Chapter 155 Balance Hub
It rained for five consecutive days, and the entire Guanzhong area came to a complete halt.

But the messengers and cavalry from all sides were still able to move. By the time Hou Xuan realized everything, brain surgery expert Lu Bu was approaching quickly.

From then on, he no longer had to worry about the current situation.

The sky finally cleared up and the Wei River surged.

It was difficult for Zhong Yao on the south bank to cross the river, so he could only pray silently for Ma Wan and hope that Duan Wei would not have any violent reaction.

The black bear that devoured Liang Xing, Hou Xuan, and Li Kan of Huangbaicheng was equivalent to devouring the best land and population of Zuofengyi; for Beidi County, Duan Wei stationed in Niyang formed a pincer attack.

Under the current circumstances, Duan Wei must be feeling insecure.

How could Duan Wei remain calm when the old neighbors after Li Jue and Guo Si were quickly killed one by one by the black bear?

But after continuous rain, the Wei River overflowed, the river was turbulent, and boats were in danger of capsizing.

It was difficult for the army to cross the river, and Zhong Yao was concerned about the overall situation, so he could not take the risk of crossing the river.

All they could do was watch the war on the north shore.

Ma Wan's life or death has become a barometer for measuring changes in the situation in Guanzhong.

Now Ma Wan is ready to hold his ground. If he is still defeated by the black bear, the four western commanders, Yang Qiu and Zhang Heng, to the west of Ma Wan are very likely to surrender unconditionally.

This is an internal dispute in Guanzhong, and it is impossible to keep the black bear out.

The Guanzhong generals no longer have the conditions for a large union. Faced with the black bear that has eaten up most of Guanzhong, especially the core areas, the best way for the four western generals to deal with it is to surrender.

Just like the dead Liang Xing and Li Kan, it was impossible for Yang Qiu and his men to abandon their troops and retreat to Longyou.

Now each of their tribes has at least 5,000 households. If they really go to Longyou, no more than 500 households will be able to follow them.

Five hundred households might as well fight a black bear… Li Kan and Liang Xing have already proven the result of a head-on confrontation.

What's more, Ma Teng has set a good example.

Zhong Yao could only hope that Ma Wan would hold on, and he could try to mediate after he crossed the river.

Conditional surrender is always better than unconditional surrender.

The former is cooperation, the latter is being eaten.

Not only Zhong Yao was concerned about Ma Wan's survival, but Yan Xing also marched into Guanzhong in the rain and settled in Changping Temple southwest of Chiyang City.

Here they blocked Pang De's 3,000 men from Maoling in the south. Both sides had 3,000 infantry and cavalry, and they were old rivals and old friends.

Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet.

Pang De led dozens of knights to explore around Changpingguan, trying to find Yan Xing's flaws.

Pang De's side was also familiar with Changping Temple. When Ma Teng joined forces with Ma Yu, Liu Yan, and Liu Yan's sons to attempt to rescue the emperor and kill Li Jue, Ma Teng was stationed at Changping Temple.

After the Battle of Changping, Ma Teng was defeated and fled to Longxi. Han Sui joined forces with him, and the two officially became brothers of different surnames. However, they soon began to attack each other and became mortal enemies.

After Ma Teng's defeat, Shizhong Ma Yu, Liangzhou Governor Zhong Shao and others were trapped in Huaili and died when the city was broken.

"Captain, look! It's General Zhenbei!"

A personal rider beside Pang De stretched out his arm and pointed to the northeast. Pang De turned his head to look, and the first thing he saw was the tall and big Fang Tian Ji of Tai Shi Wen Gong.

The heads of Liang Xing and Hou Xuan were circulated throughout Guanzhong, except for Li Kan.

The reason was that the Fang Tian Ji was too brutal and it split Li Kan's head, making it difficult to recognize.

Pang De immediately led his men to meet them. When they were about ten steps away, Pang De pulled his horse in and jumped off.

The soil beneath his feet became soft, and Pang De's armor was heavy because of his sturdy figure. His pair of colorful patent leather boots immediately sank three or four inches into the soil.

Pang De cupped his hands and said, "General."

"What's going on with this Yan Xing?"

Black Bear pointed his whip at Changping Temple. The defenders inside the temple were piling up mud and stones to repair the walls that were damaged in the early wars.

Pang De turned to look and said, "General, Yan Xing is a decisive person. When I received the transfer order, Yan Xing had already passed Meiyang and stationed between Meiyang and Chiyang. Later, Ma Wan asked for help, and Yan Xing went forward in the rain, and entered Changping Temple before me, blocking me."

Pound turned around and pointed to a village about seven or eight miles away, which was Pound's garrison.

