: The Western Liang general Ma Teng

In October of the third year of Zhongping (186 AD), Ma Yue brought 100,000 people of Qin and Hu and more than 10,000 surrendered troops to Meiji. With the demise of Qin and Hu, Ma Yue officially occupied Hetao and became the actual ruler of the Hetao grassland.

With the arrival of winter, a heavy snow frozen the entire Hetao and the desert grasslands. Ma Yue's army finally ushered in the calmest winter. While Ma Yue was closely watching the movements of the imperial court and the Liangsanzhou, he was preparing for the war against the Xianbei people in the beginning of the next spring.

The Northern Expedition to the Xianbei was a established strategy. If you want to advance to the Central Plains, you must first relieve your worries. The Xianbei people will not be able to move south for a day, or you may launch a strategy for the surrounding and Liangzhou.

When Ma Yue was resting and preparing to fight the Xianbei people in the coming year, the court and other warlords were not idle either.

With the assistance of military advisor Li Ru, Dong Zhuo, the general of the Qiang Guardian, finally completed the conquest of Shaodang, Lejie, and the white horses and the Qiangs. With the strategy of Dong Zhuo's kindness and power, the Qiangs surrendered one after another. By the end of the year, Dong Zhuo had formed a mixed army of Han and Qiang with a force of up to 60,000.

This army was composed of Qiang people and Huhuan Han people. The extremely harsh living conditions in the border areas created the fierce style of this army to endure hardships and not fear casualties. With the growth of this Han and Qiang army, Dong Zhuo, the general of the Qiang guards, quickly became stronger and became the most powerful warlord in the late Han Dynasty.

In the first month of the fourth year of Zhongping, in order to provoke a melee between major warlords in the north and weaken local strength, the worried Emperor Ling of Han formally issued an edict to reset Shuozhou and appointed Ding Yuan as the governor of Shuozhou. Ma Yue was transferred to Liangzhou. Geng Bi was renamed the General of the Central Army of the Qiang, Dong Zhuo was appointed as the governor of Jizhou, and Han Fu was appointed as the governor of Bingzhou.

After receiving the imperial edict, the five major warlords ignored it and all depended on the original capital and refused to take office.

However, in mid-February, Dong Zhuo adopted the suggestion of military advisor Li Ru, and suddenly led 20,000 elite troops to march eastward, threatening to go to Jizhou to take office under the order. However, after the army arrived in Hedong, it launched a sudden attack and captured Anyi, Hedong County, and the Hedong Prefect Yang Feng led his troops to surrender.

Luoyang, Beigong.

"So arrogant!" Emperor Ling of Han slapped the imperial case with a palm. Long Yan said furiously, "What is Dong Zhuo trying to do? He neither returns to Longxi nor continues to advance to Jizhou. The 20,000 troops stay in Hedong County and refuses to leave!? He is poking a knife to my heart."

"The most hateful thing is that Yang Feng actually led his troops to surrender to Dong Zhuo." The Sili School Captain Yuan Wei said angrily, "Your Majesty, Dong Zhuo is not in the eyes of the king, and Yang Feng is against his ministers, which is a great rebellion. The old minister is willing to lead the Sili elite troops to attack."

"No, Your Majesty." Situ Wang Yun said anxiously, "Although Dong Zhuo is ruthless, he should be punished for his crimes, but he has 100,000 soldiers and 1,000 generals under his command. If the court really tear him apart, this guy might not do it or stop and directly set up a large army to attack Luoyang, which would be a big deal."

The attendant Cai Yong also advised: "What Wang Situ said is very true. Dong Zhuo's tiger and wolf army is not comparable to the Yellow Turbans! If Dong Zhuo's tiger and wolf army attacked Luoyang, the Han Dynasty's country will be in danger~~"

Yuan Wei said angrily: "Can you just forget it like this? Dong Zhuo is so lawless and acts against the enemy. If the court does not respond at all, how can the emperor be in the face?"

"The face is small, but the survival is big." Wang Yun said, "Your Majesty think twice."

[At the end of the Han Dynasty, the imperial court appointed Dong Zhuo as the governor of Bingzhou. Dong Zhuo was unwilling to hand over the military power and led a large army to Hedong. It was true]

Emperor Ling of Han took a deep breath, tried his best to calm the anger in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "What Wang Aiqing said is not without reason. Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song's death have no good generals in the court. Yuan Aiqing's loyalty is commendable, but Sili's new army has just been formed. How can it be the opponent of Dong's thief, tiger and wolf army? Well, the condemnation envoy went to Anyi to scold Dong Zhuo, and ordered him to leave Hedong today and go to Yecheng to take office."

