Ma Teng was defeated and died. For Cao Jun, the front line of Chang'an was as safe as Mount Tai. Xiahou Yuan was assisted by Han Sui's troops, and his strength greatly increased.

Jia Xu said: "Zhuge Liang sent troops from Hanzhong to attack Xicheng. On the Shangyong front line, he relied on Ma Teng to contain our troops. Now that Ma Teng is dead and Hanzhong is empty, General Xiahou can take advantage of the Yizhou soldiers before they can react.

Take Hanzhong."

Xia Houyuan still had doubts and said: "I have heard for a long time that Yang'an Pass is impregnable. If it cannot be attacked, and Zhuge Liang leads his army back to help, wouldn't we be attacked from both sides?"

Jia Xu smiled and said: "If it is Li Qi who is stationed in Xicheng, it is indeed possible. Unfortunately, although Zhuge Liang is the chief general, he is still a subordinate. His strategic purpose is to capture Xicheng, Shangyong, Fangling, and the

Li Qi responded and jointly captured Nanyang County. If Li Qi rashly changed the battle goal and turned Li Qi from a two-line operation to a single-line operation, and if Li Qi made a mistake because of this, could Zhuge Liang be able to shoulder this responsibility? So even if Zhuge Liang wanted to

When returning to Hanzhong to aid, we must first report to Li Qi. By the time Li Qi replies with his order, the general will have already captured Yang'an Pass."

Xia Houyuan was overjoyed when he heard this, so he organized his army and horses and attacked Hanzhong.

If something can be accomplished, it will be a great achievement.

But it was said that Ma Chao and his party slept in the open air and finally arrived at Yang'an Pass.

Huo Jun, then the guard general of Yang'an, asked: "Who is coming?"

Ma Chao replied: "I am Ma Chao of Xiliang, and I have formed an alliance with Li Yizhou to fight against Cao Cao. I don't want Han Sui to be bribed by Cao's thieves, which will lead to the defeat of our army and the unfortunate death of my father. My father's last words are to order Chao to come to Li Yizhou and also invite the general.

Open the door and let us in."

In fact, Ma Chao was very sad when he said this.

Once upon a time, he was regarded as a mighty general by the Qiang and Di, and his father, Ma Teng, was also a prince of Xiliang. He could get wind and rain when he wanted. He didn't expect to ask people to take him in today.

When Zhang Ren was guarding Yang'an Pass in the past, he leveled the trees and hills outside the pass to prevent enemy troops from hiding in them. Therefore, Huo Jun looked around at the pass and saw a smooth road. It can be concluded that except for Ma Chao, Ma Xiu, Ma Dai, and Pang De

There were no other soldiers outside the cavalry, so he opened the door to let them in.

Huo Jun naturally knew about Li Qi's alliance with Ma Teng. Seeing the disastrous defeat of Ma Jiajun, he couldn't help but sigh, and ordered people to prepare wine and food for Ma Chao and others to calm their shock.

Huo Jun said: "General, please rest in Yang'an Pass for a few days. I will send a letter to the lord before making arrangements. What do you want to do?"

Ma Chao said: "It's time for Lao Zhongmiao (referring to Huo Jun)."

However, Huo Jun is a meticulous person. He has never met Ma Chao, and he does not know whether Ma Chao is cheating here. Although Ma Chao is admitted due to alliance relations, the defense is very tight.

If not, it would not be fun if Ma Chao made an appointment with the outsiders to kill Huo Jun at night and then attack the key.

Ma Chaozhou also sensed Huo Jun's wariness towards him, and felt unhappy, so he asked Huo Jun, "Why is Zhong Miao like this? If you don't trust me, I'll leave immediately."

Huo Jun said: "This is my responsibility. I hope the general will forgive me. After Li Yizhou replies to the letter, I am willing to follow Lian Po's example and apologize to the general."

Ma Dai persuaded Ma Chao: "Brother Huo is helpless. After all, no one knows anyone. Brother, please don't be surprised."

Before Li Qi received the battle report of Ma Teng's defeat, Zhuge Liang, who was stationed in Xicheng, got the news of the military rebellion in Xiliang first.

