Chapter 411 I am not an embroidered pillow! The Cao family's son is left to me, I want to kill him with my own hands, I want revenge!

Liu Bei looked at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang nodded slightly.

Liu Bei immediately understood Xiao Fang's intention in choosing Ma Chao, and all his doubts disappeared.

"Ma Mengqi, listen to my orders!"

"I order you to lead 3,000 cavalrymen and join forces with Ling Gongji's navy to cross the river to Henei and attack Jiguan for me!"

Liu Bei waved his hand and gave the order resolutely.

Ma Chao was secretly delighted and gladly accepted the order.

At nightfall that evening, Ma Chao led 3,000 cavalrymen, boarded the navy led by Ling Tong, and sailed eastward along the Yellow River under the flag of an empty grain ship.

...

Wangwu Mountain is located at the junction of Hedong and Henei.

A fortress stands between the mountain passes.

At dawn, the city gates slowly opened, and the peddlers, merchants and passers-by waiting on both sides of the city began to be checked by the Qin army.

Hedong County had the largest salt pond in the world, and the lake salt produced there was sold all over the country. Therefore, even when the world was in chaos, there was an endless stream of merchants coming to Hedong to sell salt.

Although the Qin and Han dynasties were openly at war, their trade had never been interrupted.

Now that the two countries are at war, trade routes such as Tongguan and Wuguan have been cut off. Jiguan Road has become the only route for salt merchants from Hedong Lake to Kanto Kyushu. The number of caravans has naturally increased several times compared to usual, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as crowded.

"Pass the order down, strictly check the merchants passing by, and do not let the fake Han spies sneak into our Hedong County!"

On the top of the city wall, a young general looked down at the crowded scene in front of the city gate and couldn't help but frown and shouted.

The young general was named Cao Tai, the eldest son of Cao Ren, the General of Cavalry of the Qin State.

After scolding the soldiers, Cao Tai raised his head and looked towards Jingxing Pass in the north.

At this time, his father Cao Ren was commanding the main force of the Bingzhou Army, defending the gate of Bingzhou and resisting the fierce attack of Zhang Fei, who was also a General of Cavalry.

Of course, Cao Tai also knew how important it was to defend Jingxing Pass.

That was a battle that concerned the survival of Bingzhou and even the life and death of his Qin State.

Therefore, not only Li Dian, Zhu Ling, Pang De and other brave generals from other clans, but also Cao Chun and other generals from royal families were sent to Jingxing Pass to await Cao Ren's orders.

Even Chenliu King Cao Zhi personally went to the front line to assist Cao Ren and boost the morale of the troops.

The significance of this battle can be seen from this.

If this battle was won and Zhang Fei's 100,000 Han troops were repelled, I wonder how many people would be rewarded with titles and promoted for their merits.

It's a pity that as the eldest son of Cao Ren, he is stationed in Jiguan, a place far away from the battlefield, and he is afraid that he will not get any credit at all.

"Everyone is fighting on the front lines, but I am left here idle, watching others kill enemies and make contributions for my Great Qin. Sigh——"

Cao Tai felt more and more depressed and couldn't help but mutter to himself and sigh sadly.

"The Han army of 100,000 is attacking Jingxing, and Zhang Fei is a fierce general of the pseudo-Han. The battle at Jingxing Pass will be extremely dangerous."

"The general of the cavalry is concerned about your safety, so he arranged for you to guard Jiguan."

"General, you should understand this fatherly love."

Although Yang Qiu beside him was a deputy general, he could be considered as Cao Tai's uncle and could naturally understand Cao Ren's thoughts.

Cao Tai was shocked and suddenly realized what was going on. He understood Cao Ren's painstaking efforts.

Understanding is one thing, but it doesn’t mean you can accept it.

Cao Tai still has some backbone.

As the son of a general of cavalry in the dynasty, he disdained to rely on his father's influence and the background of being a member of the royal family to rise to a high position without any merit.

