Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1109 New Punishment
Pang De had returned from Anping County in Jizhou several days ago. This time he attacked several villages along the way, and everyone returned with a full load. When Ma Chao heard about it, he praised him a lot.

Among Ma Chao's generals, Pang De fought the most bravely. He was initially a provincial official, and later followed Ma Teng to conquer the Qiang and Di tribes. He made many military achievements and was promoted to colonel. Later, he followed Ma Teng to fight against Gao Gan in Sili, and killed Gao Gan's general Guo Yuan in one battle.

But this also became a thorn in Pang De's side. He didn't know at that time that Guo Yuan was Zhong Yao's nephew. When he learned the truth afterwards, he had trouble sleeping for a while. You know, Zhong Yao was a popular figure under Cao Cao. If he offended him, what would happen to his future career?
Therefore, in the past two years, Pang De has acted cautiously and fought more bravely. Wherever he went, he would massacre villages and destroy towns, leaving no grass behind. This greatly undermined the morale of the enemy and made him more famous.

In a place like Liangzhou, the so-called bravery in battle also has another meaning of killing all the people. This was the case when Pang De followed the Western Liang Army to deal with the Qiang and Di tribes in the eastern part of Liangzhou. His methods were so ruthless that even Ma Chao was surprised.

This also led to Pang De making many enemies, and even Ma Chao kept his distance from him. Later, when Ma Chao fell out with Cao Cao and was forced to defect to the Kingdom of Shu, he directly abandoned the great general Pang De, also out of consideration that the Kingdom of Shu might not accept Pang De.

At that time, Ma Chao's reputation was already very bad because of Ma Teng, but he still didn't want to associate with Pang De, which shows how bad Pang De's reputation was.

In fact, this matter cannot be said to be entirely Pang De's fault. The Xiliang Army and the Qiang and Hu have been killing each other for a hundred years, and the hatred is difficult to resolve. If the Xiliang Army was defeated, its end would be just as miserable. But Pang De's problem is that he does things without leaving a way out and only knows how to sell his life, but he doesn't know that people who only know how to sell their lives are not worth buying.

This put Pang De in an extremely awkward situation for a time, and he had to stay in Hanzhong. Finally, he surrendered to Cao Cao, who valued talent over morality. Only then was he able to make a name for himself in the later Battle of Fancheng. Because his fighting style was extremely fierce and he rode a white horse, Guan Yu's soldiers at that time called him the White Horse General and were very wary and frightened of him.

Now that Pang De had returned to Ma Chao's army camp in Qinghe, he rested there for a few days. His soldiers took the captured women back home to have fun. Some of them exchanged them with others, some sold them when they got tired of them, and some even tortured them to death. The sound of wailing was endless.

At that time, they were stationed near Dongwu City in Qinghe State, which was the ancestral home of the Cui family of Qinghe. Ma Chao's original intention was to ask the Cui family to provide food and fodder, so he camped near the city. At the beginning, the Xiliang soldiers also abducted women, which led to the nearby Cui family coming to plead for mercy.

Ma Chao originally looked down on Cui Yan, thinking that he was just an ordinary subordinate of Cao Cao. But someone reminded Ma Chao that Cao Zhi might very likely marry Cui Yan's niece. Only then did Ma Chao come to his senses and quickly discipline his soldiers.

But Qinghe was fine, but the neighboring Anping County of Yuan Xi suffered. Ma Chao ordered his men to lead troops to plunder Anping, and the one who worked most hard among them was Pang De.

This time Pang De killed thousands of Anping civilians and looted more than a thousand women and returned with even greater reputation. He rested for two days and enjoyed several women brought to him by his men.

However, early that morning, Cui sent a letter to Dongwu City. Pang De opened it, read it twice, felt unhappy, and immediately got up and went to Ma Chao's tent.

