Ma Chao violated military orders and was publicly punished by Xu Shu. He was beaten to a bloody pulp. The three armies, especially the Xiliang army, were in awe. Although they felt dissatisfied, they also restrained themselves a lot and no one dared to act rashly again.
In the evening, Xu Shu finished counting the grain and grass and came to visit Ma Chao. The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.
Xu Shu looked at the injury and exclaimed: "This golden sore medicine is indeed made by the divine doctor Hua himself. It has scabbed over after more than two hours."
Ma Chao said: "Thanks to Yuan Zhi's mercy. Although he was punished by the stick, his muscles and bones were not injured. It was just a flesh injury. Otherwise, I might have to lie down for several months."
Xu Shu smiled and said: "I captured Xu Huang all because of Meng Qi's power. The battle is about to begin, how can I injure a tiger general and make the Wei army happy?" Ma Chao was startled, and then said in surprise: "Yuan Zhi did not want to capture me Escort to Luoyang?"
Xu Shu sighed: "Today I beat Meng Qi because I had no choice but to punish him in Luoyang, but it was not my intention. It was just a ruse!"
Ma Chao couldn't help but get up again, clasped his fists and said: "As the military counselor orders, Ma Chao is willing to go to pieces, no matter what."
Xu Shu told him, "General, I will temporarily return to Mengjin to recover from my injuries. When my plan comes true, I will send someone to pick him up."
Seeing that Ma Chao was unharmed, Xu Shu breathed a sigh of relief and came to visit Guo Huai again. His physical condition was far inferior to Ma Chao. Although he suffered less injuries, he was seriously injured and still cannot get off the ground.
Seeing Xu Shu's arrival, Guo Huai hurriedly went to the ground to salute, but Xu Shu held him down and said with tears: "I regret not listening to my husband's instructions, which caused such a disaster and harmed others and myself."
Xu Shu sat on the edge of the couch and sighed: "When General Ma asked you to join the army, I already knew it!"
"This..." Guo Huai was startled and suddenly realized: "So what you said about waiting for the opportunity is to wait for General Ma to send troops?"
"That's right!" Xu Shu nodded and said, "Meng Qi has an impatient temper, and you are eager to perform meritorious service. I guess you will be unable to restrain yourself. The Xiliang Army has always neglected military discipline and was arrogant and domineering. If punishment is not taken early, it will surely invade the Central Plains in the future. In order to cause a big disaster, this time is not only to temper General Ma, but also to suppress the arrogance of the Xiliang army. By the way... I also want you to remember that you need to be cautious when using your troops. Did Bo Ji ever blame me?"
Guo Huai had actually vaguely guessed that Xu Shu might have done it intentionally. Although he was willing to be punished, he always felt that he was being calculated. Seeing Xu Shu being honest and honest at this time, he couldn't help but be moved and said hurriedly: "Sir taught you a very good lesson. The student can only get the superficial results. From now on, Keep it in mind.”
Xu Shu nodded happily and asked with a smile: "Did you know that my plan will work out?"
Guo Huai lowered his head and thought for a moment, with a look of determination on his face: "I am a general of Wei. Sir, I was responsible for the two of you. He escorted General Ma back to Luoyang and left me in the camp. Could it be that he was trying to trick me into surrendering to Xu Huang? "
Xu Shu shook his head and said with a smile: "Xu Huang is a wise general. He is cautious and prudent. This strategy cannot be used."
Guo Huai frowned, and after a while he shook his head and said, "Sir, you are very resourceful. Please forgive me for being stupid, but I don't understand the secret."
Xu Shu said: "The only thing Xu Huang is afraid of is the superiority of horses! Now I have wounded him and taken him to Luoyang. He will wait for the opportunity to send troops. If he wants to turn defeat into victory, he will use his plan."
Guo Huai frowned and said: "Xu Huang is holding firm and is waiting for help. I may not send troops easily."
Xu Shu smiled and said: "If we just stand still, Xu Huang will not dare to go out. If I divide our troops to capture the wild king, how will he respond?"
Guo Huai pondered and said: "The Wild King is east of Jishui. If we only attack it with a partial force, we may not be successful. If we send a large army to attack it, the camp will be empty. If we take the Wild King, we can directly attack Wen County. The defense line here will be broken if it is not attacked." , if Xu Huang wants to save the wild king, he needs to use a strategy to encircle Wei and save Zhao..."
