Chapter Fifty-Nine: Banquet

  This battle was fought fiercely, Yang Fu and his brothers surrounded Ma Chao together, Yang Fu was shot by Ma Chao five times, seven of his brothers were killed on the spot by Ma Chao, and countless others were injured!

  Yang Fu had been at odds with Ma Chao since he killed Wei Kang and his family. He led the Yang clan to thoroughly defeat them, and in this battle, he finally drove Ma Chao out of Liangzhou. It can be said that he fulfilled his lifelong wish. Later, he was rewarded by Cao Cao for his contributions in resisting Ma Chao, and was summoned to Ye City to serve as an official, where he was enfeoffed as a marquis.

  Ma Chao arrived at Zhang Lu's place, and Zhang Lu saw that Ma Chao was single with no family dependents. Ma Chao was well-versed in both literature and martial arts, and had a very heroic bearing. He planned to marry his daughter to him, but was dissuaded by his subordinates. When Ma Chao heard this, he felt unhappy in his heart. He then married and had children. Later, others at Zhang Lu's place spoke ill of him, and since he thought that Zhang Lu was not a person who could accomplish great things, he became melancholic.

  Soon Liu Bei sent Li Hui to persuade Ma Chao to surrender, and Ma Chao immediately defected to Liu Bei. His family in Hanzhong was captured by Zhang Lu. Later, when Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao, Ma Chao's concubine Dong Shi was given to Yan Pu, who was one of Zhang Lu's advisors and the main person who persuaded Zhang Lu to surrender to Cao Cao.

  Ma Chao's son, Ma Qiu, was handed over to Zhang Lu by Cao Cao. To prove his determination, Zhang Lu, a Taoist in his fifties, personally killed Ma Chao's underage son, Ma Qiu.

  At Liu Bei's side, Ma Chao began to force the surrender of Chengdu, with great merit. Liu Bei also respected him greatly every day, which made Ma Chao somewhat arrogant.

  As soon as he saw Liu Bei, he called out in a loud voice: "Xuande..."

  Zhang Fei, who was following Liu Bei, directly drew his sword to kill Ma Chao. Liu Bei stopped Zhang Fei, but this incident left an indelible impression on Ma Chao. Moreover, he had been a warrior all his life and was already tired of the killings, only wanting to live a stable life, because he was afraid.

  This is Ma Chao's tragedy, a peerless martial general losing his own personality, which makes people feel more regretful than losing his life.

  He began to live with his tail between his legs. Later, his good friend Peng Yang was demoted by Liu Bei and sent to a remote area for official duties. Peng Yang was unhappy in his heart, so he found Ma Chao to drink wine with him. After getting drunk, he said to Ma Chao: "General, you start a rebellion outside, I'll respond in Chengdu, and the world won't be difficult to settle!"

  Ma Chao sent Peng Hu away and hurried to find Liu Bei, telling him all that Peng Hu had said. Peng Hu was put in prison and executed. Ma Chao's action of betraying his friend was considered very despicable by the people of Shu, and no one wanted to have any dealings with him anymore.

  When Ma Chao was seriously ill, he petitioned Liu Bei and said: "My family has more than 200 people, almost all of whom were killed by Cao Mengde. Only my cousin Ma Dai should be the one to continue our ancestral sacrifices, I entrust him to Your Majesty with all sincerity, there is nothing else to say." He died of illness at the age of 47.

  Shu Han posthumously honored him with the title of Wei Marquis.

  Ma Chao's son, Ma Cheng, inherited the title. Ma Dai was promoted to General Who Pacifies the North and his title was advanced to Marquis of Chen Cang. Ma Chao's daughter married Liu Li, Prince of Anping.

  From the name of Ma Chao's son, we can see his final mentality. He only hopes that his son will be safe and sound, and continue the Ma family lineage.

  After finishing Ma Chao's life story, Gong Sun Ce couldn't calm down for a long time. People only remember the glorious moments of historical figures, but selectively forget their hardships.

  September 9th, this is a grand day, but the living are all worried about survival and have no time to care for the dead. It's these dead people who, due to their extreme regret over past experiences, come back to life to make up for the regrets in their hearts and fulfill their lifelong wishes.

  Around seven o'clock, Gong Sun Ce woke up and was washing his face when Guo Liang rushed in to say: "Big brother, Li Ru has arrived. It seems that something big happened last night and he wants to discuss it with you."