"Oh~"

Yuan Wei stomped his feet and sighed.

Wang Yun and Cai Yong bent down and said respectfully: "Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Ling of Han waved his hand and said, "Yuan Aiqing and Cai Aiqing, please go back to the house. Wang Aiqing stays. I have something to discuss with you."

Seeing Yuan Wei and Cai Yong leave, Emperor Ling of Han said to Wang Yun: "Wang Aiqing, Dong Zhuo's 20,000 elite troops stayed in Hedong. He may cross the river south at any time and invade the capital. This is by no means a long-term solution. Can you have a good solution to deal with it?"

Wang Yun said: "Dong Zhuo's 20,000 elite troops came out of Hedong. Although the court was uncomfortable, there was someone who felt even more uncomfortable than His Majesty."

"Oh?" Emperor Ling of Han's eyes lit up again when he heard this, and suddenly said, "Are you talking about Ma Yue?"

"No," Wang Yun nodded, "Hedong and Hetao are only separated by water, and are less than 500 miles away from the north. Dong Zhuo's troops leave Hedong, like a sharp knife pressing on Ma Yue's abdomen. From then on, whether Ma Yue goes east, west or north, he must be wary of Dong Zhuo's 20,000 elite soldiers at all times."

Emperor Ling of Han said: "I understand. Wang Aiqing means that if Ma Yue does not want to be controlled by Dong Zhuo, he must try to pull out the nail."

"That's right." Wang Yun said, "But Dong Zhuo and Ma Yue are not ordinary people. Now the two of them are afraid of each other. They will never start a war easily before they turn against each other. I am worried that the two of them will be in a secret alliance. In this way, the situation of the court will be extremely bad."

Emperor Ling of Han said in a lost voice: "Is it possible to form a secret alliance?"

Wang Yun said: "Whether there is a possibility or not, Your Majesty must make the worst plan. I have a plan to make Ma Yue and Dong Zhuo turn against each other and there is no possibility of forming an alliance."

"The plan will be released?"

"Dong Zhuo was greedy for flowers and lustful. When he was a doctor in the court, he admired the beauty of Princess Yiyang and had always had inappropriate thoughts." Wang Yun said this and found that Emperor Ling of Han had no displeasure on his face, so he continued, "Your Majesty can condemn the envoy to Hetao. You said that Your Majesty intends to give Princess Yiyang to Ma Yue as his wife, and then arranges the princess to go through Hedong to Hetao. Dong Zhuo did not know about Your Majesty's marriage, and he was also greedy for the princess's beauty, so he would intercept the carriage. In this way, Dong Zhuo had the hatred of taking his wife from Ma Yue. In public and private, Ma Yue could not form an alliance with Dong Zhuo again."

Emperor Ling of Han looked gloomy and said unhappy for a while: "In this way, although Dong Zhuo and Ma Yue have the hatred of taking their wife, my imperial sister was robbed by his ministers. Wouldn't it be too shameful to see my wife? Wouldn't the scholars and people in the world look at my jokes and poke my backbone?"

Wang Yun said: "It's okay, Your Majesty can follow the opportunity to marry the princess to Dong Zhuo, what's the face of the face?"

"Um~~" Emperor Ling of Han looked moved and nodded, "It's worth a try."

Wang Yun said: "Your Majesty, there are still a few news, I don't know if I should tell you."

Emperor Ling of Han: "It's okay to talk about it."

Wang Yun said: "As far as I know, Sun Jian, the prefect of Changsha (Sun Jian was originally the prefect of Nanyang. In order to suppress the Xing Rebellion in Changsha, the court transferred Sun Jian as the prefect of Changsha) and Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, have recently had a feud. The two are recruiting troops and preparing for war. It seems that a melee will break out in Jingxiang soon."

"Why is this?"

"After the Xingzhi Rebellion in Changsha District was quelled, Sun Jian took the opportunity to recruit 100,000 rioters, selected 8,000 young and strong people from them to perform day and night, and also bought military horses and made weapons and armor. Jingzhou Governor Liu Biao was deeply worried and asked Sun Jian to disband the army several times, but was rejected by Sun Jian, so the two of them had a feud."

"What else?"

