Chapter 179: Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens

Blood dripped down, dyeing a piece of loess into mottled Chu red. Pang De raised Yang Qiu's head high, then leaped onto a hill with a sword. His tiger eyes scanned the surrounding battlefield, and saw the enemy soldiers who had lost their command like a group of headless flies, running around aimlessly.

"Yang Qiu's dog head is here, no one who is stubborn will end up like that!" Pang De shouted loudly, his roar shook the earth. In front of his awe-inspiring aura, no enemy soldier dared to step closer.

The news of capturing the thief and capturing the king and Yang Qiu's death suddenly spread like a winged bird, which quickly spread throughout the battlefield. This made the already unscrupulous soldiers even more frightened. Everyone was just rushing to escape. No matter how Wei Kang scolded and encouraged him, it could not arouse the soldiers' enthusiasm for fighting again.

The key to defeating the enemy is to make a concerted effort. Wei Kang understood that if he could not defeat the enemy before dawn, the result of waiting for him would be defeated by the enemy.

"Quickly retreat into the city and defend!" Wei Kang shouted in a hoarse voice with all his strength.

The city walls of Anding are high and easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as you can retreat into the city before Ma Chao escapes from the trap, Wei Kang is confident of blocking the entry of the enemy. However, the facts surprised him. When he retreats to Anding City, a flag with the word "Pang" on the city tower flutters and dances in the rising sun.

"Wei Kang, Pang Tong has been here for a long time!" On the top of the city, Pang Tong smiled. Shortly after Zhao Yun, Ma Dai and Pang De entered the enemy's formation, Pang Tong and Du Ji led the two hundred dead soldiers of the Jifeng Camp to dress up as Li Kan's defeated soldiers, pretending to retreat to the city to deceive the guards in Anding City. The guards who were happy to wait for good news were unprepared and were successfully captured by Pang Tong.

The trapping operation carefully planned by Jia Xu completely failed. Although Wei Kang, as the commander-in-chief of the battle, was praised as "young and mature", he could only sigh in the face of a war situation of thousands of holes.

At the time of the Chen Dynasty, the anti-Ma alliance collapsed. Helplessly, Wei Kang led some of the remaining soldiers to escape towards Chen Cang. Zhang Heng, who was trying to escape back to Pingxiang, was intercepted by Ma Chao in the middle of the road. As soon as the two horses intersected, Zhang Heng, who had long been terrified, was grabbed by Ma Chao and grabbed his belt and threw it to the ground.

"Tie!" With Ma Chao's order, the soldiers rushed forward to tie Zhang Heng who was struggling.

In the great victory of Anding, nearly 30,000 troops of the Allied Army who participated in the luring and killing of Ma Chao were killed in a night of fierce battle. Two main generals Yang Qiu and Li Kan were killed by Pang De and Zhao Yun respectively. Another general Zhang Heng was captured by Ma Chao alive. The total number of soldiers died on the battlefield reached more than 6,000, and 11,800 captured people. Except for Wei Kang and Cheng Yi, who each led more than 1,000 soldiers to escape, almost no one escaped from the battlefield in an established manner.

Ma Chao rode his horse and whipped back and forth, shouting loudly on the battlefield. He felt extremely proud of his two consecutive victories that turned defeat into victory. His husband's son's sonorous oath and the glory of his fame in history made him excited and unable to control himself.

"Mr. Pang, I'm convinced you this time!" As he saw Pang Tong coming out of the city to greet him from afar, Ma Chao quickly turned over and dismounted early. This was really rare for Ma Chao, who had always been proud.

"General Ma has passed the salute, Tong has done his best, how dare he take credit for it!" Pang Tong replied with a smile.

Ma Chao said seriously: "Sir, I am too humble. If it weren't for the plan, Chao would have become a fish with a knife. How could he have a life!"

Ma Chao is a military general, and his wisdom is not his strength, but this does not mean that he is a reckless man who cannot see a strong relationship. The Battle of Stability is a war that turns disadvantages into favorable factors. The reason for his victory is not only the bravery and good fighting of the soldiers, but also the important thing lies in Pang Tong's strategy.

"If General Ma hadn't been alert, even if Tong had all kinds of magical calculations, he would not have saved the general's life!" Pang Tong waved his hand.

