Ma Teng is said to be a descendant of General Fubo Ma Yuan.
His father, Ma Su, once served as a captain in Tianshui, and later stayed in Longxi, where he married a Qiang girl surnamed Jiang and gave birth to Ma Teng. However, Ma Teng's family was in a very poor situation at that time and they made a living by cutting wood. Later, Geng Bi, the governor of Liangzhou,
The appointment of villains led to the rebellion of Qiang and Di. Ma Teng was recruited and put down the rebellion. He was valued by state and county officials and appointed as a military officer. Later, he was promoted to Army Sima due to his military exploits. After Geng Bi was killed, Ma Teng joined forces with Han Sui.
and others, brought disaster to the Third Assistant. The imperial court appointed Huangfu Song to guard the Third Assistant, and Ma Teng and others immediately became powerful in Jincheng and Wuwei.
In the second year of Jian'an, Ma Teng and Han Sui became the most powerful princes in Guanzhong.
Cao Cao appointed Zhong Yao as the Sili Lieutenant to supervise the troops in Guanzhong. After Zhong Yao arrived in Chang'an, he wrote to Ma Teng to clarify the interests.
Ma Teng immediately surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and together with Han Sui, sent his son as a hostage.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, there is a plot called "The Clothes and Belts Edict".
Cao Peng didn't know whether the Clothing Edict existed. But he knew that if the Clothing Edict existed, Ma Teng's name was among it.
It's exposing, it's exposing, it's exposing...
Cao Peng is not a person who likes to inform.
At the same time, he also knew that if he exposed it to Cao Cao, Cao Cao would definitely ask him about the source of the information. In that case, Cao Peng would not know how to explain it. If he could not explain it, he would be suspected by Cao Cao; if he explained it, he would also be jealous of Cao Cao.
Suspicion, thankless efforts.
After all, even Cao Cao doesn't know something. You, a guy who has been away all year round, can actually find out the news. Doesn't it mean that you, Cao Peng, have eyes and ears in Xudu City? And the kind of eyes and ears that are more powerful than Cao Cao's. Then
How could Cao Cao not be suspicious?
Therefore, Cao Peng could only criticize Cao Zhen as much as possible.
"Brother, Liu Bei is not someone who has lived under others for a long time.
Before, he was arrogant and domineering without the royal family's approval. Now that he has the royal family's approval, he suddenly becomes low-key. Doesn't he have an ulterior motive?
I think this is Liu Bei's strategy of hiding his power and keeping a low profile.
There must be something unusual that prompted him to keep a low profile. You might as well ask someone to pay more attention to him, lest he secretly do something right or wrong."
Cao Zhen had also heard about the conflict between Cao Peng and Liu Bei.
To be honest, he had a good impression of Liu Bei. He was a gentle and courteous man with a generous personality, magnanimous bearing, quite amiable, and the air of an elder.
After hearing Cao Peng's instructions, Cao Zhen frowned.
"Ah Fu, I know that you and Mr. Xuande have conflicts, but now that Liu Xuande has bowed his head, why do you have to kill them all and hold on to him without letting go?"
"ah?"
Cao Zhen sighed, "Xuan Degong is a kind and gentle man. The people who robbed you of food and grass were his subordinates and he didn't know it. You knocked on the door and chopped off his banner. Now Zhang Fei has been captured.
He also trapped his family members, and he was already letting out a bad breath.
In that case, why should you..."
Cao Peng's expression suddenly changed.
He looked at Cao Zhen in surprise, and after a while without saying anything, he turned his horse and left.
"Afu..."
Cao Zhen wanted to call out to Cao Peng, but Cao Peng ignored him and left.
Gan Ning and others didn't know what was going on. They just watched Cao Peng leave and hurriedly followed. Xu Yi and Dianman looked a little confused and hurried to Cao Zhen's side.
"Zidan, why did Ah Fu leave without saying goodbye?"
Cao Zhen was also a little unhappy.
I just said a few words to you and you made me look embarrassed. What does that mean?
He said solemnly: "I don't know."
After that, he turned around and left.
Only Dianman and Xu Yi were left, looking at each other, somewhat unsure of what was going on...
That night, Liu Bei was in his study, holding a volume of "Historical Records" and reading it carefully.
Guan Yu was not with him. After hearing the news last night that Zhang Fei had been captured and detained at Chenting Guanyi, Liu Bei immediately ordered Guan Yu to lead his troops and go to rescue him.
Worried that Guan Yu was arrogant, Liu Bei also sent Mi Zhu to accompany Guan Yu.
At this time, only Sun Qian and Jian Yong were left with Liu Bei, and Chen Dao was left in charge of guarding the mansion.
He read for a while and felt a little upset, so he put the book down, walked out of the room, and stood on the porch, looking thoughtful.
A few days ago, Dong Cheng, the general of chariots and cavalry, suddenly secretly contacted him.
