Summary of the previous chapter: Ma Xiaoquan and Cao Cao returned to Yecheng together. Regarding the disappearance of his son, Ma Xiaoquan asked Cao Cao to help him hide it temporarily, but...staying at home for a long time will definitely expose him. For this reason, Cao Cao suggested that Ma Xiaoquan
I should go to Xudu...
In February of the 17th year of Emperor Xian's founding of the Han Dynasty, Ma Xiaoquan went to Xudu alone to meet the emperor.
Guessing that the young emperor might be on guard against him, Ma Xiaoquan dedicated the white tiger skin he obtained from Cao Cao to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.
Although Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, lived a luxurious life in Xudu and saw many rare treasures, this was the first time Liu Xie had seen a white tiger skin.
"Uncle, are you sure you want to give this... this white tiger skin to me?"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled and cupped his hands and said, "Of course, your Majesty, just accept it!"
Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty asked: "Uncle, where did this white tiger skin come from?"
Ma Xiaoquan thought for a while and decided to lie to Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty: "That guy from Cao Cao paid it to me!"
"I'll compensate you!"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "That's right, Cao Cao, the bastard, lost my son. Now his life and death are uncertain. I lost a son. I originally thought about letting him lose a son, but later, Cao Cao shamelessly lost my son."
A lot of treasures, hey, forget it, just die if you die, at worst I will have another one."
Ma Xiaoquan said with righteous indignation, but Liu Xie saw it in his eyes, but felt extremely happy in his heart.
Liu Xie thought to himself: It seems that the death of one of Shenxian Hou's sons is not enough to fall out with Cao Cao. Well, I will continue to work harder.
After thinking about it, Liu Xiedao: "Uncle, in that case, why don't you just kill his son?"
Ma Xiaoquan shook his head: "When I think about it, it's my fault. If I hadn't insisted on leaving my son in Cao Ying, I'm afraid my son wouldn't have been lost. Now his life or death is uncertain... Sigh...
"
"How about that?" Liu Xie said excitedly.
"Huh?" Ma Xiaoquan looked a little strange and thought to himself that my son is missing. Are you so worried?
Liu Xie was not stupid either. When he saw Ma Xiaoquan looking at him, he immediately changed his expression and said, "Uncle, that's your son. He and I can be considered brothers. My brother is gone and I'm worried to death.
Why is uncle so calm?"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded and asked, "What should we do?"
Liu Xie thought that the opportunity had come, and quickly put forward some of his opinions in a very subtle way. Of course, in order to prevent Ma Xiaoquan from being too suspicious, Liu Xie kept emphasizing that he and Ma Zheng were brothers.
Seeing Ma Xiaoquan's expression gradually turn serious, Liu Xie felt ecstatic in his heart, but on the surface he was very upright, as if what was lost was not Ma Xiaoquan's son, but his son.
Liu Xie thought Ma Xiaoquan had been tricked, but...how old was Liu Xie? Compared with experience and age, Liu Xie couldn't compare with Ma Xiaoquan in any aspect, not to mention that Ma Xiaoquan had been dealing with "politician" Cao Cao for twenty years, Liu Xie
Ma Xiaoquan had already seen through Xie's attempt to sow discord.
However, Ma Xiaoquan did not break through this layer of window paper. At this point, he also guessed who was responsible for the loss of his son.
But... As the saying goes, "catch the thief and the treacherous", although Ma Xiaoquan can question Liu Xie face to face, or even threaten Liu Xie, if Liu Xie refuses to admit it and then resents himself afterwards, then it will be terrible
The gain outweighs the loss.
After all, Ma Xiaoquan is not alone now. He has a family and even has some family properties. With these ties, no matter how powerful Ma Xiaoquan is, he is still just one person.
Being in the position of the head of the family, it is natural to think more about the development of the family.
Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, although Ma Xiaoquan concluded that Liu Xie was involved in the incident, he had to wait for evidence.
"Hey!" Listening to Liu Xie's constant provocation, Ma Xiaoquan sighed deliberately and waved his hand to interrupt, "Xie'er doesn't know something. In fact, many situations are not as simple as we imagined, such as what happened in recent years.
, you have a lot of unclear ideas, don’t you?"
Liu Xie made a sound and asked: "Uncle, can you tell Xie'er so that Xie'er can also understand."
Ma Xiaoquan nodded and said, "Okay, then I will slowly describe to you what happened in recent years."
...
Ma Xiaoquan stayed here for a month.
In March, Ma Chao, who was far away in Liangzhou, began to assemble his troops. In just a few days, he gathered more than 10,000 troops, and the momentum was quite huge. In addition, Ma Chao was very brave and had some strategies. He attacked the city and destroyed the stronghold in one time.
Forced by his reputation, the counties raised their flags and surrendered.
In mid-March, Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty in Xudu, could not sit still and asked the immortal Marquis Ma Xiaoquan to go to Chang'an immediately to "consol" Cao Jun's general Xia Houyuan.
