Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 644: Sneak Attack on Long
The second year of Jianxing, autumn.

Jiang Jiong used repeated tactics to provoke Guo and Ma to fight for Jincheng. In order to defeat Guo Huai, Ma Chao snatched the 2,000 horses sent by the Xianbei and led the main force of Longyou to fight Guo Huai.

Ma Chao led the Long soldiers, who were brave and good at fighting, and repeatedly defeated Guo Huai on the front battlefield. Guo Huai's troops were far away from the Hexi region and were short of food and grass. He could not hold out until Cao Zhen's surprise attack on Long, so Guo Huai had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat temporarily.

During this period, Lu Xun often communicated with Ma Chao in the name of asking about military affairs to ensure that he had a real-time understanding of the battle in Jincheng. In order to lure Ma Chao to attack Hexi in the north, Lu Xun transported a batch of grain from Yinping to Ma Chao.

Huang Quan, who was in Guanzhong, still kept in touch with Ma Chao, saying that most of Cao Zhen's troops had been tied up by him in Luo Valley.

After ensuring that the rear base was stable, Ma Chao, following Jiang Jiong's advice, decided to lead his troops to pursue Guo Huai to see if he could take advantage of the victory to seize Hexi.

Although Jincheng is more than 2,000 miles away from Yinping, thanks to the trade between Bashu and Longyou, the roads are unobstructed and scouts can travel quickly through the mountains and rivers of southern Long.

When Ma Chao was about to win, the scouts quickly sent the news by fast horses to Lu Xun who was stationed at Jiameng Pass.

Jiameng Pass, the main camp of the Han army.

Lu Xun still served in the army in Confucian uniform, sitting on the couch, reading a book, looking extremely calm.

Wei Yan was anxious to make a contribution, and said: "General, Ma Chao and Guo Huai are fighting in Jincheng. Now is the opportunity to use troops. If the general can order me to lead light troops to attack Didao and cut off Ma Chao's retreat, Longyou will be taken without a fight!"

"Not urgent!"

Lu Xun smiled as he read the scroll and said, "General Wei, now is not the time to use troops. We should not act hastily. If we fail to defeat them in one blow, all our efforts will be in vain."

There was a consensus among the top brass of the Bashu Military Region on stabbing Ma Chao in the back, otherwise Lu Xun would not have stationed 30,000 troops at Jiameng Pass and kept watching the situation in Longyou.

After two or three months, seeing that Ma Chao was gaining the upper hand, the impatient Wei Yan could not calm down and repeatedly asked Lu Xun to allow him to send troops. However, Lu Xun was very patient and in order to find an opportunity to strike a fatal blow, he was like a scheming hunter, holding his troops still and waiting for the best opportunity to use his troops.

"Hey!"

Seeing Lu Xun's reply, Wei Yan said anxiously: "General, if we let Ma Chao return victorious and Longyou is consolidated, our army will miss the opportunity. In the short term, there will be no chance to attack Longyou again."

The generals of Bashu had been at peace for too long, and seeing the generals of Jianghan, Huaisi and Huaibei making new achievements, how could they not be jealous? Especially this time, the attack on Longyou was the easiest because it was a back-stabbing operation, and everyone was afraid of losing this achievement.

"Don't worry, Wen Chang!"

Zhao Ang advised: "Since the governor has the intention to seize Longyou, how can he sit back and watch the opportunity slip away? I think the governor has already made a plan, and he will use his troops when the time is right."

"wait!"

Wei Yan said in a muffled voice: "Don't wait until Guo Huai's army is defeated and Ma Chao returns to Long!"

Seeing Wei Yan's temper, Lu Xun put down the book and explained to him, "Guo Huai has not withdrawn yet. If our army attacks Long, Ma Chao will join forces with Guo Huai in a desperate situation. I wonder how General Wei will defeat Guo and Ma?"

Wei Yan seemed to understand something, but he said stubbornly: "Ma Chao has betrayed Cao Wei many times, how dare he contact Guo Huai again?"

Lu Xun smiled and asked, "Long-term disadvantages and short-term harm, what would General Wei choose?"

The situation in Longyou was too complicated to resolve Ma Chao in a short period of time. Given Ma Chao's fickle character, once he was forced into a desperate situation by the Han, he would most likely defect to Cao Wei.

In order to prevent the Southern Han from seizing Longyou, Cao Wei would inevitably cooperate with Ma Chao and go to war with the Southern Han. As for driving away the Southern Han, Ma Chao and Guo Huai fell out and went to war with each other, which is another matter.

In order to completely kill Ma Chao, Lu Xun had to establish sufficient strategic advantages before he could attack Ma Chao and completely eliminate him. This would prevent Ma Chao from being interfered with by Cao Wei forces and drive the Southern Han out of Longyou.

