Section 14 Calculation

The guards untied the ropes on Yan Wen's body and brought water to Yan Wen to wash them. Then two Qiang girls came to Yan Wen with wine and meat. Yan Wen did not refuse and calmly accepted the treatment and bandage from the doctor. Under the service of Qiang girls, they ate meat and drank wine, and didn't even look at Ma Chao sitting opposite him. After eating and drinking, he stood up and bowed: "Give me more hospitality."

Ma Chao smiled and waved his hand. The two Qiang girls helped Yan Wen away from the left and right.

Ma Zong looked at Yan Wen's figure who was staggering, but he was extremely firm. He said to Ma Chao with some concern: "Brother, I think Yan Bojian is not someone who can surrender easily. Will he be cheating if he does this?"

Ma Chao turned his head and looked at Ma Bai for a while, and said thoughtfully: "You mean, will he say what I said tomorrow if he arrives in front of the formation?"

Ma Qian didn't say anything, but his expression was obviously worried about this.

"Then what do you do?" Ma Chao put down the wine bowl and pondered for a while, and felt that Yan Wen was a little unreliable. If Yan Wen shouted in front of the formation, wouldn't it be even more difficult for Ji City to attack? "If Ji City cannot be taken down quickly, the reinforcements may really arrive. At that time, we will not only gain nothing, but also may be attacked from both sides."

He smiled bitterly and said, "Even if I am willing to go back now, those Qiang people are not willing. They are thinking about coming out to get some bargains. If they come back empty-handed, can they still listen to me in the future?"

Ma Zong hesitated for a moment, raised his head and said carefully: "It has been more than half a month since Yan Bojian escaped. If he traveled day and night to Ji County to ask for help from Xiahou Yuan, then Xiahou Yuan may have arrived in Shangqi, that is to say, what Yan Wen said may be true. If Xiahou Yuan really arrived in Shangqi, I am afraid that Jicheng... would be difficult to get off."

"It's not that fast, right?" Ma Chao didn't believe it, but his tone was no longer so sure. He scratched his dirty hair with his thick fingers, thought for a while and said, "Xiahou Yuan's subordinates only have more than 40,000 people. Chen Cang and Jieting have to stay behind. Anding is still defending. He should not draw 30,000 people. Besides, 30,000 people are not 3,000 people. You can go straight in the light army. How many baggage do you have to bring? How many civilians do he need to transfer? How many people do he leave at will?"

Ma Zong thought about it and felt it was unlikely, but he was still a little worried. After a while, he said, "Brother, it's only sixty or seventy miles to get here. Wouldn't it be more certain to send a fast horse to see it? If Yan Bojian is really lying, it's not too late for us to attack the city."

After hearing this, Ma Chao smiled and slapped his thigh and said, "This is a good method. People..."

Several cavalry scouts rushed back to the camp in the middle of the night. They were cold all over by the cold north wind, but cold sweat was spreading on their foreheads. When they saw Ma Chao, they knelt down and kowtowed, and they were trembling when they spoke.

"Shangbi was indeed taken away by Cao's army. From the battle flag, it was Xiahou Yuan." The scout said nervously: "In addition, we also saw the battle flag of Zhu Ling and others."

Ma Chao was a little confused. He said that Yan Wen was not saying lies, but the truth. He was a little nervous for a moment, and thought about it but asked unwillingly: "Have you ever entered the city to see it? Isn't Zhu Ling in Chen Cang? Why did he arrive at Shangqi?"

"General, Shangbi City is very cautious. We can't get in. There is no light at all in the middle of the night. It's very quiet. Obviously, a large army has entered. We also heard the sound of dizzying sounds that can only be heard in the barracks." The scout swallowed and said, "They scouts were fifty miles away. We finally got into it. A brother wanted to climb into the city to take a look. He was shot to death by the night whistle and followed the patrolman. If he hadn't run fast, we would almost never come back."

Ma Chao was a little suffocated. The cool night wind blowing in from the tent made him feel goosebumps all over his body. "The commander of the Dianjun Academy, Xiahou Yuan, 500 in three days, 1,000 in six days." It was indeed not for fun. He actually arrived for such a long journey, and there were 30,000 people, which was simply incredible.

