So Ma Chao entered the camp again to kill Han Sui, but found that he had been rescued, and the soldiers and horses in the camp began to move. Ma Chao quickly mounted his horse, Pang De and Ma Dai both came, fighting with each other. Ma Chao led his soldiers and horses to fight out, and found that Cao Cao's troops had also arrived, with Xu Chu in front, Xu Huang behind, Xia Houyuan on the left, Cao Hong on the right, and then Cao Cao's troops arrived. Looking at the soldiers and horses in Xiliang, fighting each other, Ma Chao did not see Pang De and Ma Dai, and left with more than a hundred cavalry in the direction of Weiqiao. The sky had gradually become brighter, and he saw Li Kan passed by with a group of soldiers and horses, and Ma Chao went directly to attack. Li Kan could only hide his head and run away. Just as Yu Jin's soldiers and horses came from behind Ma Chao, Yu Jin fired his bow and arrow. Ma Chao heard a sound from behind and instinctively went down. Lowering his head, Li Kan was hit by a bow and arrow. He fell off his horse and died of bleeding from his mouth.
Ma Chao turned back to kill Yu Jin. When Yu Jin saw it, he quickly retreated. Ma Chao returned to station on the bridge. Cao Cao's army came. The escort was the vanguard. Ma Chao was killed with random arrows. Ma Chao used his gun to push away the bows and arrows. Seeing that all the bows and arrows shot at Ma Chao fell to the ground, Ma Chao asked the cavalry to attack. Unfortunately, Cao Cao's defense was very tight and there was no way. In despair, Ma Chao shouted and rushed into Hebei. The other cavalry following him were cut off. Ma Chao He was fighting around in the formation alone, but his mount was hit by some bows and arrows. He also fell to the ground, and Cao Cao was about to kill him.
At this critical moment, a pair of men and horses suddenly came out to fight. It was Ma Dai and Pang De who gave their horses to Ma Chao, turned over and fought a bloody road, and fled to the northwest.
Cao Cao saw Ma Chao leaving and sent an order, saying: "Whether it is day or night, we must capture this horse. If we can get his head, we will reward him with a thousand taels of gold and make him a Marquis of Ten Thousand Houses. Anyone who can capture him alive will be rewarded." As a general."
This reward was very generous, and everyone was preparing to perform meritorious service. Without the usual procrastination, Ma Chao saw that his pursuers were coming very quickly, and he could only continue running without taking a break. Some of the infantry following him could not catch up, and they were all captured alive by Cao Jun. In the end, he only There were more than thirty people left, and they continued to flee towards Longxi with Pang De and Ma Dai.
Cao Cao personally led his troops to pursue Anding. When he learned that Ma Chao had left far away, he called for a discussion with his soldiers and said: "Now Ma Chao and Han Sui are fighting each other. The Xiliang army will be defeated without attacking. However, the rain thieves will also cause trouble." We should pay attention, where is he?"
A counselor reported: "The rain thieves are stationed in Ziwu Valley. The place is very dangerous and surrounded by mountains."
Cao Cao said: "Although the rain thief is weak, he is still a serious threat. If he is left unchecked, it will make the surrounding areas unstable. I'd better lead the troops to destroy him personally."
Jia Xu stood aside at this time, thinking of solutions quickly in his mind.
No one objected to the proposed method, and Cao Cao prepared to prepare to attack Ziwu Valley. At this time, Jia Xu said: "Now that Xiliang has been newly defeated, Ma Chao has penetrated deep into the northwest, our army is already exhausted, and Liu Bei and Sun Quan are eyeing the Central Plains. If the Prime Minister is too strong, If you are distracted, bad people may take advantage of it. Ziwu Valley is a barrier to Xichuan. To the southwest is Hanzhong, which is Zhang Lu's territory. The prime minister can write to Zhang Lu and ask for an attack on Rain Thief, and then there will be a battle in Hanzhong. , the Prime Minister can reap the benefits."
