Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

As Ma Chao and his companions approached, the soldiers guarding the city were instantly dazzled. After all, they were the soldiers guarding the Lujiang Commandery, and they had some experience. The first thing they saw was the white horse at Ma Chao's crotch. Its swiftness and majestic presence were truly remarkable, surpassing even the mount of General Zhang Xun, whom they had seen from afar. It was no exaggeration to say that if Ma Chao's white horse from the caravan were placed next to General Zhang Xun's, the general's mount would instantly pale in comparison, seeming worthless.

The guards' eyes lit up, and one of them, clever enough, quickly and secretly ran up to the tower to inform the commander. The rest of the soldiers looked at each other and immediately began to deliberately make things difficult for them.

Ma Chao saw the soldiers' intentions, but remained calm, stepping forward and giving them a subtle glance. The sharp-witted guard beside him immediately understood and hurried forward to talk to the soldiers.

The atmosphere at the city gate grew increasingly tense. Several soldiers surrounded Ma Chao and his group, their eyes filled with ill intent, and began to make things difficult for them. The leading soldier folded his arms, glared at the guards, and shouted at the top of his voice, "How can you just leave like that? It's New Year's Day, and you're in such a hurry! There's something wrong!"

At first, the guards were just perfunctory and said with a forced smile: "Sir, you see, we have been traveling all the way and are looking forward to going into the city to rest. We are legitimate businessmen, and we are under the banner of the Zhen family and the Yuan family." However, the soldiers did not buy it at all and continued to refuse to give in.

Seeing that perfunctory responses were futile, the guards had no choice but to pull themselves together. They quietly took out a few ingots of silver and stuffed them into the soldier's hand, whispering, "Sir, this is just a small gift. Please be flexible." The soldier weighed the silver, but his expression didn't soften. Instead, he threw the silver aside and shouted, "Hmph, don't try that! You're acting suspiciously. Who knows if this flag is fake? We must carefully inspect the goods!"

The guards frowned, took out more silver and begged bitterly: "Sir, we really don't mean any other harm. It's so cold today, please be merciful." But the soldiers seemed determined to inspect the goods and ignored the flags of the Zhen and Yuan families that represented power, and refused to give in at all.

At the city gate, the atmosphere suddenly became tense. Seeing the guards refusing to yield, the leading soldier, enraged, shouted at his comrades, "What are you all standing there for? This group looks suspicious! Surround them!" Before he could finish his words, a group of soldiers rushed forward without hesitation, surrounding Ma Chao and his entourage. Then, several soldiers roughly lifted the covering on the carts, revealing the gleaming weapons and heavy armor.

Seeing these prohibited items, the soldiers' eyes suddenly lit up, as if they had discovered a huge treasure. They were so excited that they danced with joy and shouted, "Great! How dare you smuggle weapons and armor? This is a capital crime! Don't move! Detain them all!"

The guards secretly thought that something was wrong and looked embarrassed. They all turned their eyes to Ma Chao, waiting for his next instructions.

At this critical moment, the garrison commander, led by a soldier, hurried over. As he approached, he was immediately captivated by the white horse at Ma Chao's steed. The horse was agile, its coat a white as snow, its hooves whirring with the wind, and its spirit was extraordinary—truly a rare and precious horse.

Before the general could take in the details, the soldiers rushed to report: "General, this group is hiding armor and weapons under the guise of a caravan. They definitely have bad intentions!" The general was immediately excited, thinking that this was a good opportunity to make a big fuss, making a fortune and showing off his achievements to Zhang Xun. So, he immediately pulled out the tiger skin and raised the banner, posing as a majestic figure. With a wave of his hand, he ordered more soldiers to surround Ma Chao and his men, shouting: "How dare you smuggle contraband under my nose? No one will leave today!"

Seeing that this group of people was extremely difficult to deal with, Ma Chao felt annoyed and didn't want to waste any more time arguing with them, so he said loudly: "Okay, in that case, we won't enter the city!" After that, he made a gesture to lead everyone away.

Seeing this, the commander sneered, stepped forward to block the way, and shouted, "That's easy for you to say! You can come and go as you please? It's not that easy! You must explain your intentions to me clearly, where you came from and where you are going. Otherwise, don't even think about leaving this city today!"

Ma Chao's anger suddenly flared up, his eyes wide open as he glared at the guard and asked, "What? Are you really planning to force us to stay?" The guard was startled by Ma Chao's sudden momentum, but when he thought of the rare BMW, he was unwilling to give up easily. He gritted his teeth and said, "Even if I force you to stay, what can you do to me?"

Ma Chao was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed at the guard and shouted, "You don't even open your eyes to see what flag I am waving! Who do you think you are? Even if your general Zhang Xun stood in front of me, he would have to salute me respectfully! I never thought that his subordinates are all blind people like you!" Ma Chao's words were full of momentum. The powerful aura stared at the guard as if it was real. The guard was frightened and dared not move for a while.