Liu Bei didn't know what was going on at first, so he went to the banquet excitedly. Unexpectedly, during the banquet, Dong Cheng suddenly dismissed his servants and took out an edict. This edict was written by Han Emperor Liu Xie and said that Cao Cao He controlled the imperial court and was called Hanchen, but he was actually a traitor to the Han Dynasty.
Now that Liu Xie has grown up, he hopes to take charge of the court and build up the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, he asked Dong Cheng to secretly contact officials loyal to the Han Dynasty to jointly kill Cao Cao. Liu Xie wrote sincerely in his letter. The reason why this edict appeared in Dong Cheng's hands was because Dong Cheng The daughter of Liu Xie is a nobleman of Liu Xie and a relative...
Liu Xie could not find a suitable candidate.
On weekdays, he was confined to the deep palace, and most of them were Cao Cao's eyes and ears.
Several confidants around him, such as Liu Guang Lengfei and others, either do not hold power, are not qualified enough, or do not have real power in their hands.
Even Dong Cheng, including Dong Cheng, was not a person of real power.
But no matter what, Dong Cheng can be regarded as a relative and someone Liu Xie can trust.
"Xuande is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, the queen of King Jing of Zhongshan. Now he is considered by His Majesty to be the emperor's uncle, and he worships the general of the guard... Cao's thieves are becoming more and more rampant. If they cannot be eliminated, they will become Han thieves sooner or later. I know Xuande's loyalty, so today Invite each other, conspire for big things, and wait for the opportunity to kill the Cao thieves..."
Liu Bei shivered with excitement and sat speechless.
It is true that he was ambitious, but Liu Bei had never been involved in court disputes before.
He has always obeyed the orders of others. Although he is a Yuzhou or Xuzhou pastor, he has no experience in fighting in the court.
He was keenly aware that this imperial edict was an opportunity for him.
But he also knew that once he wrote his name on the edict, he would completely turn against Cao Cao, and there would be no room for change. At least for now, Liu Bei was not ready to turn against Cao Cao. In other words, he was not ready to turn against Cao Cao. He is not qualified to turn against Cao Cao.
"Dong Cheqi can help your Majesty eradicate the traitors in the country, which is his duty.
But now that Cao Cao is powerful, we have no soldiers or generals. How can we deal with him? The top priority is that the generals of chariots and cavalry should cooperate with the courtiers internally and the princes externally. When the time is right, we should cooperate internally and externally, and we can eradicate the national traitors in one fell swoop. But now …I’m afraid it’s not appropriate.”
Dong Cheng was overjoyed, "What Xuande thought was exactly what I wanted."
Therefore, Liu Bei and Dong Cheng discussed in secret and wrote their names on the belt edict.
Then he began to hide his capabilities and bide his time, trying to paralyze Cao Cao and try to escape Xudu. Cao Peng captured Zhang Fei and detained his family. Was Liu Bei angry? Very angry! However, he did not want to cause trouble, so he had to deal with this matter. Open one eye, close one eye. What he has to do now is to leave Xudu as soon as possible. If he stays in Xudu for one more day, his life will be more worried...
Standing in the corridor, thinking about what he had done recently, Liu Bei was basically satisfied.
Lao Cao, do you see how frustrated I am now?
Your people sit on my neck and shit, and I remain silent. I plant vegetables at home every day and do nothing... You still won’t let me go?
It can be said that Liu Bei is living on his fingers now.
He was calculating, calculating how long he would stay in Xudu...
"Lord!"
Just when Liu Bei was deep in thought, a man hurriedly ran up from the garden path.
Liu Bei looked over and recognized at a glance that the person was Jian Yong. In Liu Bei's impression, Jian Yong was a calm and measured guy who never panicked when things happened.
But now, he seems a little panicked.
"Xianhe, why are you so flustered?"
"General Chariot and Cavalry just ordered someone to send a message."
"What message?"
"Ma Shoucheng, leave Xudu early tomorrow morning."
"ah?"
Liu Bei's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a look of panic appeared on his face.
Ma Shoucheng is Ma Teng.
Liu Bei knew that Ma Teng also owed his name on the clothing edict. Originally, Dong Cheng had made an appointment with them to have a gathering in a while for everyone to meet. Liu Bei also wanted to take this opportunity to meet with them.
If Ma Teng builds a relationship, he will have another way out in the future.
Why is it so good that Ma Teng wants to leave Xudu?
"what happened?"
"Ma Shoucheng sent someone to tell General Chariot and Cavalry that it would be best if no one makes any moves recently. He also said that he might be being watched..."
"Who is staring at?"
"This..." Jian Yong smiled bitterly and shook his head, "General Chariot and Cavalry didn't say anything."
He thought for a while and then changed the topic, "But I heard from people that Ma Shoucheng had a conflict with someone at Yuxiu Tower today and even started a fight."
"Who did you fight with?"
"That's Cao Peng who just returned to Xudu today."
In his mind, the figure of that young man could not help but appear. Outside the camp gate, he cut off his big banner with a knife. Liu Bei still can't forget it.
