The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

"Pass on my order: raze Mengjin to the ground!"

Ma Chao had always admired Sun Zi's judgment, so he did not hesitate and immediately issued a military order to attack Mengjin.

Five thousand elite cavalrymen, having rested and recuperated for many days, were ready to go. Upon hearing Ma Chao's command, they roared in anger.

Ma Chao's hidden troops were less than 20 li away from Mengjin. For cavalry, 20 li is not a long distance.

Most importantly, at this moment, neither Xiahou Yuan nor Sima Lang expected that Ma Chao would hide his troops twenty miles away at the Mengjin ferry.

Xiahou Yuan even kept a close watch on Sima Lang, fearing that Sima Lang would turn against Cao Cao if he saw Cao Cao's decline.

After all, for powerful families, there was no real difference between following Cao Cao and following Liu Bei; both were serving as subjects.

Whoever can better protect the interests of powerful families will be the one that these families will rely on the most.

Although Sima Lang had considered switching allegiance, with Xiahou Yuan leading troops to supervise him, Sima Lang dared not show the slightest reluctance at this moment.

Neither side, wary of the other, could have imagined that the entire army and civilians at Mengjin Ferry would become lambs to the slaughter for Ma Chao.

When the scouts urgently reported that cavalry were approaching and their banners bore the symbol of "horse," Xiahou Yuan and Sima Lang could hardly believe what the scouts said.

"The cavalry with the 'Horse' banner is Ma Chao from Guanzhong! Wasn't Ma Chao blocked outside Hangu Pass? How could he appear here?" Sima Lang's exclamation was filled with despair.

Although Xiahou Yuan was a seasoned warrior, his forces were already small, and they were scattered to supervise the laborers, making it impossible to gather them up in a hurry.

"Go quickly!"

Xiahou Yuan subconsciously thought of the time when Huang Zhong shot him blind while he was repairing the deer antlers. He felt that he was so unlucky that he always encountered enemy attacks in non-battlefield areas.

Xiahou Yuan also took Sima Lang with him. The army needed the support of the powerful clans in Hanoi for both crossing the river and resupplying, so Sima Lang absolutely could not be killed or captured alive by Ma Chao.

However, Xiahou Yuan wanted to escape, but Ma Chao did not want to give Xiahou Yuan the chance to escape.

After waiting for several days, Xiahou Yuan and his men finally arrived. Ma Chao now only wanted to capture and kill Cao Cao's soldiers to make a name for himself.

The Xiliang cavalry were like tigers among sheep, slaughtering indiscriminately. Ma Chao was at the forefront, specifically targeting Cao generals with banners, and no one could withstand him wherever he went.

Screams and wails rose and fell. Although Xiahou Yuan was furious, he dared not turn back and linger. He and his personal guards escorted Sima Lang as they fled eastward.

"Xiahou?"

Ma Chao was stunned when he saw Xiahou Yuan's banner, but his spirits instantly soared.

He then captured a Cao soldier and asked him the name of his commander. Upon learning that it was Xiahou Yuan, Ma Chao became even more excited.

"The one with the Xiahou banner ahead is Xiahou Yuan. Capture Xiahou Yuan alive and you will be rewarded with ten bolts of Shu brocade!"

Ma Chao was incredibly wealthy and generous; while others received rewards and official titles, Ma Chao simply threw away ten bolts of Shu brocade.

Upon hearing the military order, the cavalrymen shouted and chased after Xiahou Yuan, occasionally yelling, "The one with the Xiahou banner is Xiahou Yuan."

Seeing that the pursuers were too close, Xiahou Yuan hurriedly ordered the flag bearers to throw down their flags.

However, a sharp-eyed cavalryman spotted him and told Ma Chao about the characteristics of Xiahou Yuan's Shu brocade crimson robe.

Ma Chao once again ordered, "The one in the red robe is Xiahou Yuan!"

"You scoundrel, you've gone too far!" Hearing the shouts behind him, Xiahou Yuan could only throw down his red robe and turn back to take another deep look at Ma Chao.

If Xiahou Yuan hadn't turned around, he really would have gotten away. But as soon as Xiahou Yuan turned around, his one eye was clearly seen. A moment later, shouts of "The one-eyed one is Xiahou Yuan!" rang out.

Upon hearing the words "one-eyed," Xiahou Yuan nearly threw himself off his warhorse in anger.

