As night falls, a crescent moon has already hung over the east mountain, frogs chirp, and the night wind is no longer cold.
The earth has returned to spring and is full of life, but for the Wei army, it is like walking on thin ice. After three expeditions to report back, the Han army has completely withdrawn from the territory of Zhi County, but Xu Huang still does not dare to act rashly.
It was not until the third watch that the county magistrate was ordered to guard the city carefully, and he took his personal guards to bypass Jishui from the north gate and quickly returned to the camp.
The magistrate of Zhe County sent Xu Huang away, and when he returned to the government, things were going on in a hurry, and he was not sleepy at all. The situation in the past two days was extremely complicated and complicated, and it was more thrilling than the first half of his life combined.
First, Heyang fell and the territory was shaken. Later, he received a letter from Shen Gu urging him to surrender. While discussing with the officials, Xu Huang came to the city in person and had to hand over the letter truthfully to show his loyalty.
Today the Han army came to attack the city. Xu Huang beheaded Shen Gu and defeated Guo Huai. Just when everyone thought they had a chance to win, Ma Chao unexpectedly arrived again and defeated Xu Huang. The ups and downs were really exciting.
I drank a few glasses of boring wine alone to calm down a little, and went back to the back office to rest. No matter who was in charge, life still had to go on. I just took in a concubine last year and couldn't wait anymore. The official duties assigned by Xu Huang would be discussed later.
Just as he was getting ready to change clothes, someone suddenly knocked on the door loudly. The magistrate was furious, opened the door and shouted: "Who is making noise?"
The officer outside the door shouted: "It's bad, the Han army is coming again!"
"Really?" The county magistrate was shocked. He no longer cared about the murmuring calls behind him, and hurriedly pulled off his clothes and stumbled out.
Several officials hurried to the top of the city and saw torches burning brightly outside the south gate. The mountains and plains were covered in flames, and there were thousands of people and horses.
The first general in the city raised his gun and stood up. It was Guo Huai who had been here during the day. He said to the county magistrate: "Xu Huang is alone and can't support himself. The fighting during the day has nothing to do with you. If you open the city and surrender, you can forget about it. I hope you will realize it soon." Current affairs, the people are saved from being killed.”
The county magistrate originally wanted to protect himself. He had previously intended to surrender after seeing Shen Gu's letter. Now when he saw the troops approaching the city, the army had no intention of fighting, so he sent the order to open the city without any hesitation.
Guo Huai led his troops into the city and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although he lost his troops, he finally captured Zhi County. When he saw Xu Shu, he had an explanation. If Ma Chao could successfully ambush Xu Huang again, he would be able to redeem himself.
Ma Chao led his troops to lie in ambush in the willow forest on the west bank of Jishui. He listened to the night wind blowing and the branches and leaves whistling. His horses ate grass beside him. After waiting for a long time without seeing the Wei army arrive, he gradually became impatient.
Just as he was about to go to support Guo Huai, a scout suddenly came to report that Xu Huang was coming from the east bank. Ma Chao felt regretful and hurriedly led his troops to pursue him. The Wei army was already approaching.
Seeing that he could not catch up, Ma Chao ordered his men to beat drums, pointed at the other side and cursed: "Xu Huang, thief, please stop leaving!"
Xu Huang had long guessed that Ma Chao was unwilling to retreat and there must be an ambush along the way, so he took a detour and retreated from the east. Sure enough, he laughed and said: "Ma Chao, kid, how can you fight with someone with such a small skill?"
Ma Chao was furious: "Xu Gongming, do you dare to fight to the death with me?"
Xu Huang rode his horse and said with a smile: "If you have the ability, cross the river and fight!"
Ma Chao was furious: "Come here!"
"How can a certain dignified Chinese general be as knowledgeable as a Qiang Hu bastard?" Xu Huang was also holding back his anger today and spoke without mercy.
Ma Chao was furious, pointed his gun at Xu Huang and yelled: "Xu Huang is a dog thief, I swear to kill you!"
Xu Huang let out a breath of anger, looked up to the sky and laughed. He was even more worried about the safety of the camp, so he beat his horse and drove away.
Ma Chao roared angrily, and stabbed the willow tree on the bank with a backhand shot. There was a loud bang, and the old willow tree with a thick waist was penetrated by the shot.
