My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 630: Cao Xiu's defeat, Guo Huai surrenders

When the news of Cao Xiu and Guo Huai's invasion reached Chengdu, it was only 20 days after Liu Zhang surrendered. Ma Chao, who had participated in the siege of Chengdu, stayed there for half a month after Chengdu surrendered, and then slowly returned north, retreating to Zitong and Jiameng Pass.

After receiving the lord's order to counterattack, Ma Chao naturally did not dare to delay. On April 18th, he hurried north from Jiameng Pass.

In the previous battle of Chengdu, Ma Chao did not fight many exciting battles. His main purpose was to cut off Liu Zhang's external contacts and frighten the enemy through threats. The only targets he really attacked were one or two small counties around Chengdu.

After Liu Zhang surrendered, Liu Bei still rewarded Ma Chao generously and did not treat him unfairly because of his small gains. However, Ma Chao felt that he was holding back his anger and wanted to fight another good battle to justify the reward he received.

So when he heard that Cao Xiu and Guo Huai were invading, Ma Chao immediately felt excited and full of strength, and he wanted to defeat the invading enemy.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Ma Chao did not take the better-maintained Jinniu Road to the north, but took a detour westward from Jiameng Pass, along the Baishui River and its tributary Qiangshui River Valley, and crossed the Yinping Bridge to Dazhong.

Of course, this road is said to be difficult to walk on, but in fact it is only relative to the Jinniu Road. It is not really outrageously difficult. Readers who are not familiar with the local geography should not associate the word "Yinping" with Deng Ai, or the kind of abnormal and dangerous road that requires rolling down a cliff.

In history, the Yinping Road that Deng Ai later took was very long. The most dangerous part was Ma Ge Mountain and Motianling south of Jiameng Pass, which was the section to bypass Jiange.

The section of Yinping Road north of Jiameng Pass is basically a road that humans can walk on. War horses can basically pass as long as they dismount and lead the horse, as long as they don't run too fast.

Ma Chao's troops dismounted and crossed the valley on foot, and could only walk more than 30 miles a day. On April 20, they passed Baishui County, on the 23rd, they passed Yinping Bridgehead, and on May 1st, they quietly returned to the vicinity of Dazhong.

Of course, Ma Chao was not in a hurry to return to Dazhong County immediately - because Dazhong County was still surrounded by Guo Huai's light cavalry, and there were only one or two thousand second-line troops stationed in the city, plus a few farmers and soldiers, a total of less than three thousand people.

Guo Huai, who was outside the city, had 6,000 cavalrymen, which was an absolute advantage over the defenders in Dazhong. But he was not capable of attacking the city, and the cavalrymen should not be wasted in a siege.

So Guo Huai destroyed everything these days, burning all the rural villages outside the city, and capturing all the people who had not been able to return to the city. Then he waited for the summer wheat to mature, and rushed to harvest and transport the wheat away.

As a result, all the harvest from the military farms in the Dazhong Basin for the year was robbed, and Ma Chao would not be able to maintain so many troops stationed here. Liu Bei's camp would definitely have to retreat back to the Yinping line.

After Ma Chao arrived, Ma Dai, who was following him, became a little impatient and wanted to charge out directly.

On the morning of the first day of May, just as Ma Chao ordered to set up camp at the mouth of the Qiang River Valley and not to advance out of the valley, Ma Dai rushed to the central army tent and shouted:
"Brother! The thief Guo Huai is wreaking havoc in Dazhong, plundering the people, and even trying to steal the wheat from our farmland. Why don't we take this opportunity to rush out of the valley and rescue Dazhong County? Maybe we can even rescue thousands of people and tens of thousands of shi of military rations."

Looking at his younger brother who was not even twenty years old, Ma Chao could only pat him on the shoulder and could not blame him for losing his temper.

