Wu Sangui's guards bit the bullet and reported to Ma Bao for a visit. They thought that they were not just Ma Bao, but they gathered more than a dozen generals outside the temple. There were also ministers with subordinates from Ning. They had been waiting for a long time this time, but they couldn't see each other, and it was already in chaos.

"General Ma, why has the prince still disappeared from us for so long and said he would worship Buddha and worship God. How could the gods and Buddhas decide on this battle formation?" Tan Hong patted his thighs and hurriedly walked around the temple gate. He heard the sound of bells coming from inside, and he was even more furious. He cursed with pain: "Now the main force of the Eastern Federation is trying to gather in Yunnan and Guizhou. Some people say 50,000 or 60,000, and some people say 100,000. If this continues, I can't help it. What should I do?"

"Yes, yes!" Another general also echoed: "What I'm more afraid of is that the Dongfan's quest for the tutors has reached the chieftains. Some chieftains in Huguang have already publicly refused to listen to the prince's military orders. Some chieftains even led their troops to join the Dongfan ranks, thinking that if this continues, there is no need for the main force of the Dongfan to fight. These four-sided chieftains can swallow us alive."

"You think that Guanghuguang is the same, and Guizhou is the same. The little thief king explicitly ordered that as long as he did not send troops to help me, the chieftain would escape unscathed. If he could send troops to help him, he would also have a generous reward of titles, a large number of titles and boxes of gold and silver, and a land deed that would not cost money. What is the chieftain? They all became flies that smelled smelly meat!"

Ma Bao originally came to discuss with Wu Sangui, but when he heard the arguments from the people present, he felt a splitting headache. Wu Sangui avoided him and instead went to do something to cram the situation, which disappointed Ma Bao. As a general who was born in the old camp of the rebel army, Ma Bao had a bumpy life. He first followed Li Zicheng to conquer the world, and later joined the Ming army. Because Sun Kewang's power rose, he joined his command. After the Qing Dynasty attacked Yunnan and Guizhou in a large-scale attack, he joined Wu Sangui. However, no matter how he calculated, he was not Wu Sangui's confidant, because when Wu Sangui sent all kinds of capable generals to Hanzhong, Kuidong, Longxi, and Yunnan and Guizhou in defense, he was left by his side, which was obviously distrustful.

"Dear generals, today the prince must sincerely worship the Buddha and pray to God and Buddha to bless our vassal to survive the great disaster. I will not see you. Please come back." The guard walked to the generals and said.

"I haven't seen you again! I haven't seen you again! When the Eastern Band soldiers come to Chengdu, you will see that you will not see you!"

"What's the point of worshiping Buddha? God won't send heavenly soldiers and generals!"

Everyone was angry and complained, and they left in a blink of an eye. Ma Bao sighed and thought to himself, is it going to fall down the tree and scatter? After the bells in the temple, there was a melodious sound of chanting scriptures. A picture flashed in front of Ma Bao's eyes. The arrogant King Pingxi was sitting in front of the Buddha statue and reciting scriptures. He looked like a human being.

Ma Bao got on the horse and returned to Chengdu. He saw a carriage at the door of his house. He couldn't tell who was coming. The housekeeper came up and said that it was the visiting of Guizhou General Tan Hong. Obviously, after Tan Hong left the temple, he went directly to Ma Bao's house, but did not say anything in front of the temple. He was deliberately avoiding others.

Ma Bao is still close to Tan Hong, because like him, Tan Hong was born in a camp and had a long history. When he entered the main hall, he saw Tan Hong having tea. Ma Bao said, "Brother Tan, I didn't see the prince today. I'm sad. Come here to my brother to make a bitter taste."

"That's right, right, only Brother Ma can say what you can say." Tan Hong said, his eyes always glanced at the housekeeper of the Ma Bao family. Ma Bao waved his hand and signaled everyone to go out to serve.

Tan Hong took Ma Bao's arm and sat down, saying in a deep voice: "Have you heard about the assassination of King Ying?"

Ma Bao nodded and said, "I just don't know whether it is true or false, nor do I know how to live or die."

"That brother thought it was death or life?" Tan Hong asked.

Ma Bao thought for a moment and said, "Brother, if I ask me to guess, even if I don't die, I will be seriously injured. Look, King Ying first cleared Huguang and then copied the southwest. He was so domineering. He was even more elite soldiers and generals gathered to attack me from all sides, especially in Longxi and Yunnan and Guizhou. It was a high attack on the low. With such an advantage, he was also a great chieftain and divided us. What is the reason? It is probably because King Ying had something to do, and the East Fan wanted to stabilize the situation."

