Chapter 721: Troops approach Pingxiang

Chapter 721: Troops approach Pingxiang

"It's just two small towns, don't worry about them, just go around them!"

With a wave of his hand, Ma Su made a decision that confused all the generals.

These are two cities stuck on the grain road. Although the cities are not big, they are still quite a headache. Any general who has fought in a war will usually choose to remove them before moving forward. This is basic knowledge.

But as a veteran, Ma Su chose the completely opposite decision. He decided to send only part of his troops to stay here, and the rest of the main force quickly circled the city and attacked Changli.

Ma Dai and others were a little confused about Ma Su's decision. However, Ma Su has never missed it over the years, so they did it without hesitation.

So, Ma Su left Wang Ping and led 5,000 infantry and cavalry men to guard the second city, and then led the army straight to the seat of Changli County.

Ma Su's approach was obviously the most appropriate, because at this time, the Liaodong Army in the two cities blocking the Han army totaled less than 2,000 people. With just this few men and horses, the threat to the grain road is minimal.

After all, Hebei was defeated too quickly before, and a large number of troops had no time to evacuate. As the last follower of the Sima family, Yang Hu even had to disguise himself and ride away alone before running back.

It is precisely because of this that the number of troops that followed the Sima family to Liaodong was only small. The local garrison cannot be moved easily. After all, Baekje and Goguryeo are watching with eager eyes.

Therefore, there cannot be many troops on the Liaodong front line. At most, they are used as forward outposts. This small number of troops is completely worth mentioning against the Han army of 20,000 people. If you dare to come out, you will be destroyed, and the threat can even be ignored.

Because they did not expect that the Han army would bypass the two frontline cities and attack by force, Changli City was very empty. When Ma Su led the main force to the city, the whole city suddenly fell into chaos.

Ma Di personally went into battle with a gun and led a group of Guanzhong veterans to launch an siege of the city. In just half a day, the Han army attacked the city and successfully occupied the entire city.

The less than a thousand Liaodong soldiers guarding this place immediately raised their hands and surrendered after a simple defense.

Their Sima Yan establishment was too short-lived, and they basically had no sense of belonging. What's more, there are too few people, and the gap is so big that the soldiers don't have any intention to fight at a glance.

Changli County was captured, and Changli County, which was the forward position of Liaodong, immediately surrendered. By the time Pingxiang's reinforcements arrived, the entire Changli was already surnamed Liu.

There was no way, Pingxiang's Liaodong reinforcements had to withdraw. Ma Su looked at the retreating direction of the Liaodong Army, was silent for a while, suddenly turned around and gave an order.

"Ma Dai, order your troops! Pull out all the cavalry and follow me on the expedition! We must block the road leading to Baekje before Sima Division can react!"

Master Sima is not Gongsun Yuan, he will definitely not stay in Pingxiang waiting to die like He Erbai5. Ma Su was sure that after the reinforcements brought back the news of the fall of Changli, Sima Division would immediately run to the Korean Peninsula with his troops and horses.

There are two Han counties there, and the roads are rugged and poorly developed. If Sima Shi is allowed to escape there, Ma Di will be in trouble if he wants to pursue him again.

Therefore, Ma Su made a prompt decision and ordered Ma Dai to gather all the cavalry and rush eastward with light equipment.

However, the difference in climate in Liaodong and the low degree of development were beyond Ma Su's expectation. Not only did the Han army get lost several times while traveling eastward, but Ma Di himself even contracted typhoid fever.

But even so, Ma Su still insisted on being at the front as always. After wandering around the mountains and forests for seven days, they finally found a way out of the mountains and forests, and arrived near Ma Zi River before the Liaodong Army.

Mazishui is now the Yalu River and is the only way from Liaodong to the peninsula. With his face pale from the cold, Ma Su arrived here first.

A few days after Ma Di arrived, the Liaodong Army appeared near Ma Zi River. After seeing the banner of the Han army, the Liaodong army immediately retreated in panic.

Obviously, Master Sima also roughly guessed what Ma Di would shout. When the Liaodong Army came back to report, Sima Division immediately ordered to return to Pingxiang.

In response, Sima Zhao turned pale with nervousness.

"Brother, what should we do next? Are we going to be surrounded and killed by the Shu army in Pingxiang?"

"Why are you nervous? This is Liaodong, our home court. Ma Di will definitely die here!"

Master Sima scolded him with a gloomy face, then waved his hand and ordered the entire army to withdraw to Pingxiang. It can be seen just from his face that Master Sima is not in a good mood.

Not only Sima Master, but also the general Yang Hu looked ugly. Now that their escape route has been blocked, their only choice may be to defend Pingxiang.

Over the years, Master Sima has consciously gathered grain from Liaodong in Pingxiang. If we simply defended, we would still have enough food and grass, but the problem was that there was no hope.

The Han army came from afar and the food road was lengthened, but it was not unsustainable. If they besieged for a long time like Sima Yi did when he pacified Liaodong, they would sooner or later starve to death in Pingxiang.

"Brother, let's go to Goguryeo?" Yang Hu was silent for a long time, then suddenly followed Sima Shi and suggested in a low voice.

"Have you forgotten the fate of Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang?" Master Sima said without looking back, silencing Yang Hu with one sentence.

"We will definitely die if we rely on others. Defending Pingxiang is our only choice now."

"So stop thinking wildly and go back to Pingxiang to figure out how to break the situation."

Master Sima's words seemed to be pronouncing their fate. In this way, the Liaodong Army returned to Liaodong again with a heavy heart.

In June, the main force of the Han army in Changli County finished resting and quickly crossed the Liaohe River to the city of Pingxiang. It was not until the Han army completely surrounded Pingxiang that Ma Su returned with his troops to join the army.

At this time, Ma Su already felt a little overwhelmed and felt that he was not used to the local climate. Ma Dai, who was with the army, repeatedly suggested that Ma Su return to Hebei, but was rejected by Ma Su.

"How can I leave at this time? I am about to wipe out the Sima family." Ma Su looked at the surrounded Pingxiang City and couldn't help muttering.

Now, he has defeated Wu, destroyed Wei, pacified Guandong, and helped Ji Han unify the world again. As long as Pingxiang is conquered and Sima Yi's family is exterminated, the achievement will be complete.

At this time, Ma Su must not leave.

"Pass my order, the whole army camps on the spot, no siege." Looking at the "Sima" flag of Pingyang on the top of the city, Ma Su snorted coldly and gave the order.

"I want to see how long the Sima family can stay in this tortoise shell. Even if I'm hungry, I'll starve them to death here!"

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With Ma Su's order, the siege of Pingxiang officially began. Nearly 20,000 Han troops surrounded Pingxiang, and then set up camp, besieging but not attacking.

The goal was very clear, which was to starve the last resistance forces in Liaodong to death in this city!