Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 151: Proposing a Plan to Resist Cao
The female soldiers and maids in the mansion were all shocked when they saw Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu coming out of the room together.

The female soldier in charge of night watch was scared to death, but she didn't know whether she should kneel down and admit her mistake.

Wei Xiaobao looked calm and composed, not at all like a criminal who broke in in the middle of the night.

Ma Yunlu's cheeks flushed, and he didn't seem to care about his negligence in guarding last night.

Everyone shook their heads as they watched the two of them walk from the inner courtyard through the second gate.

"Who is this person?"

Everyone is thinking about this question in their mind, but no one can answer it.

At Ma Teng's house, Ma Chao was sitting in the hall with his father, discussing military affairs.

The servant came to tell her that Miss Ma Yunlu was coming to visit.

Ma Chao smiled and said, "Little sister, aren't you hungover? Why are you here so early to pay your respects to father?"

Ma Teng shook his head helplessly: "It would be great if it could be like this every day in the future."

As he was speaking, Ma Yunlu had already arrived in the hall.

"Dad, big brother!"

Ma Yunlu always greets people with the fist-clasping gesture, but does not perform the trance gesture like other women do.

Ma Teng waved his hand: "Why did you get up so early today?"

Ma Yunlu smiled brightly, walked over to Ma Teng, hugged his arm and said coquettishly, "Dad, someone wants to see you."

Ma Teng looked surprised: "Who is it? It's such a great honor to have my daughter lead the way for him."

Ma Yunlu shouted outside, "Come in."

Wei Xiaobao walked out of the corridor, clasped his fists towards Ma Teng and said, "General Ma, long time no see!"

Ma Teng's expression was strange, a mixture of disbelief and surprise, and a little bit of "so that's how it is."

Ma Chao looked at Ma Teng, his eyes full of questions.

Ma Teng hurriedly introduced: "Meng Qi, this is General Wei Xiaobao."

Ma Chao hadn't been to Wancheng the previous time, but he had heard about what had happened between Wei Xiaobao, Ma Teng, and Ma Yunlu. Ma Yunlu had been missing Wei Xiaobao constantly since returning to Xiliang, which had piqued Ma Chao's interest. Seeing Wei Xiaobao now, he was inevitably disappointed. This shabby, even somewhat annoying guy before him, was actually the Wei Xiaobao his father admired so much and his sister worried about so much?

"General Wei, this is my son Ma Chao Ma Mengqi."

Wei Xiaobao clasped his fists and nodded towards Ma Chao: "General Ma!"

Ma Chao had been famous in Xiliang for a long time. He far surpassed his father Ma Teng in terms of military command, duels in front of the battlefield, and military achievements. Moreover, because of his handsome appearance and his preference for wearing white clothes and armor, he was nicknamed Xiliang Jin Ma Chao.

When he heard Wei Xiaobao call him "little" General Ma, he felt unhappy for a moment, but he didn't know how to show it.

Ma Teng let Wei Xiaobao into the hall and was about to order the servants to serve tea when he was stopped by Wei Xiaobao.

Wei Xiaobao said, "General Ma, I came here for a secret matter, so try not to let anyone in your mansion know. When I just came in, I was hiding all the way and was not discovered." Ma Chao looked down on Wei Xiaobao even more. How could a person who acted so sneakily get the respect of his father and the love of his sister?
Ma Teng also felt that something was amiss and asked hurriedly, "What is General Wei doing?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "Cao Cao has captured Chang'an. Tianshui and even the entire Xiliang are in danger. I came here to save Tianshui."

Before Wei Xiaobao appeared, Ma Teng and Ma Chao were discussing how to deal with Cao Cao.

Hearing Wei Xiaobao's boast, Ma Chao laughed heartily and said, "Liu Bei's army only wants to use us to contain Cao Cao. They can't even protect themselves, yet they have the audacity to come and save Tianshui? If Cao Cao dares to attack Tianshui, he will never return!"

