Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 647: Traveling to the West Sea
Even though Ma Chao vomited blood due to anger, he could not escape the cruel reality.

After Ma Chao woke up, in order to regain his base, he did not care about anything else and immediately ordered his army to march south.

Due to lack of food, the Liang soldiers were unable to take the eastern route to join Ma Dai, and had to go south along the Tao River, relying on supplies from the Qiang, Di, and Han along the way, and then turn from Didao to the Wei River.

Entering the Wei River Basin, the number of people living there increased, and due to the lack of food, Ma Chao allowed his troops to plunder. They got some food and supplies, which slightly alleviated the food shortage, but they were still on the edge of the warning line.

During this period, when Ma Chao was on his way back, he wanted to renegotiate the treaty with Han to see if he could make Han give up Tianshui, and he kept sending envoys to Ji County.

In order to disintegrate the morale of Ma Chao's army, Wang Ping warmly entertained the envoys and took them to meet their families and the families of the soldiers. In order to make the Long people under Ma Chao's command lose their will to fight, Zhao Ang even encouraged the families to write letters to the soldiers.

After some operations, Ma Chao saw that the soldiers were demoralized and extremely anxious. In order to take back Tianshui, he kept putting forward more conditions, such as abolishing the title of king or ceding land. But the Han army wanted more than that and kept rejecting Ma Chao's demands.

In December, Ma Chao led his troops to Xiangwu. After replenishing supplies in Xiangwu, he prepared to lead his troops to attack Ji County.

At this time, after Ma Chao left Longxi County, Wei Yan and Lu Xun led their troops out of Niutou Mountain respectively, occupied the cities in the Taoshui River Basin, and cut off Ma Chao's retreat route to the Qiang area.

Two or three days later, Ma Chao led his troops to Jicheng to see if there was any chance of breaking into the city.

Looking at the sturdy and tall city walls of Ji County and the heavily guarded Han army on the walls, Ma Chao sighed deeply.

"My king, should we attack the city now?" Dong Zhong asked bitterly.

Ma Chao turned pale and said, "Jicheng is strong, but now it is occupied by Wang Ping. With the number of troops we have now, how can we break the city? We will only lose troops in vain!"

As he traveled south, Ma Chao became more and more desperate. He didn't know where he could go.

He wanted to govern the people well, but because of the lack of food, he had no choice but to let his troops plunder. After plundering the people, the people of Longxi would no longer support him. Moreover, Ji County could not be conquered, and he and his subordinates' families were all in the hands of the Han army. The army was in turmoil, and he didn't know when the army would collapse.

"Bojie, will the Han army agree to the conditions?" Ma Chao asked.

Cheng Gongying shook his head and said, "The Han army has no intention of talking. They just take the messengers to visit the families of the soldiers and their families, or let the messengers bring letters from home to the soldiers. This strategy is an open conspiracy, a strategy of the Han army to attack the hearts of the people, hoping that our soldiers will leave the army because of homesickness!"

The conspiracy was followed by an open plot, one thing leading to another, leaving the Liang army with almost no power to fight back.

Dong Zhong asked bitterly: "Since Jizhou County cannot be taken down now, what should we do?"

Ma Chao sighed and said, "Let's retreat to Xiangwu first and then make plans. If defeat is inevitable, we can go north from Xiangwu or west to Longxi and then make plans!"

"promise!"

Because of the loss of Ji County, Ma Chao and the generals of Liang State were almost in confusion and didn't know what to do!

The chaos and confusion among the upper echelons, as well as the lack of food and fodder in the army, directly affected the soldiers at the lower level. When Ma Chao led his troops to retreat to Xiangwu, many soldiers left the team at night and fled to Ji County. The morale of the army became increasingly turbulent, and Ma Chao whipped them but could not stop them.

Wang Ping received news of the surrendered soldiers, so based on the intelligence, he led his troops westward, gathering the surrendered soldiers along the way and handing them over to Zhao Ang. He also cooperated with Lu Xun and Wei Yan to encircle Ma Chao from the east.

In fact, while Ma Chao was sending troops towards Ji County, Lu Xun and Wei Yan gradually marched eastward, occupied Shouyang and Zhuang County, and marched east and west with Wang Ping, blocking Ma Chao in the Wei River Valley.