But the village defenses were not as good as those of Changping Temple. Black Bear took a quick glance around and saw that the foundation of Changping Temple was raised by piled earth, forming a low platform. The outer periphery of the platform was a wall made of boards, and Yan Xing was now repairing these walls.

There is nothing inside the earth wall.

Maybe there were buildings there before, but after the battle, everything that could be burned was burned down.

Black Bear raised his eyebrows and looked at the blue sky: "When the ground is dry, we will attack Changping Temple. If we occupy this place, Ma Wan will be like a turtle in a jar, and we can capture him with ease."

Pang De said, "General, you should not underestimate Yan Xing. He is a brave general from Xizhou and is knowledgeable about military affairs."

When Yan Xing became famous, Pang De was still a young man from a poor family who had not yet entered officialdom.

During the Battle of Changpingguan, Pang De served in the state and county.

It was also when Ma Teng retreated to Longyou and recruited officers and soldiers again that Pang De began to follow him.

Actually, Pang De had little experience under Ma Teng, but he previously commanded one twentieth of Ma Teng's standing knights.

This status is already not low. If it were Liu Bei, it would be close to Zhao Yun.

Seeing Black Bear thinking, Pang De continued to explain Yan Xing: "This man has always respected the court, while Han Sui is the opposite. This is the difference between the two. Now the general has set his ambition to unify Guanzhong. For this man's troops, both publicly and privately, they will ruin the general's plan."

"Therefore, the defenders of Changping Temple are determined and united, unlike others."

"Well, I see what you mean."

Black Bear looked back at Pang De: "People like Li Kan and Liang Xing can only gain the bodies of their followers, but not the hearts of the people. Yan Xing in front of me yearns for the court, and he must be determined to ruin my plans. Most of his officers and soldiers are descendants of the Xiliang rebels, and they are unwilling to sit back and watch Guanzhong unify."

After the unification of Guanzhong, the first target was Liangzhou!

"Lingming, please return to the camp and supervise the troops. I will go to see Chiyang Ma Wan. If he is willing to surrender, he will become a rich man."

"Here!"

Pang De bowed his head and looked up again to see the black bear riding away on his horse, trampling and splashing mud.

After the black bear had ridden his horse for twenty or thirty steps, Taishi Wengong drove his horse to chase after it. The Fang Tian Ji was casually dragged on the ground, and the crescent-shaped blade and sharp edge of the halberd left a scratch on the soft ground, as if it was plowing the ground.

"Fang Tian Ji..." A knight stared at it in a daze, wishing he could make one for himself.

But he knew very well that even after it was created, it would be difficult for him to control it freely.

That's not a halberd at all, it's clearly a double-edged battle axe with a concave blade!

Most of the people around Pang De were from Liangzhou, and at this moment, looking at the back of "Tai Shi Wen Gong", they instinctively admired him.

Pang De jumped on his horse, pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and whipped it: "Go! Back to camp!"

Changping Temple is very close to Chiyang. Yan Xing can see the outline of Chiyang’s city wall and the busy figures on the city wall.

At various places along the Chiyang city wall, the defenders were moving all kinds of supplies.

On the highest tomb on the west side of Black Bear Station, one could see the defenders on the city wall transporting various wooden planks and rafters to reinforce the outside of the city wall, setting up a layer of arrow shields, and building rows of wooden houses.

It seemed that Ma Wan was very afraid that he would attack the city at night, so he wanted to cram as many troops as possible on the city walls. He even demolished houses and took out wood to build living quarters for the defenders on the city walls.

After observing for a while, Black Bear took out a silk book, tied it to a short spear, and handed it to Lu Bu.

Lu Bu pinned the Fang Tian Ji into the thick soil of the tomb with his backhand, grabbed the short spear with his right arm, and drove his horse towards the west gate of Chiyang.

The horses were galloping, and when the distance was forty or fifty steps, Lu Bu threw his spear and turned his horse around to go back.

Archers on the city wall began to shoot, but the arrows were fired hastily and without time to aim, and hit the soft ground outside the city.

The thrown short spear was nailed on a door panel on the outer wall, and the spear blade pierced through it, scaring seven or eight archers around to shrink and dodge.

No one dared to pull out the short spear. Soon Ma Wan put on black armor and a brown and yellow cloak with tiger stripes, and climbed up the west city wall accompanied by guards.

He looked at the black bear on the high ground of the cemetery outside the city, reached out to take the silk book handed to him by the personal guard, shook it open, and saw the simplified Chinese characters written on it: Surrender.

"Yan Yanming is willing to lend a hand. I am sitting in a strong city. How can I save my life and surrender easily?"

