Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 389 Lu Bu was furious: Ma Chao you are so brave!

A few days after the Han army arrived in Jinyang, the weather became increasingly cold and snow began to fall.

The reason why Lu Bu and others had to station in Jinyang was, firstly, to meet up with Zhang He and reorganize the army; secondly, to formulate the next strategy to deal with Ma Chao.

Everyone gathered together in the prefect's mansion.

"Everyone here, please look at this."

Zhang Liao ordered his men to spread out a geomancy map in the hall, and then said, "We have now reached Jinyang. If we go west and pass Hulao Pass, we will reach Luoyang City."

"And if you go west from Luoyang through Hangu Pass, you will reach Chang'an, which is occupied by Ma Chao."

"Now that winter has arrived and the weather is extremely cold, Ma Chao will definitely not take the initiative to attack us. He will inevitably choose to defend himself."

"So what we need to consider now is how to break through Tongguan."

"We dispatched troops in winter, which gave us a certain advantage over the enemy, but it also put a huge pressure on logistics."

"So this battle cannot be delayed for too long at Tongguan. We must quickly attack Chang'an and force the Xiliang army to confront us head-on."

As the commander-in-chief, Zhang Liao was very clear about his own strengths and weaknesses.

The Xiliang Army may not be much weaker than the Han Army in terms of eliteness, but it is definitely far inferior in terms of equipment.

Coupled with the advantages brought by the winter climate, as long as they can confront the Xiliang army head-on, they will have a great chance of winning the war.

Use your strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.

This is the essence of war.

After hearing Zhang Liao's words, Chen Gong stroked his beard and said, "Ma Chao is very cautious. After unifying the Western Liang army, he even gave up control of Luoyang and just stayed in Chang'an to accumulate strength."

"Tongguan is a strategic pass. Ma Chao has deployed a large number of troops here. It will be difficult to break through this pass."

Tongguan is the biggest challenge they have to face.

The reason why Chang'an was chosen as the imperial capital was because its geographical location was too advantageous, even better than Luoyang.

Chang'an is surrounded by mountains on all sides. As long as the passes in all directions are guarded, the enemy will be unable to enter.

"There is no other way except to storm."

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment and said, "This time the army has brought hundreds of catapults. With these powerful weapons, a strong attack is not impossible."

"In addition, we can also have Yizhou's troops attack while attacking Tongguan, forming a two-sided trap and looking for loopholes."

Zhao Yun's proposal won the response of Lu Bu and others.

Compared with all kinds of convoluted strategies, a direct attack is more straightforward. They want to see how difficult it is to capture Tongguan.

"No."

But Sima Yi raised an objection at this time, frowning and saying: "A strong attack is a bad strategy. If there are too many casualties in Tongguan, how can we fight against the Xiliang army?"

"In this campaign against Ma Chao, we must win with minimal casualties. We cannot allow too many of the court's elite troops to be lost in this battle."

Zhang Liao asked, "What's your opinion, Advisor?"

Sima Yi did not hide anything when he heard this, and said directly: "Before the expedition, I asked Cui Lin and Cui Deru carefully about the situation of the Xiliang army, and found a place that we had not noticed before."

“This may be the key to our victory in this battle.”

This sentence immediately aroused everyone's interest.

Without waiting for anyone to ask, Sima Yi continued, "This thief Ma Chao claimed that the emperor was being held hostage by Lord Wen and Minister Yuan, so he refused to obey the imperial orders."

"I personally think that the Xiliang army may have been deceived by this thief's lies, and just helped him to commit atrocities and became his accomplices."

"If we can expose Ma Chao's lies, it will definitely cause the Xiliang army to lose confidence. Even if there is no mutiny, it will lower their morale."

Since ancient times, every teacher must have a reputation.

Because this is closely related to the morale of the army.

Ma Chao deceived the Xiliang army by using the pretext of eliminating treacherous ministers and clearing the emperor's side, so all they needed to do was to expose this lie.

"The military advisor is right."

Zhang Liao nodded in agreement, but then said with regret: "It's a pity that Ma Teng has now fallen into the hands of Ma Chao."

"If Ma Teng is still here, we only need to send him out in front of the two armies to cause chaos in the Xiliang army's morale."

As Ma Chao's father, Ma Teng had a very high prestige in the Xiliang army. If he openly accused Ma Chao of rebellion, he would surely be able to shake the morale of the enemy army.

It is even possible that they will turn against each other.

