In the sixteenth year of Jian'an, 211 A.D., June.

Ma Chao defeated Zhang Wei in Baokou, and Zhang Lu abandoned the city and fled to Bazhong. Zhang Fei broke through Hanping, entered Hanzhong, Napang counted, rode to Nanxiang, and captured Zhang Lu, the Taishou of Hanning.

Lu Xun led the sergeants to set up a village on the south bank of the Han River, so that Yang Ang wrote to Yang Ren, the guard of Yangping. Yang Ren saw the letter and wanted to surrender to Lu Xun. However, he was afraid of Ma Chao, who had already obtained Nanzheng's money and food, and Han Sui's army outside the gate, so he hesitated.

Lu Xun got the retribution, and took advantage of the fact that the Guanxi soldiers were greedy for the wealth of Nanzheng and plundered in the north of the Han Dynasty, and led the army west to Dingjun Mountain, echoing Yang Ren of Yangping Pass.

Lu Xun wrote to Yang Ren again, saying that Zhang Lu had surrendered to Liu Bei, and now let him concentrate on resisting Han Sui with peace of mind, if Ma Chao and Han Sui attacked Yangping Pass, he would lead the army to cross the water to attack it and destroy Ma Chao's department.

When Yang Ren received the letter, he felt a little relieved, but he also hesitated. Zhang Lu, who then returned to Shun, sent a letter to Yang Ren to ask him to surrender to Lu Xun. In the end, after several twists and turns, the Yangping guards will return to Lu Xun.

At this time, Ma Chao had already noticed that there was a change in Yangping Pass, and hurriedly summoned the sergeants to the west to force Yangping Pass, but he was a step too late, and had no choice but to settle in Chuyang and confront Zhang Fei across the Han River.

Chuyang, Ma Chaojun's camp.

Ma Chao walked back and forth in the tent, acting impatiently, and said angrily: "If you didn't wait for the sergeant and delayed the speed of the march, how could Yangpingguan surrender to Zhang Fei?" ”

Ma Chao was not allowed to be angry, and he worked hard to get the treasury money of Nanzheng Mansion, and he was only one step away from being able to monopolize Hanzhong and establish his own foundation. However, these Kansai soldiers and horses are really not angry, they have been poor for too long, and they are dazzled by money, grain, and women when they enter Nanzheng.

The generals in the tent bowed their heads and were silent, and they had long been accustomed to Ma Chao's scolding. As long as Ma Chao can suppress them by force and can bring them rich.

Ma Dai saw that Ma Chao had been scolding for a long time, and his anger gradually subsided, so he was bold and asked, "Brother, what should I do now?" ”

Ma Chao sat back on the Hu chair, panting, and said in a muffled voice: "Zhang Feipifu and I are facing each other across the water, and with Yangping and Zhang Lu in hand, we can't fight lightly." If we want to defeat Zhang Fei now, perhaps the only way to lead Han Sui into Hanzhong is to repel Zhang Fei with the joint army. ”

"General, if Han Sui is brought into Hanzhong, isn't that the money and food obtained by our army should be shared with Han Sui?" Ma Play said reluctantly.

"Huh!"

Ma Chao sneered, stared at the horse with those compelling eyes, and said: "Zhang Fei has no less than 30,000 soldiers and horses, but now our army is only about 20,000, plus the newly acquired soldiers and civilians in Hanzhong are only 30,000. If you think you can win, I will divide your elite 5,000 to cross the river and camp on the south bank, and I will lead the army behind. ”

The horse blushed and did not dare to answer.

Seeing that his subordinates were speechless, Ma Chao also sighed and said, "If you don't want to let Han Sui enter Hanzhong, how can I be willing?" Zhang flew into Hanzhong, which was beyond my expectations. If you want to occupy Hanzhong now, you can only use the power of Han Sui to defeat Zhang Fei first, and then discuss internal affairs. ”

The situation is stronger than people, Zhang Fei surrendered Yangping Pass, and gained a foothold in Hannan, Ma Chao has no certainty of crossing the river to defeat Zhang Fei. It is only hoped that Han Sui will break through the Yangping Pass, enter Hanzhong, and work together to defeat Zhang Fei of Hannan.

Yangping Pass, backed by Jigong Mountain, south of Hanshui, the terrain is extremely dangerous, when it is the gateway to the west of Hanzhong. The Qishan Road in Longyou and the Jinniu Road in Bashu are Yangping Pass at the end of the road.

