Chapter 88: Letting the Wolf In
Hongnong County, suburban camp.
Although Hongnong County was set up as a temporary base camp, Qin Mo did not enter the city. In addition to not wanting to disturb the people, the main reason was that as a commander, he should live with the soldiers in wartime. How could he live in the city?
In the central military tent, Qin Mo was listening to Li Bingyun's report.
"In addition to individual rangers, players who have joined Ma Teng and Han Sui include five mercenary groups in Yongzhou." The player spies deployed by Li Bingyun in the three secret texts are extremely efficient.
Soon we found out the enemy's details.
"Post a notice on the official website, requiring these people to leave within three days. If they refuse, they will be regarded as traitors like Han Sui, and a government wanted order will be issued and spread throughout the country," said Qin Mo.
Players are never outside the law.
"Then...should the Six Gates take action?" Li Bingyun asked.
After leaving Liaodong, under Qin Mo's instructions, Li Bingyun also brought the Six Gates to Luoyang, and took advantage of Luoyang's location as the world center to recruit a group of expert players.
It is nicknamed the No. 1 mercenary group in the Three Kingdoms by the outside world.
"For those who don't know what's tactful, the Six Gates can just let go and kill the chicken to scare the monkey." Qin Mo never knew what it meant to be lenient when dealing with his enemies.
"clear!"
Li Bingyun obviously understood Qin Mo very well, otherwise he wouldn't have made such a suggestion.
…
Three days later, it was still the central military tent.
Qin Mo was checking the battle reports sent from the front line. Xu Rong did not disappoint him. He captured Zheng County in just two days and won the first city, which was a good start for the army.
Zhang Liao's troops were still advancing towards Wuguan.
At this time, Li Bingyun walked in and said, "Four of the five mercenary groups have withdrawn, and one still refuses to believe in evil. The rest of the rangers have also dispersed."
"Not bad!" Qin Mo didn't expect that his deterrent power was quite strong.
Little did people know that after the battle of Tongguan, Qin Mo became a god in one battle. Considering the various rumors before, it was very rare for players to dare to confront Qin Mo head-on.
Unless you want to fish in troubled waters.
Li Bingyun was also very excited and said with a smile: "I have also placed spies among the remaining rangers. If there are any major changes in the enemy's formation, the three places will be able to know about it in the first place."
"Well done." Qin Mo rarely praises people like this.
Staying with Qin Mo, Li Bingyun has indeed grown a lot. Now, there are many things that Qin Mo does not need to explain in detail. Li Bingyun can think things through and handle them properly on his own.
He has become Qin Mo's most capable assistant.
Given their current relationship, Qin Mo wouldn't mind giving Li Bingyun two foundation-building pills when he builds his foundation in the future.
…
Another two days.
Xu Rong led his troops to capture another city and successfully took over Xinfeng County, completely opening up the way for the army to advance westward.
Xinfeng County is located between Xinzheng County and Chang'an City, only 50 kilometers away from Chang'an City. The cavalry can reach the city of Chang'an with a single charge.
Qin Mo immediately led the Youyun Cavalry to leave Hongnong County and enter Tongguan.
Zhang Ji's troops left Tongguan and entered Zheng County.
Xu Huang's troops, who were originally stationed in Hongnong County, naturally followed the westward advance and stationed in Tongguan. Although Xu Huang was one of the future five best generals, he was a newcomer after all.
Qin Mo sent Xu Huang to the battle this time just to give Xu Huang the opportunity to get familiar with the team.
Therefore, he has always assumed the responsibility of guard.
At the same time, Zhang Liao had led his troops through Wuguan and successfully occupied Shang County. He was preparing to go north along the Dan River, capture Shangluo and Lantian counties, and attack the southern suburbs of Chang'an.
The two armies advanced side by side, presenting an overwhelming momentum, and headed straight for Chang'an.
…
The imperial army was pressing forward step by step, and the forces in Xiliang were in a panic.
The first to bear the brunt were the remnants of Dong Zhuo.
Ma Teng's troops were stationed in Mei State, 120 kilometers away from Chang'an. In the novel, when Dong Zhuo returned to Chang'an, he built a villa near Chang'an, Meiwu, which was located on the outskirts of Mei State County and had beautiful scenery.
According to the spies' reports, Ma Teng seemed to be quite interested in Chang'an.
As for Han Sui's troops, they were far away in Jincheng.
In the Battle of Tongguan, Dong Zhuo and his main generals were wiped out by Qin Mo. Only Dong Min and Duan Wei managed to survive because they were in charge of guarding Chang'an.
Dong Min is Dong Zhuo's third brother and the second-in-command of Dong Zhuo's group.
