Han Sui followed Cao Cao's plan and conspired with Liangzhou Governor Wei Kang to defeat Ma Chao. When they were about to succeed, they were unexpectedly killed by Ma Chao and escaped.
Ma Chao and his son have extremely high prestige in Xiliang, and have been dukes for generations, which is far beyond the reach of Han Sui. If they are not completely eradicated, he will not be able to defeat them if they make a comeback.
In order to hunt down Ma Chao, Han Sui spared no expense, even spending a large sum of money to ask the Qiang people for help in the battle. He chased Ma Chao all the way to Longxi, but he encountered a strong enemy and killed his son-in-law Han Sui.
Han Sui was worried and doubtful, not knowing who was secretly helping Ma Chao. He did not dare to advance rashly. He stationed his troops in Fuhan and sent people to gather information, but half a month passed, but there was still no news.
While he was hesitating, a scout came to report that Liu Qi had sent troops to Wudu and was heading straight for Longxi. Han Sui suddenly realized that Liu Qi must have secretly sent people to rescue Ma Chao, so he divided his troops to intercept him and personally led an expedition against Ma Chao.
During the march to Baihu Ridge a few days ago, they saw that the camps along the mountain were connected and heavily guarded. They were discussing with the middlemen how to defeat the enemy when scouts came to report that Zhang Heng and Liang Xing had surrendered to the enemy, Hou Xuan had been killed, and all three armies had been wiped out.
Han Sui was shocked and shouted angrily, "How dare Zhang and Liang betray me? I will kill them!"
The military officer Cheng Gong said: "Liu Qi's army has invaded Longxi. They must be here to rescue Ma Chao. To get rid of Ma Chao, we must first drive Liu Qi away. Otherwise, we will be attacked from both sides and fall into a dilemma."
Han Sui frowned and said, "Ma Chao is trapped in the mountains, like a tiger in a trap. If I withdraw my troops, he will surely rush out from behind to respond to Liu Qi. What should I do?"
Cheng Gongying smiled and said, "There is an old ally here, why not ask him to help?"
"You mean Song Jian?" Han Sui thought for a moment, shook his head and sighed, "Since the defeat that year, Song Jian has been separatist in Fuhan and has not made any moves since. If he still had ambitions, he should have sent someone to contact me long ago. He has stayed indoors until now, just seeking to live in peace."
Song Jian was one of the heroes of Xiliang who started the uprising with Han Sui. At that time, Ma Teng was still serving as Sima of the prefecture and county. The two of them focused on the kingdom and plundered the three auxiliary areas.
Later, he was defeated by Huangfu Song, Wang Guo was killed in battle, Han Sui retreated to Huangzhong, and Song Jian established his own regime in Fuhan. The two had no contact again.
Cheng Gongying sneered, "Although Song Jian may be seeking temporary happiness, he called himself the King of Heshou Pinghan and changed the era name to appoint hundreds of officials. This is a serious crime of treason. Liu Qi is a relative of the Han Dynasty and wants to restore the Han Dynasty. How can we let him get away with it?"
Han Sui's eyes lit up, and he nodded, saying, "Military Advisor is right. As long as someone reports it, even if Song Jian does not send troops, Liu Qi will eliminate him. This is a crime of confiscating property and exterminating the clan."
Cheng Gongying said with a smile: "As long as we explain the pros and cons and offer some benefits, Song Jian will definitely come to help. With his help, Ma Chao will never be able to gain a foothold in Fuhan."
"This is a great plan!" Han Sui laughed and said, "If Liu Qi hadn't come, I would have been worried about not being able to capture Ma Chao. Now that I force Song Jian to fight, Ma Chao will surely die."
Cheng Gongying said again: "We are not strong enough to fight Liu Qi! Liu Qi's troops are advancing into Xiliang, and he must be planning to take Longyou. If Longyou is lost, Guanzhong will be in danger. We should ask Governor Wei to ask Xiahou Yuan for help. The troops of Liangzhou will march out of Qishan to attack Wudu and cut off Liu Qi's way back. The troops of Chang'an will take Hanzhong from Chang'an, and Liu Qi will surely be defeated."
Han Sui was overjoyed, and ordered his cousin Han De to go and meet Song Jian in person. At the same time, he sent someone to inform Wei Kang, leaving Li Kan and Ma Wan to guard Baihu Ridge, and he led the army to fight Liu Qi.
When the troops reached the Tao River, scouts came with an urgent report that Liu Qi had already captured Longsang City and the vanguard was advancing westward along the Tao River, advancing like a hot knife through butter and no one could stop them.