Young people, if they are not full of energy, how can they still be called young people?
"Why rush? If we charge out right now, Guo Huai will surely flee when he sees the situation is bad. I have sent out scouts to observe from a distance. Guo Huai's troops are all light cavalry and move quickly. We don't have the speed advantage. How many can we kill by following them?
It would be better to wait a little longer, until Wang Ping leaves Yangping Pass, prepare for a pincer attack, and agree on a detailed date for rendezvous, and then I can attack in one go.

In this case, if Guo Huai took the Qishan Road back to Tianshui and then turned to the Weishui River to cross the Longshan Mountains, he would be lucky. If he dared to take the Chencang Road and go directly back to Chencang, most of him would be killed or injured in Hechi!

This is one of the several strategies that the envoy had prepared before I set out. We just need to judge the situation and choose one to follow. Don't be tempted by the small profits in front of you and mess up the steps."

After all, Ma Dai was still young and was still in the stage of learning how to fight. He was like a sponge that was eager to absorb water, and every experience he encountered in every battle could become valuable experience.

Being reminded by his elder brother at this moment, he hurriedly wrote it down carefully, ready to experience it in combination with actual combat when the time comes, without any doubt.

For several days thereafter, Ma Chao kept his composure and allowed Guo Huai to wreak havoc outside Dazhong City. He himself remained in the Qiang River Valley, blocking the entrance to the valley and preventing Guo Huai from knowing the true situation in the valley.

Ma Chao took advantage of this time to contact Wang Ping and arrange a detailed date for the attack, while waiting for the heavy cavalry equipment to be transported up in the rear to ensure sufficient combat power for the decisive battle.

After all, the Baishui River Valley and the Qiangshui River Valley were difficult to pass. Therefore, the first batch of troops that Ma Chao arrived were mainly equipped with light cavalry. The steel armor and some horse armor were left behind and needed to be slowly shipped, so they would arrive three to five days later than the vanguard.

Ma Chao now has 8,000 Xiliang cavalry under his command. He does not plan to use all heavy cavalry in this battle. He only needs two or three thousand people equipped with heavy cavalry equipment, and the rest can be light cavalry.

In the decisive battle, the plan was to use the heavy cavalry to charge first, break through the enemy formation, and defeat the enemy, and then the task of chasing and destroying the remaining enemies would be given to the swift light cavalry. Otherwise, the pursuit troops would be too heavily equipped and would not be able to catch up with the enemy who were also cavalry.

……

While Ma Chao was ready to go and preparing for support.

The young Guo Huai had some potential to become a famous general and actually smelled something unusual.

Perhaps it was because the enemy troops at the mouth of the Qiang River Valley had been on tighter alert in the past few days, which made Guo Huai alert.

Ma Chao's troops were located in the Dazhong Basin. In addition to the Dazhong County, they also had some other military strongholds. The most important of them was a small camp blocking the entrance of the Qiang River Valley.

That camp usually didn't have many soldiers stationed there, only a few hundred people all year round, and it only served as a scout. When Dazhong was surrounded and the enemy infiltrated towards Yinping, the camp here could also put up a little resistance, buying time while reporting to the rear.

However, when Guo Huai attacked this time, he had no intention of continuing to advance into the hinterland of Yinping, nor did he plan to cross the mountain to attack Baishui Pass, so he never attacked this camp.

The camp guarded by hundreds of people is located in the steep mountains of the Qiang River Valley, so it is not easy for cavalry to break through. Why waste this manpower?

But even so, Guo Huai would still send people to patrol the valley entrance every day to test the situation.

In the past two days, he clearly felt that the firepower of the enemy's crossbows in the valley entrance camp had become stronger, and the enemy seemed to be very resistant to him approaching the camp.

In addition, a small group of cavalry scouts would rush out from the camp at the entrance of the valley at night and approach Guo Huai's army to spy on its movements.

Guo Huai wondered, could it be that the enemy had reinforcements coming from the direction of Jiameng Pass?
He couldn't wait for the wheat to fully mature, so he ordered his troops to harvest the wheat, which would take another half month to mature, and then transport it away quickly.

