Ji Han Liu Zhang

Hangu Pass.

Ma Chao attacked in front of the pass, and Gan Ning raided from behind the pass. The two of them attacked from the front and back, and thus Hangu Pass was captured.

The war was over and the dust cleared.

"Mengqi, am I late?" Gan Ning asked Ma Chao with a hearty laugh.

General Ma Chao smiled in response: "Xingba, you came at the right time, just the right time."

Why did Gan Ning appear behind Hangu Pass? It was because Gan Ning's troops set sail from Fengling Ferry, headed eastward along the Yellow River, bypassed obstacles and avoided city passes, and thus appeared behind Hangu Pass.

"What's the current hydrology of the river?" Ma Chao asked Gan Ning.

Gan Ning replied, "There is little rain in winter, so the river is shallow. It doesn't surge like it does in spring and summer. But shallow water has its advantages. There aren't many winds and waves, so it's safer to travel through."

Ma Chao laughed and said, "From your tone, Xingba, it seems that you prefer the big rivers in spring and summer. This winter's flowing water is not to your liking."

"That's right." Gan Ning nodded heavily. "A real man should fight against the wind and waves, and compete with heaven and earth. Only by doing so can he feel happy. How can he be mediocre and cowardly, and enjoy the peaceful time? It is really boring."

"People say that only heroes can become hegemons, and it is true." Ma Chao sighed, inspired by Gan Ning's conversation.

After taking Hangu Pass, Ma Chao and Gan Ning began to discuss the battle against Luoyang.

"Although Cao Mengde won the Battle of Guandu, it was only a narrow victory... The two sides fought for several months. Cao's army suffered heavy casualties and consumed a lot of food and grass. The soldiers were exhausted and the army was slack. Therefore, when attacking Luoyang next, Cao's army would not have the energy to send reinforcements."

According to the current situation, Ma Chao deduced: "So, our army should face Cao Ren's troops, Henan Yin's county troops, and the old capital of Luoyang City."

"What Fubo said is true." Gan Ning, who served as Ma Chao's left and right commander, agreed and continued to express his thoughts: "Luoyang was burned down by Dong Zhuo in the early years, and the city was a barren land. Later, the troops of Liangzhou and the princes of Guandong fought here, and wars were rampant. Disasters continued for years, and the people of Henan were displaced and the land was barren."

"Although Zhong Yao is now the governor of Henan, he is good at governing and resting the people, but after a few years, the vitality of the governor of Henan has only recovered a little. Therefore, the grain and grass production of the governor of Henan is not much, and the number of soldiers raised is not much. However, Cao Ren's troops and the county soldiers can be used to defend Luoyang City and hold out for a period of time."

"Now our army has tens of thousands of soldiers. If we attack Luoyang directly, and Cao Ren leads his soldiers to hold on, it will be difficult to capture it in a short time. What I mean is that our army has more soldiers, so we can use some of them to keep an eye on Luoyang, and the majority of the troops will clear the counties near Luoyang, turning Luoyang into an isolated city. By then, the people in the city will be uneasy, and the army can then surround Luoyang and take it down in one go."

"Just as Xingba said." Ma Chao nodded and agreed with the strategy proposed by Gan Ning. Clearing the outer counties of Luoyang would firstly make it easier to focus on attacking Luoyang later, secondly, it would allow them to collect baggage and food to support the army, and thirdly, as Gan Ning said, it would intimidate Cao's army in Luoyang City. This was a strategy that would kill two birds with one stone.

The strategy had been decided, and the next step was to discuss the specific details of its implementation. After Ma Chao and Gan Ning talked it over, they decided that Gan Ning would keep an eye on Luoyang City, while Ma Chao would lead the light cavalry to clear the outer counties of Luoyang City.

Within a few days, the entire Henan Yin tribe fell into Liu Zhang's hands, and only an isolated Luoyang city was left, in a precarious situation.

On the top of Luoyang City, Cao Ren's brows were filled with worry. Recently, the scouts sent by Cao Ren and the messengers from the counties of Henan Yin had brought back bad news one after another. Today this city fell, tomorrow that city rebelled and surrendered. In less than a few days, the huge Henan Yin was left with only Luoyang City.

An isolated city with nothing to rely on is the true reflection of Luoyang City today.

"Mr. Zhong, I intend to charge out of the city to boost morale. What do you think?" Cao Ren pointed at Gan Ning's troops lined up outside the city and asked Henan Yin Zhong Yao.

In a battle to defend a city, the most taboo is to just sit there and do nothing. You have to take some action, either charging out of the city or raiding the camp at night. In short, you have to do something to show your soldiers that we still have the strength to spare, not only the ability to defend the city, but also to boost the morale of the troops and lay a good foundation for defending the city.

Zhong Yao looked in the direction Cao Ren pointed, but saw that the troops from Guanzhong who had been lined up outside the city since morning had become slack and relaxed as it was approaching noon, and their formation had become loose.

This is indeed a good opportunity. Zhong Yao nodded and said, "We can fight to defeat the enemy."

Soon, Cao Ren gathered 300 brave men and handed them over to his brave general Niu Jin, ordering Niu Jin to go out into the battle and kill.

After receiving the order, Niu Jin led three hundred brave soldiers out of the city and attacked the Guanzhong troops who had been standing in formation for a long time and were slack and disorganized.

Cao Ren and Zhong Yao watched the battle from the top of Luoyang City, their eyes closely following the movements of Niu Jin's 300 men in an effort to keep a firm control over the battle situation.

"Kill with me." Niu Jin shouted, urging his soldiers forward.

However, at this moment, the Guanzhong troops, who had been in a slack attitude, reorganized their formation in an instant. They were not panicked by Niu Jin's sudden charge, but were calm and composed.

In an instant, the 300 men of Niu Jin's army who ran into the Guanzhong troops did not kill them as Cao Ren wished. Instead, they fought with the Guanzhong troops and were entangled by them.

Because Niu Jin's troops had only 300 people, while there were thousands of troops from Guanzhong outside the city, Niu Jin was naturally at a disadvantage when facing the enemy. As a result, Niu Jin's troops were tightly surrounded by the troops from Guanzhong and could not escape.

Niu Jin could leave Luoyang, but he could not return to Luoyang. Surrounded by enemies, his destruction was imminent.

Cao Ren saw this from the top of the city wall, he slammed the pheasant disc heavily, looking particularly angry, he realized that the slack attitude of the Guanzhong troops just now was just to lure him out of the city.

Now he fell into a trap and sent Niu Jin to lead 300 men out of the city, resulting in Niu Jin's troops being surrounded. Seeing Niu Jin rushing left and right, there was no possibility of escape.

"Bring me my sword and move my horse to the city gate." Cao Ren shouted.

"No." Zhong Yao sensed Cao Ren's intention and quickly stood in front of Cao Ren to stop him from taking the next step: "General, the bandits are strong and unstoppable. If you go out of the city in person, I'm afraid you won't be able to save Niu Jin and will be trapped in the siege. Without you, Luoyang City will be in danger."

"It would be better to abandon these 300 men and defend Luoyang firmly, so that the city of Luoyang can be preserved... Three hundred men, compared with Luoyang, which is greater or smaller? The general needs to think deeply about this." (End of this chapter)