Chapter 220 Qiang and Hu go south
"How is the general?"
In the General's Mansion, Xiahou Ba asked the doctors a little anxiously.
After the defeat in Ziwu Valley, which resulted in the loss of 20,000 soldiers and horses, and after he and Cao Zhen returned from their escape by climbing the mountain, Cao Zhen became ill.
I don't know whether he was injured while climbing or because he was too ashamed. In short, Cao Zhen was very ill. He called several doctors one after another, but to no avail. No one could cure Cao Zhen's illness.
Because Cao Zhen was seriously ill, the other able-bodied Chen Tai and Guo Huai in the northwest were on the Yongzhou front line. At this moment, Chang'an had no one to talk to, and there was no way to deal with Sanfu's chaos.
Without the general's seal, not a single soldier can leave Chang'an!
Of course, even if there were facts, it would be useless. Chang'an didn't have many soldiers and horses to stop Ma Di. The few troops they had were still under the reputation of Ma Su's great victory in Ziwu Valley, and there was a lot of panic.
Xiahou Ba was so worried about this that he asked the doctor day and night how his general was doing.
"The general is still the same as before, and there is nothing I can do." The village doctor sighed and saluted Xiahou Ba respectfully.
"It is difficult to detect the patient, and the decoction of a certain person has no effect. General Xiahou should ask someone else to help him. There is nothing I can do for him."
When Xiahou Ba heard this, he couldn't hide his disappointment in his eyes. However, he still sent the doctor out calmly and did not embarrass him.
"General, I still haven't recovered yet. What should I do now?" Xiahou Ba felt a headache and didn't know what to do.
You must know that the Yongzhou front line is now at the time when the war is noisy. At this time, every minute and second determines life and death.
At this juncture, Cao Zhen's serious illness would only make matters worse.
Just as Xiahou Ba was running around anxiously, suddenly a soldier inside came out and said respectfully to Xiahou Ba.
"General Xiahou, the general has woken up and wants to see you now."
"The general is awake?" Xiahou Ba was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed and hurriedly walked into the general's palace.
But as soon as he entered the inner palace, he saw Cao Zhen lying on the bed. At this moment, the pillar of power in the northwest was extremely thin, and his face was as pale as a piece of white paper.
"Zhong Quan!" Cao Zhen opened his eyes with difficulty, looked at Xiahou Ba weakly, and struggled to sit up.
"General!" Xiahou Ba was shocked and quickly stepped forward to support Cao Zhen.
"The general is seriously ill, so don't force yourself..."
"We don't have time. If Ma Su is allowed to burn Sanfu again, I'm afraid Northwest will be doomed!" Cao Zhen looked pale, but still said with difficulty,
"Listen to me, now you take my order and go to the north immediately. Where to use the three auxiliary grains, gold and silk as a lure, gather the Qiang and Hu tribes in the north and rush south to help."
"Ma Su is very good at cavalry, and the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong cannot catch up with him. We must use Qiang and Hu cavalry to find a way to limit his performance."
"Remember, you must keep the Qiang and Hu people under control. If they mess up, you can bring them into the city and kill them all. If the Qiang and Hu people don't make trouble, just ensure the safety of Qin Chidao!"
"There is no need to fight with Ma Su, just stumbling him is enough. I have sent people to Luoyang to ask for help, and the main force of the court will arrive soon."
"Be fast!"
After saying this, Cao Zhen softened with relief and fell on the bed again. He was too weak at the moment, and it took a lot of effort to say what he just said.
Xiahou Ba couldn't help but be dumbfounded by this. He didn't expect that the general would reach this point and still insist on it.
In the final analysis, they are all trying their best to give their own forces a better chance of winning.
"Don't worry, General, I will never let you down!" Xiahou Ba saluted Cao Zhen respectfully, then turned around to carry out the order.
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After receiving Cao Zhen's order, Xiahou Ba quickly came to the north of the Yellow River with the warrant. And directly arrived at Gubeidi County to find cooperation with the local Qiang and Hu warlords.
Why tell the story of Beidi County? Because this was once the territory of the Han Dynasty. However, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Lu Bu took away the elites of Bingzhou, which led to the disintegration of Bingzhou.
Shangjun, Yunzhong, Beidi, and Yanmen counties were all lost to the Qiang and Hu.
Therefore, the area north of the Yellow River is no longer owned by the Han people.
Xiahou Ba went to Gubeidi County and quickly met the local Qiang and Hu warlord Yan Bao.
Facing Xiahou Ba, a great Wei general, the Qiang and Hu warlords were relatively respectful. Then I saw the order with the seal of General Cao Zhen, and I suddenly became more respectful.
"What's the general's order?" Yan Bao asked after saluting.
"I plan to borrow your troops to go south to suppress the Western Shu rebels." Xiahou Ba said calmly.
"The general is seriously ill at the moment, and the soldiers from Chang'an are overqualified to fight against the rebels. So the general intends to use the gold, silk, grain and fodder from the third auxiliary to use your troops to clear out the rebels in Western Shu?"
As soon as he heard that he had money to take, Yan Bao's eyes instantly became clearer, and he accepted the order with a smile on his face. Although he is of Han-Hu descent, his culture is obviously Hu-Hu.
They all don't know etiquette, only care about money and food, and are only interested in profit.
When dealing with them, you can't talk about feelings or sharing your worries. If the money and silk are not in place, not only will they not help you, they will stab you in turn.
After the gold and silk were in place, the Qiang and Hu people moved quickly. In just two days, five thousand Qiang and Hu cavalry gathered to follow Xiahou Ba southward to pursue Ma Di.
During this period, Ma Su killed another Wei army man near Qinchi Road. This time, because the Wei generals were timid, the Wei army failed to guard the grain carts, and the Shu army completely burned a team of thousands of stones of grain.
This battle also dealt a huge blow to the Wei army on the front line. Although it was not seriously injured, it had begun to suffer from food shortages.
"Xiuren, watch and learn carefully. This is how guerrilla warfare comes about." After setting another Wei army on fire, Ma Di took Liu Yin's hand and said to him with a smile.
"The general's guerrilla warfare method has the momentum of Peng Yue's attack on Chu in the past. If this continues for a long time, there will be famine on the front line of the Wei army." Liu Yin nodded, and quickly wrote sixteen more words where Ma Di did not see, praising him repeatedly. .
Back then, Peng Yue Nao Chu was like Ma Su. He would run away when the main force came, and make trouble as soon as the main force left. Relying on his guerrilla tactics, Xiang Yu was dragged into the Central Plains unable to move.
In this way, my general is still an all-rounder. Not only can he govern the local area, he is good at surprise attacks and spreading rumors, and he even dabbles in guerrilla warfare.
I'm afraid there are a lot of things that I want to record.
At this time, Ma Su's detective rushed back and urgently reported a piece of news to Ma Su.
"General, suddenly a large number of barbarian cavalry from the north came south, marching under the false flag of Wei. Judging from the size of the troops, there should be thousands of cavalry, heading towards us."
"What? Did the Puppet Wei borrow Hu Qi?" Ma Su was suddenly shocked.