Cao Thief

Chapter 470
Wuwei, also known as Xiliang.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the name Xiliang Brocade Ma Chao originated from this.

Located in the east of the Hexi Corridor, it is also the gateway of the Hexi Corridor.In 121 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered Huo Qubing, a general of hussars, to go on an expedition to Hexi and defeat the Xiongnu.In order to show the great military power of the great Han, it has the name of "Wuwei".

At the end of September in the eighth year of Jian'an, the weather became colder.

Wuwei County is not too big, but it is very prosperous.

Between the squares and the markets, there was an endless stream of Hu merchants from the Western Regions traveling to and from the Central Plains.Although the melee in the Central Plains could not affect the prosperity of Wuwei.With the convenience of its geographical location, the Ma family is based here, backed by the rich products of the Western Regions, and continues to grow...

The sky is a bit gloomy, as if it is going to snow.

Ma Chao rode his horse outside Wuwei City, feeling heavy and depressed.

Due to the failure of Hongshuiji, Ma Chao's prestige at home has dropped a lot.In addition, Wei Kang, the governor of Liangzhou, sent someone to reprimand Ma Teng and told him not to interfere in Hexi affairs.Ma Teng was furious, turned his head and reprimanded Ma Chao again.

Although this was only a superficial reprimand, Ma Chao was very unhappy.

Occupying Hongze and capturing Hexi is Ma Teng's long-standing proposition.Ma Chao's failure in Hongshuiji this time was not due to lack of planning, but God's will.For this reason, Ma Chao also damaged his right-hand man, the mastermind Hubai.He was not very happy at first, but after being reprimanded by Ma Teng, Ma Chao felt that Ma Teng was unfair to him.

The most annoying thing is his brother Ma Tie.

The recent arrogance can be described as insolent.

In the past, with Hu Bai's assistance and Ma Chao himself being brave and good at fighting, even if Ma Tie wanted to provoke, he would not dare to go too far.But now, Ma Chao suffered a failure, which gave Ma Tie an excuse.People before and after, often speak out to slander Ma Chao.Ma Teng was well aware of this, but he turned a blind eye, as if he hadn't heard of it, it was a completely indulgent attitude.

Ma Chao was unhappy, and had been hunting outside the city with his followers for the past few days.

Fortunately, he has a brother, Ma Dai, who has been following Ma Chao around, making him more or less comfortable.

After hunting down two lone wolves, Ma Chao returned to Wuwei with his prey.

As soon as he got home, he saw the old housekeeper Ma Cheng walking towards him.

"Eldest son, you are back... If you don't come back, this old slave will have to send people out of the city to look for you."

"What are you doing for me?"

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, and asked in doubt.

"The Lord is discussing things in the flower hall, you will know it when you go there."

While talking, Ma Cheng glanced around, and said in a low voice: "Just got the news, Hongze and the Han army have turned their heads!"

"Oh?"

Ma Chao was taken aback, and quickly asked, "When did it happen?"

"Ten days ago... Eldest Young Master, hurry up and go in. If you go late, the Lord will be unhappy."

Ma Cheng is Ma Teng's cousin and also Ma Cheng's old subordinate.Ma Teng's father, Ma Su, used to be the county lieutenant of Langan County, Tianshui County, but was dismissed for a crime.Ma Teng's family environment was not good when he was a child, thanks to the help of Ma Cheng's father.Later, Ma Teng joined the army, and Ma Cheng went hand in hand with him, conquering east and west, and really gave Ma Teng a lot of help, and he was very trusted by Ma Teng.

When Ma Teng was young, he married a Qiang girl and gave birth to Ma Chao.

Later, Ma Teng's status became higher and higher, so he married the daughter of a large family in Jincheng and made him the main wife, that is, Ma Tie's mother.It is for this reason that Ma Teng loves Ma Tie very much.Although the big family in Jincheng is not a famous family, they are also powerful local Han people after all, which makes Ma Teng feel kinder.

