Xiaoqi

"Oh?" Li Li murmured, immediately put down the bamboo slips, and looked at the soldiers expressionlessly.His brows furrowed slightly.

"Let the brothers and sisters come in." After thinking for a while, Li Li waved his hand and said.

"No!" The soldiers retreated in response.

Immediately after that, Ma Chao and Ma Yunluo came hand in hand and walked into the big tent.As soon as they entered the tent, the two brothers and sisters bowed and saluted: "The final general will see the lord!"

"Meng Qi and Yun Luo are here. You don't need to be formal, just sit down and talk." Li Li nodded to signal Ma Chao and his brother and sister to get up and take their seats, and said with a smile: "Today our army first arrived in Longyou. Rest for a day. We will fight Ma Teng tomorrow. Meng Qi and Yun Luo must have something to do here, so it’s okay to be frank?”

Hearing Li Li's words, the expression of the young scribe standing on the right side of the big tent changed slightly, and he raised his eyes to look at Ma Chao and Ma Yunluo brothers and sisters meaningfully.

At first glance, Li Li's words seemed plain and ordinary, and they were all polite words.But he showed his attitude, and he was the first to win.Directly say that tomorrow will attack Jicheng.If the Ma Chao brothers and sisters came hand in hand, it was to intercede for his father Ma Teng.Asking Li Li to postpone sending troops to attack the city, there is no need to say more.

Although the young scribes could immediately hear the meaning behind Li Li's words, it's a pity that Ma Chao and his sister didn't.

I saw Ma Chao standing in the tent, and said in a respectful voice: "My lord Mingjian, the general wants to ask the lord not to attack the city for a while, and let the general go to the city to persuade my father to surrender. If my father is willing to surrender to the lord, it will be like the city of Huaili. Don't use swords and weapons, turn hostility into treasure, and avoid unnecessary casualties of the soldiers of the two armies. I don't know what the lord will do?"

Li Li nodded slightly with a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "Our soldiers recovered Huaili City and Youfufeng County without bloodshed. Meng Qi's contribution is indispensable. Military Division Wenhe has recorded your military exploits. After Liangzhou is pacified, I will be the general. As for the city of Ji, the two generals Guo Si and Yang Qiu led the army to besiege the city for more than ten days, but their father, General Ma Teng, did not see him open the city and ask him to surrender. His father must have made up his mind and insisted on fighting our army to the death. That being the case, there is no need for Meng Qi to go forward and talk about surrender, it is useless to talk more, our army and General Ma Teng will definitely have a battle!"

"This,,,,,,," Ma Chao's face changed drastically when he heard the words, and he looked at Ma Yunluo in amazement.Immediately, he still did not give up and begged: "My lord, please give the general another chance and let the general try it out. If you really can't convince my father, the general will be willing to obey the lord's dispatch and lead the army to attack the city in person without any complaints." !"

Li Li stared at Ma Chao with both eyes, and was silent for a while, then said in a low tone: "Your Majesty, Ma Teng was in charge of the army when the Qiang tribe rebelled, and then he supported himself and separated himself from one side. It has been several years. Although he is famous As the prefect of Xiliang, he actually secretly controls half of the counties and counties in Liangzhou, recruits soldiers wantonly, has nearly [-] cavalry, and divides Liangzhou equally with Jincheng Han Sui. The first time he joined forces to attack Wuwei County, repeatedly lost troops and lost generals, and returned in a big defeat. A few months ago, he joined forces with Han Sui again to attack Woxiu Horse Farm at night, and finally returned in a big defeat and almost died. For more than a year, our Wuwei Army He fought bloody battles with the Ma family army many times, and the two sides had such deep grievances that it was really difficult to stop fighting for peace.

Today, Meng Qi and Yun Luo could take the initiative to invite Ying to go to Jicheng to talk about surrendering their father, and they would have been very pleased with this.However, your father, Ma Teng, who has dominated Xiliang for many years and is arrogant, how could he easily surrender to me?What is your father's ambition, I think the two of you know very well.Even if he is at the end of his life, he will never bow down to me, Li Li!

