The grain destined for Ma Hong was robbed on the way. The leader was a Xie family centurion, who took the grain and left.
The merchants hurriedly informed Ma Hong that they were prepared to compensate him for the lost grain. After all, none of the Jin soldiers were capable of fighting and dared not confront Xie's army, so the merchants believed they could only suffer in silence.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing of this, Ma Hong, a mere centurion, didn't hesitate to lead five soldiers to pursue the enemy. He intercepted the centurion, showed him the list, but the man, acting unreasonably, tore up the list, injured Ma Hong, and insulted him as the "sick man of Jin." What gave him the right to be so arrogant?
"The entire capital city is protected by the Xie family. What's wrong with taking some of your grain? You should pay tribute to us!"
"I am Shangguan." Ma Hong had already calmly argued for a few moments.
Xie Baihu, as if he'd heard a joke, and he and the ten men behind him pointed at his nose and laughed loudly: "Did you all hear that? He dares to call himself our superior!"
"How dare people from Tianjing be our superiors? We're only calling them that out of respect because the Marshal is here. Don't think they can actually ride roughshod over us."
"Exactly, exactly! Tianjing is Xie family's territory. We've given you face, and you're already taking advantage of it. Don't you need a lesson?"
"He looks like he's about to get beaten up! Brothers, let's go! Don't be afraid, there are only five of them!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Xie, the centurion, drew his sword, put his hands on his hips, and smugly pointed it at Ma Hong's nose. In front of a dozen soldiers, he turned his back to Ma Hong, displaying his contempt: "Brothers, watch closely! See how I teach him a lesson. I guarantee he'll be begging us to let him go in no time. This sick man surnamed Ma is truly..."
"Pfft." The wooden spear in Ma Hong's hand had already pierced through his neck. When he pulled it out, there was a thud, and blood spurted out, splattering all over the ground. The laughter stopped abruptly, until Xie Baihu's body collapsed with a thud.
Xie Bing and his men were stunned for a moment, then angrily drew their sabers: "How dare you attack us!"
Compared to Ma Hong's wooden spear, which was just a sharpened tip, it was essentially an ordinary stick. The five Jin soldiers were also carrying sticks; their weapons were simply incomparable.
Xie Bing reacted quickly and charged directly at the Jin soldiers. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ma Hong roared, "Either we die or they die! Today has already caused a disaster. We are all men of the Great Jin and we cannot let the Xie family trample on our heads! Since we are going to die anyway, we might as well take a few of them down with us!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the five Jin soldiers, who had been stunned and terrified, gradually began to grit their teeth and their faces were filled with hatred because of Ma Hong's words.
"General Ma is right. Xie Jun is going too far. We won't stand for this!"
"If I'm going to die, I'll take someone down with me!"
"Kill one more, make more money!"
"You bunch of cowards who rely on us!" Xie's soldiers surrounded and attacked the man, striking first.
With a swift counterattack, Ma Hong felled five men. Of the remaining five, each Jin soldier fought one, and after a brief struggle involving swords and clubs, Ma Hong finally killed five Xie soldiers. The remaining five Xie soldiers killed two Jin soldiers, and three Xie soldiers died.
At this point, the two surviving Xie soldiers finally realized that these were not the Jin soldiers they usually bullied. They were much more formidable than before.
They were immediately filled with apprehension and began to soften their tone, reminding Ma Hong: "Is this General Ma? I admit I was wrong. I only heard it from the centurion..."
With a fierce shout, Ma Hong leaped up and instantly killed the remaining two Jin soldiers with his wooden javelin. With a single blow, he lifted the two burly men, each weighing over 400 pounds, into the air. The two Xie soldiers screamed in agony in mid-air before bowing their heads and dying instantly.
After killing ten Xie soldiers, the remaining three Jin soldiers seemed to have lost all their strength, kneeling on the ground with blank expressions.
Ma Hong also made the habit of wiping his gun and head, only realizing after wiping it with his sleeve that what he was holding was a wooden stick, not the long spear he used to have.
He remained rooted to the spot, his head bowed, making his expression impossible to discern.
On the mountain path, someone suddenly threw a stone at his head. It flew in an arc, thrown casually, not with any real force.
Ma Hong swung his staff in a circle with his right hand, knocking away the stone above his head. When he looked up again, he saw a man dressed in a brocade robe with flying fish patterns, wearing a red robe of the fourth rank, with a large, broadsword bestowed by the emperor at his waist.
It's Zhang Feile.
Zhang Feile savored Ma Hong's ruthlessness with great interest, and finally understood why His Highness had chosen him. It turned out that they were the same kind of people, the same kind of people who were unwilling to submit to others.
