In mid-March, inside the Prime Minister's Mansion.

“…… Prime Minister, that's all there is to it during this time. After Jia Xu finished speaking, he presented Jian Ce in his hand to Ma Teng.

"Hehe, Wen and you have done a very good job, so it seems that Zhong Shilang and the Liu brothers and others have indeed fallen to me." Ma Teng flipped through this brief policy casually, and said with a relaxed smile.

"Prime Minister, that Zhang Lu and the others ......" Hearing this, Wang Yi on the side asked.

Jia Xu's report just now was a surveillance report for many scholars and doctors during this time. This report not only proves that Zhong Xuan, the Liu brothers and others did not have any suspicious behavior in the ceremony of preparing to canonize the queen, but also mentioned that there were about a dozen scholars and doctors who were suspicious during this time. And among these scholars, there are those who have always wanted to attach themselves to Ma Teng, and there are also those who have never heard of Ma Teng, and there are even those who have a very high prestige among scholars.

"Hmph, it seems that I have been too merciful this time, Zhong Yi, you lead people to arrest them all and torture them severely! After I got the confession, I was dragged to the downtown and beheaded for public display! Ma Teng snorted coldly when he heard this.

"No!" Jiang Jian responded respectfully when he heard this, and then immediately took the order to leave under Ma Teng's signal.

And after he left, Ma Teng looked at Jia Xu again and said with a smile, "Hehe, Mr. has worked hard this time, if it weren't for Mr., how could I have found that there are so many ill-intentioned people among these people who are attached to me?" ”

"Prime Minister is serious, this time is not all the work of the lower officials, Wang Jun and Yang Jun also contributed a lot, and most of those who plotted bad intentions were due to them...... Jia Xu hurriedly said modestly.

"Hehe, sir doesn't have to be so modest." Hearing this, Ma Teng turned his head to look at Wang Yi and the others and said in a deep voice, "Junqi, what else do you have in mind now?" ”

Hearing this, Wang Yizuo said respectfully, "Prime Minister, this time it is all thanks to Situ Gong's strategy, and his subordinates have only done their best to cooperate. As he spoke, Wang Yi got up again and said to Jia Xu on the side, "Situ Gong, I was offended a lot in my words before, and I asked Situ Gong to atone for his sins." ”

As soon as Wang Yi's words fell, Yang Fu and the others on the side got up one after another and echoed.

"The king and you, please don't do this. There is nothing wrong with your worries, and if you were to make a fool of yourself, you would do the same thing. Hearing this, Jia Xu hurriedly stretched out his hands and said vainly, "If the situation is chaotic today, then Li Yi has been accumulating strength to prepare to attack the Jingshi, and if you want to resist, you still need to rely on us and others to work together......

"Well said!" Ma Teng stroked his palms and smiled when he heard this, "As long as you work together, even if that Li thief immediately leads the army to attack, I can rest easy!" ”

"Please rest assured, we will definitely do our best for the prime minister......" Hearing this, Jia Xu and the others hurriedly said.

Later, Ma Teng discussed the rest of the matter with the others. I don't know how long it took, but suddenly a soldier hurried over, "Prime Minister, there is a man dressed as a man outside asking to see him, saying that there is an important report about the Li thief." ”

"Huh? Hu people? Ma Teng froze for a moment when he heard this, and there was a hint of strangeness in his eyes, but he immediately ordered someone to bring it.

Not long after, a big man in his twenties walked in quickly, and as soon as he entered the hall, he bowed directly to Ma Teng, "Kebineng, the leader of the Xianbei Alibuda tribe, meet the prime minister of the Han Dynasty!" ”

Looking at Kebineng's respectful attitude, Ma Teng was already in a good mood. I saw that his right hand was floating and chuckled and said, "It turns out to be the leader of Kebineng, hurry up." So saying, he ordered a seat for him.

After sitting down, Kebineng said directly to Ma Teng, "Prime Minister, I came this time, but I heard about the Prime Minister's Tianwei outside the Saiwai, so I specially brought the tribe to take refuge. ”

"Oh?" When Ma Teng heard this, he quickly glanced at everyone, and said with a casual smile, "Do you want to take refuge in your true appearance?" But I don't know how many people and horses there are in your tribe? ”

"Back to the prime minister, there are 50,000 people in the tribe below! Among them, more than 30,000 people are grassland warriors who can ride and shoot well! Kebineng looked at Ma Teng and said loudly.

