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Among the forces in Guanzhong and Longyou, Cao Cao actually only completely controlled the auxiliary areas, namely Jingzhao County, Fufeng County and Fengyi County, while the Guanlong area outside the auxiliary areas was much more complicated.

The imperial court controlled some major cities, while the small county towns and vast villages belonged to Ma Teng, Han Sui, as well as many warlords and Hu people. This situation of heroic separatism continued to the west to the Hehuang region and the Hexi Corridor.

Ma Teng's army is different from the Central Plains army. Many of his troops were from the Qiang, Di and other Hu people who lived in Liangzhou and Longyou. These Hu people were established as tribal systems. In this way, his army was also influenced by the tribal system and was composed of various half-fucking troops.

In addition to Ma Teng's 20,000 directly under the army, there are also eight warlords including Cheng Yin, Yang Qiu, Li Kan, Zhang Heng, Liang Xing, Cheng Yi, Ma Wan. They each have seven or eight thousand or tens of thousands of troops, forming an alliance, and all rely on Ma Teng as the alliance leader.

Two years ago, after Ma Teng entered Beijing under pressure from Cao Cao, he handed over the army to Chang Ma Chao, but Ma Teng was not relieved of Ma Chao. He was afraid of rebellion. Once Chang raised an army to rebel against Cao, he would suffer from implicit disasters. It is for this reason that Ma Teng still controlled the armies of Xiliang.

At first, everyone was willing to continue to obey his orders, but as time went by, Ma Teng's control gradually weakened. On the contrary, Ma Chao continued to send cattle, sheep and food to various departments, gradually winning over eight people, causing them to follow their orders.

Ma Chao's direct-level army was stationed in Ji County, Tianshui County, which was the county seat of Tianshui County. When Ma Chao heard that Zhong Yao led Wan Dajun into Tianshui County, he did not give him any explanation in advance. He only sent someone to say that he wanted to conquer Zhang Lu in Hanzhong in the south, which made Ma Chao shocked and angry.

Zhong Yao set out from Chang'an to conquer Zhang Lu, and he could walk on the Wu Road, Yugu Road, Tangluo Road, Baoxi Road, and even Chencang Road. Among the six roads in Guanzhong, there were five roads that could go south to Hanzhong. They didn't even walk, but they ran to him to walk on the Qishan Road. This was clearly a matter of attacking Zhang Lu as an empty and attacking him as a real person.

Soon Ma Chao got another news. Xiahou Yuan led tens of thousands of troops to come from Hedong and towards Guanzhong. This was clearly to support Zhong Yao and jointly wipe out himself. Ma Chao had only 20,000 direct troops in his hands, and he was extremely nervous.

On the one hand, Ma Chao asked Liu Min to send a letter to Liu Jing and was willing to conspire with Liu Jing to Guanzhong. On the other hand, he sent someone to Jincheng County to invite Han Sui to come and discuss the plan. At the same time, Ma Chao secretly issued a military order and ordered the remaining eight troops to prepare to raise an army to rebel against Cao.

In the afternoon, a team of cavalry rushed from the north along the official road and came to Ma Chao's camp. A soldier stepped forward and shouted: "General Han is here, please inform General Ma."

In the big tent, Ma Chao was walking back and forth uneasyly in the tent with his hands behind his back. Ma Chao was eight feet tall, burly and well-proportioned, with pink face and red lips, very handsome, but his eyes were like lightning and his eyebrows were like swords. He also had a kind of heroic spirit in his handsomeness, and was praised by the world as the Jin Ma Chao.

Ma Chao has outstanding martial arts skills and is second only to Lu Bu among the heroes in the world. He is known as the hero together with Zhao Yun and Dian Wei. After Lu Bu and Dian Wei's death, he and Zhao Yun were called the two heroes in the world.

However, although Ma Chao is outstanding in martial arts, he is far from strategy and talent. Therefore, although he is also a prince, the people in the world do not compare him with Liu Jing.

He was regarded as a powerful general, not a powerful leader, and no wise counselors were willing to rely on him, and the gentry did not recognize him. This made Ma Chaowu unbalanced and could never become a great man. Although he occupied a wide range of places, he never really won the hearts of the people and his foundation was unstable.

This is the reason why Cao Cao didn't take him seriously. If Liu Jing had not intended to expand north to Guanzhong, Cao Cao would not be in a hurry to wipe out Ma Chao for the time being.

At this time, a personal soldier rushed over and bowed and said, "Report to the lord, General Han is here."

Ma Chao was very happy, Han Sui finally came, and he hurriedly ordered: "Please hurry up"

He immediately reacted again and waved his hand quickly, "No need, I'll go to greet him in person."

Outside the camp, Han Sui was patiently waiting for the opening of Ma Chao's camp. Han Sui was about fifty years old and the same age as Ma Teng. He was also the famous warlords in Guanlong, second only to Ma Teng among the Guanlong forces.

In order to compete for control of Guanlong, Han Sui fought repeatedly with Ma Teng, and even killed Ma Teng's wife, Ma Chao's mother, and formed a grudge with Ma Teng's father.

