The next day, Ma Teng paid homage to the generals in the school field and asked Zhong Jin to review with the army and swear to go on the expedition.

An hour later, with Ma Xiu as the vanguard, he led 30,000 Xiliang troops to enter Chencang Road and take Hanzhong directly.

The former army went out of the city, Zhong Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief, this trip thought that it would take a lot of words, and even coercion and temptation to get Ma Teng's father and son to send troops, but he didn't expect it to be so smooth.

At this moment, I saw Ma Tie leading a jujube red horse, the divine horse was tall, the mane was more than two feet long, and the fur was shiny and smooth.

Ma Tengyan said: "This is a good horse in the West Liangshan Dan Horse Farm, although I dare not say that I travel thousands of miles a day, but it is also one in a thousand, and it is specially given to the general, and I hope not to dislike it." ”

"This, this, this...... How does this work? If there is no merit, how can you take advantage of your position to receive benefits? ”

Although Zhong Jin waved his hand again and again, his eyes were shining, the war horses of Shandan Racecourse are famous all over the world, and he has never seen such a good horse in Chang'an?

Ma Teng sighed: "The general doesn't know, although the cavalry is mighty, it costs a lot!" My father and son lost ground in Chencang, and they were really trapped by grain and grass, and this time they brought this batch of grain and grass, although they solved the urgent need, but they could only last for two months at most. Qinling Mountain high road dangerous, Yangping Pass is very difficult to attack, this to Hanzhong, must be postponed the sun and the moon, once the grain and grass are insufficient, the consequences are unimaginable, after the general arrives in Chang'an, I hope to have a lot of good words, as soon as possible to allocate grain and grass to come. ”

Zhong Jin hugged his fists and said: "Raising food for the general is the duty of the next, and it should be so, this horse ...... But he can't stand it, and if his brother knows, he will blame. ”

Ma Teng said with a smile: "Although there are not many such good horses, they are not rare in Xiliang, and the right should be in the next heart." And grain and grass are related to the lifeblood of the three armies, if the general does not collect the horses, how can I rest assured that the expedition will be carried out? ”

Zhong Jin had no choice but to take the reins: "I'm ashamed to be like this." ”

Ma Teng was relieved at this time, and laughed and said: "BMW gives heroes, and the general will take this horse to go to Sanguan much faster." ”

Zhong Jin was stunned: "Do you want to go to Sanguan?" ”

Ma Teng nodded and said: "Since the general has come to comfort the three armies, if you don't go to Sanguan and are asked by General Cao, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get along." ”

Zhong Jin wanted to say goodbye, but Ma Teng was courteous, so he accompanied the army and sent it to Sanguan, watching the army enter Chencang Road, before bidding farewell to Ma Teng's father and son, stepping on the Xiliang BMW, and returning to Chang'an to report the news

Zhong Jin was extremely satisfied with this trip, but when he returned to Chang'an, he thought that if he told the truth, he would be useless, and he would be despised by Zhong Xuan and Cao Hong.

When he came to the mansion, he said that he had arrived in Chencang, knew the benefits, and promised to allocate food to the Xiliang army, so Ma Teng agreed to send troops.

Zhong Xuan's face sank when he heard this: "How can you be good at making decisions about such a military situation?" There is no joke in the army, once the grain and grass do not arrive, the Xiliang army will be in chaos, what will be the consequences? ”

"Ming Gong is angry!" Cao Hong waved his hand slightly and said with a smile: "As long as you can let the horses free up the troops, what is a little grain and grass?" The Xiliang army is short of food, and in the future, they can only rely on me to breathe and use it for my use, and Ma Teng's father and son are no longer worried. ”

Zhong Xuan snorted coldly: "Ma Teng is short of food, but have you seen it with your own eyes? ”

Zhong Jin had no choice but to reply at this time: "Ma Teng insisted on refusing to send troops, and took me to see the treasury, it is true that there is not much grain and grass left, most of its war horses are long and thin, waiting for the harvest of spring grass, people and horses have no fighting spirit, in order to boost the morale of the Xiliang army, I had to agree." ”

Cao Hong laughed when he heard this: "General Zhong went to Chencang, not only did he supervise the horses to vacate the troops and send them to Sanguan, it can be seen that he acted responsibly and carefully, and found out the truth of the Xiliang army, which is really a great achievement, and the division is too strict with Brother Ling." ”

Zhong Xuan glanced at Zhong Jin, hugged his fists and said: "It's not because he is my brother to ask carefully, this matter is related to the military situation, so I have to be cautious." ”

Cao Hong said with a smile: "Ma Teng has already sent troops, and it is time for a certain to play, three days later, the troops will be sent to Wuguan, and they will personally beat Liu Qi back to his original form." ”

At this time, the news has been reported that Liu Qi is in Wuguan, and the defeat of Nanyang has become an eternal pain in the hearts of the generals of the Cao clan, and this time he will be ashamed.

