The Nameless of the Common Clans

After Taishi Ci withdrew his troops and returned to Pingxiang, he ordered his troops to be counted. The casualties in this battle were not many. In addition to the defeated army that escaped from Zhao Cen's side, there were still more than 3,000 people. But if Zhao Cen's troops were included, With the damage to both sides, nearly two thousand men and horses were lost in this battle.

Ma Chao's side should have suffered more losses, but what Taishi Ci brought was the elite of Guanzhong, and his opponents were all Qiang soldiers. Even if Ma Chao lost nearly half, Taishi Ci would feel that it was his side that suffered a loss, after all, he was fighting an ambush. , and Ma Chao was indeed ambushed.

"Commander, since the ambush is no longer effective, why do we still need to guard Pingxiang?" Taishi Ci looked at Xun You, who was sent by Chen Mo to help him, and asked.

"This battle will not only weaken the spirit of Na Ma Chao!" Xun You took a sip of the water handed by his guard and said: "Na Ma Chao is known as the number one general in Xiliang. According to our army's detailed report, not long ago, he fought with Han Sui in Jincheng. Confidants Yan Xing and Cheng Yi fought hard, and the relationship between the two families was not harmonious. "

Taishi Ci nodded. On this point, Chen Mo also showed these materials to the generals, but what does this have to do with them?

"Whether it is based on the itinerary or the army, Ma Chao's men should be regarded as the vanguard. The loss of troops and generals in this ambush has damaged Ma Chao's prestige. If we can't set up a camp for the army before it arrives in Ji County, we don't have to do anything. , then Han Sui's generals will run against Ma Chao, the general may understand?" Xun You smiled and said, if it is just a war, Taishi Ci is enough, why should he follow Taishi Ci on this trip again?

"If Zhao Cen hadn't underestimated the enemy, our army might have won!" Several military captains beside Tai Shici said dissatisfiedly.

"That's not necessarily the case." Xun You shook his head and said: "Judging from the news brought back from the defeated troops, Ma Chao was obviously aware of Zhao Cen's ambush in advance. It was precisely because Zhao Cen lost this battle that we were able to defeat Ma Chao so easily. "If our army sets an ambush directly, the whole army may not be wiped out, but it may not cause serious wounds to the horses."

Taishi Ci nodded. Judging from the news he got from the place where the troops were defeated, Ma Chao obviously realized something was wrong and deliberately divided his troops to ambush him. He then lured Zhao Cen out of Savage Crossing and then counter-ambushed him. If it were him, he might not be as good at ambush. Zhao Cen did better. It was precisely because Zhao Cen ambush first and made Ma Chao lose his vigilance that he could succeed in the second ambush. Unfortunately, there were too few men and horses, and Ma Chao did have some skills, so he could not completely defeat him.

"Now that Ma Chao's troops are not much larger than our army, it is not difficult to defend the city." Tai Shici thought: "How about I take the opportunity to attack at night?"

"Nothing can be done again. Ma Chao has just suffered a loss at this time. It is the time when he is most vigilant. If it is a night attack, the general may not be able to take advantage." Xun You shook his head and said: "On the contrary, the general should guard the city. Ma Chao Maybe there will be a sneak attack at night.”

Taishi Ci nodded when he heard this. Indeed, if it were him who was ambushed successfully, he would probably be wary of another sneak attack. It would indeed be difficult to rob the camp tonight.

"What the military advisor said is true, Cihui will pay attention." At that moment, Taishi Ci stood up to leave and arranged for Pingxiang's defense. He also arranged for people to rush to Ji County overnight to report the situation here to Chen Mo.

Ma Chao's army has arrived at Pingxiang, and Pingxiang is only two hundred miles away from Jixian County. It is unknown when the Ma and Han coalition forces from Didao will arrive, but Chen Mo had better prepare early.

That night, Ma Chao actually sent people to attack at night, but Taishi Ci had been prepared for it, failed to succeed, and did not dare to attack by force, so he could only return without success.