Ma Xiaoquan understood what Liu Xie meant. Xia Houyuan was Cao Cao's man, and Liu Xie deliberately asked him to condolences to Cao Cao's men, making it clear that he wanted to continue to be at odds with Cao Cao.
It's just... Liu Xie thought Cao Cao was too simple. If Cao Cao fell into the trap so easily, then Cao Cao would no longer be Cao Cao. What's more, Ma Xiaoquan and Cao Cao had already discussed what might happen next.
After analyzing it several times, it happened that Liu Xie's move had also been analyzed by Ma and Cao.
But... as a middleman, Ma Xiaoquan doesn't want to stand firmly on the same line as Cao Cao. He wants to waver slightly so that he can gain more say. This move is still "political"
"Home" Cao Cao taught him.
Therefore...for more than a month, Ma Xiaoquan has worked hard to "repair" his relationship with Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty. Among other things, Ma Xiaoquan has sent several batches of jewelry and brocades.
Liu Xie is not a stupid person. Although he resented Ma Xiaoquan and Cao Cao for being on the same side before, after more than a month of getting along, Liu Xie found that Ma Xiaoquan did not have any big ambitions. During this period, Ma Xiaoquan
Liu Xie had mentioned many times that he wanted to settle in Yuyang. This was news that everyone was happy about.
You know, ever since Ma Xiaoquan said in front of him that he wanted to stand in line with Cao Cao, Liu Xie was very frightened. No one else had seen the ability of this immortal uncle, but Liu Xie had seen it.
, when my uncle saved him by himself, this ability was not something ordinary people could do.
"Uncle... So, what you said last time were all angry words?"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled and lied: "That's right. Actually, I don't have any big ambitions at all. You asked me to go and express condolences to Xia Houyuan. That's fine. I happen to be fine, so I'll go there on your behalf."
The intention was "distorted", but it played into Liu Xie's hands. Liu Xie was excited in his heart, but on the surface he said calmly: "Then Xie'er, thank you uncle."
Ma Xiaoquan sighed and said: "It's nothing, but... I have to advise you, don't move too much. Do you... understand?"
Liu Xie's heart tightened and he was sweating profusely: "Obviously...I understand..."
Ma Xiaoquan nodded: "Okay, uncle is leaving."
Liu Xie nodded and stood up to see Ma Xiaoquan off.
Ma Xiaoquan immediately stopped him and said, "No need to send it off. You can have a good rest."
...
Looking at Ma Xiaoquan's retreating figure, Liu Xie suddenly collapsed to the ground with a hiccup...
...
Ma Chao is indeed powerful, and the name of Xiliang Jin Ma Chao is by no means an empty name. Seeing that the attack was around Chang'an, the guard Xia Houyuan finally couldn't sit still, and immediately sent a chicken-feather letter to Cao Cao in Yecheng.
Cao Cao became furious after reading the letter and immediately ordered Ma Chao's father, Ma Teng, to be arrested.
In May, Cao Cao killed Ma Teng's family in Yecheng and himself, and notified Ma Chao of his death to Ma Chao, who was far away in Chang'an.
When he learned that his father had been killed by Cao Cao, Ma Chao was extremely angry and immediately led his army to suppress Chang'an.
But... Chang'an has many natural dangers and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Ma Chao fought for several days without any results.
At this time, Immortal Hou Ma Xiaoquan had been staying in Chang'an for more than a month.
Ma Xiaoquan and Xia Houyuan had a good relationship because Xia Houyuan was very heroic and his cultural level was much higher than that of other generals.
In the past, Ma Xiaoquan read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and thought that Xia Houyuan was a brave and foolhardy man. However, after meeting the real person Xia Houyuan, Ma Xiaoquan realized that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a fiction.
Xia Houyuan was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also very skilled in the use of military tactics. Compared with his brother Xiahou Dun, Xia Houyuan was a little more wise and a little less reckless.
For example, when Ma Chao suppressed Chang'an in the past few days, Xia Houyuan never sent troops to meet him. He only relied on the natural dangers of Chang'an to resist effectively and used the "drag" tactic in the art of war very skillfully.
...
Chang'an, Xia Houyuan's residence.
"Come on, Lord Immortal. I have military duties and cannot drink. Let's have tea instead of wine. Let's do it!"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded, picked up the teacup at hand, touched the cup gently with Xia Houyuan, and then drank the tea in the cup.
"Ah" After drinking the tea, Xia Houyuan wiped the corners of his mouth and said, "Sir, I've been wanting to ask you, are you here for more than a month just to watch the fun?"
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "Watching the fun? Hey, wonderful talent, wonderful talent, why did I come here more than a month ago? Isn't it clearly written in the imperial edict?"
Xia Houyuan was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Sir Shangxian, you won't be forced to come here by the emperor, will you?"
Ma Xiaoquan said helplessly: "Hey, don't mention it. By the way, Miaocai, I have been here for more than a month and there is no news about my son?"
Xia Houyuan curled his lips, shook his head and said, "No!"