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Ma Yuan, whose courtesy name was Wenyuan, was the ancestor of Zhao She, a famous general of the State of Zhao in the late Warring States Period.

Because he was known as Ma Fujun, his descendants later took Ma as their surname.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan's ancestors moved from Handan to Maoling.

Ma Yuan's great-grandfather was Ma Tong, Marquis of Chonghe, who was killed because he was implicated by his brother.

After that, Ma Yuan’s grandfather and father never held high positions again.

Ma Yuan had three older brothers, Ma Kuang, Ma Yu and Ma Yuan, who were all officials in the court during the reign of Wang Mang.

"Ma Yuan's father died when he was twelve. He had lofty ambitions since he was young."

"But because I don't like learning to write poetry, I want to bid farewell to my brother Ma Kuang and go to the border counties to farm and herd."

"After Ma Kuang died, Ma Yuan followed Confucian etiquette, mourned for his brother for a year, and served his widowed sister-in-law respectfully."

"Later, when he was serving as the county governor, Ma Yuan was caught releasing prisoners privately, so he fled to the north and made a living by herding."

"Because of his great reputation in the local area, hundreds of guests were willing to follow Ma Yuan;"

"Because of his good management, Ma Yuan had many livestock and his granaries were full of grain."

"Ma Yuan distributed all these to old friends and guests, and continued to live a simple life."

"At the end of Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty, Ma Yuan was appointed as Xincheng Dayin."

"After Wang Mang's defeat, Ma Yuan and his brother Ma Yuan gave up their posts as governors and fled to Liang Province to avoid the chaos."

"Because of Ma Yuan's talent, Wei Xiang, who ruled Longxi, appointed Ma Yuan as the General of Suide."

"At that time, Wei Xiang wanted to submit to Gongsun Shu, who had proclaimed himself emperor in Shu. Since Ma Yuan and Gongsun Shu were neighbors and had a close relationship, he sent Ma Yuan to Shu to make contact."

"Ma Yuan wanted to meet Gongsun Shu as an old friend, but Gongsun Shu was very cautious when meeting Ma Yuan and showed no regard for their friendship."

"Therefore, Ma Yuan believed that Gongsun Shu was only good at superficial work and was not a wise ruler;"

"I bid farewell to Gongsun Shu and returned to Longxi, telling Wei Xiang not to consider Gongsun Shu and to consider submitting to Liu Xiu instead."

"In the winter of the fourth year of Jianwu, Ma Yuan went to Luoyang with a letter from Wei Xiao."

"Liu Xiu received Ma Yuan like an old friend who had not seen each other for many years, and the two had a very pleasant conversation."

"So, Ma Yuan believed that Liu Xiu was a wise and benevolent ruler."

"Liu Xiu also admired Ma Yuan very much. He asked Ma Yuan to accompany him on a tour of inspection in the south, and appointed Ma Yuan as an imperial attendant. Later, he sent someone to escort Ma Yuan back to Longxi."

"After Ma Yuan returned to Longxi, he praised Liu Xiu highly in front of Wei Xiao."

"Wei Xiang decided to submit to Liu Xiu and arranged for Ma Yuan to send his eldest son Wei Xun to Luoyang as a hostage."

"Ma Yuan took this opportunity to go to Luoyang again and submit to Liu Xiu."

"At this time, Wei Xiang adopted the advice of his general Wang Yuan and wanted to rely on the advantage of terrain to establish his own regime. He also ignored Ma Yuan's advice and sent troops to resist the Han army."

"Ma Yuan feared that Liu Xiu would be suspicious of him, so he submitted a petition to the court, offering a plan to wipe out Wei Xiao, and then retired to the countryside."

"Afterwards, Liu Xiu ordered Ma Yuan to lead 5,000 elite cavalrymen to sow discord among Wei Xiao's followers."

"In the spring of the eighth year of Jianwu, Liu Xiu sent Zhonglang Lai She to attack Lueyang. Lai She killed the defending general Jin Liang and held the city to the death."

"In the intercalary fourth month, Liu Xiu personally led an expedition against Wei Xiao."

"When the army reached Qi County, the generals were afraid that the emperor would lead the army deep into the country, and there might be something unexpected."

"Ma Yuan gathered rice to form a mountain and deduced the situation and route of advance of both sides."

"Liu Xiu marched according to Ma Yuan's deduction and defeated Wei Xiao's army."

"In the ninth year of Jianwu, Liu Xiu appointed Ma Yuan as the Grand Master of the Imperial Court to assist Lai Xie in leading the generals to pacify Liang Province."

"Two years later, at Lai She's recommendation, the emperor appointed Ma Yuan as governor of Longxi."

