Fa Zheng said: "After all, Cao Cao has 280,000 troops, which should not be underestimated.... ”

"Filial piety, rest assured, I won't underestimate Cao Cao." Liu Bei said to Zhuge Liang: "Tomorrow, Ma Chao's Xiliang army will arrive in Nanzheng, Mr. Lao will persuade him, and then send troops to Yangping Pass." ”

"Yes."

Zhuge Liang responded.

Ma Chao came from Xiliang and walked for almost a month, consuming countless grains and grass, and the army was also very tired. After he arrived in Hanzhong County, he got in touch with Liu Bei and then stationed in the camp to rest.

Zhuge Liang was ordered to persuade.

Inside the account.

Everyone took their seats.

Ma Chao stared at Zhuge Liang for a long time, and said unhappily: "A few days ago, I sent someone to send a letter to ask Uncle Huang and Zhang Lu to reject Cao Cao. Why did Uncle Huang still insist on attacking Zhang Lu, and was he unwilling to unite with me? ”

Although Ma Chao is reckless, he is not stupid at all.

I asked the key point all of a sudden.

No matter how Zhuge Liang answers, he will be at a disadvantage.

"Why did General Meng Qi say this? Uncle Huang has always respected the general, and he looks forward to uniting with the general every day to fight Cao Cao. He sent 2,000 stone of grain to the army with his order, how could he refuse the general's kindness? Zhuge Liang was very tactful and cleverly diverted the topic.

"Hehe... Two thousand stones.... ”

Ma Chao heard this number and chuckled a few times.

If it was before, he would be very grateful to Liu Bei, and even set up a banquet to entertain Zhuge Liang. But over the years, Yuan Xi has assisted Ma Chao several times, and each time he has given tens of thousands of stone grains. Liu Bei only gave a mere 2,000 stones, which was too stingy.

"Liu Bei has already obtained Yizhou, and he has more than a dozen counties, so he asked you to send 2,000 stone grain to the labor army? I have 50,000 horsemen here, do you think that's enough? Ma Chao said.

Ma Dai on the side also snorted: "We came all the way from Xiliang, and the grain and grass have long been exhausted. If Uncle Huang doesn't give food, why should we go to war? ”

Ma Chao said again: "Sir, don't forget, we trekked through mountains and rivers to Hanzhong to help you resist the enemy." Especially now that Hanzhong belongs to the emperor's uncle, the grain and grass of our army should be solved by the emperor's uncle. ”

"This..."

When Zhuge Liang mentioned the matter of grain and grass, he just wanted to divert the topic, and he never wanted to cause so much dissatisfaction with Ma Chao and Ma Dai. To be honest, 2,000 stone grains is already a lot. A small half of Liu Bei's grain and grass has been used.

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "General Meng Qi, Uncle Huang sits on the twelve counties of Yizhou, and the land is vast and rich, how can he be in arrears of grain and grass and lose his hospitality?" You can rest assured, within 15 days, tens of thousands of stones of grain and grass will be transported to Hanzhong, and Xiliang's brothers will never be starved. ”

"If this can be done, it will not be in vain for me to come all the way."

Ma Chao didn't know that he had fallen for Zhuge Liang.

Originally, he was ordered by Yuan Xi to come to help Zhang Lu and Liu Bei, and rejected Cao Cao together. And Liu Bei insisted on eliminating Zhang Lu after receiving Ma Chao's letter, which in itself was tantamount to refusing Ma Chao's help. Ma Chao can use this as an excuse to question Liu Bei. In the next battle, Liu Beijun will be the main battle, and the Xiliang army will help the battle.

In fact, at the beginning, Ma Chao also thought so.

However, Zhuge Liang's use of grain and grass to work the army diverted the topic and made Ma Chao enter a misunderstanding. Then he took the initiative to mention that he was here to help Liu Bei...

Zhuge Liang even took the opportunity to put up the master's shelf, counting Ma Chao's Xiliang Army as a guest from afar.

In this way, Hanzhong County should be Liu Bei's.