Of course, it also has something to do with Lu Xun's style of using troops. In order to defeat the enemy, Lu Xun must establish sufficient strategic advantages before he dares to take action. Once he takes action, he will attack with lightning speed, making it difficult for the enemy to resist.

"If Guo Huai withdraws his troops and Ma Chao leads his troops back to Long, I don't know how the commander-in-chief will go to Long?" Wei Yan grasped the core issue and asked again.

Lu Xun picked up the scroll and smiled, saying, "General, I will answer your questions from time to time!"

Wei Yan curled his lips and said nothing more.

After a while, the scout walked into the tent and presented the information to Lu Xun.

Putting down the scroll, Lu Xun opened the wooden box and read the information on the letter. He couldn't help but smile and said, "The time to use troops has come. Now we can send troops to attack Long!"

"Ok?"

Zhao Ang asked curiously, "I wonder if there are any changes in the battle situation in Jincheng?"

Lu Xun passed the intelligence to his attendants and said, "Ma Chao's troops are brave and valiant. Guo Huai is a long way away and cannot defeat him. He has now retreated to Hexi. Ma Chao is heading to Hexi and is pursuing him, hoping to defeat Guo Huai and seize the counties in Hexi."

As he spoke, Lu Xun looked at Wei Yan and said jokingly, "I wonder if this letter can relieve General Wei's worries?"

Wei Yan's face turned red, and he did not dare to refute Lu Xun. He could only bow his head and apologize.

Wang Ping heard the contents of the letter and asked in confusion, "How did the commander know that Guo Huai would withdraw his troops and Ma Chao would lead his troops in pursuit?"

Lu Xun stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Ma Chao is cunning and ambitious, no less than Peng Yue and his ilk. Now that Guo Huai has fled to Hexi to seize the counties there, how could Ma Chao not pursue him?"

Lu Xun added: "With the food from Bashu and Gong Heng to contain Cao Zhen, if Ma Chao does not pursue, he will miss the opportunity to take Liang."

"The governor is wise!"

Officers including Wang Ping and Zhao Ang bowed and praised.

"Blow the drums to gather the generals!"

Lu Xun stood up and ordered, "We must take Longyou in one battle!"

"promise!"

As the drum sounded to gather the generals, the clerks and officers in the Han army camp rushed to the central military tent to receive orders.

Inside the big tent, Lu Xun took off his Confucian robes, put on armor, and sat on the couch with his sword in his hands.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, all the officers and clerks of the three armies have arrived, and no one is missing!" The military judge reported. "Good!"

Lu Xun looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Ma Chao has taken away 2,000 troops and horses without authorization. Your Majesty, please issue an edict to attack Long, kill the traitor Ma Chao, and recapture the six counties in Longyou."

As he spoke, Lu Xun asked his attendants to read out Liu Chan's imperial edict ordering the attack on Ma Chao.

Some generals who did not know the details looked at each other in confusion, but due to military discipline they did not dare to ask the reason.

"Now Guo Huai has withdrawn to Hexi, and Ma Chao is leading his troops to pursue him. Longyou is now empty, so we should first take the six counties, and then destroy Ma Chao."

Lu Xun took the military order and shouted, "Where are the generals?"

"The general is here!"

"Wang Ping, Zhao Ang, listen to my orders!"

"I order you two to lead 10,000 soldiers out of Yinping Road, to Xiangwu City on the Wei River, and then quickly march to Tianshui to capture Ji County, Shanggui and other cities."

General Lu Xun handed the order to Wang Ping, saying, "After we capture Jixian and Shanggui, we must enforce strict military discipline and not take the people's property without authorization. We must also seal up the treasury, provide for the elderly, and provide relief to the people. If Ma Chao leads his troops to the city, you two can just hold the city without fighting."

"promise!"

Zhao Ang and Wang Ping stretched out their hands to receive the military order, and immediately withdrew from the military tent, intending to reorganize their troops and lead them to attack Longyou as soon as possible.

"Where is Wei Yan?"

"The general is here!"

Lu Xun said, "When Ma Chao learns that the cities of Tianshui have fallen, he will surely lead his troops back to provide support. Judging from his route of advance, he will go down from Jincheng, pass through Didao, and then head towards the Wei River, and then advance eastward along the Wei River. When Wen Chang waits for Ma Chao's troops to pass Didao, he will lead his troops to station in Didao to cut off Ma Chao's route back."

Then, Lu Xun looked around at everyone and said, "The rest of the generals will follow me and station at Lintao to cut off his retreat. Then we will march to Tianshui to attack Ma Chao from both sides and wipe him out!"

