I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 549: It’s Over, It’s Coming to Me

In this way, Ma Teng entertained Lu Jun and others with banquets every day. After three or five days, Wang Can, who was one step behind, finally arrived in Jincheng County.

After the foursome got together again, they took advantage of the time when Ma Chao took them out for a trip to discuss the matter.

Ma Chao said: "Based on my recent tests on my father, it is almost impossible to get him to leave Jincheng County on his own initiative. Even if we want to convince him, it will take time. Now it seems that we can only use some tough measures."

In this regard, Sun Ce and Wang Can, who already understood Ma Chao's determination, had no special reaction, but Lu Jun was still a little hesitant.

After all, he was a good man, and he couldn't bear to see the father and son fighting each other. But on the other hand, his own ability was limited, and apart from Ma Chao's current choice, he couldn't think of any other quick, good and economical way to solve the problem. After all, the journey to the Western Regions was long, and if he was late for one day, who knew what kind of changes would happen in the Western Regions.

In the dilemma, he still reminded: "Meng Qi, you have to think carefully. Once you take this step, there is no turning back. Even if you are doing it for the sake of the country, once this matter spreads, someone will definitely attack you for it."

Ma Chao heard this and said with awe: "For the sake of national affairs, why would I care about empty reputation?"

Wang Can also said: "I have thought of some solutions along the way. Things may not end up in the worst possible situation."

Afterwards, Ma Chao explained in detail that although Ma Teng treated the nearly 30 soldiers they brought with him well and provided them with wine and meat, he was actually quite wary of them...

"But my father would never have thought that the combination of Bofu and I would be enough to control him!" Ma Chao said finally.

So their goal was very clear, to lower Ma Teng's vigilance and create an opportunity for him to be alone, with the fewer outsiders besides themselves the better.

Soon, such an opportunity came.

Ma Teng hosted another banquet, and his only target was Ma Chao's friends and Ma Yu, a member of the clan.

This saved Ma Chao the energy of making plans on his own. Of course, this was also related to the fact that Ma Chao had been promoting his friendship with Lu Jun and others in front of Ma Teng. After all, Ma Teng also hoped that the new Jincheng County Chief would not interfere with his enjoyment.

There were indeed no officials from Jincheng County at the banquet, making it no different from a family banquet.

During the banquet, Ma Chao and Sun Ce looked at each other, and then Ma Chao stood up and said, "I have been used to singing and dancing at banquets these days, which is boring. How about I dance with a sword to liven up the atmosphere?"

After hearing this, Ma Teng clapped his hands and said with a smile: "It's great that my son has such a refined taste!"

He immediately ordered someone to fetch the sword.

After getting the sword, Ma Chao looked at the servants, maids, musicians and dancers serving around him, and said, "My sword dance is not for ordinary people to watch. All these people, please step back!"

Immediately, all the servants and maids in the room looked at Ma Teng.

Seeing that there was only a sword in the room, still in his son's hand, Ma Teng did not suspect anything and immediately waved his hand to let everyone go.

Then, Ma Chao also started to dance with his sword.

Ma Teng was also a connoisseur. Seeing his son's sword dance with the sound of the wind, he felt extremely proud and could not help laughing and praising him repeatedly.

As he laughed, Ma Teng found that Ma Chao was getting closer and closer to him. He still didn't think anything was wrong at this time. He didn't care about drinking and was about to see if Ma Chao was going to perform any special skills in front of him. Unexpectedly, the sword in Ma Chao's hand came directly towards him.

Ma Teng instinctively thought it was an accident. He turned his head and found that Ma Chao's sword also slightly deviated in direction. Ma Teng was shocked. "It's over. This is coming for me."

The tip of the sword finally stopped in front of Ma Teng.

Ma Chao's hand was very steady. Ma Teng could see the tip of the sword trembling slightly, but the sword body remained stable.

On normal days, Ma Teng would praise his son's martial arts, but now...

Before Ma Teng could speak, Ma Chao spoke first: "Please ask my father to come to the capital."

Ma Teng immediately understood Ma Chao's purpose and angrily said, "Do you know that you are being unfilial? You have studied in Luoyang for so long, but have you learned nothing?"

Facing the angry Ma Teng, Ma Chao's hand remained steady. He replied: "There are foolish and true filial piety in this world. My father is greedy for power and refuses to leave. In the future, it will not only be my family that will be implicated by him. Even the Qiang and Han people in Jincheng County will be harmed by him. I am here to persuade my father today, which is the true filial piety!"

"Just as father said, the hundreds of thousands of people in Jincheng County are all on your shoulders. How could father not be willing to go to Luoyang for the hundreds of thousands of people?"

When Lu Jun heard what Ma Chao said, he instinctively looked at Wang Can, who was nodding secretly.