"There is also a detailed return. The governor of Yangzhou Yuan Shu, the prefect of Qiao County Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou Liu Dai, the governor of Xuzhou Tao Qian and others are all recruiting troops, saying that it is to resist the attack of the Yellow Turban thieves. But since Zhang Jiao's demise, the Yellow Turban thieves have long been no longer worth worrying about, so why do you have to spend so much effort?"

"The situation in the north is not settled, but I didn't expect war to start again in the south. Alas~~"

Emperor Ling of Han sighed a long time, and the worry in his eyebrows became two more intense. Could it be that~~Han Dynasty was really exhausted? No, no, no! The country of Han will never be ruined in my hands. I will definitely want the separatist warlords in Sujing to pass the country to the crown prince in their own hands~~

Meiji, horses leapt on the big tent.

Guo Tu hurried in and said to Ma Yue: "Lord, give me some details. The prefect of Hedong, Yang Feng, has led his army to Dong Zhuo."

"Is that true?" Ma Yue stood up suddenly and casually handed Ma Zheng in his scrambled clothes to Liu Yan, asking, "So that Dong Zhuo has occupied Hedong County?"

Guo Tu said: "That's right."

Ma Yue said: "If Dong Zhuo is in Hedong, it is like putting a sharp knife on the weak ribs of this general's abdomen. If he cannot try to reverse the situation, from now on, this general will be subject to him everywhere."

"Lord, Dong Zhuo's move is mostly targeting the court, and lord is second. If Xu expected it, Dong Zhuo will soon condemn the envoy to come to Hetao to seek a secret alliance with his lord." Jia Xu said this and continued, "But Dong Zhuo's power has expanded too quickly and has posed a serious threat to his lord. Xu thought that ~~ it should be tried to restrain it."

"Yes." Ma Yue nodded, "What Wenhe said is exactly what I want. Although our army is unable to fight against Dong Zhuo head-on, we cannot watch Dong Zhuo get too big and do nothing. We should think of a way to restrain it, at least we cannot let this guy develop too smoothly."

"Lord, Dong Zhuo seems to be strong, but there is a fatal hidden danger." Jia Xu said, "Before the Battle of Hetao, Geng Bi was strong, Dong Zhuo was weak and with Han Sui's restraint, Dong Zhuo had no choice but to hide his strength and maintain a low profile. However, the Battle of Hetao gave Dong Zhuo a rare opportunity. Dong Zhuo not only took the opportunity to conquer Yang Qiu, Cheng Yin and other Han Sui's old subordinates, but also used Han Sui's old subordinates to conquer Shao Dang, Le Jie, Bai Ma, first cut the Qiang, and formed an army of 60,000 troops."

"The situation in Liangzhou has now been completely reversed. Dong Zhuo is strong and Geng Bi is weak! But Geng Bi still controls a broader territory and richer resources. Therefore, neither Geng Bi nor Dong Zhuo will sit still and watch this situation continue. I am afraid that there will be a fierce battle between Dong Zhuo and Geng Bi not long before."

Pei Yuanshao, who was on the side, suddenly said: "Why not take advantage of the melee between Dong Zhuo and Geng Bi and send troops to attack Hedong?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "Dong Zhuo is ambitious and is afraid he will not give up Hedong easily. Moreover, even if our army can capture Hedong, with the current manpower, military strength, and material resources, I am afraid that I will not be able to withstand the attacks from Bingzhou, Liangzhou and even Sili on three sides. Xu thought it would be better not to attack Hedong."

Pei Yuanshao frowned and said, "If you don't send troops to attack Hedong, can you just send troops to Liangzhou and participate in the melee?"

Jia Xu nodded and said, "Yes, the lord wants to participate in the melee in Liangzhou, but he cannot send troops."

Pei Yuanshao said in surprise: "How can I participate in the melee if I don't send troops?"

Jia Xu said: "It's very simple, because there is another uncertain factor in the melee in Liangzhou, that is, the lord's clan uncle~~ Xiliang general Ma Teng!"

"Ma Teng!" Ma Yue's eyes flashed and he said in a calm voice, "Uncle Teng?"

The capital of Hedong County, Anyi.

In the prefect's office's meeting hall, Dong Zhuozheng discussed with military advisor Li Ru and general Xu Rong.

Dong Zhuo asked Li Rudao: "Have the messenger sent to Meiji set out?"

"Don't worry, lord, I set out two days ago." Li Ru responded and said excitedly, "The lord took Hedong County, just like a sharp knife inserted in the vital points of the Han Dynasty. You can attack Ji, Yu, Yan, Sili, and retreat to defend Guanzhong and Liangzhou. It can be said that it has opened the door to advance into the Central Plains for our Liangzhou Legion!"