Early the next morning, Ma Chao led his troops to fight outside the city.

Taishi Ci and Xun You came to the city wall to watch the battle. Just before they saw the military formation below the city, Ma Chao was already standing in front of the formation and was calling for the formation: "Tai Shi Ci, you used a conspiracy to attack me yesterday. Ma Chao is here today. How dare you lead the army?" Go out of the city and fight me!"

Taishi Ci stood at the top of the city and looked at Ma Chao's military formation. It was good that the Qiang troops could be arranged in a military formation. It was too much to ask them to line up as neatly as the Guanzhong army.

On the side, Xun You saw Tai Shi Ci eager to try, and quickly dissuaded him: "General, please don't be impulsive. Although Ma Chao's troops are in chaos, they are not a mob. They have subordinates to each other, and their military strength is still superior to ours. If we go to war now, we can win." It is also a miserable victory. The lord does not have many soldiers and horses this time, and he lost two thousand yesterday. If there are more losses, it will be a victory. In terms of the overall situation, it will also be detrimental to the lord. "

If Chen Mo wants to defeat more with less, he will definitely be at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. In this case, the more complex the enemy, the better, and the more internal conflicts there are, the better. This is why Xun You suggested that Taishi Ci defend Ma Chao in Pingxiang, delaying The longer it takes, the greater the blow will be to Ma Chao's prestige in the Ma Chao Alliance. Judging from yesterday's battle, it will not be easy to eliminate Ma Chao, especially now that the troops are not dominant.

After Taishi Ci heard this, he could only give up his plan to fight, and said loudly to the army in the distance: "If you have the ability, just attack the city, why bother talking nonsense? I have a strong city now, but I want to give up the city." Li and you are fighting outside the city. Are the people of Xiliang so foolhardy in fighting?"

Although he is not ready to fight, he must not be timid in terms of momentum, and he must despise the opponent's IQ.

A flash of anger flashed across Ma Chao's face. He looked at the city wall, which was only two feet high, and sneered: "A mere earth wall, you want to stop me? Attack the city!"

The Qiang soldiers and horses were already ready to go. Following Ma Chao's order, ladders, battering rams and other simple siege weapons that had been made overnight rushed towards the city wall with the push of the soldiers.

Although these were all hastily made siege equipment, Pingxiang was far from a strong city. The rammed earth walls were less than two meters high and could accommodate at most four people standing side by side. Even the arrow array could not be deployed. Taishi Ci divided the defenders into two rows and took turns shooting arrows at the city. At the same time, he moved the rolling logs and stones made overnight onto the walls. The people of Pingxiang were relocated to Ji County by Zang Hong after the autumn harvest. Now, in addition to the defenders, only some old and weak people remained in Pingxiang and were unwilling to leave. Now that the war has begun, these old and weak people who stayed in the city have also been summoned to act as porters.

The wall is not high, but it still has some advantages. In addition, Taishi Ci dispatched properly and burned a lot of siege hammers with the help of a small amount of boiling oil and torches. As for the ladder, it was not a cloud ladder specially made for siege. Although there was a barb at one end, it could still be pushed down easily.

After a day of fighting between the two sides, Ma Chao saw that it was difficult to break through the city, so he had to call off the troops in frustration.

In the next few days, Ma Chao would try to attack the city every day, but Taishi Ci had guarded the earthen city so tightly that no matter how hard Ma Chao attacked, it was difficult to break through the city. Although he had an advantage in terms of manpower, the advantage was not too great. After ten consecutive days, both sides suffered heavy losses.

Seeing that his subordinates were losing more and more, Ma Chao had to temporarily suspend the attack on the city.

"This Taishi Ci is really abominable!" Back in his own tent, listening to the wailing from the military camp from time to time, Ma Chao kicked a wooden stake in the general's tent with a bit of annoyance.

"Brother, my army is probably about to reach Ji County now. How about we go around the city?" Ma Dai looked at Ma Chao and asked.

