Chapter 72: The Father is Not Kind, the Son is Not Filial (Seeking Bookmarks)

  "Report to General, Chief of Staff! The trail of Ma's army has been discovered. Currently, Ma's army is about 40,000 people and is located sixty kilometers north of Maxian. It is expected that they will arrive at Maxian around four o'clock this afternoon!" The scout returned to Maxian to report.

  "Alright! We know, you can go down first!" Cai Yun waved his hand. The scout saluted and left the military tent.

  "Chief of Staff, it seems the big war is about to begin! Where is the Fourth Brigade now?" Wang Yuez asked.

  "The fourth troop will only be able to arrive tomorrow. However, I think it's not necessary for them to join us from the start. They can serve as a surprise force and emerge at the most critical moment to turn the tide of battle!" Cai Yun said.

  "Hmm! I think so too. When the Ma family army is exhausted, the troops of the Fourth Brigade will emerge from behind and kill them, which should decide the victory!" Wang Zuoze also said.

  "Order all troops to enter the city! Although the walls of Majing City are not high, the Ma family army has no cannons and cannot break through separately. With our firepower, they can't even get into the city. If we continue to stay outside, the Ma family army will sneak up at night and we won't be able to defend ourselves!" Cai Yun said. Although this time's battle against the Ma family army should have been his sole decision. But many times, Cai Yun would still ask for Wang Yuze's opinion, which also acknowledged Wang Yuze's identity as a young marshal!

  "Let's enter the city! Night battles are our weakness, there is no need to attack the enemy with our own shortcomings." Wang Yuezhe nodded. At night, the fire power of the Western Sichuan Army could not be fully exerted, and it was very unfavorable when the troops were at a disadvantage. The western city wall of Maqu City that had been bombed down had been repaired, although it was not very strong, but it was enough to provide protection for the Western Sichuan Army at night.

  Soldiers of the Tenth and Eleventh Regiments of the Western Sichuan Army entered the city of Maqu in an orderly manner. Although many houses were destroyed, the streets had been cleared and traffic was not affected. As there were not enough houses to live in, soldiers could live in tents without having to sleep outdoors.

  At a little past four in the afternoon, a rumbling sound like thunder came from the north of Maqu City. This was the sound of a large cavalry unit galloping across the grasslands, with the horses' hooves gathering together to produce this noise.

  Wang Yuzhang, Cai Yun, the leaders of the 10th and 11th divisions of the Western Sichuan Army, all came to the north wall of Maqu City. At this time, row upon row of heavy machine guns and mortars had been set up on the city walls. If the Ma family army dared to attack the city, they would undoubtedly suffer a bloody defeat in the face of the fierce firepower of the Western Sichuan Army.

  Tens of thousands of people gathered together, giving a sense of a sea of people. Now Ma Jiajun's 40,000 cavalrymen have converged on the city of Maqin, forming a vast black ocean. Banners are like forests, and swords are like snow, making for a magnificent sight, while also creating an increasingly oppressive atmosphere before the great battle, almost suffocating. Anyone facing tens of thousands of enemies would likely feel this way.

  "If the Sichuan troops in the city are not cowards, come and fight us!" A loud voice rang out from among Ma's troops. Then Ma's soldiers shouted one after another. Suddenly, a momentum of overwhelming momentum was formed.

  The Kansai army was shocked and some were furious.

  "Fire!" Cai Yun ordered immediately upon seeing this.

  The 10th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army built an artillery position in Majiang City, deploying a total of 32 Type 82 infantry guns. The bombardment began immediately. Amidst the thunderous cannon fire, shells whizzed and pounded the Ma Family Army outside the city. In the intense explosions, Ma Family soldiers were thrown off their horses, and shrapnel harvested lives indiscriminately. Those arrogant Ma Family soldiers cried out in despair, retreating in disarray.

  In an instant, the pressure caused by Ma's army was swept away, and the soldiers of the Shu army in the city burst out laughing. What's the use of having many people? Aren't they just like chickens and dogs in front of our Shu army?