However, under the mediation of the Chang'an leader Zhong Yao, Ma Teng and Han Sui untied their hatred and reconciled as before. This time, Han Sui received a letter from Ma Chao. Knowing that the situation had changed, he rushed to discuss with Ma Chao overnight.

Although Ma Chao and Han Sui had a grudge against him to kill his mother, the hatred faded after many years. In addition, Han Sui knew that Ma Chao's situation is now critical and would not consider hatred, so he had no scruples.

Han Sui's confidant Yan Xing whispered: "As the saying goes, there is nothing more than his father. Ma Chao knew that his father was a hostage in Yedu, but he wanted to rebel. This was to harm his father's life. This man was a wolf ambition, why did the general follow him to rebel and put himself in danger?"

Han Sui sighed, "Nothing, the lips are gone, and the teeth are cold."

At this time, the camp gate opened wide, and Ma Chao led the generals to greet him. He stepped forward and knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "Ma Chao is grateful to Uncle Shi for helping him."

Han Sui quickly helped him up, "You don't have to be too polite to nephew. The situation is critical now, let's talk about the serious matter first."

"Uncle Shi"

Ma Chao welcomed Han Sui into the central army tent. The two of them took their seats. A personal soldier brought two bowls of butterfly juice. Han Sui picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, wiped the corners of his mouth and asked, "What's the situation now?"

"Reporting to the uncle Shi, Zhong Yao kept saying that he wanted to attack Zhang Lu, but now he was stationed in Shangbi County and did not move. I sent someone to question him. He also said that the troops were insufficient and he had to wait for reinforcements from Hedong to come. This was clearly necessary to join forces to attack me and destroy us."

Han Sui nodded and said, "I also know that Zhong Yao's words are not credible. He often talks sweetly to me, but has ulterior motives, so I have been guarding against him."

Ma Chao agreed deeply and added: "Zhong Yao had secretly ordered me to murder the general before, but he deceived the general. From this, it can be seen that the people of Guandong are no longer trusting. This time they are called Nanzheng, and in fact they are going to destroy us. We must not sit still and wait for death."

Ma Chaoyue became more and more excited. He stood up and knelt down again, raised an arrow and sweared: "Now I, Ma Mengqi, gave up my father. I would like to treat the general like my father. I beg the general to treat me like my son. My heart is like an arrow. If my heart is not sincere, the arrow will be broken."

Han Sui smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, since I'm here, I'm willing to advance and retreat with my nephew. We must work together to build a great cause."

Ma Chao was very happy and discussed with Han Sui's specific military service. At this time, Han Sui asked: "What is the situation with Liu Jing, can he send troops together?"

"I only heard that he was attacking Yizhou. I don't know if he could send troops. I have asked Liu Min to go to Yizhou to deliver a letter, hoping that he can send troops to attack Cao's thieves."

Han Sui pondered for a moment and said, "Even if Liu Jing sends troops, he will attack Guanzhong directly. Zhong Yao's army must be solved by us. This way, I will go back and join the nephew immediately. The nephew will notify the other eight divisions and we will raise an army to attack the thieves of Cao together."

...........

In the early summer of the 15th year of Jian'an, the Cao army used the south to conquer Hanzhong, which finally triggered the rebellion of Guanlong and the heroes. Ma Chao, Han Sui, Houxuan, Cheng Yin, Yang Qiu and other ten Guanlong troops rebelled one after another. They joined forces to fight against the Cao army, raised a 100,000 army, and attacked Zhong Yao's army.

Zhong Yao had only tens of thousands of troops. Before the Xiliang army arrived, he quickly withdrew back to Guanzhong. On the one hand, Zhong Yao led his army to defend Chang'an, while using flying pigeons to pass letters, and urgently asked Cao Cao for help.

In Yedu, the news of Ma Chao's rebellion spread throughout the court and the public, and even overwhelmed the news that Liu Jing sent troops to Yizhou. After all, Liu Jing's troops to Yizhou were still far away for the people of Yedu. In addition to lamenting Liu Jing's heroic martial arts, no one cares about the life and death of the Liu Zhang family.

But the news of Ma Chao's rebellion was different. The Xiliang army had already attacked Guanzhong, and the threat seemed to be right in front of him, which even caused panic in the Yedu market. As soon as the trend of snatching rice appeared, the rice price doubled, and it increased sharply by 80 yuan.

In the Prime Minister's Mansion, a group of advisers including Xun You, Cheng Yu, Liu Ye, Chen Qun, Jia Kui, Guoyuan, and Cao Cao's elders, Cao Pi, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi all gathered together to discuss countermeasures to resolve the rebellion of the Western Liang army.

Of course, Cao Cao did not tell everyone that Ma Chao's rebellion was actually because he and Xun You made a plan to introduce Ma Chao and Han Sui's army into Guanzhong and annihilate it and re-establish Guanzhong defense.

The counselors in the lobby were talking, but Cao Cao seemed a little absent-minded while sitting in the upper position. In fact, Cao Cao did not care about Ma Chao's rebellion. He was concerned about Liu Jing's conquest of Yizhou and Hanzhong. Just last night, Zhang Lu fled to Yedu to surrender, which meant that Liu Jing conquered Hanzhong.

