Chapter 118: Falling into the Wei River
The road is wide and the forests on both sides of the road have long been cut down.

There were no obstacles blocking the view. More than a hundred cavalrymen spread out on both sides, surrounding Ma Chao and slowly advancing.

The war flag of the general behind him is the only identification mark at present, there are no other war flags.

When Ma Chao was about to approach the Chidao, another group of people came from the city wall of Xinfeng.

It was Jingzhao Yin Zhang Shi, who had also hurried over after hearing the noise outside the city. Right after he arrived, Jingzhao Yin Gongcao Du Ji also arrived.

Zhang Shi and Du Ji were once friends. When the Three Prefectures were in turmoil, Du Ji fled to Jingzhou to avoid the chaos. In the fourth year of Jian'an, when the news came that Li Jue and his entire family had been killed, Du Ji returned to his hometown of Duling.

At that time, all industries in Jingzhao were declining. Zhang Shi, a native of Hedong, served as the Jingzhao Yin. He invited Du Ji to be his main assistant.

In recent years, the friendship between the two has deteriorated instead of improved, and the conflicts caused by their different working styles have become increasingly serious.

But they are friends in need after all, and at the time of the bandits' invasion, their relationship seemed to improve rapidly.

They met on the top of the city wall and stood together to look outside the city.

Zhang Shi was a little uneasy. He placed his hands on the parapet and patted them gently, fearing that the most terrible thing would happen.

When Du Ji saw this, he realized that Zhang Ji was looking at him with the sidelong glance, so he raised his hand and patted Zhang Shi's arm lightly, and Zhang Shi put his hands behind his back.

Du Ji also knew that most people were worried that Ma Teng would respond to Yuan at this time.

It was no secret that Yuan's envoys had contacts with Ma Teng and Han Sui, and Ma Teng was always stationed in the Huaili area of ​​Youfufeng, in the western part of Guanzhong.

Now Ma Teng has officially expanded to the east, near Chang'an, which is something that worries everyone.

Occupying a few counties in Guanzhong is not a big deal, but if you occupy Guanzhong as a whole, your value will immediately increase a hundredfold.

Ma Chao is an extremely unstable factor. From the fourth year of Jian'an to the present day, Cao Cao's Sikong Mansion has routinely recruited Ma Chao every year.

Ma Chao refused every time and refused to pass Tongguan.

At the same time, Ma Chao made friends with various heroes in Guanzhong, just like Sun Ce made friends with the heroes of Xu Huai in the past; as a result, the personal relationships between Ma Chao and various heroes became increasingly close over the years.

In fact, these generals still had conflicts with Ma Teng.

Ma Chao could easily accomplish some things that Ma Teng could not do.

With so many things like this happening, how could the court not be worried?

Now, during the war, the Inspector of the Imperial Capital finally succeeded in recruiting Ma Chao and appointed him as the military commander.

Relying on his position as military commander, Ma Chao has borrowed men and soldiers from various generals in Guanzhong, and the size of his army has reached about 7,000 to 8,000.

The 3,000 men stationed at Gaoling were only a part of Ma Chao's army. Most of his troops were stationed at Puzhen, watching the situation in Hedong.

Wang Yi, the governor of Hedong County and the General Zhenbei, is just a little Liu Biao. It is very likely that he will not be able to withstand the public opinion of the people of Hedong and will directly resign from his post, leaving the people of Hedong to decide their own destiny.

If that happened, Hedong would fall apart before the battle even started, and might even turn into Yuan's vanguard. This was something Ma Teng could not accept, and it was not something that Zhong Yao, Zhang Shi and other ministers sent from the Xudu court wanted to see.

The imperial court did not trust the generals in Guanzhong, and the generals in Guanzhong did not trust the imperial court either.

There is a chance that Hedong will suddenly surrender to Hebei. If this happens, the position of Ma Teng and his son will be difficult to grasp.

With deep concerns, Zhang Shi, Zhang Ji and Du Ji on the top of the city wall watched and waited to see how Ma Chao would react.

If Ma Chao changes his flag and defects, the volunteers and militiamen who are defending Xinfeng City will scatter!

On the road, Ma Chao approached gradually, pointing his spear at Lu Bu: "But he is the hero of Bowangpo, Langya Grand Historian Wen Gong!"

The only response he got was Lu Bu raising his halberd diagonally. Ma Chao smiled and said to his attendants, "He is indeed a mute!"

The surrounding knights laughed, but Ma Chao didn't see them getting angry or abusive. He stretched out his arms and held his spear: "Watch me capture him!"

