Chapter 121: Xinfeng City Falls
The defenders of Xinfeng City were already in despair.

After the military performance, the Qingzhou soldiers retreated to the foot of Mount Li and participated in logging.

It was almost nightfall when they finished digging a trench and laying an arc-shaped fence, and the defensive work for the night was completed.

It could have been repaired better, but the black bear chose to rest early.

A composite defensive structure consisting of trenches and fences had only one function: to resist cavalry charges at night.

At night, the black bear lay on his back beside the campfire, half-closed his eyes, and controlled Lu Bu to ride alone, acting as the outermost guard.

In this state, the divine general Lu Bu has transformed into the most terrifying killing machine.

As long as a deer appeared within the patrol range, even if it was a lost, frightened deer pretending to be dead, Lu Bu would chop it down with his halberd.

Just as Black Bear was in a half-asleep state, the east and north gates of Xinfeng City slowly opened, and Lu Bu happened to be patrolling to the east of Xinfeng.

The knights leaving the city approached Lu Bu, and Lu Bu immediately chased and killed them after noticing them.

The god-like general Lu Bu does not need eyes to observe things. Under the cover of darkness, the elite cavalry leaving the city could not react in time and were killed by Lu Bu.

About a dozen people came out of the north gate and jumped into the Wei River and swam to the other side.

Du Ji was lucky. As he was a little older, he gave up riding a horse and walked out of the north gate, where he almost drowned in the cold and turbid Wei River.

This section of the Wei River is not turbulent, but there are large areas of mud and shoals on both sides. If you are unlucky and get stuck in the mud, it is normal to drown if you are frightened.

A dozen people encountered Ma Chao's patrol and were led into the military camp.

Inside the tent, Ma Chao paced back and forth. He had already sent Ma Dai to personally explain the complicated situation here to Ma Teng.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he also didn't want to bow his head in front of Ma Teng.

But the fact is obvious that Tai Shi Wen Gong is less afraid of death than him, and his desperate duel tactics are inferior to Tai Shi Wen Gong in momentum, courage, and skills.

This bad news must be given to Ma Teng so that he can prepare for the worst.

Soon Du Ji and others changed their clothes and appeared in Ma Chao's military tent.

Ma Chao's face was dull: "Is it possible that the city can hold out?"

"Morale is completely gone and there is no reason to be optimistic."

Du Ji was the most senior person, and even at this point, he spoke clearly and in a deep voice: "Commander-in-chief Meng Qi, do you have any way to persuade the enemy generals to rebel? Guanzhong is where the emperor's mausoleum is located, and it is the backbone of the country. We must not lose it. If we can use our official title to persuade the enemy generals, we can save the situation from collapse."

“Very difficult.”

Seeing the others lowering their heads and looking listless, Ma Chao said, "I heard that the leader of the White Goose Bandits had a grudge against Cao Sikong, and because of this grudge, he went to Hebei and then to Jianghuai, and then to Jingzhou, and then crossed Wuguan to come to Guanzhong. His will for revenge is so resolute, which is rare in ancient and modern times, and cannot be moved by official titles."

"Mengqi, the country cannot lose Guanlong."

Du Ji emphasized, "The General of the Northern Expedition has already established his own government. It is not a bad idea for the Northern Expedition Shogunate to send an envoy to persuade this person, and then submit a petition to the court. The official title is granted by the court, so what is the connection with the Sikonggong Mansion?"

Du Ji tried to downplay the incident as much as possible, but he had already noticed that Ma Chao's breathing was becoming heavy through his nostrils.

Everyone knows that the Secretariat, controlled by Shangshu Ling Xun Yu, only listens to the memorials from the Sikong Mansion.

This was the Han system. The Secretariat was in charge of issuing imperial edicts, but it only had the power to review and reject them. Only the various policy proposals and personnel proposals from the government offices were submitted to the Secretariat, and only then could the Secretariat review whether to approve them.

There is only one Sikong Mansion in the Central Plains, and the Shangshu Tai has always obeyed Sikong Mansion.

As for the General Shanggong's office in Hebei, Liu Biao's Zhennan office in Jingzhou, and the two newly established general offices of Ma Teng and Han Sui in Guanlong, it is obvious that their influence cannot penetrate deep into the Shangshu Tai in Xudu.

