After a bloody battle, Ma Chaojun successfully bypassed the Great Scattered Pass.

But the price paid was also extremely heavy, before entering the Wolong Valley, there were still 35,000 troops lost nearly half of the fierce battle, and now only 13,000 cavalry and more than 5,000 infantry remain.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang, who ambushed Ma Chao, did not get a bargain, almost killed 10,000 enemies and lost 12,000 himself. was almost disabled, so he could only lead his troops north to meet Zhu Di with a disgraced face, and he was no longer able to pursue Ma Chao.

After the continuous rapid march and fighting, the Xiliang soldiers were sleepy and tired, and there were many wounded who needed to be treated. Therefore, Ma Chao adopted Qin Liangyu's suggestion and ordered to set up camp in Yumi County and rest for a few days before leaving. At this time, the 40,000 stone of grain snatched from Luoyang County is very important, if there is no such food, I am afraid that Ma Chaojun will fall into the predicament of running out of food at this moment.

The wind is vast and the yellow sand is rolling.

The 18,000 tired army camped in the wilderness with a blank expression, and I don't know how long it will take to pass through the area controlled by the Western Han Dynasty and finally join the Eastern Han army? It leaves them at a loss. Last night's battle was really tragic, with an average of one out of two people killed in battle, and the bloody scene made them feel frightened, and they quietly felt war-weary in their hearts.

The spring breeze blew Ma Chao's cloak and hunted, looking at the soldiers with blood stains and soot on their faces, his heart ached: "Thinking back to last spring, my Ma family had 100,000 male soldiers, and they were all over the place. Unexpectedly, in just over a year, there are only these remnants left, which is really heart-wrenching! ”

Long He stood side by side with Ma Chao with his hands in front of his chest, and said with relief: "General Meng Qi, don't worry, you have come all the way from Liangzhou." Trekked almost two thousand miles. As long as you pass Chencang, it is the Guanzhong Plain of fertile fields. After another five or six days' walk, you can reach Shangluo. ”

"Fortunately, a fire burned Zhu Yuanzhang away by a strong man Long, otherwise Yang Su intercepted him before. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang chased and killed, and my Xiliang army was afraid that it would not be able to get out of Yongzhou. Thinking of the treacherous situation, Ma Chao thanked Long He again.

After camping, Ma Chao gathered the remnants of the army and sent multiple scouts to contact Pang De to the north, Wei Qing and Zhao Yun to the east, and to spy on the movements of Yang Sujun and the Han army stationed in Chang'an.

Three days down. gathered more than 1,800 remnants of the defeated generals, making the strength of the Ma Jiajun more than 20,000 again. Old friends reunited, relatives reunited, and the rest of their lives after the catastrophe, which also made the depressed Xiliang Army camp have more laughter.

But soon bad news came, and the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rose, but it was the return of the messenger who had contacted Pound in the direction of Ben Anding.

"Report ...... General Qiyu, according to the villain and other parties, General Pang Lingming was ambushed by Yang Guang and Zhu Di in Yuezhi, Linjing and other places. The 4,000 men and horses of the department were almost completely wiped out. The dusty, dusty scout gasped and reported to Ma Chao.

Although this news is heart-wrenching, it is also expected by Ma Chao. Zhu Yang invested at least nearly 50,000 troops to pursue and intercept Pang De, how could a mere 4,000 cavalry retreat? Ma Chao is more concerned about Pound's life and death.

"Have you ever inquired about Pang Lingming's news? Is it dead or alive? Ma Chao instructed Wang Yi to pour a bowl of water for the scout to moisten his throat, and it was not too late.

The scout cocked his head and drank it down, leaving not a drop of water behind. "According to the villain's inquiry from the natives, General Pang led dozens of horsemen to break out of the encirclement. The road to the south is difficult to pass due to the many passes. It seems to have turned around and gone north in the direction of Ben Bingzhou. ”

"What is Pound going to do in the state?" Ma Chao was a little puzzled.