So what if I'm only one eye!
Damn Huang Zhong!
Damn Ma Chao!
They were chased all the way from Mengjin to Wen County, and with the help of the Sima family, Xiahou Yuan and Sima Lang barely managed to save their lives.

Of the five hundred cavalrymen Xiahou Yuan led, only a few dozen remained with him; the rest were either captured and killed by the Xiliang uprising or fled in disarray.

Seeing that the gates of Wen County were tightly closed, Ma Chao shouted from below the city walls: "Listen up, you on the city walls! I am ordered by the Left General to punish the traitor Cao. Anyone who secretly opposes Cao's general Xiahou Yuan is an enemy of the Left General."

Inside the city.

Xiahou Yuan was exhausted and his horses were tired. Fearing betrayal by the officials of Wen County, he dared not disarm. He even took the families of the Wen County Magistrate and his assistant hostage, forcing the magistrate to defend the city to the death in order to catch his breath.

Such tyrannical behavior caused many people in Wen County to feel indignant, but they dared not speak out for fear that Xiahou Yuan would harm the hostages.

Meanwhile, at the Sima family's separate residence, Sima Yi, who had avoided serving the Cao family by feigning rheumatism, secretly advised Sima Lang to seize the opportunity to capture Xiahou Yuan and surrender.

But Sima Lang refused to do such a disloyal thing, saying, "When Ma Chao launched his surprise attack on Mengjin, it was Xiahou Yuan who led the troops to escort me to Wen County. If it weren't for Xiahou Yuan, I would already be dead at Ma Chao's hands. How could I betray Xiahou Yuan to save my own life? If I did, how could I face the world afterward?"

Seeing that Sima Lang was determined not to comply, Sima Yi, though unwilling to disobey his brother's orders, also did not want to be buried with the Cao family.

He feigned rheumatism to avoid disaster, so how could he ruin the Sima family because of Sima Lang's personal feelings?
Therefore, Sima Yi secretly summoned his clan's loyal followers and poisoned the food and drink served to Xiahou Yuan and others.

Xiahou Yuan already distrusted Sima Lang, and seeing that the assassins who came with Sima Yi were not ordinary servants, he also became somewhat suspicious.

So he forced Sima Yi to drink first.

Although Sima Yi was exceptionally intelligent, he was still too young. Xiahou Yuan, on the other hand, had been a wandering knight-errant since childhood and had commanded troops for many years. When he saw that Sima Yi refused to drink, he immediately became alert.

Seeing that his plan had been exposed, Sima Yi immediately took out his crossbow and aimed it at Xiahou Yuan.

"How dare you, you scoundrel, harm me!"

Xiahou Yuan was caught off guard and was shot by Sima Yi's crossbow.

Even Huang Zhong's arrows couldn't kill this fierce general, but Xiahou Yuan, though hit by a crossbow bolt, managed to avoid fatal wounds.

After being betrayed, Xiahou Yuan became even more ferocious, and with a single stroke, he severed Sima Yi's right arm, which was holding the crossbow.

The intense pain nearly made Sima Yi faint, but thanks to the desperate protection of his bodyguards, he barely escaped.

Having narrowly escaped being killed by Sima Yi, Xiahou Yuan dared not remain in Wen County any longer and hastily led his personal guards away from the city.

Sima Lang, who was still pondering how to deal with Ma Chao, was shocked and furious to hear that Sima Yi had his arm cut off by Xiahou Yuan: "Zhongda has ruined my reputation!"

Faced with a dilemma between his reputation and his own brother, Sima Lang, in his shock and anger, had no choice but to compromise and order his men to open the gates and surrender.

With the capture of Mengjin and the surrender of Wenxian, Cao Cao's last chance to cross the river via Hanoi was completely cut off.

Seeing Xiahou Yuan return in a disheveled state, tearfully recounting Ma Chao's surprise attack on Mengjin and Sima Yi's plot to harm him, Cao Cao's face turned ashen, and his tone became extremely cold.

"Excellent! Excellent! Even that brat Sima dares to bare his teeth and claws at me."

This wasn't the first time Cao Cao had reached a dead end, and he wouldn't lose his composure just because Ma Chao had blocked his retreat.

Could any desperate situation be more dire than being defeated by Xu Rong, having Yan Province attacked by Lü Bu, and nearly running out of food at Guandu?
Cao Cao was furious: Who did Sima Yi think he was, daring to scheme against me? (End of Chapter)