Tong Pass.
Bai Xiaowen received news from Camille that Ma Chao had asked Han Sui for reinforcements. He had also sent an envoy to Xi Liang to ask the Qiang army to send reinforcements.
Having a high-level spy would save him a lot of time and effort.
Bai Xiaowen checked the geographical map. After investigating the terrain, he decided to let Cao Ren guard the pass while he led fifty thousand troops to the north and sneak across the Wei River from Pu Ban City.
It was already early spring.
Spring came later in the north and the Wei River had not thawed yet. The ice layer could still carry the army across but it could not be used as a battlefield.
After crossing Pu Ban City, Feng Yi County would be in front of them, which was also the right wing of Sanfu.
If they could gain a foothold on the west side of the Wei River, they would be able to form a pincer attack with Tong Pass.
Ma Chao's Xi Liang army would also have to pay attention to the flanks, which would make it harder for them to attack Tong Pass.
However, the Xi Liang army's intelligence was not bad. Bai Xiaowen's night crossing was detected by the Xi Liang army in advance.
Ma Chao said excitedly, "This is the end of the world, Yuan Xi. I will lead the army and go to Pu Ban City to stop him!"
Pound said, "Yuan Xi's army has just increased by forty thousand troops. Although Yuan Xi led tens of thousands of troops to cross the river, there are still close to a hundred thousand troops in Tong Pass. Also, Yuan Xi is very cunning. If we all move out and the enemy attacks our camp, we can only retreat to Chang 'an. "
Ma Chao nodded and said, "Unfortunately, my uncle and the Qiang army's reinforcements have not arrived yet! Since that is the case, Pound and my brother will guard the camp. I will lead five thousand elite cavalry to attack Yuan Xi. We must not let him build a camp! When the reinforcements arrive, we will break through the enemy. "
From this, it could be seen that the Xi Liang army did not have a strategist.
If Ma Chao could be more decisive and lead the army to stop Bai Xiaowen from crossing the river, he would definitely be able to defeat Bai Xiaowen.
However, Ma Chao was worried about the safety of the camp and left a large number of troops to guard against the 'unwarranted' Cao army. With only five thousand cavalrymen, they would only be able to harass Bai Xiaowen and not stop him from crossing the river.
Of course, this was also because Bai Xiaowen's deceptive tactic had worked, causing Ma Chao and Pang De to think that there were tens of thousands of soldiers in Tong Pass. Actually, the current Tong Pass only had about ten thousand men under Cao Ren's command. They did not have the ability to threaten Ma Chao's battalion.
During the Pu Ban City battle, Bai Xiaowen paid a great price for crossing the river.
Because when crossing the river, the vanguard must withstand the enemy's attack. Otherwise, if the vanguard retreated, it would definitely disrupt the formation of the vanguard, and they would trample on each other, which would easily lead to defeat.
Ma Chao was also very strong, and his Lord-tier skill, Charge, was a godly skill that could destroy the enemy's formation. Due to the lack of numbers, Yu Jin's large shield soldiers were defeated and fell into the Wei River. Their blood dyed the ice layer.
In addition, the layer of ice on the Wei River was already very thin. In the chaos of the army, the layer of ice under their feet cracked and many fell into the Wei River. Although with the quality of the spirit world soldiers, they would not die even if they soaked in the cold water for an entire night. However, their formation would still be disrupted, and they would not be able to participate in the battle.
However, even after paying a great price, Bai Xiaowen still successfully crossed the Wei River.
Zhang Liao and Xu Huang fought against Ma Chao, while Zhang Xiu and the other generals fought in the chaos, buying time and precious space for the rest of the army to cross the river.
Ma Chao saw that the five thousand cavalrymen were exhausted, so he retreated. The Xi Liang Iron Cavalry could come and go as they pleased, and the Yuan army could only watch as Ma Chao left.
After Ma Chao returned to the camp, he discussed with Pang De, "On the west bank of the Wei River, the sand is soft, and it is difficult to build a camp. Our army will rest and recuperate, and when the cavalrymen move out again tomorrow, we will definitely be able to defeat the Yuan army. "
If the infantry army did not rely on their camps and passes for defense, they would be like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
Without a camp, Ma Chao could even lead the cavalrymen to break through the Yuan army's formation, and then turn back to charge again!
… …
On Bai Xiaowen's side, after crossing the river, they prepared to build a camp by relying on the Wei River.
After digging, the sand was indeed soft, and it was impossible to set up camp. All the generals had worried looks on their faces.
However, Bai Xiaowen smiled and invited someone out, "This time, setting up camp is all thanks to you, Daoist Priest."
That person was Ge Xuan.
When the generals saw the cultivator by their lord's side appear, they were all skeptical, but also a little expectant.
Ge Xuan was confused, "Young Master, I am not a general, how would I know how to set up camp?"
Everyone: Meow meow meow?
Bai Xiaowen smiled, "Did you forget what I asked you to do?"
Ge Xuan said, "Young Master only asked for ten days of northern wind, and one night of snow. If you are talking about this matter, I have already done it. However, what does this have to do with setting up camp? "
Bai Xiaowen said, "The sand is soft, and it is difficult to build a camp. However, if we water it with ice water, under the severe cold, it will freeze as soon as it is built, and an ice city can be built overnight! What do you all think? "
The generals were skeptical.
Bai Xiaowen then ordered the soldiers to dig the soil and water it with ice water. After midnight, the northern wind started to blow, and the weather suddenly turned cold, and snowflakes started to fall.
Just as Bai Xiaowen said, the soft sand would become as hard as iron after being watered with ice water and frozen solid by the cold air. Tens of thousands of soldiers worked together, and a camp made of frozen soil was built in less than four hours.
Everyone sighed in admiration of Bai Xiaowen's plan, and even Xun You praised, "Da Sima's wisdom is really imparted by the heavens, I am inferior."
Bai Xiaowen was thick-skinned and accepted it calmly.
In fact, this method of moving soil and watering to build a city was Lou Gui's method adopted by Cao Cao in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and was not Bai Xiaowen's creation.
If it was used here, it would require Ge Xuan's ability to change the weather. Otherwise, with the weather in early spring, it was not that cold, and it would be impossible to build an ice city.
As for Ge Xuan, he originally did not have such a heaven-defying ability.
However, after he read the Taiping Scripture, his ability improved, and thus he was able to summon ten days of northern wind and one night of snow.
The next morning, a scout reported to Ma Chao that the Yuan army camp had been built.
Ma Chao did not believe it, so he personally led the troops to take a look, and indeed, he saw a sturdy city. He was shocked and looked back at Pound, "Does Yuan Xi have the help of ghosts and gods? Otherwise, how could he build a camp of this scale in one night? "
Pound said with a worried expression, "The enemy has successfully established a foothold west of Wei River. If we don't break this camp soon, we will be attacked from both sides. "
Ma Chao nodded in agreement, but he was still worried that the defending army at Tong Pass would attack the camp. After weighing the pros and cons, he left twenty thousand troops and ordered Ma Dai to defend the camp. He and Pound would take fifty thousand Xiliang soldiers to attack the camp that Bai Xiaowen had just built.
Xun You suggested a four-sided ambush and said, "Milord, you can send a general to feign defeat and lead the enemy to attack our camp. In addition, you can set up an ambush in four directions and cut off their escape route. With a pincer attack, Ma Chao will definitely lose. "
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