The messenger nodded and handed over his hand: "Exactly, Mr. Deacon, you have worked hard all the way, Wuertai is dead... General Mao Shen has been trying to persuade him before, but he didn't listen, and even tied General Mao up~
"The messenger said, pointing to a general beside him.
"*?" Ma Xiaoquan raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure?"
The general beside the envoy raised his hands and said: "It's absolutely true~ The last general once persuaded General Wuertai to let the deacon go, but he refused. Just now he wanted to block the deacon, but he didn't expect that his foot slipped and his teeth fell.*
Death."
Ma Xiaoquan shook his head: "I'm afraid this matter is also difficult. Wuertai and Mangui are from the same hometown. If he died so tragically, Mangui will definitely blame you and me for this. I don't think it's better than this. I don't care about this matter."
Come and carry me, um, this general, Wuertai is dead. From now on, you will be the guard of Yaguan. Regarding the personnel changes, I will discuss it with the Governor (Yuan Chonghuan) and the Superintendent (Wang Zhichen).
Go talk."
Faced with the sudden "pie in the sky", there is no reason for the general not to accept it. He half-knelt down with a pop and said loudly: "I will obey the order~"
The envoy was worried: "What should we do with General Mangui?"
Ma Xiaoquan sighed and said: "Man Gui is also a man. For people like him, there is no need to explain. The more you explain, the darker it becomes. Remember what I say, go back and settle it for the governor. The more you explain, the darker it becomes. The governor doesn't need to explain. This matter will be solved."
No more problems.”
The envoy said oh, nodded, but secretly thought in his heart, how could he not explain the death of the guard? Man Gui has a hot temper, and he will do it if he says he wants to fight or fight. Mr. Deacon, you don’t want to explain.
Okay, but we can't.
"Oh, there are still my family members outside the pass. You send people out to bring them in. This gate will be repaired in the dark. The Jurchens can't tell when they will come again. If today's events are passed down, anyone who gossips will be punished.
Kill the whole clan."
"Yes~~"
...
As the saying goes, there are three things a new official should do when he takes office. The newly appointed Yaguan Guards General (former Yaguan Staff General) ordered the soldiers to repair the Yaguan Gate that night. Although the work was somewhat rushed, the strength can still be guaranteed.
As for Wuertai who died before closing the door, the guard remembered his old friendship and put his body that had been burned to black charcoal into a cloth bag. After the second cremation, he collected the ashes and put them in a box for storage.
...
Ma Xiaoquan stayed overnight in Yaguan and then went to Jinzhou with the envoy. Along the way, the envoy was curious about Ma Xiaoquan's purpose of going to Shenyang City.
Of course, Ma Xiaoquan would not tell the envoy that I was there to handle private matters. He chuckled and told the envoy the story he had already concocted with Beiming Shuangxue.
Ma Xiaoquan made gestures while talking, sometimes exaggerating, sometimes nervously. Beiming Shuangxue also became Ma Xiaoquan's "sitter". Whenever Ma Xiaoquan talked about tense events, she would nod in agreement.
The envoy was convinced of the story told by Ma Xiaoquan and was still remembering it silently while listening.
On the carriage, the messenger told Ma Xiaoquan about the Ma family, saying that the governor had notified the Ma family earlier, but because of Huang Taiji's dirty tricks, the Ma family had no way to greet the deacon.
Ma Xiaoquan was not too worried. Earlier when he was in Shenyang City, he heard Zhezhe Dafujin talk about the sneak attack. At that time, Ma Xiaoquan was hesitant to send a message. Now that he heard that his family was fighting against the Jurchen army, he just
Don't worry.
Seeing Ma Xiaoquan's calm demeanor, the envoy sighed and said: "Actually, I would like to tell you that the deacon's Ma Jiajun should have a higher position, at least similar to that of Man Gui."
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "What you are saying is that in terms of official rank, Mangui is higher than the governor. However, our Ming Dynasty is civilized and military, so on the surface, the governor is higher."
The messenger curled his lips: "Mangui is just a warrior, how can he compare with the governor?"
Ma Xiaoquan just smiled and said nothing more. Then he changed the subject and said, "Is there a shortage of food in the customs at present?"
The messenger nodded.
Ma Xiaoquan said: "You have worked so hard to welcome me, and I can't let you go in vain to share some information with you. You can go back and tell the governor, and he will be very happy to hear it."
The envoy looked at Ma Xiaoquan gratefully. If he had not been sitting in the carriage with limited space, he would have stood up and bowed to Ma Xiaoquan.
Within Ma Xiaoquan, a message suddenly came from the source: "Ma Xiaoquan, you humans are really hypocritical."
Ma Xiaoquan responded: "You think I am willing? This messenger seems to be full of bad intentions. Fortunately, he is Brother Yuan's subordinate, so he should not have any bad intentions towards me. He obviously wants to take credit, why don't I do him a favor and give him one?
."
"Hey, you humans are so complicated~~"
...
Three days later, Ma Xiaoquan and his party returned to Jinzhou and met Yuan Chonghuan.
