Chapter 686: Under the Pass

"Kill!"

The gates of Xiao Pass swung wide open, and the Ma Family soldiers launched their charge, a multitude of soldiers pouring into the gate like a tide, rushing toward the Northern Di soldiers inside Xiao Pass.

The Ma Family soldiers were already more than twice the number of the Northern Di soldiers.

On the battlefield, they held the numerical advantage.

Upon spotting Northern Di soldiers in the distance, they picked up their Rifled Muskets and fired.

Upon finding Northern Di soldiers hiding in corners, they tossed a Hand Grenade over.

Yet even so, it was impossible to avoid some Northern Di Cavalry using the buildings to suddenly close in for hand-to-hand combat.

But even when encountering such Northern Di soldiers, they felt no fear.

Raising their bayonets, they began to slaughter the Northern Di soldiers.

After this period of training, the Ma Family soldiers were proficient in Bayonet Technique, and the soldiers coordinated with each other tacitly.

One soldier would thrust at the Northern Di's upper body, while another would thrust at the lower body.

The Northern Di could not dodge in time and were continuously killed under the bayonets.

However, the Northern Di people had always been savage and fierce.

In the hand-to-hand fighting, there were also casualties among the Ma Family soldiers.

But compared to the Northern Di, the number was much smaller.

For a long time, the soldiers of Great Song feared the horse archery of the Northern Di the most.

In close-quarters combat, although the Northern Di soldiers had the upper hand, the advantage was not great.

Moreover, during this time, the Ma Family soldiers had undergone rigorous training, and their food had also improved significantly.

Not only was their Bayonet Technique very proficient, but their physical fitness was also much stronger than before.

Their strength was no worse than the meat-eating Northern Di soldiers.

The Northern Di soldiers became more and more alarmed as they fought.

Among the armies of Great Song, the ones they feared most were the soldiers of Yan Wang.

It was said that the soldiers of Yan Wang were extremely fierce; whether it was firearms or hand-to-hand combat, they, the Northern Di soldiers, could not gain any advantage.

But they held the Shizu Army of Great Song in great contempt, viewing them as mere clay chickens and pottery dogs.

Yet right now, the Ma Family Army before them seemed as if they had been reborn.

Upon engaging in battle, they immediately suffered a great loss.

Originally, they thought they could turn the tide of defeat through hand-to-hand combat.

But now, they had completely lost confidence.

As more and more Ma Family soldiers poured into the pass, the Northern Di soldiers were beaten back repeatedly, retreating from the south of the city all the way to the north.

Seeing that they could not hold Xiao Pass, they scrambled onto their horses and fled north in defeat.

Half an hour later, the gunfire ceased, and the Ma Family soldiers had completely occupied Xiao Pass.

At this moment, Ma Han arrived at the north of the city and looked toward the Northern Di Cavalry disappearing into the horizon; a thick smile appeared on his face.

For him, taking Xiao Pass meant cutting off the Northern Di's path into Qinzhou by land.

From now on, he only needed to patrol the banks of the Jin River to prevent the Northern Di from crossing, and he could completely block the Northern Di outside of Qinzhou and Yongzhou.

At the same time Ma Han captured Xiao Pass, Dian Zhang's offensive against Yongzhou was also like splitting bamboo.

There were not many garrison troops in the cities within Yongzhou, and he fought his way through, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

After occupying Yongcheng, he immediately sent Cavalry to Xiao Pass to report the battle situation to Ma Han.

Five days later, he received orders to leave three thousand soldiers to garrison Yongcheng and patrol the Jin River, while the remaining troops were to head to Wuguan to rendezvous.

Immediately, he led his troops southward.

After four days of trekking, he saw the Ma Family Army and Ma Han under Wuguan.

"I left thirty thousand troops at Xiao Pass and kept half of the Mortars and Field Artillery there; if the Northern Di raises an army to retake the pass, they should be able to hold it."

As the two armies met, Ma Han and Dian Zhang climbed a raised hillside outside Wuguan, and Ma Han said this.