To this day, wherever our Xiliang army is headed, all the counties and counties are waiting to surrender, but Father Ma Teng and Jincheng Han Sui still stubbornly resist and refuse to open the city to surrender.It can be seen from this that Meng Qi asked Ying to talk about surrendering his father, so it doesn't matter if he doesn't mention it.I would know that your brothers and sisters are Ma Teng's children, and you don't want to fight with your biological father. After all, filial piety is the foundation of one's life, and this would be completely understandable.How about this, you brothers and sisters don't have to participate in this battle, stay in the camp to rest for a few days, after our army captures Jicheng, you will continue to lead the army.Do you brothers and sisters have any objections to this? "

"Ah! My lord,,,,,," Ma Chao and Ma Yunluo were shocked when they heard the words, and immediately exclaimed.However, when they saw the irresistible expression on Li Li's face, they were speechless immediately, and bowed in disappointment, saying: "The last general takes orders."

Watching Ma Chao's brother and sister leave slowly, Li Li couldn't help shaking his head and sighing softly: "Ah! It's not that I, Li Li, don't have the capacity to tolerate others, but that Ma Teng is too ambitious and unwilling to let others down. It is impossible for him to surrender willingly. Me. Since he is stubborn, I will beat him until he has nowhere to hide and is at the end of his rope. At that time, he will naturally kneel down and beg before me, Li Li!"

"My lord is very true." Before Li Li finished speaking, the young scholar who had been standing quietly on the right side of the big tent suddenly echoed respectfully.

After Li Li heard the words.He pondered and said, "Oh, what's Xiao Zhi's opinion?"

That's right, the young scribe who has been standing beside Li Li to record and organize the bamboo slips is Fa Zheng, Fa Xiao Zhi, the son of Fa Yan.

Fazheng is under 17 years old, about the same age as Li Li's younger brother Li Xian.Right now, he has no formal official position, and temporarily stays beside Li Li as a clerk. He is responsible for sorting out the bamboo slips and writing general orders, uploading and distributing them. He can definitely be regarded as Li Li's close confidant.

After Fazheng heard the question, he bowed and walked down the hall.Said: "My lord, Ma Teng and Han Sui are different from other princes in Liangzhou, and they are completely different from Ma Wan, Yang Qiu, Cheng Yi and other generals under the lord's command. Han and Ma have been running Xiliang for many years, and their tentacles of influence are all over the place. The entire two prefectures of Xiliang can be said to have deep roots and a solid foundation. Now the lord wants to unify Xiliang and pacify Liangzhou. The influence of Han and Ma must be eradicated. To get rid of the intertwined forces of Han and Ma, we must base ourselves on Fight, wipe out the soldiers and horses in their hands, capture the cities they occupy, and uproot their remnants. Only in this way can the lord truly unify Liangzhou. Otherwise, even if the two of them voluntarily ask for surrender, the lord will also Can’t agree. Unless they are willing to hand over their troops, horses, money and food, leave Liangzhou, and go to Chang’an to serve as officials.”

"Hehehe!" Li Li laughed loudly when he heard the words, and said: "In the meaning of filial piety, the general must get rid of Ma Teng and Han Sui before he can completely control Liangzhou. If the general intends to leave a way out for them, So what?"

Fazheng looked slightly dazed, and said after thinking, "If my lord doesn't want to get rid of Han Sui and Ma Teng and spare their lives, I suggest that my lord confiscate the soldiers, horses, money and food in their hands, and promise them high officials and rich salary, and send them two People were transferred from Liangzhou to Chang'an Imperial City as officials. Afterwards, the lord can imitate the practice of Youfufeng County, rectify the officials and soldiers, and re-select officials to take over the counties in Liangzhou. Or, the lord can also reward some more gold and silver. They, let them be rich and spend the rest of their lives in peace. There is no other way. In addition, our army must not accept their request to surrender in name, but let them continue to garrison in place. If this is the case, they will definitely embrace their own self-respect, surrender and rebel, and they may even take advantage of our army's attack on the Central Plains to stab us from behind.

In the past ten years or so, Han and Ma have been capricious in this way, repeatedly turning danger into safety.Whenever the imperial army conquests and suppresses them, they immediately ask to surrender, but they are still entrenched in Xiliang territory; then once the situation changes, they will surrender and rebel, taking the opportunity to expand their territory, privately recruit soldiers, and grow step by step.Even in recent years, Han and Ma have separated Liangzhou and established themselves as vassals, looking at Guanzhong and the world as tigers.

These are the words from the bottom of my heart, my lord, please learn from me! "

"Huh?" When he heard Fazheng's last words, Li Li's eyebrows moved slightly, and he couldn't help but mutter.