Due to Yang Ang and Zhang Lu, Yang Ren surrendered to Lu Xun and separated Ma Chao and Han Sui. Ma Chao is in the east, Han Sui is in the west, and Yangpingguan is in the middle.

Ma Chao sent his sergeants over the mountains, walked the trail and went through hardships, and finally delivered the letter to Han Sui.

Fu County, Han Sui army camp.

In the tent, Han Sui looked at the letter written by Ma Chao, laughed a few times, and said sarcastically: "Horses also have today? ”

As he spoke, Han Sui passed the letter to the generals on the left and right, and asked, "What do you think?" ”

Cheng Gongying arched his hand and asked, "I don't know what the general means?" ”

Han Sui stroked his beard and said: "Our army has gained a lot of civilian resources in Wudu, and there are a lot of goods. Ben Nian Yangping Pass is difficult to break, and wants to withdraw the army and return. However, Ma Chao's letter is here, and I am quite hesitant. ”

"Why don't the general take advantage of Ma Chao's presence in Hanzhong, turn around Chencang Road, enter the customs, break through Huaili, loot property and return to Jincheng." General Tian Le said.

"No!"

Cheng Gongying frowned and said: "The generals and horses are in full bloom, and our army's transfer to Guanzhong will lead to the fear of the generals in Guanxi." And Zhong Miao is sitting in Guanzhong, and when he sees the general like this, he will join the generals to discuss, and he must not do it. ”

The current situation in Guanzhong and Longyou is both chaotic and stable. In general, the generals in Guanzhong have their own territory, but due to the problem of Zhong Xuan's coordination and the long-term war in Kansai, the generals want peace instead. Han Sui's soldiers entering the customs will inevitably arouse the anger of everyone, so they will attack in groups.

Yan Xing pondered for a while and said: "General, Ma Chao has obtained the treasury of Hanzhong, with trillions of money, millions of grain and grass, and the treasury of Nanzheng Mansion alone is so rich, it can be seen that it is far beyond the comparison of Wudu. If we can enter Hanzhong and share the money with Ma Chao, our army will be a little stronger. ”

Yan Xing has long belonged to Cao Cao, and now he can't let Han Sui run away after finishing the civilian capital of Wudu. Only by letting Han Sui enter Hanzhong and fight with Ma Chaoda can he complete the task assigned to him by Cao Cao.

Han Sui thought for a long time and said: "Hanzhong is rich, how can you let the horses enjoy it alone." Nowadays, there is Ma Chao echoing in the pass, and it is not difficult to break the pass. I led the sergeants to besiege Yangping Pass, and Yanming led his troops to stay in the camp and hold on. ”

"No!" The generals will answer.

At the request of Ma Chao, Han Sui stayed in Yan Xing to guard the camp, and led Cheng Gongying, Tian Le, Yang Kui and other generals to supervise 20,000 troops and attack Yangping Pass.

——

Yangping Pass was in danger, but being attacked left and right by Han Sui and Ma Chao, Yang Ren was inevitably flustered. In order to appease Yang Ren, Zhang Fei added 2,000 soldiers and horses to Yang Ren, so that he could hold on to it with peace of mind. And Zhang Fei camped on the south bank of the Han River and in the area of Dingjun Mountain, and confronted Ma Chao.

It was said that the Han River passes through the Hanzhong Basin, and the south bank is dominated by hills and high ridges, and the north bank is dominated by plains and smooth roads. Therefore, in the narrow Hanzhong Basin, Zhang Fei relied on the high place on the south side of the Han River to overlook Ma Chaojun on the north side of the Han River.

In the half month since Han Sui stormed Yangping Pass, Ma Chao tried to cooperate with Han Sui many times to attack Yangping Pass from the east. However, Zhang Fei, who occupies the high place of Dingjun Mountain, can always take the movements of Ma Chao's department into his eyes, so as to make targeted arrangements.

For example, when Han Sui climbed the mountain to counterattack Yang Ren, Ma Chao led the army to cooperate and ordered Pang De to inspect the river bank and prevent Zhang Fei from flying north to cross the Han River.

Seeing this, Zhang Fei ordered people to build a pontoon bridge, divided the troops into multiple routes, regardless of casualties, and crossed the river to attack Pang De. Pang De couldn't stop it, Ma Chao had no choice but to return to the camp, and Zhang Fei retreated to the south bank.

