Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 397: Pang De defeated Lü Bu and Zhang Liao? Ma Chao was shocked
As soon as it was confirmed that Zhen Mi was pregnant with the prince, she came to him and cried poor. Her intentions were too obvious.

The appearance of this dragon heir made them no longer able to suppress their desire for the position of queen and crown prince, and they wanted him to fulfill his original promise.

Liu Xie could understand Zhen's thoughts.

After all, who wouldn’t be tempted by the position of queen?
But what he couldn't understand was that Zhen dared to interfere with such a major issue related to people's livelihood as disaster relief, in order to force him to compromise!
This has touched his bottom line!
Guo Jia sighed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, the Zhen family has controlled the national treasury and the court's finances for a long time. It is time to take back the power."

Sending people to check the accounts can at most catch Zhen for deliberately delaying or committing crimes of corruption. It will require careful planning to take back the financial power.

From a national perspective, he fully supported doing so, which would bring only benefits to the court with no disadvantages.

How can we let the sacred artifact of the country be handed over to other people's hands?

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "The Zhen family has become a behemoth now. It will be difficult to take back the financial power from them."

"Besides, the Zhen family is better at amassing wealth, and the court lacks talent in this area."

The recovery of power is not as simple as a decree. There are too many things involved behind it, and even the power structure needs to be reintegrated and redistributed.

The reason why the Zhen family was able to control the financial power for such a long time was, on the one hand, because they had the merit of following the emperor earliest, on the other hand, because Zhen Mi was the emperor's favorite concubine, and on the other hand, because they were indeed good at making money.

It has to be acknowledged that if the imperial court took over their business, it might not be able to do as well as they do.

“It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible.”

Liu Xie said calmly, his eyes deep, "Since I was able to support the Zhen family to grow to where they are now, I can also help them fall from grace again."

"This time I sent someone to check their accounts as a final warning to them. If they still insist on doing what they want, then don't blame me for being ruthless."

Liu Xie was not a heartless and ungrateful person. He always remembered the help Zhen had given him. In addition, because of his relationship with Zhen Mi, he would not kill Zhen right away.

Sending Fa Zheng to check Zhen's accounts was to put pressure on her and also to let Zhen know his attitude.

Of course, no matter whether Zhen chooses to obey or to go her own way, he will start to recover the financial power, but he will adopt different means depending on Zhen's reaction.

He didn't want to see Zhen Mi sad.

So I don’t want to see blood.

After hearing this, Guo Jia and Jia Xu knew that the emperor was determined to take action, and Zhen's behavior this time was really too far beyond the line.

I'm afraid the days ahead will be unstable.

……

Chang'an, General's Mansion.

Ma Chao walked through the mansion and came to a small courtyard deep inside. He asked the guards on duty outside the courtyard, "How is my father doing recently?"

"General Qi."

The guard clasped his fists and replied respectfully, "The old general has been in the house all the time and never stepped out of the door."

"I follow the general's instructions and only deliver food to the old general on weekdays. Apart from that, I ignore everything the old general says."

Ma Chao nodded slightly, then walked into the yard alone.

After he pushed open the door of the wing room, a chill suddenly hit him in the face, making him frown slightly.

The weather was too cold, but there was not even a fire in the room.

At this time, his father Ma Teng was lying on the bed wrapped in a quilt, his face looked a little bad, and he kept coughing.

Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Ma Teng looked over. When he saw that it was Ma Chao, his face immediately turned angry again. He sat up from the bed and cursed, "You evil beast! How dare you come over here, you - cough cough cough!"

Before he could finish his words he started coughing violently.

Seeing this, Ma Chao shook his head, waved his hand to ask the soldiers outside to bring in a pot of fire, and then pulled over a stool and sat down.

"My father is really suffering here. I have been too busy these days to pay attention to his condition."

"It's so cold outside, and those guys didn't even prepare a fire. They deserve to die. I'll kill them all when I get back!"

Ma Chao looked angry.

But Ma Teng didn't buy it and said coldly: "You don't have to pretend to be nice to me here. Even if I freeze to death in this room, I will not compromise with you!"

"Take this fire out of here!"

He has watched Ma Chao grow up, and he knows his character best. The reason why he treats him in this way is that he is waiting for him to speak first!
Once he opens his mouth, it means he is compromising.

