Insufficient balance

  In Beiyang County, 20 miles north of Yuanyang County, there is a village called Zoujia Village. The surname Zou is a well-known and respected clan in the local area, although they have not produced any high-ranking officials, they still hold significant influence within the Nan Yang region.

  In 184, Yingchuan, Runan, Nanyang and Qingzhou suffered severe drought and locust plague, the people had no harvest and lost their livelihood. Zhang Jiao, an old Daoist, raised his flag to start a rebellion, the bandit forces quickly spread out, and the whole country responded together. The imperial court's expedition was powerless, so it issued an edict to recruit righteous and brave soldiers from all counties in the 13 states of the Great Han Dynasty to suppress the rebels.

  When the imperial edict arrived at Yuyang, the Zou family, who was threatened by the Yellow Turbans of Nanyang, immediately sprang into action. They raised funds and organized a militia force of 800 men, with Zou Jing, a man of both literary and military talents, as their leader. This Zou Jing was a rare young talent in the local area, who had been recommended as a Filial and Incorrupt official at a young age and served as a Langguan (a low-ranking official) in the imperial court. After the Yellow Turbans' rebellion broke out, he was appointed by Liu Yan, the Governor of Youzhou, to serve as the County Magistrate of Yuyang.

  After becoming the leader of the Righteous Army, Zou Jing intensified his training on one hand and maintained close contact with Qin Jie, the governor of Nanyang, preparing to attack the Yellow Turbans at any moment.

  Yesterday at noon, Qin Ming sent an urgent letter to Zou Jing, asking him to go to Jiuyang for a meeting. Zou Jing knew that the opportunity to attack the Yellow Turbans had finally arrived, and immediately set off with 500 brave soldiers towards Jiuyang. The remaining 300 brave soldiers were left in the care of his younger sister, Zou Yumao, who was responsible for training and assisting in the defense of the city. Zou Yumao was only seventeen years old, but she was a remarkable person, with martial arts skills far surpassing those of her brother. With her silver spear, she could take down dozens of strong men, and no one dared to approach her.

  That morning, Zou Yuniang led 300 righteous and brave soldiers to the training ground outside the city for drills. Just as they arrived at the city gate, they saw Ding Laosan, the officer in charge of guarding the gate, running into the city panting and looking flustered, as if something had happened.

  ……

  Ma Jue, carrying Chen Le on his back and leading Chen Gan, hid and walked in the mountains for a whole day and two nights. Finally, at dawn on the third day, they arrived outside Yucheng City. Seeing the bright knives and guns and the strict defense of the government army on the city wall, Ma Jue let out a long sigh of relief. This was already within the government army's sphere of influence, and he no longer had to worry about being caught up by the Yellow Turbans bandits.

  From Yuyang to Hanshou City (now Changde), the seat of the Governor of Jingzhou, were all under government control. And Hanshou City was exactly where Ma Chao intended to go, he planned to find a place to settle down in Hanshou City.

  In Ma Chao's impression, the heroes of the late Han Dynasty rose together, and the world was in great chaos. Except for Jiaozhou, which was far away, Jingzhou seemed to be the most stable. After Zhu Yue wiped out the Huangjin in Nanyang, Changsha, Guilin, and Lingling also had peasant uprisings one after another, but were soon pacified by Sun Jian's army. Later, the court sent a tough character Liu Biao, who governed the seven counties of Jingzhou in an orderly manner.

  It wasn't until Liu Biao's death in 208 AD and the outbreak of the Battle of Red Cliffs that Jing Province began to be embroiled in war, but by then it was already 24 years later. By that time, the Chen brothers had already grown up, and Ma Chao had also fulfilled Chen Shou's entrustment.

  However, once within the government army's sphere of influence, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are safe.

  The scene of being captured by the government army in Bowang County was like it happened yesterday, and the reason for this was simply because Ma Jue picked up a yellow scarf on the road as a waistband, resulting in him being mistaken for a Yellow Turban bandit by the government army. If Liu Bei hadn't accidentally attacked and taken down Bowang, Ma Jue would have become a ghost in the underworld long ago.

  Ma Chao made a final thorough check, ensuring that the three of them no longer had anything on their bodies that could be linked to the Yellow Turbans. Only then did he lead the Chen brothers in a swaggering manner towards the east gate of Yuzhong County. As long as they weren't mistaken for Yellow Turban bandits, Ma Chao didn't think they would have bad luck like last time. It was impossible for anyone here to recognize him; his time in the Yellow Turban army hadn't been long, and he had only been a low-ranking soldier - who would pay attention to such an insignificant foot soldier?

  But in this world, nine out of ten things are not as one wishes.

  As they approached the city gate, Chen Le suddenly tugged on Chen Gan's sleeve and pointed at a banner on top of the city wall, exclaiming: "Brother, look quickly! Isn't that our big brother's portrait?"