Qin Liangyu frowned and analyzed: "It's okay to go to Bingzhou, so that General Pang can at least survive!" Bingzhou is Cao Cao's territory, and Cao Cao is still a nominal courtier of the Eastern Han Emperor, I believe Cao Cao will not embarrass General Pang. Maybe it won't be long before we can reunite with General Pang's legion. ”

In the evening, another scout came to report: "Qi generals, Yang Su ordered Yang Guang to hold Chencang, and he and Shi Wansui and Yang Lin raised 50,000 troops to camp in Wuzhangyuan, and lined up to block our army." In order to support Yang Su, Yang Jian ordered Zhang Xutuo to raise 5,000 troops from Luoyang to Wuzhangyuan, and at this moment nearly 60,000 Eastern Han troops were waiting for them! ”

After listening to the scout's report, the generals went to see the marching map together.

I saw that from Yumi County, where Ma Jiajun is now stationed, all the way to the east, about a hundred miles is Chencang Pass, a Xiongguan moat, which is more dangerous than Sanguan. If there are 5,000 defenders in the city, it will be difficult to break through even 100,000 heroes.

Since Chencang can't get through, then you can only make a detour to the north to Yongxian, and walk an extra 150 miles, you can bypass Chencang and enter the Linwei Plain, which is the Guanzhong Plain. After passing the Wuzhang Plain, it is a smooth road, and you can reach Shangluo after walking five or six hundred miles.

The Ma Jiajun only had two marching routes, and it was obvious that Yang Su had already prepared, so the heavy troops were gathered in Wuzhangyuan. In this way, the choice faced by Ma Chao is to either storm Chencang, or fight Yang Su in Wuzhangyuan and forcibly break through.

"Chen Cang definitely can't fight, then attack Wuzhang Plain!" Ma Chao slapped the table case heavily and made a choice, "Either break through, or burn the jade!" ”

The dragon stretched his muscles and bones, and his joints "clicked": "It can only be like this, the siege is boring, and the field battle is still happy!" ”

After recuperating for three or four days, Qin Ming's injuries had improved slightly. Wang Yi specially made a black eye patch for him, which he wore on his head to cover the terrifying eye holes, and with a bearded face, he had a bit of a one-eyed wolf style.

At the fourth watch of the next day, Ma Chao ordered the whole army to march north, preparing to go to Yongxian County to bypass Chencang, go straight to Wuzhangyuan, and have an ultimate decisive battle with Yang Sujun. Whether to break through the siege and escape, or to burn the jade, or to annihilate the whole army, in this battle!

The army had just left camp and had not yet moved, and many scouts came to report.

"General Qiyu, Zhu Yuanzhang was canonized as Liangzhou Mu by Liu Xie, and he has raised troops to march to Nan'an, and his goal seems to be to exterminate Zhao Kuangyin."

"Report to the general, because Zhao Yun and Lu Junyi of the Eastern Han Dynasty led troops to approach Chang'an, the place was shocked. Liu Xie has already sent Liu Jie, the king of Fufeng, to sit in Chang'an, and after Liu Jian arrived in Chang'an, he sent the generals Zhou Yafu and Li Guang to send troops respectively, all the way to resist Zhao Yun, all the way to Wuzhangyuan, it seems that he intends to support Yang Su! ”

The corners of Long He's mouth curled slightly, and he said disdainfully: "Support Yang Su? The major forces of the Eastern Han Dynasty were intrigued, and after hearing that Liu Jian arrived in Luoyang, he was squeezed out by Yang Jian, Zhu Jun, Huangfu Song and others, and in desperation, he took the initiative to ask to sit in Chang'an. finally has a little military power in his hand, will he support Yang Su? I'm afraid I'm here to pick up the cheap and make merit! ”

