Chapter 36: The "Gift" of the Wumeng People

  At Mid-Autumn Festival, a bright red gift from the great alliance dazzled the eyes of Fifteen Lang, evoking a hundred emotions, leaving him speechless with gratitude, only able to thank. Bowing head!!!

  Thanks for the Mid-Autumn Festival red envelopes from book friends "Zhao Wu Xu 2014", "140404150524739" and "Evil Wolf Star"!

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  At the end of July, Ma Hu led his troops across the Gu River, passed through the Great Wall, and advanced north along the Yanshan Mountains, about to return to Hanggou Village.

  Compared to when they left, the team had not decreased in number but instead increased by three people, Tian Yu and his two attendants. The current Tian Yu was vastly different from how he dressed in Ning County: he wore a military helmet, red tassels tied under his chin, a brown leather short armor, a long knife at his waist, and a quiver with arrows and a short bow inserted behind his saddle. He looked quite majestic, a far cry from the refined and elegant appearance he had when they first met in Ning County.

  Tian Yu's family was not wealthy, and he came from a humble background. This set of valuable armor and horse equipment was half awarded by Xing Ju and half given by his fellow villagers such as Wu Mingda. Ma Han and Yan Shi brothers wanted to give him money and goods to make their farewell more impressive, but Tian Yu firmly refused. In history, Tian Yu had the reputation of "not accepting gold in his bosom", this good character was already formed when he was a young man.

  Yan brothers and their entourage led the way, Wu Zhui led twenty Han cavalrymen in the middle, escorting various tribal supplies that were purchased during this trip to the pass, which was also one of the main purposes of their journey. Ma Xun followed behind Tian Yu, occasionally chatting with him, every time they traveled a certain distance, he would lead several riders out to observe the terrain, then use charcoal to draw on a piece of sheepskin paper. From time to time, he took out the map obtained from Yuan Shao for comparison.

  Tian Yu was also very interested in this and occasionally joined in, pointing and nodding frequently.

  Yan Zhi gazed at him and sighed, "A general must understand the timing of heaven, the geography of the land, and the hearts of men. This commander of the Ma family already has some qualities of a good general."

  Yan Rou's eyes flashed: "Not accepting the protection of Wu Maru's cavalry, but instead willing to be a shield, using his troops to resist the Hu barbarians. This man's ambition is not small!"

  Yan Zhi was somewhat worried and asked: "In this case, should we still form an alliance with them?"

  "Form an alliance! Why not?" Yan replied succinctly, with a hint of mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth. "Now that the Han Gou department has been protected by the Wuhuan school lieutenant, the Xianbei people are also afraid of it, and the Wuhuan people dare not provoke it easily. Such a newly rising department like the sun at dawn, how can we not form a good relationship with it?"

  Proceeding further forward, it was Baitan. At this time, a scout from the front line rushed back on horseback to report: "There are two Wuhuan people who want to see General Ma."

  It was said that they were Wuhuan people, and since this place is close to Youbeiping, Ma Xian ordered the cavalry to surround and protect the supplies and vehicles, then took Wu Zhuo and three others to pursue them. Tian Yu and the Yan brothers naturally couldn't just sit back and watch, so they went together as well.

  Ma Xian, Tian Yu, Yan Shi brothers and Wu Zhuo etc. went ahead for a few miles, saw two Ulan people riding horses standing quietly, as soon as they saw Ma Xian and others, they shouted: "Which one is the commander of the Han Gemo department?"

  Ma Xiu rode out alone: "It is I."

  Wu Wan people subconsciously pulled the horse back two steps, hoarse voice said: "We are Wu Wan adults trample Teng's account riding guards, obeying the command of Trample Teng adults, here to wait respectfully. Adults invite Ma department commander to go to Xiao Zhishan below meeting, have a thick gift to give, please Ma department commander must fulfill."

  Omaru-sama, what's wrong?!

  Whether it was Tian Yu or the Yan brothers, they all showed a shocked expression.

  Wu Zhui also patted the horse and approached, telling Ma Xun in a low voice: "Dadan was the nephew of Wudai's uncle Churu. After Churu died, he left a son named Luban, who should have succeeded him, but at that time he was still young and feared that it would be difficult to convince the people, so his cousin, namely this Dadan, temporarily took over. Now Dadan is in charge of the three counties of Wudai on behalf of Luban, although not called Chanyu, but actually like Chanyu."

