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He actually agrees with both sides, because retreating from Chang'An needs to be done if he doesn't want to be surrounded from all sides by Cao Cao and Han Sui's Army, leaving him no room to retreat but on the other hand he doesn't want to abandon Chang'An, Ma Chao's reason see true and he also doesn't want to abandon Chang'An which are the vein of Liang Province, these two choices cause him to have a dilemma.
As Ma Teng was mulling over what decision he would make, while his court was embroiled in a debate between Pang De and Ma Chao alongside their supporters, something happened outside of Chang'An.
True to Pang De's prediction, Han Sui and his army that was pursuing him and his army had arrived at the outskirts of Chang'An, where they regrouped with Cao Cao's Army, bolstering Cao Cao's Army number.
Han Sui accompanied by Jia Kui finally met with Cao Cao's general that was tasked to conquer Liang Province, where he postured humbly toward Cao Ren, Zhang Ji, and Xu Huang as he is the newcomer.
With Jia Kui finally back in the presence of Cao Cao's Army, Cao Ren's burden to formulate a plan of attack was finally relieved from his shoulder, as this task was returned to Jia Kui as the strategist of this campaign.
Just like Ma Teng and his men, Cao Cao's generals, and Han Sui alongside his generals hold a meeting to discuss their next course of action for tomorrow.
At the start of the meeting, Han Sui informed Cao Ren, Xu Huang, and Zhang Ji that there was a high chance that Pang De and his army had entered Chang'An tonight, without them noticing due to the cover of the night.
Hearing what Han Sui had said, Cao Ren immediately asked Jia Kui if what Han Sui had just said was true to confirm it, and Jia Kui nodded his head confirming Han Sui's words adding that he was sure right now inside Chang'An was chaotic.
Xu Huang on the side asks Jia Kui why he said so because shouldn't they rejoice that Pang De returned safely, and potentially bring Ma Teng news that Han Sui will also arrive to regroup with them right here?
Everyone in the camp agreed with Xu Huang's words except for Jia Kui, who then explained why he said that inside Chang'An would be chaotic because Pang De was a smart general and knew that defending Chang'An was suicide.
He studied Pang De's actions when he faced off against him and Han Sui, while Pang De's tactics weren't the best ones he had seen a general have and were definitely inferior compared to Cao Ren, he was very sensitive to the army movement and act according to his gut feeling.
The sensitivity and gut feeling Pang De has managed to deflect his and Han Sui's offense repeatedly, even though Pang De suffered many casualties in the process he at least showed his talent.
Listening to Jia Kui's appraisal of Pang De, everyone in the room turned solemn because it showed that they have a strong foe in their battle tomorrow.
Cao Ren then asked Jia Kui will Ma Teng heed Pang De's suggestion for them to retreat or will Ma Teng dismiss Pang De's suggestion, because it's very important for them to at least comprehend the possibility of Ma Teng's decision which would influence their strategy for tomorrow.
Jia Kui was silent for a while thinking about what kind of decision Ma Teng make according to his understanding of Ma Teng, and a short time passed by, and Jia Kui finally said that Ma Teng would retreat.
True to Jia Kui's prediction that no one from Cao Cao's side knew that it was true, in the main hall of the palace Ma Teng who was contemplating his decision raised his hand to silence the hall.
Ma Teng: "I have decided with a heavy heart that we will retreat from Chang'An and at dawn immediately head to Tianshui, where we will regroup with the rest of our army there."
Ma Chao: "Father No! Please rethink your decision, abandoning Chang'An will backfire on us! Do you remember how hard it was for us to take Chang'An from Li Jue who was much weaker than Cao Cao? If we gave it to Cao Cao, then we would never retake Chang'An for the rest of our lives!"
Ma Teng: "Mengqi! My decision was final! If we don't retreat from Chang'An, all of us will die here! Do you want to bring the entire clan to die with you?!"
Pang De: "My Lord please calm your anger, the Young Lord is just trying to give his opinion and doesn't mean to anger you, Young Lord you should also respect My Lord's decision as what he has decided was final."
Ma Chao: "General Pang I don't need your support, Father I stand by what I just said and request that Father rethink your decision, our retreating would also give signs to the other clans that we are weak!"
Ma Chao's supporters echoed what Ma Chao had just said, causing the hall to be boisterous once again causing both Ma Teng and Pang De to exert some force to calm them down.
