When Ma Hong came to see Pound for the ninth time, it was raining so hard that lightning seemed to penetrate the house.

"The first three times I saw you, you always scolded me again, and the fourth, fifth or sixth time I saw you, you were silent all the time. When I saw you for the seventh and eighth time, you asked for death, so when I came to see you for the ninth time, would I like to say something? Ma Hong asked with a smile, and a flash of lightning flashed through the window, reflecting his face.

"You're patient."

"Only those who have patience can achieve great things, is it not good for me?" Ma Hong smiled like water, and when the muffled thunder sounded, his fingers tapped on the table.

"The first three times you came to see me, you locked me with chains, the fourth, fifth and sixth times you came to see me, you locked me with a rope, and the seventh and eighth times you came to see me, I was untied by you, but you took Wei Yan and Gan Ning with you, and this time, I was not locked, but you only took Li Wu alone. Three steps away, believe it or not, I killed you. ”

As he spoke, Pound crossed his fingers with his hands and looked directly into Ma Hong's eyes.

"Actually! From chains to ropes, from ropes to loosening, I was just looking to see if you would kill yourself, and now I see clearly, you won't kill yourself. Because no one is going to die, and you are no exception. ”

Pound crossed his fingers and was silent.

"There are always things that you can't give up, such as your loved ones. Of course, I'm not using your relatives to blackmail you into joining me. If you do that, even if you get you, you won't really work for me, will you? ”

Pound let go of his finger and fell silent.

Ma Hong chuckled: "No matter what, I won't touch your children, your family, even Ma Chao's children." However, as long as you are willing to join me, I promise that they will have a better life. Imagine if you died heroically, your child will surely avenge you when he learns of the cause of your death, but do you think he will be my opponent? Death, perhaps, is a relief for you, but you leave your pain to the next generation, and you die, yes, for the sake of loyalty, but what about your children? But he will live a life of poverty for your loyalty, and he will not know where he will go in exile in the future. Your wife and concubine will lie in someone else's bed. ”

Pound was still silent, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Ma Hong saw that the words played some role, so he continued: "So, death can't solve the problem, do you think about it, is Ma Chao a suitable master?" Compare him with me to see who is more suitable to be your master. ”

Pang De crossed his hands together again, kneaded vigorously and said: "But you calculated the death of the lord, and the death of the young general, and you are still deceiving the Ma brothers and sisters, do you think I will believe you?" ”

"Oh? Calculated? Ma Hong smiled and laughed out loud: "Pang De, what you said is really funny, yes, I did calculate Ma Teng and Ma Chao, but do you dare to say that Ma Chao has no selfish intentions?" You know? Ma Teng is surrounded, how far is Ma Chao's army from him? Not far away! Yes, I gave him some hints that Ma Teng might immediately retire as his heir, but with these hints alone, he would not save Ma Teng, it was his father! An unfilial man! You can believe it, but why can't you believe me! ”

"You want me to surrender to you so much, aren't you afraid that I will tell your secret to the Ma brothers and Ma Yunlu?" Pound asked.

Ma Hong smiled slightly: "I can come to see you nine times, because I know that you are a good general, so I gave you nine chances." Now I want to ask you to give me a chance too, promise me, and also give your own heart a chance, don't be stubborn. ”

"Okay, I promise you, think about it!"

Pound was silent for a long time before replying.

"Good! I'll go back first, and when I come to see you next time, I hope to hear the right answer. ”

"The place where you are sitting now is five steps from the door, and you walk out of this door with your back to me, and with each step, I ask you a question, and after five questions, I will make a choice." Pound said.

Ma Hong smiled slightly, turned his back to Pang De and said, "What a good way." ”

Ma Hong took the first step.

"Why do you fancy me? I want real reasons. ”

Pound asked the first question.

"With a righteous face, strong martial arts, and loyalty, I need a talent like you."

Ma Hong took the second step after speaking.

"When did you start calculating the Major General?"

Pound asked the second question.

"When he and I conspired to calculate Han Sui."

Ma Hong took the third step after speaking.

"The young general once said that you are the same person as him, so will you betray Liu Qi and stand on your own?"

Pound asked a third question.

Ma Hong stood still, his heart beating rapidly, he took the fourth step, and then said, "Yes." ”

"What are your strategic goals?"

Pound asked a fourth question.

"Within two years, take Chang'an, and within three years, take Yizhou to the south."

Ma Hong took the fifth step.

Pound was silent for a while, and then said, "The fifth question, if I follow you, can I achieve something." ”

"Absolutely!" Ma Hong said firmly.

When he looked back at Pound, Pound knelt on his knees and bowed to Ma Hong: "Pound greets the lord." ”

Ma Hong smiled and turned around and walked to Pound's side, helped Pound up and said, "I have a good general today." ”

"My lord, I want to ask you one more question."

"You ask."

"If I rejected you after asking you five questions, would you kill me?"

"Yes!" Ma Hong looked into Pound's eyes and replied in the affirmative.

Pound smiled, and he smiled: "Lord, if you don't answer, you are already dead." At such a close distance, I am enough to draw your sword and kill you! ”

Ma Hong smiled, patted Pang De's shoulder and said, "Next, I will wronged you first, hide my identity first, and help me train a cavalry." ”

"Pound commanded."

Ma Hong smiled, took five steps towards the door, walked into the rainy night, lightning crossed the night sky, and his hand gently patted the sword on his waist! This sword cannot be drawn today, because he has made some means in the scabbard, and he also wears close-fitting inner armor.

Cao Cao retreated from Hebei according to Guo Jia's plan, and Yuan Tan wanted to take advantage of Cao Cao's withdrawal and take advantage of their failure to cross the Yellow River, and send troops to attack by surprise. However, Yuan Shang did not agree because he was suspicious of Yuan Tan, and neither sent additional troops to Yuan Tan, nor did he change his armor. Yuan Tan was furious, and Guo Tu and Xin Ping persuaded Yuan Tan to attack Yuan Shang. Yuan Tan wanted to regain the inheritance, led his troops to attack Yuan Shang, and the two sides fought a diplomatic battle in Yecheng City, Yuan Tan was defeated and led his troops to retreat to Nanpi. Liu Biao wrote to Yuan Tan to persuade him to reconcile with Yuan Shang, but Yuan Tan still did not accept it.

Later, Yuan Shang led a large army to attack Yuan Tan, and Yuan Tan was defeated and retreated to the plain. Yuan Shang besieged the city, and Yuan Tan then sent Xin Bi to Cao Cao for help. Xinbi rebelled, and when he saw Cao Cao, he suggested that Cao Cao should take this opportunity to annex Hebei, so Cao Cao sent a large army to attack Yuan Shang, and Yuan Shang immediately retreated back to save Yecheng. Cao Cao knew that Yuan Tan was not bent on submitting to him, but in order to prevent Yuan Tan from joining forces with Yuan Shang again, he asked his son Cao Quan to marry Yuan Tan's daughter as his daughter-in-law to calm his heart, and Cao Cao also named Yuan Tan as the Qingzhou Assassin.

In the ninth year of Jian'an (204 AD), Yuan Shang attacked the plain again, and Cao Cao sent troops to besiege Yecheng to help Yuan Tan. Yuan Shang wrote a letter asking Liu Qi to send troops to attack Cao Cao and distract Cao Cao in order to create an opportunity for him to destroy Yuan Tan and pacify Hebei. At this time, the military power in Liangzhou and Hanzhong was basically in the hands of Ma Hong. Ma Hong immediately made a decision to make an alliance with Yuan Shang and send 30,000 troops to attack Chang'an. (To be continued.) )