Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 278 Ma Chao: Father, you can go with peace of mind

Tian Feng's words made Ma Chao hesitant.

The Xiliang Army was divided into two parts, one under his command and the other under Han Sui. If he could kill Han Sui and unify the Xiliang Army, his power would surely expand unprecedentedly.

But Ma Chao still had some concerns in his heart, frowning and saying, "Han Sui and I have a grudge against each other for killing my mother. If I were to make him my adoptive father, it would be ridiculed. With the cunningness of that old fox, how could he trust me so easily?"

"Besides, killing Han Sui and putting the blame on the Xiongnu is too obvious. Anyone with a discerning eye will know what's going on."

Ma Chao did not think it was a big deal to acknowledge the murderer of his mother as his adoptive father. A real man can bend and stretch, and he was not the kind of person who cared about his reputation.

But his main concern was that Han Sui would not believe it.

In addition, he invited Han Sui to the banquet, and Han Sui was killed by the Huns right after. Even a fool could understand who was behind it.

"General, listen to me carefully."

Tian Feng was very patient and analyzed for Ma Chao: "It is precisely because there is such a great hatred between you and Han Sui that you must show your sincerity in resolving the past grievances."

"General, put aside your attitude and hatred and worship Han Sui as your adoptive father. Invite him to come here in a dignified manner. If he still refuses to attend the banquet, it will be known that he is narrow-minded, cowardly and incompetent."

"So I concluded that Han Sui would definitely come."

"As for the obvious traces... As long as Han Sui dies, the general will take over his army with lightning speed and wipe out the remaining troops. By then, the overall situation will be settled. Even if everyone knows that it was the general who killed Han Sui, what can they do?"

Tian Feng answered Ma Chao's concerns one by one, and said to Ma Chao earnestly: "General, this is a great opportunity to unify the Xiliang army!"

"And if Han Sui doesn't die, he will become the biggest obstacle for us to attack Jizhou together. General, have you forgotten our previous plan?"

"Don't hesitate, General!"

This sentence finally dispelled the last bit of hesitation in Ma Chao's heart. He nodded slowly and said, "I will write a letter to Han Sui and invite him to the banquet."

"good!"

A smile appeared on Tian Feng's face, and he felt relieved. All his efforts were worth it as he finally convinced Ma Chao.

"but."

Ma Chao looked up at Tian Feng with a sharp look in his eyes. "You and I agreed that after we conquer Hebei, Jizhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou will all belong to me, and you only want Qingzhou."

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

Not long ago, Tian Feng came to the Liangzhou military camp alone to find him, saying that he wanted to form an alliance with him to fight against Lu Bu and Yuan Xi, and at the same time help him kill Han Sui and unify the Xiliang army.

He also promised that after defeating Lu Bu and conquering Hebei, he would give him the three states of Ji, Bing and You, and only take Qingzhou.

This is also the reason why he kept Tian Feng.

"That's absolutely not a lie!"

Tian Feng was startled and said solemnly, "The two thieves, Lu Bu and Yuan Xi, held the emperor hostage and captured my lord. I formed an alliance with the general only for revenge."

"Moreover, as long as the general unites the Xiliang army and controls 100,000 Xiliang cavalry, his military strength will far surpass Lu Bu. Why should he be constrained by him?"

"At that time, whether you support the emperor and help the Han Dynasty, or ask the emperor for a title and become a vassal, it all depends on your will!"

Tian Feng's words were full of misleading meaning.

Ma Chao's eyes flashed with a hint of heat when he heard this, but he suppressed it well and said to Tian Feng in a serious tone: "I am the descendant of General Fu Bo and I am loyal to the Han Dynasty. I am forming an alliance with you only to eliminate the traitor who is holding the emperor hostage."

Tian Feng smiled and said, "I know that you are loyal to the Han Dynasty, so I came to form an alliance with you to fight against the traitors and clear your court."

"Then the plan to eliminate Han Sui has been set. General, please prepare as soon as possible. After all, delay will lead to changes. We must avoid any unnecessary trouble."

"It's getting late. I'll take my leave now."

Tian Feng bowed to Ma Chao, then turned and left the tent and returned to his residence to rest.

After Tian Feng left the tent, Ma Chao looked at Pang De who was kneeling beside him and asked, "Ling Ming, do you think Tian Feng's plan to kill Han Sui is feasible?"

Pang De nodded and said, "General, this plan has a high chance of success, but...is it too despicable?"

Tian Feng’s plan is good, but it is also really shameless.

"mean?"

Ma Chao sneered and said nonchalantly: "Han Sui killed my mother first. There is no need to follow any rules when dealing with such a man."

