Ji fell down the mountain, Ma Yuejun camp.

In the long sound of the horn, 8,000 elite horsemen poured out of the camp like a rolling iron stream, slowly unfolding on the prairie. Flags fluttered in front of the queue, and under the banners of the cluster, Ma Yue, Zhou Cang, and the 6,000 households on the right, 6,000 households in the middle, and 6,000 households on the left stood solemnly across their horses.

"Wow~~"

Ma Chao raised the silver spear majestically and roared.

The more than 400 cavalry surging behind him suddenly began to slow down, and slowly spread out to the two wings, and when they were still a stone's throw away from Ma Yue's army, they could be able to hold their positions, which could be said to be just right. If two armies are facing each other, such a distance can not only avoid being shot by enemy archers, but also put enough pressure on the enemy army.

Ma Yue couldn't help nodding secretly, marching and forming a formation are only the simplest basic skills of an army, but they can also best reflect the ability of the main generals and generals of this army. Although Ma Chao is young, he is worthy of being a master disciple taught by Wenhe and Zezhu, at least in this regard, Ma Chao is completely excellent!

However, Ma Yue's expectations for Ma Chao are not just excellent generals, but excellent commanders!

With the expansion of his territory and the growth of his strength, Ma Yue is also constantly thinking about the future of Ma Jiajun.

Ma Yue knows very well that his set of "grabbing money, food, and women" routine of leading, governing, and encouraging soldiers is unconventional, and can only be used under special circumstances, such as the 800 Liukou in a predicament of being embattled and precarious, such as the years when strong enemies were waiting for you when they first arrived in Youzhou, and they were only able to move hard.

But now, Ma Yue's way of governing the army is obviously outdated.

Now is no longer the time when life is in jeopardy.

Ma Yue himself clearly realized this, so he was gradually purging the army under his command, and sending the three thousand old troops to the prairie of Guangmao to guard the border was the first step! Next, Wuhuan wolf rides, and the Yue clan will gradually become a marginal force of the Ma family army from riding these untamed armies with wild surnames.

In the end, the core armed forces used to fight for the Central Plains are bound to be a new army with strict discipline and tenacious work style.

An army with good discipline and tenacious style needs a qualified commander.

The horse butcher has experienced a hundred battles and made great achievements, if he now calls himself the second best general in the world, I believe that no one dares to call himself the first general in the world! However, it is a pity that the tactical thinking and style of managing the army have been finalized, and it is difficult to make any further changes, and this style is incompatible with the purpose of the new army.

Therefore, the horse butcher must find a qualified commander for the future new army.

Gao Shun, Xu Huang, and Fang Yue are all talented generals, and they all have the ability to stand alone, no matter who is asked to be the commander of this new army, they are all competent, but unfortunately, they are not surnamed Ma! In the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, an era when the power of the scholar clan was rampant, it was unthinkable to let a military general with a foreign surname serve as the commander of the three armies.

Even if Gao Shun, Xu Huang, and Fang Yue are loyal to Ma Yue and have no second thoughts, what about the subordinates and staff around them? If one of them were to be the commander of this army, would there inevitably be a large interest group around the commander, and would this interest group be equally loyal?

There is also the interest group around Ma Yue, this interest group is the core group of the Ma family's forces, even if Ma Yue intends to let one of Gao Shun's three become the commander of the new army, will this interest group be convinced? Maybe now, the interest groups around Ma Yue are still insignificant, and they are not enough to compete with his personal prestige, but what about the future?

With the growth of Ma Zheng and Ma Zhan, as well as the expansion of the power of the subordinate officials and generals, can Ma Yue still be as arbitrary as he is now? If people have no long-term concerns, they must have near-term worries, and Ma Yue can't help but think about the long-term. Now is no longer the time for 800 rogues to sweep through the Central Plains and be precarious.

Therefore, the commander of the new army must be surnamed Ma and be a participant in the core forces of the Ma family.

Although Ma Zheng and Ma Zhan are Ma Yue's sons-in-law, they are young after all, and it has been at least ten years since they were trained to become commanders!

And Ma Chao is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate at present.