Liu Bei’s Left General’s office was a normal general’s office, not a public office of the Yitong Sansi.

According to Du Ji's proposal, it means that the Xudu Secretariat will approve a request from Ma Teng's Northern Expedition Shogunate.

Now that we have started the first one, how could we be missing the second one?
According to Du Ji's explanation, the one who had a grudge against the White Goose Bandit Chief was Sikong Cao Cao. What did this have to do with the Han Dynasty court? What did this have to do with the Zhengbei Shogunate?
Make the Black Bear's hatred clear and specifically point it at the Sikong Mansion, giving the Zhengbei Shogunate and the Sili Xiaowei an opportunity to win over and instigate rebellion.

We are all ministers of the Han Dynasty, so it is normal for us to have hatred towards each other. Can the hatred between you, Black Bear, and Cao Cao be greater than that between Ma Teng and Han Sui?
Ma Chao couldn't help but be excited. As long as he quickly joined forces with General Hu Ya and Black Bear, it would be equivalent to adding a fresh force to Guanzhong and seriously thwart Hebei's conspiracy diplomatically.

The situation in Hedong became clear and there were no additional changes.

After repelling the offensive of Yuan Tan and Qian Zhao, we will turn around and slowly settle accounts with the Hu Ya Army.

Ma Chao was very excited, and what was even more excited was that Du Ji began to recognize the influence of the Zhengbei Shogunate.

Just as Ma Chao was getting excited, someone outside the tent shouted, "General! The enemy army is attacking at night!"

"what!"

Ma Chao jumped off the bed without even wearing shoes, walked out of the tent quickly, and saw dense torches on the south bank surrounding Xinfeng City.

"Bang the drum!"

With a shout, Ma Chao quickly walked towards the nearby grain cart and stood on top of the four-square carriage. He stared at Nan'an and said, "He is so anxious!"

Du Ji and others also came out and looked at the offensive on the south bank. They saw that the siege troops were very brave and had already attacked the city wall. The torch team quickly occupied the northern wall of Xinfeng.

As if there was no resistance, the bandits holding torches ran wildly and easily captured the north gate tower.

The melody of drums began to resound in the camp. Soldiers in the camp put on armor and clothes, and gathered out of the tents one after another. The spare torches were also lit one after another.

Some of the soldiers guarding the camp approached the fence to guard against possible attacks. Du Ji came near the grain cart and said to Ma Chao: "Don't hesitate any longer. If we can't unite with the Tiger Tooth Army, we can only serve the enemy."

"I don't believe he can break into the city in the middle of the night!"

Ma Chao was filled with hatred. If the Inspector of the Imperial Guards, Zhong Yao, was expelled, his army would be in danger of collapse.

If he loses this army, when will he be able to lead an army on his own and achieve great achievements?

Seeing that Ma Chao was still stubborn, Du Ji immediately asked, "Doesn't the commander know about the failure of Duyang?"

The preliminary battle before the disastrous defeat at Bowangpo was when Black Bear broke through Duyang in one night and captured Wumeng Duwei Lu Chang alive.

The capture of Lu Chang's troops meant that the gentry in the northeastern counties of Nanyang who were against Liu Biao and loyal to Cao Cao were uprooted.

Ma Chao had already guessed that if Xinfeng City was breached tonight, it would definitely be because the historian Wengong and Gan Ning were the first to reach it.

They destroyed the defenders' morale during the day and stole the city at night. It was obvious that the White Goose Thieves already had an effective plan to break into the city.

But now, even if Ma Chao wanted to rescue or send troops to the south bank to contain the enemy's offensive, it would be impossible!
Ma Chao does not have that many ships. The largest fleet in Guanzhong is currently in the upper reaches of the Wei River and is in the hands of Ma Teng.

At this moment, Ma Chao felt more and more suffocated.

With the fall of Xinfeng, the existence of the Tiger Tooth Army could no longer be concealed, nor could its battle record be concealed.

Such a sharp offensive will only accelerate the rebellion of the Hedong people!
Ma Chao was still standing in the carriage. After a long time, he came to his senses and felt extremely tired.

This battle cannot be fought anymore, he no longer knows how to fight.