After a few days of tossing, Ma Chao wanted to cooperate with Han Sui's plan to break the city and go bankrupt. Zhang Fei, who occupies the mountains of Hannan, is condescending, and Yangping Pass is a horn to each other, and has the advantage of vision, Ma Chao's movements cannot escape the eyes of the scouts.

Ma Chao had another plan, pretending to cooperate with Han Sui to attack Yangping Pass, but in fact, he secretly hid soldiers and horses in the camp, waiting for Zhang Fei to cross the river and attack. However, being seen through by Pang Tong, Zhang Fei stopped crossing the river, making Ma Chao's success fall short.

After repeating this for half a month, Ma Chao occupied the north of Hanshui with the advantage of cavalry, and Zhang Fei used the terrain to crack Ma Chao's offensive several times. However, Ma Chao discovered Zhang Feijun's loophole again and forced Zhang Fei to cross the river to fight.

In the tent, Fu Kuang's face was ashamed, and he said: "General, Ma Chao is extremely brave, Kuang wants to transport grain into the customs, but he is blocked, please punish the general." ”

"Bastard!"

Zhang Fei was angry, whipped Fu Kuang, and scolded: "I let Wu Lan sweep the battle for you, and there are many casualties among the soldiers and horses." Now you have failed to transport grain, how can you have the face to see me? ”

"Wait!"

Lu Xun stopped Zhang Fei's movements and persuaded: "General, Ma Chao is not an ordinary general, he has the courage of a tiger." The soldiers and horses of Kansai fought bravely, and they were not comparable to Wu Chu soldiers. Today's grain transportation, Ma Chao has been prepared for a long time, and it is not Yuan Bi's crime. ”

"Since the general entered Shu, he promised not to drink alcohol and not to whip the soldiers, how can he go back on his word now!" Pang Tong saw that Zhang Fei's anger had not subsided, and he also stepped forward to persuade Zhang Fei.

"Humph!"

"Now write down this whip, and if there is any more mistake, it should be dealt with by military law."

With the persuasion of Lu Xun and Pang Tong, Zhang Fei's anger gradually dissipated.

"General Xie!"

Fu Kuang said gratefully: "Thank you, Erjun! ”

Sitting back on the couch, Zhang Fei said: "The grain and grass in Yangpingguan are in an emergency, if the grain and grass cannot be sent into the pass, I am afraid that Yangpingguan will be difficult to keep for a long time." ”

Lu Xun frowned and said: "The Ma and Han armies know that our army is false and real, and they besiege Yangping Pass, cut off communication with the outside world, and want to force Yang Ren to surrender. If our army is not saved, Yang Ren will surrender sooner or later. When Han entered Hanzhong, Ma and Han joined forces, and our army was afraid that it would not be able to stop it! ”

After a month and a half, Ma Chao was not in a hurry, but was ready to cut off the grain and grass in Yangping Pass, play around the point to send reinforcements, and force Zhang Fei to cross the river to fight.

However, Zhang Fei had to be rescued again, Yang Ren surrendered not long ago, and it was not easy to appease, if he faced a predicament, it was not impossible for Yang Ren to surrender again.

Pang Tong stroked his beard and said sadly: "If you can defeat either Ma or Han, the remaining soldiers and horses will retreat without a fight." However, Han Sui is outside Yangping Pass, and Ma Chao is north of Hanshui, so it is not easy to break the two! ”

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up and said: "Ma Chao is located in the north of the Han River, and the terrain is vast, which is conducive to the galloping of cavalry. However, Han Sui's soldiers and horses were trapped in the mountain road, and it was difficult for the cavalry to use force, and Han Sui was unprepared for me. If you can get out of the customs today, it is not impossible to defeat Han Sui. ”

As he spoke, Zhang Fei couldn't help but get excited, greeted Li Xiu, Yan Pu, Yang Ang and other old generals in Hanzhong, and asked: "Micang Mountain is steep and complex, can there be a road in Hannan to the outside of the Guan?" ”

When the old general of Hanzhong frowned and pondered, Yan Pu had already gained something, and said: "General, there are many trails in Micang Mountain, and there is a connection with Jinniu Road. Dingjun Mountain goes to the southwest, you can go to the Golden Bull Trail by taking the trail, and you can go to the north to reach the Golden Bull Avenue, and you can go around to the outside of Yangping Pass. ”

As he spoke, Yan Pu outlined the path he said with his fingers on the map of Hanzhong.

Zhang Fei stared at the trail on the map, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled.

"I've got a plan to break the thief!"

A big chapter in the evening

(End of chapter)