I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 541 Ma Chao's Worries

If possible, Ma Chao really wanted to say to Ma Teng: "Sir, times have changed."

Unfortunately, he can't stand Ma Teng now.

So, for a long time, Ma Chao had been hoping that Ma Teng would come to Luoyang to see him.

In Ma Chao's opinion, the court, especially the emperor, has been lenient enough to Ma Teng. Since he came to the capital, the court has never forced Ma Teng to come to the court.

And Ma Teng really stayed in Jincheng County.

Ma Chao always felt that his personal relationship with the emperor played a big role in this, so a few years ago, Ma Chao began to persuade Ma Teng to enter the court - not to serve as an official, but to report to the capital! In any case, it would further demonstrate loyalty!
In his opinion, could the emperor really kill his father without regard for his dignity?

Especially after Zhang Fang's father Zhang Yan arrived in Beijing, Ma Chao's idea became stronger.

However, Ma Teng ignored his wholehearted request and did not respond at all.

Ma Chao once heard a saying, "He who knows the current affairs is a hero."

But now he feels more and more that his father is not a hero.

Now, this letter from home that told him to protect himself was actually just the fuse that ignited Ma Chao's emotions.

Only to Sun Ce could he reveal all his worries: "Bofu has been to Liangzhou before, so he should know that Liangzhou has many elite soldiers and generals."

"Let's talk about the troops under the Protector of the Qiang. The commander is an old subordinate of Huang Zhengnan. I've heard about the deputy commander a long time ago. He is as close as brothers with Liu Anxi and Guan Zhengbei. The Qiang people in Liangzhou are now benefiting from being officials and farming, and they are very peaceful. Why do we need to keep these two brave generals to guard Liangzhou? Who are we guarding against?"

"Every time I think of this, I feel extremely depressed... Bofu, tell me, why is my father like this?"

Sun Ce had known about Ma Chao's troubles for a long time, but this was the first time he heard Ma Chao describe it in such detail.

He knew that what Ma Chao said made sense. Xu Huang and Zhang Fei, who were currently staying in Liang Province, were undoubtedly generals who were good at leading troops in battle. There must be a reason why the two of them stayed in Liang Province even though his father Sun Jian came to the east.

——"Liangzhou is bordered by Qiangzhong in the south and Mobei and other places in the north, so it is also useful for guarding against enemies in both places."

Ma Chao shook his head and said, "Bofu, don't comfort me. The Qiang people in Qiangzhong are short of supplies. They are good at defense but not aggressive enough. At most, they occasionally enter the border to plunder some supplies. The county soldiers alone are enough for defense. As for the north, the Western Xianbei and the Central Xianbei are still in civil strife. Even if there are those who dare to provoke the four counties of Hexi, they are at most some brainless small tribes coveting supplies. The county soldiers are also enough."

Hearing Ma Chao's analysis, Sun Ce sighed slightly. In this case, he could not find any reason to comfort Ma Chao. Guarding against Ma Teng must be a major task for Xu Huang and Zhang Fei to stay in Liangzhou.

Sun Ce had no choice but to pat Ma Chao on the shoulder and sighed with Ma Chao.

Ma Chao saw this and asked, "I am sighing for my father, why are you sighing?"

Sun Ce replied: "I just suddenly thought of my third and fourth brothers. They are brave, but they are stupid, so I sighed."

In order to take care of Ma Chao's feelings, Sun Ce told a lie.

So, the two brothers sighed together, watched the sun set, and then prepared to return to the barracks.

On the way, Ma Chao, who had been thinking for a long time, suddenly said, "Bofu, do you think it is feasible for me to ask His Majesty to lead the troops back home and personally bring my father to apologize to His Majesty after the battle is over?"

Hearing this, Sun Ce paused. Ma Chao, who was immersed in his imagination of success, took several steps before reacting. He turned back to look at Sun Ce and asked with some disappointment: "Does Bofu think this method is not feasible?"

"Bo Fu?"

Sun Ce looked at Ma Chao steadily, paused for a moment, and then answered: "I started to think that this didn't seem like a plan that Meng Qi came up with, but then I suddenly felt that this was indeed a plan that Meng Qi came up with..."

Ma Chao was confused by Sun Ce for a moment and asked, "Is it feasible?"

"It's feasible! Why not? Family and country affairs have always been a source of entanglement. I didn't expect Meng Qi to be so decisive! I believe that His Majesty will agree to Meng Qi's request in the future!" Sun Ce continued to encourage Ma Chao, "If necessary, I am willing to go with you!"

With the support of Sun Ce, Ma Chao stepped forward and patted Sun Ce on the shoulder, and everything was said without words.

Sun Ce quickly said, "But all this will have to wait until this battle is completed."

Ma Chao was very happy to have solved the problem that had been weighing on his mind. Hearing this, he immediately said, "How difficult is this battle? But speaking of it, Zhongxuan is now in Langya Country in the east, right? Oh, and I remember that Kongming, who will become the son-in-law of the emperor this year, is from Langya Country, right?"

"Maybe we can meet Zhongxuan then and see if there is anyone as talented as Kongming among Kongming's clansmen."

In response, Sun Ce responded one by one.

Not long after, they returned to the army. The next day, the two received a mission and led their respective troops to wipe out the bandits fifty miles away.

These bandits appeared a few years ago, but they had been quiet until now, and they took advantage of this year's opportunity to grow stronger. However, they were no match for the joint encirclement and suppression by the elite troops led by Sun Ce and Ma Chao.

Although Ma Chao looked down on his enemies in words, when the real battle broke out, he was more serious and cautious than anyone else.

After all, the external environment in which he lived since childhood was not very good. When he was in his teens, Liangzhou was at its most chaotic.

When they were clearing the battlefield, counting the captives and rescuing the abducted women, Ma Chao looked at the miserable condition of the women and children in the bandit den. He was so angry that he whipped the bandit leader's body with his spear and said, "Throw him into the forest to feed the wolves!"

But despite being angry, Ma Chao became more determined about the idea he had previously told Sun Ce.

In order to prevent such a tragedy from happening in Jincheng and to his family, he must act decisively! Even if his father no longer recognizes him as his son, he will still do this.

Thinking of this, Ma Chao became more determined to pacify the rebellion.

A few days after wiping out the bandits, they set out again, their destination being Langya State.

Before leaving, Sun Ce vaguely heard a piece of news that someone seemed to be saying that the General of Chariots and Cavalry had killed nearly seventy powerful families in Taishan County.

Sun Ce had become accustomed to these things during the march and thought they were very reasonable.

After all, Taishan County is indeed quite chaotic, they deserve to be killed!

As soon as they arrived at Langya State in Xuzhou, Sun Ce and Ma Chao had no time to inquire about Wang Can's whereabouts, but they never expected that Wang Can had already come to their door.

Along with this, Langya State, with the help of Wang Yun, the governor of the neighboring Donghai State, has already recruited many people to surrender, and is now in the process of eliminating the remnants.

(End of this chapter)