Shu Han Confucian General of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 192 The matter of Xiliang
"Huh!" Han Qi looked at Tongguan who was already behind him, and then he was slightly relieved.Ever since Cao Cao let him leave Xuchang a few days ago, Han Qi didn't dare to delay for a moment. Every day, he rushed all the way, crossing Sizhou at the fastest speed until Tongguan, and returning to Xiliang via Guanzhong.Along the way, Han Qi was afraid that Cao Cao would repent, so he only slept for a few hours a day, and spent the rest of the time on the road.Now I have passed Tongguan and arrived in Guanzhong.Although this place is still Xiahouyuan's domain in name, but my father also has a certain influence here, and it is much safer than in the Central Plains.

It seemed that Cao Cao was really going to let him go, Han Qi secretly speculated in his heart.Feeling Cao Cao's letter to his father in his bosom, Han Qi couldn't help muttering in his heart: What exactly is Cao Cao going to do?Thinking of this, Han Qi also opened the letter to read it. Anyway, even if he read it, his father would not be able to find it.It didn't matter, Han Qi suddenly felt a basin of cold water poured down his head.

In the letter, Cao Cao told Han Sui, I will return your son to you first, but don't be too happy, and get together with your son while you still have a few years to live.Now you, Han Sui, can still sit on an equal footing with Ma Teng in Xiliang, but when you die, whether your son can still sit on an equal footing with Ma Teng's son, and share Xiliang's control, depends on his fortune.In the end, Cao Cao told Han Sui that Ma Teng was one of the people I had to eliminate. Whether you help him or me depends on how you decide.If you help him, I will fight with you; if you help me and kill Ma Teng, Xiliang will be yours.

Although it has been four or five years since he left Xiliang, Han Qi is still very clear about the position of the Ma family in Xiliang.Although my Han family can be regarded as a famous family in Xiliang, my father Han Sui even seems to be on an equal footing with Ma Teng, the head of the Ma family.However, compared with the Ma family, the overall strength of the Han family is still inferior.There is no other reason. Since the beginning of Fubo General Ma Yuan, more than a dozen generations of the Ma family have taken root in Xiliang. Such a deep-rooted relationship network, even for a hero like Han Sui, cannot be achieved by decades of management alone.In a word, it is not so easy for quantitative change to achieve qualitative change.

After reading Cao Cao's letter over and over again, Han Qi was also undecided.After thinking about it, I will let my father decide.In terms of brains, I am no better than my father.

Not to mention Han Qi's pettiness, at this time in Xuchang City, Cao Cao, the prime minister of the dynasty and the Duke of the State of Wei, was feasting all the officials in his mansion.Cao Cao had a good reason to host this banquet. Since returning from the Northern Expedition, Cao Cao's prestige has been in full swing.In the eyes of many literati, the current Duke Wei is already better than Wei Qing and Huo Qubing in the past.Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty also knew the current affairs and issued an edict, and named Cao Cao a general of hussars.So this banquet is not only to celebrate Cao Cao's promotion, but also a celebration banquet for the expedition to Mobei.All important civil and military officials in Xuchang were present.

"Why did the Prime Minister let Han Qi go, so that Han Sui has no scruples in Xiliang, isn't it just letting the tiger go back to the mountain?" During the meeting, Liu Ye was also quite puzzled when he heard that Cao Cao announced that he would send Han Qi back to Xiliang.

"Haha, Zi Yang thinks highly of Han Sui, how can he be considered a tiger?" Cao Cao laughed vigorously after taking a sip of wine.

"At best, it's just a capricious wild wolf!" Guo Jia said with a smile.

"Wenhe, please tell everyone!" Cao Cao gestured to Jia Xu, who is most familiar with Xiliang, to explain.Jia Xu nodded, got up and explained: "Ma Teng and Han Sui have occupied Xiliang for many years, and they have always been the prime minister's confidantes. Ma Teng has a deep foundation in Xiliang, and Han Sui has a deep heart. It is not easy to plot against Xiliang. Therefore, it is necessary to separate the two before proceeding."

"Bringing Han Qi back, will we be able to separate the two?" Liu Ye felt that this was too unbelievable.Not only him, but most of the people also looked puzzled after hearing Jia Xu's words.

"That's it!" Jia Xu said surprisingly.Then he explained in detail: "Both Ma Teng and Han Sui are experienced people. If you want to separate them, it is not easy. Especially Han Sui, who is known as the nine bends of the Yellow River, is a leader in the world with deep scheming. But people always have weaknesses. For the sake of his children and grandchildren, Han Sui may have to turn against Ma Teng."

"Why?" Liu Ye didn't quite understand what happened in Xiliang, so he could only continue to ask.

"Han Qi, the son of Han Sui, is mediocre in intelligence and has been a hostage in Xuchang for many years. He is unknown in Xiliang; Ma Chao, the son of Ma Teng, is the number one warrior in Xiliang, known as the mighty general of heaven. The two are far apart in fame. After the death of Ma Teng and Han Sui, can Ma Chao tolerate this mediocre Han Qi and share Xiliang with him?" Jia Xu said slowly.

