Sima Yi released the prisoners and ordered Han Hao to guard the fence of the village, light the torches, and wait for the Xiliang army to kill them. Then he turned off the flames and retreated. When he heard the shouts of killing in the village, he turned back and set fire to the grain cart without fighting.
He also ordered General Liu Zhu to ambush at the foot of Huashan Mountain, dig many pits, and use archers to ambush the Tongguan troops. When his army arrived, he retreated into the mountains and headed east to capture Tongguan after dawn.
With all the orders in place, Sima Yi and Xu Huang led their troops back to the Weishui River and continued westward by boat.
It was already night, the moon was rising from Dongshan Mountain, and the river was winding like a jade belt into the distance. When they reached the territory of Chang'an, people and horses landed on the shore and sent scouts to find out the news.
Not long after, I came to report that a large group of Xiliang cavalry had left to the east half an hour ago. There were so many people and horses, and the sound of horse hooves was like thunder, which alarmed the people, and they were all talking along the way.
Sima Yi ordered: "General Xu will lead his troops to ambush near Lishan Mountain. When Ma Teng and his son turn back, intercept and kill them. There is no need to fight to the death, just kill some of the Xiliang troops."
At this time, Xu Huang was shocked by Sima Yi's arrangements. He took the order step by step and took his time, completely unlike a Confucian scholar who had never led an army before. He took orders and led the troops away.
Sima Yi looked up at half of the jade plate-like bright moon, took a deep breath, and headed straight for Chang'an City with the remaining three thousand elite soldiers. Success, failure, and fame all depended on this one move, and there was no room for failure.
In Tongguan, Ma Teng and his son were arranging to set up defenses. Suddenly, the defeated army came to report, and the food and grass were robbed by Cao's army.
Ma Teng was shocked. Tongguan had been captured. Where did Cao's army come from?
While discussing with Ma Xiu, another prisoner was released and informed Sima Yi of his words.
Ma Teng was shocked and angry, and cursed: "What a thief, Cao Cao, used such a trick. Who is Sima Yi?"
Ma Xiu said: "Sima Yi is an unknown person, so there is nothing to worry about, but I don't know who will attack Chang'an."
Ma Teng's face was gloomy and he said anxiously: "Chang'an is in danger. We should send troops to rescue immediately."
Ma Xiu said: "It is already dark. If we send out troops at this time, I am afraid there may be an ambush on the road."
Ma Teng gritted his teeth and said: "Tens of thousands of people and horses are in Tongguan, and the food and grass are cut off. How can we stay here? If something happens again in Chang'an, you and I will have nowhere to go. Cao Jun quietly crossed the Wei River, and there must not be many people and horses, only the elite. Only by getting out and destroying them can Guanzhong be saved."
Ma Xiu nodded and said: "The child leads the elite troops in front, and the father comes later to take care of each other. We would rather abandon Tongguan than let Chang'an fall."
Ma Teng immediately sent an order to order his troops, leaving only three thousand troops to guard the city. The rest were divided into two teams and rushed to Chang'an overnight.
Ma Xiu led 20,000 fine cavalry ahead, and separated 3,000 vanguards to explore the road. The Xiliang cavalry ran wildly under the moonlight, like a pack of wolves out for food, with astonishing momentum.
As soon as they arrived in Huashan, there was a sudden chaos in the front army. People shouted and horses neighed, and the cavalry crowded together and trampled on each other, making it a mess.
Matthew rushed forward to check and saw that a huge pit was dug in the middle of the road, cutting off the road. People and horses fell into it, causing numerous deaths and injuries.
Just as he was about to ask people to fill the road, suddenly arrows were shot down from the mountains, and the ambush troops came out. The people and horses were in chaos. They quickly divided their troops into formations to prepare to defend against the enemy.
Cao's army rushed down from the mountain and took advantage of the chaos to fight for a while. At this time, Ma Teng's army had also arrived and retreated into the mountain.
When Ma Xiu was about to send troops to pursue him, Ma Teng said: "There is nothing to worry about a few ambushes. They are just trying to delay our rescue time. They are heading towards Chang'an quickly."
The soldiers cleared the road, and Ma Xiu continued to lead the troops forward. This time, the men and horses were cautious and moved slowly. After bypassing several mountain valleys, they scouted the horses to report that there was Cao Jun's camp ahead.
