This guy is not Ma Chao

  The summer prairie has a certain charm.

  Especially in the early morning, when the dew on the grass has not yet dissipated and the air still carries a faint scent of grass, I ride my horse slowly outside the city, almost making me forget which era I am in.

  It's been nearly 14 years since I came to this place, and after this summer, it will be the 14th year of my life. To think about it, it's actually quite a long time. After all, in my previous life, I only existed for 24 years.

  However, memories of my past life have not been forgotten with the passage of time. Occasionally in dreams, I still see my mother and brother from my previous life; several times when I woke up early in the morning, I habitually called out to our family's small dog that we had raised for four years - although it was a very cheap mixed-breed dog that could only be sold to a slaughterhouse for tens of dollars, and although it ignored my words, I still habitually called out to it - and afterwards, I burst into tears.

  When I think of my mother, who has been supporting me with hardships for 24 years, suddenly discovering that I have evaporated from the world on that day, I dare not imagine that tragic and crazy scene, but I cannot control myself to think about it.

  Fourteen years after rebirth, other memories may fade away slowly, but the face of my mother becomes clearer and clearer. When my mother in this life died miserably, I really felt as if the sky was falling apart, with only one thought in my mind: I don't have a mom again?! Heaven is so cruel!

  In this backward era, in this remote corner, I often feel lonely.

  Still nostalgic for the past life? Open your eyes to see the cold and empty roof beams, no TV to watch, no internet to access, and no newspapers or magazines to read.

  In the past, I always complained that I couldn't find a game to play. Now, if you give me a copy of Dynasty Warriors 3, I can use my laptop with a 7300 graphics card to beat Lv Bu and Xiao Qiang hundreds of times; If you give me a copy of Romance of the Three Kingdoms 12, I'll play as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lv Bu, Sun Ce, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Gong Sun Zan, Yuan Shu, Liu Zhang, Gong Sun Du, Dong Zhuo, Ma Teng, Gong Sun Guang, Zhang Xiu, Huang Zu, Yan Baihu, Kong Rong, Tao Qian, Yellow Turbans, Liu Zhang, Zhang Lu, and new generals. If I get bored, I'll create a bunch of Wu One Scholars and put them in the city to find fun, I can indulge in it for over a decade.

  In this era of extreme scarcity in both material and spiritual aspects, my life is divided into three main parts: survival - practicing shooting, rest - going to school, and entertainment - riding horses outside the city. The good tradition of writing poetry and essays during adolescence has been largely updated and replaced due to the passage of time, and basically no great works have been published. The only beneficiary is Zhao Cheng, who no longer needs to carry pen and ink to run around with me everywhere.

  I smiled wryly and shook my head, pulling my thoughts out of the miserable memories, and with a slight effort, I tightened my legs around the horse's belly. The fine horse let out a soft whinny, raised its head and galloped forward. Behind me, Ma Dai and Zhao Cheng led the servants in a frantic pursuit on horseback, leaving behind a brief trail of hoof prints on the vast grassland.

  Today, I had an unusually high enthusiasm for horse riding. I rode non-stop all the way, shouting loudly, and my horse ran faster and faster. However, after running for about 30-50 miles, Zhao Cheng urged me to return five or six times, advising me to head back early.

  The sun rises gradually in the early morning, and the golden morning light shines warmly, thoroughly driving away the chill of the early morning.

  If you run a bit further forward, you'll soon reach the border with Jin City County. There are only a few small villages there, which are often looted by soldiers from both sides, so it might be a bit dangerous.

  The city of Wujiang had long been left far behind, and at this time, the shadow of the city wall could no longer be seen. Instead, scattered villages and grazing villagers could be seen all around, so it was also impossible to gallop wildly on horseback.

  Zhao Cheng looked around cautiously and couldn't help but advise: "Young master, if we go another twenty li ahead, I'm afraid..."

  "Alright, alright," I hastily waved my hand and laughed, "Old Zhao, Old Zhao, how come as you get older your guts are getting smaller? Does that old scoundrel Han dare to really make a move on me at this moment?"

