Ma Xiaoquan originally planned to take a shortcut and go straight to the capital. Unexpectedly, just two days after leaving, he encountered a large number of fleeing refugees.
For these hungry and cold refugees, seeing a noble person like Ma Xiaoquan in fine clothes naturally makes them feel jealous.
Especially when Hua Yue and Bei Ming Shuangxue opened the curtain, revealing their peerless beauty, some bold refugees began to make moves.
That evening, Ma Xiaoquan and his party set up camp outside for repairs. Not long after lighting the fire, a group of refugees, numbering nearly a hundred people, rushed over in a mighty manner.
When he parted with Ma Mu, Ma Xiaoquan left most of the Hua family's guards with Ma Mu and his party, leaving less than ten people on his own side.
The huge gap in numbers made the guards of the Hua family feel fearful. Fortunately, Ma Xiaoquan appeared in time to stabilize the guards' mentality.
However, facing these hundreds of people, Ma Xiaoquan also had a headache.
Fortunately, these refugees only had evil thoughts towards Ma Xiaoquan and his party because they were unbearably hungry. Most of them were unarmed and honest people.
However, facing these people, Ma Xiaoquan did not intend to be gentle, but wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.
With a "Pfft" sound, Ma Xiaoquan stabbed the man at the front without mercy and kicked him to the ground. Ma Xiaoquan raised the dagger in his hand and stared fiercely ahead.
Ma Xiaoquan's ruthlessness frightened the refugees who were rushing back and forth.
A guard from the Hua family stepped forward and shouted: "You are so bold and cunning, you dare to block the carriage of the imperial official. Don't you want to live?"
A bold refugee said: "We don't want to live anymore. There's another war ahead, and we don't want to live either..."
"What?" Ma Xiaoquan was stunned, thinking that I had only left Ningyuan for less than two months. Logically speaking, even if there was a war, it wouldn't be that fast. I remember that when He mother and the others separated, the spies from the Hua family passed on
I received news that the Liaodong area is generally safe and no large-scale battles have been launched yet.
"Gao Di, it must be Gao Di..." Ma Xiaoquan stamped his foot angrily. He originally wanted to rush back to the capital as soon as possible, but now it seems that he has to go to see Gao Di first.
When Ma Xiaoquan set out from the capital, his title was Liaodong Military Staff Officer, which meant that he had to know about and participate in the war in Liaodong.
"Give me the order to go to Shanhaiguan!"
"Shanhaiguan?" Hua Yue in the carriage was stunned and asked, "Ms. sir, why are you going to Shanhaiguan? Aren't you going back to the city?"
Ma Xiaoquan smiled bitterly and said: "I'm afraid Gaudi's grandson is going to do something big, I have to go and see~"
"Well, okay~~"
...
Gaodi, Shanhaiguan... These two words stunned the refugees standing at the front, especially when Ma Xiaoquan called Gaodi his grandson, which shocked the leading refugees even more.
By the light of the fire, the refugees noticed Ma Xiaoquan's attire. It was gorgeous, but he didn't look like the kind of person who went out to enjoy the mountains and rivers.
A refugee said boldly: "Who are you?"
"Your Excellency?" Ma Xiaoquan was stunned. Anyone who can call him "Your Excellency" must have read some books.
Ma Xiaoquan raised his head and said: "I am the deacon of Jinyiwei, Ma Xiaoquan!"
"Deacon Jinyiwei?" The person who spoke shook his head, "I only know that Jinyiwei is scary. Deacon Jinyiwei, I don't know."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled: "No matter how terrifying the Jinyi Guards are, they can't compare to the Jurchens who burned, killed and looted, right?"
"Um."
Ma Xiaoquan waved to the man and motioned for him to come over.
The man resisted in his heart, but his body involuntarily responded.
When he walked in front of Ma Xiaoquan, the man looked at Ma Xiaoquan in horror, not even daring to raise his head.
"What's your name?" Ma Xiaoquan asked..
"The surname of Cao Min is Ma, and he has no name. Everyone in the village calls Cao Min Laojiu..."
"Ma Laojiu, haha, that's fine. So, it was your idea to rob us this time. I see that you seem to have read a little bit, isn't it?"
"Um...yes."
"Okay, don't bother yourself. I have some dry food here. You can share some with me. But I don't have much. I'm going to Shanhaiguan next."
After that, Ma Xiaoquan signaled to the guards to take some dry food and distribute it to the refugees.
"Sir..." Ma Laojiu took the dry food and held it in his hand. He suddenly raised his head and said, "Sir, the common people just heard you call me grandson Gao Di. I am not afraid that Gao Jinglue will take revenge on you if he hears it."
?”
"Revenge me? He is a bag, revenge me..."
"Sir..." Ma Laojiu ran forward and stopped in front of Ma Xiaoquan.
"Why, I gave you food, what else do you want?"
Ma Laojiu said: "Sir, the common people want to follow you."
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "Do you think you can make a living by following me?"
Ma Laojiu scratched his head and said: "Yes, yes..."
"Haha, you have to see if you have this ability. I, Ma Xiaoquan, don't accept idle people as my subordinates."
"Then how can you accept me?"
Ma Xiaoquan turned to look at the hundreds of refugees and said, "You settle them first, and then come to me. I will follow the road to Shanhaiguan."
"Sir, do you really mean what you say?"
Ma Xiaoquan said: "Of course~"
Ma Laojiu nodded happily as if he had found a life-saving straw, and then he ran to the refugees...
Being disturbed, Ma Xiaoquan had no intention of stopping and resting. He ordered his guards to clean up before continuing on the road.
...
Inside Shanhaiguan, Liaodong Jinglue Gaodi was lowering his head and carefully studying the sand table map in front of him.
This sand table map was left by Sun Chengzong, the former Liaodong administrator. Gao Di looked at it for a long time but didn't understand much.
Sighing, Gao Di raised his head with a wry smile and murmured: "I just wanted to support myself until I was old, but I didn't expect to be sent here to suffer like this... Hey~~ I really don't know what Mr. Wei is thinking.
of......"
Next to Gao Di, a fellow eunuch who was also an eunuch offered advice: "Sir, in my opinion, it is better for you to follow Master Wei's wishes and have Sun Chengzong tortured to death."
"Kill Sun Chengzong?" Gao Di raised his eyebrows, "Master Wei did have this order, but Sun Chengzong is very cunning and difficult to deal with. The last time I listened to you, I reported to the emperor that Sun Chengzong was taking advantage of the money. What happened?
, that old fox Sun Chengzong said that since he had received free wages, he would pay them according to the number of people I said... Okay, I have to pay the food and wages for more than 50,000 people. Where should I pay them? Where will I pay them?
Where to go? Now I still have a headache about this."
"Sir, in fact, it is very simple to torture Sun Chengzong to death..." the bastard said with twinkling eyes.