"Afterwards, the 3,000 Ma reinforcements first defeated the Xianling Qiang in Lintao County, killing hundreds of them, seizing more than 10,000 horses, cattle and sheep, and more than 8,000 surrendered;"

"Then he and General Yangwu Ma Cheng launched an attack on the tens of thousands of Qiang people entrenched at the Haowei River Pass."

"The Qiang people took their wives, children, and baggage and moved to Yunwu Valley."

"Ma Yuan's troops sneaked up the mountain from a small path and attacked the Qiang camp. The Qiang had no choice but to retreat to Tangyi Valley."

"Ma Yuan chased them to the foot of the mountain and commanded hundreds of cavalry to go around the Qiang people from behind and attack them with fire at night. The soldiers fought bravely and beheaded more than a thousand people. The Qiang people were defeated."

"Ma Yuan considered that the Han army was short of manpower and could not pursue them, so he only collected the food and livestock left by the Qiang people and returned."

"During the battle, Ma Yuan was shot in the calf by the Qiang people. The emperor issued an edict to comfort him and rewarded Ma Yuan with thousands of cattle and sheep. Ma Yuan distributed all the emperor's rewards to the guests."

Bai Juyi: Ma Yuan believed that many cities in Jincheng County were intact and strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack;

He submitted a memorial to the emperor opposing the ministers' suggestion to abandon the county on the grounds that the land was fertile and suitable for irrigation.

It was believed that if these places were occupied by the Qiang people, there would be constant troubles on the border.

Liu Xiu agreed with Ma Yuan's opinion and ordered the governor of Wuwei to arrange for the border residents living in Wuwei to return to Jincheng.

More than 3,000 border residents moved back to Jincheng, and Ma Yuan arranged for them to return to the counties where they originally lived.

At the same time, Ma Yuan submitted a memorial to the imperial court, requesting the dispatch of county governors and officials to these counties, repairing city walls, building small castles, digging canals, and encouraging farming and grazing.

After that, the people of Jincheng lived and worked in peace and contentment. Ma Yuan also adopted a policy of marriage to make the Qiang tribes outside the Great Wall surrender.

Afterwards, Ma Yuan submitted a memorial to the imperial court, restoring the various titles of marquis, king, and ruler of the Di people, and the imperial court granted them seals and ribbons.

In the 13th year of Jianwu, the Canlang Qiang tribe in Wudu County and the Qiang tribe outside the Great Wall rebelled, and Ma Yuan led an army of 4,000 to suppress them.

Ma Yuan's army occupied advantageous terrain, seized the Qiang people's water and grass land, and defeated the Qiang people by trapping them without fighting, forcing hundreds of thousands of Qiang households to flee outside the Great Wall.

More than 10,000 Qiang tribesmen surrendered to Ma Yuan, and peace returned to Longxi.

During his administration of Longxi, Ma Yuan was generous and kind to his subordinates, appointed officials according to their abilities, and only took charge of the overall situation.

Ma Yuan assigned trivial administrative affairs to officials at all levels to manage and handle, and he himself only took care of matters such as the invasion of common people by wealthy and powerful families and the abuse of power and injustice by cunning officials.

During Ma Yuan's tenure as prefect, the local situation was stable and there was no rebellion by the Qiang people.

After serving as the prefect of Longxi for six years, Ma Yuan was recalled to the capital by the emperor and appointed as the General of the Tiger Guards.

When Ma Yuan was the governor of Longxi, he advised the emperor to re-mint the Wuzhu coin, but the three governments thought it was inappropriate to implement and the idea was shelved.

After Ma Yuan returned to Beijing to take up his post, he explained the more than ten questions in the memorial one by one and wrote another letter to explain his reasons.

Finally, in the 16th year of Jianwu, Liu Xiu adopted Ma Yuan's suggestion and issued an edict to re-mint the Wuzhu coins. The new coins were allowed to circulate, and the people benefited from the implementation of this measure.

At first, Wei Si from Juan County claimed to be an immortal and had hundreds of disciples, but they were all convicted and killed for this.

Later, Wei Si's disciple Li Guang gathered his followers and in the 17th year of Jianwu, he captured the city of Xi, killed Xi Hou Liu Min, and called himself Master Nanyue.

The emperor sent the envoy Zhang Zong to lead an army of several thousand people to attack, but they were defeated by Li Guang.

In September, the emperor sent Ma Yuan to attack Li Guang and won, beheading Li Guang and his followers.

In the 16th year of Jianwu, Zheng Ce, a woman from Jiaozhi County, and her sister Zheng Er rebelled and attacked the county town.

