Everyone knew that Guan Yu came to challenge for a fight, and they all laughed, making Guan Yu blush.
Liu Qi took Guan Yu to the government office and ordered the banquet to continue. Guan Yu could not obey the order directly, so he had to socialize with everyone.
After the banquet, Zhuge Liang invited Guan Yu away alone to explain the importance of guarding Jingzhou and that the entire Central Plains war still needed the coordination of the two of them.
Liu Qi immediately sent orders to Yizhou, dispatching 50,000 elite troops to gather in Hanzhong, and sent people to Lingling to bring Fa Zheng back in preparation for the Northern Expedition.
After Fa Zheng returned to Jingzhou, Zhang Ji examined him and said that the cold had already invaded his internal organs and that it would be difficult to cure it with medicine alone. If it was delayed for another two years, even a god could not save him.
Fortunately, when Zhang Ji was the prefect of Changsha, he learned that there was a magical spring in Lingling, which was warm all year round. If people had a cold, they could recover by soaking in it for an hour, so he asked Fa Zheng to go there to treat the disease.
Now that three or four months have passed, the cold should be almost gone. With him and Pang Tong as military advisors, they are more than enough to deal with Han Sui and Xiahou Yuan.
Now the Cao army's layout in Guanzhong and Xiliang is still relatively weak, and Cao Cao and Sima Yi are not here. This is a godsend opportunity.
When Liu Qi was mobilizing his troops to prepare for the Northern Expedition, the entire Xiliang was already in chaos.
Ma Chao went to Jincheng to keep his appointment to reconcile with Han Sui, but he did not expect it to be a Hongmen Banquet. He led his personal soldiers to fight their way out of the city at the risk of their lives, but was chased and intercepted by Cao's army and Qiang soldiers, and had no choice but to flee to Gaolan Mountain.
Gaolan Mountain surrounds Jincheng from east to west, stretching for more than 20 miles with steep terrain. The northern peak is called Wuquan Mountain because of the five mountain springs.
When Ma Teng was in Xiliang in his early years, he often lived in the mountains and donated money and food to build temples. Ma Chao fled here, guarded the mountain pass and dealt with the enemy.
In a blink of an eye, two months passed. The two sides fought bloody battles. The Taoist priest in the temple went down the mountain to inquire about the news, but was killed by the Qiang people. Only more than ten of Ma Chao's personal soldiers were left, and their lives were hanging by a thread.
Surrounded by the enemy's tight circle, all the people retreated to the Jade Emperor Temple on the highest peak, relying only on the last spring for survival. After continuous fierce battles, the mountain was already covered in blood, and the human wall made of corpses was shocking.
All resources have been exhausted. There are no arrows left, bowstrings are broken, and even the stones on the mountain have been dug up. There are only a few left, so we can only dig holes to search.
The most important thing is that the food reserves in the temple are running low. People have been drinking porridge and digging wild vegetables to fill their stomachs these days. They are at the end of their rope.
Ma Chao was covered in blood and looked haggard. He looked at the setting sun, feeling extremely melancholy. He drew his sword and sighed, "I am a man, Ma Chao. If I cannot avenge my father and brother, how can I live in this world with dignity?"
Seeing that he was about to commit suicide, Ma Dai hurriedly advised him, "Brother, you don't have to do this. Ma Le has already arrived in Jingzhou, and Liu Qi is brave and loyal. He will definitely ask for reinforcements."
Ma Chao gritted his teeth and said, "Ma Chao would rather die than be a prisoner. Cao Cao, Han Sui, old villain, even if I turn into a ghost, I will never let you go!"
Ma Dai advised: "In the past, Wu Zixu turned white in Zhaoguan overnight for revenge, but he finally saw the light of day. Brother, you must not give up easily! Even if we risk our lives, we will help you escape from here."
Ma Chao shook his head and said, "Ever since Ma Le left, there have been enemy troops patrolling the back hills. Han Sui knows he is no match for me and wants to wipe out the enemy completely. We have no choice but to fly away."
Pang De raised the sawtoothed sword and clasped his fists, saying, "My lord, please take a rest. I will protect you two as you go down the mountain in the second half of the night. We will fight our way out and leave a bloodline for the Ma family."