After Dong Zhuo's death, all of Dong Zhuo's troops who remained in Yongzhou surrendered to Dong Min. There were about 30,000 people in total, and they occupied the city of Chang'an.
Inside the city, Dong Min’s residence.
After losing Zhengxian and Xinfeng successively, Dong Min looked extremely unhappy and summoned all the generals to discuss the matter.
Like his elder brother Dong Zhuo, Dong Min was tall and strong, with a face full of flesh, a beard, and bell-like eyes. He exuded the unique toughness of the people of Xiliang.
Sitting at the top, he is like a ferocious beast, ready to bite anyone at any time.
"The enemy is attacking and our army has just suffered a defeat. What do you think we should do?" Dong Min's pair of big eyes swept over the generals in the hall with murderous intent.
All the generals who were swept by Dong Min felt a tremor in their hearts.
When it comes to hatred towards Qin Mo, Dong Min is naturally the one who has the most hatred.
From the very beginning, Dong Min never thought of compromising with the court and was determined to fight to the end.
This was because Dong Min knew very well that what he and Dong Zhuo had done in Luoyang had already incurred the wrath of heaven and the hatred of the people. Even if he surrendered, he would probably not escape death.
But other generals did not have the same idea as Dong Min.
If possible, they would like to give up Chang'an City and surrender to the court now.
Although these people were not present at the Battle of Tongguan, they later learned about what happened that day from other people.
Qin Mo's powerful methods and ruthless actions have long been deeply rooted in people's hearts.
Especially after the eyewitnesses added fuel to the fire, in the eyes of the people in Guanzhong, Qin Mo's image had changed three times a day. Some said that Qin Mo was a god from heaven, as tall as a small hill, with three heads and six arms.
Not only that, Qin Mo can also spit fire from his mouth, shoot golden light from his eyes, control lightning, and has extremely powerful magic weapons to protect himself. He can flatten the city of Chang'an with one blow.
In short, the story becomes more and more outrageous as it spreads.
Under such circumstances, who would dare to challenge Qin Mo if he led his troops to fight in person?
He is afraid before the battle even begins!
Only the general sitting in the first position on the left hand remained motionless and looked very calm.
This person is Duan Wei.
Duan Wei was a General of the Central Army under Dong Zhuo. He was from Wuwei and was a very special figure in Dong Zhuo's army . The rest of Dong Zhuo's generals were known for being "arrogant and domineering, with poor military discipline", but Duan Wei was a low-key person with strict military discipline.
Historically, Dong Zhuo retreated to Chang'an and arranged for Duan Wei to garrison Huayin.
From then on, Duan Wei took root in Huayin. No matter what happened in Chang'an, he would not get involved. He focused on managing Huayin and farming in peace.
After Dong Zhuo's death, Duan Wei immediately distanced himself from Dong Zhuo, which actually allowed him to clear his name successfully. In his later years, he was one of the Nine Ministers, and he and Jia Xu were the two people with the best ending in Dong Zhuo's army.
But now, because Qin Mo first stunned Dong Zhuo's army with a cavalry pursuit, and then massacred Tongguan, Dong Zhuo did not even have a chance to retreat to Chang'an.
Due to some strange mistake, Duan Wei was forced to stay in Chang'an.
Although the situations were different, the thoughts were the same. Duan Wei had long realized that the imperial court would not sit idly by and watch Dong Min continue to occupy Chang'an, and would definitely take action in the future.
And soon, the troops were dispatched.
Duan Wei did not want to be buried with Dong Min, and had already thought about surrendering. He even sent his confidant to meet Jia Xu with a secret letter.
He hopes to establish a relationship with Qin Mo through Jia Xu and express his feelings.
However, Duan Wei did not show his expression. When he saw Dong Min looking at him, he clasped his fists and said, "General, it would be difficult for us to defend Chang'an City with only our own forces. Why don't you send someone to contact Ma Teng and join forces?"
"Will Ma Teng agree?" Dong Min was skeptical.
Duan Wei said: "The court sent out troops this time not only to recapture Chang'an, but also to take advantage of the situation to pacify Yong and Liang provinces. Ma Teng, Han Sui and their ilk were defined as rebels by the court and are also on the list of those to be conquered.
"General, all you have to do is promise to share Chang'an with Ma Teng, and he will definitely lend a helping hand to you."
"This is the only way!" Dong Min felt quite painful. He really didn't want to lead Ma Teng into Chang'an, as that would be like inviting a wolf into the house. But at the moment, the situation was urgent and there was no other way.
Inspired by this, Dong Min not only wanted to contact Ma Teng, but also prepared to send someone to contact Han Sui who was far away in Jincheng.
One wolf is a lure, two wolfs are also a lure.
"In that case, it would be better to let the two wolves fight each other." Dong Min thought.
