Zhang Lu was at a loss, and after listening to Zhang Wei's words, he nodded and agreed.

Zhang Wei took Yang Ang, Yang Ren and a group of Hanzhong generals to Yangping Pass. Zhang Lu was behind, and allocated grain and grass.

Yang Ren was very familiar with the topography of Yangping Pass, and suggested: "There is a pass before Yangping Pass, and the terrain is extremely dangerous. It is better to build a camp on this pass to defend it, and the Yuan army can't even enter a single soldier. ”

Zhang Weishen thought so, and said: "I will defend Yangping Pass, and the two of you will go to the pass to build a village to prepare for war." ”

Yang Ang and Yang Ren took the order and left.

Ma Chao was avenging, led 10,000 soldiers and horses, and entered the territory of Hanzhong, and went all the way to Nanzheng, the capital of Hanzhong.

Ahead of the Malay newspaper, there are still forty miles away from Yangping Pass.

Ma Dai persuaded him: "Brother should not be in a hurry, now he has arrived in the territory of Zhanglu, and the soldiers have been marching for a day and two nights, and their bodies are tired. It is better to camp and rest for the time being, and wait until you have enough strength to attack the pass before it is too late. ”

Ma Chao said: "I regard Hanzhong as a pattern in the palm of my hand, and Zhang Lu and others are all local chickens and dogs. During the Battle of Chang'an, Zhang Lu sat on a strong city, but he was still defeated by our army, how could he stop me with just one pass today?"

So Ma Chao gave an order, and the vanguard army went to fifteen miles before Yangping Pass, before digging a trench and setting up camp.

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, a fire broke out in the camp. Ma Chao hurriedly put on his horse and led Ma Dai and others to meet the enemy; it turned out that Yang Ang and Yang Ren were killed in two ways to rob the camp.

The camp was on fire and was attacked again, and the morale of Ma Chao's army was greatly reduced. What's more, Ma Chao's army traveled under the stars and nights, and the soldiers were tired, and the terrain in front of Yangping Pass was dangerous, which was not enough for the cavalry to show their strengths.

The two fought each other, even though Ma Chao was brave and unparalleled, and he killed two Hanzhong generals in a row, but he could not recover the defeat of the soldiers. Seeing that he was about to be surrounded and killed by Zhang Lujun's soldiers, Ma Chao did not dare to fight, so he could only fight and retreat with Ma Dai and Ma Yunlu.

It was only at dawn that Zhang Lu's military collected his troops and returned to the pass.

Ma Chao's inspector was robbed this time and lost more than 3,000 people, which can be said to be a disadvantage.

This is also the result of Ma Chao's brave battle, which made Zhang Lujun jealous. If you change to a commander with a low force value, I am afraid it will be even worse, and it is difficult to say whether there will be 3,000 people left.

The loss of 3,000 men was secondary, but the camp was robbed at the first arrival, and the morale of the vanguard army was almost lost, and a pessimistic mood permeated everywhere.

These vanguard armies originally belonged to the Yuan clan, although they were not the most elite troops, but they also fought many victorious battles in the southern and northern wars. Under Bai Xiaowen's hands, how could they have suffered such a loss?

Ma Chao has always had his own unique means of boosting morale. He ordered the camp to be rebuilt, and then led 500 cavalry to challenge in front of the pass camp of Yang Ang and Yang Ren.

However, after Yang Ang and Yang Ren experienced the battle of Chang'an and last night's battle, they knew Ma Chao's courage and avoided fighting. When Ma Chao led his army closer, he was repelled by a rain of arrows.

If he can't kill the generals in front of the two armies, Ma Chao will not be able to recover the low morale, and it will be even more impossible to urge these 7,000 soldiers to attack the pass.

Ma Chao was depressed, but there was nothing he could do.

Ma Yunlu persuaded: "Brother don't worry, when the army of Duke Yan comes, there will be a good way to break through." ”

Ma Chao didn't listen to this sentence, but after listening to it, he was even more bored, and looked at his hands in a daze.

