Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 284: Ma Mengqi disobeys the order and unifies the north on New Year's Eve

Chang'an, Liangzhou military camp.

Ma Chao prepared a simple banquet in his tent to welcome Cui Lin, who came from Yecheng to convey the emperor's will.

He picked up the wine jar and said apologetically, "The angel came all the way from Yecheng. I was unable to greet you. Please don't blame me."

It has been a day since Cui Lin arrived at the military camp.

He rushed back after receiving the news.

Cui Lin smiled and said, "It's okay. General Ma is very busy, so I have to understand him. There's no point in blaming him."

"General Ma also killed Tian Feng, the leader of Yuan Shikai's remnant gang, and Han Sui, who was planning to rebel. He has done a great deed."

Cui Lin was all smiles and his attitude was very enthusiastic, and his words were full of praise and compliments for Ma Chao.

Ma Chao shook his head and said, "The angel is overpraising me. I am just fulfilling my duty as a subject."

"To be honest, I don't ask for any merit. I just hope that Your Majesty can forgive me for killing a minister without authorization."

Cui Lin smiled and said, "Anyone can kill a rebel. Han Sui wanted to rebel and betrayed your majesty's trust. It is right for the general to kill him. Your majesty is so happy that he has no time to blame you."

"No, His Majesty was very pleased when he heard about this, and he specially ordered me to come and convey his order, asking General Ma to accompany me back to Yecheng to receive the reward."

Hearing this, Ma Chao immediately showed a difficult expression on his face. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "I'm sorry, I can't obey your order."

"Why?" Cui Lin frowned.

"The angel doesn't know that." Ma Chao put down the wine jar in his hand and said solemnly: "Although Han Sui is dead, he has deep roots in the army and many loyal followers. Once I leave, the Xiliang army may be unstable."

"Whether I can be rewarded or not is a minor matter, but the mutiny of the Xiliang army is a major matter, so please forgive me for not being able to follow your majesty's order and go to Yecheng with the angel."

Ma Chao’s reason was very sufficient.

It's hard to find anything wrong with it.

After all, there were tens of thousands of Xiliang cavalrymen. If a mutiny broke out, the consequences would be unimaginable.

When Cui Lin heard this, a strange look flashed in his eyes.

But a smile appeared on his face again.

"General, what you said is absolutely right. It is of course important to prevent the Xiliang army from mutinying... But I have a question that I would like to ask the general to explain."

Ma Chao smiled and said, "If I guess correctly, the angel must be asking about the rumor that Han Sui was killed by the Xiongnu, right?"

He didn't seem surprised that Cui Lin asked this.

"That's exactly what happened."

Cui Lin's eyes flickered, and he nodded, "Han Sui was killed by the general, but when I arrived at the army, I heard that Han Sui was killed by the Xiongnu."

"I wonder why there is such a rumor?"

These are two completely different versions, and are completely different from what was said in the memorial submitted by Ma Chao.

Ma Chao sighed and said, "I was the one who spread this rumor. It was a helpless move I made to stabilize the morale of the army."

"I invited Han Sui to a banquet that day, hoping to make peace with him, but Tian Feng also came and persuaded Han Sui to rebel, so I had no choice but to kill him."

"Although I have a clear conscience in killing Han Sui, if his loyal followers knew about this, they would definitely think that I deliberately set up a trap to invite him over so that I could ambush and kill him."

"Therefore, I had to conceal the news of Han Sui's rebellion from the outside world and put the blame for Han Sui's death on the Xiongnu to reassure his soldiers."

"I have not yet had time to report this to His Majesty."

Ma Chao explained it to Cui Lin.

"I see."

Cui Lin suddenly realized it and praised: "General, your wisdom is extraordinary and admirable. I will report this matter to your majesty truthfully."

"After all, it happened in a hurry. I don't think His Majesty will blame me. General, don't worry."

Ma Chao said excitedly: "That's great! Thank you for the trouble, angel. I toast to the angel with this cup!"

As he said this, he raised his head and drank the wine in the bottle.

Cui Lin also raised his glass in response.

The atmosphere at the table was quite harmonious.

The two chatted and laughed with each other. After three rounds of drinking, Ma Chao looked a little drunk and asked casually:
"I recently received news that your majesty sent troops to attack Bingzhou. They have already conquered Leping and Xinxing counties and are heading straight for Taiyuan."

"May I ask the angel, why did Your Majesty suddenly send troops to attack Bingzhou? Fighting in winter is very inconvenient. Why don't you wait until the beginning of spring next year and then send troops together with me?"