The barbarians of Jiuzhen County, Rinnan County, and Hepu County rose up in response, occupied 65 cities, and Zheng Ce proclaimed himself king.

The imperial court then ordered Changsha, Hepu, Jiaozhi and other counties to prepare for war.

In the 17th year of Jianwu, Liu Xiu appointed Ma Yuan as General Fubo, appointed Liu Long, Marquis of Fule, as his deputy general, and commanded the navy of General Duan Zhi, the governor of the Louchuan Army, to go south to quell the rebellion.

Later, due to Duan Zhi's death, Ma Yuan took direct command of Duan Zhi's navy. Afterwards, the army advanced along the South China Sea and reached the upper reaches of Langbo in the spring of the following year.

He engaged the rebels and defeated them severely, beheading thousands of them and causing more than ten thousand to surrender.

Ma Yuan pursued Zheng Ce to Jinxi, where he defeated him several times, causing the rebels to flee in different places.

In the first month of the 19th year of Jianwu, Ma Yuan killed Zheng Ce and Zheng Er and sent their heads to Luoyang.

Because of his merits, he was granted the title of Marquis of Xinxi and a fief of 3,000 households.

Afterwards, Ma Yuan led his army to continue suppressing the remnants of Zheng Ce's army, including Du Yang, and killed and captured more than 5,000 rebels.

At this point, the Erzheng Rebellion was completely put down.

After the Erzheng Rebellion was quelled, Ma Yuan submitted a memorial to the court and was exiled to Xiyu County.

"In every county that Ma Yuan passed through, he built fortifications and dug irrigation canals for the local people, doing many things that benefited the local people."

"Because the local Yue laws conflicted with the Han laws in more than ten places, Ma Yuan reported them to the court one by one."

"Ma Yuan also explained the laws to the local Yue people and put them in control."

"From then on, the Luoyue people in Nanling governed the area according to the laws explained by Ma Yuan."

"Liu Xiu gave Ma Yuan a chariot for his contribution in suppressing the rebellion, and his status during court meetings was second only to that of the Nine Ministers."

"Ma Yuan returned from his victorious campaign against Jiaozhi and arrived at the capital in September of the 20th year of Jianwu."

"A month later, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan invaded Fufeng."

"Ma Yuan petitioned the emperor to send troops, citing the fact that the three prefectures were being harassed and the former emperor's mausoleum was threatened, and Liu Xiu approved the petition."

"In December of the same year, Ma Yuan led his army to fight again."

"But because the Wuhuan army was afraid of Ma Yuan, they withdrew their troops immediately after seeing him, and Ma Yuan returned without success in this battle."

"In the 24th year of Jianwu, General Wuwei Liu Shang attacked the Wuxi barbarians in Wuling County and annihilated his entire army."

"Ma Yuan, who was 62 years old at the time, requested permission to go to war. Liu Xiu did not approve his request out of pity for his old age."

"But Ma Yuan once again requested to fight and showed Liu Xiu that he was still strong despite his age."

"So Liu Xiu approved Ma Yuan to lead the army to conquer the barbarians in the Five Rivers."

"In the spring of the following year, the Han army arrived in Linxiang, just in time to encounter the Wuxi barbarians attacking the county town."

"Ma Yuan led the Han army to fight and defeated the bandits, killing and capturing more than 2,000 of them. The rest fled in all directions and entered the bamboo forest deep in the mountains."

"After that, the Han army continued to advance."

"Ma Yuan believed that although the route from Hutou Mountain was rugged, it was short, took less time, and could control the key throat;"

“Although the road from Chongxian is flat, it is long, time-consuming and expensive.”

"So Ma Yuan led his army to march from Hutou Mountain. But because the mountain was high and the water was fast, the barbarians stubbornly defended the pass;"

"It was also a hot summer day, and many soldiers died of disease. Ma Yuan also fell seriously ill, so the Han army was trapped."

"Soon after, Ma Yuan died of illness in the army at the age of 63."

"Ma Yuan and Liang Song's father Liang Tong were old friends. Ma Yuan believed that he was of a higher generation than Liang Song and did not need to treat him with the etiquette of peers just because Liang Song was a son-in-law and had a noble status."

"Liang Song was dissatisfied with Ma Yuan because of this. Afterwards, Liang Song became close to Du Bao, the commander of the Yue cavalry."

"Because Du Bao was accused of misconduct and was implicated, Liang Song was held accountable by Liu Xiu."

"Liu Xiu used the letter Ma Yuan wrote to his nephews to warn them not to associate with Du Bao to rebuke Liang Song. Liang Song became even more dissatisfied with Ma Yuan because of this."

"Back then, when Ma Yuan's army was trapped in Hutou Mountain, Geng Shu wrote a letter to his brother, Geng Yan, the Marquis of Haozhi."