Although the current Ma Chao is a little immature, Ma Yue believes that as long as time passes, Ma Chao will eventually become a generation of famous generals! In history, Ma Chao was originally a generation of famous generals, but he died of depression due to bad luck. Although Ma Yue doesn't know much about the Three Kingdoms, because of the same surname Ma, Ma Chao's deeds still know a little.

Ma Teng was originally one of the candidates, but unfortunately his ability was limited, and he was Ma Yue's elder.

Ma Yue discussed with Jia Xu, Fu Xu, Guo Tu and others for a long time, and finally decided to train Ma Chao to become the future commander of the Ma family's new army.

When Ma Yue was thinking about it, Ma Chao had already stepped forward, hugged his fists on the horse's back and said, "Chao'er see my brother." ”

Ma Yue bowed his head lightly and said in a deep voice: "Ma Chao, are you guilty?" ”

Ma Chao lowered his head slightly and said in a low voice: "Little brother is guilty." ”

"Leading the army to attack without the permission of this general, such a lack of military discipline, even if you are beheaded to show the public, it is not too much!" Ma Yue said this, his expression softened slightly, and then said, "However, if you return from a great victory and have gained a lot, you will be convinced that you will not be punished or rewarded?" ”

Ma Chao said proudly: "Serve!" ”

Ma Yue knew that this move would fuel Ma Chao's arrogance, but he still decided to do it!

There's a reason for that.

Since it has been decided to let Ma Chao be the commander of the new army, Ma Chao must not only have the ability to be a commander, but also have the surname of a commander! Ability is the necessary quality of a commander, the surname is the charm of a commander, and complete ability can make Ma Chao a qualified commander, but only a unique charm can make Ma Chao an excellent commander.

Shaping a surname is much more difficult and expensive than teaching martial arts and teaching the formation of military scripts.

This first step is to cultivate Ma Chao's self-directed and arbitrary style. A general who does his own thing and is dictatorial may not be able to become a famous general, but a general who is indecisive and timid in the face of things will never become a famous general! As the saying goes, a good child is not productive, and similarly, a general without a surname is not a good general.

"Ma Chao!"

"The end will be."

"Do you dare to lead a large army to attack and set foot on the construction of the Luoluo Division?"

"Why don't you dare!?"

"Good!" Ma Yue Huoran turned his head, his eyes fell on the faces of Zhou Cang and the thousands of households in each department, and said sharply, "Zhou Cang, all departments and thousands of households listen to the order." ”

Zhou Cang and the thousands of households of each department stepped forward, lined up in front of Ma Yue, and responded in unison: "The end will be." ”

Ma Yue said sharply: "Immediately go out with the young general and set foot on the Xianbei and Luoluo Division." ”

"Yes!"

Zhou Cang and the thousands of households in each department responded violently, and immediately rushed to Ma Chao like a gust of wind, and said sharply: "The last general and others are ordered by the lord to come and wait for the major general's reprimand." ”

"Well, the generals can lead their headquarters and listen to the tune in front of the tent."

Ma Chao bowed his head slightly, and there was no trace of crampedness on his young face, and he learned the posture of Ma Yuesheng as a general during the war, just like a veteran general on the battlefield who had been in the army for many years.

……

On the shore of Xihai Lake, it is said that the royal court of the law deduction department.

Ten years ago, the prince of the Ministry of Law married the princess of the Department of Deduction Chai Muze, last winter, the king of the Department of Law and the Department of Deduction died of illness one after another, and the king of the Department of Law inherited the throne of the Department of Law, and because the king of the Department of Deduction had no children under his knees, he was also inherited by his son-in-law A Yule, and the two major tribal alliances were officially merged into the Department of Law and Deduction.

The corpse of the king of the Luoluo tribe was placed in the dome of Ayule at this time, and the king of Ayule was deduced by the law, and the kings, leaders, leaders and nobles under his command were gathering around the corpse of the king and shook their heads and sighed.

I think about what a hero I said in the past, but I don't want to die unexpectedly.