Ma Chao was silent. Going around the city was not as simple as bypassing Pingxiang. It was also equivalent to giving up the logistics and baggage. The food route here was equivalent to being cut off by Taishi Ci. Of course, Pingxiang would become an isolated city.

But if he didn't leave, Taishi Ci would guard Pingxiang perfectly. Ma Chao wanted to break the city, unless he cut off Taishi Ci's water and food. But firstly, it would take time, and secondly, Taishi Ci was not without the strength to fight him. If Taishi Ci fought hard, even if he won in the end, it was still unclear how many soldiers he could take away.

Since Ma Chao became famous, Taishi Ci was the first enemy he had met who was a match for him, but this feeling was not good.

This was just one of Chen Mo's generals. I heard that Chen Mo had many powerful generals. I wonder how many of them were like Taishi Ci?

This battle was going to be difficult!

Ma Chao stood up a little irritably and said, "Just as Bo Zhan said, we will set off at three o'clock tonight. Let the soldiers bring enough food for three days. Don't worry about the rest. Send someone to notify my father to pick us up."

From here to Ji County, it is more than 200 miles. Even if we march quickly, it will take at least three days to get there. If we want to bypass Pingxiang, the logistics here will be useless.

"Yes!" Ma Dai agreed, and said goodbye to inform the soldiers of each camp to prepare.

That night, at three o'clock in the morning, Ma Chao led the soldiers who defeated the Qiang and left the camp and headed straight for Ji County.

The next morning, Taishi Ci realized something was wrong and sent scouts to investigate the enemy camp, but found that Ma Chao's camp had already become an empty camp.

"According to the news from Ji County, the Ma-Han coalition army arrived at Luomen three days ago and confronted the lord at Luomen." Xun You smiled and twisted his beard, "The general has delayed Ma Chao for more than ten days, which is enough to reduce Ma Chao's prestige."

Luomen is the western gate of Ji County, more than 70 miles away from Ji County. Three rivers converge and it is surrounded by mountains on both sides. It is a place that must be fought for by military strategists. Chen Mo chose the battlefield here to block the Ma-Han army.

"If the army is at Luomen, then Ma Chao can attack Ji County directly!" Taishi Ci frowned and said, "There is no time to lose. Let's set off as soon as possible and rush back to Ji County!"

"Since the lord knows the situation here, he will be on guard against Ma Chao's attack around the city." Xun You smiled and said, "There is no rush to rush back now."

"The military advisor means..." Taishi Ci looked at Xun You in confusion.

"Since the Ma-Han coalition army has reached Luomen, its rear must be empty. We can take advantage of the situation to harass them. Even if we can't cut off the enemy's food supply, we can also make the Ma-Han coalition army unstable and difficult to fight with the lord with all our strength!" Xun You smiled.

Taishi Ci looked at the map. Pingxiang is closer to Longxi than to Ji County. It is a distance of 170 to 80 miles away. If we march quickly, we can reach it in three days.

But if it is really as Xun You said, his army will become an isolated army. If he can't successfully snatch some food and grass, then this army will be finished.

"Military Advisor, we only have 2,000 soldiers now, so it may be difficult to attack the city!" Taishi Ci frowned.

"Collect some military uniforms from the corpses of the Xiliang army. It is naturally difficult to break through the city by force, but if we attack with a strange strategy, the defenders behind them may not be able to stop the general!" Xun You smiled. Ma Chao left in a hurry, and many corpses were not cleaned up. There were also many supplies in the military camp that were not taken away, which could be used.

"I understand!" Taishi Ci's eyes lit up when he heard this. This strategy was quite feasible. He nodded immediately. Anyway, his troops were already disabled, and even if he went back, he could not help much. It would be better to go around the enemy's rear. Chen Mo gave Taishi Ci's troops considerable autonomy, and sent Xun You to let Taishi Ci be able to adapt to the situation and maximize the role of this troops.