"I think it was because Ma Yuan did not follow my advice and took the wrong route to Hutou Mountain that the army was trapped."

"Geng Yan reported this to the emperor, and Liu Xiu sent Liang Song to hold Ma Yuan accountable."

"Ma Yuan had already died of illness at this time, and Liang Song took the opportunity to frame Ma Yuan."

"Due to Liang Song's frame-up, Liu Xiu issued an edict to recover Ma Yuan's seal of the Marquis of Xinxi."

"Afterwards, someone falsely accused Ma Yuan of bringing back a cart of coix seeds from Jiaozhi as pearls and rhino horns. Liu Xiu believed it."

"Therefore, Ma Yuan's wife and son did not dare to transport Ma Yuan's coffin back to his hometown to bury him in the ancestral tomb. Instead, they bought a few acres of land in the west of the city and buried him hastily."

"Guests and old friends dared not go to pay their respects."

"Afterwards, Ma Yuan's family learned that they had been wrongly accused. After six petitions to explain their grievances, Liu Xiu allowed Ma Yuan's coffin to be transported back to his hometown for burial."

"In the 17th year of Yongping, Ma Yuan's tomb was renovated, trees were planted, and a ancestral hall was built."

"In the third year of Jianchu, Emperor Zhang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Zhuang, sent the General of the Five Officials to grant Ma Yuan the title of Marquis of Zhongcheng."

Lu You: Ma Yuan was once recommended by Wang Mang's cousin Wang Lin and served as the magistrate of Xincheng.

After the fall of Wang Mang's regime, Ma Yuan fled to Liangzhou for refuge.

A year later, Ma Yuan was highly regarded by the Longxi warlord Wei Xiang and was appointed General of Suide.

In 28 AD, Ma Yuan surrendered to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, although he joined Liu Xiu relatively late.

However, he was highly valued by Liu Xiu, led troops to war many times, and made many military achievements, so he was named Marquis of Xinxi.

Ma Yuan's nephews Ma Yan and Ma Dun liked to discuss state affairs, comment on people, and were also familiar with chivalrous knights.

When Ma Yuan was on his southern expedition to Jiaozhi, he wrote a letter to them to admonish them and cited the example of Yueqi Sima Du Jilian.

As a result, this letter was used by Du Jiliang's enemy, who complained to Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu about Du Jiliang.

Because of his frivolous behavior, he disrupted the masses and misled the people. General Fu Bo traveled thousands of miles back in a letter to warn his brother's son, but Liang Song and Dou Gu formed an alliance with him and were about to fan the flames of his frivolity and falsehood and bring chaos to the various states.

Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was very angry and immediately summoned Liang Song and Dou Gu and showed them the lawsuit and the letter of admonition.

Liang Song and Dou Gu were so frightened that they kowtowed until they bled, and only then were they avoided being punished by Emperor Guangwu.

Ma Yuan was not criticizing Liang Song and Dou Gu, but was teaching his nephew a lesson. However, his letter was used by others and ended up offending Liang Song and Dou Gu.

These two people are not ordinary. Liang Song is the son of Liang Tong, a meritorious official of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and married Princess Wuyin, the eldest daughter of Liu Xiu.
Dou Gu was Dou Rong's nephew and married Liu Xiu's daughter Princess Nieyang.

When Ma Yuan was confronting the barbarians during his southern expedition, Geng Shu, Marquis of Mouping, wrote a letter to his brother Geng Yan.

Geng Yan immediately reported the matter to the emperor, who was very angry and sent Liang Song to the front of the army to hold him accountable.

Before Liang Song arrived at the army, Ma Yuan died of illness in the army.

As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it. People who Ma Yuan had offended began to frame and slander him, such as Liang Song and Dou Gu.

When Ma Yuan was in Jiaozhi, he often took the fruit of a plant called Coix lachryma-jobi to lighten his body, reduce his sexual desires, and overcome malaria.

When returning to the capital, Ma Yuan specially packed a cart with coix seeds. The dignitaries in the court believed that this was a rare treasure from the south.

After Ma Yuan's death, Liang Song, Dou Gu and others said that the treasures previously brought back were all pearls and rhinoceros horns. Ma Wu and Hou Yu also confirmed this.

Emperor Guangwu was furious and issued an order to hold Ma Yuan accountable.

Ma Yuan's wife wrote six letters to appeal for justice, and only then did Liu Xiu agree to bury Ma Yuan.

Because of this incident, Ma Yuan's youngest daughter broke off her marriage with the Dou family, entered the palace, and later became the empress of Emperor Han Ming. (End of this chapter)