The next day, Ma Teng paid homage to the general at the school grounds and ordered his troops. He asked Zhong Jin to inspect the army and swear an oath to fight.
An hour later, with Ma Xiu as the vanguard, he led 30,000 Xiliang troops, entered Chencang Road in a mighty manner, and marched straight to Hanzhong.
After the former army left the city, Zhong Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought that this trip would involve a lot of talking and even coercion and inducement to get Ma Teng and his son to send troops, but he didn't expect it to be so smooth.
At this moment, I saw Ma Tie leading a bay-red horse. It was tall and tall, with a mane about two feet long, and its fur was shiny and smooth.
Ma Teng said: "This is a good horse from the Dan Racecourse in Xiliang Mountain. Although I dare not say that it travels a thousand miles in a day, it is one of a thousand miles. I specially gave it to the general. I hope you will not dislike it."
"This, this, this... how can this be done? No reward for no merit, how can I take advantage of my position to receive benefits?"
Although Zhong Jin waved his hands repeatedly, his eyes were shining. The horses at Shandan Racecourse were famous all over the world. He had never seen such a good horse in Chang'an?
Ma Teng sighed: "The general doesn't know. Although the cavalry is powerful, it is very expensive! My father and his son lost ground in Chencang and were really trapped by food and grass. Although this batch of food and grass was brought in, although it relieved an urgent need, it would only be enough at most. It can take two months. The roads in the Qinling Mountains are high and dangerous, and Yangping Pass is very difficult to attack. The journey to Hanzhong will definitely be delayed by the sun and the moon. Once the food and grass are insufficient, the consequences will be disastrous. After the general arrives in Chang'an, he also hopes to have many kind words and to send more food and grass as soon as possible. .”
Zhong Jin cupped his fists and said, "It is my duty to raise food for the general, and it should be so. But this horse... is absolutely unbearable. If my brother knew about it, he would definitely blame him."
Ma Teng said with a smile: "Although there are not many good horses like this, they are not rare in Xiliang. They have the power to do what I want. And food and grass are related to the lifeblood of the three armies. If the general doesn't take the horses, how can I go on an expedition with confidence?"
Zhong Jin had no choice but to take over the reins and said, "I'm sorry to hear this."
Ma Teng was relieved and laughed: "A BMW is a gift to a hero. If the general rides on this horse, it will be much faster to go to Sanguan."
Zhong Jin was startled: "You still want to go to Sanguan?"
Ma Teng nodded and said: "Since the general is here to appease the three armies, if he is asked about it by General Cao before we leave, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to do business."
Zhong Jin originally wanted to say goodbye, but Ma Teng kindly invited him, so he went with the army to Sanguan. After watching the army enter Chencang Road, he said goodbye to Ma Teng and his son, got on the Xiliang BMW, and returned to Chang'an to report the news.
Zhong Jin was extremely satisfied with this trip, but when he returned to Chang'an, he thought that if he reported the truth truthfully, he would be useless and would be looked down upon by Zhong Yao and Cao Hong.
When he came to the government office, he said that he had arrived in Chencang, and he knew the benefits and promised to allocate food to the Xiliang army, so Ma Teng agreed to send troops.
Zhong Yao's face darkened when he heard this: "How can you take charge of such a major military matter? There is no joke in the army. Once the food and grass have not arrived, and the Xiliang army rebels, what will be the consequences?"
"Ming Gong, calm down!" Cao Hong waved his hand slightly and said with a smile: "As long as the horses can free up the troops, what does a little food and grass mean? The Xiliang army is short of food. From now on, they can only rely on me and use it for my use. Ma Teng and his son have already Nothing to worry about.”
Zhong Yao snorted coldly: "Ma Teng is short of food, but you saw it with your own eyes?"
At this time, Zhong Jin had no choice but to bite the bullet and replied: "Ma Teng was determined not to send troops, and took me to see the treasury. It is true that there is not much food and grass left. Most of his horses are long and thin, waiting for the spring grass to be harvested. The men and horses have no fighting spirit." , in order to boost the morale of the Xiliang army, I had no choice but to agree."
Cao Hong laughed when he heard this and said: "General Zhong went to Chencang. Not only did he supervise the troops to vacate the troops and send them to Sanguan, it showed that he was doing his duty carefully. He also found out the true and false situation of the Xiliang army. It was a great achievement. The commander-in-chief paid tribute to his younger brother Tai." It’s a bit too harsh.”