"That's true!" Liu Ye nodded.Originally, Han Qi was a hostage in Xuchang, so Han Sui had no motivation to fight Ma Teng at all.Now that his son has gone back, for the sake of his son's future, Han Sui will definitely not be so peaceful, pity the parents of the world!
"But Han Sui has a deep scheming heart and a wolf heart. If he wins Xiliang, he will be in serious trouble!" Cao Ren said suddenly, and most of the generals also nodded in agreement.

"That's not necessarily!" Guo Jia smiled, and then explained: "Xiliang has a small population, and the Han people are only 60. The reason why Ma Teng's foundation is so stable is that the Ma family has always been connected with the Qiang people. If Han Sui After winning Xiliang, he can only gather 4 to [-] cavalry at most. Ma Teng is enough to gather [-] cavalry in Xiliang! Moreover, if there is internal conflict between Ma and Han, General Xiahou can take the opportunity to send troops to Longxi to kill him Clamped to death in a corner of Liangzhou."

"So that's how it is!" Now everyone understands that the abacus has reached this stage, and it can no longer be described in terms of finesse.But Ma Teng and Han Sui, who are in Xiliang, can't take care of these for the time being, because they have an urgent matter.

"Brother Shoucheng, it is a foregone conclusion that Xiliang's grain harvest will be in short supply this year, and we need to raise food as soon as possible!" Han Sui said anxiously.Xiliang is different from other places. There are only 60 Han people here, and there are nearly 50 Qiang people in addition.Although these Qiang people are also nomadic peoples, they are obviously inferior to Xianbei and Huns in terms of strength. Therefore, they and the Han Dynasty basically belong to a relationship of mutual dependence.On weekdays, everyone lives in Xiliang. You Han people farm, and I Qiang people herd herds. We drink and eat beef together when we have nothing to do.In case the Xiongnu or Xianbei came to fight, everyone would fight with them together.

It sounds fairly peaceful, but this is based on everything peaceful.In case of a famine year, there will be nothing left of God's loyalty and friendship.Especially those Qiang people, as nomadic people, their predatory nature has been deeply rooted in their bones.Once the food was in short supply, robbing the Han people around them became their most realistic means.The barren land in Xiliang has limited food production. In previous famine years, the Han and Qiang people would fight over food.Since the three counties of Longxi belonged to Ma Teng the year before last, the situation has only improved.But this year there was a severe drought in Longxi, and the grain harvest was a foregone conclusion, so they suddenly became passive again.

"Right now, there is not enough food, so I can only buy food, but who can I buy it from?" Yan Xing, Han Sui's son-in-law, sighed.Before that, Zhang Lu in Hanzhong had been exchanging horses for food, but now that Zhang Lu was taken care of by Zhao Feng, it was unknown whether he could exchange them again.

Ma Teng thought for a while and said: "At present, the person in charge in Hanzhong is Zhao Feng. This person is Liu Bei's General Zuo. I have an old relationship with Liu Bei, so it should not be a problem to exchange food with him." Slightly relieved.

"Father, my son is willing to go to Hanzhong to buy grain. If Zhao Feng refuses, I will take his head!" A vigorous young man in his 20s came out and heard his son's words. Teng felt his head swell again.

"Brother, you are buying food and not killing people. Why are you in such a hurry?" A girl beside him complained.The man smiled nonchalantly, and several young men with similar looks behind him yelled: "The name of the elder brother, General Shenweitian, Megatron Guanzhong, no one is afraid!"

"You guys can only be brave and ruthless!" Ma Teng looked at his sons who were yelling and said angrily.Looking at Yan Xing, Han Sui's son-in-law, Ma Teng also sighed in his heart, his sons are all brave and intrepid, and in terms of resourcefulness and insight, they are far worse than Yan Xing.

"Zhonghua, you act prudently, let you go to Hanzhong to buy grain, and Lingming will go with you!" Ma Teng thought for a while, and then handed over the matter to his nephew Ma Dai, and sent Pang De to go with him. .These two people are relatively smart, at least, their brains are much better than Ma Chao and the others.

"Master, Master, the young master is back!" At this moment, a person rushed in from outside the door, but it was a family member of Han Sui.

"Master?" Han Sui didn't turn his head around for a while, and then asked with a trembling voice, "You mean Qi'er?"

"Yes, master, the young master is back from Xuchang!" The man said excitedly.Rao Han Sui was very scheming, and when he heard that his son who had been away for many years was back, he was so excited for a while that he almost lost his footing.

"Nephew Han Qixian escaped back?" Ma Teng also asked casually, not noticing that the face of his daughter behind him had changed a bit.Except for Ma Dai and Pang De who were about to set off to buy food, the rest of the group went to Han Sui's residence.

