Dong Bai is now Yuan Shu's man, so he naturally trusts Yuan Shu very much.
However, now she doesn't know that her grandfather and uncle are dead.
What Yuan Shu and Dong Bai said was just to give her better expectations!
However, paper cannot keep fire after all. Dong Bai would know about the deaths of Dong Zhuo and Li Ru sooner or later.
However, perhaps by that time Dong Bai might be able to accept this answer calmly.
On the other side of Gongyang, Guo Si and Li Jue brutally exploited the local people after taking over the power.
He allowed his soldiers to go around raping women, and took pleasure in killing civil and military officials every day.
For a time, everyone in Gongyang was in danger. When Ma Teng, the governor of Xiliang, and his sworn brother Han Sui learned about this, they decided to send troops to Gongyang.
To get rid of these two scourges for the people of the world, the two of them immediately discussed when to send troops to Gongyang.
At this moment, inside the Xiliang Army's camp. Ma Teng said: "My dear brother, this is my opinion."
"Now that the young emperor is dead, the world will be in chaos. No one cares about the so-called Han Dynasty anymore, and we are no longer Han ministers."
"So naturally there is no need to attack those two traitors under the guise of protecting the Han Dynasty's foundation."
"It can be said that what we brothers are doing now is entirely for the sake of the people of the world, and it is also to make a name for ourselves."
"When the time comes when you and I join forces, why worry about the world being unfair?"
Regarding Ma Teng's loyalty, Han Sui paid more attention to actual interests.
In Han Sui's view, since the Han Dynasty has perished. Then naturally there is no need for him to work for the Han Dynasty that no longer exists.
Moreover, they have been guarding the west for many years, and the food and fodder for the army and the salaries of their brothers have not been paid a few times.
It has always been the two of them who have been providing the money, and now it can be said that the Xiliang Army is now a private army belonging to the two of them.
Unlike Han Sui, Ma Teng and his family believed that after becoming a prince, they had been favored by the royal family for generations.
Although the Han Dynasty has perished, they, the Han officials, are still there. Then the big Han would still have a chance to make a comeback, instead of just becoming a rebel like the other princes.
Therefore, Ma Teng only felt very uncomfortable with Han Sui's suggestion. Both of them were once loyal to the Han Dynasty, but now their opinions on fighting the thieves together have fallen apart.
Ma Teng: "Brother, you and I have been favored by the imperial court for generations. Now that the imperial court is in trouble, how can you say such chilling words to my brother?"
"Although the Han Dynasty is dead, you and I are both Han ministers."
"As long as I'm still here, and those ministers are still there, it's still possible for the big man to come back to life, isn't it?"
Han Sui looked at his sworn brother Han Sui and didn't know what to say for a moment. He didn't expect Ma Teng to be so loyal to the big man, but unfortunately it was just foolish loyalty.
Now that the emperor of the Han Dynasty is gone, what use are they, the ministers of the Han Dynasty?
Could it be that as long as they use the slogan of reviving the Han Dynasty, those princes will not take action against them?
This time they sent troops to Gongyang originally for themselves, but also for the people of the world.
But the more reason is that they can gain a foothold among the princes, so that they will not be attacked by a group of people.
Han Sui: "My dear brother, I really don't know how to say good things to you!"
"Now that the emperor is gone, are you still loyal to those with ulterior motives?"
"Let me ask you, Lu Bu, the most powerful martial artist among the princes in the world, do you have the strength to defeat him?"
"Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are the most powerful soldiers and horses. Do you have the strength to fight against them?"
"If not, how can you talk about reviving the Han Dynasty?"
Ma Teng's foolish loyalty has really reached a very terrible situation.
After Han Sui finished speaking, Ma Teng did not answer. He seemed to be thinking about something, but then he spoke again: "I don't want to say whether you can revive the Han Dynasty, but now you are doing this."
"Even if I am willing, will the brothers under our control be as willing as you?"
"Perhaps in the past, brothers followed the two of us to seek a full meal."
"But it's obviously different now. The emperor is no longer here. We princes with heavy troops have the capital of the Zhuolu Central Plains, and the brothers under us also hope to make achievements together with us two brothers."
