Taihu Lake is particularly quiet at night, with a gentle breeze and a constant wave of water. The rising moon casts reflections on the water surface. The water and sky are the same color, and the moon competes for brightness.

"It's really alike to Gebi."

"Better than Gebi." Sun Ce hugged Yuan Quan's slender waist, walked forward slowly. "You choose a place and build an identical water pavilion here in the beginning of spring next year, and you all live here."

Yuan Quan said quietly: "If everyone lives here, it would not be enough to be exactly the same as Gebi, at least twice as big as that of Gebi."

Sun Ce smiled and said, "Don't forget that the beauty of Baiyu was advised by me. It's boring to say sour words now."

"Can I regret it? I originally thought I wouldn't mind, but when I heard the news..." Yuan Quan sighed. "I overestimated my virtue."

Sun Ce chuckled twice. "It's too late to regret." He hugged Yuan Quan tightly and said, "Don't leave me in the future. Follow me every day, I will have no intention of thinking about anything else."

Yuan Quan also smiled. "What's the use of following you? You can't have both fish and bear's paws. Since you hope you can win the world, how can you interfere with me because of my own selfishness? Besides, there are already six people, what's the difference between six more people? I don't want to be hated. Thousands of people are criticized and die without illness. The curse of a woman is even more sinister. I want to live a few more years."

Sun Ce laughed. "I didn't expect you to be afraid of this."

"Aren't you afraid?"

Sun Ce thought for a while. "I'm not afraid. If I were afraid, I wouldn't be today. A poor martial artist can get to this point. No matter how outstanding I am, there will be more than a thousand people who scold me. If the dynasty changes in the future, there will probably be tens of thousands of people who scold me." He laughed again. "Didn't you hear people scold me when you go to Jizhou? I defeated Yuan Shao, and I don't know how many people's dreams have broken. They won't scold me?"

"Although I didn't hear it, I think there are some." Yuan Quan sighed and patted Sun Ce's arm gently. "But there are more people who praise you, especially the survivors of the epidemic last year. They want to build a temple for you."

"What did your uncle say? In your letter, he said that he cursed Cai Yan when he saw the "Shi Lun" and said that this time he met was not as serious as you said."

"So he is not a stubborn person. As long as he is given time, he will support you."

"You have been talking a lot, right?"

"I don't have to worry about it, the facts can speak." Yuan Quan slowly relaxed his body and snuggled up to Sun Ce's chest.

——

Ma Chao turned over and dismounted the horse, threw the reins to the attendant knight, strode into the door, walked through the front yard, and came to the atrium.

Ma Teng was standing in the corridor watching Ma Dai and Ma Xiu play together. Ma Yunlu held his younger brother Ma Tie's hand and stood aside. Seeing Ma Chao come in, everyone was surprised and surrounded him. Ma Chao rushed to Ma Teng, met him on a weekly basis, and said loudly: "Aweng, I'm back."

Ma Teng looked at Ma Chao and nodded with satisfaction. After a few years of not seeing each other, Ma Chao has grown half a head taller and stronger, with a little more calm between his eyebrows and eyes. "Have you encountered trouble? Why did you come back so long?"

Ma Chao laughed. After saying goodbye to Sun Ce, he rushed to Nanyang, received 1,200 sets of weapons from Nanyang, and personally escorted them to Wuguan and handed them to Xu Shu himself, and then rushed back to Guanzhong. This matter was of great importance, and he dared not leave it to anyone, so he could only rush back and forth by himself. Before that, he did not dare to send anyone to deliver a letter to Ma Teng.

"Aweng, General Sun and I have done a business."

"What business?" Hearing the word "business", Ma Teng immediately became energetic.

"One thousand two hundred cavalry ordnances, fifty sets of horse armor."

"So many? And horse armor?" Ma Teng was surprised and happy. Since he watched the armor training in Hansui Camp, he has been full of desire for the horse armor produced in Nanyang. Liangzhou also has horse armor, but Liangzhou's iron smelting technology is too poor, and horse armor is very bulky. If you want to achieve the protective effect of Nanyang horse armor, your weight must be increased by at least one third. Don't underestimate these thirds, as it will have a significant impact on the speed and endurance of the war horses.

"What conditions did you agree to him?" Ma Yunlu said.

"Uh..." Ma Chao smiled all over his face. "Girl, I promise you a good marriage."

Ma Yunlu looked at Ma Chao with disgust. "I knew it wasn't that cheap. You really know how to do business and even your sister is willing to sell it."

"Yunlu!" Ma Teng stopped Ma Yunlu. "These weapons are very important to our Ma family, and your brother has no choice but to do so. Besides, Sun Bofu's young hero, you can marry him, even though he is a concubine, it is not bad."

Ma Yunlu snorted, turned around and left. Ma Chao quickly called her. "Aweng, you misunderstood. You didn't marry General Sun as a concubine, but Ling Ming as a wife. How could my daughter of the Ma family be a concubine? If this is heard by Uncle Han, wouldn't she be laughed at by Uncle Han?"

"Ling Ming?" Ma Teng lowered his face. "What the hell is going on?"

Ma Chao did not dare to neglect and quickly explained the whole story. He thought of the words on the way, and now he said it was reasonable and clear. Letting Pang De stayed is to maintain contact with Sun Ce. Yan Xing stayed under Sun Ce and is now stationed in Luoyang. If Pang De is not kept, Sun Ce will definitely be closer to Han Sui in the future. Marrying Ma Yunlu to Pang De was also the result of his careful consideration. On the one hand, he couldn't bear to let Ma Yunlu be a concubine, and on the other hand, it was to win over Pang De, otherwise Pang De might have really become Sun Ce's person. In this way, Pang De became the son-in-law of the Ma family, and his identity was enough to be comparable to Yan Xing, which was enough to prove the sincerity of the Ma family.