But Sima Yi shook his head and said, "General Zhang is taking things for granted. Ma Chao is so cunning that if we ask Ma Teng to surrender in front of the two armies, he will most likely claim that Ma Teng has already surrendered to the enemy and then kill his own relatives for the sake of justice."

"Don't forget the precedent of Yuan Sikong."

Zhang Liao was speechless for a moment.

He had forgotten that ever since Yuan Xi killed Yuan Shao with his own hands for the sake of justice, the act of patricide, which went against human ethics, was no longer as unforgivable as before.

As long as you occupy the greater good, it will be enough.

Chen Gong asked: "If that's the case, how can we expose Ma Chao's lies and shake the morale of the Xiliang army?"

Sima Yi answered without hesitation: "Of course we have to rely on Ma Teng."

"But Ma Teng is not..."

Chen Gong was about to say that Ma Teng was now in the Xiliang army, but he soon realized something and looked at Sima Yi with astonishment.

Sima Yi smiled faintly, and then said: "Ma Teng can only have a chance to regain military power if he returns to the Xiliang Army.

"When Ma Teng was sent back to Chang'an, the spies of the Embroidered Uniform Envoy also lurked in there."

"As long as we can help Ma Teng seize power, we will be able to win this battle."

Although it was an unintentional move by the emperor to let Ma Teng return to Chang'an, he found a way to use him.

For this reason, before going on the expedition, he specially borrowed part of the power of commanding the Embroidered Uniform Envoy from Jia Xu, so that he could use Ma Teng to do things more conveniently.

"The military advisor is truly a god!"

Chen Gong said this with great admiration, his tone unable to conceal his excitement, because he was well aware of the brilliance of Sima Yi's strategy.

Zhang Liao, Zhang He, and Zhao Yun also looked at Sima Yi with admiration, but Lu Bu was the only one scratching his head, feeling puzzled.

"What the hell are they talking about?"

Sima Yi did not speak, his hand tightly grasping a brocade bag in his sleeve, his eyes cold.

"Zhuge Village Man, just wait and see how I win!"

Just as everyone was about to continue the discussion, Gao Shun strode into the hall and reported to Lu Bu: "General, Ma Chao sent someone to deliver a message!"

"what?"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

Ma Chao sent someone to deliver a message?
Lu Bu slapped the table and laughed, "It must be that Ma Er learned that I personally led the army to attack him, and he was so scared that he sent people to ask for peace!"

"Where is that person? Bring him here quickly!"

Gao Shun clasped his fists and retreated, and soon brought the soldier who brought the message into the hall.

Seeing the imposing generals such as Lu Bu and Zhang Liao in the hall, the soldier's face turned pale and he said timidly, "Greetings, hello, generals."

"Humph, why don't you kneel down!"

Lu Bu shouted coldly, frightening the soldier so much that he knelt on the ground. Then he asked him sternly, "General, let me ask you, did Ma Chao send you to ask for peace?"

"The villain doesn't know!"

The messenger soldier was intimidated by Lu Bu's momentum. He shook his head repeatedly when he heard his words and took out a letter from his arms and said, "My general only sent me to deliver a message. As for what the specific matter is, I really don't know." Lu Bu frowned, strode forward, took the letter from the messenger, and then unfolded it to read.

But just a moment later, his eyes widened and a look of anger appeared on his face!
"Ma Chao! You are so brave!"

Lu Bu was furious. He crumpled the letter in his hand into a ball, then kicked the messenger in the chest!

Poor soldier, before he could even react, his body flew out of the lobby like a kite with a broken string, and hit the wall outside the house hard, completely dead.

Everyone was stunned by Lu Bu's violent behavior.

Chen Gong put away the shock in his eyes and stepped forward to ask, "Fengxian, what did Ma Chao say in the letter?"

Lu Bu's face was filled with anger, and he cursed with gnashing teeth: "This villain claimed that Cao wanted to win him over. He said that if Your Majesty did not make him the King of Liang, he would turn to support the false emperor and join forces with Cao to fight against the court!"

"How dare this villain threaten me and Your Majesty!"

"He's so brave!!"

Lu Bu was so angry that he started cursing. He never expected that in the face of his attack, Ma Chao not only did not surrender, but also dared to threaten him!

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How audacious!

Everyone in the hall was stunned when they heard this, and then they felt deeply shocked and angry!
Threatening the imperial court, threatening the emperor!
This is simply a provocation and contempt for them, and they are not taken seriously at all!
"This thief is really looking for death!"

Zhang Liao's face was also very gloomy, and there was a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.

Zhao Yun said nothing and tightened his grip on the sharp blade at his waist.

