In this turbulent period, the situation within Wuwei Commandery grew increasingly grim.
Currently, only Ma Teng remained steadfastly defending Wuwei City, yet the city itself was already precarious, on the verge of collapse.
Despite Ma Teng's valiant resistance, facing the encirclement by Han Sui and the allied forces, the situation remained unfavorable; they had launched several assaults but had failed to capture Wuwei City.
Under these circumstances, which favored Han Sui's allied forces, one alarming piece of bad news after another kept arriving.
First, the Western Qiang suddenly launched an attack and led their troops to assault Jincheng Commandery, forcing Han Sui to divide his forces and return to Jincheng Commandery to relieve the siege, which undoubtedly impacted the allied forces' encirclement.
Then, King Mitang of Dongqiang's subordinate tribes were also distracted; they became attracted by the prosperity of Wuwei Commandery, only knowing how to plunder supplies within the commandery, and King Mitang seemed not to have committed his full strength to the final encirclement of Wuwei City.
Meanwhile, Ma Chao's strategy to conquer the East Qiang grasslands had taken effect, and the various tribes of East Qiang no longer had much will to fight.
Even worse, after the imperial court formally appointed Dong Zhuo as a General to quell Han Sui's rebellion, Dong Zhuo's troops had already set out, bringing immense psychological pressure upon Han Sui.
At this moment, King Mitang found it quite difficult to restrain his subordinates.
Although the continuous campaigns had been generally smooth, when various tribes suffered losses during their attacks on cities and territories, the leaders of the smaller tribes gradually began to waver.
Furthermore, they had already plundered a certain amount of supplies, and after incurring casualties among their troops, they gradually lost their enthusiasm for battle, only wishing to escort their supplies back and quickly get through the snow disaster.
From the initial uprising until now, it was already May; after two months, the various tribes had plundered a certain amount of supplies.
The leaders of each tribe were eager to return, wanting to take advantage of the lush water and grass to graze their livestock, allowing their cattle and sheep to continue to multiply.
As a result, their will to fight had become unstable, and the entire situation grew increasingly volatile.
Han Sui deeply realized the importance of Wuwei City, so he urgently summoned King Mitang and the leaders of the West Liang Eight Divisions for a discussion.
Han Sui earnestly stated, "If we cannot capture Wuwei City, when Dong Zhuo leads his large army here, we will be caught between two fires.
Now, with the Western Qiang's withdrawal and their continuous plundering, my Jincheng Commandery has begun to become unstable, and that brat Ma Chao is burning, killing, and plundering on the grasslands.
Gentlemen, at this critical moment, we should unite our efforts and first capture Wuwei City to stabilize our rear, only then can we have enough strength to confront Dong Zhuo's army."
King Mitang angrily said, "My tribe also suffered heavy losses when attacking Wuwei Commandery.
Moreover, Ma Chao is still incessantly killing and setting fires within my East Qiang territory.
I truly cannot understand how Ma Chao could have come directly from Beidi Commandery to my East Qiang.
After my Xianling Qiang were plundered by him, even the young and strong were massacred; with such a blood feud, whether or not Wuwei City is taken now holds little meaning for us.
I have already dispatched the leaders of the E He Tribe and the Shaoge Tribe with elite forces to intercept and kill Ma Chao; as for Wuwei City, you all will have to attack it."
Han Sui then followed up on Mi Dang's words and asked, "Leader Yang Qiu, please explain to me in detail, how was Ma Chao able to bypass Beidi Commandery and go to Xianling Qiang?"
Yang Qiu was momentarily speechless, unable to offer a strong rebuttal.
Han Sui knew that Yang Qiu was certainly hiding something.
Then, he earnestly said to the King Mitang of Dongqiang and the leaders of the Western Liang tribes, "Our current objective seems to be merely to divide Wuwei, but in fact, after taking Wuwei, we will control the trade routes, and to the west, we can control commanderies like Jiuquan, and connect with Jincheng Commandery, Beidi Commandery, and East Qiang.
This is not a simple strategy for one commandery; it is a grand strategy concerning the entire Liang Province.
I hope you all do not harbor too many petty thoughts and strive to complete this encirclement.
If we can defeat Dong Zhuo's allied forces and capture Wuwei City in this campaign, then after defeating Dong Zhuo's grand army, Western Liang will forever be our domain."
Upon hearing Han Sui's words, all the leaders were stirred with enthusiasm and began to rub their fists.