Tan Hong shook his head and said, "Brother, to be honest, I think the King of England is definitely fine. Not only is it okay, but he is also planning a major event in the southwest. He will soon attack Bashu, and the focus is on attacking Guizhou, which I am responsible for!"

Seeing that Tan Hong said so clearly that he was sure, Ma Bao was startled and then asked: "Brother, can you confirm this matter with other sources?"

Tan Hong took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Ma Bao. After Ma Bao opened it, his face changed slightly because the letter was written by General Li Laiheng of the Imperial Loyal Army. The official seals and private seals were complete, which was not allowed to be faked. The main content of the letter was to persuade surrender. First, it analyzed the power comparison and situation in the southwest battlefield, and then gave some good conditions. Ma Bao cared more about it and told the personal relationship between Li Laiheng and Tan Hong, hoping that Tan Hong would not be buried alive for the destined Pingxi Fan.

"This... this is not about the King of England." Ma Bao looked at it twice, but was still puzzled.

Tan Hong said: "This letter was received four days ago. It has been more than 40 days since the King of England was assassinated. Do you think, if King of England is really dead or seriously injured, would Li Laiheng still persuade me to surrender like this? Will the New Dynasty let him rule the southwest matter if King of England dies?"

Ma Bao shook his head repeatedly. The Southwest War Zone covered eight provinces, and there were many powerful generals. Even if the Emperor's eldest son, the King of Ying would send another commander. Li Laiheng was only a third-class official, but only a lieutenant general. He was in charge of a military force. It was not his turn to be a position, ability and closeness. Besides, Li Laiheng was responsible for the direction of Huguang and attacked along the Yangtze River. He was not in the match with Tan Hong. He persuaded Tan Hong to surrender, which was beneficial to the overall situation, but it might not be conducive to his own achievements.

"Yes, my brother said this very reasonably. I am stupid." Ma Bao said.

Tan Hong was not angry at all. The reason was very simple. After reading this letter, Ma Bao looked at it without any anger. He focused on whether the letter proved the life and death of the King of England, rather than the loyalty of the two. This shows that Ma Bao also had other thoughts and could not be loyal to Wu Sangui, let alone fight to the death.

Ma Bao also realized this later. He smiled awkwardly, felt aroused, and he couldn't help but look around. Fortunately, no one saw or heard it. Ma Bao smiled: "Brother Tan, how are you going to respond? Why do you want to show me this letter again?"

Tan Hong said: "Brother, do you think Li Laiheng is really trying to consider the old relationship between the King of Chuang's army?"

Ma Bao shook his head, all the old love robes are fake. If the King of England had not intended, Li Laiheng would not dare to do these things. Tan Hong continued, "In my opinion, he Li Laiheng is for himself. Think about it, the three powerful vassals in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty have surrendered. Over the past twenty years, the forces active on the Sixth are all the results, but who is better or worse? The Dongfan got the emperor, raised the Ming royal family, Manchuria was defeated, and retreated to the grassland.

Among the rebel army, the Western Army has the power of King Rong. Our Shun Army has many titles in Kuidong. It was either liquidated a few days ago or retired. The one who really has real power is Li Laiheng. This man wants to be the leader of the Shun Army. He advised us to surrender our Shun Army to win over the troops, and to retreat, and to be able to achieve great achievements in pacifying the southwest. At least he can get the treatment of the title Duke and glory of the lineage."

"Brother, I can see what Li Laiheng is thinking. The key is how we respond." Ma Bao said.

Tan Hong said: "I don't need to say anything about the general trend of the world. I can understand that we can't block the retreat that comes to the door, but no matter what, everything you and I will depend on the strength in the future. If you have great power, you will make great contributions, and the retreat will be fine. Brother, I can reach this point, which is the limit. If we want to increase our bargaining chips, it's still necessary for you to come forward."

Ma Bao understood that Tan Hong had suppressed the southwest chieftains in the early years and had a reputation as a killer. He was also a strong general. He fought with the former Ming army for many years and did not lose the upper hand. Therefore, he was able to guard the northwest of Guizhou and protect Bashu. But he was not a direct lineman of Pingxi Vocational. No matter how much he made contributions or how he was able to pursue his career, he would get a false reputation rather than real power. However, he was unable to move forward in Chengdu, but he was not lacking in prestige. If he could find a position of real power, in response to it, whether he was carrying the big ship of Pingxi Vocational or surrendering on his own, he would have great benefits.

