Dragon map of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1252 Making a decision

The land in the Northwest has been desolate since ancient times, with few people, and sometimes even thousands of miles away, there are no traces of people, only a high slope of loess.

Standing isolated mountains one after another is a feature of Northwest geography.

This lonely mountain is located in the southeast direction of Linwang, less than fifty miles away. The mountain is nameless and far away from the road. It has been seldom visited for many years.

However, there are some dilapidated Taoist temples on the lonely mountain.

Taoism has been passed down for thousands of years and has been passed down from all directions.

In this era, the inheritance of Buddhism has not yet developed. There may not be many Futu temples, but uncles who preached everywhere in the world, especially before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Zhang Jiao traveled all over the world to preach. There are countless believers, and there are still many Taoist temples. of.

This Taoist temple does not worship gods, but ancestors.

"For some years, I haven't been here!"

Pound was dressed in black armor, looking at this Taoist temple: "When I was young, the Patriarch... No, Uncle Ma often brought us here. After so many years, this place has also fallen!"

"If you don't do anything wrong in your life, if you don't see a ghost knocking on the door in the middle of the night, Ma Teng will feel bad too!"

Tan Zong, who was sitting in a wheelchair, smiled slightly: "Otherwise, there would be no such Taoist temple!"

"Born in Xiliang, he has no choice!"

Pang De said something to Ma Teng: "The Ma family is a family in Longxi, but it is in decline. It bears the name of the descendant of General Fubo in the past, but it has no strength. At that time, Xiliang was already in chaos. Now, the survival of the family is the most important thing, and he has to give up a lot of things!"

"maybe!"

Tan Zong smiled slightly. He didn't despise Ma Teng. Ma Teng's choice was the choice of many people in this big environment, but unfortunately he couldn't hide his tail well, and it became one of his attacks. void.

"Commander Tan, don't forget what you promised me!"

Pang De squinted at a figure covered in black robe standing behind Tan Zong. Although he didn't know this person well, the aura of a warrior told him that this person was very dangerous.

Among Jingwu divisions, according to him, there is only one who can give him a sense of danger, and that is Shi A, the King of Assassins of the Mu Clan and the personal disciple of Sword Master Wang Yue.

He doesn't know how Shi A's martial arts and swordsmanship are, but with his unique feeling as a general who is on the battlefield, this man has a chance to kill himself.

If he can kill himself, he also has a chance to kill Ma Chao.

"rest assured!"

Tan Zong shrugged his shoulders, then Shi A took a step back, and then said: "Jing Wusi does not see the light, but I never lie in front of the generals. This is the foundation of my foothold in the Minghou Mansion. Colonel, you won’t go back on your word. Captain Pang is a talent that is highly valued by the lord. If you sue me for being strong, I won’t be able to eat it. I won’t do things that make myself difficult. In addition, Ma Mengqi It's not something I can kill, his martial arts, if I kill him, the price I will pay is not small, so no matter what the result is, he can get out of here!"

He paused, and said: "However, Colonel Pang, the enemy on the battlefield has always had two outcomes. Either you die or he dies. If you are doing it for his own good, and for your own sake, you don't have to kill your friends with your own hands. Stand by my side!"

"I have done what I should do, and I have persuaded what I should persuade. Ma Mengqi is Ma Mengqi. His determination and ambition are not something I can shake!"

Pang De knew Ma Chao too well, so he never said what he shouldn't say, because he knew it was useless. Ma Chao's ideas were too righteous, and it was difficult for others to shake him.

"Captain, someone has gone up the mountain!" The guard came to report.

"Ok!"

Pound nodded, and ordered in a low voice: "Order, all troops withdraw from Gushan!"

"promise!"

The guards took orders.

A quarter of an hour later, Ma Chao appeared in front of the dilapidated Taoist temple riding his horse flying upwards.

Alone.

There is only a horse under the crotch, no sword at the waist, no gun in the hand, but the momentum is like a rainbow, the young man is full of heroism, and he is lifelike in front of the hanging lantern.

"Ma Mengqi, is it because you don't know the current situation? You and I are enemies. I just need to kill you. Taking Longxi is just a piece of cake. A letter from me will make you dare to come alone. I don't know Say you believe in me too much, or you are too conceited!" Pang De stood at the door, looked at Ma Chao coldly, and said: "If I put a few crossbow beds here today, you will be hard to fly!"

"If you die, you will die. At worst, you will pay back Pound's life!"

Ma Chao jumped off his horse, took the reins, and tied it to the stone stake of the Taoist temple. Hearing Pound's ridicule, he just smiled and said, "Besides, if Pound can kill me in such a way, then I too will die with honor!"