The one who escorted the body of King Yue to the court of the West Sea was the leader who escaped death, and Ah Yule stared at this leader with burning eyes and asked, "How was King Yue killed?" ”

The little leader said: "Killed by the Han army." ”

"Han Jun?" Ah Yule said in a speech, "Isn't the Han army still far away in Jiluo Mountain?" Why did you suddenly kill the Beihai Royal Court again? ”

The little leader said: "The main force of the Han army of the horse butcher is indeed still in Jiluo Mountain, and the one who attacked the Beihai Royal Court was only a cavalry of the Han army with four or five hundred horses. ”

"What did you say!?" Ah Yule was taken aback, and said in a lost voice, "A cavalry of the Han army with four or five hundred cavalry attacked the Beihai Royal Court?" And killed the king of the chase!? ”

"How is this possible?"

"What about the royal court guards who built the Luoluo Division?"

"I can't believe it."

Ah Yule's voice fell, and the king, leader, leader and Xianbei nobles in the big tent suddenly exploded, and Ah Yule raised his hand again and again, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then said to the little leader: "What you said is true? ”

"Absolutely." The little leader said with trepidation, "It is indeed a cavalry of the Han army, but it is also a group of devils, they are dressed in dark iron armor, and they wear hideous and terrifying helmets on their heads, they are as fast as a whirlwind, and they suddenly chiseled through the cavalry formation of the royal court iron guard and appeared in front of the king, and the king and the leaders of the various tribes were all killed in a sudden battle. ”

Ah Yule said in a condensed voice: "Only you escaped? ”

The little leader nodded gloomily.

Ah Yule gasped and hissed, "What kind of army is that?" ”

The little leader shook his head and replied, "I only know that the main general of this Han army is called Ma Chao." ”

"Ma Chao? Ma Chao! Ma Chao!! Ah Yule shouted three times in a row, his face had become extremely solemn, and he said worriedly to the Xianbei nobles beside him, "Everyone, please remember this name firmly, now, he has become the most ferocious and terrible enemy of Da Xianbei like the horse butcher." ”

……

Chang'an, Guo Yan's official residence.

Guo Yan looked at Li Ru with a gloomy expression and asked, "Wen Xiu, I heard that you ridiculed the envoy sent by Liu Bei, the captain of Sili, drove him out of the mansion, and entertained the envoy sent by the horse butcher with a big gift, is there such a thing?" ”

Li Ru said: "Yes, there is indeed such a thing. ”

Guo Yan frowned and said, "Wen Xiu, what kind of medicine are you selling in your gourd?" Do you really want General Ben to go to the horse butcher? ”

Li Ru asked rhetorically: "Could it be that the general wants to defect to Liu Bei?" ”

Guo Yan said: "It's better to defect to Liu Bei than to defect to the horse butcher, right?" Ma Teng, Gao Shun, Fang Yue, Xu Huang, Jia Xu, Guo Tu and others are not fuel-efficient lamps, and you and I may not be able to be reused. But Liu Bei is different, until now Liu Bei only has a few hundred people, Guan Zhang's second general, if you and I go to defect, it will inevitably be reused, what does Mr. think? ”

Li Ru said: "The general is wrong. ”

Guo Yan said: "Why did Wen Xiu say this? ”

Li Ru said: "If you defect to the horse butcher, the general can at least be too guarded, but if you go to Liu Bei, I am afraid that I will immediately have the worry of my life." ”

"Won't it?" Guo Yan didn't believe it, "Liu Bei is just when he is employing people, and he dares to take the surname of the general?" ”

Li Ru sneered: "If the general is Liu Bei, Liu Bei is the general, will the general dare to accept Liu Bei's surrender?" ”

Guo Yan thought for a moment, and then his face changed.

If the two change positions, Guo Yan really doesn't dare to accept Liu Bei's surrender. Because Liu Bei only has a few hundred soldiers and horses under his command, while Guo Yan has tens of thousands of troops under his command, it is extremely dangerous for such a weak master and strong servant, and Liu Bei must be worried that his position will be replaced by Guo Yan.