Because Fazheng calls himself a humble minister, not a subordinate.

The title "Weichen" is not called casually, it is what the ministers call themselves when facing the king.In the past, Dong Zhuo held the position of father-in-law, above the emperor, so when the court officials faced Dong Zhuo, they called themselves humble ministers.In addition, some of the direct subordinates of the three princes' ministers' mansions will also call themselves Weichen in order to show their loyalty and demonstrate the prominent status of the master.

However, now that Fazheng calls himself a humble minister in front of Li Li, it seems that he regards himself as Li Li's direct confidant, so as to show his unwavering loyalty to Li Li.Of course, there is also a sense of flattery in this, and the meaning of deliberately flattering is very strong.

While pondering, Li Li smiled calmly, and said to Fazheng: "Xiaozhi has a quick mind and a long-term vision. What he just said hit the point and won my heart. I ordered Guo Si and Huang Zhong to count the siege equipment overnight and reward them The siege soldiers will attack Jicheng tomorrow morning. In addition, Feiying sent a letter to Li Xian of Wuwei County, ordering Li Zheng to lead the Longxiang Battalion and [-] infantry troops to Chen Bing on the border of Jincheng to deter Han Sui from Jincheng so that he would not dare to send troops to help Ma Teng!"

"My lord is wise. Our army and General Li Xian of Wuwei are advancing from east to west, and attacking from both sides. Han Sui must be too busy to take care of himself and dare not send troops to rescue Ma Teng. In this way, Ma Teng has no support, so he can only use his own army. Facing our army of [-] cavalry, we will definitely lose! I will immediately convey the command of the lord!" Fazheng responded with a cheerful smile.

Li Li nodded with a smile on his face and said: "Go. In the future, you will ask Wenhe military masters for advice on the art of war. As a disciple, you must listen more and learn more, and guard against arrogance and impetuosity. When you have learned something, our army must When you use troops against the states in the Central Plains, there will be a lot of opportunities to make meritorious deeds at that time, and I would like you to put what you have learned into practice and bring glory to the legal family!"

Fazheng's expression was shocked when he heard the words, and he bowed excitedly and said: "Thank you for your kindness, lord, Fazheng swears to be loyal to lord to the death! I will retire."

Seeing Fazheng leave quickly with a smile on his face, Li Li murmured to himself with a smile on his face: "Fa Xiaozhi really deserves his reputation, he is quick-witted, has a long-term perspective, and can be of great use! But he is still young at the moment, and his words and deeds are frivolous. , showing joy and anger, still needs some experience before he can be entrusted with a heavy responsibility!"

Chapter 350 Battle of Hanyang ([-])

The next day.

The rising sun shines brightly in the blue sky.

The morning dew fades away, and the flowers are red and the willows are green.

Under the city of Ji County.

The [-] Xiliang army was waiting in line, their horses neighing, their momentum majestic.

In the wilderness with a radius of ten miles, the soldiers are dense, the flags are flying, the bows and crossbows are strong, and the stone wells are thrown into the ground.

The front of the soldiers is strong, and the army is as powerful as a prison.

In front of the Chinese army, it was the first time for Li Li to sit in the Chinese army in a commoner gown. The golden beast king under his crotch was also not wearing armor. His golden mane was shining brightly, and the beast king was even more powerful than before.

Before the formation of the army, Huang Zhong's [-] infantry troops were waiting in battle, their morale was high, and the soldiers who climbed the city were eager to try, wishing to launch an offensive immediately.

Behind the infantry, Guo Bang, dressed in black battle armor, was sitting on the back of a green horse nearly one foot long and eight feet high.Behind him, [-] Tsinglong Battalion cavalry reined in their horses and stood proudly facing the rising sun, with high fighting spirit and extraordinary might.

This time to attack Jicheng, Huang Zhong personally led [-] infantry as the main force of the siege, supported by chariots, catapults and well fences, and Guo Si's cavalry supported the infantry.Once there is a flaw in the defense of Jicheng, the Qinglong Battalion will rush forward, attack the city gate, and break through the city in one fell swoop.

On the upper floor of Jicheng City.

Ma Teng looked down at the Xiliang army below the city with a gloomy face, his expression was stern and dignified, and a trace of undetectable worry flashed in his eyes.

At present, all his soldiers and horses are gathered in Jicheng, a total of [-] cavalry.