Seeing this, Han Sui struck while the iron was hot, saying, "Our grand strategy is set; the key now is to capture Wuwei City.
Each tribe, please dispatch your elite forces; which tribe will send its elite to attack the city first?"
Upon hearing this, the leaders of each tribe, realizing they were still expected to send troops first, instantly showed slight displeasure.
Cheng Yin and Ma Wan grumbled, "These repeated assaults have all been at the risk of our tribes, resulting in heavy losses, while all the benefits have been seized by King Mitang's tribe.
We are only left with empty land and some population, but no supplies whatsoever."
Han Sui discerned their reluctance to send troops.
So he said, "This assault will first be led by my son-in-law, Yan Xing, with two thousand of my elite troops, and each tribe must send at least five hundred elite troops to follow.
And King Mitang, please send three thousand Qiang soldiers from your side; together, we will take Wuwei City in one fell swoop."
At this moment, while everyone was still discussing, a Qiang soldier suddenly came to request an audience with King Mitang.
King Mitang boisterously told the Qiang soldier to enter, showing no regard for Han Sui, the alliance commander.
After entering, the Qiang soldier directly reported to King Mitang that the E He Tribe and the Shaoge Tribe had recently encountered Ma Chao, were defeated by him, suffering extremely heavy losses, and had now led their respective tribes back to their territories.
Moreover, Ma Chao had now crossed the territories of the E He Tribe and the Shaoge Tribe and was heading towards Wuwei City.
King Mitang actually had a plan in mind long ago; he secretly mused, 'My tribe has already gained considerable practical benefits.
For us who nomadize on the grasslands, capturing a city does not offer much practical advantage.
Moreover, the morale of the various tribes is unstable now, the situation is complex, and furthermore, that ominous star Dong Zhuo is coming with his troops to suppress us.
This is a perfect opportunity to withdraw and let Han Sui's allied forces fight Dong Zhuo's troops.
Wouldn't it be better if my Qiang tribe intervened after both sides are exhausted, thereby maximizing our gains?'
Such a situation appearing at this moment was indeed an excellent opportunity.
Going with the flow would not only allow him to escape the current predicament but also avoid more losses in the upcoming battles.
Moreover, this way, he could also demonstrate his decisiveness and wisdom to the other tribes, enhancing his prestige among them.
Thus, being able to withdraw unscathed, preserve the gains already made, and also acquire benefits in other aspects, why not?
Thinking this, King Mitang had already made his choice.
King Mitang feigned a fit of rage and cursed, "That damned brat Ma Chao, how many troops does he lead? He is so troublesome that even the E He Tribe and the Shaoge Tribe have been defeated! It enrages me so!"
Then, he cupped his hands and said to Han Sui, "Han General, I will not attack Wuwei City.
I will return to the grasslands right now and will definitely eliminate that brat Ma Chao to vent my hatred!"
Han Sui tried hard to persuade him but could not keep King Mitang, who angrily led the Qiang soldiers away, leaving only Han Sui and the leaders of the West Liang Eight Divisions in the large tent.
Han Sui stood frozen, utterly helpless.
Han Sui frowned, looking at the other leaders of the West Liang Eight Divisions, and said with a slightly urgent tone, "Gentlemen, King Mitang's impulsive departure is truly unexpected.
But since things have come to this, we cannot give up.
Dong Zhuo's grand army has not yet arrived; we must first capture Wuwei City.
I will increase Yan Xing's troops to three thousand, and each of your tribes will send eight hundred troops.
Let us unite our efforts and take Wuwei City in one fell swoop."
Ma Wan pouted and said, "This King Mitang is truly unreliable, failing us at a crucial moment!"
Hou Xuan echoed, "Yes, but Han General is right, we cannot let him affect our plan."
Cheng Yin nodded and said, "Then, as Han General suggested, increasing Yan Xing's forces and each of our tribes sending eight hundred troops is feasible.
It's just that Wuwei City might not be so easy to capture."
Yang Qiu said worriedly, "The Wuwei City defenders are not to be underestimated; we still need to proceed cautiously."
Han Sui took a deep breath and said, "I understand everyone's concerns, but at this point, there is no other way.
We can only give our all and capture Wuwei City in one go.
As long as we work together, we will surely succeed!"
The leaders looked at each other and finally nodded helplessly, indicating their agreement with Han Sui's arrangements.
They then discussed the specific details of sending troops in detail, agreeing to dispatch troops together the next day, determined to capture Wuwei City in one fell swoop.