Guo Yan was puzzled: "Since this is the case, why did Liu Bei send someone to surrender?" ”

Li Ru said coldly: "What Liu Bei needs is the 20,000 elite soldiers under the general's command, not you, the general." Even if Li Ru goes to Liu Bei's command, he can still be an official and a half-job, but if the general goes, he will definitely die! General, don't think that Li Ru has any selfish intentions in persuading you to join the horse butcher, this is all for your consideration. ”

Guo Yan said with emotion: "I understand, fortunately, Wen Xiu is thoughtful, otherwise the general's surname will be suspended." ”

Li Ru said: "Since the general has made up his mind, how about I go here and tell Mr. Guo Tu?" ”

Guo Yan said: "There is Lao Wenxiu." ”

Li Ru took a long look, turned around and floated away, but Li Ru's figure had just walked away, and a person turned out behind the screen, only to see that this person was long and jade, elegant and handsome, who else was not engaged in Jian Yong under Liu Bei? Jian Yong smiled faintly at Guo Yan and said, "What's the matter, it's not wrong to say it in the next place, right?" ”

“……”

Guo Yan was silent.

Jian Yong said coldly: "When my lord was still in Youzhou, Yong had dealt with a horse butcher, and he knew that this person was suspicious, cruel and murderous. Since the death of Qiu Liju, the lord of Wuhuan in Liaoxi, more than 700 tribes of Wuhuan in the three counties of Liaoxi, Liaodong, and Liaodong have surrendered, but the horse butcher only accepted the Wuhuan tribe, but beheaded all the leaders and nobles of the Wuhuan clan more than 2,700 people! ”

Guo Yan shuddered excitedly, he believed that what Jian Yong said was true, because after the horse butcher pacified Liangzhou, Anding the Taishou Emperor Fujian, Jincheng Taishou Yan Wen, Longxi Taishou Gongzi Huang, as well as the Beidi Taishou Li Ju and his brother Zhang Ye Taishou Guo Hao were all beheaded by the horse butcher.

"Horse butchers have always been surrendered only by pawns, and as for the generals, they are all beheaded!" Jian Yong looked at his face and knew that Guo Yan was frightened in his heart, so he put another fierce medicine, and then said, "Don't look at Xu Huang and Duan Xuan mixing well under the horse butcher now, in fact, this is only temporary, when the horse butcher transfers Xu Huang's Hedong soldiers and Duan Xuan's Liangzhou soldiers, the death period of the two will come." ”

Guo Yan took a breath and said to Jian Yong: "Li Ru's heart can be punished, but there is a sentence that he says very reasonably. Does Lord Liu Bei really dare to accept the surrender of this general? He only has four or five hundred soldiers and horses under his command, isn't he afraid that this general will take the lead and rob him of power? ”

"Ridiculous!" Although Jian Yong's ability is mediocre, he is as eloquent as Li Su, and when he was hiding behind the screen and eavesdropping just now, he had already thought of the wording, and at this time, seeing that Guo Yan was really troubled, he asked with great disdain, "Such a ridiculous statement, the general would even believe it?" ”

"Huh?" Guo Yan Huo Ran said, "Ridiculous? ”

Jian Yong said: "Let's ask the general, why did Dong Zhuo lose?" ”

Guo Yan said: "The Kwantung Army is powerful, and the Liangzhou Army is difficult to match. ”

Jian Yong said: "How is the general's self-proclaimed self-proclaimed comparison with Dong Zhuo? ”

Guo Yan said: "It's not as good. ”

Jian Yong said again: "Since this is the case, may I ask, does the general dare to usurp the throne?" After usurping the throne of my lord, what is the general going to use to resist the crusade of the Kwantung coalition? Is it just the general's 20,000 troops? Dong Zhuo's 200,000-strong army was still defeated, not to mention the general's 20,000-strong army. ”

Guo Yan was silent.

He really didn't want to be in charge of the world like Dong Zhuo, he just wanted to go to a place where there were people to be a taishou, as long as he could leave the ghost place of Chang'an, and he could keep the 20,000 horses under his command, he really didn't want anything else, at least not at the moment.

Jian Yong said again: "If the general thinks that he is not capable of resisting the crusade of the Kwantung Coalition Army, how can he dare to usurp the position of my lord?" What can my father-in-law worry about? ”

……

Luoyang, Liu Bei's official residence.

Because Liu Bei, the captain of Sili, set up a banquet to invite each other, Situ Wang Yun, Sikong Liu Hong, Shangshu Lu Yu, Shizhong Cai Yong and other officials of the court and China came to visit together, and heard Liu Bei crying from afar, everyone was surprised, and when they walked into the hall, they saw Liu Bei holding a bowl of moldy coarse rice and weeping bitterly, looking extremely sad.

