Chapter 358: Weighing

Ma Cheng looked back at Wuwei, clutching the Imperial Edict tightly.

From this moment on, he would be a subject of the Emperor of Western Liang.

He felt not a shred of guilt in his heart for rebelling against the Great Song.

At this moment, he felt only excitement, believing that his elder brother had made a correct decision in these chaotic times.

The alliance between Western Liang and the Northern Di was likely known to the whole world by now.

The Emperor, Zhao Heng, in Jinling City was probably unable to sleep all night.

If it were him, he would not be able to sleep either.

Western Liang was already a formidable rival to the northwest of the Great Song, having won more battles than it lost against the Great Song.

The Northern Di were an even more terrifying enemy in the North; ten years ago, they swept south and brought the Ningjin Dusi into their pocket.

They forced the imperial court of that time to sue for peace, almost entirely on the condition of annual tributes.

Now that these two powerful enemies had formed an alliance, there was no doubt they would launch an all-out attack on the Great Song next.

Under the edge of their blades, he did not believe the Great Song could withstand Western Liang and the Northern Di at the same time.

Its destruction was only a matter of time.

Therefore, when Ma Jin revealed this matter to him, he agreed immediately and took the initiative to request to go to Western Liang.

"Prince of Qin, this is a hundred times better than being a mere member of the Ma Family." Ma Cheng curled his lips upward.

Raising his horse whip, he urged his horse to hurry toward Xian City.

Three days later.

He arrived at Xian City, and before he even reached the city gate, he saw soldiers coming and going on the main road, looking very hurried.

Entering Xian City, he came to the Ma Family residence and handed the Imperial Edict to Ma Jin.

"Congratulations, brother; you are now the Prince of Qin of Western Liang." Ma Cheng bowed and smiled.

At this time, Ma Chang was also present; he caught a glimpse of the contents of the Imperial Edict and saluted, saying, "Subordinate Ma Chang, pays respects to His Highness, the Prince of Qin."

"Hahaha..." Ma Jin read the Imperial Edict over and over several times and burst into loud laughter.

Now, he finally had a backer.

With Western Liang supporting him, and Western Liang having formed an alliance with the Northern Di, what did he have to fear?

Ordering someone to carefully put away the Imperial Edict, he asked, "When will the Western Liang troops arrive?"

"The Emperor of Western Liang said they would arrive immediately; the first batch of troops should be reaching Xiao Pass by now." Ma Cheng thought for a moment.

Ma Jin recalled his promise to Western Liang and said to Ma Chang, "You must immediately send men to Xiao Pass, order them to withdraw from Xiao Pass, and hand Xiao Pass over to the Western Liang army."

"Yes, Your Highness." Ma Chang cupped his hands and left.

At this moment, Ma Cheng recalled the scene on the road and asked, "Brother, what is going on outside the city? Why are the soldiers so panicked?"

Ma Jin's expression immediately sank. "The troops of Ma Han and Yan Wang have crossed Fufeng Jun and have already captured the county seat east of Xian Jun. In a few days, they will likely reach Xian City. So, this Imperial Edict is truly a timely rain; otherwise, you and I would only be able to stretch out our necks and wait for death."

"So that is how it is. But brother, you have no need to worry now." Ma Cheng sneered. "With our troops combined with the Western Liang troops, no matter how formidable Yan Wang is, I fear he will also fall here in Qinzhou."

Ma Jin nodded triumphantly.

Dingxian.

Leaving one thousand soldiers in the city, Chang Wei led his troops to continue marching west.

"General Chang, ahead is Dingxian; once we pass Dingxian, it is Xian City." Ma Han pointed forward.

At this moment, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This battle had been fought more easily than he had imagined; it was basically a clean sweep.

Aside from the ferocity of Yan Wang's troops, there was of course the factor of the Ma Family soldiers surrendering at the first sight of them.

This time, once they captured Xian City and took Ma Jin alive, the Ma Family's rebellion would be quelled.

"After fighting this last battle, we can go back and rest." Chang Wei said.

He had not yet recovered from the fighting in Jinzhou, and now that he had come to the Ma Family's territory to fight, he was even more physically and mentally exhausted.

Therefore, although his goal was the same as Ma Han's, what the two of them wanted was different.