However, greed for the BMW eventually overcame his fear. The guard came to his senses, but still unwilling to give up, he wanted to question Ma Chao's identity and said again: "Hmph, don't try to scare me with your big words! You..."

But Ma Chao had completely lost his patience at this time and ignored him completely. He just stared at the guard coldly and asked word by word: "I ask you again, will you give way?" After that, he drew out the long sword from his waist with a "swish". The sword flashed with cold light, reflecting Ma Chao's stern face.

Seeing their leader draw his weapons, the surrounding generals unhesitatingly unsheathed their daggers with a clang of their own. For a moment, a flash of swords and sabers shone. The soldiers patrolling the city gates had never witnessed such a scene before, and their faces paled with fear, as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They unconsciously stepped back, their grips on their weapons tightening, yet they dared not rush forward.

The defending general was so frightened by Ma Chao's aura that he was a little unsure. His heart was in turmoil and he stammered, "Sir, please don't be angry. It's just... it's just that I really don't know who you are." Ma Chao's calm aura and his appearance of being calm in the face of danger were really different from those of ordinary people, which made the defending general's heart beat fast.

Ma Chao showed no fear and spoke proudly, "Let me tell you, I'm from Jizhou, Hebei, and my father's surname is Yuan. If you have any further questions, tell your city's general, Zhang Xun, to come and investigate in person. If you dare to stop me again, today will be your day of death!"

The commander looked embarrassed and said bitterly, "Sir, if you say so, I really can't let you in. How about this: you leave the goods behind, and I'll let you through. I'll report this matter to General Zhang Xun. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao couldn't help but chuckle contemptuously and said, "You insist on keeping my goods? Humph, I'm afraid you'll have the life to keep them, but not the life to use them!"

The general was in a state of panic, unsure what to do. A soldier muttered, "General, how about... we just fight them? After all, we have archers and powerful crossbows on the tower. If a fight really came, we wouldn't be afraid of them." The general, enraged, slapped the soldier in the face and cursed, "Damn it! If a fight breaks out, how many of us will die? Besides, if we really offend this gentleman and General Zhang Xun catches us, we'll all be fired. Where can we find these lucrative positions?"

At this moment, the atmosphere was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring, with both sides trapped in a delicate and stalemated situation, like trying to fight a wolf with a stick, with both sides fearing something. Ma Chao, for his part, wasn't afraid of the group before him, but rather he secretly considered that, deep in the heart of Lujiang, a conflict with them would not only expose his whereabouts, but would also make the rest of his journey difficult and fraught with unforeseen complications. As for the defending commander, the lucrative position offered him a tempting piece of fat, too tempting to relinquish. Looking at Ma Chao's confident and domineering demeanor, the commander knew he was no ordinary man, one he couldn't easily offend. Yet, he was unwilling to give up, and for a moment, he was torn and hesitant.

Seeing the guard still wavering, seemingly undecided, Ma Chao had an idea and decided to add fuel to the fire, feigning a simmering rage. He suddenly struck the horse's belly with a powerful blow. The majestic white steed, in pain, raised its head and neighed, raising its front hooves high. In an instant, it was before the guard like an arrow from a bow. Ma Chao looked down from above, like a god looking down on ants, his eyes filled with disdain and anger. His whip slashed through the air in a sharp arc, followed by a crisp "crack" that ripped like thunder in the ears of everyone, and the whip struck the guard hard in the face.

This sudden attack stunned the guard, who stood frozen in place as if under a spell. He was a dignified law enforcer, always bossing around at the city gates, harassing passersby. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? To be slapped in the face by a person being questioned was a profound humiliation, a sharp blade that pierced his pride.

Seeing this, the soldiers beside the general's guard suddenly opened their eyes wide, their rage burning in their eyes. Their hands moved like lightning to the hilts of their swords, waiting for the order to draw their swords and demand justice for their general. Those young, fierce faces were now twisted with anger, and the air was filled with the smell of explosive gunpowder.

However, although the guard's face was burning with pain and the rage in his heart was about to burst through his head, his years of experience in officialdom told him that he had to be patient at this moment. This sudden humiliation made him even more certain that this person must have a powerful supporter behind him, otherwise how could he dare to insult him so unscrupulously. Thinking of this, the guard clenched his teeth, his cheeks puffed up, and the muscles on his face trembled slightly due to the force. In the end, he still suppressed his anger and swallowed his anger. He forced a smile that was uglier than crying on his twisted face, and said in a tone with a bit of helplessness and flattery: "Okay, sir, in this case, you can enter the city. However, I must find General Zhang Xun to verify your identity. If I have offended you in this regard, I hope you will forgive me and forgive me."