Chapter 39: Patrol

Cao Chong sat on the city tower and watched Ma Chao escape in a panic with his shield on his back. He burst out laughing. He smiled and said to Ma Teng, who looked like a dirt, "Old General, I wonder if the son will retreat or make a comeback?"

Ma Teng laughed dryly awkwardly, looked at Ma Chaojun gathering outside the city, and shook his head with a wry smile: "The clan is not worthy of planning, he does not know how to live or die, so he will naturally achieve the general's miracle."

He watched Cao Chong's army formation on the city wall. He first collapsed the Ximen himself, and then used Deng Ai's troops, who had the weakest combat power, to meet the enemy, and then used female guards to reinforce. What's even more funny is that he let him run back even though he could take down Ma Chao. He knew whether to kill Ma Chao was not in Cao Chong's consideration. Cao Chong's intention was probably still waiting for the encirclement of the army, completely subduing Xiliang, the largest separatist force, to find the remnants, and realize the strategic intention of establishing Xiliang in one battle.

He looked at Jia Xu, who was sitting quietly drinking tea beside Cao Chong, and then looked at Pang Tong, Fa Zheng and others who were chatting and laughing, and felt bitter. Although he did not participate in the inside story, he probably did not arrange a good ending for Ma Chao. Pang Tong, Fa Zheng and others made many outstanding achievements under Cao Chong's tent, but Ma Teng did not value it too much. He was extremely afraid of Jia Xu, who had never spoken much. Jia Xu used tricks, but was not good at the hearts of the people, and he understood the opponent's psychology very accurately, so he could lead the other party's nose invisibly, without any disadvantages. Cao Chong's series of arrangements just now seemed outrageous, but he was aimed at Ma Chao's character and psychological intentions everywhere. In addition to being made by Jia Xu, he could not think of anyone else.

Cao Chong smiled: "The man is brave and good at fighting. He leaps his horse for more than ten steps. He is indeed a flying general. Unfortunately, such a warrior cannot serve the country, but it has become a major trouble for the country. It is the sorrow of my great man and the sorrow of your Ma family." He stood up, spread his arms to support him, and looked at the battle formation outside the city with a bold smile: "Since he is not convinced, I will give him another chance to see what the nemesis of cavalry is."

"Boyue, do you have the courage to leave the city and send Ma Chao a letter of war?"

Jiang Wei responded and knelt down with one leg: "I am willing to go."

Ma Chao looked at the steps, walked slowly to his formation, and Jiang Wei walked to him in front of him. He took the war book from his hand in surprise but did not open it. Instead, he looked at the fearless young man who was unarmed and facing more than 20,000 soldiers ready to go, and suddenly asked, "Who are you?"

"Tianshui Jiang Wei." Jiang Wei glared at Ma Chao fiercely, and was furious.

"So it's you." Ma Chao nodded: "It's true that he is my man from Xiliang. Do you want to seek revenge on me?"

"Think." Jiang Wei blurted out, Ma Zong was furious and reached out to press the long knife on his waist. Ma Chao raised his hand to stop him and smiled indifferently: "You are no match for me now. In another ten years, maybe you still have a chance."

"I'm not here to avenge my personal revenge today." Jiang Wei curled his lips and smiled disdainfully. He pointed the war letter in Ma Chao's hand with his chin: "General Cheqi knows that you are stubborn and are not convinced if you lose, so he gives you a chance to fight another game, which will convince you."

"Another fight?" Ma Chao snorted and laughed: "Does he want to delay time? I'm not afraid of him. If he doesn't come to Zhanshu, I will fight another fight, and enter Shangqi and capture him alive. Hum? He is going to go out of the city to fight a decisive battle?" Ma Chao was stunned, looked at Zhanshu in his hand, and looked at Jiang Wei in disbelief, and felt very funny, trembling Zhanshu in his hand: "He actually wants to go out of the city to fight me? Just because of his thousands of people, they actually want to go out of the city to fight me?"

"What's wrong?" Jiang Wei sneered and waved his hand: "If you want to fight, fight, don't talk so much nonsense. The general is very busy with official business and has no time to play with you. If you don't dare, you will escape back to Qiang land. Within ten years, Jiang Wei will definitely raise the army to seek revenge on you."