Ma Chao was doing the same thing in the tent at that time. When he heard Pang De coming, he thought that Pang De really knew how to find the right time. He kicked the dying woman at his feet away, picked up his clothes, walked out of the tent, and saw Pang De already waiting outside.

As Ma Chao dressed, he went to meet Pang De and said, "Why don't you enjoy yourself for a few days? Why do you come to see me so early in the morning? What's the urgent matter?"

Pang De presented the letter and said, "The Cui family in Dongwu City has sent a letter."

Ma Chao took the bamboo slips, glanced at them, and saw the content of the letter. It was written by Cui Yan's son, and it was actually a plea for mercy for the abducted woman.

It said that when he heard about the attack on Anping, he first praised General Ma Chao's bravery, but then changed the subject and said that although abducting women was a common occurrence on the battlefield, Anping would sooner or later be ruled by Cao Cao, and if Cao Cao was too harsh, it would damage Ma Chao's reputation.

Finally, the letter advised Ma Chao to make proper arrangements for these women. If possible, Cui was willing to pay more money and food to redeem these women.

After reading it, Ma Chao threw the bamboo slips on the ground and said unhappily, "He is just seeking fame and reputation. I gave him a favor last time, but this time he is asking for more!"

"I know exactly what these nobles are thinking. They just want to gain a good reputation. They have done many more dirty things in private than us!"

"Isn't he just trying to use this opportunity to show that he, the Cui family, is benevolent and righteous, and that we are barbarians who are uncivilized?"

"Fuck you!"

Pang De hesitated and said, "But I heard that Cui Yan advised Yuan Shao to implement virtuous policies many times when he was under Yuan Shao's rule. When the Yuan family was fighting, he stayed indoors. When the King of Wei summoned him, he served as the deputy driver. But he still advised the King of Wei to implement benevolence and righteousness. If the general does not meet his demands, I am afraid that he will speak ill of the general in front of the King of Wei."

Ma Chao spat fiercely, "He dares!"

"It's just a personal drive. When I climb higher than him, I will find a way to kill him!"

Pang De hurriedly said: "General, be careful with your words. You are blind and living under someone else's roof. You should keep a low profile to avoid being caught by others."

After hearing this, Ma Chao patted Pang De on the shoulder and praised him: "Ling Ming is really my right-hand man."

"Now my father was framed by a traitor and died. Although the King of Wei avenged my father, the only person I can rely on now is Ling Ming."

"In the future, when I become the governor of Jizhou and have complete control over Jizhou, I will appoint Lingming as the governor of Jizhou. We two brothers will confiscate the property and exterminate all those who disobey us!"

Pang De knelt down to express his gratitude. Ma Chao helped him up and said with a smile, "We are brothers. There is no need to go through all these formalities. From now on, we are as close as brothers!"

Pang De was moved, and the two talked for a few more words.

Ma Chao sighed, "I envy Ling Ming very much. He is only a few years older than me, but he already has two sons. I remember your second son Pang Hui was born less than half a year ago, right?"

Pang De said, "I'm just lucky. Now that I'm being raised in my hometown in Liangzhou, I don't have to worry about the future." "General, you are young and strong, you should also pay attention to your offspring. You should have more wives and concubines, so that you can revive the Ma family."

Ma Chao heard this and said angrily, "Don't mention it. I have no interest in my wife just by looking at her face."

Pang De said with a smile: "You don't have to find your original wife to have children. The women in Jizhou are much fairer and more tender than those in Liangzhou. If you find more, you will always be able to have children."

Ma Chao laughed and said, "But they are too delicate. They can't hold on any longer and die easily. It's really not fun enough."

"But the noble women here do use it with some flavor."

Pang De hurriedly said, "Don't worry, General. Next time I go out to massacre a village, I'll bring more here. There are many poor nobles in Jizhou. I don't think they would dare to say anything if we rob a few women."

The two of them smiled knowingly at the same time.

A few days later, when Pang De had finished his repairs and was ready to set out again, bad news came from Anping.

