Mi Han

Chapter 416
Mianyang is the place where Liu Bei established himself as the king of Hanzhong.

For this reason, even though Mianyang is not the county seat of Hanzhong County, its status in Hanzhong County is no lower than that of Nanzheng.

After Liu Bei led the army back to Chengdu, he let Ma Chao lead the army to guard Mianyang.

After the Battle of Xiangfan in the Han and Wei Dynasties, Ma Chao, who made great contributions, received many rewards from Liu Bei, but Liu Bei still did not let Ma Chao move to the town after all.

Of course it is said to be the leader of the guard, but with the sensitivity of Ma Chao's identity, he must not have too many soldiers and horses under him.

Even counting the alien soldiers and horses under Ma Chao's command, the number of soldiers and horses he holds in his hands is no more than [-] at most.

With three thousand soldiers and horses, and located in Mianyang, the heartland of Hanzhong, surrounded by many powerful counties, no matter how capable Ma Chao is, it will be difficult for him to make any waves.

All these arrangements are Liu Bei's defense against Ma Chao.

Liu Bei's defense against Ma Chao is not only known to the world, but even Ma Chao himself is very clear.

It is impossible to say that Ma Chao doesn't mind Liu Bei's defense against himself at all.

But Ma Chao didn't have too many complaints in his heart because of Liu Bei's guard against him.

After all, except for Liu Bei's restrictions on Ma Chao's military power, Liu Bei never treated Ma Chao badly in other respects.

Even when Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor and worshiped the generals, Zhang Fei received lower rewards than Ma Chao.

With Ma Chao's notorious reputation in the world, Liu Bei's being able to treat him like this is already considered the utmost benevolence.

Otherwise, let Cao Cao or Sun Quan be the lord of Ma Chao, and they will definitely kill Ma Chao in minutes.

It is precisely because Ma Chao knew Liu Bei was on guard against him, so after he led the army back to Mianyang, he resumed his previous attitude - being cautious.

Even though there was a major cleansing in Mianyang not long ago, Ma Chao was able to turn a deaf ear to the major changes that happened around him.

He didn't even send an envoy to ask Mi Yang.

This shows how cautious he is.

It's a pity that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop. Maybe Ma Chao plans to spend the rest of his life in Mianyang.

But how could Mi Yang, who inherited Liu Bei's spirit of "never waste a grain of food", turn a blind eye to this mighty general in his county?

Therefore, after temporarily settling all the important military and political affairs in Liangzhou, Mi Yang immediately came to Mianyang County again, and asked his close minister Fa Miao to hand over a greeting card to Ma Chao.

And when Ma Chao, who was in the military camp, received the greeting card from Mi Yang, he fell into deep thought.

Fortunately, Mi Yang didn't bring too many soldiers and horses here this time, otherwise Ma Chao might suspect that Mi Yang had other purposes.

It's not that Ma Chao treats a gentleman's belly with the heart of a villain, but his sudden visit as Mi Yang really makes Ma Chao feel suspicious.

Everyone knows that Liu Bei has doubts about Ma Chao, so in the past few Han officials would take the initiative to visit Ma Chao.

Some Hanchens even scolded Ma Chao many times publicly in order to flaunt their loyalty.

Ma Chao knew Mi Yang's current status in the Han Dynasty. He was called a foreign relative, but he was actually a clan relative.

For a hard-core Liu Bei confidant like Mi Yang, how could his sudden visit not make Ma Chao feel suspicious?

Because of doubts in his heart, facing Mi Yang's first visit, Ma Chao asked Ma Dai to be his emissary, and went to see Mi Yang in person to express to him that he was sick and could not meet guests.

But Ma Chao's first decline didn't make Mi Yang retreat.

He directly asked Ma Dai to call back: "Wait for you to recover."

The short four words revealed Mi Yang's determination to meet Ma Chao.

After Ma Chao understood Mi Yang's firmness, he could only sigh a few times, and then agreed to Mi Yang's visit.

Ma Chao didn't want to have too many entanglements with Mi Yang, but he also didn't want to rashly offend Mi Yang.

After all, anyone with a discerning eye in the big man can see that Mi Yang's status in the big man in the future is likely to reach the height of Guan Yu.

After Mi Yang learned that Ma Chao agreed to meet, he originally wanted to meet him in Ma Chao's barracks, but unfortunately, his idea was strongly discouraged by Fa Miao and other officials.

Compared with Mi Yang, Fa Miao and others are full of suspicion towards Ma Chao.

Fa Miao and the others didn't quite agree with Mi Yang's meeting with Ma Chao. They believed that meeting such an unkind and unrighteous person like Ma Chao was inherently dangerous.

Now Mi Yang wants to enter Ma Chao's barracks to meet him, how can Fa Miao and others not feel crazy.

"How can you believe that he is a rebellious son who betrays his father and a thief who kills the king?"

