The girl opened her arms, stopped in front of Ma Chao, and shouted hoarsely: "You can't kill my brother, my brother is just a child!" ”

A richly dressed little boy cowered behind the maiden, like a chick hiding from an eagle, cowering under the wings of an old hen.

In recent years, the power of the Xianbei people has expanded rapidly in the grassland, and has gradually replaced the position of the Xiongnu on the grassland. However, the vast majority of Xianbei people are still quite poor. In an ordinary Xianbei herdsman family, like the four or five-year-old boy in front of him, not to mention wearing exquisite silk clothes, he can find a rag to cover his body, which is already very good.

Seeing the little boy's dress, Ma Chao had already determined that he was Jian Man, so he immediately ignored the girl and reached out to grab it. The girl didn't avoid it in the slightest, but took a step forward and stopped in front of Ma Chao. Ma Chao was tall, and as soon as he raised his hand halfway, he was blocked by a soft mass. When he looked down, his hand was pressed on the girl's breast, and he hurriedly retracted.

Ma Chao is a native of Xiliang. Xiliang is a place where many ethnic groups live together, the atmosphere is open, and Ma Chao has half Qiang blood. Although he was still a child, he was no stranger to the little things between men and women. However, Ma Chao could let Luo Xiang and the mother and daughter go to the tent to "fight", but he himself didn't dare to make any over-the-top moves against these Xianbei women in front of him. Because the military discipline of the Han Dynasty was formulated by Ma Yun, the first article was to strictly prohibit soldiers from insulting women, and their crimes were much more serious than killing prisoners and surrendering. That's why Ma Chao didn't fold his hands, just for fear of causing unnecessary misunderstandings.

However, his hand was really not in place, and even if Xianbei was open-minded, the girl couldn't help blushing. In her mind, Ma Chao must have evil thoughts about her. However, the Xianbei girl was only a little shy, but she puffed up her chest and said, "As long as you are willing to let my brother go, I, I will do whatever you want!" ”

Ma Chao was a high-minded and arrogant person, and he knew that he had been misunderstood, but he didn't explain, he just looked at the Xianbei girl in surprise and said, "You speak Chinese well!" ”

The girl did not have the slightest fear, and said without humility or arrogance: "You are Han, you don't speak Chinese, do you understand?" ”

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment, and then carefully looked at the Xianbei girl in front of him. Like other Xianbei people, this girl has yellow hair and blue eyes, a high nose, and white skin. But she didn't have the smell of sheep that is unique to ordinary grassland people, but exuded a faint fragrance.

Xianbei people take cattle and sheep as their staple food, and they do not bathe all year round, so it is inevitable that there will be various peculiar smells on their bodies. In fact, not only the Xianbei people, but also the Xiongnu people, the Qiang people, and even the Han people living in the Xiliang area, do not take a bath all year round, and the smell on their bodies is also unpleasant.

Ma Chao has grown up in such an environment since he was a child, and he is not repulsed by the smell of Xianbei people, but when he suddenly smelled the fragrance of the girl, the expression on his face was still slightly stagnant.

Seeing that Ma Chao didn't speak, the Xianbei girl just looked at herself blankly, and suddenly became a little annoyed, and said angrily: "Hey, do you agree?" ”

Ma Chao suddenly smiled and said, "Do you know who I am? ”

Without thinking, the girl replied, "Aren't you a Han general?" ”

Ma Chao nodded and said, "Yes, I am a Han general, and my official position is not low." With just one word, I can take the lives of your entire people!" ”

The girl snorted coldly and said, "I'm not afraid of death, as long as you let him go!" ”

In this little half a day's work, Ma Chao can't remember how many people he has killed, and among the people he killed, there are not only sturdy Xianbei warriors, but also old and weak women and children. In a tent before arriving at this camp, there was a young Xianbei woman who tore her clothes directly in front of more than a dozen soldiers, revealing two trembling white flesh, trying to exchange her body for the soldiers to spare her life, but was stabbed to death by Ma Chao.

When Ma Chao made his move, he didn't mean to look down on the woman in the slightest. Ants still steal life, let alone people? In the face of death, how many can really be indifferent? However, the girl in front of her seems to be such a person. Ma Chao couldn't help but praise: "He Lian gave birth to a good daughter!" ”

But the girl retorted, "I'm not Helian's daughter!" ”

Ma Chao's expression changed, and he pointed to the boy behind the girl and asked, "So, isn't he Jian Man?" ”

The girl shook her head and said, "No, he's Jian Man!" ”

Ma Chao shouted and asked, "Then how do you say that he is your younger brother?" ”

The girl rolled her eyes and said angrily, "His mother is my aunt." ”

It turned out that this girl's name was Tuoba Yan, and she was the daughter of Tuoba Jun, the leader of the Xianbei Tuoba Tribe, and Tuoba Jun's sister Tuoba Ying married Helian and gave birth to a son for Helian, that is, the little boy Jian Man who hid behind Tuoba Yan.

