After Xu Huang led his troops away, Cao Hong ordered each camp to deploy defenses carefully, hold the pass, and not go out into battle.
Ma Yanjin said: "The general is the commander of Tongguan. Xu Huang dared to say that Tongguan would be lost if he was not here. Isn't he deceiving us that we can't defend the pass? Why don't we fight outside the pass and let him know the general's power?"
Although Cao Hong was dissatisfied, he knew that he could not be careless at this time, so he ordered: "We are all here to recapture Chang'an, so don't worry about him. Let's wait for news from Xu Huang."
The next day, scouts came to report that Han Sui had stationed his troops in Chencang, and Ma Xiu brought his troops to support him, and the number of troops and horses at the pass increased by more than 10,000.
While Cao Hong was watching, Ma Xiu led his troops to the pass, cursing and calling for war, and scolding the Cao family since Cao Teng was the eunuch, mocking the Cao family for being hermaphrodites, rotten-eyed, and only fit to be cowards.
Cao Hong was furious and immediately ordered his troops to go down to the pass to fight. Ma Yan was also eager to make a contribution, so he followed closely and deployed his troops at the foot of the pass.
Ma Xiu sneered, "The Cao family is the descendant of the eunuch party, and the descendants also live like women, being timid?"
"This is too much!" Cao Hong was so angry that he swung his sword at Ma Xiu.
Ma Xiu fought with him for twenty rounds before he ran out of energy and rode away. Cao Hong, in anger, chased him closely.
The Xiliang army in the rear had been in disarray because of fruitless battles for many days. Some of them even abandoned their horses and sat on the grass to rest. They did not expect to be defeated and suddenly fell into chaos, and fled in panic.
Upon seeing this, Ma Yan in the rear immediately ordered the drums to be beaten and the entire army to be mobilized. This move would kill the Xiliang army and let's see how Xu Huang would continue to show off his might.
Ma Teng urgently ordered his troops to restrain their horses, but by then Cao Hong had already led his troops to attack, and the Xiliang army was in chaos, abandoning their weapons and armor and fleeing in all directions.
Cao Hong had never thought that Ma Teng and his son, who had been so arrogant for half a month, would be so vulnerable. He was overjoyed and led his troops to chase and kill them.
Just when the two thought they were about to win a great victory, they suddenly heard a long sound of horns behind them. This was the unique attack order of the Qiang tribe.
Looking back, he saw ambushed troops coming out from behind the mountain outside the pass. Cao Hong was shocked and retreated hastily. Cao's army was surrounded by the Xiliang army, and some of their troops had already entered the pass.
Ma Teng and his son turned around and attacked, Ma Yan was the last one to leave and died in the chaos. Cao Hong fought hard, but the Western Liang army had no general to lead the troops in front, so they could not resist and were killed by him.
At this time, the Western Liang army had already rushed into the pass, fighting with the defenders and seizing the city walls. Cao Hong was unable to resist and fled with hundreds of remaining soldiers.
Ma first led his troops into the pass and ordered his soldiers to occupy the pass. Ma Teng led the Xiliang soldiers to arrive later. The father and son successfully captured Tongguan. From then on, Guanzhong belonged to the Ma family.
Ma Teng laughed and said, "My son, this is a brilliant plan. If I had known this earlier, I would have transferred you here first, and you would have been able to break through the barrier long ago!"
Ma Xiu said: "Fortunately, General Han's reinforcements arrived quickly. If Cao's bandits had arrived first, I'm afraid we would not have succeeded."
Ma Teng added: "But your insults are too vicious and insidious. We are descendants of a famous family, a noble family. In the future, you must not be so vulgar and insult your status. Don't use dirty words again."
Ma Xiu didn't care: "Cao the thief usurped power and stole the country. Everyone in the world curses him. How can I not curse him?"
Ma Teng said, "If it weren't for Cao, how could your father allow you to speak so recklessly and tarnish our family's reputation? In terms of words and deeds, you still need to learn a lot from your elder brother, so as not to make a fool of yourself."
Ma Xiu said aggrievedly: "I learned these words from my elder brother!"
"Nonsense!" Ma Teng was furious. "I have hired a famous teacher for Meng Qi since he was a child. He is a scholar, and his manners and cultivation are enough to be a role model for the two of you."
