"Brother Shoucheng, have you thought about it?" In the Wu County Government Office, Chen Gong and Lu Bu were sitting on the commander's seat side by side. Ma Chao, who had been so arrogant before, now looked a little docile.
"Well, after I go back this time and take care of things in Xiliang, Teng is willing to move his family to Xuchang." Ma Teng nodded, looked at Chen Gong and smiled bitterly: "I just don't know if your Majesty is willing to accept it."
"Not to mention that the Ma family has been a hero since then, but just to say that now, the Ma family has made great contributions to the court in maintaining the territory these years. Brother Shoucheng is willing to come to Xuchang, so we will naturally welcome him." Chen Gong sighed: "This time the Xiliang army has
It's because I didn't plan well, I should have thought that the Yuan family would not look at us and the Xiliang army so easily."
"The defeat of Xihe is due to us gullible villains and has nothing to do with sir." Ma Teng shook his head, glanced at Ma Chao and said: "Sir, I need to rush back to Xiliang as soon as possible. I can no longer help you to fight against thieves, but my son
Meng Qi is considered to be somewhat brave, if he doesn't give up, how about asking him to stay and help you?"
"?" Ma Chao raised his head in shock and looked at his father.
Chen Gong looked at Ma Chao, nodded and smiled: "I have cooperated with Meng Qi in the secret realm of Xinzheng in the past. He is a general. At this time, the army is indeed employing people. If Meng Qi is willing, then let him stay."
"Why don't you thank me, sir!?" Seeing his son staring at him, Ma Teng raised his hand and slapped Ma Chao on the forehead.
"As you command, sir." Ma Chao saluted Chen Gong like an eggplant beaten by frost.
"Okay!" Chen Gong nodded with a smile, then looked at Ma Teng and said, "Brother Shoucheng, we have to deal with the matter in Xiliang separately."
"How do you say it?" Ma Teng looked at Chen Gong.
"Brother Shoucheng is willing to send you the family scrolls, and we welcome him. However, the land of Xiliang is now in a period of great chaos. The palace believes that if the Ma family completely withdraws from Xiliang, the situation in Xiliang may be out of the control of the imperial court.
So I hope that Brother Shoucheng can stay in Xiliang and deter the situation in Xiliang for the court. What does Brother Shoucheng think?" Chen Gong thought for a while and asked.
"It's not difficult." Ma Teng nodded. This time he took the initiative to discuss surrender with the imperial court and was willing to hand over his family papers. The main reason was that the Ma family's vitality was severely damaged in the battle of Xihe and he wanted to recover.
The power of the past is almost impossible.
Now that the dispute between Yuan and Chu has reached the point of a military confrontation, Ma Teng also secretly analyzed the pros and cons of joining both sides, and finally chose to bet on Chu Nan.
First of all, the Ma family is now considered a warlord but not a gentry. If they really give up their military power, Yuan Shao may not have a good life. On the other hand, Chu Nan, in addition to targeting the gentry, is very tolerant to other classes.
Secondly, Ma Chao and Chu Nan have some kind of friendship after all. With the ability of Ma Chao and his son, they can make a name for themselves by relying on their military exploits.
Of course, the most important thing is that after this battle in Xiliang, Ma Teng saw no way out, so he chose to surrender to the imperial court.
Now that Chen Gong wants him to continue to guard Xiliang, for Ma Teng, it is naturally the best outcome, and it can also be seen as a kind of trust. For the Ma family, who are now eager to establish a foothold in the court, it is to gain merit.
good opportunity.
"The situation in Xiliang is urgent, so I won't live long enough to become a brother." Chen Gong said with a smile.
"Then I'll take my leave, general." Ma Teng nodded and stood up.
"Meng Qi, go see your father off for me." Chen Gong stood up and said with a smile.
"Here!" Ma Chao stood up reluctantly and followed Ma Teng out of the government office.
