Chapter 235 Natural Restraint
Lantian, after a night's rest, Ma Chao came to see his sister with some small gifts.

After all, she is his sister, so even if her tone is a little harsh, he can barely bear it.

As for Ma Teng, he felt that he couldn't save face if he went back now.

But he was somewhat nervous, but after he handed over the visiting card, he felt relieved.

Ma Yun had his own small attic, as well as his own servants and guards, who also knew Ma Chao.

He did not dare to cause trouble, so he led Ma Chao to wait in the hallway.

When he saw his sister's happy expression, the tense feeling deep in Ma Chao's heart finally loosened.

Ma Yun felt that she had not seen her brother for a long time, and his expression was a little stiff, so she asked: "Brother, you have traveled to Hedong, Zhongyuan, and Jingzhou. I often hear you say that Xiangyang is prosperous, so what is Xudu like?"

"Xudu was originally Xu County. It is connected to the official roads of the Central Plains, but it is still a small city after all."

Ma Chao answered without thinking: "Since the emperor's capital was Xu, only the palace, the government offices and the private residences of officials remain in the city. To the south of the city is Xutian, where many households have settled. To the east and west of the city are mostly military camps."

He frowned and said, "Before I went there, I heard that most officials opened manors in the suburbs. Later, Hei Zhen passed through Xudu from the north and stayed there for a few days, so officials did not dare to stay overnight outside the city. Now the city is even more crowded, and I heard that there is a plan to build more city walls."

Ma Yun smiled when he heard this: "Taishi Wengong and Gan Xingba are good at attacking strongholds, so it is common sense for all officials in Xudu to take shelter in the city. How do the markets outside the city compare to Xiangyang?"

"Not as good as it is. The market is in decline, and most of the goods sold are daily necessities, with few items like Shu brocade."

As Ma Chao was talking, the maid brought hot tea. Ma Chao took it with both hands. After the maid left, he said, "Two years ago, Cao Cao ordered the two states of Yan and Yu to implement household tax. Although Wuzhu coins were circulated under his rule, cloth was more often used for barter, like cloth currency. Looking at Xudu alone, we can see that the business in the Central Plains is not as good as before."

Ma Yun nodded and said, "My husband and I agreed to go to Xiangyang next year, and my sister has told me many times about the prosperity and bustle of Xiangyang. I thought Xudu was better, but I didn't expect it to be like this."

Ma Chao nodded, blew on the tea, took a sip, and felt quite satisfied: "What kind of tea is this?"

"I heard that this is tea from Junshan Island in Dongting Lake. It was sent by General Fubo a while ago... It was Wen Zhongye, the Wenpin. He led more than 2,000 soldiers to the north and escorted many gifts."

Ma Yun looked at Ma Chao's face and said, "My husband and Liu Fubo have only known each other for a short time, but they have formed a brotherly relationship. Brother, please stop being so irritable. My sister and I will persuade my husband. With your ability, he will surely become a great general, no less than Gan Xingba."

As for the status of Tai Shi Wen Gong, Ma Yun felt that it could not be challenged or surpassed, and Ma Chao thought so too.

Ma Chao was silent at this moment, and Ma Yun knew that he had listened, so she continued, "My sister is from a small family in Hebei, and my family is not a high-ranking family. Neither of us can compare to Cai Zhenji who came yesterday. Now the only people I can rely on outside are my father and brother. I hope my brother can get married soon, so that my father and husband can worry less."

Ma Chao turned his head to look at the flower arrangement on the thin-necked pottery jar beside him, and said in a desolate tone: "Wait another year, the situation is not good now. I know he is powerful among the Hu people, but the Hu people are the Hu people. If Cao Cao and Yuan Shang join forces to attack, the Xiongnu will definitely change."

Ma Yun wanted to refute, but seeing the contempt in Ma Chao's eyes, she felt that Ma Chao's prediction must have some truth to it.

Seeing Ma Yun's expression, Ma Chao smiled. He felt that his sister still respected him as an elder brother, so he patiently explained: "The Xiongnu are not trustworthy. If Cao Cao and Yuan Shang join forces to attack, the Xiongnu will definitely wait and see, waiting for an opportunity to make trouble and cooperate with Guandong to attack Heizhenbei. Just like this time when he led only 3,000 Guanzhong knights to Hedong, he deployed more than 30,000 Guanzhong soldiers to defend Weibei, and let Gan Ning station in Tongguan."