Matthew muttered: "That's just in front of you..."
“Shut up!” Ma Teng pointed at Ma Xiu and shouted, “Don’t think that just because Meng Qi is in Xiliang, you can slander him like this. This is disrespectful to your brother and unfilial!”
"I'll remember it, kid!" Matthew lowered his head and sighed helplessly.
Ma Chao was born with red lips and white teeth, an extraordinary bearing, and natural supernatural powers. Ma Teng had high hopes for him and invited many famous teachers and masters, hoping that he could bring honor to the family.
But he had no idea that Ma Chao was combative by nature and those teachers had often been beaten by him in private, especially when he went out hunting and fought and cursed with the Qiang people, which was really satisfying.
After all, it was Ma Xiu who had taken Tongguan. Ma Teng reprimanded him and said no more about the matter. He ordered, “Send someone to Chang’an immediately to report the news and ask Lao San to bring the food and fodder.”
…
Cao Hong hastily withdrew from Tongguan and gathered the remaining soldiers at Fenglingdu, only about a thousand of them. He hurriedly ordered someone to inform Xu Huang, asking him to lead his troops back to attack Tongguan as soon as possible.
When the scouts delivered the news, Xu Huang was shocked and stamped his feet, saying, "Oh, it's just as I expected. Tongguan has been lost, and Guanzhong is no longer safe!"
Sima Yi was not in a hurry. He sent an order to Han Hao: "Cross the Wei River tonight and ambush in Huayin."
Xu Huang said anxiously: "Tongguan has been lost. We should return to support the Western Liang army to prevent it from advancing eastward. Why do we still need to go inside the pass?"
Sima Yi said: "It is useless to go back to rescue now. Ma Teng is aiming at Guanzhong and will not go east. The Xiliang army is now letting down their guard. It is the right time to defeat the enemy."
While Xu Huang was still in a daze, Sima Yi had already ordered someone to reply to Cao Hong, asking him to reorganize the remaining troops and transfer three to five thousand troops from Hongnong as soon as possible, so that he could be ready to retake Tongguan at any time.
As the sun set, Cao's troops sailed across the Yellow River and headed west from the Weishui ferry. They arrived at Mount Huashan under the moonlight and set up an ambush.
At noon the next day, a large group of people and horses came from the direction of Chang'an, and their accompanying vehicles stretched for three or four miles, all loaded with food, fodder and military equipment.
When the troops reached the foot of the mountain, Sima Yi gave an order and Cao's army attacked in three directions. Xu Huang in the middle cut the Xiliang army into two parts. Han Hao in the front and Xu Shang in the back rushed straight to the vehicles and set them on fire.
The Xiliang army was indeed caught off guard. In addition, it was a grain transport convoy, and most of the people on board were civilians. When they saw the ambush troops coming out, they fled in all directions without resistance.
The soldiers transporting grain could not resist and were quickly killed by Cao's army. They were stuck in the middle with nowhere to go and had no choice but to surrender.
Sima Yi did not chase the deserters, but ordered the remaining food and supplies to be gathered, and camped on the road, with vehicles placed on both sides waiting to meet the enemy.
Han Hao followed his orders and divided the captives into two groups. When the first group was brought forward, Sima Yi said, "Prime Minister Cao has already deployed a large number of troops in Hedong. Now Ma Teng is trapped in Tongguan, and the army has gone to take Chang'an. I order you to persuade him to surrender. If you know the current situation, you can let bygones be bygones. If you resist stubbornly, you will die."
The captives were obedient, and Sima Yi waved his hand and let them go eastward, heading straight for Tongguan.
Then the second group of people came, Sima Yi said again: "Prime Minister Cao set up a plan to close the door and beat the dog, deliberately giving up Tongguan. Now Ma Teng is trapped in Guanzhong. If Ma Tie surrenders early and hands over Chang'an, he can be spared. If he dares to resist stubbornly, he and his son will be separated forever!"
Han Hao released the captives back to Chang'an, puzzled, "The military advisor released the captives to two different places. The Xiliang army is coming from the east and west. We are attacked from both sides. How can we resist?"
Sima Yi chuckled and said, "My plan is complete. I will make sure that Ma Teng and his son will die without a burial place."