Unlike Guan Yan who had doubts in her heart, there was a person who had doubts and fears in his heart.
This man is the owner of the flag that Guan Yan is looking at - Han Hussar generals Ma Chao and Ma Mengqi.
Ma Chao was wearing casual clothes and sitting in the attic of the building. His right hand was playing with a wine glass.
As his fingers continued to flip, Ma Chao's eyes became more thoughtful.
In Ma Chao's eyes, there was also a look of deep contemplation, and there was also a look of deep-seated fear.
Among the four generals of the King of Hanzhong in the early years, although the former general Guan Yu was the most powerful in terms of power, from a clear point of view, the highest status among the four generals was actually the left general Ma Chao.
This is because Liu Bei once served as General Zuo.
When Liu Bei chose to worship Ma Chao as General Zuo, it was because of Ma Chao's sensitive identity and the influence he had in the world at that time.
Before the flood of the Seventh Army occurred, Ma Chao's personal prestige was not comparable to that of Guan Yu, and Ma Chao's personal prestige was even comparable to that of Liu Bei.
It's just that the left general Ma Chao, who had the highest status among the four generals at that time, was not as good as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu in going out to key places for Liu Bei respectively.
Even Ma Chao was not as good as the old Huang Zhong, who was brought back to Chengdu by Liu Bei and was responsible for the military security of Shuzhong.
After the Battle of Hanzhong, Ma Chao was actually in Hanzhong.
It's just that although Ma Chao is in Hanzhong, the governor of Hanzhong is not him, and even the second-in-command of Hanzhong is not him, but Wu Yi.
This is Liu Bei's arrangement for Ma Chao, who is sensitive to his identity: he pretends to respect his position, but actually seizes his power.
Perhaps Ma Chao, who acted recklessly when he was young, would not understand Liu Bei's intention in arranging him.
But Ma Chao, who is now forty-four years old and has gone through many hardships, is no longer the "Mighty General" who believed that he could dominate the world with the spear in his hand.
Now he knows that Liu Bei has never truly trusted him since he defected to Liu Bei.
It's just that Ma Chao was mentally prepared for this before he surrendered to Liu Bei. After all, with his reputation in the world and his past performance, even a saint would probably not have concerns about him.
When Ma Chao chose to defect to Liu Bei, his biggest purpose was not to make achievements, but to protect himself.
After he defected to Liu Bei, although Liu Bei did not fully trust him, Liu Bei did not doubt him too much.
Liu Bei did not give him the treatment he deserved or the status he deserved.
Even in the past, Liu Bei had given him certain military power and allowed him to lead the army in battle.
Although Ma Chao was not satisfied with receiving such treatment under Liu Bei, he was not very dissatisfied.
Ma Chao thought that he would spend his whole life like this, but he didn't expect that not long ago, when he was leading the army stationed in Mianyang, he received an order from Liu Bei, asking him to come to Xiangyang quickly.
When he received this edict, Ma Chao had doubts in his heart for a while.
No matter how much Ma Chao deliberately downplays his presence among the big men, he who once dominated Liangzhou still has a heart to make contributions deep in his heart.
He, who was in Hanzhong County, naturally knew that a war was currently taking place in Xiangfan.
Liu Bei originally issued an edict asking him to rush to Xiangyang quickly. This was obviously a signal to use him, and Ma Chao should be happy.
If that incident hadn't happened last month, Ma Chao would have immediately left and rushed to Xiangyang.
But unfortunately, after that incident happened, Ma Chao, who was already sensitive, was always in a state of uneasiness.
So after receiving Liu Bei's order, Ma Chao did not leave immediately like Zhang Fei, but chose to write a letter to defend himself.
And it was precisely because of that incident that Ma Chao, who was almost arriving in Xiangyang, was still in a hesitant mood.
Because of his mood, the soldiers guarding the building ship he was riding on were not the Han troops given to him by Liu Bei, but Qiang and Di warriors who were loyal to him.
When Ma Chao was hesitant, a man wearing armor and stomach
The general strode into the attic where Ma Chao was.
This general is Ma Dai, Ma Chao's younger brother.
Ma Chao is a man with superb martial arts skills. Before Ma Dai came in, he heard the sound of his stomach and hurriedly drew out the long sword that had been placed on his knee.
After he saw that the person coming was Ma Dai, he slowly sheathed the long sword in his hand.
When Ma Dai entered, he saw Ma Chao's reaction, and his eyes showed regret.
I think back then, how resounding the reputation of General Shenweitian was in the land of Yongliang, and how many enemies were frightened by this reputation.
But now, the former mighty general has become a frightened bird.
