Seeing the clouds

Chapter 45 Chapter 44 Refugees
As a famous figure in the old Northern Han Dynasty, Ma Hanqi can actually be called a famous family. His grandfather Ma Guanglu and his father Ma Zhongxian both served as Sikong in the Northern Han Dynasty. Although he was unlucky and ill-fated, the Northern Han Dynasty was destroyed within a few days of being a Sikong sacrificial wine. Fortunately, when he arrived in the Qin Dynasty, the old emperor saw that he was upright and was not stingy. He gave him a fourth-grade Wuwei prefect, which was regarded as his trust in his Ma family's "third generation Sikong".

Originally, Ma Hanqi, as a survivor of the Northern Han Dynasty, was a major help for the Qin Dynasty to take over the Liangzhou Road of the Northern Han Dynasty. In the officialdom, he was definitely one of the friends among the officials.In short, "It's not my turn to be impeached or demoted. Maybe it's my role to be promoted to a higher position." His future is absolutely unlimited, and Ma Hanqi is indeed going smoothly on Liangzhou Road.

But the good times did not last long. Ma Hanqi was originally a scholar. Even though he was the prefect of Wuwei, he also loved to participate in poetry and song gatherings.Although most of the time, he acted as a respected elder giving guidance to the younger generation, but occasionally he would compose a poem.There was a young talented man with gorgeous words and high self-esteem who once wrote a poem for Ma Hanqi to comment on.Mahan had an old-fashioned temperament and had always disliked those poems with gorgeous rhetoric. He also disliked the talented man's arrogant character. Instead of giving any praise to the talented man, he criticized him.The talented man was young and vigorous, so he was naturally dissatisfied, so he asked Ma Hanqi to compose a poem to convince the public.Although Ma Hanqi is not very old, he is a "three-generation Sikong" of the Ma family, so he naturally has real materials. He composed a masterpiece in just one stick of incense, which attracted applause from the whole house.The talented man lost face and was laughed at by everyone, and his heart became even more vicious.With an idea, he secretly twisted Ma Hanqi's masterpiece and the word "Hanqi" in his name into an anti-poem.Although Ma Hanqi was an upright man, he was really no match for three men becoming tigers and many people talking about gold, so the matter was reported to the court.

Although the new emperor Zhao Ming did not have any affection for Ma Hanqi, he still understood Ma Hanqi's character, so what should have been the crime of treason and implicated the nine tribes ended up being demoted instead.

Just when everyone thought that the matter would be settled, it rained all night, and then another storm hit the house late in the night.Ma Hanqi's younger brother was accused of bribery to occupy fertile land.Zhao Ming's good impression of the Ma family was completely ruined because of his previous anti-poetry incident. After learning about the bribery, he became furious and ordered the men of the Ma family to be imprisoned and beheaded, and the women to be prostituted.

The Ma family of "Three Generations of Sikong" was ruined because of the villain's revenge, which is really sad.

Ma Hanqi's daughter, named Ma Lan, was only five or six years old and was the only person who escaped from the Ma family incident.He was still young and had no other place to go, so he had to mix among the refugees in the northwest in order to find a temporary place to stay.

Because Malan was young, he actually didn't know what was going on at home.When the officers and soldiers came to arrest her, she was still playing by the pond in the house. She heard a commotion outside, and then her mother told her to run away, and she was able to escape.

However, everything in the world has its pros and cons, pros and cons.Although Malan was young and ignorant, the gangsters took good care of her because of her pity for her young age.Malan then went from being the apple of the eye of the prefect to becoming a gangster's daughter who was fed by hundreds of families.

I have to say that in this world, these people who live in poverty are more humane.