Han Sui was shocked and furious. He went to Angu garrison and set up a defense line along the river, preparing to confront Liu Qi. As long as Song Jian and Wei Kang sent troops at the same time, Liu Qi could be trapped to death in Longxi.
While the troops were being assembled, a scout came to report that Liu Qi had sent Liang Xing as his vanguard to take An Gu.
"Liu Qi, you are going too far!" Han Sui was furious when he heard this. "You keep pressing on, do you think there is no one in Xiliang?"
When Cheng Gongying heard that Han Sui intended to send troops, he advised: "Liu Qi is coming to take advantage of his victory. His soldiers are well-trained and his generals are brave. Their morale is high. We should not fight him head-on. We should wait for reinforcements first, and then fight him until his morale is gone. It will not be too late to fight again."
Cheng Yin said coldly, "Humph, if Liang Xing hadn't surrendered to the enemy, how could Liu Qi have survived Lintao? This thief actually had the nerve to come fight us. If we don't kill him, where will the prestige of our Xiliang army be?"
Han Sui nodded and said, "General Cheng is right. Liu Qi is advancing straight ahead. If we do not stop him, the army will be shaken and morale will be weakened. We should kill Liang Xing first to serve as a warning to others."
Cheng Yin clasped his fists and said, "I will take care of Liang Xing. I will definitely kill this thief on his horse and sacrifice him to show my respect."
Han Sui ordered: "Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are both famous generals in the Central Plains. If you encounter these two, don't fight them with all your strength. Just kill Liang Xing."
Cheng Yin led the troops, ordered them to leave the city and meet the enemy along the river. Han Sui ordered Yang Qiu to provide support just in case.
The Han army had already learned the news and deployed defenses along the river. Liang Xing was in the front, and behind him was a group of cavalrymen in white robes and armor. Their armor gleamed brightly in the sun, seeming to blend in with the rippling waves.
One could tell it was Zhao Yun just by looking at the man's attire. Cheng Yin had been in Xiliang for a long time and had never met a general from the Central Plains, so he was eager to give it a try.
As he was observing, Liang Xing rode his horse closer and shouted, "Cheng Yin, Han Sui harbors evil intentions and has betrayed his companions many times. If you follow him, you will be killed sooner or later. It is better to abandon the dark and join the light as soon as possible, and don't make the same mistake again."
Cheng Yin was furious and said, "You are such a shameless traitor. You dare to speak so arrogantly. Die!"
The two men urged their horses to fight, and fought on the river bank. After more than ten rounds, there was no clear winner. One wanted to kill the general to avenge himself, while the other wanted to kill the enemy to gain merit, and the fight was difficult to determine the winner.
After fighting for about thirty rounds, seeing Zhao Yun urging his horse to approach, Cheng Yin suddenly felt guilty. Liang Xing alone could not determine the winner, and if Zhao Yun came out again, wouldn't he die here
His mind was in a mess, and he could not resist. He hurriedly turned his horse back to the battle formation, shouting: "You are bullying the minority with your numbers. What kind of heroes are you?"
Liang Xing saw that there were soldiers and horses coming to support him, so he did not chase after them. Instead, he turned around and said to Zhao Yun with a smile, "General Zhao is indeed very famous. He scared Cheng Yin away before he even took action."
"How good is this man's martial arts?" Zhao Yun was also a little puzzled. He had no intention of going into battle, but was worried that Liang Xing might be in danger, so he came to the front of the formation to watch the battle.
Liang Xing sighed, "To be honest, we are equally strong. If we fight against the general, I'm afraid we will be defeated in ten rounds!"
Zhao Yun saw the enemy troops slowly retreating back into the city and frowned, saying, "Han Sui's men are so cautious, it seems they won't send out troops easily. Let's camp here and wait."
Longsang City was small and could not house a large army, so Liu Qi left Lei Tong in the city to transport food and grass, and led his troops to Taoshui to meet Zhao Yun.
Upon hearing that Han Sui was coming to resist the enemy, Cheng Yin retreated without fighting. Zhang Fei then advocated besieging An Gu and trapping Han Sui to death in the city.
Liu Qi said, "Han Sui is eager to encircle and suppress Ma Chao, so he should have repelled us as soon as possible. But now he is not taking any action. He must be relying on something. This move is intended to pacify Xiliang in one fell swoop. We don't need to act rashly. Let's see what he does."
Zhao Yun frowned and said, "If Han Sui goes to ask for reinforcements, it may be disadvantageous to our army."
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Zilong, don't forget that Zhang Ren has gone to take Mati Bay. If we take this place, Han Sui will urgently dispatch troops from Didao. Once Wang Ping and his men succeed, Han Sui will be trapped, waiting to oppose me when it is advantageous."