Even Ma Teng himself has Qiang ancestry (after Ma Su lost his official position, he lived in a place where the Qiang and Han lived together, and married a Qiang woman, who was Ma Teng's mother).But from the bottom of his heart, Ma Teng recognized his Han blood identity even more.

After all, how could the descendants of General Fubo Ma Yuan be bastards?

Ma Cheng also disagrees with Ma Teng's doting on Ma Tie.This is Xiliang, where Qiang and Hu are mixed, and there are not so many etiquettes of the Han family.Here we are talking about martial arts, and we are talking about who has the biggest fists.Ma Chao fought with Ma Teng since he was a child, and began to fight the enemy at the age of 12. How many achievements have he made?In the entire Xiliang area, who doesn't know the word "Jin Ma Chao"?But it is not a wise choice for Ma Teng to love Ma Tie and alienate Ma Chao...

But Ma Cheng has no way to persuade Ma Teng, so he can only secretly resolve the conflict between his father and son.

Ma Chao bowed his hands gratefully to Ma Cheng, and strode into the flower hall with great strides.

"I don't do business all day long, I only know how to do nothing, how can I achieve great things in the future?"

As soon as he entered the flower hall, Ma Teng scolded him severely.

Below him, brother Matthew Ma Tie sits upright.Matthew is not much younger than Ma Chao, and he respects his elder brother very much.It's just because of Ma Teng's attitude that he was very awkward in the middle, so he sat there with his eyes and nose looking at his nose and mouth, and he couldn't see what he was thinking.Ma Tie, on the other hand, had a look of schadenfreude in his eyes, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Learn from your brother, read more books, and walk more in the barracks, it is better than doing nothing all day long."

Ma Chao gritted his teeth and forced a smile: "The child will follow the teachings of his father."

You old bastard, don't deserve a good death!
You let go of my military power and take back my military talisman. I stay in the barracks, am I being ridiculed?
The resentment had reached the extreme in his heart, but Ma Chao's face was full of respect, as if he obeyed the instruction.

Fortunately, Ma Teng also knew the seriousness, and did not reprimand him again.

"I called everyone here today to discuss a matter."

"Please ask my father."

"I got news that the Cao family's son and Hongze have turned against each other."

"Father, is the news true?"

Matthew asked suspiciously: "Then I've heard of Cao Peng, he is a very careful person, how could he suddenly turn against Hongze?"

"It is said that Hongze Shikui attacked Cao Peng first.

So the Cao family's son took revenge and went back, leading his troops to destroy Shi Kui again.Speaking of this matter, it is not a big deal, the problem is that Cao Peng directly killed Shi Kui without notifying Dou Lan.As a result, Hongze was quite dissatisfied. "

Ma Teng explained in a deep voice, his eyes swept over Ma Chao, and his face suddenly sank.

I saw Ma Chao close his eyes, like an old monk in meditation.

He frowned and asked, "Meng Qi, what do you think?"

Ma Chao opened his eyes and bowed slightly, "I will obey my father's orders..."

"I'm asking you, what should I do?"

Ma Teng got a little angry and shouted sharply.

Ma Chao's cheeks twitched, and he said in a deep voice: "Hongze and the Han army have turned against each other, but there has been no conflict yet. If troops are sent out at this time, I am afraid that the two of them will let go of their previous suspicions and fight side by side. My child thinks that it is time to send troops It’s a good time. It’s best to wait until Hongze and the Han army really fight, and then send troops to attack Hongze, and then the battle will be successful.”

Although in later generations, many people think that Ma Chao is brave and foolish.

But in fact, Ma Chao is extremely smart.

He has been assisted by Hubai for many years, at least he can analyze the stakes.

Ma Teng thought for a while and thought it made sense. He was about to nod his head when he saw Ma Tie standing up and saying, "Father, my son thinks that elder brother is too timid!"

