Zhang Lu had no idea. After listening to Zhang Wei's words, he nodded in agreement.
Zhang Wei took Yang Ang, Yang Ren and a group of Hanzhong generals to Yangping Pass. Zhang Lu followed behind to allocate grain and grass.
Yang Ren was very familiar with the terrain of Yangping Pass and suggested: "There is a pass before Yangping Pass, and the terrain is extremely dangerous. It is better to build a camp on this pass to guard it. Not even a single soldier of the Yuan army can enter."
Zhang Weishen agreed and said: "I will guard Yangping Pass, and you two will go to the pass to build a stronghold and prepare for war."
Yang Ang and Yang Ren took the order and left.
Ma Chao was eager for revenge, so he led 10,000 soldiers and horses, marched under starry night, entered Hanzhong, and headed all the way to Nanzheng, the capital of Hanzhong.
I'll tell you from the horse patrol ahead that we're still forty miles away from Yangping Pass.
Ma Dai advised: "Brother, don't be too hasty. We have already reached the territory of Zhanglu, and the soldiers have been marching for a day and two nights, and they are tired. It is better to camp and rest for the time being, and wait until we have enough strength to attack the pass."
Ma Chao said: "I look at Hanzhong as if I were looking at lines on the palm of my hand; Zhang Lu and others are just like local chickens and dogs. During the battle of Chang'an, Zhang Lu was sitting in a fortified city and was still defeated by our army. Today, it is just a pass, how can it be?"
Stop me?"
So Ma Chao sent an order, and the vanguard army marched fifteen miles ahead of Yangping Pass, where they dug trenches and set up camp.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, a fire suddenly broke out in the camp. Ma Chao hurriedly mounted his horse and led Ma Dai and others to meet the enemy. It turned out that it was Yang Ang and Yang Ren who came to rob the camp in two groups.
The camp was on fire and there was another surprise attack, which greatly reduced the morale of Ma Chao's army. What's more, Ma Chao's army marched at night and starved, and the soldiers were exhausted. The terrain in front of Yangping Pass was too dangerous for the cavalry to show off its strengths.
When the two fought, even though Ma Chao was unparalleled in bravery and killed two Hanzhong Ya generals, he could not prevent the defeat of his soldiers. Seeing that he was about to be surrounded by Zhang Lu's soldiers, Ma Chao did not dare to fight, so he could only fight with Ma Dai and Ma Yunlu.
Fight and retreat.
At dawn, Zhang Lujun withdrew his troops and returned to the pass.
Ma Chao inspected the soldiers, but this time the camp was hijacked and more than 3,000 people were lost. It can be said that the army started at a bad start.
This was the result of Ma Chao's brave fighting, which made Zhang Lujun fearful. If he had been replaced by a commander with a low force value, it would have been even worse. It is hard to say whether there would be 3,000 men left.
The loss of three thousand men was the second largest, but the camp was hijacked when they first arrived. The morale of the vanguard army was almost exhausted, and there was a pessimistic mood everywhere.
These vanguard troops originally belonged to the Yuan family. Although they were not the most elite troops, they were capable soldiers who fought many victorious battles in the north and south. How had they ever suffered such a loss under Bai Xiaowen?
Ma Chao always had his own unique way of boosting morale. He ordered the camp to be repaired, and then led five hundred cavalry to challenge Yang Ang and Yang Ren's pass camp.
However, after Yang Ang and Yang Ren experienced the battle of Chang'an and the battle last night, they knew very well that Ma Chao was brave and refused to fight. If Ma Chao led his army close, he would be shot back by a hail of arrows.
Without being able to kill generals and establish his power in front of the two armies, Ma Chao would be unable to restore his low morale, and it would be even more impossible to mobilize these 7,000 soldiers to attack the pass.
Ma Chao felt depressed, but he had nothing to do.
Ma Yunlu advised: "Brother, don't worry. When Duke Yan's army arrives, there will be a good strategy to break the barrier."
It's okay that Ma Chao didn't listen to this. After hearing this, he felt even more annoyed and stared at his hands in a daze.