Zhuge Liang sighed: "We have sent all our soldiers and horses from Hanzhong to this point because Ma Teng has restrained Chang'an's troops for us. Now that Ma Teng has been defeated, Han Sui has defected to Cao Cao again, and Chang'an's troops have become more powerful. If we continue to advance eastward, Hanzhong will

It is empty and can easily be taken advantage of by Chang'an Xiahou Yuan."

Zhang Rendao: "Mr. Kong Ming's intention is for us to withdraw to Hanzhong? Shouldn't this kind of matter be reported to the lord before making a decision?"

Zhuge Liang said: "When we received the news of Ma Teng's defeat, it was already delayed. If Xiahou Yuan wants to take Hanzhong, he must be on the way. If we still want to inform the Lord, and then wait for the Lord's reply,

Xia Houyuan has taken Hanzhong for a long time."

Wei Yandao: "But the lord has set a clear strategic goal for us, which is to capture Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling, and support the lord in taking over the counties in Nanyang County. If we rashly withdraw our troops, where will we put the lord?"

Xu Shu said: "Without our support, Li Yizhou would have retreated to Jiangling and made plans later. If Hanzhong is captured by Xia Houyuan, the whole of Xichuan will be in danger. Besides, there is a saying in the art of war: if the general is outside, the emperor's orders will not be accepted.

What it means is that a general should take measures according to the situation, rather than going all the way to the end."

Wei Yandao: "In that case, we can divide our troops into two groups. Mr. Kong Ming will lead his army back to help Hanzhong. I will only lead one army to continue to attack Shangyong, and at least we will be able to defend Xicheng."

Zhuge Liang said: "In the past, my lord started his business in Xicheng, but after entering Yizhou, he decisively abandoned Xicheng. Because Xicheng is far away from Yizhou, with Chang'an in the north and Nanyang County in the east, they are all Cao Cao's territory and are difficult to defend. Today's situation is different from that of back then.

It’s no different. I have decided to abandon Xicheng and return to defend Hanzhong. Please don’t say too much in this long article.”

Wei Yan was helpless, Zhuge Liang was the commander-in-chief.

Don't mess around with him next time, at least let the master act as a general, so that you can use your intelligence.

Zhuge Liang withdrew his troops, but the news still had to be passed on to Li Qi.

Li Qi and Cao Cao were in a stalemate in Dangyang, and both sides received news of Ma Teng's defeat almost at the same time.

This is really a joy for one family and a sorrow for the other.

Of course Cao Cao was the one who was happy.

Sun Quan betrayed his alliance, Ma Teng was defeated, and Liu Bei couldn't even find his way home. It can be said that Li Qi's alliance against Cao completely collapsed.

Adviser Cheng Yu said: "Li Qi is defeated and must retreat to Jiangling to plan for the future. The Prime Minister can send troops to pursue the victory and the enemy can be defeated."

Cao Cao was suspicious by nature, so after thinking about it he said: "Li Qi is not a fool, he is more upright, Pang Tong is a military advisor, especially Pang Tong, ugly people often do mischief, and they will definitely leave ambushes and traps on the way to withdraw."

At the same time, Li Qi was worried.

What he always thought about was whether Ma Teng could beat Xia Houyuan, but he never expected that Ma Teng would be stabbed in the back by Han Sui.

What about the sworn brothers we promised?

The relationship between people is really too complicated.

The Fifth Route Army's attempt to engage Cao Cao was completely bankrupt. Li Qi's retreat was inevitable, but when to retreat and how to retreat remained to be considered.

Fa Zheng suggested setting up ambushes along the way to prevent Cao's army from pursuing them.

However, Pang Tong believed that he could retreat quickly. Given Cao Cao's suspicious character, he would not pursue him.

Li Qi thought for a long time and said, "When did I say I was going to withdraw?"

Fa Zhengdao: "My lord, do you think Liu Bei still has a chance to make a comeback?"

Li Qidao: "Although Liu Bei was defeated, he was not dead yet. Since we are allies, we cannot save him even if he is dead. Fa Xiaozhi, Zilong, and Han Sheng will continue to deal with Cao's army here. I, Shi Yuan, and Xing Ba will personally lead an army."
Chapter completed!