Ma Chao knew that Tuoba Yan was not Jian Man's own sister, but he could stand up and protect her, and he was even more impressed by her, so he couldn't help but smile and said, "Tuoba girl, let me ask you, Jian Man has ever been taller than the wheel?" ”

Tuoba Yan turned his head to look at it and asked rhetorically, "Can't you see it yourself?" ”

Ma Chao didn't get angry because of Tuoba Yan's rudeness, but said lightly: "Since he is not taller than the wheel, then what should I kill him for?" ”

Tuoba Yan breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What are you going to do with us?" ”

If they were captured by other steppe tribes, they would not have to ask much to know the end, the younger women would be divided among the warriors of the tribe, and the older women and young children would be used as slaves. But now that they were captivated, Tuoba Yan didn't know the rules of the Han people, and she was still a little apprehensive in her heart.

Ma Chao didn't answer her words, but pointed at Jian Man, who was frightened with a small face, and said: "However, although I won't kill him, but whether His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty will kill him or not, I'm not sure yet!" ”

"Didn't you say that your official position is very high, and you can decide our life and death?" Tuoba Yan became nervous again, and suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "You let him go!" ”

Ma Chao waved his hand and said, "He is the son of the former Xianbei Khan, no matter who it is, it is impossible for him to let him go easily." But don't worry too much, my Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is benevolent by nature, and maybe you can spare his life. ”

Tuoba Yan seemed to grasp the life-saving straw all of a sudden, and said in a loud voice: "Then you must help me say a few kind words in front of your emperor, no matter what, to save my brother's life, you can let me thank you as much as I want!" ”

Ma Chao said strangely: "Why are you so attentive to this cousin?" ”

Tuoba Yan snorted: "Actually, he is not only my cousin, he is also my future husband!" This is something that has been settled for a long time. ”

Ma Chao finally understood why she had to find a way to save Jian Man's life. If you want to say how much Tuoba Yan has feelings for Jian Man, it is not enough. Tuoba Yan is already a girl who has just fallen in love, and Jian Man is just a little kid with a snot in tow, even if there is a feeling, it can only be a sister-brother relationship.

However, this marriage is very likely to involve the tribal interests of the Tuoba tribe, and even the life and death of the entire Tuoba tribe. Because before leaving, Ma Chao carefully looked at the information collected by the phantom of the Xianbei departments. There are many Xianbei tribes, and some of them come from other ethnic groups, but they are gradually becoming Xianbei. It is impossible for Ma Chao to remember the situation of all the tribes, but he knows the names of the larger tribes. As for the Tuoba Department, Ma Chao has no impression, which means that the Tuoba Department is just a small tribe.

The law of the steppe is that the law of the jungle is the strong, and this is true between different ethnic groups, as well as between different tribes of the same ethnic group. If these small tribes want to survive, they will either only be attached to the big tribes, or they will be swallowed up by the larger tribes, and they will have to hide in some barren pastures that no one fights for.

As the leader of a small tribe, Tuoba Jun clearly chose the first path. He first married his sister Tuoba Ying to Helian, and after Helian died, he planned to marry his daughter Tuoba Yan to Jian Man. Although Jian Man is young, he is the leader of a large tribe after all, and there are many people in the entire Xianbei who support him to return to the throne. With the support of the Jianman tribe, the Tuoba tribe can survive, and they can survive well.

Of course, Tuoba Jun's best choice is to marry Tuoba Yan's cousin, the current head of Xianbei Khan. But the Xianbei people all know that the so-called contradiction between the leader and the man is actually the conflict between the head of the tribe and the head of the tribe who supports the company. Therefore, if the Tuoba Department wants to step on two boats, the practice of marrying both sides will not work, and Tuoba Jun can only make the relationship between the Tuoba Department and the Jianman Department closer.

Although he hadn't figured out what exactly the deal was between the Tuoba tribe and the Jianman tribe, Ma Chao still pointed at Jianman disdainfully and said, "He's not even five years old, right?" By the time he grows up, you'll be no longer young. He doesn't deserve you. ”

Ma Chao's words were poking at Tuoba Yan's sore spot, and her face couldn't help but look difficult. In fact, Ma Chao was already very subtle, what he originally wanted to say was that when Jian Man grows up, you Tuoba Yan will be old. However, this is exactly what happened. Even if the grassland people get married early, when Jian Man reaches the age where he can get married, it will be at least twelve or three years later, when Tuoba Yan is already nearly thirty years old, and his beautiful youth will be wasted like this. Of course, Tuoba Yan understood what Ma Chao meant, and she herself didn't complain, but for the benefit of the tribe, she had to make sacrifices.

Tuoba Yan stomped his foot fiercely and said, "He is not worthy of me, are you worthy of me?" ”

"Haha, haha......" Ma Chao laughed loudly, stretched out a hand and shook it in front of Tuoba Yan, and said with a proud face, "Looking at the heroes in the world, there will be no more than this number of heroes who can beat me Ma Chao!" If even I don't deserve you, then who else deserves you! ”