It had been an hour since Ma Dai went there. Ma Chao calculated that he should have come back long ago, but there was no news. He began to feel a little restless. He walked slowly to the window with his hands behind his back and stared at the few bare peach trees in the backyard. Ma Chao suddenly realized that in another month it would be the New Year, and his wife and children were all dead in Ji County, without even a tombstone.

Ma Chao sighed softly in his heart, and he suddenly felt an unprecedented fatigue. The past was quickly leaving him, and he didn't even want to think about it anymore, and his memory began to blur.

At this time, the shopkeeper's terrified voice came from the yard, "Two distinguished guests, we... the governor of the state is here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dense sound of footsteps came. When Ma Chao turned around, he saw a group of soldiers walking into the yard. Ma Dai led the way, followed by a tall and burly young man wearing a golden crown, a fine linen purple robe, a jade belt, and a pair of bright eyes, looking particularly heroic and upright.

This was the first time Ma Chao met Liu Jing. Although no one introduced him, he immediately guessed that this young man with extraordinary temperament was the famous Liu Jing, who actually came to visit him in person. This moved Ma Chao. He hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down, and Pang De and several subordinates also knelt down aside.

"The end of the game, Ma Chao, pays homage to the governor of the state!"

It was also the first time that Liu Jing saw Ma Chao. He saw Ma Chao as handsome as a crown, and was extremely handsome and tall. Although he was wearing a black businessman robe, he could not hide his extraordinary temperament. Liu Jing secretly praised in his heart, saying that he was worthy of being the "Jin Ma Chao". As expected, he was a talented person and well-deserved.

He hurriedly stepped forward to help Ma Chao up, and asked Pang De and others to get up. Then he smiled at Ma Chao and said, "I don't know if my brother is coming to Guanzhong. I'm sorry, please don't blame me."

Ma Chao said ashamedly: "The state governor doesn't have to do this. Ma Chao is so depressed and dare not take it!"

Liu Jing knew it in his mind. Although he wanted to say polite words, if he really lifted Ma Chao too high, he would probably not be able to control it in the future. I am afraid that Ma Chao himself would admit that he was a defeated general, so why should he be too polite to him?

Liu Jing did not apologize anymore. He smiled and asked Ma Chao and Ma Dai and Pang De to sit down. At this time, the shopkeeper brought a few bowls of hot soup. Liu Jing took a sip of the hot soup and said to Ma Chao: "I also received a letter from Chang'an this morning, saying that Cao Cao's army has returned to Chang'an. I knew that the battle situation in Tianshui will be unfavorable, but I don't know the specific situation. I was anxious and happened to be here. I had already talked to the second general just now. I was really guilty of not helping you."

Ma Chao shook his head, "Actually, Ma Chao overestimated himself and wanted to raise the flag to clear the emperor, but he didn't have that ability. He was defeated twice by Cao Cao, and his foundation was uprooted. I am just an ordinary general now. Please don't treat me with equal courtesy. Ma Chao is self-aware and asks the governor of the state!"

Ma Chao once again begged Liu Jing not to regard him as a prince. This was also agreed along the way. If Liu Jing wants to take them in, they have to be humble and lower their identities. Liu Jing is not Liu Biao, and he will be in harboring himself like he will be in custody Liu Bei. If he is ungrateful and wants to have an equal status, they will inevitably be killed by Liu Jing.

Liu Jing smiled slightly. He was quite satisfied with Ma Chao's self-knowledge. Liu Jing no longer mentioned the matter of Tianshui. He pondered for a moment: "We have just obtained Bashu and are not stable internally, so we cannot use troops to Guanzhong immediately, so we will not attack Guanzhong as soon as next spring. Now we need to rest for a while. If Meng Qi does not dislike him, he will temporarily be appointed as the General of the Central Army. He will be the deputy general of General Zhao Yun and assist General Zhao Yun in training troops in Nanzheng. General Zhao will go to Chengdu to visit relatives and will come back in a few days. I hope Meng Qi can train cavalry for me."

Ma Chao did not expect Liu Jing to immediately let him lead his troops alone and guard the side. He also knew that he could not be named General of the Central Army compared with Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun, which was the same level as Wu Yi, Gan Ning and others. This was indeed Liu Jing's biggest concession and gave him enough face. If he was not satisfied, it would not only annoy Liu Jing, but also the commander of the Jingzhou Army could not tolerate him.

Ma Chao was grateful and quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "From today, Ma Mengqi is a general under the command of the provincial governor. He is willing to be a provincial governor and die before he dies!"

Liu Jing laughed loudly and quickly helped him up and said, "It will be a family in the future."

He said to Ma Dai and Pang De: "According to the rules of the Jingzhou Army, Meng Qi is the General of the Central Army, and the two generals must be second to two levels. However, I will have a special appointment today, and the two can be deputy lieutenants to assist General Meng Qi."

Pang De and Ma Dai hurriedly saluted, "Thank you for the prefect of the prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture's prefecture!"

Liu Jing asked Ma Chao and others to sit down and introduced Wu Yi and Fa Zheng to them. Fa Zheng smiled and said, "General Ma joins the Jingzhou army, I'm afraid General Wei will complain."

Ma Chao was puzzled, how could he infringe on Wei Yan's interests? He asked quickly: "May I ask the French military advisor, why is this?"

