Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 162 Returning to Chang'an
On the official road from Tianshui to Chang'an, a carriage slowly moved forward.

The woman in military uniform drove the carriage and turned back to say to the passenger compartment, "Xiao Bao, Chencang is just ahead. I didn't expect the journey to be so smooth."

Wei Xiaobao, who was half-lying down in the carriage with his eyes closed, heard Ma Yunlu's words and lifted the curtain on the small window to look out.

“I told you there would be no danger, but you insisted on coming with me. Even if Zhang Lu had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, he wouldn’t dare to attack Chang’an. He’d be lucky to hold Hanzhong; he wouldn’t have any interest in expanding outwards.”

"Don't underestimate Zhang Lu and Hanzhong. Zhang Lu is a Taoist, and I heard that he and Zhang Jiao had the same master. When Zhang Jiao raised his army, Zhang Lu was also preaching in Hanzhong and even founded an organization called the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. Later, when the imperial court sent troops to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Zhang Lu took the opportunity to capture Hanzhong."

Although Hanzhong is not large, its land is fertile and rich in resources. Zhang Lu has managed Hanzhong for more than ten years, and now its reserves are plentiful.

Wei Xiaobao raised his head from the carriage, still in a semi-reclining position, and looked up at Ma Yunlu.

"Then why didn't your father think of sending troops to attack Hanzhong and seize Zhang Lu's territory?"

Ma Yunlu kept her eyes fixed ahead, not daring to be careless at all.

“My father and brother also discussed attacking Hanzhong. Apart from his younger brother, Zhang Lu had no capable generals under his command. The scouts they sent out reported that Hanzhong had nearly 100,000 troops stationed there, so my father gave up the idea.”

"One hundred thousand?"

"That's right. 100,000 is just the troops in the city. If you add the troops from Yangping Pass, there are at least 120,000 troops."

"Good heavens! Back when Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought the Battle of Guandu, the combined forces of both sides didn't even amount to 120,000. Our current combined forces of Xuzhou, Yuzhou, and Jingzhou, plus our navy, number no more than 200,000."

Ma Yunlu said, "Now you know how powerful Zhang Lu is. I heard that the population of Hanzhong is almost as big as the entire Xiliang region."

Wei Xiaobao nodded: "With so many soldiers, the population must be quite large. Hanzhong truly lives up to its reputation as the place where Liu Bang made his fortune. It is far from the Central Plains battlefield, has plenty of fertile land, and the people have no worries about food and drink, so naturally they have many children."

"In order to encourage people to produce and have children, Zhang Lu said that all newly cultivated land would belong to the people, and families with more than two children would receive more land."

"Wouldn't that land become the private property of the people?"

"At first, the gentry of Hanzhong strongly opposed it. Later, Zhang Lu only distributed the newly cultivated land to the people as a reward and suppressed the local gentry, which quelled the opposition. As a result, the original gentry of Hanzhong moved to Luoyang and Chang'an."

Although Hanzhong had a large population and sufficient military strength, it had offended the gentry, resulting in very few truly capable generals who could lead troops into battle.

Wei Xiaobao said, "How many ordinary people can read and write? They might not even recognize their own names, let alone know any military strategy, so naturally they wouldn't know how to fight. I've been following you for several years, and to be honest, my fighting skills are really not as good as yours."

Ma Yunlu chuckled: "You don't need to be modest. I was already defeated by you in Wancheng. At Yingchoujian, if it weren't for your methods, how could we have stopped Han Sui's army?"

Wei Xiaobao shook his head: "These are just some clever tricks. If I really encountered someone like Cao Cao or the strategist, I would definitely be beaten to a pulp."

As the two chatted, the carriage arrived at Chencang.

At this time, the person stationed in Chencang was Ma Teng's third son, Ma Yunlu's third elder brother, Ma Tie.

The gatekeeper on the city wall recognized Ma Yunlu. He sent someone to inform Ma Tie while ordering the city gate to be opened.

Ma Yunlu drove the carriage into the city, and before he had gone far, he saw his third brother, Ma Tie, riding up on horseback.

"Little sister, I have received Father's letter and have been waiting here for a long time."

Ma Tie had already seen Wei Xiaobao lying in the carriage with half of his body sticking out. He clasped his hands in greeting and said, "This must be General Wei. I am Ma Tie, courtesy name Youran." Wei Xiaobao turned over, crawled out of the carriage, and sat on the side of the carriage shaft to return the greeting: "I am indeed Wei Xiaobao."

Ma Tie had already learned about Wei Xiaobao's temperament from Ma Chao and Ma Teng, so although he felt awkward hearing the words "I am above," he didn't take it to heart.

Ma Yunlu shoved Wei Xiaobao off the carriage: "How can a brother-in-law bow to his elder brother like that?"

Wei Xiaobao nearly fell over, but Ma Tie quickly smoothed things over, saying, "We're all family, no need to be so polite."

Ma Yunlu said, "Third Brother, we won't stay in Chencang. Order someone to open the East Gate, and we'll head to Chang'an right away."

Ma Tie said in surprise, "We siblings haven't seen each other for many days. Why don't we stay overnight in Chencang and let Third Brother show some hospitality?"

Ma Yunlu said, "Our elder brother is currently attacking Anding. We are heading to Chang'an to discuss with General Zhao Yun the matter of sending troops to assist our elder brother."

Although Chencang was a military stronghold, Ma Teng had few troops and had to guard against Han Sui's attack on Tianshui, so Chencang was just an empty shell.

After listening to Ma Yunlu's words, Ma Tie sighed and ordered his guards to go to the east gate to relay the message.

Wei Xiaobao thought Ma Tie was regretting not being able to spend more time with Ma Yunlu, but then he heard Ma Tie say, "I used to think how mighty my Xiliang Iron Cavalry was, but now we have to rely on others to attack a small city like Anding."

If Father had listened to my advice and taken Hanzhong, we wouldn't be facing obstacles at every turn now.

Of Ma Yunlu's three elder brothers, this third brother was the least knowledgeable about military strategy and had a penchant for grandstanding.

Wei Xiaobao had overheard Ma Yunlu mentioning the situation in Hanzhong on the way. Upon hearing Ma Tie's words, he casually remarked, "Perhaps General Ma didn't attack Hanzhong because he was wary of Han Sui."

Ma Yunlu glanced at Wei Xiaobao, signaling him not to say anything more.

Ma Tie dismounted and accompanied Ma Yunlu for a while, until he saw them off at the east gate of Chencang City.

The distance from Chencang to Chang'an was not too far, and Ma Yunlu kept urging his horse on, arriving at the city of Chang'an in the middle of the night.

"I never imagined that after nearly ten years of wandering around since I escaped from Chang'an, I would be able to return to Chang'an!"

Standing below the city wall, Wei Xiaobao looked up at the towering wall and was filled with emotion.

Before the words were even finished, someone on the city gate shouted, "Who goes down below the city?"

Wei Xiaobao held his breath and shouted, "I, Wei Xiaobao, have finally returned to Chang'an!"

Upon hearing Wei Xiaobao's name, the soldiers on the city gate quickly raised their torches to illuminate the area. After clearly seeing Wei Xiaobao's appearance below, they hurriedly went downstairs to open the city gate themselves.

Wei Xiaobao stood in front of the moat, hands on his hips, posing imposingly, waiting for the drawbridge to slowly lower so the soldiers could come out of the city to greet him.

The firelight outlined Wei Xiaobao's figure, gilding his body.

Seeing her beloved man so domineering, Ma Yunlu, sitting in the carriage, was momentarily stunned.

(End of this chapter)