Several officers under him were confused and tried to persuade him: "Sir Guo, if we harvest now, we will lose 20% to 30% of the harvest. Wheat is rich in oil and cannot be stored for a long time. It will rot in a few months."

Guo Huai had no doubt about this: "I can't care about so many things. I always feel that there is danger. I will plunder for a few more days and then prepare to withdraw and fight in another place. It doesn't matter if the wheat can't be preserved. We can just save the wheat in Chencang for the winter."

Guo Huai was a bit of a coordinator, and he certainly knew that wheat harvested early would not last long in storage. But he didn't expect to store the wheat, so he could just eat the wheat he had taken back and store the harvest for his own home, wouldn't that be enough?

The officers under his command did not question and strictly followed his order, immediately leading the army to harvest the wheat that was not yet fully ripe.

Guo Huai's actions were discovered by Ma Chao and Ma Dai's troops.

Ma Dai almost lost his temper again, not wanting the wheat to be harvested in vain. Fortunately, Ma Chao strictly implemented the deployment given by Zhuge Liang before the war, and did not dare to compromise at all, so he did not alert the enemy.

Time quietly dragged on to the sixth day of May, which was the day agreed upon by Ma Chao and Wang Ping for a full-scale attack.

……

Early in the morning, before daybreak, Ma Chao ordered his cavalry to assemble, march out from the Qiangshui River Valley into the Dazhong Basin, and form a line of battle.

Ma Chao led his army with 2,000 heavy cavalrymen wearing steel-filled breastplates and even their horses were equipped with leather horse armor.
Three thousand light cavalry were arranged on each wing, all equipped with lances.

The left wing was directly commanded by Ma Dai, while the right wing was commanded by a former surrendered general of Liu Zhang who had just been seconded by Ma Dai - this surrendered general was none other than Zhang Ren, who had broken through the siege and was captured by Zhang Fei during the Battle of Luocheng.

Zhang Ren was quite brave, good at holding his ground, and skilled in crossbow warfare. But when it came to cavalry, Zhang Ren's ability to command was not strong.

As a general who had led troops in Shu for many years, he had never had the opportunity to lead a cavalry unit of more than a thousand people before.

But this time, it was obviously a special arrangement by Zhuge Liang to let Ma Chao take Zhang Ren as the vanguard.

Before Ma Chao left, he was still a little confused and specifically asked Zhuge Liang for advice on this matter.

Zhuge Liang replied: "Everyone knows that Zhang Ren is Liu Zhang's die-hard loyalist. Zhang Ren's appearance at the Qishan battlefield is enough to prove that Liu Zhang's situation is hopeless.

Moreover, three years ago, before the lord went to Shu for assistance, Xiahou Yuan defeated Zhang Lu and then approached Jiameng Pass. At that time, Liu Zhang ordered Zhang Ren to defend Jiameng Pass to the death. Many of Xiahou Yuan's soldiers had fought with Zhang Ren and had heard Zhang Ren cursing and shouting.

Therefore, once Zhang Ren appeared on the Qishan battlefield, as long as he was recognized by Cao's soldiers, he would be able to shake Cao's will to fight and make some soldiers panic.

In contrast, even if Liu Zhang himself or Liu Xun were sent to the front line to shout and yell, it would not have such a good effect, because none of Xiahou Yuan's former subordinates had seen Liu Zhang in person, and even if you shouted, the enemy would think you were cheating. "

Ma Chao was convinced at the time, and secretly admired the envoy's brilliant plan and control of every detail. With such a meticulous arrangement, it was not unfair for the enemy to lose.

……

With Ma Chao making such a big fuss, Guo Huai, who was stationed in the east of Dazhong City, was certainly not stupid. He quickly responded and ordered his cavalry to line up and be on guard.