So why would he be willing?
Ma Chao's eyes flashed with coldness when he heard this, and he said calmly: "Father is really stubborn. You and I are father and son, why do we have to make a scene like enemies?"

"I don't know why my father is so devoted to the court. It was obviously my father who rebelled in the early years, but now he acts like a loyal minister. Could it be that he is acting so hard that he believes it?"

"It is obvious that if you and I join forces, relying on the might of the Xiliang Army, we can definitely become the overlord of this area."

"But my father is so stubborn that he gave up the opportunity to be a local lord and insisted on being the emperor's dog."

Hearing Ma Chao's words, Ma Teng sneered: "You are a short-sighted beast, arrogant and conceited. You don't know how high the heaven is or how deep the earth is."

"If I join hands with you, my Ma family will be destroyed by the Tianzi clan. How can I face my Ma family's ancestors in the underworld?"

"It's fine if you want to die alone, but don't involve my entire Ma family!"

He still remembers clearly the scene of the Yuan family being exterminated, and he doesn't want his Ma family to be the next to be exterminated.

"Father is really old!"

Ma Chao's expression turned cold, and his eyes became sharp. "Thinking about how brave my father was in the past, he has become so cowardly now!"

"Since father is unwilling to join forces with me, then you can spend the rest of your life in this small room. This will also be the last time we meet!"

The reason why Ma Chao wanted to convince Ma Teng was to resolve the last flaw in his lie, but today's conversation made him realize that he would never be able to do that.

So he didn't plan to continue persuading her.

"roll."

Ma Teng spat out a word coldly, then turned over and no longer looked at Ma Chao.

Ma Chao stood up and asked the soldiers outside the courtyard to take the fire away again. Then he said calmly: "Father, don't expect the imperial army to come to Chang'an."

"Now the imperial army is blocked outside Tongguan and cannot advance an inch. Moreover, I have joined forces with Cao Cao and will attack Jizhou in the spring."

"Father may live to see me become the King of Liang. By then, we, the descendants of the Ma family, will no longer have to praise our ancestors, because I will surpass them!"

"Reach a height that even our ancestors could not reach!"

After Ma Chao finished speaking, he strode out of the room.

The door was then slammed shut.

Ma Teng, lying on the bed, slowly opened his eyes and let out a faint sigh, which echoed in the cold room.

……

Ma Chao walked out of the yard with a gloomy face, and then walked out of the general's mansion without saying a word, intending to return to the Xiliang army camp.

"Report!" He had just left the general's mansion when a soldier came over on horseback, kneeling down to report to him with a happy face: "General, General Pang has returned with his troops in triumph!"

"what?"

Ma Chao was slightly stunned when he heard this, and then asked in confusion: "Triumph? What's going on?"

Didn't he send Pang De to guard Tongguan? Why did Pang De come back in less than ten days?

And how can the triumph of guarding the pass come from this?

The soldier said excitedly: "General Pang defeated the enemy at Tongguan, killing Lu Bu and Zhang Liao so badly that they fled in disarray. Now the enemy has retreated!"

Ma Chao's eyes widened instantly, and he raised his voice and asked, "What did you say? Pang De defeated Lu Bu and Zhang Liao?!"

He wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

Or maybe I'm just dreaming!
Who are Lu Bu and Zhang Liao? One is a fierce general unrivaled in the world, and the other is a ruthless character who defeated 30,000 people with only 800 people at Xiaoyaojin and captured the enemy leader alive. What's more, they brought 100,000 troops this time!
The defenders of Tongguan were only 30,000 men, and even if the 3,000 men brought by Pang De were included, their strength was less than half of the enemy's.

How could Pang De possibly win against these two men and an army of 100,000?

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"Yes General!"

The soldier nodded heavily and said at a very fast speed: "After General Pang arrived at Tongguan, he took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness to launch a night attack."

"30,000 troops came out in full force and used fire to burn down their camp. The enemy was caught off guard and suffered heavy casualties!"

"Lü Bu and Zhang Liao were also injured in the chaos, and finally chose to lead their troops to retreat to Hangu Pass!"

"General, we have won a great victory!"

The soldier told Ma Chao exactly what he had heard. After listening to it, Ma Chao felt as if he was just listening to a story and was filled with disbelief.

This shit... is even possible?

Are Lu Bu and Zhang Liao so weak?
It took Ma Chao a while to digest the news, and then he asked, "Where is General Pang now?"