  "Something big? Dong Zhuo's actions are not small, it seems he has already thought of a way to deal with the current situation." Gong Sun Ce wiped his face, and with the help of the soldiers in the formation, put on his armor, held up his helmet and went to see Li Ru with Guo Liang.

  "General Gong Sun, last night Li Mou went to the Korean Suigun camp and has already persuaded him to surrender." Li Ru's tone was calm, but in Gong Sun Ce's ears it was like a thunderclap.

  "Han Sui? Kill!!" As Li Ru's words fell, Gong Sun Zan's body shook, and a orange-colored energy burst out from his brow, transforming into Ma Chao.

  His face was like jade, his eyes were like flowing stars, his body was like a tiger's, his arms were like an ape's, his belly was like a leopard's, and his waist was like a wolf's. In his hand was a golden spear with a tiger's head. Ma Chao wore a short hemp garment, but it could not conceal the heroic spirit that emanated from his entire body; his long hair was scattered behind his neck, and in its disorderliness, one could see an unbridled spirit.

  "I swear to kill Han Sui!" Ma Chao stood beside Gongsun Zan, his head lowered and staring at Li Ru. Making Li Ru feel uneasy, he looked at Gongsun Zan with difficulty.

  "We'll go find Dong Gong to discuss it, see if we can swallow Han Zhuo in one bite!" Gongsun Zan's proposal made Ma Chao feel that this was his only choice at the moment, so he naturally nodded. Li Ru was just Dong Zhuo's spokesperson, and it was also proper for him to let Dong Zhuo handle such matters.

  Dong Zhuo listened to Gongsun Zan's intention and paced thoughtfully in the big account. As for getting rid of Han Sui, Dong Zhuo did not object in his heart, he only worried that killing Han Sui would fail, or succeed in destroying Han Sui, but push the eight departments of Xiliang into the Lian army camp.

  "This Han person is cunning and unpredictable, wanting to kill him won't be an easy task! In the chaos of Liangzhou, as a scholar, he was able to take advantage of the situation and rise up, commanding the eight tribes of Western Liang, occupying Jincheng, all relying on his clever strategies!"

  Dong Zhuo continued: "However, this man staying is a disaster! Our Xiliang elite soldiers are handed over to a scholar to command, and I feel uncomfortable about it."

  Dong Zhuo had long been thinking of killing Han Sui, because the power in Han Sui's hands was stronger than his and Gongsun Zan combined. The official position of a dynasty is just that much, and the war achievements that can be established in Liangzhou are also just that much. It can be said that resources are limited, and he and Gongsun Zan have some tension after dividing them up, let alone adding another big head like Han Sui!

  The bigger the head, the greater the strength, and the more food can be seized. As a result, the head grows even higher and larger. But he and Gong Sun Ce couldn't seize much to eat, not to mention growing taller, they would even shrink back!

  So, Han Sui killed Dong Zhuo and Gongsun Zan, which only brought benefits and no harm! Of course, there is a prerequisite, that is to settle the 20,000 elite soldiers of the eight Western Liang divisions! Otherwise, it would be a blind bustle, not only damaging his own reputation but also creating another powerful enemy.

  Li Ru can be said to have turned his eyes and planned in his heart. Immediately, he followed Dong Zhuo's words and offered a plan: "I'm afraid that Han Wen Jue also has no good intentions, why not let the lord set up a banquet in Long City, invite him to attend, and kill him!"

  "This thief is highly suspicious, fearing that he will not arrive." Ma Chao wants to kill Han Sui, seeking a clean and neat solution, afraid of letting Han Sui become alert, or else when can Ma Chao take his revenge?

  Ma Chao's heart was eager for revenge, and this vengeance would not be reported for a day, it would be a day of suffering. As for Ma Chao's remarks regardless of his identity, Gong Sun Ce did not say anything, Dong Zhuo and others also did not pursue the matter, only with an unpleasant expression.

  Ma Chao also knew he had lost his composure and made a fist at Gongsun Zan with an apologetic expression.

  "Each of you bring a small group of troops and go to the banquet, and we can dispel Han's doubts. With my four men, Gongsun Zan, Ma Chao, Hua Xiong, and Gao Shun, we can make Han surrender in the blink of an eye!" Gongsun Zan realized that he had already passed through the heavenly tribulation and knew how to break through this bottleneck.

  Dong Zhuo deliberated for a moment, then slapped the table and exclaimed: "Good!"