"Hahaha..." Ma Chao seemed to be amused by Jiang Wei's appearance. He laughed to the sky, grabbed a pen, and wrote a word like a spear and halberd behind the Zhan Shu: "War!" and then threw it into Jiang Wei's arms: "Go, I'm afraid you won't have a chance in ten years."

Jiang Wei took Zhan Shu and looked at him, snorted, turned around and left.

Ma Zong was anxious, and he hurriedly said, "Brother, he almost couldn't even save the city. He had no strength to go out to fight. This was nothing more than a delaying plan. Let us stay here so that the army from all sides would surround us. Brother, don't fall into their tricks."

Ma Chao smiled proudly: "It's okay, since he is here to seek death, how can I show weakness? Go out of the city to fight to the decisive battle, Hum, I really don't know how to live or die. Deng Ai's troops have been half-destroyed, and there are only seven or eight thousand soldiers in the city. He still wants to leave people to guard the city. It seems that he really wants to use the three thousand grain-carrying husbands to deceive people. I will wait for him for an hour, and after an hour, I will kill into the city."

"Brother..." Ma Qian was really anxious.

"Stop talking, take five thousand cavalry to the east gate, don't let him run away." Ma Chao sneered and glanced contemptuously: "I want to see what kind of ability he has to be so arrogant."

The horse tree was speechless and sighed.

While ordering his subordinates to set up formations, Ma Chao watched the movements in the city. Less than soon after he saw Jiang Wei return to the city, a group of soldiers came from the city gate to clean up the rocks and soil. After cleaning up the west city gate, a large army really came out of the city to set up formations. First, Deng Ai's remnants, he set up a battle formation in the south. It seemed that Cao Chong was recharged again. The two hundred tiger camp also raised a banner and stood beside Deng Ai. The female general who had fought with him rode majestic on the horse and looked straight ahead.

Ma Chao sneered and said that even women were sent out to fight, and he actually wanted to fight with him. Cao Chong was really crazy and didn't know how his previous record came about.

After Deng Ai's troops set up the formation, they followed the cavalry holding long halberds, and they set up the formation north of the city gate. Judging from the banner, it was Chen Dao and Pang De of the Dragon Cavalry. When Ma Chao saw Pang De's banner, he couldn't help but frown. Pang De was once a general of the Ma family army, but now he took the dragon cavalry to stand opposite him, which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Brother, take advantage of this great opportunity to rush up and swallow these people in one bite, and we will win." Ma Zong said quickly when he saw the opportunity was great.

"No, I want to defeat him with a dignified formation." Ma Chao looked at him coldly and said unhappily: "Why haven't you been setting up the formation yet? What if he runs from the east gate?"

Ma Zong was stunned and pointed at the cavalry who was lined up and said, "His personal guards are all here, how could he escape?"

"What's wrong with this? Aren't you worried that he would delay time? Maybe he would take advantage of this time to run through the east gate."

"Here, I'll go now." Ma Zong had no choice but to rush to the east gate with five thousand men.

Ma Chao snorted, turned his head to continue watching Cao's army's formation. After the cavalry, a group of shield soldiers came out, holding a giant shield that was tall, stopped eighty steps away from the city, and used the giant shield to form a barrier, blocking Ma Chao's sight. Ma Chao laughed. He thought there was a weapon, but it turned out that it was a trick of bowing, crossbow spear and giant shield to resist horses. Although these were a bit troublesome, they were not without gaps. The war horses that accelerated to the limit could quickly knock these giant shields into wood chips. Of course, if there was enough time, he would choose to use a collision car to attack the city. In front of the collision, such a wooden shield was vulnerable. As long as he knocked out a saliva, the cavalry entering the line would soon kill all the infantry behind.

If it is a little harder to deal with, the four thousand elite cavalry are all equipped with stirrup halberds, and the armor on them is much stronger than the Qiang soldiers. It would be a little harder to deal with it. Ma Chao glanced at it and decided the order of attack. Deng Ai's troops were the weakest. Killing from him, you could drive them into the middle, and they squeezed out the infantry behind the giant shields. The cavalry followed behind to rush away these giant shields, and defeated these infantrymen, and then concentrated on dealing with the elite cavalry. Although it took some effort, it would definitely not take too long.

