Chapter 71: Guest from Liaodong

  In April, western Liaoning finally welcomed the real spring season. At the same time, White Wolf City also welcomed its first noble guest from eastern Liaoning, a familiar face: Liu Yi, the chief clerk of the governor's office of eastern Liaoning.

  Liu Yi did not come empty-handed, he brought the second batch of military rations, fodder, weapons and various military supplies, as well as 300 soldiers to make up for battle losses. From this point on, Gong Sun Du can be said to be very generous and enthusiastic, if it were someone else, they would probably be overwhelmed with gratitude.

  Ma Huan was also very grateful, at least on the surface. Liu Yi saw a white wolf city guard who was full of gratitude. Ma Huan's reception standard for him was also very high, personally going out of the city three miles to welcome him, and even not following the rules for receiving envoys, arranging him to stay in the post house, but instead sweeping the threshold to wait in the side courtyard of the city guard mansion.

  Liu Yi was very satisfied. This time he came as an envoy, with a mission, and whether this mission could be accomplished smoothly depended on whether Bai Lang City Guardian Ma Hong would obey - at least superficially. After a preliminary investigation, Liu Yi drew a conclusion: this man can be used.

  In the inner chamber, after ordering everyone to withdraw, Liu Yi took out a letter with a red seal from his brocade bag and handed it to Ma Xun.

  Ma Xun took a look, the letterhead was "Liaodong Jun Qi Duwei, Ling Bailu Cheng Shou Ma Jinglong Qinqi", and the signature was "Liaodong Taishou Fu Ya". He understood in his heart that this was a secret letter from Gongsun Du to himself. After opening it, Ma Xun's eyebrows rose, and then his expression calmed down. Even Liu Yi looked at him repeatedly, but couldn't see anything unusual.

  For a moment, the inner chamber was quiet and almost dead silent, with stagnant air. Even Liu Yi, who had a good temperament, couldn't help but feel a little impatient. He casually stroked the jade Ruyi at his waist and asked, "What's your intention regarding the city defense?"

  Ma Huan slowly opened his mouth: "Donglai is in chaos, bandits are rampant, and it's indeed a good opportunity to take advantage of. However, the Governor of Qingzhou, Tian Kai, was appointed by Youzhou. Moreover, the Minister of Beihai, Kong Wenju, has a reputation for being virtuous. If we clash with him, I'm afraid it won't be beneficial for Your Excellency."

  Liu Yi smiled: "The intention of the messenger is only to request that the city guard be the vanguard, go to Donglai to fight a skirmish, and explore the reality. It does not require contact or even battle with Tian Shi Jun or Kong Beihai. Hmm... I heard that the cavalry commander of the White Wolf Camp, Taishi Ziyi, is from Donglai. With this person as the guide, it will surely achieve twice the effect with half the effort."

  "Vanguard, probing for weaknesses." Ma Xun smiled faintly, understanding Gong Sun Du's true intentions.

  Gongsun Du's secret letter had only one meaning: to cross the sea from Liaodong and take Qingzhou Donglai County. Gongsun Du was not without ambition, nor was he without means, but he lacked opportunity. However, in the spring of the fourth year of the initial peace, an opportunity arose. First, Cao Cao, the governor of Yan Province, led his army to attack Yuan Shu, and the military strength between Qing and Yan was depleted. Then, a battle broke out where Guan Hai led the Yellow Turban Army to besiege Kong Rong in Beihai Prefecture. At this time, Donglai had no magistrates, only a county governor handling affairs. Beihai Prefecture bordered Donglai County. To some extent, Donglai was within the sphere of influence of Kong Rong of Beihai. Now that Kong Beihai was in trouble and Cao Mengde was busy with his own affairs, it was a rare opportunity to cross the sea and take Donglai.

  Crossing the sea to fight, before that, Gong Sun Du had never really played it before. He was not confident and did not dare to send a large army to attack. He needed a vanguard to explore the way and establish a landing point. This task with danger but little benefit is best left to non-regular troops, and the White Wolf Camp is the most suitable.

