The cold wind is biting, and the originally fertile land now looks a little barren. Chen and Cao are fighting for the upper hand. The people belonging to two families in the entire Chenliu area have begun to migrate as early as the beginning of the year. Until now, the once prosperous and prosperous land of the Central Plains can be seen at this moment.

When they arrived, only abandoned villages and desolate fields were left.

When spring comes, the cultivated fields will be overgrown with weeds. If this battle continues, not only Chenliu, but the entire Central Plains may become like this.

The horse's hooves trampled across the barren fields, advancing slowly in this desolate loneliness. The camp of the Guanzhong Army could already be seen in the distance, as well as the Guanzhong scouts who appeared in the field of vision from time to time, looking at the place with vigilance.

Xiahou Dun slowly raised his hand, and the soldiers and horses behind him slowly stopped. If they went further from this distance, they might encounter the Guanzhong Army.

"Yuan Rang, setting up a stronghold here seems to be detrimental to our army!" Cao Hong urged his horse forward, looked at the surrounding terrain, and frowned.

"How can Chen Mo seize the opportunity and leave a good place for us? From west to east, the west is higher and the east is lower. From north to south, the terrain is slightly higher in the north. But Chen Mo took advantage of the terrain. We

We can't set up the camp in the west." Xiahou Dun said helplessly.

He and Cao Hong were ordered to choose a place to camp, but looking at the terrain of Guandu, they somewhat understood why Chen Mo chose this place to blow up the camp. The terrain was too favorable for Chen Mo. No matter how they camped, Chen Mo always fought with high ground.

Although it is generally a plain, in terms of terrain, the camp Chen Mo chose is higher after all.

It seems that it does not affect the overall situation, but in war, even the slightest advantage may turn into a final victory. This opportunity has been snatched away. When they come to establish a stronghold at this time, they have a lot of choices.

Not much more.

"The terrain here is gentle, so let's set up a camp here." Xia Houyuan and Cao Hong patrolled for a while, and finally chose a place with relatively good terrain to set up camp. Although the terrain was not as good as Chen Mo's, at least the terrain here was comparable.

So far, the disadvantages are not too big.

Cao Hong nodded: "I'm going to inspect the surroundings."

Who knows whether the Guanzhong Army will take the opportunity to attack. The scouts have already noticed their traces. It is better to be careful at this time.

Xiahou Dun agreed and began to order people to set up camp.

On the other side, at the Guandu camp, Chen Mo had already led a group of generals to settle in. The news of Cao Jun's arrival naturally could not be concealed from Chen Mo. Looking at the location of the opponent's camp marked on the map, Chen Mo thought for a moment and said with emotion: "This battle,

It’s inevitable after all.”

"Lord!" Ma Chao took a step forward and said: "We can't let them establish a stronghold so easily. The general will ask for a fight!"

Previously, he led his light cavalry to spy on Cao Jun's true strength, and was almost made a dumpling by Cao Jun. Ma Chao always remembered this grudge. Now that Cao Jun has arrived, he should give them a blow.

"Be careful. Your cavalry currently has no extra cavalry to supplement it. You can only bring some infantry cavalry to fight." Chen Mo thought for a while and finally agreed. At this time, it would be good to weaken the opponent's morale and give the opponent a show of strength.

.

"The last general takes orders!" Ma Chao said loudly. He had no problem leading the cavalry, but he could also suppress Cao's army with the infantry.

Seeing Ma Chao leaving in a menacing manner, Chen Mo smiled and shook his head. Now that he had almost prepared the arrangements, he still had some confidence in this battle with Cao Cao.

On the other side, after Ma Chao took the order and went out, he quickly ordered 3,000 infantry and cavalry, led his troops out of the camp, and headed straight for Cao Jun. After Cao Hong noticed it, he immediately led his troops to intercept.

"Ma Chao!?" Cao Hong's eyes flashed fiercely when he saw Ma Chao.