"General Ma, I, the commander, witnessed the murder you committed. What do you suggest we do now?"
At this moment, Ma Hong saw that he was no longer as calm as he appeared. He would not regret killing this group of Xie soldiers, but after calming down, he realized that he had betrayed His Highness's trust.
Ma Hong knelt on one knee and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhang Feile, who was standing on the hillside: "I am afraid that my reckless actions will prevent me from serving Your Highness again. If there is a next life, I will definitely serve as your ox or horse to repay Your Highness's kindness in recognizing my talent!"
"I, Ma Hong, take full responsibility for my actions; it has nothing to do with my three brothers!"
"General." The three silver-armored Jin soldiers were all taken aback.
"It's clearly their fault. If they hadn't stolen our food, how could there have been a conflict!"
"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting in front of Commander Zhang!" Ma Hong immediately shouted, his voice like a tiger's roar, which silenced his men.
Zhang Changle waved his hands dismissively and replied lazily, "What's the use of telling me? Go tell him yourself!"
"As for His Highness, I will report it myself. You'd better think carefully about how to take responsibility for this!"
"I'll take the blame, it's all my fault!" Ma Hong immediately assured him, "I'll go to the South Gate to apologize right away, because these soldiers are..."
"Foolish!" Zhang Changle stopped him. Although he admired his fighting spirit, he couldn't bear to see him do something stupid after killing someone.
Zhang Changle looked at the remaining three Jin soldiers, drew his broadsword, and approached them step by step.
Upon seeing this, Ma Hong immediately crawled on his knees to them, blocking their way with his arms: "It has nothing to do with them!"
"Just because it's none of their business, does that mean they can survive!" Zhang Changle warned him, also reminding him, "Don't be naive. You need to show some sincerity by making a show of it. Move aside—"
"Come at me if you dare!" Ma Hong firmly refused.
Zhang Changle immediately raised his broadsword and slashed towards Ma Hong, aiming straight for his head. The three Jin soldiers tried to block with their sticks, but they were no match for the imperial broadsword. Zhang Changle easily slashed back, cutting off the arms, calves, and hair of the three Jin soldiers.
As the saying goes, our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents, and we should not destroy them lightly.
The three Jin soldiers fell to the ground, thinking they were going to die, only to find that their three locks of black hair had been cut off and were lying on the ground.
Ma Hong stared in shock at Zhang Changle's actions: "Commander Zhang, you..."
Zhang Changle sheathed his broadsword right in front of them, and sneered, "I hate cowards the most!"
He turned his back to Ma Hong and walked towards the mountain path. His voice could be heard from the hillside at that moment: "But you are all men. Don't do anything foolish now, go back and wait for news."
"But I killed the man surnamed Xie."
"What does it matter? It's just a few soldiers who died. They ambushed their superior and disobeyed the marshal's orders. They should have been torn to pieces long ago. General Ma is eliminating dissidents for His Highness. He should be rewarded for his service, not punished!" Zhang Changle said, chuckling sinisterly. His eerie laughter calmed Ma Hong down considerably.
Commander Zhang was right, he was right! Ma Hong immediately stood up, helped the remaining brothers on the ground up, and watched as their hair, which they had grown for many years, was cut off.
He said, "Pick up the hair and bandage the wounds, and we'll wait in the town! Whether you live or die, this general will be with you!"
"General, you shouldn't have stopped the commander. He did the right thing. Only if we die will you be safe!" The three Jin soldiers weren't fools; they could see that Zhang Changle wanted to use their heads to protect General Ma. As long as the blame was placed on them, General Ma might be able to escape this predicament.
Ma Hong simply shook his head without answering. He took the three men, two of whom were corpses, back to the town.
After they left, the people of Xiwei appeared out of nowhere and pushed the grain away, also taking the bodies of Xie's soldiers into a cart and cleaning them up thoroughly.
The news that Ma Hong had killed Xie Baihu and ten other Xie soldiers was relayed to Prince Fengning by Zhang Changle.
Si Xitong buried herself in her books, looking at the ever-increasing number of memorials, and Ma Hong was just one of the many cases she had to handle.
"Your Highness, this is the whole story. In my opinion, it would be better to destroy the evidence and cover it up," Zhang Changle said, bowing before her.
She held a plain white pen, its tip constantly circling key points on the folds, seemingly in no hurry at all.
Zhang Changle waited quietly, listening to the sound of her master turning the pages, her head bowed, seemingly lost in thought.
By the fifth book, Si Xitong finally put down his pen and said calmly, "Killing a few unruly soldiers is no big deal, and whether they are reasonable or not is not really a question."
"Return the body back, report it truthfully, don't hide it, but let everyone know."
