Chapter 129 Lantian Camp
Ma Chao was a man who could not sit still. When the official teams in the counties and cities on the south bank of the Weishui River were adjusted and temporarily under the command of General Huya's Mansion, Ma Chao crossed the Weishui River again to meet Black Bear.

It was the busy farming season in all counties and it was impossible to recruit manpower.

It was also because of the busy harvest season. The crops waiting to be harvested in the fields occupied the minds of most people, making them unwilling to flee easily.

Black Bear never did anything like robbing property or kidnapping women, so the people in Weinan were relatively stable.

People are like this. They will run away if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. They also tend to follow the crowd and take chances.

Not only Guanzhong, but Hedong and Hongnong were also busy with the autumn harvest. The common people and the powerful families had to harvest crops, and the county government had to collect autumn grain.

Only after finishing all these can the idle manpower be gathered together and war can break out.

This was true for the farming people and the powerful, as well as the semi-nomadic Southern Xiongnu and the Qiang and Hu in the north; around September they would migrate their livestock to other pastures.

During the migration, that is, in October, there will be a large tribal gathering.

Nomadic tribes, whether the Xiongnu or the current Xianbei, have three large gatherings a year.

One was a gathering at the beginning of the year when the ice and snow melted. After this tribal meeting, each tribe went to the divided pastures to graze.

The second time is in June, midsummer, when people, horses and livestock eat well and the weather is good, so they gather together for entertainment, celebrations or sacrifices. It is also a time for blind dates and martial arts competitions.

The third time is the gathering after autumn, which is also a season of harvest and joy for them.

There are at least two months left before the real decisive battle.

It will take two months for Han Sui and Ma Teng's troops to complete the autumn harvest and assemble before they join up with Zhong Yao.

Now, the 8,000 infantry and cavalry that Zhong Yao had recruited from various places in Sili were being fed with the meager savings in the treasury over the past few years.

The people were recruited by Zhong Yao, and the food was also allocated by Zhong Yao.

When the Tiger Tooth Army quickly captured Xinfeng, Ma Chao's position was replaced by Black Bear.

Now Ma Chao’s importance to Zhong Yao has directly decreased.

Feeling dissatisfied, Ma Chao came to Lantian County.

This time when he came to the south bank of the Weishui River, there were no more than a hundred riders following him, but only a dozen of his own soldiers.

The northern suburbs of Lantian County, on the east bank of the Bashui River.

When Ma Chao arrived, he saw about 3,000 people cutting down trees on Mount Li, with the intention of building a large camp.

The military team was planning the area, measuring the ground, and hammering in wooden stakes with various inscriptions.

When Ma Chao arrived, he saw from afar "Tai Shi Wen Gong" and another white-robed knight riding their horses lightly and heading in the same direction. The two men were brandishing spears and halberds and fighting brilliantly.

After watching for a while, Ma Chao saw that Taishi Wengong was mainly defending and wasting time. The strange knight in white robe attacked fiercely, but he could not break through Taishi Wengong's defense.

This made Ma Chao very envious. If he could really let 'Tai Shi Wen Gong' fight with him like this, his riding and combat skills would definitely be greatly improved!
At his level, it is very difficult to find a durable sparring partner.

Black Bear was also watching the battle. He was sitting under the shadow of the chariot canopy and was also feeling relaxed and happy.

Under his command and control, Lu Bu and Zhao Yun rode side by side and fought in circles. Zhao Yun's various movements on horseback were very fierce, but Lu Bu was not a human being.

After fighting five circles, Zhao Yun was out of breath, and the white horse under him was too weak to run.

Near the chariot, Sun Qian, who was watching the battle, looked worried.

He knew that 'Tai Shi Wen Gong' was a good fighter, but he didn't expect him to be so good.

"General Qu, the military officer Ma Mengqi wants to see you."

After hearing this, Black Bear glanced at Ma Chao and his dozen riders who were reining in their horses in the distance, and said to Sun Qian, "Mr. Gongyou, I will go see Ma Mengqi first. Let General Zilong rest and recover, and we can talk in detail tonight."

"Yes."

Sun Qian turned around and bowed slightly, watching the chariot drive away from him. Lu Bu, who had just finished sparring with him, also rode his horse closer, as if nothing had happened.

In the distance, on a small dirt slope near the river, Black Bear got out of the car and asked, "Meng Qi, why did you suddenly come to visit me?"

The military commander was unable to command the troops, and Ma Chao had become a mere figurehead.

Ma Chao pointed to the planned camp area and asked: "General, are you going to build a large camp here?"

"Ah."

Black Bear also turned sideways and pointed to Bashangyuan on the east and Bailuyuan on the west. "In the future, we will set up Bashang Camp and Bailu Camp separately. For now, we will set up Lantian Camp first. We can advance and retreat here. We have the danger of Mount Li and the Ba River as a wall. We set up our camp here, so we are not afraid of being besieged by all parties."

