Chapter 28: Changing Generals Before a Battle

  "Ah Ong."

  The niece has met her uncle.

  "Alright, alright." Ma Qin raised his arm and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, nodding repeatedly at A Chu. His tone was quite polite. As he panted, he walked to the railing and looked at the red figure in the distance, saying quietly: "This child's talent is too obvious, I'm a bit worried."

  "Are you worried that he's not a match for that horse thief?" Mo Dang heard Mo Qin's concern, furrowed his brow, and smiled reassuringly: "Father, are you overthinking this? This Gong Sun Zan can wield two spears on horseback; even if that horse thief has a notorious reputation, it's not necessarily true that he's stronger than him. Taking a step back, even if Gong Sun Zan isn't his match, we don't necessarily have to lose to him - with the military strength of Wu Jun, can we still lose to him in close combat?"

  "Where is Wu Junhou?" Mao Qin turned his head and glanced at him: "Wu Junhou is ill and cannot go to battle."

  "Ah?" Ma Jia was shocked and didn't know what to say for a moment.

  "This Gongsun Zan is indeed capable, but Yan Liang has been roaming the vast desert for over a decade, how can he be easily dealt with? If he wasn't so arrogant and could hide his strength, perhaps when facing off against Yan Liang, there would still be some unexpected tactics to employ. Now, by showing off in the valley like this, even if he had extraordinary abilities, they would all be exposed to Yan Liang." Ma Qin shook her head, no longer glancing at the distance, concern hidden between her eyebrows: "Jiang'er, I still think this time is a bit too reckless."

  Mao Qiang pushed Mao Qin's arm lightly with a somewhat dissatisfied expression: "Ah weng, you're at it again."

  Achu also saw, and slightly frowned her fine eyebrows, with a somewhat unpleasant expression. She knew that Mao Qin was blaming Mao Chang for inviting Lu Zhi to Taogu to teach his disciples this time, and this matter was something she had come here from Zhao Guo on the orders of her father. If it weren't for the fact that her mother was a member of the Mao family, her uncle wouldn't have bothered with this matter. Now Mao Qin still doubted this decision, which really didn't make her happy.

  She also heard from Mao Jie that Mao Qin had always advocated leaving Zhuo County, and he had already sent his cousin Mao Jia to the Central Plains to find a suitable estate. He was preparing to move his whole family to avoid the Xianbei people's harassment. It is said that things are going well, Mao Jia has found a place in Henan and is negotiating the price. At this time, Mao Qin would not want to waste his precious money on these things.

  If it weren't for Mao Jie's sister being reluctant to part with the family business here and unwilling to leave Quyang, where they had lived for decades, she wouldn't have insisted on inviting Lu Zhi to tutor her sons. Naturally, there wouldn't be the current situation either. In their eyes, this was a rare good opportunity for Xi Mao, but in Mao Qin's opinion, it was a waste of money.

  Mao Qin seemed to have sensed A Chu's displeasure and stopped talking, after a moment of deliberation, he said: "A Chu, how is your grandfather's health?"

  "Thank you, Uncle, for your concern. My grandfather is in good health and can still ride a horse and draw a bow."

  "Haha, your grandfather is just like my great-grandfather, both are talented in literature and martial arts." Mao Qin stroked his beard with a smile, his round face filled with joy, looking quite pleased. He continued: "Unfortunately, our Great Han Dynasty is now plagued by corrupt governance, loyal officials are dismissed, and treacherous eunuchs hold power, so your grandfather's talent can only be wasted in the position of Wuguan Zhonglang Jiang."

  She was about to speak but stopped. She came from a family of officials, although she knew that what Mao Qin said was true, the current emperor was not a wise ruler, and many ministers in the court were also flattering, people like her grandfather who were loyal and upright were often excluded and could not be reused, but she couldn't criticize the government as freely as Mao Qin did.

  Mao Jie saw that A Chu was a bit embarrassed, so she took over the conversation and asked: "What's wrong with Wu Junhou? If he's sick, who can replace him in battle?"

  "I don't know either." Ma Qin patted her thigh, saying somewhat helplessly: "He just sent someone to say a word, and then disappeared. I don't even know where he went. Alas, this matter..."

  Mao's face was somewhat heavy. Originally in her plan, Wu Jun had an absolute guarantee of winning the infantry battle, so whether Gong Sun Zan could win on horseback was not that important, and if he lost, it wouldn't be a complete defeat, at least there would still be a way to maintain a tie, and the Mao family wouldn't lose too much face. But now...Gong Sun Zan couldn't afford to lose.

  After hearing Mao Qin's words, she was also worried that Gongsun Zan might not be a match for Yan Yu, after all, Yan Yu wasn't an unknown person, able to come and go freely on the Xianbei people's turf, it was impossible without some real skills.

  Mao Jie was getting impatient: "What's going on with Wu Junhou? He was fine yesterday, how could he be sick all of a sudden?"

  "I don't know either." Ma Qin blinked her somewhat dim old eyes and said vaguely: "Maybe there's some unavoidable reason that it's inconvenient to say, so just say she's sick."

  Mao Qiang angrily hummed and turned around, forcefully slapping the railing, sulked for a while, then suddenly said: "Let someone go find her, if she really can't be found, I'll take action and compete with Yan Rou."

  "Sister..." Ah Chu was startled and hastily dissuaded her. She knew that Mao Qiang's skills were not bad, but after all, she was a woman, and in the public arena, engaging in a duel with a horse thief would be quite something.

  "Sister, don't worry, we border people don't have as many concerns as you Central Plains people do." Mao Jiang interrupted A Chu's words and turned to prepare her armor. In her haste, the hem of her skirt got caught on the railing and tore open with a ripping sound. Mao Jiang was already in a bad mood, and seeing her beloved dress torn made her even more furious.

  "Alright, alright, let's change into another one, no need to get angry." Ah Chu hastily spoke softly and accompanied Mao Qiang to change clothes.

  When the sun jumped over the highest mountain, the valley gradually returned to calmness, but inexplicably added a sense of solemnity. More than 200 Mo family guards opened up their formation on the flat ground in the valley west of the Jing She, and under the leadership of Mao Zong, they began to practice with precision and rhythm. The guards had already received notice that today's exercise was not an ordinary one. Sitting aside watching were not only the master of the Mo family, Mao Qin, and the great Confucian scholar Lu Zhi from the Jing She, but also someone sent by the Governor. That stranger with a cold face was sent by the Governor to check if they had the strength to resist the Xianbei people. Therefore, each of them mustered up their spirits, exerted their full strength, and showcased all their skills, making the two-hundred-man phalanx exercise magnificent, and giving off a sense of elite troops.

  Ma Qin accompanied Li Ding and Lu Zhi with a soft smile, politely almost bending his waist to 90 degrees. Lu Zhi, although expressionless, did not show any displeasure, while Li Ding furrowed his brow, scrutinizing the Ma family's guard formation with a critical gaze, occasionally leaning over to discuss with Yan Rou in a low voice.

  Yan Rou's face was as calm as water, neither showing appreciation nor disdain, just gazing at Li Ding with a hint of politeness and asking for advice in a casual tone. Mao Niang watched from afar, her anger growing as she saw Yan Rou's unyielding demeanor. She put on a suit of leather armor, stood with her hands on her hips, and stroked the scabbard of her knife at her waist, constantly tapping it as if ready to draw it out and slash Yan Rou's composure into pieces.