Chapter 355: Deterioration

"Bring the Crown Prince over."

Under the influence of the Wine, Tuoba Hao swayed as he stood up.

Before long, Tuobawen arrived, accompanied by a general.

"Khan, today I hand our Crown Prince of Xiliang over to you," said Tuoba Hao.

Tuobawen did not yet know what had happened, and his face was full of confusion. "Father Emperor, what are you saying?"

At this moment, Tuoba Hao picked up the sheepskin scroll on the table and showed it to Tuobawen.

Upon seeing the contents clearly, Tuobawen could barely stand.

He had not expected that Xiliang and the Northern Di would sign such a humiliating alliance today.

"Father Emperor, are you really going to let your son go to the Northern Di?" Tuobawen knelt down, unable to stop himself from weeping.

Mule Hongzhen frowned. "What? Is our Northern Di not worthy of you, the Crown Prince of Xiliang? Rest assured, once you reach the Grassland, I will select a beautiful Northern Di woman to be your Crown Princess."

Tuoba Hao's heart jolted, but there was nothing he could do.

The Northern Di had indeed planned this deeply; even if Tuobawen could return to Xiliang in the future.

The future Emperor of Western Liang would also carry half the bloodline of the Northern Di.

"Go quickly, for the sake of the alliance." Tuoba Hao ignored Tuobawen's weeping and waved his hand.

Then, he bowed to Mule Hongzhen. "Khan, we in Xiliang will fulfill the alliance. Farewell."

"Farewell." Mule Hongzhen revealed a satisfied expression.

Giving Tiemuta a look, he turned and left.

Tiemuta immediately took the general and dragged Tuobawen onto a horse, heading north.

Tuoba Hao glanced at Tuobawen, who was looking back incessantly from the horse, then turned and walked toward the Xiliang army.

At this moment, the anger in his heart was like a raging sea.

Great Song, Xiliang, Northern Di.

Originally, among the three nations, Xiliang should not have suffered such humiliation.

Because the one that had been going downhill was Great Song.

At this moment, it should be Great Song paying tribute to Xiliang and the Northern Di, not his Xiliang.

"Yan Wang, it is that damned Yan Wang." All of Tuoba Hao's resentment found a point of release in an instant.

It was this Yan Wang who, by his own strength, had changed the situation in the northern frontier of Great Song.

"Great Song lost Ningjin Dusi and can still endure to this day; why can't I, Xiliang, endure? Just wait, my Xiliang will surely be the one to laugh last," Tuoba Hao thought to himself.

Mounting his horse, he glanced at the Northern Di army gradually heading north, then lashed his whip and rode toward Wuwei.

Seeing that Tuoba Hao's face was uglier than ever before, Li Xin did not dare to ask a single word and followed closely behind.

……

Yancheng.

After traveling for three consecutive days, Ma Yuan arrived at Yancheng.

With no time to rest, he immediately went with Ma Han to the Prince's Mansion to tell Zhao Xu about the upheaval in the Ma Family.

"Ma Jin is making a desperate move; he is like a dog jumping over a wall," Zhao Xu frowned deeply.

Regarding the Ma Family, the situation he had hoped for most was a peaceful transfer of power to Ma Han.

In that way, the Ma Family could stabilize and honestly become a helper guarding the important passes to the west of Yan Wang.

Of course, he had also anticipated the worst-case scenario, which was exactly what was happening now.

Ma Chong and Ma Jin had raised an army in rebellion.

After all, in ancient times, rebellions were as common as daily meals.

As long as interests did not align, there would be forces plotting rebellion.

Moreover, the system of Great Song was already deformed, and now it was constantly declining, with people's hearts leaning toward chaos.

In his memories, there were also descendants of powerful clans who rebelled in the history of Great Song.

However, after the rebellions were suppressed, the descendants of the powerful clans were killed, but the powerful clans remained powerful clans and continued to exist.

This was not because the Emperor was an idiot, but because the powerful clans held the knowledge.

Only they could provide officials and generals to the Imperial Court.

And it was only the dissatisfied descendants of the powerful clans who rebelled, not the entire clan, so it did not implicate the whole family.

This was somewhat similar to the Wangs and the Simas during the Eastern Jin period.