Moreover, Guo Huai knew very well that it was not necessary to fight head-on at this time. He could just test the enemy's strength first. If he could not win, he could use his mobility advantage to retreat at any time.

However, Ma Chao on the other side was also well prepared, and he did not reveal his identity immediately. Instead, he asked his cousin Ma Dai to lead a part of the cavalry to rush forward and shout to paralyze Guo Huai.

"Guo Huai, you bastard! Xiliang Ma Dai is here! You cowardly rats, you must have heard that Liu Zhang and my lord were fighting fiercely, and you wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to gain some benefits. Now Liu Zhang has surrendered to my lord, Cao thief has lost all the advantages, you rats don't surrender soon, today is your death day!"

Ma Dai held a spear in his hand. Before the battle, while the two armies were still a hundred or two hundred steps apart, he rode his horse across the formation and shouted loudly to hurt the enemy's morale.

A group of loud-voiced cavalrymen behind him also temporarily acted as scolds, helping to shout out Ma Dai's words.

As for whether the enemy believes it for the time being, that is none of Ma Dai’s business.

In fact, he also hoped that Guo Huai would not believe it too soon, otherwise the enemy would be scared and turn around and run away, and then the cavalry under his elder brother's command would be useless, wouldn't it?
The best solution, of course, is for Ma Dai to sow doubt and uncertainty in the enemy's mind by repeatedly shouting, making the enemy half-believing and half-doubting. After a while, when the battle is fierce, the mystery is completely revealed and the enemy can see the ironclad evidence. That is the most perfect way to attack the enemy's heart.

If you don't leave any clues at the beginning, the enemy may not be able to react when they see the hard evidence and may not know what it means.

You have to lay the groundwork first, making the enemy unable to help but think about it, leaving enough suspense, and then revealing it, so that the effect can be maximized.

These are also some tips that Zhuge Liang taught Ma Chao before he went into battle.

To paraphrase a modern audience, when insulting the enemy, one must also be a good storyteller. If one does not leave suspense, then insulting the enemy will not immediately trigger an emotional explosion.

As expected, Ma Dai's scolding and preparations according to the plan made the enemy completely unconvinced.

Hearing this, Guo Huai relaxed a little: "Humph, I was wondering who came to help, it turned out to be Ma Dai! No wonder he only dared to hide in the Qiang River Valley to bluff a few days ago!
You little brat! If your brother Ma Chao came in person, I would be afraid of him. Liu Bei only sent you, a brat. It must be because your brother was fighting with Liu Zhang and suffered heavy losses!
Soldiers, listen to my orders! Follow me to attack Ma Dai. We will first destroy the enemy's vanguard and dampen their morale!"

Guo Huai didn't want to retreat directly, so he planned to make a big profit before retreating, and completely destroy the enemy's prestige before retreating safely. This would prevent the enemy from pursuing him, and allow his side to slowly withdraw all the supplies and people they had robbed.

Guo Huai fell into the trap and rushed towards Ma Dai's army.

Ma Dai was not to be outdone and launched a tit-for-tat counterattack.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could quickly spot the problem if they looked carefully - Ma Dai was not charging straight at Guo Huai, but was leading his light cavalry, crossing the formation diagonally and picking up speed to encircle the flank.

And as Guo Huai's cavalry approached, those light cavalry under Ma Dai who knew some archery also opened their bows and shot arrows at the charging Guo Huai's cavalry.

Guo Huai was not afraid when he saw this. He just sneered in his heart: "Humph, the Xiliang cavalry has always been equipped with spears and horses, and they are good at charging into battle. In a battlefield like this in a mountain basin, it is only the brave who wins when they meet on a narrow road.

He has now been reduced to relying on cavalry and archery to weaken the enemy, which shows that after Ma Chao entered Shu, his troops have been getting worse year by year!"

With this idea in mind, Guo Huai's troops redoubled their efforts and continued to sprint to the maximum speed, without any thought of retreating.

