People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 609 Confused
This moving performance successfully convinced the soldiers of the Liangzhou army and used a few promises to quell the chaos. Ma Teng put a lot of thought into it. Every word he said tried to hit the areas that the Liangzhou nobles and the people really cared about, which led to the perfect result in the end.

Of course, just making a promise is not enough. Even if the army retreats now, the military and civilians of Liangzhou will still have to see whether the court can keep its word in the future.

If they find out that everything is a lie, their anger will be ten times more intense than it is now, and Ma Teng, who guaranteed these promises, will certainly be to blame.

Ma Teng is actually taking a huge risk by standing here and saying these words today. He must ensure that the court can keep its promise, otherwise the consequences for himself will be disastrous.

He felt somewhat confident about this, as this confidence came from what he saw and heard when he went to Peking.

Although the various policies of the imperial court seem incredible, they can all be seen in practice under Xuanxia's rule. Xuanxia did not just shout slogans when governing the local area, but also ensured that everything he said was implemented. No matter whether it was the people in the capital or the villagers in the countryside, no one was dissatisfied when it came to the imperial court.

Ma Teng could disbelieve the words of the court, but he could not disbelieve the words of the people, and he could not disbelieve what he saw and heard with his own eyes.

Although what he said to the soldiers today was a performance, many of them were also true. Ma Teng was indeed exploring the way for the soldiers and civilians of Liangzhou when he went to Beiping of Xuanxia alone. Regardless of whether they were affiliated with Xuanxia or not, he had to have a sufficiently intuitive and clear understanding of Xuanxia first.

And the facts have proved that Xuan Xia is indeed a different existence.

Today's few promises are actually far from enough to illustrate the good of Xuan Xia. They are just a few of the policies that are easiest to convince the soldiers and civilians of Liangzhou from among the many policies that benefit the people. In fact, if we really want to talk about the benefits of Xuan Xia, Ma Teng may not be able to explain it to others even if he talks for three days and three nights.

He had already verified it personally, so there was naturally no psychological pressure in making these promises. It had to be said that the Xuanxia court had indeed convinced him.

"Brothers, listen to me. Let's stop fighting and withdraw our troops to the camp immediately. Go home and live a peaceful life. Even if Liangzhou becomes dependent on the imperial court in the future, I, Ma Teng, will still be in Liangzhou. With me here, nothing bad will happen in Liangzhou!"

Ma Teng finally shouted to the entire army, and in response he was met with cheers from all over the army.

At this moment, Ma Teng's appeal in Liangzhou was fully demonstrated. He had just returned to the military camp and just shouted, and all the soldiers obediently retreated to the camp.

The originally tense and dangerous situation was completely relaxed in just this moment.

Only the few people around Ma Teng had different expressions, and they felt differently about this situation.

Ma Dai and Ma Xiu did not have much opinion on the issue of dependence. Since Ma Teng had already made the decision, they chose to obey. However, Ma Chao on the side had a completely different mood.

When the army retreated and peace returned to the wilderness, Ma Chao became disheartened and knew that he was doomed.

Whether it was harming his father or starting a war, the consequences of these two things were too much for him to bear now. His heart was filled with bitterness, but things had come to this point and he could only accept his fate.

Once this father-son game starts, Ma Chao will have no chance of winning. In this era, a son's wrist will never be stronger than that of his father.

And now is the time to begin settling accounts for the crimes.

When the crowd dispersed, Ma Teng set his eyes on Ma Chao. Pang De, who was standing by, patted Ma Dai and Ma Xiu tactfully and took the two brothers away.

"I, your father, never imagined that you, a rebellious son, would dare to harm me!" When the two of them were left alone, Ma Teng no longer had to hide the family scandal and immediately stared at Ma Chao with cold eyes.

Ma Chao moved his lips, obviously wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

If I still try to quibble and deny it at this time, then I will really treat Ma Teng as a fool. As a son, you can harm me, but you can't look down on me too much, otherwise I will really explode.

Ma Teng's feelings were also very complicated. Although he was very angry, he couldn't hide his pain and bitterness when he saw Ma Chao's face.

Ma Chao was the most valiant warrior in the Ma family, and even Ma Teng himself admitted that he was inferior to him. Once upon a time, he had high hopes for Ma Chao, but now the situation between father and son has become like this.

Seeing that Ma Chao had been silent for a long time, Ma Teng snorted coldly: "Rebellious son, don't think that nothing can happen just like this. Even if I don't care, the court will not let you off the hook for starting a rebellion!"

Ma Chao then raised his head, took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, "If it is my father's will, no matter what punishment he gives me, I will accept it. But what is the Xuanxia court? How can they punish me?"

Ma Teng looked at him, and after a moment's silence, he sat down next to Ma Chao.

Seeing this, Ma Chao stopped kneeling and sat down on the ground like Ma Teng.

As a result, the atmosphere changed. The father and son, who had been in a tense atmosphere just a moment ago, now inexplicably showed some tenderness. After all, they were father and son connected by blood. No matter how sad and angry they were, they could not overcome their instinctive emotions in the end.

"You rebellious son, do you really think we can continue to be local emperors in Liangzhou? Times have changed, you know? We have to accept the fact that Xuanxia is the master of China, whether we can accept it or not."

Ma Teng sighed and put his hand on Ma Chao's shoulder: "The court must give an explanation for the uprising, and I, your father, must also give them an explanation."

When Ma Chao heard this, he was shocked, but then he calmed down, as if he had accepted something calmly.

For him, since he had chosen to start a rebellion, he had already prepared for this day. The only thing that made him unwilling was that everything was over before it even began. This was obviously not something he could easily accept.

"I still don't understand why my father must submit to Xuan Xia. We still have a million soldiers and civilians in Liangzhou. As long as we have the determination to fight to the death, we may be able to defend Guanzhong and live in peace. Even if there is only a 20% or 30% chance, it is better than being a loyal dog of the court!"

At this time, Ma Chao still did not give up: "There is still a chance now. As long as father changes his mind, these more than 100,000 Xiliang troops can immediately turn their guns around and continue to advance eastward. Father, you can't be confused!"

Confused
Hearing these words, the only thing that flashed through Ma Teng's mind was the black cannon he had seen. As soon as he thought of that thing, he no longer had any unrealistic fantasies in his mind.

It is precisely because I am not confused that I will wholeheartedly rely on Xuan Xia!

However, he did not say this out loud, because there was no need. He just stood up and walked towards the camp behind him alone, leaving only his sword on the ground.

Ma Chao stared at the knife in a daze, and of course he understood what Ma Teng meant.

After a bitter smile, he picked up the knife and pointed it at his neck.
(End of this chapter)