Lu Bu's safe return finally brought the second year of Xingping to the end of the year safely.
Although it seems that these two things have nothing to do with each other, in fact, it is indeed because Cao Cao sent Lu Bu back that the Ma family has a lot of peace.
As a result, no earth-shattering news broke out at the end of the second year of Xingping in the Han Dynasty.
At the end of October, for the first time, the Ma family sent an envoy to visit the Cao family.
The two families did not communicate about any major national affairs this time.
It seemed like they were just visiting casually.
But even so, such a small move by the Ma family made people from all walks of life in the Han Dynasty lively.
What the famous family interpreted from this was that the Ma family and the Cao family might reconcile, and they should give more consideration to the Cao family's soft power.
What the merchants saw was that the Ma family took the initiative to have political contacts with the Cao family in Yanzhou, which showed that they would no longer care about the influence of the Ma family, so they could sell the Ma family's products to Yanzhou and exchange them for countless money.
As for the people at the lowest level, there will be no war between the Ma family and Cao Cao in the short term, and they can spend the Spring Festival comfortably and peacefully.
However, it is obvious that the Ma family will not let all walks of life in the world fully interpret its intentions.
After visiting the Cao family, members of the Majia Rites Department did not return directly to Chang'an.
Instead, they went all the way east and continued to visit Liu Bei in Xuzhou.
The Ma family did not tell the world much about this matter, but Liu Bei of Xuzhou made a big fuss about it.
With this episode, it is easy for people to think that the Ma family will visit Jizhou again, but the Ma family just doesn't follow common sense.
After Xuzhou, the Majia Li Ministry killed a carbine and visited Zhang Lu in Hanzhong again.
Instead, he chose to ignore General Yuan, who was currently in the limelight among the Han Dynasty.
After traveling all the way to visit, it seems that in the winter of the second year of Xingping, only the Rites Department of the Ma family was very busy.
Apart from that, the entire Ma family really fell silent until the end of the year.
Finally, on the day before the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, the government offices began to seal the seals, the princes and bigwigs began to seal the pens, and the entertainment and leisure activities for the whole people officially began.
However, Chang'an this year is different from previous years.
In the past, it was only on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month that Chang'an City would be in a state of chaos.
This year, it started on the first day of the first lunar month.
For a whole month, the merchants were almost crazy with joy.
Moreover, the announcement said that Weiyang Palace would be officially opened on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Ma Chao also invited a hundred elders from Chang'an to come to Weiyang Palace to watch the singing and dancing.
Of course, you must be seventy years old.
Finally, with the sound of firecrackers, every family in Chang'an city was having a banquet, laughing and making noise, and people gathered together to watch the New Year together.
It wasn't until midnight that we worshiped our ancestors and then went back to sleep.
On the third day of the first lunar month, at the residence of General Hussar.
The door of the house was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the snow in front of the door was covered with thick firecracker chips, giving it a New Year atmosphere.
Ma Chao, wearing a brand new worsted sweater and thick brocade robe, carrying gifts and his family, went to the home of Jia Xu, the old fox, to pay New Year greetings.
As soon as he entered, Ma Chao found that Jia Xu was still pretending to be sick as always.
When he saw Ma Chao coming, he said that he felt that he had lost both energy and blood this year, and he might not survive next year.
But Ma Chao just curled his lips and replied: "Old fox, you said last year that your lungs, wood, and yang were deficient and your liver fire was too strong.
Why did you change your gender again this year?"
"Ahem, isn't it because the old minister has poor moral character?"
"Okay, stop pretending.
You've been coming to Ma's house for so long, and you don't plan to renew your string or anything.
It also saves you the trouble of living in poverty all the time and having me come to comfort you every year."
The atmosphere in the room became lighter because of this small conversation.
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Ma Chao and Jia Xu unnaturally talked about business matters.
Ma Chao crossed his legs and said casually: "Old guy, now that the Ma family is getting stronger and stronger, the actions need to be more and more demanding."
The more careful you are.
Do you think what I did at the end of the year is okay?"
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"It's just a makeshift.
However, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao and others all want the Ma family's attitude.
Although you have gone too far, from a big perspective, it is still reasonable."
