Chapter 201: The counter-espionage plan succeeds! Ma Chao is badly defeated

“Ironclad evidence. You call this ironclad evidence?!”

Han Sui glared, his eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

Ma Chao stood aside, his posture as straight as a pine tree. Facing Han Sui’s angry gaze that could almost devour people, he did not show any weakness. He raised his chin slightly, his eyes revealing stubbornness and disdain, and asked back:
“Did I say something wrong?”

His voice was resounding, echoing in the slightly cramped space of the tent. Every word was like a stone, hitting Han Sui’s already angry heart hard.

When Han Sui heard this, he was stunned at first, then he laughed out of anger and said “OK” three times in a row. His laughter was full of self-mockery and disappointment, and it echoed in the tent.
There is an indescribable sense of sadness.

“Okay, okay. I didn’t expect that my painstaking efforts would be regarded in this way by you. If I had known this would happen, I should not have come to support you.”

After saying that, he shook his head slightly, his face showing a look of loneliness. The high-spirited demeanor he once had was now gone, replaced by a deep helplessness and sadness after being misunderstood. It was as if he had aged several years in an instant, and his entire body was shrouded in a haze of frustration.

Ma Chao looked at Han Sui’s disappointed expression and just sneered, “Are you here to support us or to pick peaches? It’s still unclear. Uncle, do you really think everyone else is a fool?”

His words were icy cold, without any regard for Han Sui’s feelings. His eyes were full of suspicion and distrust, as if he had already determined that Han Sui had ulterior motives.

“What did you say? You actually said that I came here to pick peaches!?”

Han Sui’s eyes suddenly widened with anger, veins popped out on his forehead, his hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and his body trembled slightly with anger.

He could never have imagined that Ma Chao would say such hurtful words so bluntly. This was undoubtedly a great humiliation for him.

“Why, is there something wrong with what I said?”

Ma Chao asked again, his tone still tough, with no intention of giving in. Today he seemed to have eaten a weight, and was determined to compete with Han Sui.
The confrontation was like two hedgehogs with their spikes erected, neither willing to yield to the other. The atmosphere in the tent was so tense that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it.

It’s about to fall to the freezing point.
It seems that just a little more spark would instantly detonate this extremely depressing atmosphere.

At this critical moment, a burst of hurried footsteps came.

Pang De hurried over after hearing the news.

He ran all the way, with beads of sweat on his forehead, and rushed into the tent panting. Seeing this scene, he quickly stood up to smooth things over.
While wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead, he anxiously advised: “Alright, alright, stop talking, stop talking… Why bother arguing over such a small matter, both of you? If you ask me, this situation this time was probably deliberately created by that talented Qilin. He just wanted to use this as a means to instigate us to attack each other.”

Pang De’s eyes scanned between Han Sui and Ma Chao, worry evident in his eyes.

“Instigation? You said this is a counter-espionage tactic?”

Ma Chao, whose face had just turned red with anger, changed his expression slightly when he heard this. His brows unconsciously frowned, and the anger in his eyes also subsided a little.

Obviously touched by Pound’s words, he began to think about the possibilities.

Han Sui, who was listening, sneered, his laughter was full of sarcasm. He glanced at Ma Chao and said in a sarcastic tone:
“Ling Ming, you can see through the truth at a glance, but someone is still kept in the dark. Even so, he still dreams of taking charge of the entire Xiliang Army.”

As he spoke, his disdain for Ma Chao was evident, as if he wanted to use this method to counter Ma Chao’s recent questioning of him.

Ma Chao remained unmoved when he saw this. His face was as gloomy as water. He just responded coldly: “A fly won’t bite an egg that has no cracks. Even if it is a counter-espionage plot, I’m afraid only you know what your uncle’s intention is. No one else can know.”

“you……”

Han Sui was so angry that he was speechless for a moment, and his hand was shaking slightly as he pointed at Ma Chao.

But when he looked up at Ma Chao, he saw that the other party’s hand was always on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and it seemed that he would draw his sword and fight if they disagreed.

Han Sui’s heart trembled, and he began to ponder secretly. After all, in terms of personal strength, Ma Chao was a unique existence in the Xiliang army.

