Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chen Cang.

In the early morning, the sun had not yet risen from the east, so the sky seemed a little dark. In addition, there was a thick fog in the morning, and the only thing that could be seen clearly was a distance of three or four feet.

But even in such a gloomy early morning, Ma Chao, the Fu Bo General, got up early. He stood in the courtyard, holding a spear in his hand. The tip of the spear was polished to an extremely sharp point, and a cold light lingered around the entire tip of the spear.

Ma Chao, fully armed with helmet and armor, took a breath and swung his spear to practice martial arts in the courtyard. Since Ma Teng was killed and surrendered to Liu Zhang, he got up every day to practice martial arts when he heard the cock crow, in order to avenge the blood feud between Ma Teng and his two brothers Ma Tie and Ma Xiu.

Today was no exception. Ma Chao practiced martial arts and strengthened his muscles at dawn and dusk as usual. He swung the spear in his hand, and the surrounding mist moved with the wind from the spear, spreading to both sides like flowing water. As the spear flew up and down like a dragon and a phoenix, the mist around Ma Chao suddenly became messy, no longer as even and dense as before.

As time passed, the sun gradually rose and shone on the ancient city of Chencang. The courtyard where Ma Chao stood welcomed the bright and hot sunshine. The morning mist gradually dissipated, and Ma Chao's heroic figure practicing martial arts was revealed, which caught the eyes of Ma Dai, who was accompanying Ma Chao in practicing martial arts.

Ma Dai glanced at the height of the sun and secretly calculated the current time. Then he said to Ma Chao, "Brother, it's almost time. Today, the Lord will summon all the generals and issue some orders. You and I need to hurry to the county temple early."

"Yeah." After Ma Chao retracted the spear, he threw it casually to the soldier standing beside him. At the same time, he took the silk cloth from another soldier and wiped the sweat from his head.

"Do you know what today's gathering is about?" After wiping the sweat off his forehead, Ma Chao let out a long sigh and asked Ma Dai. As the commander of the central army of Lord Liu Zhang, Ma Dai must know some inside information.

Ma Dai shook his head and said with a smile: "I don't know, but even if I knew, I can't tell you, brother. This is against my duty."

"Hmm?" Ma Chao turned to look at Ma Dai with a little surprise. After a moment, he smiled and said, "Humph, you are very clear about public and private matters. You care about the righteousness of the monarch and his subjects, but ignore the friendship between brothers."

"Hehe." Ma Dai knew Ma Chao very well, so he knew that there was no grudge in Ma Chao's words, but they were mostly jokes.

Then Ma Chao and Ma Dai walked into the house side by side, ready to enjoy today's breakfast. As for breakfast, the servants had prepared it early. After Ma Dai sat down, he picked up the bowl and chopsticks and began to enjoy it.

During breakfast, Ma Dai spoke. As a Liangzhou native, he was very casual and did not follow the rules of not talking while eating or sleeping. What Ma Dai talked about was the content of the meeting held by Mr. Liu Zhang today. Although he did not know the specific matters discussed at the meeting, Ma Dai had some guesses in his mind: "Brother, in my opinion, the matters discussed at the meeting today are most likely about Liangzhou affairs, and we should send troops."

"Aren't we short of food and fodder right now? Do we have to wait until after the summer harvest before we can send troops to Longyou?" Ma Chao replied, somewhat confused.

"That's mobilizing the masses. We have to wait until after the summer harvest." Ma Dai said, "Now the new governor of Wudu, Wang Mou, has joined hands with the general Shen Mi to defeat several Di tribes in Wudu and seize a lot of Di grain. The Di grain is now being transported to Chencang. Together with the food and grass stored in Chencang, it should not be difficult to support 5,000 to 6,000 people to set off for Liangzhou."

"So that's how it is." Ma Chao nodded. He didn't know much about this information. However, Ma Dai, as the captain of the central army, was close to the water and got the moon first, so he could know some military information earlier.

"If you intend to send troops to Longyou, I will find a vanguard." Ma Chao said resolutely.

"Brother, you have been in Longyou for a long time and are well aware of the geography and the people. If not you, who else can be the vanguard?" Ma Dai echoed. Thinking of all the generals under Liu Zhang, no one was more suitable to be the vanguard than Ma Chao.

In another courtyard in Chencang.

"How is my aunt?" Zhang Xiu, the General of the Central Army and Marquis of Wansui Pavilion, was doing what he did every morning as usual and greeting his widowed aunt, Zou.

Although Zhang Xiu and Zhang Ji were uncle and nephew in name, they were father and son in spirit. As his aunt, Zou was like his mother. So when Zhang Ji was killed by Li Jue and Guo Si and Zou became a widow, Zhang Xiu served Zou like a mother, not letting her feel uncomfortable, which made his uncle Zhang Ji uneasy in his grave.