"Yunlu, why are you here?" Ma Dai and Pang De had just left Jincheng with hundreds of people, and were about to go to Hanzhong to buy grain via Longxi, when they suddenly found that Ma Yunlu had changed into men's clothes and was waiting for them at the gate of the city.

"Brother Dai, Lingming, I'll go to Hanzhong with you." Ma Yunlu said with a smile.

"Just for fun?" Ma Dai and Pang De looked at each other, "Yun Lu, did you tell Uncle about it?" Ma Dai asked with a headache.This cousin of mine has always been a bit willful, this time she probably ran out secretly without telling the elders in the family.

"Let Daddy know that it's not enough!" Ma Yunlu said surprisingly, seeing Pang De and Ma Dai's stunned faces, Ma Yunlu lowered his voice and said: "Just now I heard Daddy and Old Man Han discussing, they are going to bring up the old matter again!"

"Bringing up the old story again?" Before Pang De understood it, Ma Dai said a little amusedly: "You are afraid that your uncle will ask you to marry Han Qi, so you ran out with us!"

"That's right, who would have thought that kid could run back." Ma Yunlu said angrily.Ma Dai and Pang De looked at each other and smiled. The Han family and the Ma family had already made a baby marriage. Han Sui only had one son and one daughter. They are Han Qi, the son of the Han family, and Ma Yunlu, the daughter of the Ma family.However, Ma Yunlu has been influenced by his elder brothers since he was a child, and has a brave and aggressive temperament, so he doesn't look down on the weak Han Qi at all.Later Han Qi went to Xuchang, Ma Yunlu secretly rejoiced, who would have thought that he would come back miraculously?

"That's all, it's not impossible to take you there, but you must not cause trouble." Ma Dai has always doted on his cousin, anyway, this time he went to Hanzhong to buy food, so there should be no problem, so he just took her with her. up.

"Father, this is a letter from Prime Minister Cao!" After everyone left at night, in Han Sui's study, Han Qi took out the letter he had read and handed it to his father.

"Cao Cao's letter to me?" Han Sui seemed to have expected that Cao Cao's sudden kindness in releasing his son back must have a reputation. After receiving the letter and looking at it casually, Han Sui frowned unexpectedly .Cao Cao didn't persuade him much in the letter, he just analyzed the situation in Xiliang and him in detail. After reading it, Han Sui was already sweating down his back.

"Call your brother-in-law over!" Han Sui said in a deep voice, this kind of matter still needs to be discussed with Yan Xing.Not long after Yan Xing arrived, the three of them read the letter, but were silent for a long time.

"Yanming, what do you think?" Han Sui was silent for a long time, but he still asked his son-in-law first.

"My lord, it seems that the reason why Cao Cao is so generous is to use Ah Qi to force us to meet Ma Teng!" Yan Xing watched for a long time, and finally came to his senses.

"Why don't I know? But what should we do now?" Han Sui said helplessly.This was not a conspiracy at all, it was a blatant conspiracy, a blow aimed at his biggest weakness.

"The Ma family has a deep foundation, and Ma Chao has the courage of all men. If you are an enemy of the Ma family, you need to use thunderous means to uproot them in one fell swoop. If you delay for a long time, disaster will happen." Yan Xing pondered. As soon as the words came out, it was basically a tacit agreement that Cao Cao would deal with Ma Teng.

"Okay!" Han Sui thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and nodded. Twenty years ago, he killed his two brothers Bian Zhang and Bei Gong Bo Yu successively, thinking that he could occupy Xiliang in one fell swoop.But later Ma Teng was born, and he easily became the lord of Xiliang by using his own connections in Xiliang.I can only be sworn brothers with him, and I have only become a number two person Dangdang for so many years.

Although he is over sixty years old, Han Sui's determination to dominate Xiliang has not disappeared.In addition, for the sake of his son's future foothold, the psychological pressure on him to turn against Ma Teng again this time is simply minimal.The three of them discussed for a long time before drawing up a relatively complete battle plan.

Naturally, Ma Teng didn't know about all this, and Zhao Feng, who was in Hanzhong, didn't even know about it.On this day, he just went to inspect the west city.In his opinion, the city of Xicheng is too small, and it is better to rebuild a new city.Ma Su, the prefect of Xicheng, has been busy with this matter since last month.

"Young Chang, how long will it take for this city to be completed?" Seeing the construction crowd in full swing, Zhao Feng asked a little uncertainly.If the work cannot be completed before winter, many soldiers and civilians will spend the winter in tents.

"Don't worry, general, this new city will be completed in half a month, and it will take another month or so for the people to move here, enough to enter the city for the winter!" Ma Su said confidently.If it's because of Zhao Feng, before building the city, it was just a matter of building the city with earth and stones, but now it's a step-by-step process of burning the head and cement, naturally it takes a lot of time.

Zhao Feng inspected a few more places, and at this moment someone suddenly reported that Ma Teng from Xiliang had sent an envoy to discuss something important.

(End of this chapter)