"Besides, the victors are the kings and the losers are the bandits. As long as I kill him, I can unify the Xiliang army. It doesn't matter if I use some tricks."

The temptation to control the entire Xiliang army is too great.

It was so big that even Ma Chao couldn't help but be tempted.

Han Sui has a full 50,000 cavalry under his command!
Seeing that Ma Chao had made up his mind, Pang De could no longer persuade him, and instead said worriedly: "General, we can kill Han Sui, but isn't it too risky to join forces with Tian Feng to attack Jizhou?"

"Lü Bu and Yuan Xi held the emperor hostage. This is only Tian Feng's one-sided statement after all. If the emperor was not held hostage, then wouldn't the general be a traitor?"

"Besides, the general's father and two brothers are still held hostage in Yecheng. If the general takes action, their lives may be in danger."

"General, please think twice."

These are the two things that Pound is most worried about.

Tian Feng said that Lü Bu and Yuan Xi had held the emperor hostage, but it was still unknown whether this was true or not. But even if it was true, as long as Ma Chao took action, Ma Teng, Ma Xiu, and Ma Tie would surely die.

"I can spare it."

Ma Chao nodded and said, "At the moment, Tian Feng and I are just pretending to be friendly, so as to prevent Gao Gan and Guo Yuan from suddenly sending troops while I am fighting for power with Han Sui."

"Whether the emperor is being held hostage by Lu Bu, I will wait and see for a while before making a judgment. Lingming does not need to worry."

Pang De felt relieved after hearing this.

But soon Ma Chao's expression became serious again, and he sighed: "But if the emperor is really held hostage by Lu Bu and Yuan Xi, I will have to join forces with Tian Feng."

"The lives of my father, second brother, and third brother are certainly important, but for the sake of the Han Dynasty and the emperor, we have no choice but to let them die."

"I, Ma Chao, cannot bring disgrace upon the reputation of my ancestors!"

Ma Chao's eyes were red, and his tone was full of grief and reluctance. Anyone who heard these words would sigh that he was a loyal minister.

Pang De's expression was very complicated, and he didn't know how to comfort her. He could only bow and retreat silently.

However, after he left, Ma Chao's expression returned to normal. Where was the trace of sadness?
He walked to the table and sat down, spread out the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and began to write a letter inviting Han Sui to come to the banquet. It didn't take long for him to finish it.

"Pang De is still too pedantic. What if the emperor is held hostage by Lu Bu? What if he is not? Since they can't give me any benefits, why should I obey their orders?"

"As long as I kill Han Sui and defeat Lu Bu to control the three provinces of Hebei, Liangzhou, Sizhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou will all be in my hands!"

"I am the number one prince in the world!"

Ma Chao was using the fire to dry the ink on the letter paper, and he was thinking to himself, his eyes were filled with desire that was hard to conceal. He didn't care whether the emperor was in power or not, he just knew that he would never get ahead if he continued like this.

His Ma family controlled tens of thousands of elite soldiers and cavalry, but his father had to run to Yecheng as a hostage and was only given the title of Nine Ministers!

As for him, he didn't get any benefits at all. Instead, he had to be subject to various commands and dispatches, like a dog on a chain!

Why?
No matter whether it is the emperor or Lu Bu who is in power, their troops are not as good as his, not to mention that he can annex Han Sui's forces and control 100,000 cavalry!

"Father, second brother, third brother, you can go with peace of mind. I will become the greatest prince in the world and make my Ma family glorious again!"

"Even a wretch like Lu Bu could be made a duke. If I take over the three states of Hebei, I can be made a general or even a king!"

Ma Chao whispered to himself, the flickering fire reflected in his dark eyes, just like his burning ambition!
At this time, the ink on the letter paper had dried. Ma Chao folded it, then called a personal guard and asked him to deliver the letter to the base where Han Sui's army was stationed.

……

the other side.

After returning to the tent, Tian Feng did not fall asleep, but lay on the bed thinking about what to do next.

His policy was to persuade Ma Chao and unite with Wuhuan to fight against Lu Bu and recover the lost land in Hebei, but there was one problem he had to consider.

After Ma Chao annexes Han Sui, his strength will expand unprecedentedly. By then, even if Lu Bu can be defeated with the help of Ma Chao, Jizhou, Youzhou and Bingzhou will all belong to him.

"We have to think ahead of time about how to get rid of him."

Tian Feng fell into deep thought.

If he doesn't make preparations now, it will be too late to prepare when Ma Chao becomes really powerful in the future. He must plan ahead and think of countermeasures.

This is easy to say, but Tian Feng racked his brains and couldn't think of any good solution for a while, so he could only take the long view.

