"The old slave has seen His Royal Highness the Prince." The gray-haired eunuch Miao Gonggong knelt in front of Ma Chao and kowtowed to him. Ma Chao looked at this palace eunuch who had not been seen for many years in amazement, and really couldn't imagine why he appeared here.

A few years ago, Ma Yingyuan, the eldest princess of Qin and Ma Chao's sister, married the emperor of Chu and became the imperial concubine of Chu.

"How did you get back? Sister, is she okay? Something can't happen to her, right? Ma Chao picked up Father-in-law Miao and asked eagerly.

"Your Highness, the eldest princess is all right." Gonggong Miao said repeatedly, "It's just that I miss Your Majesty and Your Highness all the time." ”

"That's good!" Ma Chao let out a long breath, and his face relaxed. When I saw Father-in-law Miao on the first day, I thought something had happened to my sister Ma Ying, and my heart was really a little nervous.

Ma Yue pointed to the chair beside him and said to Ma Chao: "Chao'er, sit down, let's talk to father and son today." Lao Miao, where is there a stool, you also move here and sit down, such a long road, you rushed over in a few days, and you were also tired. ”

"In front of Your Highness, there is a place for a minion, and it would be good for the minion to stand." Miao Gonggong hurriedly said.

"If you want to sit down, you can sit down!" Ma Yue waved his hand, "You have also seen that now Daqin has become like this, what else is there to pay attention to, the things to be said in a while are important, and they can't be finished in a moment." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Hearing this, Father-in-law Miao moved a small pestle from the side and sat sideways at the bottom of the two.

Ma Yue's gaze fell on the darkness in the distance, and he seemed to be distracted again, and he was silent for a long time. Ma Chao waited for a while, and when he saw that his father was still like a sculpture, he couldn't help coughing lightly. Ma Chao retracted his gaze and turned his head to look at the two: "After the defeat of the Tiger Prison last year and the defection of Bian Wushuang, I knew that I couldn't do anything, and the Great Qin Guozuo was coming to an end in my generation." He said slowly.

"Father, we are not over yet, as long as we win this battle, we still have a chance." Ma Chao couldn't help but protest.

Ma Yue sighed lightly: "Chao'er, you have always been in good spirits, firmly believe that there is still a chance to turn the tables, this momentum is very good, so I didn't hit you either, your performance like this can infect all the generals, and the generals can infect their desperate heart to his soldiers, so that we can perform better in this battle." ”

"Father, if this is the case, why did you defeat without a fight?" Ma Chao asked rhetorically.

"Chao'er, in this battle, we have no hope of winning at all." Ma Yue sat up straight and said categorically: "Here, now, there is no need for me to hide anything from you. I closed my door earlier, and some time ago I promised you to fight with all your might, in fact, it was all to wait for a news, and all actions have only one purpose. That is to allow you to leave the Qin State safely. ”

"Father!" Ma Chao stood up in shock.

"Sit down!" Ma Yue said sharply. "Don't argue with me, listen to what I'm saying."

"A few months ago, I wrote a handwritten letter and sent someone to the capital of Chu State, met your sister, and then forwarded the letter to Min Ruoying through your sister. This time, Grandpa Miao secretly returned to Yongdu, and this was the case, and finally came to fruition. Min Ruoying agreed to our request. ”

"Father, you... What did you do? Ma Chao stared at his father and asked in a trembling voice.

"You're going to Anyang County. Min Ruoying promised to divide Anyang County to you. Ma Yue said.

"I'm not leaving!" Ma Chao looked excited, and forcibly pressed himself and didn't jump up: "Father, the morale has just been stimulated, if I leave at this time, the military spirit will be gone, and this battle will definitely be lost." ”

Ma Yue sneered: "Do you think my prestige in the army is not as good as yours?" I will personally lead the attack, with you and without you, it is no different, and besides, do you think you can easily get away with it? I'll tell you the truth, this so-called battle out of the city is to cover your safe exit. ”

Ma Chao looked at his father blankly, he had been preparing for the final battle these days, but he never imagined that it would be such an ending in the end.

"Naturally, you can't go to Anyang alone, otherwise once you arrive in Anyang, there won't be a single bone residue left, don't forget, Anyang is where Bian Wushuang's 10,000 horses are stationed first. So, you have to take some of the soldiers and horses with you. Five thousand of the most elite soldiers of the Thunder Army, I have prepared them for you. Ma Yue said: "At the beginning of the war, I will lead 40,000 Thunder Army and some of the selected young men to smash Shuanglian City and attack the Chinese army camp of the Ming army. As long as they break through this encirclement and leave the range of Yongdu City, it is impossible for the Ming army to catch up with the speed of the Thunder Army. After Bian Wushuang of Qinghe County left, there were not many people left, and now there is no garrison at all where the Ming people are, but they just sent some magistrates to restore order, and you will not encounter any obstacles. After crossing the Qinghe River, you will enter the Luoying Mountains, and the messenger sent by Min Ruoying is waiting for you at Jingjing Pass. It is already the territory of the Chu people, and if you enter the Jingjing Pass, you will be safe for the time being. ”

Ma Chao looked at Ma Yue and just shook his head. "Father, the State of Qi allows me to wait for the throne, I don't want to suffer this humiliation, how can I be willing to go to the State of Chu, they are just mud bodhisattvas crossing the river now, and it is difficult to protect themselves."