"But I have only three or four thousand soldiers in my hands, so the prince doesn't allow me to go out and lead the troops." Ma Bao sighed.

Tan Hong said: "The prince is no longer the original prince. Apart from his closeness and alienation, he delegated power and appointed him to the right to see who can win his favor. There is no general in Yunnan yet. If the brother can win his favor, wouldn't it be better to lead the troops outside than to be frustrated here?"

This statement really aroused the ambition hidden in Ma Bao's heart for a long time. He fell into deep thought. The more he felt that what Tan Hong was right, only with the soldiers and power in his hands was a stable situation. When he woke up and wanted to discuss with Tan Hong again, he found that there was no one in the hall and Tan Hong had quietly left.

"What did General Tan say when he left just now?" Ma Bao called the butler and asked.

The housekeeper shook his head, took out a box from his arms and said, "General Tan didn't say anything, he just asked the little one to give the box to you, saying that you had read it and you understood everything."

Ma Bao took it and looked at it. He swayed it. It seemed that there was something inside, but it opened it. Fortunately, there were notes written. I realized that this bark called Cabinda had such a miraculous effect. But Ma Bao also knew that Tan Hong did not give this thing to him, but a gift prepared for him. Who wants this thing the most now? Isn’t that King of Pingxi, Wu Sangui, who is already in his forties but is singing every night?

"Good stuff, good stuff..." Ma Bao shook his head and shouted, "Come here, I want to bathe incense, and where are the masters I met last time in western Sichuan now? I'll invite people."

On the second day, Wu Sangui was reciting scriptures in the Great Hall. The guards came and whispered: "Prince, Ma Bao is asking for a visit."

Wu Sangui glared at the guard and was about to scold him, but the guard quickly explained: "Prince, General Ma brought several masters to the Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. He could not only communicate with the prince to heaven and pray for the blessing of gods and Buddhas, but also help the prince to be healthy and prolong his life."

"Take it seriously?" Wu Sangui asked. He was a little restless after not hanging with women for a day. But the host in the temple said that sincerity is spiritual. The so-called sincerity is necessary to abstain from sex and cultivate oneself. Today, he had to hear that there were such sects, asking God and worshiping Buddha and being free and happy, and Wu Sangui was moved.

The guard said, "I don't know either, but General Ma's words are true, and it doesn't seem to be fake."

"Please come in."

Ma Bao met Wu Sangui as he wished, and introduced several Tibetan Tantric masters to Wu Sangui. Those monks knew the secret techniques in the room and knew what the secular people thought and thought, and immediately invited the Buddha to come out, preaching it as a tool for regulating the mind and cultivating the Buddha nature, and guiding Wu Sangui to use the "dual movement of emptiness and joy" to produce the nature of emptiness and happiness, so as to achieve the purpose of using desire to control desires, and worshiping gods and Buddhas, and being protected. This is exactly what Wu Sangui thinks, which is much more pleasant than the boring Middle-earth Buddhism.

When Ma Bao returned home, Tan Hong was already waiting. Seeing Ma Bao's face as usual, Tan Hong asked, "Brother Ma, how about it?"

"As expected, I sent those monks and your precious medicine. I didn't say anything. The prince ordered me to lead my troops south to run the Yangtze River defense line as the admiral of Yunnan." Ma Bao then laughed.

"Okay, that's it. If you count it like this, the burden facing Yunnan and Guizhou in the south is on you and me, and you and my brothers have the initiative. OK, OK." Tan Hong said with a smile, and then said to Ma Bao happily: "Brother, you have to invite me to drink. I won't return until I'm drunk today."

Ma Bao shook his head and said, "No, you and I have been very close to provoking trouble. I will not talk about it now. Brother, you have to leave Chengdu and go south to Guizhou to avoid getting involved in right and wrong. Not only you, but also me, I will take office tomorrow."

"What did you give birth? I'm so anxious?" Tan Hong was puzzled.

Ma Bao said, "The prince is fascinated by whom he is convinced. He is also seriously injured if he is determined to die. Any information on the front line is evidence. He has decided to start negotiations again. The bargaining chips for this negotiation must be added to the Zhu Ming royal family. I am afraid that they will support the prince's reign or call the emperor left in Chengdu. If you and my brothers are in Chengdu at that time, they will definitely summon them to discuss. This is not a good thing. You and I oppose it and lose the authority you have obtained. If you support it, you will be more guilty in the Xin Dynasty, and it is better to leave."
Chapter completed!