But he soon paid the price for his arrogance.

After Ma Dai's light cavalry swept across the formation and cleared the front, an even more elite heavy cavalry armed to the teeth soon appeared in the position that had been blocked by their formation.

The same horse-shaped flag signal, plus it was just daybreak when the battle started, Guo Huaijun’s vision was poor, and they were unable to detect the danger just now.

"Kill! The Han Dynasty will rise! Cao thieves will perish!"

"Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who confront me will die!"

Ma Chao personally took up his spear and rode his horse, charging ahead.

Guo Huai on the opposite side only felt his pupils shrink violently, and soon he sensed a sharp and dangerous aura.

Fortunately, he was not known for his bravery, and he did not lead the troops to charge in the front. At a distance of 200 steps, the cavalry soon engaged in close combat. Ma Chao stabbed and swept with his lance, killing more than ten Cao cavalrymen in succession.

The soldiers behind Ma Chao also fought bravely and charged forward. Under the protection of their steel-filled breastplates, they charged forward with their lances and sabers, and cut into Guo Huai's light cavalry formation like chopping melons and vegetables.

Guo Huai's light cavalry is three times as many in number as Ma Chao's central cavalry, but so what?

Guo Huai, who was only in his twenties, had not yet matured his ability as a commander. He had made too many mistakes and fallen into too many traps in this battle. The final blow at this moment was just to pay off the debt.

What needs to be repaid must be repaid sooner or later.

In an instant, the battlefield was covered with blood and flesh, and broken limbs and arms were scattered all over the ground.

The blood was splattered on the golden wheat field where the ears of wheat had just been harvested and only the straw was left. The strong color contrast was indescribably weird.

The sounds of soldiers howling and horses neighing were endless. Guo Huai's troops only held out for half an incense stick of time before they could no longer hold on.

Guo Huai himself could not help but discard his helmet to avoid being spotted by Ma Chao because it was too conspicuous. After barely killing three or four enemy soldiers, he felt exhausted, and his fine steel saber was also broken on the steel breastplate, making it difficult to kill. In the end, he could only choose to fight and retreat.

As Guo Huai retreated, the cavalry around him naturally lost their will to fight and also wanted to take the opportunity to cover their leader's retreat and escape together.

At this time, Ma Chao on the opposite side had already seized the opportunity and ordered the soldiers in the flag formation to wave the flags with all their strength and beat the drums louder.

Ma Dai and Zhang Ren on the two wings had been quietly outflanking and not charging at full force. After hearing Ma Chao's order for a general attack, they rushed forward and attacked Guo Huai's troops from three sides.

Zhang Ren also held back until this moment, and then he began to charge forward while letting his loud-voiced personal guards shout along with him:
"I am Zhang Ren, the great general of Shu. Cao thief, be killed! I have surrendered to the Grand Commandant along with my former master Liu Zhang. The army that pacifies Shu has all marched north to destroy Cao! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Zhang Ren shouted while charging forward. When he shouted the first one, two, three or four times, the enemy might still be in a daze and unable to react for a while.

But as the charge continues, these repeated shouts will eventually make more and more people doubt, fear and despair.

Guo Huai was originally a middle-level officer under Xiahou Yuan. After he broke through with Cao Xiu the year before last, he rebuilt his troops. Although many of the soldiers were newly recruited, most of the officers in the army were Xiahou Yuan's former subordinates who had successfully broken through.

Among these people, many had seen Zhang Ren during the attack and defense of Jiameng Pass three years ago, and they also knew Zhang Ren's loyalty to Liu Zhang.

Now that they had finally reacted, coupled with Ma Chao's fierce offensive, they were naturally terrified and the entire army collapsed.

Ma Chao chased fiercely for dozens of miles and wiped out more than half of Guo Huai's cavalry.