Ma Dai saw Ma Chao's little mood and said: "Although our army was hijacked, we did not suffer big losses because of our brother's bravery in fighting. Zhang Lu's army suffered no less than ours that night. Since the enemy army avoided fighting, we
You can send more careful exploration horses, go deep into the vicinity of Yangping Pass, draw the geographical map, and then study the strategy to defeat the enemy."
Ma Chao nodded and accepted Ma Dai's opinion.
However, after several days of drawing geographical figures and research, Ma Chaojun discovered that the danger of Yangping Pass really felt like "one man can guard the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it".
There is a path, but it is so rugged that even horses cannot pass it. Yang Ang and Yang Ren are Hanzhong generals and are more familiar with the terrain here. They have already sent people to cut off the path, so there is no chance of sneaking across.
Ma Chao was at his wits' end. Just three days later, Bai Xiaowen's army arrived at Yangping Pass.
Ma Chao paid a visit to Duke Bai Xiaowen of the State of Yan. When he was asked about the war, his face was filled with shame.
Ma Yunlu and Ma Dai all found excuses for their brother.
Bai Xiaowen nodded and said: "The bandit army is holding tight and defensive, and it is difficult to attack in a hurry. I can't blame Meng Qi for this."
In fact, Bai Xiaowen had long expected that Ma Chao would not be able to conquer.
Not to mention conquering, it would be good if it could not be defeated.
After all, the enemy waited for work and defended against danger; Ma Chao was eager for revenge and traveled at night under the stars. The terrain in front of the pass was dangerous, and it was not suitable for Ma Chao's "cavalry commander" charging style.
Military advisor Xun You said: "Have General Chenglie (referring to Ma Chao) explored the mountains and rivers nearby during his several days in front of the pass?"
Ma Chao then ordered someone to present a geographical map, and Xun You opened it and looked at it.
After a while, Xun You raised his head and said: "Mr. Yan, I see that the terrain of Yangping Pass cannot be broken through by relying on large numbers of people. Gong Yan needs to be prepared for a long-term stalemate."
Ma Chao felt better after hearing this. It turned out that Duke Yan's army had nothing to do.
Bai Xiaowen said: "I have a plan to break the camp at the pass. Once the camp is broken, Yangping Pass can be conquered. If Zhang Wei can be captured and killed, Zhang Lu will surrender and Hanzhong can be captured."
Ma Chao was stunned, but the generals of Yuan's army were all in high spirits, and the haze of the vanguard's defeat was swept away.
Ma Yunlu looked at Bai Xiaowen with admiration, but Bai Xiaowen acted as if he hadn't seen him.
On the same day, Bai Xiaowen led a personal army to the pass to inspect the terrain of the pass.
Unexpectedly, a drum sounded and an ambush arose. Yang Ang and Yang Ren came in two groups to attack.
Suddenly encountered a surprise attack, Bai Xiaowen's soldiers did not panic.
Cao Hong took the lead with flying horses to resist Yang Ang; Zhang Xiu resisted Yang Ren.
Under Bai Xiaowen's control, Camille, Li Shuyi and other friendly awakeners worked together to raid Yang Ren and try to kill him.
However, the hundreds of soldiers around Yang Ren were not vegetarians. They were all good players and protected Yang Ren. In addition, Yang Ren was also very capable. They fought in a melee for a while, and then each of them paid their money and retreated.
However, in this battle, they did not lose troops like Ma Chao, but killed many soldiers of Zhang Lu's army.
Yang Ang and Yang Ren, unable to steal the chicken but lose the rice, resumed their cowardly tactics, sticking to the pass and staying behind closed doors.
"These two Hanzhong generals are very brave when they should go into battle, and they are calm when they shouldn't go into battle. They are indeed talented generals." Bai Xiaowen gave his evaluation.
The next day, Bai Xiaowen led people to check the terrain in front of the stronghold again. This time Er Yang learned his lesson and only sent his men to curse in front of the stronghold and did not go out to fight.