One day, the refugee team, which started in Wuwei and ended in Chang'an, was resting in a place in the northwest when they met two people.The older, mediocre-looking man in white is relatively thin, about 25 or [-] years old. He carries a four-foot long sword on his back. His face is neither sad nor happy, and the clouds are calm. Behind him is a man of [-] or [-] years old. year old boy.This young man has thick eyebrows, big eyes, a smile, and a rather delicate appearance. He is dressed in simple cloth, and his hair is a rare red color.

The two people came from the northwest and happened to be walking opposite the refugee team.Probably because the two of them felt tired from walking and the weather was dry, they felt a little thirsty and hungry, so they went to a stall not far away to prepare to eat.At this time, Ma Lan, who was among the refugees, found the boy's red hair interesting, so he ran to the two of them and asked, "Brother, why is your hair red?"

The young man ignored Malan and didn't even turn to look at her.On the contrary, the red-haired boy was relatively outgoing and had a gentle temper. He reached out and touched his red hair and smiled: "My hair has been red since I was born. Little sister, if you ask me why it is red, I don't know. Little sister, you Which family does the child belong to? Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something with your brother?"

Malan has a strong temperament and is not as weak as other children, so he replied: "I am an orphan, not a child of any family. My parents are gone."

When the red-haired boy heard this, he felt sad: "I didn't expect you to be so pitiful, little sister. But it's okay. Brother, I am also an orphan. Come, brother, treat you to some meat buns."

Malan opened his eyes wide and asked curiously: "Is it okay?"

The red-haired boy turned to look at the young man next to him: "Master, is it okay?" The young man was eating alone without looking back: "You can do it if you think it is okay. There is no need to ask my opinion."

The red-haired boy who received the master's permission laughed, stood up and hugged Malan on the wooden bench. He handed a meat bun to Malan and asked the shopkeeper to get a few more buns.

The master wields a sword and the apprentice wields an empty fist?It is said that a son inherits his father's legacy and an apprentice learns from his master, but I have never seen such a strange master and apprentice.Could it be that the master and the apprentice are short of money and really don't have the money to equip the apprentice with a decent sword?But looking at the casual look of the two of them, they don't seem very similar.

When the refugees not far away saw this scene, they were naturally envious. They had to leave money to spend the winter in Chang'an City, but they didn't have any spare money to buy steamed buns to eat.But envy was envy. Seeing Xiao Malan being treated so kindly by a strange boy, everyone was naturally very happy.

The red-haired boy may have a generous personality, or he may feel sorry for Malan for being an orphan like him, so he gave Malan several steamed buns in one go, telling her not to be polite and to fill her stomach.

But Malan was only a child of five or six years old, and it was his limit to be able to eat a whole bun. How could he eat so many buns handed to him by the boy?

Fortunately, although Malan was young, he knew how to repay his kindness. Seeing that he couldn't finish the buns, he asked the red-haired boy: "Brother, I can't eat these buns. Can you share them with my uncles and aunts?" After speaking, he extended his hand and pointed to the group of refugees on the side.

When the boy heard this, he slapped his head and thought that he was really stupid. He was not as sensible as a five or six-year-old child, so he quickly called the store to take out all the buns and distributed them to the homeless people.

As a result, the shopkeepers, the homeless people, and Xiao Malanke were all very happy, and they praised the red-haired boy for being such a good person.The young man was thin-skinned and was a little embarrassed to be praised. He scratched his head, but he was naturally very happy in his heart.

And just when everyone present was happy except the young man in white.The shopkeeper suddenly remembered that Chang'an had recently sent cavalry to expel the refugees. Many groups of refugees had been driven back to the northwest by the cavalry, and those who disobeyed were even killed on the spot and told the truth.

When everyone heard the news, they immediately burst into mourning and despair.If they are allowed to return along the road at this time, they may starve to death in the cold winter before they reach the level of martial prowess.

As the saying goes, there is no way out of doubts after mountains and rivers, and there is another village with dark willows and flowers.

Just when the atmosphere here became more and more chilly and lonely, the shopkeeper came up with a way to save everyone's mood.

(End of this chapter)