Ma Chao closed his eyes and concentrated, like an old monk in meditation.
The man who spoke was named Hu Bai, whose courtesy name was Daozhi, and he was a member of Ma Chao's staff. He was not tall, about seven feet six inches. His body was slightly thin, and his long robe showed an elegant look. He wore a turban on his head.
, has long hair in a bun. She has slender eyebrows, a pair of peach blossom eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and always has a warm smile on her face.
"General Dou, the Hongze people have almost cut off contact with the Central Plains since they settled in Hongze a hundred years ago.
Speaking of which, we can be considered natives of Liangzhou. Although we have occasionally had conflicts with each other in the past few years, it was just a misunderstanding. General Ma Teng is the queen of the general family, and General Fubo also had a fatal friendship with the Dou family in the past.
... We are our own people after all! I think General Dou also heard that the imperial court wanted to take back Hexi. Apart from other things, the general was so powerful in Mobei that he died at the hands of an eunuch, so the general had to stay away from his homeland.
Standing in this bitter cold land. If the imperial court really takes back Hexi, can the general still dominate Hongze as he did earlier? Hongze is the hinterland of Hexi, with luxuriant water and grass and fertile land. I am afraid that the imperial court will be the first to deal with it.
’s... Haha, the general is a smart man, and he must be able to see the pros and cons in this, so the student will not say more.
Today, the eldest son came here on the order of General Ma Teng, hoping to form a good relationship with Hongze.
Wuwei and Hexi are adjacent to each other. We are not only neighbors, but also share the same hatred. I wonder what General Dou thinks about this?"
Dou Lan looked thoughtful, stared at Hu Bai, and said nothing for a long time.
Dou Hu sneered and said, "What Mr. Dao Zhi said sounds nice, but if we offend the court, General Ma will send troops to attack Hongze with the court. Even if this is not the case, I, Hongze, will surrender to General Ma Teng, and you and I will
What kind of relationship should there be between them? Is it possible to have tens of thousands of Hongze people obey the orders of Wuwei, or for my father and son to serve General Ma Teng?"
Dou Lan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "Dou Hu, shut up, stop talking nonsense."
Hu Bai smiled, "Young general, you are worrying too much... Haha, if my general really intends to harm Hongze, how can Hongze survive to this day?"
This sentence made Dou Lan and his son suddenly change their expressions.
Hu Bai was not exaggerating. With Ma Teng's strength, it was indeed possible to seize Hong Ze.
It’s just a matter of how much loss you will lose...
But even so, Dou Lan and his son still felt unhappy when Hu Bai said it so nakedly, and even felt aggrieved. But they didn't know how to speak. Looking at Hu Bai, they were speechless for a long time.
Come.
Ma Chao, who had been silent all this time, suddenly opened his eyes.
After glancing at the people in the flower hall, he slowly said: "General Dou, my father Jingjun is the descendant of the general family and a son of a famous minister, so he asked Meng Qi to come and meet with the general. Hongze, my Ma family is not interested, so you don't have to. But.
One thing I must say clearly is that the current dynasty is weak and Cao Cao is holding the emperor hostage to order the princes, making the emperor just like a puppet.
My father was ordered to fight against rebellion, but all the things he had done before were nothing more than pretending to be a snake with Cao Cao's thieves.
If General Dou wants to join Cao Cao, my Ma family will never allow it. I believe General Dou can also imagine the consequences.
In short, if the Hongze Thirty-Six Department cooperates with my Ma family, Meng Qi can guarantee that Hongze will have peace of mind; if..."
Ma Chao's words made people feel a hint of arrogance.
He sneered twice, looked at Dou Hu, then closed his eyes and said no more words.
Dou Hu was furious. He put his hands on the table and was about to stand up, but Li Ding held him down and gently shook his head towards him.
Ma Chao, whoever comes here is not a good person.
Dou Lanhu's eyes widened and he said sternly: "Meng Qi, are you threatening me?"
Hu Bai quickly said: "General, why should you be angry? The eldest son is not a threat, he just wants to remind you in a friendly way.
General, you should know that my general will turn against Cao Cao sooner or later. If Cao Cao takes control of Hexi, it will not be a good thing. The eldest son has a strong temperament, and his words are inevitably a bit straightforward. But his intentions are indeed good, and he does not want to
If our own family beats our own family, please ask the general to think twice."
Ma Chao completely ignored the anger of Dou Lan and his son, and his expression was extremely calm.
It's just that you can tell from his sharp-edged face, like a knife or an axe, that he's not just talking casually.
Dou Lan pursed her lips tightly and burst out laughing after a while.
"What Meng Qi said is not unreasonable. It's just that Dou Lan lives in Hongshuiji. Although he is a tribal leader, he cannot have his own way. The thirty-six tribes of Hongze are connected and share weal and woe. This matter is important and may need to be discussed with the thirty-six tribes.