And on the issue of grain and grass, Zhuge Liang also had the upper hand. At first, Ma Chao was afraid that there was too little food and grass and was reluctant to fight. But Zhuge Liang said that tens of thousands of stone grains were about to reach the front line. In other words, if the Xiliang army has food and grass, there is no reason to refuse to fight again. The next battle should also be carried out by the Xiliang Army.

Ma Chao was still happy about the grain and grass, thinking that Liu Bei really had tens of thousands of stones of grain for him.

Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to say: "General Meng Qi, Cao Cao's army has approached Yangping Pass, and the big battle is imminent, so there is no room for delay." Uncle Huang knew that the Xiliang army was good at fighting, and had ordered all the garrisons of Nanzheng to go to Yangping Pass, and when the general's army arrived, it was commanded by the general to fight Cao Cao. Uncle Huang also said that although my Yizhou army is an infantry army and is not good at field warfare, it must definitely bear the heavy responsibility of being the vanguard, even in the face of Cao Cao's tiger and leopard cavalry, it must fight to the death, regardless of life and death! ”

Ma Chao was very comfortable in these words.

He nodded and said, "Okay, I will give the order tomorrow and the whole army will go to Yangping Pass." But... Is Uncle Huang really willing to hand over the army under his command to me for command? ”

"This is nature, the combat effectiveness of the Xiliang Army, that is known to the world."

"That being the case, I won't let Uncle Huang down." Ma Chao was already planning in his heart that if he fought with Cao Cao, the Xiliang Army should assume the vanguard responsibility. Because Liu Bei handed over the command of the army to him, he couldn't take Liu Bei's army to death, that would be too unjust.

..............

Due to Zhuge Liang's sophistry, Ma Chao's Xiliang army marched towards Yangping Pass. At the same time, Liu Bei handed over Zhuge Liang's 40,000 infantry troops to Yangping Pass to help in the battle.

The only accompanying generals were Huang Zhong and Wei Yan.

Soon arrived at Yangping Pass.

Wei Yan replaced Guan Yu and led an army of 10,000 to defend the city.

The rest of the troops went out of the city, and according to Zhuge Liang's suggestion, two large camps were built on the north side of Yangping Pass. A 40,000-foot army, secretly combined with the formation. A 50,000-iron horse, with more roadblocks.

These two military camps echo each other with Yangping Pass, forming a momentum of rushing to help.

Cao Cao was afraid of Zhuge Liang's treacherous scheme, retreated ten miles, and also set up several large camps, all of which were located at key crossings to prevent Ma Chao's cavalry from breaking through and attacking the rear road by detour.

This is what Sima Yi taught, no matter what, you should pay attention to your own back.

"Wei Yan replaced Guan Yu and guarded Yangping Pass, with a force of about 10,000. Outside Yangping Pass, there are 50,000 Xiliang troops led by Ma Chao and 40,000 foot soldiers led by Zhuge Liang, and the combination formation of tiger wing formation and ground trapping formation is very mysterious and extremely difficult to attack. Sima Yi, as a military advisor, stood in front of the map to introduce the situation to Cao Cao.

"Before, Guan Yu Zhen guarded Yangping Pass, we attacked for several days without success, and now the enemy has increased troops, and then Ma Chao and Zhuge Liang, we have almost no chance of winning... The minister suggested that tens of thousands of suspicious soldiers be left to feint, and the whole army retreated to Qishan, and then to Chencang, to capture Xiliang. ”

"You want me to give up Hanzhong?"

Cao Cao was a little displeased.

Xun You said: "This is absolutely not good. We trekked through mountains and rivers and walked more than a thousand miles before we arrived at Yangping Pass. After a few days of siege, how can you turn it back? ”

Jia Xu said at this time: "Zhongda's suggestion is a bit conservative... ”

"We have an army of nearly 300,000, and Liu Bei and Ma Chao are only 100,000. Before the fight starts, we will withdraw, will we lose the majesty of the imperial court? will also make Liu Bei look down on me. He is getting more rampant every day. Chancellor suggests... Let's fight a few games first, try Zhuge Liang, if you really can't beat it, then retreat to the second, it's not too late to take Xiliang. ”

Cao Cao also said: "That's right. Anyway, Ma Chao is in Yangping Pass, and it is impossible to return to Xiliang within a few months. ”