According to the agreement with the envoy in advance, Ma Xiaoquan did not say much. Instead, the envoy first described and analyzed the cause and effect of the matter. Although some of the envoy's words were exaggerated during the process, Ma Xiaoquan still maintained the appropriate silence.
.
After listening to the envoy's report, Yuan Chonghuan nodded, and after praising the envoy's achievements, he asked Ma Xiaoquan: "It's good that Brother Ma has returned safely. Well, come back and have a good rest. Your mother must have been waiting in Ningyuan for a long time."
."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled and said: "Don't worry, I have asked Xiaomei (Beiming Shuangxue) to go back to Ningyuan first, but Brother Yuan, we are short of food, how do you solve this problem?"
Yuan Chonghuan nodded and said: "I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up with the planting now, so I plan to adjust grain and grass within the pass."
The envoy said: "Master Governor, Huang Taiji is also short of food. According to their temperament, eight to nine out of ten people will go to the pass to grab food."
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "Yes, I also saw some in Shenyang City. They are indeed short of food and grass."
Yuan Chonghuan breathed out: "The weather has gradually turned hotter. I think it will be April or May, but in June, Huang Taiji will invade."
"Well, so please make preparations in advance, Brother Yuan~"
Yuan Chonghuan said humbly: "Jinzhou has been repaired over the past few days, and it is already in good condition, but there are still two levels that have not been conquered."
"How about I go again~" Ma Xiaoquan volunteered.
Yuan Chonghuan smiled and shook his head: "Last time, more than 80 of you took Qiantun Pass, which was very risky. This time, no matter what, I won't let you go."
"Uh, Brother Yuan doesn't believe me?"
"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just that your Ma family members have already gone. If you go again, it's not easy to give this order, haha..."
"Oh? Who went?"
"Well, your father, and your third brother."
"Well, okay~~" Ma Xiaoquan nodded, "Since they are gone, I won't interfere anymore, but Brother Yuan, why don't you give me something to do? It won't be too boring."
"Hmm~" Yuan Chonghuan dragged his chin, "Let's see. The Guanning defense line connecting Jinzhou to Ningyuan still has several parts that have not been repaired. If Brother Ma doesn't mind it, please help me supervise it."
"Well, I'm willing to do this, hehe~ Don't worry, Brother Yuan, as long as I take advantage of it, I will punish them severely."
Yuan Chonghuan laughed, pointed at Ma Xiaoquan and said: "You boy, I heard that I made a lot of money in the capital, and it was all shipped here."
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "How does Brother Yuan know?"
Yuan Chonghuan smiled and said: "Your mother is really a good mother. Didn't you entrust the escort agency to transport supplies before? They have already arrived. Your mother gave a large part of them to me. Haha, now I have the confidence to dare to repair the pass."
Better to defend the line."
"Uh~ You've been making trouble for a long time, are you taking my money?" Ma Xiaoquan laughed, "It doesn't matter, money is something you live with or die with, just use it. Even if my mother doesn't say anything, I will."
Yuan Chonghuan patted Ma Xiaoquan's shoulder gratefully: "Brother Ma, with such a good brother like you, I really don't know what to say~"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "What are you talking about? Let's be practical. Let's have a drink tonight. What do you think, Brother Yuan?"
Yuan Chonghuan laughed and pointed at Ma Xiaoquan: "You kid, okay, then you have to rest first and we'll talk about it tonight."
...
At noon the next day, Ma Xiaoquan set off back to Ningyuan first.
When he met Ma Mu, Ma Xiaoquan deliberately complained that Ma Mu had given Yuan Chonghuan the money he finally got.
Ma Mu laughed and said: "You damn kid, actually even if mother didn't tell you, you would still do this when you came back, right?"
"Hey, Zhizi Moruomu~ Mom, you are so amazing~"
"Okay, stop talking so much. It's been a while. Let's go see Yue'er and the others."
"Eh~"
...
In another room, Hua Yue was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and concentrating. On a chair not far from her, Beiming Shuangxue was holding Xiao Zhifeng and playing with her. On the other side, Fangfang and Lisa were gathered together.
The two of them were holding a needle in one hand and thread in the other, probably doing embroidery.
The door suddenly opened and Ma Xiaoquan stepped in.
Hua Yue suddenly opened her eyes and saw that it was her husband. Although she had known that he would come back earlier, she was still overjoyed to see the real person and sat up.
"Don't move, don't move~" Ma Xiaoquan quickly stepped forward to comfort Hua Yue.
Hua Yue looked at Ma Xiaoquan with a flat mouth: "It's been so long and you still know how to come back."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled and said: "Didn't I ask Xiaomei to come back first?"
Beiming Shuangxue coaxed Xiao Zhifeng and said, "Yes, I told Sister Yue'er, but Sister Yue'er said that you were not doing your job properly and had a tryst with another woman in Jinzhou City."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "How can I, how can there be any good-looking women in Jinzhou? Even if there are, they are not as good-looking as my four wives~"
"Poor talk~" Hua Yue sat up slowly, "Have you eaten? I'll get you some~"
"No, no, no, I've eaten~" Ma Xiaoquan supported Hua Yue and asked with a smile, "Have all the escorts that were transported before arrived?"