It turns out that Xiliang's counterinsurgency plan was made by Jia Xu, and what he said this time suited Cao Cao's taste. He immediately ordered to return to Chang'an and settle the generals. Han Sui had already had his left hand chopped off and became a cripple. Cao Cao asked Han Sui to Then he rested in Chang'an, and in accordance with the previous agreement, he was awarded the title of Marquis of Xiliang. Yang Qiu, Candidate and others all awarded the title one after another, and ordered to guard Weikou. After settling in, they returned to Xu with the civil servants and generals. All.
Yang Fu, named Yishan, who joined the army in Liangzhou, went to Cao Cao. Cao Cao asked him and replied: "Ma Chao is as brave as Lu Bu, and he has won the hearts of the Qiang people. If the prime minister does not destroy him now, he will be killed later. If he creates a situation, the counties in Longshang will definitely leave the control of the country again. I hope the Prime Minister can temporarily stop going back and eliminate Ma Chao before leaving!"
Cao Cao sighed: "Why don't I want to do this? I originally prepared troops and horses to conquer, but unfortunately there are many things going on in the Central Plains. There are still many people in the south who are watching with eagerness. I can't stay for a long time. I will definitely reserve some power for you."
Yang Fu paid his respects and recommended Wei Kang as the governor of Liangzhou. Together with him, he led troops to garrison the city of Hebei to prevent Ma Chao from attacking. When he saw off Cao Cao, he said, "Chang'an must leave heavy troops as back-up."
Cao Cao said: "I have already planned it, so don't worry."
On the way, people asked: "In the beginning, the bandits occupied Tongguan and Weibei was empty. The prime minister did not attack Feng Yi from Hedong District. Instead, he went to guard Tongguan. This lasted for a long time. Later, he crossed the river to the north and built a camp to defend it. Why? ?”
He replied: "At the beginning, the thieves guarded Tongguan. If we just arrived at the scene and went to the east of the river, the thieves would definitely divide their troops to guard other ferries. Then it would be difficult to cross to the west of the river. I deliberately left many soldiers and horses at Tongguan. I gathered in front of me and asked the thieves to guard the south, so Hexi would not be prepared, so Xu Huang and Zhu Ling could easily cross the river. Then I led the soldiers and horses to the north to cross the river, using the car and tree fence as a corridor, through the cold wind The formation of frozen soil as an ice city will make the thieves think that we are weak and let them lower their guard and have no preparations. I will use countermeasures again. Our army is also slowly accumulating strength. Once the opportunity is ripe, we will attack immediately. The so-called lightning speed means that on the battlefield, the situation changes very quickly, and it is not necessary to stick to one method."
Everyone asked again: "Every time the Prime Minister hears that Xiliang soldiers have increased in number, he is very happy. Why is this?"
Cao Cao said: "Guanzhong is located in a remote area. If the thieves and bandits rely on natural protection, even if I attack everywhere, there will be no way to quell them within a year or two. Now they are all gathered in one place. No matter how many people there are, the hearts of the people will not be complete." , can also be used to create discord and can be eliminated in one go, so I will feel very happy."
Then everyone suddenly realized and worshiped: "The Prime Minister's strategy is like that of an immortal, we can't compare!"
Cao Cao looked very humble and said with a smile: "This victory is not due to me alone, it is all thanks to you!" After saying that, he rewarded everyone and left Xiahou Yuan to guard Chang'an. As for the troops and horses that surrendered from Xiliang, he directly assigned to other places.
Xia Houyuan recommended a man, Feng Yi, from Gaoling, whose surname was Zhang, given name Ji, and given name Derong, as Jing Zhaoyin, to guard Chang'an with him.
In order to further reduce the pressure on food, Yu Yi asked Huang Shumin to train the soldiers in hunting life skills in the wild, and at the same time sought the consent of surrounding villages to reclaim several wastelands for recuperation. In addition to discussing politics with Diao Chan every day, Yu Yi also spent time in the camp. Learn about the surrounding wars by consulting ancient books.
