Soon Cheng Yi was killed by Xia Houyuan, and Ma Chao, Pang De, and Ma Dai divided into three groups and fought together. The two sides engaged in a melee that night and fought until dawn, then they each withdrew their troops. Ma Chao stationed his troops at Weikou and arranged for soldiers to attack every day. Cao Cao chained the rafts into three pontoons in the Wei River and connected them to the south bank. Cao Ren led his troops and horses on one side. Build camps to connect vehicles transporting food as a barrier.
After Ma Chao heard about it, he asked his military advisers to bring hay and fire to ignite the fire. He and Han Sui led their troops to the camp, placed the straw prepared in advance, and lit it on fire. Cao Cao's army could not resist and had to abandon the camp, so the vehicles and pontoon bridges were destroyed. The Xiliang soldiers won an unprecedented victory and cut off the Wei River. In this way, Cao Cao could not build a camp, and he was very worried.
Xun You said: "You can go to the sandy soil of the Wei River to build an earthen city. It will serve as a barrier and it will not be able to escape."
So Cao Cao sent 30,000 troops to build the earth city, and Ma Chao sent Pang De and Ma Dai with 500 soldiers to come and infect. Because the sandy soil had a relatively high water content, it was not strong at all, and some of the places built could easily collapse. , Cao Cao had no choice at this time.
It was already September, the weather was a bit cold, and the clouds had been gathering for several days, which made Cao Cao feel even more depressed.
Suddenly someone reported, "An old man is coming to see the Prime Minister and give him some advice."
Cao Cao invited him in. When he saw the man's crane-bone posture and ancient appearance, he thought he was not an ordinary person, so he asked about his origin. It turned out that he was from Jingzhao. He lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain all year round. His surname was Lou, his given name was Zibo, and his Taoist name was Mengmei layman.
Cao Cao was very hospitable and treated him with great etiquette. Zibo said, "The prime minister is planning to build a camp across the Wei River. Isn't now a good time to build it?"
Cao Cao said: "The sand and soil are not strong, and the construction cannot be completed. I wonder if the hermit has any good ideas?"
He replied: "The Prime Minister is like a god in using troops. Haven't you heard of the Tianshima? It has been cloudy recently and the weather is cold. When the wind blows, there will be a big freeze. When the wind blows, take the soldiers to transport the soil and add some water. By the next day, the earth city will be formed!"
Cao Cao knew that this was due to the weather. The soil turned into frozen soil, which was much stronger, so he wanted to reward him. Zibo did not accept it and left soon.
Sure enough, there was a strong north wind that night. Cao Cao asked all the soldiers to fill the building with soil and then pour water. Since there was no water container, he could only use the drinking water tools temporarily, then built and let the wind blow it away. Dry. By the next morning, when all the water has been frozen, the Tucheng will be completed.
Someone went to report to Ma Chao. Ma Chao came out with his soldiers and horses to observe. When he saw the hard earth city, he was a little surprised, thinking that Cao Cao had heaven and earth to help him.
In order to find out the reason, Ma Chao led the army to attack with drums. Cao Cao also personally went out, and only Xu Chu followed him.
Cao Cao raised his whip and shouted: "Cao Cao is riding here alone. Please ask the horse to come out and talk."
Ma Chao also walked out. Cao Cao said: "You are laughing at us for not being able to build the camp. We can complete it in one night. Why don't you surrender early!"
Ma Chao was furious and was about to step forward to capture Cao Cao. He saw a man standing behind Cao Cao with strange eyes and a steel knife in his hand, reining in his horse. He suspected that the man was Xu Chu, so he asked: "I heard that there is a tiger in your army. Where is he?"
Xu Chu raised his sword and shouted: "I am Xu Chu of Qiao County!" When he shouted, his eyes shone with divine light and he was full of majesty. Ma Chao's momentum was suppressed, so he turned his horse's head and returned first. Cao Cao also took Xu Chu back to the camp.
Cao Cao said to everyone: "The thieves also know that we have Xu Chu here?"
Everyone looked at each other in shock. Soon, it was reported in the army that Xu Chu was the Tiger Marquis, and he had a great reputation. Xu Chu said: "I will definitely capture Ma Chao in a few days."
Cao Cao said: "You have seen Ma Chao's bravery, don't underestimate the enemy!"
Xu Chu said: "I swear to fight him to the death!" After saying that, he sent someone to declare a challenge to Ma Chao, asking for a time to determine the winner in a one-on-one duel.
After receiving the challenge letter, Ma Chao was very angry and said: "Since you are so arrogant!" He immediately agreed to the time for a duel and vowed to kill Xu Chu.
On the second day, the armies on both sides left the camp and formed a formation. Ma Chao assigned Pang De as the left wing, Ma Dai as the right wing, and Han Sui escorted the central army. He stood in front of the formation with his spear drawn and his horse raised, shouting loudly: "Xu Chu, come out quickly and die!"
Cao Cao turned around under the banner and said to everyone: "Ma Chao's bravery is no less than Lu Bu's back then!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Chu clapped his horse and came out with his sword. Ma Chao stepped forward to fight for more than a hundred rounds. There was no winner or loser. The horses were tired, so they went back to the army to change horses and came to the front of the battle again. The two fought for more than a hundred rounds, but there was still no winner. Xu Chu became more energetic and energetic. When he returned to the formation, he took off his armor directly, came out to fight with his upper body naked, and once again fought with Ma Chao. At the same time, Xu Chu struggled to kill with his sword. After Ma Chao dodged, he stabbed Xu Chu in the heart with a spear. Xu Chu dodged and clamped the gun stick, so the two fought for it on horseback. Xu Chu was very strong and only heard With a sound, the gun actually broke alive. The two men held half of the gun and fought on the horse. Cao Cao was afraid that Xu Chu would be injured, so he ordered Xia Houyuan and Cao Hong to attack together.
After Pang De and Ma Dai saw it, they also fought out together, leading the cavalry on both sides to charge in a rampage, causing Cao Cao's soldiers and horses to become a mess.
In the chaos, Xu Chu was hit by two arrows in the arm. Cao Jun hurriedly pushed into the camp. Ma Chao directly killed people near the camp. Most of Cao Jun was injured. Cao Cao ordered that he could not hold on. Ma Chao arrived at Weikou and said to Han Sui: "Like today. Apart from Xu Chu, I have never seen another person who fought fiercely, he is really a tiger idiot!"
Cao Cao thought that Ma Chao could be defeated through strategy, so he secretly ordered Xu Huang and Zhu Lingdu to cross the river to build a camp in the west, and attack from both front and rear.
One day, Cao Cao was on Tucheng and saw Ma Chao leading hundreds of cavalry to the camp. The speed was very fast, as if he was flying. Cao Cao looked at it for a long time, left the tools in his hands on the ground, and sighed: "If this horse doesn't die, I will never be buried!"
After hearing this, Xia Houyuan was very angry and said: "Even if I die in this place, I will swear to destroy the horse thieves." After saying that, he led thousands of troops from his headquarters, opened the door of the camp, and rushed directly.
Cao Cao wanted to stop Xia Houyuan but it was too late. He was afraid that Xia Houyuan was in danger, so he mounted his horse to meet him. Ma Chao saw Cao Cao's army coming, so he placed the front army as the rear team and the rear team as the vanguard.
After Xia Houyuan arrived, Ma Chao went directly to fight. He saw Cao Cao's position in Cao's army, put down Xia Houyuan and rushed towards Cao Cao. When Cao Cao saw it, he was very surprised and quickly turned his horse's head. Cao's soldiers suddenly became chaotic. .
