People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 604: Cleansing Out the Scum
The Xiliang Rebellion was neither a big nor a small matter. It was not a big matter because the Yellow Turbans had the strength to quell the rebellion without any suspense. But it was a big matter because quelling a rebellion was not so easy.

Moreover, countless people in Liangzhou will be dragged into this war, and who knows how many families will be broken up and separated from their wives and children.

The world is generally stable now, and the next main theme is recuperation. Xu Chen has no intention of fighting again in Liangzhou, as this will only create more population losses and economic damage.

As long as the situation can be calmed down, releasing Ma Teng is nothing.

Although it is possible to kill Ma Teng to vent anger and establish authority, it will not help change the situation. It is better to keep him and let him play a role.

As for whether Ma Teng can calm the situation, Xu Chen is very confident.

No matter how much trouble Ma Chao makes, it can only be based on the fact that Ma Teng is not around or even dead. Once Ma Teng successfully returns to Liang Province, the situation will immediately turn around.

The Han Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, which was a correct political policy deeply rooted in the hearts of the people from the court to the people. Ma Chao could do whatever he wanted with his own prestige, but if Ma Dai and Ma Xiu had to choose between Ma Chao and Ma Teng, Ma Teng would undoubtedly be the choice.

An elder brother can never be older than his father. This is the most basic truth in everyone's mind.

As for whether a veteran like Pang De would obey Ma Teng or Ma Chao, that is also obvious.

Ma Chao can command everyone now only because he is taking advantage of Ma Teng's absence to force them to follow him in the name of resisting Xuan Xia. Once Ma Teng goes back to clean up the situation personally, all of Ma Chao's righteousness will be lost, and few people will choose to continue to follow him.

Both Xu Chen and Ma Teng could guess what Ma Chao was thinking at the moment. The father-son situation must be something that Ma Chao was very unwilling to see. The more this was the case, the less reason Xu Chen had to be the knife that killed Ma Chao's father.

When the news of the unrest in Liangzhou came, the Xuanxia court immediately paid enough attention to it. When Xu Chen's order was issued, the military quickly mobilized more than 10,000 cavalry, led by Zhao Yun himself, and went to Liangzhou together with Ma Teng.

Ten thousand cavalrymen galloped all the way and entered Guanzhong at the fastest speed. Ma Teng, who was traveling with them, immediately felt the power of this cavalry.

Xiliang was known for its cavalry, and Ma Teng was an expert in this area, so he could naturally see the depth of the cavalry.

The Yellow Turban cavalry was a mixture of Han and Hu people. They not only had superb riding skills but were also well-equipped. Their actions were very coordinated and they followed orders. Even in their loose formation during a forced march, one could clearly feel the connection between them. One can imagine that such cavalry must have been like a roaming dragon on the battlefield and difficult to restrain.

After observing the fighting power of the cavalry, Ma Teng was even more frightened, and he did not have the slightest thought of resistance in his mind.

Not to mention the incredible cannon formation that he had witnessed with his own eyes, the Yellow Turbans' infantry and cavalry alone were also top-notch elite. If Liangzhou and Xuanxia confronted each other head-on, Xuanxia would not have to use artillery and could fight in traditional ways, which would still make Ma Teng feel terrified.

The purpose of this trip is not to teach Haodaer a lesson, but more importantly to save the Ma family and the soldiers and civilians of Liangzhou.

You can’t fight. If you fight, it’ll be the end of you.

On the way back, the most anxious person was not Zhao Yun and the Yellow Turbans, but Ma Teng, the person involved.

The sooner he could return, the sooner he could restore the situation. He didn't even dare to think about what would happen if the Xiliang Army did something that would anger God and people during the rebellion.

He knows his own team well, and Ma Teng is very clear about the military discipline of the Xiliang Army. Once the war starts, they can do anything.

Fortunately, they were all light cavalry, and the marching speed was extremely fast. They spent nearly ten days marching at full speed and finally entered Guanzhong, and passed through Sizhou all the way to the eastern part of Liangzhou. Sizhou had already been greeted by local officials from Xuanxia. Seeing the large army sent by the court, the local officials were greatly relieved.

This battle came suddenly. The local forces of Sizhou and several counties in the eastern part of Bingzhou were not enough to resist Ma Chao's iron hoof. If Zhao Yun and his men were slower, Sizhou would soon face Ma Chao's invasion.

Seeing this, not only Zhao Yun felt relieved, but even Ma Teng was very grateful.

Fortunately, the situation was still under control and he came back not too late.

After a brief rest in Sizhou, Zhao Yun and Ma Teng set out again and soon entered Beidi County. As soon as they entered Bingzhou, they immediately felt a sudden change in the situation.

Not long after marching along the road, they found a village along the way.

This village has no more than a dozen households, and is mostly surrounded by small plots of farmland. The houses are tiled houses with small courtyards, and the roads in the village are neat and flat. One can imagine how peaceful this relatively isolated village must have been in the past.

But now all they saw was a ruin. The courtyards of every household had been trampled and destroyed. The doors of many houses were wide open and no movement could be seen from inside. There were only broken clay pots on the ground, or a corpse lying on the ground from time to time.

Among these corpses, there were men, women, young and old. Most of the men's bodies were in a miserable state, while the women's bodies were in tattered clothes. There were also babies who were lifted up high by wooden spears and impaled on the ground.

This dead silent and cruel scene is silently telling the suffering that happened before.

In fact, Ma Teng has seen many such scenes. The Xiliang Army was born out of arrogance and wildness, with few moral constraints, and they have always done things without scruples. But the past is the past, and the present is now. When he sees such a scene again, he is so frightened that he breaks out in a cold sweat.

This kind of thing has always been a sin that Xuan Xia cannot tolerate, and he can feel it from Zhao Yun's cold face.

"Zilong, there is still some warmth on the stove wall in the house. The tragedy must have happened not long ago!" Xiahou Lan led more than a hundred people to search the village. They quickly found out the situation and reported back.

Zhao Yun clenched his silver spear tightly upon hearing this. He first glanced at Ma Teng, and then gave a cold order: "Chase them immediately, and don't let any enemy escape!"

Upon hearing this, the Yellow Turban cavalrymen, whose eyes were already spitting fire and filled with indignation, immediately responded loudly. Such angry voices frightened Ma Teng who was standing by.

He knew that the army in front was bound to suffer, and he could only pray in his heart that such situations would not happen too often.

Ma Chao, Ma Chao, it's fine that you killed my father, but I don't know how many people will suffer because of you after this incident!

Seeing the Yellow Turban cavalry marching hurriedly, Ma Teng could only steer his horse and follow closely. However, in his heart he was already gnashing with hatred towards Ma Chao and he really wanted to go to Ma Chao immediately and kill his own brother for the sake of justice.

After only half an hour, the new Yellow Turban Cavalry discovered the movement of the Western Liang Army ahead, but it was just a small group of two or three hundred people.

Zhao Yun was about to wave his hand and order an attack, but at this time Ma Teng rode up on horseback.

"General Zhao, let me join this battle. I will personally clean out the scums from Xiliang!" Ma Teng gritted his teeth as he spoke.

(End of this chapter)