  Ma Xun spent the entire winter in western Liaoning, unfamiliar with the local situation and cut off from news, completely unaware of the situation in the Central Plains for nearly half a year. It wasn't until he saw Gongsun Du's secret letter, supplemented by Liu Yi's intelligence report, that he gained some understanding.

  Guan Hai, Yellow Turban Army, troops surrounded Kong Beihai. These three keywords made Ma Chao's mouth curve up, he thought of Taishi Ci. This old brother's most brilliant moment in life wasn't it starting from this?

  Ma Xun had already made up his mind, now he just wanted to know what benefits he would get.

  As a "seasoned secretary", this discernment is a basic skill. Seeing Ma's relaxed expression, without waiting for explicit instructions, he immediately understood and began to explain: "The envoy will provide an additional 1,000 soldiers' equipment and supplies to the city guard, as well as 10,000 stones of grain, 30,000 pounds of iron, 1,000 bolts of cloth, and 100 gold taels... Ah, as long as the city guard agrees to send troops, the envoy will dispatch three warships from Dōshi (now Jinzhou, Liaoning) to Fēngdàshuǐ (now Liushijiang River) estuary, to meet the main army. The envoy's intention is to prioritize elite soldiers over numbers, with a total of around 300 people. Each warship can carry 100 people, and the hull can hide horses and military rations, so..."

  Liu Yi said a lot, Ma Xun nodded secretly, Gong Sun Du is also a talent, or rather, he has talented people around him, so everything is arranged very properly and has strong operability. Gong Sun Du added 3,000 more troops to him, which should be said to be due to the situation. Firstly, from a reasonable point of view, as a cavalry commander, he should have 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers under his command, 2,000 is indeed too few, giving people a feeling of being somewhat stingy. Secondly, a very crucial point, in last year's Pinggang and Wencheng war, Ma Xun stirred up the situation in Liaoxi with extremely limited troops, making Gong Sun Du feel that he had not misjudged him, this is indeed a capable guy. Since so, adding a bit more strength to him, tightly attracting the Wuhuan people, letting them tear each other apart, Liaodong will be much easier.

  Providing only a small number of troops and supplies can make an army solve its external troubles, how can't it be done? This account, Gong Sun Du and his staff will not calculate it? If everyone swaps positions, Ma Xian would do the same. This situation is similar to the Americans giving money and weapons to Vietnam, instigating them to fight against China, but in the end, Vietnam bit back at the Americans. Will Gong Sun Du also be bitten back? Heaven knows...

  But Ma Yuan still had concerns: "Although it is now spring, the time when cattle and sheep give birth to their young, the Wuhuan people will not make any unusual moves at this time, but I am worried about the side of Liu City, if they are determined to do something..."

  Liu Yi immediately gave him a reassurance: "The Emperor has already ordered General Sima Zhang Jie to lead 2,000 cavalry and infantry troops to advance to Liaodong's subordinate country of Fuleiying. If the Wuhuan people dare to make any unusual moves, General Zhang will definitely send out troops. Please put your mind at ease and head south."

  Gongsun Du has done it this way? To put it nicely, it's to eliminate worries about the future, but to put it badly, that's forcing people to surrender.

  Ma Huan was also straightforward: "I will personally lead the team, with two hundred men and horses, to land in Donglai. But I still have a condition, that the three ships must belong to me."

  "Huh?" Liu Yi was taken aback.

  "This trip I won't return empty-handed, I need a boat to transport some things back from the Central Plains. And if there's an opportunity... hehe..." Ma Xun spoke with a hint of greed in his eyes.

  "Haha, I understand." Liu Yi laughed and nodded. Yes, thinking about Wu Yan's miserable state, with this person and his tiger-wolf riders, wouldn't they just explore the road? They wouldn't leave without plundering a bit and filling their ships. Moreover, listening to his tone, it seems like they'll be coming often in the future... In that case, it's quite necessary to get some ships.

