Ma Tie stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Father, I heard that Cao's army crossed the Wei River and attacked us, robbed our food supplies and cut off our retreat, so I came to help."
Ma Teng's face changed drastically when he heard this, and he exclaimed: "Not good..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw a grain cart on the road suddenly catch fire. The night wind was strong at that time, and the fire spread quickly, with thick smoke billowing.
"Hurry up and return to Chang'an!" Ma Teng roared and ordered his troops to head west.
There was a lot of noise in the camp, and corpses were everywhere. They were all from the Xiliang soldiers who killed each other. Big fires started along the road, and smoke and fire spread with the east wind, and people and horses were running around in chaos.
Ma Teng and his two sons rushed out of the fire, all feeling dizzy and coughing. They didn't know how many more people had died in the sea of fire. They gathered the remaining soldiers and rushed to Chang'an.
When they reached the foot of Mount Li, the cavalry in front fell to the ground one after another, with countless casualties, and Cao's army set up an ambush again.
Ma Tie wanted to cry but had no tears. His face turned red with anger and he yelled, "He was fine when he came here..."
The ambushers rushed out from both sides. The first general held a large axe in his hand and stood in the road under the moonlight. He shouted in a deep voice, "Xu Huang is here. Why don't you dismount and surrender immediately?"
"Kill!" Ma Teng looked determined and led his troops forward.
At this time, the only way to survive is to strive forward. If Chang'an is lost, they will be caught in a dilemma and will surely die.
Ma Tie and Ma Xiu protected the two wings and fought with the ambushers, while Ma Teng rode straight for Xu Huang.
The two horses met, and Ma Teng's spear was knocked away by Xu Huang's axe. The two men started fighting on the road. The Xiliang cavalry followed closely behind and rushed towards the Cao soldiers who were shooting arrows.
The two armies engaged in a chaotic battle. Ma Teng was determined to die and risked his life to entangle Xu Huang, hoping that the two men could break through.
Seeing that Ma Teng was fighting desperately and the Xiliang army had already formed a battle array, Xu Huang did not fight them to the death. Instead, he separated his men and horses, retreated into the mountains, and walked towards the river bank.
The Xiliang army fought their way through a bloody battle, with Ma Tie leading the rear guard as they headed straight for Chang'an. After a night of fighting, they did not realize that dawn had already broken in the east.
Chang'an City was in sight from afar, and sure enough, many people and horses were seen stationed outside the city, with smoke rising up. They were preparing to cook, and Ma Teng led the cavalry and rushed forward without saying a word.
The Xiliang army was in desperate situation at this time. Each of them was like a tiger descending from the mountain and unstoppable. Cao's army did not expect the enemy to come so quickly and they were killed in a blink of an eye.
Ma Teng rushed to the foot of the city, shouted to open the gate, and watched the drawbridge slowly lowered, and his heart also settled down.
Ma Xiu was covered in blood, and finally heaved a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, Chang'an has not been lost."
Ma Teng ordered: "Cao's army will surely come again, quickly send someone to ask Han Sui for help."
Ma Xiu sent someone to report the news to Chencang. At this time, the drawbridge had been lowered and the city gate was opened. Ma Teng led his troops into the city immediately to prepare to defend it.
The city of Chang'an was divided into three parts: the imperial palace was on the west, the military barracks and arsenal were on the east, and the outer city was inhabited by the common people. The Xiliang troops filed in and crowded into the outer city.
After several battles last night, the men and horses were exhausted and were holding on with their last breath. Now that they had entered the city, their morale dropped and their spirits were dispirited.
The last soldiers to enter the city did not notice that the guards who were closing the city gates had retreated beforehand.
Ma Teng led his troops into the city, but found the inner city gates tightly closed. He was furious and shouted, "Which bastard is guarding the city? Why don't you open the gates?"
This feeling is like a farmer who has been busy outside all day, only to come home and find the house dark, the stove cold, and his wife sleeping soundly. Anyone would be furious.
"Hahaha, you old thief Ma Teng, the time of your death has come!" As soon as the words fell, a burst of laughter was heard from the top of the city wall.