  The soldiers of the Ma family army had just withdrawn from the range of the Sichuan Army's artillery fire, and only then did they stop. At this time, a road separated from the cavalry of the Ma family army, and more than a dozen people rode out from inside, led by none other than Ma Haiyan, who was defeated by the Sichuan Army in Dongqigou. At this time, Ma Haiyan had lost his previous depression, with a spirited appearance, although his hair and beard were already white, but he looked very majestic. On either side of him were Ma Guoliang and Ma Fuluo, two younger men. Behind the three of them were the high-ranking generals of the Ma family army.

  "You, the Xikang army across from me, listen up! You recklessly invaded Qinghai and slaughtered the people under my rule in Majiajun. This is a crime punishable by death! Immediately withdraw from Majiacun, withdraw from Qinghai, otherwise my tens of thousands of Ma Family Army soldiers will flatten Majiacun and slaughter every last one of you!" Ma Haiyan bellowed with full force. Accompanying his voice, the tens of thousands of Ma Family Army soldiers behind him erupted in a chorus of battle cries, their momentum awe-inspiring.

  "Hmph! Ma Haiyan, stop spouting nonsense! If you have the guts, come and attack the city! I'd like to see how many of your Ma family soldiers are willing to die!" Cai Yun responded. Although his voice wasn't very loud, it was amplified through a simple megaphone and could be clearly heard by the opposing Ma family army.

  "Cowards, if you are men, come out of the city and fight us openly!" Ma Haiyan shouted again. For a man in his sixties, it was indeed somewhat difficult for him to shout so loudly.

  "We will go out of the city to fight, of course we will go out of the city, but not now. Don't worry, you won't have to wait!" Cai Yun responded.

  "What's going on, Old Zhou? Look at the city wall, isn't that someone familiar? It seems to be... it seems to be Young Master!" Gu Hongqiang exclaimed in surprise.

  "What? Let me see!" Zhou He hastily took over the telescope and looked towards the city head. Instantly, he discovered Ma Qi standing beside Cai Yun. Although Ma Qi had cut off his braid and changed into the military uniform of the Sichuan Army, his appearance would not change.

  "What's going on? How did Young Master wear the uniform of the Western Sichuan Army, has he joined the Western Sichuan Army?" Zhou He said in shock. He couldn't believe such a fact, Ma Qi, as the successor of the Green Horse Army, actually became a member of the Western Sichuan Army.

  Gu Hongqiang and Zhou He's conversation caught the attention of Ma Guoliang and Ma Fulu, who also used their binoculars to carefully observe the city head of Maiqu City. Sure enough, they easily saw Ma Qi standing beside Cai Yun. The two men's faces didn't look too good.

  "Uncle, look at the city wall, who is that?" Ma Guoliang pointed at the city wall and said to Ma Haiyan.

  "What's wrong?" Ma Haiyan looked puzzled through the telescope. As people age, their eyesight gets blurry. But when Ma Qi's face appeared in his sight, Ma Haiyan was suddenly stunned.

  "Ma Qi, how are you there? Still wearing the clothes of the Sichuan Army? Where is your queue? Were you forced by them?" Ma Haiyan asked in a rage.

  "Father, wake up! The Qing dynasty is already in decline, and the future belongs to Sichuan. The Ma family army is isolated and will eventually be eliminated. I am now the commander of the 11th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, and I advise you, Father, to surrender with me to Sichuan!" Ma Qi said loudly. Since there was no turning back, he might as well take this opportunity to show his loyalty to Sichuan. Therefore, Ma Qi stood on the city wall without any disguise, facing the Ma family army calmly.

  "What? The young master of the Green Horse Army has defected to Western Sichuan?" The Ma family army outside the city immediately erupted into a commotion, as the news that the young master of the Green Horse Army had defected to the Western Sichuan Army was nothing short of earth-shattering!

  Ma Guoliang and Ma Fulu both looked a bit ugly, the three families of the Ma family were connected by the same breath, now the heir of the Qingma army actually defected to the Chuanxi army, what's going on!

  "Unfilial son, how dare you betray the imperial court and acknowledge the enemy as your father? I don't have a son like you! I'll kill you!" Ma Haiyan was furious.

  "Hum! Father, even a tiger wouldn't eat its own son! After I was captured by the Western Sichuan Army, you didn't care or ask about me? Is this what a father should do? Now I see things clearly. The Ma family army is hopeless, only joining Western Sichuan will bring us a future!" Ma Qi said loudly.