"Please forgive Your Highness, Weichen deliberately told a lie just now, because there were outsiders, so those words were deliberately said to outsiders. Zhang Lu has been in Hanzhong for many years, collecting money and grain, which can be described as very rich. I just said that the treasury is empty, but I just want Yan Pu to go back and spread a word, if Zhang Lu wants to use our troops to help him pacify Zhang Fei, then we must give him support in terms of money and food. In addition, Weichen also has an intention, that is, to confuse the enemy, so that the enemy despises our army, once Zhang Lu knows that our army can't even get the salary for marching and fighting, he will definitely not neglect to guard against our army, and our army can also take advantage of this opportunity to surprise the army, take Zhang Lu in one fell swoop, and return Hanzhong to the hands of the imperial court. Chen Qun said unhurriedly.

After Zhang Yan listened to Chen Qun's words, the gloomy cloud on his face just now suddenly disappeared, and in exchange for a look of joy, he pointed at Chen Qun and said: "This king was almost blinded by Chen Shangshu, and thought that it was really the treasury empty, hahaha...... I really didn't expect that Chen Shangshu would be so witty and would come up with such a plan at this time. ”

Chen Qun said: "Your Royal Highness has an overreputation, Weichen is just doing his best, after all, if you really want to go west, the soldiers on the front line are the protagonists." ”

At this time, Ma Chao, who came to Pengcheng with Zhang Yan, suddenly walked out of the crowd, hugged his fists towards Zhang Yan respectfully and said: "Qiyu Regent, Meng Qi has not made an inch of merit since he returned to the regent, this western expedition, you might as well be the pioneer in the future, and the last general will sweep the southwest for the regent, what Zhang Lu and Zhang Fei, in the eyes of Meng Qi, are just clowns jumping off the beam." Within three months. The last general will definitely bring back the heads of Zhang Lu and Zhang Fei. Dedicated to the Regent! ”

Zhang Yan said with a smile: "General Ma is heroic and courageous, Zhang Lu and I am not worried, but that Zhang Fei is really a powerful character, and he was able to seize Yizhou in just over a month, which is really impressive." Moreover, Zhang Fei is an out-and-out enemy of 10,000 people, not to mention strong martial arts, and now there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses under his subordinates. I'm afraid that if you want to take him, General Ma's strength alone is not enough. In this way, I will send Pang Tong to serve as your military advisor, and go with you to crusade against Zhang Fei, and you will have a good response on the way, how about it? ”

Ma Chao glanced at Pang Tong, he knew this person, and he also knew that Pang Tong was resourceful, and felt that with him with him, he could definitely get twice the result with half the effort. So he nodded and said, "I can't ask for it!" ”

Pang Tong was personally named by Zhang Yan. Naturally, he couldn't close his mouth, and his hands began to itch, and he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to show his ambitions.

So, Pang Tong stood up directly, hugged his fists and said: "Weichen will definitely not live up to His Highness's expectations, if he doesn't kill Zhang Fei and take Yizhou, Weichen is willing to come and see him!" ”

Zhang Yan said: "Don't talk too much, the western expedition decided by this king this time is a secret, and the soldiers and horses that can be given to you are also very limited, after all, this king will have to deal with the relocation of the capital in the near future, and the army should not be transferred too much......

"Your Highness, the last general doesn't want a single soldier from His Highness, as long as the last general returns to Liangzhou and raises his arms, there are hundreds of thousands of people who can be driven by the last general." Ma Chao began to boast.

"Really? That's a good feeling. As long as General Ma can capture Yizhou and kill Zhang Fei, this king will definitely not treat General Ma badly. When Zhang Yan said this, a strange light flashed in his eyes, which was fleeting.

And Ma Teng, who was also among the ministers, after listening to his son's boasting, looked at Ma Chao vigorously, but unfortunately, Ma Chao's mind was paralyzed by alcohol and did not look at his father at all.

After a while, Zhang Yan issued an order for the westward expedition, with Ma Chao as the vanguard, Pang Tong as the military advisor, and Xu Huang, who was stationed in Yongzhou, as the deputy vanguard, Yongzhou Thorn Shi Zhong Xuan was responsible for the dispatch of grain and grass, and Zhang Yan was in Pengcheng remote command, but in terms of military operations, Ma Chao was given full freedom, and he didn't have to play everything, he only wanted the result, not the process.

Since returning from the Southern Expedition, Ma Chao has been longing for the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, he was not the main force during the Southern Expedition, so he received very little credit, and most of his merits fell into the hands of others, and he looked red. And during the Southern Expedition, he also really saw the strength of Zhang Yan's subordinates, and he was a little cautious, but after returning from the Southern Expedition, he decisively chose to continue to be loyal to Zhang Yan, and did not dare to make any more mistakes.

This expedition to the west, Ma Chao is determined to win, not to mention that there is Pang Tong to follow, if this time can pacify the southwest, then the whole country will be unified, and his Ma Chao's name will also go down in history for future generations to admire.

Thinking of the significance of this expedition to the west, Ma Chao couldn't help but laugh.

After the meeting, all the ministers left one after another, and Ma Chao was no exception. However, when Ma Chao left Yanwang's Mansion, he suddenly heard someone calling him behind him, and when he looked back, the person who called him turned out to be his father.

Ma Chao's father, Ma Teng, has been serving as a guard since he entered Beijing, after Zhang Yan's reform, Ma Teng changed from the position of a guard to a waiter of the Ministry of Rites without real power, although the official position is not small, but Ma Teng has never found the feeling of being an official back then, and has always felt a little aggrieved.

"I wonder what my father called me?" Ma Chao bowed respectfully to Ma Teng.

Ma Teng looked around, took Ma Chao's hand, walked straight forward, and said as he walked: "This is not the place to talk, you come with me." ”

Before Ma Chao could react, he allowed Ma Teng to take him to a far place and stopped in a relatively secret room.

"Father, what is this place? What are you bringing me here for? Ma Chao asked.

Ma Teng said: "Meng Qi, don't ask so much, you got into trouble today, do you know?" ”

"The child doesn't know, and he asks his father for advice."

Ma Teng glanced at Ma Chao, who was full of wine, sighed heavily, and said slowly: "Today, at the banquet, you actually said in front of the regent that you can raise your arms and attract hundreds of thousands of people, you shouldn't say that......"

"What the child says is the truth, so what should I not say?"

Ma Teng said: "Even if this is the truth, in front of the regent, it should not be said!" Alas, you are still too young, young and vigorous, not calm enough......"

"Father, is there anything wrong with the child?"

"It's not just a mistake, it's a big mistake. The most worrying thing for the regent is to support his own troops, so the generals stationed in various places generally use his cronies. He appointed you as the general of Zhenxi before, but he didn't install a Xu Shu next to you and wanted Xu Shu to spy on you. After you release those nonsense words today, if you keep staying in Liangzhou, sooner or later you will be suspicious. When you return from this expedition to the west, no matter what kind of achievements you achieve, don't stay in Liangzhou, take the initiative to hand over the soldiers and horses in Liangzhou, maybe only in this way can you live longer. Ma Teng said bitterly. (To be continued......)