Chapter Sixteen: The Ma Family

  The Ma family of Wuwei is the largest and most influential family in Wuwei, with a history dating back to the Eastern Han dynasty's General Ma Yuan under Emperor Guangwu. Today, they have over 1,000 years of history. As a thousand-year-old family, the Ma family controls nearly sixty percent of Wuwei's economy, and their ranch is one of the few remaining warhorse breeding grounds in the Great Qin Empire. Over the centuries since the founding of the Great Qin Empire, several magistrates of Wuwei have been supported by the Ma family, who can be said to cover the sky with one hand.

  As a prominent family, they naturally had their own way of survival. So when the Mongols advanced east this time, the Ma family didn't worry at all. However, after Yang Chengfeng defeated the Mongols, the Ma family realized that since Lanzhou was occupied by the Mongols, Wuwei would become the northwest front line against the Mongols in the future. The imperial army would inevitably be stationed in Wuwei for a long time, and Wuwei would no longer be their Wuwei. For this reason, the Ma family split into several factions and argued endlessly.

  From this day on, Ma Zhongwei took a low-hanging felt curtain and oil wall light car, quietly driving into the Liao Wangfu under the cover of the dark night.

  Ma Zhongwei is the main conciliatory faction in the Ma family, who has always advocated for good relations with the imperial court. He believes that Yang Chengfeng, the king of Liao, can defeat the Mongols and has certain strength in Wuwei, and also has the support of the imperial court behind him. It would be unwise to oppose a strong enemy, especially when there are other potential opponents lurking around.

  However, the two cousins of Ma's family were unaware of the situation and thought that Yang Chengfeng's defeat of the Mongols was just a coincidence. They believed that since the Western Northwest Army and the Blue Feather Army had been destroyed, the court could not achieve anything great in the northwest, and the Ma family should rise from the midst and establish the Ma dynasty. Therefore, every time they discussed matters within the clan, they would often use abusive language to invade each other, while the patriarch of the clan, Ma Tongchao, was indecisive and never clearly expressed his stance, either trying to calm things down or putting off discussions until later. As a result, every discussion ended in discord, and the relationship between the two main branches of the Ma family became increasingly tense.

  For the sake of the Ma family, Ma Zhongwei decided to secretly meet with Yang Chengfeng - the commander-in-chief of the imperial court in the northwest.

  In the city of Wuwei, the carriage sped straight ahead, then turned into a deserted alleyway. In the twisting and turning alleys, it galloped along, finally entering through a side gate of a large courtyard, without stopping at the main entrance.

  Of course, this is mainly due to confidentiality considerations. Ma Zhongwei's identity is too sensitive at present. Otherwise, as the host of the Yang family, Yang Chengfeng would have opened the main gate and stepped down to welcome guests, but all these were waived due to confidentiality considerations.

  As soon as they got out of the car, a servant who had been arranged in advance came forward to guide them through the labyrinthine courtyard.

  All the way, I didn't meet a single servant or subordinate, it was obviously intentional arrangement, and all the idle people avoided me.

  Ma Zhongwei looked up and saw that all the houses in Liao Wangfu were typical of the northwest style, with dark green glazed tiles covering the roofs, which were very thick and sturdy. The walls were also extremely thick, with one layer after another of high and large courtyard walls made of polished bricks, effectively blocking the invasion of the northwest wind and sand.

  Yang Chengfeng had been waiting in the backyard for a long time. Since he understood the situation of Wu Wei, he has been hesitant about his attitude towards the Ma family.

  In Yang Chengfeng's heart, after Wuwei it was his territory, the base for him to contend for hegemony over the world. However, with the strength of the Ma family in Wuwei, even if he had tens of thousands of troops from the Tianlang Army, when fighting against the Ma family, he may not necessarily win. Especially within the Ma family's pasture, there were tens of thousands of elite cavalrymen. His Tianlang Army might not be able to withstand them. This was also the reason why, for a thousand years, regardless of the change in dynasties, the Ma family could dominate one side of Wuwei.

  As soon as Ma Zhongwei entered the hall, Yang Chengfeng had already stood up, let out a loud laugh, and walked over with big strides, saying: "Honorable guest arrives at my humble abode, I haven't gone far to welcome you, forgive me, forgive me!"

  "Your Highness's words are too kind, I am but a humble commoner and dare not accept!"