"It would be great if Zhengnan, Gong and they were here. I can't handle it alone after all..."

Tian Feng's face showed fatigue.

After Yuan Shao was captured, he was the only one left among many advisers. He had to take care of all matters, which really exhausted him.

If Gao Gan had not led his troops back in time and was able to take charge of the situation, he would not even have been able to leave Jinyang and come to lobby Ma Chao.

In addition, he heard the news that the Yuan family was exterminated some days ago, and he didn't know what Yuan Shao's current situation was.

Tian Feng's mind was in a mess, and his sorrow finally turned into a sigh, which sounded faintly in the dark tent.

……

One day later, Luoyang military camp.

Han Sui received the letter sent by Ma Chao, but when he finished reading the whole letter, a look of shock appeared on his face.

"Why is Ma Chao crazy?"

At this time, all the generals under Han Sui were in the camp. Yan Xing couldn't help but ask curiously: "General, what did Ma Chao say in the letter?"

Han Sui had recovered from his shock by now, and said with a complicated expression: "Ma Chao said that he wanted to make peace with me, and also said that he wanted to worship me as his foster father and invited me to a banquet."

"what?"

After hearing this, all the generals were stunned.

Ma Chao worships Han Sui as his adoptive father? !
Cheng Gongying, the military advisor, was the first to react and said, "General, this must be Ma Chao's trick. There must be something fishy going on!"

"General, you killed Ma Teng's wife and children, including Ma Chao's mother. How could he recognize his enemy as his father?"

This is really too ridiculous.

If he told others that he recognized the enemy who killed his mother as his father, no one would believe it. It sounded unbelievable no matter how you looked at it, unless Ma Chao had gone insane!
Yan Xing also said: "General, this letter was not forged by someone else, right? General and Ma Teng have always been enemies, how could Ma Chao say such a thing?"

"This letter is genuine."

Han Sui shook his head and pointed at the seal on it and said, "Ma Chao's private seal is on it, and the person who delivered the letter is also a confidant, so this letter cannot be fake."

"But I don't understand why Ma Chao suddenly made such a shocking decision. What is he planning?"

Han Sui had no idea what Ma Chao was thinking. While his father Ma Teng was still alive, Ma Chao recognized someone else as his father, and that person was the murderer of his mother. Wasn't this a joke?

How can one resolve past grudges like this?

Cheng Gongying thought for a long time and said cautiously: "He invited the general to the banquet. Could it be that he wanted to harm the general?"

He could only guess in this direction.

But Han Sui said, "Not really. He and I are both serving the emperor. How dare he attack me? His father and two brothers are still held hostage in Yecheng."

"If he kills me, it will be tantamount to rebellion, and his relatives in Yecheng will not survive."

Han Sui was not afraid that Ma Chao invited him over to kill him, unless Ma Chao was willing to become a rebel and did not intend to take the lives of his father and brother.

In his opinion this was impossible.

Where can we find such disloyal and unfilial people?

"In that case, why don't you invite Ma Chao to come over and set up a banquet on our territory, and let him worship you as his foster father on the spot!"

Yan Xing made a suggestion, his eyes twinkling, and whispered: "General, you can even find an opportunity to kill Ma Chao and then frame him."

"Ma Teng and his son are now in Yecheng. As long as Ma Chao dies, his army will be leaderless. The general can easily annex them!"

This proposal made all the generals' eyes light up.

This is indeed a rare opportunity!
Even Han Sui was tempted after hearing this. If he could annex Ma Teng's Xiliang Army, his strength would increase infinitely, and the emperor would value him even more!
"But if the emperor finds out about this..."

Han Sui showed hesitation. Just as he did not believe that Ma Chao would dare to attack him, he also did not dare to attack Ma Chao.

Yan Xing said in a deep voice: "As long as we deal with the aftermath properly, how could the emperor know? Besides, the people have been killed, and his army has been annexed by us. Even if Ma Teng and his son are dissatisfied, it will be useless."

"Besides, inviting Ma Chao here can also test whether he really wants to bury the hatchet or has other plans. Anyway, we can just adapt to the situation as the time comes."

"As long as Ma Chao comes, it's up to you to decide whether to kill him or not. General, this is a good opportunity!"

Yan Xing tried his best to persuade Han Sui to agree.

Even Cheng Gongying nodded and said, "I think what General Yan said makes sense. General, write a letter back first and see how Ma Chao reacts."

After listening to the two, Han Sui nodded slightly, and then said to Yan Xing: "Yan Ming, you can run this trip for me."

"The last general takes command!"

Yan Xing immediately clasped his fists and turned to leave the tent.

(End of this chapter)