Dian Zhang nodded, "With these thirty thousand troops, even if the Northern Di comes with an army of three hundred thousand, they won't be able to retake Wuguan. Furthermore, in this subordinate's opinion, the Northern Di will not be foolish enough to send a large army to attack the city; they cannot possibly have forgotten the disastrous defeat under Yan Pass."

Ma Han deeply agreed; he thought the same.

However, one must always fear the 'what if', which is why he left behind thirty thousand troops.

With these thirty thousand troops, Qinzhou and Yongzhou would be like an iron barrel; the Northern Di would never be able to send troops into the two provinces again.

At the same time, on the way to Wuguan, he had already dispatched Cavalry back to Sizhou.

He ordered the Sizhou Government Office to send officials to take over the counties of the two provinces, so as to stabilize Qinzhou and Yongzhou as quickly as possible and get them on the right track.

In addition, when Qinzhou and Yongzhou fell, a large number of commoners poured into Sizhou.

Although some of the commoners were relocated to Yanzhou by him due to the trade with Yan Wang at the time, there were still many commoners from the two provinces lingering there.

Now, they could relocate these commoners back to the two provinces and let them return to their hometowns to resume farming.

Thinking of this, a wave of joy filled his heart.

The Ma Family had once controlled three provinces and had finally endured all hardships; they could finally return to the right track.

His three ambitions: first, to retake Qinzhou and Yongzhou; second, to kill Ma Jin; third, to take revenge on Dou Wei.

Two of these had already been completed, and now the only thing remaining was to take revenge on the Dou Family.

Looking toward the city walls of Wuguan, Ma Han's eyes narrowed.

He said to Dian Zhang, "Southern Liang has dispatched two hundred thousand troops to Qizhou; at present, Southern Liang's military strength is empty. As long as we take Wuguan, we can drive straight in."

Dian Zhang laughed, "Wuguan is only guarded by thirty thousand Southern Liang troops; taking it is as easy as turning over one's hand."

Ma Han nodded slightly, picked up the Telescope, and looked toward the city walls.

During this period, Southern Liang had been expanding southward, competing with Wu for the Imperial Clan territory in Jiangnan, and its main military forces were deployed in the south.

Furthermore, with Southern Liang and the Northern Di currently allied, there is even less need to station a large army at Wuguan.

After all, even if the Northern Di harbored malicious intent and attacked Wuguan, these thirty thousand men would be able to hold them off for a period of time, enough for them to mobilize troops to provide support.

As for the Ma Family, Southern Liang likely does not even hold them in any regard.

If the Ma Family Army wants to attack Wuguan, they must first drive the Northern Di out of Qinzhou and Yongzhou.

Based on their common knowledge, that would be impossible in less than a year or so.

They might even be wiped out by the Northern Di.

Therefore, the Southern Liang garrison commander at Wuguan was quite shocked when the Ma Family troops suddenly gathered beneath the walls of Wuguan.

This could be seen to some extent from the expression of the Southern Liang garrison commander through the Telescope.

"Dou Kuang." Seeing the face of the Wuguan garrison commander clearly, Ma Han was slightly surprised.

He was naturally no stranger to Dou Kuang, as he had also spent some time at the Imperial Academy in Jingshi.

It was just that as the eldest son of Dou Wei, Dou Kuang had been sent to garrison Wuguan, which showed he had been sidelined.

But that was to be expected.

Dou Wei had the former Third Prince, now Dou Mu, ascend the throne as emperor.

He naturally harbored misgivings toward this eldest son of Dou Wei.

Dou Wei naturally did not want there to be conflict between the two, so sending him to the Southern Liang border was understandable.

Regardless, for Southern Liang, as long as Wuguan remained stable and secure, the position of Wuguan garrison commander was merely a sinecure.

"Let the soldiers rest for one day, we attack the city tomorrow." Ma Han issued the order; he could not wait to take Wuguan.

The next day.

In the early morning, the red glow of the clouds dyed the earth crimson.

The Ma Family soldiers, having rested for a day, had recovered their vigor.

After eating, they wiped down their muskets and hung their Hand Grenades from their waists.

Immediately, led by their commanders, they moved into their respective positions.