  Ma Zhongwei hastily bowed, although he was an important figure in the Ma family, he was still a civilian. At that time, the imperial court attached great importance to class, so with Ma Zhongwei's civilian status, from the point of view of etiquette, he, as a humble commoner, did not deserve such treatment by the royal family.

  Yang Chengfeng laughed and pulled Ma Zhongwei to sit down on the ground, exchanging pleasantries and chatting warmly like old friends.

  At this moment, the servants had already arranged the low tables in a flowing manner, and several large plates of fruit and pastries were placed on them. There were various grapes, honey dates, dried grapes, ham melons, fragrant pears, Dunhuang wine dates, etc. The fruits were fresh and lively, their fragrance wafting through the air, and their bright colors were dazzling to behold.

  The two hosts and guests were just chatting about some irrelevant local customs. For Yang Chengfeng, since Ma Zhongwei dared to come alone without bringing a single trusted guard, his sincerity was naturally beyond doubt. The plot to win over a powerful person from the Ma family was naturally a delightful thing, and Yang Chengfeng didn't need to be too anxious, he had plenty of time.

  Ma Zhongwei dares to come here, which shows that this person's character is actually bold and meticulous. Apart from being cautious and careful, he also has a adventurous and daring side, and is a big-hearted and daring gambler!

  Yang Chengfeng thought to himself: This person is indeed capable of great things, unfortunately he was suppressed by his brother's power in the past! A life that cannot be lived with a free heart, even if one lives to be a hundred years old, is still a short life! I suppose Ma Zhongwei has also been feeling depressed for too long, otherwise he wouldn't have come looking for him.

  While chatting with Yang Chengfeng, Ma Zhongwei was also secretly lamenting in his heart: thinking back to the past, he had been proud of his own talent and wanted to achieve something, but now after more than a decade, he still had no significant achievements. Looking at others, born into royalty, enfeoffed as king at a young age, with a heroic and elegant demeanor, enjoying good fortune, it was clear that they were destined for greatness from the start; if they didn't make a move, then so be it, but once they did, they would shock the world. No wonder people say: comparing oneself to others can be suffocating, the difference between being favored and not is really this huge! Now with Yang Chengfeng's exceptional talent and grand strategy, it was impossible for Ma's family to continue playing their local emperor in Wuwei City, especially since the massive Ma family army had become a thorn in the side of the Tianlang Army, Yang Chengfeng would always be worried about the threat posed by the Ma family army.

  At this point, the conversation has gradually entered the main topic. Yang Chengfeng's conditions for stabilizing the Ma family are not excessive after some thought, and Ma Zhongwei basically agrees. There are not many places of disagreement, so now both sides are only going through the final confirmation procedures. The binding force of such a verbal agreement depends more on the consistency of interests between the two parties!

  Through casual conversations with Ma Zhongwei, Yang Chengfeng inadvertently discovered that the overall strength of the Ma family's military was several times stronger than their original estimates. This was clearly the result of the Ma family intentionally concealing their tracks. The strength of the Ma family's intelligence network also shocked Yang Chengfeng. The Ma family's network of informants had been built up over time, and from Ma Zhongwei's casual revelations, it could be inferred that the Ma family's intelligence network possessed abilities such as reconnaissance, espionage, and secret assassination, which would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the future direction of Wu Wei. This was also something that needed to be guarded against.

  However, Yang Chengfeng did not intend to blame any of his subordinates for this, after all, any force would inevitably have some secrets that could not be detected or overlooked by spies. Yang Chengfeng naturally made a promise: In the future, Ma's cavalry will be reorganized into a complete cavalry corps, led by Ma Zhongwei.

  They discussed various matters until the third watch, and Yang Chengfeng had arranged a place for Ma Zhongwei to rest, in a quiet courtyard not far from his own living quarters.

  Yang Chengfeng didn't leave until he had personally escorted this important guest to his resting place.

  Yang Chengfeng, who had left, did not rest immediately, but returned to his own quarters to think about the next plan. Although he had reached an agreement with Ma Zhongwei now, he still needed to eliminate the Ma family, and he not only wanted to annex the Ma family army, but also needed the wealth accumulated by the Ma family for thousands of years.

  Relying on the financial revenue of Wuwei, apart from submitting to the imperial court, it is fundamentally impossible to support the Tianlang Army, and as for getting military expenses from the imperial court, Yang Chengfeng didn't even think about it. As the fourth prince of the empire, having been in Luoyang for over a decade, he was extremely familiar with the affairs of the imperial court, and it was simply impossible to get military expenses from the imperial court.