"Why not keep Ma Chao in Xiliang instead of using Ma Teng?" After the father and son left, Lu Bu frowned and said, "Ma Teng is old and far less powerful than Ma Chao. In the land of Xiliang, strength is the most respected thing. Ma Chao
More suitable than Ma Teng."
"In terms of purely intimidating Xiliang, Ma Chao is indeed more suitable than Ma Teng." Chen Gong first confirmed Lu Bu's idea, and then said: "But Ma Chao has an undecided temperament. He was born in Xiliang. He is indifferent and aggressive.
He is ruthless, although his force is strong, but his vision is not far-sighted. I am worried that he will do something impulsive in the future, which will lead to bad things. If he stays with me, he is indeed a good player, and secondly, he can be easily trained. Even if he makes any mistakes,
There are many people in this army who can suppress him."
"In comparison, Ma Teng is mature and prudent, and his strategies are mediocre but very stable. In the land of Xiliang, he can compete with Han Sui. Han Sui is known as the Nine Bends of the Yellow River. His mind is deep and deep, which is not comparable to a young man like Ma Chao.
Ma Teng, who has divided and ruled Xiliang for many years, has his own merits. Only with him can Xiliang have a share of our army."
"Now our army has to fight with Yuan Shao and has no time to take care of Xiliang. Therefore, with Ma Teng here, Xiliang will not be completely occupied by other forces. When our hands are free in the future, it will be easier to take Xiliang."
Nowadays, although the people's livelihood in the Sanfu Land is in decline, it has basically been taken over by Chen Gong. The military, political and financial resources have been taken back to the imperial court. The largest four-way warlords have all been executed. However, the imperial court's energy cannot be focused on Guanzhong at least for the time being, so Xiliang
It would be best if it were a little chaotic and could be controlled within the scope acceptable to the court.
Lu Bu glanced at Chen Gong and felt that Chen Gong had something to say about him.
"How should we fight next?" Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong and asked.
"First take Taiyuan County and force Yuan's army into Yanmen. Then Marquis Wen can go to question the Xiongnu and raise supplies for our army to march westward to Youzhou." Chen Gong said with a smile.
While the two were chatting and laughing, Ma Teng led his horse out of the camp.
"Why should my father be so useless? Even if it was Chen Gong who saved us this time, we will just remember this kindness and repay it someday, so why bother to surrender directly?" Ma Chao complained dissatisfied.
I didn’t even discuss such a big matter with myself.
"Return?" Ma Teng glared at his son and said, "In this battle at Xihe, the 50,000-strong army was wiped out. Don't say that these 50,000-strong army were not waiting for me, but you thought that Xiliang was completely destroyed by my Ma family.
If we win, can we still raise an army of 50,000? I'm afraid even the 50,000 civilians won't be able to recruit them."
"You can go to the Qiang people for recruitment." Ma Chao said unconvinced.
"This is the biggest problem!" Ma Teng sighed: "Without fifty thousand elites this time, the deterrent effect on the Qiang people will be greatly reduced. After we go back, we will not only face Han Sui, Zhang Heng and others.
And seeing that we have lost all our elite Han people, will the heroes and commanders of all ethnic groups continue to surrender?"
Even if this incident had not happened, the Qiang rebellion would not have stopped. Now that all 50,000 elite troops were lost in the First World War, the Qiang people of all ethnic groups may not be able to bear it any longer!
"How dare they!" Ma Chao snorted coldly and said disdainfully.
"This is not what you have the final say!" Ma Teng sighed: "After this battle, Xiliang will be even more difficult. Ma Wan died, and Cheng Yi, Yang Qiu and Han Sui. In the final analysis, Xiliang is also
It is not my family, the Ma family, that has the final say. In addition to the Qiang rebellion, even if you have the ability to quell these, by then, I am afraid that the winner of the battle in the Central Plains will have been decided. No matter who wins, the final outcome will be to unify the Central Plains.