Although Ma Dai felt regret in his heart, he did not show it on the surface. He just bowed to Ma Chao and said:
"Brother, we are almost arriving in Xiangyang."
Hearing Ma Dai's words, the hesitation on Ma Chao's face became a little thicker.
The change in Ma Chao's face fell into the eyes of Ma Dai, who had been observing him. Seeing this, Ma Dai asked Ma Chao: "Brother, are you still worried about your Majesty's intentions in summoning you because of that matter?"
More than 200 members of Ma Chao's clan were massacred by Cao Cao in Yecheng long ago. Currently, Ma Chao's only clan member is Ma Dai.
In addition, Ma Chao and Ma Dai have been close friends since childhood, so in an environment where the two are alone, they can naturally talk freely.
Seeing Ma Dai express his worries, Ma Chao put down the wine glass in his hand and nodded solemnly.
The incident in Ma Dai's mouth refers to the incident that happened not long ago.
Peng Yi was originally a famous scholar in Yizhou. Later, after Liu Bei captured Yizhou, he gradually placed Peng Yi in high regard because of his talents.
However, Peng Yi was arrogant and often made rude remarks, so Liu Bei gradually alienated him after becoming emperor and wanted to transfer him away from the center.
After Peng Yi heard about this, he was very unhappy and went to meet Ma Chao privately.
During the meeting, Peng Yi encouraged Ma Chao to rebel. After Ma Chao surrendered to Liu Bei, he often felt danger in his heart. When he heard Peng Yi persuade him to rebel, he was shocked and kept silent.
After Peng Yi left, Ma Chao wrote Peng Yi's words into a memorial and informed Liu Bei. Liu Bei, who knew about this, immediately took Peng Yi into custody.
Liu Bei didn't trust the officials in Yizhou, and Peng Yi actually had the idea of rebellion, so Liu Bei had Peng Yiming sentenced to death last month.
Although Peng Yi was not very popular, he was one of the few Yizhou officials who could hold real power among the Han Dynasty, so his death caused quite a stir in Chengdu.
Accordingly, some very unfavorable remarks about Ma Chao began to circulate.
After these remarks reached Ma Chao's ears, he became even more worried.
At this moment, Liu Bei suddenly wanted to summon him, so Ma Chao felt worried.
Ma Chao knew that what he did was not wrong, but as the saying goes, people's words can be scary, and his identity and past were too sensitive, so he couldn't help but have some strange emotions in his heart.
Because of this, after receiving Liu Bei's edict, he chose to write a letter to defend himself first, which delayed his trip.
Seeing Ma Chao nodding to his inference, Ma Dai said to Ma Chao with a relaxed expression on his face:
"Brother, there is no need to worry too much. After my brother wrote to me before, His Majesty wrote back specifically to express his condolences."
"Your Majesty's reply is sincere and sincere. Your Majesty's benevolence and righteousness are known to the world. Why should my brother worry that your Majesty will do harm to you?"
After listening to Ma Dai's words, the solemnity on Ma Chao's face reduced a lot.
What Ma Dai said about Liu Bei is also his opinion about Liu Bei.
Because of this, he chose to defect to Liu Bei back then, and why he stayed in Mianyang without doing anything even though he was fearful for a long time.
Such is the influence of contemporary fame.
Ma Dai saw that the solemn look on Ma Chao's face had dissipated a lot. He saw that the environment in the attic was too small and was not conducive to Ma Chao, who was always depressed, so he proactively suggested to Ma Chao:
"The scenery outside the building is very beautiful. Brother, why don't you go out with me and take a look."
After Ma Chao listened to Ma Dai's words, there was some warmth in his eyes.
He knew it was winter, a season when everything was bleak, so what scenery could be seen outside the attic?
Ma Dai made this suggestion just to consider his health.
After he lost everything, it was Ma Dai who stayed by his side and made him realize what precious family love is.
But he could have enjoyed more of this precious family affection.
But it is a pity that everything he once had was cut off by the pleasure and hatred in his heart.
And when lost, some people often know how to cherish it.
Although Ma Chao was not in the mood to go out and see the scenery, he didn't want to make Ma Dai too worried, so he nodded slightly.
Then he got up and followed Ma Dai out of the attic and walked to the deck of the building ship.
When Ma Chao and Ma Dai stepped out of the dark attic and the warm sunshine from the outside world shone on Ma Chao, Ma Dai finally saw Ma Chao's current appearance.
When he saw Ma Chao's shabby and increasingly haggard appearance, Ma Dai, who had always regarded Ma Chao as his idol in life, felt the pain in his heart surging like the undercurrent of the Han River under his feet.