"You go down." Ma Chao got up naked from the mattress, waved his hand, and shouted to a personal guard: "Go and invite the young general." The scout lowered his head and hurriedly retreated. The personal guard stepped out of the tent. Ma Chao paced back and forth in the tent for two steps, a little irritable and restless, and his warm body quickly became cold. He couldn't help but sneeze and almost blew out the oil lamp on the bronze lampstand.

The two Qiang women climbed up naked, picked up his clothes from the hanger, and rushed over to put them on. Ma Chao opened his arms and let the Qiang women tie the robe for him, but his eyes were staring at the shaking light and his thick eyebrows were furrowed. Ma Zong hurried over, and when he saw the two Qiang women, he hurriedly retreated. Ma Chao heard the footsteps and curled his lips and smiled: "Come in, what's so great about it."

The two Qiang girls didn't agree. They put on a sheepskin robe with quick hands and feet, pushed the leather mattress on the marching couch aside. A flat pot holder containing goat milk was on the fire, and the other took half-eat lamb legs and reached them to the fire to bake.

"The scout is back, Xiahou Yuan is indeed here, Shangqi has been lost." Ma Chao conveyed the situation to Ma Jian in conciseness.

Ma Zong lowered his head and pondered for a while, and said to himself: "Since Zhu Ling has arrived in Shangqi from Chen Cang, then Cao Chong has obviously arrived in Guanzhong. Otherwise, Xiahou Yuan would not have transferred Zhu Ling to Hanyang. This battle... is really hard to fight. I think it would be better to plunder nearby and then retreat from Wududao as soon as possible."

Ma Chao remained silent and was in a dilemma. He really couldn't bear to leave the Jicheng in front of him. Jicheng was the capital of the prefecture and several big cities that Liangzhou could count. It was more effective than sweeping a county by snatching Jicheng. However, Jicheng was like an iron-shelled turtle. Although he had 30,000 cavalry, he had no confidence in taking Jicheng. He could have surrounded but not attacked and squeezed Wei Kang's confidence, but now reinforcements came, and he might be attacked on both sides. This is not a good sign.

He turned around twice, looked up at the horse breed, his eyes full of murderous aura: "You can't retreat! If you retreat without fighting this time, no one will listen to my words among the Qiang people in the future. Even if you want to retreat, you will have to fight a fierce battle. I have 30,000 cavalry, and even if Xiahou Yuan has 30,000 people, he can't swallow me. What's more..." He smiled and his face was fierce: "Han Sui is still watching from the side. If I retreat like this, wouldn't he be laughed to death? There are 80,000 people in one place, why can't we swallow Xiahou Yuan in one bite and take down Jicheng again?"

Ma Zong was shocked when he heard this and looked at Ma Chao in shock.

"Han Sui is showing off his relatives, only a hundred miles away from here, and immediately send someone to contact him. I immediately rushed to Wangyuan to intercept Xiahou Yuan and ask him to come and meet him." He paused and grinned, "Tell him, take Xiahou Yuan and Jicheng, and we will divide the spoils evenly."

Ma Zong heard Ma Chao's ruthless decision and knew that he could not persuade him anymore, so he had to accept it and sent someone to contact Han Sui overnight. After Han Sui received the news from Ma Chao, he immediately called Cheng Gongying to discuss. This time, Ma Chao agreed to Han Sui's request unexpectedly and made him plunder several counties, supplemented the supplies, and calmed the resentment of the leaders. Han Sui was planning to withdraw back to Jincheng. Now he received the news that Ma Chao asked him to attack Xiahou Yuan together.

He was a little hesitant. He had dealt with Xiahou Yuan. This man was fierce and aggressive. He had elite troops and horses. He had strong combat power and tenacious style. He dared to fight tough battles. If he could not kill him in one go, he would probably be dragged down and both sides were injured. More importantly, although he was the chief of infantry, his marching was extremely fast and his troops were erratic. The cavalry might not be able to win in front of him, which made Han Sui not psychologically defy him.

Now Cao Chong is in Guanzhong again. If he fights Xiahou Yuan to death with all his might, he will just get a confidant for Cao Chong and give him a handle, but he is exhausted by himself. Is this worth it? It is really a question that must be considered clearly.