He wanted to rely on his own strength and military achievements to be promoted legitimately, and be appointed a general and granted a title!
This battle against the Han army was a godsend opportunity for him to prove himself and accumulate military merit.

How could the cat rely on his father's wings and stay in Jiguan, a place far away from the battlefield, and miss the great opportunity to make achievements and prove himself?

"I want to prove to the world that a good father will have a good son!"

"My father is the most famous general of the Qin Dynasty. I, Cao Tai, am his son. I am definitely not just a figurehead with a reputation for nothing!"

Cao Tai's eyes focused and he had made up his mind.

He ignored Yang Qiu's words of comfort and turned around to go down the city.

He would immediately write a letter and send it to Cao Ren at Jingxing Pass, asking Cao Ren to send another army to guard Ji Pass in the future, and transfer him to Jingxing Pass to fight against Zhang Fei's 100,000 troops.

Just as he took one step down the stairs.

Suddenly, there were bursts of shouting and yelling from outside the city, which attracted him back to the battlements.

When he looked inside, Cao Tai couldn't help but frown.

Because there were too many vendors queuing to enter the country and the inspection was too strict, the speed of entry was extremely slow and the vendors formed a jam under the city gate.

As time went on, many vendors became impatient and shouted to rush through the door, but were stopped by the gatekeepers, and the city fell into chaos for a while.

"General Yang, go and control the situation and arrest all those profiteers who are causing trouble."

"Confiscate all their goods and drive them away with clubs. I don't know who will dare to cause trouble again!"

Cao Tai pointed at the city and shouted in a deep voice.

Upon receiving the order, Yang Qiu hurriedly led a group of men down the city and started fighting without saying a word.

Shouting, begging, and howling immediately arose one after another.

The vendors were not pushovers either. They did not let Yang Qiu slaughter them, but instead started fighting with the Qin army, making the situation in front of the city gate even more chaotic.

"This Yang Qiu is really useless. I have to take action myself..."

Cao Tai's face darkened, he drew his sword, and was about to go down to the city himself.

"General Cao, there seems to be a large group of cavalry coming on the official road!"

Just as he turned around, a sentry shouted from the watchtower.

The guards who were originally focusing on the chaos outside the city all raised their heads and looked towards the east instinctively.

Cao Tai also put down the sword in his hand and looked east.

Sure enough, seven or eight hundred steps away, a cloud of dust was sweeping towards them rapidly.

Thousands of cavalry figures appeared and disappeared in the dust and fog.

Originally, Jiguan was high up and should have noticed the approach of the cavalry from several miles away. But the commotion in front of the city gate attracted everyone's attention, and they didn't notice it until the cavalry approached 700 to 800 steps.

Cao Tai narrowed his eyes, revealing a trace of confusion.

To the east of Jiguan is Henei County, which is currently under the control of the Han army.

In other words, this cavalry came from the Han-controlled area and was galloping towards his Ji Pass at lightning speed.

Could it be that…

"The Han army is attacking!"

"Could it be the Han cavalry, intending to attack our Jiguan?"

This thought suddenly popped up in Cao Tai's mind, his face changed drastically, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

The Hebei Corps of the Han Army was clearly sending its entire division to attack Jingxing Pass, so why did they suddenly attack Ji Pass without any warning?

Could it be that it was just the soldiers from Henei County who came to harass as usual?

Not like!

Judging from the momentum of the dust and fog, there must be at least three thousand cavalrymen!

That's three thousand cavalrymen, enough to match thirty thousand infantrymen.

How could Hanoi County have cavalry of such scale?

"General Zi'an, it's a Han cavalry raid!"

"Hurry up and order the city gates to be closed. If the Han army rushes in, Jiguan will be lost!"

Yang Qiu's anxious shout was heard from below.

This veteran general from Xiliang was, after all, a seasoned veteran. Unlike Cao Tai, who was new and inexperienced in battle, he immediately saw the seriousness of the situation.