After he managed to calm his men down, Ma Teng glared at Ma Chao who was still defiant, and ordered everyone to prepare their retreat immediately, as they left for Tianshui at dawn.
Everyone disperse from the hall except for Ma Temg, Ma Chao, and Pang De. When it was only the three of them left, Ma Teng began to scold Ma Chao for being unreasonable and for not causing pride and glory having Chang'An cloud his judgment.
Being scolded by his Father, Ma Chao wanted to answer back but Pang De held him back and whispered to him to not make the situation much worse for him, Ma Chao pushed away Pang De's hand that was holding him back.
He then said to Ma Teng that it was not pride and glory that clouded his eyes but confidence and his belief in Ma Teng, but now he began to have a second thought about the confidence and belief he has in Ma Teng.
Angered by Ma Chao's words, Ma Teng stood up from his seat and approached Ma Chao, slapped him on his right cheek then scolded him by saying that he didn't raise him to be an unfilial son.
Pang De who was stuck in the fight between a father and son could only squirm awkwardly, as he was put in this situation by both father and son who was very stubborn and would not budge for the others.
Ma Chao who was slapped by Ma Teng was in disbelief as he had never been hit by his father since 12 years old, and now for him to be treated like a little child by his father he could only grit his teeth.
Seeing that Ma Chao finally stopped talking, Ma Teng told him to pack his things for their retreat and helped their family while he oversaw the restart of their entire Army.
As the fight between the father and son of the Ma Clan ended, the retreat preparation of Ma Twng's Army was ongoing and at dawn everything was ready and they could retreat to Tianshui, only waiting for Ma Teng's order.
Ma Teng was waiting for his family to finish packing their belongings which was numerous due to the size of his family, and when he received a report from Ma Temg that everything was done he ordered the retreat to Tianshui commenced.
They retreated from the Western Gate of Chang'An which had the lowest chance of encountering Cao Cao and Han Sui's Army, but unbeknownst to them that due to Jia Kui predicting they would retreat the entire army was pulled back to only stationed at the Eastern Gate of Chang'An.
Several hours later at Cao Cao's Army Camp, Jia Kui and Cao Ren woke up early from their sleep and were informed that Ma Teng and his army had retreated from Chang'An at dawn under the watchful eyes of their scout.
Receiving this news, Cao Ren immediately ordered Cao Cao's army to enter Chang'An through the eastern gate by force, so battering rams were immediately deployed and were used to break through the gate.
Xu Huang, Zhang Ji, and Han Sui alongside his generals immediately joined the assault to secure Chang'An as they were woken up by the noisy sound of the camp.
In just an hour, Cao Ren had managed to secure Chang'An and consolidate it under Cao Cao's control, and Jia Kui began to secure the supply line from Tong Pass to Chang'An and Anding.
He also drafted a letter and then sent it to Cao Cao, to inform him of his army's victory over Ma Teng and managed to take over Chang'An and right now they were regrouping and ensuring a steady supply line for Chang'An and Anding respectively.
As for Han Sui and his army, after staying at Chang'An for some days they returned to Anding to recuperate their strength, also for Han Sui used his influence to placate the Qiang People in his area who supported Ma Teng to support him once again.
When the news of Cao Ren and Han Sui's Army victory arrived at Xuchang, Cao Cao and his court rejoiced as the first step of their plan had been achieved and the next plan was a full scale assault on Liang Province.
Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai who advocated for this campaign heaved a sigh of relief that the campaign was going well, because if it had gone awry and not according to their prediction then they would have to shoulder the responsibility.
Cao Cao even though in a jubilant mood, doesn't forget to ask Xun Yu about the condition of their supply to ensure that everything is okay.
Xun Yu answered Cao Cao saying that everything was progressing well and their supplies stock had just been refreshed as they had entered harvest season, receiving the good news Cao Cao smiled and told Xun Yu to keep him up to date.
Cao Cao's Army campaign and victory against Ma Teng in Chang'An was unknown to all Warlord of the land, except for Lie Fan who had returned from Huai'An secret base and was informed of this news by Jia Xu who received the intel from the Oriole, knowing that Cao Cao was focusing on Ma Teng and managed to gain Han Sui as his ally, he needs to decide who will be his next target, Cao Cao or Yuan Shao with his court.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Three Heroes Who Defeat Lu Bu
Age: 31 (198 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 825
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 936 (+20)
VIT: 598 (+20)
AGI: 583 (+10)
INT: 587
CHR: 96
WIS: 509
WILL: 397
ATR Points: 0