Chapter 85: Ma Chao captured alive? Xu Rong facing a moment of choice?

Just as Han Sui’s voice faded,

below him, a gaze filled with slight resentment was cast toward him.

The owner of the gaze was Han Sui’s son-in-law in the true sense, Yan Xing.

Yan Xing had married Han Sui’s only daughter.

At this moment, hearing Han Sui praise Gu Yi and lament that Gu Yi was not his son-in-law,

Yan Xing felt as unhappy as one could possibly be!

"Cough, cough, Yan Xing, your father-in-law didn't mean it that way."

"Don't overthink it."

Han Sui explained to Yan Xing.

But his tone contained little apology; instead, it was spoken in an unquestionable manner.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, I understand."

Yan Xing responded with a blank expression.

As for what he was actually thinking, only he himself knew.

Meanwhile,

after receiving the news that their rear lairs had been raided,

the Liangzhou warlords bid farewell to Han Sui almost at the same time.

Even if Han Sui wanted to stop them, he was helpless at this moment.

An awkward scene appeared.

A quarter of an hour ago, the allied camp was still bustling with noise.

At this moment, except for Han Sui and Yan Xing, only Han Sui’s strategist, Cheng Gongying, remained.

Looking at the empty camp, Han Sui’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Cheng Gongying hurriedly began to analyze:

"My lord, after these small warlords left, our soldier count decreased by about sixty percent."

"But the remaining army is still far larger than the number of men Xu Rong and Ma Teng have."

"However..."

"Due to the sudden retreat of these small warlords, I fear the encirclement of Xu Rong can no longer be maintained."

"If we want to defeat Xu Rong’s army, I believe we can change our combat method."

Cheng Gongying was Han Sui’s trusted strategist.

When Han Sui first rebelled, Cheng Gongying had already been by his side.

It is no exaggeration to say

that the reason Han Sui was able to dominate this little patch of Liangzhou for so many years was largely due to Cheng Gongying’s contributions.

And the previous strategy to defeat Niu Fu

also came from Cheng Gongying’s hand.

At this moment, hearing Cheng Gongying speak, Han Sui immediately became interested.

He hurriedly asked:

"Gongying, speak quickly, what strategy can be used to quickly defeat Xu Rong?"

Cheng Gongying smiled slightly and told Han Sui the strategy.

After hearing it, the latter’s face instantly showed joy!

Although the departure of those Liangzhou warlords

caused Han Sui’s strength to shrink severely,

but at this moment,

besides Han Sui’s own troops,

the mercenaries of the Qiang and Di tribes had not yet left.

According to Cheng Gongying’s strategy, Han Sui felt that his chances of winning were still very high!

Fufeng

On the ruined city walls,

Xu Rong, wearing blood-stained lamellar armor and holding a ring-pommel broadsword, stood there.

Watching the Guanshi Allied Army retreating like a tide,

a flash of solemnity crossed Xu Rong’s eyes.

Just then,

Zhao Yun and Zhang He, who had been guarding other city towers, also hurried over from not far away.

The two reported to Xu Rong one after the other:

"General, the allied forces besieging us, I don't know what happened, but they all suddenly retreated."

After hearing the report from the two generals, Xu Rong’s confusion deepened.

Right now,

the grain in the city was running low.

This group of people from the Guanshi Allied Army should have known about this long ago.

But now, they had suddenly retreated.

According to common sense, it was clear that there was a trick involved!

He didn't know what medicine Han Sui was selling in his gourd.

Xu Rong thought for a moment, then ordered:

"Pass the order, let the brothers rest a little."

"Wait until we find out the enemy’s intelligence before making further plans."

As the commander of an army, Xu Rong knew deeply that his side was in imminent danger.

At this critical juncture, no mistakes could be made.

Therefore, he dared not risk gambling on whether something had happened on Han Sui’s side.

When night fell,

in the Fufeng City council chamber,

Xu Rong learned from scouts that the Liangzhou warlords’ rear lairs had been raided, causing them to retreat.

Regarding this, while Xu Rong was shocked, he kept pondering whose handiwork this was.

"In our army, the only person who could have such wisdom is..."

Xu Rong gradually had the answer in his heart.

Recently, because Fufeng had been under siege, people in the city did not know the news from the outside.

Therefore, Xu Rong and the others did not yet know about Gu Yi taking command.

But this sharp, vicious strategy that left no room for defense,

Xu Rong believed that the person who came up with it was nine times out of ten Gu Yi.

Subsequently, Xu Rong informed Zhao Yun and Zhang He that Gu Yi had likely arrived in Liangzhou.

Both were Gu Yi’s little brothers.

Hearing the news that their big brother had come to reinforce them, their spirits were lifted.

However,

before their joy could fade,

Xu Rong suddenly spoke:

"Although those Liangzhou warlords have retreated,"

"logically speaking, Han Sui is not the kind of person who would give up so easily."

"Moreover, besides those Liangzhou warlords, he still has the Qiang and Di tribes helping him."

"I fear that fellow Han Sui might take advantage of the situation to lure our army out of the city and annihilate us."

Analyzed by Xu Rong,

Zhao Yun and Zhang He also gradually calmed down.

Although they were still young, they were not the type of people with reckless personalities.

