Xu Shu did not stop it. With such a big commotion, the enemy troops from the mountain would soon arrive, and Ma Chao from Wuquan Mountain was nowhere to be seen. Anyone could guess who did it.
At this time, they have escaped from the heavy encirclement, and leaving a note can also deter the enemy, making them frightened and restless, which is also a relief.
Everyone collected weapons and equipment in the tent, while Ma Chao and others changed into Qiang clothes, took food and supplies, and immediately left Shicheng Pass and went down the mountain to Taoshui.
At dawn, everyone rested in a valley. Xu Shu said, "Cao's army will soon learn of the news and expect us to retreat southward. They will send reinforcements from nearby places to set up defenses. We must cross the Tao River and enter the territory of Fuhan today, so that our army will not be able to catch up."
Ma Chao frowned and said, "From here we have to pass through Ma Ti Pass to get to Taoshui, which may be difficult to pass."
Ma Dai asked, "Can we take a detour?"
Ma Chao shook his head and said, "These mountains are full of strange rocks, with steep cliffs and ravines in between. There are thickets of thorns, poisonous insects and fierce beasts. Horses can hardly move forward. Even the Qiang people dare not enter easily. Don't take the risk."
Xu Shu said: "If we take a detour, we will be caught up by the pursuers and surrounded. We have no choice but to pretend to be reinforcements and sneak into the pass."
Ma Chao looked down at his outfit and said in surprise, "It turns out that the master had a plan in advance!"
Xu Shu nodded and said, "After we get down the mountain, we will find a hiding place and rest for half a day. Someone will definitely go there to report the news, and we will go there later. We will definitely be able to get away with it."
Pang De frowned and said, "With less than a hundred reinforcements, isn't that a little too few?"
"There are only 300 people at Shicheng Pass!" Xu Shu took out a Cao army token and said with a smile: "We are just outpost scouts, as long as we can enter the city."
Everyone felt relieved and praised Xu Shu for his preparations. After a short rest, they went down the mountain and when they reached a flat area, they switched between two horses and galloped away. After approaching Horseshoe Bay, they rested again.
The Tao River flows from south to north into the Yellow River, then turns northwest and forms a large bay shaped like a horseshoe. The Horseshoe Pass was built on the shore, and the opposite bank was the territory of the Qiang and Hu people.
The banks of the Taoshui River are wide and the water is fierce, except for the Horseshoe Bay where the water is calm. If one wants to cross the river, one can only pass through here. Merchants came and went here first, and over time, a pass was formed.
We arrived at Horseshoe Bay in the evening and saw a fortress built with earthen walls, which surrounded the Horseshoe Bay in an arc shape. There were three watchtowers on the wall, which were mainly used to deal with attacks by Qiang people and bandits.
Everyone stopped more than ten feet away. The guards at the pass had already noticed them and were not too nervous when they saw that they were dressed as Cao's army.
Ma Chao and his men were already familiar with the habits of the Qiang people, and after they changed into their clothes, no difference could be seen from a distance. Xu Shu and his men were still wearing Cao's armor, a mixture of Han and Hu people, similar to the recent patrol teams.
Ma Le brought the parchment book and went to the gate first, shouting, "We are here to support you, open the gate quickly."
A dark-faced guard at the gate shouted, "Whose subordinates are you? Do you have a token?"
"We are General Yan's subordinates!" Ma Le raised his token and shouted, "General Yan ordered us to come here first to report that the army will be here soon. He told you to be ready. Why don't you open the door?"
When the garrison commander heard that it was Yan Xing's men, he dared not neglect them. However, he had just received an order from Han Sui, so he said in embarrassment: "General Han just sent an order that Ma Chao has escaped from Jincheng and is heading south. He is likely to pass through Matiwan. He asked us to guard the city strictly. No one can be allowed to pass without General Han's order."
Ma Le was furious and said, "You bastard, General Han was worried that Ma Chao would escape to Horseshoe Bay, so he ordered General Yan to come and guard it in person. Can you afford to neglect General Yan?"
