Tiger Guards

Chapter 659 Unreversible
Yan Xing's forceful breakthrough at Zhang County greatly boosted the morale of the rest of the army.

At midnight on the second day, two more armies, armed with open fire, crossed through the fields south of Zhang County.

On the city wall of Zhang County, Ma Chao stared at the two fat, fiery dragons that snaked along.

Ma Dai stood to the side and couldn't help but ask, "Brother?"

"This is a ruse by the rebel army to increase the number of cooking fires, showcasing their strength and intending to wear down the morale of our troops."

Ma Chao made his own judgment, but with his left hand on the hilt of his sword and his right hand resting on the railing, his index finger tapping rapidly, pondering the changing situation of the enemy and himself.

Ma Dai stepped closer and asked again, "Then what about an attack outside the city?"

"No, Han Sui is a cunning old scoundrel. He knows I am young and impetuous. Today, he deliberately sent two armies to carry torches to provoke my fighting spirit and dispel my doubts. There must be an ambush of the old scoundrel outside the city at this moment."

Ma Chao spoke with certainty, yet his expression remained doubtful: "Yesterday, the old thief sent Yan Xing to bypass the city, and today he has sent troops eastward again. This shows that the situation in Tianshui has changed drastically, and the old thief has no choice but to act."

Upon hearing this, Ma Dai looked worried and opened his mouth as if to ask something.

Seeing that Ma Chao remained silent, Ma Dai mustered his courage and asked in a low voice, "Brother, many officials and soldiers in the city are saying that the Grand Tutor will lead the elite troops of the central army to secretly arrive in Tianshui."

"This is not unfounded. There are also military officers in the city who came from the Tiger Guard. If they make this inference, it means that the Grand Tutor is not in Tianshui now, but will be coming to Tianshui soon."

Ma Chao did not reveal his judgment, but after the Ren family of Shandan Township led their clan and fellow villagers in rebellion, he cut off their contact with Tianshui.

Shandan is very close to Zhongtao City, where Ma Teng is located; they can be considered neighboring towns.

However, Zhongtao City belonged to Longxi Prefecture, while Shandan Township belonged to Tianshui Prefecture.

While Ma Teng was supervising the reinforcement of the Zhongtao City defense line, which was dozens of miles away, he paid no attention to the changes that had occurred in Shandan Township.

In terms of personality, Ma Teng is fundamentally law-abiding. Without Zhao Ji's authorization, Ma Teng would not have led his troops into Tianshui County to quell the rebellion.

Ma Chao suppressed his urge for revenge and remained inactive.

As dawn broke, the rebel army gathered within a radius of seven or eight miles outside the city, forming armored square formations and setting up camps in various locations. More Han and Qiang men broke through the frozen river to draw water and began to build and reinforce the defenses.

Ma Chao watched for a moment and saw these people digging soil and piling it up into low mounds, then pouring water on them, intending to build an ice wall.

The climate in Zhang County is similar to that in Tianshui. In winter, the soil in the fields is actually loose and easy to dig.

Even if it snows, it won't stay for long; it will melt in the strong midday sun or be blown by the wind to the shady mountains.

As a result, by midday, the earthen ramparts reinforced by the rebels with water had not frozen, rendering them merely a facade.

Only after nightfall, when the cold wind blows through, will it freeze solid.

Once it's completely frozen solid, it won't easily melt in the sun tomorrow.

"The rebel army is about to launch a major invasion eastward!"

Ma Chao made a judgment and determined that the day of the decisive battle was approaching, so he immediately ordered several smoke signals to be raised in the city.

After the three smoke signals rose, they spread rapidly eastward along the temporary beacon towers in the mountains.

With less than a quarter of an hour's delay, Ma Teng, located in Zhongtao City, saw plumes of smoke approaching.

He held Han Sui's handwritten letter in his hand, and Ma Teng hesitated.

In terms of personal style and temperament, Ma Teng disliked the idea of ​​an empress overseeing the country.

As one of the two heroes who ultimately triumphed in the Liangzhou battlefield, Ma Teng was also adept at maximizing his advantages and minimizing his disadvantages.

As Han Sui said, if he were to raise an army in response now, the situation in Xizhou would change drastically, the momentum of the loyalist movement would be established, and he would be able to lead his troops into the Three Auxiliary Regions, forming a pincer movement with the righteous army in Guandong, making it difficult for Zhao Ji to attend to both ends.

