The width of the Majia River is about ten zhang, the river channel of this section is gentle, the flow speed is not too fast, there is a lot of silt accumulation on the riverbed, and although the river water looks very clear, it exudes a faint silt smell.

It is because of this faint smell, although it is not unpleasant, that this river is also called the stinky river.

The Ma family did not live in a centralized manner, but scattered on both sides of the river, managing the fields under their own names. The sound of chickens and dogs comes and goes, exuding a very cordial pastoral atmosphere.

The Ma family of Majiahe has lived here for hundreds of years, although it is also a big family, it was not very famous in the local area, and it is no different from the ordinary rural landlords.

The rise of the Ma family, and even the name of Ma Jiahe, have a lot to do with Ma Wu, a famous general in the Eastern Han Dynasty!

Ma Wu is one of the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai, although he is from Nanyang County, he is the distant family of the Ma family. When he was a teenager, Ma Wu lived in Xiangyang County in order to escape the persecution of the enemy, and the ancestors of the Ma family thought that it was appropriate for him to take care of Ma Wu.

Later, Ma Wu followed Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu, served as a captured general, and accompanied the army to conquer the north and south, pacify the Quartet, and assist Liu Xiu in establishing the Eastern Han Dynasty.

After Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, he worshiped Ma Wu as a servant and rode the captain, and was named Marquis Yang Xu.

Ma Wu is brave and strong, vicious and hateful, so he can't fight! Only then did he offend the heroes of his hometown and had to go away to avoid trouble.

Ma Wu attaches great importance to love and righteousness, and after he is developed, he returns to his hometown, and naturally he will not forget the Majiahe where he once lived.

He specially came to Majiahe, visited the local government and the head of the Ma family, and recommended some outstanding disciples of the Ma family to serve in the government.

Although the biggest official position of the children of the Ma family is only Bapin County, the status of the family has made a qualitative leap, from a rural landlord to an official family.

Ma Wuke didn't just do these things on the surface, but because he was afraid of getting the official reputation, he didn't dare to make a big show, but quietly negotiated with the government and bought a large section of the stinky water river for the Ma family.

Although the Ma family was the main producer of the farmlands on the banks of the Majia River, there were still five or six large families who also purchased a small amount of farmland on both sides of the river, mainly to facilitate the diversion of river water to irrigate the farmland downstream.

In the year of the great drought, the Ma family often clashed with other families because of irrigation, and in serious cases, several major families fought together.

After Ma Wu quietly bought this section of the river, he hinted to the Ma family through the government, and under the coordination of the government, the fields on both sides of the river were purchased at a price higher than the market price, and that section of the river was also named Majia River by the government monument. Majiahe and Majia have become one!

Although the Ma family seized the opportunity and entered the ranks of the official family, after all, the foundation was not enough, and after losing the protection of Ma Wu, the family disciples became fewer and fewer officials, and slowly began to decline again.

In the seventh year of Guanghe (182 AD), the Ma family and the hippo family have developed to thousands of clansmen and thousands of men, but only the patriarch Ma Zhouren served as the county governor in Yan County, barely maintaining the status of the official eunuch family.

In the first year of Zhongping (182 AD), the Yellow Turban Rebellion occurred in many places, and in Nanyang County, which is not too far from the Majia River, it broke out on a large scale, because of the timely encirclement and suppression of the government, the Yellow Turban Army did not spread.

However, Majiahe was still affected by some impact, and the local sect thieves were rampant, often together with the hungry, and looted the wealthy in groups.

Ma Zhou, the patriarch, is an official in Yan County, and he is hundreds of miles away from the Majia River, so he naturally knows that the current public security situation is not good, and he is very worried about the safety of his wife and children.

The defense force of the Ma family was not very strong, and Ma Zhou took away more than ten elite guards, and the safety of the family was not guaranteed. Ma Xian resigned decisively and returned to his home.

After Ma Xian came back, after all, he had been an official for many years, and his official authority still existed, and the turbulent Ma Jiahe also settled down.

Ma Zhou is over forty years old, and before he became an official, he already had two sons, so he was relieved to go out to be an official.

Ma Zhou resigned, in addition to worrying about the safety of his wife and children, he actually felt that he had too few sons!

Because the Ma family has a long lineage, these generations have not been prosperous, almost a single lineage, and it is difficult to convince the public in the family.

According to Ma Zhou's plan, there must be at least four sons, names and characters, he has already thought of them, the names are Wen, Yong (Wu), Xian, Liang, and the characters are arranged according to size, Bo Chang, Zhong Chang, Shu Chang, Ji Chang.

When Ma Zhou resigned, the eldest son Ma Wen was already twelve years old, and the second son Ma Yong was also nine years old.

Ma Zhou resigned decisively, but he was also worried that his two sons' studies would be delayed, and after he returned home, he has been managing family affairs at home and cultivating his son and the next generation of the family!

There were gains and losses, Ma Zhou resigned and returned to his hometown for seven years, got three sons in a row as he wished, and overfulfilled the plan. This is a great joy for the entire Ma family in the era of many sons and many blessings!

Ma Zhou also manages family affairs at home, and guides his son and juniors in their spare time.

Seven years after Ma Zhou's resignation, his wife was forty-five years old and gave birth to his youngest son under very dangerous circumstances.

Although this youngest son was born unplanned, Ma Zhou was still very happy, and he also put a lot of thought into choosing a name, the name "谡", which means "up, up", is to hope that his son can help the family rise.

When choosing the word, he chose "young Chang", indicating that this is the youngest, and naturally he does not want his wife to risk her life to give birth.

So far, all the "Ma's Five Constants" have reported.

……

……

Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion had long been pacified, the government governments in various parts of Jingzhou were seized by the major families to seize the power, and the Ma family was excluded from the right because of the lack of economic strength and the lack of outstanding talents.

In the first year of Chuping, that is, in the year when Ma Tan was born, a major event also occurred in Jingzhou, which went down in history!

Because Sun Jian killed Wang Rui, the former assassin of Jingzhou, the imperial court asked Liu Biao to replace Wang Rui as the assassin of Jingzhou.

At that time, Yuan Shu was stationed in Luyang, and he had all the people of Nanyang. Wu Rensu was the Taishou of Changsha, and Bei Yu was the magistrate of Huarong County, each of them according to the militia and hegemony in the local area, and Yuan Shu had the intention to get involved in Jingzhou, which caused Liu Biao to be unable to take office directly.

Liu Biao infiltrated Xiangyang alone, united with the Kuai family, the Cai family and other big families, adopted the strategy of Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, appointed Cai Mao as a general, and led the families provided by the major families, and gave both grace and power, leveled the thieves in Jingzhou, began to take office, and officially became the pastor of Jingzhou.

Most of the county guards, county magistrates and other officials in Jingzhou were appointed by the major powerful families without authorization, and most of them did not dare to oppose Liu Biao's prestige, so they took off their seals and fled.