Everyone turned their heads to look, and saw a young scholar standing on the top of the city wall with his hands behind his back. His moon-white robe fluttered in the morning breeze and the morning glow reflected on his figure, making him look even more noble and arrogant.
Chirp-
Ambushes were deployed on the surrounding city walls. Cao's army drew their bows and drew their arrows, making a hair-raising sound, and tens of thousands of arrowheads gleamed with cold light.
Ma Teng was shocked and asked in a trembling voice: "You... who are you?"
"I am Sima Yi from Henei!" The man smiled coldly and shouted, "You Xiliang warriors have relied on your strength to bully others. Since Dong Zhuo came, you have been violent and rebellious. You deserve to die. Shoot!"
"Wait a minute—" Ma Teng was shocked and quickly raised his hand and shouted.
But Sima Yi did not hesitate. He waved his hand, and the war drums shattered the calm of the early morning. Thousands of arrows were fired, pouring down like a storm.
On the streets of the outer city, screams reached the sky. People and horses fell to the ground one after another, struggling and twisting. In a blink of an eye, corpses were everywhere and blood flowed like a river.
Sima Yi stood with his hands behind his back, looking indifferent as he watched the scene. He was indifferent to the struggling figures, but deep in his eyes, there was a hint of excitement that was difficult to conceal.
The rain of arrows lasted for a quarter of an hour. All the arrows prepared by the soldiers were shot out. There was no living person left on the street, and the screams disappeared.
As a few sparse arrows fell, Sima Yi raised his hand to signal to stop. There was silence throughout the East Gate, with only the sound of the flags blowing in the morning breeze.
The soldiers and horses of the Xiliang Army were all studded with arrows. Looking around, the entire street was filled with dense arrow feathers, like reeds growing by the river.
But what was flowing among the reeds was scarlet blood, flowing along the trenches on both sides and rushing out of the city. The moat of Chang'an had been dyed into a river of blood, which was shocking to the sight.
A group of soldiers from the east arrived shortly afterwards. It was Xu Huang. Sima Yi looked back and ordered the stunned soldiers, "Clean up this place within two days."
Xu Huang entered from the south gate and was shocked to hear that more than 30,000 Xiliang soldiers, including Ma Teng and his son, were shot to death at the east gate.
"Isn't it too much for the military advisor to kill so many people?"
Sima Yi said coldly: "If the Xiliang army had not rebelled, how could the emperor be wandering, Luoyang burned, and the world be in chaos?"
Xu Huang said: "That was Dong Zhuo's cruelty and indulgence of his subordinates. It had nothing to do with Ma Teng."
Sima Yi's eyes were slightly stern. "We must eradicate all evil. General, have you not seen the rebellion of Li Jue and Guo Si? There are still many remnants in the Xiliang army. Now Ma Teng has rebelled again, causing chaos in Guanzhong. If we don't punish him, killing the chicken to scare the monkey will cause endless disasters!"
Xu Huang was stunned and shocked. Although what Sima Yi said made sense, he killed tens of thousands of people in the blink of an eye and seemed so cold-hearted. How could he be a Confucian scholar who had never led an army
Sima Yi looked at the rising sun, bowed to the east, and said with emotion: "I killed them this time to avenge those loyal Han officials who died and the thousands of innocent people!"
Xu Huang remained silent and shook his head fiercely. After all, the person was already dead, and the right and wrong of the matter would be decided by the Prime Minister.
The capture of Chang'an was entirely due to Sima Yi's contribution. This man was so decisive and ruthless at such a young age. The prime minister really had a good eye for talent. It would be a relief if he were to be sent to deal with Liu Qi.
Sima Yi said: "Now that Chang'an has been recovered, the defenders of Tongguan will be defeated without a fight. You can order Han Hao and Liu Zhu to take Tongguan and invite General Cao to the city to celebrate the victory."
Xu Huang nodded, but said worriedly: "If Ma Teng and his son are executed, Han Sui and Ma Chao will definitely raise an army to seek revenge. We should be prepared early."
Sima Yi smiled faintly and said, "I am just about to send out all the Xiliang troops to capture them in one fell swoop and put an end to the trouble forever."