In two hours, you can definitely defeat Cao's army.

"What's the movement in the direction of Wangyuan?" Ma Chao asked with some concern.

"Xiahou Yuan had no movement in front of Wangyuan City, as if he had no intention of siege."

"Oh?" Ma Chao was a little surprised. The fight here was like this. Xiahou Yuan held heavy troops but stopped moving forward. What does it mean?

"General, Cao's army has completed its formation, and it seems that someone has come out." The guard next to him interrupted Ma Chao's thoughts. Following his fingers, Ma Chao looked forward and saw that the giant shield suddenly opened a crack, and then rows of planted horses were exposed. Behind the horses were lined up, three hundred rows of weapons holding a strange-shaped weapon - a shoulder-length handle with a three-foot-long blade, and two crescent-shaped branches next to it. The soldiers were wearing heavy armor, and even their faces were covered under their masks. They looked gloomy and frightened, standing there, like a huge rock blocking the city gate.

"Is this his killing weapon?" Ma Chao looked at the square formation, glanced at the city guard crossbows and strong archers standing on the top of the city, and curled his lips and smiled. What did he think it was? It turned out that it was such a thing, and it was a slaughter and a crossbow, but this time the spear soldier was replaced with this strange-looking heavy armored infantry.

Although Ma Chao is good at fighting, he is not familiar with this weapon. It is a very ancient weapon. It is still useful in the Han Dynasty, but it is rarely seen among the people. Because of the complex cost and manufacturing process, this weapon called Changzhang has become a kind of ceremonial symbolizing identity and is only for use by the imperial guards. Many people have forgotten that this was originally a weapon with lethality and a large halberd. After hearing the powerful lethality of the long-handled sword of the barbarian king Shamoke, Cao Chong thought of using this weapon to deal with cavalry. At that time, Fa Zheng disagreed. He said that the powerful weapon against cavalry was originally available in the Han Dynasty. The horse-slashing sword is, the horse-slashing sword is also the big sword with a handle, which is the long-slashing sword that is rarely seen now.

Because of this idea, the long blade of the blade was extended to become a weapon that Cao Chong secretly prepared. These three thousand people were veterans who had been in battle and strong body, and were personally selected by the main general Niu Jin and secretly trained for more than three years. After General Ze Chong Le Jin learned about it, he was very interested. Not only did he send a group of tall soldiers among the generals, but he also recommended his favorite general Zhou Papi to serve as the forward selection general.

Ma Chao didn't know this weapon, he was very relaxed. He didn't know that Ma Teng was standing on the city tower and was anxious. Ma Teng just knew that these soldiers who had always been regarded as grain transporters were specially used by Cao Chong to deal with cavalry. He had been in Xu County and had several Hu Benlangs holding long horns. With his most of his life's experience in the battlefield, he could see at a glance how terrifying this improved version of long horns was. But he could not tell Ma Chao that hundreds of steps later, and could only watch Ma Chao stand there fearlessly, waiting for the arrival of bad luck.

"The General of the Cavalry is coming out." A personal guard suddenly screamed. As soon as he shouted, he attracted the attention of many people, he also felt Ma Chao's cold gaze. He immediately swallowed the words behind and lowered his head guiltily, but his eyes still glanced forward involuntarily.

Cao Chong, the 21-year-old general of the chariot and cavalry, is now an idol in the minds of young soldiers of the Han Dynasty. Although he has never killed even an enemy with his own hands, his unparalleled achievements have been enough to make all young people envious. Although his new policy in Xiangyang is attractive, the most closely related to these Han soldiers and Qiang soldiers in front of the formation is the new policy in Guanzhong. He absorbed a large number of Qiang people into Guanzhong, gave land equally with the Han people, and encouraged them to intermarry with the Han people, and specially

The Qiang female guards who had established two hundred people were accompanied by the side, which made the Qiang people and the Western Liang Han people who were discriminated against by the mainland, and they were more curious about the young General Cao who had never met. Cao Chong's previous record slowly spread among these people. When they heard that the General of Cheqi and Cavalry came out to patrol the formation, they all wanted to come and see what the youngest General of Cheqi and Cavalry in the Han Dynasty looked like, and did he look different from ordinary people, otherwise why could he have made such great achievements?