  "It can be done, but only with three warships, and Yi can take charge of it, so I'll give it to the city defender."

  "Thus, thank you, Director Liu! I, Han Gan, will be the vanguard for Your Excellency and expand our territory to Liaodong!"

  ……

  At the same time that Ma Chao and Liu Yi were having a secret meeting, Taishi Ci was also receiving a guest from Liao Dong.

  The guest dressed up as a servant and when he saw Taishi Ci, he bowed deeply: "Your humble servant greets Master Taishi."

  Tai Shi Zi was shocked: "It's you! Is your master well?"

  The visitor respectfully replied: "Everything is fine at home. This time I was sent by the master to deliver a letter to Master Tai Shi."

  "Oh, where is the letter?"

  The guest carefully took out a bamboo scroll from the brocade box he had brought with him and presented it to Taishi Ci.

  Tai Shi smiled, and that person still habitually used bamboo slips to write characters, looking down on the crisp and thin Cai Lun paper.

  Tai Shi Zai unfolded the bamboo slips, read them carefully, and didn't say a word. He let his attendants take care of the guests and went straight to the City Guard's office to request an audience with Ma Xun.

  As soon as they met, he handed over the bamboo scroll in his hand.

  Ma Xun took a look and smiled, it was indeed a coincidence. This was a letter from Bei Hai's famous scholar, Bing Yuan, who was seeking help in Liaodong, hoping that Taishi Ci would return to Liaodong to protect a scholar named Liu Zheng and escort him back to Qingzhou.

  What's going on here? At this time, Gongsun Du was suppressing the aristocratic families in the county, and his methods were more severe than those of Cao Cao. Liu Zheng was a fellow villager of Bing Yuan, who had served as the governor of You Beiping during the Zhongping period and later resigned and returned to his hometown. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Beihai suffered the most, and Liu Zheng fled to Liaodong with Bing Yuan and others. As a member of an aristocratic family, Liu Zheng was one of Gongsun Du's targets for suppression. People like him either surrendered to Gongsun Du or were suppressed; Liu Zheng chose the latter. So Gongsun Du arrested Liu Zheng's family members, but Liu Zheng escaped first. Gongsun Du issued a notice to all counties: "Those who dare to hide Liu Zheng will be punished with the same crime." With no other options, Liu Zheng had to rely on Bing Yuan. Bing Yuan hid Liu Zheng for over a month and saw that this was not a long-term solution, so he wanted Liu Zheng to leave Liaodong and return to Beihai - after all, the Yellow Turbans were not as cruel as Gongsun Du.

  Liaodong is not peaceful, the sea is not calm, Donglai is not tranquil. Liu Zheng's solo journey on the road, if there were no brave warriors to escort him, he might not have made it back home alive. At this time, Bi Yuan remembered Tai Shi Ci, who had once been a guest at his mansion for a period of time. This man was exceptionally skilled in archery and possessed extraordinary bravery, making him an ideal companion for Liu Zheng. So, he sent a servant to deliver the letter to White Wolf City.

  Taishi Ci had written to inform Bian Yuan earlier that he was a guest at the White Wolf Castle, and after Taishi Ci became the Riding General, it was during the severe winter season in Liaodong, and all news was cut off. As a result, Bian Yuan did not know that he had been promoted, otherwise he would not have been so reckless.

  Tai Shi Zi rubbed his hands, looking very embarrassed: "Bu Jun and Ci have a favor to ask, the matter entrusted is really hard to shirk, it's just that Ci is the army's Sima, if he leaves the army for personal reasons, I'm afraid..."

  Ma Teng burst out laughing and took out Gong Sun Du's secret letter, handing it to Taishi Ci: "Take a look at this."

  Tai Shi Cai took it and looked at it, suddenly raising his head: "The intention of defending the city, isn't it..."

  "Zi Yi, you should also go home and take a look." Ma Huan said as he stood up, stretched his arms to expand his chest, raised his head and looked south. "I too, should go to the Central Plains to take a stroll."