When Guo Huai thought of this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he finally understood Xu Shu's plan. He didn't expect that he had foreseen today's situation when he divided his troops and set up camp. He couldn't help but admired: "Sir, you have foresight and foresight, and I can't take any chances!"
Xu Shu nodded and said with a smile: "I divided my troops to attack the wild king. Xu Huang knew that I was very resourceful and thought that the feint attack on this road was a plan to lure the snake out of its hole. There must be an ambush along the way, so I would not divide my troops to rescue him. But I rushed to attack the wild king with a large army and defended it. The army is in danger, and when Xu Huang sees that my camp is empty, he will break out all the cauldrons and boats to attack, so that he can defeat us in one fell swoop."
Guo Huai couldn't help but laugh and said: "It's hard to predict whether the master's plan is true or false. When Xu Huang entered the camp, he saw General Ma sitting in the middle of the army, just in time to avenge the previous empty camp."
"Kong Ming has entered Yanzhou, we can't fall too far behind." Xu Shu sighed with emotion and told Guo Huai to take good care of his injuries. When the time comes to use his plan, he will be assigned another important task.
The next day, soldiers escorted Ma Chao across the river to go south. The Han army suffered a defeat, and the morale of the Xiliang army was turbulent. Xu Shu ordered Li Yan to guard the left camp and train his troops day and night to improve their morale.
The weather has cleared up in the past few days, and the Jishui River has risen half a foot again, with rolling waves. Xu Shu saw that the hearts of the soldiers in Xiliang were gradually calming down, and Guo Huai was able to walk around in the ground, and summoned the generals to raise their tents to discuss matters.
As soon as he arrived at the tent, he saw Xia Houlan entering the tent with a letter and a happy face, laughing and saying: "Good news, great news."
Xu Shu looked indifferent and asked with a smile: "Could it be that there is another good news coming from Huainan!"
"Exactly!" Xia Houlan handed the letter to Xu Shu and said loudly: "My lord defeated the Wei army in Huainan, the traitor Cao died in the Huaihe River, Cao Ren and other generals were captured, and Xuzhou has been conquered!"
"hiss--"
There was a gasp of air in the tent, and everyone was stunned and in disbelief.
Xu Shu was also shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly picked up the letter and opened it. Although the information was simple, he also guessed that Yunbo must be treacherous in it.
"Cao A secretly conferred the title, is there still a hero in the world?" Xu Shu held the letter with emotion on his face.
In the past, Cao Cao was drinking and talking about heroes, thinking that the only heroes in the world were Liu Bei and Cao Cao. Unexpectedly, the situation changed and the two men died before they left the army. They both died in the water. It is really unpredictable.
"The thief Cao is finally dead, a good death!" Ma Dai opened his arms and laughed: "Uncle, you are in the Nine Heavens Spirit, you must have known about this, right?"
Pang De clenched his fist and roared: "My lord is mighty, you have saved our Xiliang army!"
Li Yan also did not expect that a generation of heroes would escape from death so many times. Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and Yuan Shao could not take their lives, but eventually died in the hands of the junior Liu Qi. Thinking about it now, Liu Zhang gave up Yizhou, which was really a wise move. .
With his mind spinning, he hurriedly clasped his fists and said: "This news must have spread throughout the Wei army. Taking advantage of the chaos in their hearts, they sent out troops in one fell swoop and defeated the enemy in front of them."
Xu Shu took a deep breath, calmed down, and said: "Don't you hear that arrogant soldiers will be defeated and sad soldiers will win? This matter needs to be done step by step. All generals must listen to my orders and act without care."
Everyone knew that Xu Shu's military law was strict, so they all calmed down and agreed, returning to their positions and waiting for the general's orders.
"Ma Dai and Li Yan listen to the order!" Xu Shu issued the order: "I order you two to lead 20,000 troops, and then allocate 3,000 elite cavalry to kill the Benye King. You must capture the city within three days."
"No!" The second general took the order and left.
Xu Shu then ordered Pang De: "General Pang will lead five thousand elite cavalry and patrol along the river to intimidate the Wei army."
Pang De took the order and left, and Xu Shucai secretly told Guo Huai: "After dark, you will lead three thousand men and horses to the upper reaches of Jishui River to fill the river and store water. If you see a fire in the camp, flood it with water and come back to help in the battle. "