Ma Wan passed the silk book to Chi Yangling and his subordinates for reading, and looked at the black bear in the distance with lowered eyebrows: "I have asked Duan Zhongming and Yang Wenshi for help. This Black Tiger Fang is a bandit who has been seducing people with his strangeness. Now he has caused trouble one after another. How can the parties tolerate him?"

Chi Yangling just glanced at the insincere word "surrender" on the silk book, and couldn't help but twitching his mouth. The black bear outside the city really lacked the sincerity to persuade him to surrender. Isn't this just forcing a dead horse to play?

If the city is really opened because of the word "surrender", Ma Wan will be socially dead whether he is alive or not, and the reputation and image he has accumulated for half his life will be completely destroyed.

After all, there were Han Sui's 3,000 reinforcements outside the city. They surrendered so easily without a fight. From then on, countless people who passed by Ma Wan's house would come in and spit at him.

This bad reputation will also bring trouble to future generations, making it difficult for them to hold their heads high.

Chi Yang Ling comforted Ma Wan: "General, calm down. When Lord Yuan Chang crosses the river, he will come to mediate and persuade Black Tiger Fang to withdraw his troops."

Ma Wan just sneered after hearing this, which made the county magistrate feel a little embarrassed, and he could only smile apologetically.

The county magistrate originally wanted to propose going out of the city to see the black bear, but after seeing Ma playing like this, he gave up the idea.

He didn't say anything, so even if Ma Wan wanted to negotiate with people outside the city, he was too embarrassed to do so.

At this time, Black Bear commanded Lu Bu to drive his horse to the foot of the city again, holding the Fang Tian Ji in his hand and pointing it at the horse diagonally, making a provocative gesture.

There was only Taishi Wengong under the city, but Ma Wan's left and right military officers and brave soldiers all treated him as if he did not exist.

Those who need to carry wood carry wood, those who need to breathe breathe, only the archers are nervously aiming, estimating the distance between each other, and waiting for the moment to shoot.

As Taishi Wengong approached the city, archers on the wall fired one after another, and the Fang Tian Ji blocked them left and right.

Maybe he was used to fighting, so Black Bear, watching from afar, always felt that Lu Bu was a little perfunctory and was just pretending to block the arrows. Arrows hit him one after another, but most of them bounced off.

The few arrows fell to the ground as Lu Bu's body swayed.

Thousands of people on the city wall were watching, looking at the gilded armor on "Tai Shi Wen Gong", who wouldn't be envious?

As if on purpose, Taishi Wengong rode back and forth between the two ends of the west city, attracting archers to shoot.

The arrow was nailed to the ground, and the white feathers contrasted sharply with the black and yellow ground.

"The general has ordered that no arrows be released!"

"The general has ordered that no arrows be released!"

The messenger on the city wall ran quickly, delivering Ma Wan's latest military orders.

Ma Wan felt bored and led the guards down the city wall.

The county magistrate followed behind the team and could not help but stop and turn his head to look at the black bear riding a horse on the high hill of the tomb, and then at the "Tai Shi Wengong" who was riding a horse closer to the city wall and showing off his power.

Finally, the county magistrate looked around at the status of the guards on the city wall and saw that they generally had resentment and resentment on their faces.

Demolishing houses to strengthen the city's defenses meant that the living conditions of the families of the soldiers guarding the city would deteriorate.

If the besiegers delay in withdrawing their troops, the non-combat casualties in the city will be very serious.

This is a turbulent time. Even if men, women, young and old have not experienced it, they have all heard about it.

Just think about it and you will know what kind of tragic fate the people and guards in the city will encounter.

Anyway, no matter how much the houses are demolished, they will not reach the county government office or General Ma Wan’s mansion.

The county magistrate just glanced at it casually and then quickly followed Ma Wan away.

On Ximen Street, women were carrying wood, and some stones were also being carried by the men to the city walls.

The ground on the street drains well and is dry and hard.

The county magistrate stepped on it and saw that none of the houses along the road had firewood or straw stored for the winter.

He can see it, and Ma Wan can see it too.

Ma Wan was very confident. He believed that Duan Wei and Yang Qiu would not sit idly by and watch him perish.

Zhong Yao would also find ways to slow down and disrupt the attack of the Tiger Tooth Army.

As long as we can hold out for ten days, reinforcements from all sides will arrive, and even if we cannot defeat the Tiger Tooth Army, we can still resolve the situation through negotiation.

In the Three Auxiliary Regions, Black Bear has now occupied Jingzhao Yin, and Zuo Fengyi only lacks Chiyang and Yunyang in the northwest.

If Chi Yang falls into the hands of the other party, he will be unlucky, and Duan Wei and Yang Qiu will be unlucky with him!

Protecting yourself is protecting yourself!
Horse play, really don't panic!
(End of this chapter)