What he meant was that if Pound didn't even have a bottom line, then he wouldn't be the Pound he knew. When Pound died, it meant that they would die together.

The two entered side by side.

"Why did you come here?" Ma Chao was here, recalling some memories of small things.

"I haven't been here for a long time, come and offer a stick of incense!"

Pound said calmly.

"It's time to offer incense sticks!"

The two walked into the Daoist hall, which was already dilapidated. The rubble on the roof was full of holes. The huge stone statue was not only stained with dust, but also a little damaged, full of holes.

"Ancestors, don't blame them. The descendants are not filial. They haven't repaired the Taoist temple for many years, and they don't offer incense!"

Ma Chao burns incense and mutters to himself.

Enshrined in the above list, the ancestor of the Ma family, General Fubo Ma Yuan.

The Ma family came from Fufeng Maoling.

But the foundation of the Ma family's inheritance of more than 200 years is in Longxi, because Ma Yuan was the prefect of Longxi back then, and the foundation of the Ma family's inheritance was laid here.

When Ma Yuan was in Longxi, he defeated the Qiang first in the battle, and the famous town of Jishi Mountain broke the situation where the Qiang people were everywhere in Xiliang. It made countless Han people proud and became the spiritual totem of the Han people.

So in Longxi, many Han people are actually enshrining Ma Yuan's god.

"Come on, ask me to come, what's the matter?" Ma Chao asked after burning incense.

"It's not me asking you out!"

Pound shook his head: "What I should tell you, I made it very clear when we met for the first time, what will happen in the future depends on our own good fortune, and I am not the one who wants to see you today!"

"That's strange, who can bother you to ask me out, is it possible that they really want to surround and kill me?"

Ma Chao sneered.

"It's someone!"

A man in black, pushing a wheelchair, came in from the outside. There was a young man sitting on the wheelchair. His face was very pale, and he didn't look very strong, as if he could be crushed to death with one hand.

"Who are you?"

Ma Chao's eyes glanced at him, and then passed him, looking at the man in black robe behind him. Among warriors, there is a unique and keen sense of touch. Danger comes from instinct. This man is extraordinary.

"Jingwu Division of the Marquis of Ming Dynasty, Commander Tan Zong!"

A young man in a wheelchair declares himself to be his family.

"It turned out to be the well-known Commander of Jingwu Division!" Ma Chao sneered, raised his head, and glanced at Shi A: "Then this one is the one who attacked twice in Xiliang, and was once blocked by me, that assassin!"

The assassin of Jingwu Division had made two shots in Hanyang County, and tentatively assassinated Ma Teng. It was not to assassinate Ma Teng, but to pick out the people behind Ma Teng.

It was Ma Chao who met again.

Almost wiped out.

Of the last seven assassins, only four came back, and three were hacked to death by Ma Chao. Ma Chao's bravery made many Jing Wusi's assassins a little scared.

"Under Shi A, I have met General Ma!"

There was a trace of fighting intent in Shi A's eyes, but it soon faded, and he spoke lightly.

"Wang Yue's disciple is indeed good, but unfortunately, your sword is not sharp enough!" Ma Chao said sarcastically: "If you are the only one, there is really no way to keep a certain family!"

"If there is a need in the future, I will take action, but today, General Ma is overthinking. My mission is to protect the commander, not to assassinate the general!"

Shi A and Ma Chao went through a few rounds, he was an assassin, he couldn't make a move, he turned around and left immediately, his lightness kung fu decided that Ma Chao couldn't catch up, so he gave him a way out.

If he really wants to face Ma Chao, Shi A doesn't think he can win, but an assassination is an assassination. If he catches him by surprise, he still has a chance to kill Ma Chao.

"Pang Lingming, what do you mean?"

Ma Chao still trusted Pound.

"He wants to see you, I will organize the game, of course, I will keep you safe, today I am in control, I don't care what you talk about, but if you Ma Chao wants to leave, I will keep you safe, if you die, I will die first!"

Pound's words were brief but to the point. It was a reassurance for Ma Chao. As long as Pound didn't want to kill him, there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Okay!"

Ma Chao relaxed, looked at Tan Zong, and said, "I want to hear what Commander Tan wants to say, is he trying to persuade me to surrender to the Minghou Mansion, or is he going to kill my own father and rebel against Xiliang?" !"

"General Ma has seen the situation very clearly!"

Tan Zong smiled slightly.

People in the world underestimate this little horse. Bravery can't be summed up by the word brave. I don't know how literary talent is, but people with clear minds and who can see through the situation in troubled times are not simple people.

He should be very clear in his heart that the purpose of the Minghou Mansion is to acquire Xiliang.

