Ma Xihe suffered heavy losses in the "Battle of Pushezhou", so he thought of using barbarian mercenaries to overthrow Ma Xiguang.
As mentioned earlier, Hunan's economy was developed and prosperous during the May and Yin Dynasties, especially the international metropolis Tanzhou. According to word of mouth among the barbarian tribes, it was simply a paradise on earth and they were full of yearning for Tanzhou. After receiving Ma Xi'e's letter, they were overjoyed and rushed to send troops to respond. A large number of barbarian troops met at the border, dancing excitedly, shouting the slogan "Grab money, grain, and women" and rushed to Yiyang (today's Hunan Province). Yiyang City, located between Tanzhou and Langzhou).
Ma Xiguang sent general Chen Fan to fight, and the "Battle of Yiyang" began.
The two sides encountered each other at Yanxi, northeast of Yiyang, and Chen Fan was defeated and died.
The Langman coalition won the first battle, and their morale was greatly boosted. They marched on the victory and captured Ditian (today's north of Xiangxiang City, Hunan Province), and killed Zhang Yansi, the defender of Ditian.
Ma Xiguang sent general Huang Chuchao to help, but Huang Chuchao was also defeated and killed.
Ma Xiguang was completely panicked, and Cui Honglian hurriedly led 7,000 troops to garrison Yutan. Soon after, Cui Honglian of Yutan was also defeated and fled back to Tanzhou.
Yiyang, Yutan, and Ditian are located in the west of Tanzhou from north to south. Now, the western gate of Tanzhou was suddenly opened, completely exposed to the enemy's gunfire.
Ma Xi'e took advantage of the military, so he went to Liu Chengyou of the later Han Dynasty, hoping to set up another Nanchu office in Beijing (Jinzouwu) in Bianzhou.
Liu Chengyou issued an edict saying that Nanchu already had an office in Beijing, and rejected the request of the "two Chu states". At the same time, he issued an edict to Ma Xiguang to mediate the conflicts between the brothers.
Ma Xi'e, who was repeatedly rejected, became angry and sent envoys to Huainan to declare his vassalship and asked Huainan to send troops to assist him in attacking Tanzhou.
Good things come in pairs. Huainan had just destroyed the Min Kingdom, and Nanchu came to the doorstep. So he gladly accepted Ma Xi'e's surrender, granted him Tongping Zhangshi, rewarded him with all the taxes from Ezhou this year, and sent He Jingzhu to send troops to reinforce Ma Xi'e.
Ma Xi'e led the wolf into the house, and Huainan officially intervened in the civil war in Southern Chu.
The west side of Tanzhou is exposed to the threat of the Langman coalition. If reinforcements from Huainan, the neighbor to the east, appear from the east again, Tanzhou will be in danger.
Ma Xiguang hurriedly reported to Shangshu of the Later Han Dynasty, saying that Jingnan, Lingnan (Southern Han Dynasty), and Huainan were now united to carve up Southern Chu, and requested to send troops for support.
Tanzhou was in crisis, and Ma Xiguang looked sad. Liu Yanxin made a bold suggestion, saying that Langzhou's army was less than 10,000 people and its horses were less than 1,000, but we had 100,000 elite soldiers. What else should we worry about? There is a saying that to capture the thief first, capture the king. As long as we can defeat Ma Xi'e's headquarters, the reinforcements such as the barbarians and Huainan will inevitably collapse. I am willing to lead 150 battleships and 10,000 elite soldiers to attack Langzhou and capture Ma Xi'e alive!
Ma Xiguang believed this, so he ordered Liu Yanxin to attack Langzhou secretly.
However, such confidential military information was leaked immediately. The leaker is most likely Ma Xichong.
Liu Yanxin led his army back to Langzhou. Wherever he passed, the common people were eating pots of wine to welcome the king. The people lined the streets to welcome him, offering cattle, sheep and fine wine. They said to Liu Yanxin, "We are not willing to fight with the traitors and have always been looking forward to the king." We sent troops to quell the rebellion, and today we are looking forward to seeing our relatives!"