"Gongying, look..." Han Sui looked at Cheng Gongying with contemplation.

Cheng Gongying glanced on the map and asked several questions from the people sent by Ma Chao. He shook his head and said, "There are too many places that are unclear about this matter and it is impossible to decide for a while. However, since General Ma sent someone to make an appointment with a fight, we left without any expression. This time, he made us so generously and plundered in the counties of Lueyang to solve the crisis in front of us. If we don't help him, we will be ridiculed by others. Moreover, such a great benefit is in front of us, even if the general is willing to leave, they are afraid that those people will not be left. The temptation of 30,000 people, plus Jicheng is too great."

"I was also considering these things, so I was hesitant." Han Sui nodded and said in agreement: "Or we would send some people to him and cooperate with him in the battle. I don't want Jicheng either, so he can take over it. I will be satisfied with the supplies of Xiahou Yuan's troops who can share some of the supplies."

Han Sui's eyes passed through the gap in the door: "It will snow soon. If we don't leave now, we will have to stay in Xianqin for the New Year this year. If we want to fight this battle, we must fight quickly. It will take a long time to delay, which is not a good thing."

Cheng Gongying still glanced at the map, was silent for a long time, and suddenly said, "I think Xiahou Yuan should not have 30,000 people. He has a total of more than 40,000 people. Except for the 5,000 people in the Wuzhi tribe in Anxing, Xu Huang, Zhu Ling and Zhu Suo's three divisions, 15,000 people, he has a maximum of more than 20,000 people. Xu Huang, Zhu Shuo is in Jieting, Zhu Ling is in Chen Cang, and there are still some people in various places. Where did he get 30,000 people? How could Zhu Ling come to Shangqi? He will not guard Chen Cang anymore.

?Even if he had reinforcements, Chen Cang would definitely leave enough personnel. Considering that his march came so fast this time, I guess that apart from Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo who were called nearby, the number of people he brought from Meiwu will not exceed 5,000, otherwise his speed would not be so fast. Then, with Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo's men, there should be no more than 15,000 people in Shangji, and maybe only more than 10,000 people."

Han Sui's eyes suddenly lit up: "If this is the case, then if we join forces, wouldn't we be able to easily swallow Xiahou Yuan's troops and severely damage Cao's army?"

Cheng Gongying nodded: "If this is true, there is no problem in severely attacking Xiahou Yuan. Even if he cannot completely wipe out him, he can beat him to death and drive him out of Hanyang County. But the general thought that Xiahou Yuan had only more than 10,000 people, and the light army came. The baggage he brought must be limited, so our two families would not be divided enough. As for Jicheng, I guess Ma Chao would not let us share it easily by then. If he saw that Xiahou Yuan had only more than 10,000 people, he might not let us participate in the war, so as not to ask for sharing the spoils."

Han Sui thought about it, suddenly laughed, pointed at Cheng Gongying and said, "Gongying, you know very well about Ma Mengqi. He now thinks that Xiahou Yuan has 30,000 people, so he asked me to support him. If he knew that Xiahou Yuan had only more than 10,000 people, he would probably notify me at all."

Cheng Gongying smiled.

Han Sui smiled for a while and said, "But these are our guesses. We can't guarantee how many people Xiahou Yuan has. If we don't send people, we're afraid that Ma Mengqi will have another rift, so we still have to send this army. But we can't just help in vain. No matter how many people he has or how to divide the things, we'll just agree first, so that Ma Mengqi will regret it again."

"The general is very worried." Cheng Gongying smiled and said, "In my subordinates' opinion, we should divide the troops into two groups, one by one, one by one, and one by one, and one by one, and one by one, to Longxian County and capture Longguan. On the one hand, we can block Xiahou Yuan's retreat, and on the other hand, we can prevent Cao's reinforcements. This will also cooperate with General Ma to fight. I believe General Ma will not have any objection."