He pointed to the Ba River at his feet on the west side and said: "In this way, it will be easy to transport food and fodder from Guanzhong. When I build more boats, the whole army can also go to Tongguan by boat in the future."

Ma Chao knew about ships, but was not familiar with naval warfare.

He frowned and recalled, and said: "The Ba River is deep and convenient for sailing. But the lower reaches of the Wei River are silted up, the water surface is wide and shallow, and it may be difficult for sailing."

He has lived in Guanzhong for so many years and is well aware of the problems of the Wei River.

When the weather is pleasant, the Wei River can transport water directly to Shanggui in Tianshui, and Xiagui City is located in Gaoling area in the north of the Wei River.

The amount of water is not a problem; the biggest problem is the silt in the river.

Every time a flood washes away the riverbed, the silt in the riverbed changes its shape.

The deeper river channel washed out by the flood was then filled with silt again, followed by another round of flooding.

The difficulty of the Wei River lies here. The water volume is large, but it is not turbulent enough to carry the silt directly into the Yellow River. It is always silting up, making it difficult to ensure the stability of large-scale water transport.

During the Western Han Dynasty, in order to ensure smooth water transport in Chang'an, an artificial canal was dug in Weinan, diverting the Ba River upstream and outlet to the Wei River downstream.

This artificial canal was used for a long time because it avoided silt sedimentation.

If the capital had not been moved to Luoyang, this currently submerged and dried-up canal would definitely have been revitalized.

Ma Chao objectively described the difficulties of the Wei River shipping, and Black Bear just smiled.

Xinfeng was not suitable to be his base camp, and Lantian was the most suitable place at present. Zhong Yao could only exert his influence now to replenish food; after expelling and repelling Yuan Tan, food would be the biggest bargaining chip in Zhong Yao's hand.

Only by retreating to Lantian can we obtain food from Jingzhou at close range.

If I retreat here, Ma Teng and Han Sui can join forces to block the door, then the Wei River behind them will play a huge role.

It is easy to cross the river, but it is difficult to escape.

The terrain here is equivalent to a natural pocket formation, and you are the bait. The two sides will fight to the death. Whoever loses will be wiped out.

Ma Chao looked around at the terrain here and felt that it was a desperate situation.

After the loss of Bailuyuan in the west, anyone standing on the plateau could easily see the strength of the main camp; even if they could rely on the dangers of Mount Li and Bashui, what would be the point?
As long as an army is sent to block the lower reaches of the Ba River, preventing the black bear from obtaining supplies from the counties of Weinan, I am afraid that it will not be able to survive even this winter.

As for the food from Jingzhou, Ma Chao felt it was unrealistic and not within his consideration.

Ma Chao thought about it over and over again, and began to doubt himself. He really couldn't grasp Black Bear's thinking.

As long as the lower reaches of the Ba River are blocked by the army, this place will be a complete dead end!
The black bear should be able to see this, but why did he insist on setting up a camp here?

Are they going to tear off their pride and plunder the autumn grain from all counties in Weinan without any bottom line after the autumn harvest?

Only in this way can we survive this winter.

If you judge others by yourself, you would do the same.

After thinking it through, Ma Chao smiled and saw that there were no eye-catching new faces on the Black Bear Chariot: "General, you should know the hatred between me and Han Sui."

"Have heard a little bit."

"Then Ma will speak directly."

Ma Chao pointed to Bailuyuan on the west side and said, "After we defeat Yuan Tan, my father and Han Sui will surely join forces to attack you. By then, the other generals in Guanzhong will also send troops to help. With an army of 50,000 or 60,000, we can easily take Bailuyuan. From the top of the plateau, we can see the general's strength at a glance."

Black Bear also turned his head to look at Bailuyuan across the Bashui River: "Then let him occupy it. I'm here. Who dares to fight?"

"General, don't be angry. Just listen to me."

Ma Chao took a deep breath, his expression slightly angry. "Han Sui and I have a grudge for killing my mother and exterminating my family, and my father and Han Sui only have a grudge for killing his wife and daughter. Based on my understanding of these two people, they will definitely join forces and will never give you a chance. In the hands of Zhong Yao and Cao Cao, they have been repeatedly plotted against."

Feeling that the black bear would be shocked by this, Ma Chao's expression was obviously angry, as if Ma Teng had deeply hurt his heart.

Unexpectedly, Black Bear took it calmly and just looked at him: "What does Meng Qi want to do?"

"Respond to Yuan's call and start an uprising in Guanzhong!"

Ma Chao spoke in a clear and confident voice: "General, I hit it off right away. If you are interested, why not become brothers and work together for the great cause?"

Black Bear shook his head and looked at Ma Chao with sympathy: "I understand your desire for revenge, but I don't want to change my orders every day and make my subordinates and allies confused. Although Han Sui and Ma Teng are old, this great opportunity will be wasted. But I disdain to use fraudulent means to deal with old people. I prefer to crush them with a magnificent formation."