, the power of the seven states plus the three assistants is the power of the eight states. With Xiliang being so poor and weak, is it possible that we will have to fight another war?"
Ma Chao snorted: "But even so, it would be too embarrassing to surrender before this battle was fought."
"Do you know why I chose Chu Lingjun instead of Yuan Shao?" Ma Teng snorted coldly.
"They are kind to us." Ma Chao said matter-of-factly.
"Let me ask you, can you beat Marquis Wen?" Ma Teng asked.
"I will definitely defeat him in the future!" Ma Chao said confidently: "He may not be as strong as me when he dies at my age."
"I only ask now!" Ma Teng snorted coldly.
Ma Chao stopped talking. He had seen Lu Bu take action. He could disdain other things, but in terms of force, he had his pride. There was obviously still some gap between him and Lu Bu.
"There are not many people under your command who can defeat you, but there must be a few." Ma Teng said: "If we really start a war and lose, it will be the disaster of annihilation!"
"I don't believe it!" Ma Chao didn't believe there was anyone in Chu Nan who could beat him.
"Don't talk about counselors, let's talk about generals. I think Zhao Zilong is not weaker than you, or even stronger. Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, who have been with Marquis Wen for a long time, are not ordinary people." Ma Teng looked unconvinced.
His son sighed and said: "In the past, you only showed off your power in Xiliang and didn't know the heroes of the world. Now staying with Mr. Gongtai is not necessarily a bad thing for you. At least you know how big the world is, and you can't do it."
If there is someone who can defeat you, go back and listen more to Mr. Gongtai's words, and don't be as unruly as you were in Xiliang."
Ma Teng thought it would be better to leave Ma Chao with Chen Gong. Just looking at Ma Chao's well-behaved look just now, he knew that he had been restrained by Lu Bu. No one in Xiliang could restrain this wild horse. There was someone who could.
The people who live in him may not be a good thing for him, at least he can change his arrogance.
"Don't worry, since father agreed, I will stay. I want to see how many heroes there are in the Central Plains?" Ma Chao nodded, obviously still worried about his father's evaluation.
Just take care of yourself.
Ma Teng felt a little relaxed, got on his horse, and walked away without looking back.
Ma Chao looked at the direction his father was leaving, feeling a little uncomfortable. He snorted coldly and turned back to the government office.
"Meng Qi came just in time. We are discussing tomorrow's war. Now that the army is short of men, Meng Qi can come, which can solve our urgent needs." In the government office, Chen Gong was discussing something with Lu Bu and Zhao Yun, looking at the map, and saw Ma Chao.
He came back and waved to Ma Chao.
Ma Chao nodded and saw Zhao Yun looking at him kindly. Thinking of his father's previous words, he raised his eyebrows provocatively at Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun: "..."
"How are you going to fight, sir?" Ma Chao came to the table.
"The ultimate goal of our army in this battle is Jinyang. Jinyang is surrounded by Jinshui River, and there is Fenshui River on the way. I plan that you and Zilong will each lead five thousand troops. Zilong will go to Zishi, Pingtao, and Daling.
The Fen River leads directly to Jinyang. There are two dangerous obstacles along the way: the Fen River and the Jin River. Although the city is small, the enemy will rely on the geographical advantage to intercept it, which will take some effort. As for Meng Qi, he will go to Zhongdu, Jingling, and Qixian.
Yangyi, Yuci and then Jinyang. Although there are many cities along this route, there are no dangerous places, so it should be easier. I will lead the army with Marquis Wen to follow."
Chen Gong looked at the two of them and said, "You two are considered pioneers. I'll wait to meet you in Jinyang!"
"Since the Zi family is more difficult, we will take the Zi family's path!" Ma Chao looked at Chen Gong and said.
"That's fine." Chen Gong heard this, looked at Zhao Yun, then looked at Ma Chao, nodded with a smile and said: "Let's go prepare ourselves and send out troops tomorrow!"