At the age of 26, Ma Chao thought he was the best in Guanyou.

If Yan Xing fought him again, Ma Chao was confident that he could kill him within a few rounds.

Back then, he took advantage of his age and experience to attack a young man like him. He will remember this grudge for the rest of his life!

The attack by Han Sui and Yan Xing killed his mother, wife, children, and several younger sisters whom he had grown up with, as well as many younger half-siblings, so many that he could not even remember how many there were.

Even after getting married again and having children, Ma Chao still couldn't forget the feeling his first child gave him.

But his father, under the persuasion and lobbying of Cao Cao, Zhong Yao and Wei Duan, reconciled with his sworn brother Han Sui!
The details of his past life were no longer worth Ma Chao's careful recollection. The more he recalled, the more he questioned his current living conditions.

But the more he doubted... the more crazy and fierce Ma Chao became when he charged into the battle!
Seeing that Tai Shi Wen Gong on the opposite side was ready to defend himself, Ma Chao grinned, kicked his horse hard in the belly, and ran sideways towards Xinfeng City.

Ma Chao rode straight to the city and then turned his horse around.

The distance of a hundred steps was barely enough for both mounts to speed up.

What fun can there be in rushing left and right on a road that is only twenty or thirty steps wide?
"drive!"

Ma Chao shouted, kicked the horse's belly hard, and launched a desperate attack on Lu Bu with the spear in both hands!

The mighty warhorse under him was shaking, and its four hooves trampled the dust and splashed it.

Ma Chao's waist shook slightly, causing the scenery in his sight to remain relatively still.

His eyes were fixed on Lu Bu. He had ignored the shouts of his soldiers, forgotten the horror and darkness when he was on the verge of death, and also forgotten everything that had made him unhappy.

The only thing left in his mind was 'Tai Shi Wen Gong' who was getting closer and bigger!
Even though he had forgotten all the unhappiness, he still did not feel happy.

Perhaps the only moment of happiness you’ll have is when you stab your opponent to the ground with a spear!
"madman!"

Black Bear commented, he didn't expect Jin Ma Chao to be so fearless and brave.

"Why are you trying to compete with me in bravery and fearlessness?"

Under his remote control, Lu Bu held the halberd in both hands and deflected the swift spear from Ma Chao.

The two men passed each other on their horses. Lu Bu moved fifty or sixty steps towards Xinfeng City before turning around. On the other side, Ma Chao, who was running sixty or seventy steps away, reined in his horse and turned around.

Without hesitation, he launched another charge towards Lu Bu.

After the last charge, the red horse under him had completed warm-up and accelerated even faster this time.

Lu Bu also controlled his horse to speed up, and both sides were approaching each other quickly.

Ma Chao still held the spear with both hands. He would either stab Lü Bu and send him flying, or miss, or die together! Lü Bu's fighting instincts did not allow him to die together. Even though he was not fatally wounded, his fighting instincts did not know his current state.

Unless the black bear forced intervention, the godly general Lu Bu, following his previous fighting skills and instincts, would still naturally push away the opponent's spear and seek other solutions.

The two men rode past each other again, and their spears collided once. The smile on Ma Chao's face gradually faded.

This time, he retreated to the front of Xinfeng City again and lengthened the distance of the confrontation as much as possible in order to speed up.

The opponent even retreated one hundred fifty or sixty steps, and the distance between them was now two hundred seventy or eighty steps!

The distance of more than half a mile is enough for both sides to launch a full charge!

They are all the strongest war horses in the world, and their absolute speed in the moment of collision exceeds 140 kilometers per hour!

The opponent may not be able to react in time at the moment of being stabbed. If Qi Ma is a step slower in reaction, the lightest consequence will be a broken arm!
Even if you are stabbed, you may not be able to react even if you are flying.

At this moment, Ma Chao vaguely returned to the afternoon when he was attacked.

He was returning from hunting outside the city, and when he was dismounting at the door of his house, Yan Xing galloped towards him on his horse.

On the top of the city wall, even if Zhang Shi and others did not like martial arts, they knew that without external intervention, the third round would inevitably result in one death and one disability, and there was a high probability that both would perish.

Ma Chao loosened the reins with his left hand, then tied them again and held them tightly.

His mood affected the red horse under him, which snorted several times as if urging it to urge on.

Working for Cao Cao and Zhong Yao?
Is my life worth only the salary of a 600-stone military commander?

But what about the other party?

Why should I risk my life?
Ma Chao adjusted his mood and looked at the more than a hundred personal soldiers, all of whom were warriors collected over the years.