Take his own troops for example, at present, there is really no one who can suppress the opponent one-on-one. Moreover, at this moment in the camp, Ma Chao is three feet away from him. If the opponent is really impulsive and does something like “a common man’s anger will cause blood to splatter five steps away”, the consequences will be disastrous.

Thinking of this, Han Sui’s anger gradually subsided, and he suddenly softened his tone and said:

“Okay, then tell me, what should I do this time?”

When Ma Chao heard this, a light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and it was obvious that he had already thought of a countermeasure.

His eyes lit up immediately, and he could not wait to suggest: “Tomorrow, before the battle of the two armies, if your uncle is willing to personally challenge the enemy and lure out the talented Qilin, it will prove your uncle’s loyalty.”

As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, his eyes revealing excitement and anticipation, as if he had already seen the scene of success.

“Luring the Qilin talent out?”

Han Sui was shocked, his eyes widened subconsciously, and he asked in amazement: “You want to set an ambush and kill this talented Qilin?!”

He really didn’t expect that Ma Chao would come up with such an idea, and he couldn’t help feeling a little worried. After all, that talented man was by no means an ordinary person. If the plan was not well thought out, it would probably cause big trouble.

Ma Chao nodded immediately, with a confident look on his face, and added: “Yes, I will disguise myself as my uncle’s soldier and stay by his side. As soon as he goes out to fight, I will rush forward and stab him to death with one spear!”

As he spoke, he clenched his fists, as if the talented scholar was right in front of him and had already become a dead soul under his gun. His eager look showed his certainty in this plan.

Han Sui frowned, looking suspicious, and asked, “You broke into the central army’s tent before, and you couldn’t defeat the enemy one-on-one. Why are you so confident this time?”

There was a hint of doubt in his words. After all, the scene of Ma Chao’s previous fight with the talented scholar was still vivid in Han Sui’s mind. At that time, Ma Chao returned with a defeat, but now he was so confident. This forced Han Sui to be cautious.

After hearing this, Ma Chao recalled the scene not long ago when he was defeated by Su Chen and lost all his armor. His face turned red and he snorted coldly, “Humph, I didn’t take him down before because I misjudged the situation and was careless. This time is different. It’s not just me. I’ve also prepared hundreds of swordsmen and axemen. It’s easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark! We can definitely take down that thief Su in one fell swoop!”

There was a fierce look in his eyes, as if he was ready to burn his boats for this plan.

“How about it, uncle? If we succeed and capture Xuchang, I will share the wealth and glory with you!”

At the end, Ma Chao’s face flushed with excitement, and his eyes sparkled with a fiery light, as if the glory and wealth were just around the corner. He stepped forward, grabbed Han Sui’s hand, and promised again, looking so eager, as if he was afraid that Han Sui would not agree.

After hearing what he said, Han Sui was silent for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Although this plan has certain risks, there seems to be no better way to resolve the conflict with Ma Chao. After a moment, he slowly said: “Okay, I am willing to try it, but I can’t guarantee the final result.”

There was helplessness in his tone. After all, facing Ma Chao’s tough attitude, he could only agree for the time being.

“that’s enough.”

Ma Chao was overjoyed, his face instantly filled with smiles, and the tense atmosphere eased a lot in an instant.

Thinking about how he had said something offensive when he first came here, he immediately apologized to Han Sui. He bowed slightly and said sincerely:

“Uncle, I was reckless just now. I hope you won’t blame me.”

Han Sui waved his hand, forced a smile, and said, “Forget it, we are all family, and I won’t take a little verbal conflict to heart.”

The two chatted for a few more sentences before going their separate ways.

However, as soon as Ma Chao left, the smile on Han Sui’s face disappeared instantly, and was replaced by a gloomy look.

The retainer who had been silent since the beginning hurried forward, bowed to Han Sui, and carefully reminded him: “Sir, this Ma Chao is so fickle. One foot wants to fight with us to death, and the next foot, he wants to share wealth with us. His words are really hard to believe.”