Han Sui thought, laughed loudly, and was very satisfied with Cheng Gongying's plan. After all, they calculated that Xiahou Yuan should not have 30,000 people. Since that is the case, it should be expected that Ma Chao would defeat Xiahou Yuan. After Xiahou Yuan was defeated, he would inevitably withdraw back to Guanzhong. They spent less effort to defeat Xiahou Yuan's defeated army on the way, but the gains would be much greater. More importantly, he would have much less resistance to attack Longxi, and he could also know the trends of Cao's reinforcements in advance. If there was any accident, he could react first. Relatively speaking, the danger would be much smaller.

"Gongying, what he said is very much." Han Sui stood up and patted Cheng Gongying on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Let me follow your clever plan and let Ziyi take Chengyi with you. The two candidates will be elected. A total of 20,000 people will help Ma Mengqi. We will attack Longxian and capture Xiahou Yuan's retreat." He thought for a while and smiled: "Maybe I can take down Jieting by the way, and the gate of Guanzhong will be opened to us."

When Xu Huang received the news from the scout, he learned that Han Sui did not retreat westward to Jincheng, but instead returned to Longxian from Xianqin. He immediately felt something was wrong. While sending a large number of scouts to continue inquiring, he also sent two groups of messengers to call the police to Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chong. At the same time, he quickly sent a group of men to Longguan to monitor Han Sui's movements day and night.

When Xiahou Yuan received the news from Xu Huang, he had been in Xiamin for seven days. Yan Wen never returned, no news came, life and death were unknown, and he didn't know if there was any news in the city. However, what Xiahou Yuan was most concerned about now was not the safety of Jicheng, but his own safety. To his original expectations, Ma Chao not only did not retreat, but gave up Jicheng and forced him up, set up a camp in Wangyuan thirty miles ahead, and looked like he was preparing for a decisive battle. At the same time as Ma Chao, there were 20,000 troops originally belonging to Han Sui.

It would be fake to say that it was not nervous. Xiahou Yuan had been fighting for many years and knew very well what the consequences were for more than 10,000 infantrymen facing 50,000 Qiang cavalry. Even Duan Jin, the god of killing that year, had never encountered such a dangerous situation. Duan Jin had 5,000 cavalry at that time, and the personal guards in his hands were concentrated, and there were only a thousand people, so it was not worth much use.

Fortunately, Ma Chao couldn't figure out his reality and always thought that he had 30,000 people, so he didn't dare to challenge him easily. He just waited in Wangyuan, otherwise Ma Chao would definitely rush forward and directly defeat this small Xiaji City.

Xiahou Yuan was in a dilemma. According to the actual situation, he had to retreat immediately now, but once he retreated, Jicheng would be in danger. Even if his rescue operation was completely failed, he would not be qualified to say anything in front of Cao Chong in the future. But when the news from Xu Huang was delivered to him, he knew that it would be too late to make a decision and had to make a decision immediately.

"Wenbo, Yuanming, what do you think?" Xiahou Yuan pushed open the map and handed the news sent by Xu Huang to Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo. Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo took a look at the news and changed color in shock. Ma Chao had an army of 50,000 in front of them, and they were already very nervous. Now Han Sui went to raid their retreat again, and 80,000 people surrounded him. More than 10,000 people were not enough for others to get stuck. How could they not be nervous when they saw this news?

"Sir, we..." Zhu Shuo's face was a little pale, he kept rubbing his hands, his eyes flashing nervously.

"What's wrong? Tell me if you have any ideas." Xiahou Yuan smiled, leaned back, and sat comfortably, and looked at Zhu Shuo with a smile, making a joke with a rare opportunity: "Yuan Ming, what's wrong with you? You look so bad, did you not sleep well yesterday, or did you do something that violated the military order?"

Zhu Ling and Guo Huai next to him laughed unexpectedly when they saw Xiahou Yuan who was usually very serious today. Zhu Shuo's white face turned red with embarrassment. He murmured: "General is joking, how could I violate the military order?"

"It's good that you didn't violate the military order. Tell me, what do you think we should do now?" Xiahou Yuan closed his smile, regained his usual seriousness, nodded his head with his fingers and said to Zhu Ling and Guo Huai: "Wenbo, Boji, you guys also talk about it."