The so-called enemies were extremely jealous when they met. Ma Chao hated Cao's army for surrounding him and almost made it impossible for him to come back, but why didn't Cao Hong hate Ma Chao? After the two sides saw each other's flags, without saying a word, they marched forward to fight.

The two men and horses were like two torrents confronting each other in the wilderness, and they fought together quickly. Ma Chao was good at cavalry, and he was not bad at commanding infantry, but after all, he was not as brave as cavalry. Cao Hong was obviously better at infantry, and the soldiers and horses of both sides fought in a battle.

At the same time, Ma Chao only led more than a hundred cavalry to clash back and forth, trying to tear apart Cao Jun's formation. However, Cao Hong took the opportunity to command the troops and horses to trap Ma Chao. The impact of the more than a hundred cavalry was naturally not as impressive as the previous thousand cavalry.

Ma Chao's cavalry was quickly restrained and had no choice but to fight with the infantry.

The two sides fought from the wilderness to the river, and no one could do anything to the other. In the end, seeing the serious losses of the soldiers on both sides, they had no choice but to withdraw their troops.

After Ma Chao took stock of the battle damage, he looked at Cao Hong angrily. Without cavalry, the fight would be unpleasant. He couldn't even defeat the opponent's infantry.

However, Ma Chao's cavalry was severely damaged during the previous breakout. Chen Mo was unable to mobilize more cavalry for him. This cavalry is not considered a cavalry if infantry mounts a horse. It must be trained to form an army. Ma Chao even

He wanted to use the infantry as cavalry, but how could two legs create the power of four legs? In the end, it ended in a draw. However, if the loss of the cavalry was taken into account, in Ma Chao's view, he suffered a loss in this fight.

This made him very unhappy.

"Then Cao Hong is also a veteran on the battlefield, and this battle is not considered a defeat." Pang De looked at the somewhat frustrated Ma Chao and advised helplessly.

Although this former young master and now colleague was extremely brave and capable of killing, he seemed to be a little more concerned about food than fighting. Because of his recklessness back then, although the final result was good and he had made great achievements, Ma Dai was also there.

He died in the battle. Ma Chao was depressed for a while afterwards, but after that, he returned to his old ways and went to the battlefield, still looking the same. If he and Zhang Xiu hadn't desperately supported him this time, Ma Chao would have been surrounded by Cao's army.

killed.

Ma Chao was still a little aggrieved. In his opinion, failure to win meant defeat. He joined the army as a young man and never suffered a single defeat when he was in Xiliang. However, after arriving in the Central Plains, he suffered setbacks more than once, and his fighting style was not as good as when he was in Xiliang.

So smooth, the ability of the famous generals from the Central Plains is more than one level higher than those of the opponents in Xiliang, and they are also more difficult to deal with.

Seeing Ma Chao's expression, Pang De said with a smile: "In the past, my lord asked you to learn the art of war from General Xu Rong, but you refused. Now that you meet your opponent but cannot defeat him, who do you blame?"

When Chen Mo conquered Xiliang, he was very fond of Ma Chao and even invited Xu Rong to teach him the art of war. However, Ma Chao refused to see Xu Rong for some unknown reason, and in the end the matter was settled.

Ma Chao's face turned dark when he heard this. Xu Rong was a name he didn't want to mention. He was the first person to break his undefeated record head-on. Facing Xu Rong, Ma Chao was really powerless, but learning the art of war from Xu Rong, he

I was a bit embarrassed, and I wanted to go later, but it took a long time. Would I be laughed at if I went again?

Anyway, in the end, this matter was settled in a muddle. Xu Rong was appointed as the Protector of the Western Regions. Ma Chao also followed Chen Mo to Luoyang and began to conquer the Central Plains. There were even fewer opportunities for the two to meet.

In order to make up for his own shortcomings, Ma Chao secretly worked hard and studied the art of war whenever he had nothing to do. Just exploring on his own and being taught by a famous teacher are really two different things. Ma Chao is not bad at all, but if he leaves aside the Xiliang cavalry he is used to, his command level can only be

It's average, far less amazing than commanding the Xiliang cavalry.

