, there would definitely be hidden dangers in the future, so he was not in a hurry. He looked at Ma Chao with a smile and asked: " Brother Meng Qi, do you have any other advice?"
"You just said that you have defeated Li Jue, and now you have surrounded Chang'an. We are only sending troops to help you defeat Li Jue in the end, right?" Ma Chao asked slowly.
"Yes!" Cao Zhang responded.
"You said that Li Jue lost his army and his generals were greatly reduced. What evidence do you have? I can't believe you based on your words, can I?" Ma Chao asked coldly.
"Brother Meng Qi, you will know immediately when you follow me to Chang'an. How could I possibly deceive you?" Cao Zhang responded.
"Hmph!" Ma Chao sneered at this moment and turned to Ma Teng, "Father, you heard it, we won't know the truth until we get to Chang'an. If we get to Chang'an, we find that Li Jue has not been defeated at all. , we have enough troops, so what should we do?”
"At that time, we had already received the imperial edict. If you ordered us to fight Li Jue, if we did not obey the order, we would be disobeying the order. If we obeyed the order, with the strength of Chang'an's defense, if Li Jue had enough troops, it would be a long time for us to fight him. Only by losing troops and generals and spending a lot of money can we win. This kind of loss cannot be compensated by just giving us the title of Yongzhou Governor!" Ma Chao raised his own doubts.
"Brother Meng Qi, what I said before is the truth. Li Jue was defeated and his troops were less than 20,000. I did not lie to you. As for the battle expenses you said, I can compensate you with money and food. What do you think?" Cao Zhang He didn't expect Ma Chao to raise such a question at this time, so he could only try his best to appease him.
Ma Chao looked at Cao Zhang but said nothing, just sneered, obviously not accepting Cao Zhang's proposal.
"Master Cao, Meng Qi's worries are not entirely unreasonable. It has taken more than ten years for me to accumulate this little wealth, and I really can't bear to waste it in vain. What do you think of this? You can live in Tianshui first, and I will send The scout went to Chang'an to inquire about the news. If everything is as the master said, I will not only send troops immediately, but also personally write a letter and send it to all the princes in Guanxi, inviting them to send troops together. What do you think?" Ma Teng saw that the two were in a stalemate. He quickly stood up to smooth things over and proposed a compromise method.
Cao Zhang felt aggrieved. If he had no time limit, there would definitely be no problem with the plan proposed by Ma Teng.
But now the hundred-day period is getting closer and closer. If he waits for the scouts to inquire, he will be delayed for several days, and he really can't afford it.
"General Ma, everything I said is true. The so-called troops are valuable and quick. We should take advantage of Li Jue's new defeat and low morale to send troops as soon as possible to defeat him in one go. If we confirm this back and forth, it will give Li Jue some buffer time. , you will miss the best opportunity."
"What's more, I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies after all. If I don't return for a long time, if Li Jue is trapped and still fighting, and leads his troops out of the city to break out, our army will have no one to command, and the consequences will be disastrous, so I still need to go back as soon as possible." Cao Zhang had no choice. I can only try my best to find reasons to persuade Ma Teng.
Ma Chao sneered again: "Father, you heard it, he didn't dare to let us confirm it, he just urged us to send troops as soon as possible, there must be something wrong with it!"
Ma Teng frowned slightly when he looked at Cao Zhang, obviously also suspicious.
Cao Zhang felt aggrieved, but he could not tell the truth that he had signed a hundred-day military order with Cao Cao, because telling him so would only make Ma Teng and Ma Chao feel that he was taking advantage of them, which would make it even more troublesome.
Ma Yunlu saw Cao Zhang's dilemma and stepped forward to persuade Ma Teng and Ma Chao: "Dad, brother, Mr. Cao may really have his own difficulties, and others have also given their own reasons, so why do you have to force each other so hard?" , It’s embarrassing for others!”
"Shut up, we are talking about business, don't interrupt!" Ma Chao stared at his sister and showed his authority.
"Why don't I understand? Don't you just not believe that Mr. Cao defeated Li Jue? If he had other ways to prove it, would you believe it!" Ma Yunlu replied dissatisfied to Ma Chao.