However, the relationship between Minghou Mansion and Ma Teng was difficult to ease. If Ma Chao wanted to surrender, he had to cross Ma Teng's barrier first, which was tantamount to provoking confrontation between father and son.

"You are all staring down at us, treating Xiliang as a fat piece of meat. How can I foolishly grab it without a fight? Naturally, I have been thinking about it for a while. Ever since your herdsmen sent troops to Jishi Mountain, the target has already been Xiliang!"

Ma Chao said in a cold voice.

"It's good to chat with smart people, you don't need to beat around the bush!" Tan Zong smiled and said, "Then I'll ask General Ma a few questions!"

He spoke faster, not giving Ma Chao a chance to react: "First, General Ma thinks, can the Longxi Army be able to take down Xiliang? Maybe another way of asking is, can the Longxi Army be able to keep Xiliang?"

When he asked this question, he had already asked Ma Chao's heart.

No matter how unruly Ma Chao is.

He had to recognize a situation. In today's world, the overall situation of the princes of the five parties has been determined, and the existence of the sixth party cannot be tolerated. Xiliang will have to make a choice sooner or later.

This point, Zhang Xiu is more clear than he realizes, so Zhang Xiu chooses quickly, and is not so entangled.

His entanglement is with his ambition.

He doesn't want to be subservient.

So he gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up just like that, wanted to hold on, and wanted to see the day when the situation changed.

Unfortunately, the idea is beautiful, but the situation is getting more and more urgent.

When Zhang Xiu has made his choice, Xiliang is at the last moment. His choice will determine the future owner of Xiliang.

Because the Longxi Army he had already commanded nearly [-]% of its strength.

At this point, even if Ma Teng comes back, it will be difficult to shake his rule.

"I know that the grand master has already buried the foundation of Xiliang in the Central Plains, and Xiliang has no way to be independent!" Ma Chao took a deep breath and answered Tan Zong's question calmly.

"Then comes the second question!"

Tan Zong still smiled: "In today's world, among the princes of the five directions, who can give General Ma a high look?"

He didn't wait for Ma Chao's answer, and first ruled it out for Ma Chao: "Sun Jian is far away in Jiangdong, beyond his reach!"

"Although Liu Xuande has made some achievements in Youyan, he can't cross Bingzhou. If he wants to return to him, he has to open up Bingzhou. Of course, this is not a problem. When the two parties work together, the chaos in Bingzhou will be broken. Where to go, but Liangzhou is barren, and Youzhou is not necessarily rich, so if you go to Uncle Liu Huang, you have to have the idea of ​​living a hard life!"

"As for Yuan Benchu, I don't think it will be him who General Ma chooses. The Yuan family has a lot of respect, so why would you think highly of you barbarians from Xiliang!"

"Then the only ones left are the Cao family and my Southwest Mu family!"

Here comes Tan Zong's question: "Whether it's the Cao family or the Mu family, I think General Ma should be concerned in his heart!"

"When you say that, it seems that I have no other way!"

Ma Chao didn't change his face, he was indifferent, and he didn't shake his mind at all for his words.

"Have!"

Tan Zongdao: "There are not many choices for the general's path, it's just whether it is suitable or not. As for my lord, whether you can convince the general is also the general's own business, and we can't control it!"

"Does Commander Tan have any questions?"

Ma Chao asked back.

"one left!"

Tan Zongdao: "How is the relationship between General Ma and Ma Teng and his son?"

"This is a matter between my father and son. Don't bother Commander Tan!" Ma Chao's face suddenly became a little cold, and he didn't even want to talk, and said: "Since Commander Tan's questions are over, I will leave Already!"

"and many more!"

"Why, Commander Tan is going to leave a certain house!"

"No!"

Tan Zong said indifferently: "The question is over, but I can't just ask, and don't give General Ma some reports. How about this, I tell General Ma one thing, which is regarded as the return for General Ma to answer my question!"

He turned his wheelchair and walked around the broken Taoist temple: "General Ma should be familiar with this place, but General Ma may not know that in the past, this place was not the place where the ancestors of the Ma family were enshrined, but a place called Qingyi Qiang. !"

"Qingyi Qiang!"

Ma Chao has a strange feeling about this Qiang tribe, which comes from one person.

"The Qingyi Qiang tribe has lived in a large mountain for many years!"

Tan Zongdao.

"What do you mean by saying this?" Ma Chao shook his head.

"It's not interesting just to say it!"

Tan Zong clapped his hands, and the applause sounded in the night sky, like a signal: "Then I will let General Ma see someone again!"

A black figure walked out of the night with heavy steps.

"It's you!"

Ma Chao's expression changed for the first time, and his pupils became a little ferocious: "Qing Gui, you still dare to appear in front of me, you are planning to seek death!"

(End of this chapter)