This is also the reason why Chen Mo gradually let Pang De command the infantry, while Ma Chao has always been a cavalry general. If the infantry is given to Ma Chao to command, the combat power that he can exert is far from that of commanding the cavalry. On the other hand, Pound, perhaps

He is not as impressive as Ma Chao in leading the cavalry, but he is better in all aspects. In terms of commanding the infantry, Pound is not bad either.

"Go and give the command to the master first. Cao's army is different from previous enemies and should not be underestimated." Pang De comforted Ma Chao as he patted his shoulder.

Although Ma Chao was a little unhappy, he could only nod his head and go to give orders to Chen Mo.

"Lost?" Chen Mo looked at Ma Chao who looked frustrated and asked with a smile.

"Never, but I didn't win either." Ma Chao said, "Then Mrs. Cao Hong..."

"Cao Hong is a kinsman of Cao Cao's. He has followed Cao Cao since the time when the princes attacked Dong. Not counting the past, but since then, he has made great contributions to Cao Cao in the south and north. I am not surprised that you are defeated today.

." Chen Mo put down the bamboo slip in his hand, looked at Ma Chao seriously and said: "Meng Qi, you are thirty years old. In Xiliang, you were the eldest son of General Ma. With your extraordinary bravery, you could always win among the Qiang people.

Undefeated, but I have been in the Central Plains for many years. You should know that the Central Plains is different from Xiliang. Not to mention others, there are many generals under my command who are better than you. Not to mention Wenhou, Xu Rong, Ziyi, etc.

You have seen Wu Yi, Yu Sheng, Zhao Yun, Zhang He, Gao Lan, Xu Huang, and Gao Shun. In a battle between two armies, which one can you win?"

Ma Chao was speechless upon hearing this. The famous generals under Chen Mo were all very capable. If the two armies faced off, Ma Chao wouldn't dare to say that he would win even if he heard what Chen Mo said.

"Fighting depends on more than luck. If I hadn't asked Pang De and Zhang Xiu to take over this time, you might have been trapped in Chenliu. But it's impossible for me to send someone to take care of you every time you go out, right? Ling Ming

Now that you can stand alone, can you?" Chen Mo looked at Ma Chao and asked.

"Yes!" Ma Chao hesitated, raised his head and said unconvinced.

"What the heck, how do you set up an infantry camp? How do you choose a place to set up a stronghold? How do cavalry and infantry cooperate in fighting?" Chen Mo scolded: "If you knew this, I wouldn't still let you be a general who charges into battle!

If I give you infantry, I'm afraid you won't even be as good as Dian Wei. I'm a little surprised that I wasn't defeated by Cao Hong today."

Looking behind Chen Mo, Dian Wei's mouth was grinning silently and his white teeth. Ma Chao looked ashamed and angry. No matter how bad he was, he would still be better than Dian Wei in leading troops in battle, right?

Seemingly sensing Ma Chao's thoughts, Chen Mo stood up and said, "What's the matter? Do you really want to lead an army with Dian Weibi? Against five hundred people, you may not be able to beat him!"

"There will be no general." Ma Chao lowered his head and said.

"I feel dissatisfied, but I don't have the ability to prove anything. Starting tomorrow, stay with me and I will personally teach you the art of war." Chen Mo sighed.

"Ah?" Ma Chao looked at Chen Mo blankly.

"Don't want to?" Chen Mo looked back at him, raised his eyebrows and said, "Or am I not qualified to teach you?"

"That's enough~" Ma Chao quickly saluted Chen Mo: "Thank you, Lord."

"Take care of yourself. You are about the same age as me, and your talents are extremely high. If you are so complacent, you will be overtaken by young people sooner or later!" Chen Mo patted Ma Chao on the shoulder and left straight away. Ma Chao's talent is really good, and his character is also real.

It's so bad, if I don't beat it, I will be a brave general charging into battle in this life.
Chapter completed!