Now that Ma Teng has sent troops, the Xiliang army is short of food, and the threat in Guanzhong is gone, there is no longer any worries, and he sent someone to report to Cao Cao.

On the same day, Cao Hong held a banquet in the mansion to encourage civil and military officials, and introduced Zhong Jin ceremoniously, saying that he was brave and strategic, and let Ma Teng send troops with his three-inch tongue, which attracted a lot of praise.

After the banquet was over, Zhong Xuan returned home, called Zhong Jin and asked again, "What you said today is the truth?" ”

"It's true!" Zhong Jin secretly gritted his teeth, clenching his fists and sweating palms.

was just praised by Cao Hong in front of the officials at the banquet, and he must not let go at this time, otherwise he will become a repeated villain, how will he behave in the future?

Zhong Xuansu stared at Zhong Jin, and only said after a while: "If it's about you and my brother, it's just a matter of hiding it from me, it's just a family matter!" If there is any concealment of this official business, it will cause great disaster, you have read the books of the sages since you were a child, you should know loyalty, filial piety and integrity, and do not delay your life because of a momentary mood. ”

Zhong Jin was uncomfortable by his brother, and suddenly knelt on the ground and replied: "Brother, don't hide it, I received a BMW from Ma Teng in Chencang, which is a good horse in Shandan." ”

"Oh?" Zhong Xuan's eyes flickered: "You have no relationship with Ma Teng, and you are not an important minister of the court, why do you want to give you a good horse?" ”

Zhong Jin replied: "Ma Teng is worried that after years of attacking Hanzhong, the grain and grass will run out, and the previous achievements will be wasted, so please ask me to say a few good words to General Cao and allocate more grain and grass." ”

"Hmm......" Zhong Xuan groaned and said to himself: "In this way, the Xiliang Army is really short of food?" ”

During the banquet just now, he looked at Zhong Jin with a strange expression several times, thinking that he was so happy and lying about the military situation, and he was uneasy, it turned out that he had received the benefits of Ma Teng, and his doubts were gone!

Zhong Jin knew that his brother had always been rigorous, and he didn't dare to say more than half a word when he lowered his head, so he finally justified himself, and if he saw any flaws, it would be troublesome.

Anyway, it is a fact that there is a shortage of food in Ma Teng's army, and it is the same whether he sees it or not, and Cao Hong has promised to allocate food, so there is no need to verify this matter.

"Get up!" Zhong Xuan sighed and taught seriously: "Ma Teng gave the horse, not because of your ability and fame, but because of your position, this is a bribe!" You must remember that in the future, in the officialdom, there will be difficult things for anyone who uses bribes, and if you want to do such things, you must use extraordinary methods, and if you violate the law, if you can't do it, you will be involved in it, and you will not be able to extricate yourself. ”

Zhong Jin wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, hugged his fists and said, "I will go to General Cao's mansion to plead guilty, hand over the horse to the public, and let him dispose of it." ”

"That's it!" Zhong Xuan bowed slightly, and the doubts in his heart were gone.

Zhong Jin led the horse to Cao Hong's mansion again to plead guilty, Cao Hong was discussing the matter of the expedition with the generals, and instead of reproaching, he left the horse to Zhong Jin.

"Ma Teng gave you such a big favor, if you don't pay it back, it will inevitably be unreasonable, when I go on the expedition, I will allocate another 50,000 stones of grain and grass, and you will send it to Chencang, how about it?"

"Thank you, General!" Zhong Jin was overjoyed, rode a horse and rushed home, and replied to his brother.

Zhong Xuan sighed when he heard this, and burned the half-written secret letter, which included Cao Hong's cultivation of dancing girls and drinking for fun.

Cao Hong's move was just to appease Ma Teng, but by the way, he sold himself a favor, and this favor had to be repaid!