Ma Chao smiled bitterly: "No matter what, this Li Guang and Zhou Yafu are not here to help us!" In the eyes of the major forces of the Eastern Han Dynasty, our army is a fat deer on the grassland, and everyone wants to take a bite. ”

"Then let's fight, fight to the death! The eldest husband died vigorously on the battlefield, and died without regrets! ”

Long He stretched his muscles and bones again, and the joints of his body gurgled, like a fierce beast that was brave and ruthless, "Zhou Yafu, Li Guang, Dou Ying, what three crazy people!" Do you think that if you take the same name as the ancients, you can become a famous general? Could it be that if I changed my name to Long And, I became a general under the overlord? ”

Ma Chao asked the envoys who contacted Zhao Yun and Wei Qing again: "Did you go to Luo Ke contact the Eastern Han Army this time?" ”

The envoy shook his head: "Zhao Yun and Lu Junyi led eight thousand cavalry out of nowhere, they attacked Lantian and Duxian and then killed Chang'an, and Zhou Yafu led his troops out of the city to meet the battle; But Zhao Yunjun suddenly disappeared, and I didn't get in touch when I searched around. ”

Qin Liangyu comforted Ma Chao and said: "It is only about five hundred miles away from Chang'an from Wuzhangyuan, and the cavalry can arrive in a hurry for a day and a half. ”

"I hope so!" Ma Chao's face was solemn, and he didn't dare to be careless about the complicated battle situation.

"What's going on over there in Shangluoguan Weiqing?" Qin Liangyu pressed his sword in his hand and asked the scout softly.

The scout handed over and reported: "Because Lü Bu lost Shangluo Pass, it not only opened the last line of defense for our army to reach Wuguan, but also caused the Eastern Han army to drive straight into and harass the Chang'an area. The Luoyang court was furious, and Zhu Jun, Yang Jian, Huangfu Song, Yang Su, Zhu Yuanzhang and others jointly participated in the impeachment of Lü Bu. Liu Xie had already issued an edict ordering Lü Bu to send troops to conquer the Japanese and capture Shangluo Pass; According to the villain's inquiry, Lu Bu had already sent 70,000 troops from Hangu Pass, and led Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, Deng Ai and others to Shangluo. Except for Zhao Yun and Lu Junyi's 8,000 cavalry, I'm afraid that Wei Qing won't be able to spare people to support our army for the time being! ”

I thought that after passing Yang Su's pass, he would be able to go unimpeded, but he didn't expect that Lu Bu, who had been standing still, joined the battle group again, which made Ma Chao have to be worried, frowning and asking: "Since Lu Bu is menacing, can the Eastern Han Army have a countermeasure?" ”

Another scout handed over his hand to report: "It is reported that Yang Zaixing and Lü Meng have left Xiangyang with 20,000 troops, crossed the Wuguan, and went straight to Shangluo to support Weiqing. And Xue Rengui also left Zhang He and Huo Jun to guard Wuguan, and Weijiang raised 20,000 troops to Shangluo to help. ”

There is also a scout report: "According to the villain's spying, in order to contain the Western Han army, Tai Shici and Feng Sheng, who were stationed in Wancheng, sent 20,000 troops from Wancheng to kill the Tiger Pass, deter Luoyang, and make the Eastern Han army unbearable." ”

Hearing that the Eastern Han Dynasty army was fully supportive, Ma Chao and all the generals under his command were warm in their hearts, and immediately picked up their guns and stepped on the horses to encourage the army: "Soldiers, the emperor of the Han Dynasty has done his best to meet the outstanding encirclement of our army!" And what we have to do now is to kill Wuzhang Yuan, break through Yang Su's interception, and join the imperial army! Can the soldiers be confident? ”

"I am willing to fight to the death with the general!"

Under the encouragement of Ma Chao, more than 20,000 tired divisions once again mustered up their courage and responded to Ma Chao with a deafening shout, which shook the sky.

Whether you escape alive or go up in smoke, it's all in Wuzhangyuan! (To be continued......)