[-] soldiers and horses sounded like a lot of people at first glance, and it was not much different from the [-] Xiliang Army. In addition, they were on the side of the city, waiting for work at ease.Fully able to defend the city.However, the actual situation is not optimistic.

The family knows their own affairs.

How the 3 soldiers and horses in the city were acquired may not be known to others, but Ma Teng himself knows it well.Among the 2 sergeants, less than [-] were actually elite soldiers from the Ma family army, and the remaining [-] infantry were all county soldiers from Hanyang County, Hanyang, and Anding counties.Most of these guarding county soldiers are old, weak and remnant soldiers, less than [-]% of them are young and strong, and they have been neglected for a long time.

If only so.Ma Teng was also sure that he would not lose the city of Ji, so that Li Li's army fell under the city of Ji County and returned without success.The most deadly thing is that at present, his direct descendant, the Ma family army, is not united, and is deadlocked on the issue of war and surrender.As a result, the morale of the army is unstable and the hearts of the people are scattered.

Ma Jiajun is the beginning of Ma Teng.It has always been run by himself and his sons.There is no outsider among the main generals.However, now his two sons and nephews have the intention to ask Li Li to surrender, and they are unwilling to fight to the death with the Xiliang army.

Ma Teng has three sons, the eldest son Ma Chao, the second son Ma Tie, and the youngest son Ma Xiu.also.He also has a very talented nephew, Ma Dai.Of course, he also has a daughter who is not liked by him, the "rebellious daughter" Ma Yunluo who doesn't love women and loves swords and guns.

Ma Tie is still young.Only 17 years old, young and immature, lack of prestige in the army, unable to convince the masses.Matthew is younger, young and inexperienced, and is still in the stage of military experience.Nowadays, among the Ma family army, the one who is really capable of taking charge of the soldiers and horses and who is trusted and respected by Ma Teng is Ma Dai.

Ma Dai is Ma Teng's nephew.He grew up with Ma Chao since he was a child. He is a few months younger than Ma Chao.The two cousins ​​have a deep bond of friendship. They practice martial arts together, train soldiers together, go through life and death together, and share weal and woe.During the Battle of Heilongling, Ma Chao was seriously injured and was unable to escape from Wuwei County immediately, so he stayed in Wuwei to recuperate his wounds, while Ma Dai led the Ma Jiajun to escape the Wuwei Army's pursuit and fled back to Fufeng County.After more than half a year, there was no news of Ma Chao, and Ma Dai thought he had died in battle, so he followed Ma Teng repeatedly to wait for the opportunity to take revenge on the Wuwei army.In the battle of Dongshankou and the night attack on Xiutu City, Ma Dai took the lead and performed extremely bravely. He gradually replaced Ma Chao in the Ma family army and was in charge of [-] cavalry.

It was originally a good thing that Ma Dai grew up so quickly. Ma Teng was happy to see the success, and he trusted and reused Ma Dai more and more.However, after the Battle of Bahe, Ma Chao suddenly appeared under Li Li's command after half a year, and was reused by Li Li. He defeated Lu Bu's general Zhang Liao before the battle, and became famous in Xiliang in one fell swoop.When Ma Dai learned that Ma Chao not only did not die but had defected to Li Li's command, it coincided with the time when Han Sui and Ma Teng's allied forces attacked Xiutu Racecourse and returned home in defeat.Afterwards, Ma Dai's hatred for Wuwei Li Li quickly faded, and he felt that perhaps it was not a bad thing for Ma Jiajun to join Li Li, but a wise move.After all, after the pacification of the Chang'an Rebellion, Wuwei Li Li's strength increased dramatically. He took over the Xiliang army left by Dong Zhuo with full power, and still controlled the present day in his hands.

After Li Li took charge of Chang'an, the situation in Xiliang took a turn for the worse. Looking at the whole of Xiliang, all the princes, bandit leaders and surrounding barbarians, no one dared to challenge Li Li.Half a month ago, Li Li personally led an army of [-] to march westward. After hearing the news, the remaining forces in Xiliang either voluntarily surrendered to Li Li's army, or fled the two prefectures of Xiliang to find another way of life.

Seeing that Li Li's army was unstoppable and the situation was so severe, Ma Dai and Ma Tie suggested that Ma Teng lead his troops to surrender to Li Li, so as to save them from being defeated by the pebbles and the fate of defeat.