These well-reasoned and shameless words were naturally thought up by Wang Can for Ma Chao, in order to occupy the moral high ground first!
Ma Teng became even angrier after hearing what Ma Chao said. He asked, "You only care about your country and your family. Have you ever thought about your parents, brothers and sisters? If you have the guts, kill me today. I wonder if you have the guts to do that!"

Faced with his son's betrayal, Ma Teng, who had been pampered for many years, seemed to have regained his bravery during his rebellion, supported by his anger.

After saying this, Ma Teng thought that Ma Chao would continue to confront him, but unexpectedly, Ma Chao put down the sword in his hand without hesitation and inserted it into the table.

Ma Chao threw away his sword and stood with his hands behind his back, saying, "I have thought it through this time. Today's matter cannot be resolved peacefully. When I drew my sword, I had already put my life and death aside. My friends are also people who will live and die with me. If father wants to continue to stay in Jincheng County today, you can kill us. However, within three days, the troops of Longyou, Wuwei and even the Huqiang Commandery will come here to quell the rebellion. By then, the good days father wants will become a thing of the past. Father, have you thought it through?"

After hearing this, Ma Teng suddenly pulled out the sword that Ma Chao had inserted into the table and pointed it at Ma Chao - "You...you..." But he was so angry that he could not speak.

Ma Chao saw this and continued to emphasize: "Father, things have come to this point. There is no room for change. Father must make a choice quickly."

Seeing that they were in a stalemate, Ma Yu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up when he saw the tense scene, and said in anger and grief: "Why is it like this? Why is it like this? How did it come to this?"

He first rebuked Ma Chao, "This is your father. Even if he is wrong, you should have advised him. How could you use a sword against him? Apologize to your father!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao did not hesitate. He prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed to Ma Teng, performing the utmost courtesy. However, after pausing for a while, Ma Chao stood up without waiting for Ma Teng to call him.

Ma Yu saw this, sighed twice, looked at the angry Ma Teng and persuaded him: "Brother, Meng Qi is the most promising young man in the clan, and he can be expected to be a marquis or a prime minister in the future. To be fair, you live comfortably in Jincheng County, but what have you done to your child? He is the best child in our family!"

After scolding Ma Teng, Ma Yu scolded Ma Chao again: "You were able to enter Luoyang and receive such good treatment. In the final analysis, isn't it because of your father?"

Ma Chao was not convinced and retorted: "The country is in need of talents now, but my father is not only greedy for power and pleasure, but also wants to involve the country's military strength. With such a superficial father, I have no face to serve the country!"

Ma Yu was furious when he heard this. He quickly came to Ma Chao and wanted to hit him, but then put his hand back. He looked around and saw a bunch of grapes on Ma Teng's table. He turned around and took the grapes and threw them at Ma Chao, scolding him: "Meng Qi, is your future a means of threatening your own family?"

Ma Chao did not dodge or evade, allowing the grapes to hit his head and face, and the juice from the cracked grapes to spill on his body. Although it did not hurt, he was certainly in a very embarrassing state.

"Alright," Ma Teng roared after seeing this farce, "Stop making trouble, I'm going to Luoyang."

This period of time was enough for Ma Teng to figure out everything.

He knew that things had developed to this point, and even his son Ma Chao was unwilling to cooperate with him. There was no room for maneuver. If he had any thoughts of disloyalty, how many of his subordinates would be willing to follow him in another rebellion? It would be better to take this opportunity to go to Luoyang. This was already the best choice.

Having said this, Ma Teng dropped his sword, slumped in his seat, and took a few breaths. He did not forget to look at Lu Jun, Sun Ce, and Wang Can, bowed to each of them, and said, "I am sorry to have embarrassed you all about my family affairs. I hope you will not spread this matter, so as not to affect Meng Qi's future."

Lu Jun and the other two did not dare to accept Ma Teng's bow, but they agreed to Ma Teng's request without hesitation.

Originally in their plan, Lu Jun and Wang Can would try to play the role of persuading Ma Teng, while Sun Ce would be ready at all times to prevent Ma Teng from being really blinded by anger.

But unexpectedly, Ma Yu jumped out. Although the two sides did not communicate, they cooperated perfectly.

After Lu Jun made his promise, he still felt that it was not enough. Seeing Ma Teng's depressed face, he suddenly had an idea and said, "My Lord, I went to the bank of the Huangshui River with Meng Qi yesterday. Now is the time when the Huangshui River is at its peak. I would like to swear to the Huangshui River that what happened today will never be spread to outsiders!"

Huangshui?

Ma Teng immediately thought of the oath he made with Han Sui when they formed an alliance by pointing to the Huangshui River...

He quickly said, "That's not necessary!"

After saying this, Ma Teng realized that he was too anxious, and quickly returned to his original angry state, but he couldn't recover just like that.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the room had begun to recover, Ma Yu said to Ma Chao: "Mengqi, you are so dirty, go wash yourself..."