Seeing Ma Le's arrogant words, the guard leaned forward to observe carefully, but still could not see clearly, so he ordered his men to put down the bamboo basket and asked him to put the token in it for inspection.
Ma's heart sank. This token belonged to the troops of the Xiliang Governor. Just now, he pretended to be a subordinate of Yan Xing just to bluff. If he took it up, wouldn't he be exposed
"Damn it, you're blind, just wait!" Ma Le shouted, and retreated to discuss with Xu Shu and others.
Xu Shu said, "There is no way out now. Hand over the token first and say that we have replaced it with the Liangzhou governor's token for the convenience of dispatch. If that doesn't work... General Ma should shoot this man first to intimidate the defenders to open the gate."
The two brothers took the order, dismounted and walked towards the city. Everyone looked nervous, with their nerves tightening gradually. Ma Chao gripped his longbow even tighter, following behind Ma Le and staring at the people on the city.
At this moment, the sound of drums suddenly came from the arrow tower on the wall of the pass. Everyone looked back and saw a large army coming rapidly along the river. Dust was rolling along the river, and countless flocks of birds were startled and circled. It was Cao's army.
Pang De's face changed drastically, he clenched his sword and said in a deep voice: "The reinforcements are coming, we have no choice but to fight to the death."
Xu Shu's eyes were slightly stern, signaling everyone not to move rashly. He urged his horse to the city and shouted, "General Yan has arrived. If you don't open the gate, you will be in trouble."
The guard saw the reinforcements coming and no longer had any doubts. He knew Yan Xing was ruthless and shouted in panic, "Quick, open the door!"
Squeaky-
The heavy wooden door slowly opened. Ma Chao and Ma Le breathed a sigh of relief and immediately turned around.
Xu Shu said in a low voice: "The plan has changed, seize the pass immediately!"
The two men mounted their horses and called on everyone to urge their horses into the city. Ma Chao and Pang De led the way, while Ma Dai and Xu Shu stayed behind to guard the gate.
The guard was hurriedly running down the wall, ready to meet Ma Le and say something nice to him, to avoid Yan Xing from getting into trouble if he made some bad words to him when he entered the city later.
Just after getting off the city wall, he saw Ma Chao rushing towards him, his tiger-head spear shaking, carrying a sound of breaking wind, and pierced his chest and threw him up, with a flattering smile on his face before he died.
The defenders inside the pass were completely stunned. Before they could react, Pang De had already led his troops in and charged back and forth inside the pass, waving his broadsword left and right, and no one could match him.
Pang De and his men launched an attack suddenly, and the defenders were killed by surprise. They didn't even have time to take up arms to resist. In front of the two wolf-like and tiger-like generals, it didn't make much difference whether they had weapons or not.
At this time, the army was only one mile away from the pass. Ma Dai, who was left behind, closed the gate tightly and rushed up the wall with ten men, killing the defenders and forcing them to flee in panic.
Xu Shu commanded the remaining people and shouted, "Move the bodies and debris, block the door and close it!"
Ma Dai led his men to guard the pass, while Xu Shu directed the soldiers to carry the corpses and miscellaneous items and pile them all into the corridor, blocking the door tightly.
Xu Shu ran quickly to the port behind the pass, but suddenly stopped and frowned: "The ship has been taken away!"
Ma Chao was rushing over from behind, killing the defenders and shouting, "Where are the boats?"
Several trembling soldiers at the port replied, "Today the order was issued to increase the garrison. The ships are going to the other side to transport food and will not return until tomorrow."
Xu Shu asked anxiously, "Is there a boat?"
Those people shook their heads. Ma Chao was furious. He jumped off his horse, drew his sword and killed them all.
Boom—
The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, the ground began to tremble, and the reinforcements were approaching the city.
Ma Chao mounted his horse again, pointed his spear and shouted, "I'm going to fight them!"