Ma Jiamen: I was forced to fight for supremacy

Chapter 189 The Bearded Grain Officer

Not far away, a bearded man who was patrolling the camp witnessed the scene with several of his men.

"That's outrageous."

A burly man beside the bearded man was about to teach Ma Zhan a lesson.

The bearded man waved his hand to stop the big man's actions.

Then he said.

"In the military camp, it's common for veterans to bully new recruits, but this kid is quite brave.

Being able to kick that fat guy away with one kick, you can be called a warrior."

The bearded man told his men not to follow him, as he wanted to meet the young man.

"Why are you hitting people, kid?"

Ma Zhan was unloading the truck and asked without even turning his head:

"Why do you care about me?"

The bearded man looked a little unhappy and said:

"I'm in charge of you, okay?"

Ma Zhan looked back and saw a man with a dark skin tanned by the sun, a big beard, and wearing a well-fitting Hanfu, with an extraordinary temperament standing there.

This person is in charge of me, and he doesn't look like a peasant like me now.

I guess he was a financial officer from some family who was stuffed into Boss Cao's military camp to gain experience.

"Are you the military secretary?

Or is it the fire that’s bigger?”

The bearded man replied, "I'm the one who's in charge of your fire department, don't I?"

“Although it’s not quite like that, as my superior, I still respect you.

I hit him because that fat guy bullied me, and I was defending myself, so he deserved it."

This was the first time that Big Beard heard the term "self-defense." Judging from the literal meaning, he felt that it was somewhat inappropriate to use it here.

He asked, "Have you ever been to school?"

Ma Zhan replied: "How many words do you know? Chief Huo, come and help me."

The bearded man hesitated for a moment, but still stepped forward to help the troublemaker take the grain cart off the horse.

Ma Zhan patted his shoulder and said.

“I didn’t expect you to be so kind and help me pick up a good car, so I’ll give you a piece of advice.

Being a grain officer under Boss Cao is not an easy job. I suggest you use your connections to find a new job as soon as possible."

The bearded man twitched his face and asked:

"Why do you say that?"

Ma Zhan said as he unloaded the grain:

"You should have heard about the grain officer at Guandu who embezzled military rations and was beheaded. The grass on his grave should be very tall now."

The bearded man spoke in a hurried voice, somewhat excited.

"That guy embezzled military rations when war was imminent, causing a food shortage. He deserves to be executed."

Ma Zhan unloaded a bag of food and responded:

"That's what you said."

The bearded man sat on the sack of grain and said:

"You think not?"

Ma Zhan spread his hands and said, I didn’t say anything.

The bearded man continued, "Tell me now, or I'll chop you off."

"I'll go, you threaten me."

The bearded man thought of the fat man who was kicked away, and thought of the boy in front of him, who was a person who would only give in to soft tactics and not to tough ones, so he changed his strategy.

"Tell me what you think. I'll have someone else unload this cart of grain."

Ma Zhan nodded reluctantly, sat down on the grain bag, and said:

"In fact, at that time, Boss Cao's military camp was almost out of food. It was really out of food, not because of corruption by the grain officials.

You see, if people can’t even get enough food to eat, there will be complaints in the military camp.

Soon, complaints will escalate into conflicts.

This conflict will eventually point to the leader, Boss Cao.

Who is Boss Cao?

Could he let that happen?

Then this unfortunate grain officer must die.

The death of the grain officer explained the shortage of food and also provided an outlet for the soldiers' dissatisfaction.

The soldiers saw that Boss Cao had found out the location of the rat that caused their starvation, and they chopped off his head.

Their level of trust in Boss Cao has reached a new level.

Therefore, whether the grain officer embezzled military rations or worked diligently, he was the best target for diverting conflicts.

At that time, he must die."

Ma Zhan sat on the grain bag and talked freely.

Little did they know that the bearded man had clenched his fists and then slowly opened them, repeating this several times.

The bearded man had no expression on his face, and his voice became flat.

"What you said is just your guess."

Ma Zhan smiled and said, "I guess so."

The bearded man couldn't help but ask:

"Then you firemen, aren't you afraid that Boss Cao will use you as a target to divert the conflict and have you beheaded?"

Ma Zhan waved his hand and said, "No, because we are not worthy."

The bearded man's mind was working rapidly. Every word this kid said hit the nail on the head. Could he be a great talent?

"Tell me, how did Boss Cao win this time against Guanzhong? Was it smooth?"

"Guanzhong is not a problem, the difficulty lies in Tongguan.

Boss Cao can't possibly attack Tongguan head-on; he'd be easily smacked in the face by Ma Chao."

"Boom~"

The bearded man knocked Ma Zhan's head hard with his chestnut and said:

"Unload your grain, and those two carts at the same time. If you don't unload them all, you won't be allowed to eat."

Ma Zhan felt like his brain was about to crack. He knew he had said the wrong thing. This bearded man might be a relative of Boss Cao.

I could only retort innocently: "You don't keep your word, didn't you say that I don't need to remove it?

The bearded man angrily said, "I said what I said. If you want to count, it counts. If you don't want to count, it counts. Hurry up and unload."

The bearded man left angrily. Ma Zhan rubbed his head and had no choice but to start unloading the grain.

In Cao's army, in the central military tent, Boss Cao stared at Tongguan on the feng shui map and fell into deep thought.

Tongguan is known as the "One Hundred and Two Heroic Passes".

A garrison of one hundred men can defend ten thousand.

A garrison of 20,000 men can defend a million men.

Now Ma Chao, Han Sui, Yaoyou, Cheng Yin and other troops have gathered in Tongguan. Even a god would have a hard time.

Tongguan cannot be taken by force.

However, the army has arrived, and if he doesn't fight, he will no longer be Boss Cao.

After several tentative attacks, Boss Cao realized that Tongguan was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

In the central army tent, Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, Zhong Yao and other generals were helpless in the face of the 100,000-strong army stationed in Tongguan.

After dismissing the generals, Boss Cao strolled in the military camp.

Ma Zhan has realized the benefits of being a fireman. He is making himself a midnight snack as a way of compensating himself.

Unexpectedly, Ma Zhan, who was about to steal food, was discovered by the bearded grain officer.

The bearded man picked up Ma Zhan and shouted that he would kill him.

Ma Zhan had no choice but to offer the large bowl with both hands.

The bearded man sat on a stool and said as he ate:

"Boss Cao is indeed unable to break through Tongguan head-on, and his soldiers are helpless. Do you think Boss Cao will return to Yecheng without achieving any success?"

Ma Zhan looked at the bearded man eating with his mouth full of grease and could only get angry. It was because the other party had caught him by the tail.

He could only use Boss Cao to mock the bearded man.

"You think Boss Cao is just like you, only knows how to eat."

The bearded man looked at Ma Zhan and asked, "What do you mean? Boss Cao has another trick up his sleeve?"

"Don't worry, that's Boss Cao.

This is a brilliant plan. The brilliant plan should be attributed to General Xu Huang stationed in Fenyin. I think he will send us news soon."