"A Xiu, everything is fine here, don't worry about me. You don't need to greet me every day, but just work hard for the Grand Marshal." Zou's voice was like the sound of a clear spring. She looked at Zhang Xiu, who was wearing a military uniform and a crested crown on his head. He was a young man with a heroic spirit. As an elder, she felt relieved.

Seeing that Zhang Xiu's clothes were slightly wrinkled, Zou stepped forward to straighten the corners of Zhang Xiu's clothes and earnestly advised him, "The Grand Marshal does not despise your background and has placed you in such high esteem. He has also commended you for your contribution in capturing and killing Li Jue and made you a Marquis of Wansui Ting. He is a rare wise ruler in the world... Ah Xiu, you must serve him well and must not make any mistakes that would disappoint the Grand Marshal."

"Even if my aunt doesn't say it, I understand it. In this life, I will follow and serve the Grand Marshal without any second thoughts and do my best to serve him." Zhang Xiu looked serious and accepted Zou's teachings.

"Well, go ahead. The Grand Marshal is gathering all the generals, so don't be late." Zou straightened the wrinkles on the corners of Zhang Xiu's clothes. She waved her hand and told Zhang Xiu to arrive at the meeting as soon as possible and not fall behind, which would make others think that Zhang Xiu was arrogant.

"Yes." Zhang Xiu nodded in agreement. He saluted towards Zou, took a few steps back, then turned and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Looking at Zhang Xiu's departing back, Zou inexplicably thought of her late husband Zhang Ji. Zhang Xiu's posture was very similar to Zhang Ji's, nine out of ten were almost identical. Looking at Zhang Xiu's back, she seemed to see her late husband Zhang Ji.

After watching Zhang Xiu leave, Zou turned and walked into the house. After entering the house, she first lit three incense sticks in front of Zhang Ji's spirit tablet, and then she said, "My husband, Ah Xiu is now more promising. She captured and killed Li Jue and avenged you with her own hands. Later, she was appointed as the Marquis of Wansui Ting and became a prince. My husband, your spirit in heaven can rest in peace now."

At this point, Zou sobbed once or twice. Having lost her husband Zhang Ji and living as a widow in Chencang, she felt very sad and hopeless, so she did not follow Zhang Ji, but was only thinking about Zhang Xiu.

Chencang County Temple.

In the meeting hall of the county temple, the top seat was vacant. The Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry Liu Zhang had not yet arrived here, but officers and soldiers came in from time to time and sat down according to the pre-arranged seats. The General of the Central Army and the Marquis of Wansui Pavilion Zhang Xiu also came here and sat down early, waiting for Liu Zhang's arrival. He did not have much friendship with the officers and soldiers under Liu Zhang, but only nodded to each other, so he did not whisper with the other generals present, but just sat silently in his seat.

"Yes, that man is Zhang Xiu, the young prince."

Zhang Xiu had sharp ears and he heard a whisper coming from nearby, and it turned out that it was talking about him.

"This kid is really lucky. I heard that when Li Jue escaped from Huangbai City, his troops were divided into two groups. Zhang Xiaoqi (Ren) sent Zhang Xiu to chase one group. It happened that Li Jue was in the group that Zhang Xiu was chasing, and Zhang Xiu rescued him and made him a Wansui Tinghou."

"It's also his ability. Li Jue is cunning and brave. It's not someone that ordinary people can capture and kill. Zhang Xiu was able to capture and kill Li Jue, which is enough to show that this boy is very brave and extraordinary."

"Tsk, Li Que was at the end of his rope at that time, he just wanted to escape and survive, how could he have the will to fight? Zhang Xiu's capture and killing of Li Jue is not a big deal... Besides, the title of marquis obtained by capturing and killing Li Jue should be obtained by Zhang Xiaoqi. How can Zhang Xiu, a newly surrendered person, bear such a great achievement?"

Zhang Xiu listened to the two men commenting on him in private. Although the words were a little unkind, he did not get angry. As a new surrenderer, he had not yet gained a firm foothold under Liu Zhang. It would not be convenient for him to conflict with the old people under Liu Zhang at this time. If things got out of hand, he would be afraid of becoming alone.

Secondly, Zhang Xiu felt somewhat lucky about capturing and killing Li Jue and being appointed Wansui Ting Hou. Just as the two men had whispered, such a great achievement should not be taken by a newly surrendered person like him. He did not have such strength. It should have been obtained by the veteran general Zhang Ren. He only needed to assist in capturing and killing Li Jue and kill the enemy with his own hands.

Besides, he had achieved great merit suddenly and was appointed as Wansui Tinghou. Plus, as a newly surrendered person, it was inevitable that some narrow-minded people would gossip about him. Zhang Xiu had heard such words from the two people just now two or three times, and he no longer took them to heart.

