Chapter 357: The Shameless

Qinzhou, Wei Jun, Weicheng.

Chang Wei rode his horse in slowly, with Ma Yuan and Ma Han following at his sides.

After Ma Jin's army retreated from Qin Pass toward Xian City, he had launched an offensive against Qinzhou.

However, despite the retreat, Ma Jin had set traps along their line of advance.

There were many cities along the main road leading to Xian City, and he had left trusted subordinates to guard every one of them.

There were either three thousand or five thousand soldiers in each city.

Although such cities were not worth mentioning to Chang Wei, they still hindered his pace toward Xian City.

In warfare, having infantry bypass cities to attack those behind them is a major taboo for military strategists.

Furthermore, the provisions for the Prince's Personal Army were currently being provided by the Ma Family Army.

If these cities were not taken, once his main force moved far away, there was no guarantee that Ma Jin's troops within the cities would not sally out to harass the supply lines and cut off his provisions.

"When the news of the Yan Wang's great victory in Jinzhou reached Jingshi, the Emperor did not believe it at first, because in the eyes of the court officials, even if he could win, he could not necessarily win so quickly. Over these past few days of attacking cities and seizing territory with the main army, I have finally understood: the Yan Wang's Prince's Personal Army is truly extraordinary."

He paused, then continued: "Once we have dealt with Ma Jin and returned to Jinzhou, I will certainly submit a memorial to the Emperor to vigorously purchase firearms from the Yan Wang and learn the Yan Wang's methods of training troops. At present, only by strengthening the military can we resolve the crisis of the Great Song."

Ma Han nodded; the aftershocks of the shock in his heart had not yet subsided.

During the fighting, this was his first time seeing artillery, and also his first time seeing the handheld firearms known as muskets.

Possessing these two types of firearms, the Yan King Army was clearly vastly different from the Ma Family Army in battle formation.

When attacking cities, the advantages of these two types of firearms were immense.

Although there were only five thousand garrison troops in Weicheng, if it were left to the Ma Family Army, it would have taken at least half a month or more to capture.

Yet Chang Wei commanded his army, and a round of artillery fire blasted the city gates open.

Muskets suppressed the soldiers on the city walls, infantry clad in heavy armor seized the gates, and in the end, it took only the better part of a day to capture Weicheng.

"His Highness has always been thinking about selling more firearms. In that case, I should thank you, Prefect."

Chang Wei laughed.

Ma Yuan's current status was Prefect, a second-rank official of the current dynasty.

And he was third-rank; strictly speaking, Ma Yuan still held a higher official position than him.

Upon hearing this, Ma Yuan sighed with emotion: "His Highness the Yan Wang is truly not selfish at all; such important firearms are provided whenever requested. He is truly a pillar of our Great Song."

"Ahem..." Chang Wei coughed twice, his smile becoming somewhat awkward.

He knew exactly what kind of firearms were being sold to the Imperial Court and the powerful clans.

Therefore, the Yan Wang could not really live up to this praise from Ma Yuan.

But in his heart, he supported the Yan Wang one hundred percent.

In the current chaotic situation of the Great Song, of course, everything had to prioritize Yanzhou.

Being able to sell them discounted firearms was already good enough.

If the powerful clans had such sharp weapons, they probably wouldn't even let anyone see a hair of them.

The three of them entered the city as they spoke.

Over the next few days, they continued to attack cities and seize territory to the west.

For Chang Wei, the fighting here was quite smooth.

Moreover, the Ma Family soldiers did not have a strong will to resist, often surrendering as soon as they suffered a setback.

After all, Ma Han's influence within the Ma Family was not weak.

There were even Ma Family troops in four county towns who voluntarily opened their gates to surrender the cities.

After successfully capturing Fufeng Jun in Qinzhou, they marched toward Xian Jun.

As long as Xian City was taken, the fighting against the Ma Family would be over.

……

Wuwei.

Since returning from the alliance at Yin Mountain, Tuoba Hao had been depressed for many days in a row.

Even when attending court, he lacked any spirit.

Although he still had grand ambitions in his heart, thinking of the conditions agreed upon at the alliance, he still felt deeply humiliated.

But today, his mood suddenly improved greatly, and he was completely devoid of any dejected air.

The reason lay in the arrival of a Ma Family envoy.

