Chapter 394 Jin Ma Chao
Two curtains have been pulled out on the flat part of the mountain.

On the ridge, a curtain three miles wide was stretched vertically and horizontally from east to west and fixed.

This curtain can effectively intimidate the Qiang people at the foot of the mountain, making it difficult for them to distinguish the strength of the garrison on the mountain.

The curtain opened to the south, and a black bear was sitting upright on a couch with a green umbrella standing beside him.

Ma Chao and Yu Fan stepped forward and knelt on one knee, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Without courtesy, I will give you a seat."

Black Bear raised his right hand to signal, and at this time Lu Bu led forty-two puppet knights in armor, white robes dyed red, and smelling fishy, ​​and they all knelt on one knee.

Seeing this, Black Bear said, "Today's achievements will not be forgotten. Go and treat your wounds."

Only then did Lu Bu stand up and look back at Ma Chao before leaving. Ma Chao quickly bowed to him.

Lu Bu raised his hand to wipe the blood stains on his visor, then turned and walked away, his left leg slightly limping.

Yu Fan looked carefully and saw an obvious dent on the opponent's shin armor, and the narrow and long armor blade was deformed.

After Lu Bu and his puppet knights retreated, the air around the curtain became fresh.

When Black Bear saw Ma Chao taking off his helmet, he asked, "Will you go out of the camp to fight tomorrow?"

"Reporting to the Lord, my subordinates are ready to join the battle at any time. Currently, there are twelve battalions of Qiang cavalry from seven counties and three battalions of elite cavalry from Longshang. There are seventeen battalions of Qiang and Di infantry and three battalions of volunteer soldiers from seven counties."

With thirty-five battalions and seven hundred men in each battalion, Ma Chao is undoubtedly the main force in this battle.

Black Bear nodded: "My brother and General Taishi have crushed the rebellious Qiang people today. We should take advantage of the victory and advance without delay."

"Yes, I will encourage the soldiers after I return to the camp, and the whole army will be dispatched tomorrow."

Ma Chao said this while clasping his hands and praising: "Your Majesty is in the north, I am in the south, and General Zhang is in the east. As the saying goes, we are surrounded on three sides and one is missing. How can the rebellious Qiang resist?"

The western side that was left led to Hehuang, but was blocked by the Yellow River, so people could usually cross the river and move around slowly.

When fleeing, that section of the Yellow River was the place where countless people died.

Ma Chao then said, "Many of my warriors were injured in the battle. Please send a doctor to treat them."

“This is as it should be.”

As Black Bear spoke, he glanced at Li Feng who was drinking tea nearby. Li Feng stood up, bowed deeply, smiled at Ma Chao, and then walked out from the side door behind the curtain.

At this time, Black Bear said, "The war has been decided. Now the military supplies are scarce. After we defeat the Qiang rebels and get their supplies, we will cook sheep and brew wine to reward the officers and soldiers."

"Yes."

Ma Chao agreed, and based on his understanding of black bears, he was reaching out to take the cold helmet and prepare to leave.

As a result, Black Bear glanced at the guard beside him, and the guard came forward holding a plate of brocade robes.

Black Bear said, "This was made by Yunlu some time ago. It is made of Shu brocade and goose down. It is very warm. Brother, please put it on first."

Ma Chao was stunned. Seeing the brocade robe right in front of him, he reached out and grabbed it. The silk felt cold and had obvious diamond patterns, but it felt soft in his hand. However, his palm soon felt warm.

He immediately knew that this was a treasure, better than his sheepskin lining.

With a look of gratitude on his face, he said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will reward you before the enemy is defeated..."

"What kind of enemies are the Qiang people at the foot of the mountain?"

Black Bear took a sip of tea and said, "I don't take them seriously, and I'm sure you don't either. Besides, this is the winter clothing Yunlu made for you, so how can it be considered a reward? Hurry and put it on."

"Yes."

Ma Chao agreed, and saw several personal soldiers coming forward with a curtain, and they cordoned off a private, windproof space for Ma Chao to change clothes.

Ma Chao's personal guard also stood up, took off his sword, walked forward and went into the curtain to help Ma Chao take off his armor.

