The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 312 Ma Chao is very depressed

North of the Wei River, Ma Chao walked into the big tent with a gloomy face. From the time when the army started its uprising in Beidi County to now, wherever the army went, it was invincible and no one could stop it. In his opinion, he would be able to reach Chang'an City soon.

However, reality slapped him in the face. The Lantian camp of the Cavalry Army resisted very tenaciously. Xu Rong was a veteran of the battlefield. Although he was not as good as himself in martial arts, he had rich battlefield experience and blocked his attack.

This made Ma Chao very angry.

Especially after Qin Shou defeated Yuan Shao at Guandu, when the news reached Guanzhong, the morale of these brave cavalry troops was high and their offensive became even more powerful. If there were not many cavalrymen, Ma Chao would have suspected that the other side was preparing for a counterattack.

"Is there any news from Cheng Yi?"

Ma Chao asked Ma Dai beside him.

"Xu Huang's troops arrived first, and Cheng Yi occupied Linjin City." Ma Dai said with a wry smile.

"This damn Cheng Yi only knows how to be greedy for money."

Ma Chao immediately knew the reason. It was not because Cheng Yi arrived first, but because Cheng Yi coveted the wealth of Linjin. Therefore, he occupied Linjin city first. By the time he occupied the Yellow River ferry, it was too late.

Xu Huang's goal was very clear, which was to help Qin Shou cross the river. The other party really didn't care who would own Linjin City.

Ma Dai smiled bitterly.

It seems to be just a small matter, but it can also be seen from it that Ma Chao's control over the Xiliang coalition forces is actually not high, and Cheng Yi and others all have their own ideas.

"You Chengyi is in Linjin, and it will be difficult for the Cavalry to pass through in a short period of time. As long as we attack hard, we still have a chance." Ma Dai comforted.

At this point, even Ma Chao himself had no choice. Things had already happened, and all he could do was to end the battle as soon as possible.

"I'm worried that things are not that simple." Ma Chao whispered, "You are not with Qin Shou. Qin Shou looks like a great general, but he is insidious and cunning. If you underestimate him, you will be the one who suffers in the end. Cheng Yi is no match for Qin Shou."

Ma Chao had been with Qin Shou for a long time and knew Qin Shou's character very well. If he thought that Qin Shou was just a small military general, he would be deceiving himself. Qin Shou's insidiousness and cunningness were no less than those of the literati.

Cheng Yi hasn't even gotten the initiative yet, so how can he be a match for Qin Shou? If the other party hadn't been defending the city, he would have been in danger of being annihilated by Qin Shou.

"Brother, what should we do now?"

Ma Dai asked with some concern.

"What else can we do? If an enemy comes, we will fight him with our troops. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth."

Ma Chao said nonchalantly: "For now, all we have to do is hold the other party back. We'll leave the rest to time!"

Ma Chao no longer had the idea of ​​defeating Qin Shou since he knew that his opponent had defeated Yuan Shao. The only thing he could do now was to restrain Qin Shou so that he would not have enough energy to deal with others.

Yuan Shao was defeated, so he started the attack, and then he was defeated. Then Yuan Shao or Liu Biao, or even Cao Cao took action. Only by doing this in a coherent manner could he restrain Qin Shou and give himself more opportunities.

Although the tiger is very powerful, if there are enough jackals, they can easily kill the tiger.

Although no one said anything explicitly, Ma Chao believed that there must be a tacit understanding among each other. Although he would be defeated, he must try to drag out the battle for a longer time to give others more time to prepare.

Ma Dai nodded but said nothing.

"Brother, should we send someone to monitor Cheng Yi? If anything happens to this person, our retreat will be affected, and even our food supply will collapse." Ma Dai said with some concern.

Ma Chao thought for a moment and was about to send someone to give instructions to Cheng Yi when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves outside the tent.

"My lord, Linjin has been lost and Cheng Yi has been killed."

The voice of the scout outside the tent rang out. "Nonsense, Cheng Yi has 15,000 troops. It may not be enough for attack, but it is still easy to defend Linjin. How could it be lost?"

Ma Chao was furious.

The thing he was most worried about happened. Linjin was lost, Chengyi was defeated, and his retreat was in trouble. The Cavalry Army could pass through Linjin and cut off his retreat.

The enemy can attack Beidi County or cut off its own food supply.

He knew that Cheng Yi was definitely not Qin Shou's opponent, not even Xu Huang, and he never thought that Cheng Yi could defeat Qin Shou. But you have to hold on for a while and leave yourself enough time.

Unexpectedly, the other party was so incompetent that they lost Linjin so quickly, leaving a huge loophole in their rear.

"How did Cheng Yi lose Linjin? Was it because the Cavalry attacked day and night?" Ma Dai asked hurriedly.

Ma Chao also looked at the messenger.

He didn't understand. With a strong city behind him and a large number of troops at his disposal, Cheng Yi could at least hold out for ten days or half a month. He didn't expect that the other side would fail so quickly. What else could he be but a waste?
The scout did not dare to delay and quickly told Cheng Yi what he had done.

"Cheng Yi, you bastard!"

Ma Chao could never have imagined that Cheng Yi could do such a thing, and he was completely stunned.

The enemy did not attack, but instead wanted to seize the cities of their allies and their own Beidi County.

If you had succeeded, Ma Chao would never say anything. Unexpectedly, you failed in the end and messed yourself up. There has never been such a stupid person in the world.

It doesn't matter if you die, but you can see that Ma Chao is going to be killed.

The defeat in Chengyi meant that their retreat was exposed and their food supply was threatened.

Originally, the Xiliang army had always had an unstable food supply, and now even the food supply was in the hands of the enemy, which made things even more miserable.

"Brother, we are in even more trouble now. Qin Shou's troops will be here soon."

Ma Dai said very worriedly.

He was now at a loss whether to laugh or cry. A good situation had gone wrong because of these guys' stupidity. Now there were only two options before Ma Chao. Either retreat and go to Jincheng, Wuwei and other places. He could not go to Beidi County anyway.

Or they would wait until the enemy came and trapped them on the north bank of the Wei River, making it impossible for them to escape. In the end, their food and grass would be exhausted and their soldiers would flee and die.

"Now I'm afraid that even if we want to withdraw our troops, the other side will not let us withdraw peacefully."

Ma Chao clenched his fists. The good situation collapsed in an instant, and now even his own life was in danger.

"Brother, you can retreat first, and I will cover your rear. I believe we can hold off the cavalry for a day or two."

Ma Dai said quickly.

He was adopted by Ma Teng since he was a child. Although he was his nephew, he was actually almost like his own son. How could Ma Dai let Ma Chao die here?

"Let's go together. Xu Rong's troops are good at defense, but not at attack. I believe he won't pursue us. We are only facing Qin Shou. We may not be able to defeat him, but we can protect ourselves. Don't worry!"

After learning that Cheng Yi was killed in the battle, Ma Chao knew that he would be defeated, and withdrawing his troops became his only option.

(End of this chapter)