  Zhao Chengyi was stunned, his whole body trembled, and he gritted his teeth, no longer persuading me. He simply followed, and the dozen or so people continued to move forward slowly.

  Why don't you stop?

  Until the herdsman gradually became scarce, Zhao Cheng seemed to want to persuade me a few more words, but only sighed and did not make another sound. I also felt my interest gradually disappearing, looking at Ma Dai beside me who was already somewhat tired, so I pulled the reins to prepare to turn back towards Juzhang City.

  Behind him, someone let out a soft sigh, it was Zhao Cheng.

  I turned my back on him and laughed: "Old Zhao, Old Zhao, you're being too cautious! How could the Korean thief possibly come here when he's hiding in Jin City?"

  Zhao Cheng sighed and said, "Young master, you always speak so lightly. If you were really taken away by that old scoundrel Han, I'd be in deep trouble... the old master would probably go mad..."

  Before he had finished speaking, a sudden whirlwind of dust arose in the distance, and the grass underfoot began to quiver with a rustling sound.

  I narrowed my eyes and gazed into the distance.

  Cavalry.

  Several dozen Xiliang iron horses are galloping over!

  More than ten people in a row all had pale faces.

  "Damn it, big brother, our luck can't be that bad, right?"

  I was at a loss for words for a moment, and before I knew it, Zhao Cheng had already urged his horse to gallop past the crowd.

  He raised his whip against the wind and said in a deep voice, "The servants of the Ma family, listen to my orders, stay behind and block their way!" He also turned his back on me, "Young master, you and Master Tai quickly return to Guzang!"

  Those ten family servants were terrified, but at this moment they could only stand in a row, lined up on either side of Zhao Cheng.

  Dozens of enemy soldiers were galloping towards us!

  Ma Dai's small face was completely bloodless, tightly grasping the reins, and his whole body was also slightly trembling.

  He is still just a child after all.

  A thirteen or fourteen year old child, no matter how brave, can't help but tremble with fear when facing a ferocious enemy for the first time.

  I straightened up and looked back into the distance from horseback again.

  At this time, the enemy team's distance had narrowed a lot. I relied on my good naked eye vision to clearly see that not far in front of those tens of light cavalry, there were still thirty or forty herders who stumbled and fled in all directions.

  "Are the bandits... raiding the herders?" Zhao Cheng also noticed something was off and let out a sigh of relief, fortunately it wasn't targeting us, otherwise it would have been a narrow escape. He hastily pulled on the horse's reins to turn back, "Let's hurry back, young master! It's too dangerous here!"

  The answer was a loud crack of the whip.

  I bent down and clutched the horse's belly, my legs tightly gripping its abdomen. The four iron hooves of the fine horse burst forth in mid-air, flying over the grass leaves.

  "Big brother!" Ma Dai shouted in surprise, and his horse also rushed over. Zhao Cheng hastily waved his hand to order more than a dozen servants to chase after me.

  The enemy had about forty veteran soldiers, while our side only had a dozen or so unarmed family guards. To call them family guards is a grandiose term - they were just a few servants who accompanied me for fun. At this time, apart from an iron bow and a quiver of arrows on my person, there was not a single sword or spear.

  Zhang Chengxin was uneasy in his heart no matter what, but he couldn't help but follow closely.

  This is a vast and flat grassland, enough for all living things to run freely. However, the herdsmen continued to fall down, and the soldiers who followed closely behind stabbed them with their spears, kicked them away, and trampled on them... I knew that Xiliang was near the Qiang tribe, and every year it would suffer several large-scale invasions. But what was rolling and wailing on the grassland in front of me were my fellow subjects of the Great Han; behind them, slaughtering them mercilessly, were the soldiers of the Great Han, the garrison troops stationed in Xiliang!

  Is it possible that just an invisible border can be so cruel? The iron hooves trample down on fellow villagers in the same county and province without mercy, is this really okay?!