"promise!"
-
Not to mention that Lu Xun ordered his troops to march towards Longyou, while Ma Chao, who was camping on the banks of the Lishui River, summoned Cheng Gongying for questioning because he had a nightmare.

In the tent, Ma Chao wiped his sweaty face, drank a sip of cold water, and said tiredly: "I dreamed of hunting at night. I saw a red monkey running on the road. I wanted to shoot it, but the monkey bit my foot. I couldn't get away, so I woke up. Bojie is familiar with the scriptures, I wonder what this sign means?"

Cheng Gongying yawned, rubbed his tired face, and said, "Don't worry, my king. Let me think about it for a while."

In order to pursue Guo Huai, Ma Chao led his army to attack for a long time, and everyone was exhausted. Now Cheng Gongying was woken up by Ma Chao, and he was helpless.

After regaining some of his thoughts, Cheng Gongying said, "The monkey bit the king's foot. The foot is the lower, and also the queen. Now the king is leading his troops out to hunt, and perhaps the troops will attack the king's rear, or the king's queen's house will be in turmoil."

"Attack the rear?"

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment and asked, "Who is that monkey?"

Cheng Gongying thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "What is a monkey? Gai Ying doesn't understand it either."

Ma Chao frowned and thought, then asked, "Does the monkey who bit my foot have any other intentions?"

Jin Cheng Gongying told him that someone attacked his Longyou base, but Ma Chao did not believe it.

In his eyes, Cao Zhen was being held back by Huang Quan in Guanzhong, Ma Dai was stationed in Longshan, Gao Gang was guarding Qishan Fort, and Lu Xun was recuperating from illness. With this arrangement, what threats were there in the rear?

Cheng Gongying hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Guo Huai abandoned his baggage and fled with light equipment. Our army has pursued him here, so it is better for us to stop fighting and return home to avoid the loss of Longyou."

Ma Chao was unwilling to give up and said, "Guo Huai was defeated and I led the cavalry to pursue him. If we can defeat him in this battle, Hexi will belong to our army. At this time, I control Longyou and Hexi, and lead the cavalry of Longliang to Guanzhong, and I will be able to stand on equal footing with Wei and Han."

"If we miss this opportunity and let Guo Huai return to Wuwei, he will never dare to go south in the future and can only guard the Hexi counties. It may not be easy for our army to attack him then!" Ma Chao sighed.

Ma Chao had been working hard for so many years to build his foundation, and he had long understood that opportunities were a blessing for small countries. If Liu Bei had not rushed to take Guanzhong, Ma Chao would have had no hope of rising.

Defeating Guo Huai and sweeping across Hexi would be another good opportunity for him. If he could seize the opportunity, make Wuwei his capital, unite the Hu people in the north, and control the Qiang people in the south, he would dare to establish his capital there and proclaim himself emperor.

How could he turn back because of a nightmare and give up the opportunity to pursue Guo Huai and sweep across Hexi?

Cheng Gongying smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, Lu Xun's attack on our two counties in Longnan should be a warning to you."

"Huang Quan sent troops to help me, Lu Xun returned home to recuperate, and Wei Yan stayed away from Wudu. How could Han betray me?"

Ma Chao was full of confidence and said, "Gao Gang will guard Qishan Fort, and I will guard Longshan. If Jicheng is besieged, the troops from Qishan and Longshan will rush to rescue it."

"I personally supervised the construction and reinforcement of Jicheng, and with 3,000 men guarding the city, even if an enemy ten times as many as me attacks, it cannot be breached!"

Ma Chao was very confident in his own arrangements. He led more than 20,000 soldiers on this expedition. Ma Dai and Gao Gang had 5,000 and 2,000 soldiers respectively, and there were more than 3,000 soldiers in Jicheng and Shanggui.

Huang Quan sent 20,000 troops to help him contain Cao Zhen, and Lu Xun only had 30,000 or 40,000 troops at most. He had more than 10,000 troops in Longyou. In terms of defensive warfare, Lu Xun could not break Qishan, let alone Jicheng, let alone Tianshui County.

Seeing that Ma Chao was stubborn, Cheng Gongying could not say much, so he said: "To be on the safe side, Your Majesty should send people back to Ji to guard against the troops of Han and Wei."

"good!"

Ma Chao nodded and said, "I just asked about dream interpretation. Why would Bojie be afraid?"

"It's better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't!" Cheng Gongying replied helplessly.

Ma Chao laughed a few times and said, "Perhaps this dream is a warning to me to be careful with my feet, so as not to be injured by the enemy soldiers in the battle between the two armies."

"Your Majesty should not go to the battlefield in person!" Cheng Gongying said.

"Ha ha!"

(End of this chapter)