Sima Yi stood up and said in a deep voice: "My fellow generals, since this villain is seeking his own death, then let's send him off properly."

"Send troops in three days, target Tongguan!"

All the generals nodded heavily.

……

Jizhou, Yecheng.

The north wind is howling and the winter snow is falling.

The snow at the end of the year is always gratifying. As the saying goes, auspicious snow means a good harvest. The land nourished by the winter snow is often more fertile and has more soil quality in the next spring.

New Year's Day is approaching, and the people of Yecheng are preparing for the arrival of New Year's Day in joy, and the same is true in the imperial palace.

Zhen Mi is a person who can't sit still.

During every festival, she would actively manage the affairs of the palace, asking the palace servants to prepare various things for the festival, just like the master of the harem.

Ziyun Palace.

The palace was warm as spring with the heating on. Zhen Mi was concentrating on writing congratulatory messages to the various palaces. One after another, the graceful and flamboyant characters emerged from her pen.

Lv Lingqi watched her writing and said with some envy, "Sister, your handwriting is really beautiful."

Although she could recognize words, her handwriting was crooked and unsightly, and could not be compared with Zhen Mi's handwriting.

“It’s just more practice.”

Zhen Mi put down the brush in her hand, walked to the window and closed it, and said to Lu Lingqi: "It's freezing outside, sister, be careful not to catch a cold."

Lu Lingqi smiled and said, "This little bit of cold wind is nothing. Before I entered the palace, I often practiced martial arts in the snow and went hunting in the mountains with my father."

"I once went into the mountains in the dead of winter and hunted several wild wolves. I used their fur to make hats for my father, mother, and aunt."

"It's a pity that I have to live in the palace now, otherwise I would go hunt a fox and make fox fur for my sister."

Zhen Mi smiled bitterly and said helplessly: "Sis, you are already five months pregnant, so don't think about these things."

“It sounds scary to me.”

Going into the mountains to hunt and fighting wild wolves alone, she found it hard to imagine that this was something a woman could do.

Just as the two were chatting and laughing, Liu Xie walked into Ziyun Palace with a somewhat heavy expression.

Zhen Mi and Lu Lingqi both looked over and were a little surprised at what they saw, because they rarely saw the emperor with such a serious expression.

What extraordinary thing happened?
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

In the end, it was Zhen Mi who took the initiative to ask. Looking at Liu Xie's appearance, she felt a little nervous for some reason.

And there is a vague feeling of uneasiness.

Liu Xie looked at Zhen Mi in front of him, a complex expression flashed in his eyes, and he finally said: "I just heard the news...your mother passed away."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Mi was stunned for a moment.

I couldn't react for a while.

Liu Xie sighed and said, "Your brother came to report this to me. He had to rush back to Wuji to deal with your mother's funeral, so he asked me to convey this to you."

Zhen Mi's eyes were blank and she said nothing.

"younger sister……"

Lu Lingqi couldn't bear it and wanted to say something to comfort her.

But Zhen Mi forced a smile, shook her head and said, "I, I'm fine... Your Majesty, I feel a little unwell, so I'll go back to the palace to rest first."

After she finished speaking, she stumbled out of the palace and almost fell down when she walked out of the hall.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Zhen..."

Lu Lingqi was very anxious.

Liu Xie pressed her shoulder, signaling her not to worry, and then followed in the direction Zhen Mi left.

……

Zhen Mi stumbled out of Ziyun Palace.

She walked aimlessly in the huge palace. She didn't know where she should go or where to go now.

The heavy snow covered the palace with a layer of silver.

Everywhere I looked was white.

The biting cold wind mixed with snowflakes blew towards Zhen Mi, making her feel cold all over, but her heart was even colder.

At this moment she felt extremely lonely and empty, like a wandering ghost. There was no place for her in this vast world, and she felt out of tune with everything.

As long as parents are alive, life still has a place to go.

After the death of parents, life is just a journey home.

Her father died when she was young, and now her mother has also passed away. The two closest people to her have left her forever.

"Father, mother..."

Zhen Mi choked and muttered to herself, she leaned weakly against the cold palace wall, tears blurred her vision and poured out.

And at this time Liu Xie also followed.

After seeing Zhen Mi's appearance, he sighed, signaled the eunuchs and palace maids following him to step back, and then came to Zhen Mi alone.

An umbrella was held over her head.

At this time, any words are powerless and useless, only silent companionship is the best comfort.

At this time, Zhen Mi could no longer control her emotions and burst into tears in Liu Xie's arms.

The winter snow is getting heavier and the wind is howling.

(End of this chapter)