Either live in fear, or curry favor with some barbarian tribes in the north.

After Ma Chao arrived in Xihai County, in all fairness, he was dedicated, and Ma Chao also repelled several attacks by the Hun cavalry Xiao Gu. But due to the limitation of personal ability, Ma Chao has not made any big development, but Ma Chao is still arrogant, and he has a strength not to admit defeat in his bones. Although it is good for people to have perseverance, if they do not break the law, the gains outweigh the losses.

"Lord Taishou, whether civil or military, if you want to develop, you must first have a population, and the people are the foundation of your career. The county of Xihai County said, this person is the county of this place, although Ma Chao is impatient, but he is not stupid, although the reputation of this county is not very good, but living in the era of the Han Dynasty, and located in Xihai County in the north of Liangzhou, what do you want people to do!

So Ma Chao didn't care about what happened before he came, so Ma Chao listened carefully, and Jun Cheng talked to himself about the current problems in Xihai County.

"What Jun Cheng said is reasonable, then do we have any other problems in Xihai County?" Ma Chao said. "Lord Taishou, there are many problems, and we can only solve the urgent needs first, and then we can have the possibility of going deeper. This second problem is food, the people will need food after they have it, even if they only have the current population, plus the officials of Xihai County, and the 3,000 soldiers and horses under the command of the adults. Our current stock of food is only enough for half a month. Jun Cheng said.

"Well, what you said makes a lot of sense, so is there anything else?" Ma Chao listened carefully, and after seeing that Jun Cheng's words paused, he asked again.

"The third point is the soldiers and horses, there are only 3,000 soldiers and horses under your command, which is far from enough.

How can there be a county with three thousand soldiers and horses? But this question is based on the first two items. Unless there is another way for adults to get soldiers and horses, but what about grain and grass? Jun Cheng said.

Originally, Ma Chao was ordered by his father Ma Teng to serve as the Taishou of Xihai County, which made Ma Chao very excited, and also made Ma Chao feel complacent. Ma Chao even saw that the Ma family, with his own efforts, was already a big family of the Han Dynasty, and he had reached the pinnacle of his life.

But the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny. After Ma Chao arrived in Xihai County, from being full of interest to now being powerless, Ma Chao even had a feeling that he had nowhere to exert his strength.

Tart tart tart!

"Report ...... Major General, there is a scout from Jiuquan County who asks to see him, saying that there is something important to report. A soldier of Ma Chao said.

"Oh, someone from my hometown is here, and I'm still in such a hurry, something must have happened, let him in." Ma Chao said.

There was not much time, and a scout walked in from the outside, and after the scout saw Ma Chao, he was just about to salute, when he heard Ma Chao say: "No courtesy, tell me if there is something happening at home." ”

"The young general is wise, the lord and the second son went to Dunhuang County at the invitation of Han Sui a few days ago, who knows that since Han Sui did not care about brotherhood, he hid a knife and axe hand at the banquet, killed the lord and the second son, and said some contempt for the Ma family before." The scout said cautiously.

"Ah...... What the...... Father, second brother, Han Sui dog thief, what else did you say Han Sui? Not a word is allowed to be pulled down. After Ma Chao suddenly got the news that his father and second brother were killed, he almost didn't faint on the spot, and after Ma Chao slowly recovered, he asked the scout again.

"Yes, young general, according to the news from the spies, then Han Sui asked his father to marry the young lady to him as a concubine at the beginning, and then asked the lord to hand over the military power of the Ma family, Han Sui will put the lord under house arrest in Dunhuang County, leaving the lord to live, of course the lord will not agree, and finally because the lord's personal guards were blocked by Han Sui outside the city, the lord and the second son were outnumbered, so they were killed by Han Sui. This is a letter from the master's mother and the third prince to the eldest prince, and the third prince asked the eldest prince to abandon Xihai County and lead his troops to Jincheng County to rendezvous. The scout said, and he took out Ma Tie's letter.

"What, what did you say, what happened to my father and second brother?" At this time, a woman's voice came from outside the door, and everyone saw that it was their young lady Ma Yunlu, who was also Ma Chao's favorite sister.

"Little sister, why are you here, there's nothing for you here, you go back to the backyard first." Ma Chao said.

"Big brother, you still lied to me, I heard it. You explain it to me clearly. Ma Yunlu said, Ma Yunlu is a queen-like existence in the Ma family, it can be said that the Ma family is afraid of Ma Yunlu's daughter and sister in the palm of their hands, and they are afraid of melting in their mouths. As soon as she scolded, the scout didn't dare to say anything, even Ma Chao didn't object, and the scout repeated what he had just said to Ma Chao.

"Brother, I'm going to avenge my father. Are you going or not? Ma Yunlu said. Nonsense, you go back and pack your bags, and in a moment our whole army will go south to meet our mother. Although Ma Chao has a strong personality, he is not a fool, and in addition, he does not dare to disobey his mother's orders.

**

In the county guard of Jincheng County, Liangzhou, Pang De sat on the main seat, and some of his subordinates and generals sat below, including Ma Chao's cousin Ma Dai.

"Ma Dai, how is the development of Jincheng County recently?" Pang De asked Ma Dai that although Pang De was asked by Ma Teng to be in charge of Jincheng County, Ma Teng did not appoint Pang De as the Taishou, in fact, Ma Teng appointed Ma Chao as the Taishou of Xihai County, and it was also inconsistent with the laws of the Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty had decayed to this point, and no one paid attention to this matter.

"Returning to General Yu, everything is normal, but Jincheng County has always been in the midst of war, from the Liangzhou Gengdi Rebellion in the first few years, to the later Beigong Boyu, as well as Dong Zhuo, and the war in the Western Liang Army after Dong Zhuo's death, it can be said that the current Jincheng County is already in ruins, and the people of Jincheng County still have five layers." Ma Dai said.

"Hey! That's all we can do, just try our best to do our part. Pound said. General, don't be so pessimistic, in fact, our Jincheng County is good, the eldest prince's Xihai County heard that it has been harassed and plundered by the Huns all the year round, and it is said that the people are no longer one in ten. Ma Dai said.

Tart tart tart!

"Report ...... General, there is a scout from Jiuquan, and there is something to ask to see the general. A soldier said. Pound thought for a moment and said, "Let him in." ”

"General Qiyu, there are letters from the master's mother and the second son, and according to the news obtained by Tanma, the lord and the second son have been killed by Han Sui. They are attacking Jiuquan County. This letter was handed over to the general by the second son and the master's mother, and instructed the general to guard Jincheng County, which may be our final foundation. One of the scouts came in and said to Pound.

"Okay, I know, someone will take him down to eat, rest for a while, and let him go and pass the word to the mistress again, and say that I will guard Jincheng County." Pound said.

"Yes, General." Said one of Pound's soldiers. "General Xie!" The scout said gratefully. Generally, the scout will be sent away after reporting the matter, and Pound can let him rest for a while, eat something to recover his strength, which shows that Pound is in command of the army, and it is also a manifestation of loving soldiers like a son!

"Ma Dai, you immediately send an order to strengthen the defense of the four gates of Jincheng County, and immediately recruit soldiers, we currently only have three thousand soldiers and horses, which is far from enough, and we can't take care of other counties in Jincheng County at present.