The first time the old man sat up was when he heard that the young king had entered the capital without permission. However, the old man was probably too tired and soon lay back down. Only when he heard that the 800 Beiliang light cavalry scared the Jingji Western Army out of their wits did the old man call for his grandson, who was widely acknowledged to be useless, to return to the mansion. Ma Wenhou was a strange person in Great Peace City. He was said to be a playboy and did not play well with people like Wang Yuanran and Yan Tongshu since childhood. However, he was said to be ambitious, but he never got along well with people like Yin Changgeng and Han Xingyan. Therefore, Ma Wenhou and the old Grand Secretary Zhang Julu's youngest son, Zhang Bian Guan, who lived in a shabby alley and liked to wander around the city, were called the "strange people in the capital". However, compared to the eccentric Zhang Bian Guan, Ma Wenhou was actually quite popular. When he was young, he traveled and studied and left home for more than two years. He went to Donghai Martial Emperor City, Nanjiang Mountains, Xishu Nanzhao, Qingzhou Xiangfan, and the north of Jizhou.
Ma Wenhou was personally brought back to the Ma mansion by his father, Ma Zhongxian, that very night. The old General of the North, Ma Lulang, sat up for the second time with the help of his grandson, Ma Wenhou. After that, whether it was eating or listening to Ma Wenhou's reading, the old man sat up more than he lay down.
After that, whether it was when he heard that the Beimang general, Yang Yuanzan, died at the mouth of Gourd in Youzhou, or when he heard that the two Liao cavalry under Gu Jiantang finally could not hold back and showed signs of restlessness, the old man, who had been in the officialdom for more than sixty years, appeared to be calm.
However, when the old man personally handed over the tiger tally, he sighed with emotion, "Seeking death". It was unknown whether he was talking about the young king or someone else.
Today, the old man seemed to want to go to the morning court, but until his body could no longer bear the bumpy ride, he did not make it difficult for his children and grandchildren.
Under Ma Zhongxian's secret instructions, several hidden Ma family consecrators spread out like a net. They only had one thing to do, which was to keep an eye on the young man surnamed Xu from afar.
Soon, news came back to the Ma Mansion one after another. The young Vassal King left the Demawei Post House, but he didn't attend the court meeting. Instead, he went to the old Ministry of War yamen in Liyang without entering. Entering the Ministry of Rites yamen, Minister Sima Puhua slipped away. Finally, he arrived at the Imperial Observatory and met with the Empress Dowager.
Zhao Zhi and Jiu Jiu Restaurant's lady boss.
The old man would comment on each piece of news he heard.
The old man was full of energy and became very talkative. His mind was very meticulous, as if he wanted to say all the words that he had accumulated in his stomach for the past ten years in one go.
"The old yamen of the Ministry of War is actually a place with good Feng Shui. It's a pity that it's been abandoned."
"Wenhou, my Ma family has been a force in Li Yang for a long time. It's just that we changed our sails quickly back then. In fact, when I was first thrown into the Ministry of War by your great-grandfather, I was only 18 years old. Many people thought that your great-grandfather was muddle-headed, leaving the only son of his family in the capital. Did he really not want the foundation of his ancestors? Then, after more than 20 years, I finally became the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. Everyone shut up. Some people were dead and couldn't open their mouths. Some people lost their power and didn't have the face to complain in front of me. I've been in the Ministry of War and the military all my life, but people of the blue-eyed Tantanon's generation all know that I've never been on the battlefield in my life, let alone killed anyone. Isn't it funny? Such a person ended up as the Great General of the North? "
"When I became the big boss of the Ministry of War, I saw many young generals. There were ambitious, capable, and murderous. At that time, there was a Jinzhou barbarian surnamed Xu who struggled to climb up the ranks of the bureaucracy. He was always defeated. There were several times when he lost all his troops and horses and almost became a lone army. No one was optimistic about him. I wasn't optimistic either. Without a foundation, he could only rely on his life. Wen Hou, you have to understand that the Liyang of that time wasn't as peaceful as it is now. There were endless battles. Now, killing a hundred Beimang barbarians was enough to make you a commandant. At that time, it was possible for you to kill over a thousand Dongyue or Northern Han soldiers and still not be able to become a commandant. Otherwise, if you managed to become a commandant with great difficulty, it would become someone else's military achievement the next day. As a result, there was one time when that young man ran to the yamen with his head covered in dirt and face covered in dirt, asking for troops, horses, and provisions from us old fellows of the Ministry of War. No one was willing to pay him any attention, as they felt that he wouldn't be able to make back his capital. In reality, the Ministry of War only had a dozen or so Tiger Tally that could be used. Otherwise, they would have to mobilize private armies that couldn't see the light of day.
"If I remember correctly, that day, it was raining. That young man from Jinzhou, who only had the empty title of commandant, was standing in the courtyard with a chest of silver at his feet. His back was straight, and one could tell at a glance that he wasn't someone who would ask for help. Just that bit of silver? Did he think that the Ministry of War would transfer seven to eight hundred men to him? Although everyone knew that this person wasn't greedy for money and that as long as he won a battle, no matter how many of his men died, the first thing he would do would be to give the money to the officials of the Ministry of War. But of all things, this fellow shouldn't have killed a junior sent to his army by the Ministry of War when he lost a battle. That's why no one was willing to pay him any attention. I've seen people who don't care about their lives in battle, but none of them are as reckless as him. He's always at the forefront of every battle. Who would dare to fully support such a person? If he only knows how to fight and doesn't know how to be an official, he might have died that day. How could that be? "
"But I was in a good mood that day because that Ministry of War's senior doctor always liked to go against me. My idea was very simple — to disgust that Ministry of War's senior doctor. So I walked up to that young man who I had never dealt with directly before and agreed to give him a troop of soldiers."
Hearing this, Ma Wenhou curiously asked, "Did you win a huge victory very quickly?"
The old man smiled and shook his head. "We did win, and three times in a row at that. But the troops were all wiped out by that young man. Of course, I definitely earned back my capital. At that time, human life was the most worthless thing in the world, but once a strong young man put on armor and picked up a sword or spear, he could still be counted by the head. The Ma family's current foundation was accumulated bit by bit at that time. Many of the generals who originally ruled over a region also spent all their resources bit by bit at that time. "
Ma Wenhou was speechless.
Most of the young people of his generation didn't like to listen to the older generation's nagging about the wars of the Spring and Autumn Period. They had heard so much since they were young that their ears had grown calluses. Ma Wenhou was no exception.
The old man sighed emotionally. "You must've guessed that the Jinzhou commandant who needed to listen to your grandfather's mood and expression was Xu Xiao. Later on, he was the butcher of Liyang, and finally, the King of Beiliang. "
Ma Wenhou nodded lightly.
The old man had never mentioned this matter to anyone before.
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