Wang Yun asked anxiously: "What is Xuande Gong sad about?" ”

Liu Bei wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeves and said in a low voice: "I'm not sad for myself, I'm really sad for the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother in the palace." ”

Wang Yun was shocked: "What happened to the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother?" I don't know. ”

"It's not a big deal." Liu Bei said this, handed the bowl of moldy coarse rice in his hand to Wang Yun, and sighed, "It's just that there is a shortage of food in the palace, and the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother can only eat this moldy coarse rice with wild vegetables." As the so-called lord worries about the humiliation of the ministers, the lord humiliates the ministers to death, the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother have no food and clothing, how can the lower officials bear it, woo woo~~"

After that, Liu Bei howled and cried again.

"Ah~~"

Wang Yun sighed and was speechless.

The rest of Liu Hong, Lu Yu and others were also silent, even if they had the heart to help, they could get money, but Luoyang had no rice market, and they couldn't buy excess food to supply the palace.

After a long time, Liu Bei stopped his sad voice and sighed: "Today, Xuzhou is rich and has a lot of surplus grain, although I intend to go to buy it, but unfortunately my sleeves are empty, and I don't have money to buy grain, alas." ”

At this time, Wang Yun's old face was really a little unbearable, and he hurriedly said: "There are some rare antiques in the old man's house, anyway, it's useless to keep them, and you can exchange them for some money if you sell them. ”

Cai Yong also said: "There are also some ancient poems, calligraphy and paintings in the Xiaguan Mansion, and Liu Sili can go and get them." ”

Lu Zhi's son, Shangshu Lu Yu said: "My father has been an official for many years, and he has accumulated some money, and he can still get four or five thousand yuan. Now that the people's livelihood in Luoyang is depressed, there is no price, and there is no market, and there is nothing to buy anyway if you stay at home, so it is better to give it to Lord Liu Bei to buy food. ”

With Wang Yun, Cai Yong, and Lu Yu taking the lead, the rest of the people also knew that if they didn't say anything today, they were afraid that they would have no face to see people again in the future, so they had to endure the pain and bleeding, and they donated money and materials to donate money, and in less than a meal, Liu Bei raised a lot of money for this feast.

After donating money and goods, Wang Yun and others had no intention of drinking the banquet, and left one after another, Liu Bei apologized for his sins, and sent them outside the gate one by one, and when he was sending off the last official, his righteous brother Guan Yu suddenly entered the main gate in the dust, and when he was about to speak, he was stopped by Liu Bei's eyes, Guan Yu understood, and hurriedly silenced.

When the last official walked away, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Yun Chang, how was the harvest of the trip to Xuzhou?" ”

Guan Yu said happily: "The harvest is quite rich." Big brother, Tao Qian, this old man is really easy to talk to, and before I finished speaking, I promised to provide the imperial court with 50,000 stone of grain, as well as 5,000 catties of pig iron and 300 sets of armor. The younger brother still regretted in his heart, the eldest brother begged for too little food, and if he asked for 100,000 stones, he might be able to get it. ”

"Although Tao Qian is easy to speak, the Xuzhou officials under him may not be so good at talking, 100,000 stone of grain is already beyond the bottom line of the Xuzhou Shi clan, and 50,000 stone of grain is enough."

Saying this, Liu Bei's eyes suddenly revealed a palpitating gloomy color, compared with the honesty and kindness just now, Liu Bei at this time seemed to be a different person, and then said to Guan Yu: "Second brother, now you immediately go to the Chengdong military camp to order three hundred sergeants to do something important." ”

Guan Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked, "What's the matter, so anxious?" ”

Liu Bei handed a book in his hand to Guan Yu and instructed: "This is the money and materials that Wang Yun, Lu Yu and other adults promised to donate, and it is clearly and clearly recorded. ”

……

Chang'an, Li Ru's official residence.

When Li Ru was having a banquet with Guo Tu, a house slave suddenly came in and said something in Li Ru's ear, Li Ru's face suddenly changed when he heard it, and he jumped up in shock.