At this moment, these personal soldiers were riding on their horses, with no intention of actively intervening in the duel.

Just like Ma Chao used a duel to lure them into joining his gang, they were all watching this fair duel.

Ma Chao looked to the right and saw the military camp on the north bank of the Wei River. Ma Dai was still standing there.

Probably the only person who didn't want to get hurt or die was Ma Dai.

Thinking of this, Ma Chao no longer hesitated.

He raised his hand to hang up the spear, then reached into the harness and took out a silver-gilt iron mask.

Even if I die, I must keep my appearance as intact as possible!
After putting on the mask, Ma Chao turned around and looked back at the top of Xinfeng City. Looking at Zhang Ji and a dozen other officials he knew, his face showed no emotion under the mask.

I have already sentenced these people to death in my heart. If I get the chance, I will kill them all.

Having made up his mind, Ma Chao no longer hesitated, abandoned all distractions, and launched a desperate charge!
He can die, but he cannot die in a cowardly way.

Almost at the same time, Lu Bu, under the control of the black bear, also controlled his horse to speed up.

Just as Black Bear predicted, the two sides charged face to face, with a charging speed of about 60 hours per hour. Among them, Lu Bu was faster, leaving no room for Ma Chao to speed up sufficiently.

The speed of the knights charging in a duel is very fast.

If the knights are charging in formation, in order to maintain the formation, they will choose an average speed for daily training.

And now, it happens almost as quickly as possible.

However, the explosive power of the Yin Gan horse was too strong, so Ma Chao was unable to reach its peak speed.

With the black bear and more than a hundred knights watching closely, the two knights who were charging at each other did not take the initiative to retreat or dodge, but instead stabbed at each other with their weapons in hand.

It happened so quickly that few people could see clearly what happened.

The black bear was a mile away and could not see anything clearly, but he saw a broken spear about five or six feet long flying away. After Ma Chao charged into the spear, he fell backward on the horse's back, with the spear still in his hand dragging on the ground.

He just relied on his legs to hold the saddle tightly, and at the same time, the double stirrups were also firm, and he dragged Ma Chao steadily as he ran into the distance.

After running less than a mile, Ma Chao dropped his spear and sat up straight. Looking back, he saw Lu Bu chasing him with a halberd, and he kicked his mount hard.

When Lu Bu was chasing, Ma Chao's personal knights reacted strangely. Some went after Ma Chao, some came to intercept Lu Bu, and some just stood there at a loss.

More than ten riders also came to chase the black bear, but the black bear decisively turned his horse's head and headed west.

Seeing the black bear running away, more people rode their horses to chase it.

During the pursuit, some people opened their horn bows and shot sparse arrows at the black bear.

After chasing for six or seven miles, some people slowed down to conserve their horsepower, intending to wait until the black bear had exhausted its horsepower before continuing to chase it.

But after another four or five miles, Black Bear's horse speed did not slow down, and the more than 30 riders chasing him, as well as the knights chasing Lu Bu and Ma Chao, were also left behind.

Gradually approaching the Ba River, the black bear jumped in without hesitation. The warm afternoon river water immediately submerged him, creating a huge splash.

This section of the river is about to merge into the Weishui River. Because the Weishui River floods from time to time, a large amount of silt is deposited in the riverbed of the Bashui River, making the river surface exceptionally wide and the water flow slow and shallow.

The horse's four hooves paddled in the water, and soon the black bear emerged from the water. He raised his hand to wipe the water marks on his face, and looked back. Ma Chao's personal knights were still a mile or two away.

Then the great general Lu Bu leaped onto his horse and crashed into the Ba River. The water splashed on the black bear's face, but he raised his hand to wipe it away.

When Lu Bu emerged from the water, Black Bear looked around and saw Ma Chao running sideways and jumping into the Wei River on his horse.

Both the man and the horse were being swept away by the muddy Wei River, making them dizzy and in a state of disarray.

Soon Black Bear reached the other side and saw a dozen knights on guard on the east bank.

Black Bear simply dismounted and took out the strong bow he was using for shooting. The bow had a force of two stones and four dou, and the actual pulling force was about forty kilograms.

He took another piece of silk book, wrote some words on it with a goose feather pen, made it into arrows and shot them at the other party.

He could barely shoot the bow, with absolutely no accuracy.

The arrow letter fell on the river bank. A knight dismounted, walked over breathlessly to pick it up, and held it up to signal.

Black Bear also raised his bow and waved his hand. Anyway, Ma Chao was not dead and neither side could do anything to the other. So he just said hello and withdrew.

(End of this chapter)