"Wait to be granted the titles of marquises and prime ministers in the future, instead of sacrificing their lives in vain for the already corrupt court."
"Do you understand it at all?"
Ma Teng was speechless for a moment when faced with Han Sui's doubts. He even lowered his head in despair and put his hands on the table. Finally, when Han Sui saw Ma Teng like this, he said, "You should think about it carefully first. It will take some time for our army to be fully assembled."
"I hope you can think about it carefully during this period of time. Think about your son, Ma Dai, Ma Chao, they are so young and brave."
"Do you also want them to be like you?"
"If it were before when the Emperor was still here, I would not have persuaded and stopped you like this, but now the great Han has truly perished."
"It's time for us to think about ourselves, isn't it?"
After Han Sui finished speaking, he left here without looking back.
In Han Sui's view, there was no possibility of the Han Dynasty reviving. He didn't want to block his future on this, and besides, if the truth now meant reviving the Han Dynasty.
To be honest, the people of the world will not agree, and the princes will not agree.
He, Han Sui, knew even more how terrifying those princes would be if the two brothers did not unite. Sooner or later, they will be swallowed up by others, unless they can be invincible.
But obviously, these are impossible.
After Han Sui left, Ma Teng sat down numbly. Every word Han Sui just said went straight to his heart and the depths of his soul.
Yes, Ma Teng is no longer the young and passionate Ma Teng he once was. He now has a child and a wife, and his youngest son Ma Chao is even more beloved to him.
He was only seventeen years old, and he wielded a horse and a long gun that made him powerful. Even he is no longer his opponent. It can even be said that Ma Chao is now invincible in the Xiliang army.
He is the pride of Ma Teng, the number one general of the Xiliang Army.
Thinking of this, perhaps Han Sui's words were not wrong. After all, no matter what, he is no longer alone now, he has a family.
There are already enough concerns, and even his eldest son has already started a family. He is Ma Teng, but he is no longer the Ma Teng he once was.
Han Sui was right, he could no longer be so selfish.
It happened that at this time, Ma Chao walked in after practicing his spear and did not see Han Sui. Instead, he saw his father alone in a trance and said, "Father, it's getting late now."
"Why are you born here alone, but are you thinking about going on an expedition in a few days?"
Ma Chao just broke in, and Ma Teng took advantage of this moment to ask Ma Chao: "My son, what do you think of the Han Dynasty today?"
Although Ma Chao didn't know why his father asked this, he still said: "Today's Han Dynasty has long existed in name only, and the princes each occupy their own territory and become kings."
"It won't be long before they start fighting each other. It doesn't matter whether they are loyal ministers or sword ministers."
"Because they all have a new identity, that is, they are princes and kings!"
I have to say that Ma Chao is still very smart. You can see the essence of something through its surface. Instead of indulging in such a little honor as a so-called loyal minister and good general.
Moreover, now that the great Han Dynasty has ceased to exist in name only, naturally this honor will not have much effect. Maybe, it just gives me a little comfort in my heart.
Even though Ma Teng already had the answer in his heart, Ma Chao still said this. He was inevitably a little disappointed in his heart, after all, his loyalty to the big man far exceeded anyone else.
Otherwise, we would not have been able to hold on here for more than ten years without military pay and food.
But Ma Teng still held a glimmer of hope and asked: "Could it be that the Han Dynasty was destroyed and the emperor is no longer here?"
"Are those common people no longer the common people of the Han Dynasty?"
"Just like the people here, without our protection and the protection of the big man, they might have become dead souls killed by the Huns."
Regarding this question, Ma Chao thought for a moment and said, "Father, you are still wrong."
"The reason why this place has developed so well is actually not the credit of the Han Dynasty. It is the credit of you and Uncle Han Sui, or in other words, it is the credit of our brothers."
"Since the moment the Han Dynasty stopped issuing military pay points, this place no longer belongs to the Han Dynasty."
"If it weren't for Uncle Han and my father, you would have donated money to supplement the military salary for our brothers."