The Wangs were the Langya Wang Clan, and the Ma were the Sima Clan.

At that time, the Langya Wang Clan was the largest noble family.

Many descendants in the family held high official positions and were great generals in the Imperial Court.

Among them, the Wang Family had important descendants, one named Wang Dao and one named Wang Dun.

Wang Dun coveted power and eventually launched a rebellion, which was finally suppressed by the Imperial Court.

But Wang Dao supported the Imperial Court and helped the Imperial Court suppress Wang Dun.

Afterward, the Wang Family was not implicated and remained the most famous and powerful clan of the Eastern Jin.

However, at present, the rebellion of Ma Jin still belonged to the internal chaos of the Ma Family.

It was just that he did not want this chaos to continue to expand.

Otherwise, it would easily trigger even more unpredictable turmoil.

"Your Highness, I beg you to please help our Ma Family." Ma Han knelt down, unable to stop himself from shedding tears.

His father had died tragically, and the Ma Family was now in this state; as the one who should have been the Head of the Family, his heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.

Ma Yuan also had a grave expression. "Your Highness, Ma Yuan also begs you. This is also for the stability of Great Song. With Ma Jin's rebellion this time, he will surely do anything."

Zhao Xu pursed his lips and pondered for a moment before saying, "Originally, I only intended to give you thirty thousand troops, but now it seems necessary to give you sixty thousand to quell the internal rebellion as quickly as possible."

Ma Yuan was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Yan Wang had defeated Xiliang in Jinzhou with only eighty thousand troops.

These sixty thousand troops, combined with the Ma Family's forces, would certainly be able to defeat Ma Jin.

Ma Han was visibly moved upon hearing this and said, "Many thanks, Your Highness."

Zhao Xu nodded and immediately ordered someone to summon Chang Wei.

"Your Highness, suddenly increasing the troops by thirty thousand will likely require a few days to prepare provisions," Chang Wei said.

Ma Han then said, "General Chang, you only need to bring a few days of dry rations; we cannot delay. Once we reach Sizhou, my Ma Family will naturally supply the General with provisions."

"Hmm, that will work," Chang Wei said.

"Since that is the case, do not delay; head to Sizhou immediately," Zhao Xu said.

When he was in Jinzhou, he had already witnessed the combat effectiveness of the army under Ma Jin's command.

Although this Ma Jin was ruthless, his management of the army was nothing special; it would not be as difficult to fight as Xiliang.

Moreover, the Ma Family's troops were not entirely under his control.

Furthermore, his killing of many Ma Family elders this time would certainly leave many Ma Family descendants feeling resentful.

Even if they submitted to Ma Jin out of fear, he doubted these descendants would sincerely risk their lives for Ma Jin.

The combat power of Ma Jin's army would have to be discounted.

There was no time to lose.

Having decided to lend the troops, the three of them bowed and departed.

The next day, Chang Wei personally led the main army to set out, entering from Jinzhou and heading south to cross the Jin River toward Sizhou.

After the main army left, Zhao Xu did not remain idle; he ordered Xu Ke to report to him at all times regarding the alliance between Xiliang and the Northern Di.

This matter was undoubtedly unfavorable to Great Song.

However, if one were to consider it carefully, it did not seem that serious.

After all, even without an alliance, the Northern Di and Xiliang were constantly invading the territory of Great Song.

Both of them were wolves with wild ambitions.

Four days later, Xu Ke's informant in Xiliang sent back news.

He immediately reported the news to Zhao Xu.

"Your Highness, the alliance between Xiliang and the Northern Di has succeeded; the Crown Prince of Xiliang, Tuobawen, has been sent to the Northern Di as a hostage..." Xu Ke said.

He then went on to speak of the matters regarding the tribute and the opening of military access.

"I did not expect Xiliang to accept such humiliating alliance terms," Zhao Xu muttered.

If this were truly the case, this alliance between Xiliang and the Northern Di had clearly worsened the situation on the borders of Great Song.

"Chang Wei should have reached Sizhou by now; I hope this internal rebellion of the Ma Family can be settled smoothly," Zhao Xu said, a look of worry appearing on his face as he thought of something.