What is the purpose of the Western Guard? It has the same privileges as the Censorate and uses dirty tricks to deal with some dirty enemies in the dark.
Zhang Changle immediately understood His Highness's meaning. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and quietly withdrew.
No sooner had Zhang Changle left than Granny Xie, having overheard her mistress's words inside, turned to leave the palace and bumped into Zhang Changle. Almost facing him, Granny Xie, her face grim and like a demon emerging from the dead of night, grabbed Granny Xie by the neck and dragged her to a corner.
When Granny Xie returned, her eyes were lifeless, she trembled from time to time, and she dared not speak again, much less step out of the palace.
Because she was warned that if she stepped out of Lanzhang Palace, she would be stepping into the gates of hell.
Old Lady Xie had never seen anything like it before. She had always thought that having the surname Xie meant she would be fawned over, but now she realized the strict hierarchy and insurmountable status. Even in her master's eyes, Xie was nothing more than a dog's life.
Soon Xie Baihu's body was taken to the mortuary, and Xie Guang was notified at the same time.
Xie Guang learned that a centurion and ten Xie soldiers had intercepted General Ma Hong's grain supplies. Ma Hong repeatedly tried to dissuade them, but to no avail. Instead, the centurion Xie provoked them and was killed. Xie Guang was furious: "How dare a non-Xie family member be so insolent before the Xie clan! And since you couldn't even win the provocation, don't tell anyone you're from the Xie clan!"
Xie Guang had always despised those who lacked ability yet kept making empty boasts. Ten people, ten people, couldn't even beat five people!
In particular, the centurion was shot down with a single gunshot.
For Xie Guang, it was no longer important whose fault it was; what mattered was that someone from the Xie family had put their face before Ma Hong and was still beaten. The issue of face was of utmost importance.
Even if it wasn't Ma Hong's fault, he still disgraced the Xie family and shouldn't be let off the hook.
Xie Guang was thinking of a pretext to get rid of Ma Hong without offending the mistress.
Someone came to inform them.
It is said that Ma Hong is now leading three wounded soldiers to Lanzhang Palace to plead guilty. His Highness even personally received him and inquired about the reason.
Xie Guang immediately burst into a tirade: "Trying to be clever like that! Don't think he'll survive just because of that!"
Xie Guang immediately grabbed his big gun and headed towards Lanzhang Palace.
At Lanzhang Palace, Ma Hong was kneeling with three wounded soldiers. Xie Guang had just arrived and was about to shout out which bastard was Ma Hong when he turned his head and saw three grown men at the door with their hair cut short, their faces bruised and swollen, their hands and legs almost wrapped up like dumplings. They looked badly injured.
The one who led the group was bruised and swollen, almost unrecognizable.
Xie Guang: "..."
Just then, the master of Lanzhang Palace spoke up.
"General, come in."
"Oh..." Xie Guang put down his gun and stepped into Lanzhang Palace, glancing back as he did so. As he stood up straight, Si Xitong, who was still working, bowed to him.
"Your Highness, what's outside...? Is this the culprit who killed my Xie army?!"
Si Xitong glanced at him and saw that he was furious and about to explode at any moment.
She said calmly, "This matter does need to be addressed, but there are more important things you need to know first, and then we can discuss this further."
She was holding up a stack of Xuan paper.
"Yes!" Xie Guang immediately walked to the desk, bent down, and reached out to receive the stack of Xuan paper.
Xie Guang looked closely and saw that the list was full of stories about Xie Jun and his cronies losing money gambling and then trying to seize military rations from various places. Among them was Ma Hong's case, but Ma Hong was forced to fight back to avoid having his military rations taken away.
After the incident of the smuggling of fire and medicine at the South Gate, even Xie Guang, if he were foolish, would know that this was not an isolated incident, but a series of events. Xie Jun was shady in private, often targeting military supplies and materials. Although he claimed to have stolen them from the Jin soldiers, where did the Jin soldiers get their food? Didn't he know?
It all belongs to the Xie family. Don't think that changing hands will absolve them of suspicion and make them innocent of stealing foreign grain. To put it bluntly, these people have gone so far as to bully their own people. They knowingly committed the crime!
Xie Guang's anger instantly subsided, and he even felt a little guilty: "Your Highness, this, this I don't know how to handle, what do you say?"
Si Xitong gave him a proper arrangement: "The Xie family's face is my face."
Xie Guang's eyes lit up, and he nodded: "Yes! Mistress, you are right!"
"Although the person who was executed had made a mistake, Ma Hong overstepped his authority, so I have to punish him. As for the deceased Commander Xie, he should not be allowed to die in vain. Let him die with some value."