Hanzhong County, Chuyang, Linfu Governor's Mansion.

There was a flask and a wine glass on the table, and a candle the size of an arm was lit on the side, and the flames danced, illuminating the surroundings in a flickering light. Two men in regular clothes are sitting across the desks.

The person on the top, about forty years old, has a face like jade Fu powder, lips like Zhu Zhu, eyes like shooting stars, although he wears wide household clothes, it is difficult to hide his tiger body ape arms, belly and wolf waist, such a peerless beautiful man's demeanor, it is really amazing. This person is the general of Shu Hanzuo, the governor of Linfu, and the Du Ting Hou Ma Chao. It's just that at this moment he is pale and sickly.

The next person is his younger brother Ma Dai, whose appearance is somewhat similar to Ma Chao, and he looks younger and calmer.

"Brother, the appointment document of Jiang Wei carried by Ma Jun has been verified and correct, and it should not be faked. Ma Jun said that Jiang Wei and his party are now surrounded by the Qiang people, so please send troops to answer for a while, whether to go or not, it should be decided by the elder brother! ”

Ma Chao didn't answer, just poured himself a glass of wine, and didn't taste it, just played carefully. He kept his eyes off the wine glass, and asked casually, "Do you know who the Qiang people are?" ”

Ma Dai said without thinking: "Even in the territory of Wudu, those who can gather more than five hundred horsemen in a short period of time are only in the Wolf Department. ”

"Ginseng Wolf Division, Yamuji?" Ma Chao put the wine glass on the desk, sneered and said: "Back then, I fought with the Cao thief, but I led the horse and kicked a little pawn under my command." Today, you and my brother went south, but let this guy make a fortune, and he became the master of the wolf. ”

Ma Dai replied, "Yes, since then, this Yamuji has been dissolute, and there has never been a single courtesy. In the past few years, not to mention giving gifts, even if I visited the door, I didn't visit it once. ”

Ma Chao snorted heavily, and said coldly: "It's okay to be polite or not, in this year's Hanzhong War, the lord sent me to contact my former subordinates, set up suspicious soldiers in Wudu, and contain the vanguard of Cao thieves." The Di people are thundering, far away in Yinping, and they can still immediately raise troops to respond; The hateful Na Yamuji, who was close at hand, dared to refuse to obey the order, and made me lose face in front of the lord. ”

When Ma Chao said this, he was already a little angry. He suddenly opened his eyes and burst out with a terrifying spirit like a lion and tiger:

"Brother Dai, as soon as it dawns tomorrow, you will lead three hundred elite horses out of the pass to respond, and my Ma Mengqi wants to see if Yamuji has eaten the bear's heart and leopard gall, do you really dare to take the person I want to protect."

Ma Dai followed Ma Chao for a long time, knowing that his brother was irritable and irritable, and seeing him with such a look, he knew that he must have been angry. The elder brother is invincible on the battlefield, invincible, and he has regarded him as a hero idol since he was a child, but he has a fiery temper, and he doesn't know how many times he has been calculated by the enemy, and every time he ends up suffering a big loss.

Thinking of this, Ma Dai was a little worried, pondered for a moment, and hesitated: "Brother, brother is still worried, this time it may be Cao Thief's plan to lure the enemy. There are only a thousand brothers who followed my brother to the south back then, and these are the foundation of my brother's foothold in the court, but I can't afford to be damaged! ”

Ma Chao suddenly drank all the wine in the cup, closed his eyes and sighed: "Do you think I still have a choice?" Brother Dai, right now, I am suspicious of my lord, and I can't afford to be afraid of the enemy. ”

Ma Dai was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly asked, "Where did my brother say this?" The lord named you General Zuo, and your name is at the head of all the generals, where does this suspicion come from? ”

Ma Chao took out two letters from his arms, put them on a few, and said: "This is a copy of the letter sent by the military advisor four years ago, and this letter contains the things that Guan Yunchang insulted me back then. You know that, too. Read it carefully today and see if you can see what it means. ”

Ma Dai saw that the two letters were written in cloth, dyed yellow, as if they had been for several years. Suspicious, he picked up the envelope and looked at it carefully.