A decision can be made only after the adults of the six tribes have discussed it. Instead of this, I will immediately summon the thirty-six adults of Hongze to come to Hongshuiji and explain the interests to them. As long as half of the adults agree, Dou Lan is willing to lead Hongze to surrender.
General."
Ma Chao was silent and looked towards Hu Bai.
But Hu Bai nodded towards him, and said: "Since the general said so, Ma Chao won't force him. It's just that at this time... the imperial court is about to enter Hexi. I would like to ask the general to give Ma Chao some time. What do you think?"
"Three days. After three days, I will summon the thirty-six tribesmen to discuss this matter and give Meng Qi an answer."
"In that case, I will wait for three days."
After Ma Chao finished speaking, he stood up and said goodbye to Dou Lan and others, then turned around and left with Hu Bai.
Dou Lan personally sent Ma Chao out of the government office, ordered people to arrange the residence for Ma Chao and his party, and then returned to the flower hall.
"Father, Ma Mengqi is arrogant and bullies my father and son too much."
Dou Hu flew into a rage in the flower hall and said sternly: "I, the Thirty-sixth Division of Hongze, have fought with his Ma family... Although his Ma family's army is brave, we Hongze people are not bad either. Big deal, we will fight them to the death."
."
Dou Lan ignored Dou Hu and asked Li Ding: "Xiannephew, what do you think?"
Li Ding thought for a while and said softly: "The Ma family is pressing hard, which also shows that they are quite afraid of Cao Cao... Otherwise, Ma Mengqi would not be so aggressive. Ma Shoucheng, this is to take control of Hexi one step ahead."
ah."
Dou Lan smiled and said, "Not only is he aggressive, he is also confident of winning."
"What father means is..."
"The Thirty-Six Divisions of Hongze, the Thirty-Six Divisions of Hongze...I'm afraid that from now on, the Thirty-Six Divisions will no longer exist and will fall apart!"
Since Ma Chao dares to threaten him face to face, it shows that he is very confident.
The reason why he agreed to Dou Lan convening thirty-six tribesmen for discussion was, on the one hand, because he did not want to push too hard, and on the other hand, he might have recruited some tribesmen, so he made such a decision...
Dou Hu and Li Ding couldn't help but change their expressions.
After the two of them looked at each other, they both looked at Dou Lan.
"What does father (uncle) think?"
"Li Ding, has Mr. Li ever expressed his opinion on this matter?"
"Ancestor?"
"I know that Master Li has always hoped that Hongze could join the imperial court, but he is also worried that after the imperial court has benefited, he will want to ignore Hongze as before. He knows a lot about the imperial court, so I want to know, he
…”
"My ancestor once said that the Ma family is the evil wolf of Liangzhou."
This evaluation coincides with Dou Lan's point of view.
Although Li Ding did not tell Li Qi's true thoughts, it could be heard that Li Qi was quite afraid of Ma Teng's family.
"That's it, I understand!"
Dou Lan thought for a while and did not ask any more questions.
He sat down in the center of the flower hall. After pondering for a long time, he said to Dou Hu: "Immediately summon the thirty-sixth division and Master Liang Yuanbi to Hongshuiji. I think there are some things and it is time to make a decision. We must make a decision within three days."
Arrived...Li Ding, please inform Mr. Li so that he does not have to come. But please ask Mr. Li to lead his troops and move closer to Hongshuiji."
"Father……"
Dou Lan smiled slightly and said, "Now that Ma Mengqi is here, how can Ma Shoucheng not have a last resort?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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After Li Ding returned to the inn, he told Cao Peng what happened in detail.
After hearing this, Cao Peng guessed some of Dou Lan's thoughts. Presumably Dou Lan was also hesitant at the moment. On the one hand, he was afraid of being deceived by the court, and on the other hand, he was worried that he would join Ma Teng and lose his glory.
Earlier independence. At the same time, due to his status, Dou Lan was somewhat wary of the imperial court, and even had some resistance.
At this time, it is not the best opportunity to contact Dou Lan.
And Li Ding also said that the vote of the thirty-six tribesmen is the key.
"What do you guys say, Xiutu?"
"Everyone is about to be slaughtered... I have always followed General Dou's lead."
Cao Peng pondered for a long time, and finally decided to wait and see what happens.
However, in order to prevent accidents, Cao Peng decided to ask Liang Kuan to contact Yin Feng at the Li Ding tribe and urge Deng Fan to speed up his actions. If Hongze really wanted to surrender to Ma Teng, Cao Peng would not hesitate to fight Hongze in advance.
.
In this way, Cao Peng stayed in Hongshuiji and continued to observe the movement.