When Ma Chao learned that Lu Xun came out from Niutou Mountain and cut off his way west to the Qiang tribe, he probably knew Lu Xun's intention.

Ma Chao had no choice but to temporarily station his troops in Xiangwu, hoping to contact Ma Dai and then use his troops again. However, due to the lack of food and the demoralization of the army, Liang soldiers continued to surrender to Lu Xun and Wang Ping. Lu, Wang, and Wei each led their troops and set up camp fifteen miles outside Xiangwu City, surrounding Ma Chao.

In Xiangwu City, in the dilapidated government office.

As it was deep winter, braziers were lit in the hall to drive away the cold.

Ma Chao's beard was patchy and he looked particularly haggard. Surrounded by Lu Xun's troops, Ma Chao no longer had the heroic spirit he once had, and his expression revealed a bit of loneliness.

Looking at the civil and military officials in the hall, Ma Chao asked, "At present, Ji County has been captured, Lu Xun has occupied Longyou, and the foundation has been destroyed. I wonder if you have any strategy to teach me?"

Everyone looked at each other and fell silent.

After a while, the lieutenant Yao Qiong said cautiously, "Lu Xun should not want to kill us all. Your Majesty should surrender to Lu Xun. Perhaps the Emperor of Han will still treat you well."

"Lu Xun, you have repeatedly broken your promises. You cannot be trusted!"

Ma Chao sneered a few times and said, "Even if I die in Xiangwu, I will never surrender to them!"

The foundation he had built with great difficulty was seized by Lu Xun. Ma Chao would rather die in battle than surrender to Lu Xun.

Yao Qiong remained silent. He didn't dare say anything more, for fear that Ma Chao would blame him for surrendering.

Ma Chao looked around at the crowd and saw that Dong Zhong was missing, so he asked, "Where is Dong Zhong?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the attendant hurried into the hall and said sadly, "Your Majesty, Dong Zhong, under the instigation of Lu Xun, has led his troops out of the city to surrender to the Han!"

"Surrendered to Han?"

Ma Chao's expression became more and more bitter, and he forced a smile and said, "In the past, Dong Zhong surrendered to me because he was weak, and I wanted to pity his bravery, so I made use of him. Now that he is in a desperate situation and surrenders to the Han, it was within my expectations." As he spoke, Ma Chao said self-deprecatingly, "When a man is in trouble, the reason for his marriage is not as good as you guys!"

Dong Zhong was a powerful man in Longyou. He led his troops to serve under Ma Chao. Ma Chao saw that Dong Zhong had a large number of troops and was brave, so he married Dong Zhong's sister.

Dong Zhong's surrender to the Han not only took away thousands of soldiers and horses, but also broke Ma Chao's heart. In times of crisis, in-laws are not reliable!

The reason why Dong Zhong surrendered at that time was not only because his family members, young and old, were all in Ji County, but also because of Lu Xun's promise and guarantee.

In order to disintegrate Ma Chao's troops, Lu Xun wrote many letters to the generals in Liang Province, such as assuring Dong Zhong that after he returned to Han, he would not hold the past accountable, including treason or killing of Han soldiers.

With Lu Xun's guarantee, not only Dong Zhong surrendered to the Han Dynasty, but also Yao Jing and Zheng Ta, who had defected before, surrendered to the Han Dynasty.

The loss of Ji County and Ma Chao's inability to capture the city dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Liang army. The Han army's attempts to recruit and surrender rebels gradually led to the internal disintegration of the Liang army.

Using a wooden stick to stir the brazier, Ma Chao asked, "How much food do we have left?"

"There is no food in the city, and there are only four or five thousand soldiers left, half of them are Han and half are Qiang!" Cheng Gongying sighed and said.

Ma Chao stared at the dying flames and asked, "The Han army is now blocking the east and west of the Wei River. Many civil and military officials have defected, and the number of generals and soldiers is gradually decreasing. I want to go north from Langgan and then lead the troops to join Guo Huai. What do you think?"

Cheng Gongying retorted, "Your Majesty has spent decades raising the army. Even if you are defeated today, why should you abandon your family and turn to others?"

Ma Chao stroked his drooping white hair and sighed, "I am already old, and I am afraid I don't have the energy to make a comeback!"

Cheng Gongying disagreed and said, "Your Majesty is old, but how can you compare to Liu Bei? He rose to power in the south at the age of fifty, and then divided the north and the south with Cao Cao. Today, the world is in constant conflict. If Your Majesty can make some plans, how can he not rise again?"

