Chapter 724

They had struck it rich.

Three billion cash, not including the jewelry and silk.

This trip had almost emptied out Zhang Rang's entire family fortune accumulated over so many years.

Good.

It was worth all the effort he had put in.

When he went from Xunshui to Yangzhai the day before, he had ordered Gao Shun to find a trustworthy general to take a portion of the troops to Yingyin.

Of course, this portion of troops was not the main force that breached Yingyin.

It was the remnants of Bo Cai's forces, which had been routed after Wang Yun, Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song were defeated, and which he had driven toward Yingyin because they were too busy fighting over the credit for killing Bo Cai to clean them up.

Of course, the attack on Yingyin was only instigated to a certain extent by his subordinates.

As it happened, even Duan Yu had not expected Yingyin to be breached so quickly.

It was the general sent by Gao Shun who came up with an idea.

Because the news that Bo Cai had been beheaded had already reached Yingyin.

Yingyin learned that Bo Cai had been killed and lowered its guard.

The general sent by Gao Shun came up with the idea of having the Huang Jin soldiers disguise themselves as ordinary refugees.

And they actually managed to breach Yingyin.

"The general you found is a talent; he has performed a great service this time and should naturally be rewarded."

"What is this man's name?" Duan Yu asked, looking at Gao Shun.

"His name is Ma Teng, from Longxi Commandery; he came from Longxi Commandery when we were recruiting troops at the beginning of the year," Gao Shun replied.

Hmm?

Duan Yu was stunned on the spot.

Ma Teng?

Is this Ma Teng the same Ma Teng?

As Gao Shun spoke, he beckoned to a man in his thirties not far away.

The man was over eight feet tall, sturdy in build, and looked quite heroic, wearing a suit of armor.

At Gao Shun's beckoning, the man ran over in a few strides and then bowed to Duan Yu and Gao Shun, saying, "General of the Vanguard, General Gao."

"My Lord, this is Ma Teng, courtesy name Shoucheng, a resident of Longxi Commandery," Gao Shun introduced.

Duan Yu saw at a glance that Ma Teng had some Qiang ethnic blood, with slightly sunken eye sockets and prominent cheekbones.

Ma Teng, courtesy name Shoucheng, from Longxi Commandery, and with Qiang blood.

It should be correct; he was Ma Chao's father.

However, having seen so many great men, Duan Yu no longer felt the way he did when he first saw Gao Shun.

"Not bad." Duan Yu looked at Ma Teng with a smile. "You performed very well. From now on, you will temporarily follow Boping and serve as Boping's deputy general."

"By the way, has your family moved to Hanyang Commandery? Who else is in your family?"

Upon hearing that he had been promoted, Ma Teng's eyes immediately showed gratitude. "Thank you, my Lord! Thank you, my Lord!"

"This subordinate will certainly not fail the Lord's high expectations."

"My family is still in Longxi Commandery and has not yet moved."

"My wife and children are all in Longxi."

"I have three sons. My eldest son, Ma Chao, is already over fifteen. He takes the Lord as his role model every day, practices martial arts diligently at home, and has achieved some success. He also wishes to join the army and serve the Lord."

That matched up.

It was indeed the Ma Teng from history.

He hadn't expected to have inadvertently recruited so many talents into his army.

Duan Yu nodded with a smile. "A real man should seek fame on horseback. After returning this time, you should move your family to Hanyang Commandery and let Boping arrange it. As for your son, let him come to my personal guard to train for two years first. Once he has achieved something, he can enter the army as a general."

"Thank you, my Lord!"

Ma Teng was exceptionally excited.

In Liangzhou, being able to enter Duan Yu's personal guard was not an ordinary treatment.

Unless one was absolutely trusted, it was impossible to enter Duan Yu's personal guard.

Moreover, the personal guard was the primary source for selecting future generals.

This honor was far greater than directly entering the army as a general.

That was why Ma Teng was so excited.

"Alright, you go and get busy first." Duan Yu waved his hand.

Ma Teng immediately bowed again in excitement and thanks, then went to command the soldiers to transfer the money and grain.

"These gold, silver, and jewelry must be transferred immediately, and it must not be discovered by others," Duan Yu said.

Gao Shun nodded and said, "My Lord, rest assured; these soldiers are all from the first batch of veterans."

"Hmm." Duan Yu nodded. "That's good."

"What we left for Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song should be enough to dig a pit for them both. The rest is none of our business."

"Once they defeat the Huang Jin bandits in Yingyin, we will immediately lead our troops north to Jizhou."

"Further down is the territory of Runan, which is the Yuan clan's turf. If we go there to suppress bandits, we won't gain any advantage."

"As for Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, let Zhang Rang deal with them," Duan Yu smiled.

This trip to Yingchuan could be called a full harvest.

A great talent for internal affairs, Zao Zhi, and an unexpected discovery of Ma Teng.

Ma Teng's ability was standard, but Ma Teng's son, Ma Chao, was a fierce man.

Besides that, he had also gained Cheng Yu, a General of the Vanguard, and the family fortune Zhang Rang had accumulated over so many years.

Money, people, and reputation—he had it all at once.

This harvest had already exceeded Duan Yu's expectations.

Anything else would just be a bonus.

He would see if he could recruit one of the great talents of the Xun clan in Yingyin.

Xun Shuang wouldn't work; he was too old.

An old fox.

The Xun clan also had Xun Yu, Xun You, Xun Chen...

"By the way, my Lord, there is one more thing." Gao Shun looked toward a residence not far away. "When I first arrived, I encountered a few people."

Duan Yu raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you already coerce the commoners here to leave?" Duan Yu asked.

Gao Shun shook his head and said, "They were not ordinary commoners."

"It was a woman who claimed to be Xun Shuang's daughter, named Xun Cai."

"When I arrived, she seemed to be avoiding the Huang Jin bandits and mistook Ma Teng and the others for Huang Jin bandits, and she happened to run into me and asked for help."

"I locked her up, waiting for the Lord's disposal."

Xun Shuang's daughter, Xun Cai!

Duan Yu remembered such a person.

It was rumored that the Xun clan had three paragons.

Xun Yu was loyal to the Han house, Xun Shuang insisted on filial piety, and this Xun Cai vowed never to remarry.

How could Xun Shuang's daughter be here?

Duan Yu took a deep breath.

This was a bit tricky.

He had been thinking about trying to recruit someone from the Xun clan.

Although the chances of success might not be high.

But at the very least, he could try.

But now, how should he deal with this Xun Cai?

Let her go?

Definitely couldn't let her go.

Since Xun Cai had already seen this scene, she would naturally have some guesses.

As soon as she returned to Yingyin City and connected it to Zhang Rang's home being raided, she would definitely figure out these key points. ===== CHAPTER 726 =====