Soon, the curtain was removed, and Ma Chao appeared in front of everyone in a bright red robe with a gold-woven phoenix pattern.

He didn't wear a cloak, but the wind blew on his body, and Ma Chao felt warm all over. When Black Bear saw it, he said to his attendants, "This is the real Xiliang Brocade Ma Chao."

Ma Chao was rolling up his sleeves to observe the patterns on them, then he looked up and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. This goose down brocade robe is indeed warm. If it were worn in May, it would be worth thousands of gold."

Ma Chao glanced at Yu Fan, who was stroking his beard and laughing, and said to Black Bear, "Your Majesty, the Chief Clerk Zhongxiang is from Jiangdong and is not used to the cold weather in the border counties. I wonder if I can give this robe to Zhongxiang?"

"This was made by Yunlu for you. Now it is in your hands. Please do as you please."

"Yes."

Ma Chao went to see the guards who were about to withdraw, and these people came forward and provided a private space for Ma Chao.

Soon Ma Chao finished changing his clothes, put the folded brocade robe on a wooden tray, and held it in front of Yu Fan: "Changshi Gong, please."

Yu Fan caught it with both hands, feeling inexplicably sad and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

She felt more and more that Ma Chao's respect, love and closeness to her would accelerate their separation.

Yu Fan then rolled up his sleeves and wiped his eyes, and said to Ma Chao and Black Bear, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for making fun of you. I am a tough and unsympathetic person, and few people give me clothes. I lost my composure for a moment, and I made you laugh."

"Mr. Yu has no regard for mediocre people. Now it is common sense that heroes respect and love heroes."

Black Bear said to Ma Chao: "Let's eat first. When the men and horses have recovered their strength, I will ask Taishi Wengong to charge into the battle line and help you break through the formation and return to our camp."

"Yes."

Ma Chao agreed, bowed properly, and then sat down.

The banquet began afterwards. There was no rich food, just military-grade dried beef, mutton, vegetable soup and rice balls.

People like Liu Bao and Budugen were not used to Hunan rice, so corn rice was prepared for them.

There was no alcohol or drinks either, as we had to march quickly to fight and transportation was tight. Drinks and drinks were not difficult to find and make after we won the battle.

Without the company of alcohol, the atmosphere at the banquet would be relatively dull.

Mainly because Black Bear was present, no one dared to speak casually.

During the meal, Liu Bao took the initiative to introduce Budugen and others to Ma Chao.

This attracted Ma Chao's attention. At this time last year, Budugen was a big shot to Ma Chao.

A year has passed, and through war, the status of each side has changed drastically.

If Budugen wants to make more money in the future and develop his tribe, he has to curry favor with and make friends with powerful nobles like Ma Chao.

If the trade in the border counties is slightly tilted and a little concession is made, Budugen's tribe can have enough food.

Because of the existence of grassland trade routes, the Xianbei people also had a deep understanding of trade.

Originally, after Cao Cao conquered Hebei, the Xianbei people came up with an embargo agreement on horses.

Not selling horses to Cao Cao was just like Cao Cao not selling them ironware. Both were to prevent the other party's military strength from increasing and to avoid indirectly weakening their own advantages.

The embargo agreement, after all, is also intended to sell at a high price.

Therefore, after Liu Bao introduced him, Budugen was very enthusiastic. If there was really no alcohol at the banquet, he would have insisted on toasting him with three big bowls of wine.

Liu Bao was also very close to Ma Chao because Ma Chao's arrangements were already clear.

The future Right Wise King of the Xiongnu will be Ma Chao, who will unite the various Hu tribes in the western region to form the Right Wing of the Xiongnu and will also be one of the main generals in the future march into the Western Regions.

Liu Bao had countless reasons to make friends with Ma Chao, but Ma Chao could not accept Liu Bao's kindness.

At least in this kind of situation, Ma Chao was rather reserved. He ignored Liu Bao and instead pulled Budugen aside to ask him in detail about all kinds of curious things.

Seeing Ma Chao like this, Budugen became even more enthusiastic.

Looking at Ma Chao like this, Yu Fan couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle while drinking tea after eating.

(End of this chapter)