Fa Miao's sonorous and powerful remonstrance made Mi Yang have no choice but to say good things for Ma Chao.

And Fa Miao's words also represent the people's perception of Ma Chao.

Even from a rational analysis, Ma Chao is unlikely to be unfavorable to Mi Yang.

But based on what Ma Chao has done in the past, he is no longer trusted by the world, so why talk about rational analysis?
Mi Yang also knew that Fa Miao was doing it for his own good, so he changed his mind and asked someone to send a letter to Ma Chao asking him to meet him in his camp.

However, Ma Chao also expressed his understanding of Mi Yang's request, so on the second day of passing each other, Ma Chao came to Mi Yang's camp alone.

Not only did Ma Chao not bring any personal guards with him this time, he also never wore armor or weapons.

His actions are not self-certification, but actually self-protection.

Although his military rank is higher than that of Mi Yang, if he misunderstood Mi Yang, it would be easy for Mi Yang to directly order him to be taken down and punished.

As long as Mi Yang later reported that he had treasonous intentions.

After all, who in the world would believe that Mi Yang, who has always put faith first, would wrongfully wrong him, a notorious traitor?
From the day he betrayed Ma Teng, he has been sentenced to death in the hearts of the world.

When Ma Chao in uniform entered Mi Yang's camp, Mi Yang immediately asked Ma Chao to be invited to his main tent.

The corresponding seats have been set up in the main account long ago, and various delicacies and wines are also prepared on the seats.

Under the leadership of the sergeant, Mi Yang soon saw Ma Chao.

The moment he saw Ma Chao, Mi Yang couldn't help feeling a little surprised.

What appeared in front of Mi Yang was no longer the hulking and dashing Jin Ma Chao that he had seen at the beginning of the year, but an old man with half a head of white hair and a slightly stooped body.

In just one year, Ma Chao has become like this!
It's just that aside from being surprised, Mi Yang didn't show anything unusual on his face.

Mi Yang knew why Ma Chao had aged so much in less than a year.

It's just heart disease.

And if Mi Yang remembers correctly, it was around this time in history that Ma Chao began to suffer from a serious illness and passed away.

It is not easy for Ma Chao to appear in front of him well now.

It may be that Ma Chao's depression was relieved a little by participating in the previous Xiangfan War.

Mi Yang stood up calmly to welcome Ma Chao's arrival, and then invited Ma Chao to take a seat.

Facing Mi Yang's respect, Ma Chao seemed a little flattered, he hadn't received this kind of treatment for a long time.

Seeing that Mi Yang was so respectful to him, Ma Chao didn't think much of it, so he took advantage of the opportunity and sat on Mi Yang's lower head.

But as soon as Ma Chao sat down, his keen senses instantly noticed that there were several vigilant eyes focused on him that could not go away for a long time.

Ma Chao looked towards those gazes, and saw several generals holding sharp knives, staring at him closely.

Those eyes are both vigilant and alert.

But Ma Chao has long been accustomed to these gazes, so he just pretends he didn't see them.

It's just that Ma Chao still unconsciously became cautious.

Mi Yang saw Ma Chao's restraint, and he also saw how guarded Ma Chao was by his subordinates.

To be honest, Mi Yang doesn't trust Ma Chao, he is also on guard against Ma Chao, but he won't show his defense so clearly like his subordinates.

After all, he still has something to ask Ma Chao later.

Mi Yang took the lead in raising the wine glass in his hand to toast Ma Chao, trying to ease the atmosphere in the banquet.

Faced with Mi Yang's toast, Ma Chao also raised his glass in return.

After going back and forth, maybe the atmosphere in the banquet was tense as a whole, but the atmosphere between Mi Yang and Ma Chao was quite harmonious.

But Ma Chao is not a fool, of course he knows that Mi Yang wants to meet him, not just to drink with him.

Therefore, during the conversation with Mi Yang, Ma Chao was always cautious.

After chatting with Ma Chao for a while, Mi Yang saw that Ma Chao's mood was not as tense as when he just entered the table, so he put down the wine glass in his hand at the right time, and said to Ma Chao:
"Every time Gu comes to Mianyang, he will go to watch the high platform built when His Majesty was king.

Gu was in Jingzhou at that time, I don't know what a grand scene it was when His Majesty was crowned king, I wonder if General Hussars can explain it to Gu in detail? "

Hearing Mi Yang asked about this matter, Ma Chao's thoughts were immediately drawn back to the grand ceremony that day.

On the surface, Liu Bei's crowning ceremony was an act of elevating his own identity.

But in fact, it was a grand celebration specially held by him after he won the Battle of Hanzhong.

After decades of ups and downs and decades of repeated battles and repeated defeats, Liu Bei finally defeated the [-] elite Wei army led by Cao Cao himself in Hanzhong, the land of dragon prosperity of Han Taizu Liu Bang.

What an exciting thing, and what an elated thing?
Because of these special meanings, the ceremony of proclaiming the king that year was very grand.

