The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 83 Laiyang Ma Family
A group of people rode horses to the gate of the Ma family.

The presence of horses and their good attire immediately attracted the attention of the Ma family. A servant ran out of the manor and saluted Wu Jialiang, the leader, with a respectful gesture, "I wonder which distinguished guest you are..."

Wu Jialiang didn't say much nonsense and directly handed over the letter of introduction written by Gao Jin.

The servant went in to pass the message, and soon a more senior steward came out to greet them. The servant led the seven people's horses to the stable and took good care of them, while the steward greeted the seven people inside.

As soon as I walked into the manor, I saw the front hall opposite the gate. It was a newly built wooden house. The wood and paint were very fresh, and I could even smell the "decoration smell" in my nose.

On both sides of this newly built front hall are burned-down side halls. Many migrant workers are cleaning up these damaged buildings, loading the burnt wood onto trucks and dragging them away to be thrown away.

It seems that the Ma family concentrated their manpower and resources to build the front hall first, and then clean up other houses.

The steward sighed, "It was the Jin thieves who did it! When the Jin thieves came last year, my master and the whole family fled to Dengzhou and stayed with relatives in Mouping County. When the Jin thieves came and couldn't find anyone, they set the house on fire."

Wu Jialiang: "Is that relative from Mouping County the one known as Ma Banzhou? It's said that half of Dengzhou belongs to him. I also heard that the Ma family is a descendant of General Fu Bo, Ma Yuan. There are four branches in Jiaodong: in Laiyang, Mou County, Huang County, and Wendeng."

The steward laughed: "How dare I, how dare I, Dengzhou belongs to the Song Dynasty, how can it belong to the Ma family!"

Although he said he dared not, his expression was very proud. He was obviously proud of his master's family lineage.

Dengzhou governed four counties: Penglai, Huangxian, Muping, and Wendeng. The three branches of the Ma family controlled three counties each, so saying it controlled half of the state was a bit of an understatement; it would be more accurate to say it controlled three-quarters of the state.

Wu Jialiang was secretly delighted: If I can establish a good relationship with Ma, I can reach out to most of the Jiaodong Peninsula, not to mention the small Laiyang County.

Yue Wenxuan was also thinking in his heart: Dad said last time that the rebel army should use the three cities of Laizhou City (Ye County), Jiaoshui, and Jimo to form a line of defense to protect Laizhou and Dengzhou, and use them as a base to resist the Jin.

It now seems that most of the Jiaodong Peninsula is controlled by the Ma family. We must deal with the Ma family properly and try our best to win them over to the rebel army.

Just as I was thinking this, a little boy of about five or six years old crawled out of a collapsed house in front of me. He was dressed very elegantly and was obviously a young master, but his body was covered in black mud and ash. A big-handed maid was chasing after him, saying, "Young master! You're going into the ruins again."

Yue Wenxuan thought it was a naughty kid, a good-for-nothing, about to make a scene, but he didn't expect that after the boy came out of the ruins, he didn't show any mischievous look. Instead, he stood at the door of the ruins, with a solemn look on his young face: "The Jin thieves are really despicable. This side hall of Fourth Uncle's house is my favorite. I didn't expect that it would be burned down by the Jin thieves when I came here to play. The copy of Laozi's Commentary on the Tao Te Ching that I placed in this side hall was also burned... Alas..."

The maid whispered, "It's just a book. If you want to burn it, just burn it and copy another one."

The boy was angry. "That was written by Wang Bi during the Three Kingdoms period. It's extremely precious. How can I just copy it? No, I have to go back in and look for it. It might have been crushed by falling rocks and not burned."

After saying that, he went back into the ruins...

The maidservant was very anxious and quickly followed him into the ruins: "Master, you can't do this. What if you get hurt?"

Yue Wenxuan thought to himself: This boy is so young, but he seems to have some knowledge.

Wu Jialiang couldn't help but ask, "Who was that young man just now?" The steward chuckled and said, "He's my master's nephew, the son of Ma Banzhou from Mouping County. His name is Ma Congyi. Although he's young, he's highly educated. When his mother was pregnant, she dreamed that Magu gave her an elixir. Since childhood, he's often recited words from the secular world... His future is limitless."

Wu Jialiang thought to himself: I have seen people bragging about their own young master, but I have never seen another young master bragging so fiercely.

But Yue Wenxuan was thinking: This man's name sounds familiar, as if I've heard it somewhere before, but I can't remember where. Is he a famous official of the Southern Song Dynasty? A famous general?
Forget it, it’s better to ask Baidu than to ask your brain.

My brain will never be able to remember as clearly as Baidu.

He cut out the sandbox and searched on the computer, eh?
This Ma Congyi is really a celebrity...

In the future, he will become a monk and take Wang Chongyang as his master. He will change his name to Ma Yu and be known as Danyangzi. He will be the leader of the Seven Sons of Quanzhen.

Of course, he probably wouldn't go to Mongolia to teach Guo Jing internal skills, nor would he form the Big Dipper formation.

No wonder I felt familiar with Ma Banzhou when I heard him before. Ma Yu’s nickname is also Ma Banzhou. That’s of course because his father is Ma Banzhou. When he grew up, he inherited the family business and naturally became the new generation of Ma Banzhou.

By this time, the group had already entered the front hall. The steward arranged seats for them and served them tea. After a short wait, a man in his thirties came out from the back. He looked quite scholarly. When he saw Wu Jialiang, he clasped his fists in greeting and said, "Excuse me, my surname is Ma, and my given name is Sheng. My family is currently undergoing a major construction project, so I apologize for being late in welcoming you."

Wu Jialiang clasped his fists in greeting, then looked around...

Ma Sheng understood immediately and looked at the steward, who immediately cleared out all the idle servants in the hall.

After the outsiders were gone, Wu Jialiang whispered, "My name is Wu Yong, and I belong to the King of Jimo Palace."

This opening statement startled Ma Sheng. He hadn't expected a major bandit to arrive, and one from a neighboring county. But on closer inspection, it didn't seem surprising. This man had come with a letter of introduction from Gao Jin. And who was Gao Jin? A pirate! What good could the people he introduced be capable of?

Although Ma Sheng was in Laiyang, he knew the name of Gong Yi from Jimo County. He also knew that Gong Yi died fighting against the Jin Dynasty, and that it was his daughter who was leading the rebel army now.

Ma Sheng's expression suddenly turned serious. "I wonder why King Gong sent you here?"

Wu Jialiang: "The story of the Laiyang bandits."

Ma Sheng was slightly startled, then quickly replied, "Are you talking about the bandits entrenched at the border of Jimo and Laiyang counties? I know a thing or two about them! They were originally bandits from Jimo, but because a powerful county lieutenant arrived in Jimo, they fled to Laiyang. What does this have to do with Prince Gong?"

At this point, Ma Sheng showed deep respect for the new county lieutenant of Jimo County. He clasped his fists in the direction of Jimo County and said, "I really hope that the Laiyang County Lieutenant can learn from the Jimo County Lieutenant."

Wu Jialiang: "Although these bandits have come to Laiyang, they often cross the border and harass the villages in Jimo County, including the villages protected by my family, King Gong. I'm here to discuss the matter of eliminating these bandits."

"I see." Ma Sheng finally understood what the other party was doing. "Prince Gong wants me to send troops to help?"

(End of this chapter)