He wanted to go and ask Pound in person what was going on.

The soldier said: "In the central army camp!"

Without saying a word, Ma Chao immediately jumped on his horse and galloped out of the city. Not long after, he arrived at the Xiliang army camp.

However, before he entered the tent, he heard bursts of exclamations and compliments coming from inside.

"General Pang is truly a fierce general!"

"I didn't expect that even Lu Bu and Zhang Liao were defeated by General Pang. I think the title of the world's most powerful general should belong to General Pang!"

"That's right, Zhang Liao and Lu Bu are just famous in vain, General Pang is the real brave one!"

"The major general will be very happy to know that you have made such a great contribution this time."

"The day of eradicating the traitor and rescuing the emperor is just around the corner!"

Ma Chao lifted the curtain of the tent and entered, only to see a group of generals surrounding Pang De, each of them with a smile and admiration on their face.

At this moment, he noticed that several generals were holding two flags in their hands, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly.

Because the two flags had the words "Lu" and "Zhang" written on them respectively!

It is the military flag of Lu Bu and Zhang Liao!

The military flag is extremely important to an army. There is a special flag-guarding camp in the army, and their duty is to ensure that the flag does not fall.

If the great banner is allowed to fall, all the men guarding the banner, from the commander to the soldiers, will be beheaded, regardless of the reason.

So unless the army is completely defeated, the flag cannot fall into the hands of the enemy!
At present, the flags of Lu Bu and Zhang Liao are both here, which means that the troops led by the two were really defeated by Pang De, and it was a great defeat!

While Ma Chao was shocked, Pang De and the generals in the tent also noticed his arrival, and they came forward to congratulate him and report the good news.

Pang De strode forward, knelt on one knee and saluted, "Greetings, Major General!"

Ma Chao slowly came back to his senses at this time, then a smile appeared on his face. He helped Pang De up with both hands and laughed, "Good! Good! Good!"

"I didn't expect that when I sent you to guard Tongguan, you actually gave me such a big surprise and defeated Lu Bu and Zhang Liao in one fell swoop!"

"Ling Ming is really a tiger general!"

Ma Chao was generous in praising Pang De, because the contribution Pang De made this time was so great that it was not an exaggeration to say that it was an enormous contribution!

Pang De said modestly: "You are too kind, General. The reason why we were able to defeat Zhang Liao and Lu Bu this time was because the defenders of Tongguan held out for many days, which made them and their troops exhausted."

"And I just happened to take advantage of the opportunity and launched a night attack, which successfully defeated the enemy."

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao patted Pang De's shoulder vigorously and said with a smile: "Ling Ming, you are good in everything except that you are too modest."

"I am well aware of the strength of Lu Bu and Zhang Liao. The fact that you were able to defeat them proves that you are as strong as them, or even stronger!"

"After this battle, the title of the world's most powerful general will probably change hands."

Then Ma Chao generously ordered: "Pass the order down, hold a banquet for the three armies tonight to celebrate General Pang's success!"

"Everyone, don't leave until you're drunk!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately won cheers from all the generals.

Afterwards, Ma Chao asked his generals to carry Pang De out to celebrate on the pretext of handling military affairs, while he stayed alone in the central camp.

Looking at the people leaving, the smile on Ma Chao's face slowly disappeared, and he frowned deeply.

He walked to the table, reached out and picked up the two flags, and his doubts became stronger.

"Why do I always feel like something is wrong..."

Ma Chao said to himself that Pang De's victory this time was too quick and too strange, making him feel it was unreal.

And are Lu Bu and Zhang Liao really that weak?

One of them once led a thousand men to fight against Sun Ce's ten thousand men and beheaded him; another one led eight hundred men against thirty thousand and captured the enemy leader alive.

Both of these records are real.

Even though they were too exhausted after attacking Tongguan for many days, they were not defeated by Pang De in one fell swoop, and even their military flags were taken away.

But the military flag is here and it cannot be fake.

And what Pound said makes sense.

After thinking it over, Ma Chao was still a little worried, so he called a guard and ordered, "Go secretly to General Pang's army and ask his soldiers what happened in Tongguan."

"Report immediately after receiving the news."

Feeling the solemnity in Ma Chao's tone, the guards were startled, responded respectfully, and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)