Matthew rode up to a high place to watch, and saw a circle of torches and vehicles lined up on the road. The prisoner leading the way pointed to the light of the fire and said that was where the food and grass had been robbed.
Ma Xiu sent an order to stop resting and wait for Ma Teng to catch up. He said: "Cao's army robbed food and fodder and camped on the road. He must be waiting for his father's reply."
"Hmph, how could Cao Jun not take me seriously?" Ma Teng was furious and said in a deep voice: "After I, Ma Teng, am a famous general of the Han Dynasty, how can I associate with the usurper? Kill——"
Ma Xiu was also concerned about the situation in Chang'an at this time. Cao's army camped here, which meant that there were already troops to attack Chang'an. There were only 20,000 defenders there and they needed to be rescued as soon as possible.
At that moment, the father and son discussed and divided the cavalry into three teams. Taking advantage of Cao's army's unpreparedness, they rushed straight into the camp with lightning speed, killed the scattered defenders, and broke the siege of Chang'an.
The Xiliang army marched in three directions and rushed straight to Cao's camp. When the defenders heard the sound of horse hooves, they hurriedly beat drums to warn, but it was too late. The cavalry poured into the camp like a torrent, which was overwhelming.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Cao's army fled with torches. The camp suddenly became dark, and Ma Teng was about to divide his troops to pursue him.
Ma Xiu said: "Cao's army raised fire and fled. It must be a trick to lure the troops, so that I can't rescue Chang'an with all my strength. I can divide my troops to guard the food and grass, and go straight to Chang'an to kill Cao's army. Then these ambush troops will leave on their own."
"My son's words make sense!" Ma Teng was convinced and was sending troops to stay at the camp.
Suddenly there was the sound of horse hooves in the west camp, followed by several shrill screams, and people and horses rushed into the camp.
Ma Xiu shouted: "This must be an ambush by Cao's army. If I had just pursued the enemy, I would have fallen into a trap!"
Ma Teng secretly thought it was a fluke and shouted: "We must kill them before we can save Chang'an."
After the general's order was passed, all the generals of the Xiliang Army rushed forward to kill. The two armies were fighting in the camp. Both sides were cavalry, galloping back and forth. They only killed people who fell on their backs and screamed in agony.
It was the Chang'an reinforcements led by Ma Tie who rushed to the camp. Hearing that the food and grass had been robbed, Cao's army cut off the road to Huashan and Ma Teng was trapped in Tongguan. Ma Tie hurriedly led troops to rescue overnight.
When they arrived at the place where the grain and fodder had been robbed, they saw that Cao's army was setting up defenses and reorganizing their troops. They rushed in without saying anything. The advantage of cavalry lies in surprise attacks and they cannot hesitate for a moment.
Ma Tie's martial arts skills were second only to Ma Chao's. He entered Cao's camp, overturned more than a dozen people one after another, and went straight to the Chinese army's tent.
A general was coming to kill him, he raised his gun to stop him and shouted angrily: "Death to the dog thief!"
Ma Tie was startled when he heard that this man's voice looked very familiar, but the moonlight was hazy and the general was wearing a helmet, and the black shadow obscured his face clearly.
While he was distracted, the man stabbed him with another spear. The move was very sharp, and the hidden killing move was actually the sure-kill move of Ma's marksmanship.
"Two..." Ma Tie was shocked and hurriedly moved his horse to get out of the way.
"You're only two!" The man on the other side shouted, and Wu Qiang stabbed him again.
"Second brother, it's me!" Ma Tie finally recognized that the person coming was Ma Xiu and shouted hurriedly.
Matthew was also taken aback. He was already red-eyed from the several ambushes tonight. Just now he was only focused on killing the enemy and did not pay attention to the appearance of the person coming.
When he saw clearly that it was Ma Tie, he realized that he had fallen into the trap and shouted hurriedly: "Stop, everyone, stop, we are among our own..."
Ma Tie also raised his gun and shouted, telling the soldiers behind him to move back. The two brothers urged their horses to move among the rebels and persuaded their respective troops to move back.
The Xiliang army fought against each other for a while, and finally stopped gradually as the two brothers shouted.
Ma Teng was guarding the grain and grass from behind to prevent it from being burned by Cao's army again. For the Xiliang Army, grain and grass were also the lifeblood.
Suddenly, I heard people shouting in front of me, and the sound of killing gradually subsided, but the men and horses were still confronting each other. I hurriedly came over and asked, "What happened?"