Jia Xu and Ma Chao also said There was no politeness at all.
The two of them had been both teachers and friends for so many years and had already developed a tacit understanding of each other.
Only the respect between the monarch and his ministers became weaker and weaker.
"Well, it's a bit over the top.
However, after the first month, I estimate that the Han Dynasty will be in an era of great chaos.
I want to know what the Ma family should do when Yuan Shao enters Tu Yanzhou."
"Isn't there enough work for you in Hanzhong?"
Ma Chao and Jia Xu stared at each other, each understanding what the other meant.
But neither of them accepts the other's point of view.
"No way, old guy, you let the Ma family sit back and watch while the magnificent era begins."
"Then why do you think I tried so hard to shift the focus of the Ma family to Hanzhong?"
"Tell me this isn't true."
"I'm sorry, if the Ma family goes to fight in the sky at this time, they will probably fall to death."
Ma Chao lowered his head in despair.
After a long time, he said leisurely: "After defeating Hanzhong, don't you still want the Ma family to plot Shuzhong?"
"There is a gathering of talents in Shu, a land of abundance.
If the Ma family can get it, they can become the first prince of the Han Dynasty.
By then, the Guandong region is already full of fragmented and exhausted princes.
The Ma family can conquer the world in one battle, why not?
" After listening to Jia Xu's rhetorical question, Ma Chao fell silent again.
In fact, he knew very well that Jia Xu's grand strategy was indeed very reasonable and perfect for the Ma family.
However, it is impossible for the wise old fox to break through the limitations of history and see the impact of his strategy on the entire Han nation.
During the Three Kingdoms period in history, the world was in chaos and the population dropped sharply.
At the time of the Yellow Turban Uprising, the country's population was approximately 50 million.
After the Yellow Turban Uprising and the Three Kingdoms melee, the country's population after the Chibi War was only 1.4 million.
The Yellow Turban Uprising was in 184 AD, and the Chibi War was in 208 AD.
In just over twenty years, the population has been less than 3% of the original.
The reputation of the heroes of the Three Kingdoms is truly built on the piles of corpses.
Cao Cao wrote a poem describing the scene at that time: "A human head hangs in front of the horse, and women are carried behind the cart."
"White bones are exposed in the wild, there is no rooster crow for thousands of miles, and there are more than a hundred people alive, and the thought of them is heartbreaking."
The Three Kingdoms fought without justice.
Princes such as the Ma family, Cao family, and Yuan Shao were active in this troubled world.
In essence, they were all executioners of the Han people.
They used battles to quickly wipe out the population of the Han people.
Go down.
It was not until the late Jin Dynasty that the Five Chariots in China drove the entire Han people to the Yangtze River Basin, and the so-called first great ethnic integration in history was completed.
Bullshit ethnic integration The history textbooks use such beautiful and praising words, and lightly characterize the incidents of other ethnic groups massacring Han people, raping Han women, and burning Han houses.
But who knows what the so-called gradual sinicization of those ethnic groups means?
It was paved with the flesh, blood and bones of so many Han people.
Traveling through the first two years, Ma Chao's consciousness would never have risen to this point.
But as the power of the Ma family became more and more powerful, Ma Chao also had a sense of responsibility for the entire history: Jia Xu's old fox's conspiracy was actually that the Ma family had developed southward in recent years and conquered Hanzhong, Shuzhong, Nanman, and Jiaozhou, which the Central Plains princes would not do.
Areas of concern.
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Let them conquer and fight against each other on the land of Guandong, and send all the people into the meat grinder on the battlefield to be devoured.
When the area of Guandong is no longer inhabited, the Ma family will be invincible and invincible if they leave Guandong again.
Such a rough plan is indeed the most perfect for the Ma family.
But for the entire Han people, it is the most vicious and cruel.
By doing this, a few decades later, the Ma family would have to fight all the barbarian peoples with only a few million people in the country.
The results of the battle can be imagined, and even if they can win, the entire land of China will still be deserted and ghostly.
Therefore, on the first day of the third year of Xingping, Ma Chao stood up slowly in Jia Xu's room and said: "I cannot let myself and my descendants become sinners of the Han nation":