Li Ru said this, his eyes were solemn, and then said, "However, the lord still has a hidden danger at the moment, which needs to be eliminated as soon as possible."

Dong Zhuo's eyes flashed and he said, "Wen Xiu is talking about Geng Bi?"

"No," Li Ru nodded, "Although the lord has 60,000 elite soldiers under his command, Geng Bi also has 20,000 elite cavalry. More importantly, Geng Bi also controls the Shandan Army Horse Farm in Zhangye! If the lord can get rid of Geng Bi, dominate Liangzhou, and take the Shandan Army Horse Farm for himself, he will immediately form a powerful cavalry that can sweep the Central Plains."

"Yeah." Dong Zhuo nodded and said, "But Wen Xiu said just now that Geng Bi still has 20,000 elite cavalry, and his general Ma Teng is even more brave and good at fighting, and is very supportive of the Qiang soldiers. If you really want to fight, the outcome will be unpredictable."

Li Rudao: "Lord, don't worry. Ru has already had a plan to defeat the enemy. To get rid of Geng Bi, it's up to Ma Teng, a powerful general in Xiliang."

"Let Ma Teng, the mighty general of Xiliang, kill Geng Bi?" Dong Zhuo said in surprise, "Wen Xiu is joking, how is this possible? It is important to know that Ma Teng has been poor since childhood, and Geng Bi promoted him from an ordinary soldier. Ma Teng is also a loyal and righteous man. How could he do such a beastly act and rebel against Geng Bi?"

"Why is it impossible?" Li Ru smiled sinisterly, "Gengbi is indeed a kind of support from Ma Teng, and Ma Teng is indeed a loyal and righteous man. But the lord should not forget that Ma Teng is a descendant of General Fubo and Ma Yuan, and he is also the uncle of Ma Yuema butcher! The last time the four armies attacked Hetao together, there was already a gap between Gengbi and Ma Teng. Otherwise, Gengbi would not have led his army to the expedition with Cheng Qiu as a general."

"That's the most!" Dong Zhuo slapped his forehead and shouted, "I have forgotten about this."

Li Ru continued: "Gengbi is afraid of Ma Yue's revenge, and even more afraid that Ma Teng will become Ma Yue's inner supporter. The lord only needs to fan the flames from it, and it will not be difficult to provoke a fight between Gengbi and Ma Teng. As the saying goes, two tigers will have to fight each other, and in the end, no matter who wins, the Liangzhou army will be greatly injured. The lord can submit to the court, lead the governor of Liangzhou, send troops to quell the chaos, and control the situation in Liangzhou in one fell swoop."

General Xu Rong said: "I am worthy of being the lord's military advisor. This plan is indeed brilliant!"

Li Ru said proudly: "After the lord takes control of Liangzhou, he can lead the elite troops to Guanzhong in the south, and then lead the lords from Guanzhong to Hangu and Tongguan in the east, and condemn a general to lead the elite troops from Hedong to attack the south. At this time, huh, who else can stop the lord from taking over the Han Dynasty and replace him?"

Dong Zhuo was so excited by Li Ru's words that he suddenly stood up and said quickly: "Wen Xiu, immediately send someone to Liangzhou to spread rumors, saying that Ma Yue had already raised 30,000 troops and was preparing to attack Liangzhou, and Ma Teng had secretly formed an alliance with Ma Yue, ready to welcome Ma Yue into Liangzhou."

Li Rudao: "Confucianism~~receive the order."

Longxian, Liangzhou Army Camp.

Pang De quickly walked into Ma Teng's tent, clasped his fists and said, "I will meet the general in the end."

"Ling Ming, are you here?" Ma Tengsu said, "and take your seat."

Pang De sat cross-legged across from Ma Teng and asked, "I wonder what is the important thing for the general to summon the last general to come?"

Ma Teng sighed and asked, "Ling Ming, how many years have you been following me?"

Pang Dedao: "The last general seventeen joined the army and became a personal soldier under the general's tent. It has been six years and eight months since then."

Ma Teng asked: "How does this general treat you?"

Pang Dedao: "A general treats a kind-hearted and his parents. If it weren't for the general's support, how could he have come today?"

"Okay." Ma Teng said in a narrow voice, "Ling Ming, tell me the truth, have you heard any rumors in the camp recently?"

Pang De's face changed and hesitated: "This~~"
To be continued...