"How to prove it, unless he can beat me!" Ma Chao shouted arrogantly.
The conversation between the brother and sister made Cao Zhang's eyes light up. If I can really defeat Ma Chao, he should be convinced and no longer have any doubts, right?
"Brother Meng Qi is a man of his word. If I can defeat the thousand troops led by Brother Meng Qi with a hundred guards, does that prove that I have the ability to defeat Li Jue?!" Cao Zhang followed Ma Chao. asked.
A hundred people are better than a thousand people? !
Ma's father and son, as well as Ma Yunlu, were shocked when they heard this. They all thought that Cao Zhang was exaggerating.
Ma Chao was instantly furious: "Master Cao, are you too arrogant? You actually want to challenge me with a hundred people, Ma Chao, with a thousand troops? And you say you can defeat me!?"
He made his first expedition a few years ago when he was eighteen years old, and he was already powerful in the northwest. In the past few years, he followed Ma Teng in battles with Han Sui, Li Jue and others, and his reputation was also far and wide, which earned him the title of Xiliang Jin Ma Chao.
Although he had been defeated in battles, those were always when the forces were equal, or even when the opponent's forces exceeded his.
Now Cao Zhang had to face him one against ten, and said he could win. To Ma Chao, this was no longer a provocation, but an insult!
Cao Zhang saw that Ma Chao was angry and hurriedly explained: "Brother Meng Qi, please don't be angry. I don't mean any disrespect. I just think that this method can make you believe that I am really capable of defeating Li Jue and no longer have any doubts." .”
Cao Zhang's explanation did not calm Ma Chao at all. He sneered: "Okay, since Mr. Cao is so confident, let's make a bet. If Mr. Cao can really use your hundreds of guards to defeat the thousand-man army led by Ma Chao, , I believe what you said and immediately ask my father to accept the order and send a letter to the princes of Guanxi to send troops together to attack Li Jue!"
"It's a deal! Let's go now!" Cao Zhang didn't want to waste time and immediately agreed.
"Let's go! Let's go to the school grounds now!" Ma Chao's fighting spirit was aroused and he immediately strode out.
Seeing that the gambling match between the two was inevitable, Ma Teng could only smile and greet Cao Zhang and Zhong Yao to follow Ma Chao out.
Ma Yunlu was worried about Cao Zhang and curious about whether he really had the ability to defeat Ma Chao, so he naturally followed him out.
Cao Zhang and others walked out of the gate of Ma Teng's mansion. Li Jin greeted the guards waiting at the door, and the group arrived at the school grounds in Tianshui City.
Ma Chao said to Cao Zhang: "Master Cao, if your subordinates need any weapons or armor, just ask and I will prepare them for you. Don't say I bullied you!"
Cao Zhang responded: "Brother Meng Qi, our drill is only to prove that I have the ability to defeat Li Jue. It is not a real battle. In order to avoid casualties of soldiers on both sides, please use wooden sticks and bamboo knives as weapons."
"Okay, it's up to you. I'll send someone to prepare immediately. Since you have a small number, it's up to you to decide how we decide the outcome!" Ma Chao agreed, and then asked Cao Zhang how to determine the outcome.
"I will lead my subordinates to set up a formation and ask Brother Meng Qi to break the formation. If Brother Meng Qi can break out of the formation I have set up within half an hour, I will count him as the winner; if Brother Meng Qi cannot break out, I will count him as the winner. , how about?!" Cao Zhang pondered for a moment and proposed a competition plan.
"Deploy the formation!? Humph, do you think that since we have been living in Xiliang for a long time, we don't understand military strategies and formations? Okay, just as you said, I will mobilize the soldiers first and wait for you to set up the formation!"
After Ma Chao finished speaking, he turned around and rode away.
Cao Zhang immediately handed Li Jin over and whispered in his ear.
Ma Teng, Ma Yunlu, Zhong Yao and others climbed to the high platform next to the school field, quietly waiting for the showdown between Cao Zhang and Ma Chao, which was very different in strength...