Ma Chao was silent for a while, then gradually regained some confidence and said, "According to Bojie's opinion, how should I handle it?"

"There are two strategies!"

Cheng Gongying hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty is well-known among the Qiang and Hu people. It would be better for you to temporarily go to the Qiang tribe in Xihai (Qinghai), greet old friends, pacify the Qiang and Hu people, and make friends with Cao Wei."

"The best plan is to lure Wei to attack Long, and wait until the Han and Wei are at odds. Then the king will lead the Qiang and Hu people to attack Hehuang. If Hehuang surrenders, the king will go south to Longxi and Nangan, and then attack Tianshui."

"The next plan is that the Xihai Qiang people number hundreds of thousands. If Your Majesty can subdue them, take advantage of the terrain and cold weather, and block the roads, it will be enough to drive back the troops from Guanxi. Even if you can't establish a business in Longtu, you can still dominate the Qiang people."

Because Cheng Gongying had betrayed Cao Wei, he was afraid of being liquidated, so he did not want to surrender to Cao Wei. He had worked for Ma Chao for many years and could be said to be the best civil official. He had enjoyed the power for so many years, and he did not want to give it up easily.

The Qinghai region has been inhabited by the Qiang people since ancient times. Later, the Tuoba Xianbei entered Qinghai and established the Tuyuhun Kingdom.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were at least hundreds of thousands of Qiang people in Qinghai. If Ma Chao could subdue the Qiang people in Qinghai and establish a kingdom in the remote Qinghai region through political manipulation, it would not be difficult.

And with the help of the Qiang people in the Qinghai region, if there is another dispute in Guanxi, Ma Chao can choose to stab the Southern Han in the back and retake Longyou.

Hearing this, Ma Chao was slightly moved and said, "I think it's feasible to run to Qiang. At present, the food in the city is low and the soldiers are dwindling. We should quickly go to Longbei and try to meet up with Bozhan!"

There was a reliable plan at the moment, and Ma Chao did not want to surrender to Guo Huai. After all, living under someone else's roof was too dangerous. Although Qiangzhong was bitter and cold, it was at least a place to go. And outside Qiangzhong was Xiping County. With Xiping County as the gateway and the Qinghai Qiang behind, it was enough to resist foreign enemies.

"My king, there is no time to lose!"

Cheng Gongying said: "Your Majesty should take advantage of the fact that the Han army has just arrived outside the city and lead your elite troops out of the city at night. If the Han soldiers cut off the northern road, Your Majesty will have no way to escape!"

"good!"

Ma Chao nodded slightly and said decisively: "Since we have a strategy, we should lead the troops out of the city tonight. Take the northern road to Langgan, then meet up with Bozhan, lead the army all the way north to Yuzhong and Yongshi, and then go west into Qiang and seek protection from the Qiang!"

As he spoke, Ma Chao looked at Cheng Gongying and asked, "What does Bojie think?"

Cheng Gongying thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, there are two roads in the north of the city, one small and one small. If the Han army knows that our army is fleeing, they will think that our army is panicking and will take the small road. Your Majesty can then do the opposite and take the big road to travel faster."

"good!"

Ma Chao held Cheng Gongying's hand and said with a tone of guilt and gratitude: "I asked you about the biting foot before, and you asked me to be more vigilant about Tianshui to prevent the rear house from being damaged. But I regret not listening to you, which led to the disaster today. If I can be revived in the future, I will share the joys and sorrows with you and the generals!"

Cheng Gongying smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't know what a monkey was before, but now that I see Lu Xun, I know what it means!"

"Xun means grandson. The genus of grandson is monkey. The king's foot was bitten by a monkey, which means that Lu Xun attacked the king's base."

Historically, when Guan Yu was stabbed in the back by Lu Meng, he dreamed of a pig biting his foot.

This dream is not difficult to interpret. Pig means pig. The "Meng" in Lü Meng's name means pig. It implies that Guan Yu was attacked by Lü Meng and took Jingzhou. At that time, Guan Yu misunderstood the meaning.

Ma Chao gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Lu Xun has broken the alliance twice. If I can escape and enter the Qiang, I will raise an army and attack him from behind to avenge my past grudge and make him die without a burial place!"

(End of this chapter)