He could feel that Cao Peng seemed to know him very well.
Now when he came back, he had a conflict with Ma Teng. What happened that made Ma Teng leave in a hurry?
"Where is Ma Shoucheng now?"
"I am preparing my luggage in the official post and have obtained Cao Cao's permission to leave early tomorrow morning."
"Immediately ask Gongyou to go to Guanyi and visit Ma Teng secretly. Find out what is the reason for his sudden departure..."
"Here!"
Jian Yong did not dare to neglect and quickly turned around and left.
Stepping down the corridor, Liu Bei walked slowly.
In the garden in mid-spring, peaches and apricots are in bloom. The air is filled with a faint fragrance of flowers, which is refreshing and makes people feel relaxed and happy.
Liu Bei walked with his hands behind his back, his thoughts rising and falling.
One thing is certain, the reason why Ma Teng left was related to today's conflict with Cao Peng at Yuxiu Tower.
Cao Peng, Cao Peng...
This guy is really not a worry-free master. He ruined his plan to stay in Xuzhou before, and even asked Zhang Liao to surrender and submit to Cao Cao. Liu Bei was very covetous of Lu Bu's eight generals, especially Zhang Liao and Zang Ba.
, it can be said that I am jealous.
Although he was defeated by Zhang Liao several times, he still had his own master, and Liu Bei did not resent him.
Liu Bei valued Zhang Liao's ability and character very much. But in the end, such a man surrendered to Cao Cao.
If I get Zhang Wenyuan, I can become a prince!
Liu Bei secretly sighed in fear.
At the same time, he also began to examine his own shortcomings... He found that he seemed to have underestimated Cao Peng's family. Needless to say, Cao Ji was the foundation of Cao Cao's arms supply. Just looking at Cao Jun's current equipment, Liu Bei felt very jealous
.In particular, the weapons and armor equipped by the Tiger and Ben Army and the newly established Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are obviously much stronger than those in the hands of ordinary soldiers.
If I, the White One, can be equipped with such weapons, who in the world can stop me?
And Deng Ji, although he is just a small Haixi Ling now, no one will treat him as a county magistrate.
The farming in Lianghuai is managed by this person single-handedly.
How could such a person, who was unknown before, end up under Cao Cao?
There is also Cao Peng, who is not very old, but he is extraordinary. Just seeing that he has top-notch generals like Gan Ning under his command is enough to show that this person's methods. A family of three, are not ordinary. Why in the beginning,
Why don’t I pay attention to this family?
When Liu Bei thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
However, he soon cheered up.
Now I am also a member of the Han clan and a dignified uncle of the Han Dynasty. With this status, as long as I find the right opportunity, I will definitely be able to make a difference...
In this way, Liu Bei stayed in the garden for nearly half an hour.
Sun Qian returned from the official post and hurriedly came to Liu Bei.
"Gongyou, how is the situation?"
Sun Qian replied: "Ma Shoucheng said that Cao Peng is probably the eyes and ears of Cao Cao's account. The reason why he is not in Xudu is just to deceive others. This person should be very clear about the situation in Xudu. Today I am with Ma Teng.
During the conflict at Yuxiu Tower, he called out the name of one of Ma Teng's generals... Later, he also said "take care" to Ma Teng, which gave Ma Teng the feeling that this person must know something.
.Lord, I think Ma Teng is too cowardly. Just saying "take care" scares the shit out of him."
"wrong!"
Liu Bei shivered with excitement.
"Ma Shoucheng is not a timid person. He dominates the three assistants and is powerful in Xiliang. He always has his reasons.
'Take care'...the words of the Cao family's son are definitely not casual. Wait...tell me, why did he detain Yide in Chenting?"
"ah?"
"He didn't kill Winged, so you can put him back.
But Cao Peng didn't. Instead, he left Yide and Tanzhi in Chenting and guarded them... Is there any purpose behind this?"
People often say: If you don’t do bad things, you won’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door.
Whether it's Ma Teng or Liu Bei, they all have ghosts in their hearts.
I'm afraid even Cao Peng didn't expect that his casual words of 'take care' would actually come from two big shots, and they both felt uneasy.
Sun Qian's eyes rolled, and he suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Liu Bei in shock.
"Lord, could this be..."
Liu Bei nodded vigorously and said in a deep voice: "I think Cao Cao has already got the news. I kept a low profile before, but it didn't make Cao Cao relieved. But he didn't want to make a big fuss, after all, I am now a member of the Han clan. He asked Cao Peng to detain Yide
, knowing that my brotherhood is deep, he will definitely send someone there. There are not many people around me, only Yun Chang... then he can take the opportunity to take me down."
Sun Qian's expression changed and he kept agreeing.
Liu Bei wandered in the room. After a while, he whispered softly: "No, if I don't leave, I will be killed by Cao Cao."
"Lord, I'm getting ready..."
"You leave the city overnight and inform Yunchang and Yide not to return to Xudu. Order them to lead the troops and hide in Juntai... I will join them as soon as possible."