The first copy of the letter is a letter written by Guan Yuguan Yunchang, then the governor of Jingzhou and the marquis of Hanshou Pavilion, to Zhuge Liang, the commander of the military division, when Liu Bei, the lord of Shu, entered Shu and Ma Chao to vote.

The second copy of the letter is Zhuge Liang's reply to Guan Yu, in which he said: "Meng Qi is both civil and military, heroic, the master of the first generation, the disciple of Huang and Peng, should compete with Yide and drive the first, and he is still not as good as the peerless Yiqun." ”

The lights were dim, and it took Ma Dai a lot of effort to read the two letters carefully. He knew about this in the nineteenth year of Jian'an (214 AD), when Liu Bei broke with Liu Zhang, and the troops reached the outskirts of CD. The elder brother Ma Chao was originally under the command of Zhang Lu, because the villain Yang Bai was squeezed out, he resigned to avoid trouble, and then Liu Bei sent Li Hui to show goodwill, and Ma Chao surrendered to Liu Bei.

After surrendering, Liu Zhang, fearing Ma Chao's prestige, surrendered Kaicheng, and Liu Bei was able to enter Shu without blood. Therefore, Liu Bei is extremely close to Ma Chao, and his official position is often at the head of the generals, and the reward of gold and silver acres is also quite generous.

Therefore, Guan Yu wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang to inquire about his brother Ma Chao's martial arts talents, and Zhuge Liang boasted about Guan Yu's reply.

Ma Dai always believed that Guan Yu wrote this letter out of jealousy of his brother. And Zhuge Liangzhi's reply was just to maintain Guan Yu's pride. Guan Yu is a world-famous fierce general, who became famous very early, and is also the sibling brother of the lord Liu Bei who lives and dies all the way. It's not a shame for his brother to bow down to him. Moreover, with the benefit of hindsight, he transcribed a copy of the letter and sent someone to his brother, which in Ma Dai's opinion, could be regarded as a sense of appeasement.

Today, he went through the two letters over and over again, and found nothing new. I had to look at my brother Ma Chao with a pair of suspicious eyes.

Ma Chao poured another glass of wine and said slowly: "What I thought before was the same as Brother Dai, until the Hanzhong War rested, and the lord ascended to the throne of Hanzhong and ordered me to supervise the frustration, so I had time to think about it carefully."

In the letter, the military advisor compared me to Yingbu and Peng Yue. These two people are the famous generals of Gaozu Xinghan, and I am fortunate to be compared with them. It's just that now that I think about it, it's really meaningful and chilling.

Soon after Yingbu and Peng Yue were crowned kings, they were killed for misdeeds. The military advisor compares me to me, Daidi, do you understand the deep meaning? Ma Chao said, closed his eyes, and drank the wine in the cup, his face full of loss.

Ma Dai suddenly understood in his heart that this matter was not a unilateral provocation by Guan Yu, but a premeditated plan. Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu are the civil and military confidants of the lord Liu Bei, and the two sing and harmonize, which is really intended to dampen the momentum of the elder brother and make him keep to himself and be honest.

"It turns out that the lord has been guarding against his brother!"

His train of thought suddenly became clear.

It is no wonder that Guan Yu was able to supervise all affairs in Jingzhou as a former general, Zhang Fei was entrusted with the Brazilian Taishou as the right general, and even Wei Yan, but a Zhenyuan general, had to worship Hanzhong Taishou and guard one side!

And his own brother, whose official position is above the generals, can only be in such a small county as the governor of Linfang. If you really want to talk about it, this Chuyang is also under the jurisdiction of Hanzhong, and the official position of the elder brother is above Wei Yan, but in fact, the real power is under Wei Yan, and the suspicion of the lord can be seen from this.

In such a situation, even if my brother has the courage to conquer the world, he can only be afraid of danger and sit in the city of sorrow! It's no wonder that after the elder brother arrived in Chuyang, he began to be greedy for a cup of wine, quite a bit of self-abandonment.

Ma Dai suddenly understood this joint, and was shocked for a while.