  At that time, it was early in the morning, and there were not many people coming and going at the city gate. So Chen Le's shout seemed particularly abrupt, immediately attracting the attention of everyone at the city gate, including the four gatekeepers. They all turned their heads to look at Ma Yue, and when they saw that he indeed looked exactly like the wanted poster, their faces changed in an instant.

  Chen Le shouted, and Ma Jue immediately knew that something was wrong. He turned his head to look at the city wall and suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning! He thought to himself, "Damn it, this is weird! What's going on? He's just a small Yellow Turban bandit with a knife and shield, yet he's become a wanted fugitive with a price on his head! Is it necessary to make such a big deal over a single low-ranking soldier?"

  Ma Yue naturally did not know that three days ago, the Battle of Baidongtan had already left a deep impression on the government army and was regarded by Zhu Yan as a major threat to the Great Han court.

  However, Ma Yue no longer had the opportunity to be disappointed and puzzled, because the four government soldiers at the city gate had already taken action. One of them turned around and ran into the city gate, seemingly to call for reinforcements. The other three scattered and approached Ma Yue with their hands on the hilts of their swords, vigilant. As for the pedestrians, they had already dispersed in a hurry after realizing something was amiss.

  Ma Yue let his shoulders slump and put on a harmless air, a bitter smile floating to the surface of his face. "Three military uncles, this is a misunderstanding," he said. "I'm just a mountain hunter, not the fugitive Ma Yue."

  Three officers did not make a sound, with gloomy faces they thought of turning their horses and fleeing by the back route.

  Ma Chao was secretly worried, knowing that today he would have to take action or else it would be too late. Although he racked his brains and couldn't understand how he had become a wanted fugitive of the imperial court, one thing was clear: if he fell into the hands of the government troops today, even with ten heads on his shoulders, they wouldn't be enough for them to chop off.

  He tossed the bundle of dry grass on his shoulder into the air, and with a flash of lightning, he drew out a shining steel knife from within it, blocking the path of the three government soldiers. Then, he shouted to the Chen brothers, who were staring at him in shock, "Run quickly!"

  "Run quickly, Emperor's decree has been received!"

  As soon as Ma Yue's voice fell, a loud shout came from inside the city gate, followed by chaotic hoofbeats and footsteps. Judging from the sound, there were at least hundreds of people! Ma Yue almost suffocated. Had he made a mistake? That guy had run into the city gate for less than a minute, and so quickly brought over reinforcements, still hundreds of them! Was it even possible to survive?!

  Reinforcements were right behind them, and three government soldiers, with greatly increased courage, immediately drew their steel knives and pounced on Ma Jia like ferocious wolves.

  A wolf-like gaze flashed out of Ma Chao's eyes, as long as there was still a thread of life, he would never surrender.

  "Kill!"

  Ma Yue let out a loud roar, and the steel knife in his hand slashed out horizontally, its sharp blade cutting through the air with a shrill whistling sound. The three government soldiers who were charging at him suddenly changed color and hastily retreated. Ma Yue took advantage of the momentum and did not spare anyone, swinging his steel knife like a mighty wave crashing down, continuously sweeping towards the three government soldiers.

  "When ~~"

  After a clear and crisp sound of clashing steel, Ma Jiao's sword struck the officer's sword with an unbeatable force, sending it flying open despite the officer's full strength, leaving his chest wide open.

  "Get out!"

  Ma Yu's eyes were full of murderous intent, and he chased after him with his knife raised.

  ……

  Inside the city gate, a rider arrived in an instant, and it was indeed Zou Yumao, wearing a white robe and silver armor, holding a silver spear.

  Ma Yue, with a swift and fierce momentum, beheaded the three government soldiers on the spot. Under the radiant sunlight, Ma Yue stood proudly with his sword in hand, his entire body covered in bloodstains, like a killing god from the nine hells of the underworld. Before him, the three government soldiers were already torn into six pieces, their blood splattered within five steps.

  At the sound of horseshoes, Ma Jue's heart skipped a beat and he hastily turned his head. He saw a team of brightly dressed and neatly arranged government soldiers rushing out of the city quickly. The crimson tassels confused Ma Jue's eyes. In front of the government army formation, a snow-white horse was approaching, its icy silver spear already within inches, and the cold killing intent pierced through his face.

  Ma's heart sank to the bottom of the Nine Serenity Valley in an instant, and his last hope was completely extinguished. It was no longer possible to rescue the Chen brothers, and now he had to fight for his own survival.

  "Kill!"

  With a loud neigh, the horse charged forward to meet Zou Yuniang. This was his only chance of survival! To be precise, Zou Yuniang's mount was his last hope for survival. However, soon Ma Yue discovered that he had made an extremely foolish decision. The beautiful and delicate-looking female general was much stronger than he had imagined.