Cao Chong felt the chaos in Ma Chao's army. He ate for a while, thinking that Ma Chao would take the opportunity to attack him, but when he saw Ma Chao steadily blocking the war horse in front of the formation, there was no sign of charge, he felt relieved. Dian Man and Sun Shangxiang next to him were very nervous, and they urged the war horse and leaned against him a little.

Cao Chong came out to patrol the formation despite the persuasion of everyone. On the one hand, he encouraged morale before the war, and on the other hand, he wanted to make this battle an opportunity for Xiliang to settle down. Of course, he also had the plan to establish his invincible popularity. No matter from any aspect, he had to force up the fearless revolutionary spirit, carry out the show to the end, and completely suppress Ma Chao's arrogance. The people had arrived in front of the formation, and 30,000 to 40,000 people on both sides looked at him. Even if he was nervous, he had to smile and act confidently and commanded.

Perhaps feeling the hesitation of Cao Chong in front of the formation, Niu Jin, who was in front of the three thousand heavy armored infantry, suddenly raised his arms and shouted.

"Wind! Wind! Wind!"

The three thousand heavy armored infantry then paused with the long horn in their hands, stamped their feet and shouted: "Wind! Wind! Wind!"

The roars of the three thousand people were neat, as if they were coming from a throat, full of energy and fighting spirit, and a masculine roar rushed from behind Cao Chong. The Makima Maki under his crotch seemed to feel the pre-war shock. It shook its neck, and its neatly cut mane shook a few times. Cao Chong, who knew that these Makima Makima Maki were full of energy, knew that it was going to show it, and immediately tightened the reins and stepped on the stirrups steadily to prevent it from falling.

The snow-white Kasumika Maki ran forward a few steps, and suddenly a loud neighing sound. The man stood up, his front hooves were swinging in the air. He only took two hind hooves forward, and turned half a circle, standing in front of the increasingly powerful north wind, showing his perfect side in front of the two armies. Cao Chong tightly tied the reins and stood up immediately. The snow-white cloak was blown by the wind, revealing his close-fitting black and red fishlin armor and the big red battle robe, which was very heroic.

A man is like a tiger, and a horse is like a dragon.

Seeing that the chief general was so majestic in front of the formation, Cao's army suddenly rose up. The left-hei infantry headed by the Iron Armor Camp and the right-wing dragon cavalry also shouted in a loud voice: "Wind! Wind! Wind!"

The roars of more than 10,000 people were like thunder, which made Cao Chong feel courageous. He felt a sense of courage in his heart that rushing the little fear without a trace. He circled the horse's head and faced Ma Chao a hundred steps away. He let go of the reins of the horse and urged the horse to walk forward with a light pace.

Dianman and Sun Shangxiang were closely following each other.

Ma Chao curled his lips contemptuously, held the spear in his hand tightly, and urged the horse to meet him. The two got closer and closer, gradually walking between the two armies, each with more than a hundred steps away from the formation. Cao Chong did not look at Ma Chao who was approaching, but laughed loudly at Ma Chao's quadron, which was a little restless, and said, "You are so excited, are you trying to see the general's appearance?"

His laughter was generous and calm, and there was no hesitation or tension in his voice. All he could hear was his strong fighting spirit and confidence in winning. The Han and Qiang soldiers in Ma Chao's formation were a little stupid for a moment.

The young generals of chariots were indeed different. They could still chat and laugh and freely in front of the formation of ten thousand troops. They were just shocked by the roar of Cao's army, but now they were attracted by Cao Chong's freedom. For a moment, they forgot that they were fighting and in front of the formation that was about to break out, and the soldiers behind them couldn't help but squeeze forward, wanting to see what the celebrity who was the most popular in the Han Dynasty looked like in recent years.

"General, are you really a general of chariots?" Suddenly, a man shouted in the commotion of Ma Chao's army, and was then whipped hard by an officer busy stabilizing the morale of the army.

"Hahaha..." Cao Chong laughed loudly and waved his hand: "That's right, isn't it very strange? I look similar to you?"

