Chapter 805: Beheading


Chapter 805: Investiture

When Ma Chao passed this place, he saw a man wearing Guizhou cloth with a sword across his neck. He sighed:

"Am I, Yuan Shao, going to die here?"

He was so excited that this time Ma Chao finally caught up.

This time, he, Ma Chao, wants to get back everything he lost.

But why is there an eyesore?

At this time, Ma Chao stared intently at the defeated soldier of the Bohai Navy. Seeing how slovenly he looked, he thought he was just a thief.

So, Ma Chao waved his hand and asked his men to deal with this person.

But at this moment, the defeated soldier of Bohai suddenly put away his sword and kowtowed, saying sadly:

"I don't know which captain is in front of me, but he is General Lu Ning of the Bohai Navy's Zuoying Qiantun Team."

The few warriors around Ma Chao had already half-drawn their swords, but they suddenly heard that the slovenly man opposite was from the Bohai Navy, and they stopped immediately.

At this moment, Ma Chao's face was also very ugly.

He thought Yuan Shao had been captured by the Bohai Navy.

Although he had also heard that the Bohai Navy was defeated in the Battle of Wan'an Mountain, it was said that several battalions had withdrawn. Perhaps the man in front of him was one of those battalions.

If the person in front of him is really a Bohai soldier, then he must not take the credit.

Although there are many of them here, it is precisely because of the large number of people that they speak mixed words.

No one can guarantee that this effort to gain credit can be concealed, and once it is leaked, Ma Chao will definitely die a miserable death based on his understanding of the king.

Ma Chao is a proud man. He has a full understanding of his own force and the value of this force in this troubled world.

But precisely because of his obsession with force, Ma Chao was even more afraid of Zhang Chong.

He will always remember the scene of Lu Bu dying in front of the king. The peerless warrior who defeated him with just one blow was hammered to death by the king.

Therefore, Ma Chao did not dare to disobey Zhang Chong at all.

But...

He really wanted this credit.

Just when Ma Chao was uncertain, Ma Dai next to him noticed something was wrong.

He looked at the Bohai soldier carefully, and then scanned the surroundings in the firelight. He saw more than ten corpses parked on the ground. They looked like a group of hunters.

So, Ma Dai said:

"You are a deserter."

The kneeling Bohai soldier visibly stiffened. He raised his head, tried to smile, and tried to defend himself.

But thinking about how he was dressed and seeing the corpses lying around him, he knew that it was useless to argue.

Hey, that's all, just leave all this great work to this captain. As long as he can return to the army and not be a lonely ghost, it will be fine.

It was an injustice to say that he himself was not willing to desert. Not that the Bohai Navy suffered a heavy blow that day, the entire army collapsed, and the retreat was cut off by the Yuan family. They were unwilling to surrender to Yuan's army, so they had no choice but to flee into the mountains and forests.

But where is Bohai County? It was a coastal area with a long coastline, but there were no forests.

Therefore, these Bohai soldiers have no experience in surviving in the mountains and forests.

I don’t know how many brothers Paoze were bitten to death by snakes on the first night, and some were even poisoned to death after just eating a few mushrooms.

For people like them, the mountains and forests are simply more terrifying than the enemy's swords.

Therefore, these defeated soldiers could only seek refuge with the hunters wandering in the mountains and forests, and hunted around the battlefield to eat scraps.

The hunters also shunned their defeated troops. For example, the leader of this small team could obviously take a few more of his robes, but he let them kill themselves.

He also understood the reason behind this. He was just worried that these defeated soldiers with martial arts would unite and threaten that man's status.

Later, some of Yuan Jun's defeated soldiers also joined in one after another, and they even competed with these defeated soldiers of the Bohai Sea.

All in all, during this period of time, these defeated soldiers had endured the hardships of life, and they also clearly realized that without the Taishan Army, they were nothing.

As a result, the Bohai soldiers were even more anxious to return to Jian.

And he doesn't think this is a difficult task, because there are also such examples in the military. It is inevitable that many people will disappear on the battlefield. Some are injured and left for treatment at the local area, and some just deserted halfway.

It is difficult to distinguish these above. On the contrary, the final sentence is qualitative:

"Take the initiative to return to the construction."

Therefore, the Taishan Army is still very generous in this regard.

Of course, the prerequisite is that someone disappears during the battle.

Thinking of this, the Bohai soldier simply nodded in agreement.

But at the moment he nodded, a white chain was pulled over, and then the man's head flew out, and the blood gushing out of his neck directly sprayed Yuan Shao's face.

Yuan Shao was stunned. He licked his lips subconsciously, then froze and did not dare to move.

This, this, these soldiers of the Taishan Army are all tigers and wolves? Killing talent like this?

