Although Cato found it a bit incredible after making his judgment, his brother Batu once said when he was still alive: In the original Ningyuan offensive and defensive battle, Ma Xiaoquan fought against our side (Jurchen army) for several rounds alone under the city. At that time,
Ma Xiaoquan is invulnerable, and his red-headed woman is said to be capable of killing people.
Cato did not participate in the Ningyuan offensive and defensive battle, but he heard from his brother Batu that the battle was extremely tragic and both sides suffered heavy losses.
"Inform everyone, let's keep going~" Cato gave the order, waved his hand, and his men helped him get into the carriage.
Half an hour later, Cato's troops arrived at the checkpoint where Ma Xiaoquan had left before. The searching soldiers did not waste any time and directly pulled the soldiers guarding the checkpoint in front of Cato.
"General, what's the matter?" the guard soldier asked politely.
Cato nodded: "Don't mind if my subordinates act recklessly~"
"No, it won't~"
"Well, okay, let me ask you, have you seen a red-headed woman and a man?"
"A red-headed woman?" The soldier shook his head, "I haven't seen one, and I haven't seen anyone who has passed the test."
"Huh? Are you sure you haven't?"
The guarding soldier thought for a while and said, "There is no red-headed one, but a car passed by. This is the customs clearance document." After that, the customs guarding soldier handed the customs clearance document to Cato.
Cato took the document, looked at it, and slapped his thigh hard. This slap caused the bone in his knee to crack and hurt badly.
Cato endured the pain and said: "This is Ma Xiaoquan, this is Ma Xiaoquan, where did they go?"
"It should be the teeth~"
"Yaguan?" Cato was stunned, "Isn't that the Han people's gate? So how far is it from Yaguan?"
"Back to the general, it's not far away. There is another pass for us ahead of us, called Ping Pass."
Cato called a cavalryman and ordered: "Hurry up and go to the pass at all costs. Inform the guard and don't let anyone go."
"Yes~"
Cato turned around and asked the guarding soldier: "Which is the fastest way to go by horseback from here to Pingguan?"
"Back to the general, take the path on the right~"
Cato nodded: "Okay, take the main road on the left. If you run into Ma Xiaoquan and the others, I'm afraid they will be silenced, so just take the small road~"
...
Just before Ma Xiaoquan and his party arrived at Pingguan, the light cavalry sent by Cato had already arrived at Pingguan first.
Seeing the Pingguan guard, the light cavalry quickly informed the guard of Cato (Huang Taiji)'s intention.
"Oh? Did the Great Khan really say that?"
"Yes, General. My subordinates dare not deceive the General. General Cato will arrive shortly. I hope the General will stop all those who pass the customs. Especially if you encounter a woman with red hair, you must stop her and her companions."
"Well, that's easy to say~ I see you haven't taken a sip of water, so go rest first~"
"Thank you, General~"
...
Before the time was up for burning the incense, Ma Xiaoquan and his entourage arrived in a carriage.
When he reached the Pingmen Gate, Ma Xiaoquan jumped out of the car and politely said: "General, this is our customs clearance document." After saying that, Ma Xiaoquan winked at the servant, who took out the customs clearance document.
Passed it to the guard.
The guard received the ultimatum, unfolded it and read it once, then folded it up and pointed to the carriage path: "Who is in the carriage?"
"Oh, it's my sister. She has smallpox and is about to die. We Han people are very particular about returning a fallen leaf to its roots. I hope the general will let you go~"
"Smallpox?" The guard was stunned and subconsciously took a step back. "Open the door and let me see~"
Ma Xiaoquan sighed and stepped forward helplessly to open the door. Beiming Shuangxue had wrapped her head earlier and was lying in the car, pretending to be sleeping with an expressionless face. Her face was covered with pale white spots.
point.
"General, please look at my sister...she..." Ma Xiaoquan pretended to be sad and sighed, "My sister has this disease and she will die soon."
The guard took a distant look, pointed at Beiming Shuangxue and said, "Why is she wearing a headscarf? Take it off~"
Ma Xiaoquan was so frightened that he waved his hands quickly: "General, you can't take it. The smallpox is infected today, but there are dead people. I have to send my sister back. If she gets infected here, the general will probably..."
The guard frowned, waved his hand and said: "Then get out of here~get out of here~"
"Okay~Thank you, General~" As he said that, Ma Xiaoquan took out a piece of silver from his body and handed it to the guard. "General, this is a small thought. I lost all my money in this business, and that's all."
The best, give it all to the general."
The guard general accepted the money and nodded, acquiescing to Ma Xiaoquan's bribe.
Ma Xiaoquan turned around and waved to his servant, who closed the carriage door and drove the carriage slowly through Pingguan.
...
Just two hours after Ma Xiaoquan and his party left Pingguan, Cato's cavalry arrived.
When he saw the gatekeeper, Cato asked him a question without hesitation.
This gatekeeper is not a bad person, and the family also has certain connections at the core level. Hearing Cato yelling at him like this, the gatekeeper became anxious: "I didn't see Ma Xiaoquan, but I did release a team from the gate."