Ma Chao, Ma Xiu, and Ma Dai, who just walked in from the door, suddenly changed their expressions.

In Xiliang, Qiang and Hu live together. If you say that Ren is 'cowardly', it is tantamount to pointing at the other person's nose and calling him a wimp.

Ma Chao was so proud, he was furious when he heard about it.

"What did you say?"

Before Ma Tie opened his mouth to refute, Ma Teng became angry first.

"Meng Qi, what are you doing? I asked you to come here today so that you can express your opinions. Uncle Qi is just expressing his opinion. You look like this, do you want to harm your brother? Don't sit down for me, don't talk too much .”

Ma Chao subconsciously clenched his fists.

But Ma Dai stretched out his hand and grabbed his arm.

Ma Chao took a deep breath and sat down again, but from the violent heaving of his chest, it could be seen that he was angry.

"Uncle, what's your idea?"

"Father, my child thinks that now is the right time to fight Hongze.

The undecided civil strife in Hongze, coupled with the killing of Shi Kui, will inevitably cause conflicts between Hongze and the Han army.I will take this opportunity to send troops to take Hongze in one fell swoop, and then drive away Cao Peng and occupy Hexi.In this way, apart from Sansuke, everything belongs to the father, can a big event be accomplished?If the father is still not at ease, the child has another plan... Could it be that the father has forgotten Tang Ti?Father, why don't you ask him to work together, when the time comes when we attack from both sides, Hongze will definitely win in one battle. "

It sounds reasonable, too.

"Father, don't forget, the longer it takes, the worse it will be for us."

"how do I say this?"

"Cao Cao's old traitor sent troops to Hebei for the second time, and Yuan's fall was imminent.

The immigrants from Hexi have already passed Xiaoguan and will arrive at the beginning of the month at the latest.It will not be so easy to deal with them after they have gained a firm foothold... Therefore, if you want to take Hongze, it is right in front of you, and you will change it later. "

Ma Teng nodded repeatedly, praising Ma Tie for being smart.

And Ma Chao sat aside, quietly watching the scene of fatherly kindness and filial piety in front of him, and kept sneering in his heart.

"Father, my child begs for your order, and is willing to lead a team to level the Red Lake."

"My son has such ambitions, how can he not support it as a father?
Well, since this is the case, as a father, let someone contact Tang Ti and ask him to send troops from Hugh Tuze to drive Cao's son out of Hexi while his foothold is not stable. "

After Ma Teng finished speaking, he laughed.

And Ma Chao was on the sidelines, just watching silently, pursing his lips, not saying a word...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++
On September 23, the eighth year of Jian'an, Ma Teng sent someone to issue a war letter to Dou Lan.

His excuse is very perfect: you Hongze people attacked the Han army, you ignored the dignity of the emperor, and you should be punished if you treat him as a conspiracy!

I am ordered by the emperor to be a former general, and I will be a military officer in Liangzhou.

So, I'm going to hit you!

It is fair and aboveboard for the Son of Heaven to crusade against non-subjects.

Even Wei Kang, governor of Liangzhou, could do nothing about it.And Cao Peng's attitude is not something Ma Teng needs to consider.I'm helping you vent your anger, we are together... If you don't know good from bad, then I don't mind attacking you together.

On September 26, King Tang Ti of the Qiang called together the four great generals of the Qiang and Hu, with an army of [-], marching towards Hongze in a mighty manner.

For a time, the battle clouds in Hexi were densely covered, and gunpowder smoke was everywhere.

After Dou Lan learned that Ma Teng and Tang Ti were going to send troops, she couldn't help but turn pale with shock.

He ordered people to go to the Muyuan of the Li family overnight, and invited Li Qi, the elder of the Li family tribe, to come to Hongshuiji to discuss countermeasures...

After Li Qi came to Hongshuiji, he only said one sentence: "The survival of Hongze depends only on Cao Peng's thoughts."

Dou Lan fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)