The retainer’s face was full of worry. He knew very well that Ma Chao had a perverse personality and was worried that Han Sui would fall into a trap if he agreed to his plan.

Han Sui snorted coldly after hearing this and said, “Humph, do you think I don’t understand what you said?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes were shrewd and wise, but at this moment, there was more helplessness in his eyes.

“But in that situation just now, what do you want me to do? I can only follow his words. If I really anger this little thief, I am afraid the situation will be even worse.”

As Han Sui spoke, he paced back and forth in the tent with a frown on his face, obviously thinking about how to deal with the situation.

“No matter if that genius is trying to sow discord, at least he is very polite. He is nothing like Ma Chao…” Han Sui shook his head and continued, “He even said that he would share wealth with me after taking Xuchang… It’s a joke. If we really take Xuchang, with his personality, I’m afraid he would fight with us right away.”

He had already seen through Ma Chao’s character, but due to the current situation, he had to pretend to be nice to him temporarily.

Seeing that Han Sui saw the matter more clearly than he did, the retainer naturally stopped trying to persuade him and just asked, “What should we do then?”

Han Sui stopped and stood in the middle of the tent, stroking his chin with his hand. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s follow the plan first.”

There was a hint of determination in his tone, as if he was ready to deal with any situation. “If things don’t work out, …”

The next morning, the sun shone through the thin clouds onto the earth, but it could not dispel the tension that permeated the air.

In order to prevent the talented Qilin from becoming alert and falling into his trap, Han Sui only brought 2 soldiers and horses and slowly marched towards the ice and snow castle.

The team moved extremely slowly, and the horses’ hooves made a dull sound as they stepped on the ground, as if every step carried the heavy thoughts of the people.

Han Sui rode on a tall horse with a slightly solemn expression. He was well aware of the danger of this action, but since things had come to this point, he had no choice but to go ahead with it.

He looked up at the ice castle in the distance. Under the sunlight, the castle emitted a cool light and a mysterious atmosphere that made people feel awe.

“It’s rude to come and not reciprocate!”

Han Sui took a deep breath and raised his voice, “I have come to visit Mr. Su specially. Please come out and answer my questions.”

His voice echoed in the empty wilderness and spread far away.

Facing Ma Chao’s sinister gaze behind him, Han Sui rode out, and in full view of everyone, he bowed in the direction of the Ice Castle and shouted again,
His demeanor was extremely humble, and his manners were so polite that there was not a single flaw to be found, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings. He secretly prayed that everything would go according to plan, but he also had a vague feeling that things might not go so smoothly.

“No need, General Han, the master said that he knows your intentions, so please do not make any mistakes in what the military advisor said in the letter.”

A response came from the castle, the voice was cold and echoed in everyone’s ears.

“Where is Ma Chao? Just call him out and let’s take him down now.” Then another voice sounded, revealing an impatience.

“What?” Han Sui’s face suddenly changed, an ominous premonition surged into his heart, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

“After all this time, it turned out to be a trick within a trick.”

Ma Chao was filled with shock and anger. He quickly drew the long sword from his waist. The blade flashed with cold light. He gripped the hilt tightly, his eyes wide open, revealing his murderous intent.

“Nephew, what do you mean?” Han Sui was shocked. He took a step back and spread his hands to explain, “Are you going to use force against me?!”

“Don’t forget Pang De’s previous reminder. Be careful of the opponent’s counter-espionage plan!” Han Sui’s minister thought of something and hurriedly reminded.

“Counter-espionage?” Ma Chao heard this. Although he was a little hesitant, he still pointed his sword at the other party.

The situation is at a stalemate.

“Report! –” The messenger rushed over and shouted, “It’s bad, General! That genius sent a surprise attack on Tongguan, and our army suffered heavy losses. General, go back and take charge of the situation!”

“Our army suffered heavy losses?” Ma Chao’s eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

Then he thought of something and asked.

“Where are Han Sui’s troops?”

“Nothing is damaged at all.” The messenger replied tremblingly.

“Not a single bit of damage.” Ma Chao was so angry that he was shaking. He shouted at Han Sui: “Uncle, is this the explanation you gave me?!”

(End of this chapter)