Tens of thousands of armored soldiers are surrounded like mountains, and hundreds of current heroes are decorated like stars.

Together they looked at the standing figure on the high platform with adoring eyes, and shouted out the earth-shattering three words "King of Hanzhong" with the loudest voice in their lives.

Thinking about that kind of scene now, even Ma Chao, who had already been disheartened, couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Ma Chao didn't doubt him, he told Mi Yang everything he saw that day.

When Ma Chao narrated the grand scene, yearning naturally appeared on his face.

There is no Angzang man who would not yearn for that kind of scene.

What Ma Chao didn't know was that when he was narrating those scenes, the excitement on his face was captured by Mi Yang who had been watching him.

After seeing Ma Chao's reaction, Mi Yang knew what he was doing. After he praised the grand occasion of the day, he said to Ma Chao inadvertently:

"It seems that General Hussar's dedication to meritorious service has not disappeared!"

Now Ma Chao's emotions were rising, and Ma Chao didn't realize the inappropriateness of this sentence for a while due to the high emotions, he subconsciously replied softly: "Yes."

But just after he blurted out the word, he seemed to sense something was wrong.

Then he raised his head and looked at Mi Yang suspiciously, his whole face became extremely ugly.

Not only did Ma Chao's expression turn ugly, but even Fa Miao and the others present looked at Ma Chao with an intriguing look.

Why did Ma Chao, Fa Miao and others react like this? The reason lies in Ma Chao's embarrassing identity.

Others have the heart of meritorious deeds, and anyone can boast about their good ambitions, but Ma Chao can't.

The reason is simple. What did Ma Chao do when he was most determined to make contributions?
Betrayed the father and killed the king, expelled the people and harmed the virtuous.

As far as Ma Chao's past is concerned, if he says that he has the heart to make contributions, he will not be appreciated by others, but will only get endless doubts and suspicions from others.

The performance of everyone in the field now illustrates this point.

Ma Chao also realized this very quickly, so his face became extremely ugly, and even the eyes he looked at Mi Yang became suspicious.

In his eyes now, Mi Yang seems to be the same as Peng Yang who wanted to harm him back then.

The reaction of Ma Chao and everyone immediately made Mi Yang realize the inappropriateness of what he said just now.

But Mi Yang's original intention was not to frame Ma Chao.

He knew that Ma Chao was frightened now, so he tried it step by step, but he didn't expect Ma Chao to be so frightened.

Mi Yang can only sigh in his heart, his uncle is really a good means.

Mi Yang, who realized that something was wrong, immediately said: "I yearn for the grand occasion back then. I don't know if General Hussars is willing to join hands with Gu to make Hanzhong reproduce the grand occasion of that day?"

Ma Chao had already become quite suspicious, just now he thought today was a grand feast, but after hearing Mi Yang's words, his mood gradually calmed down.

According to his image in the hearts of the world, he can't make contributions, it's better to be honest all his life.

But he can assist a certain general from the side and make contributions together.

Liu Bei can accept this kind of behavior, and the world can also acquiesce.

For example, he assisted Zhang Fei in the battle of Xiabian, and he assisted Guan Yu in the battle of Xiangfan.

And Mi Yang's words also indirectly showed that he wanted to ask for his help when he saw him this time, not to frame him.

Mi Yang's faith in the world has always been good, since he has said so, then Ma Chao naturally no longer doubts.

But Mi Yang's request warmed up Ma Chao's originally cold mind.

His ambition is only cold, not gone.

But Ma Chao still has one biggest worry in his heart:

"Where is Your Majesty?"

Hearing Ma Chao's worries, Mi Yang said confidently: "Your Majesty will tell you alone, and Hussar General don't have to worry."

After getting this promise from Mi Yang, the last worry in Ma Chao's heart disappeared.

He cupped his hands and asked Mi Yang, "I don't know what Liangzhou Mu needs to do?"

Under Ma Chao's questioning, Mi Yang said what he wanted to ask Ma Chao:

"General Hussars has great prestige among Qiangdi. I hope Generals Hussars can use his prestige to recruit some strong men from Qiangdi for Gu."

Seeing that Mi Yang made this request, Ma Chao thought about it for a while, and then wanted to say yes to Mi Yang.

With his prestige in Liangzhou, it is not difficult to achieve this.

But at the joint where the export promise was made, Ma Chao suddenly realized something was wrong.

The Qiang and Di scholars are all riding and shooting, and there are many mountains in Hanzhong. What does Mi Yang want the Qiang and Di scholars to do now?
unless!

After realizing Mi Yang's real intention, Ma Chao looked up at Mi Yang in surprise:
"Wudu!"

Seeing that Ma Chao guessed his real intention, Mi Yang didn't hide anything, he showed his big white teeth, and smiled at Ma Chao:

"Of course.

It's time to take back some of the ancestral territory. "

(End of this chapter)