"The former guards against the Qiang tribes in the north, while the latter stays in the middle to deter all the other tribes. No one, whether it is Duan Wei, Yang Qiu, Zhong Yao or Yuan Tan, dares to cause trouble easily."

Seeing that Ma Yun was listening patiently, Ma Chao laughed to himself: "If the combined forces of Yuan and Cao invade, he would definitely leave a large number of troops to guard against the Xiongnu and Liang Province. How many troops can he use to fight against Yuan and Cao?"

"Since my brother has seen this far, he must be coming back now to find a place to use his skills."

Ma Yun understood his self-deprecating expression and said, "Brother, you may not know that five or six days ago, my husband killed all the Qiang leaders in Lishi, and he will return triumphantly in ten days or so."

Ma Chao frowned even more, and after thinking for a while, although he was confused, he felt relieved: "He really knows the nature of the Hu people. After this battle, Yuan and Cao will be wary and may suspend hostilities and form an alliance."

He pondered the war potential of the Qiang tribes in the north. The leaders of each tribe were killed by the black bear, and the remaining young and strong people in the tribe were about 80,000 to 100,000.

However, during the process of the Qiang people's eastward migration, the tribes dispersed and disintegrated quickly.

Unable to defeat the Han army during the reign of Emperor Huan, the Qiang people took refuge in the mountains.

In order to maximize the use of mountain resources, the various Qiang tribes were scattered throughout the valleys. The Qiang people would take root in any mountain, river or gully where they could farm, graze and live.

This also made it difficult for the Han army to expel and annihilate them, and also reduced the overall mobilization efficiency of the Qiang people.

Each tiny settlement and family occupied a small valley. As long as they could get by with a hard life, there was no need to go out and plunder.

These scattered Qiang people could resist the Han army, and naturally they could also resist the forced conscription by the Qiang leaders.

Some of the Qiang people who migrated eastward adapted to this new way of life, while others attempted to seek and plunder a better living environment.

Faced with the rise of the Xianbei and the migration of the Eastern Qiang, the Southern Xiongnu retreated.

Therefore, the main force of the Qiang people who migrated eastwards rushed to occupy the areas vacated by the Southern Xiongnu, and naturally collided with the Xianbei people.

As a result, the main force of the Eastern Qiang pioneers had their heads smashed into their chests by a punch from the Xianbei, and with Emperor Huan's encirclement and suppression, the Eastern Qiang were weakened and could only fully develop and utilize the various mountain valleys.

After several generations, the lower-class Qiang people got used to the life of survival in remote mountains and became stubborn psoriasis.

Up to now, although the Qiang population in the north is large, only the majority of Qiang people living in concentrated areas can be truly mobilized to fight against the Han army or the Xiongnu. They have such cohesion and mobilization efficiency.

So this is where Ma Chao was confused. Most of the Qiang people were actually isolated, and they were unable to mobilize their affiliated small tribes.

Under such circumstances, how easy would it be to eliminate and conquer the Qiang people in one battle?

Deciding that there was still time to fight the war to conquer the Qiang people, Ma Chao felt that his chance had come.

Given his size, it would be difficult for him to defeat the majority of the Qiang people, so wouldn't it be easy for him to capture those small tribes in the mountains?
But he also felt that the current degree of sinicization of the Eastern Qiang was high. Unlike the raw Qiang and chaotic Qiang in Liangzhou, these skilled Qiang were very likely to surrender and submit to Black Bear.

The fragmented terrain made the size of these Qiang tribes small.

Besides the Qiang people, there were also settlements of Han people in the mountains, and they lived together peacefully before, and no one could do anything to anyone.

But now, with the Zhenbei Army taking sides, the Shu Qiang and Han border residents are checking and balancing each other. If you don't want to die, you have to bow your head.

As for the Han people living on the border, their situation is not much better now. They have been leading a lawless life for two or three generations, living next to the Qiang people and have become seriously assimilated to the barbarians.

Ma Chao thought about it again and again and felt that he was confident that he could handle this problem.