Seeing his brother showing such a shocked look, Ma Chao just smiled and said indifferently: "I acted poorly in the past, I was violent and unplanned, I was good at killing without decision, and I got today's situation, but I took the blame and deserved it." Since the vote for the lord, I know what is the weapon of the heroes of the world, and I know why the heroes of the Quartet have come to vote. I just wish I had met the Lord for 20 years and served the Lord in the name of innocence. Today is the end, and the sin is mine, and not to others. ”

This monologue came out of Ma Chao's mouth, like a thunderbolt, so startled that Ma Daileng was in place and couldn't move. He knew that his brother Ma Chao had always been brave and strong, and he had never seen him serve others in his life. Ma Dai's heart was shocked, and his mood was full of ups and downs.

He suddenly remembered that four years ago, when he was still under Zhang Lu, he greeted his brother for the New Year, and his brother cried and sighed: "There are hundreds of families, and once they are lost, only you and I are left, how can I celebrate!" "The way my brother beat his chest and vomited blood at that time, he still remembers it vividly. Twenty years before and after, thousands of miles of travel, bones and blood died. What is the battle? Ma Dai was heartbroken and resentful.

Ma Chao sighed lightly: "My body has become more and more bad over the years, Cheng'er is young, and you still need to bear the affairs of the family in the future." ”

Ma Dai said with tears in his eyes: "Why did my brother say this? The elder brother is in the prime of life, and the family must not be taken care of by the elder brother. ”

Ma Chao smiled bitterly: "My own body, I know best." "As he grew older, he lost the impulsiveness and recklessness of his youth. After the Battle of Hanzhong, his health began to deteriorate, knowing that it was a chronic illness left by lying in the snow and climbing the ice when he was young, and his lifespan should be limited, so he began to think about what happened before and after him.

"The Lord uses my name, and not those who do not use me, but he shows that he knows how to use it well. That's probably the end of my life. And Brother Dai, you are different, your martial arts have already fulfilled my mantle; The Ma family is an iron horse, and he is willing to drive for you; Among the Qiang people, there are also three points of face for you; What's more important is that you don't have the name of killing like me, and the lord will be able to tolerate you in the court. Ma Chao said as he spoke, his face flushed, and his expression began to become excited:

"Brother Dai, whether my Ma family's blood feud can be avenged should fall on the lord. You have just turned 30 this year, and the old saying is 30, and you will be of great use in the court in the future. You must do your best from the heart. At home, you also have to take care of future generations, we help the Ma family, and we can't withstand a little twists and turns. ”

When Ma Dai heard this, he nodded with tears, and the brothers were speechless for a while.

After a long time, Ma Chaofang said: "Having said that, since this Jiang Wei has the courage to vote for his family, he is obviously a good man with righteousness." It's much better than I was back then. Dai brother goes, and it is best to get it. If it is really a trick by the thieves to lure the enemy, and send a signal quickly, I should personally lead the army to respond. ”

Ma Dai was waiting to receive the order, Ma Chao suddenly approached, and said in a low voice: "In the future, when you enter the court, you must do more and say less than at home." For example, today's events, Guan Yu can shirk, Zhang Fei can shirk, Zhao Yun can shirk, Chen Zhi can shirk, but my Ma Chao can't shirk! lest others say that I am afraid of war and self-preservation, and support my own army. Wei Yan of Daonan Zheng sent people here every three or five times, did you just ask An to give gifts? ”

Ma Dai was taught: "Brother, my brother already knows. Order the soldiers tonight, and set off tomorrow at dawn. ”

"No, without further ado, the soldiers are fast, and they should set off tonight." Ma Chao said categorically.

Resolute, this is the character of the elder brother. Ma Dai nodded yes, and immediately pushed the door out to order troops.

Ma Chao drank the wine in the pot by himself, and suddenly smashed the cup on the ground, and fell to pieces, his wine surged up, his face was red, and under the swaying lights, he was hideous.

"Cao thief, I will protect the person you want to kill, and when you receive the news, I don't know what kind of anger you will become, haha, happy, really happy!"

Ma Chao drank alone for a long time, he was already a little drunk, and under the ups and downs of this heartbeat, he quickly lay down on the desk and gradually fell asleep.