Ma Dai saw Ma Chao's small emotions and said: "Although our army was robbed, because of my brother's bravery, he did not suffer a big loss; Since the enemy army is avoiding and not fighting, we can send more detailed reconnaissance horses, go deep into the vicinity of Yangping Pass, draw geographical patterns, and then study the strategy of breaking the enemy. ”

Ma Chao nodded and adopted Ma Dai's opinion.

However, after a few days of drawing geographical graphics, after research, Ma Chaojun found that the danger of Yangping Pass was really a bit of a "one man, ten thousand people can't open" flavor.

There is a path, but it is so rough that even the horses can't get across. Yang Ang and Yang Ren are generals in Hanzhong, and they are more familiar with the terrain here, so they have already sent people to cut off the path, and they don't want to smuggle over at all.

Ma Chao was at a loss. And just three days later, Bai Xiaowen's army arrived at Yangping Pass.

Ma Chao met Bai Xiaowen, the Duke of Yanguo, and was full of shame when asked about the war.

Ma Yunlu and Ma Dai have found reasons to excuse their brothers.

Bai Xiaowen nodded and said, "The thief army is holding on to the danger, and it is urgent and difficult to attack. This matter is no wonder Meng Qi. ”

In fact, Bai Xiaowen had long expected that Ma Chao would not be able to conquer it.

Not to mention conquering, if you can not be defeated, it is already good.

After all, the enemy waits for work at ease and guards at risk; Ma Chao is eager for revenge, travels under the stars and nights, and the terrain in front of the pass is dangerous, and it is not suitable for Ma Chao's "iron cavalry commander" style of charging into battle.

Military advisor Xun You said: "General Chenglie (referring to Ma Chao) has explored the geography of the mountains and rivers near here a few days before the pass?"

Ma Chao ordered someone to present the geographical map, and Xun You opened it to watch.

After a while, Xun You raised his head and said: "Duke Yan, your subordinates look at the terrain of Yangping Pass, and they can't break through by relying on a large number of people. Yan Gong needs to be prepared for a long stalemate. ”

Ma Chao felt a little better when he heard it, and it turned out that the army of Yan Guogong had no choice.

Bai Xiaowen said: "I have a plan, but I can break the pass camp." Once the camp is breached, Yangping Pass can be drummed down. If Zhang Wei can be captured, then Zhang Lu will surrender, and Hanzhong can be determined. ”

Ma Chao was stunned, but the generals of the Yuan army were all in a high mood, and the haze of the vanguard's defeat was swept away.

Ma Yunlu's gaze at Bai Xiaowen was full of admiration, but Bai Xiaowen didn't see it.

On the same day, Bai Xiaowen led a pro-army to the pass to check the terrain of the pass.

Unexpectedly, a drum sounded, and the ambush soldiers rose, and Yang Ang and Yang Ren fought in two ways.

Suddenly encountering a surprise attack, Bai Xiaowen's personal soldiers did not panic.

Cao Hong took the lead and resisted Yang Ang, and Zhang Xiu resisted Yang Ren.

Under Bai Xiaowen's dispatch, Camille, Li Shuyi and other friendly awakened people worked together to raid Yang Ren and try to kill him.

However, the hundreds of pro-soldiers around Yang Ren are not vegetarians, and all of them are good hands, protecting Yang Ren. In addition, Yang Ren's ability is not weak, and he fought for a while, and each of them retreated.

However, in this battle, he did not lose his troops like Ma Chao, but killed many soldiers of Zhang Lujun.

Yang Ang and Yang Ren reverted to the tactics of shrinking their heads and turtles, sticking to the pass and not going out.

"These two Hanzhong generals are very brave when they should fight, and they are calm when they shouldn't be fighting, but they are also generals. Bai Xiaowen gave an evaluation.

The next day, Bai Xiaowen took people to check the terrain in front of the village. This time, Er Yang learned to be obedient, and only sent his subordinates to scold in front of the village, and did not fight.