So he said to his sister, "I will go to look for my father in the next few days."

Unexpectedly, Ma Yun said, "Brother, you may as well wait in Lantian. If my sister and I cannot persuade my husband, we will not burden our father."

Ma Chao nodded and asked, "What is the origin of this lady from Hebei?"

Ma Yun shook her head: "I only know that she is from Hebei, but I don't know her surname or given name. She and her husband have a tacit understanding. Her husband doesn't call her by her name, and she only calls him Langjun."

Ma Chao frowned and asked again, "What is the nickname of Hei Zhenbei?"

"I don't know. Judging from my husband's words and actions, he doesn't shy away from the word black bear."

Ma Yun whispered, not forgetting to warn: "Brother, don't ask about this kind of thing anymore."

Ma Chao nodded seriously and drank some tea. At this time, a maid brought a box of cakes, a basket of oranges and persimmons. Ma Chao picked up a persimmon, wiped it, and squeezed it.

He bit the hole and started to suck it. He took a few sips and then ate it in two bites. He spat out three flat seeds into his hand and continued, "I'm just curious. Countless people in Xudu have been trying to find out about his origins. Many people think I know the inside story, but I have no way of knowing."

As he said this, he could not help but sigh. He was already following the path of Shizhong Geng Ji to build up momentum for his career in government.

However, the speculations of the officials and people of Xudu about the black bear's origin were like a huge hammer hitting Ma Chao on the top of his head.

No matter how much you try to deceive yourself, you can no longer deceive yourself.

He would never be able to gain the trust of Xudu, so it would be dignified for him to leave early.

If he was really involved in some vortex and was caught and thrown into jail, not only would he suffer, but Black Bear and Ma Teng would have to mediate and redeem him.

Rather than losing someone bigger later, it’s better to leave early.

Xu Du is like this. There is no need to look at the likes of Hebei, Jiangdong, Qingxu Zang Ba, and Huainan Liu Fu who are weaker than Xu Du.

The situation in Jingzhou was similar, especially Liu Bei, who was extremely poor and had to fight against Cao Cao.

Ma Chao really couldn't understand Liu Bei. He was an outsider, and with a brother-in-law like Black Bear, who would dare to trust and use him?

The world is so big, he really has nowhere to go.

I was forced to run back just to ask my sister about the black bear's little secret, but it turned out that my sister didn't know it.

After hearing this, Ma Chao became more certain: "He is indeed a well-dressed descendant."

Ma Yun also nodded, but did not speak.

Outsiders thought that the brother and sister should know Black Bear’s origin, but they didn’t know, which meant that there was a group of people hiding behind Black Bear.

If their identities were exposed, this group of people would all die suddenly.

What does this mean?
This means that some of these people may be around Cao Cao!

Ma Chao analyzed secretly and felt more and more that his decision was right.

Only by returning to Guanzhong could he take control of the military power, avenge his mother, wife and children, and prove himself to the world.

Now thinking back, I was able to travel around Xu Du and escape with Kong Rong and his family, it must have been with the help of people around Cao Cao.

Maybe there is a secret message for Black Bear hidden in the team, so this trip to Kanto is not in vain.

Also, this time he came to see his sister, it was inferred that there was a close relative of Black Bear hiding around Cao Cao. This information was very important.

In the future, Yuan and Cao put aside their past grudges and join forces to attack, and Black Bear suddenly punches Cao Cao's head off... This should be very normal.

With a brave general like Taishi Wengong, we just need to seize the opportunity when Cao Cao is traveling light.

Not to mention one Cao Cao, even ten of them could be hacked to death by Taishi Wengong.

The information obtained from Ma Yun was so important that it was enough to strengthen Ma Chao's wavering belief.

If I can't get Black Bear's forgiveness and understanding, and bring such important news back to Cao Cao...

This thought flashed through his mind and was rejected by Ma Chao.

His unique advantage is that he dares to lead by example, which will be a huge disadvantage in front of Tai Shi Wen Gong.

Black Bear and Taishi Wengong naturally restrain Ma Chao.

If he goes against the black bear, he will be defeated again and again and will have no chance of winning.

Only by standing here with Black Bear and fighting others, facing his bravery in battle, can he suppress most of the enemies.

(End of this chapter)