Zhu Ling touched his chin and said slowly: "General, in his subordinates' opinion, General Xu can only restrain Han Sui from behind. He has to guard Jieting and does not have the strength to compete with Han Sui's 30,000 troops. Therefore, Longguan can only play an early warning role and cannot stop Han Sui. If we still stay in Xiaji and do not leave, Han Sui will cut off our army's retreat in at most two days. Even if the general wants to fight Ma Chao in a decisive battle, our army's food and grass will not be guaranteed."

Xiahou Yuan nodded, playing with a silver handle in his hand and slapped his hair (a dagger from the Han Dynasty). He didn't say it was OK or bad, but just looked at Zhu Ling and signaled him to continue to say it. Zhu Ling was a little embarrassed. The situation is very obvious now. If you don't retreat immediately, you will die. Xiahou Yuan didn't say it himself, but he insisted that others say it. Obviously, he felt that it was shameless and wanted others to say it. But his words were already so obvious, why did he remain silent? Zhu Ling glanced at Xiahou Yuan with a relaxed expression and suddenly had an ominous premonition. He didn't want to fight Ma Chao to the death here, right?

Seeing that Zhu Ling looked at Xiahou Yuan without saying anything, Zhu Shuo swallowed with difficulty and whispered: "General, Wenbo's meaning may be to retreat immediately. Wenbo, what do you mean?"

Zhu Ling nodded and gave way to Xiahou Yuan's smiling eyes: "This is what my subordinates meant. More than 10,000 people deal with 80,000 people, I'm really... not sure."

"It's not just because I'm not sure, I'm just looking for death." Xiahou Yuan stood up, pinched the hilt of the knife with his hands, and walked behind him, and said to himself a few times, "There are a total of 80,000 Qiang cavalry in front and behind, and we only have 15,000 people. Although there are cities to defend and there are some advantages in military equipment, the gap in military strength is too large, and the city in Xiaji is too small. Qiang soldiers can come in without large-scale siege equipment. Therefore, Xiaji City is not enough to be established."

Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo immediately breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this. They raised their hands and were about to speak, but Xiahou Yuan waved his hand to interrupt them, and then said, "But if we withdraw from Hanyang now, then Jicheng will definitely be lost. Jicheng is solid and has a good grain reserve. If Ma Chao occupied Jicheng, then we want to take it back, and the price we spend is not the current more than 10,000 people."

"Then..." Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo felt regained their hearts when they heard him say this.

"We come to you just to find a way to protect ourselves and not let Ma Chao seize Jicheng. As long as he can't occupy Jicheng, he will not dare to stay here for more. Don't be too long. In just three or five days, Ma Chao will stay in Hanyang and give up Jicheng. When it snows, he will neither capture the city nor fight in the field. If there is no food or drink, what else can he do if he doesn't leave?"

"Three...five days?" Zhu Ling pondered and did not continue.

"Although Ma Chao had 50,000 people in his hands, he didn't know our background. Yan Wen had not come back, so he must have been caught by him. With Yan Wen's bloodline, he would not surrender to Ma Chao, nor would he tell Ma Chao the truth. Ma Chao hesitated now, obviously believed that we had 30,000 people. Although the lower marsh was small, there were 30,000 people defending the city, and 50,000 Qiang soldiers had no chance of winning, and he couldn't bear such a big loss, so he waited for us in Wangyuan for two days just to see our background. If we retreat now, he would immediately catch up, and the 50,000 cavalrymen leaked down. Can we... escape?" Xiahou Yuan smiled and stopped and looked at Zhu Ling and Zhu Shuo.

Zhu Ling first reacted, and he immediately understood what Xiahou Yuan meant. It was not that Xiahou Yuan didn't want to leave, but he couldn't leave. First, after he left, Jicheng would definitely be out of protection. Ma Chao would join forces with Han Sui to attack Jicheng. There were not many defenders in Jicheng. Wei Kang was a Confucian scholar again. Seeing so many Qiang people, he would be panicked. When he saw reinforcements were beaten away, he would probably open the door to surrender immediately. Once Jicheng was lost, Ma Chao completely stood firm in Hanyang County. It would not be easy to seize it in the future. Second, even if Xiahou Yuan wanted to leave, he might not be able to leave. Ma Chao did not attack now, but Chen Bingwang Wangyuan, who wanted to test Xiahou Yuan. If Xiahou Yuan was guilty and turned around and ran away, then Ma Chao would definitely chase after him without hesitation. It would be much easier to pursue escaped infantry with cavalry than to attack the city.