Ma Chao looked into the distance and frowned, "I wonder how Yunlu and the others are doing in Wuwei now."
Ma Dai said: "Yunlu has been practicing martial arts since she was young, and her martial arts skills are not weak. Even if Han Sui sends troops, she can find a way to escort her family to escape. We must not give up easily until the last moment."
Ma Chao put away his sword, looked at the spring under his feet, and prayed to the sky: "In the past, Huo Qubing was in a desperate situation and whipped his way out of the spring, defeating the Xiongnu. Now I, Ma Chao, am also trapped here. If I can avenge my great hatred, this spring will not dry up. If there is enough water in the spring, I will be buried here."
Ma Dai looked determined and consoled him, "Don't worry, brother. Liu Qi will definitely send someone to rescue us!"
Pang De also nodded and said, "Liu Qi once helped the old master to take Chang'an and worked together to revive the Han Dynasty. Now Xiliang is in chaos. He will send troops for both public and private reasons. Just hold on and wait until the clouds clear and the moon appears."
"Okay, we will fight for our lives and never give up!" Ma Chao regained his spirit and shouted, "For the humiliation I suffered today, I, Ma Chao, will make the old thief pay tenfold."
It was a moonless night with few stars. The mountain breeze blew, and the sound of pine trees rang out. Torches could be seen moving from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside. Han Sui deployed heavy troops here and patrolled day and night. Even if he could not take the top of the mountain, he would trap Ma Chao to death on the mountain.
Ma Dai stood under an ancient pine tree, his eyes full of worry. With such a tight net, even if Ma Le asked for reinforcements, it would probably be of no avail. Unless Liu Qi sent tens of thousands of troops to lure Han Sui's troops down the mountain, there would be a chance of escape.
Just when he was confused, suddenly there was a burst of night owl calls from the cliff, three long and two short. Ma Dai stood up suddenly and stared at that place.
This is Ma Chao’s secret code for internal communication. Now that everyone is on the mountain, who is giving the secret code at the foot of the mountain
I carefully walked to the cliff with a knife in hand, and saw a patrol passing by in the distance. The shouting came from an old pine tree on the cliff, and there seemed to be a human figure in the distance.
"Who is it?" Ma Dai asked in a low voice.
"Second brother, it's me!" The man replied in a low voice: "Ma Le."
"Ma Le?!" Ma Dai suddenly felt the blood boiling and asked in a trembling voice, "You... you came here alone?"
Ma Le replied: "No, I have already called for reinforcements. Tell my brother to go to the cliff on the left and pick up the people up the mountain!"
"You...how can you get up the mountain?" Ma Dai's heartbeat quickened, and he even felt his breathing a little nervous. He couldn't help but tremble, and finally waited until the reinforcements arrived.
Ma Le urged, “Hurry up and get down the mountain. There’s no time to explain!”
Ma Dai was shocked and ran straight into Ma Chao's bedroom. He pulled him out of bed and shouted, "Brother, help is here!"
Ma Chao reacted quickly and kicked Ma Dai away. He was looking for a weapon to defend himself when he heard Ma Dai's voice and asked anxiously, "What did you say?"
"Ma Le, Ma Le, bring reinforcements, let's go!" Ma Dai was shaking with excitement and urged Ma Chao.
"Hahaha, there is always a way out!" Ma Chao knelt on the bed and laughed towards the sky.
Ma Dai rushed out, woke everyone up, asked them to get up in the dark, and gather at the back mountain with only weapons and ropes.
Coming out from the back door of the temple, Ma Chao kept asking whether it was true. It was the middle of the night and it seemed like a dream.
When they arrived at the cliff, they saw a row of people standing under the moonlight, standing like rocks.
Ma Dai leaned forward and asked, "Are you the reinforcements Ma Le invited?"
"Brother, I'm here, come down quickly!" Ma Le stood over, waved and called in a low voice.
"Ma Le, it's indeed him!" Everyone was in an uproar and very excited.
Ma Dai tied a rope to the tree, stuffed it into the dazed Ma Chao's hands, and urged him, "Quick, why are you walking?"