  Ma Xian has been out of the pass for some time and has a certain understanding of the situation with Wuhuan and Xianbei. He knows that Qiu Liju once led three counties of Wuhuan, including Khan Ru Wang Wuyan and King Suo Bonyan, who all listened to his dispatches. This man was called a hero in the late Han Dynasty during the Zhongping period, and even Gongsun Zan suffered greatly at his hands, being besieged in Guanzicheng for over 200 days and almost captured alive. Later, he also rebelled with Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju, killing the previous protector of Wuhuan, and was a headache for the Han Dynasty border generals. Tadun is his nephew, who took over Qiu Liju's rule over the three counties of Wuhuan, and can be called the king of kings, but does not dare to call himself Chanyu without the Han court's edict.

  The Wuhuan people have a real but nameless Khan, who has come all the way from the location of the Wuhuan king's tent in western Liaoning to this place, what does he want to do? Does he want to lead an army and ask for punishment, or take the lead for the Wuyan department?

  This question is not just puzzling Ma Xun, Tian Yu and Yan Shi brothers also want to know.

  "Trample, huh? This ID... this name seems familiar, looks like it's also a person who can get on stage." Ma Hong turned his head to Tian Yu and Yan Shi brothers, "How about it, are you willing to follow me for a while?"

  Yu smiled faintly: "Yu was originally sent by the Han to serve in the Huo department, wherever Xiong brother went, Yu should naturally follow."

  Yan Rou smiled: "Lord Duan, it's been years since we last met. It's a pleasure to see you now, and the timing couldn't be better."

  Ma Xianlang burst out laughing, his long whip pointing: "Xiao Zhishan, this is the land of Han Ge's department, who cares about what kind of big shot? Once you enter my territory, dragons must coil up, tigers must lie down, and kings must kowtow!"

  ……

  Under the small hill, Wu Wan had more than 300 cavalrymen, surrounding a semicircle. In the center, under the large flag with flowing streamers, people's shadows were vague. Dozens of patrolling cavalrymen kept circling around, guarding very strictly.

  Ma Huan saw the "thick gift" that Douton had spoken of: about a hundred or more escaped slaves, over 70% of whom were Han slaves. At this moment, these escaped slaves were chopping down trees and digging holes under the supervision of the Wuhuan people. Ma Huan was somewhat puzzled - what was this Wuhuan lord trying to do? The sky was still early, although there were dark clouds rolling in on the horizon, but if they hurried back home, they could still make it in time to collect their clothes, couldn't he just set up camp here instead?

  The Yan brothers had already come forward to pay their respects and responded to the inquiry. After a while, under the leadership of the Yan brothers, dozens of riders came over in front of them. The leader was a 25 or 26-year-old Wuman youth, dressed in luxurious clothes, with a white feather on his hat, not tall, but strong and sturdy, with unusually long arms, and his hair and beard were erect, like a male lion; His facial features looked quite rough, but his eyes were so fine that they couldn't be seen, and he often narrowed them, giving people a gloomy feeling.

  Ma Xun knew that this was Wuwan's king, Dutou. What impressed him the most was Dutou's pair of thick and long arms like an ape, which were the symbol of a strong archer.

  He stared at Muhan for a long time, his eyes flashing with surprise and suspicion. After a while, he slowly opened his mouth and said: "With one against two, you killed the Hei Lian brothers, and with 200 cavalry, you defeated the Wuyan Department's 500 riders. You are worthy of being called a brave warrior. The Wuhuan people do not distinguish between friends and enemies, but only respect brave warriors. Therefore, I, the great Wuhuan general Sui Dun, want to give a gift to the brave warrior - look, this is my gift, which I have 'collected' along the way. They are all escaped slaves who fled from various departments in the name of Muhan Ke. In the past, when I caught escaped slaves, I would brutally torture them to death. But now, I will give them a chance to survive and fulfill their wishes. If you can accept a challenge, I will release all these escaped slaves and restrain my people from seeking revenge against you. How about it?"

  Ma Xun's sharp eyes stared at Doudan, his voice cold and stern: "Are you here to challenge me alone, or are you going to bring a group of people to challenge me?"

  Dun's eyes narrowed habitually, and he smiled gloomily: "What you want to challenge is not a person, but..." With a sudden wave of his hand, the wooden gate of the stockade, which had been tightly closed in a circle, swung open, and several Wuman cavalrymen rushed into the stockade, drawing their sabers and axes, and hacking at a cart covered with black cloth. In just two or three strokes, the coarse ropes binding the black cloth were cut off by the sharp blades, the black cloth fell to the ground, revealing the object inside the cart...

  "A deafening roar shook heaven and earth, stunning both men and horses."

  "...the real Ursa Major!"