As soon as these words came out, Ma Teng was stunned again, and Wang Yi and others on the side also cast puzzled glances at Kebineng. At this moment, Jia Xu on the side opened his mouth and asked, "Chief Kebineng, since your tribe has so many warriors, why did you come all the way to join my big man?" If I remember correctly, now the Xianbei clan, except for many people in the north of Youzhou, are already in the depths of the prairie......"

"I'm coming from Youzhou!" Kebineng said bluntly, "The tribe in the lower part originally lived in the north of Bingzhou, but later encountered the troops of the Li thief, and thousands of people in the entire tribe were slaughtered by the Li thief!" In Xia and the housemate because they were young and naughty, they played in a lake in the distance, and fortunately escaped......" In the end, Kebineng's eyes were red, and his tone couldn't help but become choked.

"Chief, please mourn ......" Ma Teng heard this, and after saying two words of relief that were not nutritious, he set his eyes on Jia Xu and Wang Yi.

Seeing this, Wang Yi took the lead in asking, "So the leader came this time in the hope that the prime minister would send troops to help you deal with the Li thief together?" ”

"Back to Shangguan, although Zai Xia wants to kill Li Thief day and night to avenge his clansmen, he also knows that he can't do it with his strength alone. originally planned to attach himself to that Gongsun Zhan, but he refused, so he came to Chang'an thousands of miles away, hoping to take refuge in the prime minister. Kebineng said respectfully, "I don't dare to ask the prime minister to immediately send troops to fight against the Li thief, but I just hope that one day, I will have the opportunity to slash the Li thief!" ”

Hearing this, Wang Yi looked at Jia Xu, then at Ma Teng, and then kept silent. Seeing this, Jia Xu opened his mouth and asked again, "So, how does the leader plan to attach to the so-called attachment?" ”

"It's all up to the prime minister!" Ke Bi Neng looked at Ma Teng and said loudly, "Prime Minister, I came here in person this time to prove my sincerity, and also because the Prime Minister and the Li thief are mortal enemies!" Although he is a Xianbei person, there are many alien ...... under the prime minister."

Speaking of this, Kebineng paused, and then said again, "So if the prime minister is willing to accept the subordinates, the subordinates are willing to obey the prime minister's dispatch!" Saddle the horse before and after the prime minister, just to get rid of the Li thief! So saying, he bowed down to Ma Teng.

"Don't be like this, don't be like this~" Ma Teng said with a smile when he heard this, then looked at Wang Yi and Jia Xu's expressions, and said again, "The leader's heart is already known, since this is the case, the prime minister will let you be the rebellious general...... Well...... I wonder where the general's people are still located? ”

"It's still in the northwest of Bingzhou, and I'm worried that if I go too deep, it will attract the hostility of the prime minister's soldiers, so I came with a few guards." Kebi replied in a respectful voice.

"Hmm......" Ma Teng nodded when he heard this, and then turned his head to look at Jia Xu.

Seeing this, Jia Xu sighed and said, "Prime Minister, the lower officials think that if we let General Kebineng lead the army to continue to camp in the northwest of Bingzhou, and wait until the time of the battle with the Li thief, you can let General Kebineng go straight to the rear of the Li thief!" Moreover, in this way, General Kebineng can also continue to win over the rest of the tribes and strengthen his own strength......"

"Well, I don't know what the general thinks?" Ma Teng nodded when he heard this, and then looked at Kebineng and asked.

"The subordinate officer receives the order!" Kebi replied respectfully.

"Well, that's it." Ma Teng nodded, and then asked people to prepare wine and food, and held a small banquet for Kebineng. And in this regard, Kebineng will naturally not refuse.

"Haha, today I have the help of the general, and I believe that the day when the Li thief will be destroyed is just around the corner!" At the banquet, Ma Teng looked very happy, and kept drinking with Kebi.

I don't know how long it took, Jia Xu suddenly said, "Prime Minister, Xia Guan suddenly remembered something, does the Prime Minister still remember Liu Qubei, the son of Hu Renshan Yu in the past?" ”

"Oh? Mr. means ...... Woo that Liu to be humble? Ma Teng stroked his beard and groaned when he heard this, "Hmm...... Husband...... In the past, Benxiang did think about letting Na Liu Qubei return to Hezhou to win over those Hu people, but at that time, the Hu people could no longer make any waves under the suppression of the Li thief. And that Liu Qubei is not only young, but also ......"

In the end, Ma Teng couldn't help but shake his head. Zhang Ning did mention this matter at the beginning, and even went to see Liu Qubei with Ma Teng. On the one hand, they wanted to see if they could use Liu Qubei's identity as the son of Shan Yu to make some fuss, on the other hand, Ma Teng's manpower was very short at that time, and Liu Qubei's hatred for Li Yi was obviously enough for Ma Teng and the two to cultivate and even trust.