With another loud shout, he split the willow tree in two, causing sawdust to fly. He gritted his teeth and cursed: "Xu Huang, I swear I will capture you alive, eat your flesh, and sleep on your skin."
Ma Chao was furious and rushed to Zhi County with his troops, preparing for a killing spree. Unexpectedly, the defenders surrendered in Kaicheng and sat alone in the government office until dawn.
The men and horses were delivered the next day, and the horses were left to guard the city. He ordered: "Zhi County is connected to Hedong and Bingzhou. There are many merchants coming and going. Escort agencies often divert here. You must run your business well and make a lot of money."
Ma Sheng was reluctant this time: "I just want to follow my brother into battle and kill the enemy. I am not interested in money."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Ma Chao was irritable and scolded: "If you don't have money or food, what will you use to fight?"
Ma Sheng and Ma Le, one is good at running industries and the other is good at training war horses. The Ma family's transactions with the Qiang people in Xiliang and various parts of the Western Regions were all completed by Ma Sheng alone.
In recent years, Ma Teng's troops entered Guanzhong and fought with Han Sui and other Xiliang princes. Half of the money and food were raised by Ma Chao. Ma Chao recommended him to guard Zhi County just to raise military expenses.
Only then did Ma Chu understand. He happily accepted the order and sent Ma Chao and Guo Huai away. He immediately summoned the county magistrate and city officials to register all the shops, business names and frequent escort agencies in the city, and prepared for a big fight.
Ma Chao led his troops back to Heyang. Fifty thousand horses had crossed the river, and Xiliang's 30,000 cavalry were huge. However, the cavalry consumption was also very high, so preparations had to be made early.
Guo Huai went to the government office and took the initiative to plead guilty to Xu Shu. He underestimated the enemy's carelessness for a while and failed in his trial. Most of his men and horses were injured. He suffered a big setback when he sent out troops for the first time, and he felt ashamed.
Xu Shu had already known the news about Zhi County and said: "Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists. I didn't expect Xu Huang to be so bold. You finally took Zhi County and turned your merits into sins."
Guo Huai cupped his fists and said, "One day, I will defeat Xu Huang and avenge my previous humiliation."
Xu Shu smiled happily and said: "Xu Huang is a good general in the world and has experienced many battles. It is not a shame for you to be defeated by him."
Ma Chao gritted his teeth and said, "Xu Huang also performed meritorious service in escorting him back then. Unexpectedly, he took advantage of the situation and defected to Cao Cao. The hero turned out to be a helper of evil. It's a pity."
The two exchanged insults, but after a fight with Xu Huang and seeing that he was both wise and brave, Ma Chao felt a sense of sympathy for each other.
Xu Shu said: "Now the Wei State is besieged on all sides. I expected that there were Yun Chang and Kong Ming, but no one can take them. Even if Cao Cao's thieves come to Xuzhou in person, it will be difficult to reverse the decline. Xu Huang can't stand alone in Hanoi, and he will be defeated sooner or later. If he wants to capture this Meng Qi still needs to help."
Ma Chao laughed and said: "Don't worry, military advisor. Next time you meet Xu Huang, I guarantee that I will be able to capture him."
Before he finished speaking, someone heard a loud voice: "How can you kill a chicken with a bull's knife? If you want to capture Xu Huang, one person is enough!"
Xu Shu turned around and saw a general with a tiger's back and a bear's waist, eight feet tall and a body like an ape. It was Ma Chao's deputy general Pang De. He couldn't help but nodded and said with a smile: "Ling Ming is enough to fight against Xu Huang."
This Pang De was also a Xiliang warrior. He originally worked for Ma Tengzhou. He followed him to pacify the Qiang and Di. He had many military exploits and moved to Xiaowei. He once defeated Guo Yuan with Ma Chao in Hedong and Gao Qian personally beheaded Guo Yuan. , his martial arts skills are on par with Ma Chao.
Since Xu Shu rushed thousands of miles to aid Jincheng and rescued Ma Chao and his party in Wuquan Mountain, everyone has been deeply moved by him. He also helped them defeat Han Sui and take revenge, and pacified Xiliang. Everyone has shown sincere sympathy to him.
Seeing Pang De asking for orders, Ma Dai was also eager to give it a try. He chuckled and said, "Xu Huang can't hold up a tree alone. I already have a strategy to capture the enemy!"