Especially after being baptized by this war,

the two deeply understood

that while military merit was important, one had to be alive to take it.

If one lost their life for a little merit, that would be putting the cart before the horse.

However, just because the two of them understood this principle did not mean everyone did.

Just as Zhao Yun and Zhang He were preparing to bid farewell to Xu Rong,

Ma Teng was seen stumbling over.

Xu Rong and the others were shocked to see Ma Teng visiting late at night.

Before Xu Rong and the others arrived here,

Ma Teng, Ma Chao, and others had all suffered injuries of varying degrees.

But after Xu Rong arrived with his troops,

the main force of the defense became Xu Rong’s army.

Ma Teng and the others thus gained time to rest, and their injuries had eased somewhat.

However, Ma Teng’s injuries were relatively serious,

so Xu Rong had not let him go to the front lines, but kept him in the city to recover.

At this moment, seeing Ma Teng dragging his sick body to visit late at night, Xu Rong and the others were naturally very surprised.

However, Xu Rong’s reaction speed was relatively fast.

He spoke:

"General Shoucheng, you should rest well if you are injured; we are guarding the defensive line, and there shouldn't be any major mistakes for now."

However,

before Xu Rong’s voice had faded,

Ma Teng said with grief and indignation:

"General Xu, my son Ma Chao, ignoring all obstruction, has been tricked out of the city by that fellow Yan Xing!"

"At this moment, he must have fallen into Han Sui’s ambush!"

"Bang!"

Hearing this,

Xu Rong, Zhao Yun, and Zhang He’s eyes widened instantly, and they looked at each other in dismay.

They had just been talking about how Han Sui might take advantage of the situation to set an ambush.

And as a result, that fellow Ma Chao had ignored obstruction and chased out of the city?

"General Shoucheng, why did Ma Chao suddenly chase out of the city?"

"Could it be that he was provoked?"

Xu Rong was still calm.

He knew that although Ma Chao’s personality was extremely reckless,

there were not many garrison troops in Fufeng City right now.

Even if Ma Chao were reckless, he should have considered the actual situation and not charged out of the city for no reason.

You must know

that the number of Han Sui’s and the Guanshi Allied Army’s troops was several times that of the Fufeng garrison!

Charging out of the city rashly, wasn't this seeking his own death?

It would have been better if Xu Rong hadn't asked this.

Once he asked,

Ma Teng was so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to crawl into on the spot!

However, he still had to answer, so he said with an embarrassed expression:

"My son Ma Chao once had a duel with Han Sui’s son-in-law Yan Xing three years ago."

"At that time, my son Ma Chao was conceited, thinking his martial arts were the best in the world."

"Relying on his decent martial arts, he challenged all the generals of Han Sui’s army to a duel."

"Seeing that no one could beat him, he insisted on shouting that he wanted to duel Han Sui himself."

"That old man Han Sui, with his old arms and legs, how could he compare to this young man?"

"So, Han Sui sent Yan Xing, who was not his son-in-law at the time, to take action."

"As a result, this Yan Xing really had some skills."

"He first broke my son’s weapon, and then pinned my son to the ground and beat him."

"It made my son extremely humiliated."

"Afterward, my son kept this matter in his heart and practiced martial arts hard, wanting to wash away the shame Yan Xing had left him."

(PS: This matter is not fictional; there are many very clear historical records that Ma Chao, around sixteen or seventeen, had a duel with Yan Xing, and the result was Ma Chao being rubbed on the ground by Yan Xing.)

Hearing this, Xu Rong felt embarrassed for Ma Chao!

The Ma Chao of three years ago, because of his age, had not yet grown to his peak in martial arts.

Meeting Yan Xing, who was in his prime, it was normal that he couldn't win.

But the key point was

that Ma Chao was very proud!

Three years ago, Han Sui and Ma Teng were both rebels.

At that time, the two had a relationship so good they could wear the same pair of pants.

In front of Han Sui’s army and Ma Teng’s army, Ma Chao being rubbed on the ground by Yan Xing made the matter very humiliating.

Therefore, calling Yan Xing "Ma Chao’s nightmare in his youth" was not an exaggeration at all.

Ma Teng clutched his chest, which was aching faintly, eased up a bit, and continued:

"Half an hour ago, my son Ma Chao was responsible for guarding the west city tower."

"But he suddenly encountered Yan Xing bringing over a hundred men to provoke him under the city tower."

"That Yan Xing cursed my son for being a coward without guts!"

"Subsequently, Yan Xing said he would withdraw his troops in front of my son today and asked if my son had the guts to chase after him."

"My son couldn't take the anger, and also brought over a hundred personal guards and charged out."

"I received the news and immediately rushed over."

"But at this moment, my son has already been gone for some time."

As Ma Teng’s voice faded,

Xu Rong, Zhao Yun, and Zhang He couldn't help but feel speechless at Ma Chao’s recklessness.

This damn thing perfectly interpreted what a "pig teammate" is!

It must be said that Ma Chao’s martial arts were indeed very good.

But this personality was truly the most reckless of the reckless.

Honestly,

Xu Rong didn't really want to care about Ma Chao’s life or death at this moment.

Knowing full well that this might be Han Sui’s strategy, he still chose to charge out of the city.