Ma Chao, who had finished killing the people over there, flicked the Huanshou knife away.

It was not enough for the blood droplets on the knife to splash on Yuan Shao's body. Ma Chao also pressed the ring-shou knife on Yuan Shao's clothes and wiped it until Yuan Shao's legs trembled before Ma Chao stopped the knife.

He clicked his tongue, glanced at the body of the Bohai soldier lying on the ground, and said to the people behind him:

"What is the identity of this defeated soldier? Do you still want to bargain with me? I will march for the Bohai Navy first."

The warriors behind him were silent.

Of course they understood what Ma Chao really meant. To be honest, they didn't dare to get involved in this matter, and they didn't dare to say anything.

After all, it is a matter of choice whether this Bohai soldier is a deserter or not.

When Ma Chao saw that everyone was silent, he felt irritable. Of course he understood that there were hidden dangers in doing this, but he had no choice but to tolerate his merits being tarnished by a deserter.

From now on, people will say that Ma Chao captured Yuan Shao all because he gave up the credit to a deserter, so where is Ma Chao's face?

If that's the case, he, Ma Chao, might as well not want this military merit.

After all, he, Ma Chao, is a proud man.

But now, if this person is executed directly on the spot, no matter who asks, Ma Chao will have something to say.

After fiddling with these thoughts, Ma Chao could finally take a good look at Yuan Shao.

This was his first time meeting Yuan Shao.

It is said that his father, who retired prematurely, met Yuan Shao once in the past, but at that time Ma Teng was stepping outside the door like a follower, while Yuan Shao was talking loudly with a group of party bosses in the hall.

So, who can predict the fate of life with certainty?

Just when Ma Chao was about to tie up Yuan Shao and rush back, Ma Dai stopped him.

Ma Dai pulled Ma Chao aside and whispered:

"Brother, after all, what happened just now is not easy to deal with. Those who came with us are all our own people. Even if we don't support it, we won't take the initiative to talk about it. But this is not necessarily the case for Yuan Shaoke."
< br>

Ma Chao's face darkened when he said this, and he scolded him in a low voice:

"What did you say? I am upright and upright, so what's the secret?"

That's what Ma Chao said, but the frown on his brows showed that he had listened to Ma Dai's words.

At this time, Ma Dai added another sentence:

"The king may also hope for this ending." Ma Chao thought deeply, fiddling with the laces on his pocket, hesitating.

Yuan Shao over there seemed to understand something and suddenly shouted:

"I, Yuan Shao, do not deserve to die. If you let me go, I will be rewarded generously."

Ma Chao was stunned for a moment and turned to look back.

Yuan Shao's eyes were bright and he said to Ma Chao:

"Are you Ma Chao, the son of Ma Teng? Good man, if I were here, you and other warriors would have glory and wealth. If I were not here, how did Emperor Gaozu treat the heroes back then?"

In fact, there is a big misunderstanding here, that is, Emperor Gaozu was actually very kind to his heroes. He made a lot of marquises and granted hundreds of marquises at one time, and they all had their own towns.

It was only because of his harsh treatment of several rebel kings and Han Xin that the world thought Gaozu was mean and ungrateful.

Although the Ma family is said to have some origins, in fact, the earliest family education can only be traced back to Ma Tong during the Emperor Wu period, and Ma Tong started his career during the suppression of witchcraft, so there is no appropriate description of the achievements of the previous three dynasties. know.

So Ma Chao, like ordinary people, really listened to Yuan Shao's words.

Seeing that Ma Chao was a little loose, Yuan Shao increased the pressure again:

"Ma, warriors are not all about fighting and killing, they also have to be humane. Today I am defeated, but as long as you let me go, who can say for sure what will happen in the future? Not only that, as long as I go back, I will use Gold as high as my body is given to you, this is my ransom.”

Ma Chao was silent, but Ma Dai beside him was anxious. He understood his brother's temper all too well.

In terms of martial prowess and stamina, he is indeed unparalleled in the world, but he has soft ears, is easily moved by emotions, and is often impulsive.

So Ma Dai didn't give Ma Chao any time to think, he just drew his bow and arrow and shot an arrow at Yuan Shao.

Because of his panic, Ma Dai's first shot even missed. The shot that should have been right in the center of the body missed his thigh.

Yuan Shao was hit by an arrow in the thigh and howled in pain. No longer caring about his dignity, he shouted:

"Don't kill me, I will give you the land of the Ma family."

But this time, Yuan Shao had no chance to say the rest, because an arrow had pierced his heart deeply.

Yuan Shao fell to the ground, his eyes filled with endless unwillingness.

If he had known this ending, he should have been more calm, so that he could preserve the dignity of the Yuan family.