"Youwei, you're here early!" Zhang Xiu, who was resting with his eyes closed, suddenly heard a very familiar voice. He quickly opened his eyes and stood up, bowed to Zhang Ren who spoke in front of him and said, "Brother."

The origin of the phrase "brother" is that Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu have the same surname, Zhang, and both are great horseback warriors. Their residences in Chang'an are adjacent to each other, so they became familiar with each other. One day during a banquet, they had a great conversation, and suddenly became sworn brothers.

"There's no need to be so polite. We are soldiers, so why should we imitate those sour scholars? Besides, you and I have such a close relationship as brothers, being more polite would seem awkward." Zhang Ren stretched out his hand to hold down Zhang Xiu's movement as he tried to stand up. He signaled Zhang Xiu to just bow and there was no need to stand up and perform any grand ceremony.

"Yes." Zhang Xiu accepted Zhang Ren's advice calmly, and at the same time he responded to Zhang Ren's previous joke: "I always get up early, so I arrived earlier."

"Brother, do you know why you have summoned all the generals today?" Following up on what he had said before, Zhang Xiu asked Zhang Ren.

"I don't know, but it's probably something about Liangzhou. A batch of Di grain has been transported from Wudu recently. With food and fodder, we can attack Han Sui." Zhang Ren gave his inference.

"Brother, you and I should serve as vanguards." Zhang Xiu said with a smile.

"Of course." Zhang Ren agreed. As the Marquis of Guannei, the spear in his hand had long been thirsty. His desire for military merit made him feel like a traveler walking in the desert who had not drunk a drop of water for days.

Just as the generals were discussing in the meeting hall, there was suddenly a noise coming from the back of the hall. The noisy voices in the hall suddenly disappeared, and the whole hall was so quiet that you could clearly hear the sound of a pin drop.

When the person who came out from the back of the hall sat down at the head seat, all the generals present bowed their hands and saluted, saying in unison, "Mingsir."

"No need to be so polite." Liu Zhang, who had just sat down at the top, waved his hand, telling everyone not to be so polite. He didn't say much, but glanced at Fa Zheng, the General of Military Affairs.

Fa Zheng nodded to show his understanding, then he coughed lightly and read to the generals in the hall: "At dusk yesterday, news came from Tianshui that the bandit Han Sui had finally made a move. Now Han Sui has sent Qiang, Hu and barbarians to plunder everywhere and bring disaster to the people of Tianshui County. This is a plan to fortify the city and clear the countryside."

After Fa Zheng explained the situation, Liu Zhang continued what Fa Zheng had said, "Although it is not the summer harvest yet, recently the governor of Wudu, Wang Mou, and the general of the army, Shen Mi, have collected a batch of Di grains. In addition, there is still some grain stored in Chencang. I intend to send thousands of troops to Longyou to wipe out the Qiang and Hu who are causing trouble in Tianshui County, so that Han Sui's plan of clearing the countryside will fail."

Upon hearing this, all the generals in the hall came to the front and bowed to request orders. The three cavalry generals Zhang Ren, Zhang Xiu and Ma Chao were the most diligent. There was no other reason. Many Qiang and Hu people in Liangzhou had horses, many of which were good horses, and they moved back and forth like the wind. If they were to wipe out the Qiang and Hu people, this task would be best undertaken by them.

Liu Zhang stretched out his hand and pressed down, signaling everyone to be quiet. As his signal fell into the eyes of the generals in the hall, they returned to their seats and waited for Liu Zhang's instructions.

Fa Zheng declared loudly again: "For this trip to Longyou, the officers to be sent have already been decided. Wu Ziyuan will be the governor of Liangzhou, and Ma Mengqi and Zhang Youwei will be his assistants. As for the officers who will stay behind in Chencang, they should train the soldiers diligently and prepare for war."

"I obey your command." Wu Yi, Ma Chao and Zhang Xiu attended the meeting and knelt down to receive your command.

As Fa Zheng read out Liu Zhang's order, all the generals present who were not named stopped thinking about requesting to serve as vanguards. Since the order had already been given, they did not dare and did not want to compete for the position of vanguard.

As for the combination of Wu Yi as the governor of Liangzhou, and Ma Chao and Zhang Xiu as his assistants, the generals present would feel that there was nothing wrong. Wu Yi, as a Ming Han general, served as the governor, and Ma Chao and Zhang Xiu, who were familiar with the geography and customs of Longyou, served as his assistants. This was indeed a perfect combination.

However, there was one person in the hall who looked dissatisfied. This person was Zhang Ren, the top cavalry general under Liu Zhang. Zhang Ren thought he deserved the position of vanguard, but he did not expect that he was not chosen for the vanguard.

However, Zhang Ren had always been loyal to Liu Zhang, so he did not take any action to attend the debate. He planned to talk about it after the meeting. (End of this chapter)