"Confused!" Ma Yue said sharply: "Qi Guo said that you will be made a marquis, it is just an empty title, useless, but what Min Ruoying gave you is a county, where there are still 10,000 Qin troops, and hundreds of thousands of Qin people, if you have the ability and can control them, then you will regain a certain strength, do you understand?" ”

Ma Chao was stunned.

Bian Wushuang defected and led 50,000 border troops to join the Chu State, Min Ruoying split his 50,000 soldiers into three parts, of which 10,000 remained in Anyang County, and the families of these 50,000 border troops were also settled in Anyang County. You go there, you have 5,000 Thunder Army in your hands, and the 10,000 Western Army left by Chu State in Anyang will also be handed over to you to take charge, as long as you can recover the 10,000 Bian troops there, then you will control the families of these 50,000 border troops, can you understand what this means? ”

"How could Min Ruoying be so generous?" Ma Chao was a little unconvinced.

"What's not about him to be generous?" Ma Yue sneered: "Now that Bian Wushuang is in the Jinghu area, controlling most of the army of the Chu State, and he is in power, do you think Min Ruoying is defenseless?" Not worried about Bian Wushuang doing something at all? He naturally wanted to think about holding some of Bian Wushuang's handles. If you control these hundreds of thousands of Bian family members, you say that Bian Wushuang really wants to do something, will you throw a mouse bogey? Min Ruoying felt that it was difficult for the Chu people to control these Qin people, and at this time, I just sent him this letter, which was equivalent to sending him a good knife. You are the crown prince of Qin, and you have an innate prestige among the people of Qin. To do this is to do more with less. ”

Ma Yue lowered his voice: "Moreover, if you really control the entire Anyang County and these hundreds of thousands of Qin people, and you can't do anything, I will be really disappointed." ”

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Miao Gong on the side said fairly: "The slaves don't know how to mention military and political affairs, but they have been in Chu for a long time, and they also know that the situation in Chu is really not very good now, don't look at them just won a big battle on the side of Jinghu, but the chaos in the country is almost out of control." The Ming people destroyed our Qin State, the next target will definitely be aimed at the Chu State, they have already been arranged in the Chu State for a long time, I am afraid that in a few years, the Chu State will be in chaos, and at that time, as long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a strong army in his hands again, then he can take advantage of the situation to rise again, and the troubled times will produce heroes, and the Great Qin State Zuo may be able to be continued again in the hands of His Royal Highness the Prince. ”

Ma Chao took a deep breath, held his hand and let it go, let go and held it again, but his heart was agitated. It turned out that his father, who seemed to be extremely decadent, still quietly laid down such a situation in secret, and he was really too tender in comparison.

If you really go to Anyang, you have a county, you have soldiers and horses in your hands, and you can control the weakness of Bian Wushuang's tens of thousands of soldiers, then if the Chu country is in chaos next, you will indeed have a chance. This situation is obviously much better than struggling here in Yongdu.

When you go to Anyang, it is equivalent to a tiger entering the mountains and forests, and a fish entering the sea, and there are many places for you to move. Qin Feng started the incident back then, but he was only five or six hundred remnants, starting from a mountain bandit, and he had a county with tens of thousands of soldiers at that time, of course, he could do better.

He will not be worse than Qin Feng.

"Father, child...... Then you ......"

Seeing Ma Chao's appearance and knowing that he had been convinced, Ma Yue said with some relief: "The Qin State has fallen to such a point now, I can't escape from it, I can't escape, I can't escape, I will be here, with all the soldiers, fight with the Ming army to the end, and earn more time for your safe departure, Chao'er, once the Ming army finds out that you are leaving, they will definitely chase after it, their cavalry is not weaker than our Thunder Army, and even more so, so after you leave the battlefield, you must not look back, and leave as fast as possible." Your successful escape is to leave a glimmer of hope for my Great Qin to restore the country, even if my father dies in Yongdu, he will die without regrets! ”

Ma Chao knelt down in front of Ma Yue: "Father, the child swears that he will definitely let the Qin State rise again, and the sons will definitely destroy the Ming Kingdom and avenge you." ”

"Don't be in a hurry, don't be in a hurry. When you arrive in the state of Chu, you must first gain a firm foothold, and then try to develop, if it is not unexpected, at most three years, the Ming people will do something to the state of Chu, and at that time, the chaos of the state of Chu is your chance. Of course, before that, you have to completely control Anyang County. Ma Yue stretched out his hand and gently stroked the top of Ma Chao's head.

Ma Chao fell to the ground crying. Since he was sensible, his father's hand had never touched him like it did today.