Cao Tai was awakened and immediately panicked, and shouted:
"Close the city gates, close the city gates immediately, quickly--"

Yang Qiu immediately led his troops back into the city and wanted to close the city gates.

The gongs on the city walls were ringing to warn people, and at this moment, the Qin army, less than two thousand people, hurried to the top of the city walls to set up defenses.

"Close the gates! Close the gates!"

Yang Qiu waved his long sword and shouted at the soldiers on his left and right.

The Qin soldiers showed ferocious faces, and forced the vendors to retreat with swords and knives, trying to close the city gates in time.

At this critical moment.

A young businessman suddenly jumped onto the carriage and shouted:
"What are you waiting for? Block the city gate and let my brother in!"

Dozens of vendors took out their hidden weapons like magic and tore off their disguises to reveal their armor.

They rushed forward and pounced on the stunned Qin soldiers.

The Qin soldiers were all stunned.

They had never expected that the original merchants would suddenly turn into soldiers and kill them without any preparation.

The Qin soldiers were caught off guard and before they could fight back, seven or eight of them were chopped down.

"Ma Dai?"

Yang Qiu, who was a few steps away, screamed as if he had seen a ghost.

He recognized the young man.

Back then, Ma Teng had at least been the leader of the Xiliang Army. As one of the Ten Generals of Xiliang, Yang Qiu had naturally dealt with all of Ma's nephews and nephews.

Naturally, he also recognized Ma Dai.

But didn’t Ma Dai follow his brother Ma Chao to join the Han Dynasty and Liu Bei?
Why would he disguise himself as a merchant, suddenly appear in Jiguan, and suddenly attack and seize the gate?
"Could it be that……"

Yang Qiu suddenly guessed something and trembled with fright.

"Yang Qiu, do you still recognize me, Ma Dai?"

"You are Cao's lackey, I want your life!"

Ma Dai also recognized Yang Qiu, and with a curse, he jumped onto his warhorse, galloped forward with spear in hand.

When Yang Qiu woke up, Ma Dai had already rushed to him, charging at him with the silver spear in his hand with all his strength, stabbing at him like thunder and lightning.

"not good!"

Yang Qiu's face suddenly changed. Without time to think, he raised his gun and tried to resist.

Half a step slow!

"puff!"

Ma Dai took the lead with the silver spear in his hand and pierced Yang Qiu's heart.

With a scream, Yang Qiu covered the bloody hole in his chest with his hand and fell to the ground with his head raised.

After Yang Qiu was killed, the morale of the Qin soldiers at the city gate was greatly disturbed and they fled in an instant.

Ma Dai held his horse and drew his spear, shouting at dozens of Ma's personal guards to block the Jiguan city gate and ensure that the road ahead was clear.

outside the city.

The 3,000 Han cavalry led by Ma Chao had advanced to more than seventy steps.

He could clearly see the chaotic fighting in front of the Jiguan city gate.

"Prime Minister Xiao is indeed a man of great foresight. He came up with a plan and helped me capture Jiguan easily..."

Ma Chao secretly admired in his heart.

When he led his army to leave Tongguan that day, Xiao Fang gave him a secret plan, and told him to open it and follow the plan when he crossed the river and landed in Henei, which would ensure that Jiguan would be easily captured.

The plan was to ask his cousin Ma Dai to disguise himself as a merchant and enter Jiguan, deliberately causing trouble to prevent the Qin army from closing the city gate in time.

In this way, his cavalry could advance unhindered and enter Jiguan without any effort.

The facts before us proved that Xiao Fang's secret plan was indeed successful.

Ma Chao stopped admiring and shot his eagle eyes towards Ji Pass, his murderous intent for revenge already burning with rage.

"Han cavalry, listen to my orders. Follow me and charge into Jiguan and kill all the Qin dogs!"

"Cao Ren's son Cao Tai was left to me. I will kill him with my own hands!"

(End of this chapter)