Ever since he put together this Hedong intervention coalition, he never thought about facing such an embarrassing situation!
According to human nature, if the people of Hedong rebelled and cooperated with the Bingzhou troops and the various Hu tribes to invade Guanzhong, then the generals of Guanzhong should have united their forces to fight against the common enemy.

Unfortunately, it was not the case. The real reason why Ma Chao quickly formed this small coalition was that many people were rushing to Hedong to make money!

Ever since the various leaders of the Baibo Army intervened in the court disputes, Hedong has returned to peace, and the common people and the powerful have accumulated too much wealth.

If we go to Hedong County to fight against the invading reinforcements, everyone can make a fortune.

No matter how badly the war is fought, it will not affect our hometown.

Therefore, many people felt at ease and joined Ma Chao's small coalition with great enthusiasm.

But now that the Black Bears have captured Xinfeng, it means that the offensive and defensive situations have changed between them and the Hedong people.

In order to seize the opportunity to seize Hedong, the people of Guanzhong actively joined Ma Chao's small coalition; in order to seize Guanzhong, once the people of Hedong rebelled, a large number of young and strong people would lead their troops to join the war!
As long as the enemy army has not reached their hometown, most of the heroes in Guanzhong will keep their heads down and pretend to be blind!
My good situation is about to collapse!

Unless they can persuade the Huya Army to change their stance and join them in supporting the Han Dynasty and fighting against the Hebei rebels.

In order to persuade the black bear, Du Ji waited until dawn before crossing the Weishui River by boat and arriving at the south bank again.

The guards patrolling on the shore led him, and when they arrived at the north gate of Xinfeng, Du Ji couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

The north gate was wide open, and all citizens who wanted to leave the city were allowed to pass, but they were not allowed to take any property or food with them.

In addition to women, even a seven or eight-year-old boy with a pigtail would have his hair cut by the guards when leaving the city gate.

Du Ji looked at two or three hundred people getting their hair cut at the same time and felt it was absurd and horrified: "Why is this happening?"

A captain of a hundred soldiers on duty at the city gate said, "My commander is kind and could not bear to see them separated from their families, so he allowed them to return home. He was also worried that they would join the army and rebel in the near future, so he shaved their heads. Next time we capture someone with short hair, we will behead them."

As they were talking, someone was heard struggling and shouting, "It's unfair! I'm a Buddhist Taoist! I often cut my hair. This is a custom. I'm not a captive who escaped!"

"Injustice!"

The Qingzhou soldiers in charge of the execution didn't care. They dragged him outside the city gate and didn't go far. In front of the people waiting in line to have their hair shaved, the leading officer shouted, "Don't let our army capture you again before your hair grows back. Otherwise, you will be an example to others!"

As Du Ji said this and waved his hand, the short-haired Taoist monk was beheaded by the Qingzhou soldiers about ten steps away.

After the execution, the military officer grabbed the short-haired Buddhist Taoist's head and held it up, glancing at the man who was cutting his hair: "Go to the north bank and run away!"

Some of the prisoners in line were pulled back by their families and retreated back into the city, ready to accept their fate of being exterminated again.

At the city gate, captured garrison officers and officials were being screened one by one to prevent any officials from blending in with the civilians and escaping to the north bank.

All these officials had their heads shaved before dawn.

Du Ji saw Zhang Ji with a dull expression. Perhaps the bald head had dealt a great psychological blow to Zhang Ji. Du Ji looked at him several times before he was sure that this person was Zhang Ji.

Soon they found the evasive Jingzhao Yin Zhang Shi, whose hair and beard were shaved off.

Fortunately, he and Du Ji were friends in their youth, so Du Ji managed to recognize him.

Du Ji looked again at the shaved-headed people who volunteered to swim across the Wei River, and then at the Buddhist Taoist priests who were beheaded.

It is clear that the other party wants to use these people to spread the news of the fall of Xinfeng City.

Unless Ma Chao on the north bank immediately organizes soldiers to intercept and kill them, the entire Hedong county will rebel within five or seven days at the earliest!
Many people who wanted to leave the city retreated, and the city gate corridor was wide open.

The captured officials in charge of screening also covered their faces and turned their backs to Du Ji to avoid being recognized.

Du Ji also tried his best not to see his former colleagues so as not to stimulate their sensitive self-esteem.

(End of this chapter)