Ma Chao looked speechlessly at Ma Yu who had made him look so messy, but he also knew that Ma Yu had made an indispensable contribution to making Ma Teng change his attitude so smoothly today.

He immediately looked in the direction of Sun Ce and Wang Can, and both of them nodded to him, indicating that he could leave without worry.

As for Lu Jun? He had already agreed when Ma Yu started talking.

After Ma Chao left, the atmosphere in the room became much more relaxed.

At this time, Sun Ce suddenly said, "Uncle Ma, I miss the singing and dancing in the mansion."

Ma Yu understood and quickly shouted, "Come on, keep playing the music and keep dancing!"

Not long after, Ma Chao came back. He was simply cleaned up. This time, with him was Ma Teng's wife, Ma Chao's stepmother.

After entering the house, the latter hurriedly found Ma Teng and asked, "Meng Qi just said that he would pack up his belongings immediately and leave for Luoyang tomorrow. Is that true?"

Ma Teng glared at Ma Chao, who had acted first and reported later. Ma Chao bowed again and said, "When we get to Luoyang, I'll let my father handle it."

Ma Teng snorted coldly and said with his eyes closed: "It's true, I have made up my mind, you go and clean it up! Anything that you don't have time to clean up will be left to this rebellious son!"

Ma Chao said nothing about this, but Ma Teng still had some prestige in the family. When his wife heard this, she immediately arranged for someone to pack their bags.

Ma Teng waved away the dancers again and cursed at Ma Chao, "Are you so eager for me to leave?"

"The sooner the better."

Seeing that Ma Teng was about to get angry again, Ma Chao said, "When we first arrived in Luoyang, Xiu and Tie would chant their father's name every night before falling asleep. I stayed with them every night and told them that they would see their father in their dreams. I often heard them talking in their sleep... Doesn't their father want to see them right away?"

"They can still tell me what they miss in their hearts, but what about me?"

Ma Teng remained silent.

He thought about how happy he had been living in Jincheng County over the years and how he had indeed neglected the fact that his three sons in Luoyang were indeed too young.

Then he took a big gulp of wine and said unhappily, "Forget it, as you wish!"

That day, Ma Teng summoned his officials and announced that he would go to Luoyang to meet the emperor.

As for the military and political affairs of Jincheng County, they will be taken care of by the Chief Secretary Lu Jun, while Ma Chao will stay.

Although the officials in the prefectural office felt that Ma Teng's death was too sudden, after all, Ma Chao was still there, and Ma Teng had always been prestigious, so no one was suspicious.

Immediately after Ma Teng finished his announcement, Lu Jun took out the imperial edict he had been carrying with him and announced that he would act as the prefect after Ma Teng left.

Now, the subordinates felt it was more reasonable.

I just wonder why this edict was not taken out earlier, but it’s not too late to take it out now.

On the contrary, the Lord's children are really filial. They always follow the Lord and never try to gain the limelight.

The next day, Ma Teng set out from the prefectural mansion with his family, escorted by Ma Chao and Sun Ce, and headed eastward until they arrived in Longxi County, where the governor Fu Xie personally led his troops to escort them.

On the way back, Sun Ce asked Ma Chao curiously, "I haven't heard you say this before. Do your two brothers really call you Uncle Ma every night before going to bed?"

Ma Chao laughed and said, "Of course it's fake, they usually call me mother."

Sun Ce looked at Ma Chao carefully and asked curiously, "Did you come up with this idea or did Zhong Xuan come up with it?"

Ma Chao said complacently: "Of course it's me!"

"But sending my father away is only the first step. Next, we have to ensure that there is no chaos in Jincheng County."

Sun Ce said: "You are so quick-witted, why worry about these things? It's natural to fight against the enemy with soldiers and block the water with earth."

Ma Chao thought for a moment and replied, "That's right. Although I've been away from here for many years, I don't believe that those people I defeated back then would dare to disobey me now! If they dare, I will defeat them again!"

On the other side, after confirming that Ma Teng had left, Xu Huang and Zhang Fei, who had already prepared their troops, immediately ordered to break camp, their target - the Western Regions!
Xu Huang said to Zhang Fei with emotion: "I heard that Ma Teng was persuaded by a few young men to go to Luoyang. Nowadays, young talents should not be underestimated!"

Zhang Fei laughed out loud and said, "If we weren't here, how could Ma Teng be so obedient? Look, now the Western Regions have to be conquered by us, right?"

"But... I've been at ease for a few years now, and finally I have something to do! I'll earn the title of a lieutenant in the future."

After saying this, Zhang Fei rode forward to organize his troops, leaving Xu Huang laughing in silence. He naturally knew that Zhang Fei was eager to be on equal footing with him.

(End of this chapter)