"With the support of the business on the first floor that day, this place may have already fallen."
"My father just saw that Xiliang was very good under my management, and there were no cases of people freezing to death or starving to death. In fact, this is just our efforts, and the most important thing is that my father has not visited other places. .”
"In many places in the pass, it can be said that there are corpses everywhere. My father will not forget about the Yellow Turban Army uprising before, right?"
"That time, if there had not been an invasion by foreign enemies, we could have led troops to support the Central Plains. From this, it can be seen that the Han Dynasty was already riddled with holes and unable to recover."
Ma Chao said I had so many, even Ma Teng couldn't believe it. He couldn't even believe that these things were coming from his youngest son's mouth, but this was the fact of the matter.
After Ma Chao finished speaking, he saw that his father was lost in thought again. Just when he was about to say a few more words, Ma Teng said, "Okay, I understand."
"You should go back and have a good rest first. During this time, you can train the army. We will set off in three days!"
After Ma Teng finished speaking, he waved his hand to signal Ma Chao to go out.
After Ma Chao left, Ma Teng thought to himself that he had never really seen the lives of the people below since his father's death.
Even as I get older, those familiar people get older one by one. I recall that when I was a teenager, the street in front of the mansion was bustling with activity every day.
The proprietresses of the street vendors would always invite him to come over to eat, but now he discovered that the previously lively streets no longer had the familiar smell.
There are only a few people setting up stalls every day, and more people have chosen to move here than to set up stalls.
It's just that I have been guarding the city wall all year round and subconsciously ignored it. Now when I think about all the things that happened in the past, it turns out that the shadows who left their hometowns have left here.
As he thought about it, a sense of sadness arose in Ma Teng's heart.
Looking back on the past, he realized that he had missed so much. I did a lot of things wrong, but the only thing I didn't do wrong was protecting this place.
Let the people here not be like the people in the Central Plains, even having enough food is a problem.
Finally, Ma Teng thought clearly. Now that the Han Dynasty no longer exists, there is no need to call himself a Hanchen anymore. Anyway, he and Han Sui's combined troops and horses are also a powerful prince.
Although they are not like Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, they can still beat Li Jue and Guo Si at this moment.
On the other side, Han Sui returned to his tent. His lieutenant came over and said, "General, has General Ma made a decision?"
"Now as long as General Ma agrees, my brothers will definitely be very happy."
"They've been waiting for this day for a long time. It's no fun to beat those Huns and whippers all the time."
"And we haven't been able to make any achievements yet. The brothers have been looking forward to it for a long time since the last incident with the Yellow Turban Army."
Han Sui: "The situation is still unclear. The Ma Teng family is said to have been a prince for generations."
"It's different from people like us. He may need some time to think about it carefully."
"But they will definitely give us a reply within three days. If Ma Teng hasn't made a decision within three days."
"Then I, Han Sui, will take care of it myself with my brothers. Maybe I am not strong enough to become one of the princes."
"But we can rely on others, and we can still make achievements when the time comes."
At this moment, Han Sui had already decided to pay attention. If Ma Teng decided to stick to his idea within three days. Then he could only rely on those powerful princes with his own money.
After all, the big man today has truly been destroyed. Doesn’t Ma Teng not understand the seriousness of the matter and himself?
Although they are still willing to be Han ministers, they will be regarded as enemies by other princes.
Lieutenant General: "So General, have you decided who to seek refuge with?"
"After all, even if we only take away our brothers, we still have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. The ordinary princes may not dare to accept our surrender easily."
In fact, Han Sui's adjutant is not unreasonable to worry. After all, although those princes are as powerful as you now. But he would not accept so many soldiers casually, not to mention that most of the feudal princes have just developed.
Therefore, there are really very few princes who dare to accept their surrender. It can be said that there are almost none.
After all, the food and fodder for tens of thousands of troops cannot be obtained by just asking the princes casually. Unless the family is really big and the business is great, they dare to accept them.
Han Sui thought for a while and then said: "Now is the right time for us to seek refuge with very few princes, or even none at all."
"So, I have decided. Whoever is the most powerful among the princes, then let's go to each other."