At that time, Ma Chao had eyes like shooting stars, face like carved jade and powdered powder, lips like red, tiger body, ape arms, belly and waist of wolf. He was not only a majestic general, but also a handsome prince.
That's why Xiliang was known as "Jin Ma Chao" back then.
But how can the current Ma Chao still have the style of the original "Jin Ma Chao"!
The tragic past and the current situation of being dependent on others are like the cold steel knife in the cold wind, chipping away at Ma Chao's energy and spirit little by little over the past few years.
Ma Chao saw the pained look in Ma Dai's eyes. With a smile on his face, he patted Ma Dai on the shoulder and asked:
"Brother Dai, do you think my brother will still have a chance to fight on the battlefield in this life?"
Facing Ma Chao's inquiry, Ma Dai heard the loneliness and melancholy in Ma Chao's words.
In order to prevent Ma Chao from being too depressed, Ma Dai said to Ma Chao: "This time your Majesty summons my brother, he will definitely use him."
Ma Dai's tone was full of certainty.
But after listening to Ma Dai's words, Ma Chao smiled and nodded.
He slowly expressed his judgment to Ma Dai: "Your Majesty has never really believed in me."
"No one in this world will truly believe in me."
After listening to Ma Chao's words, Ma Dai wanted to speak to comfort Ma Chao immediately, but Ma Chao waved his hand to stop him.
Ma Chao, who was standing on the deck, looked at the majestic city that was vaguely visible in the distance. Amidst the howling cold wind, the Han cavalry general put his hands behind his back and slowly replied:
"I just hope that my trip is not a trip to behead my head."
"I just hope that I can still have a chance for revenge in this life."
After saying these two wishes, the majestic Ma Chao looked up at the Han army ships vaguely surrounding him, and bursts of laughter gradually began to burst out from his mouth.
Ma Chao's laughter was full of helplessness and sadness.
Emperor Zhangwu of the Han Dynasty never believed in him.
His hope seemed like a luxury at this moment!
...
Liu Bei, who was sitting in the general's residence in Xiangyang City, was handling some government affairs.
One of the reasons why he left the military camp in the first place was that Guan Yu felt that as the emperor, Liu Bei should sit in Xiangyang and take charge.
The only difference from Cao Pi, who was sitting in Wancheng and making arrangements in the middle, was that with Guan Yu, a strong-tempered general on the front line, Liu Bei had no chance to provide guidance on military affairs.
Therefore, Emperor Zhangwu, who was supposed to have all military and political affairs under control, could only act like Guan Yu's "Jingzhou Mu", handling all political affairs for him in the rear.
service.
There is a sense of déjà vu as the younger brother is fighting in front and the elder brother is shaking people from behind.
Fortunately, Liu Bei had been a shepherd in Jingzhou for a long time, so he was very comfortable handling the government affairs in Jingzhou.
While Liu Bei was quickly handling Xu Zhengwu, Fei Yi, who was outside the hall, quickly entered and reported to Liu Bei:
"Your Majesty, the Hussars General has arrived and is waiting to be summoned outside the hall."
Because of Fei Yi's outstanding performance on his previous mission to Jiangdong, he was promoted by Liu Bei to serve as his minister.
Liu Bei in this world has many more opportunities to cultivate outstanding talents in the Han Dynasty.
After hearing Fei Yi's words, Liu Bei subconsciously stopped what he was doing.
He looked up at Fei Yiyan and said, "Let Ma Qing come in."
After receiving Liu Bei's order, Fei Yi bowed to Liu Bei and quickly walked out of the lobby.
After Fei Yi left, Liu Bei put down the brush in his hand and carefully considered Guan Yu's previous request.
"The enemy's army is the strongest in the world, but our army may not be as powerful as us."
"Since the soldiers are inferior, Your Majesty can call in strong generals to make up for them, and the hussars can be used."
Everyone knew the special nature of Ma Chao, so he transferred him to his command. Guan Yu dared to make such a request to Liu Bei.
After listening to Guan Yu's request, Liu Bei did not hesitate and immediately issued an edict to Ma Chao in Mianyang.
It's just that although Liu Bei considered using Ma Chao at Guan Yu's suggestion, Liu Bei still had concerns about Ma Chao.
So he thought of meeting Ma Chao before sending him to the Fancheng camp.
If Ma Chao is now, then he will use it.
If it can't be used, then he can only think of other ways.
While Liu Bei was thinking, Ma Chao had followed Fei Yi into the lobby.
The moment Ma Chao entered the lobby, he discovered that in addition to Liu Bei, there were hundreds of fully armed soldiers in the lobby.
At this time, Liu Bei also cast his scrutinizing gaze on him.
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