Ji Han Liu Zhang

Outside Lueyang City.

The current situation at the camp of Ma Teng and Han Sui was that Ma Teng was rude to his eldest son Ma Chao because Ma Chao, who had gone to lure the enemy and set an ambush, had failed to succeed. Ma Chao also looked a little sad when facing his father's ruthless punishment in public.

If Liu Zhang were here and saw this scene, he would surely be moved and discuss several topics with Xun You and Jia Xu, namely the sadness of being a son of a concubine and the harm that a disappointing father can do to a child's mood.

After Pang De, who was traveling with Ma Chao, excused the failure of today's ambush by saying that the Shu army was timid and cautious, General Andi Han Sui raised his eyebrows slightly and hinted at his confidant Cheng Gongying beside him.

Cheng Gongying understood, and he took a step forward and apologized to Ma Teng, saying, "General Ma, the strategy of luring the enemy into an ambush will fail eight or nine times out of ten. The failure of today's strategy is due to my lack of consideration, not your fault."

"I think the Shu army commander in Lueyang City is either a cowardly person who is very afraid of us Liangzhou cavalry, or a cautious person who only wants to avoid mistakes and not seek credit."

Cheng Gongying reached out and stroked his goatee, analyzing the character of the Shu army commander in Lueyang City. At the same time, he changed the subject so as not to draw Ma Teng's attention to the failure of today's ambush to lure the enemy.

Han Sui, who was thin and had a dull face, nodded. He and Cheng Gongying changed the subject without leaving any trace: "Since the Shu army commander in Lueyang City has no intention of fighting, then we can only attack Lueyang by force. However, siege battles are always difficult to win, so we still need to make plans and use strategies."

"Well, Brother Han is right. Attacking a city is not easy. It is better to use strategy." Ma Teng's attention was diverted. He responded to Han Sui and affectionately called Han Sui "Brother Han". The two of them became brothers in their early years, so they often called each other brothers.

After chatting for a few more words, Han Sui said goodbye to Ma Teng: "Night is approaching, you and I should rest early, and go to scout Lueyang city early tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Ma Teng nodded in response.

After saying this, Ma Teng and Han Sui separated and returned to their respective camps, just like birds and beasts returning to their nests at dusk.

After returning to the camp, Ma Teng still looked uneasy. Cheng Gongying had proposed a plan to lure the enemy and set an ambush, and Yan Xing, a brave general under Han Sui, was supposed to carry out the plan. However, Ma Teng wanted to make a contribution, so he discussed with Han Sui and let Ma Chao and Pang De under his command go first.

However, he never expected that he sent Ma Chao and Pang De to go there with high enthusiasm, but they returned without any achievement. Seeing this, Ma Teng felt that Ma Chao had lost his face, so he scolded Ma Chao in public regardless of the situation.

Although he disliked Ma Chao, he still thought of Ma Chao's bravery and how he could be of great help to him. After calming down, Ma Teng explained to Ma Chao, "Chao'er, I didn't blame you in public just now because I was a father. I just wanted to save face and avoid any resentment between us and Han Sui."

"Faced with a powerful enemy, we need to make peace with Han Sui, otherwise we will be unable to cope alone. It will be difficult to defeat the Shu army, take back Lueyang, and block the roads to Longdi." Ma Teng said earnestly.

"I will keep my father's teachings in mind." Ma Chao accepted Ma Teng's teachings with an honest attitude.

Seeing that Ma Chao had a good attitude, Ma Teng comforted Ma Chao and forced a loving smile: "Rest early. You have been tired all day."

"Yes." Ma Chao nodded and turned away. However, the frank look on his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a sad look. In Ma Chao's opinion, his father's kindness had always belonged to Ma Xiu and Ma Tie, but he, the illegitimate son, could not get even a little bit of it. Even Ma Dai, one of his father's nephews, received more kindness than him.

As night fell, Ma Chao walked towards his tent, looking up at the bright moonlight and the starry sky. The beautiful scenery dissipated some of the depression in his heart.

Looking at the brilliant starry sky, Ma Chao thought of the past. Combined with Ma Teng's perfunctory comfort just now, with a look of kindness on his face that could not be more fake, his heart gradually grew cold. He was determined to do something great in his life, but he no longer longed for the approval of Ma Teng, his father.

When Ma Chao arrived at the entrance of his tent, before he could lift the curtain, he saw the curtain being lifted from the inside. However, only the lower part of the curtain was lifted, while the upper part was still stretched vertically, indicating that the person in the tent was not tall.

Ma Chao then looked down and saw a young girl with a childish face. She tilted her head and looked at Ma Chao with a happy expression, and said in a sweet voice like a bell: "Brother, you are back."

When he saw the girl, Ma Chao showed a loving look. This was his sister Ma Shu. He had a distant relationship with his brothers Ma Xiu, Ma Tie and others. Only Ma Shu in front of him was close to him.

Because Ma Shu was younger and almost a generation younger than Ma Chao, Ma Chao treated Ma Shu as both a sister and a daughter, and Ma Shu thus became the apple of his eye.

As for why Ma Shu lived in Ma Chao's tent, it was because when Ma Teng attacked Jincheng before, Han Sui lured the Qiang and Hu and did not attack to retake Jincheng, but instead led his troops to Tianshui and killed Ma Teng's wife and children. Ma Chao did not have any deep friendship with those who died at that time, so he did not care about them.

The only person he cared about was Ma Shu. At that time, he thought that Ma Shu was doomed. When he rushed back to Tianshui, his face was extremely dark and his mood was a little confused.

Fortunately, Ma Shu was protected by his cousin Ma Dai and escaped. After this incident, Ma Chao took Ma Shu with him to prevent her from falling into any danger.

Ma Chao picked up Ma Shu and asked her if she had any interesting experiences today. The brother and sister started chatting in low voices.

Day two.

Ma Teng and Han Sui, as the chief and deputy military leaders of Liang Province, led their troops to the city of Lueyang and carefully observed the city's defense facilities. They intended to find the weak points of the city so as to easily recapture the important city of Lueyang from the Shu army.

However, Ma Teng and Han Sui walked around the city separately. After observing for a while, they met the two people in the west of Lueyang City. Both of them showed disappointment on their faces.

There was no other reason. It seemed that Lueyang City had been repaired by the Shu army in the city. The originally blocked moat was reopened, the dilapidated city towers were repaired, and the battlements and other things were also repaired.

Although the city of Lueyang today is a bit small, the city defense facilities seem to be complete without any omissions. It is like a piece of steel plate. If you bite it, you will probably break it with your front teeth.

This was not good news for Ma Teng and Han Sui. After all, Lueyang was deep in Liang Province and was occupied by the Shu army, which made them feel like a thorn in their throat. If they could not take Lueyang back, they would be doomed. (End of this chapter)