Zhong Yao glanced at Zhong Jin, clasped his fists and said, "I'm not asking you because he is my brother. This matter is related to military affairs, so I have to be cautious."
Cao Hong said with a smile: "Now that Ma Teng has sent out his troops, it's time to take action. Three days later, the troops will be sent to Wuguan. I will personally defeat Liu Qi back to his original form."
At this time, Xizuo had reported that Liu Qi was at Wuguan. The defeat of Nanyang had become an eternal pain in the hearts of the generals of the Cao clan. This time he wanted to avenge his shame.
Now that Ma has sent troops, the Xiliang army is short of food, and the threat from Guanzhong is gone. There is no need to worry about the future anymore, so he sent someone to report to Cao Cao.
On that day, Cao Hong held a banquet in his mansion to encourage civil and military officials. He introduced Zhong Jin in a grand manner, saying that he was brave and resourceful, and that he used his sharp tongue to persuade the horses to vacate the army, which attracted a lot of praise.
After the banquet, Zhong Yao returned home, called Zhong Jin and asked again: "Is what you said today the truth?"
"Every word is true!" Zhong Jin gritted his teeth secretly, clenched his fists and his palms were sweating.
I had just been praised by Cao Hong at the banquet in front of all the officials. I must not let go at this time, otherwise I will become a repetitive villain. How can I behave in the future?
Zhong Yao stared at Zhong Jin for a while, and then said after a while: "If it's a matter between you and my brother, just hide it from me and pay it back. It's just a family matter! If there is any concealment of official business during this trip, it will definitely lead to disaster. You have been urinating since you were a child." When reading the books of sages, you should know that loyalty, filial piety and integrity should not be delayed for a lifetime due to a momentary mood."
Zhong Jin felt uncomfortable when his brother looked at him, and suddenly he knelt on the ground and replied: "Brother, to be honest, I collected a horse from Ma Teng in Chencang, and it is a good horse from Shandan."
"Oh?" Zhong Yao's eyes flickered: "You have no contact with Ma Teng, and you are not an important official of the imperial court. Why should you give you a good horse?"
Zhong Jin replied: "Ma Teng is worried that after months and months of attacking Hanzhong, he will run out of food and grass and all his previous achievements will be wasted. Please give me a few kind words to General Cao and allocate more food and grass."
"Well..." Zhong Yao pondered and said to himself: "So, the Xiliang army is really short of food?"
During the dinner just now, he saw Zhong Jin looking strange several times, thinking that he was so happy that he lied about the military situation, and felt uneasy. It turned out that he had received Ma Teng's benefits, and his doubts were gone!
Zhong Jin knew that his brother had always been rigorous in doing things. He kept his head down and did not dare to say another word. He finally managed to justify himself. If he saw any flaws, he would be in trouble.
Anyway, it is a fact that Ma Teng's army is short of food. It is the same whether he has seen it or not. Moreover, Cao Hong has promised to allocate food, so there is no need to verify this matter.
"Get up!" Zhong Yao sighed with emotion and taught seriously: "Ma Teng gave you the horse not because of your ability and reputation, but because of your position. This is accepting bribes! You must remember that in the future, in the officialdom, But anyone who uses bribes will have difficult things to do. If you want to accomplish these things, you must use extraordinary methods and violate the law. If you fail to do it, you will be harmed and you will be trapped in it and cannot extricate yourself. You must take this as a warning."
Zhong Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead, clasped his fists and said, "I will go to General Cao's house to plead guilty, and hand over the horse to the public for his disposal."
"That's it!" Zhong Yao nodded slightly, his doubts gone.
Zhong Jin once again took the horse to Cao Hong's house to plead guilty. Cao Hong was discussing the expedition with the generals. After hearing this, instead of blaming him, Cao Hong left the horse with Zhong Jin.
"Ma Teng has given you such a big favor. If you don't return it, it will be unjust. When I go on the expedition, I will allocate another 50,000 stones of food and grass and you will send it to Chencang. How about it?"
"Thank you, general!" Zhong Jin was overjoyed and rode his horse happily back home to return to his brother.
Zhong Yao sighed when he heard this and burned the half-written secret letter. There was a story in it about Cao Hong raising a dancing girl and drinking wine for fun.
Cao Hong's move was just to appease Ma Teng, but he also sold himself a favor. This favor must be repaid!