Among the Ma family generals, Ma Chao was the closest to Zhao Yun and Pang Tong. The reason for this is to be carefully investigated. First, Beiyuan rescued Zhao Yun and saved Ma Chao. Second, Ma Chao was young and had a high ambition and had the determination to do a career vigorously. On the other Ma generals, including Ma Teng, the general in the Western Expedition, were not so friendly to Zhao Yun. Therefore, if you want to gain a foothold in Xiliang, Ma Chao, the tree that had just grown up, you must not fall. This is why Pang Tong was afraid to save Ma Chao and tried his best to save Ma Chao.

Outside Chencang City, a thirty-li slope, an army of more than a thousand men playing the "Zhong" of the Sili School Captain is resting.

On the hill, Zhong Yao was pacing back and forth impatiently. Beside him, Jia Xu was relaxed and closed his eyes to rest.

"Wenhe, your plan to hide the truth is too mysterious. If Ma Teng doesn't take the bait, our thoughts will be in vain!"

Jia Xu looked up at the sky without any objection and said, "Yuan Chang, Ma Shoucheng is not an ambitious person. As long as he learns that the court not only pardoned his crime of treason, but also rewarded him as the Weiwei, I believe he will take the initiative to take the bait."

"Why don't I know that the Prime Minister really agreed to grant Ma Teng the Weiwei?" Zhong Yao said in surprise. According to convention, we should inform the states of such an important personnel arrangement. Zhong Yao, the military and political leader of Yongzhou, should naturally know.

Jia Xu showed an unpredictable smile on his face, and he said, "This is a false thing, and Yuan Chang naturally has no way to know."

"Wenhe, you are falsely spreading the imperial edict?" Zhong Yao's face changed. He did not expect Jia Xu to act so boldly.

"That's not all. If Ma Teng really could surrender, Prime Minister Cao would not be stingy with a guard. With Han Sui's past lessons, I think Ma Teng should make a decision easily." Jia Xu looked calm, and the charge of falsely circulating the imperial edict had no deterrent effect on him.

"Jicheng is the old nest of the Ma family. Even if Ma Teng agrees to surrender to the court, his sons may not be so happy, especially Ma Chao. I heard that he can fight with the people sent by Gao Chong." Zhong Yao said.

Jia Xu smiled slightly, he nodded his head and said, "This is exactly what I am worried about, otherwise I would not have been busy setting up a trap to catch Ma Chao in An Ding. Only by adjusting Ma Chao can our plan be implemented smoothly. More importantly, this time I looked for Jiang Xu and Yang Fu who conveyed the imperial edict to Ma Teng, and they were meticulous. This matter also concerns the life and death of their entire clan. I believe there will be no mistakes."

"It turns out that An Ding's suppression plan is just bait. Yang Qiu, Cheng Yi, Li Kan, and Zhang Heng were played around with Wen and you in a few simple words. I am convinced this time." Zhong Yao praised.

Jia Xu laughed knowingly and said, "Yuan Chang, don't say it out loud. This time it was not just Yang Qiu and others. I didn't tell Wei Duan and Wei Kang, otherwise I wouldn't have to work so hard for you and I would go back here after a big circle."

"No wonder the Prime Minister once called Wenhe an old fox. It seems that this is true today." Zhong Yao sat down on the grass, fell to the sky, and laughed loudly.

While the two were talking, there was a faint sound of horse hooves coming from afar.

"It's them here! How about we go and welcome Ma Teng?" Jia Xu kicked Zhong Yao in the butt and said loudly.

As Jia Xu expected, Ma Teng was grateful after receiving the fake imperial edict sent by Jiang Xu and Yang Fu on his behalf. When Ma Teng was named after the blood-wearing edict, Ma Teng was invited by Dong Cheng to become famous because of love, but he did not expect that the blood-wearing edict incident was leaked soon. Dong Cheng, Wang Zifu and others were all executed. Among the people who left the name at the beginning, except for the emperor's uncle Liu Bei, he was still alive in this world.

Ma Teng is not a very ambitious person. When he was young, he accompanied Han Sui, Bian Zhang and others with his courage. At that time, he was still bloody, but as he got older and his white hair was dyed, Ma Teng was even more eager to live a peaceful and comfortable life. He was really tired of fighting and killing.

At this point, Jia Xu knew Ma Teng deeply, and even Ma Chao might not know these thoughts hidden deep in Ma Teng's heart.

"Master Weiwei, after leaving for several years, you will be in good health!" Jia Xu saw Ma Teng's old and majestic body coming towards him, and hurriedly greeted him and said with a smile. Before Jia Xu joined Dong Zhuo in his early years, Ma Teng and Jia Xu had been with Yan Zhong's colleagues. After careful calculation, they had last seen each other more than ten years ago.