If the remaining troops of Guo Huai's rear had not run really fast, discarding their armor and helmets to reduce the weight, and the battlefield of Dazhong Basin was narrow and long, Ma Chao had little room to maneuver, and therefore he failed to encircle and annihilate Guo Huai.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

After completely defeating Guo Huai, Ma Chao made some reorganization and ordered the light cavalry to continue the pursuit.

The heavy cavalry left some of their soldiers who were not in good physical condition or were injured to stay in Dazhong, and gave the extra horses to other fresh soldiers who were in good condition. These fresh soldiers could each ride three horses and take turns to pursue.

It took the cavalry no more than two days to chase the enemy from Dazhong to Xiabian.

It was impossible for Ma Chao and Guo Huai to run without rest, and they eventually stopped and started, and both sides were exhausted. Guo Huai finally received reinforcements from Cao Xiu who came to support him near Xiabian.

Guo Huai was covered in injuries. As soon as they met, he urged Cao Xiu: "General Wenlie! It's Ma Chao who's here! And with him is Liu Zhang's confidant Zhang Ren! We've fallen into a trap!
Zhuge Liang has already destroyed Liu Zhang, and is waiting to plot against us! We should quickly abandon all the armor, baggage, and carts, and retreat to Chencang with light equipment! Ma Chao's bravery is truly unmatched by human power!"

When Cao Xiu saw Guo Huai's miserable condition, he did not dare to doubt and immediately ordered a retreat.

Unfortunately, in his haste, he did not consider that Chencang Road might be attacked from the side by the enemy coming from the direction of Yangping Pass. It may also be that he felt that although Ma Chao was brave, he must have been exhausted after two days of pursuit. Ma Chao chased Guo Huai so hard, and if he met his Tiger and Leopard Cavalry who were behind him, he might still be able to fight.

Doesn’t the Art of War say that: He who pursues profit within a hundred miles can become a general!

Cao Xiu was reluctant to abandon his precious armor and other heavy military supplies immediately, so he used the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to cover his retreat, and asked Guo Huai to stay in the rear army to cover his retreat and provide him with advice at any time.

This decision allowed Ma Chao to eventually catch up with Cao Xiu near Hechi County.

Cao Xiu took advantage of Ma Chao's fatigue from his long journey and sent his cavalry back to block the attack for a while.

However, Cao Xiu was still impressed by Ma Chao's bravery and the combat effectiveness of the Xiliang cavalry, which were well-equipped with steel-filled breastplates, double stirrups, and high-bridge saddles.

Just as Cao Xiu was fighting and retreating, a mountain troop suddenly came diagonally along the valley from the direction of Yangping Pass on Chencang Road and headed straight for Hechi County. They were Wang Ping's Bandunman mountain soldiers.

Cao Xiu was already slightly inferior to the exhausted Ma Chao, and Liu Bei's army suddenly received a group of fresh troops with abundant physical strength. Even if they were mountain soldiers, they were enough to cause Cao Xiu to completely collapse.

After Cao Xiu was defeated by the pincer attack, he was afraid of being surrounded, so he had to abandon part of his rear troops and flee in panic.

However, Guo Huai was held back by Cao Xiu and was ultimately unable to escape as his retreat was cut off by Wang Ping.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the newly recruited cavalrymen from Xiliang under Guo Huai's command dismounted and surrendered. The rearguard troops of Cao's army disintegrated like ice and soon collapsed.

There were only a few hundred or nearly a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry left. Because they were loyal to Cao Cao, they still followed Guo Huai and fought to the death even when their retreat was cut off.

But since he had no way to escape, Ma Chao was not afraid of any tricks he might play.

In the end, under the crossbow shooting of Wang Ping's barbarian soldiers, Guo Huai had no choice but to charge back at Ma Chao.

After a final fierce battle, Ma Chao deflected Guo Huai's weapon with a spear. Then Ma Chao drew the sword from his waist with his other hand, and chopped off Guo Huai's head with a precise and swift blow.

The remaining Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had no choice but to submit.

(End of this chapter)