Chen Xi received the imperial edict and immediately made a series of arrangements for the rebellion around the Gyeonggi area.

The emperor was not in charge, but he, the Minister of War, could not stand by and watch. He had to conduct a survey on the local chaos, and then sent troops to encircle and suppress them in a targeted manner, so that the civilian rebellion could not be expanded.

As for how to handle the case of a relative in the foreign country, Chen Xi had a decided plan in his mind.

In the afternoon, Chen Xi did not stay in the office of the Ministry of War, but went directly to the Yazhi courtyard west of the city, where he wanted to meet a few people.

Yunliu stood by the withered lotus pond, waiting for the Shenxi River to arrange work in the pavilion ahead.

In the early morning, there was a light snow in the capital, and a thin layer of snow was piled up on the yellow remaining lotus in the puddle. Chen Xi picked up a teacup with white mist, took a sip, and said: "I am ordered to thoroughly investigate the case of the relatives of the foreign country. You need to collect some information, mainly evidence of the Zhang brothers doing evil... Be careful not to alarm the snake, especially now the relatives of the foreign country have certain precautions."

Yun Liu bowed: "Yes, sir."

Chen Xi said again: "Have you notified the person I am looking for?"

Yun Liu replied: "Bizhi has sent a message and asked Zhou Laosan to bring Ma Ang who had given gifts before... I wonder why the adults wanted to see Ma Ang? Beizhi has investigated. This person had no achievements when he was in Ningxia Town. He knew Zhou Laosan just because Zhou Laosan bribed him to facilitate business. Later, Zhou Laosan bought him a free agent and returned to Beijing through him."

Chen Xi had no intention of explaining to Yunliu and raised his hand: "Just bring the person there, and I will deal with the rest."

Yunliu turned around and left in a bad mood. After about half an hour, she came back and told Fatty Zhou and Ma Ang that he had been waiting outside the door. At the same time, Peng Yu, who was sent by Chen Xi to follow Fatty Zhou.

"Let Zhou Laosan wait outside, I will go to the living room to meet Ma Ang."

After Chen Xi said that, he got up and followed the walkway beside the lotus pond to return to the house in front. As soon as he sat down in the living room, a burly man appeared in front of the door under Yun Liu.

The man looked at the clean wooden floor and didn't know if he should enter. After all, he was wearing boots, and the road was muddy outside because the ice and snow melted, so he didn't dare to dirt the ground casually.

Chen Xi waved, and Ma Ang then plucked up the courage to step inside, and knelt down and saluted directly from front to and from behind Chen Xi: "I am a man, Ma Ang, have seen the adults."

Ma Angfeng summoned him. Although it was Chen Xi who saw him, he thought that the possibility of seeing the main owner was very low, so he didn't think that the man sitting in the living room at this time was the famous Chen Xi, but he didn't know who this master was, so he simply called him "Master".

Chen Xi raised his head and looked at Ma Ang and found that this person was indeed somewhat similar to the woman he had accepted and raised in a foreign house. Chen Xi was still thinking that the girl Ma Ang should not be from his mother, but now it seems that she looks like her real sister.

"Brother Ma has no official position, so why should he claim to be a humble position?" Chen Xi asked.

Ma Ang had previously suspected that the young man in front of him was not Chen Xi. Hearing that his tone was so humble, he felt that he should be just an aide beside Chen Xi.

"Shen Zhihou, the Minister of War, was very talented, but he didn't expect that the staff he was looking for was so young and courageous."

Ma Ang had a little confidence in his heart and bowed: "Mr. I have always wanted to serve the court. Even if the person is not in his position, he still has the intention to go to the battlefield to protect his country. I hope to borrow the battle against the grassland in the coming year, make achievements, and realize his long-cherished wish to serve the country with loyalty."

Chen Xi frowned when he said this.

It's completely official-tongued and doesn't have much nutrition.

A person who remembered it in history books by betraying his sister and concubine and was recognized as a slander by history, actually talked about loyalty here to serve the country, which really made Chen Xi feel absurd and unruly.

But Chen Xi would not reveal Ma Ang's intention to climb up and said, "It's great to be loyal to the king and the country, but you didn't stay on the three sides and start from the grassroots level. Instead, you returned to the capital to get into the camp and sent your sister here. What should you say?"

Ma Ang was still full of doubts. At this time, he still could not determine Chen Xi's identity. Logically speaking, a strategist was not qualified to ask such private questions. But he immediately felt that even if this person was not Chen Xi, he was also the one who could speak around Chen Xi.

Ma Ang said: "Ministership is in three sides, and she has no connections. She has no way to serve the country. She can only come to the capital to try her luck. Unfortunately, she has no life and cannot cling to the powerful. She only lives in the mansion of Zhou Dang's family and waits for the opportunity. It was also a coincidence that she learned that Zhou Dang's family and Shangshu Chen were old friends, so she gave her a gift to her... The sister admired Lord Shen and was willing to serve Lord Shen without seeking fame. If she couldn't help her, she fulfilled her wish. By the way... I hope to meet Lord Shen and seek to serve the court."

