"Why are you laughing?" Ma Chao asked angrily, sensing that Cao Zhang was laughing at him and Ma Teng.
"Of course I am laughing at you Yelang for being arrogant, overestimating your capabilities, and being short-sighted. You don't want the benefits presented to you, but you are seeking your own death!" Cao Zhang put away his smile and glared at Ma Teng and Ma Chao coldly.
After listening to Cao Zhang's words, Ma Yunlu anxiously persuaded him: "Master Cao, didn't you promise not to annoy my father and my eldest brother when I enter the city? How could you say that to them just now!? My father said that the court and Li Jue has been fighting for many years, always with victories and defeats. Li Jue has been sitting in Chang'an for many years and has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. How can the imperial court easily destroy them?! My father just doesn't want to get involved in your troubled waters!"
"Miss Ma, I don't mean to offend your father and brother, I'm just telling the truth! Who said the imperial court can't destroy Li Jue? Before I came from Chang'an, I had just defeated Li Jue and killed tens of thousands of his Xiliang troops. Now Li Jue has soldiers and horses With less than 20,000 soldiers, Chang'an has been surrounded by our army, and the city's destruction is just around the corner!" Cao Zhang pointed out Ma Yunlu with some arrogance.
"What did you say? Did you defeat Li Jue?" Ma Teng looked at Cao Zhang in disbelief.
A few years ago, Ma Teng had the opportunity to enter the area around Chang'an and was rewarded by Li Jue and Guo Si.
Later, he and Han Sui went to war with Li Jue and Guo Si due to interest issues, but they were ultimately defeated and had to return to Liangzhou. Now that this matter was brought up, he still felt resentful. Naturally, he couldn't believe that Cao Zhang could defeat Li Jue.
"It's not that difficult to defeat Li Jue, so why should I lie to you?! You must have scouts who are monitoring the battle situation in Chang'an at any time. I believe it won't be long before you receive the battle report, and you will naturally know what I am saying. Is it true or false?" Cao Zhang replied calmly.
Ma Teng and Ma Chao looked at each other and nodded slightly. Although Cao Zhang's words sounded a bit unbelievable, they also understood that Cao Zhang had no need and did not dare to use such lies to deceive them.
"I know that General Ma refused to accept the imperial court's recruitment reward before because he was not sure who would win between Li Jue and me, so he just wanted to watch the fire from the other side and protect himself wisely. In case I couldn't defeat Li Jue and finally retreated to the Central Plains, Li Jue would take revenge. General, it’s just causing you more trouble, right?”
"But now that Li Jue is gone, it is only a matter of time before he is wiped out. I came to the general at this time out of good intentions, and offered the general an easy-to-get achievement and imperial title. General Ma refused coldly, and wanted to push this benefit away. He went out and openly opposed the imperial court, refused to accept the imperial edict, and even killed the emperor's envoy. This was clearly a source of trouble. I said he was short-sighted and seeking death. How could I be wrong?"
Cao Zhang saw that his words had already had a certain deterrent effect on Ma and his son, so he continued to talk and reminded Ma Teng.
"Since you can defeat Li Jue on your own, you don't need our help. I don't care about the reward you gave me. You'd better take it back! I don't believe you would be so kind and give it to us for no reason. Title and benefits!" Ma Teng's tone softened a lot, but he still ordered Cao Zhang to be kicked out.
"General Ma and I are not related, so I will not give you benefits for free. I naturally have my own purpose in doing this! What I want is the stability of Liangzhou and even the entire Guanxi and Guanzhong!" Cao Zhang listened to Ma Teng However, he did not refute. Instead, he followed the other party and stated his purpose bluntly.
"Li Jue has been entrenched in Chang'an and even the entire Sanfu area for many years, killing the people in Yurou Township. The people were displaced and miserable. After Li Jue was wiped out, there was an urgent need for a famous person to guard him."
"General Ma is quite famous and has a good reputation, which attracts the people's attention. If General Ma is to take charge of Yongzhou, he will be able to ensure peace in the area and allow the people who have been plundered by warlords and ravaged by war to live a stable life again."
"Both the emperor and my father attach great importance to General Ma's talents. They have no intention of harming General Ma. They sincerely hope that General Ma can sit in Yongzhou, command the three assistants, and restore the peace of the people in Guanzhong." Cao Zhang continued to persuade Ma Teng, expressing The attitude of the imperial court to reuse him was revealed.
"You mean, the emperor's imperial edict is to make me the governor of Yongzhou?" Ma Teng asked Cao Zhang in disbelief.
"Exactly! General Ma, why don't you get up and take the order?" Zhong Yao, who had been afraid to speak, heard the looseness in Ma Teng's tone and hurriedly urged Ma Teng.
Ma Teng was a little moved by Cao Zhang and Zhong Yao's repeated encouragement, and stood up hesitantly.