However, if you don’t escape, if there is no snow within three or five days and the retreat will be cut off by Han Sui, wouldn’t it be a dead end?

"The dragon cavalry of General Cheqi has arrived at Shijiashan, and they have stayed here for only twenty miles. They have been hiding there for five days. With them, even if Han Sui takes Longguan, he will still cut off our retreat. Moreover," Xiahou Yuan raised his head and smiled slightly: "They must have sent the situation here back to Meiwu. I think General Cheqiqi will not sit idly by. Perhaps, his military order is already on the way to Hanyang. Even if the dragon cavalry does not know Han Sui's movements, Gongming will not guard Longguan to death. He will naturally pass the news to Wenxian County and notify General Cheqiqi."

Zhu Ling and Zhu Shu stopped talking. If this is the case, there was a big fighter in front of us. Why did Guanzhong not pacify after several years of fighting? It was because the place was too big, and these people were scattered. It was impossible to solve the problem in one battle. You ran to another place and hid. When you came back, he also came back. Now Ma Chao and Han Sui have both arrived in Hanyang, and the 80,000 troops are here, which is almost the main force of the rebels. If Cao Chong leads the army to hit them hard in one battle, then the pacification of Xiliang may be a few years ahead of schedule. As a vanguard and bait, they will be the first contribution. Even if Cao Chong didn't have time to arrive, they forced Ma Chao to retreat and saved Jicheng with more than 10,000 people. It would be a great contribution. Xiahou Yuan saved his reputation and they would definitely get rewards.

Fame and fortune are always accompanied by danger. There is no danger, so how can there be fame and fortune. But this danger is too great. To succeed, it depends on two factors. One is that Ma Chao cannot see through their background and dare not attack forcefully. The other is that Cao Chong can arrive quickly. Let’s not talk about Ma Chao’s affairs for the time being, can Cao Chong arrive in time? He just took over the troops in Guanzhong. If he wants to march here for thousands of miles to support and severely damage Ma Chao, Han Sui, does he have such courage?

"Everyone, have you thought about it?" Xiahou Yuan smiled slightly, and his eyes swept across Zhu Ling and others' faces.

Zhu Ling looked at Xiahou Yuan's expression and knew that Xiahou Yuan's idea had actually decided long ago. He was just asking for advice politely. Even if he disagreed, he would do this. Instead of doing this, it would be better to be a bachelor. At worst, he would be defeated and died. Since he wanted to be a general, he was mentally prepared. Therefore, he immediately bowed his promise: "Everything is followed by the general's leader, and Ling Wan will never refuse."

Zhu Ling expressed his opinion, and Zhu Shuo naturally could not fall behind. He hesitated for a moment, and also clasped his fists and said, "Shuo is willing to listen to the general's military order."

Xiahou Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand and smiled, "Thank you for your support. You will go down and settle the morale of the army. Just say that the reinforcements of the General of the Carriage are coming continuously. After defeating Ma Chao, Han Sui, there will be a heavy reward, cattle, sheep, and women, to satisfy them."

"Here." Zhu Ling, Zhu Shuo heard this and knew that Xiahou Yuan was using heavy rewards to inspire the soldiers' courage. The opportunity to make a fortune came. He quickly agreed loudly, and then went out with great courage. Xiahou Yuan watched them disappear outside the door, turned his head to say to Guo Huai, "Boji, what are you doing to make Ma Chao hesitate for another two days?"

Guo Huai smiled and said, "Ma Chao has been in Wangyuan for three days, and I guess he is a little scared. He will definitely come to the city to test it in the next two days. My subordinates think that it is better for us to test him, so that he can't figure out our reality."

Xiahou Yuan smiled. He was planning to do so and immediately nodded and said, "How to test the method?"

Guo Huai smiled calmly and said, "The general defended the city and sent a general out of the city as a pioneer, and acted as an initiative to advance Xiang Wangyuan."

Xiahou Yuan nodded and shook his head again: "This is a task that requires courage. Who do you think is better?"
Chapter completed!