Ma Chao and his party did not leave home at the inn, and looked extremely calm. Dou Lan also seemed very calm. After visiting Ma Chao the next day, he issued an order to arrange a venue outside Hongshuiji to prepare for the three parties.
The arrival of the 16 adults. Hongshuiji is too small. If the 36 adults come to discuss matters, they will definitely bring their accompanying retinue. By then, given the scale of Hongshuiji, I am afraid that we will not be able to arrange so many people, so we will have to
Stationed outside the city.
On the evening of the second day, the seven tribal leaders closest to Hongshuiji arrived early.
Later, adults from various tribes scattered on Hongze Muyuan also came one after another, making Hongshuiji a lively place.
Li Ding had no time to take care of Cao Peng and helped Dou Lan greet the arrival of the tribesmen.
Cao Peng felt a little bored staying in the inn, so he led Wang Shuang and Jiang Xu out of the inn and walked around the city.
Although Hongshuiji is not big, it has various facilities.
There are many shops in the city, and people are walking on the streets one after another. Walking in the market, Cao Peng looked at the town carefully and listened to Jiang Xu's introduction. As a ranger, Jiang Xu was not the first time to Hongshuiji.
This market town was also very familiar. As he walked, he and Cao Peng introduced various local customs and living customs in a low voice. Cao Peng listened very carefully, asking a few questions in a low voice from time to time, and even nodded repeatedly to express his understanding.
…
"Sir, that's where the government office is over there."
Jiang Xu pointed towards the end of the long street, and following the direction of his finger, Cao Peng saw a mansion not far away.
Outside the government office, there were several servants guarding it, which seemed to be quite strict.
After taking a look, Cao Peng didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he turned around and looked curiously at a barbecue rack next to the street.
On the shelf was half a leg of beef. A man who looked like a barbarian was grilling meat while using a sharp knife to skillfully slice off the tender roasted meat from the leg of beef. After the slices were taken out on a plate, they were served with dipping sauces.
It was sent to the table nearby, while the diners rolled up the barbecue with pieces of biscuits and devoured it. It looked like they were eating extremely sweet food.
"That person is from Da Yuezhi and has been in Hongze for many years.
His barbecue is one of the best in the Hongshui Collection... Haha, if you are interested, sir, you might as well go over and give it a try."
"Okay, I'm just feeling a little hungry."
The strong aroma of meat made Cao Peng feel his index finger moving.
After listening to Jiang Xu's introduction, he smiled, nodded in agreement, and walked towards the barbecue stall.
At this time, a foreigner with braided hair hurriedly walked from the other end of the long street. Cao Peng was accidentally bumped into by the foreigner. He saw the foreigner retreating with a thud.
After a few steps, he sat down on the ground and started to curse. However, he was speaking in Xiongnu language and Cao Peng couldn't understand him, so he stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help him.
"The same goes for you. You were obviously the one who hit me, so why are you blaming me?"
The Hu man was startled, then slapped Cao Peng's extended hand away, and said with a very strange emphasis: "If it weren't for something urgent, I would never let you go."
With that said, he jumped up, glared at Cao Peng fiercely, and left in a hurry.
Cao Peng scratched his head and said to Jiang Xu: "What a domineering beard... In my opinion, with this guy's temper, he will suffer sooner or later."
"How about I teach him a lesson?"
"Forget it, one more thing is worse than one less thing at this time... Jiang Xu, Xiao Shuang, let's go have barbecue, I'll treat you."
Cao Peng looked at the back of the barbarian as he hurried away, shook his head slightly, and laughed.
Since he didn't want to pursue the case, Jiang Xu and Wang Shuang did not pursue him. The three of them went directly to the barbecue stall and found a clean table to sit down. Jiang Xu ordered three kilograms of barbecue and a jar of wine with ease.
Afterwards, the three of them were sitting there, about to speak, when they suddenly heard a series of screams from the distance, followed by someone from the end of the long street shouting in shock: "Killing, killing..."
Cao Peng was startled and looked in the direction of the shout.
I saw heads of people swarming outside the government office. Many people swarmed away, completely blocking Cao Peng's sight.
"what happened?"
"It seems something happened at the government office..."
"Let's go over and have a look!"
Cao Peng stood up and walked over with Jiang Xu and Wang Shuang.
At this time, there was a mess at the entrance of the government office. Although the servants guarding the door stepped forward to maintain order, there were too many people and the voices were extremely noisy. Various dialects and accents were mixed together. Cao Peng stood outside and could not speak at all.
Can't hear clearly.
"What happened?"
"It seems someone was killed in front of the government office."
"ah?"
Cao Peng was startled, and he led Jiang Xu and Wang Shuang to squeeze into the crowd. After a lot of effort, the three of them squeezed to the front. Cao Peng stood on tiptoes and looked out. This look surprised him.