Ma Chao saw that his father was planning to kneel down and accept the order, so he quickly put away his sword, returned to Ma Teng, and said anxiously: "Father, calm down, don't be deceived by their sweet words!"
"They said that my father should be appointed as the governor of Yongzhou, but don't forget that there are also Han Sui in Liangzhou, and there are more than ten warlords in Yongzhou such as Liang Xing, Zhang Heng, etc. Han Sui has been fighting with my father for many years. He is my family's enemy, Liang Xing , Zhang Heng and others have also separated themselves for many years, how can they be willing to watch their father's family dominate?"
"I think they clearly wanted to give me the title of Yongzhou Governor on purpose, but they wanted to arouse the jealousy of Han Sui and others and cause internal strife among the heroes of Guanxi. They would then reap the benefits!" Ma Chao reminded Ma Teng.
Ma Teng nodded slowly: "Meng Qi (Ma Chao's word) makes sense..."
Cao Zhang did not allow Ma Teng to finish his words and said directly: "Who said that the imperial court will let General Ma fight with Han Sui and the princes of Guanxi? The imperial court has already made arrangements and will appoint Han Sui as the governor of Liangzhou."
"What? Han Sui becomes the governor of Liangzhou!?" After hearing this, Ma Chao became even more angry and his eyes widened.
"Han Sui has been in charge of Liangzhou for many years and is quite famous in Jincheng County. He can serve as the governor of Liangzhou and stabilize the situation in Liangzhou faster, so he is naturally the most suitable candidate."
"After all, General Ma and Han Sui were sworn brothers. Although there have been fights and conflicts in the past few years, the court still hopes that the two of them can put the overall situation first, turn conflicts into friendship, live in peace, and work together to govern Yongliang."
"The imperial court also believes that the two generals are no longer fighting, and they are each in charge of a state. Liang Xing and Zhang Heng are not as powerful as the two generals. When they are rewarded by the imperial court, they will feel at ease and obey the orders of the two governors."
"In this way, the warlord separatist situation in the Yongliang area has been completely resolved, and the two generals no longer need to fight for years. This situation will benefit General Ma without any harm. The imperial court has also gained peace in the northwest. This should be a happy situation for everyone, right?”
Cao Zhang explained to Ma Teng and Ma Chao the reasons for appointing Han Sui as the governor of Liangzhou, and emphasized the benefits of such an arrangement, further persuading Ma Teng.
Ma Teng fell into deep thought after hearing what Cao Zhang said. It must be said that Cao Zhang's words had deeply moved him.
After all, Li Jue's situation is now over. At this time, I cooperate with Cao Zhang to send troops and unite all the princes to deal with Li Jue. It is just a situation of beating a drowned dog, and there will not be much loss.
And as Cao Zhang said, if he and Han Sui could stop fighting, those small warlords would definitely not dare to go against them, and would definitely attach themselves to the two of them according to their respective regions.
And the benefit he gets is obviously the biggest. After the completion of the matter, he can sit in Yongzhou and enter the land of Sanfu. This deal is quite cost-effective.
After weighing the pros and cons, Ma Teng made a decision. He waved his hand to Ma Chao and the soldiers surrounding Cao Zhang and Zhong Yao and ordered: "Everyone, retreat. Don't be rude to the emperor's envoys and Mr. Cao!"
Ma Chao wanted to speak, but Ma Teng had already stared: "Meng Qi, don't you understand what I'm saying? Stand back!"
Ma Chao had no choice but to turn around and wave to the soldiers: "Everyone, stand down!"
Upon hearing the order, the soldiers put away their weapons and exited the hall.
Ma Yunlu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the danger was lifted.
Cao Zhang gratefully bowed to her: "Thank you so much, Miss Ma, for risking your life to protect me. Thank you, Cao Zhang!"
Ma Yunlu said with a smile: "You saved my life earlier, and everything you said was for the good of my family, so I will naturally protect you."
Ma Teng stepped forward with a cold face and said to Ma Yunlu: "Don't back down yet!"
Ma Yunlu knew that his father felt that he was losing face and showing off his authority in front of him, so he did not dare to disobey any more, so he could only stick out his tongue and retreat behind Ma Teng.
Ma Teng walked up to Cao Zhang and Zhong Yao and saluted respectfully: "My servant Ma Teng was confused for a moment and listened to the villain's slander. He almost accidentally hurt the envoy and the young master. Please forgive me!"
Cao Zhang smiled and waved his hand: "Now that everything has been made clear, General Ma doesn't need to care!"
Zhong Yao also asked: "Can General Ma accept the order?!"
Ma Teng nodded repeatedly: "Of course, come quickly and prepare the incense table. I want to welcome the imperial edict!"
When the soldiers under his command heard Ma Teng's instructions, they had to make preparations.
However, Ma Chao stood up again at this time, stretched out his hand to block Ma Teng: "Wait a minute!"