Guo Tu's heart sank, and he asked anxiously: "Mr. Li Ru, what's wrong?" ”

"Mr. Guo Tu, this disaster is the worst of all." Li Ru wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and said in a condensed voice, "Confucianism has always been friendly with Guo Yan's wife and uncle, and just now Guo Yan's wife and uncle sent someone to report that Guo Yan had secretly agreed to Jian Yong and was ready to serve Liu Bei, the captain of Sili!" And he will escort Mr. Xia and Mr. to Luoyang to ask for beheading! ”

"What~~ What!?" This time it was Guo Tu's turn to be taken aback, and said hurriedly, "There is such a thing?" ”

Li Ru put his hand on his forehead and said with annoyance: "What a mistake, it seems that I still underestimate Jian Yong." ”

Guo Tu hurriedly said: "Mr. Li Ru, it is meaningless to say this now, we have to find a way to save the situation, and we must not let General Guo Yan defect to Liu Bei." ”

"I'm afraid it's hard to undo." Li Ru shook his head and said, "For today's plan, I can only run for my life first." ”

"Since it's irretrievable~~" Guo Tu said this, the corners of his mouth suddenly bloomed with a trace of ruthless murderous intent, and he lowered his voice and said, "I can't only send General Guo Yan on the road first!" As long as Guo Yan dies and the Liangzhou rebels are leaderless, we will have a chance to learn from it. ”

"No, no!" Li Ru was so anxious that he shook his hands and said, "It's easy to kill Guo Yan, but it's even worse if you really kill Guo Yan, don't talk about surrendering at that time, I'm afraid that you and I will have to be chopped into meat by the rioting soldiers!" If Guo Yan wants to surrender to Liu Bei, let him go, anyway, Ma Pingxi's troops are strong and strong, and there is no shortage of 20,000 horses. ”

"What if there is a large army outside Chang'an City?" Guo Tu sneered, "Does this gang of rebels still dare to kill Mr. Li Ru?" ”

"Huh?" Li Ru's expression froze, and he finally came back to his senses, and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Guo Tu, it turns out that you came prepared!" ”

Guo Tu dusted off his sleeves, straightened his clothes again, and said indifferently: "If you can't even do this little thing, what kind of face will Tu have to go back to Hetao to see my father-in-law?" ”

Li Ru touched his forehead with his hand, thinking that Guo Tu was really not an ordinary arrogance.

But then again, this guy is thoughtful and does not leak anything, and he does have the qualifications to be arrogant.

……

Luoyang, the official residence of Cai Yong in the service.

"Puff Bulge~~"

The closed door was suddenly knocked on the sky, and the old man Ding, who had been asleep, hurriedly got up, opened the door a crack, and yawned before he opened his eyes, and muttered: "What kind of person, it's so late and knocking on the door, and not letting people sleep, it's really ~~"

"Old thing, if you don't say a word, you'll die."

Before Lao Jia Ding finished speaking, he had already received a heavy slap in the face.

"You, how do you hit someone?"

Lao Ding hurriedly opened his sleepy eyes, only to see a large group of soldiers holding torches standing in front of the mansion, and it was an officer who beat him just now, who was glaring at him viciously at this time, and scolded: "What's wrong with beating you?" Open the door! I missed the big thing of the second general, and I want you to look good. ”

The old man Ding Huo said: "What is the second general, this is the Shizhong Mansion." ”

"What's wrong with Shizhongfu?" The officer said sharply, "Lao Tzu has just come from Sikong Mansion, and the people in Sirong Mansion dare not treat Lao Tzu slowly. ”

"Ping!"

Before he finished speaking, the officer had already kicked heavily on the door, and Wei Qi's wide opening opened violently, and the thin body of Lao Ding was suddenly knocked backwards and flew out, and he couldn't get up for a long time. The officer kicked open the door, waved his hand back, and said sharply: "Brothers, carry things according to the list." ”

"Yes."

More than 100 soldiers armed with torches responded with a bang, like a group of live bandits, rushing into the Shizhong Mansion in a chaotic manner.

At the opposite corner of the street in Shizhongfu, Guan Yu stood with his hands in his hands surrounded by several guards, and one of the guards said to Guan Yu diligently: "Second general, so that Cai Yong's old man must be scared half to death, and the second general will come forward in time and kill the majesty of Erniu fiercely, hehe, this old thing must not obediently sacrifice his daughter?" ”

(To be continued)