People, if you think they are, then go and chase them~"
"You~~" Cato was so angry that he wanted to stamp his feet, but one of his legs was disabled and there was nothing he could do. During this period of time, he had been chasing Ma Xiaoquan for a long distance, and Cato felt that the wound was even more painful.
"What's the fuss about?" came a deep male voice. Cato and the guard turned around and saw that it was Surna.
"Sulna, you are not..."
Suerna chuckled: "I'm not stupid either. It must be the closest to the pass from here. Well, seeing that you haven't caught up with anyone, I'm satisfied."
Cato said: "Okay, let's put aside the grudges between us for now. Ma Xiaoquan has already left the peace. If you want credit, then let's cooperate~"
Suerna was stunned, looked at the gatekeeper and asked, "Has Ma Xiaoquan left the gate?"
The gatekeeper spread his hands and said, "I'm not sure. Ever since I got the blockade, I've released a team. If you say yes, then that's it. If not, it has nothing to do with me. Neither do you two."
I let him go."
Cato and Surna looked at each other, and the two instantly reached a tacit understanding.
It seems that the gatekeeper doesn't want to participate in arresting people. It's okay, one less person and more credit.
"Drive~~" Surna waved his riding whip first and led the cavalry in pursuit.
Cato was not to be outdone. Although he had difficulty moving, he still followed Surna closely.
...
On Ma Xiaoquan's side, he could already see Ya Guan from a distance.
Yaguan is the outermost pass opposite Jurchen Pingguan. There are a larger number of Ming army soldiers stationed here, and the defensive tasks are relatively heaviest.
The Ming army general guarding Yaguan was named Wuertai. He was a Mongolian and had good relations with Manchuria and Guangxi.
Earlier, Yuan Chonghuan sent a letter saying that Ma Xiaoquan, the deacon of Jinyiwei and Liaodong staff officer, was going to enter the border through Yaguan. Wuertai didn't care. In his opinion, Yuan Chonghuan and Mangui had a normal relationship, and Ma Xiaoquan was transferred from the capital, so it was natural and harmonious.
General Mangui's relationship is also average.
Besides, Mangui is Mongolian, so is Wuertai, and Yuan Chonghuan and Ma Xiaoquan are Han.
On the tower of Yaguan, the Ming soldiers on guard duty immediately saw the carriage slowly approaching.
"General Wuertai, there is a carriage ahead~" the sentry said.
Wuertai scratched his ears and said nonchalantly: "I'll wait until I get closer to ask~"
Wuertai was flanked by his general, who reminded him: "General, the governor has already said that the deacon will come from outside the customs. How about we send a team of people out to take a look?"
"There are so many things, I will come to the door as soon as I say~" Wu Ertai yelled impatiently.
"Yes~"
...
Getting closer and closer to the tooth point, Beiming Shuangxue also woke up from her sleep.
"Ms. sir, have we arrived?"
Ma Xiaoquan looked at it, nodded and said: "In front of you is the Yaguan. It's strange. Didn't I send the letter? Why is someone coming out to greet me now?"
Beiming Shuangxue sat up, adjusted her clothes, and was about to speak again. Outside the carriage, a servant suddenly shouted: "Sir, there is the sound of horse hooves behind."
Ma Xiaoquan was stunned, quickly got out of the carriage, and looked back.
"Oops, it's the Jurchens who are chasing you~ You, run to the door and call someone to ask them to open the door."
"Yes~"
...
Out of breath, the servants of the Ma family ran to the door and shouted loudly: "Please open and close the door. Ma Xiaoquan, the deacon of Jinyiwei, is back~ Please open and close the door..."
In the gap between his teeth, the sentry hurriedly reported to Wuertai. Unexpectedly, Wuertai still said the same thing - wait until he gets closer.
From the rear, Ma Xiaoquan looked towards Yaguan from a distance and saw that the gate was still closed. A group of soldiers were patrolling back and forth indifferently, as if they had not seen them.
"Ms. sir, what should I do? Didn't Yuan Chonghuan say that he would inform the guard at Yaguan in advance? Why don't you open the door?" Beiming Shuangxue said impatiently.
Ma Xiaoquan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Brother Yuan is true to his word. There must be nothing wrong with it. I'm afraid it's the Yaguan guard who is causing trouble."
"What should we do?"
Ma Xiaoquan looked back and saw that the Jurchen pursuers had not yet appeared, but it would not take long for the Jurchen pursuers to catch up.
"Xiaomei, get ready for battle~" Ma Xiaoquan gritted his teeth and prepared for the worst.
"Ah, do you want to fight again?" Beiming Shuangxue was a little reluctant.
"There is no other way. The situation is forcing us to avoid it. It doesn't matter if the people at Yajian don't open the door, as long as they don't do anything bad. Let's go, let's get close to Yajian first."
...
After burning the incense, Ma Xiaoquan stood in front of the door and shouted loudly: "I am Ma Xiaoquan, the deacon of Jinyiwei and the staff officer of Liaodong. Open the door quickly and let us in~"
Wu Ertai slowly revealed his head, and when he saw Ma Xiaoquan, he deliberately pretended not to recognize him and said, "You said you were the deacon, so you are the deacon? What if you are a Jurchen spy?"