Cheng Yi’s intuition was not wrong. In a cave in the West Mountain, every move of the Xiliang Army was under the surveillance of the Di people.
Ma Chao could no longer hold back and asked, "Yan Xing's troops have neither retreated nor asked for help in the past three days. What is the next step for the military advisor to deal with the enemy?"
Xu Shu looked around the camp and said slowly, "Yan Xing suffered a great loss this time. His food and grass were destroyed, but he still stayed here. Because of the repeated harassment in the past few days, he expected that we were nearby and was unwilling to retreat."
"So this is the reason why the military advisor was harassing them." Only then did Agui understand why they had been sending that dozen people to launch sneak attacks in the past few days. Wasn't this just tickling the Xiliang army
Ma Dai said: "The morale of the enemy troops is low, and the horses are almost gone. If we don't send troops, I'm afraid we will really have to retreat."
Xu Shu smiled and said, "After starving them for three days, it is time for you all to fight."
Ma Chao clasped his fists and said, "Military Advisor, please give me your orders. I will definitely kill Yan Xing this time."
Xu Shu said: "Although the general is brave, Yan Xing still has more than 10,000 elite soldiers. If we fight him to the death, we can win, but Han Sui will follow closely and we will be powerless to fight him!"
Ah Gui naturally didn't want his people to suffer heavy losses, so he hurriedly asked, "What's the military advisor's plan?"
Xu Shu said: "The morale of Yan Xing's troops is low, but they still have the strength to fight. We need to weaken their morale and then use a trick to defeat them. If we kill Yan Xing, it will surely shock the Xiliang army. Even if Han Sui leads his troops, he will hesitate to move forward. Then we can wait for reinforcements to arrive."
Ma Dai nodded and said, "Military Advisor, your words make sense. Yan Xing is the general Han Sui relies on the most. If we get rid of this thief, it will be like cutting off one of Han Sui's arms. In order to preserve their strength, the other troops will not dare to advance with all their strength."
Xu Shu stroked his beard and smiled, "This was the plan Qin used to defeat the six kingdoms. This Baihu Ridge is Hangu Pass. Although Han Sui has many soldiers, they are not under the same command, so there is nothing to be afraid of."
Everyone's confidence increased after hearing this. From being in a desperate situation and escaping death at the beginning to now killing the enemy and taking revenge, and even having the momentum to fight back, who would dare to disobey Xu Shu
The group left the cliff and came to a canyon covered by dense forests, ready to follow orders.
Xu Shu glanced at everyone and said loudly: "This battle is about life and death. All generals have military orders to follow. Do not fight to the death, and do not slack off. Once Yan Xing's troops are completely wiped out, you can rest assured."
"Yes, sir!" At this time everyone followed Xu Shu, and even Ma Chao was willing to obey.
Xu Shu asked Agui, "The road behind Baihu Ridge is uneven, with cliffs and rocks protruding. There is only a small path on the ridge. Does this place have a name?"
Agui replied, "There used to be a mountain temple on the top of this mountain. We locals call it Miaogou."
Xu Shu instructed Ma Le, "When you see the Xiliang army chasing through the woods later, wave your flags and shout to lead them to Miaogou Mountain and retreat in the direction of the mountain temple."
"Yes, sir!" Ma Le went to prepare first.
Xu Shu then said to Ma Chao and Ma Dai, "Later, the two generals will go forward to fight Yan Xing. Win first and then lose. If you see Yan Xing's uncle and nephew, pretend to be defeated and run away, then lead them to the back mountain."
Ma Chao asked, "When can we kill Yan Xing?"
Xu Shu smiled and said, "Miaogou is where the Xiliang army will be buried. Meng Qi can fight to his heart's content then."
Everyone was cheered up upon hearing this, and they all started to prepare, gathering their strength for the next few days in anticipation of the decisive battle for revenge.
After the order was passed down, Xu Shu told Shi A to take the fifty followers, each of whom should leave the camp with a bag on his back, while the rest of them should go up the mountain and lie in ambush and wait.
Brothers Ma Chao and Ma Dai went around the back mountain and came to Baihu Ridge again. They first ordered Ma Dai to go near the woods to attract Yan Xing to fight.
In the Xiliang Army camp, Yan Xing's face turned pale and he was hesitating whether to retreat. He felt a little nauseous after eating the horse meat.