"It's Counselor Jia, I'm disrespectful!" Ma Teng shouted in a thick voice from afar.

"This is Master Zhong Yao, the captain of the Sili School. I believe Mr. Wei must be familiar with him. According to the Prime Minister's instructions, we will specially welcome him here." Jia Xu said.

When the kingdom led all coalition forces from Xiliang to attack Chang'an, it was Zhong Yao who commanded the defenders to hold on for more than a month, and finally forced the Xiliang cavalry to escape from food. On the way back, the kingdom was killed by his subordinates, which triggered a series of civil strife in various Xiliang units.

Zhong Yao took a step forward calmly and bowed respectfully: "Mr. Weiwei can take the great cause of unification of the Han family first. Yao is deeply respectful. Now you and I are one family. In the future, I hope that Master Weiwei will give us more good words in the court!"

In fact, with the relationship between Zhong Yao and Cao Cao, there is no need for Ma Teng to speak for him, but he has been wearing all kinds of clothes and is not wearing any flattery. Ma Teng smiled and narrowed his eyes, which obviously was very popular with Zhong Yao's compliment.

"Master Weiwei has been working hard all the way, so it's better to go to Chencang City to rest nearby. We will set off to Xudu together tomorrow morning." Jia Xu said with a look.

"Okay-!" At this time, Ma Teng's vigilance had been greatly reduced. He only thought that he could be a prominent high-ranking official in the future, and no longer had to worry about someone coming to trouble him.

Outside Anding City, the work of cleaning up the battlefield is almost completed. Ma Chao, Zhao Yun and Pang Tong are busy reorganizing the captured enemy soldiers, and hope to select strong soldiers from them to supplement them into the army. In this fierce battle, Zhao Yun, Ma Dai and Pang De's three armies suffered little losses, but Ma Chao's personal injury was more than half of them, and they must be supplemented in time.

Suddenly, a cavalryman rushed from a distance. Before the war horse could approach, he had already fallen to the ground with white foam. The cavalryman immediately jumped up from the ground and stumbled towards Ma Chao.

"Report to Major General: Rumors from Jicheng that the old general has accepted the imperial enthronement and led General Ma Tie to Chencang." The cavalryman who visited the letter took a deep breath and said intermittently.

"What did you say? This is impossible. How could my dad do such a confused thing?" Ma Chao was furious, grabbed the mind of the soldier who reported the news and shouted.

After hearing this, Pang Tong's face changed drastically. The unexpected success of this stable battle made him a little confused. If the news he heard was true, with Jia Xu's wisdom, how could he be unprepared for it when he could expect reinforcements to appear?

"Is this just a bait that Jia Xu deliberately attracted our attention, and his real target is Ma Teng!" Pang Tong's heart skipped a beat.

"You, go and bring all your people with me. I don't want to listen to any rumors. I want to know the real situation." Ma Chao shouted wildly.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves sounded in the distance, and a fiery red war horse ran towards him, and immediately there was a red shadow, gradually approaching.

"Rouge Horse--!" Zhao Yun's eyes were sharp, and he immediately recognized that this was Ma Yunlu's mount. When he saw the old friend, he raised his front hooves and kept neighing.

"Brother, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Ma Yunlu rushed from Jicheng all the way, relying on a strong sense of energy. When she saw her relatives, she felt relieved and almost fell off the horse.

"Dad, he really went to Chen Cang!" Ma Chao shook Ma Yunlu's delicate body without any pity and asked repeatedly.

A look of panic appeared in Ma Yunlu's eyes. She nodded, took out a green bag from her arms, and said, "This is the letter that my third brother asked me to give you."

Ma Yunlu said that the third brother refers to Ma Xiu, who is responsible for commanding and defending all the troops in Jicheng.

At the junction of the Qin and Han dynasties, the important documents passed by the army were mainly bamboo slips. At that time, only the emperor's edicts were written on silk. After that, the bulk of bamboo slips became increasingly difficult to carry. Therefore, the use of cloth soap filled with words began to be used in the army. In chaotic times, either you die or I live. In terms of the value of an important military intelligence, it was completely worth the expense.

"What did Ma Xiu do? Why didn't you stop Dad!" Ma Chao asked sternly without waiting for reading the letter.

"It was my father who ordered him to leave the city himself, and the third brother had no choice. Later, he sent troops to chase him for a while, but was intercepted by Jiang Xu. After hearing from the third brother, Jiang Xu also said that if there were any more pursuers, he would kill my father!" said Ma Yunlu.
Chapter completed!