Liu Yanxin was very moved and believed it to be true. He even told the people around him that this was called getting too much help but not getting enough help. Ma Xihe's rebellion was unpopular with the people. Moved, Liu Yanxin took out a large amount of gold and silver treasures and rewarded them to the welcoming crowd, asking them to wait for the news of Master Wang's victory.
However, what Liu Yanxin didn't know was that these were all extras arranged by Ma Xi'e. As soon as Liu Yanxin's army passed by, these "common people" immediately stuck big bamboo poles in the water to form reefs and roadblocks, blocking the waterway and cutting off the retreat of Liu Yanxin's army.
Ma Xi'e sent a Langman coalition force with a total of 6,000 men and 100 warships to attack Liu Yanxin. The two sides met in Meizhou, south of Langzhou (today's west of Hanshou County, Hunan Province), and a fierce battle ensued.
At that time, Liu Yanxin was in the upper hand, so he ordered the fire to be set on fire, intending to destroy Langman Navy's boats and oars.
But I never thought that I was the clown. I don't know whether it was a coincidence or Zhuge Liang who took advantage of the east wind in the enemy camp. As soon as the flames ignited, the wind direction miraculously shifted 180 degrees. Liu Yanxin became the downwind, and the flames instantly engulfed Liu Yanxin's navy.
Liu Yanxin was horrified and hurriedly ordered a retreat. Only then did he realize that his retreat had been blocked by enthusiastic citizens. Thousands of Liu Yanxin's soldiers were killed, burned, or drowned in battle, and almost the entire army was wiped out.
The commander-in-chief of the cavalry, Zhang Hui, led his army to Langzhou via land. He and Liu Yanxin advanced by land and water, and the troops were divided into two groups. When he advanced to Longyang (now Hanshou County, Hunan Province), he heard the news that Liu Yanxin's entire army had been wiped out, so he hurriedly retreated to Yiyang. Ma Xihe sent Zhu Jinzhong and led 3,000 people to attack Yiyang.
Zhang Hui said to the defenders: "I will lead my troops out of the city and go behind the enemy's back. Let's attack from head to tail!" However, when he led his troops out of the city, he went directly back to Tanzhou.
After Zhu Jinzhong learned that General Yiyang had escaped before the battle, he launched a fierce attack unscrupulously. The nine thousand defenders of Yiyang were completely wiped out.
At this point, the plan to surprise Langzhou failed completely, and the two armies were almost completely wiped out.
When the news came, Ma Xiguang cried again and was so frightened that he didn't know what to do.
Liu Hongxi of the Southern Han Dynasty commented on Ma Xiguang and said that he was stingy and stingy, which was not unjust. Ma Xiguang was cowardly and incompetent, and he was still a hard-core man who never rewarded the troops. Now, facing the disastrous defeats of the "Battle of Yiyang" and "Battle of Meizhou", someone reminded Ma Xiguang that he should reward the army in exchange for the loyalty of the soldiers.
So, Ma Xiguang gritted his teeth and took out a large amount of gold and silver treasures to reward the army. This time, he cried even harder.
Someone accused Ma Xichong of spreading rumors in the city and disturbing the morale of the army. The evidence was conclusive and irrefutable, and they requested that he be sentenced to death.
Ma Xiguang cried again and said another "Cantonese-style quotation":
"He is my brother. If I kill him, will I still have the face to see my father again?"
Ma Xiguang sent his aide Meng Pian to persuade Ma Xihe, "Huainan and our Southern Chu have a feud between father and brother, but you colluded with Huainan. What is the difference between your behavior and Yuan Tan's collusion with Cao Cao?"
After the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao died of grief and anger. His sons fought for power and killed each other. The eldest son Yuan Tan colluded with his former enemy Cao Cao to deal with his younger brothers Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang. In the end, the Yuan family's power was completely annexed by Cao Cao. Ma Xi'e's behavior in colluding with Huainan is indeed exactly the same as Yuan Tan's behavior.
Ma Xi'e was furious and planned to behead the sharp-tongued Meng Pian to vent his anger.