He had already learned that Lu Bu and Zhang Liao had jointly led an army of 50,000 to attack, and they captured two counties in less than ten days!
The record is so impressive that it is simply jaw-dropping!
Aren’t the imperial soldiers afraid of the cold?
Cui Lin drunkenly said, "Your Majesty alone decides on military matters. How can I guess what your Majesty is thinking?"

"But I think Your Majesty must have decided to send troops to attack Bingzhou after learning of Tian Feng's death. He could take the opportunity to catch Yuan Shao's remnants off guard, or even recapture Bingzhou in one fell swoop."

Ma Chao had been watching Cui Lin's expression. Seeing that he looked drunk and didn't seem to be lying, he withdrew his gaze and continued to raise his glass.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's drink!"

The two of them drank until very late. Ma Chao arranged for Pang De to take Cui Lin to bed, and then stayed alone in the tent, picking up the imperial edict and the military intelligence from the front line and checking them over and over again.

His expression was somewhat uncertain.

The emperor issued an imperial decree asking him to go to Yecheng, and suddenly sent troops to attack Bingzhou. These two seemingly unrelated things made him feel a deep sense of crisis.

The first thing is to let him go to Yecheng to receive the reward. If there is any reward, can't he just convey the imperial decree? Why let him go there?
In addition, troops were sent to attack Bingzhou.

They could have waited until the beginning of next spring to send out the troops, but they chose to do so in the winter when marching and fighting was extremely difficult, without even notifying him.

These two things show that sending Tian Feng's head as a sign of loyalty did not dispel the emperor's suspicion, at least not completely.

The emperor still suspected that there was something fishy about Han Sui's death, or he was afraid of his strong army.

"Should I send out troops now?"

Ma Chao's eyes flickered and he fell into deep thought.

According to the current siege speed of Lu Bu's army, if he does not send out troops, it is only a matter of time before Taiyuan County is captured by Gao Gan's troops alone.

Bingzhou is a vital throat. If Bingzhou is taken, he will never find a chance to attack Jizhou again.

"General, the angel has been settled."

Pang De walked into the tent and reported.

Ma Chao nodded, and then asked Pang De: "Ling Ming, do you think I should send troops to attack Jizhou now?"

He wanted to consult Pound's opinion.

Pang De thought for a moment and said, "General, although we have incorporated Han Sui's army, we have not yet fully reorganized it, so we should not send troops without authorization."

"Besides... General, do you really think that His Majesty is being held hostage by Lu Bu? Why do I feel that it is not the case?"

"Why don't you let me go back to Yecheng with the angel?"

Pang De still had some concerns in his heart. He always felt that the emperor did not seem to be held hostage, so it would be more reassuring if he went to confirm it in person.

"No!"

Ma Chao immediately shook his head and said calmly: "My father and brother are in Yecheng, and I sent Tian Feng's head there. The emperor should not doubt me, but he still ordered me to go to Yecheng."

"This means that the emperor has been held hostage by Lu Bu! Because only a narrow-minded villain like Lu Bu would doubt me!" "So Ling Ming, you must not go back with the angel. If you go back, I'm afraid you will never come back again!"

Ma Chao persuaded Pang De earnestly.

Let him give up the idea of ​​going to Yecheng.

Pang De was a capable general in the Xiliang army and one of his right-hand men. He also knew everything he had done during this period of time.

If Pang De really went to Yecheng and found that the emperor was not held hostage, then the conspiracy between him and Tian Feng would definitely be exposed by Pang De.

So he would not let Pound leave no matter what.

He was different from Pang De. He had no loyalty to the emperor. All he wanted was to establish his own territory and become a vassal.

He didn't care whether Lu Bu held the emperor hostage or not.

"That's fine."

After hearing this, Pang De had to give up the idea.

Ma Chao changed the subject and said, "What you just said is correct. It is indeed not suitable to send troops now. Let's continue to reorganize the army."

As long as he unifies the Xiliang Army, even if he loses Bingzhou and even if he cannot march into Hebei, he can still dominate Liangzhou and Guanzhong areas without having to look at anyone's face!

……

Bingzhou, Jinyang.

After Lu Bu and Zhang Liao's army settled outside the city, they did not launch an attack, but were busy cutting down trees and making catapults and other siege weapons.

In addition, the army was openly training.

Tens of thousands of troops were training in the snow and ice, and the entire Jinyang city could hear the deafening shouts of their training.

On the city wall of Jinyang.

Gao Gan leaned against the cold parapet, staring at the Han army outside the city that was training enthusiastically in the snow, never taking his eyes off it for a moment.

"Why? Why are their soldiers willing to drill outside in such a cold weather? Are they really not afraid of the cold?"

A look of deep confusion emerged in the senior official's eyes.

In such cold weather, let alone training soldiers, even asking them to patrol and stand guard is a job that everyone complains about.