Ma Chao explained it all, and Ma Teng couldn't help but believe it. Even Ma Yunlu had to admit that he had some truth. Ma Teng turned anger into joy, feeling that Ma Chao had not only practiced martial arts but also brought back a large amount of military equipment for a few years under Sun Ce's command, but also significantly improved his wisdom. This arrangement was considered very thoughtful, maintaining the balance with Han Sui, but not letting Han Sui feel threatened.

The next thing was simple. I sent Ma Yunlu to marry, and raised 500 high-quality war horses as dowry, and went to Wuguan to exchange for weapons. The war horses were ready-made, and there were spares in Ma Teng camp, but there were not so many high-quality war horses, so I had to send people to Liangzhou to buy them urgently. Fortunately, Ma Chao and Sun Ce had another deal, with the replaced weapons in hand, so I would not worry about the refusal of the Qiang leader.

Ma Chao struck while the iron was hot and told him about his plan to go to Wudu. Ma Teng was very satisfied after hearing this, and he felt more and more that Ma Chao was knowledgeable. Although Liangzhou is large, the place where the Ma family can gain a foothold is very limited. Wudu and Longxi are considered a good choice. This alone is enough to prove that Ma Chao's strategy has made great progress. When Ma Chao returns, he can finally compete with Han Sui in the future, and there is no need to listen to Han Sui for everything.

Even so, Ma Teng did not dare to underestimate Han Sui's opinion, and then took Ma Chao to visit Han Sui. Han Sui was mentally prepared and praised Ma Chao's plan. He also agreed to recommend Ma Chao as the prefect of Longxi or Wudu when the opportunity was right.

Ma Teng immediately took Ma Chao to see the emperor and informed the emperor of the situation. So many high-quality war horses must obtain permission from the court when they leave the pass.

——

The emperor sat in the hall, listened to the Langguan's report, looked at Liu Ye. Liu Ye understood and immediately reported the relevant situation. He had received relevant news and knew that Ma Chao had left Nanyang and rushed to Wuguan with dozens of vehicles of weapons. His personal guard Pang De replaced him and became Sun Ce's righteous cavalry general.

"So, although Ma Chao is back, the contact between Ma Teng and Sun Ce has not been cut off?"

"Not only will it not be cut off, but it will be stronger." Liu Ye was very calm. "Your Majesty doesn't have to worry. They are just profits, and they will be divided by the end of their profits. Moreover, Ma Chao was brave and fought with Sun Ce for a long time. He is most familiar with Sun Ce's tactics. It can be found during the Western Expedition in the future, so Your Majesty should win over it."

The emperor exclaimed and smiled bitterly: "Ziyang, I will pacify Liangzhou in the future. This Liangzhou is also the Liangzhou of Liangzhou, not my Liangzhou."

"Your Majesty said so much, not only Liangzhou, but even the world. The world is the world of the world, not the world of Your Majesty. Only when the king and his ministers work together and each perform their duties can they revive the Han Dynasty. Your Majesty's expedition to the west and determine life and death in an instant. Who else can you rely on without relying on a brave man like Ma Chao? It is rare for Sun Ce to treat Ma Chao well and Ma Chao is willing to return to Guanzhong. Your Majesty should not be harsh on you."

The emperor raised his eyelids and looked at Liu Ye, a little surprised. Liu Ye’s remarks today were very sharp. He tilted his mouth and chuckled softly, “Does Ziyang think I usually blame my subordinates?”

Liu Ye left the seat and bowed again. "I am guilty of death. Your Majesty, I am not saying that Your Majesty is harsh on me, but I want to remind Your Majesty that Liangzhou is a border-sweet place, with simple folk customs and insufficient culture. After all, there are a few people like Huangfu Taiwei, and there are many people who meet with swords and swords when they are disagreeable. Your Majesty cannot learn from Emperor Guangwu when they get along with them, but should learn from Emperor Gao, otherwise there will be a disadvantage of being round and square, which will increase the danger without reason."

The emperor thought. "Ziyang's reminder was reasonable, but I misunderstood. Then tell me, how should I win over Ma Chao?"

"First summon their father and son, comfort them with kind words, and ask more about their achievements..."

Liu Ye explained carefully. The emperor listened very seriously, so he sent someone to invite Ma Teng, Ma Chao and his son to the palace. It took not long, Ma Teng and Ma Chao entered the palace and rushed forward. Ma Teng was very comfortable. Ma Chao looked a little awkward and his steps were not steady enough. If he was not careful, he would catch up with Ma Teng. After discovering it, he quickly slowed down and looked a little embarrassed.

The emperor smiled slightly, waited for Ma Teng, and Ma Chao finished his tribute and said in harmony: "The two beloved ministers are flat."

"Yes!" Ma Teng responded loudly.

"Here...wei!" Ma Chao blushed and quickly kowtowed and apologized.

The emperor smiled, waved his hand, and signaled Ma Chao not to be restrained. He stared at Ma Chao for a while, and smiled and said, "I have heard that you are handsome and have outstanding martial arts skills. You are no less than that of General Sun Ce of Zhenbei and General Zhou Yu of Zhennan. When you see him today, the rumors are true."

Ma Chao was a little embarrassed. The emperor compared him with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. He was under great pressure and was a little dissatisfied. He was average in age and his martial arts were not bad. Why did they have one of them generals Zhennan and the other one of them generals Zhenbei and they were all named Marquis, but I could only be a cavalry general for Sun Ce?

The emperor saw Ma Chao's embarrassment and smiled slightly. "You work hard and you will be appointed as a marquis and generals in the future. You will not be ashamed of them."
Chapter completed!