But after being harassed by the enemy for days, he knew that the Di people were nearby and was unwilling to retreat.
Cheng Yi advised again: "Our food and fodder are running out, and our men and horses are exhausted. If the Di people attack us when our food is gone, we will be in danger!"
"Retreat!" Yan Xing nodded helplessly. The last of the food was eaten up and the three armies were left without food. He did not dare to take any more risks.
"Report—" Just as they were about to give the order to move out, a scout rushed in and shouted, "Ma Chao is here, behind the forest!"
"Oh? It turns out that these bastards are hiding in Nanshan!" Yan Xing suddenly realized. No wonder they couldn't find any trace of them. It turned out that they were on the way here.
He immediately shouted: "Send out troops to meet the enemy!"
Cheng Yi frowned and said, "Ma Chao has not been seen for a few days. He suddenly appeared today. I'm afraid there must be something fishy going on."
Yan Xing sneered, "This thief must have seen that we have run out of food and thought that our army has no fighting spirit, so he wanted to take advantage of the situation and sneak in, but he didn't know that the army of despair will win. Today, I will make sure that he can't escape even if he has wings."
He immediately ordered a military recruitment and informed the three armies that whoever captured Ma Chao and his generals would be rewarded to their own troops. He would not share any of the credits and would give each of them a generous reward.
When the military order was passed down, the whole army was in an uproar. The morale of the Xiliang Army was indeed greatly boosted. Without the generals above to share the credit, if a team of ten people could capture Ma Chao, wouldn't it be a great success
Yan Xing personally led the troops to fight. Yan Ba cheered up and led 3,000 soldiers to fight first. When he passed through the woods, he saw Ma Dai waiting with 500 soldiers.
Yan Ba stepped forward, sword drawn, and laughed, "Ma Dai, I thought your brother would just hide like a mouse. Why are you finally showing up today?"
"Prepare to die!" Ma Dai was furious and rode out with his horse and sword in hand.
Yan Ba stepped forward to meet the enemy and fought with Ma Dai for more than ten rounds. Seeing that Ma Dai's sword skills were ordinary, he sneered and said, "You are no match for me. Call Ma Chao!"
Ma Dai was furious and chopped down with his sword with terrifying momentum. Yan Ba blocked with his sword, but the huge recoil force bounced his sword up and his body shook.
"Hehe, I'll kill you first as a sacrifice!" Yan Ba's confidence increased greatly, and his moves became more and more swift and aggressive.
After fighting for another ten rounds, Ma Dai gradually lost and turned his horse to run away. Yan Ba pursued him closely. His mount was excellent and he was about to catch up with Ma Dai and kill him.
"Don't hurt my brother!" At this moment, a general came flying from the hillside.
There was a loud bang, and Yan Ba's determined knife was blocked.
"Ma Chao?" Yan Ba reined in his horse and glanced at the approaching general, sneering, "You attack from behind, you don't deserve the title of Godly General!"
"Blood debt must be repaid with blood!" Ma Chao's face was full of murderous intent. He did not answer him and stabbed with his spear.
Yan Ba was full of fighting spirit and raised his sword to block. The two men fought on the hillside. There was a series of sounds of weapons colliding. Neither of them gave in, and they fought like tigers.
Yan Xing led his troops out at this time and saw the two men fighting. Ma Chao's momentum was amazing, but Yan Ba was not weak at all, and the battle was evenly matched.
"Ma Dai, let's go together!" Seeing that the battle was going on for a long time without any victory, Ma Chao lost his patience and called on Ma Dai to join the battle.
Yan Ba laughed wildly and said, "Jin Ma Chao is no better than this. He actually wants to use his numbers to bully the minority."
Ma Chao's face flushed red, and he shouted, "Brothers always stand together in battle."
While he was speaking, Ma Dai swung his sword and attacked from behind. Yan Ba was not afraid at all and fought the two of them with ease, which made the Xiliang army in the distance cheer in unison.
Everyone knew about Ma Chao's reputation in Xiliang. Even the Qiang people showed him respect and humility, let alone Han Sui's troops.
Normally, Ma Chao was a great general and no one dared to offend him. But now everyone was delighted to find out that they were not as good as Yan Xing's personal guards.