"Okay, don't show it." Ma Chao snorted, and he subconsciously held the spear in his hand tightly. There was a kind of rushing forward and killing the barman who loved to show it, and then everything was solved. However, he looked at the left-hand crossbow, right-hand spear, Dian Man and Sun Shangxiang who were waiting for the battle, and felt that they were not sure of winning. He knew that the people around Cao Chong were all very skilled. This very strong man should be Cao Chong's personal bodyguard Dian Man. He was the son of Dian Wei back then, with very good skills, and the helmet and armor-filled ones.

, looking at him with a vigilant look, as if the woman who was ready to shoot him with a crossbow at any time should be Cao Chong's concubine, Sun Shangxiang, who did not fight with Sun Shangxiang in the city just now, saw Sun Shangxiang's neat murder, and knew that the knife in her right hand was also a sword with iron-cut iron as mud. If only one person was there, he would be sure to kill Cao Chong, but both of them were staring at him, but he felt a little weak. He had to turn around and remind Cao Chong that he was in front of the formation, so don't be proud.

Cao Chong turned around with a smile, stopped the war horse under his crotch, and bowed to Ma Chao. Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, and quickly placed the spear across the saddle and bowed his hand to return the gift.

"General, it's been eight years since we left. Is the general doing well in Qiang?" Cao Chong smiled, as if he was having sex with his friends. Ma Chao laughed, and did not reply to his words. He just looked at Cao Chong quietly, and waited for a while before laughing: "General Cao, you have soared to the sky and made a big splash in the past eight years. Ma Chao has been waiting for the general in Xiliang for many years, and now he finally gets his wish. Unfortunately, Lord Xiahou is far away in Jincheng, otherwise, I really want to ask him for advice."

When Cao Chong heard that he was still worried about what happened back then, he laughed to the sky: "The courage of an ordinary man is insignificant. Now Shuquan is in charge of Jincheng, it is really not easy for you to see him. However, the general's father and brother are all in the city, and they are close to each other. Don't the general want to see him at first?"

"Of course I want to see you." Ma Chao raised his face and looked at the Shangqiu City Wall in the distance. Although it was far away, he could not see the faces of Ma Teng and Ma Xiu and Ma Tie on the city wall, but he could still recognize it from his figure. He suddenly felt a little sad. In the battle today, no matter whether it was victory or defeat, I was afraid that the father and son and brother would never be able to meet again.

"My Ma family is separated from each other, and it is all thanks to your Cao family. Today, I will be able to break Shangji and welcome my father. If you know some current affairs, it is still too late to regret it." Ma Chao said proudly: "Shangji City has been broken, and all the power in the city is here. Even if you have thousands of magical tricks, it is impossible to defeat me. I think you have done some good things for the people of Xiliang and don't want to kill more. As long as you agree to my request, you will not lose in this battle."

Cao Chong couldn't help laughing after hearing Ma Chao's confident advice. He pointed to the battle formation behind Ma Chao with a horse whip: "Does the general think that just these 20,000 people can break my Shangri-Zhicheng? To be honest, the general said that my tens of thousands of troops have surrounded me from three sides. If I hadn't let them stand by on standby, you would have been a turtle in the jar and a prisoner under the stairs, I'm afraid there would be no elegance to chat with me here. I know you think you are brave. Today, I set up this battle formation to make you convinced and let you know that fighting is not something that can be won by personal courage or with a large number of people."

As soon as he turned around, he pointed at Ma Teng and others on the city wall and shouted loudly: "Even your father, brother, and sister are standing opposite you. Do you think you still have a chance to win? You can also recognize some words and read some books. Do you have no helpers understand it?"

Ma Chao felt a little angry when he thought that his family had only Ma Beng and was following him now. He immediately reacted again. Just as he was about to speak, Cao Chong said loudly: "Because you still know that these killings can be avoided, I will give you a chance. You will dismount and surrender now. I promise that you can regain your post like Han Sui, not only can you reunite your father and son, but also enjoy wealth and prosperity forever. If you are obsessed with it, you will be afraid that the old general Ma will send a white-haired man to a black-haired man. I am afraid that these Han and Qiang people who respect you as General Tian will sacrifice in vain because of your greed."

"Stop talking. Do you think I can't see this slowdown plan?" Ma Chao waved his hand and looked at it disdainfully: "Since the agreement cannot be reached, let's see the truth on the battlefield. Let's see if it's yours, the incomplete infantry and cavalry, or if my more than 20,000 troops are better at fighting. But I will remind you one last time that it will be too late if you regret it."

