The black and red halberds streaked across the battlefield like lightning in the dark night, bringing up lines of blood. A blue light suddenly appeared in the sky, illuminating the earth.
The Karasuma army receded like a tide, and the faces of the Karasuma men were full of fear and anxiety. Vaguely, the word "Lü Bu" could be heard in their jabbering language.
Ma Chao killed dozens more people, and his field of vision suddenly widened. He looked forward and saw Red Rabbit stepping on the piled corpses leisurely, as if strolling in a courtyard. On horseback, Lu Bu's sword eyebrows were flying.
, looking around with cold eyes, behind him were Chen Gong, Guo Jia and Lu Bu's eight hundred cavalry.
Ma Chao looked around with some confusion. Of the three hundred soldiers who came out with him, none of them survived!
There was inexplicable bitterness in my heart. These people were all Xiliang soldiers. They started from Jinyang and followed him all the way here. They even survived the desperate situation like Juyongguan, but they died on this battlefield today.
"Go back!" Lu Bu did not pursue the Karasuma people anymore. After this battle, Karasuma was frightened. In the short term, he might not have the guts to go south to plunder again.
Chen Gong and Guo Jia glanced at Ma Chao, then turned around and followed Lu Bu. Ma Chao followed the three of them silently without saying a word, with inexplicable emotions brewing in his heart.
Everyone was speechless all the way. When they returned to Yongnu, the night was already dark. Lu Bu asked the eight hundred soldiers to go to rest, while he sat in the main hall with his horse and golden sword.
Chen Gong and Guo Jia were sitting on the left and right sides of Lu Bu. At this moment, Lu Bu had an inexplicable majesty on his body. This majesty did not come from fear of his bravery, but a sense of oppression that truly belonged to the superior.
"The general will eventually realize his mistake." Ma Chao lowered his head.
"It's all your Xiliang army who died. As far as I'm concerned, it actually doesn't matter much." Lu Bu's voice revealed a sense of indifference to life. He looked at Ma Chao, and there was a hint of indifference in his voice.
Contempt: "I used to think that you were very similar to me when I was young, but after going through so many things, I realized that you are just as brave as I was when I was young."
Ma Chao raised his head and looked at Lu Bu with a bit of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
"Song Xian, Cheng Lian and others have been following me for many years, from the time when we merged with the state. Until now, Bu has done many wrong things in his first half of his life, but at least, I can keep these soldiers who are with me alive, even if they encounter unforeseen circumstances."
I will shrink back when I do something, not because I am afraid of death, but because I can’t bear that the soldiers who have been with me for many years will lose their lives in vain. Song Xian blocked the arrow for me, Cheng Lian once saved me and was hit by several arrows and never retreated, Ma Chao
, Do you have people around you who are willing to fight for you?" Lu Bu looked down at Ma Chao and asked a heart-wrenching question.
"No matter how despised I am, Lu Bu, there are still people around me who are willing to risk their lives for me. At your age, you already have it, but you...do you have these?" Lu Bu looked at Ma Chao and asked: "Are you here now?
"
It seems... there is!
Ma Chao recalled his life uncertainly. Dong Chao died because he dragged Zhang He away. This had happened before. However, although he was sad afterwards, he never thought about it. Now... Dad?
"You are so pitiful!" Lu Bu saw him silent, shook his head, stood up and said: "Everyone in the world said that I have a cold nature, and I have never refuted it. Thank you, Meng Qi, for letting me know that I am not
The coldest person in the world, at least I have brothers who are willing to fight to the death for me, and at least there are family members at home who are looking forward to my return. Although my parents died young and I don’t have a family background like yours, at least there are people who treat me sincerely."
"Me too!" Ma Chao raised his head and said.
"Perhaps, but just like these three thousand officers and soldiers in the pass, they were sent away by you!" Lu Bu looked down at him: "I have never denied everything I have done, but you only evade and shirk.
Today's battle, even if you bring more soldiers, will not be so embarrassing, but you are just fighting for a moment, not only putting yourself in danger, but also dragging so many people to die for you! Why do you argue with Zilong?
Compare?"
"I..." Ma Chao instinctively wanted to refute, but thinking of Lu Bu's evaluation of himself, he couldn't help but refute himself. Wouldn't it be another shirking of responsibility?
"Go back to Xiliang, this Central Plains... is not suitable for you!" Lu Bu said and left.
Ma Chao opened his mouth, but something seemed to be blocked in his throat and nothing could come out.
Lu Bu's words were like a heavy hammer that shattered all his self-esteem. This was worse than beating him directly, especially the matter of driving him away. If he went back like this, how could he have the face to see his father? Han Sui had not been beaten.
Is that old dog dying of laughter?
Seeing Lu Bu leave, Ma Chao immediately looked at Chen Gong. Before, he was suppressed by Lu Bu's majesty and could not speak. Now that Lu Bu left, the air was filled with freedom. Ma Chao said: "Sir, I won't leave!"
"Although these Guanzhong officers and men are not directly related to our army, we have been fighting together these days. I can't bear to lose them like this today." Chen Gong sighed. Three hundred people were not many. In fact, compared with the number of Karasuma people killed and wounded, Chen Gong sighed.
, the loss of these three hundred soldiers is not unacceptable, but the problem is that if Ma Chao is not so stubborn, the casualties should be the lowest. Even if he is finally surrounded, he can break out instead of being wiped out like now.