It's just a pity...... At that time, Liu Qubei's mood was very unstable, and both Ma Teng and Zhang Ning felt that his state was not suitable for cultivation. In addition, there was basically nothing to look forward to on the side of the Hu people in Bingzhou, which finally made the two give up their plan to cultivate Liu Qubei.

"Now that you count the time, this person should already be an adult." Hearing this, Jia Xu said respectfully, "I believe that with his hatred for Li Yi, if the prime minister sends someone to win him over, he will definitely not agree." Although the Hu people in Bingzhou are indeed subjugated to Li Yi's authority, Xia Guan believes that there must still be many Hu people who are just afraid of Li Yi's butcher's knife! Moreover, now that General Kebineng is helping, I believe that this matter will go more smoothly. ”

"Prime Minister, my subordinates agree with Situ Gong's words. And now Liu Qubei is no longer of much use to the prime minister, even if he is finally hunted and killed by the Li thief, there is no loss to the prime minister. Wang Yi on the side said after a deep sigh.

"Prime Minister, the lower officials also think that if Liu Qubei can win over some clansmen, then the lower officials will act more smoothly in the future. And even if you fail, you have nothing to lose. Kebineng also spoke.

"Well, let's do it." When Ma Teng heard this, he nodded noncommittally, and then sent someone to recruit Na Liu.

Not long after, a man who was about eight feet tall and emaciated appeared in the eyes of everyone, it was Liu Qubei. It's just that after seeing him, everyone, including Jia Xu, who proposed this idea, frowned at the same time.

I saw that Liu Qubei was wearing very tattered clothes, and his waist-length hair was messy. His complexion was very yellow, his expression was dull, his eyes were blank, and he looked no different from a fool.

This ...... "Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, but for a moment you don't know what to say." In the end, all eyes fell on Jia Xu, and the meaning was obvious, "You put forward the idea, you can handle it......"

"What's going on?!" Seeing this, Jia Xu thought about it and looked at a soldier on the side.

"Back to Situ Gong, a few years ago, this proton was just silent, but in the past two years, he first became extremely irritable, and then slowly became like this. In addition to eating and sleeping, he is usually in a daze. Hearing this, the soldier hurriedly explained, but his expression seemed to be a little flustered.

"Then why don't you report it?!" When Ma Teng heard this, he immediately asked with some dissatisfaction. You must know that there are a lot of protons in Chang'an City today. Although there are some who were ignored by Ma Teng like Liu Qubei, there are also many protons sent by people who depend on Ma Teng in various places. If everyone were like Liu Qubei, what would they do? Just thinking about it, Ma Teng felt a little timid.

"Villain ......" Hearing Ma Teng's words, the soldier suddenly became more flustered, his eyes roamed left and right, and a large amount of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Seeing this, how did Ma Teng not know what was going on? Immediately shouted angrily, "What the hell is going on?!" Say! ”

"Poof!" As soon as he heard it, he saw the soldier kneel on the ground and beg for mercy loudly, "Please also ask the prime minister to atone for his sins, the villain is just a ghost for a while......"

This matter is also simple, these protons live in Chang'an, although they are actually hostages, but nominally they only stay in Chang'an to live. Daily expenses and other expenses are naturally provided by the imperial court, and the same is true for Liu Qubei. And these expenses will be counted by special people, and then sent to Ma Teng for approval.

After all, so many people, whether it is Ma Teng or Zhang Ning, it is impossible to really approve them one by one. And strictly speaking, it is Wang Yi and them who are really responsible for this matter, Ma Teng or Zhang Ning will not care about these small amounts of money at all.

In the past, the soldiers who were in charge of guarding Liu Qubei received money and food on time, and then handed them over to the maids who were responsible for taking care of Liu Qubei. However, after Ma Teng and Zhang Ning gave up Liu Qubei, they suddenly found that Liu Qubei had been completely forgotten, no one visited or summoned Liu Qubei at all, and Liu Qubei became stupid after going crazy, just staying in the house and sitting stupidly all day.

In this case, the soldiers and maids who monitored Liu Qubei started evil thoughts, and after observing for a while, they began to take out a part of the living expenses they received every month and divide them equally, and even began to hook up with each other. After all, the perennial dry firewood is blazing, and Liu Qubei is like a fool all day long, so he doesn't have to care at all.

It can be said that as long as no one pays attention to Liu Qubei, and Liu Qubei does not take the initiative to say something. So even if Liu Qubei dies, as long as they are not discovered, these soldiers and maids will be able to be greedy all the time.