But the Han soldiers were willing to train in the snow and ice, and it was not a perfunctory training. Even watching from a distance, he could feel the soaring momentum.

Gao Gan looked at Sui Yuanjin and asked, "Did the scouts you sent out find out clearly? What are they wearing?"

There are only a few types of cold-weather clothing.

One is a coat made of heavy satin or silk stuffed with wool to provide more warmth, but it is expensive.

The second is fur clothing made of animal fur, such as fox, mink, wolf, etc. They can provide good warmth in the cold winter and are also very durable. The price is even more expensive than the former.

The third is a sheepskin coat, which can provide good warmth retention and is cheaper than the first two, but it is too bulky to wear.

However, most ordinary people still wear cotton clothes, which is a silk garment covered with silk, chicken and duck down, etc., and then covered with a layer of linen on the outside.

Some poor families even used paper to keep warm by stuffing paper into their clothes, or low-quality plant fibers such as banana and kapok.

The clothes distributed to high-ranking officials were mostly sheepskin coats and cotton-padded clothes.

However, due to limited supplies, he could not ensure that all soldiers would wear them, so he could only equip them to the soldiers responsible for guarding the city and patrolling.

How well-equipped are the troops outside the city with warm clothes to be able to train in such ice and snow?

Sui Yuanjin stammered, "Reporting to the general, the scouts said...they were just wearing armor normally, and didn't see any warm clothes."

"Do you believe this yourself?"

Gao Gan got angry when he heard this. "They are not wearing any warm clothes. Don't the enemy soldiers outside fear the cold?"

"Go check again! Find out for me thoroughly!"

He must find out the secret of why the Han troops outside are not afraid of the cold, otherwise this battle will be impossible to fight because the weather is too cold.

Sui Yuanjin could only accept it with a bow.

Guo Yuan asked: "General, why haven't they launched an attack yet? They have been stationed outside the city for several days."

In the past few days, the enemy troops outside the city have been making siege equipment and training their troops. It seems that they have no intention of attacking and only want to besiege the city.

"They're dragging!"

Gao Gan's eyes were extremely sharp, and he said in a deep voice: "Their soldiers are not afraid of the cold, but our soldiers cannot withstand such severe cold, but they have to defend the city every day."

"Every day we delay, our morale will be depleted. He is waiting for us to relax, and then he will launch a massive attack!"

"That reckless man Lu Bu doesn't have such a brain. There must be a brilliant strategist on the other side who is giving advice!"

After all, Gao Gan was a general who had experienced many battles. He clearly understood the enemy's plan, which was to continuously erode the morale of the soldiers defending the city.

Thinking of this, he turned his gaze to Guo Yuan and asked, "How many days are left before the New Year? They must want to launch an attack on the New Year's Day!"

Guo Yuan sighed: "Tonight is New Year's Eve."

Gao Gan was shocked when he heard this. He had been so busy in the past few days that he didn't even notice that today was New Year's Eve.

After thinking for a moment, he ordered: "We must strengthen the defense tonight, double the patrol manpower, and let all the soldiers in the army be alert. No one is allowed to return home!"

"Also tell the kitchen to slaughter pigs and sheep, add meat to tonight's meal, and give everyone some wine."

The soldiers must be suffering from having to guard the city on New Year's Eve, so it is necessary to reduce their complaints by improving their food.

Although doing so will consume a large amount of supplies, there is no other way. We cannot allow morale to continue to drop.

……

Outside the city, the Han army camp.

Sima Yi was watching Lu Bu training his soldiers.

Seeing the tens of thousands of soldiers in high spirits, he couldn't help but praise: "Lord Wen is really good at training soldiers. These Black Mountain soldiers were just a mob not long ago, but now they have become an elite army."

Of the 50,000 troops dispatched this time, 30,000 were the Black Mountain Army that had recently joined the army, which was the group currently being trained.

"I don't have that ability. This is all thanks to Wenyuan."

Lu Bu shook his head and said with dissatisfaction: "However, no matter how well they train, it is just a show. They are still far from being elite. Only after they win a few big battles can they be called elite."

Fighting a war is always the fastest way to enhance the strength of a military, and all those elite troops are trained through war.

After the battle of Bingzhou, those 30,000 Black Mountain soldiers who survive can be called elite troops.

Lu Bu withdrew his gaze from the soldiers and asked Sima Yi, "Advisor, the siege equipment is almost finished. When are we going to attack Jinyang?"

"Tomorrow is the New Year."

It kept dragging on and on, and his patience was almost gone.

Sima Yi smiled slightly and said calmly: "Don't worry, Lord Wen. Tonight is New Year's Eve, and it is a good time to attack the city."

(End of this chapter)