Although there were not many casualties, Ma Chao was defeated this time.
It wasn't that Chu Nan couldn't accept the defeat, but that Ma Chao was a little aggrieved by a defeat like this. Chen Gong had followed Lu Bu for the longest time, so he knew exactly why Lu Bu was angry.
Lu Bu's character can be criticized. Even Lu Bu himself rarely refutes these. It's just that no one dares to say so to his face. But Lu Bu does have his unique charm. There are many trusted soldiers around him. Even now Lu Bu is no longer
Lord, they are all willing to fight to the death for Lu Bu.
"Sir, I don't want to go back to Xiliang. I beg you, sir, to talk to Marquis Wen for me." Ma Chao knew he was in the wrong, so he didn't refute, and he didn't want to refute. Lu Bu's words just now shocked Ma Chao very much. If he doesn't admit it, what kind of man is he?
?But he didn't want to go back to Xiliang in such a dejected manner. He wasn't worried about what would happen to Ma Teng, but he was not willing to go back like this. He just looked at Chen Gongdao.
"Please tell me about today's battle in detail first." Chen Gong waved his hand. Ma Chao is a good young man with excellent talent. However, when he was young, he was not trained by someone who could teach like Zhao Yun. He had an unruly personality. Now he has grown into a mature man.
, it is much more difficult to carve him into a talent, but he should have grown somewhat after experiencing setbacks one after another. Now is the time. If we let him go back, it may not take long for him to return to his old ways. We must take this opportunity to carve out this piece of raw jade.
Just fine.
Ma Chao immediately told Chen Gong what he had seen today. When he said that General Karasuma really wanted to go back, Chen Gong frowned. Although Hu people are annoying, most of them have reckless characters and would rather die.
The kind that doesn't tolerate humiliation. It's indeed rare for an enemy general to endure such humiliation.
"If you could have been 50% as forbearing as this person, you wouldn't be here today." Chen Gong saw Ma Chao's disdainful expression when talking about this person. He shook his head helplessly and said, as a general, this person can endure such humiliation. He is a great person.
Characters, given time, can accomplish things.
But this has nothing to do with him. After this battle, Karasuma is destined to split. The three kings will definitely be at odds with each other and will hardly pose a threat in the next ten years.
Ten years later, if Karasuma comes again, he may not be able to destroy Zhuangzi among the people.
"They are groveling, greedy for life and afraid of death. They can endure such humiliation. How can such people accomplish anything?" Ma Chao said unconvinced.
"The more injustice you can endure, the more world you can hold in your heart. If this person is a Han, I will kill him." Chen Gong shook his head and sighed.
"Then he is a barbarian, so he is a formidable enemy?" Ma Chao asked puzzledly.
"The Hu people are similar to the Xiliang Qiang people. Unless this person changes his appearance in the future, he will only continue to cause unrest among the Hu people. But your prestige has been destroyed by you. How can you lead a clan?" Chen Gong shook his head and smiled.
.
The Hu people are different from the Han people. In their world, fists, dignity, and strength are often more useful than strategies. People only believe in the strong. People who go back are destined to find it difficult to achieve great things among the Hu people. This is also the reason why the two cultures are different.
, Han people would think that this person is capable of bending and stretching when it comes to this kind of thing, but the Hu people can't do it here. After suffering this kind of humiliation, what big things can they do?
Speaking of which, the thinking of Hu people is similar to that of young people. They are all about face, and dignity trumps everything else.
"Well, sir, do you think the general can stay?" Ma Chao showed his face and looked at Chen Gong's pleading voice. Just this sentence made him feel very ashamed.
"Stay, but you can't command the army. For the next period of time, you will stay with me and be a book boy. You can participate in discussions, but even if you have any ideas, you cannot say them in public. You can talk to me in private."
Chen Gong looked at Ma Chao and said, "If you can do it, then stay. If you can't, I will write a letter to Brother Shoucheng to say hello to him on my behalf."
"Why is this?" Ma Chao was puzzled.
"You will know in the future." Chen Gong looked at Ma Chao and said with a smile, "Is that your wish?"
"The general is willing." Ma Chao sighed, as long as he can stay. After risking his face, he suddenly found that he was not so stubborn. He thought about it and said: "Sir, why is Zhao Zilong his disciple, and the general can only
Be a book boy."
"You can also be a disciple. Here are the eight volumes of Mencius. After you recite them, I will let you become a disciple." Chen Gong waved his hand, and the eight volumes of bamboo slips fell on the table.
The eight volumes may seem like a lot, but they are all bamboo slips, and there are actually not many words.
Ma Chao picked up a scroll and read it. Suddenly he felt sleepy. He coughed lightly and said, "Sir, the last general is a military general."
"But I am a great scholar. If you want to join my sect, why don't you study?" Chen Gong asked in return.
Ma Chao looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, quickly put them down, shook his head to get rid of his sleepiness, and saluted Chen Gong: "Scholar boy, just be a book boy."
Chen Gong smiled, said no more, stood up and left the lobby with Guo Jia, and went back to rest.
Early the next morning, news of Karasuma's retreat came from the direction of Wu End. The crisis in Youzhou was resolved, and the next step was to completely capture Youzhou.