Chen Xi asked, "Then why were you dismissed?"

"Well……"

Ma Ang seemed very hesitant, but he still tried hard to defend himself, "The Ningxia rebelled, and the imperial court was guilty of not fighting. Later, he was impeached by the Censor. General Cao, who led the troops to suppress the rebellion, slandered the relationship with the rebels without asking any questions. He was directly imprisoned and asked for crimes. Fortunately, Lord Shen pardoned the law to save his life... The family of loyalty and martyrs were loyal and martyrs, and they were incompatible with the rebellion. How could they be rebels? They were all censors who had no money to deal with the money... They also had no money to deal with the upper and lower levels, so they would lose their official position. The law originally wanted to go back to the capital to sue those corruption-related stolen officials, but unfortunately they had no way to appeal!"

Ma Ang described himself as a desperate officer who had no way to make unjust complaints, and did not mention the corruption and abuse of power he did during his tenure.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "Everyone thinks about himself innocent. If you weren't corrupt and abused the law, how could Fatty Zhou escape and return to the capital? Didn't he succeed by bribing you? There are so many officials and generals on the three sides, and how many people are involved in the case of King Anhua's rebellion, it is difficult to determine. This is the reason why I decided to pardon."

Chen Xidao: "It seems that Brother Ma has suffered some grievances."

This sentence seemed to resonate with Ma Ang. He nodded heavily and said, "Sir, have you not asked me about it yet?"

Chen Xi smiled and said, "If you don't know who you are facing, just kneel down and kowtow. Are you too rash?"

Ma Ang smiled: "The seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door is just a sage man who has no official position. Even if he kneels down in front of his husband, he will be lucky enough to have three lives. How can he be reckless?"

Chen Xi smiled and said, "You are quite good at speaking... I am the one you are looking for."

"ah?"

Although Ma Ang also had this awareness, he did not expect that the dignified Minister of War, Shen Zhihou, the first general of the Hongzhi Dynasty to Zhengde Dynasty, would be so approachable. He quickly kowtowed again and said respectfully, "I don't know that Master Shen is right in front of me. I admire you like a humble ant looking up at the stars... I kowtow to you here, wishing you all the time, wealth and good fortune!"

Hearing Ma Ang’s stingy words, Chen Xi sighed in his heart: “People are on a high place, and everyone in front of them is so pleasant to hear… they all say honest words, even I don’t like to listen to accusations, and even have a dirty trick with Mr. Xie for this. It seems that I have to always warn myself in the future and not be blinded by flattery words…”

"Brother Ma, get up." Chen Xidao.

Ma Ang did not stand up as he said, but still knelt on the ground: "When I saw Lord Shen, I would be willing to kneel down and talk to you even if I kneel forever. Lord, please let Bei Zhi kneel down and talk to you."

Chen Xi did not stop him, so he poured a cup of tea himself and held it in his hand: "You returned to the capital to restore your position. I see that you are loyal, but I can keep you under your command."

"Thank you, thank you sir..." Ma Ang quickly kowtowed and thanked him.

Chen Xi shook his head slightly: "But for the time being, you are just listening to me under my command. I will use it again after the battle against the grassland next year... I asked someone to arrange it. You are waiting for the vacancies in the Governor's Office of the Five Army, right?"

"Thank you for your kindness."

Ma Ang simply regards Chen Xi as his rebirth parent.

I thought I wouldn't have the chance to climb up even if I returned to the capital, but I didn't expect that I would climb up the big tree of Shenxi in a blink of an eye.

Chen Xi said: "Get up, I will take you to the Governor's Office of the Five Army to restore your military post, but what do you think to the outside world? Do you understand?"

Ma Ang quickly stated: "I will do my best to do my best to do my job, and will never let down my trust, and will not disclose the things you have supported me."

"Um."

Chen Xi nodded, "You go down first. I have important matters to discuss with the Zhou family. Starting today, you should pay attention to reducing your contacts with him. After all, you are an official and the other is a civilian... If I find out that you are half-hearted, what consequences will be, you should consider it yourself."

Ma Ang's body couldn't help but tremble.

People in the court said that Chen Xi was decisive in his work and decisive in his actions. He took down Liu Jin, who was powerful in the world, but Ma Ang knew that this was definitely inseparable from a group of capable subordinates. Just as Di Renjie was surrounded by Ma Renyi, Situ Jian, Hong Liang, Tao Gan, Ma Rong and other trusted guards, and Bao Zheng also had Gongsun Ce, Zhan Zhao, Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and others. If he defected and betrayed, his fate would be death.