A previous looting team was discovered by the Jizhou garrison. Although they escaped in time, they were still caught up by the Youzhou cavalry who appeared out of nowhere.

Originally, the Xiliang cavalry did not take it seriously, because they were all traveling light and wearing leather armor. They were much faster than the armored Youzhou cavalry. Even if there were women on the back of their horses, if they left them behind and ran away, the Youzhou cavalry would not be able to catch up with them.

However, the Youzhou cavalry that came this time were completely different from the previous ones. They also wore light leather armor, and the horses they rode were carefully selected tall horses from the Youzhou army. Moreover, each man rode two horses, and they came simply for the purpose of pursuit.

Moreover, it seemed as if the enemy's hidden stakes deployed in various places were activated at the same time. Rockets rose from time to time on the escape route of the Xiliang cavalry, marking the position of the Xiliang cavalry. In this case, the escape route had been blocked in advance, and the Xiliang soldiers could only go around in big circles, trying to get rid of the enemy and then find a way back.

But the Xiliang cavalry ran for two days and two nights without being able to shake off the enemy, and were hastily caught in an ever-shrinking encirclement.

The Xiliang general who led the group was Ma Chao's cousin. He knew that the enemy was well prepared this time, so he immediately ordered his troops to find a direction and break out with all their might, hoping to save the rest at the cost of some lives.

However, the will of the Youzhou cavalry was far beyond their expectations. The Xiliang soldiers launched several desperate attacks, but they were all blocked by the Youzhou soldiers. Their counterattacks were extremely swift, and a large number of casualties occurred on both sides in a short period of time.

Seeing that his own arrows were almost exhausted and the enemy's logistical supplies were endless, the Ma clan member was afraid that he could not escape, so he prepared to surrender. However, the enemy general did not accept his offer and said, "The lord has ordered that all of you beasts shall be killed without mercy!"

After hearing this, the Ma clan members shouted, "Fuck, you shameless people! Let's fight them!"

When the Xiliang soldiers shot their remaining arrows, they roared, and rushed forward with their swords drawn.

The ensuing battle was extremely brutal, with both sides using their weapons to attack each other recklessly. However, with the continuous support of reinforcements from Jizhou, this group of hundreds of Xiliang cavalrymen was finally wiped out.

In addition to those who died on the spot, there were more than a hundred people who were injured and captured, including General Ma.

But they never imagined that an even crueler fate was waiting for them.

More than a hundred captured people were taken to the border of Anyang and Qinghe, to the pass camp belonging to Yuan Shijun, and then brought to the top of the city wall.

Ma Chao's army, which rushed to the rescue upon hearing the news, saw for the first time in their lives a type of punishment that was invented during the Five Dynasties period, being used in public on the captured Xiliang soldiers.

Ling Chi.

On the morning of the first day, the soldiers of Ma Chao's army who were watching the execution had already vomited. They really could not understand how this punishment was invented. They also did not understand why the person did not die after being cut so many times. They also did not understand why the soldiers who were carrying out the execution remained calm. Were they all beasts?

Upon hearing the news, Ma Chao and Pang De led their troops there personally. They arrived in front of the city the next day and witnessed the whole process.

During the process, Ma Chao could not help wanting to attack the city several times, but was stopped by Pang De, who said that the city was extremely strong and could not be conquered by Ma Chao's cavalry alone.

So Ma Chao could only watch his own people being cut down one by one on the top of the city wall. Finally, he could not bear it any longer and shouted, "You are so despicable, are you human?"

He pointed at the soldiers who were carrying out the execution and shouted, "Don't let me find your family, or I'll kill them all using the same method!"

The executioner stopped the knife in his hand, spat at Ma Chao under the city, and said with a grim smile: "It's really unfortunate. My mother, wife and more than a dozen people in my family were all killed by you the other day."

"Come up and kill me too if you dare."

"Otherwise I will continue to cut, and sooner or later I will cut all of you to death one by one."

(End of this chapter)