Well you can't say Zhang Liao isn't a man that gets the job done because he's STILL going after Shu officers. Zhuge Liang went off to Chi Bi so Zhang Liao went there, killed Zhang Fei during a bandit skirmish, and now he's at Tong Gate to take out Ma Chao and his army. Jeez, Zhang Liao, chill out.

Anyways, Tong Gate on the Wei side is kind of similar to Ma Chao's version. Ma Chao's sub officers are the main units defending Tong Gate, along with the man himself. Ma Dai and Pang De both have buffed up stats so they take a long time to go down, same for Ma Chao. So much so that Cao Cao recommends you to go around the Tong Gate and attack from the north.

Doing so can work in your favor, especially if Cao Cao's troops end up finding Han Sui. This will start a timer, and once it lowers Han Sui will defect to your side which will lower morale pretty dramatically for Ma Chao's forces. Tearing into the troops from the north of Tong Gate also helps build up morale, so your allies can be more useful in dealing with Ma Chao.