"As for the order!"

Ma Ang did not dare to disturb him anymore, and knelt down and moved back until he completely retreated outside the door before he stood up and turned around.

...

...

Chen Xi didn't talk much to Fatty Zhou.

The main purpose is to discuss meeting with representatives of the main chamber of commerce in the capital on a date.

Then Fatty Zhou and Ma Ang left and headed to Fatty Zhou's mansion in Chongwenmen.

"...General Ma, I would like to say congratulations to you here. You cannot forget my kindness of help." Fatty Zhou said to Ma Ang in the carriage with a smile on his face.

Ma Ang felt proud and said excitedly: "I finally got so frustrated for so long that I can finally make a name for myself... It sounds like a dream. Lord Shen actually sat there, said so much to me, and said he would entrust me with important responsibilities."

Fatty Zhou was very envious and swallowed unconsciously, and said with a smile: "That's right, don't look at our relationship with Lord Shen? Before Lord Shen became the top scorer, I knew him. At that time, he was a ruthless character. He was only twelve or thirteen years old and decisive. It is said that he was the first person in the literary and martial arts strategy in ancient times. Even Wei and Huo may not have his style!"

"Hey."

Ma Ang clenched his fists and said with a smile, "Thank you, President Zhou for his support. I will definitely not forget this great kindness."

Fatty Zhou smiled and said, "Brother Ma is willing to give up and personally send his beautiful sister to Lord Shen. Don't you know, Lord Shen has a special liking for beauty..."

"oh?"

Ma Ang raised his spirits and pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

Fatty Zhou said: "When Lord Shen went to Beijing to take the exam, he had a confidante around him. Later, he even married and took concubines one after another. He was so uncomfortable. Even the chief assistant of the dynasty, Lord Xie, gave his own granddaughter as a concubine to win over this young nobleman. Others also wanted to give beauty to Lord Shen, but I didn't hear that Lord Shen fell in love with him. Who knew that if you send a sister over, you would win the favor of Lord Shen..."

Ma Ang said ashamedly: "It's a coincidence that the only sister around him can take action... Besides, if you don't give it to your sister, can you even give it to your wife?"

"Not that's not possible."

Fatty Zhou continued to laugh, "Sending my sister can already make Lord Shen look at him with admiration. If I give my wife... Haha, I don't mean to offend me, General Ma doesn't have to take it to heart. If you want to send Lord Shen again, I can help you find it, but I don't know if it can catch Lord Shen's eyes."

If Fatty Zhou had said this to others, he would have been angry long ago... What kind of friend are you, who actually instigated me to give my wife to someone to insult?

But I said that to Ma Ang, with Ma Ang's distorted outlook on life, he had long thought about this issue. He had one thing in common with Qian Ning, Jiang Bin and others, that is, he would do whatever he wanted to achieve his goal.

People in this era were deeply poisoned by Confucianism, and the concept that brothers are like brothers and women are like clothes is deeply rooted. Therefore, in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Liu An killed his wife and treated Liu Bei so naturally. In "Water Margin", heroes from all walks of life also often saw scenes of killing their wives to fulfill their loyalty. In their opinion, their wives and daughters are just stepping stones on their own road to success.

Afterwards, Fatty Zhou talked to Ma Ang again, and Ma Ang was timid and a little absent-minded.

He was also thinking about this question: "My sister sends her over, I'm afraid she won't see her in a short time. If she loses favor, it will be difficult to win the favor of Lord Shen in the future, and my career will come to an abrupt end. If it really doesn't work, let the woman try to visit the girl, and then ask her sister when Lord Shen will go..."

"Arrange it well, and let Lord Shen see my wife. If Lord Shen likes and favors her, it will be her blessing, but also my blessing. At that time, she can walk between me and my sister freely, and I will learn more about Lord Shen's preferences... Just do it."

...

...

After Fatty Zhou and Ma Ang left, Shen Xi met Peng Yu.

Peng Yu told Shen Xi about his experiences during this period.

"...Sir, the surname Zhou is indeed treacherous. It is difficult to investigate more situations with him. He has a group of desperate people who bully the market in the south of the city, but the villain has no evidence..."

Even if Peng Yu was smart and capable, he had not completely found out Fat Zhou's background.

Shen Xi said: "You have done a good job... You have worked hard these days, so you don't have to spend time with Fatty Zhou..."

"Sir, if you want to continue to check the Zhou surname, the villain will be obliged." Like Ma Ang, Peng Yugang followed Shen Xi, hoping to get the opportunity to make achievements.

Chen Xi shook his head: "You don't have to hurry to investigate. You are doing a good job. Next, I will discuss with the representatives of the main chamber of commerce in the capital to donate money, grain and military expenses. I need someone to help run errands. It is appropriate for you to take on this important task."
To be continued...