  Several people discussed it again and thought that the number of guards brought was too small, which would arouse Han's suspicion. So they planned to bring 200 guards from each side to attend the banquet. After the discussion was settled, Li Ru went to inform Han.

  Jieting Han Sui's large camp, although Han Sui's army had only set up camp for two days, it already had a certain scale. In the mountain path, there were three large camps, with one fort on each side of the mountain. The big fort was surrounded by small forts at strategic locations, supporting each other and having extremely strong defensive capabilities.

  Li Ru didn't see clearly last night, but today he saw it and was secretly shocked.

  "Going to a banquet?" Han Sui, with the appearance of a middle-aged man, stroked his beard and asked Li Ru with a smile.

  Li Ru had done everything with Dong Zhuo, strangling the Empress Dowager to death and forcing the deposed Emperor Liu Bian to drink poisoned wine. But under Han Sui's warm smile, he felt a little unnatural.

  "That's right, my master said there is an important matter to discuss with General Zhenxi, and also to renew old ties and explore the future development path of the Western Liang generals."

  Everyone present looked unnatural under Li Ru's gaze, and Han Sui felt pleased in his heart. However, he maintained a serious expression and said, "I, Han, have always admired Dong Gong, and I must attend the banquet today."

  Han Sui again used Li Ru's carriage and horses being worn out as an excuse, asking him to stay in his own camp to rest. He brought a thousand elite Western Liang cavalrymen to attend the banquet, accompanied by his son-in-law Yan Xing.

  Yan Xing, styled Yanming, was a native of Jincheng. He had a reputation for bravery from a young age and initially served as a minor general under Han Sui.

  In the beginning of Jian'an, Han Sui and Ma Teng attacked each other. Yan Xing sought an opportunity to assassinate Ma Chao, but his spear broke, and he struck Ma Chao's neck with the broken spearhead, almost killing him.

  In the 14th year of Jian'an, Han Sui sent him as an envoy to Cao Cao. Cao Cao highly appreciated Yan Xing's ability and appointed him as the Taishou of Yizhou and Qiongji, treating him with great kindness. He also summoned Yan Xing's father to serve in the imperial court before allowing Yan Xing to leave.

  Yan Xing returned to Han Sui's place and said that Han Sui's territory was small and had no potential, so it would be better to take advantage of the turmoil in the world and surrender to a heroic and wise lord. Han Sui listened to Yan Xing's opinion and sent his own son to serve as an official under Cao Cao.

  Later, Han Sui and Ma Chao formed an alliance against Cao Cao. When Cao Cao implemented his strategy to sow discord among them, Yan Xing played a crucial role in it. This was because Yan Xing and Ma Chao were sworn enemies who would have fought each other to the death if not for Ma Chao's need for Han Sui's prestige.

  Cao Cao said nothing at that time on the battlefield, but instead told Yan Xing who was standing behind Han Sui: "You should be a filial son!"

  The implication is that Ma Chao should not only think of his own power and ambition, but also consider his family and relatives. Ma Chao would naturally think a lot and want to kill Yan Xing. Yan Xing was Han Sui's trusted general, if he were killed like this, how could Han Sui lead the army in the future? A person who can't even protect his own generals, how can he survive in the chaotic land of Xiliang?

  Thus, Cao Cao's divisive plan succeeded.

  But Han Sui still had doubts in his heart, after all, his son who served Cao Cao had been beheaded by Cao, while Yan Xing's parents were still alive!

  To keep Yan Xing from leaving, Han Sui married his youngest daughter to Yan Xing. Yan Xing was unable to obtain the freedom he desired and could not go to his parents, worrying about their safety, feeling anxious in his heart.

  Cao Cao added fuel to the fire, and Yan Xing and Han Sui slaughtered each other. Yan Xing was defeated in battle and fled east with his family to surrender to Cao Cao. Cao Cao enfeoffed Yan Xing as a marquis, which was not bad for him.

  Historically, Han Sui and Yan Xing were at odds with each other, but after Han Sui's victory, he still let him go. This shows that the relationship between the two is still maintained and has not reached an irreconcilable state.

  "Father-in-law, Dong Zhuo is a cruel and murderous man. To achieve his goals, he will stop at nothing. Sacrificing one Li Ru to save Father-in-law's life is also a fair trade." When Yan Xiang came back to life, he saw that the only effective force was Han Sui, so he followed Han Sui together to come back to life.

  Han Sui was very pleased with this and let him concurrently lead his own account supervisor, in charge of his own close relatives, and trusted Yan Xing.