Chapter 352: Deterioration

Ma Cheng looked back at Wuwei City and held the imperial edict tightly.

From now on, he will be a minister of Xiliang.

He did not feel any guilt for rebelling against Dasong.

At this moment, he was just excited, thinking that his brother had made the right decision in this chaotic world.

Xiliang surrendered to Beidi, and the world knew it.

Emperor Zhao Heng in Jinling City could not sleep all night because of this.

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

Xiliang was originally a strong enemy in the northwest of Dasong, and it won more battles with Dasong than it lost.

Beidi was an even more terrifying northern enemy. Ten years ago, it went all the way south and took Ningjindusi into its pocket.

It forced the court at that time to almost seek peace on the condition of annual tribute.

Now, these two powerful enemies have merged into one, and there is no doubt that they will attack Dasong with all their strength in the future.

Under the front of the army, he did not believe that Dasong could resist Xiliang and Beidi at the same time.

Destruction is only a matter of sooner or later.

So, when Ma Jin revealed this to him, he immediately agreed and took the initiative to ask to go to Xiliang.

"King of Qin, this is a hundred times better than the Ma family." Ma Cheng's mouth curled up.

Waving the whip, he urged the horse to rush to Xiancheng.

Three days later.

He arrived in Xiancheng, and before he reached the city gate, he saw soldiers coming and going on the official road in a hurry.

Entering Xiancheng, he came to the Ma family mansion and handed the document to Ma Jin.

"Congratulations, brother, now you are the King of Qin in Xiliang." Ma Cheng bowed and smiled.

At this time, Ma Chang was also there. He glanced at the content of the imperial edict and saluted, saying: "The last general Ma Chang, see His Majesty the King of Qin."

"Hahaha..." Ma Jin read the imperial edict over and over again and laughed out loud.

Now, he finally has a backer.

With the support of Xiliang, and Xiliang is also a minister of Beidi, what is he afraid of?

He asked someone to carefully put away the document, and asked, "When will the Xiliang troops arrive?"

"The Xiliang Chanyu said they will arrive soon, and the first batch of troops should arrive at Xiaoguan now." Ma Cheng thought about it.

Ma Jin remembered his promise to Xiliang and said to Ma Chang, "Send someone to Xiaoguan immediately and order them to withdraw from Xiaoguan and hand Xiaoguan over to the Xiliang army."

"Yes, Your Highness." Ma Chang clasped his fists and left.

At this time, Ma Cheng remembered the scene on the road and asked, "Brother, what's going on outside the city? Why are the soldiers so panicked?"

Ma Jin's face suddenly fell, "Ma Han and the troops of the King of Yan have passed Fufeng County and have captured the county town east of Xian County. It is estimated that they will arrive in Xiancheng in a few days, so this imperial edict is really timely. Otherwise, you and I can only wait for death."

"I see, but brother, you don't have to worry now." Ma Cheng sneered, "With our troops and the troops of Xiliang, no matter how powerful the King of Yan is, I am afraid he will be defeated in Qinzhou."

Ma Jin nodded proudly.

...

Gan County.

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

"General Chang, Ding County is ahead, and Xiancheng is after Ding County." Ma Han pointed to the front.

At this moment, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This battle was easier than he thought, and it was basically a crushing defeat.

In addition to the powerful army of the King of Yan, of course, there was also the factor that the soldiers of the Ma family surrendered at the sight of the enemy.

This time, if Xiancheng is taken and Ma Jin is captured alive, the unrest of the Ma family will be quelled.

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

He has not recovered from the war in Jinzhou, and this time he came to the Ma family's territory to fight, which made him even more physically and mentally exhausted.

So although he and Ma Han have the same goal, they want different things.

In one day, the army arrived in Ding County.

Camping outside the city, Chang Wei frowned at the dense soldiers on the city wall.

From Qinguan to the west, the further west, the more troops Ma Jin deployed.

Although Ding County is a county town, it is even denser than the soldiers on the wall of Fufeng City.

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

Now the soldiers of the royal palace have a mature way of fighting, and it works every time.

That is to bombard the city gate, city wall and other parts with artillery.

The flintlock soldiers suppressed the enemies on the city wall, and then ordered the heavy infantry to attack.

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

As the King of Yan said, one trick can conquer the world.

Of course, there is one more thing.

The Ma family soldiers had never seen artillery before, and the huge power of the artillery could greatly deter these soldiers and make them lose the will to resist.

After receiving the order, the artillerymen immediately pushed the artillery in front of the city wall, and soon there were loud "boom boom boom" noises.

Chang Wei stood behind the artillery, holding a monocular telescope to observe the movement.

After the artillery sounded, the Ma family soldiers all showed fear on their faces, just like the Ma family soldiers when he attacked other cities.

Chang Wei nodded secretly. Although there were more than 10,000 soldiers in this county, in his opinion, it would take only one day to take it down.

He was thinking, when suddenly a scout came in a hurry.

He handed him a letter when he arrived in front of him.

"Flame." Chang Wei saw the mark on the envelope and his face was solemn.

He tore open the envelope, took out the letter, glanced at the contents, and looked shocked.

Ma Yuan and Ma Han noticed Chang Wei's expression and felt uneasy.

He had never seen such a solemn expression on Chang Wei's face during the days of the expedition.

"You two, I'm afraid we have to withdraw to Qinguan and defend the pass to the death." Chang Wei said.

"What!" Ma Yuan and Ma Han shouted at the same time, with a look of disbelief.

Chang Wei handed the letter to Ma Yuan, with a gloomy face and no words.

Ma Yuan hurried to see it, his face suddenly turned pale, "How could I, Ma Jin, be such a shameless person!"

"Son of a bitch!" Ma Han clenched his fist tightly, and his fingers were bleeding.

The content of the letter was very simple. Ma Jin had defected to Xiliang, and the Xiliang Chanyu had appointed him as the King of Qin.

This matter had spread in Wuwei, and a 50,000-man Xiliang army had arrived at Xiaoguan, ready to take over Xiaoguan.

There were also follow-up generals from the Xiliang army coming to help Ma Jin resist their attack.

The two were extremely angry.

At this time, another scout came and came to Chang Wei, and the scout said: "General, I have heard some rumors that Beidi will send troops to Qinzhou together with Xiliang."

Chang Wei's face became even gloomier when he heard this. Now Xiliang is Beidi, Beidi is Xiliang, and Beidi can freely pass through the territory of Xiliang.

This is not impossible.

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

"General, withdraw the troops, otherwise I'm afraid even Sizhou won't be able to be defended." Ma Han closed his eyes and said for a long time.

As long as the Xiliang army arrives, there will be a river of blood here.

The King of Yan has done a lot for him, and he doesn't want the King of Yan's troops to sacrifice here in vain.

At the same time, he doesn't want the remaining Ma family troops to die here.

Ma Yuan was silent for a long time. Xiancheng has high walls and thick walls, and it will take more than a few days to capture.

This time is enough for the Xiliang troops to arrive.

Although it's just a little bit short, they can't take this risk again.

This time, the overall situation has been determined, and the Ma family is destined to be divided into two.

"General Chang, please withdraw. In my opinion, Xiancheng is no longer important at the moment. The most important thing is to move the people of Qinzhou and Yongzhou to Sizhou as much as possible to prevent them from falling into the hands of Xiliang."

"Ah..." Chang Wei sighed.

This news is probably the first to reach him.

It will probably take a few days to reach the hands of the King of Yan.