Ma Yunlu wanted to protect Wei Xiaobao and immediately said, "Brother, don't underestimate him. We have seen his abilities in Wancheng."

Ma Chao snorted lightly: "That's because I didn't go, otherwise Wancheng would have been in the hands of my Ma family army long ago."

Ma Teng also spoke to ease the atmosphere: "Mengqi, let's first hear what General Wei has to say."

Wei Xiaobao had already sensed Ma Chao's arrogance and deliberately lowered his tone, saying, "Cao Cao captured Chang'an in order to use the route through Guanzhong to attack Xuchang. He was forced to do so, as the fortresses and ports on both sides of the river were already under our control."

Ma Teng said, "We all understand this. When Prime Minister Cao used the Western Liang coalition forces to attack Wancheng, he intended to seize control of the river. However, General Wei and Military Advisor Zhuge Liang were incredibly resourceful. With just over ten thousand soldiers, they were able to stop us, rendering us unable to advance, and thus thwarting Prime Minister Cao's plan."

Wei Xiaobao said, "If Han Sui hadn't attacked Wuwei by surprise, and the general hadn't returned to rescue it, I'm afraid Wancheng wouldn't have held out for a few days."

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao said, "I'm glad you know. Han Sui refused to attack Wancheng, and my father anticipated his intention."

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, "If it weren't for General Ma's desperate efforts to resist the enemy, I'm afraid that when General Ma returned, he wouldn't even be able to capture Tianshui."

Ma Chao considered the loss of Wuwei a great humiliation. Wei Xiaobao's words were apparently a compliment, but in fact they were sarcastic, which made Ma Chao furious. He slammed the table, stood up, pointed at Wei Xiaobao and said "you you", speechless.

Ma Teng glared at Ma Chao and said, "Mengqi, don't be rude!"

Ma Chao had no choice but to sit down in disappointment.

Ma Yunlu rolled his eyes at Wei Xiaobao, telling him with his eyes, "Why don't you say something else? Why do you insist on exposing my brother's scars?"

Having gained the upper hand, Wei Xiaobao ignored Ma Chao and turned to Ma Teng, saying, "General Ma, if Han Sui allies with Cao Cao at this time, even with a brave general like General Ma Chao to resist, I'm afraid Tianshui will be difficult to defend."

Ma Teng said, "To be honest with you, General Wei, we were just discussing this matter and have already decided to send an envoy to Chang'an to form an alliance with Prime Minister Cao before Han Sui does. If General Wei is here to persuade me to give up my support for Prime Minister Cao, I'm afraid I can't comply. I'm afraid I'll have to repay you for the grain you loaned me last time."

Wei Xiaobao waved his hands and said magnanimously, "It's just a little food, nothing to worry about. But since I've come to save Tianshui, how can I just watch the general destroy himself?"

The three members of the Ma family were all shocked and looked at Wei Xiaobao in confusion.

Wei Xiaobao continued, "If I were Cao Cao, I would understand that attacking Xuchang would take time. Relying solely on the food and fodder in Chang'an is definitely not enough to sustain a long-term battle. Moreover, I also understand that the general and Han Sui will never willingly surrender. If the fighting on the front lines becomes stalemated and someone suddenly rebels in the rear, wouldn't we even be able to hold Chang'an and have to retreat to Jizhou?"

Wei Xiaobao saw through Ma Teng's thoughts and smiled awkwardly.

Wei Xiaobao continued, "Cao Cao will definitely take advantage of the Hukou Pass, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and will first pacify all of Xiliang before moving on to Xuchang. Even if the general and Han Sui both surrender to Cao Cao, I'm afraid Cao Cao will gradually erode their sphere of influence, eventually handing over Tianshui and Wuwei to him."

After thinking for a moment, Ma Teng felt that what Wei Xiaobao said was very reasonable, so he asked, "Then according to what the general said, how should we respond?"

"Join hands with Han Sui to attack Cao Cao!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the other three were all in an uproar.

(End of this chapter)