In one day's time, the main army arrived at Dingxian.

Camping outside the city, Chang Wei looked at the dense number of soldiers on the city wall and frowned.

Traveling west from Qin Pass, the further west they went, the more troops Ma Jin deployed.

Although this Dingxian was only a county seat, the soldiers on its walls were actually more dense than those on the walls of Fufeng City.

"Artillery, smash the city gate for me!" Chang Wei frowned and immediately gave the order.

Now the Wangfu Army had a mature set of combat methods, and it worked every time.

That was to use artillery to bombard the city gates, city walls, and other parts.

Flintlock Infantry would suppress the enemies on the city walls, and then they would order the Heavy Infantry to storm the defenses.

Although this tactic was very simple, it was very effective.

Just as Yan Wang said, one trick is enough to conquer all.

Of course, there was one more point.

The Ma Family soldiers had never seen artillery before; the immense power of the artillery could greatly shock these soldiers and make them lose the will to resist.

Receiving the order, the artillerymen immediately pushed the artillery in front of the city wall, and soon, the loud sound of "Boom, boom, boom" rang out continuously.

Chang Wei stood behind the artillery, holding a Monocular to observe the situation.

After the artillery sounded, looks of terror appeared on the faces of the Ma Family soldiers, just like the Ma Family soldiers in the other cities he had attacked.

Chang Wei nodded to himself; although this county seat had over ten thousand soldiers, in his view, it would likely take only one day to capture it.

Just as he was thinking this, a Scout suddenly arrived in a hurry.

He arrived before him and handed him a letter.

"Flame." Seeing the mark on the envelope, Chang Wei's expression turned grave.

Tearing open the envelope and taking out the letter, he scanned the contents and his expression changed to one of great shock.

Ma Yuan and Ma Han noticed Chang Wei's expression, and their hearts immediately grew uneasy.

Since the start of the campaign, he had never seen such a grave expression on Chang Wei's face.

"The two of you, I fear we must retreat to Qin Pass and defend the pass to the death," Chang Wei said.

"What!" Ma Yuan and Ma Han cried out simultaneously, their faces full of disbelief.

Chang Wei handed the letter to Ma Yuan, his face dark as he remained silent.

Ma Yuan hurriedly read it, his face instantly turning as pale as paper, "How could my Ma Jin produce such a shameless person!"

"Bastard!" Ma Han clenched his fists tightly, his fingers digging into his palms until they bled.

The content of the letter was simple: Ma Jin had defected to Western Liang, and the Emperor of Western Liang had already enfeoffed him as the Prince of Qin.

This matter had already spread in Wuwei, and a Xiliang Army of sixty thousand men had already arrived at Xiao Pass, preparing to take control of it.

Furthermore, a large Xiliang force would follow to assist Ma Jin in resisting their attack.

The two were furious.

At this moment, another Scout arrived, came before Chang Wei, and said, "General, this subordinate has gathered some rumors: the Northern Di will join Western Liang in sending troops to Qinzhou."

Upon hearing this, Chang Wei's expression grew even gloomier; if Western Liang and the Northern Di formed an alliance, the large Northern Di army could freely pass through the territory of Western Liang.

This was not impossible.

After all, for them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"General, let us withdraw, otherwise I fear we won't even be able to hold Sizhou," Ma Han said after closing his eyes for a long time.

Once the large Xiliang force arrived, this place would flow with blood.

Yan Wang had already done so much for him; he did not want Yan Wang's troops to sacrifice themselves here in vain.

At the same time, he did not want the remaining troops of the Ma Family to die here.

Ma Yuan was silent for a long while; the walls of Xian City were high and thick, and it could not be taken in just a few days.

This time was enough for the Xiliang troops to arrive.

Although they were so close, they could no longer risk it for this final bit.

This time, the overall situation was set; the Ma Family was destined to be split in two.

"General Chang, please withdraw. In my view, Xian City is no longer important; the most important thing is to move as many of the people of Qinzhou and Yongzhou to Sizhou as possible, so they do not fall into the hands of Western Liang."

"Sigh..." Chang Wei let out a long sigh.

This news had likely reached him first.

It would probably take a few more days to reach Yan Wang.

PS: There is one more chapter, it will be late.