Taking a deep breath, Black Bear smiled and said, "Don't mention surrendering to Yuan anymore. Once Yuan Tan is driven away, that will be the time for me to turn against Zhong Yao. If you want revenge, you might as well concentrate on working for Zhong Yao. Wait for the opportunity, chop off his head, and seize his troops, just like Lu Bu killed Ding Yuan."

"You have soldiers and horses in your hands. If you take Ma Teng's troops, why worry about old Han Sui?"

Ma Chao sighed after hearing this, not knowing how much he had taken in. He continued to talk about his own plan: "I have learned that Han Sui will send Yan Xing to lead 3,000 infantry and cavalry, and my father will also let Pang De lead 3,000 infantry and cavalry. These 6,000 troops will be deployed in Zuofengyi."

Looking at the black bear's face, Ma Chao said: "Zhong Yao has recruited more than 8,000 infantry and cavalry. He will not lend the cavalry to the general. He can only lend 5,000 infantry to the general. In this case, Zhong Yao's main force on the north bank is more than 3,000, mostly cavalry. I want to take this opportunity to attack Yan Xing and seize his troops."

"In this case, my father and Han Sui will no longer be at peace, and Han Sui will no longer trust Zhong Yao. My father is foolishly loyal. If the Yuan family enters Chang'an, my father will retreat to Liangzhou."

Ma Chao bared his teeth as he spoke: "Then I will drive out the Yuan family and share Guanzhong. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Black Bear listened carefully, thought for a moment, and pointed to Zhao Yun, who was taking off his armor and brushing the hair of his white horse on the bank of the Ba River upstream: "That is Zhao Zilong of Changshan, a general under Liu Yuzhou. He is extremely brave and loyal. He has more than 300 warriors under his command, most of whom are proficient in writing and have the talent of military officers."

If Zhong Yao really sent 5,000 infantrymen, Zhao Yun's 300 men could be swallowed up in one bite and serve as the backbone of the military officers to integrate the 5,000 men.

Seeing Ma Chao narrow his eyes, Black Bear asked, "Gan Xingba, one of my generals, has 800 warriors under his command. Even Wang Wei, the guest general, has 700 elite soldiers from Jingzhou. And how many soldiers does Meng Qi have?"

Not to mention Ma Teng’s headquarters, even Pang De, the fierce general under Ma Teng, could Ma Chao command them to move at this moment?
Ma Teng had many wives and concubines and a number of adult sons.

Ma Chao's mother had died at the hands of Han Sui, and all but one of his sisters was dead; the wife and son arranged for Ma Chao also died at the hands of Han Sui.

So although Ma Chao is nominally Ma Teng's eldest son, he can no longer obtain any decent resources from Ma Teng; after all, there are so many brothers waiting, and if everyone gets a little, there won't be much left for Ma Chao.

The death of his wife meant that his wife's family had turned against him and it would be difficult to get help from them.

Looking at Ma Chao's expressionless face, Black Bear insisted on his previous opinion: "If you want to strike back, go to Zhong Yao. Once you have obtained 3,000 cavalry, come and talk to me about sharing Guanzhong."

"Don't worry, I won't tell on you. I'll be very happy if you kill Zhong Yao."

This means that the hatred of the Guanzhong officials is focused on Ma Chao!

Whoever attacks Ma Chao will gain the support of the majority of officials!
It was impossible for Ma Teng to allocate decent troops to Ma Chao. Even if he did, they might not be as good as Zhao Yun's 300 troops.

Ma Teng was unwilling to give too many troops to Ma Chao, so Han Sui was naturally even less likely to do so; the other generals in Guanzhong were not crazy, so why should they give their troops to Ma Chao?

If he could have snatched it, why didn't Ma Chao go and snatch it earlier?
Starting a business is too difficult.

Noticing that Ma Chao's mental state was somewhat unstable, Lu Bu, who was near the chariot, took a few steps forward with his halberd in hand.

Ma Chao caught a glimpse of it and took a deep breath, "It's me, Meng Lang. When Yuan Tan retreats, can he help me kill Yan Xing? After killing him, the infantry and cavalry under his command, those who are willing to follow me will be mine, and those who are not willing will be handed over to the general. I dare not ask for more than a thousand people."

Seeing Black Bear in deep thought, Ma Chao went a step further: "If the general is interested, I can also plot against Pang De and annex him as well. I will only take a thousand of his men, and the rest will all belong to the general."

"If I get two thousand infantry and cavalry, I will cross the river and rely on Hebei, and will not be an enemy of you."

Even if Zhong Yao washed himself, untied his collar and put his neck in front of Ma Chao, Ma Chao would not dare to do anything!
Ma Chao felt that this was feasible, and he went further, saying: "With these two armies, we can attack and surround Zhong Yao and get his troops. If it goes well, I will lead 3,000 people, and the remaining 6,000 will be handed over to you. From now on, I will form an alliance with you."

It is unknown how many troops can actually be taken away by then.

However, this did not hinder the negotiation at the moment. Ma Chao continued, "My sister is willing to be given to the general as a hostage."

(End of this chapter)