Before Fa Zheng spoke, Liu Jing smiled and said, "The Jingzhou Army has five tiger generals. Before Meng Qi's future, the rankings are Zilong, Han Sheng, Xingba, Wenpin, and Wei Yan. Now that Meng Qi joins, the rankings will change. Meng Qi is at least second, so the last one is the dispute between Wen Zhongye and Wei Wenchang. In fact, in terms of martial arts, Wei Yanluo is above Wenpin, but the Jingzhou Army does not recognize it, so Wei Yan can only withdraw from the Five Tiger Generals."

Ma Chao smiled bitterly and said, "All the generals have made great contributions to Jingzhou. The weak ministers have just arrived and dare not compete with the generals, let alone damage the reputation of General Wei."

Liu Jing smiled, "This is ranked by force and has nothing to do with credit, and it is just a military drama. There is no formal determination. If it is really necessary, I, Liu Jing, can at least join the ranks of the Five Tigers, and there is no chance for Wenpin, so Meng Qi doesn't have to care too much, and it won't damage any reputation."

"I understand, thank you for the reminder of the minister!"

Liu Jing nodded, "Okay! Put your things in hand, let's go back to the barracks, General Ma's big tent has been packed."

Ma Chao quickly packed up his salute with everyone and followed Liu Jing back to the military camp.

Wu Yi was responsible for the arrangement of Ma Chao and others, so Liu Jing stopped inquiring. He returned to his tent. At this time, Fa Zheng also followed in and bowed and said, "Is there anything wrong with the provincial governor looking for Weichen?"

Liu Jing nodded and asked lightly: "What do you think about Xiaozhi's surrender?"

Fa Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "I think Ma Chao's surrender was not because he was convinced by Zhou Muxin, but because he was desperate and had no choice but to surrender. At that time, I carefully observed his expression. When Zhou Mu asked him to assist General Zhao in training troops, I saw the disappointment in his eyes. I guess he hoped that Zhou Mu could let him conquer one side alone. From this, it can be inferred that he actually wanted to be a prince of one side. Perhaps one day in the future, he would make a request to guard Xiliang."

Liu Jing nodded, "Xiaozhi's eyes are indeed wise, and I feel this way, but since I use him, I can't be too stingy. If he can pass my test for one year, I will still give him a chance to guard one side in the future. But he raised an army and forced his father to death, and his reputation will be a loss. If he is reused immediately, he will be discussed by the world. Therefore, I cannot give him a chance to stand out for the time being. Xiaozhi has the opportunity to hint at him and let him understand this."

"I remember, but I have another suggestion."

"What suggestions?" Liu Jing asked with a smile.

Fa Zheng smiled and said, "I heard that Ma Chao's wife and children were both dead. The governor of the state might as well care about his major affairs. I heard that General Tiger's sister has been widowed for several years and has not given birth to children. If they match them together, one is to win over and the other is to let Ma Chao have a descendant. As long as Ma Chao has a son, it will be easier to control him."

Liu Hu's sister is named Liu Ju, who is Liu Jing's clan sister. She is about twenty-five or six years old and looks quite beautiful. She turned out to be married to Huo Jun's brother Huo Du. After Huo Du passed away seven years ago, Liu has been widowed to this day. She has no children and her family has been choosing a husband for her, but unfortunately there is no suitable candidate.

Liu Jing originally planned to promise her to Zhao Yun, but Zhao Yun liked Li Jing, the daughter of the great scholar Li Xun, and married her as his wife. Now Fa Zheng proposed to be able to match Ma Chao, which immediately reminded Liu Jing that this is indeed a good marriage. With Ma Chao's outstanding talents and famous martial arts skills, Liu Ju is definitely willing. The key is whether Ma Chao is willing?

Liu Jing thought for a while and said, "Don't rush to say this in advance. Xiaozhi will explore Ma Chao's words in a few days. If Ma Chao is interested, then during the New Year, I will let them meet and discuss marriage."

Fa Zheng smiled, "Prince of the State, please rest assured, I will test him."

At this time, Fa Zheng remembered something again and whispered: "Ma Dai and Pang De are both talents who stand alone. If Zhou Mu is inconvenient to reuse Ma Chao for a while, then you can reuse these two people first to make them grateful to the Zhou Mu. As long as Ma Chao does not follow these two people, his self-reliance will gradually fade away. What does Zhou Mu think?"

Liu Jing nodded. In history, Ma Dai and Pang De were both loyal and righteous generals, which could be of great use. "Xiaozhi is reasonable. I remember it in my heart that when attacking Guanzhong, you can join them."

"I'm asking for my leave!" Fa Zheng bowed and retreated.

Liu Jing walked to the door of the tent with his hands behind his back, and was really happy. This time, Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao, on the one hand, eliminated the troubles of Xiliang for himself, and on the other hand, he obtained three powerful generals. Although Ma Chao was not convinced and surrendered to him, as long as he was good at using his skills and used both kindness and power, he believed that Ma Chao would definitely become his capable general.

Ma Chao is bravest in the three armies, but he lacks wisdom, but he has many counselors around him, which can make up for his wisdom shortcomings. More importantly, Ma Chao is very good at training cavalry. If he can train a Xiliang cavalry brigade for himself, he will have the capital to compete with Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

The north is not like the south, with a flat horse and cavalry being particularly important. Without a strong cavalry, how can we fight for the world?
Chapter completed!