Cao Cao never expected that Liu Jing had conquered Yizhou and Hanzhong in just two months. To his surprise, in order to eliminate Ma Chao, Cao Cao specially mobilized food and grass from various places, which invisibly delayed time. When he was ready to complete, Liu Jing had already conquered Yizhou and Hanzhong, which made Cao Cao deeply worried whether Liu Jing would send troops to Guanzhong and join forces with Ma Chao. If that were the case, the situation in Guanzhong would be critical.

At this time, Cao Pi saw that his father seemed very tired, and whispered: "If my father is not feeling well, then let's end it for now. Let's discuss it tomorrow."

Cao Cao sighed, "The situation is critical, there is no time to delay it. This way, please let Mr. Xun and Mr. Cheng stay, and the others will go back for the time being."

After saying that, Cao Cao got up and walked towards the backyard. Soon, Cao Cao changed his clothes and came to the outer study room. In the outer study room, Xun You and Cheng Yu were already waiting, and Cao Pi was also standing aside. He was very smart. He knew that his father asked him to secretly leave Xun You and Cheng Yu, that is, he asked him to discuss matters together.

"Do you guys understand?"

Cao Cao sat down tiredly, and said to the two with regret in his tone: "Liu Jing has taken over Yizhou and Hanzhong. Now Jing and Shu are connected together, and their power is so great that they can vaguely compete with me. The two gentlemen think I need to fight again?"

Xun You and Cheng Yu looked at each other, and Xun You said, "Prime Minister, the most urgent task is to wipe out Ma Chao and consolidate Guanzhong's defense. You must never let Liu Jing go north to Guanzhong again. This is the top priority for us in the past two years. The southern expedition can be considered after restoring its vitality."

Cheng Yu also added: "Prime Minister, we need time to recover our vitality now. A battle of Chibi has had a great impact on us, and Hebei has shown signs of instability, especially the local tyrants of Tian Bo and Su Yin gathered tens of thousands of people to rebel, which has a great impact. There are also people in Jizhou and Youzhou, causing great chaos. If the people cannot live and work in peace, the country will be unstable. In this case, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Cao Cao was really upset. He pondered for a long time and said to Cao Zhi: "Zhier, otherwise you will go to Xiangyang for your father and have a good talk with him."

Cao Zhi bowed and said, "My son is willing to share his worries for his father."

Cao Pi's face next to him was a little unnatural, and a hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes. He knew that Liu Jing played an important role in his father's heart. His father did not send ministers to serve as an envoy, but asked his younger brother to serve as an envoy. Is this going to let his younger brother take over the countermeasures in Jingzhou?

Thinking of this, Cao Pi was filled with worries. He finally couldn't help but step forward and said, "Father, the child is very worried about Liu Jing's next move. He has already won Hanzhong and Yizhou, and has no worries anymore. Will he take the opportunity to send troops to Guanzhong and join forces with Ma Chao?"

Cheng Yu quickly glanced at Cao Pi. The Prime Minister had asked Cao Zhi to go to Jingzhou, but he had trouble again. This was not wise. When Cheng Yu saw that Cao Pi wanted to say something else, he smiled faintly and cut off his words, "Your Majesty, don't worry about this. I dare to assert that Liu Jing would never enter Guanzhong at this time."

"Why is this?" Cao Cao also asked with interest. This was also his most concerned issue, but Cao Cao did not notice the subtle changes in his long mentality.

Cheng Yu stroked his beard and said, "How can one mountain accommodate two tigers? How could he share with Ma Chao Guanzhong? He must have used our hands to destroy Ma Chao to eliminate his future troubles. So I dare say that he will not send troops to Guanzhong now, and he will inevitably find an excuse for the unstable Yizhou to reject Ma Chao."

Cao Cao nodded. It was indeed the case. With Liu Jing's black-heartedness, killing Ma Chao with his own hands was indeed the best choice. He pondered for a moment: "In this way, is it feasible to use Ma Chao to restrain Liu Jing?"

"inappropriate"

Xun You shook his head and objected, "If Ma Chao does not eliminate him, Liu Jing will instead use him to drive away the wolf and swallow the tiger, and Hedong will be in danger."

Cao Cao suddenly realized that at this moment he made up his mind, "Well, the army will go to war tomorrow."

.........

The next day, Emperor Liu Xie of Han issued an order, and Ma Teng colluded with Ma Chao to rebel, dismissed his position as Wei Qing, imprisoned his whole family and convicted him, and appointed Cao Cao as the general of the Western Expedition, who was fully responsible for pacifying Ma Chao's rebellion.

Cao Cao was ordered to issue a series of orders, ordering Anxi General Cao Ren to lead 20,000 troops to Tongguan to block Ma Chao's eastward advance, and ordered Xiahou Yuan's troops to build a city in Puban, and then ordered Bingzhou counties to recruit 200,000 civilians to transport food, grass and supplies.
Chapter completed!