However, Ma Teng trusted Han Sui's judgment, but not his character. Ma Chao was currently a military supervisor under Zhao Ji, overseeing the various armies in Longxi—a typical case of low rank but high power.

This status is no less than that of Ma Teng today.

After the war, Ma Teng would definitely go to the Jinyang court to serve as a high-ranking official. Zhao Ji gave Ma Teng's former troops ten battalions, which was already a lot.

With ten battalions under his command and having accumulated merits through combat, a group of Ma's old subordinates would eventually emerge and fill positions in the central government and local areas.

The only downside is that Zhao Ji's marriage has already been arranged, so the Ma family can't get the position of the main wife, and even the concubine has a strong rival, Lü Bu's daughter.

The Ma family has extensive experience in using marriage alliances to become maternal relatives.

Ma Teng thought for a moment, then looked at his personal guard and said, "Take Han Wenyue's envoy to the West Garden to rest."

Having said that, Ma Teng put Han Sui's letter into his pocket, ignored the messenger Guo Li's shouts, and strode away.

The guard stepped forward and blocked Guo Li's path, saying, "Please."

Guo Li looked anxious, somewhat disappointed, and shouted at Ma Teng's departing figure, "The day to uphold justice for the world is here! Why is Lord Shoucheng so hesitant?"

"please."

The guards raised their arms in a gesture of respect. Guo Li wanted to say more, but two guards quickly came over, each grabbing one of Guo Li's arms behind his back and escorting him toward the West Garden.

"Let go, and I can walk on my own!"

Guo Li was just over twenty years old, full of vigor, shouting and struggling without any fear. The direct descendants of the Guo family of Xiping had a very strong temper.

Seeing this, the two guards relaxed and let Guo Li walk freely ahead.

The guards followed behind, having followed Ma Teng for so long, they naturally understood what it meant to send someone to the West Garden.

Liangzhou suffered greatly from turmoil, and its productivity was severely damaged.

If it wasn't necessary, this guard wouldn't want to get blood on himself, nor would he want Guo Li's clothes to be stained with blood.

He escorted Guo Li to the West Garden with six personal guards. When they arrived at the desolate West Garden, one of the guards took out a spare bowstring, and the other two suddenly took action and restrained Guo Li again.

Despite Guo Li's futile struggles, the sturdy bowstring still found its way around his neck, and he was strangled to death shortly afterward.

After completely stripping Guo Li of his clothes, the experienced guard then ordered a skilled decapitator to come forward and cut off Guo Li's head with a knife.

Throughout the process, their clothes remained clean, and the clothes left behind by Guo Li were also kept clean.

Even when they were dismembering Guo Li, they dragged him to a corner of the wall and did it in front of a pit, with the dirty blood flowing into the pit.

After the decapitated corpse has bled to death, it will be dragged outside the city and buried.

Before long, Guo Li's clean head, free of bloodstains, was presented to Ma Teng, who was already immune to such scenes.

After taking a closer look and confirming that it was indeed Han Sui's envoy, Ma Teng said, "Send this, along with Han Sui's letter, to General Han immediately."

This place is too close to Tianshui. Less than five days after the local tyrants and commoners of Shandan Township rebelled, some people had already run back yesterday to take their families into the mountains to seek refuge and become mountain dwellers.

This already shows that the situation in Tianshui is extremely unfavorable to the rebels, and at this moment, Ma Teng's position is even more steadfast.

Just as Ma Teng sent someone to present Guo Li's head and Han Sui's letter of persuasion to surrender to Han Shu's army, the defeated Ren clan troops retreated back to Shandan Township. They did not have time to collect their various properties, but only gathered their families and herds of animals before fleeing westward.

Although Zhongtao City, where Ma Teng was located, was a necessary passage for their westward escape, how could these people dare to take the main road?
They had no choice but to abandon their vehicles and walk on foot, leading their horses through rugged and treacherous mountain paths. Although they encountered Ma Teng's patrol team, this fleeing powerful clan, numbering over two thousand men and women, was far beyond the reach of a patrol team of a few dozen people.

Thus, after paying a small price, the Ren family's fleeing group crossed mountains and ravines, only to be intercepted by Yan Xing at nightfall.

(End of this chapter)