Watching Yuan Shao fall to the ground, Ma Dai, who finished shooting the arrow, tried to control his trembling hands and calm his panic.

After all, no matter how hard he studies, he will never be able to become a person like his elder brother. His elder brother can kill the emperor without changing his expression, but he has to shoot an unarmed duke twice.

At this moment, Ma Dai finally heard Ma Chao sigh:

"It's a pity. After all, he is a prince and should not die of blood."

Ma Dai was speechless. Why didn't you say this when you killed the emperor? If he hadn't made a decisive decision, brother, your hesitation would have killed everyone sooner or later.

Perhaps it was at this moment that Ma Dai had an idea in his mind:

"The Ma family will still need me, Ma Dai, to preside over it in the future."

Ma Chao was indeed a little sorry for Yuan Shao's death. It was not the gold that was redeemed for his life, nor the promised land of a county, but he simply felt that if he could directly sacrifice prisoners under the king's tent, they would definitely be first-class. A heroic deed.

But unfortunately, just as he hesitated for a moment, Yuan Shao was killed by Ma Dai.

Forget it, just kill it.

After thinking about it, he walked up to Yuan Shao, chopped off Yuan Shao's head with a knife, then wrapped the head and hung it on the horse's head.

Just like this, before he had to give someone a bloodless death, now he couldn't even leave the whole body for Yuan Shao.

The model of a generation has fallen like this.

If a sincere husband gains it, he will be a king; if he loses it, he will become a prisoner. That's all.

……

On the Dagu Road, there is an endless stream of carriages sent from Yingchuan to Yishui Daying.

Among the crowd, He Da, who was drafted and transferred, was frowning. He had been transferred on Dagu Road for several months since Chen Gong sent his troops to go north.

In the hot summer days, countless people fainted from heat and lay on the roadside without anyone paying attention. Yuan Jundian's farmers and soldiers at the Guanfang Post Station only cared about whether the food and grass were delivered in time and whether the amount was insufficient.

As for Qian Shou Zheng's husband's life, isn't it like dirt, which can be grasped in handfuls?

It was also under this high-intensity campaign that conscripts escaped from time to time along the way. Some of them fled into the mountains and forests, while others were caught up by Yuan soldiers and hanged by the roadside.

Just along Heda Road, he saw no less than a dozen corpses hanging on trees, and the state of death was particularly horrific.

Yuan Jun didn't have many ways to restrain the people, and he didn't have the extra resources to motivate them, so he could only use severe punishment.

On the road, you can see Yuan Bing wandering around everywhere. They are like shepherd dogs, eyeing the people and sheep on the road.

He Da was so worried that he didn't even notice that the straw sandals on his feet were worn out.

Because there are three people missing from their team.

When we set out at 0:00 this morning, three people were missing.

He Da, who was the leader at that time, did not dare to report the matter at all, because more and more people were fleeing during this period, and Yuan Bing had just issued a company order.

If three people like He Da were missing from the team, not only would He Da himself be killed, but his family would also be enslaved.

In this case, He Da spent the entire morning in worry.

But for some unknown reason, Yuan Bing, who used to be fierce in the past, seemed to be absent-minded now, and no one even came to pay attention.

He Da didn't know the reason, but he understood that if he couldn't find the missing three people when they arrived at Dagu Pass, his family would be doomed.

At this time, He Da was really feeling bitter. Just because he had been drafted so many times, those Yuan soldiers forced him to do something wrong.

Not only does he have no convenience at all, but he also has to bear huge responsibilities. If he is not careful, his family will be ruined.

At this moment, his mind was spinning rapidly, and the first thing he thought about was where the three people had escaped.

He Da and his group of conscripts were all from the countryside in Yingchuan, and few of them knew Dao, so those three people probably went home.

It’s not about how safe it is to go home, but when people are desperate, they will subconsciously go to places they are familiar with.

For these people, the only thing they are familiar with is their hometown.

Therefore, He Da's first idea was to ask the leader of the team behind him to cover his shortcomings, and then he would run back to persuade the three people to come back.

After all, although the transfer will be exhausting, the family cannot be harmed.

Just when He Da was thinking about this, there was a faint commotion in front of him.

I saw some Yuan soldiers who were supposed to be on duty suddenly rushed into the baggage train and started looting.

Even these rebels did not dare to plunder for long, before they scattered and fled with rice bags on their backs.

Seeing the chaos spreading, He Dafu suddenly felt at home and shouted to the team:

"Everyone, run away!"

After saying that, the conscripts dispersed in a hurry.

It was not until much later that He Da heard that in the commotion that day, Duke Chen's head was spread to all directions.

Chen Gong, who was like a pillar in the sky, collapsed.

There is no peace in the Central Plains anymore.

Previous Details Next