"Hahaha..." Cao Chong arrogantly pointed at Ma Chao with a horse whip: "I didn't expect you to be so stubborn. Since that's the case, I don't fear using you as a typical example to show the might of our army." After saying that, he ignored Ma Chao and returned to the square formation. After passing the horse-rejecting formation, he did not go back to the city directly, but stopped in front of the formation. He looked majestic at the ten thousand soldiers in front of him, and then at Pang Tong and others who had just shown a little relaxed expression on the city tower, and Ma Teng and his son with complicated expressions. Suddenly shouted loudly: "Soldiers, do you know who is opposite?"

The soldiers facing him were stunned for a moment. Opposite was Ma Chao from Xiliang. Who doesn’t know that the general didn’t go back to the city and stayed there, and suddenly said these words.

"The soldiers are opposite Ma Chao, who was called the General of Heaven by the Han people of Xiliang and the Qiang people. Whether they are Han people or Qiang people, they regard him as a god, but he is not a god." Cao Chong shouted sternly: "He raised an army to rebel for disloyalty, and ignored his old father's life and death, and was unfilial. He used thousands of Han people and Qiang people's blood to exchange for his own false reputation, which was for incorruptibleness, and killed Lord Wei, who was known to Liangzhou, for injustice. He was not a general of Heaven at all, but a coward who was unfaithful, unfilial, unkind and unrighteous!"

When the soldiers heard this, they were a little silent. If it was a bit far-fetched to say that Ma Chao's rebellion was unfaithful, the accusations behind him were beyond reproach. Especially, he was not concerned about his father's life or death or the murder of Wei Kang, who had surrendered, was untenable no matter what. When he thought that General Tian, ​​who usually worshiped God, was such a person, at that time, he immediately gave up his distracting thoughts.

Cao Chong walked back and forth in front of the formation, and saw that the soldiers changed their faces, especially the Qiang people became serious, then continued: "Soldiers, this is Xiliang, the Xiliang of my great man, and the land exchanged for the blood of countless soldiers of my great man. Behind us is Guanzhong, a fertile field of thousands of miles. Countless people are working hard on that land, hoping to exchange their sweat for a good harvest and live a peaceful life. However, this unfaithful, unfilial, unkind and unrighteous Ma Chao tried to kill into Guanzhong and shatter the minimum hope of thousands of people. He wanted to go to Guanzhong to kill people, set fire, rob, and create boundless killings in Guanzhong. Soldiers, tell me, can you agree?"

Cao Chong's voice became louder and louder. In the last two sentences, he was already yelling loudly. He pointed at Ma Chao opposite and shouted again: "Tell me, can you agree?"

"No!" several voices shouted.

"I can't hear clearly, let's be louder!" Cao Chong shouted wildly again.

"No!" This time, hundreds of people shouted together.

"No!" Thousands of people shouted together.

"No! No! No!" Ten thousand people shouted loudly.

Cao Chong reached out his hand with satisfaction and pressed it down. The soldiers who were roaring with red face immediately stopped their voices and wanted to see what Cao Chong had to say. Cao Chong cleared his throat, which was a bit painful, and shouted loudly: "I will stand behind you, live and die with Shangqiu City, and never take a step back. The soldiers, show your courage to let those thieves see what a real warrior is, what an invincible thing is, and what an invincible thing is."

"Invincible in the world!"

"Invincible!

Under the leadership of the generals, ten thousand soldiers shouted with great affection. The Shangri-Bicheng became more majestic and inviolable amid their roars. Their vigorous fighting spirit and fearless courage made the rebels on the other side feel boundless pressure, which was more than twice their number of people.

Ma Chao didn't dare to wait any longer. He had no time and had no courage to wait any longer. He was afraid that he would collapse without fighting. He let out a long roar, pointed his spear forward, and issued an order to attack.

The vanguard of five thousand cavalry slowly activated the war horses, and the sound of hooves rumbled, forming an attack formation between more than ten breaths, rushing over a distance of more than two hundred steps, and killing towards Cao's army Zuo Ji like a torrent.
Chapter completed!