"Is what you say true?" In the great hall, Tuoba Hao looked toward the Ma Family envoy at the foot of the steps.

This person was named Ma Cheng, and he was the younger brother of Ma Jin, born of the same mother.

"If there is a single word of falsehood, I am willing to dash my head against the hall and die," Ma Cheng said. "Your Majesty can send people to Qinzhou to investigate; at this moment, Ma Han is leading the Yan King Army and marching toward Xian City."

Li Xin said at this time: "Your Majesty, this subject has been ordering people to investigate the situation in Qinzhou, and it is indeed true. At present, Ma Jin is fighting against Ma Han, the legitimate son of the former Head of the Family, over the position of Head of the Family."

Tuoba Hao was beaming with joy, but fearing a trap, he added: "Even if they are fighting, this is a private matter of the Ma Family; it should not go so far as to defect to our Xiliang."

Ma Cheng sighed; at this moment, his elder brother could be killed at any time.

Once his elder brother died, his branch of the family would certainly be wiped out by Ma Han.

So he said: "To tell you the truth, the death of Ma Xuan was plotted by my elder brother together with the Dou Family; Ma Chong was merely a puppet. But I did not expect that in this time of crisis, not only would the Dou Family not help, but they would instead want to kill my elder brother to silence him."

Gritting his teeth, he continued: "Since the rulers and ministers of the Great Song do not tolerate us, why should we continue to be loyal to the Great Song? I hope Your Majesty will take us in."

"The rulers and ministers of the Great Song are just a group of shameless people. General Ma Jin has made the right choice. There is no time to lose; you go back first and tell him to hold Xian City firmly, and my Xiliang army will arrive immediately," Tuoba Hao said loudly, full of vigor.

Having lost Jinzhou, he had gained Qinzhou and Yongzhou instead.

For Xiliang, this was simply a gift from heaven.

A voice in his heart was telling him that Heaven was also helping him.

With these two provinces, Xiliang's strength would greatly increase, and it would also be equivalent to having a path to march south into Yizhou.

By biding his time like this for several years, if he could then take Yizhou, what would he have to fear from the Northern Di?

At that time, he could simply tear up the alliance treaty.

Thinking of this, he could not help but feel inexplicably excited, almost unable to suppress his own laughter.

But when he saw that Ma Cheng was still standing below the steps and had not left, he immediately reined in his smile, his face showing confusion.

Seeing Tuoba Hao happy, Li Xin became happy himself.

But he had not forgotten the purpose of Ma Cheng's trip, so he reminded him: "Your Majesty, the Qin Wang..."

"Oh." Tuoba Hao patted his own head.

If he could obtain Qinzhou and Yongzhou, what did it matter if he enfeoffed Ma Jin as the Qin Wang?

He immediately ordered someone to bring pen and ink, drafted the Imperial Edict on the spot, and handed it to Ma Cheng.

"The Imperial Edict has been issued; from now on, Ma Jin is the Qin Wang of my Xiliang," Tuoba Hao said.

He then said to a Xiliang general in the hall: "Wuyan, you are to first dispatch sixty thousand Xiliang warriors to take over Xiao Pass, then immediately mobilize an army of two hundred thousand to march toward Qinzhou to assist the Qin Wang."

Having said this, he ordered Li Xin to hand the Imperial Edict to Ma Cheng.

Ma Cheng looked it over, was immediately overjoyed, and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Bowing once more, he turned and left.

As Ma Cheng's figure disappeared, Li Xin said: "Your Majesty, the troops of Yan Wang are formidable. I fear that Xiliang will again have to sacrifice many soldiers in this battle. Since we are currently allied with the Northern Di, why not borrow troops from the Northern Di? That way, we could spare the strength of our Xiliang."

Tuoba Hao said: "I have thought about it, but the Northern Di are wolves with wild ambitions; I fear it is easy to invite them in but difficult to send them away. It will not be too late to invite the Northern Di troops after our Xiliang forces have suffered setbacks. In any case, even if my Xiliang cannot obtain it, letting the Northern Di have it is better than letting the Great Song benefit."

Li Xin thought for a moment and continued: "In that case, it would be better to first send someone to Qinzhou to spread the news that the Coalition of Xiliang and the Northern Di is arriving; that will surely intimidate the enemy."

Tuoba Hao nodded slightly.